Kopa and Karimu found themselves strolling the path up the Outland's volcano, its choking fumes strangling the two lions as they climbed. The slowly collapsing landscape of the Outlands backdropped their ascent, orchestrated by the sound of agonising screams and soul lit fires on the horizon. Everything was breaking apart.
Scar was winning.
"And how do you expect to bring back the balance?" Karimu queried. Kopa refused to reply, keeping his head focused on the path ahead. He had remained silent ever since the mad dash to the volcano's base. With a stiff, concerned pout, the Uasian Queen charged forward, halting before her king. "Well?" Kopa sighed, taking a seat where he stood.
"I...don't know..." Kopa lowered his head, refusing to face his beloved. "But the gods will know, they always do." He felt a familiar, soothing hum spread across his scar, caressing his mind with knowledge.
"We will fix all this soon enough..." The godly voice seeped through his mind, raising his eyesight as Karimu's paw caressed his chin. Her hazel eyes gleamed with a loving gaze, sending his heart fluttering as her tongue caressed his cheek.
"I hope so." Her words purred from her throat. Even as the world crumbled beneath them, the two shared this moment, nuzzling each other as the screams of Giza and animals echoed across the horizon. As the screams of the animals surrounding them heightened, the two felines broke free from each other's loving embrace. Their hearts raced with a newfound well of power.
If they were going to stop this, they would need it...
...
Shujaa charged forward, leading his detachment of the savannah resistance headfirst into Scar's Giza. The many lions, hippos, zebras and cheetahs that made up his forces quickly struck at the demonic hordes with sharpened claws, heavy hitting hooves and ferocious strength.
The Giza struck back just as hard. Their rocky bodies reformed and moulded, taking on the form of larger, heavier creatures to tackle the oncoming living animals. The zebras and cheetahs fell quickly. Crushed by the newly formed Giza's raw power. But the hippos held, crafting a wall of flesh with their flabby bodies. Shujaa held his ground as well, swiping away the smaller Giza with ease. The hippos eventually overcame their equally strong adversaries, only losing a few members from their pod.
The lions and lionesses pushed forward, charging the Giza head on once more. Shujaa led the charge, pouncing through the void-lit moonlight towards his demonic prey. But the Giza anticipated such ferocity, as they were equally vicious and desperate. The cheetahs and zebras they killed arose once more, twisted and consumed in Scar's magnificent glory. Their souls, once bright and innocent, now stood rotten, formed from the stained rock of the Pridelands. As Shujaa flew through the air, a cheetah Giza lunged, knocking him away from its arisen allies. The creature snarled, clawed, and spat fiery saliva from its muzzle, singeing his mane.
Its claws pierced his skin, sending stinging shots of pain through his body. Shujaa struggled under the rocky spirit's weight, desperately trying to break free. His eyes swallowed, sinking with his heartbeat. He was going to die here, beneath the twisted form of his fellow comrade in claws.
A blinding light gleamed from behind the Giza's. Shujaa inhaled sharply as a howling battle cry reverberated mere meters away. Before he could blink, the Giza on top of him suddenly split in half, crumbling into ash with a shallow, reliving groan. Regaining his strength, the Uasian King's advisor could only watch on as a familiar primate struck back at the spectral swarm. Her staff gleamed with ethereal energy as it sliced through their rocky bodies, absorbing their souls as it broke through. The relieved groans seeped through the air, a final relief for the poor souls trapped by Scar's wrath.
"Mtafuta?!" Shujaa struggled to his feet, his breath slowly returning to him as the primate chieftain ferociously fought on. Her staff roared with ethereal energy, bursting through a Giza's neck with a powerful thrust. The creature wheezed in pain as the primate swung its impaled form around, the momentum of her staff sending its body sweeping across the sky, flaking rocky fragments as it broke apart. Mtafuta stood strong, regaining her composure as her fellow clanmates pushed the charging Giza back.
The chieftain turned to Shujaa, slamming her staff into the ground. The worn lion stared with curious focus, analysing every strand of fur on the monkey's body. She lowered her hand, stretching out its palm to his paw.
"Come, my feline brother, you shall not fall today!" A Giza stared her down, scraping its claws across the ground. Mtafuta raised her staff beside her ear, its wooden skin charged with a crackling hum, which sparked down her arm. With focused eyes and a precise lunge, the primate threw her staff as a spear, crackling through the air as it cleaved the pouncing Giza into two. Shujaa's ears peaked, surprised at the display of strength before him.
They might win this battle after all...
...
Vitani clutched her brother's unconscious body. Her fellow huntresses rested around her; their ears folded in grief. Imara barely held back the tears as Vitani licked her brother's forehead.
"Please Kovu... Wake up!" The huntress cradled her brother's head. Staring down at his soulless face. Dribbles of salty fluid seeped across his face as she wept, refusing to let go. Shabaha and Kasi both nuzzled up beside him, barely holding back the tears as Tazama stared down at the volcano's cone. A slither of sickly light hummed in its centre, swirling around in the magma below. The winds changed, brushing against her face. She heard the whispers of the wilds, alerting her to the approaching lion couple. With an almost unnatural reflex, Tazama glanced behind her fellow sisters in pride, witnessing the hasty approach of a certain lion and lioness.
"Oh no..." The Uasian King's words caught the attention of the others, who shot up into defensive positions. Vitani's scruff arose, her teeth drooling with vengeful spite as Kopa and Karimu halted their advance. The Uasian Queen glanced beside her, desperately searching for any form of reassurance in his plan. Kopa continued to stare forward, a drip of sorrow on his muzzle.
Surprisingly, all sense of anger and hatred seemed to seep from Karimu's mind. Here stood the kidnapper of her cubs, and yet she couldn't help but bathe in a strange sense of serenity. Kopa took a step forward which was met with a defensive lunge by Imara. Every huntress locked their eyes on Kopa, scraping their claws across the ground as the Uasian King held his ground.
"This was your fault!" Vitani stepped forward, her fangs spewing vile saliva across the cracked volcanic crust. "If you hadn't... we'd still be-" Vitani could barely roar, her words choked in despair along with the horizon. A large part of the Outlands started to tilt, collapsing into the void as the pair stared off.
"Where are our cubs?!" Karimu finally stepped forward, a small ember of grievance tingling her belly. Kopa immediately placed a paw to the side, blocking his mate from advancing any further. Vitani scraped the earth in response, the dirt hydrated by her overflowing tears.
"He took them..." The young huntress turned her attention away, unable to face the invasive duo. "Just like you took my chances of happiness, of being loved!" Vitani slammed the ground once more, cracking the saturated rock, revealing a slither of green flame. Kopa's eyes sharpened. The lioness' grief clung to her fur like a thunderous cloud, choking any trace of common sense from the air.
He raised a paw, focussing his attention on the tearful lioness. Her fellow huntresses tensed, ready to strike him down where he stood. Surprisingly, Karimu held her position, admiring her king with concerned trepidation. His eyes flickered with an ethereal glow for just a split second, blinking with a crystalline gleam. He sensed the aura around Vitani, the many threads of corruption formed around her in a shroud. As the blink ended his eyes dimmed, returning to normality.
"I'm sorry." Kopa's voice shallowed. Vitani stared him in the eye, a whisker of intrigue brushing her muzzle. The Uasian King sat, causing all the lionesses to relax, even Karimu. "I know the deceit you've been fed, the corruption in your mind." Vitani turned her head, glancing out at the volcano's cone. Another part of the Outland's cracked away on the horizon, the screams of the trapped Giza choked the air as the lioness' heart slowed to a crawling beat. The curtains of realisation began to fall, welling her eyelids as Scar's destruction unfurled before her. Imara and Tazama joined their leader, their veils of deceit withered away as the realisation of Scar's actions shattered before them.
Their world was broken....
"Wh...What have we done?!" The ground trembled, drenched by Vitani's overflowing sense of dread. Imara and Tazama became washed away too, sulking in despair whilst the gravity of the situation began to hit their fellow sisters in pride.
Karimu sensed it too. The ever-growing hunger and destruction. The land was being taken, consumed and anchored to Scar's realm. She turned to Kopa who simply nodded. He already knew of her concerns. There was no time for them.
"If you let us pass, we can end this!" Kopa's stern tones sliced through the air, rupturing the skin of fear brewing among the lionesses. Each of them turned their attention to him, slurping in his words of encouragement with a series of hesitant ear twitches. "If we can get into his realm, we can cut this corruption off at its source. He pointed a paw out to the horizon before lowering it, taking a few steps forward towards Kovu's unconscious body.
Not a single lioness stopped him.
"Your brother, Kovu..." Vitani's heart thumped at the sound of the Uasian King speaking his name. "We can save him, heal his soul." Karimu watched on from the sidelines, curiously admiring her mate negotiate. Something seemed off... The way he spoke, full of promises and secrets... She sensed the hidden truth. Her eyes widened; a smile began to form across her muzzle. He was brilliant.
Vitani thought for a moment. Her lavender eyes darted between her fellow sisters, granting an acknowledging smile from each of them. Kasi reacted quickly, removing herself from the gathered defense. In an act of acknowledgment, she bowed to Kopa and Karimu, quickly followed by Imara and Tazama. Kopa's muzzle slid to a grin, gently bowing his head in response. Only Shabaha kept her stance. It wasn't until Vitani and the others glanced over at her that she crumbled, gently bowing before the king and queen in reconciliation. Vitani faced Kopa. "Do it..." She stepped to the side, making way for the Uasian King and Queen as they marched onward. As they approached the volcano's cone, a bloodcurdling roar bellowed from below. Kasi's ears peeked, her scruff quickly arising as she peeked over the edge of the volcano into the crumbing Outlands below.
"It's the Giza!" Her eyes widened upon seeing the savage spectral beings spawning from the rocky remains below. She lowered her head for a sec, contemplating their movements as the Giza swarmed the Outland's remains. "They're coming!"
"Scar knows we're coming!" Kopa stood at the tip of the volcano, turning his head to face Vitani. The young lioness trembled, the fact he was talking to her, willing to help her...
"Go!" She responded almost instinctively. "We'll hold them off until you return." Shabaha moved forth with Imara, ready to hold the main pathway from the oncoming swarm. Both sisters stood strong beside each other, ready for anything. Tazama and Kasi took their positions at another possible incursion point, their ears twitching as the growls and roars grew louder.
"Good luck!" Karimu smiled, bowing her head for just a second at the younger lioness. Vitani smiled back before turning her attention to her sisters. Kopa glanced down into the volcano, feeling the seething shards resting before him. Placing a paw directly at the edge, he sensed the ripple before him, thrashing back in his presence out of desperation.
"And Kopa..." Vitani halted, glancing back at the Uasian King. As soon as their eyes met, she smirked. "You owe me!" She gave an affirming nod before sprinting off to battle the Giza swarming their position. Kopa turned back to the volcano's inner cone, feeling Karimu's sweet fur brush against him.
With a deep, hesitant breath, the king drew on the power embedded in his heart. The dark flickers of green flames tried to fight back, slithering deep into the volcano's bubbling magma, to no avail. He called upon them once more, forming a circle of flame within the volcano's mouth. Karimu joined the fray, roaring her soul amid the fire and brimstone.
Together, they ripped open a gateway into a decayed, twisted world. Even standing at its precipice, they could smell the rot and decay. As their roars subsided, the pair glanced at each other, the sound of Vitani's war cry muffled by their affectionate concentration.
"Ready?" Kopa smirked, flicking his head towards the gateway. Karimu smirked back, fluttering her eyes as her chest thumped with anticipation. She had missed this, leaping headfirst into danger by his side.
"Always!" Her reply warmed his heart. In unison, the Uasian King and Queen faced the gateway, brushing the cracked volcanic rock with their claws. With a deep, thoughtful breath, they lunged forward, taking a leap of faith into the sinister realm beyond.
And with that, the scarred land roared back...
