Chapter 4 - An Ending Like This

A few more years had gone by, and poor Cragger was always found sulking in his father's throne; the young croc had been growing thin from lack of sleep or food, and this worried Crooler; not for the sake of her brother, but for her sake of her lust for tyranny for her tribe…and she needed help.

So, Crooler headed out for the one tribe of animals that she knew she could rely on to have what she needed: the ravens. But not just any raven could be the most reliable, as Crooler knew she had to go see the raven prince, Razar, for her aid.

"Ah, Princess Crooler. Looking to buy something on this fine day?" Razar asked with a hopeful smile when Crooler entered his small shop.

The ravens lived in the outskirts of Chima's vast and luscious jungle, and their land was terribly dry and barren. But with their hoarding after, the ravens have been able to create livable abodes out of scrap metal in their messy junkyard of a home.

"Yes, I am, Prince Razar. I know you ravens like to hoard…" Crooler began.

"Hmm, 'hoard' is such a strong word—I'd say 'collect'—but go on."

"So, I need something important from you."

"Could you be more specific?"

"I need something that will control my brother's mind."

"Ah! Aren't you a lucky croc? We're having a sale for all royals that drop by today who are looking for the rare Persuasion Plant!"

"The what?"

Razar only grinned as he reached under the counter and lifted up a large cloth bag, plopping it on the counter top in front of Crooler, and spilling some dark purple and pink across the counter in which she had never seen before; he then reached back up onto a shelf and pulled down a pot of small, odd-looking, shriveled up plants.

"These, my fair crocodile princess, are Persuasion Plants, or as we ravens like to call them 'A Sales Man's Best Friend'. Now, these plants actually grow best in the swamp, not out here in the barrens, and since these little guys have seen better days, I'll throw in a quarter of this bag of Persuasion Plant seeds with only a payment of ten extra bits."

"Interesting…but how are dying plants going to help me?" Crooler questioned with a glare.

"Oh, I'm glad you asked. They're called 'Persuasion Plants' for a reason, you know. Salesmen like to use them to cloud their customers' minds, so that they can trick them into buying whatever they want them to, at any price as well, but they're so rare that we have to use them wisely. So, if you're interested in a payment, that'll be twenty bits for all of these plants, and that'll also be an extra ten bits for the quarter bag of seeds. Do we have a deal?"

Crooler thought hard for a moment, and she figured her money would be worth it for her tribe and the control of her brother's mind, so she paid with the correct amount of cash Razar demanded, and was now headed out of the market…but she suddenly stopped and stared back at the raven prince in curiosity.

"By the way…where is your girlfriend?"

"Oh, you know how different Raiva is; always wanting to read books with her best friend Eris and the rest of the eagles, instead being with her own kind…but it's just that girl's rebellious acts that are just so…attractive," Razar replied with a smirk, realizing how lucky he is to have a girl like Raiva.

But Crooler only scoffed, as the idea of being in a mushy relationship sickened her, and she left the shop with a snarl.


Now, Crooler didn't really know anything about gardening, but if her plan to cloud her brother's mind with hatred towards the lions were to come true, she'd better start learning; especially when she found the perfect little patch of tilled mud in the swamp to plant the seeds and replant the shriveled saplings.

And as weeks went by, the Persuasion Plant's dying sprouts and seeds that Crooler planted were showing very slow yet sure signs of growth, as they were growing into mere green stems with dark pink buds.

But with just another month and expert care, the plants seemed to be in full bloom; at least, they looked strong enough to Crooler as she plucked the biggest flower from her garden, being the size of a little cupcake in her claws.

So now, it was Crooler's chance to make Cragger truly see how bad the lions really are, as the she-crocodile stepped forward to her mentally-aching brother, who couldn't even be brightened up by the royal jesters, as he continued to sulk in the throne.

"I have something that will make you feel better, Brother."

"Crooler, I already told you, I'm not attacking the lions. It's not their fault our parents are…" Cragger meekly protested, still not having the strength to look up, and he couldn't dare complete his sentence with that vile word.

"Who said anything about the lions? I just wanted to show this plant that I think you'll really find—quite enchanting," Crooler cooed as she brought the Persuasion Plant out from behind her back, and waved it in front of Cragger's face to see if what Razar said about this plant was true.

And it was. A cloud of bright purple mist burst out from the plant's blossom, and engulfed Cragger's face as he sniffed its pedals, inhaling the strange scent…and seconds later, things seemed different about the new crocodile king when his eyes began to glow a bright red.

"Yes…I feel stronger…strong enough to take down our enemy—the lions!" Cragger shouted as the mist in his mind made him think he was stronger, and that the lions were truly the enemy and the ones at fault for his parents' demise.


After all this time, Laval has never heard a single word from Cragger, so Lagravis was starting to worry for his son AND his best friend.

"Still nothing from Cragger?" Lagravis asked softly as he approached his son from behind, who was sitting at the top of the tall stone staircase that lead up to the entrance into the Lion Temple.

"No…I'm starting to thank I might never hear from him again."

"Give Cragger time, Son…he did lose his parents, after all. And as noble lions, we must make sure there is peace and balance within the land of Chima."

"Oh, boy…I sense The Great Story coming on. You know that story about the 'Legend Beasts' is only a wives' tale, right Dad?" Laval groaned while rolling his eyes.

"No, it is not just some wives' tale, Son; it is a legend, and legends are lessons—countless centuries ago, there were no villages, no vehicles, no tribes even. Creatures walked on all fours back then, and they never communicated with each other like we do today…but that was not to last when a miracle occurred; the sky was blessed when the heart of Chima was opened, and out arose Mount Cavora. The water that spilled from the new land was different, and when the animals drank from it, they became smarter, more sophisticated. But some had chosen to avoid the advantages of this new source we now call Chi, and thus left Chima. Now, they aimlessly roam The Outlands, and they have been known as the Legend Beasts, but it is said that they will return to Chima when they are needed most…even though few even believe in their existence anymore. To this day, Mount Cavora continues to supply us with the almighty Chi Orbs, as they are formed by the special minerals in the Sacred Chi Pool—in our Lion Temple."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah…Dad, I've heard that story, like, a thousand times. And if I'm honest, it's more of a 'good' story rather than a 'great' one; it could REALLY use a better ending, along with some intense action."

"And what YOU could really use, Son, is more maturity and respect," Lagravis growled in disappointment.

But that was when the sudden sound of screeching breaks caught the lions' attention; it was the Speedorz of Eris, Razar, who was accompanied by Raiva as she sat behind him, and Rogon, Gorzan, Bladvic and Worriz riding closely behind them; each of their Speedorz were designed to look like the animals of their tribes.

They were also joined by the rest of their tribes for this special event, as they gathered at the base of the Lion Temple.

But as more animals kept coming, Laval was confused when he never saw his best friend, despite seeing some crocodiles.

"I don't see Cragger anywhere, Dad."

"Don't worry, he'll come for his Chi. Remember Laval, as the first ones to drink from the Chi water, we lions are its eternal guardians, ensuring that it is shared equally by all," Lagravis calmly explained as he and his son descended down the stairs to meet up with the rest of the animals.

"Once every month, we distribute enough Chi to each of the tribes," Lagravis began, as he pointed out some of the lion guards taking Chi Orbs from a big bowl, and gently placing them into Rogon's leather satchel.

"Sa-weet! Gots me some Chi! Tonight's gonna be a good, good night!" Rogon happily sang as he danced around with some of his rhino friends, nearly shaking the ground with their massive bodies and reckless dancing.

"Even the tribes we may not always see eye-to-eye with must be granted with Chi as well," Lagravis added with a sigh, as a few crocodiles came up to grab their Chi, and they sent a glare towards anyone who dared give them eye contact.

"Hey…is Cragger gonna be here?" Laval asked one of the crocs.

"You mean KING Cragger…oh, yeah, you'll see him soon enough," the croc replied darkly with a grin, showing his jagged teeth.

"I don't get the crocs sometimes…" Laval wondered aloud after the crocodiles were out of hearing range.

"I agree…and I don't think they get us either," Lagravis added in a hushed tone.

"Lagravis, Sir! It's time to set up the 'The Orb'!" one of the lion guards with a dark brown mane called out.

With that, a couple more guards came out with a pair of long, metal tongs in their claws, and in the middle of the tongs with a giant, golden Chi Orb.

"Ah, yes. The Golden Chi Orb; it's like clock-work. This extra rare orb forms only once a month, and when it does, we don't just GIVE it away…" Lagravis began with a smile, as the Golden Orb was placed on a tall stone pedestal.

"We race for it! Yeah!" Laval suddenly cheered.

That was why one member of each tribe showed up with their Speedorz, because they were all coming to compete for the Golden Chi Orb.

"Fellow citizens of Chima!" Lagravis announced, causing cheering caws, howls and roars to echo in the air, "for centuries, to prevent cheating when racing, the Golden Chi Orb's magic chooses a new track each month! What will it be this time? Will it be a torture course of obstacles? Or a ruthless race of ramps?"

As the old lion went on, a collection bright golden aura rays had spread out like spider legs from the rare golden orb, as they hovered above the tribes and over the land. And the animals cheered even louder, as the next tournament was slowly being formed before them.

"Ah! This month's challenge will be the Joust of Jungle Judgment! And you all know the rules: riders must have blunts on their weapons; anyone caught WITHOUT the proper weaponry will be IMMEDIATELY disqualified!" Lagravis firmly announced.

"First round will be between Laval and Gorzan!" a lion guard announced.

Laval and Gorzan each boarded their Speedorz with blunted jousting blades in hand, as they drove to the opposite ends of the jungle that had a straight-way clearing for the event in the middle.

The lion and gorilla soon pulled the lever on their Speedorz, grinding their gears, and they sped towards each other with their jousts lowered. But Laval was the lucky winner when they met in the middle, as Gorzan was knocked off of his Speedor.

"BUMMEER!" Gorzan cried as he fell into a bush that luckily broke his fall, and Laval soon came to his aid.

"Good game, Buddy. Little bit of advice: tilt your Speedor farther inwards next time."

"Groovy," Gorzan said with a smile, and they cleared the track for the next competitors.

"Next up is Rogon vs. Bladvic!"

The rhino and bear then lowered their jousts and soon sped towards each other…but being a bear and used to always hibernating, Bladvic literally fell asleep on his Speedor, and he didn't even wake up when he was thrown off of his Speedor and crash-landed.

The other rhinos all cheered for the successful Rogon, as some of the lion guards dragged a sleeping Bladvic off the track.

"Laval vs. Rogon!"

Maybe it's a little rushed, but Laval won once again, as he knocked Rogon from his Speedor, and Rogon's horn was pinned deeply into the ground.

"Worriz vs. Razar!"

"Be careful, Razar!" Raiva warned as she gave her lover a quick kiss on the cheek before flying off to get out of the way.

But when Worriz and Razar darted towards each other, Worriz cheated by throwing his blunted joust at his opponent, knocking poor Razar off, as the raven angrily shook his silver hook at the wolf.

"Man, I really wish Cragger were here for this; jousting was always his best event, and then he'd win, and it'd be me and him in the end…like it always was," Laval sadly pointed out while he was slouching in his Speedor next to Eris.

"Yeah, but this time, it's you versus that unreliable mutt, Worriz," Eris pointed out with concern.

"The final joust will determine who the Golden Chi Orb will go home with! The last joust will be between Laval the lion and Worriz the wolf!"

Laval and Worriz both drove up to the opposite ends of the jousting jungle, but Laval could clearly see the death glare Worriz was giving him.

"You have no idea how long I've wanted to do this, Laval!" Worriz howled with an evil grin.

"You can dream about sending me ta Hell and back as much as you want, Dog—but it'll never happen!" Laval growled back with a cocky smirk, as he and Worriz both started their Speedorz.

Now, Worriz REALLY despised being called a dog or mutt, so he let out a raging growl as he sped forward, Laval doing the same towards Worriz. But Worriz recalled that he no longer had his joust since he threw it at Razar, but that didn't stop him; the wolf grinned evilly as he pushed a certain button, activating two non-blunted spears on the lower half of his Speedor and they pointed at Laval.

"Hey! Whoa! That's not fair!" Laval cried, and since he only had a blunt jousting stick, he made an immediate u-turn, and Worriz was soon chasing him around the jousting jungle.

But Laval soon realized the last trick he had up his sleeve; the young lion made yet another u-turn, but this time, he literally used his joust to pull-vault himself into the air, and he took the wolf by complete surprise when he used his Speedor to knock Worriz from his own.

Worriz was then sent flying into a near-by thorn bush, and though he wasn't fatally hurt, he only came out with bald spots around his crotch area because the thorns tore the some of his fur clean off…lucky for Worriz, the thorns didn't tear off his red loincloth.

A couple of wolves soon ran out onto the track, and handed his some blankets to cover his now furless legs, as some of the other animals laughed and snickered.

"You'll pay for this, Laval!" Worriz growled viciously, as he just left the whole event before he could get anymore humiliated.

"The winner of the Golden Chi Orb is—Laval the lion!"

"Alright!" Laval shouted with glee, as the other tribes cheered too.

"Hold it, lions!"

Everyone gasped and turned to find none other than Cragger, as the croc king's evil smile and glare intimidated them all, as he drove through the large crowd on his Speedor.

"If you big cats really DO follow the rules—then you know that ALL willing racers must get a chance to compete for the Golden Chi!" Cragger angrily pointed out.

"All competitors must arrive at the start of the event to be able to qualify, Cragger," Lagravis calmly protested.

"Oh, c'mon Laval! Just ONE joust—for old time's sake?" Cragger asked slyly, and Laval was VERY tempted to just jump onto his Speedor to challenge his croc rival.

"Fight it, Laval. Cragger is only trying to tempt you; he's just not worth it," Lagravis demanded while stopping his son, in which Laval growled.

"Well, if YOU won't fight me, then I'll just have to find someone who will!" Cragger wondered allowed as he looked around for the perfect competitor, and he grinned evilly when he spotted Eris at the opposite end of the track.

Eris gasped when she realized Cragger was looking at her, and he soon sped towards her; the eagle then tried to start her Speedor, but it only grumbled every time she rapidly pulled on the start lever. Why couldn't she just fly away? She was so scared, her wings had become too stiff with terror to even flutter.

"I LOVE chicken wings!" Cragger taunted, but when he was just halfway there, Laval suddenly jumped down on his Speedor, stopping Cragger from getting any closer to his eagle friend.

"Now's THAT'S more I like it!" Cragger shouted as he made an immediate turn, and Laval instantly went after him.

"Oh no, Dudes! They're headed for the Falling Jungle!" Gorzan called out as he climbed high up into a tree to watch Laval and Cragger speed off to the said part of the jungle.

"The Falling Jungle?! That place is TOTALLY unsafe; we gotta help them!" Eris pointed out with worry.

Meanwhile, Laval glanced around frantically in search of Cragger; he didn't even care that he was now in the dark, dank and very unstable Falling Jungle, as his biggest concern was that he suddenly seemed to have lost Cragger.

"You may know The Fangs like the back of your paw, Laval, but the Falling Jungle MY new favorite stomping grounds—emphasis on STOMP!" Cragger called mockingly, and he suddenly came out of nowhere and ninja-kicked Laval off of his Speedor.

"Funny thing is, Laval—you get to laugh about me suddenly kicking you, but my parents—they don't get to laugh. Know why? BECAUSE THEY'RE DEAD, AND IT'S ALL BECAUSE OF YOU!" Cragger growled as he slowly twirled his double-sided, red-glowing spear in his claws.

"Look, I'm sorry that you're parents died, but that wasn't our fault," Laval sadly protested as he slowly picked himself up and grabbed his sword, and he and Cragger started circling each other.

"Yes it is! If you had just given me some damn Chi, I would've been able to save them!"

With that, Cragger tried to strike Laval with his spear, but when he threw it, he missed and pinned it into a fallen trees, as Laval dodged it and jumped up onto the thick tree.

"No, it's YOUR fault, Cragger! If you hadn't made me chase you out to The Fangs, OR sent up a Croc Flare, NONE of that would've ever happened," Laval calmly pointed out, as he watched his angry old friend recklessly try to pry his spear from the log.

Once Cragger freed his spear, he pounced up onto the log…and he soon had a brilliant idea when he suddenly noticed the vine holding up the end of the log they were on. So, Cragger let out a loud snarl before ramming Laval, knocking him off, and then the crocodile cut the vine with a swift swipe of his spear.

This resulted in the lower half of Laval's body getting trapped and nearly crushed under the huge tree. And Laval had dropped his sword on the way down, so he was left completely defenseless, as Cragger jumped down and glared down at him.

"Say goodnight, cat," Cragger instructed grimly, as he raised his spear in both claws to finish Laval.

But luck was on Laval's side when a sudden metal bolo came flying through the air, and it nearly broke Cragger's wrist when it knocked his spear from his grasp.

"What?!" Cragger snapped as he looked up and found Eris, as she zipped through the air and she caught her bolo.

"Better start running, Cragger, or this little birdie will hit you with its metal eggs again!" Eris warned with a growl.

Cragger wasn't scared of a girl…but he was suddenly really shaky when he heard a large thud behind him, and he slowly turned to find an angry and huffing Gorzan glaring down at him.

"Better listen to the lady, dude," Gorzan demanded with a growl, and he bared his huge canines at the croc.

And Cragger wasted no time in snatching up his spear, and sprinting off in defeat…for now.

"Hey dude, ya got a little tree on your shirt there. Let me get that for you," Gorzan joked as he effortlessly lifted the tree up enough for Eris to pull Laval back up to his feet.

"Thanks, guys," Laval sighed while brushing dirt off himself.

"Don't thank us yet. Cragger is bound to come back," Eris figured.


Later that day, when the sun was starting to set, the wolves and ravens had arrived at the crocodile tribe's swamp because of the summoning letter they crocs sent them.

"Ah, hello there, Worriz. I see the fur is growing back rather nicely," Cragger softly taunted, as he was right to say that the fur around Worriz's legs and groin was growing back quickly.

"Cut the small-talk, Cragger. What is it you want?" Worriz snarled with a slight blush.

"You and I both despise the lions, so why not act upon our hatred for them—and destroy them together?" Cragger asked darkly, as his eyes suddenly flashed with a quick red glow.

"You're just as twisted as I am, Cragger—and I respect that. I want to see those lions perish in my claws just as much as you do. My only question is, how did you get the ravens to help too?" Worriz questioned with an evil smirk.

"Puh-lease. A few shiny things, and those stupid birds will do anything," Cragger scoffed as he snickered at the ravens, who were luckily out of hearing range.

"I actually beg to digger! Bring 'er in, Boys!"

With Worriz's command, a couple of his wolves suddenly approached them with something unexpected in their grasp; struggling with her hands and wings bound tightly behind her back was Raiva.

"We caught her snooping around our camp after I came back from the race; she must've followed me, figuring I'd plot my revenge," Worriz explained as he glared back at the female raven.

"I'll NEVER let you hurt anyone, so just stop this now before I…guh, let me go!" Raiva warned as she tried to escape her binds, but to no avail.

"Is that you, Raiva? Oh, I've heard so much about you from your beloved Razar; in fact, I'd like to talk to you about him. May I?" Crooler asked dramatically, as she secretly held a Persuasion Plant blossom behind her back, and she wanted Worriz's permission before taking the raven off their paws.

"Sure. But keep her tied up," Worriz grimly commanded as he violently shoved Raiva towards the crocodile princess, who lead the raven a few yards away and hid behind a thick tree.

"What do you want with me?" Raiva hissed.

"I only want to help you and Razar with your relationship, Sweetheart. Razar may love your rebellious acts—but let's see how much he'll love you when you become his bad bitch," Crooler chuckled darkly, as she suddenly pulled out the blossom and waved it in front of Raiva's face, causing dark purple dust to spray out and cloud her mind.

Not a minute later had Raiva been fully convinced that she was to lead the ravens into battle alongside the wolves and the crocodiles—by Razar's side as his queen. So, the raven's eyes were now glowing bright red just like Cragger's, and Crooler smiled as she cut her free from her binds, allowing her to walk out from behind the tree and into the presence of the wolves, ravens, and crocodiles, smiling at them all with an evil grin.

"My beloved ravens—and loyal crocodile and wolf friends—there will be NO room for error! For tonight, I will be your queen and lead you to victory, and we will DESTROY THE LIONS!" Raiva announced with a voice of power and strength, but the word 'queen' was like a trigger for Razar, as he flew approached her with a shocked look on his face.

"Raiva, dearest…what has happened to you? You've changed, and…I like it," Razar stated with shock at first, but his look of surprise soon turned to a look of lust.

"Oh, my prince, I would be glad to make you my king, and I will be your queen, and we shall rule over the ravens together," Raiva softly stated as she grabbed both of Razar's hands in hers, but what she did next took Razar by complete surprise; she suddenly pulled him in for a passionate kiss.

But the moment only became more awkward, even after their kiss ended, when a little blue plover bird with a feathery floof upon his head suddenly flew in, and forced his beak into Cragger's mouth, pecking at his jagged teeth.

"Plovar…what are you doing here?" Cragger asked while trying to hold back his anger, and he talked awkwardly with his mouth open.

"Why, have you forgotten our dentist appointment, Craggy-Waggy? Silly boy!" Plovar laughed with a giddy English accent.

"Plovar, I'm serious, this is a really bad time."

"NO time is more important than getting your teeth cleaned!"

Cragger was really starting to lose his temper when he noticed that the others were all starting to snicker at him.

"Could we…could we please just reschedule, Plovar?"

"Oh, fine. They're your teeth, not mine. I shall see you next time then, yes?" Plovar asked, as he then cheerfully flew away.

"Right…now, back to the point! Tonight, we show those lions NO MERCY!" Cragger angrily announced, and it stirred up the fire in all the other crocodiles, ravens, and wolves.


End of flashback…

And that's how it all happened. That's how these events lead up to the attack on the Lion Temple on the day of Laval's Age of Becoming Ceremony…and Laval realized that now, as he looked down on his old friend by the Forever Rock.

"Well? What are you waiting for? We're enemies, so you must finish me off!" Cragger snarled.

"No, you're not my enemy, Cragger. You're just an innocent crocodile who's lost his way," Laval softly stated as he sheathed his sword, and he then just left Cragger.

But the crocodile wasn't going to be rejected like this, so without warning, he suddenly lunged at Laval, and pinned him down by the edge of the rock, causing the tips of the lion's mane to get dunked down into the lake a few mere inches below.

"You don't get it, do you Laval? I. Am. Your. Enemy! You lions may THINK you can keep your pathetic balance in Chima, but that's all child's play now! Chima is crumbling, and you need to see that, Laval! Was that 'balance' you saw outside your beloved Lion Temple? Huh, Laval?! Now that I'm no longer your friend, whenever you show weakness, I'll show you no mercy in return!"

Laval didn't want to believe what has become of his old friend, but Cragger suddenly proved his point when he dug his claws into the lion's arm to flung him into the deep, crystal clear lake. And now, Laval was trying to swim for his life, but he wasn't doing so well…being a cat, and all.

"Cragger…help…please!"

"What part of 'I am your enemy' and 'I'll show you no mercy in return' did you not understand?!" Cragger questioned with shock, but he then left Laval to drown, "see you in hell, Laval!"

The said lion struggled to swim, but he didn't know the first thing about swimming, and it didn't help that he hated water…so the lion eventually became too exhausted to keep paddling, and his body was slowly drifting towards the bottom of the lake.

But just before Laval's eyes rolled back into his head, he swore he felt something massive grab him and effortlessly pull him up to the surface.

When Laval came to, he felt the same massive object give a quick push to his chest, forcing him to spit up large amounts of water from his mouth; the lion was now taking deep breaths, thankful that he was alive, and he finally looked up to see who could've saved him.

What he saw was a miracle.


The lions were gravelly outnumbered in battle, so Lagravis looked to their last salvation; he went to the highest point on the temple, and he roared loudly into a big horn-like device, amplifying and carrying his roars across the land.

Lagravis' roars for help reached out to their most trusted allies: the eagles and gorillas, and the two said tribes came to the lions' aid as soon as they heard the call.

The gorillas came in their giant gorilla mechs while the eagles arrived in their huge eagle jets, and they certainly evened out the odds a bit against the crocs, wolves and ravens.

And Cragger and Crooler watched from a safe distance, as the progress of the battle put grins on their faces; a bigger grin was on Crooler's.

"The lions may have the eagle and gorillas on their side now, but we are slowly but surely weakening them, Brother. Oh, and Laval—did you 'take care' of him?" Crooler asked as she and Cragger watched the chaos before them from a safe distance.

Just when Crooler brought up Laval, the Persuasion Plant's powers suddenly wore off Cragger's mind, as she shook his head with shock and disbelief.

"Oh, no! Laval! Crooler, I've made a terrible mistake; Laval could be dead, and it's all my-!" Cragger worriedly ranted on, but he suddenly stopped when Crooler once again waved the blossom in front of his face, filled his head with more of the Persuasion Plant's dust.

"When I die—I hope I see that forlorn lion in Hell," Cragger growled.

But Crooler was right; even with the gorillas and eagles' help, the lions were slowly becoming weaker…but another and much more powerful miracle would soon come to the rescue.

A thunderous roar filled the air and echoed across the land, and it was louder than anything anyone had ever heard before.

Everyone gasped and slowly looked towards the setting sun, where they saw the silhouette of Laval riding a Legend Beast; it was the Lion Legend Beast, and it was absolutely huge, as it slowly walked on all-fours towards the bewildered animal tribes, who stopped in mid-battle in the Legend Beast's Presence.

"What? I can't believe this! Legend Beasts don't exist…or do they?" Razar questioned with awe, but that was when he heard a moan from Raiva, as he caught her when she suddenly fainted.

"Ugh…what happened?" Raiva groaned as she rubbed her head in pain, but she was really shocked when she saw Razar's face…and she especially wasn't amused when she suddenly remembered everything that just happened, including Razar letting her get corrupted, "Razar, what did you do?!"

"My Queen, please, I-," Razar tried to protest, only for Raiva to angrily interrupt him.

"I can't believe you, Razar! Is money REALLY more important to you than those you love?!" Raiva shouted as tears started to fill her eyes, "Razar, I…I can't…I can't be with someone who thinks like that."

With that, Raiva lifted off, soon landing by the lions, her TRUE friends…but poor Razar couldn't believe just happened; he just lost the trust of the love of his life, and now, he wasn't sure if he could ever win it back.

So, the raven prince tried to hold back his tears, and suddenly took to the skies to retreat back to his home out in the barren lands, despite the fact that a Legend Beast had shown up. He just didn't care anymore.

But even though Razar was missing out, everyone else couldn't even look away from the huge beast, as they bowed in respect to him; even Crooler couldn't help but bow to the Legend Beast, much to Cragger's surprised.

"You too, Crooler?! What's wrong with you?!"

"I…I-I've never SEEN a Legend Beast before…I've only heard The Great Story," Crooler meekly replied, as a single tear of joy rolled down her face. But Cragger wasn't going to break so easily, as he darted out of the safety of the jungle and pushed a Chi Orb into his chest, in hopes of taking out Lion Legend Beast himself.

But before Cragger could lay a single blow on him, the Legend Beast merely knocked Cragger back with a gentle swipe of one of his massive front paws.

The impact of the Legend Beast's retaliate was powerful enough to knock Cragger against the wall of the Lion Temple, causing his Chi Orb to fall right out of his chest, and Laval was happy to pick it up.

"I do believe THIS is mine!" Laval pointed out with a smile, and he wasted no time in placing the orb in his chest. Soon, he let out a victorious roar, as the giant shape of a bright blue lion engulfed him, and Cragger was not amused by this.

"No! No, no, no! This can't be happening! Why did YOU deserve to be given any Chi?!"

"Oh, don't worry, Cragger, I'll give you something too—I'm giving you ten seconds to get you and all of your troops out of here…nine…eight…seven…" Laval warned, and the other crocs, ravens and wolves wasted no time in fleeing, but Cragger was still furious, as he sent Laval a death glare before reluctantly retreating.

"That was AWESOME, Laval!" Eris happily cheered in the air, and she landed next to her lion friend.

"Laval?"

The soft voice of Raiva caught Laval and Eris' attention, as the said raven looked very ashamed while approaching them.

"Laval, I'm so sorry…I never wanted to be a part of this…I-I-I remember talking to Crooler last, and…the next thing I know, I'm here in this battle, and…Razar…he did NOTHING to stop me. Please, let me redeem myself," Raiva pleaded as she looked down at the ground with extreme guilt, but she really didn't have to beg that much, and Eris and Laval grinned at each other.

"It's ok, Raiva," Eris stated softly as she placed a reassuring hand on the raven's shoulder.

"I-it's is?" Raiva whimpered as she slowly looked up at Eris.

"Of course. Friends are ALWAYS worth redeeming," Eris softly replied.

"We're still friends?"

"Best friends." With that, eagle and raven shared a big hug.

"Son," Lagravis began firmly, as he smiled at his son and placed a hand on his shoulder, "you truly are a brave warrior."

Laval couldn't help but smile at his dad, and he also couldn't help but let out another victorious roar. But once he finished his roar, he suddenly noticed that the Legend Beast was disappearing on the horizon.

"Where's the Legend Beast going?" Eris questioned.

"I don't know, but he'll be back—when we need him most," Laval calmly replied.

"I thought you didn't like the Great Story," Raiva pointed out with a chuckle.

"I didn't at first, but only because it needed a better ending—an ending like this."


No, it is NOT the end yet, as there is still much more to come. So, be sure to stick around.

Until the next chapter, I'm TRikiD, bye-bye!