A/N:
Hey look-it's Friday the 13th, and that must mean... there's a new Trampled Chapter! Yay! xD *dances around*
Sorry, I'm excited. I posted two consecutive chapters in two consecutive days. I almost can't believe it. xD That has to be a first since... I think December, when I started Instigation. O.o (Speaking of which, I have to update my other fics... grr...)
Review time (sorry to those of you who haven't had time to review Chapter 11 yet... I'm visiting family and leaving on Sunday... don't know if I'll be able to update for two weeks. Want to post as much as I can before then xD).
mom: Best chapter by far? XD Okay then, thanks. I was kind of worried about how good it would be. :3
kate: Yeah, I updated in record time this time. Might even have another chapter ready for tomorrow... can't believe this. O.o
ArizonaSivy: Yeah, she does act like Zira. But if you think about it, what do Sarabi (in this story) and Zira (in canon) have in common? They both lost someone close to them through murder. Something to think about, no? ;p And I'll be sure to tell Zazu that... I won't say any more. xD
hermonine: Thank you. (: Hope you enjoy the rest!
Reldor: Ahh... xD Speaking of role-play, I need to get back to our TLK forum *slaps self* And I was kind of wondering what you did there... xD You just said "One" and then you stopped. lol :p (It's okay... I've done that too xD)
mimoo01: Thank you. (: Hope you read and enjoy the rest.
Ceu Praca, I know you just PMed me saying you would read Chapter 11... xD But you must be a slow reader or something... in which case I apologize if you've just reviewed and I'm skipping you... but there's always next chapter!
"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you right there, trespasser!" Sarabi called out through the last remnants of hot tears, seemingly forgetting about her repentant nature a few moments before. Oh, how she wanted to rip something apart…
"Because you're—eeeeep!—standing on our land!" came the impetuous reply from the throat of a seemingly young, perhaps adolescent hyena. Sarabi rolled her eyes in irritation.
"Uh, no we aren't!" a voice from within the group of lionesses called out half-heartedly.
"Think again, sweetheart!" Banzai replied assertively, creeping out from his hiding spot behind a boulder. The lionesses cast confused glances at each other and at the land surrounding them. For all they knew, he could be right…
"What do you think you're doing here?" he continued casually.
"Just getting rid of this good-for-nothing lion," Usiku murmured aloud, her voice barely audible to the approaching hyenas. She remained as one of the few present who wasn't completely tired of the situation and was still egging on a bloody conflict. "Unless you want him," she interjected sarcastically and grumbled with an angry flick of her tail.
"Maybe I do," he continued with a nonchalant grin, walking towards her slowly. Scar gritted his teeth—the lionesses couldn't know about his associations with the hyenas. Of course, he was unaware that the hyenas were under similar orders to keep their dealings strictly secret for analogous reasons. "Maybe I want something to eat," the hyena added quickly to quell any suspicion…
"This is our business," Sarabi snapped, "now leave us be. It's"—she stopped as she quickly tallied up the numbers, minus Scar—"fifteen against two."
"Oooooh, I'm so scared, heh," Banzai taunted sarcastically. Usiku and Sarabi were about ready to leap at his unrelenting form, but scarcely a second later the raucous calling of hyena laughter bubbled from… well, everywhere. From behind boulders. From behind shrubs. From behind any hiding places they could find. The lionesses were practically surrounded.
"Try twenty-five hyenas against fifteen lionesses," the masculine voice of a hyena countered bluntly. The lionesses unknowingly turned their heads and attention to Sarabi… their leader.
"Almost a fair fight, then," she replied calmly, trying to mask any fear and emotions from her voice. It was true—most hyenas were horrible fighters. Although they did have a few… assets… here and there.
Another foe who underestimates me... Well, if they put up a fight they'll see soon enough... when their blood is on my paws.
"Well, my friends, it seems we are at an impasse," Nyota spoke ruefully and diplomatically, facing the hyenas and then Sarabi, who merely appeared flustered. "You can have him," she spoke more to Sarabi than to the hyenas, fixing the older lioness with a bold stare, her ears flattened slightly in audaciousness.
"Good to see we agree," Banzai answered for her, again creeping forwards until he was dangerously close to Sarabi's seething form. "Now get off our land."
Sarabi wanted to resist, but she looked around. At the other lionesses who were slowly nodding their heads… up and down… up and down. And, most of all, at Nyota, who had edged in front of her and was looking at her with a desperate stare. The older lioness' gaze was fixed on the bloody slash down Nyota's arm… she supposed she owed this young lioness something for accidently mangling her.
"Alright, take him… Come on girls, let's go," came Sarabi's quiet command. The lionesses obeyed, filing out of the Outlands silently and traversing the steep rock pit they had only recently descended. Usiku was the last to obey, as she was still standing stock still on top of Scar, who looked around with visible dread. He was merely being passed from one enemy to another…
Finally the dark lioness released him with an irritated growl. She retreated, her black pelt quickly blending into nothingness as she tried to catch up with Sarabi and the other huntresses. Scar had lived—miraculously, it seemed—though he still had to deal with… them.
Oh no, not these idiots…
He quickly rolled off of his back and struggled to stand on his shaking limbs. The lion looked around wearily, exhausted… and into the glowing eyes of about twenty hyenas.
"Ah, greetings… I see you've returned," he stammered with an unbearably anxious grin. The hyenas looked painfully nonplussed, their faces coated in malicious frowns…
"I see you've failed to honor our arrangement, lion… don't think you're going to get out of this one without seeing why the savanna animals fear us hyenas," an older hyena growled from his place behind a rock, pacing forwards slightly and licking his lips forebodingly…
"Yeah, you'll get to see the other side of the Circle of Life!" a slightly younger hyena interjected almost gleefully, causing Scar to back up until he was pressed against the gravel hill. He may not have believed in the Circle of Life, but the reference to it was still enough to remind him of his father's wrath…
Finally Banzai himself shuffled up to him slowly, the irises of his eyes glinting like small gemstones in the night.
Scar was desperate. He turned around and studied the rock-coated hill in front of him, being slightly more willing to take his chances in the Pridelands with the lionesses then with the vengeful hyenas standing before him, who had now engaged in an uproar of horrible, spine-chilling laughter.
"I tried! Really, I did. But…" he started to argue, but they were scarcely even paying attention to him anymore. Although, if he remembered correctly, there was a small stub of a tree up above the hill… he sniffed the air quickly, checking to see if the lionesses had gone past it yet. They hadn't. He could still detect their presence… he would need to stall as long as possible so that they didn't find him twice. The previous incident with the tree and his narrow escape made him more than wary.
Banzai quickly dove at him, his jaws snapping mere inches away from his foreleg. It seemed as though stalling was easier said than done… he whirled around and began to climb up the steep, unforgiving grade. Yet going down was much easier than going up… because at least gravity had been on his side before. Now there was little there to aid him as he clawed for any meager footholds he could find. Several hyenas tried to give chase, snapping at his heels, but it didn't turn out very successful for… well, any of them. Not to mention that each time Scar felt like he had a hold of something—perhaps a rock or an edge of a boulder—the object would invariably become dislodged from the hill, or he would lose his grasp on it. And each time this happened, it sent him sliding down, down, down… with only the sharpness of his claws keeping him on the rock face. It was familiar in a strange sort of way… it had happened to someone somewhere else in his memory, though he couldn't quite place the exact incident…
Mufasa.
Yes, Mufasa had struggled up the walls of the stampede gorge in a similar fashion. And in the end, he had fallen to the ground because of his brother… he hadn't died from his fall; but, then again, he hadn't had any ravenous hyenas trying to climb up after him.
Now he knew what it felt like to be desperately seeking refuge from a cliff.
Finally he found what he was looking for—or, at least, the best thing he could possibly hope to find. After a few feet of a near vertical drop, there was a small alcove just big enough for him to stand on. Perhaps the hyenas wouldn't be able to follow him there.
He set out for it, scrabbling up rocks and removing a torrent of pebbles from the face of the cliff. But the straight drop would be the hardest of all. He was just about to reach a paw for it, but then felt something sharp on his hind leg…
Snap.
Banzai's jaws latched around his lower limb, his sharp teeth sinking in towards the bone… Scar growled loudly and gritted his teeth, bracing himself as well as he could against the stone to prevent himself from slipping down further than he already was… It was even harder than before to stop his inevitable descent, with gravity pulling the weight of two bodies downwards against his claws and the variable surface of the grating gravel. The hyena merely closed his eyes, all of his effort devoted to biting down and holding on. His brows furrowed angrily and he was growling spitefully, enjoying his attempt at bringing his opponent down…
Scar knew he wouldn't be able to climb the sheer rock near his possible sanctuary with the hyena clinging on. And it was only a matter of time before more piled on and dragged him to the ground…
So he fought back, angrily kicking Banzai in the face with his other paw. The hyena whimpered between his interlocked teeth, his face twisting up into a pained expression, but he didn't let go. In fact, his jaws only clutched the lion's leg harder, the hyena's fangs beginning to slice through his warm flesh and into the layers of sinew and lean, tightened muscle…
Scar let loose a vicious, guttural growl from the depths of his throat, and continued to scrap at the loose rock with his free hind leg. The other one he shook desperately, trying to rid it of the unrelenting parasite which was still hanging on with a death grip. His claws still dug into the stone, each band of muscles in his front limbs pulled taut, his teeth gritted together into a purposeful grimace as he struggled to keep his hold on the jagged boulders. Banzai shook back and forth as Scar's leg writhed about in various directions, his weight still pulling him down and causing the two bodies to sway laterally and in unison. Finally the lion sharply and profoundly brought the afflicted leg forwards, causing the blind and unexpected Banzai to crash into the sharp edge of a boulder. The hyena's eyes finally jerked open in shock, his mouth momentarily opening as he let out a surprised yelp, releasing his hold of the lion's leg. Banzai dropped to the ground, tumbling and rolling, as another hyena prepared to take his place. A strong male leapt at him, with the same intent of latching onto his lower extremities and pulling him to the ground. But Scar made use of his three unimpeded limbs well, letting the one with the bite mark dangle uselessly as he finally reached the vertical plane ahead.
His claws were still sharp—rather, they were always sharp—and this alone was what allowed him to climb the unyielding surfaces of rock. He carved out many long gashes in his attempts to ascend the grade, and after much careful footwork, he finally found himself on the ledge. His front paws found ground on top of it, and he pulled himself upwards and safely onto the edge of the measly platform. He walked a mere step towards the back and collapsed, exhausted. The hyenas, as predicted, could not reach him—that much he could tell already. As to how he would get down, well… he had no idea. But he didn't worry, and instead allowed himself a few precious moments of rest, not even bothering to curl up and sleep like he usually did. He merely stayed where he was, lying on his belly in a prone position, with his limbs outstretched lazily. The hyenas would probably wait him out, and would no doubt get to him sooner or later, but at least he had bought himself some time, however small and insignificant it might have been.
After a few moments, he heard the lone call of a male hyena, who was addressing him in an angry, raised shout.
"We'll get our pound of flesh one way or the other!" it yelled dogmatically, "whether you give it to us or whether we have to rip it off your body! That's what we're good at!"
Scar shuddered inwardly, regretting his dealings with them a million times over. Yet somehow, he was still alive, despite the odds… it must have been for a reason. There must have been a purpose for him…
No, that was nonsense. Why, he was the smartest lion out there—it was no surprise that his foes had fallen at his feet! The lion settled his head gently on his forepaws, somewhat satisfied despite his prolonged state of endangerment.
But even as he drifted off into the tendrils of a light, dreamless sleep, he still could not shake the strange feeling that he was alive and breathing for a reason…
Hmmm, so now what? Scar does seem to be the lucky type... Is there a reason for this? And he did escape the hyenas-true... but how's he gonna get down? ;o Anyone want to speculate on what's going to happen?
And also, like I said, this is the last Scar chapter for now. Next chapter has Nyota, Rafiki, Zazu, Sarabi, Mufasa, Banzai, Asokai, Shenzi, Zamani, Ed, and Scar (briefly).
So you've read the story... now review! :D Thanks.
T-win out (;