I do not own the walking dead. If I did, Shiva wouldn't have died and Negan would've been done in a long time ago by Daryll, Carl, and Rick. That is all. Enjoy this one-shot.

He stumbled forward, growling. A walker got to close and he slashed its head in half with his claws. Behind him, more walkers followed him, but he ignored them. They were of a little concern to him. Right now, he had to get going. He had to make it in time. He could feel it. She was in danger and he'd be damn to let her die a second time. Not after all it took to save her the first time.

"Almost there," he thought. "Hold on girl. I won't fail you again. Never again."

-With Ezekiel-

Ezekiel spun around and throve his sword through a walker's eye. He yanked it out and chopped off anothers head, then impaled another through the skull. Still, they were nearly surrounded. Walkers poured in from every direction, but from behind them. Stumbling and crawling - wanting to devour their flesh. He knew he'd only hold Carol and Jerry back with his injury. He was a liabilty. One that would get them all killed. He couldn't - wouldn't let that happen. He lost so much already, he couldn't bare to lose anyone else. He may be afraid and he didn't want to die, but...it was the only way.

"Ezekiel!" Carol excliams.

"Just go! I'll hold them off!" he orders, slicing a walker's head in half and staving another through the skull.

Carol shook her head, even if he couldn't see her do it with his back to them. "No, we can all get away."

"No, we can't! I'll only slow you down!" he grunts, taking out two more walkers.

"I can't leave you, Your Majesty," Jerry states.

Ezekiel grunts, taking out another walker. "C'mon, man, just go!"

Jerry steps forward, swinging his weapon and kills two walkers in one blow. "Your my king!" he shouts, ready to fight to the death with Ezekiel.

Ezekiel turns on him, enraged. "No, I'm not!!" he yells. "I'm not your king! I'm not "Your Majesty"!" He spins back around, decapicating another walker. Then, he pointed his sword in front of him. "Look at what's in front of us!" his voice broke like he was about to cry. "That's what's real! -- Go. Go. Go. I ain't no king." he tells them, his voice breaking further. "I ain't nothing. I'm just some guy. Some guy who..."

A loud roar disrupts Ezekiel's dispair and mental breakdown. Shiva leaps over the legde, taking down a walker and scattering the others across the ground. Her powerful jaws snap the walker's beck and crushes his skull. She shakes him a few times, before throwing him away and roars at tge rest of the walkers.

"Shiva..." Ezekiel whispers, voice full of surprise and hope.

"C'mon," Carol says, helping Jerry drag Ezekiel further away from tge walkers.

The walkers have turned their attention to Shiva and start stumbling towards her. She stands defiantly before them, growling. She knocks back several walkers with her paws and kils more with her claws and fangs, still tgey keep coming. Seeing her surrounded, Ezekiel tries to rescue the olny family he has left, but Caral and Jerry hold him back.

"Shiva!" he cries out. "Shiva! Run, Girl! Run!"

Shiva guts a walker and crushes its head, before knocking two back. She grabs another with her jaws and pulks it in close, so she can slice off its head. Her eyes lock with Ezekiel's and sge's pleading for him to run. To escape and live another day. He's pleading for her to do the same. Sadly, it can't be. She must stay, so he can live. Growling, Shiva crushes another walker's head with her jaw and knick three back. She roars at them, gutting two more. This was it for her and she knew it, but she'd go down fighting.

Ezekiel's eyes widen as more and more walkers surround Shiva. "No!No!" he cries out, struggling in Carol and Jerry's hold. "Please, Jerry! Dammit, let me help her!" He struggles harder, but neither relent and start the lower him to the ground.

"Y-you can't," Jerry tells him. "It's too late. You'll only die too."

Still, Ezekiel struggles in their hold never taking his eyes off of Shiva as she was pinned down. He didn't care if he died too! He had to try! He had to save her! She was all he had left. Shiva constantly growled and whinned as she fought the walkers pinning her down as they tried to tear into her flesh, leaving bleeding scratches and getting closer to success with each attempt. This was it.

Or it was suppose to be.

Suddenly, a loud inhuman roar echoed around them. Birds scattered in ever direction and the ground seemed to vibrate. Even the walkers froze suddenly, a primal instinct telling them to stay still or die. Then, as sudden as it started, it stopped.

"What the hell was that?" Carol muttered.

"I don't wanna find out," Jerry states. "C'mon, let's go!"

The two hual Ezekiel to his feet just as a blur goes flying over their heads. It slams it several walkers and throws them off Shiva roaring. Just like that, everything is moving once again. Walkers converged on the new five feet and eleven inches tall figure. He swatted them away like flies, one by one. Shiva was confused by this newcomer. He smelled like a tiger, but looked like man. Still, he saved her, so she'd fight with him.

Ezekiel, Carol, and Jerry couldn't help but stare as the newcomer fought with Shiva. They couldn't help, but stare at him. He was obviously male - that much they could tell, but they couldn't tell what he was. He looked like a man-tiger. His chest to abs was a dark ebony color with some fur under to just above his junk - which wasn't covered in fur - his inner thighs to the side of his knees was also a dark ebony color. Which they realize was skin. There was wild, shoulder length, jet back, spiky hair on top of his head. Fur covered tge rest of his body, he had the hind legs of a tiger, the stripes on his back and all his limbs, claws on his hands and toes, fangs-a mouth full of 'em, tiger eyes, and a short muzzle like Shiva. A tail swung back and forth behind him, through his torn up jeanshorts he wore along with half a torn shirt. He had a very sleek, firm, and slim muscular build. He roared at a walker that had bitten Shiva and tore its body in half, using the halves to beat four others to death.

"I-is he even human?" they all wondered.

The Newcomer roars again, this time in pain as a walker chomps on his tail. With impressive strength, he sends the walker flying with a flick of his tail into a tree. Shiva kills three more walkers and the newcomer leaps over her, decapitating three with one swing and throwing another back into the forest. Thus, this is how the fight continued for the next five minutes with the two sending the undead back to the grave and Carol, Ezekiel, and, Jerry watching in fascination and fear - unable to move. When the five minutes were up, all the walkers lay dead on the ground around the two or in the forest. The Newcomer threw his head back and roared victoriously once all of them were dead.

The air seem to quake with his roar. It unnevred the three suvivors watching him wearily. Though, it didn't seem to bother Shiva. Actually, it seemed to comfort her as she recognized the sound. When he stopped roaring, his head snapped in the direction of Ezekiel, Carol, and Jerry. The three suvivors - unconsciously - flinch back and tighten their grips on their weapons. They were tensed and ready to fight. The newcomer's tiger like eyes unnerved them. And it didn't help that his fangs were bared and blood dripped from his chin and lips. He looked tensed as well like he'd attack them at any moment if they made one wrong move.

Shiva noticed all this, but ignored the growing tension. She was happy that she and Ezekiel were both alive and well. Well, as well as they could be anyway. She also just wanted to know who the stranger was that saved her life and why he felt and smelt so familiar to her. All ththis cold wait until they were no longer in this blasted forest where the rotters could get to them. She didn't feel like brushing so close to death again. So, with a low growl, she got everyones attention.

Ezekiel, Carol, and Jerry all look in her direction on reflex. They watch as she rubs up against the newcomers right leg and purrs. Tge newcomer in return relaxes and becomes less tense, his facial features becoming more human. His fangs all disappear, though hus canines are still longer and sharper than normal. His eyes turn a chocolatey brown, but his pupils are still silted. He purrs in response to Shiva's reaction to him, smiling a bit.

"I missed you girl," he mumbles to low for the survivors to hear, but not Shiva.

Shiva only purrs louder in respose to his words. He chuckles and scratches behind her left ear. Then, he turned his attention to the three survivors present. They all looked at him in shock, cuatious if him. He dudn't blame them. After all, he didn't look human anymore and had came out of nowhere, tearing through walkers with unchecked furosity.

"Uh...I suppose you've got a lot of questions for me right now and I'd be happy to answer them, but...maybe we should get out of here before more walkers show up. Don't you think?"

The three survivors look at each other, having a silent conversation. Ezekiel looked away and back at the newcomer.

"Any friend of Shiva is a friend of mine," he states. "You saved her and our lives, for that I am very grateful. And you are right - we have many questions, but they can wait for later. For niw, lets leave this acursed forest."

With his peace said, Ezekiel spun around and limped off. Carol and Jerry eyed the newcomer suspiciously, before following the king. The newcomer shrugged off their looks and followed close behind. Shiva staying close to his side as the group left behind Ezekiel's falken kingdom and what would've been Shiva's grave.

End.

A/N: This is just a one-shot that I felt the need to write when I learned and watched Shiva die. I hated it and wanted to change it, so I did. The tiger guy was also something I just wanted to get off my chest since reading a werewolf Walking Dead fanfic several months back, so I put him in here too.

As always read and review. Until next time, Sayonora.