A Kingdom Reborn: The Legend of Mohatu

Chapter 7: A Matter of Pride

Narisah's eyes peeked open slowly, as the light of dawn momentarily pushed her pain aside. The lioness groaned, eventually rising to her paws despite having two dislodged limbs.

Busar placed his paw over his mate's shoulder, pushing her back down gently. "No... you're hurt. Stay here with the cub," the lion insisted. "I'll be back in a few minutes."

"I-I'll be fine," the lioness stuttered, laying back down on the gravel against her will. For better or worse, she did not realize the severity of her injuries.

As she relieved her paws from the pressure of supporting her weight, a loud, cracking noise sounded from one of her joints. Consequently, Narisah screamed in terrifying agony. "AHHH! It-it's worse than I thought! I... AHH!"

Busar's ears twitched at the high-pitched cacophony. Seconds later, his mate calmed slightly as he abruptly licked her under her closed eyes with affection.

"I love you," he whispered. It was all he could do.

With his mate purring slightly, Busar reluctantly stepped away to help the other lions. Unfortunately, securing Algenubi's artifact and killing Usama were the greater priorities.

Riza, the foreign lioness, turned away. She felt somewhat uncomfortable after seeing what her pride had done to the unfortunate feline, and her expression matched her feelings perfectly. She walked away, pacing around and inspecting the damage to each dead tree, only to give herself something to occupy her mind.

Meanwhile, Irena watched as her cub stepped over to the injured lioness.

Being as young as she was, Uru recovered quickly from the immense fear she had experienced just moments before. In an act of sentimental concern, she then began kneading behind Narisah's ear.

"I'll stay here," Irena mewed. Seconds later, she laid down beside her injured companion in an attempt to comfort the dying lioness.

Uru continued pawing at Narisah. "Aren't you going to get up?" she asked. The innocence of the cub's words caused her mother to shiver.

Narisah breathed heavily, but spoke with a soft, lethargic voice. "I... shouldn't... it hurts."

The lioness saw Busar's shape diminish beyond the horizon as he followed Mohatu's path to the cave. It was not long before Narisah lost sight of her mate through the dense cloud of dust and smoke.

Suddenly, Uru appeared in her immediate vision to fill the void. The cub leaned against one of Narisah's paws, curling up into the shape of a near-perfect sphere. The older lioness continued to purr quietly, stroking the cub's head with her other paw.

It had been many years since she looked after her own cubs, but she would never forget the many pleasures of being a mother.


"Stop!" Mohatu whispered. "I think I see them."

The coffee-colored lion placed his paws over a jagged granite boulder that was covered in ashes. As he looked down into the valley below him, he observed three lions carefully.

"I can go down and distract them," he suggested. "If things start to get ugly, back me up."

"I'm coming with you," Mari insisted.

Mohatu beamed deviously at the lioness beside him. "Sounds good to me."

"You two! Shh!" Karttiki whispered angrily. "Listen!"

Both Mohatu and Mari twitched backward for a split second, before remaining totally still. The voices of the lions below pierced through the silence of dawn.

"No... tell Rex they found it first. It's very important."

"Are you sure? What makes you so certain?"

"It was sitting right here! Those fools must have found it. Fortunately, I don't think they have any idea what this is..."

"Yeah, I guess... but what is it?"

"That's classified information."

"But I just want to know! You make it seem so important!"

"It's none of your business! You are under my command. You follow my orders, and that is all. Is that clear?"

"Ah, yes, Usama. I... ugh... meant no disrespect."

"The next time you question my orders, I will kill you personally."

"I understand... I'm sorry."

"I don't want your apologies, you pathetic sack of crap! Just act like the lion you're supposed to be, dammit! Now go on!"

Karttiki interjected with a quiet but bitter tone. "I think I've heard enough. It's no wonder they haven't killed us yet... they're too busy threatening each other."

"Seems like it," Mari added.

"Either way, I guess we're not going to hear anything important," her mother replied, sounding rather disappointed. Karttiki then faced Mohatu and nodded. "Now's the time."

As Usama lowered his head to the ground to pick up the key of Algenubi in his mouth, a loud boom shook the ground below his heavy paws. The trio of lions jumped down from the hill behind him.

"Put it down," Mohatu demanded simply.

Usama turned his back around and flattened his ears. As his eyes met Mohatu, the artifact he carried in his mouth flew out and fell into a pile of ashes. "WHAT?"

"There, that's better," Mohatu scowled as he approached his opponent cautiously.

With a sudden, unexpected burst of energy, the lion slashed Mohatu across his face with fury. "You freaking IDIOT!"

Mohatu roared, raising his left forepaw to block the strike. Unfortunately, his quick reflexes only managed to soften the blow to his skull, not prevent it. The lion was left feeling slightly dazed, and backed away cautiously.

"...nobody tells me what to do!" Usama roared, before pouncing onto Mohatu with his teeth and claws exposed.

Mohatu retracted the weight from his forepaws. For a split second, he managed to balance on his hind legs, until the two beasts clashed in midair. Both lions leaned forward, pressing against one another with all their strength.

The two were evenly matched, as neither was able to gain a distinct advantage. The roars of their epic struggle could be heard throughout the scorched jungle, and echoed loudly across the riverside mountains.

Mohatu shifted to his right, and allowed his opponent to push him back. It was a risky move, but it had the potential to give him an instant kill if he could align himself properly.

Consequently, the other lion fell forward. As Usama's forepaws crashed down on the ground beside Mohatu, the former combatant realized his mistake.

For a single moment, Usama's jugular vein was exposed to Mohatu's jaw. He had no way to protect himself. If Mohatu was fast enough to make the strike, the kill would be his.

Mohatu bit down, hoping for nothing less than to hit the critical area. Before he could sink his incisors deep into his opponents neck, Usama began to thrash about violently.

Usama was too strong. It was apparent that he simply had too much energy. The opponent was even able to swat his forepaw around, and knock Mohatu violently onto his back.

The lion spent the second afterward gathering his balance back on his paws, trying desperately to minimize his sudden disadvantage. While Usama possessed the lion's share in terms of speed, Mohatu discovered he held a small edge of his own.

Despite the fact that his eyes were closed for an instant, he was able to predict his attacker's movements with a near-terrifying degree of accuracy.

As the lion expected, his opponent seized the opportunity to strike again with a powerful grappling attack. Mohatu watched intently as the large lion lunged toward him.

Out of mere instinct, Mohatu jumped to the side to evade, before kicking his attacker off balance with a strike of his own.

A sudden realization dawned on the victorious lion, as he eyes followed Usama's fall to the ground. His muscles instinctively knew how to react in the heat of battle. It was as if he had trained his whole life to be a warrior—the art of combat seemed strangely familiar, to say the least.

He inched toward the fallen lion slowly, keeping his guard up and his wits on edge. As Usama tried to get up, Mohatu fixed his eyes on the leader's jugular once again.

A surge of adrenaline flowed through Mohatu's forepaws, and with a single strike, the lion ravaged through the upper body his opponent. His left paw shredded into Usama's shoulder, while his right paw gouged the victim's eyes. Of course, this was while his teeth punctured deep into the lion's protective mane, which began to absorb a significant amount of blood that would have gone to Usama's head.

Suddenly, the lion ceased to resist. Usama's body collapsed to the ground, kicking up a small cloud of dust.

Usama the lion was dead. As a direct result, the attack on Mohatu's pride lost all hope.

Realizing that he had been breathing far too heavily, Mohatu let out a sigh of relief. He took a step back from the carcass, before glancing across the black valley.

Mohatu shifted his focus to the other four lions fighting around him. Mari and Karttiki were holding their own against the other two adversaries, but as their leader fell to the ground, it was more than evident that the tide of the battle had changed.

Both of Usama's minions stared at Mohatu with puzzled expressions of awe and disbelief. They seemed to lose the ability to adequately defend themselves.

The blood of Mohatu's opponents spilled in the moments that followed. Even without his help, it was an utter massacre.

Of all weapons, none have more potential than the mind.


As Busar nearly reached the cave, a deafening roar penetrated through the thick, smoky atmosphere. The clamorous rumbling sound managed to shake even the mountains themselves.

The old lion stopped walking. He twisted his head around, only to glance at his long, morning shadow.

A second, continuous roar boomed across the valley of the cave. It was not a call for help, nor was it a cry of pain. It was Mohatu's blissful declaration of victory.

Not to Busar's surprise, his pride had won the day. The lion gazed into the rising sun, which hung visibly above the bleak, mountainous horizon. Despite the destruction that was brought to the jungle, a small glimmer of hope was literally rising from the ashes.

The roars continued to echo without end, spreading through every adjacent chasm and valley. The sound only grew louder, until it was nearly loud enough to travel all the way to the Pridelands.

Finally caving in to the primitive instincts of a lion, Busar inhaled heavily, before adding his own voice to the harmonious thunder. For the first time in years, the hearts of each feline in the jungle were filled with a brief but beatific sense of pride.

Before the roars terminated into a void of silence, the flame of the last burning log fizzled out. Glaring beyond it, Busar noticed the blood-soaked bodies of three lions.

"Maybe Rex will think twice before attacking like that again." Mari thought aloud, throwing her paw into the air. It was unlike her to make such a comment, but the euphoria of actually winning a fight lifted her spirits through the sky and beyond.

Mohatu slapped Mari's paw with his own, grinning widely as he gave her a high-five. "Y'hear that, Rex? THIS IS OUR JUNGLE!"

Busar stepped closer, until Mohatu, Mari, and Karttiki noticed his presence.

"We actually did it," Mari nodded, carrying a heavy smirk. "Usama is dead, and we've got the key!"

Busar sighed, before lowering his head and tail to the ground.

"Ugh... is something wrong?" Mari inquired suddenly. Her ears twitched slightly as the lioness's tail shifted to mirror Busar's.

As he answered the lioness's question, his voice began to fall apart. "Narisah is hurt, and we're going to have to find somewhere else to go."

Within an instant, Mari's eyes shot open. "Oh... well... how bad is it?"

"I think we're going to have to leave her behind," the old lion stated wistfully.

"What? No! We can't..." Mari retorted, with a distinct tone of animosity towards the idea.

Karttiki gulped, but otherwise kept quiet.

The other lion was far more decisive. "Don't worry, we'll think of something," Mohatu added convincingly.

He then looked behind his tail, taking note of the three dead bodies. "Should we throw the carcasses in the river?" he asked. "They might wash up somewhere else, and Rex won't be able to figure out where the battle was."

Mari's mother rejected the idea. "I... don't think that's going to work. There were too many of them. I wouldn't be surprised if at least one escaped... and besides, with the trees gone, there's nowhere to hide. We're sitting ducks."

The old lioness paused for a moment before continuing. "Not to mention that Rex is probably going to figure out what we did anyway. We can't just fool him like that."

Busar added his thoughts as well. "We can't risk it. We're going to have to move North, into the Outlands now. There's a few deserted spires we can hide in, and plenty of termites to eat."

Mohatu quivered in disgust at the thought. His pride was such a nutty bunch. Termites? Did he really hear Busar say that? It seemed about as appetizing as eating regurgitated manure.

"Well..." Mari raised a paw, breaking the silence with another suggestion. "What if we move West to Bangweulu island, instead? It would be farther away from the Pridelands, and certainly farther from Rex's territory."

"Heh..." Busar scowled. "No."

The other lion shook his head. "What's wrong with Bangweulu island?" Mohatu asked curiously.

"There's a pride of nipheads there," Mari retorted. "But, when it comes down to nipheads or termites... I'll go with nipheads."

"Uhh... nipheads?"

"They're a bunch of hopeless, scummy lowlifes," Karttiki interjected with a deep grimace. "They're despicable, really."

"They're catnip addicts," Busar explained.

Mohatu tried to force a laugh at the ridiculousness of the situation. Would his pride really rather live in a termite mound, than with a few drugged cats?

In fact, life on an island didn't sound all that bad of an idea to him. "Y'know, I think we all deserve some catnip after a night like that," he chuckled lightly.

"Wait, you're kidding, right?" Karttiki asked. "That stuff is dangerous. You know, in large doses, it can erase all your memories and wipe away your entire identity. A little more exposure than that, and it kills even the toughest of lions."

"Relax, it was just a joke," Mohatu replied, seeing that Karttiki had interpreted his statement a bit too literally.

Meanwhile, Mari began pacing forward slowly, looking away only for a split second. "Come on," she sighed. "We need to figure out what we're going to do. Narisah needs our help."

"Okay, okay... but you said Bangweulu is an island?" Mohatu asked, beginning to follow the other three lions back to Five Rocks.

"Yeah, that's the only problem," Mari responded. "I mean, it's good if we can get across it, but that in itself is a bit of a challenge."

"How hard could it be?" the lion asked with a striking amount of ignorance.

"It's not rough or deep water," Karttiki explained. "It's the crocodiles you have to watch out for."

"Hmm... well, what if we used one of these charred logs to float across?" the brown lion suggested.

"That's not going to help," the old lioness insisted. "It's just a bad idea, no matter what."

Mari looked up to her mother. "Outlands it is, then?"

"Yeah..."

"Damn," Mohatu hissed under his tongue. The jungle was bad enough, but a termite infested motel? Ridiculous! Preposterous! It was absurd, if not asinine. On second thought, asinine only began to scratch the surface of the stupidity of that idea.

"Busar is right," Karttiki admitted. "It's our best option."

"Alright, alright... fine," Mohatu agreed, though his only intention was to end the conversation temporarily.


After the lions had ascended up several rocks, the remaining three felines could be seen through a thinning cloud of smoke and ash. Of course, they had heard the roars of Mohatu's success, but they were unaware of the plans for the next stage.

Irena was the first to greet the four.

The lioness swept a burnt twig away with her paw, before closing her eyes and dropping her tail. "She's got a nasty fracture in her left front paw, and her left hindleg looks mutilated as well," Irena told them. "There's no way she's going to be able to move without help..."

A jolting chill flowed under Mohatu's skin at the despair of the lioness's voice. He struggled to find his words. "That's... pretty bad..."

"We're going to have to leave her behind," Busar sighed in anguish. "There's only so much we can do."

Mari's eyes began to reflect the sunlight as they filled with water. "Of all the deaths we've seen... and to think, it just doesn't ever end."

Busar walked over to his mate, while Karttiki placed her paw on Mari's shoulder. Mohatu merely stood still, gazing into the charred mountains as he thought.

"What are we going to do?" Mari asked. "Are we really just going to leave her behind to die?"

The lioness's mother seemed to understand the necessity of the idea. "We need to leave. If we stay here, we'll be putting our lives in danger as well. It's for the best."

"There's gotta be a better way," Mohatu mumbled. The sheer hopelessness of the situation was beginning to drive him nuts. He had killed many opposing lions to protect his new pride, but he was worthless when it came to healing.

In essence, taking a life was easy. Yet, protecting one was a different matter entirely.

"I'm afraid there isn't," Mari said, almost at the point of crying. "You can't carry her to the Outlands, it's too far. And even then... what would she do once she's there? It's over..."

Ironically, Mari's perplexed state of mind was bothering Mohatu nearly as much. For a brief moment, he considered defying her and saying that he could help, but the golden-orange lioness had a point. Without the ability to walk, Narisah would surely die within a matter of days, regardless. That much was inevitable.

Mari turned away, then followed her head with a step of her paws. She began walking away from the pride, dragging a smooth line in the ashes with the end of her tail. "I'm tired... I can't do this right now," she groaned with an unusually high-pitched voice on the verge of tears.

Ironically, what bothered her the most was that she, herself, was responsible for the deaths of several adversaries. As heartbreaking as it was to have to leave a pride member behind, in the back of her mind, she knew her actions may have had the same effect on the families and friends of the attackers she claimed as her kills.

The lioness sat behind a rock, burying her face deep into her paws to hide from the grim reality. She couldn't even bear to look at Narisah's injuries or speak to her pride.

As her adrenaline rush faded away, she realized she was pathetic. The thought only repeated itself, exacerbating the situation even further.

She had fought gallantly, but it wasn't good enough. She knew her pride was in danger, but despite that obvious fact, the brutal reality of the situation had not occurred to her. Mari knew her pride was playing a risky move by fighting back against the kingdom, but she had forgotten just how risky it actually was.

That wasn't the way it played out in her mind. Mohatu was supposed to turn the tide of the war. The previous battle was supposed to be his battle to win. What good was a victory, if her pride did not survive to celebrate?

It was all completely meaningless. Mohatu only created a false sense of hope.

The same, continuous loathing thoughts filled the lioness's mind well beyond her breaking point. Eventually, she drifted off to sleep in the early hours of the morning, while she was almost entirely secluded in her sorrows from the rest of her pride.


Mohatu thought about following Mari away, but questioned whether or not his presence would be welcomed. Before he could decide, Karttiki began speaking to him.

"You should get some rest too," she suggested. "Tonight might be a good night to sneak past the Pridelands... provided that Mari is up to it."

"Huh?" Mohatu paused. "But weren't we going to wait for a storm?"

"That would be preferable, yes, but I think security is going to be pretty low tonight."

"What, because of the attack?"

"Possibly. But I was actually thinking Riza might be of some assistance."

Mohatu frowned initially at the idea. Bringing along a third lion would only take away from his dream of spending time with Mari.

To be honest, the entire idea almost seemed too good to be true, from the lion's simple point of view. Going on a secret mission, looking for some ancient crap, trying to kill some evil king, all with a pretty lioness that probably liked him—how much better could it possibly get than that?

It seemed like a sort of epic fantasy. There had to be a catch. This was that catch.

"Well, it would help, I guess..." Mohatu admitted.

The lioness continued to elaborate on her idea. "Riza probably knows those lands better than we do now. She should have no problem being able to get around the patrols, and especially at night... which means there isn't any sort of need to wait for a thunderstorm."

As Karttiki lectured at him, Mohatu caught a glimpse of the very lioness approaching in the corner of Mohatu's eye.

She heard her name and stepped closer. "Ugh... what were you saying?" Riza tried to grab Karttiki's attention.

"We have a very special job for you, if you're interested," the lioness began. "Do you know what it is Usama found in the cave?"

Riza shook her head. "No."

"Well, neither do we." Karttiki answered easily. "But we need to know."

"Uh-huh."

"The answers are probably buried somewhere in the Badlands." The lioness gestured towards Mohatu, before continuing. "Mohatu, here, has volunteered to sneak through the Pridelands to figure out what it is, along with a lioness named Mari. It would help out a lot of you went with them."

"I see," Riza replied nonchalantly.

"Have you ever heard of Lea Halalela?" Karttiki asked.

The other lioness sat still for a moment. "Lea Halalela?"

"You know?"

"Can't say I do," Riza clarified. "I know I've heard of it before, but I don't know what it is."

Despite not getting a definite answer, Karttiki proceeded to ask another question. "Well then, have you ever been to the Badlands?"

"A few times," the lioness replied. "Nothing but sand there, mostly."

"Actually, it doesn't matter," Karttiki corrected herself. "We're going to need all the help we can get, regardless. Are you in?"

The lioness pondered the proposition for a moment, before reluctantly accepting the offer. "I'll do it."

She then looked at Mohatu wearily. "I guess I owe you something, huh..."

Mohatu placed his paw gently above Riza's. "No... it's fine. You don't owe me anything."

As Karttiki nodded and began to walk away, Riza rubbed the top of her head under Mohatu's thick, dark mane. "Well, I appreciate what you did today," she admitted. "I thought I was going to die..."

Mohatu backed away out of surprise at first, but later accepted the lioness's embrace. "I was just doing what was right."

Riza looked upon him with glassy eyes. "I'm not going to forget that. We need more lions like you."

"Ugh... thanks," Mohatu replied humbly. "But, really. It was nothing." He then stretched his front paws out, and leaned back into a depression in the ashes.

"So... I guess we're leaving tonight," Mohatu muttered, in an attempt to change the subject.

"Fine by me," Riza said, backing away slightly. "No sense in sticking around here anymore."

The tawny lioness yawned before making herself comfortable on the ground, a respectful distance away from the lion. Obviously, Mohatu and Mari weren't the only lions that had spent most of the night awake.

"Besides, I could use a good nap anyway," she purred, closing her eyes happily.


The remaining lions gathered mournfully around Narisah, just before she politely shooed them away.

"Could you... give us a few minutes?" the dying lioness asked heavily.

Busar nuzzled the back of his mate's head, while Irena picked up her cub and began to follow the other lionesses away, in accordance with Narisah's wishes.

"Busar..." she whispered slowly. "You need to get out of here."

A single tear fell from the old lion's eye, creating a damp spot on the lioness's shoulder. Intense emotions of sorrow flooded his heart, which prevented him from speaking as time continued to lapse afterward.

"Remember when we first met on the savannah, eight years ago?"

Busar closed his eyes. It was too painful for him to recall, but he could not remove the thoughts from his mind. "Yeah..." he answered softly with a sniff that was louder than his actual voice. "That was one of the best days of my life."

"We were so young," Narisah thought aloud.

"And so happy..." Busar added.

"Yeah," the pale lioness agreed. "I knew it would have to end someday..." she continued, beginning to drop tears as well.

Narisah then exerted herself to lean forward, pushing her nose directly against Busar's muzzle. Naturally, he returned a kiss, just as they had done many years before.

"But at least I get to say goodbye," the lioness added, after pulling away seconds later.

"No!" Busar squalled, rubbing his head into the lioness's fur. "I'm going to miss you so much."

Narisah wrapped her good paw around the lion's mane. "It's okay," she reassured her mate.

"You can't just-"

"Busar," she interrupted. "I may not always be with you, but I will always love you."

The lion nudged his head between Narisah's paws, while she rested her muzzle above his ears. Her gentle breathing pushed Busar's manefur back and forth across his head.

Nothing held either of the two from displaying their true feelings. It was their last moment together, and that thought was all that occupied their minds.

"I love you too," Busar replied.


A/N: It kinda bothers me how everything in this chapter seems to skip around a bit, but I'm not sure how else to do it. There's sorta a lot of things going on at once, and the next chapter will basically be the same way.

Either way, it would be nice to hear some opinions on how the story is going so far. Creativity doesn't just spawn out of thin air. Not always, at least. :P

And, one last thing: I'm going to try to start updating this a bit more regularly from here on out. My goal is to be able to post a new chapter every week. That may or may not actually happen.