THE LION KING: THE FREAK

The Lion King: The Freak
Chapter 11: Loner

(Read the first chapter of My Name before reading this.

Also, read the first paragraph from this link, replace “period” with a period, “slash” with a slash, and “colon” with a colon. So, Freak is even considered a freak by those that want to help big cats.

Httpcolonslashslashwwwperiodbigcatrescueperiodorgslashcatsslashwildslashligersperiodhtm

I'm gonna try to switch things up a little again later, but, as promised, much of this chapter will be a regression to what made the Freak so great.)

The li-tigon flinched, and instantly spun, facing the Northeast, as if he was about to dash towards that area, and eliminate whatever was causing that... feeling... so powerful that it engendered a physical reaction out of him.

But he stopped, and turned back to the south, plodding along mindlessly. He knew that everyone was a threat... but some threats could be avoided.

“There's no shame in running away.”

He walked on and on, so that within hours, he had reached the far reaches of the Bloody Shadows. But he didn't stop, even as dusk fell, signaling what he knew to be the most dangerous time in the Lower Plains.

“I am weak.” he thought to himself, harshly, “If I was stronger, I could have saved Vitani. We could have had something together—no. That would never, ever happen. I'm not built for the family life...” for just a second, Freak had considered what might have happened if he'd managed to save Vitani, if they returned, together, to the Pride Lands...

“That could never happen,” Freak thought, pushing the thoughts of him, Vitani, and one or two young ones away, forever, “because I'm a freak... a loner. A weak loner, that can hardly care for himself, much less others—”

Freak suddenly roared, and cut through the long tendril that snaked around his ankle with one powerful swipe of his claws. It was only then that he realized that he'd wandered into an ankle-high field of who knew what kind of plants.

“If I'm foolish enough to allow myself to get into this situation... I deserve to have to deal with it...” he growled, and lowered himself into his signature fighting stance, cutting through the myriad of vines that snaked towards him one at a time.

“It's just as well that I can't even try to negotiate with them. Iright now, 'm not in the best MOOD!”

Rage twisted across the li-tigon's scarred face, and he roared again, this time, a tigerish hiss of agony more audible in his cry. Using all fours sets of his claws, he hacked his way to the densest collection of vines, and tore it apart, ripping at it with his teeth as well until green gore splattered everywhere.

Freak growled, feeling tendrils manage to constrain him by the hind legs, and kicked out, snapping them apart. And then, he knew no more, as pure, black rage took him over, clouding his senses, allowing him to ignore the ache inside of him...

Not caring to lick the fluid that was splattered all over his skinny, lithe form, Freak continued on into the night. Behind him, the plants rotted—dozens, even hundreds of them. He'd slaughtered them all without remorse.

True, they were not animals; they did not scream or call out in pain when he cut them. But still... considering the mood that he was in, the li-tigon would probably have treated a zoological threat similarly.

“I'm a loner.”

He thought back onto all the days, months, and years he'd spent alone. He'd always felt that something was missing back then, but at the same time, he always knew, deep inside of him, that that was his fate.

And then, when he was with his... family... at Pride Rock, he felt completed. But even as he went about life with others, he knew that it could never last.

Freak froze.

It was his first day in the Pride Lands, at least, the first day in which he was allowed into the Pride Lands.

The lions were starting to plod into Pride Rock, exhausted after the long, exciting day. But Freak didn't—couldn't—follow. If he went in there... it would be all too easy for them to block the exit, and then kill him with suffering minimal losses of their own.

“Cousin,” said a voice from his rear, and the li-tigon spun around instantly; it was easy to see that he was more than a little nervous.

“Come on... it's cold outside.”

It was true. Freak was a Jungle cat, whether he liked it or not. And the Jungle was always warm. He might be able to survive a night outside... but it wouldn't prepare him well for the morning. No, to survive, his best option would be to take his chances inside.

So, reluctantly, the li-tigon nodded to his cousin, and walked in. But, despite his moribund predictions,he wasn't assaulted the moment he approached Instead, Vitani sleepily moved over to give the li-tigon some space right next to her.

Freak blinked, and then, after an unspoken urging from his cousin, to which Nala and Sarabi responded with baleful stares, slumped down next to her.

“Warm...” he thought to himself, and then, for the first time in his life, slept... without being alone.

“I should have paid more attention to what I knew to be true.”

He snarled once, storming southwards. Hours had passed, but Freak had neither tired nor looked back.

“I can't be around others, I can't be near them. It's not good... for them. It doesn't matter if I'm looking for so-called love... if I can keep beings that I care about safe by staying far, far away... I will.”

The li-tigon's expression darkened even more than it already had, and he glared holes into the ground in front of him. He refused to let himself think again for the rest of the day—he didn't eat, didn't rest, didn't drink... there wasn't any prey anyway.

It was nightfall again, and the oasis that connected the Jungle and the Desert was only a few hundred meters away.

Still, Freak didn't go for it immediately, despite how urgently his body told him it needed water. Something was nagging at him... telling him that the last time that he'd been there, with the now-defunct counterassassins, they'd merely been lucky to avoid the Desert lions.

So he allowed training to take over, and crouched low to the ground. But he could see, hear, and smell... nothing. His senses told him that the area was clear... but then, why did the idea of going for the water invoke deep, dark worry in him?

“Remember... we are to capture, not kill.”

The other Desert lioness nodded once, before they went back into the sand dune. They'd fought so hard in only the Desert that they'd changed on a physiological level—even when only their eyes peered out of the dune to oversee the oasis, now the only source of water in the Desert, they were completely undetectable.

However, being that the sand that clung to their eyes to camouflage them was genuine, it blurred their vision. It did not hurt them—it just meant that they had no idea what animal was approaching from the northwest... just that it wasn't an enemy dog.

“Samehe... you've been a great teacher for these years. But why...? You have always told us that in this war, it's best to kill first and ask questions never. Why... why do we have to capture this one? While you, and the others fight at the South? And if this being is coming from the Lower Plains, and not from the Western Plains... does that mean... that our dear males, and their mates... does that mean that we are the only Desert Lions left?

Freak narrowed his eyes. He could swear that, in the sand, he saw four slightly different patches... but he shrugged it off. He was just reading into things too much... and there was no point in denying it to himself now: he was tired, and thirsty. He needed water, as soon as possible. He just wasn't adapted to going without water, for long.

So the li-tigon plodded over, slowly, cautiously, to the oasis. Losing a bit of his cold professionalism, he dipped his entire head in, drank, and opened his eyes.

“That's strange. This lake has no bottom...”

(Yes, that's foreshadowing.)

Freak's eyes suddenly opened up wider as he heard two sets of paws thudding towards him. With a growl, he ripped his face free from the water, and spun to glare at the two tawny Desert lions that skidded to a halt mere yards from him.

“Who are you, stranger?” one of the Deserters growled, as they both moved to pin Freak in between themselves and the lake—assuming that he, like them, couldn't swim.

“...Freak...” he growled back, holding his ground without retreating... the anger that he'd felt ever since he'd left the Pride Landers threatened to return in full force.

“I can see that you're a freak,” the left lioness snarled, daring him to lie again, “what's your name? Where are you from?” her expression hardened more, as she wondered just what he was.

“My name is Freak!” he suddenly roared, causing the lionesses to freeze, for just a second, in fear, “I' come from the Jungle... but I've lived with the Pride Land lions for a few months now.”

“..The Pride Landers, huh...” the other Desert lioness said, looking at him coldly, “Shindani... we cannot harm him. Remember the treaty that has kept all lions in peace: it is a treaty that can only be broken if one pride does something unforgivable... and we have no reason to hate the Pride Landers.”

“Regardless of how... freakish... this one is.”

“Wait, Sikia... you, freak,” the young lioness addressed the li-tigon balefully, “why did you leave the Pride Landers? Did you, perhaps, murder one of them, and run?”

At that, Sikia and Shindani both dug their claws into the sand, preparing to attack—if the freak really had done something like that, then it would be in accordance with the treaty, set so long ago, to kill him and inform the Pride Landers immediately. In fact, such a favor might rally the stronger northern lions to the cause of the Desert Pride...

“No...” the li-tigon growled darkly, in such a manner that left no suspicion that he was lying, nor any indication that it would be wise to pursue the issue, “I left them voluntarily... because I am not built for the family life. I'm... proud... to be part of their family... but I'm a loner. I can't live with them, “ he growled on, even as Sikia and Shindani lowered their guard, the latter more reluctantly.

“What is your business here?” Shindani asked with narrowed eyes, not trusting Freak for a second.

“Geez... cool down. Samehe should be here within half an four,” thought Sikia, rolling her eyes, though she had conveniently forgotten to sheath her claws.

“...I've come to see my grandmother,” the li-tigon muttered.

“Haha... no way, don't make me laugh. No one here's old enough to be a mother, much less a grandmother. Except for Samehe, and... she only mentioned her cubs, like they all died...” Shindani said, though Sikia narrowed her eyes, thinking.

“Wait a minute... nah, that can't be right. Hey, Shindani, remember just a little while ago, when the alpha and his mates went to hide in the Lower Plains? You, Msaka and Adhabu went to protect them... me and Samehe stayed behind to hold the Desert until you guys came back. Well... she... mentioned... that one of her cubs, her daughter, might have lived.”

Actually, when they'd taken turns sleeping over those two days, Samehe had said it in her sleep.

“My mother. Chukizo,” the li-tigon said emotionlessly, “she did live.”

“Is she still alive?” Shindani asked savagely, not quite registering what Samehe had elected to name her daughter despite the gasp that Sikia made, “because if so, she's one Helluva daughter... abandoning her homeland just when it needs her?”

“No, she died,” Freak said flatly, “and as to why she left... perhaps there's a clue to that. My grandmother could not have loved my mother at all--after all, her name means... abomination.”

Chukizo.

The abomination.

Chukizo.

Shindani's harsh, determined expression dropped slightly. She opened an closed her mouth several times, as if starting to say something, then stopping. Sikia rolled her eyes slightly—her sister was the polar opposite of her; at least, in personality.

“Poor thing...” Sikia said, and she meant it, “when did your mom die?”

“...The day I was born,” Freak said grudgingly; he wasn't used to being not hated on sight, and he certainly wasn't used to having people ask questions about him, to his face.

“...No, that can't be true. Because—”

“Why?” he asked, cutting her off.

“Well, because lion cubs are born with their eyes shut, because lion cubs can hardly move at birth, and finally, because lion cubs need milk,” said Shindani, tilting her head to the side despite herself.

“I'm not a lion. I'm a freak,” he said savagely, then walked right in between both Desert lionesses.

“Hey, wait!” Sikia said, dashing to block the li-tigon's path with her young, tough body.

“Yeah, slow down, asshole,” Shindani growled, taking her place at her sister's side.

“What?” Freak snarled, he had very little patience left.

“...Uh, where are you going?” Sikia asked, not really used to having a fellow big cat treat her with anything but love.

“To see Granny Samehe. So don't bother me, or I'll hurt you,” the li-tigon said, padding along before stopping in his tracks.

“...Sorry...” he said, as the two sisters looked on, one with her claws extended.

“...I'm... not in the best mood...”

“Aww, that's okay, sweety,” said Sikia, walking up to nuzzle under the li-tigon's maneless neck, managing to see flashes of his stripes for just a second.

“Yeah...” sighed Shindani, rolling her eyes at her sister's oppressive kindness, “we've all got our own battles to fight. Speaking of battles...” her eyes grew steely again, and Sikia drew away.

“We're supposed to capture you and hold you. And I can tell,” Shindani scoffed, “that you're no Desert cat. I don't know how tough you are... but we will be able to hold you, the only question is what the cost will be...”

“I swear, if you assault me, the price will be high,” Freak growled, but Shindani rolled her eyes.

“Calm down, I'm not threatening you. I'll make you a deal... we'll let you see your grandmother for as long as you like... but you've got to fight alongside of us.”

“...Against whom?” Freak asked, weighing his choices—in a fight against these two, he would win, but it wouldn't be pretty.

“Dogs from the Dark Forest. We're fighting with them over food... so it's not like they're in the right...”

“Heh... I guess we really aren't, either. I wish there was another way,” sighed Sikia.

“...Why would I care about your little war? Like you said... we've all got our own battles to fight. And this isn't mine.”

This time, strangely, it was Sikia who spoke up.

“It is. You're Samehe's grandson... a son of the Desert. One of us. It is your dutyto fight. Your responsibility. After all... family looks out for each another, right? And you're one of us. Part of the big, happy Desert family,' Sikia grinned slightly at that.

“I don't know why I ever wanted a family. Families are... troublesome...” Freak thought, but then, the infectious grin on Sikia's face affected him.

“...Alright. But before I strike a single dog, I want to see my grandmother. I just want to see her,” his voice broke, and he looked away.

The li-tigon was looking for neither love nor care. All he wanted to do was to see some one that, perhaps, was like him. But his expectations weren't high—Freak expected to be assaulted the moment she saw and recognized him.

He didn't care, however—he was used to this, by now.

“I suppose that it's hard to accept that you're a loner,” he thought, utterly ignoring the way Sikia nuzzled him again.

But then, the li-tigon suddenly stepped away from the very physical female... she reminded him, horribly, of Vitani. And it caused him to grimace in pain, though that emotion was read as a snarl by the lionesses.

“All right, all right, fine,” Sikia said, confused, “I was just... forget it,” she sighed at the harsh look he gave her.

Shindani merely narrowed her eyes at Freak, even as he sat down, looking at them in that naïve, curious, cublike manner before licking his paw innocently, mostly to distract himself.

Freak felt jumpy, even as minutes turned into hours. He didn't trust the lionesses enough to turn away and drink, even though he felt thirsty, and every time one of their eyes met his, they'd quickly look away, as if he made them nervous as well.

So, when the distant rallying cry of a lion was heard to the south, it came as a welcome distraction.

“That's Samehe,” Shindani said in a brisk, businesslike manner, diving into the sand and disappearing, causing Freak to stare, for a second, in confusion, then dawning comprehension.

“Hmm...” said Sikia, looking at the li-tigon, “you can't do that... so you'll have to follow—hey, wait!” she suddenly yelped as he dived in right after her sister, and followed him herself.

Shindani burrowed on, then her ear twitched as she sensed someone coming up on her, fast.

“Sikia, always the playful one... fine, so it's a race, is it?” the lioness's lips twitched into a rare grin before she suddenly moved much, much faster than she had been.

“Catch me if you can,” she challenged, hearing the sound of powerful paws digging their way through the sand, and blinking in surprise, once—her sister had never pursued her so vigorously before, but she was up to the challenge, and moved faster still.

Minutes later, the exhausted Shindani dived out of a sand dune, tumbling to skid to a halt on her side—she knew that Samehe had called them to come to her immediately... but even as one of the last five defenders of the Desert, she felt that she was entitled to some fun, now and then.

Laughing, panting, she chuckled, “You've gotten faster,” before she noticed that the paws that were padding towards her were much, much heavier than the delicate step of her sister.

“Thank you,” said the flat, emotionless voice of the li-tigon, “I've never tried that before.”

Shindani tilted her head at Freak, trying to look into him as he sat and faced away from her, not even breathing hard. She was about to say something, when a series of gasps from the north distracted her.

“Hey... guys...” Sikia wheezed, “next time... hold up, huh?” the lioness then slumped into a heap next to her sister.

“How'd you go that fast, Fr—you know what, we've gotta give you another name. Freak just doesn't suit you,” the slightly younger lioness said, curling up, then twisting to her feet in a thoroughly confusing maneuver that caused the li-tigon to pause, trying to understand.

“But I am a freak. And so, the name Freak suits me, does it not?” he said flatly, still facing away from the two sisters.

“Well, yeah, but—” Sikia was cut off by Shindani.

“It can't be good for you to call yourself that... what's your real name? You know, the one your parents gave you?” the other lioness asked, looking at her sharp, deadly claws.

“They never gave me a name. My father died before I was born, and my mother was only alive for a few minutes after she birthed me.”

Both lionesses gasped suddenly; they'd lost their mother some time ago... but at least their father lived in the Lower Plains, or so they thought.

“Wait...” said Shindani, after a moment of sympathetic silence, “so... how'd you—”

“I killed for milk. I killed mothers, and took it from their bodies. I didn't like doing it, but I had to, and so I did,” the li-tigon said sharply, he hated having to explain that particular aspect of his childhood, and experience the shocked rage that others seemed to feel towards him for it.

“...Oh...” Sikia said quietly, “well... we understand. We've have to do bad things too,” she sighed, then stretched once.

“All rested up, sis? Well then, come on... we're gonna be late,” the younger female said as she started to pad away at a brisk trot.

She was shortly followed by the other lioness, then the freak. Shindani kept at least one of her ears tilted to the back at all times, not quite trusting Freak entirely. The li-tigon noticed this, and decided to show the females it was useless to take such pathetic precautions against him—if he wanted to kill one or perhaps even both of them and escape, he would.

“Why don't you trust him?” said a soft, feminine voice from Shindani's side.

The lioness turned her head, quickly—but no one was there. Sikia eyed her sister once, strangely, wondering what was going on; she hadn't quite heard the ethereal sounding voice..

“Because if he wanted to kill you...” the voice continued, from right in front of Shindani, incredibly, “then I would,” that was Freak's voice, from her rear.

“Don't flatter yourself, Shindani... I have no desire to kill you. So don't treat me like that.”

The li-tigon then strode right past the lioness as she stood, jaw agape, rooted to the spot for a second.

“Oh, a wise guy, huh?” she growled, walking up next to him just a little too close, causing him to flinch, then sidestep quickly, “you're not the only one here who's dangerous...”

Shindani was on Freak's left when she started to talk. But by the end of the sentence, she was to his right.

“I suppose not,” the li-tigon said flatly, as if he was totally unimpressed, “I'm just more dangerous than you are,” he added, as Shindani realized that he'd figured out exactly what she'd done to give the illusion that she'd teleported.

The trio walked along for another quarter of an hour, in silence. Sikia was thinking about Freak, Shindani was thinking about Freak, and Freak was thinking about Sikia and Shindani. Each time one of them met eyes with the other, the third would notice, and his or her mind would work furiously, trying to figure their relative stranger out.

“Where is Samehe?” he demanded moments later, as they neared the rendezvous point, “I want to see her, now,” he snarled, though to Sikia and Shindani, he was acting like nothing more than a spoiled cub.

“She's here,” Shindani said simply, as she and her sister stopped, listening closely.

The li-tigon heard something... like the sound of nothing more than a snake slithering through the grass, two hundred yards away.

“Who's this one?” said the raspy voice of a lioness, and all at once, Freak saw a cat, about the same size and weight as Shindani, though with slightly darker, baggier fur shake the sand off of her form, padding over to the group.

“He's called Fr—”

“He's Samehe's grandson, from the Jungle,” Sikia cut off her sister, glaring at her once, much to the older lioness's surprise and confusion, “and he wants to see her.”

“Is that so?” thought a second new lioness, as she joined the other newcomer, allowing the sand to drip off of her short-furred, tan form, “I didn't know that Samehe had ever had a child, much less a grandchild.”

“It's true,” said the relatively deep, cold voice of the li-tigon, guessing what the tan lioness was thinking, “my mother, Chukizo, was Samehe's daughter. She's dead, now,” he added

“...Chukizo, huh...” said the darker lioness, “I wonder why our beloved leader would name her child that. She must truly have been a terrible cub.”

“Yes, that was her name,” Freak said harshly, guessing, with some accuracy, the raspy-voiced lioness's voice, “but she wasn't all that bad... she did what she could to help me,” the li-tigon's voice took on an almost soft, reflective tone at those words, before he caught himself, and glared at the lioness.

“Is that so... regardless... my name is Adhabu, visitor. What's yours?”

“Freak,” the li-tigon almost spat his own name like it was some disgusting curse; like it was designed to forever haunt and oppress him, “my name is Freak. Because I'm a Freak,” he said, then rolled his eyes, imagining the boxed reply that the two new lionesses were likely to give.

“Fits, “ said the short-furred lioness in a soft, calculating voice.

She'd been silent until now. But as the li-tigon looked into her eyes, and over her tough, sinewy form that rivaled the lean muscle that crisscrossed his own frame, he knew that he was looking at a fellow predator—not just another big cat, but rather, a being who'd been born to feel the blood of prey on her claws.

“Heheh, says Msaka,” grinned Sikia, “where's Samehe?”

“She's coming,” croaked the darker lioness, “she hung back to make sure their assault was over.”

“How did the battle go?” Shindani asked tensely; she felt vaguely guilty for not fighting alongside Samehe.

“Not well,” sighed Adhabu, “we were not injured, but we had to retreat a half mile... and we didn't kill many of the dogs.”

Msaka nodded, looking to the west for a moment, eyes widening.

“Food. Gazelles, maybe six of them.”

The rest of the lionesses visible perked up at that, but none budged.

“We have to wait here for Samehe... and we can't send more than two of us, what if the dogs attack again? We'll have to—”

“I'll go,” said Freak, and all eyes turned towards him.

“...We appreciate the meaning, visitor... but that doesn't solve the entire problem. Unless you can carry perhaps four gazelles on your own?” Msaka asked skeptically; her absolute maximum was two gazelles—but then, she was a young, skinny lioness...

“I can,” the li-tigon said simply, “I've carried more before. And they're only two miles away... I can do it.”

Msaka scoffed, but Sikia spoke up.

“I don't think he's lying... we caught him when his head was completely in the oasis, but we couldn't sneak up on him... I think there's more to this kitten than meets the eye.”

Freak blinked at that, but shrugged, and started to plod off towards the west.

“One of you can come if you want. Consider this a token of my g—my lack of malice towards the Desert.”

The li-tigon had almost said goodwill, but caught himself. He had no desire to do anything but what was necessary to see his grandmother: he'd meet her, fight a battle... and then, he didn't know what. Yes, he'd leave—but where to, and with what goal, he didn't know.

“I could go back to the Jungle,” the li-tigon mused, as he heard Msaka trot up to follow him, “or I could go somewhere else... perhaps the unexplored lands to the East. Or I could see what's to the north of the Bloody Shadows. Or... I could learn to swim better, and find out how that enormous creature managed to get into my cave, and attack Sarabi...”

Msaka found herself wondering about the cat in front of her, as she followed him at a distance, in case he decided that he didn't like her, for whatever reason. He was walking alone, and even she could see that that was how things were meant to be.

“A rodent for your thoughts,” both cats said at the same time.

Msaka blinked in surprise, and moved a little faster, to walk almost alongside Freak, though just out of the reach of those dangerous-looking claws of his.

“I was just thinking,” said Msaka, “...you're a freak, right? So you can't have lived with a pride much, that's easy to tell by the way you act... so you must be used to hunting alone. For us, it was Msafiri who perfected that way of taking prey.”

“You're right,” said the li-tigon, and that was all.

“...Yeah. I usually am, when it comes to hunting,” she replied.

There was a long moment of silence, in which the lioness waited for Freak to speak. She didn't talk much, but Freak made her look like a blabber mouth, and it wasn't long before the awkwardness of the moment got to her.

“You say that Samehe's your grandmother. That your mother was her daughter. What about your grandfather? Do you know who... or what... he was? And what about your paternal ancestry?” the short-furred lioness suddenly blurted out, almost regretting it.

There was another pause before Freak answered.

“I don't know anything about my grandfather. My father was Taka, and he overthrew my uncle, the true Lion King... and then, he was killed before I was born, and my cousin replaced him as the new true Lion King. I don't know much about my maternal grandparents... just that their names were Ahadi, and Uru.”

It was true. Simba had told him all he knew about their paternal grandparents. There wasn't much—all Mufasa seemed to have told his tan son was that Ahadi and Uru were great leaders... a cut and dried answer that left Freak vaguely suspicious as to its legitimacy.

“Well... maybe Samehe knows something. She never told us about her cub, maybe she's got more secrets too...”

The rest of the trip to the vicinity of the gazelles was still silent, but comfortably so.

(Read the first paragraph of Chapter 2 of My Name before reading this)

The Eastern Volcanoes were dangerous enough—they made Shenzi, Banzai and Ed think of the time that they 'd accepted Scar's order to kill Mufasa and his son; ironically, now their beloved Lion King.

But the Western Volcanoes were, as Kiara had said, a thousand times as bad. After the Pride Landers and Tanga clambered up the steep, foreboding slope; the dark lion suspiciously having rocks flicked at him with accuracy that was significantly lower than Banzai's, they noted a simple fact.

There was no longer stable land to stand on.

The top of the volcanoes were one vast, burning pool of lava with only a few, semi-sold areas, at least a mile across. It would be on the far end of possibility for the group to pass it after resting, and eating well... but now, they were exhausted from the battle and hadn't eaten for a full day.

“But we have to try,” said Nala, “if we don't get back to Pride Rock soon... we'll lose the entire Pride Lands. You know this, right Simba?” she nuzzled her husband once, to temper his will.

“Yeah. ...Mom?” the Lion King said, and Sarabi looked at her son, after glaring once at Usiku, ordering his fellow hyenas to crowd around him with a glance, just in case.

“Yes, my son?”

“...Did Father ever have to do anything like this?”

It was plain to see that the Lion King was... nervous, at least.

“Of course not. But then, Mufasa never had to defeat the Bloody Shadows. Or welcome his brother's nephew home... or accept the son of one of his most dangerous enemies as his granddaughter's mate..”

“Simba,” she said in her strong, commanding, yet motherly voice, “you' have more than the strength of Mufasa on the battle-field. In your mind, you have the wisdom of Rafiki,” “...wherever he may be,” she thought with a pang, “and in your heart, you're as steadfastly determined to do no wrong... as your cousin...”

Simba nodded several times, looking down, as if steeling his will.

“There's only one way to do this.”

(A note to my reality-sticklers here... there is a precedent for this. How do you think firewalking is done?)

It was one of those rare times that the lava in the East Volcanoes began to spill into the Jungle.

The counterassassins had watched, a strange mixture of terror and wonder in their eyes as the rolling waves of fire met, then burned, then incinerated the thick, wet foliage of the Jungle.

Some of the molten rock solidified on contact, but a lot continued on to burn to the very heart of the Jungle.

Trees that had stood for decades, and yet, had managed to grow up to fifty feet tall were fallen. Animals were evicted from the homes, and as smoke clouded the sky, the entire Jungle changed in one of nature's most spectacular methods of forcing creatures to be open to change—the only real certainty in nature.

“Humbling, isn't it,” the li-tigon said to his emerging force.

He looked at them all, and they looked back—he'd stated the obvious.

“Humbling. Almost like nature is invincible. But if you're smart, and strong... you can defeat the illusion of invincibility that the Circle of Life casts over the world.”

The Pride Landers's eyes had narrowed at that, the royal family's and the hyena's especially. Vitani, the exception, seemed to glance at them strangely—Freak had yet to lead them astray.

“Nothing is invincible,” the li-tigon said softly, as he lead the group through safer paths he'd found in the Jungle, near streams and rivulets; too wet for the lava to reach.

The smoke, smog, and ash was impossible for anyone but Freak to navigate, so the counterassassins stayed close. Once or twice, the li-tigon had swore that he felt Shenzi or T, or maybe Kiara or possibly even Vitani bat at his tail. But every time he turned around to look at them with suspicion in his eyes, they merely all looked away, whistling innocently.

He'd tilt his head, not understanding, but then shrug, and walk on. The females grinned at each another, giving one another air high-fives, but quickly, they began to feel guilty for taking advantage of their leader like that... he was, after all, doing this for their own good—everything he'd done since they'd entered the Jungle had been for, in one form or another, the counterassassins.

“You see...” the li-tigon said, unaware of the natural fear all but Kiara felt, memories of Scar's bloody overthrow surfacing, at the burning ashland in front of him that the lava had left in its path, “this is, to most creatures, impassible. But if you put your mind over matter, it's not hard.”

As if to demonstrate his point, Freak placed a paw just above the smoking, shimmering coals that the lava's devastating path had left behind, and held it there.

“Cousin—”

The li-tigon suddenly walked, at an almost leisurely pace, across the coals. Though the counterassassins knew of his unnaturally high tolerance for pain, it was plain to see that he wasn't being hurt; there was no urgency to his actions at all.

A few moments later, he returned, and one by one, held up his sooty, blackened... but unhurt appendages.

“It looks impossible... but at first glance, so does making the Shadows bleed,” he gave that terrible, toothy grin, before moving back towards the coals.

“Now, walk with me. Don't think about anything... but taking one step at a time.”

“And if we defeat the illusion of invincibility that the Great Spirits show us... we can defeat anything.”

“Pride Landers,” the Lion King called authoritatively, his roar rallying his troops instantly, “I know you're exhausted, hungry, thirsty, sad, confused, scared, angry, hurt, paranoid—”

“Simba,” Nala hissed and rolled her eyes, nudging him hard with her elbow.

“Oh. Yeah. ...Sorry,” the tan lion muttered, and the rest of the Pride Landers gave a tired laugh in spite of themselves

“What I'm trying to say is... well, let's face it, none of us are in the best shape ever,” he said simply, looking around at the group.

They seemed to accept that; aside from Sarabi's vicious wound, others were cut up some as well.

“But now, I'm going to have you do something that I know is... appears... crazy”

“I'm not going to say what it is. All I want you to do is follow me, one step at a time,” the Lion King's use of one of Freak's adopted mottoes caused his followed to pay even closer attention than they already were.

“Quickly, though,” and some of the Pride Landers gasped as the Lion King stepped towards the lava, realizing what he was about to do.

And then, all at once, Simba dashed across the burning, liquid rock. The Pride Landers all called out in protest, once, before they realized that somehow... he wasn't being harmed.

There was a second of silence, then the group all roared together, one fist, one force... and followed the Lion King through what was, to them, the smoky, flaming depths of Hell.

“Okay... how do you want to take them?” Msaka murmured as she and Freak crouched to the ground, peering over the sand dune to make visual contact with the gazelles.

“I'm not as good at traveling through the sand as you are.”

“Yet.”

“So, you go underground. I'll be watching, and when you're in position, blink at me. Then, I'll chase them towards you. I believe I could catch them all alone... but since you're here, all you'll need to do is jump up in front of them, then, we can take them down together.”

Msaka nodded—it was a simple plan, and those were generally the best. She glanced at those powerful, deadly claws, and the similarly built jaw... and grinned.

The lioness then practically disappeared in front of him, but Freak didn't think of it as supernatural—the slight slight of sand towards the ground into which she'd just vanished told him just what he'd suspected, when Shindani had tried to get the jump on him.

“I understand how they do it. But they fight, and move, differently than I do... it will take some learning before I can imitate their actions.”

Suddenly, something clicked in the li-tigon's head. He recalled how he sometimes pretended to stumble, or be off-balance in order to confuse a foe. And he knew that it had been his mother, in fact, that had taught him to do that, if only in her dying action.

“Simba told me that in extreme situations, when one can't think but can only act... it becomes clear where he's from, what he is...”

“Mother really was a Desert li—freak.”

Again, Freak had come inches from forgetting that no matter how hard he tried, no matter what he or his mother did, they would always ever be what his name indicated.

He felt that old, familiar jab of pain, but shrugged it off—he had a job to do now, the pain could wait until later; it always did.

The li-tigon didn't shift, didn't blink as he watched the harsh, Desert sand for Msaka, or rather, the hunter lioness's eyes. And after a few moments, he saw those two discolored patches in the sand, just in front of the gazelles flutter.

At that, he exploded into action.

The li-tigon's paws padded softly across the sand, so the gazelle were only fifty feet away from him by the time they turned to see the dark cat race towards them.

All at once, they started to gallop away; but within a second, one was hit so hard by an iron paw that its neck broke and it went down in a heap.

The panicked animals ran on, registering that Freak hadn't even slowed down to dispatch their fellow with the powerful blow. The sound of his heavy footfalls, of the minute rasps of his claws against the sand panicked them even more, and they were thoroughly single-minded in their linear efforts to escape the li-tigon...

Msaka smiled.

Then, the Desert lioness rose out of her place, about a foot under the sand. Without even taking the time to growl, or snarl, or even shake the sand from her form, she did something that Freak could never have conceived.

It was true that the li-tigon could beat her, or any other Desert lioness that he'd met in a one-on-one or even two-on-one engagement. But this was part of the reason that he didn't want to; the other part was that he simply had no desire to fight with a friend of his grandmothers and sour their meeting even more.

If Freak and the Desert Pride, or what was left of it, ever fought, Freak would not be able to avoid injury. And the reason for that was because of the strange gait that they had: their unorthodox fighting tactics.

The lioness had leaped into the air, and Freak was completely sure that she would go for a heavy paw blow to the face of a single gazelle, or perhaps a downward claw slash. But she didn't, and Freak growled, starting to dash forward to do her job for her—

Msaka was a very fast lioness, and she had enough time to change the path of her attacks just enough so that even if Freak didn't flatten himself to the ground as he finally realized what she was doing, they'd miss the li-tigon.

The gazelles, by the time Msaka was about four feet in the air, at their neck level, had started to dig their hooves in the sand, stupidly. Their intents were to stop, but their actions accomplished only two things: they clustered around the Desert Hunter, as she was called, and they sunk a few inches into the Desert's unforgiving sands, so that escape, even if Msaka missed, was utterly impossible.

But she never missed.

The lioness did indeed strike out with her paw... but it was clearly not an offensive blow, in and of itself. It's angle of rotation at her shoulder was wrong; directed inward.

The result was that Msaka started to spin rapidly, on the vertical axis. Even Freak could hardly tell the difference between her and nothing more than a spinning, levitating ball of fur.

By the time Msaka dropped two inches, she'd already turned a dozen times. So when she extended her claws, all four sets of them, she merely had to reach out—

The increase of the radius in the lioness's body slowed her down, but took nothing away from the deadliness of her attack. Blood splattered everywhere, including onto the li-tigon and he watched, eyes wide, mouth almost agape as the gazelles simultaneously fell, dead.

Msaka smirked slightly at Freak's awe—it wasn't often that anyone really took notice of her achievements. It was true that she was the best hunter, but the others were fairly good as well.

“Impressive, isn't—”

“How did you learn to do that?” the li-tigon interrupted, leveling his freakish gaze at her, the scar on his visage visible even with his eye open.

“...Samehe taught me, of course. Just like she did to everyone else,” Msaka said, taking an involuntary step back before she realized it, and held her position.

“You mean that she's... stronger... than all of you?” Freak asked.

“Well, yeah... I guess she is,”the hunter lioness said thoughtfully, licking her bloody paws, “it makes sense, though. See, she never had any cubs. Well, any that we knew about,” Msaka added, glancing at Freak for a moment, “so I guess... we became her children...”

“...You know... a sort of father-son... thing. ...Well... I better go get him.”

A moment later, Scar was coolly plodding away from his nephew. This time, he didn't need to fake the dark, brooding manner in which he'd acted and spoken in since the day that he'd met his little abomination.

“I wonder if she'll give me a son someday. What we'll do together.”

The dark lion's lemon-lime eyes shut for a moment as he forced himself to walk on, trying his hardest to think only of his mate, his future family, and the pride he'd forge around them. But he wasn't the perfect usurper.

“I wonder how many 'father-son things' I'm keeping my brother and his son from.”

“...I wonder how many father-son experiences my brother and our... his... father had. How many I missed out on.”

He thought back, years back, his black mane being tossed every which way in the gentle breeze of the most barren part of the Pride Lands.

“...Dad?” Taka said, not daring to even touch the sleeping King as he whispered, quietly, “it's almost sunrise... it's time to get up, Daddy...”

The young Prince then cautiously moved forward as his father opened an eye, then turned away as if disgusted with what he saw.

But today, the dark cub wasn't giving up so easily.

“Dad...” he murmured, taking the risk of nudging his father's mighty, tan paw with his minuscule wet nose, “c'mon... Muffy told me that you said that punctuality is one of the most important things that a King can ha—”

Suddenly, Taka's eyes widened. But he had no time to defend himself, nor the lack of sense to even try. It was best to just take the blow that was aimed for him...

Which he did.It knocked him off his feet, through the air, into a slate-like wall which he hit with a sickening crunch, but he took it.

Taka slid to the ground, biting back tears. He looked up, expecting to see Ahadi looking away and the rest of the pride glowering at him for disturbing their King, but froze.

Then he realized... he'd been thrown into the wrong wall.

“Oh no,” Taka thought, looking around desperately for an escape... but there was none, as both his father and his mother approached.

“Taka...” Uru said dangerously, “you know not to bring your filth to the Wall of the Ancients...”

Taka knew that his name would never, ever be etched into the great stone slab along with the names of generations upon generations of lions. But still... the way his father approached him... he hadn't meant to touch the wall...

“Piece if trash,” Ahadi growled, extending a claw, “I'll bet that eye of your would look real nice with a claw-mark on it...”

The lion cub whimpered, and braced himself as his father's claw drew near—

But nothing happened.

“Not worth the trouble,” the Lion King grumbled, slumping back over to sleep again, “Uru... do with him what you will. I don't care,” he yawned.

There was a pause.

“Actually, I take that back. Try to keep it down a little,” Ahadi complained, hearing the pained yelps of his son, over and over and over...

“They were never family. But these three... they are,” Scar thought to himself savagely, giving a hard, meaningful glare to the three hyenas.

He didn't need to look again—he knew that they were completely loyal to him. And that's how it would always be. He'd never abused their friendship, and they'd never do the same to him. It was like a symbiosis... and soon, it would benefit all of their families.

Soon.

“Things would be easier if I killed off the lionesses. Much easier. But no... we need them. To hunt. To defend this land, if the Falme ever rises again. Or if those... accursed beings to the south of their stinking land ever approach the Pride Lands.”

“Chukizo...” Scar said out loud, “I'm doing so much for you. But if you give me a son... I'll be forever indebted to you...”

The dark lion pictured himself, lying inside of Pride Rock, forever the defender of the Pride Lands and whatever lay behind the Wall of Ancients. Chukizo at his side, where she belonged, and a legion of the strong lionesses, now loyal to his rule, knowing that it was, after all, superior to Mufasa's tyranny planned the next hunt from their place, in between the dangers of the world and the royal family.

And then, the soft pit-pattering of a cubs feet would wake Scar up, and he'd feel a wet nose prod his cheek... and there, in front of him, would be his perfect son.

“Her children, huh...” Freak said out loud, in his normal, flat voice.

“...It's probably because my mother, like me, was a freak. What must have happened... was that Samehe threw her out of the Desert and forgot about her forever. But then, my mother survived... and had me. And to escape her pain and the possible guilt of forcing her daughter to live, rather than die, you became her surrogate cubs.”

“...You should feel proud of that,” the li-tigon said, with absolutely no sarcasm or bitterness in his heart.

Msaka abruptly looked up, and glared at Freak. But it was impossible to tell what was going on behind those cold, hollow eyes.

“...Come on. Let's get the gazelles back to everyone else. And then you can talk to Samehe about whatever you want,” the hunter said, trying to keep cool.

She struggled to carry two gazelles, and then grinned to herself, imagining Freak having to swallow his Pride and ask for her to carry a third.

But then, when Msaka looked over to the li-tigon, he was easily striding along with all four remaining gazelles on his back, making her have to jog to keep up.

“You're strong,” she noted, looking at the li-tigon's sinewy form, “it's weird, though... you're not quite at your prime age, so you've stopped growing, right?”

Freak nodded without making eye contact.

“Then... how come you're not as big as any other male lion?”

Then, the li-tigon turned to her, even as they walked along, that toothy, forced, unnatural grin on his face.

“Because I'm a freak.”

“Hey, they're back,” rasped Adhabu, not even opening her eyes as she rested on the ground.

The dark lioness stood, yet didn't raise her head as Shindani and Sikia awoke—these warriors knew that rest was a valuable commodity, and to get it whenever they could.

“Adhabu... come on...” Sikia said, looking at her comrade.

Previously, she'd been the joker among the cubs, always the one keeping them in good spirits throughout the war. It was due to her that the cubs had been able to deal with the deaths of their parents, the constant threat of starvation...

But then, everything had changed that one day when the dogs had managed to get a party of a dozen or so beyond the pride's lines, and assault the underground den that the cubs lived in.

They'd broken everything, and Shindani, Sikia, and Msaka had almost suffocated in the torrent of sand. But Samehe had taught them to breath through the sand... and so, they lived.

But Adhabu hadn't been so luck. She struggled to hide, but the dogs grabbed her.

No one really knew why they didn't kill the cub. Why they'd chosen to torture her instead, and leave her for Samehe to find in her daring counter-intrusion into the Dark Forest. It didn't make sense: it was just another reason for the lions to hate their enemies. It was just an act of malice that was repaid, in kind, by Samehe, to a cub that they took a week later...

“What?” the dark feline asked, looking at Sikia through the corner of her eye.

“Don't be so depressed. It's not your fault that they poisoned you...”

It made the youngest fighter in the Desert flinch to say that. It was a fact academically known that didn't often hit anyone in the gut: In addition to being horribly beaten and cut, Adhabu had been fed swamp water and God knew what else. Apart from her voice, it had forever changed her metabolism... she could only eat a few bites at a time, and often had to drag around meals for hours before she could eat it all. Though, there was one possible benefit.

In desperate times, the lionesses had resorted to eating the dogs themselves. This always left them sick, sometimes on death's door... except for Adhabu. She could eat dog flesh just as well as she could any other kind. Which mean that she always had a source of food...

“Whoa,” said Shindani, looking over one dune at the two approaching cats, “that guy really is carrying four gazelles. Is he some kind of fr—well... guess he is,” she said thoughtfully, coolly.

“Where's Samehe?” asked Sikia, looking to the south, confused, “she's not usually late... except for when something happens. Should we go and look for her?” the younger sister of the group wondered out loud.

“Nahhh,” yawned Adhabu, “she said that if she doesn't come back, don't bother looking for her. ...I bet she's doing some reconnaissance. Way behind enemy lines or something. She's the only one out of all of us that can actually get around in the Dark Forest without being noticed...”

“Yeah,” Shindani agree curtly after a moment, “she's one tough lioness. Remember that day when we were all fighting in the South, and, like, two dozen of them tried to flank us? She told us to hold the line, and that she'd take them out... and then, she did.”

“She really is my grandmother,” said the not-so-distant voice of Freak... it always annoyed people when he would interrupt their conversations from distances that were normally beyond earshot.

“Yeah. Guess she is,” shrugged Shindani, thinking, “I'll bet she is... but if she hated your mother so much that she called her Chukizo... I wonder what's gonna happen when she finds out that you... exist.”

“Where is she?” the li-tigon asked as he and Msaka allowed the gazelles to slide to the ground in the rough center of the group.

The lionesses circled, and started to eat into the gazelles. Freak did as well, after a moment, accepting that his question was ignored and that his grandmother would come when she did. Though, he did drag his gazelle a little further away so he could dodge a full-out assault... if it ever came.

“I'm a loner by nature,” he thought, ripping loose a chunk of flesh, “but it's strange... I've now spent time with two prides. And there has only been... confusion at first. But then... we come to trust one another. Even... form friendships. But that's bad for everyone involved,” the li-tigon mused, “because I don't know how to really be a pride animal. And I don't think I ever will.”

“..But... there's no harm in trying to. And if there is, then I'll leave.”

“Yes. I'll... try. But I don't expect anything to come out of. In fact, I expect it to utterly fail. Just as my quest for love did...”

“But wait,” Freak actually physically paused, “I couldn't be with Vitani. And I couldn't be with Simba and the Pride Landers. But now I have another chance to be part of a pride. So does that mean... that someday, I'll have another chance to love?”

“Hey...” said Adhabu, who was already finished eating, “what do you know...” the dark lioness tilted her head back to swallow one last piece of meat, “it's Samehe.”

For the first time, the li-tigon saw a hint of a smile on Adhabu's lips... and it was a smile that she didn't even try to hide. As he looked up, he could easily see the other three young lionesses grin widely. Sikia even nuzzled her sister, such was her relief that their beloved leader had returned.

Freak suddenly felt... more threatened than he usually did. So, while the four lionesses rushed off to greet the lone silhouette on a far sand dune, he hung back... then disappeared below the surface of the Desert.

“If she hated my mother enough to call her Chukizo and send her away into the Desert... there's no telling what she'll do when she finds out that I exist.”

Meanwhile, the lionesses had reached Samehe. She was a little younger than Sarabi... but anyone who looked at her could tell that she was a step above the ex-matriarch's fitness level. And yet, her soldiers, who weren't even full grown yet, were very nearly as deadly as a counterassassin.

It was a fact she struggled with every day: though the Desert Pride needed its best warriors to fight back against the unrelenting legions of Dark Forest dogs... was it really acceptable to use mere juveniles as killing machines?

Samehe still wasn't sure. That's why she had always done her damnedest to teach the four lionesses the sacredness of life. She never allowed them to kill retreating enemies or cubs, and she never allowed them to love battle. She only taught them to accept it... as one of the harsh parts of the Circle of Life.

But now wasn't the time for all that. Her reconnaissance mission had been quite successful—and so she ducked out of the friendly nuzzles and licks prematurely.

“Desert Warriors,” she said, calming them all instantly, “I have information vital to our war. I found out where they're hiding the Lord of the Fores—”

Samehe was cut off by Sikia, whose paw shot into the air, waving vigorously.

The old lioness's eyes narrowed slightly—she knew that the youngest feline in the Desert was, justifiably, light-hearted. But she'd never interrupted such an important announcement before...

It all came down to a matter of trust. And Samehe trusted all of her soldiers with her life.

“What is it, Sikia?” she asked, lips quavering slightly, in between a stern frown that would be most befitting of such a war-hardened fighter and the exasperated grin of a mother.

“We've got something more important to tell you,” the youngest lioness said seriously, and Samehe's eyes narrowed, though in a curious, not suspicious manner.

“She's right,” Adhabu rasped.

“...I don't really know how to tell you this...” Msaka delayed, after the dark lioness said nothing else.

Shindani rolled her eyes—Msaka was the hunter, Sikia was the goofball, Adhabu was the pragmatist, Samehe was the leader... but she had always been the blunt, force to force combatant of the Desert Warriors.

“Your grandson's here.”

At first, Samehe didn't seem to register that simple phrase. She merely stared at Shindani with a blank expression. After that went on for a few moments, the other Desert lionesses began to get worried—even Shindani's brow furrowed.

“Hey... Samehe... are you o—”

Sikia abruptly shut up, and her eyes widened.

The Desert Warriors had been together through tough times. They'd all been injured, all been at death's door more than once. They'd all lived through the deaths of family and friends. And they'd all had their souls torn apart by the act of killing.

But they'd never, ever shown each another their tears.

It wasn't a rule. That's just how things went. Crying was recognized as a sign of weakness... and the only way that the last lionesses in the Desert... indeed, the last members of the Desert Pride, now... managed to survive was by refusing to allow for the possibility of defeat.

Sure, they might lose a few inches, or feet, or miles of land. But they never acknowledged, even in their minds, that they weren't strong enough. That they might lose. That they were weak.

And yet... in front of the four young, strong, diverse... killers... their leader was crying.

She wasn't sobbing in heart-racking agony. These were tears of guilt.

“I always knew...” the oldest one, the deadliest of the bunch whispered, as tears continued to stain her dusty tan fur a shade darker, “I always knew... that Chukizo hadn't died. She was tough. Like her mother. Like... her father.”

Msafiri had once told Samehe, and only Samehe, under the promise of secrecy, her loathed enemy. And how her loathed enemy was the identity of her friend's rapist. Oh, she'd also told Freak about his grandfather, in her dying breath... by the adrenaline coursing through the li-tigon's veins, and the general disregard he held for what others could do for him made this one of the very few things he forgot in his life. Both Msafiri and Samehe had kept silent about the existence of tigers, of course—if any other lions found out that tigers existed, albeit in a land far, far beyond their reach... the majestic, aggressive cats would seek out their striped brothers, and war would ensue.

And for the past few generations, the last thing any lion pride needed was another enemy.

“Her father...” mouthed Sikia, but she didn't press the issue.

“Where... where is he? My grandson,” Samehe asked, in such a pained, desperate voice that it made her warriors cringe to hear, “I want to—I... need... to see him.”

“To tell him that I love him. And that... I'm sorry.”

“I'm right here,” said a voice to the south, the direction from which Samehe had just approached.

And there he sat. The dry, temperate breeze of the Desert evening ruffled his longish fur. For a second, the clouds shifted, along moonlight to shine upon the li-tigon, illuminating his otherwise invisible stripes... the spitting image of his mother, his grandfather, and one more.

His head was tilted slightly, in that same naive, cub-like manner that made him seem almost innocent. But the long, deadly-looking sharp claws that jutted from his paws; the almost overlarge teeth that nearly hung from his mouth, and the jagged triangular scar that adorned his left eye to this day told Samehe that her grandson had lived a life a thousand times as hard as hers... a thousand times as hard as the one Chukizo had been forced to live.

“My grandson...” she whispered, and took a single, tentative step forward.

The li-tigon didn't react. He looked at his grandmother as coldly, as analytically, as emotionally as he might look at a prey animal. And for the first time in her life, Samehe flinched.

As her lip quavered, wondering if she could possibly convince her grandson to accept her as family, as a loving guardian, she saw his mouth open slowly, as if he was searching for the right words.

And then, the dusty-tan lioness, whose age neared that of Sarabi's, yet whose combat abilities would make any counterassassin jealous heard her grandson, her very own grandchild, her mark on the world, heard him say three impossible words.

“Msafiri says hi.”

(I must have five reviews to continue. So please tell me what you think. Also, if I were to write a Balto fanfiction in the near future, just how many of you would give it a read? Anyway, this is al-Mujahid... see you soon.)

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