THE LION KING: THE FREAK

The Lion King: The Freak
Chapter 10: Counterassassins 3:

(A note to readers: in case you didn't realize, this is a Lion King fanfiction. It is not supposed to be realistic. At all.

Unfortunately, I will have to have some more bad language in this chapter. Also, bear in mind that even in the Lion King universe, good guys are sadly not invincible.

Does anyone actually read these author's notes?

Chukizo's smile flickered for a second.

“Son... you must learn to accept this. No matter what you do, no matter how large your circle is... others will always look upon you as a freak.”

The li-tigon nodded once, and said nothing.

“I'm sorry, my child. But that's just how things are... you might as well embrace it,” she said.

Freak thought for a moment, and nodded again.

“You're right,” he said gruffly, and it was as if any trace of affection had been wiped from him as he accepted, once and for all, that he couldn't change things,

To his family, however, the change was as clear as day.

“Son... just because others will never see you for what you really are, doesn't change who you can be..”

“Then what's the point?” Freak asked flatly, and before his parents and sister could answer, coldly turned, and left the cave, ignoring their cries, and easily outrunning them when they gave chase.

“No...” panted Chukizo as she and Scar lost track of the li-tigon, the former openly crying, the latter concealing his tears with some success, “Scar... what have we done? Have we created a monster?”

“No,” sighed Scar, looking down in shame, “we've... destroyed. Our son had little as far as a soul goes before now. But now... I don't think he has any left at all.”

“Mommy? Daddy?” said Maisha, approaching her parents, “what's gonna happen to big brother?”

But neither the tigon nor the lion had no answers. Freak would either be destined for greatness, or nothing at all.

Freak awoke, eyes open in a heartbeat, as he saw that in the physical sense, at least, he had been unmoved.

But the emptiness with which his gaze held as he surveyed the northern boundaries of the Lower Plains was somehow more... total, more irreparable than ever before.

The moment he rose his head, Vitani, who'd taken to sleeping at the li-tigon's side, awoke too. And she gasped at the complete lack of life, of hope, of love in his eyes.

“Freak... what's wr—”

“Nothing,” he cut her off, and stood, stretching briefly before facing away from her.

“Now I really am strong,” he thought, ignoring the pleas the lioness gave him to turn, to look at her.

“I'm never going to look for love, acceptance, or friendship again. Beings may, from time to time, be useful to me in manners besides being prey. But, in the end, everyone is a threat.”

The same cold, analytical nature that had kept the li-tigon alive when he was just a cub had come back in full force.

“I've been a fool for these past few months. These lions and hyenas... they aren't my friends. They're just with me for now because I can keep them safe. The second that changes, they will cease to care about me.”

“Freak, please...” whimpered Vitani, circling to face the li-tigon, looking at him sadly, “tell me what's wrong. I can help you,” she offered, pleading.

“I told you,” he said coldly, “nothing's wrong. I've just... come to terms with prior inadequacies in myself,” he revealed, vaguely, not comforting the lioness at all.

“...All right...” she conceded, sadly, “but... if you ever want to be honest with me...” she stepped forward, intending to nuzzle the li-tigon that she'd come to see, over the past few days, as more than just a leader.

But Freak's eyes widened and he suddenly bared his teeth. This time, he wasn't grinning.

“Don't touch me,” he said in a warning voice, “I do not like it.”

Vitani gasped at the li-tigon's sudden coldness. Over the past week or so, they'd gotten closer. Or so she thought. After he saved her from the plant, she'd never really left his side. They'd taken more assassin sentries out, run more reconnaissance operations...

She'd touched him before. And not just the accidental brushings that were inevitable every time too many creatures gathered in too little space. Vitani had nuzzled him, even licked him, once. Of course, the li-tigon had never returned her affection in even the slightest way. He only looked at her, as if wondering what she was doing...

But he'd certainly never rebuffed her advances like that. Whatever he said to the contrary, Vitani knew that something was wrong. Just not what...

But Freak was one step ahead of her. He knew that her next move would be to slip away and speak with the other Pride Landers. And the li-tigon knew enough about himself to understand that if they all questioned him, all acted as if they cared... he might lose control.

“Lose control of what? I have no emotions,” he told himself, but did feel a mere twinge of guilt

“We've done enough watching and waiting. Now it's time to strike,” the li-tigon said suddenly, and Vitani abruptly closed her mouth, eying him, as if suspiciously.

“...You're right. We know where Saliti is, and the general routine of the assassins. We also know that we can kill them in direct combat—” she ended, prematurely, as Freak gave her a stern glare: she was only telling him what he already knew.

“...Shall I wake the others—”

“No. I will,” the li-tigon cut her off again, coldly, not so much as looking at her.

And then he suddenly roared. Vitani suddenly felt a measure of fear; the loud combination of a lion's shout for attention with a tiger's threatening hiss. Predictably, the counterassassins jumped to their feet, and immediately created a perimeter, while the de facto core group; namely, the royal family and the hyenas, circled around Freak.

“We're attacking. Today. We've waited long enough. Any more, and they'll find us, or we'll run out of luck... we don't know how many more plants there are, or what else these accursed lands hold. So we have to make the Shadows bleed. Now,”he growled, and, surprised and even intimidated by the li-tigon's sudden personality change, the present counterassassins merely nodded...

...Except for Simba. The Lion King saw this as, possibly, his last chance to speak with his cousin. The counterassassins had been trained hard, both physically and mentally and had accepted, at least some of them, that losses were inevitable. They all just figured it would happen to someone else... and they knew that Freak had also stated, more than once, that he would personally face Saliti: the danger was just too great if anyone else was to do it.

“Cousin,” he said, and the li-tigon sharply turned his head to look at the tan lion, “I just wanted to say... it's been both an honor and a pleasure to train with you. And whatever happens in the Bloody Shadows; whether we succeed, or fail—”

“That's not going to happen,” Freak suddenly interrupted, and everyone immediately straightened: the li-tigon had never acted in such a manner before, much less to Simba.

“We've trained too long, and too hard for the attack to fail. We will defeat the Shadows. I will kill Saliti. Some of us may die,” he accepted without a trace of sorrow in his voice, “but as a whole, we will be successful,” he ended in a tone of harsh determination.

The core counterassassins seemed to accept his sudden change of leadership style. Barely. They drew away, hesitatingly, all going to their respective positions. Vitani stayed in the immediate vicinity of Freak... but she couldn't help but feel that she was being willfully ignored. The li-tigon himself, meanwhile, felt... strange, even as he gave the one-gesture order to move out.

“Nobody will ever love me. But that doesn't mean that I need to hate them. I am a freak, after all, and I shouldn't expect the impossible. To hate others for imperfections implicit to life... is immoral. I'll have to apologize to them...”

The patrolling assassins were nervous. For the past few days, hyenas had been dropping dead in the southern Bloody Shadows, for no reason at all. Never was even the slightest wound found.

Rumors floated around: the Great Spirits were punishing the Shadows. There was some horrible disease going around. A predator had come to the area with a taste for hyena flesh.

The list grew by the day, and so did the number of assassin bodies. But the upper class members of the Bloody Shadows didn't care: it was just more meat for them.

Of course, some was saved for the hyenas that did the heavy lifting, after all. But it was never enough: the meager amounts of the meat of their fallen brothers and sisters as dealt out in portions so small that it only barely kept them alive. They were all mere inches from going crazy from living for months in starvation... and each night, they were haunted by horrible nightmares; apparitions that told them to kill and eat the beings that they'd grown up alongside. And each night, without fail, they'd wake up to find more of their own missing.

“Wait,” said the leader of this three-hyena group, holding up a fisted paw, causing the two others to freeze in their tracks, ears perking up and sniffing around, sensing that something was just... wrong.

“What's wr—” the right side hyena was cut off, suddenly falling to the ground, gasping, and then gurgling on his own blood.

Simba looked onto the assassin almost sadly as he took cover again, whispering; or rather, manipulating the air with his tongue, lips, and vocal chords so subtly that his words were inaudible to everything... everything but a counterassassin.

“He's down. They're getting back to back...” he “said”, hiding even more as the hyenas looked at him, then right past him, as he became part of the environment.

Kiara had never killed a sentient being before. And two months ago, she wasn't even capable of taking down a mere gazelle alone. But today was a new day... she moved quickly, silently, biting into one assassin's neck, several nerves, arteries, and life from it. It dropped to the ground, lifeless, and the leader turned, trying to fight and call for reinforcements at the same time—

But it was too late. Nala was on him, striking vertically upwards with a single claw, slicing its throat apart, rendering it speechless, and doomed to suffocate.

Both lionesses closed their eyes, and gulped at the horrible, pleading death rasp that the dark hyena gave before it expired. Simba looked away, but Freak held his gaze on the dying animal until he was sure that it really was dead.

The li-tigon then plodded towards the bodies, closed their eyes, and then walked around them, as if indifferent. Yes, he'd killed before. And this time, even though he wasn't physically doing te killing... he'd never killed other beings in cold blood, before they were imminent threats.

“But everyone is a threat. Or will be. So, it's morally sound to preemptively kill a threat...”

He looked over at the Pride Landers in a manner that could only be called calculating. They returned his gaze, albeit with a little bit of guarded sadness on their faces, and seemed to pass an unspoken test.

“There will be more. Stay on your toes,” he said, then paused, lips twitching, as if searching for more words, but finding none.

“Let's go,” the li-tigon stated flatly, and the counterassassins faded into the landscape once again... those three kills were insignificant in comparison to the violence that would occur, very soon.

Some of them thought of how much they'd grown, how much they'd changed. Some thought of the Pride Lands, and how they longed to come home after this long, hard trip. Some thought of each another, and how they'd do anything to protect their comrades.

But Freak only had one thought.

“Make the Shadows bleed.”

Kovu and Rafiki finally got Banzai to a stable state. But he'd required fanatic survey for a full week: it was hard. Usiku was so hurt that he couldn't hunt. Things had looked bad...

And then, the black hyena had done the impossible.

“Uvuli,” he said, and his daughter looked up, “you'll need to bring some food back. Just a gazelle. You can do that, right?” the hyena cub, still referred to as a baby by the Pride Landers, but nearing the middle of her cubhood.

The black youngster nodded once, and loped off into the tall grass of the Pride Lands, and Kovu had to stop himself from rushing to bring her back.

“What are you doing? She could get hurt!” he practically yelped, glaring at Usiku.

But the ex-assassin laughed, coughing up some blood.

“No. She won't.”

The darkish lion looked at him for a moment, then seemed to resign himself to the fact that Usiku would never, ever do anything that might put his daughter in danger. So he looked back to Banzai.

Rafiki was there, doing something strange... something disgusting.

“What... what are you doing?” he asked the shaman, voice trembling slightly.

“Dese infections dat are hurting poor Banzai so much... dey are deadly. Very useful in a fight, if used properly.

“So we will fight... but how? We can't even hope to reach the Bloody Shadows on time—at all. We don't know how to survive in the Jungle, for long, we'll be found, or something—” he was cut off by Rafiki's hand.

“Don't you worry. You see dese hands? Dey are useful for more tings dan healing. I can build...” he looked to the west, where a deep, threatening river isolated the Forbidden Island, as it was called, from the Pride Lands.

“On de oddah side of dat rivah lays de Bloody Shadows. Not even dere best swimmers can cross it,” Usiku quirked an eyebrow at Rafiki... the money knew a lot about the Bloody Shadows...

“But, wit work, we can. And Kovu...” the shaman suddenly laughed crazily, “by de time our two hyenas are healed... you and dem will be plenty strong for Freak to want you by his side. Now... carry Banzai into my tree. He will need some divine assistance.”

“What? That's crazy! How can I—” Rafiki gave him a wallop with his stick.

“Dat is not carrying Banzai into de tree,” the shaman said sternly, and suddenly, it all became too much for Kovu... the way his Pride had all but disowned him, the way he was so, so far from Kiara, and now, the way this crazy old monkey was ordering him about.

He growled, and dug his claws into the ground, as if preparing to pounce.

Rafiki merely laughed, showing his largish teeth, and looked away from his patients, for the moment. Usiku perked up a bit, to see what was going to happen.

Kovu growled again, now, intending to jump. He saw a flash—

“Want to fight, cub?” the monkey said from behind Kovu, and the lion realized, suddenly, that Rafiki was not just a healer...

“No... I'll do as you ask,” he said, defeated, carefully lifting Banzai onto his back, grunting with the effort, and then starting to struggle up the tree.

“Kovu,” Rafiki said, firmly, causing the ex-Outlander to turn, “remember... you are heah to get onto de good path of life. And to do that—”

“—I need to carry Banzai up into the tree,” he said flatly, matter-of-factly, “I know...” the moment was tense, until Kovu smiled at the shaman.

Rafiki blinked, watching the darkish lion struggle, time and again, to hoist Banzai into the small clearing inside of the tree. His determination was, frankly, awe-inspiring.

“I've had many hard missions,” said Usiku, and Rafiki turned to glance at his other patient for a moment.

“Many of them. At first, they always seem impossible. But then, when I break them into smaller chunks, and focus on each part separately... there's little I haven't been able to accomplish,” he said plainly, as Kovu got a paw into the treetops.

The gazelle herd was understandably paranoid. Ever since their long journey from the Western Grasslands, they'd only found predators, too many of them for too little prey.

They were down to only two females, and even these simple creatures understood that those two females, compared to the fifty males in the herd, were absolutely vital for the continued survival of their herd. But females are emotive, and have bleeding hearts... and sometimes, that's a liability.

A fatal liability.

The pained, raspy yelp of a hyena cub was heard from only about fifty yards away. At first, the herd acted as one, all perking up, readying themselves to rush. As the pained gasps continued, the males either made as if to keep eating, or run... but the two females gave each another a single look, then went to investigate.

The males instantly blocked their path, panic in their eyes. To leave the safety of the herd was foolish... but the females were going to go investigate the sound, that was for certain.

So, together, reluctantly, the enter gazelle herd slowly circled around the source of the cries. Indeed, it was a small, black hyena cub. The poor thing had somehow gotten her foot stuck under a rock, and was struggling to get it free. She gasped at the sight of all the gazelles around her.

One female stepped forward, and the males visibly tensed. But the hyena cub only giggled, then whimpered, pulling at her foot, and then gave a pleading glance to the female.

The gazelle stepped a little closer, to see if she could do anything. As soon as she was within three feet of Uvuli...

The hyena cub easily kicked the boulder that was at least twice her size away, jumped, and slashed the gazelle's throat wide open. She fell down, dying after only a heartbeat of pure, shocked terror.

Gazelles are simple creatures. They don't understand the concepts of revenge, or fighting as a group. So, when their second-to-last female died, all they knew how to do was run.

And they did.

In fact, they didn't stop running until they were far, far to the east of the Pride Lands, beyond the Falme Kindakindaki, to the dark, mysterious areas that had been unvisited for years. Beings from that place did not come out of it, and beings from outside did not go in. Well, sometimes they did. But they never, ever came back out.

This part of Africa is isolated for very, very good reasons. And as the gazelles found out, one of those reasons is about twenty feet across, flying... with a taste for flesh...

The sabretooth tiger, and many other creatures, so rare or so extinct that seeing them together today bordered on the supernatural. But they were all here. Here, on the Forbidden Island. The one part of Africa where the Great Spirits had no jurisdiction whatsoever.

They circled, glancing at one another briefly, then bowed, and spoke in unison.

“Master, we come to serve.”

Their leader spoke after a minute, though they didn't dare raise their heads.

“Our efforts have not gone unnoticed. The Great Spirits have found us out.”

Not even the slightest murmur went through the dozen or so animals, though they knew that it was still far too early... their master wasn't yet powerful enough to directly engage the Great Spirits.

“They need someone to defeat us. Someone strong, someone self-reliant, someone that has no connections that we can exploit. Someone to arm with their most powerful weapons, someone that will never, ever abuse his power.”

“There is one that may defeat us, if the Great Spirits contact him.”

This time, the followers visibly perked up.

“He has no name. His past is shrouded in mystery. His father is Scar, the lion that refused to take his place among you. We know not of his mother. And his maternal ancestry is even more of a mystery, but it is almost certain that he is not of this land.”

“You know that we cannot yet attack any being physically. And this... cat... he has no emotions that I am aware of. So the only way to kill him is to send him far, far away.”

“I have an ally in a distant land. In a few weeks, I will be ready to banish him from this land. And the distances, and obstacles, separating him from the place he's grown up in are... impassable,” the voice ended venomously, thinking of them all... the barriers at the eastern part of this land, the mountains, the vastly different terrain... the most destructive animal on the planet, and many more.

Surely, an impossible task.

“Darkness is rising in other lands, as well. We shall be victorious. That is all...” the voice faded away.

For a few moments, the followers did nothing. Then, some of them left as well. Then, some more. And suddenly, the sabretooth was the only one left.

“If our victory is guaranteed... why has Master come to tell us nothing more than this... 'fact'? This enemy... master was wise not to give us his identity. No doubt, more than one of us would be tempted to join him.”

The sabretooth then snarled at himself. His master would restore the world to the darkness that he'd had a paw in spreading, all those years ago. And now, he had a job to do. The Bloody Shadows were under his jurisdiction... and there was something going on there, even now...

Uvuli smiled to herself as the herd thundered away. But then, she groaned. Yes, she could kill the gazelle with little trouble. But bringing it back to the others?

The black cub didn't show any signs of complaint again. She closed her tiny jaws around the gazelle's neck, as she'd watched Freak do on more than one occasion, and tugged.

“One step at a time...” she thought to herself, and forced one of her diminutive paws to move... and took the first step.

“Regroup,” Freak whispered, and the counterassasins collapsed their three hundred yard perimeter, and gathered, totally unknown to the rest of the Shadows.

“Report.”

“Da southwestern area's clear. Just a dozen or so, all patrolling. Took 'em down with no trouble,” said Shenzi.

“The southeastern part was hard. There were a lot of them, some where hunting. We had a close call,” Simba said, subconsciously flitting his eyes towards his daughter, who, for some reason, looked rather guilty, “but we took them all. I'd say about fifty. No more.”

The li-tigon nodded. He'd been smart to send more forces to that area. It was no larger than the the two, though... he got a feeling from it. It could be the minute difference in heat and wind pattern from that area, just enough to spark his intuition... or it could be something else.

“The south-central are was barren,” said Vitani, in fact, there were only two hyenas, one each for her and Freak.

“Usiku told me that the northern part of the Bloody Shadows are where the majority of its inhabitants reside. And the northernmost point are where Saliti's strongest supporters will be... he said that for the past few years, the Shadows have been looking to expand to the north. He didn't know why, or even what is to the north of the Bloody Shadows.”

Long, flat plains stretched on seemingly without end to the north of the Pride Lands. Nothing ever came or went from there... but could it lead somewhere?

“You know the plan. Split into two equal groups, circle around the Bloody Shadows's northern half, and then attack. Remember: it's vital that we're not spotted until the order to attack is given.”

The counterassins looked at him, and each another, wondering if the conversation was over. No one had missed the li-tigons decidedly negative change of attitude this morning...

The li-tigon then took in a deep breath, and articulated the words that he'd been forming for hours.

“You've all been excellent comrades. You always did what I said, as well as you could. You never argued with me. Never questioned me. You treated me like I was important to you,” just the slightest bitter edge to Freak's words could be heard.

“”Whatever happens today, I will not stay with you,” he said flatly, causing a dangerously loud gasp to roll through the group of Pride Landers.

“Why?...” mumbled Vitani, but the li-tigon didn't spare here even the briefest glance.

“My destiny does not lie with others. I can only care for myself, and remember: that's why I'm here now. I tried, though. I tried to care about others when I stayed in the Pride Lands. My hopes were misplaced... I can't bring myself to feel any affection for another,” he stated emotionlessly, coldly, “and so... don't hold those emotions for me, either,” this time, he looked at Vitani for a moment, “because I can never return them.”

The was a moment of very tense silence.

“Let's go,” Freak said, walking off.

It was hard going for all the counterassassins. To hear that the li-tigon that they had come to genuinely like was going to leave them, to hear that all of their efforts to the contrary had been in vain... it was a wonder that they weren't spotted.

Vitani, strangely, just got serious. She shoved all of her emotions into some dark corner of her mind, as she had always done, when she'd served Zira...

“If I can take down enough hyenas... if I can save Freak's life, somehow... maybe he'll understand that things are always better, when you're together.”

It was a tall order. But Vitani was easily the stealthiest lioness in the group. So, while difficult... impressing Freak into staying was not impossible.

Not quite.

“But I'm sure I'll get a chance,” she thought, waiting for three hyenas to disappear back into the forests of the Bloody Shadows before moving on, only a body length behind Freak, “after all... there are hundreds of them...”

Finally, after two months of hard training, untold hours of careful, precise preparation, and a near-death experience in the case of Vitani... the counterassassins were nearly ready to start their all-out assault on the Bloody Shadows.

The command was subtle. Freak raised a fisted paw, and held it out, parallel to the ground, then opened it.

The counterassassins moved, quickly, but still quietly. A large pack of hyenas approached Freak, Vitani, T and Shenzi, and the four knew that it would be advantageous to remain hidden until the last possible moment—

They managed to take them all down, quietly, though soft gurgles could be heard, barely. Freak was about to move on again when Vitani suddenly stood in front of him, blocking his path. The li-tigon looked at her blankly, not understanding. And then she snapped one assassin's neck. Freak understood...

“Be careful,” he said to the counterassassins in his vicinity, “they're playing dead. Make completely sure that you kill them,” he then got back under cover, and moved on... albeit after brushing past the lioness that may well have single-handedly protected the entire operation.

“Is it working?” Vitani thought to herself, wondering, even if it was, if she'd ever know.

“Vitani...” said the li-tigon, from somewhere that she couldn't see, “thanks.”

But his words only multiplied the questions in her mind.

Like Rafiki said, the infections that had nearly killed Banzai and even now, a week later, threatened to paralyze him, or worse, were quite malicious.

So, like Rafiki said, they could be great weapons. If harnessed properly.

Using extreme caution, not daring to touch the horrible germs himself, the mandrill had wrapped his hands in leaves and cleaned them out of Banzai's gut, which they'd had to open again... the stitches kept getting eaten through.

And now they could all too literally see why. The hyena's insides had been... changed. They'd never be the same again, for better or for worse.

Most likely for worse.

But the amount of bacteria that lined his insides was enough for Rafiki to physically scrape away... and then store in a hollow gourd.

“Kovu... bring me a piece of meat,” he said to the one other healthy Pride Lander.

(note, I am aware that in the following paragraph there's probably some subject-verb agreement issues)

The darkish lion quirked an eyebrow, but followed the order instantly. He nearly vomited at the sight of the same horrible bacteria that was literally still killing Banzai, and dropped the piece of meat at Rafiki's feet.

“What are you doing?” he asked, retching.

The mandrill carefully placed the meat against the germs, and then watched them. Analytically, recording every detail of how fast they ate it... and what happened to the meat.

In seconds, the entire chunk of flesh rotted away. Incredibly, however, the bacteria did not die, and Rafiki placed the gourd down at the ground.

Another hour and a new operation later, that brought Banzai closer to consciousness, Usiku yelped, having dragged himself to the gourd, suspecting what the mandrill was doing.

“Rafiki,” the black hyena said, after causing Kovu's mane to stand on end in surprise, “they haven't died!”

“I suspected as much,” the shaman said.

Normally, bacteria in this part of Africa would die after only minutes without food. It was the land's way of keeping things fair.

“Evil is gaddering in dis land. I do not know why, or who is behind it. But I tink dat tings started with Scar...”

Rafiki shook his head. Such thinking had its time. But not now... Banzai was still in a comatose, near-death state, and Usiku couldn't even walk yet.

“Dese hands are useful for building tings dat have purposes beyond... transportation,” the shaman gave a smile to Usiku and Kovu, and both found themselves wondering if the mandrill was eccentric, or really insane.

“Hey, Kovu, could you give me a hand?” said a small, high-pitched voice from several yards away.

“Huh... Uvuli?” the darkened lion turned, not believing his ears.

But he had to believe his eyes. And his eyes told him that the black cub had somehow managed to drag a gazelle here from God knew how far away.

“Yes. Now help me, dumb-a—uh, I mean, help me, Kovu,” the little bitty hyena had a bit of a foul mouth, which she'd gained by hanging around with the ex-Shadow Land hyenas so much.

The only lion left in the Pride Lands rolled his eyes, in the only bit of humor that anyone in the now empty land had felt for hours.

Rafiki looked back, and saw that Banzai was starting to stir.

“One step at a time.”

The assault was going well. At least a quarter of the assassins were down, and the alarm hadn't been raised yet, even as the counterassassins continued to circle around the northern half of the Bloody Shadows.

But now Freak and his core group had to get as close as possible to Saliti's best supporters and, no doubt, some of the toughest assassins that would be assigned to protect them.

They had a close call: again, it was Kiara. She forgot to monitor her breathing as meticulously as she might have when a large, exotic butterfly floated by, and an almost lion-sized hyena looked at her... and then right through her.

Freak looked at her, with neither anger, forgiveness, nor understanding in his eyes. He just looked at her, shook his head, and kept going. Two months ago, the lioness would have taken offense, and confronted him about it. But today, she just nodded apologetically, once, and got back under cover.

By now, the counterassassins had done all they possibly could under cover. From her on out, the lands were basically saturated with hyenas, so it would be useless to wait for a chance to take them out, one by one, covertly.

Now, it was time to go all out.

With a single, earth-shattering roar, Freak raced out of cover, slice one hyena apart, then engaged the monster that was as big as he was in open combat.

“Make the Shadows bleed,” he thought, dodging a bite powerful enough to gnash through a tree, and moving in for a counterattack...

“Saliti!” gasped a bleeding, panting assassin, bursting into the Assassin Lord's chambers, deep inside .

“I hope this is important...” the leader of the Bloody Shadows glared at his underling for a moment.

“My lord... we're under attack!”

Saliti narrowed his eyes.

“Explain.”

“There are about twenty of them. Lions and hyenas. From the Pride Lands. We can't fight them—we only hurt one when three Phantoms surprised her,” he struggled to stay on his feet, referring to the giant, all-brawns-few-brains hyenas that Kiara had nearly tipped off.

“And their leader... he's neither a lion nor a hyena. He let me go, to tell you that he'll stop... if you surrender... your life...” the hyena then closed his eyes, knowing that he, the messenger, would certainly be killed for that.

Which he was.

Saliti removed his claws from the other hyena's neck with an expression of disgust. Then, he looked to two skinnier hyenas, his personal messengers.

“Give the order to hold, no matter what the odds are. Neither the swimmers, nor the runners, nor any other type of assassin is allowed to leave. The penalty is death... in the most painful manner imaginable...”

“And that penalty will be extended to every family member of an assassin that so much as thinks of disobeying my command. Is that understood?” the Assassin Lord growled.

The two messengers gulped, bowed, nodded, and then dashed off, more intent on leaving Saliti's presence than carrying out his order.

“Sir... what will we do?” said two voices, in perfect unison from the shadowed parts of the Assassin Lord's labyrinth.

Saliti thought, for a moment. Even in his coup, the vague aura of panic in the air was not nearly as thick as how it was now. Now, that horrible feeling of impending death was practically tangible.

“Going south is foolhardy. There's nothing there to eat, anymore. But the north... Father told me tales of a far-off land, rich with prey. But that's little more than legend. The last one that made the journey there and back was my great-grandfather. By now, that land could be just as barren as the south...”

“But still... our chances are better if we go north. We'll have to cut around the fighting, however...”

“We're getting out of here. The Shadows may bleed... but I won't.”

Freak was a powerful, smart fighter.

But his strongest asset was that he was completely ruthless, and had no qualms with using any means necessary to win. He'd hide from his opponent in the middle of a fight, circle around them, and then strike at their unsuspecting backs. He'd notice the telltale widened eyes of a hyena, and then use the dead, or sometimes living body of his opponent's loved one to gain an advantage. The only dirty trick he didn't employ was using another counterassassin to take a hit for him.

And so the li-tigon had two or three scratches on him, which he barely registered. Some other counterassassins weren't harmed at all, a few were bleeding enough to sap at their energy, but for the most part, they had suffered no damage to speak of.

Except for Sarabi. She'd been taken off-guard by three of the giant hyenas, attacked as she was finishing off the strongest of a dozen trained assassins. A fair fight would be two of these unnaturally large hyenas versus one counterassassin. But that one excess Phantom made all the difference...

The old, ex-matriarch had fought as hard as she could, holding her ground, knowing that if the Bloody Shadows's defenders found a hole in the front, the counterassassins could be flanked... which would result in all of their deaths.

So it was only when one grabbed her by the flank, one more grabbed her by the shoulder, with the third clawing mercilessly at her side, the former two starting to pull her apart that she screamed.

Simba was first on the scene, attacking the one on his mother's flank. But the Phantom that was attacking her side took him off guard as well, knocking him on his feet.

Incredibly, Freak felt a rush of panic, the same feeling he always got when in extreme danger... though he was winning his own fight easily.

Pragmatism told him to write Sarabi off, by the time the two Phantoms killed her, the third would have been taken down by Simba, the only other counterassassin close enough to help, and then, he could finish those to, while Freak ensured that they weren't flanked...

But if he went to go and help her, the risk of being flanked was very, very high...

But the li-tigon just growled, finishing off his two last hyenas, and took the chance that the Shadows were going attack in waves. As quickly as he could, he raced over to the scene—

Simba had, by now, pinned the Phantom to the ground and was working on breaking its back. Too slow.

The giant hyena on Sarabi's shoulder suddenly broke off, howling in pain. And it was clear why.

Freak had dived, bit through one of its rear legs and come to a rest underneath it, and was gutting it with his claws. The Phantom groaned in agony, tried to counter with a powerful paw which was easily intercepted by Freak's own. And then, the freakishly large hyena dropped, its collapse to the ground preceded by the sloshing out of its innards.

Sarabi then turned, the pressure on her changing entirely, and used the other Phantom's pull against him.

She hopped off the ground, allowing herself to be tossed through the air by her flank, a respectable chunk of it tearing out as she flew through the air. But the lioness managed to land on the tree, then spring off of it, directly back at her attacker...

Sarabi tore his neck open with her claws before she fell. She was bleeding, a lot. But if she stayed still, she'd be fine; she could even hold her own long enough for help to come. Because Freak promised to himself, then and there, that any time a counterassassin required help, he'd be there for them.

“After all, the more I help them, the less likely they'll be to turn on me in the middle of all this,” he justified to himself, knowing, on some level, that that wasn't true at all.

“Simba,” the li-tigon addressed his cousin, just as the former decapitated his enemy with one quick yank of his jaws, “the mountain is not far. Usiku said that's where Saliti is.”

”But something's not right... he would either come and confront us with full strength, or sound a retreat. ...Our advance is going well. But slow...” Freak suddenly growled, cursing himself for not seeing it before.

“He's running. Leaders like that are always cowards,” the li-tigon's mind flickered to the way his father died for a second.

“They're not fighting wisely. If they grouped up and attacked as packs, more of them would be able to escape. If they sincerely tried to win, and attacked us as one... we'd win, but things would be far, far quicker...”

Simba growled to himself as well. If Saliti escaped, alive, all of their efforts would be for naught. There was only one Bloody Shadows. But they weren't the only assassin corps in the world...

“Take Kiara and T. You three are the fastest group that we can afford to send. Scout around the northern part of the jungle, the part that we just conquered, until something happens.”

“Something?”

“The rest of us die, we find and kill Saliti, or you find Saliti. If you find him, stop his retreat, and send someone back to notify the rest of us. Go!” Freak suddenly shouted, knowing that they were running out of time.

Simba nodded once, knowing the urgency of the situation. But during the cousins's relatively long conversation... their greatest fear had all but been realized.

All at once, the Lion King was blindsided by at least two dozen tough assassins. Growling, he managed to evade more than a few painful claw wounds, and turned to fight.

“No time, get going!” Freak side, jumping in between his cousin and the assassins.

Simba paused, then took off. He spared once glance behind him to see something he'd considered, until then, impossible.

“We were taught to fight multiple opponents at once. And we were taught that when there were too many to fight, concentrate on one at a time. One step at a time, he always said.”

“But cousin,” Simba scoffed, altering his path to head off to where his daughter and T were, “two dozen hyenas at once?”

The counterassassins still hadn't suffered any loses. Yet. True, they'd had more than a few close calls: gaps in their front that had gone unnoticed, sudden, intense assaults... but still, Sarabi was the worst off of the bunch. And already, her bleeding was abetting.

“This isn't getting any easier. I figured that by now, we'd be able to convince some to surrender...”

Every chance they got, the Pride Landers would pause, and offer the attacking hyenas a chance to surrender. And every chance they got, the assassins would take advantage of that split-second of hesitation.

It was obvious that, for whatever reason, the Shadows would not surrender. Freak suspected that they feared that Saliti's revenge on their loved ones would be far worse than anything these invaders would do.

“I understand the logic,” the li-tigon thought, tearing a hyena's ribs out, “but if all of them die, the result is the same. Though... we kill relatively cleanly,” he ignored the assassin's pleas to kill him quickly, knowing that he would bleed out anyway... there were other threats that required his attention.

However, some hyenas weren't quite as one-dimensional as others.

“Look, we can all escape if we just go!” seethed a young male.

This group, three-dozen strong plus a Phantom, had managed to sneak past the counterassassins's front when Simba was speaking with Freak. And now, they had the chance to leave the Bloody Shadows, once and for all.

“Where will we go?” asked the Phantom, whimpering: Saliti had trained these giants to be ruthless and simple.

Which they were. In combat.

But underneath that tough, grotesque exterior, most of the giant hyenas truly were simple. The reason they were such good fighters was that they saw combat as play. And when they were assigned to kill beings, elephants, rogue bands of hyenas, and feline intruders from the far west, they thought when their prey stopped moving... the game was over.

But there was nothing playful about the way this one had watched Freak tear apart his good friend, a Phantom he'd trained with since cubhood. And for the first time in his life... the Phantom understood the sacredness of life.

“Anywhere but here!” the same hyena said, glaring at the Phantom; he didn't trust their kind, not after one of the giants had killed his brother in a “game”.

“No,” said one middle-aged, toughened female, “even if we leave this land... we don't know where to go. And no place is welcome to a pack of assassins. ...Besides, we all still have family that live. How could we go on to live, even if we managed to escape, with the knowledge that we sacrificed them... for us?” she asked this with amazingly little feeling in her voice... she'd learned, after a long, hard life under many rulers that emotions were things best kept hidden.

The male looked around, trying to find support for his cause... and failing.

“...Fine, you bitch. Go back and die, for all I care,” he snarled, then started to run.

“Sorry,” she said, placing a paw on the base of his neck, “I don't tolerate treachery,” she extended her claws, piercing into his flesh and killing him instantly.

“Their leader is strong,” she said, removing her claws and licking them clean, as the male's body slumped, lifeless, to the ground, “but there are three dozen of us... including a Phantom,” she looked kindly up at the giant hyena; a true leader knew the art of manipulation, “and surely, such a big, strong hyena can find in him the courage to avenge his friend?” now her voice took on a challenging tone.

The Phantom growled, claws extending automatically.

“Be silent,” the de facto leader said, turning away haughtily, “we'll have to take him off guard... it is well that most of us specialize in stealth... the art of striking at your enemy's back...” she hid herself nearly as well as the counterassassins were able to... and in the heat of combat, Freak would never notice their assault until it was too late.

“Let's move. The lives of our families... rest solely upon our backs...” she said softly, watching as her mate's side was ripped utterly out of his chest.

The Shadows were bleeding.

Kiara, Simba, and T raced through the northern Bloody Shadows. They had no time to get under cover and take Saliti off-guard: they'd never be able to lay a paw on Saliti without his guards reacting first... the stories Usiku told of those two hyenas... coming from any other source, they'd be mere fantasy.

“But then... the things we've learned to do in these past two months... they border on the supernatural,” thought the Lion King.

“We Pride Landers have the most knowledge of the Great Spirits. Father once told me of a legend...”

“I don't remember it word for word. But he said that when the land suffers, a being will be chosen by the Spirits to restore balance.”

“Could it be... Freak?”

“Freeze,” said one of Saliti's bodyguards.

This was the only time that the Assassin Lord would heed the word of another.

“What is it?” asked Kivuli's student, or, as he was referred to by his detractors, the Usurper of the Bloody Shadows.

“We are pursued,” growled the other bodyguard, and within a second, all three hyenas were running at top speed.

Hyenas are genetically predisposed to not being great sprinters, unlike their traditional rivals, big cats. In other words, a cat will beat a hyena in contests of speed in distances less than five miles. Beyond that, the hyena will pull ahead.

But counterassassins are a different thing altogether.

“What's following us?” panted Saliti after ten miles, ten miles in which their lead had gradually decreased with each step.

“Two lions. One hyena. Not an assassin,” said one bodyguard, not even winded by the run.

“Then we can take them,” growled Saliti, stopping, causing his protectors to halt as well, looking at him strangely.

“With respect, my lord—”

“Be silent,” the Usurper ordered, “we can take them. I will stand in the open... prepare an ambush.”

It was the most cliched, failure-prone tactic ever. Saliti might have been the brains behind the coup that overthrew his father... but when it came to micromanagement, the Assassin Lord's ego would be his own undoing.

“We hear and obey,” the two bodyguards said, their brainwashing taking over as they concealed themselves more thoroughly than many counterassassins were capable of.

“Then hear this...” said Saliti, looking coldly at the direction from which his assailants would come, “when this is all over... after we defeat the assailants... after we escape to the north... we will contact a group much like our own, in a land far off.”

“We have never spoken to them directly. But ten generations ago... we came in contact with them. They are much like us... and the Shadows of the world know no bounds. We will take this land back...” Saliti growled, then chuckled, then laughed loudly, maniacally.

Invisible to anything in the physical realm, the sabretooth watched.

“My master is wise... evil is growing in this land. And in the rest of the world...”

(sorry, more bad language)

The three counterassassins charged with finding Saliti ran on at that same breakneck speed. And then they slowed—

Instinctively, they knew that they had found their quarry. That conceited arrogance with which he sat in plain view, eyes showing neither fear nor real interest, that horrible, malicious aura that threatened to engulf any being that got too close...

“I can see why Usiku left,” Kiara growled.

“Yeah... you bastard... your people are dying for you by the hundreds. And you won't relieve them of their suffering, and you won't even acknowledge them... fuck you...” sneered T, in barely restrained rage.

“Watch your mouth, bitch,” Saliti spat, smirking to himself; for all his faults in squad-based combat, he knew that beings were more prone to mistakes when angry, “or your suffering will exceed that of your friends,” he sneered arrogantly.

Simba roared, his daughter joining in a split second later.

“Do you really think you can still win?” the tan lion growled, stepping closer to the Assassin Lord, flanked by the two female counterassassins, “Our friends will be able to hold off reinforcements. And you're hopelessly outnumbered. Do you surrender?” Simba demanded, though he already knew the answer.

The rebuttal came in the form of a single digit pointed skywards. Saliti's eyes gleamed as he saw the last bit of the counterassassins's reason leave them... this battle was already won.

“Go,” Simba grumbled to Kiara.

Neither the Lion King, Kiara, nor T had lost their wits as completely as it appeared. They all knew that they were walking into an ambush or a trap, or something... but if they could let Saliti think he had the upper hand for as long as possible...

Luckily, the bodyguards engaged Simba and T first, diving out of cover, claws slashing. The two assaulted counterassassins managed to block... but this would not be an easy fight, even if they were just trying to hold Saliti back.

“Go!” Simba roared, taking a blow to his shoulder.

Kiara didn't hesitate before scampering off, knowing that the quicker she got back-up, the more likely her father would be to survive. T's bodyguard growled, making as if to pursue the lioness.

“Leave her,” Saliti said coldly, audible over the clash of claws and teeth, “by the time she returns... they'll both be dead...” the Assassin Lord chuckled, seeing half of T's face become hidden behind a curtain of blood.

Freak was sweating heavily by now. More than one long, superficial claw wound adorned his frame. He was far from exhaustion, but if things kept going like this, the inability to move would kill him as surely as blood loss or trauma.

“There can't be many of them left. None of us have fallen yet,” indeed, even Sarabi had returned to the fight, bouncing from area to area, reinforcing any part of the front that threatened to collapse.

However, as the counterassassins closed in on the mountain that conceivably held more fighters, or secrets, or something, the danger of that decreased. And the flow of hyenas was stopping...

“There's something strange here. There are no cubs... and Saliti would never keep all of the cubs in the mountain. And besides the Phantoms, the Shadows have no tricks. No... they're saving their trump card for the end. We've got to keep on our guard,” suddenly, the li-tigon's eyes widened as he registered a presence, not five feet from him, and closing fast...

He managed to duck his head, just quick enough to avoid serious injury. Freak rolled forward, landing to face his assailants... and then he realized that there were a lot more than one of them...

He counted over thirty hyenas, plus a Phantom. And they weren't fighting stupidly, either. The assassins took advantage of their numerical superiority and circled him, wrestling him, forcing him to block, dodge, evade, taking away any opportunity to strike back with their sheer force of numbers. The li-tigon managed to avoid injury... but that Phantom was still there, looking for an opportunity to strike...

Suddenly, the ferocity of the hyenas increased tenfolds, and now wounds started to come. Freak was now fighting desperately, getting hits on his enemies. But they were never killing or even disabling blows. All of his attention was focused on the assassins—

The Phantom chose then to strike. The Bloody Shadows had no healers... but that didn't mean they didn't understand that certain combinations of herbs could drastically change the physiology of a hyena...

That meant that this giant hyena's paw had enough muscle behind it to propel it at speeds that could shatter the femur of an elephant. If Freak took that kind of a hit to the torso, back, or head, he would be down for the count, no two ways about it.

The li-tigon heard an impossibly loud crack, and froze. Incredibly, the hyenas too stopped their attack.

“No...” Freak turned, dreading what he might find behind him.

There was Vitani. But she was different... her left back leg hung uselessly. But the lioness stood, powerfully, unyieldingly, on three legs. She bared her teeth and hissed, all the pain in her eyes invisible next to the rage that the assassins and Phantoms found there.

“Don't... ever... touch... Freak...” she growled, then jumped into the fray, fighting so hard that Freak could only stare in wonder for a second, before the two fought back to back.

“Vitani... why...?” Freak asked, striking downwards on a hyena's skull so hard that it caved in.

“Because... Freak... I l—”

“Freak!” called Kiara, panting, arriving on the scene, “we found him. And his guards... they're stronger than we are,” she said, headbutting the Phantom so that it was out of the picture, if just for a few seconds.

The li-tigon growled.

“How many are there?”

“Two.”

“...Can Simba and T take them alone?”

“No. And even if you go... I don't know.”

Freak suddenly roared, then jumped into the air, twisting and flipping, to land outside of the battle.

“Vitani... hold them off...” he said, sadness audible in his voice, “and don't let the front collapse. If it does, we're done for. Kiara, lead me there... it's the only way...” Freak visibly flinched as a lioness grunt of pain was audible behind him.

The young matriarch's eyes widened, but then she nodded, wiping a tear away with a paw, before darting away.

“It is the only way. But Vitani...”

“GO!” Freak yelled, causing Kiara to move faster than she ever had before, egged on by... was that agony in the li-tigon's voice?

“Vitani... don't...” but Freak couldn't allow himself to think that.

Vitani's fight was hopeless. And Simba and T's fight wasn't going much better, either.

Both the Lion King and the ex-Shadow Lander were severely battered, bruised, and slashed. They weren't mortally wounded, yet, but things were not going well.

“Come soon, cousin...” the tan lion said, crouching to the ground to avoid being headbutted, then jumping up to headbutt his enemy directly in the solar plexus, gaining himself a second of respite; enough time for him to flank and slash at T's opponent.

But the bodyguard barely glanced at him... and then Simba felt his own ribs burn from a strike.

“Fight fairly,” the hyena said emotionlessly, flicking the tan fur off of his claws.

Simba growled, then launched himself back into the fray.

Then, two things happened at once.

Kiara appeared at T's side. The hyena was exchanging quick but deadly claw attacks with Saliti's bodyguard, but the latter couldn't possibly keep up with four paws at once. At first, he only backed up, but then, he realized that Saliti was not twenty feet away... and holding his ground. So he too held his ground, and then wounds started to come...

Freak leaped on top of the other bodyguard, who writhed, struggling to free himself. But the li-tigon had pinned him sufficiently that Simba found it quite easy to pound the hyena with blow after blow, unconsciousness hardly preceding death with the intensity of the attacks...

The bodyguards fell, and now, only Saliti was left.

The Assassin Lord's confident smirk faltered, but he knew that he could still win this. He was horrible at squad-based combat, yes, but fighting alone was one area that Kivuli had cross-trained him in. That's why he'd been able to infiltrate his father's chambers and kill all of Damu's bodyguards alone, before destroying his father easily in single combat.

This fight was far from over.

With an animalistic yell, the Assassin Lord jumped into the air, and for a split second all four of his limbs struck out, causing the counterassassins, Freak included, to leap back.

Saliti gave a dark chuckle.

“Maybe it's you who should run. The longer you fight me, the more your friends die,” he said coldly, causing Freak's eyes to narrow, as he thought of the lioness that was sacrificing herself so that this fight could end.

“Neither Vitani nor anyone else will die,” Freak said just as coldly; foolishly giving away the lioness's name.

“Freak... you always made crazy statements. And in the end, they always turned out to be right. But this time... I don't know. I just don't know. I don't want to lose a sister,” Kiara thought; yes, she had a friend in T... but Vitani was her one and only sister..

The female hyena caught that telltale glance from Kiara, and gave a pleading look to the Lion King.

“Freak... at least one of us has to return, to keep the front from falling...”

“No. If any us leave, Saliti will win.”

“He might anyway.”

Freak shook his head, and glared at the Assassin Lord.

“But if we kill you quickly...” the li-tigon roared, and launched himself at the hyena.

The counterassassins fought alongside him, and it took their four combined efforts to keep each another from coming to harm. Saliti was an incredible fighter. He would seem to merely dodge an attack, and then, another counterassassin would find a claw, paw, or jaw racing for them. The only they would defeat him was by exhausting him.

“But that's not going to happen soon,” thought Freak, striking low while Simba jumped over him, striking high and then rolling to all fours to kick out at Saliti, “and the longer we take...”

He growled, shaking his head, and narrowly avoided a fatal bite to the neck.

(sorry, language again)

“All aboard!” called Rafiki, laughing crazily at his handiwork.

It had taken weeks. Kovu, then Usiku had had to haul backbreaking load after load of wood to the northeastern edge of the Pride Lands, where the river had halted travel between the Bloody Shadows, the Forbidden Island, and the Pride Lands.

The shaman had had to work his hands to the bone each day to tie the wood properly, then stitch a large leaf that Kovu had had to travel all the way to the Jungle to obtain to a mast, fashioning a sail.

But now... for the first time in history, the Pride Lands had a functional raft.

True, it's method of steering was crude, and it was only wind powered. Even then, it would take days to get to the Shadows. But Rafiki had utmost confidence that when they did arrive... they'd be able to fight off anything the Bloody Shadows could throw at them.

Kovu was not lithe and stealthy, as the counterassassins were. But he'd packed pound after pound of superdense bone and muscle onto his frame. It took a lot of work: Rafiki had told him to retrieve certain plants from the Jungle, and concocted a horrible-tasting goo that the darkish lion had had to eat nothing but for a whole day.

But after that, he had to overeat. At least two gazelles each day, alone.

But the end result was worth the effort, there was no arguing that.

Rafiki had been saying, for the past week, that when Kiara met her mate again, she'd be very satisfied.

Kovu, who'd been thoroughly, finally cured of his darkness, only chuckled good naturedly, and replied, “I learn from the best.”

He hadn't only had to carry logs from the Outlands every day, or throw himself off of Pride Rock, or carry Banzai around for weeks, getting him used to moving again, or train Uvuli... he'd had to meditate for an hour each day. And it had done wonders for him.

This isn't to say the rest of the stragglers were weaklings.

Before, Usiku had the strength of any normal lion. But now, he had the strength, agility, and unmatchable speed of Saliti himself. The black hyena trained by punching, clawing, and biting at the armored feet of elephants. He would deliberately seek out venomous snakes, enrage them, and train himself to avoid their strikes down to the point where it became second nature.

Uvuli, meanwhile, was going through a growth spurt, and was nearing her full size. And she couldn't be called a baby now, by anyone.

Once, Usiku had tested his daughter. He told her to scout at the northwestern edge of the Pride Lands. Then, he'd gone to the southern part of the Pride Lands, and killed himself a zebra, a treat rarer and rarer in the practically global famine that was at long last touching the Pride Lands.

A little over an hour later, when he turned away from it for a split second, he'd looked back to find his daughter eating away at it. Uvuli's sense of smell, eyesight, and hearing were unnaturally good... supernaturally good.

And Banzai... was walking on his own.

He was no longer the joker; no longer the upbeat, fun-loving hyena that kept everyone in good spirits. He'd been humbled by his illness, and as Rafiki had predicted, he had not and would not totally recover from it.

He would be dead weight in the invasion. And he knew it.

And so Uvuli had caught him on the top of Pride Rock more than once, when everyone else was away, looking down, as if contemplating jumping off onto that spiky protrusion thirty feet below.

Banzai had always smiled it off, but hidden behind that smile was unspeakably deep sadness. He knew that he was forever damned to being the weak link...

“Th' only thing I can do nowadays... is flick fuckin' rocks...” he batted a rock with his paw, aiming for a next in a tree... over a mile away.

The distant, surprised chirp told him that he'd done his job, and it even brought a now-rare smile to those broken features.

“Banzai!” said Rafiki's sharp voice.

“Great... I'm gonna get it now...” the hyena grumbled, vaguely acknowledging to himself that destroying the nest was a rather nasty thing to do.

“What...” he said, not meeting the shaman's eyes as he turned his head towards him.

“Do dat again.”

“Huh?” Banzai said, confused, looking at Rafiki.

“You heahd me. Again,” Rafiki pushed another rock forward.

The hyena looked at Rafiki for a moment, strangely. But he shrugged, and turned, aiming for only a second before batting the rock through the air again—

And again, the birds were startled by a second missile hitting within an inch of the previous one. Not a bad grouping for a range in excess of a mile.

“I tink dat we could find a use for your skills...” Rafiki laughed, but it wasn't his crazy chuckle... it was something darker, more ominous.

Banzai found himself wondering why the shaman had been breeding the bacteria that had nearly killed him, storing it in endless gourd after gourd, even feeding it.

And then he realized...

“No waay...” Banzai said, “we gonna use germs ta fight?” he tilted his head; the idea was horribly disgusting... though its potential effectiveness was mind-boggling.

Rafiki nodded. His time in the Bloody Shadows and the Falme Kindakindaki had taught him that anything could be used as a weapon. From a simple stick, to a gourd filled with germs, to a primitive long-range biological weapons delivery system... arms win wars.

“As I said... all aboard,” Rafiki grinned, hobbling off to the boat.

Banzai blinked, then followed, that familiar cockiness returning somewhat. Uvuli appeared out of nowhere; she'd been told to give the Pride Lands one final check, but more likely, she'd just dozed off in a tree... if anything happened that needed knowing about, she'd know.

The black hyena, with whom Banzai had found a friend in over the past months nudged his side with her nose.

“I'm glad to see you're back,” she said, which was rare enough in itself.

But even rarer was the sincere smile that adorned her face, before she loped off onto the raft.

Banzai found himself rooted to the ground. He looked to the northeast: there were Kovu, Usiku, Rafiki, and Uvuli, waiting for him. And then, beyond that, in the Bloody Shadows, were all the others... his countrymen.

The old Banzai would have just laughed, said something clever, and moved on. But the new Banzai wiped a tear from his eye, and followed his friends onto the perilous, days-long journey across the river to the Bloody Shadows.

“Every journey begins wit one step,” he thought, pushing off with the rest of the stragglers, as he looked on, for the first time in the past months, to the future...

“Alright... we are going to go in quietly. Kovu, you're wit Banzai to carry de gourds and to keep de boat safe... it is our escape, if tings go badly, and if it is destroyed, we will be cut off and over run. Uvuli, find de largest concentration of assassins dat you can. De east Bloody Shadows, according to your faddah, is where Saliti keeps general prisoners. Make sure dat you describe de area properly—we cannot strike at innocent hyenas,” Uskiu nodded savagely at Rafiki's words... hanging around with what his father might call “good two-shoes” had instilled a deep sense of morality in him.

“Usiku and I will go to de north...” Rafiki refused to elaborate, and the rest of the Pride Landers knew not to ask questions.

They hit land, quietly, as Rafiki had hoped. Uvuli only needed to take a step onto the ground before she spoke.

“It's okay. The nearest assassins are two miles off, and sleeping. They're not doing very well...”

“Prisoners,” commented Usiku.

“All right... Kovu, Banzai, remembah, hold de boat at all costs. Now... let's go,” the shaman said, moving to the north at a speed incredible for one so old, as Uvuli headed off to the east.

Half an hour later, Usiku still had no idea what Rafiki was looking for. But he was still surprised at the mandrill's next words.

“Usiku... dis is weah we split up. I will not tell you where I am going. Just dat you cannot follow. You must swear upon dis,” the shaman looked intently at the black hyena, the assassin that had changed so much about himself for his daughter...

“But Rafiki... at least tell me what you intend to do,” the black hyena said, almost demanding.

The mandrill quirked an eyebrow, but decided to placate the hyena that hailed from the same land that he hailed from.

“Evil in dis world is growing. I am going to check if it is all part of de Circle of Life, all part of de Great Spirits's plan fah dis world. If it is not... I may not return. You must realize dis, and promise to leave de Bloody Shadows de moment dis is ovah. De Lion King will explain de rest to you, if de worst should come to pass.”

“...What explanation should I give to the others?”

“Tell dem what I told you. Now go and check de barren lands to de north of your home. Disable any traps dat de assassins may have placed dere, as is dere custom...” again, Usiku found himself wondering how Rafiki could possibly know such things.

“And remember,” said the mandrill, clapping the black hyena's shoulder, “whatevah happens... nevah, EVAH try to go to de Forbidden Island,” Rafiki visibly shuddered.

“Farewell...” Usiku said softly to the monkey that had cared so selflessly for him and his brethren, the most generous, righteous being in the land...

Or so they say.

('sright... Rafiki has some skeletons in his closet)

The mandrill walked on, alone, hugging the edge of the Bloody Shadows for many hours. He finally passed out of the land of the assassins, and was miles into the barren northern plains until he felt something.

“It cannot be...” Rafiki looked to the east.

There was the Forbidden Island, as mysterious as it always was. Simba had been too young to know of the secrets that Mufasa and Rafiki had conferred about before Scar had his little coup. Rafiki prayed that Mufasa had shared this secret, but vital information with his mate, and that, in turn, Sarabi had shared this information with her son, the new Lion King.

“I really may not return...”

The truth was that there was a very, very good reason why the Great Spirits had no jurisdiction over the dark goings-on of the Forbidden Island. And the truth was that the dark entities that were supposed to be confined to that horrible place... were not.

“No...”

To any outward appearance, the watery gap between the Island and the mainland was as impassible as ever. But on another, more spiritual level, there was a bridge.

“Dey have a connection here...” Rafiki looked at the “stick” he always carried with something very much like hate in his eyes.

“I got dis from dem in order to exact revenge on de murderer of my parents. Dat one, evil act in my life may spell doom for dem all...”

He knew that it was far, far too late to cast his stick back into the Forbidden Island, where it belonged. And he also knew that the intense pain that roared through his body was of his own doing. The last sight he saw was the terrifying grin of a sabretooth tiger... and then there he was, Rafiki, the mandrill shaman, holding his staff as naturally as he always did.

But he was a statue.

Literally.

“Whoever this one that may bring doom to my Master is... he cannot possibly undo such dark magic,” the sabretooth thought, grinning, putting some finishing touches on his magnum opus.

Usiku called for Rafiki for two hours. But the mandrill did not call back. And the ex-assassin could swear that just for a second, he heard laughter so faint that the wind might have been whispering to him.

“Dad, what's wrong? Where is he?” said a voice from behind the black hyena that he immediately recognized as his daughter's.

“Gone. Let's go,” the ex-assassin said flatly, and Uvuli knew better than to argue with her father when he was being so cold.

“Where did he go?” the cub asked, her head by now brushing Usiku's shoulder.

“I don't know.”

“Well... are we going to go and find him later?”

“No.”

“Why?”

“Stop asking questions. He's gone.”

“...Yes, Father...” Uvuli said, her voice hardly audible over the soft pads of the two hyenas's paws racing across the ground, as she altered her path, creating a palatable gap between herself and her father.

“Uvuli... Rafiki didn't want us to follow. He didn't tell me. And so we will respect his wish... no matter how much it pains us to do so,” Usiku rasped, and his daughter's eyes widened... the only other time when her father had sounded like this was when they had escaped from the Bloody Shadows, so long ago...

;

“All right...” said Usiku, crouching low to the ground, as the four Pride Landers met under the cover of darkness, back at the boat.

He'd explained how Rafiki had gone... somewhere. And all of them knew that if the shaman told them to not follow in such terms, that it would probably be best if they didn't follow. There was sadness, yes. But that sadness only increased their determination to help their comrades win.

“We're going to wait here. And the minute the attack comes, we'll join in. We can't risk trying to rally the prisoners against Saliti... many of them are so thoroughly broken that they'd turn us in without thought. And we'll have to hunt away from here, so that we're not found out. It will be hard... especially with our resident gentle giant requiring two gazelles each day,” Usiku grinned in a weak attempt at humor, an attempt that everyone sorely needed.

Kovu smiled, sadly, then spoke.

“Usiku... we're not going to leave this land without, at least, trying to find Rafiki. I mean... he's been the shaman, healer, and spiritual guide of the Pride Lands for so long now. And he has no heir. He's irreplaceable.”

The black hyena glared at the large, powerful lion, who didn't blink, back down, or take offense. Then, the ex-assassin sighed.

“Think. He said that he was going to check if evil in this world is growing, against the will of the Great Spirits. And he said that if he didn't return... that evil is indeed growing,” everyone present gave an involuntary shudder.

“I don't know where he's gone, or if we can even follow him. All I know is that the best we can do is follow his...” Usiku bit back the word “last”, “wishes... and pray that whatever sacrifice he's made will keep us safe.”

Kovu nodded, slowly. Rafiki had explained to him time and again the importance of willful, selfless sacrifice. The shaman had said sometimes the greatest beings were not those that were brave when in the limelight... but those that worked behind the scenes, to keep everyone safe. And maybe the mandrill had joined those unpraised few...

But the darkish lion wasn't satisfied. He would indeed ask his father-in-law about what was going on, that much was certain. But maybe he too would work behind the scenes, so to speak. Maybe.

Suddenly, Uvuli spoke, tensely, but quietly, still.

“There's something going on... from the far western part of the Bloody Shadows to the northern part. There's a lot of jungle.. I can't tell exactly... but I think that a whole bunch of hyenas are dropping dead...” the cub was monitoring the temperature of the land so carefully that the relatively minute loss of body heat due to death tripped her alarms, so to speak.

“Are you sure?” asked Kovu, eyes narrowing; he knew that any mistake would doubtlessly kill them, or force them into a retreat.

“Yeah... 'cause if we attack and they ain't here, Ionno how long I c'n hold 'em off,” Banzai said doubtfully.

“Daughter... you must be certain about this. Many lives rest on your judgment. Ours, our friends, and any being that might continue to suffer under Saliti's harsh rule... you must be certain,” Usiku said softly.

Uvuli kept her eyes perfectly closed for a moment, concentrating hard, harder than she ever had before. And she recognized a scent so distant, so weak that it was almost a dream. Yet the identity of its source forced her eyes wide open...

“No one else in this world smells like that. Freak,” she explained to the startled looks she received, “he's here. And...” she concentrated again, “so are everyone else. They're... different... somehow... I can't tell from this far away. But it's them. It's definitely them,” she said, guarding how happy she really felt to see the li-tigon that she'd opened up to, before he left without even saying goodbye to her.

“...Alright...” said Usiku, soft, fatherly expression gone as the steely eye of a trained killer replaced the gentle, compassionate being that had been the black hyena for the past months.

“Remember... our goal is to draw as many troops away from our friends as we can. And to do that, we'll need to make the Shadows think that there are more of us than four. Kovu, you're the figurehead—you have to protect Banzai at all costs, because he'll be the one that will be responsible for killing most of our enemies,” the ex-Outlander nodded coldly, “but the more horrifying reports of a giant, dark lion are taken to Shadow leadership, the more confused and scared they'll be. Uvuli and I will make sure that we are not flanked, and will be responsible for showing targets to Banzai. You already know how,” the black hyena's eyes met Banzai's, and he nodded again, “remember, pin-point accuracy is key. I will not have Saliti's 'criminals' die at our paws. ...That is all.”

Kivuli's son looked around at the Pride Landers. It was not a look of love. It was a look that said: get fucking serious.

“I'm not one to give speeches or motivational talks. You all know the stakes here, the unpayable cost of failure. You all know that retreat will mean that the Shadows will over-run the others, no matter how well trained they are. And so you know that we must either succeed in our mission, fighting until the cause is lost... or die trying.”

“And now... we'll need to attract some attention,” Usiku said, then raised his muzzle to the sky, and made the terrifying call of a hyena.

In seconds, Banzai, then Uvuli joined in. And then, the loud, rumbling roar of Kovu diminished all of their best efforts, echoing across the land, causing some of the easternmost counterassassins to pause in their fights, look to the Forbidden Island, and then brush the event off as one of the mysterious horrors that were commonplace there.

“Let's go,” said the black hyena, giving one last glance at Kovu and Banzai before his daughter followed him, entering the jungle that surrounded the mountain...

“I never told you what I used to be called,” he said, flitting in between the thick, close trees of the land he once called home, the land whose leader had claimed his mate, the mother of his daughter.

“What?” Uvuli asked; she wasn't being disrespectful, just quiet.

The black hyena chuckled once, darting past sleeping prisoners, his heart twinging as he saw a female his age... the size of his daughter.

“The Jungle Demon,” he grinned, then jumped onto a guard, snapping his neck, then tearing his head off.

“Get ready... here they come...” said Kovu, ears erect as Banzai aimed, preparing to launch a merciless barrage of germ-filled gourds.

“Hold. It's Usiku and Uvuli,” the dark lion calmed, as the black hyenas drew closer.

The closer father and daughter got, the more evident the harsh grins on their faces became.

“They think that there are a dozen of us... and that we're Phantoms,” Usiku reported, “and they're sending hundreds. I hope you brought enough gourds,” he shot a grin at Banzai.

“Eh heh...” the ex-Outlander chuckled, then fiddled with the raft's mast in just the right manner...

Another compartment of gourds became visible, adding at least fifty to the horrifying arsenal already at the Pride Landers's disposal.

“Rafiki ain't th' only one that's handy with his paws,” the hyena chuckled, before Uvuli's eyes narrowed.

“They're gathering... I think about five dozen of them. They're coming in a large pack... if you strike in different areas of the pack, you should be able to infect most of them within five gourds. And then, we'll take care of the rest...” Usiku then squashed a very, very special fruit that Rafiki had ordered Kovu to obtain from the jungle.

The black hyena then coated his paws, and then his muzzle with it. It tasted horrible, and burned... but it would mean that they wouldn't easily get infected, unless they ingested the germs. And Usiku was not like his father: he had no taste for the flesh of other hyenas. He tossed the remainder of the fruit to Uvuli, who sterilized herself with it as well.

In the distance, loud, numerous calls were heard: the Bloody Shadows would not tolerate taking attacks on two fronts. And though the assault from the north and the west was devastating... they would not let the threats to the east go unanswered.

“Now they're really coming,” Uvuli said softly, digging her claws into the ground.

“It's okay,” said Kovu, seeing his friends tense up, “we are strong. We have to be. Remember who we're fighting for...”

They all thought of different beings. Kovu thought of his family, and Kiara, the lioness that had turned his life around. Banzai thought of Ed, Shenzi, and T, his adoptive siblings. Usiku thought of the royal family in general, the generous cats that had given him, an ex-assassin, a home, and things worth fighting for.

Uvuli thought of someone else entirely. Her father looked at her for a moment, and had a guess.

“If that's so... things will be... interesting.”

But the black cub's face showed no clues as to the one she held in her heart. She was, after all, the daughter of Usiku, son of Kivuli.

“Come, Father,” she said, snapping everyone out of their trances, and trotting several feet away; looking at the Shadows and their approaching assassins, ears erect, “the Jungle Demons have returned.”

The fight on the western front was going well. Very well. It was drawing enough forces away from the other counterassassins to make a palpable difference.

Still, Saliti's guards were tough.

T's face was bleeding heavily, but her wounds hadn't gone unreciprocated. The hyena she was fighting had a large chunk of meat torn from its underbelly, and it would be interesting to see who would bleed out, first—both injuries were sapping enough blood from the combatants that they knew that if the fight didn't end soon, both would die.

The Lion King was fighting hard, as well. He hadn't taken many serious wounds, but neither had his opponent. Worse, Saliti hadn't even been engaged yet...

But things suddenly turned to Simba and T's advantage when Kiara and Freak appeared on the scene, roaring, and attacking as if out of nowhere. Now, Saliti's bodyguards knew they were going to die, and only focused on injuring the counterassassins as much as they possibly could, not even trying to put up any sort of defense.

And so before the two bodyguards fell, all four of the counterassassins on the scene had more than a little fur missing. T was the worst off, and could barely stay on her feet at this point.

Regardless, she was at her comrades's side when they started to close in around Saliti. But Freak held out a paw in front of her, never allowing his eyes to leave his enemy.

“Back off,” he growled, then glanced at the other two as well.

“You too. He's mine. Alone,” the li-tigon advanced slowly on the Assassin Lord's unrelenting form, “get back to the front. There are still enough assassins to flank and kill us. And... do what you can for Vitani,” he ended hopelessly, then suddenly pounced on Saliti, “GO!”

The horrible, almost levitating ball of fur, teeth, claws, and blood was a spectacle that the three other counterassassins could hardly tear their eyes away from. They couldn't even judge who was winning; such was the speed and ferocity of the battle going on all around them.

Saliti was a stronger and more experienced fighter. But Freak was faster, and smarter.

“Still,” the li-tigon thought, strangely calm for a moment, as he dodged a headbutt powerful enough to crack his skull like a coconut, “this won't be easy.”

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING? VITANI WILL DIE IF YOU DON'T GET BACK TO HER!” Freak suddenly yelled as he noticed that the three hadn't moved... for all of two seconds.

Finally, father, daughter, and ex-Shadow Lander scampered off. They knew the importance of not being flanked... and Kiara knew the sheer hopelessness of Vitani's position. But there wasn't time or spare breath to waste words—they were flying across the landscape, intent to get back to the battle... and maybe, just maybe, save the one who loved their leader.

“You're good,” Saliti complimented, panting slightly, as the two combatants drew apart, starting to circle another.

“You're disgusting. By refusing to surrender, you're sacrificing hundreds and hundreds of your people... for a fight that you will not win,” the li-tigon replied, mind racing.

“Is that what you think? Are you as stupid as you are unnatural, you freak?” the hyena asked coolly, “I'm going to kill you. And then... huh... you're going to die, so I might as well tell you.”

“I am going to escape to the north. Far, far away from her, there lies a land... much like ours. It's separated from us by impassable miles of plains. You think that the Desert, or the Western Plains, or the Dark Forest, or the Lower Plains are impassable?” the hyena chuckled, “well... they will be nothing compared to the challenges you're going to put me through, asshole.”

“Just so that you may comprehend the magnitude of our power... you know of the island to the east of where we are... the Forbidden Island. And perhaps, you've heard whispers of the horrors that lay to the East of the Falme Kindakindakai. Well... we are not one and the same. But we're related...”

The Assassin Lord then started to laugh. It was a dark, and terrifying sound, that quickly escalated into a maniac... demonic cry of mirth.

Freak was an interesting being. Neither a lion nor a tiger, nor even a tigon. Orphaned on his first day alive, forced to live alone. Scarcely holding the hope for friendship or love for a few short weeks in his life.

But he knew evil when he saw it. And this... freak... in front of him... the bastard that didn't give a damn about the loss of hundreds and hundreds of his subordinates... Saliti was evil. That Freak knew.

And Freak also knew that anything he did in order to kill Saliti was justified...

“Kivuli never loved you,” the li-tigon said simply, shutting the Assassin Lord up in a heartbeat.

The hyena gave Freak a look that quite clearly said how painful he intended to make his death.

“He never did love you. Usiku told me—oh, and Usiku is Kivuli's son. His real son. You see,” the li-tigon ignored the angry, outraged growls that he was receiving, “the kind of love that you wanted to have, the kind of love you yearned to have... that's something that one can only have from one's biological father.”

“Do I believe that? Or is it just part of the fight?”

“In other words,” Freak said loudly, in order to be heard over Saliti's angry, animalistic threats, “it's something that you denied from yourself when you killed your father. And it's something that you will never, ever have in your live.”

Saliti suddenly howled in complete agony, and dashed towards his enemy; rage like he'd never known before clouding his vision.

“It makes sense, you know,” some part of the Assassin Lord said, “It's why you've been so cruel... such a horrible leader for all these years. You really are evil...”

Freak had fought beings under extreme emotional stress. He knew what to do—go on the defensive, avoid their blows, dodge, block, run, fuel their rage. Let the horrible drug of hate run its course, and then, strike down your exhausted enemy down without remorse.

Things were different now, of course—Saliti was quite possibly the deadliest single fighter in the land... for the moment, anyway.

(you'll see where I'm going with this soon enough, I expect)

It was a full hour of harrowing combat until the Assassin Lord finally began to tire. Freak had had a few close calls—once or twice, he'd nearly been knocked off his feet, and if that happened, it would have been all over. He'd taken more than one painful, deep claw wound to his sides, and was gasping for breath by the time Saliti really started to tire out.

“My turn.”

Freak saw his chance when the hyena got his legs crossed in an attempt to get to the li-tigon's side. He merely ducked the Assassin Lord's jaws, and then sprang forward, slamming his skull into Saliti's solar plexus at just the right time—

The student of Kivuli, the son of Damu, the Tyrant of the Shadows went down. Hard. His wind knocked out of him, his muscles aching from the demands placed on them, his list of tricks exhausted... he had been defeated.

It was not a defeat he would survive.

“You... I don't know who you are...” he coughed, “but the way you spoke... you don't have a father, either... and you've never experienced a father's love... have you?” Saliti managed to rasp, beyond resisting the li-tigon's claws's inexorable advance towards his throat.

“No. I haven't.”

“So... the way you've had to live... the pain you must feel every day... is just as bad as mine...” the Assassin Lord closed his eyes, as he felt the steely, razor-sharp blades rest on his jugular.

“I don't care.”

“Everyone is a threat... until they're dead,” the li-tigon thought emotionlessly.

He looked down at the life he held in his claws... and felt nothing. Not guilt for what he was about to do, not some comforting sense of righteousness... not even anger. All he felt was the slight tear of fur as his claws tore through that final barrier that separated Saliti from death...

“Advance,” Kovu growled, after Banzai notified him that he had only a dozen gourds left, “we're going to meet up with our friends now.”

The dark lion flexed his muscles, giving himself a shake, and then spoke again.

“I'll clear a path. Uvuli, give Banzai cover. Usiku, protect our flanks. And Banzai... heh... can you shoot while moving, brother?” the ex-Outlander asked, knowing the impossibility of what he requested.

“Dunno. But it'll be int'resting ta try,” the hyena chuckled, sprinting forward and launching a gourd towards a group of assassins that were trying to sneak up on them.

The projectile burst, covering the assassins in horrible, green gunk... and then the screaming started, lasting only seconds, until they dropped; either dead, or as good as dead.

“Guess so,” he said, awed; he'd never seen the effects of his weapon up close and personal.

“...It ain't as bad as what I went through. At least it's quick,” he justified to himself, before rallying around the gigantic lion that Kovu had become.

The dark lion plucked apart assassins like they were made of straw—sometimes literally. It was true that the assassins were coming less and less frequently now, and in less and less numbers. But there were still enough of them on the battlefield to kill everyone, if given the chance.

Kovu, obviously, would not be giving them that chance.

“Too slow,” he said, batting apart a squad of hyenas, probably siblings, “we've got to get to the quickly, otherwise we're going to be surrounded.”

But all at once, the attacks let up. There were two possibilities that went through the four's minds, each as crazy as the other—either the Bloody Shadows had given up... or there were none left.

“Keep your guard up. It could be a trick,” Usiku said, not believing it for a second—g

“Movement ahead... about a mile off. Not hyenas... lions!” said Uvuli, gasping, then sniffing harder, for something... or someone.

“Is it them?” Kovu and Banzai asked, almost in unison.

“...Yes. ...There's... a lot of... their blood...”

The Shadows had bled. But blood-letting is never, ever one-sided.

Vitani had fought bravely. Despite the grievous injury she'd sustained, she'd managed to defeat every single one of the three dozen that had assaulted Freak, plus the Phantom. Alone. Only when Simba, Kiara, and T arrived did she allow herself to fall...

Numerous wounds—deep, gouging bites; horrendous, jagged claws marks—all danced out over her frame. Blood loss had rendered her immobile... and though Simba had done what he could, the unfamiliar herbs in the Bloody Shadows as well as the lack of Rafiki; the only one who might have been able to do something had rendered his paws clumsy and useless.

And now, his daughter-in-law was dying in front of him.

“There has to be something more that we can do!” said Kiara, pacing back and forth in front of Vitani; her determination to be strong, at least, for her sister-in-law, defeating the almost overwhelming desire to break down into tears over the dark lioness's body.

“There isn't...” said T sadly, tears dripping out of her eyes, as she nuzzled the friend she hadn't known for long enough.

“Kiara... T...” the lioness managed to rasp, as her vision blurred.

The two females were instantly at her side, Kiara wasn't even trying to pretend to be in control anymore. The rest of the counterassassin closed in as well, forgetting to set a perimeter... all that mattered to them was to be near one of their own... to comfort her as she passed on to become one with the Great Spirits, to fulfill her last wishes.

“I want to see...” Vitani suddenly stopped, coughing up blood, vision blurring horribly as she nearly died then and there.

“Who? Kovu?” Kiara asked immediately, suddenly tearing up, realizing that... Vitani was going to die.

“No...” the dark lioness rasped, opening her eyes for the last time, “...Freak..”

“Vitani,” T gasped, “Freak's... oh, no, we've forgotten him! We finished our battle, but he could still be fighting Saliti! Come on, we've gotta—”

“Were you going to say leave?” said an emotionless voice from the northeast.

All eyes were suddenly turned to the li-tigon for the umpteenth time in his life. But he wasn't being looked at with hate, disgust, fear, or aversion... it was more like awed relief.

“Freak... Vitani's—”

“I know,” he said, looking down at the dying lioness with... was that sadness in his eyes?

“...Give us a few minutes,” the counterassassin leader said, causing his troops to break away in all directions, allowing Freak and Vitani to be alone in that bloody, combat-wrought patch of land.

“Freak... I'm so glad... you came. So I could see you again,” the ex-Outlander said, managing to drag herself over to the li-tigon, and nuzzle at his paws.

Sitting, completely unmoved, Freak was nonetheless feeling something.

“She... I'm precious to her. She's been spending this entire mission close to me. She always looked for me when I was alone, always saved the best parts of our kills for me... always nuzzled me, slept with me...”

“No... I can't be loved. She can't love me,” Freak thought, almost horrified at the idea.

“Vitani... I'm glad to see you, as well...” he said, not quite knowing what to say.

But he lifted the lioness up, so that he could hold her to his chest, warming her slowly cooling body.

And that felt right.

“Freak...” she said, leaking tears into the thicker fur at his neck, “I'm so sorry that I couldn't live longer. We could have meant so much to each another. Freak...”

“No... please don't...”

“I love you.”

“NO!”

The li-tigon's eyes shut heavily, and he clenched his teeth.

“You can't... I'm... I'm not the loving type. I don't know how.”

“...I know,” the lioness said, groggily; knowing she had only seconds left.

“But... I love you anyway.”

“What?”

“Freak... you don't need to feel anything back. Just... let me...” using the last strength left in her body, the ex-Outlander, the daughter of Zira, the sister of Kovu, the sister-in-law of Kiara, and the loyal friend of many nuzzled the one-of-a-kind abomination, Freak, one final time.

“Thank you, Vitani. For... everything. For fighting for me. For dying for me.”

But she only laughed, painfully.

“You're worth dying for.”

The lioness looked at the one that she loved one last time. She sank to the ground, and her hearing failed. But as the Great Spirits reached down to take their daughter into the Heavens, she swore she saw the li-tigon's lips move, and read the impossible message on them.

“I love you too.”

The counterassassins, all of them, had senses powerful enough to have detected the goings on in between Vitani and Freak.

But out of respect, they didn't. They only say with each another., silently... their victory was bittersweet. On the one paw, the Bloody Shadows would never, ever threaten anyone again. On the other... Vitani was dead, as were countless other hyenas... forced fighters for a leader that they did not support.

“And Freak said that he would leave us,” Simba reflected, cradling his daughter, holding back tears at the sudden loss of his daughter-in-law, “No... he can't. Vitani died for him. So he owes it to us to stay... he owes us.”

“She's gone,” said the li-tigon simply, approaching the Pride Landers noiselessly, “and now... with our battle won... so am I.”

He made to leave, but found his way barred by Shenzi, Kiara, and T. They weren't snarling at him... but they sure as Hell weren't being friendly, either.

“Everyone really is a threat,” he mused, extending his claws.

“You can't leave, cousin,” said Simba, sounding incredibly old and tired, “Vitani... she loved you. We all know this. And so, you have to stay among us... her pride,” the tan lion said, achieving nods of approval from all sides.

The li-tigon looked around, and saw that negotiation was not going to win him this battle.

“I don't care,” he said simply, causing gasps to race among the Pride Landers like wildfire, “I can't stay,” Freak didn't react, as Kiara, Shezni, and T started to growl at him.

“Don't you see?” he asked, looking at them with lifeless eyes, “I'm not one of you. I'm not part of any group, or family. These past months I've spent among you all... we were all fooling ourselves.”

“I'm a Freak. I can't be around anyone. Especially those that I l—those that I don't want to die. I bring death... everywhere...” the li-tigon looked down, and walked away, directly in between the three females, ignoring their unspoken threats utterly.

“Cousin! Wait!” called Simba, standing strong, as he looked at the li-tigon for what might be the last time.

“Is this really what you believe?”

Freak nodded once, glancing at the Lion King from over his shoulder.

“Then... just know that you always have a home in the Pride Lands. And that we love you. All of us. We do,” the tan lion said a simple, calm voice that couldn't be denied, nor written off as a lie.

Freak flinched, and seemed to shake where he stood. He roared once, loudly, briefly, the tiger hiss that escaped his muzzle concealed the cry of pain that he made.

There was nothing more to say. The li-tigon walked to the south, watched by the Pride Landers until he was out of sight, and as physically out of reach as he was mentally. Everyone felt the same amount of sadness, sorrow, and sympathy for their friend and leader... but they all knew that he was long gone.

“Well... it's nice to see you guys again,” came the foreign-sounding voice of a black hyena from the east, several minutes later...

Freak refused to even let himself think as he padded through the bloody, bloody jungle, alone. The mission was successful—Saliti was, simply put, no longer a threat. And neither were any of the other assassins.

Or so he believed.

Not all of the assassins were as fanatically loyal, or as easily intimidated as others. Some had sneaked by the front, and fled to the north. Some had gone to the east. Others, swimmers, whole families of them, had dived into the seemingly depthless lake that the li-tigon found himself passing as he neared the central mountain, Saliti's chambers themselves.

“Hey... have they lost?” said the voice of an old, starving lion from inside of the mountain.

“...Who are you?”

“So they have...” the voice continued.

The was a loud groan of intense effort, then an earth-shattering crack. A too-skinny, scared lion with fur the shade of Kovu's stepped out of the mountain. Freak couldn't tell why... but he felt even more threatened than he might have if it was just any lion.

But the old lion merely sat, and eyed the li-tigon curiously.

“What are you doing? What do you want? Who are you?” Freak growled.

“I am looking upon the... predator... that defeated the Bloody Shadows. As to what I want... that is simple. I want to see my mate, Msafiri. As for who I am—”

Tanga was cut off, as the li-tigon suddenly pounced on him, holding his claws to the darker cat's neck.

“Do you know... what she did?”

“How could I know?” Tanga asked, still calm, though the claws on his lower legs extended, “I have not seen her for years,” his voice cracked slightly.

“You're her mate... well... my mother killed your cub. Years ago. Before I was born,” Freak snarled, ignoring the way Tanga's face fell.

“I had nothing to do with it... but she employed the Bloody Shadows... to kill me! She nearly doomed every lion in the Pride Lands for revenge... on a being that did NOTHING TO HER!” he roared.

“Everybody hates me. I've grown to deal with that. But to threaten an entire pride... my family... she deserved to die. And that's what happened,” Freak said coldly, walking over the lion as he continued his trip to the south.

“Wait... I'm not going to hurt you. I just want to know...” Tanga said, getting up, biting back tears as he looked at the retreating li-tigon.

“Are the Pride Landers alright? Where are they?”

“To the north... but don't bother them now. They've suffered a loss...”

A tear fell to the ground.

“Kovu!” Kiara squealed, not even looking at her mate; identifying him by scent—no, more accurately, the love she associated with his voice.

The tan lioness ran up to her darker mate, and pounced on him, nuzzling him lovingly—or at least, she tried to. But it was like running into a brick wall... a brick wall that nuzzled back.

“Kiara...” he said tenderly, and the young royal couple embraced for a moment.

And then the dark lion realized that his mate was softly crying. But they weren't all tears of happiness.

“Kiara.. what's wrong? Where's my sister... where's Vitani?” he asked, looking around, smiling at all of his friends, his family members.

“Kovu... Vitani... she's dead, Kovu.”

“What?” the tank-like lion asked, backing away, horrified.

Rafiki had taught him many things. But the loss of family was a blow that could never, ever be softened.

“She's dead,” Kiara sobbed, holding her mate, “I'm so sorry, Kovu.”

“And... and Freak?” he asked, mostly to distract himself from his pain, succeeding, sort of—he was numb... after all, how could the sudden loss of a precious being that he'd known his whole life register so quickly?

“He left. Don't follow,” Kiara said, instinctively looking around for Uvuli, and freezing the black cub with a look of utter sadness, “he's alone.”

Not “he wants to be alone”, or “he needs some space”. He is alone.

And it was true—no matter what the Pride Landers tried, no matter how they showed their love to the li-tigon that had helped them to do the impossible with his quiet, calm determination, his cold, distant professionalism... he had always been the same. Even around Vitani, he was only slightly softer... but now, with her gone, it didn't even matter.

“Simba... is Saliti dead?” Usiku asked, still in his fighting mode; at least, for the moment.

“Yes. Freak killed him...” the Lion King didn't even need to think for a second—Freak would never have returned if he hadn't successfully killed the Assassin Lord.

“Have we lost... anyone else?”

“No. It was a success,” Simba said bitterly, “an incomplete success...” he turned, and looked down the hill to the clearing when Vitani had breathed her last... she was lying on the ground, peacefully, arms folded across her chest, eyes closed in a manner that suggested that someone had set them in that manner.

“Daddy,” said Uvuli calmly, staring to the south; picking up just the faint smells and sounds of the li-tigon, “I'm going to—”

“No,” the black ex-Assassin said, causing his daughter to close her eyes, clenching her teeth, an unseen tear leaking out of her eye, “family comes first. And we have to visit... Azizi...” this time, Usiku really did cry, as his mind wandered to the too-short time he'd spent with his mate...

“Greetings, Pride Landers,” said a voice that Usiku had hoped he'd never hear again.

“No...” the black hyena whispered, looking up to see the only lion of the Bloody Shadows approach.

“I am Tanga...”

Time slowed down. And their eyes met. The lion's held no spark of recognition... but Usiku's lit up with fires of rage...

“YOU BASTARD! IT'S YOUR FAULT AZIZI'S DEAD!” he yelled, and raced towards Tanga—

“Master... even without Rafiki to train him, he is strong,” the sabertooth said, bowing down low, concealed from the world inside the Forbidden Island.

“Indeed...” said the voice.

It sounded, for once, upset. Things had not gone as predicted at all—and at this stage, the Great Spirits prevented him from omnipotence. Saliti was supposed to kill Freak... but the li-tigon had done something no one could have forseen, and used physcological warfare.

And if Banzai ever saw him again, and taught him to use germs as weapons, a strategy that not even he had ever used or heard of, then Freak could be a very serious threat indeed.

“My friend and I come close to the completion in our plans regarding this freak. Within a week, he will be taken away... and he will be unprepared for the battles he'll find there. And not even the Great Spirits can stop us from doing that... and soon, they won't be able to stop us from anything at all...”

“Master... you are wise...”

“Indeed,” the voice chuckled, then paused.

“We, too, have our own great warrior... I know not where he'll come from, or when he'll come. But I've been preparing a different type of magic for this one... and we will make him stronger, even, than the freak...”

The voice trailed off again, but the sabertooth's eyes widened.

“Stronger than Freak... impossible... Master... are you planning for what might happen... if he survives this exile?”

h t t p : / / w w w . p e t I t I o n o n l I n e . c o m / m o d p e r l / p e t I t I o n – s I g n . c g I ? l I o n k I n g

h t t p : / / w w w . p e t I t I o n o n l I n e . c o m / m o d p e r l / p e t I t I o n – s I g n . c g I ? b a l t o 0 0 1

(Sorry, fellas, I had an industrial-sized writer's block. And I'm also sorry to announce that the next chapter I post will not be in this story. It will be a different Lion King story. And it will be about a topic that is cliched, in a thoroughly non-cliched manner. It will run parallel to this story—I'm giving too much away.

Look forward to it. al-Mujahid out.)

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