Righto people, I'm back in business. I'm picking right back up where that cliffhanger at the end of Part I left off. For those of you that don't know, or haven't figured...THIS IS A HUMAN VERSION, and prequel (sort of) to my Modern Human trilogy. This is also a human adaption of Haradion's TLK 'Judgement' which also ties in here. Yep, this is a direction continuation. No 'Chapter 1'...we'll begin with 28. Where we left off. And quite a few secrets of the MHV universe are revealed here...Some questions a few of you may have been thinking. WARNING: This chapter reveals a secret kept since MHV1...make sure there's nothing in your mouth when you figure it out...or you'll spit it everywhere.

Cheers: JJZ-109

CHAPTER 28. THE TALES

Ammit turned to Scar in surprise, grinning.

"Wow! I didn't see that coming." He said, relishing the discomfort.

"Ha! The Mrs. and the Ex. Welcome to every man's worst nightmare..." Ammit chortled to himself. Scar was yet again starting to lose his patience.

"So what happened next Scar?" Kivuli asked, and Scar looked at him.

"What do you mean?" Scar asked dryly, no mood for games and guesswork.

"I take it you helped her out, right?" Scar rolled his eyes.

"Yes. What else do I do?"

"Chase her to Australia, shoot her and dump her body into the ocean?" Ammit wisecracked, and was met with glares from both of his companions. "...Okay. Why, then? She betrayed you twice when you needed her, and because of her your government plan didn't take effect." He asked, this time a bit more seriously.

"Is it any of your business?" Scar growled.

"Yep." Ammit and Kivuli said in unison. Scar sighed.

"I don't know. I couldn't just leave her could I? I knew her, a drunkard was beating her and I had the power to stop it. That's why."

"Just curious." Kivuli said to nobody in particular, but he seemed to be smiling.

"Anyway, let's keep on going. Right where we left off, aye mate?" He waved two fingers, and the freeze-frame of the vision in the background slowly started to animate itself again, and grew large once again.

East Side Motel

December, 1993

Scar was lost for words as Sarafina looked up at him feebly. He was about to correct for addressing him by his old name, but thought against it. Instead of greeting her, his attention was drawn to her injuries and the alcohol-infused rambling in the background. The situation didn't look good.

"What's going on here?" Scar asked after a moment of confusion.

"Um...nothing. Don't worry." Sarafina said quickly. Scar looked towards the motel room again and then back at Sarafina, shaking his head.

"Don't bullshit me...Who's that in there?" Scar interrogated her.

"It's my husband." Sarafina admitted, bowing her head. Scar raised an eyebrow at her. Of course he didn't expect her to still have feelings for him after 20 years and all that had happened between them, but he would have thought she would have chosen a better man than what it seemed.

Scar nodded.

"Okay, I'm sorting this out." Scar said and reached for the doorknob. Sarafina desperately grabbed his arm.

"No...Please don't...please. He'll get angry." Sarafina protested, with swollen eyes and a tear stained face. Scar shook her off and stared into her eyes.

"A man that hits a woman...is barely a man at all." Scar snarled and twisted the doorknob.

As the words left his mouth, images flooded through his mind, and his stomach churned violently with regret. He shuddered as he remembered his treating of Bane's wife in the village, the burning of huts, and that rage fueled pull of the trigger. He was hardly a man at all. What he had done...NO! Scar snapped out of the trance and shook off the guilt. Those women really weren't women...they were Viet Cong. The trembling and stress-induced nausea started to die down as Scar mentally justified himself.

Sarafina couldn't reply, and watched in horror as turned away.

He gripped the doorknob, and violently shoved the creaky door open. As the dimly lit room revealed itself, Scar wondered how a woman like Sarafina could end up there. The motel room was trashed. Tables and chairs were knocked over, broken glass scattered the floor and there was an overwhelming stench of alcohol. The wallpaper lining the walls was torn in several places, and overridden by stains. It looked like a scene out of a horror movie. On edge, Scar patted the area of his jacket where the Desert Eagle was stored.

He flinched as he accidentally stood on broken glass, and made a loud cracking sound.

"Hello?" Scar called out, anger noticeably audible in his voice.

The yell triggered a cry, that of a baby. He had obviously woken it. Scar looked back over his shoulder, and found that the source of the noise was right behind him. There was a faded brown sofa, with pieces of cloth and stuffing ripped and stained, as well as junk splayed all over it. Scar ruffled through some newspapers messily thrown in a pile, and eventually uncovered the child.

It was not very old at all. It's eyes were squeezed shut as it wailed. Scar instinctively checked for any injuries the baby may have, but he found none. It looked reasonably healthy, despite the environment it was in. Scar wanted to pick it up and try to gently hush it, but as his hands neared it he saw that there was a pick and blue bracelet tied around the baby's wrist. It looked exactly like the one he had made for Kira. The one he had just thrown into West Australian waters the other day. A tear stung his eye as he thought about it.

Since he had killed Bane and cast out Kira's bracelet, the memory had felt like it had been put to rest. He had had a peace of mind he hadn't really felt since before his mother was killed thirty years ago, but this seemed to yank the memory back. Is this what Kira would have looked like? Is this what it would have been like, to have a son?

Scar gently lifted the baby's wrist, and looked over the bracelet. In childish block letters was written: MHEETU.

"Mheetu..." Scar thought aloud, and was about to reach to scratch his chin, but as he did so, a loud commanding voice broke out that made the hand change direction to pat his hidden weapon instinctively.

"What the hell are you doing in here?" Scar wheeled around, to see a man slowly walking into the room.

He was reasonably large, with unkempt hair and stubble across his lower face. He wore an unbuttoned red flannel shirt, revealing a stained white singlet underneath. He groggily stepped forward to Scar, staring him down. In his right hand was a whiskey bottle, which he held by the neck.

"Are ya gonna answer asshole?" The man challenged, before taking another sip of his whiskey. Scar's blank expression then formed a frown.

"I'd watch how you talk sir, and I think me being in here is justified. There's a beaten mother outside, and this baby 'Mheetu' over here is buried in newspapers..." Scar started, aggressively but still civilized. He was sharply interrupted when the man crashed his bottle down onto a table, shattering it and forming a dangerous looking weapon.

"Watch how I talk? Is that a challenge?" The man snarled in a croaky voice. Scar remained calm.

"Temper, temper...Don't get ahead of yourself- " Scar started, with his hand slowly inching closer and closer to the pistol in his jacket.

"First of all, It's Matthew. I don't know what Sarafina...Sara...She sent you here didn't she, the stupid bitch..." The man's voice descended into a cruel growl the further he got into his drunken sentence.

He seemed to forget Scar and make for the door, with a scowl etched onto his face, obviously to confront Sarafina again. Oh no you don't. Scar grabbed the man by the collar of his flannel shirt, and violently threw him back. The man was too drunk to keep his footing, and so tumbled back, knocking over a chair on his way down.

"A man that hits a woman...is barely a man at all. Come on tough guy… hit a man. See what happens." Scar snarled through clenched teeth, cracking his knuckles.

The man dizzily got to his feet with the help of the table he had smashed the bottle on, and rounded on Scar. He held his smashed bottle threateningly and advanced.

"O-okay asshole, let's do this...Now I'll be owning two bitches." Scar didn't have to think. On instinct, he finally plowed a hand into his jacket and drew the Desert Eagle.

"Put...that...down." Scar slowly instructed, aiming the pistol at him.

The man just let the bottle fall out of his hand, and shattered on the old tile floor. However, instead of raising his hands in defeat, a smile formed on his face. Scar raised an eyebrow.

"Wanna play that game, huh?" The man murmured, and slowly reached behind the sofa.

He pulled out a shotgun, ignoring Scar aiming his gun at him. He was either calling Scar's bluff, or too drunk to contemplate the fight he was picking. However, Scar was bluffing. He wasn't going to shoot him. There was a baby here, and he didn't want to orphan it. And this guy was Sarafina's husband, despite how he didn't approve of that union.

It dawned on him that he was outgunned. At this range, the shotgun was the more powerful weapon. He weighed up his options. His best one was to hope this man was bluffing, make a break for it, get Sarafina to safety, and come back to get the baby. That was it. While the man pumped his shotgun, Scar quickly snapped around on his heels and bounded to the door. He yanked it open, and flung himself outside just before he was shot at.

"HEY!" The man yelled. BANG! He fired a slug at Scar, but due to his intoxication his aim was well off. The round smashed into the wall, kicking up a cloud of insulation dust.

Scar slammed the door shut, and grabbed Sarafina's arm. Luckily, she hadn't moved from her spot and was still in tears. Scar pulled her up and they both began running into the motel car park.

"What did you do?" Sarafina sobbed as they ran.

"Now's not the time!"

BANG! The man had exited the motel room, and had fired another stray slug at them. Scar reached over his shoulder and fired off two rounds BANG, BANG! They weren't intended to hit the man, but rather make him double over in fear. It gave them enough of a delay. Scar found the only functional looking car at the motel, and smashed the window open with his elbow viciously. He then quickly unlocked the door and leapt into the driver's seat.

"GET IN!" He ordered Sarafina, as he fiddled with the wires underneath the steering wheel. Eventually, the engine sparked to life and he slammed his foot down on the accelerator, not thinking to reverse as another shotgun round whistled past them.

The car bounced over the curb, and onto the road. Scar didn't hesitate and gunned the car away, leaving Sarafina's husband in the car park yelling in rage. As the rickety old car's wheel vibrated in Scar's grip, Scar saw the reflection of the motel's neon sign grow fainter and fainter. He eventually sighed loudly.

That was the second baby that got away from him. He didn't know what to say to Sarafina as she sat beside him, sobbing in her seat. After she seemed to stop, and a fair distance of driving in awkward silence, Scar spoke up.

"Sarafina...I'm sorry." He apologized, sighing again.

"No...It's okay. It was what was best for me...I j-just couldn't bring m-myself to abandon...again." Her croaky voice trailed off. Scar was somewhat relieved by her reaction.

"He was a bad man...a bad decision...It needed to end. I just couldn't do it myself." Sarafina admitted, looking away from Scar.

"And what of the baby, Matthew? What do you want me to do about it?" Scar asked, hinting at the power he still held. Power that could help him out.

"I like to call him Mheetu. Salin calls him Matthew. He can't grow up under that bastard...but I can't take care of him with another on the way." Sarafina patted her belly as she replied, exhaling loudly in defeat.

"Put him up for adoption?" Scar suggested, with them both making the assumption that Sarafina's husband would be tracked down, and the baby recovered.

Sarafina nodded sadly in response. Scar didn't know what to say to her. She sniffled loudly, before changing the topic.

"What about you? I haven't seen you in what, twenty years? How's it been?" Terrible. Fucking terrible. Scar thought to himself, disguising it with a sigh.

"Not too bad I guess. After Vietnam I quit the Head of the Military job, and focused entirely on politics. I just got back from a holiday in Australia." Scar replied, mentally counting the number of lies he told there. He then took his eyes off the road to make eye-contact with Sarafina. One of her eyes was severely bruised.

"And forget me...What happened to you? After I went back to Vietnam you apparently just disappeared. No warning, no goodbyes, Mufasa was about to get the PI1 to go find you." Scar told her, and she managed what appeared to be a weak smile.

"I guess I just realized that people had changed. I didn't want to cause a fuss, or worry, so I guess I thought it would be best if I just disappeared..." Sarafina muttered. Scar took a hand off the wheel to gesture for her to continue.

"And no goodbyes, no letter stuck to the fridge?" Sarafina shook her head.

"Anyway, I left Prideland City and moved out into the country. You know, just to get away from all the racket. And because I was afraid of a Communist overthrow..." As she said the last part, Sarafina flinched. But Scar gave no reaction. "Anyway, I took up a job in a diner. It didn't pay much, but it was enough. And then I met Salin..." Sarafina's voice trailed off again.

"Salin?" Scar raised an eyebrow.

"Salin Weaver. That man back there. He seemed like a nice guy initially. He was a well-paid truck driver, working out of the ore mines. He kept coming back to the diner, just to see me. And eventually we became...close." Sarafina told the story.

"Did you love him?" Scar asked bluntly, and she paused.

"Maybe at the time. But things became...intimate...nonetheless. Eventually I felt pressured to marry him. So I did." She conceded, and Scar shook his head.

"Anyway, I became pregnant and we had our first son, Mheetu, or rather 'Matthew' Weaver. But from there things only went downhill. Salin lost his job, and got turned into a negative wreck. So bang, he turned to alcohol to try and flush out his pain. And when booze didn't soak it up, he thought I would instead. He took it out on me..." Sarafina said, rubbing her bruises.

"We were forced to move back here, to try and get some money. But he'd turned into an abusive alcoholic prick...so there was no hope in hell. Until you showed up at least." Sarafina continued. This was followed by another uncomfortable silence between the two, filled only by the hum of the stolen car's motor.

"Thank you. We...we didn't part on the best of terms. And yet I still think you've just turned my life around for the better. Thank you. For saving my life, and my children's." Sarafina finally thanked him, looking away as she did so.

"Never mind." Scar brushed the thanks off.

He then gestured towards Sarafina's belly.

"Do you have a name yet?" He asked her, and she responded with a nod.

"Nala." She told him. "And she'll have my last name. Not Salin's."

"So...Nala Kelly and Matthew Weaver. Shame they won't be around each other much, like a brother and sister should." Scar thought aloud.

Once again, the mist shrouded the Pridelands again, and the omnipresent apparitions of Kivuli and Ammit appeared beside him. Kivuli looked thoughtful.

How was that to get us rolling again? There, I spat the secret. Nala and Sgt. Matthew Weaver (who is 'Mheetu') are actually brother and sister. Bit of Nala origin. Anyway, we're approaching the human version of the TLK1 timeline now...so buckle up, review, sub, fave and all that good shit.

Oh, and by the way...go on Chu10's profile. You'll find a link to her deviant art. There you'll find her artwork of the famous MHV character 'EJ' (Who will appear in this story later on). It's pretty fucking awesome.

This has been JJZ-109, and as always...Have a nice day.