Okay, I'm sorry for the long wait. Getting ready for college is a pain, especially the admissions. Anyways, this is the really intense chapter I was telling you guys about in my last two chapters. Enjoy the chapter. Let's get ready to rumble!

Zainabu kept low as the conveyor belt moved her through the tunnel. She had lost communication with Malka and Danny, but hoped to rendezvous with both of them as soon as possible. Being in a place she considered an artificial structure, she would have to return to basics. She wanted to talk and find out where everyone was, but she didn't want to give away her position or theirs. The lioness would have to use her hearing and smell.

As a lioness, her smell was more attuned than a lion's. It would come in handy at sniffing out Danny's scent and helping him wherever he was at. She didn't know what was going on, but she was sure that Danny was in trouble. The last transmission she had with him proved that.

"Danny, this is Zainabu. Are you close to freeing Sarabi and the others?"

"Not exactly, Zee. I've got a bit of a mess here."

She frowned. What is that noise? "Are you under fire, Danny?"

"Heh, who isn't?"

"Are you…okay?"

"Oh, yeah. Other than being shot at by the Electric Mayhem, I'm doing alright. I can't talk right now. I'll contact you later."

One good thing she was thankful for was the fact that the conveyor belt was a long ride. It gave her time to recover her breath and strength. Now, she was ready to run at full speed. Good to go. Just gotta find Danny and Malka. Then find Sarabi and the others and get out of here. That plan was now easier said than done, as their group was now down to just three members. The loss of all their friends still hung on her heart, and she was determined to repay the enemy in kind.

What bothered her at that moment was the darkness of the whole place. She was used to being active in the night, however, she was used to having some sort of ambient light, namely the moon. In this tunnel, there was absolutely nothing, so it was difficult to not feel on edge. If even a pebble or chunk of rock broke off the tunnel and landed, it would make her tense up.

Thankfully, she could see some light up ahead. Zainabu let out a sigh of relief. "Finally, I'm at the end." It felt like an eternity, but she had made it inside the stronghold. In a sense, she was disobeying orders. Danny wanted the others to remain outside and create as much a distraction as possible. But there were two things wrong with that. Things broke down outside and five lives were lost, and at the same time, she wasn't disobeying orders. She still was going to create a distraction, but it would be from the inside.

As she came out into the light, Zainabu looked around. It was a huge facility, and the room looked like it was taking the rocks to a grinder of some sort and crushing them down into simple raw materials. Numerous grappling devices and cranes lined up along the left and right sides of the belt. Whatever it was, she didn't pay much attention to the machines as much as the three workers who noticed her presence.

One of them began issuing orders. "Sound the alarm! We have an intruder." He pointed to one of the other two. "Get some weapons!"

Zainabu wasted no time in her attack. She dove at the leader, claws unsheathed. The leader had no time to react, no time to run. The lioness speared him and sent him to the metal floor. Zainabu quickly sunk her teeth into his neck and crushed it, strangulating him. She quickly got up and did likewise to the worker who went for the weapons. He let off a burst of fire as he was tackled and strangulated by Zainabu.

"Okay, that's two down. Now where's that third guy at?" She looked around to see the last one running up the catwalk. He was heading for a red box on the wall. It didn't take her long to realize he was going to signal for help. She sprinted towards his position, but as she closed in on him, Zainabu heard blaring alarms go off. He hit the switch to a general alarm system. As she got closer, she could hear him screaming into the box.

"We are under attack in entry eleven! Intruder alert in entry eleven! It looks to be…aaaaahhh!" That was the last he was able to get off, as Zainabu jumped him from behind and gave him the same fate as his friends.

Getting off of him, Zainabu watched the alarm lights go on and the whole place was lit in flashing red. She had created an alarm, and hopefully a distraction. Now, she had to avoid trouble and find Danny. She sniffed around, finding nothing recognizable. But as she went on, she smelled blood. It was very familiar and she knew whose blood it belonged to. She gasped. "Danny."

Danny never felt so lost and defeated in his entire life. He had lost his family, lost some of his closest friends, and now he had lost his ship. It seemed nothing went right for him. Dasyu still had Sarabi and the other five lionesses, and from the way things turned out, it was going to stay that way. The only one who wasn't reported dead was Zainabu, but she probably was dead. She hadn't answered any hails recently and there was no sign from Dasyu's troops that she was even alive. If she was, they would've known where her position was and converged on it.

He sighed. It doesn't matter. Soon, I'll be joining them.

Right at the moment, he was in an elevator and on his way to the top of the mountain stronghold. The two Generals, Striker and Xev, were with him. Dasyu was about to kill Danny, but Striker asked to carry it out himself. He wanted some personal enjoyment, and though Dasyu wanted to kill Danny personally, he sensed the hunger for battle Striker still had left and decided to let the General have his way. Dasyu, in the meantime, would be overseeing the arrival of the Preliator with the other three Generals.

Most of Danny had given up, but another voice rang through his mind. The part of him that was a soldier and a king. Come on! You cannot just give up like this. You still have a mission to carry out. Danny tried to quell it, but it kept raging in his mind. Are you going to let your friends' deaths be in vain? He just shrugged it defeat and death were simply too powerful to be overcome.

Striker helped out by giving him a shove as the elevator reached the top. "Let's go, human. Round trip for me, one-way ticket to oblivion for you."

Danny ignored him. He didn't even care anymore. In another instance, he would've taken his chances and fought back at Striker, be it a biting remark or an outright punch. As Striker talked with Xev, Danny walked out to the edge and looked out at the land. Striker saw him walk away, but did nothing. There was no way out except the elevator and there wasn't anywhere to hide.

It was absolutely barren, with only dirt and rocks. It probably was beautiful before Dasyu came here, but it didn't matter now. Even as the sun was setting, the forest was providing a huge illumination. What little was left of the nature was now on fire and would go until it burned out, or the approaching thunder clouds from behind would take care of that. The topography of this place would be a barren wasteland.

Just as he waited for the final moments of his life to count down, a thought that came to his head made him shake in fear. What about Sarabi and the others? Who knows what Dasyu will do to them? That sent a shiver down his spine. If they were left here, then Dasyu could turn them into mechanical freaks like he did with the Hyena Trio. Danny knew he couldn't let that happen. If he was going to go down, it would be swinging. If he would die, he would at least make sure the lionesses got free. The soldier/king side won out.

He felt something press against his leg. He frowned. What is that? After quick deduction, he realized it was the taser he took from the soldier who charged him. Dasyu and the others must've forgot to check his ankles and underneath his leggings for any weapons. Danny had a weapon to use, but he had to use it carefully.

Striker finished talking with Xev. "So we're finished with him. I'll take care of him in my own way."

Xev smirked. "Alright, then. Just as long as I'm not near you to be shot at. Dasyu does want you to throw his body off so that he can see it hit the ground, so do it in front of the hangar bay door." At Striker's nod, she looked out at the human. "It's been fun!" She walked into the elevator and the door closed.

That left Striker with Danny, alone. He walked over to him. He had a choice of his pistol or the shotgun he took from Danny, but he had another option. This is going to be fun.

Danny pointed a finger at the tiger General. "Hey, Striker. From me to you, you're a jackass."

Striker squared himself with the human. "Yeah? And you're a loudmouth, punk-thug-" He pulled out his pistol and aimed at Danny's head. "-who's about to die."

The human seemed unconcerned. He waved his arms out. "Maybe, but soon I'll be dead." He pulled his arms out of the sleeves of his jacket. "You will always be a jackass. So go ahead and shoot me." He smiled as he threw his jacket off, leaving only his black t-shirt on his upper body. "I'm getting kinda cold…could use some heat in my body before I die." Striker just stood there, studying him. Danny raised his voice. "Shoot!"

Striker grabbed Danny's shirt. "Who's shooting?" He drove his forehead into Danny's nose. The human screamed in pain and dropped to his knees. The General, still holding the shirt, drove his knee into Danny's face, letting him drop to the ground, writhing in agony. Blood was dripping out of his nose.

The General walked back a few steps. "Tell me, do you like soccer? It's a great sport." He pointed at himself. "One of the first things I studied. I always loved the striker position. That's where I got my name. Isn't that something?" With those last words, he kicked Danny in the face as the human was getting up, blood flying from his mouth. Striker closed in on Danny, who was holding his face and wiping the blood off. He found his target and slammed his foot down on Danny's ankle.

While it didn't break, Danny still felt extreme pain from the stomp and clutched his ankle. "Oh, geez…damn you!"

Walking back from Danny, Striker laughed. "Heh, so you're swearing now? That's a penalty kick for unsportsmanlike conduct." He drove in and kicked Danny hard in the midsection.

Danny fell back in pain and crawled towards the edge of the stronghold summit. He felt as though he were breathing on one lung and was having a hard time breathing without feeling pain. He didn't know how much more punishment he could take. He managed to speak with strength reserves he didn't even know he had. "Sissy…you hit like a sissy. Is that all you got?"

"I'm just getting started," Striker said. "Here's a lovely little chip shot." He kicked Danny in the face. "The striker dribbles past one defender." He went back to the midsection again instead of the face. "Two defenders." Another kick to the midsection left Danny gasping for air and spitting out more blood. "Three defenders." Striker kicked him in the chest, only adding to the pain. "Goes for the goal, but a defender tackles him from behind." He backed up and launched himself in a sliding tackle that resulted in his foot hitting Danny in the stomach.

Danny grunted and groaned in pain. He knew that time was running out. If he didn't make a move, Striker was going to kill him. He could barely breathe much less think out a strategy. But one thing was working in his favor: Striker was getting cocky, and that meant his guard was going to be down. However, he still had to get up. That was proving very difficult considering the pain.

Walking back ten paces, Striker turned to face Danny. "The striker lines up at the penalty spot. He focuses on the ball, ready to make the game-tying shot. The crowd is on its feet, letting out a deafening cheer." He pulled back his right leg while his eyes remained locked with Danny's face. "The striker moves to his left, draws back his foot, and he comes in."

Striker ran and planted his left foot. His right foot swung and struck Danny hard in the face. The force of the hit made Danny roll off the edge, but his hand caught the rocks along the edge. He was hanging on for dear life now. Striker jumped up in the air. "He scores the tying goal! It's a miracle! Now, we're going into overtime. You know what the best part of overtime is?" He planted his foot on Danny's hand that was keeping him from falling, letting out a cry of pain from the human. "Sudden death."

Danny listened to Striker laughing, enjoying the pain he was inflicting as the former cried out again. I have to do it now. He reached down with his other hand and pulled the taser out of his leg. His body was blocking Striker's view, so he never saw him pull it out. Danny powered it on and turned the amplitude up to full power.

He made his move. Danny pulled his arm up and jabbed the taser in Striker's knee. Striker went from laughing to a bloody scream, and he dropped his pistol. To a human, the taser would've dropped them and left them twitching. For a transformer, the taser served as a stunner. Striker had instinctively reached down with his hands, but then froze from the electrical shock, unable to move. Danny grabbed the shotgun slung on Striker's back, the one he stole from Danny. The human pumped it with his one hand and pressed the shotgun into the General's stomach. Striker looked at the human in fear and drawing in short gasps of breath.

"Season's over, jackass!"

Danny fired. The back of Striker's midsection had holes blown through from the vicinity of the shot. The blast also made Striker go end-over-end as he fell off the edge and plummeted to the ground far below. Danny groggily climbed up and crawled so that he was a few feet away from the edge. He was in pain, but he would survive. Two generals were taken care of, but all Danny wanted was the head honcho. He knew his mission, and with renewed determination, he would carry it out.

Dasyu gazed in astonishment as the Preliator was brought in by the ground tugs. The ship's intimidating appearance, the weapons emplacements, and the fact that the ship could turn invisible was absolutely marvelous. The cannons on both the dorsal and ventral sides of the ship looked like they could pack a punch, and he looked forward to seeing them in action. Maybe, it would even serve to be his flagship.

Malachi and Talon were busy with the soldiers and doing damage control. One of the other commanders, Lash, was also busy doing the same disseminating work among the ranks. They had taken a fair amount of damage. Most of the refueling stations were destroyed, with only a few working stations. That left clustered vehicles lined up for refueling. One-third of the tanks at the facility were either disabled or destroyed along with over half the Rovers and APC's. A few hundred soldiers were all lost, and about 150 more injured and needing repair. Most communications were still offline, but the emergency systems and the PA still worked. The human had cost Dasyu a lot, but he would recover.

Dasyu spotted General Xev and motioned the leopardess towards him. She trotted up to him and saluted. Dasyu returned it and pointed to the ceiling. "Did you inform Striker of how I want the human dealt with?"

She nodded. "Yes, sir. He should be carrying it out any moment now. What are your orders?"

The Specter leader began tapping off fingers. "First, I want my transport ready to go in about half an hour. I'm going to need it to head to Facility Three." Facility Three was another drone construction facility, the last one remaining. The other one, Facility Two, was the one Danny had destroyed years ago. Facility One was the very place they were in right now, the hub of his personnel, air power, and his second-largest ground division. "I would love to wait until I learn how to fly this ship," he said, waving at the Paratus Preliator. "But business before pleasure. I have to inspect the facility and get them ready for the next step. Phase Zero Hero must be put into effect immediately, starting there. Once everything is up to speed, I plan to return here."

Xev's expression hardened. "What about the prisoners?"

Dasyu's face went slack, meaning he was thinking this one over. "As soon as Striker reports the human's death, let them go."

"Sir?" The General frowned.

"I am a person of my word. It won't matter down the line, but I'd rather be rid of them and let them try to find their way back to their home, if they can even find it this far away." They both shared a laugh. "In any case, I expect some technicians to go aboard this ship here and either download or copy the artificial intelligence, so that it can be uploaded into my drones. Then, with no one to interfere, we shall dominate this planet and have it for our own. The natural resources here are abundant. We will be a power of our own amongst our people."

"I eagerly anticipate that glorious day, Lord Dasyu," Xev said, with smug satisfaction.

A loud gunshot was heard, even over the motors of the tugs. That was what Dasyu was hoping for. The gunshot that would end the life of the man who had been a thorn in his side for years. It was a freeing feeling, and Dasyu heaved in his chest out. "Well, Striker got what he wanted, now I'm supposed to be seeing the body from here." He saw a body falling, but it didn't land right in front of the hangar bay door. It fell to the left of it. Dasyu sighed and hung his head. "All I asked was so little and Striker can't even do that. Well, at least he's dead. I want to see the look on the human's body."

He and Xev didn't even take three steps when they heard the last voice Dasyu wanted to hear again. It came over the PA system. "Hey, Dasyu! I just killed your General Striker. Now I'm gonna kill you!"

Both supreme commander and General ran to the location of the fallen body. Sure enough, it was the mangled and broken form of Dasyu's second-in-command. A look of shock and horror remained on Striker's face. His right arm and left leg were both missing, broken off on impact with the ground and laying just a few meters away from them.

Dasyu, who was calm and somewhat joyful a moment before, was now shaking and livid. The human killed his second-in-command and probably killed his third. No one had heard from Boronas since the initial attack, and was presumed dead. Furious, he stalked to the armory.

Xev followed and walked beside him. "Sir, where are you going?"

He didn't even look at her; he just kept walking. "I'm going to end this now." He reached the door and it slid open. He had racks of weapons and ammunition stocked to the brim, but he was interested in a glass case at the far side. Dasyu came to it and opened it up. Inside were two small, but powerful pistols. He grabbed them and started to load them.

Xev stood at parade rest. Normally, she'd be lifting her hands up in an effort to calm one of the others, but not her leader. Her voice told a different story, however. "Shouldn't you send the soldiers after the human? If we lose you, there's going to be a whole lot of confusion here."

Dasyu finished loading. "If you want to get something done, you've got to do it yourself." He pointed at her. "Send some troops up to give him something to worry about. I'll be right behind, planning something for him myself. Get my shuttle ready. I want to be done with this and my ship ready to leave before that storm hits us."

She saluted. "Yes, sir."

Danny got into the elevator and headed down for the hangar. He was on the prowl and would also need some weapons. He only had six shots in his big gauge and the pistol Striker dropped. That was enough to get him to shooting a soldier and taking his weapons. But that was it. He was sure that his ship would be brought here, so that meant he would have an easier time escaping. The tough part was getting to the prisoner bays. If he could, then he would need to open up the cells and fight to the ship.

As the elevator came closer to the hangar level, it screeched to a halt. Danny almost lost his balance in the sudden stop. "Crap! Someone must've shorted the elevator." He looked at the screen and it showed he was at the level above the hangar. There was only one way out. He reached up and opened the escape hatch. It slid open and Danny jumped up, pulling his body up onto the top of the car. If it was one thing he was thankful to Striker for, it was not attacking his limbs. His upper body strength was still 100%, and he had little difficulty climbing up.

"Okay, where's the ladder?" Danny wondered, looking around. He found it quickly and began climbing up. The second floor was only five feet up, but he wanted as much leverage as possible, especially if he was going to open the elevator door to the second floor himself. He found a red lever next to the second floor door. With nothing else to lose, he pulled the lever. The door began opening up, albeit slowly.

Thankfully, no one was nearby to notice him. However, he was going to need a diversion. It came real fast when the alarm started sounding off. A frantic voice followed. "Intruder alert in entry 11! It looks to be…" The rest of the speaker was filled with a blood-gurgling scream.

Danny smiled, but couldn't hold the wince back. "Hate to be that guy." He thought over who could be left and only one name came up. "That's got to be Zee. But where's entry 11?" The robot he encountered in the reactor room only told him what he needed to get to the hangar, but that was it. He didn't know where entry 11 was. I'll worry about it later.

He readied his shotgun and got ready to move. He passed through a lot of science rooms, control centers, and network systems. But what caught his attention the most were the uniform rooms. That was his fastest ticket to the hangar without problems. He immediately walked in and closed the door. With red lights flashing and alarms blaring, no one could hear him. It was excellent camouflage, but the uniform would greatly help even more.

Immediately shucking his clothes, he tried on various sizes and finally came down to a tiger-striped medium uniform and matching pants. His broad shoulders made it difficult to get the jacket on, but he managed. Remembering the military style of his country, Danny tucked the leggings into his boots. He grabbed a hat to further disguise his face from others. He re-slung his shotgun and grabbed a pistol holster for his sidearm. Attaching it and placing the pistol inside, he looked at the mirror. Danny looked himself up and down before nodding. "Just like one of the bad guys."

Danny opened the door and walked down the corridor. His first test came immediately, as he saw three soldiers coming his way. He tensed, but force himself to relax. Don't worry, D. The alarms are going off and the lights are flashing. And with this uniform on, as far as they know, we're all on the same team. He walked by them as they ran through the hall, glancing his way, but not paying him much attention. Relief and confidence flooded Danny's body. "At least it works."

He rounded the corner to see three more soldiers. This time, he saw a distinction of rank; one was wearing a black uniform. A commander! He will know some answers. Of course, I have to deal with the dogs first.

Closing in, he heard the commander talking to them. "Okay, you two head down the corridor. We stopped the elevator, so the human should be stuck inside. You two will wedge the door open and drop down onto the car. Be quiet when you do that. This human is known to be unpredictable and dangerous in defense. Don't underestimate him."

They turned and saw Danny walking their way, but only saw the uniform and passed him on as one of their own men. Danny waited until the three soldiers passed. Danny pulled his shotgun off his back and aimed at the soldier on the left. His shot blew the soldier forward, killing him instantly. The other soldier turned around, only to get his face blown away. Danny charged the commander as he was turning around. He slammed the butt of his shotgun into the commander's head.

The commander hit the wall and rebounded. But Danny pressed him back against it. The commander felt as though someone put an axe through his head. He growled. "You're gonna pay for that, human."

"Maybe, but not now. I need a little information from you right now. Where is entry 11 from this point?"

"Kiss off, punk."

Danny rewarded him with a little electrical dose from the taser. He slammed the commander's head into the wall to keep from screaming. "That was strike one. I'll ask again, where's entry 11?"

The commander craned his neck, trying to look his enemy in the eyes. "What if I don't have that answer?"

He felt the barrel of the shotgun brush against the side of his head. The human said, "Then you get to join the ranks of headless commanders." That was a reference to the heads of the two commanders he had blown off with the m107. "You wanna try me?"

The soldier realized this was going to get ugly if he didn't tell him. "Entry 11 is located by the docking hangar adjacent to the hangar bay. Just keep going down this hall until you see some stairs. You'll enter the hangar and have to go down about 200 yards. It's a yellow and black door on the left."

"See? That wasn't so hard to say. You could've saved yourself some pain, chump." Danny backed up. "However, I can't have you following me nor alerting others to me." He slammed the shotgun's stock into the back of the commander's head, knocking him out. The commander slumped to the ground against the wall.

Danny grabbed the weapons of the soldiers, which ended up being an AK-74. Unlike the AK-47, this weapon had greater range, but it carried 5.45x39mm rounds, meaning it was more accurate but packed a less powerful punch than its predecessor. He would have to make do. He grabbed five magazines and two frag grenades. It wasn't much, but it was better than only what was loaded in a shotgun and pistol.

"I really would like to know how these alien robots got their hands on our weapons. I would've thought they would have some laser rifles or something. And why do they need uniforms?" He put it aside. These were topics he would have to answer later.

He was ready to move, and move he did. He sprinted down the hall. Because of the close quarters, and the fact that the docking hangar was not, he carried his shotgun at the ready. Danny wasn't going to take anymore chances. He was going to blast anything that got in his way. He was going to find Zainabu, rescue the lionesses, and get out of Dodge. He wouldn't let his friends' deaths be for nothing.

An unfortunate security officer came out from a door and had the displeasure of being on the business end of the shotgun, as Danny blew him away and kept running. The alarms served as a great silencer for the weapons, but eventually, things were going to turn worse for him like they did earlier. He reached the stairs and found two more soldiers on their way up. They froze when they saw him, because they thought Danny was one of them. But the shotgun told them otherwise. Danny gave no reaction time as he shot both of them, draining the last of his shotgun shells. He dropped the weapon and brought up the AK-74.

The walk down the stairs was quick and silenced due to alarms. Once he got out into the docking hangar, he ran to one of the Blade fighters for cover. Danny scanned the area for enemies, and found them grouped down a ways, about 200 yards down. He didn't see anyone else, so he headed down there.

He stopped. "Wait…200 yards. That's what the guy said entry 11 was at. There are enemies down there and that's where Zee…" It didn't take long before the picture was painted in his head, and he began moving down the hangar a lot faster. Danny's heart was beating hard now. Not from the cardio workout he was getting, but from the fact that the one he cared about the most was in danger. If anything happened to Zainabu, he would never forgive himself.

As he got closer, he could see that Zainabu was still alive, but cornered and in need of some help. There were about eight soldiers, half of them carried weapons, the other half carried what looked like stun guns and a net. It was clear that they were trying to capture her, but would kill her if necessary. Her growling and roaring made the troops wary.

Danny wasn't going to let that happen. "Zee, I'm coming. Just hang on," he said out loud. He took aim at the soldier with the weapon closest to Zainabu, who was hiding behind some cover. The accuracy of the weapon held true, as his shots hit center mass. As the first soldier went down, Danny shifted to the one closest to him. The soldier got off a burst, but it wasn't even close. Danny's burst was another center mass kill.

The remaining two soldiers got off their shots, one hitting Danny right in the calf. Pain shot up through Danny's leg as he screamed out. He already had been beaten and shot in the arm. Now, he had another mark to his name; this one was the most painful. He tried to ignore it and return fire. He drained the first magazine trying to get the other two soldiers. The four others were dropping the net and stun guns and reaching for their pistols. Danny grabbed one of the grenades, pulled the pin, and rolled it out along the floor. One soldier saw it and ran to pick the grenade up and throw it back. He was too late, as he disappeared into a cloud of smoke and shrapnel.

When the smoke cleared, three soldiers were lying on the floor and one was crawling to his weapon. Danny made short work of him and focused on the other two soldiers. Thankfully, only one with a rifle remained. He was the biggest threat, and Danny targeted him. He was hard to hit, being behind some crates and a fighter above him. Danny fired, but his shots hit the Blade.

The other soldier was too busy staying down. He was freaking out, thinking all the shots were coming at him, so Danny didn't aim his way. Yet. He reloaded his rifle and aimed down his sights. That was when he noticed something. The holes he put into the Blade had punctured the fuel line, and gas was leaking all around the soldier's immediate area. Danny aimed at the gas and fired.

He kept firing until the rounds set off a spark. That spark grew into a huge, flaming disaster. The soldier behind the crates was caught in it and set on fire. The soldier screamed and ran out onto the hangar floor. His screams pierced Danny's core, and Danny did the only merciful thing for both of them: put him out of his misery. Danny put two rounds into the soldier, and the body dropped to the ground, still burning.

Danny found the last soldier making a run for it, and he used the last of his magazine "walking" his fire up the body of the soldier. The rifle clicked empty, but it didn't matter. He had saved Zainabu, but it came at the price of his leg. It was very difficult to stand, much less walk. Yet he still was able to limp his way to where Zainabu was at. "Zee! Are you alright?"

The lioness made it out from behind her cover. She was still alert, but relieved to see Danny coming her way. "Yeah, I think so." She noticed the limp in his walk and her mouth gaped. "Did you get shot?"

"I'll live. Don't worry about it."

"Where's Malka at?"

Danny stopped in his tracks. "He's dead." He saw Zainabu drop her head in sadness. "Come on, we gotta get out of here before we end up the same."

Zainabu looked up, and fear overcame her. She saw a straggling soldier come from behind one of the fighters, and he was carrying a rifle. He was bringing his weapon up, and he was aiming right for Danny. She bolted for the man she cared so much about, running as though there was no tomorrow. "Danny!" Everything seemed to go slowly, like a nightmare one was trying to escape from. Time thickened as she came closer.

Danny turned around to see the soldier aiming at him. He had no time to reload and he was out in the open with no cover. He had been very lucky to fight this far up until now, but it seemed that his luck had finally run out. Just as the soldier centered his sights, he felt Zainabu push him out of the way, knocking him to the ground. Danny slid a foot from his standing position, losing his rifle.

Then it happened. Danny was no longer in the soldier's sights, but he was replaced by Zainabu. The time seemed to really go slow, as the burst of fire screamed through the air. Danny watched in horror, as all four shots punctured through the body of the lioness he had known for seven years. Zainabu's painful expression shattered Danny's heart as he watched her fall. Zainabu, his longtime friend and companion, was fatally shot.

"NNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

He quickly pulled out his pistol and aimed for the soldier. His first few shots hit the soldier, and the others sailed wide. It was enough to drop the soldier, and he didn't seem to be moving. Danny didn't care. He twisted around.

Zainabu was laying on the ground, and she wasn't moving either. Tears welled up in Danny's eyes as he crawled to her. "Zainabu, hold on." He reached her and held her head in his arms. He looked at her wounds and knew she was in critical condition. "Hold on, now. You're alright."

"Cold…so cold…" Zainabu said, weakly.

Danny held her close to his chest. "Hey, you're alright. You're gonna be fine. I'll take care of you and we'll get you back on your feet." He was trying to comfort her as best as he could, but deep down he was trying to deny the inevitable. He didn't want to lose Zainabu, of all friends. That word didn't do her any justice; she was more than a friend to him. The tears began falling down his cheeks.

Zainabu shook her head, but Danny was afraid it was a twitch. "I'm not going…to pull through."

Now, Danny was getting frustrated and angry, but from the pain of seeing her die like this. "You're not gonna die! You are gonna make it." She was starting to cough up blood now. Danny wiped it from her mouth and was now going from angry to pleading. "Zainabu, you can't die. Please don't die on me. I…I…"

The lioness looked up at him, right in the eyes. "What is it? Please…please…tell me. You…what?"

Danny was trying to avoid saying it for years, because of the pain of leaving her behind would make the statement worse. Now, he felt like he was saying it way too late. "I…I love you, Zainabu. I-I always have, and I always will. I was afraid of saying it, though. Because I didn't want to cause you more pain when I planned to leave." He gently stroked her fur as he continued. "I'm sorry I waited so long to say it. You were the one person who was deeply interested in my life back home. What I did, what sports I like to play, what school life was like. None of the others cared as much as you, not even Sarabi. From the very first day we met, you were nice to me. At that time, I can't tell you how much that meant to me. I needed someone to talk to, to hang out with. I just wish things were different now."

In spite of her pain, Zainabu reached up and touched him with her paw. "No. I'm glad things…were what they were. From the very moment you entered my life, I knew that I would have someone to talk with, to walk with. You made me laugh, we had fun…together." She rested her head on his chest, enjoying what warmth she could get. "You completed me, Danny. You made me whole. Now, I can leave this world knowing that you had always loved me."

She could see the pain and tears in his face. "Don't be sad. I…don't have…any…regrets. If it…wasn't for you…my life would have little meaning. I'm so thankful you were a part of my life, Danny. I love you so much, and I will never stop loving you."

Danny couldn't help but choke up in tears. "Zainabu…"

"I'll see you on the other side, Danny. I…love…you…" She gave him one last smile, before her eyes closed.

Danny shook his head, refusing to let her go. "Zainabu…" Her smile disappeared, replaced by a ghostly expression. "…I won't leave you." Zainabu breathed her last, and she was gone.

At first, he couldn't do anything. He couldn't breathe. The joy of his life, Zainabu, was now dead. Danny felt completely empty. He couldn't move, he couldn't breathe, he couldn't feel. Danny pulled away, and his breathing returned in short, shallow breaths. He could feel the wave of emotions crashing on him, and he began to shake. "Oh, God. God help me, God help me, God help me…"

The emotions hit him in full force and he broke down, crying his eyes out. Tears cascaded down his cheeks, and he pounded his fist into the ground. He curled up into a fetal position, letting out loud sobs. He had lost his family, his friends, and Zainabu. It was as if things were stacked against him in everything, and as much as he fought, he couldn't overcome them. Why God? Why is this happening to me? Why couldn't you just kill me and not my friends?

Soon, something else crept inside of him. Something dark. The painful emotions were wiped away, except for one thing. Danny's red-rimmed eyes opened, full of anger and hatred. What little was left of him died with Zainabu, now replaced by a cold, ice-blooded shell. One desire and goal was left in him and he was going to fulfill it for all the pain caused in his life.

Kill Dasyu.

Danny got up like an automaton, and reloaded his rifle. Gone was the kind-hearted man, replaced by a ghost. No emotion, no remorse. Just one thing remained. "You owe me your blood, Dasyu. And…I…will…HAVE IT!"

Back in the Pride Lands, Tanabi and Kovu were reaching the base of Pride Rock. Already, they were about to drop from exhaustion. Simba was a full grown adult lion, who was practically dead weight with his condition. He was still unconscious, and though the two younger counterparts were strong, they had been carrying him all the way from the borders of the Pride Lands. That was a huge burden for anyone to carry, and the lack of water plus the heat was starting to get to them.

They came closer to Pride Rock. Already, the animals who saw the three lions made way so that they had a straight, open line to their home. Already, lionesses who were sitting down had noticed, and began alerting the rest of the pride. Others began running to them. Timon and Pumbaa were among the first animals to sprint to their longtime friend.

Tanabi sighed. "Wow, I should've realized all this peace would make Pops a little soft."

Kovu looked at him incredulously. "You're complaining?"

"No, I'm just stating the facts. That's all." He glanced up at his father. "At least he's alive. I'm definitely thankful for that."

Timon, Pumbaa, and Nala reached them first. Kiara could be seen right behind with Xolani and a few other lionesses beside her. Tanabi looked at his mother, who was stricken at seeing her mate like this. "Tanabi, what happened?"

Tanabi groaned. "We got ambushed. I got ambushed in a separate spot, and then went to help these two. I only came at the end to pull them out of the gorge."

"The gorge!" Nala asked, not expecting to hear that.

It was Kovu who answered. "Yeah, long story short, Simba and I were ambushed by Zira and the other Outsiders. I'm fine, but Simba's hurt pretty badly. You need to get that monkey friend of yours to help him."

"Rafiki." That was more of a statement than a question from Nala. She turned to Timon and Pumbaa. "I need you both to get Rafiki right away. You know where to go."

Timon saluted. "Yes, my queen. We're on it." He hopped on Pumbaa's back, but before they left, Timon brushed his hand on Simba's mane. "Don't worry, buddy. Help is on the way." With that, they took off.

Kiara ran up to them, and held the same expression as her mother. "Daddy! Tanabi, what happened?"

Tanabi smiled glumly. "Let's just say this wasn't what I expected for a morning walk."

"That makes two of us," Kovu added. He shifted Simba up his back a little. "Could we get some help carrying him? We've been carrying him from the borders and our backs are killing us."

A couple lionesses came up next to them and they shifted Simba onto their backs, giving Tanabi and Kovu a break. They all walked to Pride Rock. The other animals gasped at seeing their king in his condition, and they whispered amongst each other while parting ways for the pride.

Walking up the base was difficult, but they made it up. The pride all stood at attention and moved aside so that the lionesses carrying Simba could get through. Xolani kept the pride outside while Nala, Kiara, Kovu, and Tanabi went in. After setting him down, the lionesses left to rejoin the others. The four sat in a semicircle around Simba. He seemed to be breathing fine, but he was not waking up. He looked pretty torn up, and Kovu knew Simba's shoulder was torqued pretty good. He wasn't sure if the king would be able to run much.

Kiara looked at the two lions. "So, talk to me. What happened out there?"

Tanabi held up a paw. "We'll talk about it later. Kovu and I both need to collect our energy and our thoughts."

"I just hope it's before the battle begins," Kovu said. Everyone turned to look at him. He shifted uncomfortably. He hated being the center of attention, especially in a situation like this.

"What battle?" Nala asked.

"I'm pretty sure we killed Nuka in the process of escape. Plus I sided with all of you. There's no way Zira's going to let this go unanswered. She'll gather the Outsiders and come to take over the pride."

"But we have less lionesses than her," Kiara said, definitely nervous. "And with Daddy like this-"

"There is one advantage to all of this," Kovu interrupted. "She'll most likely wait until dark to make her move. That buys us some time. If Simba regains consciousness and is able to fight, then things will be more evenly stacked."

"That's not even including the fact that we have two male lions ready to fight," Nala replied. "Three if Simba recovers. But they definitely do have more lionesses than us, especially with some of our more experienced fighters taken from us."

Kiara nodded. "I wonder if Danny-"

A sudden breath of air intake caused everyone to return their attention to Simba. His eyes were open and alert, but he didn't even seem to notice the eyes all locked on him. He stared up at the top of the cave as if he was staring into the beyond. "What the…?"

His consciousness brought jubilation to Kiara's face. "Daddy, are you alright? Are you feeling better?"

He didn't seem to answer her. Instead, he began speaking in a delusional tone. "Wha's happen-" Simba's already alert eyes widened even more. "Danny?"

Tanabi frowned. "Uh, Danny's not here, Dad."

"Danny? Oh, dear God. No. Danny…oh my God. Oh, God. Please, no." Tears were streaming down Simba's eyes. "Oh, please. Danny…no, it can't be…" Simba kept repeating the words over and over.

Kovu didn't know what to make of this. It sounded like he was simply delirious and having hallucinations. But another part of him told him something was terribly wrong, and it wasn't about Simba's condition.

Kiara looked at Nala. "Mom, what's wrong with him?"

Nala said what Kovu was thinking. "I'm not sure, but I think something terribly wrong is going on with Danny."

Dasyu watched the live footage of Danny going through the corridors, killing everything in his sight. Dasyu noticed something different about the human. He wasn't fighting with youthful energy and a higher goal in mind. He was fighting and killing in ice-cold precision and unrelenting ruthlessness. It looked as if there was no emotion, no thought of mercy in any soldier he came by.

One particular shooting that made him cringe was when he shot a lone soldier in the docking hangar. He didn't kill him, but wound him. When five other soldiers came to help him, Danny killed each and every one of them. When he had enough, he killed the wounded soldier. The Specter shook his head. This man thinks and fights like me.

Dasyu watched him gun down a soldier in the corridor. Danny approached the soldier, who was trying to crawl away from him. "Please don't kill me. I-I'll pay you whatever you want. I swear you'll never see me again."

"I know I won't," he said coldly, and shot the soldier right in the head. He kept walking until he was out of the camera's angle.

Dasyu switched to the next one and watched two more soldiers try to ambush Danny. It worked, but the human was faster than them at getting their weapons to bear. Danny killed one instantly and wounded the other. It was pretty much the same stuff as the last set of footage from before. The soldier dragged himself away, holding his hand up in fear as Danny walked over towards him. It was then Dasyu noticed he had a limp, most likely from a gunshot wound.

"Please, sir. Don't kill me. Oh, God! Please, DON'T-" Danny's pistol shut him up for good.

Danny started walking again, but stopped where he was. As if he knew where the security camera was positioned, Danny slowly looked at the camera. He wasn't looking at the camera. He was looking straight at Dasyu. He knew who was watching him the whole time. He aimed his pistol up at the camera and shot it, disrupting the video feed.

For the first time in his existence, Dasyu felt fear. He actually feared someone in his life. He feared this human, but he was starting to wonder if he was fighting a human or a demon. Danny had single-handedly destroyed his first drone factory, and dealt a huge amount of damage and lost lives here at his stronghold. The kicker of the whole situation was that this was one man who did this. He knew his men were excellent fighters, but Danny made it look all too easy for himself.

He grabbed his pistols and readied himself. "The only way this ends, is by killing him myself. The only way to make him understand that one man doesn't make a difference, is by killing him."

Danny limped his way down the hall. He was only about fifty feet from the stairs leading into the hangar bay. There, he would find the prisoner complex. He was going to release Sarabi and the others, but he would tell them to leave and head as far away as possible from here. He was now without anyone; just a walking shell. He was a ghost, a man who now had feelings pass right through him without batting an eye.

He wanted Dasyu. He wanted to take the knife he grabbed from a dead soldier and plunge it right through Dasyu's twisted heart, if he even had one. Danny heard a door open up and he pulled out a grenade and tossed it out in front of him. The grenade exploded as four guards came out. The shrapnel ripped through each and every one of them, all dead in an instant.

Danny already felt numb. Not just emotionally, but it was becoming a physical presence. His walk was without destiny, without stride, just a simple destination: whatever hole Dasyu was hiding in. Danny would find him, and he would kill him. He didn't care if Dasyu suffered or not; he just wanted the Specter dead.

As he passed by a door, it suddenly opened. A soldier came out, tackling him against the wall. Danny reached for his pistol, but it had fallen out of his grasp. He punched the soldier in the face and threw him back into the room he came from. Pain shot through his wounded leg, but he ignored it. This soldier got in his way, and he was going to kill him. He grabbed the soldier by the neck and threw him against the glass window. Outside, a thunderstorm was booming and rain pattered against the glass. As the soldier got up, Danny made a running jump kick that connected with the soldier's chest. The soldier hit the glass hard.

The force of the impact was enough to shatter the glass, and the soldier fell down to the ground below, screaming. Danny looked out for a second before heading back into the hall.

His ammunition was running dry. He only had one pistol magazine left and had to acquire another weapon, this one being an MP5. He only had two magazines, but it would be more than enough if he ran into Dasyu.

Danny reached the stairs and limped down. The alarms were still going off, so no one could hear him coming. Five soldiers were on their way up the stairs, and Danny aimed his submachine gun at them. When they were in clear sight, he opened fire and mowed them down. The weapon clicked empty and he slapped the last clip in.

He reached the bottom and entered the hangar. Sure enough, the Paratus Preliator was brought into the hangar. Dasyu wasn't bluffing after all. Danny's attention was drawn to the technicians who were about to board the ship. One noticed Danny, but didn't have time to scream. Danny's MP5 made sure of that. The others who heard the shots panicked, and ran out of the hangar to different doors.

Danny didn't notice the soldier coming at him from behind. His attention was too focused on the techs that he didn't look for the armed threats. The trooper grabbed him by the throat and pressed Danny against the wall. His grip was like an iron vise, and Danny was feeling light-headed and couldn't breathe. I'm not gonna lose to this scumbag.

He reached for his knife and stabbed the soldier in the neck. Danny felt the hand releasing from his neck as the soldier screamed and tried to get the knife out. "Here, let me help you with that." The man pulled the knife out of the guard's neck, but produced his pistol and shot the him in the chest.

Danny walked over to the prisoner bay and opened the double doors. The bay was one, long corridor. He could see cells that would go on forever. The cells themselves didn't have bars, but rather laser walls of some sort. There were also no guards on sight, most likely because of everything that had been happening.

He walked down the halls. It didn't take long to find the ones he had been looking for all along. He saw Sarabi, Ebere, Berhane, Kula, Aziza, and Shani. Danny was expecting them to be relieved at seeing him again. Instead, they were all panicking. Danny frowned. Why are they panicking like this?

Then he remembered. Remembered all those nightmares he had. A couple were different, but they all were virtually the same. It was the same prisoner room he was in. He was about to rescue Sarabi, but he was shot from behind. It was all a dream about to come true and that meant he was…

Danny pulled out his pistol and turned around, expecting to see someone with a pistol there. There was nothing there. He shook his head. This doesn't make any sense at all.

Boooooommmm!

He jerked back involuntarily as pain jolted his body. Danny heard a grunt, but it took a second to realize it was his own. He felt it hard to breath and he looked down at his chest. His hand was clutching it tightly, and blood was pouring out of the exit wound. He was shot. He lost all feeling in his nerves and he dropped the pistol.

"Noble drive, Danny," Dasyu said from behind him. "But you are not invincible."

Danny turned around and began walking toward Dasyu. His one-track mentality was keeping him going. Kill him! Dasyu shot him again, this time in the stomach. Again, Danny jerked back from the pain, he felt his body fading already.

Dasyu smirked. "It's time to toss in the towel and retire, Danny. You had a good run."

In spite of the pain, Danny kept walking. Kill him! I must kill him! He walked until he was four paces away from Dasyu, before the latter shot him for the third time. Danny could feel his legs shaking and he couldn't move any further. He looked up and stared hard and defiant at Dasyu. Blood was now pouring from Danny's mouth from the internal damage. He knew he was dying, but now even the strong mentality to kill Dasyu wasn't enough for his body to obey his mind. He fell to the ground on all fours.

Sarabi watched everything take place. With the sound of every shot on Danny, it was accompanied by the sound of Sarabi's heart breaking at seeing her surrogate son being killed. She had been the one who was being strong for the others. Ebere and Berhane lost sons, while Aziza, Shani, and Kula each lost mates. Now, the one they had all loved and looked up to, was now at the final chapter of his life. She broke down in a crying heap, but her eyes were locked on Danny's form.

Dasyu circled around Danny like a predator to trapped prey. He watched Danny struggle to look back up in his face. Dasyu narrowed his eyes. "I am truly going to miss you. You were so much fun. But now, it's time for you to move on." He lifted his pistol up. "Maybe to a better place, where you can be with your family and friends. A place where you won't be rejected nor an outsider like you were here. A place where you can truly be happy and never be alone." He aimed the pistol at Danny's head, right in the man's peripheral vision. "Consider this a favor I'm doing for you."

He clicked the action lever on the pistol. The words were ever so familiar to the human. "Welcome to my world, Danny."

The last thing Danny saw was a flash of light, before darkness claimed him. Daniel Manning, oldest of three children and co-king of the Pride Lands, was gone.

Simba woke up once again. This time, only Nala was present. But again, he didn't notice her presence. He seemed to be delusional to the others, but he was seeing the ending events where Danny was at. It seemed like it was so real, but at the same time, he felt as though he were dreaming. He wasn't sure what to think about it. All he knew was what he saw.

In a weak voice, he said, "Danny? Are you there? Danny?"

I hate to break it to you guys who were holding out for a miracle, but Danny and Zainabu ARE dead. As for Simba, you'll have to wait and see. Hey, had to keep up with the canon of the two movies, even though I've kinda strayed off a bit. I already know that some of you are gonna send me hate-mail for killing the characters that I wrote. Go figure. Stay tuned for the next chapter.