And I'm back! Sorry for that huge wait everyone, a lot has happened over the months, but I got there in the end, all just for you :P

So here I am bringing back more excitement to you in this new chapter. I hope nobody has a problem with the title? I know, they're the famous principles for the french nation after the revolution and I simply thought it fitted the chapter, I'll explain more after you've finished reading. I've included a music track in here, it's from FFIX and there are many different versions! I prefer the one from Project Majestic Mix, it's fitting for the atmosphere :)

So before we bring in the disclaimer, I just want to thank The Undersigned for agreeing to be my new betareader, his corrections and beta techniques are absolutely stunning, so thank you so much :)

Kovu: I'm back...just to say that Prince doesn't own the Lion King or anything of it, just this story and his O/Cs. Nothing special about me...yet. I do get a spotlight, right?

Hmm...we'll see.

~24~

Liberty, Equality, Fraternity

Soundly, she slept in his warm, protective paws. The moon was illuminating the sleeping Kingdom as two young lovers embraced each other in the small, cozy cave which they found lead to a place of miracles and wonder. Never before did he believe such a miracle was possible, to even remember his own cub hood friend let alone meet her after everything that had happened. Kura sighed in bliss as he held his true love close to him, smiling softly as he watched her sleep peacefully in his loving paws.

Ever since Salaam forced his psychological powers upon his mind, Kura's sensitivity was heightened and his wit sharpened,enabling him to feel and bask in the beauty of the floating, blissful air of love around them. The way she rubbed up against him, giving a very forward gesture that she was fond of him and wanted to be with him—a very forward gesture that was very welcome indeed. The way she looked at him, those beautiful blue eyes running over his muscular form. Kura kept this to himself but every time she looked at him, he could tell very easily that she was more than fascinated at how strong he was. It was all too much, too difficult, and too complicated to describe—this feeling between them was simply beyond words or comprehension for those who have never experienced it.

Just thinking of everything they did together that night—swimming through that sparkling subterranean tunnel; jumping and pouncing through the glowing pools that completely lit up the mystical cavern. It made Kura purr deeply with complete peace and happiness. This feeling, this whole new world for him, was beyond anything comprehensible. It was as if the sun was rising from a sleeping land—a whole dormant emotion—and gently shone its rays over the surface. The beauty of it all was looking at the rising light itself; it did not hurt his eyes, but enveloped them in its warmth. Something new and loving lavished itself over him like a harmless light. It did not blind him, but drew him to it. A warm and gentle breeze that ruffled his mane, a gentle shining sun; it all equaled to a passionate kiss from Vitani, and he felt them all at once. Sinking into a deep, blissful slumber with his true love, Kura felt all these feelings of wonder and happiness wrap him in their essence.

Meanwhile, in the godforsaken earth of the outlands, Zira paced up and down her cave with a more than usual murderous look on her face. One really only had to enter the cave to tell that she was upset about something.

"It's bad enough that each and every one of you are being sent back here with your tails between your legs," she hissed, "but the fact that he did it all by himself!"

She growled furiously. The fact that the Prince was beating back every single lioness she sent at him was too much for her to bear. Zira wanted Kura gone and cleared from the board as soon as possible.

"Mother…I'm ready. I'm ready to face him again," Kovu stepped out from the shadows, talking in a nearly enough sinister manner as his mother was.

"No, Kovu! You are not! The last time you fought him you were defeated, and now that he knows who his father his, he can go running back to him crying that we struck!"

"I thought you had that under control?" A new, deeper masculine voice interrupted the conversation.

Zira sighed and turned towards the mysterious new lion.

"I do. And why have you returned? You didn't want to cooperate with our last plan to take over the Pridelands. What makes you think we'd be willing to work with you again?"

"Because I can't help but notice…I actually do what you intend to do."

The snide, off-hand remark infuriated Zira greatly. She loathed this lion for embarrassing her in front of her pride and demeaning everything she had worked for. It was too much. She, growled and advanced on the young rogue.

"How dare-"

"Ah-ah-ah…let's not forget…" the stranger chided her.

Zira had been silenced and her throat clenched by the claws of the daring, devious menace. At that moment, her subjects were ready to pounce in and save her, teeth bared and claws unsheathed, snarling ferociously at the creature that imposed on her long-standing authority. However, most of their expressions began to drop when the edges of the lion's claws had the slightest glow of a deep, blood red shade. Zira's eyes widened in fear of the unknown, superstitious power this lion had acquired. And as soon as he spoke again, the new edge of malice and ruthlessness in his voice rang out to the walls of the cave, trapping the air in an atmosphere of despair.

"I've been to see Dad quite a few times now…he's promised me so many things if I help him return to this world…it really pays to have friends on the other side."

Most of the lionesses looked stumped as well as shocked at the bold lion's mysterious edge of power, and what he was saying to Zira, who seemed to know all too well what he was saying, for she held her tongue as fearful understanding dawned in her eyes. The leader of the murderous outlanders had to stand down, seemingly outwitted and outmatched in her own bloody instincts. The stranger gave the most dangerous growl yet, causing every hair on every lioness's back in the cave to shiver.

"I tried to help you take over the Pridelands, but you didn't like the way I worked so you tried to off me…what kind of mother are you?"

Back in the Pridelands, in the small cave that lead to the subterranean cavern that Kura and Vitani had explored the previous night, the sun's rays gently flowed over his fur and eyelids, waking him up slowly. The first thing he felt was the bliss and joy of the wonders that had happened last night, not the warm, soft fur of his love up against him. Kura opened his eyes in surprise and looked down at his chest to find that Vitani was gone. He was disappointed and a little sad, but comforting thoughts. She's an outlander…and she said she has to keep up appearances, and lying on me all comfy-looking wouldn't do that.

Kura looked over to Zale, still in his unconscious state. Kura gave a sigh as he walked over to him.

"…I know, you feel neglected, like I haven't really been looking out for you", the Prince confessed to his silent companion.

With a heave against the wall, he managed to scoop Zale up onto his back.

"This is our last day on this journey, Zale…I promise."

However, a second thought stopped him before he exited the shelter, and he gently laid Zale back down on the ground again.

"I better go and check if the way ahead is clear. You stay there, I'll be right back."

Relieved that he thought to see if his last stretch of ground to Rafiki's tree was safe, Kura carefully prowled out of the cave under the tall grass. Prioritizing stealth on this journey was a key feature on his mind, since he was a public enemy to his kingdom.

With his back turned to the interior of the cave, Kura did not see Zale exhausting the minimal amount of energy he had to frailly reach a paw out to him, desperate for him to come back, and fading out again.

From a nearby hill, Zira and Kovu were concealed among some trees. They spied down at the Prince trying to creep through the grass unnoticed.

"…He's still by himself…I thought you said you took one of his friends down but didn't kill him?" Zira questioned Kovu impatiently.

"I did, he probably didn't make it." Kovu replied firmly.

"I've told you thousands of times before, Kovu…there is no room in the pride for weakness. You snuff out the life of your prey as quickly as you can and you stamp on it! Do not leave anything lying unless it is good and dead." Zira told him in a quiet, yet short-tempered tone.

"Mother, the Prince is by himself, his friend is not there."

"Fine…then we rally the whole pride and take him out by ourselves. Now is our only chance!"

"In the middle of the Pridelands?" Kovu asked skeptically.

"I don't care about Simba…in fact, he and the entire pride will be distraught and off-guard when they find out we've killed his long lost son. Then we kill them all!" Zira grinned murderously.

"A bit much to ask for all in one day," Kovu stated bluntly.

Zira's impatience and attitude was everywhere in the air around them, and the negativity was clear and fresh as she growled lowly.

"Hesitance is weakness, and the weak shall die. What have I been training you for these past years, my son? To take advantage of such weaknesses! You are an assassin; these are your key opportunities! No son of mine would pass this up."

Zira hissed at him with such eagerness for bloodlust, her hunger seemed insatiable. Kovu was a little thrown off by her nearly disowning remark, and fell back into place with the leader of the outlanders beside him.

"…Yes, mother."

"You're sure that everything is ready?" Salaam asked Rafiki, sitting in the treetop of the shaman's residence.

"Yes, yes, I've made the bang-bang stuff; you just need to make it go bang! Ha-ha!"

"Rafiki…" Salaam began, shaking his head low and astounded at him, "how under god did you gather the materials to make such crazy contraptions?"

"Oh-ho-ho, ol' Rafiki knows what he's doing! And they're not really bang-bang, no flash or fire involved so it's completely safe…sort of!"

"Then…what exactly are they?" Salaam asked, watching the shaman prance around his sets of herbs and equipment, and all sorts.

"They are large pockets of air under a large amount of pressure," Rafiki explained, "contained with various natural substances such as the spongy-like material found in reeds, and other things that I managed to make pouches from. It may be hard to burst these pouches because of the toughness of the material, but there was no way around it."

"So what do you plan on doing with this…air?"

"The pockets are a little ways underground, say a few inches. I've placed some sharp stones beside them so you'll have something to pierce them with. But it won't be easy to shift them since they are buried. So, when you manage to burst these pockets, well…that air's gonna have to get out somehow!" Rafiki winked at him ominously.

"It'll blow the earth around it up into the air," Salaam finished for him contemplatively. "That'll make a mess."

"Ahh, nature's weapons at their finest! I must say, I am a genius." Rafiki commented playfully.

"Just one question…how is this going to help Kopa?"

Rafiki smirked proudly.

"Distraction, deception, and diversion."

A wrinkling of Salaam's nose was his response to Rafiki's answer, who took him to the edge of the canopy to give a view of the immediate landscape.

"Everywhere around here the pockets are concealed in the ground. No doubt that Kopa's attackers will be distracted when you burst the pockets in a random sequence. Go ahead and detect them now with those mind powers of yours," Rafiki explained.

Salaam went ahead and did as he said, detecting the different locations and numbers of the large accumulations of air underground around the tree, stretching quite a distance.

"With your assistance," Rafiki continued, "this area will be mother nature's minefield! You will notice that there are four sets of rowed pockets around this tree, all ordered in a fashion that lead the way here. Every other pocket aside from those ones, you will add a flash to them when you burst them to deceive everyone into thinking that Kopa is in the vicinity of that blast, because they all saw him use his powers to generate a flash of light before, they will all know of that by now."

"I see," Salaam replied, "and what about the rows of pockets leading to this tree?"

"You must not add a flash to those ones," Rafiki told him strictly and firmly, "once everyone is distracted enough by the flashes and blasts around them, it would be time to divert Kopa over here, to us. By not adding flashes to those pockets and setting those off normally, we are giving him cover to escape. I need you to contact him mentally and tell him to make his way over here, though."

"Rafiki…" Salaam said, thoroughly impressed, "this is an excellent plan, but…this will be terribly draining on my energy. To burst the pockets, add flashes, keep track of it all and contact Kopa…I don't know if I can manage all that. But I'll try if it will save him."

"I'm afraid it's necessary, old friend," Rafiki sighed, "we must ensure his survival…he is the key to our own."

"Oh man…" Kura sighed.

He stood feeling small on the edge of the final plain to Rafiki's tree. But he didn't feel small because of the size of land, which was quite formidable, yet passable within a day. The entirety of the Knights stood before him, in the middle of the grassland.

"Freedom sure isn't free," He stated simply, not able to begin to imagine just how he could overcome this obstacle.

Walking slowly towards the huge gathering, Kura pondered the past events over the last month.

I had to run…what else could I do? No one would listen to me…except for Sabini, I guess…and Vitani. Softer feelings of comfort came into his heart as he imagined his true love, giving him more courage to face what seemed to be his last battle. There was no chance that Chumvi or Afua, or Alkili, or any of those lions down there should listen to him now. He fought back the last time. It's not as if they would open their hearts to him this time. Simba, he imagined, must have been angry to send the entire force out to capture him.

Why...why me?

It was the question he asked himself from the start. Fate came back to haunt him. Why did Mufasa choose him from the beginning? Why did he not tell him that he was the Prince? Why didn't Tojo tell him either?

Dad, Kura suddenly thought at the memory of his passed stepfather, I…don't know if I can do this anymore. He gulped, trying to swallow the sorrow and grief of the departed soul.

Was it fate? Was it because he challenged the force that seemed to hold Mufasa prisoner that he came to these grim circumstances? It can't be…I don't believe in fate, I kept telling myself that. It was then he remembered that that was his very purpose in this ultimate, supernatural struggle against destiny: Freedom.

The Prince sighed once more for getting mentally hung up in a possibly non-existent perpetrator of the incident he found himself in at present. It was a possibility that Mufasa had somehow forged a prophecy in that mystical pool in the jungle simply out of blind faith to counteract another, darker prophecy that was forged beforehand. Kura actually went ahead and took Mufasa's word that it was all true, and now that he questioned it, he wasn't sure whether to firmly disbelieve it anymore or not. Because, if Mufasa truly was bound in chains of fate for tampering with it in his life, Kura couldn't let it go, it wouldn't have been the right thing to do.

Take back everything you said the other night, Mufasa…because I'm doing you a big favor, here. If you're just taking advantage of me and there's nothing wrong with you at all, then I'll find a way to seriously, ethereally hurt you. If I have the power to change destiny, then I'm pretty sure I can do that too.

Kura started to get nervous as he came closer to the massive group of well trained lions, especially with Chumvi there, looking very stern and unhappy to see him. I guess there's no point in running anymore.

"You all came to see me?" Kura mockingly inquired.

"Enough, Kura, either you come with us or we make you. And trust me; given the circumstances, I don't think you're in a position to make a run for it this time." Chumvi growled at him.

The awkward silence afterwards reinforced Chumvi's words, with every Knight staring and glaring at Kura. Wow…they really hate you right now.

"Listen…" Kura began with a sigh, tired of everything that had happened.

"No. You're coming with us, now." Chumvi ordered as the others went to his side.

"Chumvi, please, I have a reason for why I ran! We're friends, aren't we?"

There was no point in hiding the truth now, Kura's destination was right in front of him, and he was dealing with his own side. He felt that he had to make amends. Chumvi just raised an eyebrow at him and looked skeptical.

"Oh, we are?" he mocked. "When I offered you safe passage to Simba to try and get all of this cleared up, you stood and fought against me. That doesn't sound like much of a friend."

"I know, Chumvi, but please-"

"What? What pathetic excuse do you have this time?" Chumvi snarled at him, advancing towards him threateningly.

Kura felt the sparks fly from Chumvi. He could feel it in his empathy. Chumvi actually took all of this very personally.

No, what do I do? He thought nervously, He won't listen to me…maybe I should just give in, that'll show him. It was evident that Chumvi wasn't about to back down and was getting angry. In fact, looking at Kura seemed to be aggravating him the most.

"You know something, Kura? I already thought that you being an outlander was a pretty sad story, but when you actually fought me and ran, you did it all to yourself. Why would you actually fight and run when we told you that Simba wanted to clear it up? I think it's all a little too obvious, don't you?"

"That's what I'm going to tell you, if you'll just listen to me!" Kura implored, being pushed back further.

"Why? Why should I listen to you! You've only betrayed me as a friend!" Chumvi started shouting at him, his voice rising with his progressing advances.

"Chumvi, this won't work if you keep antagonizing me like this!" Kura pleaded desperately.

"You did all that by yourself in your actions, Kura!"

"Alright I'll go with you!"

Kura's last reasoning seemed to have worked, but only for a moment. Chumvi stopped advancing and looked a little less aggressive, but his eyebrows quickly frowned again.

"You know…that's actually pretty infuriating to hear, after you turned that option down the first time and attacked us."

His hopes were immediately shot down. He should've known that saying that wouldn't have quelled Chumvi's anger.

"Maybe I should just keep you right here and teach you a lesson..." he growled angrily.

That was it. No unique mental or emotional abilities would save him now, only further reduce his reputation amongst the Knights. They wanted honesty, and Kura had been anything but honest with them, with no choice. Zale was his first and foremost priority. He didn't know just how long his friend would hold out, so how could he compromise his medical stability?

But that wasn't something he could tell Chumvi. Carrying an unconscious lion throughout the Kingdom while wanted under arrest wasn't exactly a scenario one could explain their way out of. But Kura had no other way. He was going to have to come clean, and not leave out a thing. Regaining his old friend's trust was the only way out. The royal rogue had finally reached a dead end.

"...Alright," Kura said. "I'll tell you...everything. Why I resisted, why I ran; I will tell you everything now. I put my life on it."

Thankfully, Chumvi halted his advance on his suspect. Kura thought that he was finally throwing down all defenses and throwing his paws up.

"Your life was on the line ever since you lifted your paw against Afua and I. Why should I believe you now?" Chumvi asked him, a bit calmer now.

"I'm about to tell you..." Kura replied, a little annoyed at the ongoing lack of progress between them.

Chumvi's temper had finally cooled some more, and he was prepared to listen.

"You see...I have this-" Kura was just about to introduce Zale to the explanation, until something in his senses quivered.

After the heat of the confrontation between them had died down, Kura's mental radar of the area became clear again, because he wasn't so preoccupied with the situation at paw. And his senses troubled him. He immediately detected just what he was picking up, where the signals came from, and how many. Fear instantly gripped him. His breath cut off. Blood turned to ice in his veins.

"...What?" Chumvi asked, eying him quizzically.

Kura's heart rushed at the sudden detection. His head quickly darted around, although there was nothing to be seen, he knew they were there. The muscle pounded in his chest. His mind thrown into chaos. What could he do now?

"No..." he shook his head rapidly in panic, "no, I can't...they're here..."

"Who? What are you talking about!" Chumvi started to lose his patience again, another interruption in Kura's attempted explanation clearly rocking his tolerance.

"The outlanders!" Kura raised his voice in peril, backing away and looking around him in bewilderment.

They had followed him. Instead of continuing to send wave after wave of lionesses after the Prince, Zira decided to stalk him in the shadows and strike at the appropriate moment. The emotional patterns from the particular outlanders in hiding that Kura had detected were now fluctuating madly. They obviously knew that they were caught and alarmed at how he found that out. Kura could also detect their next action which seemed to have been planned and agreed by them all: if their cover was blown, go in for the kill. And he was just about to prepare Chumvi and the Knights until the horrible suspicion was thrown upon him again, back in the real world.

"You brought them here and set us up!" Chumvi roared ferociously, finally losing his temper and pouncing at him.

"What? No! How could I have known that you-" Kura's air was forced out of his lungs as his back slammed down on the earth.

"Well, well..." a feminine voice this time, sounding a little hoarse and deep, tainted with malice, "I didn't know that grown lions scuffle like little cubs."

Although Kura knew exactly who it was already, his ears shot up when the voice reached them. He couldn't turn his head, for Chumvi was holding him down on his back. Chumvi looked up to see who it was, and his facial expressions matched the rising rage within Kura.

"Zira..." Chumvi hissed angrily.

"Chumvi, still keeping active, I see! Not too old for anything, are you..."

"Look who's talking..." Afua uttered, at which Zira growled.

"Zira!" Kura yelled ferociously, struggling under Chumvi's hold, "You'll pay! I swear I will make you pay for what you've done!"

The murderous, blood-lustful leader of the outlanders glared down at him—the one who was responsible for Tojo's death. Kura's blood boiled at her presence, his heart burning to lash out at her and claim revenge. Her lionesses began to come to her aid.

"Why, if it isn't the renegade who keeps beating back my pride," Zira sneered. "It's remarkable you've lasted this long. None of them look happy to see you...and neither do your own Kingdom, for that matter!"

Wait a minute...is she...clearing my name? Kura wondered in confusion, why would Zira, the sworn enemy, do such a thing?

"Wait..." Chumvi shook his head, "what are you talking about?"

"You're all here now, so it doesn't matter if the truth comes out or not. I have all of you, right where I want you." Zira's face lowered to a snarl.

"She was lying! She was lying this whole time and you idiots decided to believe her!" Kura roared up at Chumvi in anger.

Chumvi, now completely dumbstruck, began to loosen his hold on Kura, who shoved him off and stood full height, baring his teeth and growling viciously at the murderer.

"Playing rough now, are we? My, my...what would Tojo think..." she taunted him,

He snapped right away, throwing off all rationality and clarity of thought, instinct dominated Kura's mind, and he charged swiftly and heavily into Zira. The battle was now provoked between the two prides, and it instantly commenced, the outlanders coming to Zira's defense.

"Help him!" Chumvi rallied his own team, and they immediately responded.

Afua and the rest of the Knights charged into the barrage of lionesses that assaulted Kura. This was it, Kura's chance for vengeance, and he would rip anyone who got in his way to shreds.

Meanwhile, in Rafiki's tree, the shaman and the chancellor had to instantly act on what had transpired below and plan accordingly.

"Salaam, he's too exposed! Set them off with flashes, now!" Rafiki urged in panic.

Salaam instantly opened his eyes from his meditation, finished centering himself and the energy required for the ordeal ahead. The grid of air mines throughout the landscape came to him again, and the abundant energy of the beings in combat above them. With the addition of a flash, he burst the air pockets below the ground and let loose the earth.

Instantly distracted by a bright instant flash to his side, Kura looked up at the flying chunks and dust of soil that had been blown from the ground beneath them.

Kura.

Disorientated by the events around him, Kura was dodging the outlanders and the explosions of earth, as well as listening to Salaam's voice in his head all at once. He had to come out of his rage and focus once more.

What's going on? He replied.

You're too exposed here...you need to grab Zale and make it into Rafiki's tree. I'm providing cover for you now. You are in a minefield of air pockets hidden in the soil.

But Zira!

There will be other opportunities. Right now you can't risk being in danger. If your blood touches the earth, destiny will unleash its wrath upon you! Now, go!

As much as Kura hated to admit it, Salaam was right. Zira would have to wait another day, where he could find her by herself, alone and unprotected. It was true that Kura was too exposed in his current position, with the outlanders and Knights clashing in battle, and Kura in the middle of it.

Growling in defeat of his chance at vengeance, Kura dashed back to the cave he had left Zale in. He had to keep his wits about him; jumping between the lions and lionesses fighting and clawing each other in a flurry, and detecting the nearest air mines around him, anticipating whether they would explode or not. He had to trust Salaam on this one, he said he would give him cover. Chumvi managed to hold Zira off, so Kura only had one goal now.

However, his determination was thrown off when he was rammed in his side, and forced to the ground again. He could handle an outlander lioness, they were no match for him before, but it was not the case this time. Shaking himself and jumping away from his attacker, he finally got a chance to see who it was. It became clear to Kura that this time, he wouldn't get clear without defeating his opponent. His old cub-hood friend, Kovu.

"I let you go once, Kovu. I might not be so gentle this time!" Kura warned.

"Then I'll come out the winner this time!" Kovu retorted, and pounced at him once more.

But Kura jumped with force back into him, clashing with him in midair and pinning him harshly to the ground. Kovu immediately swung at his face, hitting him solidly with his claw, and gashing him. Aside from the pain, shock was the only thing in Kura's mind as his skin opened. . He knew that his blood would soon hit the ground.

Keep fighting. Salaam told him. I'll see to it that not a drop lands anywhere.

Not having time to consider, Kura swung back with his own claw, before being kicked off. He quickly traced his paw over the area where Kovu had cleaved, and no texture of a cut or scrape was felt. The fur was completely unmarked and unopened.

You'll run out of energy if you keep doing that! Kura warned him.

Then you best hurry it up. Now, get him on the ground over this mine...

Salaam directed Kura's thoughts to a location nearby. Kovu came charging once more, and Kura managed to grab him in midair before slamming him down on the spot of ground that immediately burst open, sending Kovu into the air along with the chunks of earth. The effects of the contained, pressurized air below the ground amazed Kura as he saw Kovu land far away with a thud However, it wasn't enough to debilitate Kovu, as he soon got up and shook himself off, then charged once more.

Salaam made Kura aware of another air pocket nearby, and Kura prepared to carry out the same plan again. He grappled with Kovu, clawing at him to try and send him to the ground. It worked briefly but Kovu kept his wits and kicked Kura down with him. The anticipation rose in Kura's heart as he sensed the piercing of the pocket. But it was the last clear thought he had before his head came into brutal contact with a hard surface.

Absolutely nothing was clear; the sounds, vision, and feelings were all one huge blur. Growling, slashing, roaring in pain or anger—they were the sounds of the battle raging on around him. Not as much air mines were set off now, their purpose was to cover Kura. He lay dazed and confused under an outcrop of rock, thankfully hidden from his enemies and from Kovu.

But Kura could not remain hidden forever. He would soon be found by the enemy whose minds would not even acknowledge the option of showing him mercy at this point. It was all over for him. He could do nothing. Dread and hopelessness came over him as the endurance and courage he had held on to so far faded from his heart. All I've fought for...maybe it was for nothing, he thought in despair.

Kura could not hold on to consciousness for long. Everything was leaving him, while nothing was embracing him. This was it, he knew it. How could the long-lost, misunderstood Prince survive now? He couldn't save Tojo, he couldn't save Zale, and now he couldn't save himself. Failure struck him as the light around him faded. His loved ones were dead or doomed, all because of him. There was nothing he could do to protect them. The last lion he had time to think of was Vitani. Now he had failed her too, his one true love that gave his sorry state in life value.

I thought I could go on alone...but I was wrong. I've failed...everyone.

-You're Not Alone-

Get up. Follow my lead.

He had no idea who this voice belonged to. An overwhelming sense of urgency overcame him. He was needed somewhere right now. A mysterious force managed to give his muscles a boost in standing up, as he had been crawling out of the cave he was left in. He could hear noises, growling and roaring a distance away.

He is in danger. I will lead you to him.

He stood at full height now, his walking a little crooked as he took steps forward, but he quickly got the hang of it.

Hurry!

Spurred on by the disembodied voice, he broke into a run, guided by a mysterious sense of direction that felt as if it was almost provided for him. He got closer, the new sounds of battle reaching his ears, but it did not stop him. He kept going, unnoticed by any of the combatants. Lead to some rocks, he found Kura lying unconscious.

Quickly, hoist him up and run to the tree. The earth around you will be blown into the air to cover you.

Obeying the command without much thought, Zale burrowed under and hoisted his friend up onto his back. His mind was not yet that clear, but Zale could consciously act and move, which was all that was necessary. Managing the weight,

he broke into a run once more, right through the midst of battle. The shouting and snarling, the gnashing of teeth and flurry of claws around him did not disturb the determination exhibited on his facial expressions. As forewarned, the earth around him was blown into the air. Once again the focus on Zale's mind was maintained and did not waver.

It all seemed to happen slowly: the blasting of the soil from the ground around them; the claws striking and the fangs biting; the lions and the lionesses running and jumping around in a frenzy. Zale charged gallantly through it all with his injured friend on his back.

I'm not giving up on you...I can't leave you behind, not after you've taken me this far, he thought to himself.

Although the influence from the voice had affected his judgment, Zale retained his sensitivity and emotional welfare. His loyalty to his friends and family was as strong as ever, even though he had been unconscious for a long time. The Knights of the Pride lands were outmatched in valor from one single lion who charged through them all, racing to bring his friend to safety. The distance between them and the tree was closing, covered from the air mines the whole time. Now one last move was to be made to end the arduous and tiresome journey for the two brave lions. It came in one last command from the mysterious voice that had guided Zale so far:

Jump.

And he did. As Zale reached the peak of his leap, one last detonation of an air pocket blew the pair through the air, crashing down through the canopy of Rafiki's tree. The pain was extraordinary, but the journey was over. Rafiki's equipment of all sorts were rattled, shaken, and cracked as the two lions slammed down on the hard treetop. All Zale could see were a large white lion and a scrawny but ancient mandrill rushing around them, before the efforts of a long-term comatose lion began to catch up with him as the light around them faded.

Hope you all enjoyed :)

So, I said I'd explain about the title, here goes: Liberty, I thought this was appropriate for Kura's trying circumstances and limited chances to explain himself safely to the Knights throughout the journey. Equality, to me was fitting for the whole relationship triangle between Kura, the pridelanders and the outlanders, and Fraternity, lastly just grasped that last scene with Zale. He pulled Kura through the final step of their journey together when he couldn't do it himself, since he carried Zale the rest of the way, as a brother or friend would do. So I hope that no one is at all offended by my choice of the title, please feel free to discuss it with me if you are :)

So...that mysterious stranger who threatened Zira. He's certainly done deeds with her before and I think we all know who he was back when Kura was a teenager? Now he has obtained a sinister sort of power. Will he be a threat to Kura and Zale later on in the story? But more importantly, the two struggling lions are safe at last, earning some well-deserved rest. Sorry if my idea about the air mines was a little...erratic, I was skeptical of it myself at first but I didn't want to keep it much longer in waiting. Still, I thought that if I kept it true to Salaam and Rafiki's characters, since they were planning on helping Kura, I thought (more like hoped) that it should keep the flow of the story going.

So that's it from me once more, everyone, I hope you all enjoyed it and go ahead and leave a review, but please be tactful! Until next time ;)