Taka's Guard – Chapter 13
It was midnight when Jicho awoke Scar. He did so with an unfamiliar gleam in his eye, that ill-suited Keenest of Sight.
"Scar…" He muttered to him. "We're ready. The time has come."
Scar stirred, and climbed to his feet. He unsheathed his claws experimentally, and stretched. "You were right." Jicho continued, but didn't elaborate further. Scar nodded. His stomach coiled in anticipation. This would be it, this would be his chance. He left the lair of the Lion Guard, and saw Nguvu waiting for them outside. The Strongest of the Pridelands, looked anxious, but determined. He wasn't going to back down now.
"Are you going to call upon your hyena allies?" Nguvu asked him. There was no judgement in his voice, nor any accusation. Scar shook his head anyway.
"Ed and Banzai might join us at the border. I daren't involve Shenzi. The Pride hasn't liked her presence. She has all eyes on her right now. You bringing her back to the Pridelands was… inconvenient. But at least she'll keep Mufasa distracted." Scar said. Jicho looked around.
"Still only three of us." He muttered. They were without their Fastest or Bravest for this mission, and he didn't like it. Scar hesitated.
"Not quite." He said, and cleared his throat.
Within a few seconds, Zira emerged from the den. She had awoken upon Jicho's pronoucenemnt, but delayed till now. The lioness stalked towards them as silent as the night, and Jicho shivered when he saw his adopted sister's crimson eyes glowing out of the darkness. It was unsettling. He nuzzled her quickly though when she approached, and she returned his affection.
"I am not sitting this one out." Zira informed them pointedly.
"Zira. Sis… Don't you think that this is for the Lion Guard?" Jicho tried anyway, knowing her answer.
"No. It is for my Brother. Our Brother." Zira countered.
Jicho swallowed, unsure of what to say to that. Nguvu looked at Scar.
"It's your decision, your highness." He reminded him. Scar nodded.
"It is, and I have made it." He said softly. "Zira will, temporarily, take on Kasi's role in the Lion Guard." He said. He was her sister. We owe her this much.
"I swore long ago, Jicho, that I would never be weak again. I needthis, Jicho. I need to make the ones who hurt my family suffer. I don't care about the risk. This is something I have to do." She said, voice full of conviction. Jicho nodded slowly.
"For Kasi then. Far be it for me to stand in your way." Jicho said. The four lions turned and moved silently away from Pride Rock.
"Scar if Mufasa catches us… He's expressly forbidden us from going after Bane." Nguvu reminded him. Scar snorted contemptuously.
"Do you think I care what my 'oh so virtuous' brother thinks of me?" Scar asked.
"I just think you ought to be prepared for the consequences, Scar." Nguvu said. "I am will you all the way." He affirmed.
Scar nodded
When they passed by the base of Pride Rock however, they were shocked to hear a voice call out after them.
"Who goes there?!"
It called.
Scar cursed, but saw no point in hiding himself.
"Prince Scar, that's who. And we are on Lion Guard Business." He said firmly.
"Scar?" The voice replied, curious. Out of the darkness, none over than… Tojo?
The dark furred, green eyed lion moved closer to see them, and Scar heard Zira groan behind them.
"What are you doing out so late?" Tojo asked them, curious. Nguvu gave a soft growl.
"I could ask the same of you, Tojo. Young lions aren't meant to be roaming the savaanah at this time of night." He said. Tojo scowled.
"I am not a cub. I can take care of myself." He replied hotly. Jicho smirked.
"So what were you doing out alone at this hour?" He asked him.
Tojo winced, his face flushing in embarrassment.
"I… Well… I was thirsty." He said flatly.
The elders looked at him flatly, and Tojo sighed in annoyance. Cubs getting up in the middle of the night for a drink was one thing. Adults tended not to.
"Uh huh." Jicho finished.
Tojo however, was looking behind Scar now, and counting the number of lions. He looked at Scar with surprise.
"You're heading for the Shadowlands, aren't you?" He askd. Zira frowned in annoyance, and opened her mouth to tell him that it was none of his business where they were going until he continued with "I didn't think the King had sanctioned any further use of the Lion Guard…"
There was a pause, as the lions looked to each other.
If Tojo told any of the lionesses, or – kings forbid - Mufasa what they were planning, he might intervene, and then they could lose their chance forever. If he told Tojo to remain silent though, he would immediately wonder why. And such a logical progress could only lead the brat to suspecting that this was something the king didn't know, but ought to know. Scar ground his teeth in frustration, and considered carefully what he next said. There was every possibility that it could reshape the Pridelands. He forced a polite smile.
"Actually, Tojo… You're just the sort of young lion we were looking for." He said grinning. The other members of the Lion Guard looked at him in barely disguised astonishment. "You've always admired the Lion Guard, haven't you Tojo?" He asked him.
Tojo smirked.
"Are you kidding me? Everyone loves the Lion Guard! I uh… Used to play with Kula and the others when we were kids." He admitted, wincing.
"How would you like the opportunity to serve in the Lion Guard for real?" Scar asked him, cautiously.
A few hours later, Tojo was running along the savannah with the rest of the Lion Guard, expression barely containing his excitement.
"Chumvi is never going to believe this!" He said to himself as the Guard raced towards the border of the Shadowlands. Scar led the way, but he was joined by an agitated Nguvu who was looking behind himself at Tojo and shaking his head.
"Scar, please, you can't bring him along, he'll get himself killed." He told Scar in a low tone of voice that Tojo couldn't make out over their running. Scar shook his head.
"He's older than we were when we started, and he's a decent fighter; we all were at this age." He said. Nguvu winced.
"Scar he's never been in a real fight before, he's going to freeze or something –"
"We'll do what we have to, Nguvu. And so will he."
"But Scar –"
"It's a temporary thing, Nguvu. Like Zira." He tried to reassure him. But Nguvu didn't look pleased.
Given time, they made their way to the Shadowlands, and encountered Banzai and Ed at the border.
Tojo seemed surprised, and growled softly, but Jicho snorted.
"Easy there, Tojo. These are Banzai and Ed. They're… allies… of the Lion Guard. When it suits them." He said. Banzai snorted.
"Nice to see ya too, Greeneyes. Who's the other Greeneyes?" He asked him, nodding to Tojo, who was standing a slight way back, looking unsettled at the hyenas approaching the guard with such impunity. Tojo blinked.
"Huh?"
"You can't call us both Greeneyes, Banzai." Jicho said. Ed gave a manic laugh, and Banzai chuckled.
"You said it Ed, they all look the same to me." Banzai said, looking back and forth from the distinctly coloured lions.
"Oi!"
"Moving forward…" Scar said quickly, in a reigned tone.
"Any news on Shenzi?" Banzai said. Scar thinned his lips, and nodded.
"Shenzi is alive and well, and recovering from her ordeal in the Pridelands. Mufasa has kindly given special dispensation to allow her in the Pridelands…" Scar said.
"Huh. I bet the lionesses aren't happy about that." Banzai smirked.
"They weren't entirely pleased, no. Now fill me in." Scar said. The hyena sighed.
"Well, when you came to speak with Msaliti, you caused quite a stir boss. Upset several high-ranking pack leaders in the clan, and undermined Msaliti something awful."
"I blush."
"Anyway, she took out her frustrations on Shenzi, and the next thing anyone's heard, the Matriarch is dead as a decapitated dodo. Most people chalked the two up to being related." He said darkly. "Everyone knows Shenzi is far more dangerous than she ever lets on, and they hated each other's guts. Mbaya, that's Masaliti's daughter - you met the harpy when you visited – accused her of having murdered the Matriarch, and tried to have Shenzi killed there and then. Well, we bashed one of the two males into a rock, and cut the other one's throat, and fled into the Pridelands." He said in a rush.
"She left that part out…" Jicho muttered as Tojo looked galled by the casual description of murder of two of the hyena guards. Banzai smirked.
"Course, Mbaya then tried to claim her mother's throne, only to find that some other matriarch in the clan has beaten her too it, and claimed the Skull Throne for herself. Mbaya should have just let it go, but she was well steamed and called up her supporters. Uchawi – that's the rebel hyena – was forced out of Carrocscir after a few skirmishes, but then returned a day later with a larger group of her own fighters, and now the two are at war." Banzai said.
"Casualties?" Nguvu asked him.
"Oh dear Spirits Yes."
"I mean how many?"
"Oh, I don't know, no one is counting." Banzai snorted.
The lions looked at one another as awkward silence enveloped them. Tojo looked to Scar.
"So… What's the plan? What are we doing here?" Tojo asked him. Scar looked at the younger lion.
"We are doing nothing. This is hyena business. We're not here to interfere in the internal affairs of the Shadowlands." Scar said smoothly. Banzai gave a bitter laugh.
"Hah. Yeah, right." He said. Scar pointedly ignored him.
"What have you and Ed been doing then?" Nguvu asked him. Banzai shrugged.
"Hiding mostly. Mbaya's crew would kill us on sight, and Uchawi's wants us fighting on their side… since most credit Shenzi with killing Msaliti, getting Shenzi on her side makes her look like less of an opportunist and more of a puppet mistress."
"Must be nice to be wanted."
"Yeah." He said darkly. "Real nice."
"Our job isn't to interfere in the civil war here. Our job is to use the chaos as our opportunity to travel the Shadowlands unmolested. We aren't leaving until we find what we are looking for." Scar said. Tojo's expression hardened.
"You mean Bane." He said softly.
"He can't hide here forever. Not when it's literally burning around him. Justice is coming for Bane and his crew of cutthroats and murders." Scar declared.
Ed gave a serious sounding grunt and Banzai nodded.
"That would be the first time old lady 'J' has visited these parts. Killing Bane sounds good to me." He said. "Good luck with that." And turned about and began to walk away.
"Wait a moment!" Jicho called after them. "Where are you going?" He asked.
Banzai gave a laugh.
"I am getting my hind out of the fire before it burns, Greeneyes." He said darkly. "Maybe I'll find some patch of the Shadowlands that isn't being fought over right now, and sleep there till this all blows over." He said. "I'll let you know if anything interesting comes up." He told Scar. Scar hesitated, as the hyenas skulked away, leaving the Lion Guard alone.
"So…" Zira asked him. "What do we do now?" She asked him.
Wordlessly, Scar raised a claw to his pawpad, and cut deeply. Then he pressed the bloodied pawprint onto Zira's shoulder, who bowed her head in acceptance. Tojo almost bounced up and down. Nguvu shook his head, disappointed, but said nothing.
"Are you with us, Tojo?" He asked him. Tojo nodded excitedly, and Scar left a bloodied imprint on his shoulder too. It stained their fur, but didn't mark their flesh in the same way Nguvu and Kasi and Jicho and Imani's had.
Even so, the symbolism was there.
"As Prince Sc- as Prince Taka, Lord of the Lion Guard, I proclaim you Zira, Fastest in the Pridelands, and Tojo, Bravest in the Pridelands. Members of the Lion Guard." The words didn't quite have the gravitas he had been hoping for, but the two accepted it nevertheless. He felt the roar surge within him. If Jicho was uncomfortable with having his adopted sister on the Lion Guard with him, he didn't show it, and nobody mentioned the oddity of having a lioness in the Guard.
"Well then." Scar said, grinning dangerously. "Somewhere here, between warring hyenas, and ruthless scavengers, Bane thinks he's escaped Justice. He's not a very smart animal, else he'd have ran from here to the Edgelands and kept running. Let's kill him." He said. It wasn't much of a speech. But it had the desired effect. Heedless of the lateness of the hour, or the lack of food, or the hostile environment, the Lion Guard – newly restored to five members – began their Hunt.
For the next several days, the members of the Guard made their way through the Shadowlands, keeping to the crags and rocky ravines of the Shadowlands, and staying away from the fighting. Jicho scouted ahead of them, and warned them away from the fighting that was throughout the Shadowlands. Most of the conflict seemed to be focused on the Carrocscirr, at the Ivory Tower of the Shadowlands. It was two days, before they came across their first battlefield. Jicho warned them in advance, and a few moments later they passed the over a hill of dust and ash, and found the bloodied remains of one of the smaller skirmishes.
Half a dozen carcasses lay strewn across the ashen plains. The scent of blood hit their nostrils and Tojo made a gagging noise.
"Striped hyenas…" Scar noted as they inspected the bodies.
"I thought this was Spotted-Clan territory? Isn't that the clan Shenzi and Banzai are from? The one that's fighting?" Zira asked him in confusion.
"Uchawi must have recruited help from the other clans." Scar said dubiously. Nguvu blinked.
"Scar… If the other clans are getting involved, then this conflict could… escalate." He said delicately. Scar hesitated a moment. But eventually swallowed and nodded.
"True. The same happened when Caliban was executed, if you recall. That was the conflict that put the Spotted-Clan into power in these parts in the first place. Before Caliban, it was the Black Hyenas who ruled the Shadowlands. The Spotted-Clan was lucky to feed on their scraps." Scar said.
Zira moved over one of the corpses with her paw.
"This was relatively recent…"
"How can you tell? Is it that there is no rot?" Tojo asked. Zira smirked.
"No carrion." Zira said. Tojo blanched, thinking of the unsavoury types who lived in these parts. Respect for the dead was unheard of, and a defeated enemy could expect to make some recompense, by providing for the family of the victory. In a very literal sense.
"That means that the victors could be round here." Nguvu warned.
"That's what I'm counting on." Scar said.
Jicho and Tojo stared at Scar.
"But… Scar! You said we weren't here to deal with the hyenas!" Tojo protested, glancing around in panic. Scar grinned once more.
"I'm not interested in ending the conflict. I am interested in speaking with the locals." Scar said. Sure enough, they could hear the telltale sounds of approaching fighters, the ominous laughter of hyenas. Zira's eyes widened in fear for a moment and Jicho pulled closer to her. Tojo bared his teeth in defiance, and Nguvu drew his claws, readying for a fight. Scar lifted his head, and growled, feeling the roar within his bones, emanating within his soul. It howled in him, like a trapped animal.
Soon.
He promised it, and felt the roar rescind for a moment.
Then, a hyena, spotted and lean came over the top of the ridge before them, and Scar grinned.
"Greetings." He said.
And unleashed the roar.
The roar surged before him with the same viciousness and ruthlessness he felt. It rushed ahead, and slammed into the oncoming hyenas like a tsunami of force and sound, echoing around them. Tojo and Zira, unfamiliar with being in such proximity to the roar, winced, whilst Jicho and Nguvu rushed forwards behind Scar.
Jicho slammed into the leader of the hyenas just as she was climbing to her feet, seized the hyena by the neck, and flung her aside. She crashed into the stone ridges around them with a sickening crack and fell still. Nguvu meanwhile had caught up, and lashed out at a pair of the hyenas. Scar, gave a growl and joined the fray, his claws slicing through the air, and finding their target.
Then Zira was there. The lioness's eyes blazed with fury, and she landed in front of one of the smaller hyenas. With a practiced motion, she bit forwards, and without the slightest hesitation bit out the unfortunate creature's throat. The hyena collapsed to the ground, but Zira had already moved onto the next target before his carcase hit the ground.
It wasn't a fair fight. The five lions made short work of the half-dozen hyenas, who were quickly killed or incapacitated, some before they could even tell what was going on.
After pausing for a few moments, and regaining his breath, Scar approached the leader of the hyenas, who was cradling an obviously broken limb.
She glared up at him.
"So Uchawi has the Lion Guard fighting for her does she? That traitor." She said.
Scar gave an indignant snort, and swung a paw. The claws were sheathed, but the back of the paw caught the hyena in the face. She gave a grunt, and stumbled back, dragging her broken leg painfully across the bloodsoaked ground.
"Do look like I'd take orders for your matriarch?" Scar asked her. The hyena gave a grunt, and spat out blood from her mouth. The blow had split the canine's lip. She didn't reply, and instead glowered up at him.
"What do you want, Scar?" She said, eventually acknowledging his presence.
"The same thing I wanted when I first came to the Shadowlands. I want Bane. I was hoping recent… developments… might have made you more reasonable." He said.
"Go to hell." The hyena responded. Scar unsheathed a single claw, and ran the tip along the side of her face, hesitating near her eye.
"I've been there." Scar said. "I went there when Bane killed my Son. Unless you want to go there yourself, tell me right now. Where. Is. Bane?" He asked, punctuating every point with the lightest tap of his clawtip. The hyena shuddered.
"Bane isn't a Hyena. He's a wilddog. These are hyena lands." She tried. Scar's eyes narrowed to slits.
"You know something, what-ever-your-name-is? I Know his species. And I know wilddogs can't live here without the reigning Matriarch's permission. That is how I know Msaliti knew where Bane was. Because if he was in the Shadowlands, there was no way on this Spirits blasted earth that she didn't know about it." Scar pressed a claw to her throat and she swallowed, looking at Scar's eyes. They were cold and hard and utterly without mercy. She swallowed.
"I… If Msaliti knew where Bane was… she didn't tell me." She said. Scar stared at her.
"Whats, you name, hyena?" He asked her, eventually. The hyena swallowed painfully.
"Katili." She said softly.
"I am going to kill you, Katili. Not because I am in the Lion Guard. Not because you are a hyena and I am a lion. Not because you did anything to me. I am going to kill you, in about ten seconds, because you are standing between me, and the animals who tortured and killed my friend, maimed my mate, and murdered my son." He promised her.
His voice had become too soft and quiet that it was like silk. Nearby Tojo glanced at the others in alarm. Zira shivered, but her expression was neutral.
Katili swallowed.
"I…"
"Where do I find Bane?" He asked her.
"If… If I were hiding in the Shadowlands… but needed to meet with the Matriarch of Carrocscirr… Then I would hide out in Skeleton Canyon." She said carefully. Scar smiled.
"Finally."
"But that area is being fought over as we speak. There are tunnels and ravines there that lead directly to Carrocscirr. Bane and Msalti could meet without anyone knowing, if he was hiding there. But Uchawi's armies are all over that territory." Katili said.
"I'll worry about Uchawi. You just worry about yourself."
"You… You really aren't working with Uchawi, are you?" She asked him. Scar snorted.
"I couldn't care less about your pathetic civil war, Katili. In fact, I am completely indifferent to its outcome… Though I guess it would be easier for Shenzi and Banzai if Uchawi ended up on top…" He mused.
At the mention of Shenzi's name, Katili's face hardened.
"That little treacherous –"
"Who Shenzi? Don't give her that much credit. You don't really think she killed your Matriarch do you?" He asked her. At her expression, Scar laughed.
"Oh come on. You think she'd have the guts to pull that off? She's a vicious piece of work, but really? I can't say I am surprised you suspect her. But what I am truly astounded by is that not one of you thought to check for poison." He said.
Katili's eyes widened.
"Poison? But why would the snakes…" She trailed off.
"You want to know the best bit, Katili?" He said, leaning close. "Uchawi didn't kill Msaliti. And neither did Shenzi." He leaned in close. "That was me." He taunted her, in a voice so low, that the Guard behind him couldn't hear them. She stared up at him in shock.
"All this, just to find…" She trailed off. Her eyes narrowed. "You monster-!"
Scar jerked a claw across her throat, and she dropped instantly. Jicho gave a gasp and Nguvu stiffened.
"Hey-!" Tojo shouted, and caught himself. He looked behind him and saw the Lion Guard staring at him in shock.
"We can't leave survivors, can we? It'll get back to Mbaya. And if I am right… Then we really don't want her knowing we're here, do we?" He asked them.
"No." Zira said. "Stealth is our ally here." And Jicho nodded in agreement.
"Let's go then." Scar said.