The Lion King: The Freak

by TLKFan

The sad story of a li-tigon in a world where he's utterly alone from his first day alive. He struggles to survive in a world that hates him, so will he ever be accepted? What adventures will he have? OC, set during and after the movies. Longer than LOTR series. Rated T for some bad language, extreme animal violence.

25. BaW I: Return to the Pride Lands II

The Lion King: The Freak

Chapter 25: Battles and Wars I: Return to the Pride Lands II

Dato was gone.

He'd left the world somewhat like he'd entered it—quietly, softly, perhaps like a drizzle too light and innocent to truly notice or appreciate. He simply hadn't been alive long enough to make a true mark on his surroundings, and, in the opinions of the Pride Landers and their guests, that was the real tragedy.

Akane was missing, of course, and presumed dead. When Aoi had regained control of her limbs, she'd wasted no time in notifying everyone. Immediately after that, a few loyalist Nomad males had offered to search for the missing Prince, but Simba had flatly refused. Leaving the Pride Lands was, simply, suicide… and the coming violence in the Pride Lands would require all paws on deck. The white lion had been written off… another loss in a war that they'd dealt no real blows of their own—not yet.

But the lions weren't just biding their time, waiting to be attacked. With such numbers on their side, their overall combat strategies had to be altered. On one level; the squad level, things didn't change, much. Small groups of lions and/or lionesses—three to six—still fought as single units, watching one another's backs and creating overlapping layers of offensive and defensive prowess.

Freak's victory in the Bloody Shadows had, largely, been due to his uncanny ability to delegate responsibilities, even in the heat of combat. Such leadership skills were, eerily, in his blood—Sarabi had recalled, once, that early on in his reign as king, Scar had eliminated a budding insurgency before it could begin by personally beating her, in fact, severely, for speaking out of turn.

Since then, Simba had spent a great deal of time and effort going over that incredible battle—every aspect of it had been analyzed and shared between himself, Kovu, and Roderik. And, slowly, a new, defensive battle plan was created.

The Lion King noticed, slowly, that the strategy they were developing was decidedly not geared towards fighting one enemy; or even one small group of enemies, in case the demon decided to do whatever he'd done to Dato to other beings. He brought this up with Roderik, when he and the old lion were alone.

"Don't think about it too much," the Nomadic leader had said flatly, looking the younger monarch dead in the eye. "Really. You'll just get unnecessarily worried."

"You mean—" Simba started, before freezing, "we're going to fight some other large force? But who? How? Where, when, why?"

"You're thinking about it," Roderik had said, sighing. "Seriously. There's nothing to be gained from it… and, who knows, perhaps learning to fight like this might not be necessary."

"That means that we may have to fight a… massive force…"

The more the Lion King thought about it, the more concerning it was. Unfortunately, Roderik wasn't saying anything—Simba guessed, correctly, that the Nomadic leader was just erring on the side of caution. No one would be able to interfere in the fight between Freak and Kifo… but a few of Mohatu's prophecies suggested that the war resulting from the Gemini Theory would not be the last one to see their generation.

This final showdown—if it existed—might involve fighters from any number of places, Simba noted. Perhaps the Forests of the Far East, or the Rocklands, or the Dark Forest, or the Unexplored Regions, or any or all of the above. But the Lion King did as Roderik said, at last, and put such thoughts out of his mind.

Perhaps that was too hasty, though. Because there was one place in the Land of the Spirits that no one expected an invasion from.

There were relatively few emotions that Kifo, as he was now, shared with his former self. Anger, of course, was one; but, in his human days, he'd never felt it with such intensity and frequency as he now did.

One emotion common to human and demon, though, was satisfaction. And, after the sheer rush of causing so much pain and death subsided, that remained—for a long, long time.

So did Kishindo… but, Kifo found, he could tolerate her presence. For at least some more time.

It was a little after dawn by the time the demon stood, no longer hungry, either proverbially or literally. Kishindo had been fed as well, and she'd commented, several times, on the apparent joys of cannibalism.

Kifo wasn't getting any bigger physically, but he could feel his power increasing regardless. A few tests—shadowboxing and sprints—suggested that he was, all too literally, a one-man army.

He was ready.

"Kishindo."

She looked up, instantly, when he said her name, as if her entire universe revolved around him—which, probably, it did.

"We're leaving. Come on."

The balance of power had changed; the lioness no longer told Kifo what to do—he told her what to do, as well as where and how. She heard and obeyed, and she liked it. This is how Kovu should have—would have turned out, if it wasn't for a few mistakes, on her part, that she had not repeated with Kifo.

"Where are we going?" the lioness asked, as her paws started to dance across the lukewarm white sand; the sun hadn't been out long enough to really heat things up.

"Away. To my former… home."

Kishindo blinked—that wasn't an answer she'd expected. But she didn't argue with him, of course—his word was law.

"How do we get there?"

"Working on that."

"ETA?"

"No idea."

"So… where, exactly, are we going? Right now?"

"North," the demon replied. He stalked forwards, single-minded in his purpose.

Kishindo sighed, silently, through her nose. He didn't used to be this bad… but, the lioness was sure, he'd start to talk to her again, soon. Perhaps later, he'd teach her something about his heritage… perhaps not. But one can hope.

The White Sands were far, far bigger than they'd originally guessed. Traversing it in one day was not something that was possible—for most. And Kishindo needed water to exist… Kifo was less restrained.

The solution was simple, and executed without delay. The demon glanced down at his companion, looked at her, for a moment—then lifted her to his shoulders. Then, he started to run.

It took Kishindo some time to get used to the sensation, but when she did, she found that it was quite enjoyable. She'd seen Kifo kill… well, a lot of things, in a lot of stomach-churning ways. But he would never hurt her—never.

Never.

She'd fallen asleep, at some point. Kifo ran with incredible speed, but he was perfectly balanced—her vertical displacement was never greater than a centimeter, if that, and the way the wind washed across her form was somewhat therapeutic. She woke up, though, with a start—when she was thrown off the demon's powerful, stable shoulders.

By the time Kishindo hit the ground, she was alert, awake, and reacting—to… a fat lot of nothing.

The terrain had changed, and she registered that. The White Sands had diminished into a rather barren grassland, with occasional oases and clumps of trees, but little else. Even the most cursory of glances said that this was not a part of the world that could support any significant life, save, perhaps, for some nomadic herds or clans.

Nothing, though, was around.

So the lioness was left without any explanation of why Kifo was twenty feet away from her, screaming in pain.

After a few more seconds of observation, she was at his side, checking him, everywhere, for injury… but he was unharmed.

"Kifo, what's wrong? What's hurting you?" Kishindo asked, curtly. "Were you shot? What happened?"

He was too agonized, though, to form coherent words until a moment later, when, panting, heavily, he stood.

"No idea…" the demon murmured, looking, suspiciously into the air, just a few feet from him, before backing up. A moment later, he'd armed himself with his signature blade, and slowly lowered himself, somewhat, prepared to fight.

There was nothing, though, to fight with!... just the desert, and the Sun, and the air. Frustrated, Kifo regardless lowered his weapon, and stared, again, at the space in front of him. Heat rose from the ground, causing a mirage-like, shimmering presence all around northern frontier of the White Sands.

But Kifo saw something more, just a few feet in front of him.

Slowly, the demon stepped forward, raising his sword. For a moment, his advance was effortless—then, though, things changed, and suddenly.

As the wicked curve of his scimitar crossed a certain border, a massive amount of force was applied to it, instantly. Kifo was shoved back, barely keeping his footing, by the unseen force—Kishindo's eyes narrowed, though, and she, too, walked forward.

Nothing stopped the lioness, though, from leaving the White Sands… and the Land of the Spirits itself.

"I think," the demon said seriously, "that I'm suffering from a condition called 'fucked'. Looks like I can't leave this Land…

"That means that I can't have my revenge."

Kifo was silent, for a moment, and still. Then, he screamed, and ran towards that unseen border—again, he was pushed back, and again, he got up to try again—Kishindo stopped him, though, by stepping in front of him.

He was just as surprised as she was that he didn't kick her aside and keep moving.

"Stop, Kifo. Think," the lioness said sharply, almost glaring up at him. "What is there to gain by attacking a force like this—nothing. We'll have to be a little more subtle… don't waste your energy and sanity with a frontal assault, boy. Haven't I taught you anything?"

She was pushing it, she really was. But Kifo nodded—after a moment of almost snarling down at the lioness—and relaxed, somewhat.

"You're right. Alright… so, what now? Can we go around this?"

Kishindo watched as he started to circle, testing the border for weak points. Predictably, there were none, and she thought she knew why.

"You've been disbarred from leaving," she said, after Kifo had been shoved back the fifth time. "Scar wanted to do something like it, in the good ol' days… it's a complicated process, but the point is… you can't leave the Land of the Spirits."

"Yeah, I will," Kifo said, defiantly, "all you gotta do is tell me how."

"Well, I… to be honest, I'm not sure it's possible," Kishindo said, brow ruffling, "unless…"

She smiled.

"What?" Kifo asked, bluntly—he wasn't in the mood to be toyed with. Not now.

"We have to invade the Pride Lands."

Kifo didn't carry his mentor, this time. He was a bit tired from the long run, and, regardless, she needed to explain things to him. There would be no leaving the Land of the Spirits, due to the injunction placed against Kifo—there was no directly fighting a force like that.

Of course, the problem wasn't insurmountable. All it meant was that they had to attack the root of the issue—the Pride Lands. Or, rather, everyone living in it—only after every single lion there lay dead or under the power of evil would Kifo be free.

The odds were against the demon, but they always were. And he'd always come out on top, regardless of whether his foe was a monster crustacean, or arachnid, or lion, or group of lions.

Then again… the Pride Landers would be expecting him. There was no doubt that they were preparing, even then. They'd be on the defensive, and, for the first time, Kifo would not have the element of surprise. This was the one advantage he'd always exploited to win—it would be interesting to see how he'd fare without it.

Interesting.

Kishindo had pointed out—timidly, wisely—that taking time out to train and practice could mean the difference between victory and defeat.

She was ignored. Kifo didn't even acknowledge that he'd heard her suggestion, though he certainly had.

It was funny—on an academic level, the demon could not agree with his mentor more. However, he couldn't delay… anything, anymore. Patience was no longer a concept that registered with him; it was another piece of humanity he'd lost.

This was the price of going freelance, breaking away from his Master. With the assistance of a power like that, he'd have had backup, advice, and a force powerful enough to allow him to keep parts of his former self that had a use in this new existence. With the Black Army on his side, as well as any number of other assets, Kifo could win—now, though, his victory was… less than certain, at the very least.

Of course, going back to the Forbidden Island for any reason was not an option. His Master would kill him, or try to—this was beyond question.

Thus, the demon's final march began. He had little idea of what awaited him, and, now, even less of an idea of what he was doing. The existence he found himself trapped in, regardless, would soon end… one way, or another.

It was difficult to keep fit with so little to work with. Furthermore, with the excess of food nearby, and the complete lack of danger, the temptation to take it easy was overwhelming—or, it would have been, for most beings.

Freak, though, was a freak.

He'd done a great deal of low resistance, high repetition exercise in his life. The state he was in was one that would be lost within a week of failing to maintain it. Now, though, necessity forced him to try a new type of exercise.

Kochai was the one that had thought of it, in a fashion. It was just a day after they'd left—Freak and Uvuli had just returned from a swim; they were both learning how to keep up with the boat, despite the powerful currents and wake left by it. Such activities were unsustainable, though, and, for safety's sake, both had tied a pair of ropes they'd found around their hind legs, attaching themselves to the ship's railing.

Sopping wet, Freak had easily hopped back onto the deck. A trail of water arced out from his somewhat overgrown mane as he'd shaken himself off, tan-orange, striped frame glimmering with moisture in the early evening light. The li-tigon didn't look at Kochai for a second, though—not until he saw Uvuli join him on the deck, safe.

"What a workout," the hyena female panted, too tired to shake much of the water off her fur. "I'm beat… what about you, shrimp? You tired, too?"

"Why do you call me this? I am no crustacean," Kochai pointed out, from her position on the ground.

As playful as ever, she'd been engaged in a vicious wrestling match with a small, wooden crate, formerly filled with a bunch of dark, liquid-filled, pea-sized globules that tasted strange. On her back, she'd clawed and bitten it, tossing it up into the air, several times, almost like a domestic kitten might do with a ball of yarn.

"Slow down, Kochai, just one moment…" Freak said suddenly, staring at her with such intensity that, for a moment, the young tigress wondered if she'd done something wrong. "Do… that again…"

"What, big brother?" she asked, slowly sitting up, until the li-tigon shook his head.

"Throw the box into the air again."

Kochai was confused, but did as she was told. Uvuli merely watched, head tilted, a little—what was Freak thinking? It was impossible to say, and he wasn't exactly behaving in a predictable manner. The male feline got down on his own back, next to Kochai, and a much, much larger and heavier crate… then, the hyena just sighed, and shook her head.

"Yo, crustacean… give Shujaa some room."

Kochai was, by then, used to only coming to understand things either after the fact, or a moment after everyone else. She complied without hesitance, and, a moment later, it was clear why.

Now that was an incredible, and somewhat scary display. Kochai and Uvuli both took involuntary, quick steps backward—the mass flying through the air was incredibly dangerous; if it came down on either of them, they'd be dead—no two ways about it.

Unbelievably, though, it seemed that Freak had adapted such a childish game—one that, Uvuli noted, with a pang, that he'd probably never really done before—into an intense workout. Tossing the weight up into the air, catching it, then repeating was dangerous, and noisy—but she could see the strain Freak was putting on himself.

After a few reps of the feline benchpress, Freak tossed the crate one last time, then quickly rolled aside—it came down with enough force to produce tangible vibrations. The li-tigon looked down at his muscles—they were bulging from the effort. Good.

"Thank you," Freak said, praising Kochai with a smile. "Now, let's see if my combat skills are still up to par."

Kochai sat this exercise out. Freak couldn't possibly be gentle and fast enough for her to participate—not without serious injury, anyway. She was still happy to watch; it was great inspiration—if only she could be half as good of a fighter, someday.

Encouraged to practice her own Kochai-jitsu, she proceeded to beat on a helpless crate; soon, her claw-marks crisscrossed it in any number of directions. She was pleased with herself—she was growing faster and stronger, she could feel it. Fighting an opponent that couldn't strike back was good for her amour-prope, but she really was improving. This was because playing with Uvuli and Freak was fun, but it was good practice for later life, as well. If only her parents could see her now…

Saddened by that thought, a bit, she easily jumped to the top of a large cargo package, peering down across the deck from eight feet in the air. The ocean was barren, and, in her opinion, boring—the flawlessly blue waves no longer interested her, after spending so much time simply floating.

Her alternative, though, was fascinating.

Uvuli was an excellent fighter. Her style involved close-range, rapid-fire strikes; delivered in a deceptive, stealthy manner. This contrasted with the power-based, medium-range methods preferred by lions. When in tight quarters, she could take down two of her Pride Lands sisters. In open fields and forests, she had a harder time, but could usually hold her own.

Taking apart a motionless enemy, who'd even gone so far as to shut his eyes should have been well within her capabilities.

Or perhaps this is just another result of "li-tigon exceptionalism". Heterozygote superiority.

He was holding off her every assault, and, after fifteen minutes of blazing, rapid-fire combat, the hyena had come to the conclusion that she was unlikely to hurt him—she held herself back no longer, but still couldn't strike Freak. She could hardly touch him.

Training options on the boat were limited, but Freak had been forced to learn how to adapt by a lifetime of danger at every turn. Every situation he encountered was a situation he'd made advantageous—opportunities were everywhere, in his opinion, just like threats.

Hearing alone didn't protect Freak. The Dark One—and, to a degree, Raj—had shown him how to manipulate his own inner energy. Mostly on his own, though, the li-tigon had expanded these capacities.

In a manner beyond simple explanation, he felt Uvuli's intentions, or actions, at least. Precognition would be too strong of a term to describe what he was doing—he simply saw the hyena's motions without his eyes. And reacted.

Rarely he'd use both paws; generally, one sufficed to hold her advances off. He was strictly on the defensive, and, furthermore, strictly static—somehow, he managed to stonewall even her more vicious assaults, without harming her. Parries and tactically position arm-bars where enough to put Uvuli on her ass, a few times, but the hyena didn't give up.

"That's good."

Panting, Uvuli slowly lowered her guard, watching as Freak opened his eyes. For the umpteenth time, she found herself captivated by those cool grey orbs—quickly, though, she shook herself out of it and took in a deep, slow breath.

"We done?"

"I think so. For now," the li-tigon said—annoyingly, he wasn't even breathing hard, or sweating. How he'd managed to avoid every single one of her attacks…

"You're disgusting," Uvuli sighed, sitting down to rest, for a moment. "I dunno why you practice so hard, dude. I can't think of anything that could stand up to you for long."

"'Dude'?" Freak repeated, before shrugging. "And… I saw my twin, just before the Dark One was killed. I told you this," he said, and the hyena nodded, remembering the brief, skirting manner in which he'd referred to a "dangerous fighter" he'd seen in a pool of water.

"I guess you did. Still… what… exactly… is your twin like?" Uvuli asked, haltingly. "Heheh… is he as good looking as you are?" she said to herself… or so she thought.

"I'm not sure how to answer that," the li-tigon said dryly. "And… he's similar to a human. Bigger, I think; far bigger… it's hard to describe him. He uses firearms, and blades…"

"So, basically, he fights like Raj?"

"I wouldn't say that. He's more impulsive, reactionary; and far more aggressive—he's probably much, much stronger than any human as well. Still—Raj taught me many things. I'll stand a chance against him… hopefully."

Uvuli's brow rose. This was the first time she'd ever heard Freak express anything but complete confidence in unconditional victory—for the first time ever, the li-tigon felt real worry. He'd felt concern before, of course; concern about his life and safety… and, recently, concern about the lives and safety of his family and friends. Worry, though, was a distinct emotion… he wasn't sure he could win.

"Something wrong?" Uvuli asked.

"Yes."

After the curt reply, there was a pause.

"…Well, want to talk about it?"

"No."

At least he was honest. Males…

Uvuli sighed, and simply waited. Predictably, after a few moments, it seemed that Freak did want to talk about things.

"I'm not sure that I'll win—it's more than that. I don't know that I can win. I'm not sure that I even have a chance. Before you speak, Uvuli, bear in mind that you haven't seen my twin," the li-tigon said ominously, looking up at the hyena with a strange expression—was that fear in his eyes. "I have. I saw him fighting, and he's powerful. I'm quicker than he is, but he's far, far more powerful than me. I don't know anything about him, and that's bad. Every enemy I've fought until now… either I've had the chance to form a strategy, or I have some sort of precedent to reflect on… this is different."

"Hold on—that's not true," Uvuli dissented. "Every enemy you've fought… what was the first enemy you fought?"

"My mother."

The brief, blunt answer made her ears flatten, somewhat. And, upon reflection, she noted—his answer was completely truthful.

In earlier times, Freak had been able to speak freely about such events without difficulty—provided that he had no reason to feel threatened. Now, though, he had some semblance of an emotional system. It wasn't a very obvious one—physically, he did not turn away and curl up. But the li-tigon wasn't the only one with some ability to read the emotions and intentions of others—like the rest of us, Uvuli could too.

This was an opportunity—a rare opportunity, so the hyena capitalized on it, and walked towards him, unhesitatingly rubbing under his chin with the blunt smoothness of her head. Freak was surprised—though he understood, now, that he was loved by many, no one was ever really physical with him.

It was a strange sensation, and a bit hard for him to get used to. After all, his neck… this was his most vulnerable place, and the hyena's powerful jaws and sharp fangs were only inches from it.

After a few moments, though, Freak found himself enjoying the feeling in a manner that was difficult to describe. Kochai sometimes spoiled him like this, when he wasn't busy or brooding, which he was, 99% of the time. It was surprising that Uvuli had the patience to nuzzle him for so long without any real reaction—but she obstinately stayed the course, until the li-tigon chuckled, once—she felt it, deep in his throat.

"Thank you, Uvuli," he said softly. "The gift of your affection is precious to me."

Maybe… she was making some progress.

A better exercise than Freak's version of a benchpress was swimming—it was a full body workout, and the li-tigon could feel his muscular strength reacting well from it. Luckily enough, they didn't leave warm waters for any of their voyage—at any time of any day, he could just hop into the waves, and go to it.

Just then, after a week of travel, it was night. The darkness was complete; it was a new moon, so the only light that shone down on the boat was starlight—of course, thanks to their powerful, reflective eyes, the predators could see fine.

Above water.

Seventy feet under was a different story.

Exponential growth was the best way to describe the improvement Freak's swimming skills had undertaken. He hadn't trained to increase the amount of time he could go without air, intentionally, but it had to be in excess of five minutes already.

At this depth, the pressure on him from all directions was immense—it was an exercise to simply stay relatively still. But Freak was swimming, quickly, occasionally stopping and treading water to strike, lightning fast, at unseen enemies.

The silence and darkness of the depths were eerie—it was even hard to tell, at times, which direction was up. Fortunately, though, the water was relatively clear and unpolluted, so the darkened, pulsating glow from above was visible—his only point of reference.

Hearing, though, was useless. Scent, all but. Touch, useless. Taste, useless.

Shutting his eyes felt… like dying, really. No sensation, nothing… just the cold, crushing water, and the vague feeling of floating in it. Strangely enough, Freak felt… safe. Untouchable.

This was a delusion—he wasn't the only apex predator around, just then. And the one that approached him was on its home-turf, big time.

It was difficult to say how he'd sensed it, at first. Perhaps it was due to the all-too-familiar prickling at the back of his neck that said that he was not alone.

Panic would have been the response of most beings, just then—but not Freak. First, he assessed his situation. Turning to look in every direction, slowly, he saw… nothing. It was too dark. But—he was certain of it—there was something out there.

"Where should I go? What are the capabilities of whatever's stalking me?" These two questions defined the li-tigon's next actions.

It seemed unlikely that some other being had dived to this depth without his notice—he had to assume that whatever was making his heart rate increase, slowly—a process he attempted to stop, to save oxygen—was a sea creature. Its capacity for engagement out of the water was likely to be minimal at best.

He didn't need to try to keep calm, for some reason. For the past months, he'd been worried, almost exclusively, about his twin—Raj's brother's gang, other humans, other Hindustani threats… they didn't faze him. Whatever this was didn't greatly worry him either.

It didn't anger him, either. This creature was not out to hurt him—it was just trying to eat and live, like he did. This would not stay Freak's paw if he had to defend himself—but he did not hate his enemy. His feelings were calm, but assertive—his goal was to live, and he would not be stopped in achieving it.

Rising, slowly, Freak kept a careful watch over his surroundings. The boat was not far—seventy feet up, and… perhaps a mile away…

Ahem. Allow the Lion Sheikh to reassess the situation. The boat was far, and it would take time to reach it. So the question, now, was not if he would be attacked—it was how. There was simply no reason to hope to reach the boat before Freak's newest enemy made its move.

Would his enemy come from the bottom, back, sides, or head on? Since the li-tigon hadn't even yet seen what was still, surely, stalking him—he couldn't speculate. For now, the best strategy was to make for the boat, quickly, but calmly, and keep his guard up.

He'd been presumptuous, though, and that meant that the first time he saw his foe, it was about ten feet from him. Freak was close to the surface, by then, and still rising, looking in all directions… except for one.

He hadn't prepared for an attack from the surface.

The one thing that gave him just a second of foresight was a soft, fluid splash, far into the distance before him—he turned in that direction, staring into the murky depths. Listening, hard, he was taken completely off guard when his massive attacker crashed through the water's surface, bearing down at him.

Strangely enough, Freak didn't simply see a blur and react, as he would have so many other times in his life. Rather, he managed to get a good look at his enemy—damn, was it a beast.

It was bigger than he was by a factor of at least two, and shaped like a torpedo, for speed. It was bulky, though, but not fat—every pound of weight on its frame was muscle or nerve or tooth. Its two-toned form—white on the bottom, gray on top—was camouflaged, perfectly; Freak knew that he'd have a hard time seeing it again. He'd have to rely on his instincts to keep him safe.

Its jaws were massive, and lined with row after row of triangular, serrated teeth, built to slice flesh and bone alike apart. The gaping hole that was its mouth was as black and endless as the depths below Freak—he wouldn't allow himself to experience either chasm.

Somehow, the li-tigon moved aside, but not entirely. One of the creature's seemingly ubiquitous teeth sliced along his forearm, penetrating no more than a centimeter or two into flesh. Effortlessly, though, it tore through his fur and muscle—clouds of blood quickly spilled into the water, and as a predator, Freak knew that was bad. Now, his enemy was excited—it had achieved first blood.

More worryingly, Freak had struck back—a powerful, clawed slash across what might have been called the creature's cheek. But the attack had absolutely no affect—no contusion, no cuts, nothing. The massive beast's course wasn't even altered in the slightest by the blow.

Its skin, it seemed, was too tough for Freak's claws to easily penetrate. It would take a concentrated, very specific effort to damage an animal like this. The li-tigon kept his eye on the ball, though—once his enemy shot past him, disappearing into the depths, again, he continued to swim towards the boat—this time, prepared for an attack from any direction.

For a brief moment, Freak popped his head above the surface of the water to refresh his lungs—he didn't call for help, though. There was nothing either Uvuli or Kochai could do to assist him, not without putting themselves in danger.

Disappearing below the surface of the water again, he swam with a bit more haste than he had before. The more time he spent fighting, the more he'd tire himself, and the farther away the boat would get. His wound burned, due to the salinity of the sea, but he ignored it—it was irrelevant.

Determination hastened his pace, and, quickly, he was nearly alongside the boat. There was another flicker of motion, just outside his normal field of vision, though—he was going to be attacked again. Hoping that he'd be able to grab something, Freak jumped out of the water.

Sleeping was one of Kochai's favorite activities, but so was investigating things—particularly in the middle of the night.

She sat up, stretched once, and then stood. Uvuli was still fast asleep, just next to her—the hyena was difficult to see in the darkness, due to her black fur, but Kochai didn't rely on sight alone to formulate her worldview. She could smell and feel the other female, as well as the gentle waves of body heat she emitted.

Camouflage was not something the tigress was naturally gifted with, due to her fair coat. Her mother had had it worse, though—and if she could overcome such a flaw, so would her daughter. There were, after all, advantages to not sporting one of the various orange-rust shades that other tigers did; among them was the ability to surprise an opponent simply by showing herself.

Allowing her mind to wander, a bit, Kochai patrolled the edge of the deck. Freak was still swimming, apparently; the fanatic didn't seem to register fatigue as acutely as sane beings did. She didn't worry about her big brother, though—in her opinion, he was invincible.

A slight splash in the distance, towards the rear of the boat, made her turn. Freak, it seemed, was working on silently exiting the ocean. Bypassing the ship's unmanned control room, Kochai stood on her hind legs, resting her paws on the railing's second rung, peering across the dark blue, almost black water. Where was he?

She was looking for Freak—but when she saw him, she jumped back in fright. The li-tigon looked absolutely terrifying, leaping out of the water at his best speed, trailing water, and a red fluid that was undoubtedly blood. He looked determined, but confident—the moment his eyes met Kochai, though, that changed.

He was about to say something, or perhaps his jaw just dropped in shock—and fear. It was hard to be sure, though, which emotion in particular was at fault for the li-tigon's loss of cool. Because, hardly a heartbeat after he shot out of the water, causing Kochai to nearly backflip in surprise, he was attacked.

The tigress could seen only a massive gray and white blur, at first, as it rose from the water, far, far faster than Freak could ever hope to. Jaws open, it made for her big brother—the li-tigon had no time to turn and face his foe, but he somehow managed to use the incredible power in his forelegs to hold its jaws open, preventing them from clamping shut on him.

Still, he was smashed into the ship's hull with enough force to leave a visible dent.

Kochai was screaming, by then. Somehow, though, she managed to hear what Freak said next, even as he started to slide back underwater, still wrestling with his foe. The giant fish-like being's eyes were dark, hollow, merciless, except for when it attacked—then, coyingly white covers slid over them, protecting them from assault. Freak's attacks didn't make his foe flinch

His words, therefore, didn't make sense. Kochai was left dumbstruck, as the li-tigon disappeared below water, again, while Uvuli raced to her side.

"Don't help me," he'd said. "Don't help me…"

It seemed that, in fact, Freak's claws could penetrate the tough hide of his enemy, if the proper amount of force was applied. That golden amount, it seems, was, simply, incomprehensibly high.

The li-tigon's forelegs felt like rubber in comparison to the might of his enemy, but he held out. Snarling in effort, he managed to keep the icthyoid's teeth from scissoring him in two. Unfortunately, though, he could do almost nothing to prevent himself from being pushed down, and down, and down, farther into the depths than he'd ever been before.

Soon, there was no light—soon, there was just pressure, from the water around him, and his enemy's jaws.

Then, there wasn't even that.

Freak was low on air; his first priority was to get to the surface. The problem was that now, he had no idea which direction the surface was in…

Looking around, everywhere, was fruitless. Not even the slightest ray of light reached the li-tigon, and, worse, the intense pressure exerted on him from all directions was starting to crush the air from his lungs. The magnitude of forces on him were nearly enough to compress his entire body into a soda can.

It was difficult to move, let alone with speed, in a position like this. The li-tigon could almost feel his enemy's satisfaction as it circled him, gleefully, considering how to execute the final blow with the focused interest of the connoisseur.

Freak changed tactics, then.

Simply picking a direction to swim in was pointless, he was as likely to doom himself by swimming downwards. He'd never notice a change in pressure until it was too late, and, he suspected, any sort of supernatural protection given to him in Hindustan, or the Land of the Spirits, wouldn't apply in international territory.

The only thing was to do was to wait for an attack.

His enemy wasn't stupid; Freak knew this. He'd been pushed down for a very, very good reason—the vicious animal knew that, as a land animal, he couldn't survive for long at such depths. So, all the li-tigon had to do was wait for the next attack, and use its direction as a frame of reference.

The wait wasn't long. A few seconds after he'd formulated his plane, that familiar, white and gray figure appeared, racing directly towards him.

Now, Freak decided to be pro-active. He swam towards his foe, rapidly—the beast didn't stop and think and wonder what was going on, though; it wasn't that smart. Its purpose was singular, overpowering, and, not coincidentally, one that it was very well adapted to achieving—killing, and eating.

It wasn't easy to dodge the next bite, though Freak saw it coming—his lack of energy, oxygen, and the depth at which he was operating made it a close call. Uselessly, though, his foe plummeted past him, flailing in a pointless attempt to stop—the li-tigon had just bought himself some time, which he used to rise, rapidly.

Or so he thought.

His eyes, somehow, had adjusted to the nearly absolute lack of light. Minuscule, bioluminescent beings, that he would have marveled at in a less stressful time, slowly came into view. Static, they floated, endlessly, somehow subsiding in these dark, crushing depths.

As the li-tigon moved… they grew in both size and frequency.

He was going deeper.

And now he was starting to feel it. Fortunately, he didn't have many of the socialized responses to adversity that many did—if he'd gasped, he would have died, then and there. The slight jolt felt by his body due to the realization, though, assisted the water's pressure in finally squeezing the last of the air from Freak's lungs.

Without any fight left in him, the li-tigon floated, uselessly, in the water. Naturally, he floated, just a little, but he wouldn't make it to the surface soon enough to matter. Out of sheer boredom, and to avoid dwelling on the fact that, surely, he'd at last met his match, Freak noted, dryly, that he felt the most pain on his eyes—they'd actually somewhat contracted into his skull.

Hopelessness was not the emotion the li-tigon felt—apathy was more like it.

Until, of course, he realized something—or, rather, a few things.

"I haven't said goodbye to Kochai, or Uvuli… or anyone else."

"My homeland still faces an existential threat."

"I have many lessons to teach to others… and many more left to learn."

There was simply too much left for Freak to do for him to allow himself to die yet. His apathy was unacceptable—he had to live, at least for some time yet. As he resumed his struggle, somehow finding it within him to kick, hard, turning, moving back towards the surface, another bit of unfinished business crossed his mind.

"I have not yet started a family."

Another attack. But this time, Freak knew how to counter it.

This time, the beast rushed him from the side. Rather than simply dodging, though, or attempting to again hold its jaws open, Freak took advantage of his enemy's speed… and the toughness of its skin.

The li-tigon extended his claws, and moved his body out of the way—again, barely. His paws raced across the animal's snout, but then stopped, as his claws caught hold in its skin. Then, Freak was pulled along with the beast, as it shook itself, viciously, trying to dislodge him.

For dear life, Freak held on. This wasn't good, though—he had no idea where he was going; and if this creature died too far from the boat, he'd be sunk. The li-tigon pulled, though—and, in response, to minimize the agonizing pain of his claws in its flesh, the creature raced upwards.

Freak smiled—he'd won.

Again, he left the water with stunning speed, making directly for the boat.

This time, though, Freak wasn't alone.

And, it seemed, he'd left the sea with a little too much force.

His goal had been to ditch the giant fish-like creature midair, putting it back in the ocean and him back on the boat. Unfortunately, though, it crashed into the rails at the sides of the deck crashed through the rails at the sides of the deck, bouncing across the metal surface, like him, gasping, like him, convulsing, bleeding, but still very dangerous to both Uvuli and Kochai, unlike him.

Hardly taking a second to get some much-needed oxygen back into his lungs, Freak rolled to his feet—he was panting, exhausted, and having a hard time seeing, due to the amount of salt in his eyes and the fact that his vision wasn't adjusted for the gentle starlight present above water. But he still knew his priorities.

He didn't have the power to knock the loathsome beast back into the sea, and he didn't know how to kill it without risking grave bodily injury. Perhaps, though, there was a third way.

The li-tigon kicked a nearby crate, hard, at its very top—this knocked it to the side, a few degrees, for just long enough for him to get down, roll, sliding underneath it. He'd never lifted this one before… but now, Freak had no choice. The creature's vicious, arcing gyrations were bringing it closer and closer to Uvuli and Kochai, who didn't dare go into the water, for fear of encountering another sea monster.

In an impossible brief period of time, Freak exerted several times the necessary force necessary to lift the crate up. Resultantly, it was thrown into the air, in a perfect parabolic arc…

Before coming down on the predator's head.

There was no grotesque splatter, and no real gore. Just a loud, brutal crunch, as the animal's upper quarter was flattened from three feet to less than an inch in the space of a second. The presence of cartilage instead of bone skeleton, clearly, was disadvantageous.

Freak's muscles were completely depleted; he almost collapsed to the deck in exhaustion, panting. He coughed, a few times, bringing up seawater he didn't know he had in him—but he smiled, for some reason. It had been some time since he'd taken on a foe so much more dangerous than him. The fact that he'd one was a much-needed ego boost.

Finally convinced that the leviathan that had launched itself onto the boat was dead after a few moments, Uvuli and Kochai raced to Freak—had he survived his victory? From a distance, he sure looked dead.

As they approached, though, both females realized that yes, in fact, the li-tigon was very alive. He was just exhausted.

"How the He—what the fu—you got some explaining to do, dude. Later," Uvuli said, wriggling herself under the li-tigon's form.

"Yes. Yes, I do," Freak said, noting the ease with which she hefted his much larger, much heavier form off that roughed section of the deck, to the area they used for sleeping. "But I do have something to tell you right now, before I forget."

Kochai was following, closely, incapable of tearing her eyes away from the monster that Freak had fought and killed. She almost walked into the li-tigon when he decided that he'd had enough of being carted around like a cub, and started walking on his own four paws, albeit with difficulty.

"What is it, big brother?" the young tigress asked, green eyes briefly flickering away from the now dead beast. "What needs to be said?"

A strange smile made its way across Freak's face before he answered.

"Goodbye."

"So, we are left with no other explanation, except that the Season of the Rains is a meteorological phenomenon that affects more than my homeland. Yes?"

"Sounds good to me."

"Sure."

"It is nice to be in the loop, for once. You keep many things from me."

The tone of Kochai's voice wasn't accusatory; it was matter-of-factly. There was no point in denying it, so Uvuli just gave the tigress a guilty smile—Freak shrugged.

"You're too young to be exposed to some parts of reality," the li-tigon explained. "When you're older… you'll come to know many more things about the world we live in. I'll see to it… I promise."

It was mid-afternoon, but you'd never know it—the torrents of rain that came down on the boat blotted out the sun, the sky; and it was, at times, hard to see more than a few feet in any direction. Kochai was forbidden from getting within ten feet of the edge of the deck… though Freak still swam, regularly.

They'd set up a tent, of sorts, using tarps and a few crates for structure and support. It wasn't very effective, though, and it was lucky that Kochai was a tigress, not a lioness—otherwise, her irritation at the constant wetness would know no bounds.

The li-tigon looked at her. Did a double-take, then stared at her. He'd never seen such an expression on her face.

It wasn't anger, not quite. But it was getting there.

She didn't have to speak up to be heard by the li-tigon, or Uvuli, despite the thunderous ambient noise. The gray sheets of rain roared as they can down and struck either the ship, or the sea itself, but Kochai's voice was, regardless, soft but intense.

"Big brother… I killed for the first time when I was a week old. I lost my mother when I was about a year old, but we cannot be sure, as the time around my birth was… dangerous."

Freak's head tilted, a little—he didn't know that. He was about to ask for details, but Kochai continued.

"I lost my father, and big brother Raj in the same day. I also lost my homeland just recently. All I have… is myself and my abilities, and big sister Uvuli, and you. I've dealt with hardships—real hardships, big brother. I don't think there's any truth that I can't handle."

She fell silent, for a moment, before smiling widely, and sitting down next to the li-tigon, affectionately nuzzling his shoulder.

"Of course, I could be wrong. But please keep things in perspective, big brother. If there are things so bad that you still don't think I can handle knowing them… that's alright."

The heavily censored version of Freak's life was clarified in the moments that followed. The rainy weather was apt—everything new that she learned was terrible in some way. She never knew, for instance, that, at birth, Freak's mother had attempted to take his life. Though shocked and horrified, Kochai seemed mature enough to deal with it, as well as the dozens, or hundreds of other little brutalities that Freak had endured.

By the time the li-tigon was finished talking, though, the rain had stopped. Cloud cover still blocked the Sun, entirely, and it was too much to hope that their second experience of this Season of the Rains was quite finished. Freak's story was like the storm they'd just witnessed—hopelessly dark, tumultuous, and endless, at the beginning, but, after blind perseverance, tolerable. And, as suggested by a brief ray of light that shone through the sky to the boat, perhaps, after that, worth living.

Chilling out on the ship was nice, and all, and a nice break in the tedium of fanatically preparing the Pride Lands for defense, an act that had largely defined Uvuli's juvenile days. After so long, though, even she started to get bored.

Freak had trained her up, so now, her fighting skills were that much sharper. Additionally, she was now able to swim not fifteen but twenty miles—she was keeping fit, but it wasn't enough.

Almost nothing had happened between her and Freak; nothing that she'd wanted, anyway. It was undeniable that their relationship was a good, strong, positive one—but it was also one that was hard to define. Did he see her as a friend, or a comrade, or a little sister, or something else, or something more?

Directly asking this question, of course, was an almost certain way to push him away, and that was the opposite of what she wanted. So, for now, it seemed that Uvuli was forced to stay a step back, and wait for him to either come to her, or show her how she could come to him.

Talk about frustrating.

Still, Uvuli had to admit, being alone with Freak on the boat—save for Kochai, of course—was pleasant. She could speak to him whenever she wanted, about practically anything and, resultantly, she'd learned a lot about Freak. She'd already known that he wasn't nearly as cold, solitary, and emotionless as he came off, but the more time she spent around him, the more she understood how misleading initial judgments could be.

Once, after returning from a brief, early morning swim that got her blood flowing for the day, she'd happened upon him and Kochai playing. The kitten was fighting his paw—on her back, she clung to his foreleg, gently nipping at his massive, padded appendage, as the li-tigon easily rolled her around, lifted her off the ground, sometimes rough, never enough to harm her.

It was cute, yes, and a suggestion of what sort of father he might someday make. But in his eyes, then, Uvuli saw a strange sense of longing—she felt certain that he was imagining himself, as a cub, playing with his father, or mother, or perhaps another relative, or perhaps an adoptive big brother or sister of his own in a similar manner.

Uvuli couldn't easily imagine what Freak might be like if he'd had a normal cubhood. He'd probably be a lot more talkative, among other things. He probably wouldn't be the incredible fighter that she knew—living in a pride would have removed the necessity for such prowess.

After a moment, she playfully tackled the li-tigon, to give Kochai some respite. Freak glanced at the hyena once, then dramatically fell over. He hesitated, for a second, before putting up token resistance in response to her attack. Quickly, though, the joint efforts of her and Kochai overwhelmed him, and he gave up, conceding defeat by resting on his side, and ceasing to move.

"I'm dead," the li-tigon said unnecessarily, in a very serious tone, as Kochai cheekily tugged at his ear. "You two were too much for me… I couldn't take it."

"Victory is ours," Kochai said triumphantly. "Excellent teamwork, big sister. Together, we've taken down big brother—we are unstoppable."

Uvuli laughed, softly, and sat down next to the two felines. It was still raining, though not as much as it had been in the previous days. The omnipresent drizzle that had been as constant as the sea for the past forty hours or so was somewhat troublesome—it decreased their visibility. And, by Freak's count, it was starting to get time to look for land.

Land.

Freak had been the one to spot it, late at night, just after Kochai and Uvuli had gone to sleep. Patrolling the edge of the boat, he'd looked up, by chance, and, over the rise of one wave, had spotted it.

It was at least fifty miles away, but getting closer every hour. Of course, at such a distance, it was impossible to tell much about it, except that it was there. Freak's mind froze, completely, then started working at hyperspeed.

Pride Rock was several dozen miles inland from the coast, as were either the Eastern or Western Volcanoes. Still, though, such geological features were likely visible, even from so far into the sea. All that was left to do was to keep watch, 24/7, until something came into view… and hope that when it did, they were closer to shore. Because this distance, fifty miles, was impossible to swim.

Freak didn't wake Kochai and Uvuli. He just sat next to them, not moving, hardly blinking until they woke up, an hour or so prior to sunrise. At first, they were confused; Kochai circled around to the front of him, inferring from the redness in his eyes that he hadn't slept.

After that, though, Uvuli sighted land—she spent a second confirming it, then pointed it out to Kochai.

Then, like Freak, they sat—static, still, completely attentive, and hopeful for another big sighting, soon.

They were closer, now, shying outside of that magical fifteen mile boundary that Raj had informed them of. Judging by the Sun and stars, they were going in a southern direction—they'd been hugging the coast of the giant landmass that apparently held the Land of the Spirits for two days, now.

Freak was certain that the first and only landmass they'd come to was their stop—if something else were so, Raj would have told him. Of course, it was always possible that there'd been a change in courses, or shipments, or something… but Freak had to be hopeful. If they pulled into a human port town… then they'd have to deal with that then.

Déjà vu struck again, but, for once, Freak knew why—his grandmother had explained to him, so long ago, it felt like, how his grandfather had arrived in the Land of the Spirits. He hoped, though, that he wouldn't arrive home as disheveled and hardly alive as Sher Kahn had, though, so many years ago.

Freak, Uvuli, and Kochai would probably make landfall in the Desert, though. Directly to the east of the Pride Lands and its visible geographic features was too much uncharted, unexplored land—Freak simply had no time to find his way through it and the threats surely waiting there for him, with two others to care for. Perhaps someday in the future, he could go on an adventure, just for the sake of it—but for now, his purpose was to get home to the Pride Lands.

The li-tigon wasn't entirely sure when he'd ceased to think of the cave of his birth and juvenile years as his home, and started to think of the Pride Lands as home. It was sometime during his exile in Hindustan, he believed—perhaps it was during his time with the Dark One that he'd realized how much better it was to spend nights among living beings, instead of skeletons.

Freak had a lot of unfinished business left, he reflected, and, perhaps, he could translate the ferocious defiance he'd felt during his most recent battle into the will to defeat his twin… but he doubted it. He'd meditated on it many times, now, but he still couldn't feel the desire to protect everything dear to him, by wiping out his own kin.

Ah, well. He'd have to learn on the fly.

The crest of Pride Rock was, by far, the tallest point in the Land of the Spirits, and even the surrounding areas as well. The gradual hill on which it was situated was quite high as well, making it a geographical feature that was impossible to mistake—and equally impossible to miss.

Kochai had heard about it many times, and, frankly, couldn't wait to see it, and climb it, for herself. She'd grown from the inexpressibly cute kitten Freak had saved from certain death, months ago, both physically and in terms of maturity. Of course, she was still strikingly beautiful, and would always be—but now, there was a quite sense of calm, control, and kindness about her. This despite the fact that she was still half of Freak's size.

Still, though, she was turning into her mother in front of the li-tigon's eyes. His love for her strengthened his resolve to ensure, though, that Kochai never suffered Asal's miserable fate.

Freak was swimming, as usual, this time with Uvuli. Kochai had just finished, going for eight miles straight, without rest, before she started to falter—she would have kept trying, but Freak had overruled her, and tossed her back up onto the deck without a second thought. She'd nearly drowned once in front of him—it wasn't an event he was intent to repeat.

After shaking herself dry, Kochai watched Freak and Uvuli move, side by side, easily keeping up with the ship. The improvements they'd both experienced in such a brief period of time were great, but, then, they did nothing but swim, help Freak practice his combat skills, eat, and sleep. The voyage was boring, at one level, but the kitten found herself enjoying it on another—existence was simple, and satisfying, particularly in contrast with the chaos that surely awaited them in the Land of the Spirits.

Resting near the edge of the boat, breathing a bit hard, still, Kochai looked up—then froze.

"A high peak, and a range of volcanoes…"

To the boat's five o'clock position—the northwest—was the peak. Just south of that was a range of mountains… topped with smoke, and, unmistakably, fire. Kochai canted her head—she looked away, for a moment, back over the open water, then back towards what might be the Land of the Spirits. As her gaze turned back towards it, things seemed to… darken, in a manner that was hard for her to explain or quantify.

"Big brother—please come here, yes? I think we're—we're at the Land of the Spirits."

"What?"

A second passed, then Freak was on the deck, followed, momentarily, by Uvuli. The li-tigon followed his young relative's gaze—then spoke, heart in his mouth.

"We're home. We've returned."

"We're south of the Pride Lands—flush with the Desert," Freak found himself saying, rapidly. "We need to leave immediately."

The afternoon Sun made the water before them shine, glimmer, sparkle—it was almost too bright to look at. But it was easy to see the crest of every single wave that buffered them from the Land of the Spirits… they were more than fifteen miles away from the distant, sandy shore—the Desert.

Ever since land had been spotted, Freak had purposefully drove down the amount of time and effort he spent training. Watch had to be kept, day and night, to ensure they didn't pass the Land of the Spirits, and energy had to be preserved for the swim back. Kochai and Uvuli had stepped up, forcing Freak to sleep, staying awake themselves—after all, they reasoned, he was the strongest swimmer. If he could get to shore, he could bring them with him as well.

It was a lie…

They'd concocted it when he was diving, once. It was Kochai's idea—Freak had to be prepared to swim more than they, because they could die—he couldn't. They wouldn't let him waste any energy hauling them to land, if their bodies gave out—they would allow themselves to drown.

The brutality of this decision was compounded by the fact that death seemed to be a highly likely outcome for both females. And, just then, both were more than a little sapped from the morning of practicing… they'd spotted Pride Rock at just the wrong time.

They did not have the strength to get to it, and they knew it—but there was no harm in trying. And neither had the heart to tell Freak, and both knew that, if they did, he'd be the hero—the dumb hero—and force them to come. Only when he saw for himself the hopelessness of attempting to save them would he abandon them.

"Immediately?" Kochai said softly.

"Yes. Immediately," the li-tigon replied harshly, mechanically—he'd reverted to the cold, emotionless being that had kept him alive—barely—for the majority of his life. He didn't notice anything strange about her, or Uvuli.

Good.

"I suppose I will never find a land with many big brothers and big sisters and aunts and uncles to call my own," Kochai noted, sadly—she sniffed, once, but Freak was moving the cargo crates around, for some reason—he didn't hear her. "I suppose… I'll soon join Mother and Father. That's not so bad…"

Yes, actually, it would be, at such a young age. And she couldn't ignore that—quickly, though, she had Uvuli's shoulder to lean on, literally. Not that the hyena was feeling any better.

"Hey… chin up, shrimp," the older female murmured, softly, nuzzling the top of the kitten's head. "We might make it—you never know."

The knowing, sad smile Kochai gave Uvuli, then, was as disturbing as it was telling—Kochai really had grown up.

"We might," Uvuli maintained, regardless. "Let's just… give it our all, okay? Man..." she sighed, "if only we saw it an hour ago… then we'd both be good. Funny, isn't it?"

Kochai was crying, then, noiselessly. But she nodded, burying her face into Uvuli's fur.

Freak finished his work, just then, and, almost instantly, Kochai stopped crying. He'd pushed the largest crate to the edge of the deck, putting a smaller one just next to it—looking at the females, the li-tigon canted his head.

"Is anything… wrong?" he said. "You look sad… but we're going home…"

"Just… it's been a nice ride, that's all," Uvuli lied easily, smiling. "Little Kochai here's just sad to see it over so soon."

"Ah. Well. We still need to leave."

Freak bypassed the shorter crate, and leaped directly to the top of the larger one, well over twenty feet into the air. From the higher vantage point, he could see Pride Rock without obstruction.

After almost being overcome with a feeling of hope and desire, the li-tigon focused on his determination. They weren't anywhere close to being fifteen miles from land… but, regardless, they would reach the Desert.

Kochai and Uvuli had joined him, by then. He noticed that they still seemed sad, but brushed it off—at times, females' emotions simply didn't make sense.

"Ready?" the li-tigon asked, still staring at his objective. He breathed in and out, rapidly, and rhythmically clenched and unclenched his muscles. This wasn't going to be easy.

"Yeah…"

"Alright, then," Freak murmured. "Let's go."

A heartbeat later, the li-tigon had sprinted off the crate, and was flying forward, through the air. He dived towards the water, aerodynamic and powerful, and awe-inspiring, for the two females that soon followed him. Maybe they could make it home, after all.

Or maybe not.

As they approached coast, a few things quickly became apparent.

The waves near land were much bigger and more powerful; resisting their influence took more energy than it did out at sea. Kochai had been dunked, once, but had saved herself without difficulty. Sputtering, she'd returned to the surface with a grin, for her big brother, but a pained look of dismay for Uvuli. It didn't look like she'd have the energy to make it.

Worse, there was a quite powerful undercurrent that ran away from land, attempting to pull the three back out to sea. Freak was a strong swimmer, and resisted it naturally, only barely noticing it. Uvuli, though, was exhausted by the time they were ten miles away… and this was saying nothing of Kochai.

"Is everyone alright?" Freak said, looking forward, still, towards either Pride Rock or some nondescript point on the coast. "There's still quite a ways to go," he added, rather unnecessarily.

"I'm good," and, "I'm fine, big brother," were the li-tigon's replies, though they couldn't be more false.

"Outstanding. Keep it up," he said, pausing, for a minute, to turn back and face the two females, smiling. "We're over halfway there."

A wave rose, then, blocking the two females from Freak's view. Kochai had her opportunity.

Panting, openly, she used a final burst of energy to bring herself to Uvuli's side. Before her muscles seized up from overuse, she hugged the hyena, tenderly, and nuzzled her in a final goodbye. Uvuli returned the bittersweet affection, just as Kochai let go.

The young tigress floated, for a moment, motionless in the water. She didn't seem sad or angry, strangely, just certain of her fate, and waiting to accept it.

Then, she began to sink.

She raised her paw, as if in farewell… but then brought it to her head, meeting Uvuli's eyes in what would be her last salute.

Then, her head dipped below the water. She was gone.

"Still following me… good."

Freak was surprised, happily so, that he hadn't had to give either of the females a helping hand. They were strong—he knew this—but he hadn't expected them to be this strong. The li-tigon turned, to mention this, but then thought better of it and faced forward again. He didn't want to seem condescending.

Mane trailing behind him, floating on the surface of the water, somewhat, only the li-tigon's head was visible from above the water. Only the cool darkness of his eyes, and the determination on his angular face were visible—not the powerful, obstinate muscles and limbs that propelled him along, and would continue to do so, until he felt land beneath his paws again. Friendly, good, righteous, land.

Freak's brow furrowed, suddenly.

"That's funny, when I turned, I… only saw Uvuli…"

"…Kochai must have been behind a wave, or something."

Then, the li-tigon remembered… when he'd executed that brief doubletake, he'd been at the apex of a wave. Uvuli had been in the trough… and Kochai, who had, until then, been within feet of her, was still nowhere to be seen.

The tigress must have strayed away, or something. There was no chance that… anything else had happened.

But Freak had to see his little sister with his own eyes. He simply had to.

The li-tigon turned again, fully, and, for a second, swam backwards. Then, he stopped, and simply treaded water, allowing Uvuli to approach. Now that he looked at her… he could see that she was exhausted.

But where was Kochai?

The hyena got even closer. And, despite her best efforts, tears were streaming down her face, though she only occasionally, softly sucked in ragged breaths of air. All at once, she was next to Freak—but she couldn't meet his eyes. She couldn't.

"Uvuli?..." he began. "Tell me," he continued, slowly, as if he knew that he didn't want to know the answer, "where is Kochai?"

Uvuli managed to stop crying, for a moment. She looked up, into the li-tigon's eyes, an expression of fierce defiance on her face, for a second… until she broke down.

"Oh my God, Shujaa… she's… gone…"

Freak stared at her, for a second. His face transformed, instantly, from simple, albeit somewhat urgent curiosity to outrage. Uvuli flinched, and, due to this, didn't see him disappear below the surface.

"No! Shujaa!"

The hyena dived—damn him, couldn't he see what they were doing? Somehow, Uvuli managed to catch hold of his vanishing tail in her jaws. She was going to pull him back to the surface and break through that thick skull of his, somehow, and explain that Kochai had to be abandoned.

He slipped away, though, leaving her in his tumultuous wake, to pursue Kochai. The hyena glanced around, for a moment, before returning to the surface.

"It's been a coupla minutes since she gave up. Looks like she might die in vain…"

Four words raced through Freak's mind, over and over again, not necessarily in the following order: Where, is, she, and Kochai.

Now, the li-tigon worked with the current, moving away from land, even as he dove deeper. His pace was an all-out sprint—even if he had the mental capacity to do so, he wouldn't have held back. Kochai was down here, somewhere, waiting for him, needing him—he'd saved her from drowning once before. Today would be no different.

If he could find her.

The hopelessness of his task hit him, suddenly. Forty feet down, where the darkness started to grow, quickly, to blot out even the vaguest silhouette or outline of a young kitten, he paused, and simply looked around—up, front, back, left, right, down, and everything in between. He still didn't see her, or any signs of her.

Eyes, it seemed, were useless. Freak would have to rely on some other capability to find his sister.

Shutting his eyes, tightly, the li-tigon concentrated, or tried to. His mind was in panic, disarray, and he struggled to bring it into order.

He was unsuccessful.

Roaring, underwater, released a stream of bubbles towards the surface, even as the vibrations caused by the bellow reverberated through the water, for dozens of yards in any direction. Then, once the li-tigon had rid himself of most of his emotion—all of it, save for his focus on his task—he concentrated again.

He left his body, in a fashion, briefly visiting the consciousnesses of every creature around him. Tunneling through the water, incomprehensibly fast, the li-tigon knew all, saw all, felt all… except for what he was looking for. But she had to be there somewhere.

Finally—a purchase, perhaps. Freak had been looking into the mind of some sort of fish, or something, as it had passed by a small, somewhat pale figure that was, inexorably, sinking. The li-tigon only caught a glimpse of it, though—was it Kochai, for certain?

He tried to confirm it, because it would be disastrous for all parties if he were to follow a false positive. There were no other living beings around the figure, though, and Freak had to struggle, for a moment, to ignore the implications of that fact.

Then, though… another presence. Quickly, Freak entered it—was it Kochai?

Most of its mental functions had shut down, or, more accurately, had been starved of oxygen for too long to operate. But it still had a few thoughts. It still had a few desires.

Over fifteen yards underwater, by then, sinking, motionless, the li-tigon's lips started to move. Started to form words.

"Big… brother… I will miss you…"

"I've already lost one little sister. I won't lose another one."

He had her location, somehow. She was... one hundred feet or so down, and farther away from land still. But she was still alive, if barely… and if Freak could get her back to the surface soon, perhaps she'd suffer no permanent damage from this, either.

He couldn't see her, yet, but he could feel her; he knew she was there. And she knew that he was coming—she spoke to him, somehow, in a kind, calm voice, even as he lunged through the water, mindless of anything but his sister.

"Big brother… leave me, please. I can't slow you down… you won't reach home, either, and you must, big brother. Please… this is not painful, or scary. Let me go…"

The li-tigon had nothing—or, rather, nothing appropriate—to say in reply to these sentiments.

He was starting to get deep, now, almost as deep as he'd been when he was attacked. Darkness and pressure started to close in around the li-tigon, but there was still no sign of Kochai, and her consciousness had slipped away from him—had she fooled him into going in the wrong direction, somehow?

No. There—there. Deeper, but sinking still, and a further ten yards from shore. Kochai.

It took Freak a great deal of force to push through the densely-packed, frigid water here, but he managed to do it. Grabbing the kitten by the scruff of her neck, the li-tigon wasted no time in turning, and then making directly for the surface—he, too, was losing air.

Once they started to emerge from the depths, the water becoming light and transparent, again, Freak was greeted with the dreadful sight… of another being precious to him sinking, slowly, her descent as unstoppable as Kochai's.

Uvuli had given up as well, but only just. Freak could only carry one of them back to the surface, back towards land, and could only resuscitate one of them.

So the li-tigon had to choose, then, which one it would be. Would it be the kitten in his jaws, whose chances of survival were slim to none, or Uvuli, who might have higher odds of living?

Or, would it be neither of them?

Or, Freak considered, numbly, as he, too, started to sink, just as far below the surface as Uvuli, by then, would he simply die with them?

Waking up from any sort of ordeal is always unpleasant, but half-drowning from fatigue and exhaustion, doubly so. First, there's the irritating feeling of salt clinging to your eyes; but you're unlikely to notice this—mostly, there's a heaving, gagging sensation as you bring up some of the seawater in you.

Groaning, she wondered if she'd died—no, actually, she accepted that she'd died, and wondered where she was. It certainly wasn't Heaven—probably—but Hell was fiery, not watery. Or, perhaps, the Hell of all those that found their end on the high seas was just that—the high seas.

Panting, a little, she choked, again, as a sudden wave dipped her head underwater—then, she sighed. All eternity was going to be spent like this, eh?... what a pain. If only she'd been better…

"Among the living again, I see."

That voice…

"H-huh?" she murmured, too worn out to do much else.

"Good."

Slowly, her eyes started to readjust to the light, as she blinked, slowly, ridding their surfaces of salinity and debris. Her forelegs… they were wrapped around his neck.

She'd been chosen, it seemed, in favor of a female just as precious to him as she was. This knowledge was empowering, despite everything… but…

"So… Kochai, she's…?"

Uvuli didn't need to finish the phrase. She didn't need to hear the answer, either—not even Freak could have saved the young tigress by the time he'd found out about her.

"She's right here."

The hyena's eyes shot open, and she searched, for a moment, but she didn't have to look far. Freak was carrying his waterlogged, light furred relative in his own forelegs, and swimming with his hind legs alone—the process of course, was slow, and surely doomed in failure. So little power was devoted to moving so much forward—this was madness.

Despite her exhaustion, Uvuli managed to get her forelegs to twitch—that was all. Suddenly, though, Freak snarled.

"Don't you dare," he hissed, "let go."

Uvuli was intimidated, and complied, clinging to his thick, muscular neck just a little tighter. Burying her face into the soft, comforting fur at the li-tigon's shoulders, she shut her eyes, again—but she still had her style.

"Or… what?" the hyena female murmured.

Freak had nothing in particular to say in response to this ridiculous question. He just growled, deep in his throat, until Uvuli let out a tired laugh.

"Shujaa…" she murmured, reaching around him to idly stroke at Kochai, "why?... we gave up… so that you could get home, you know. You're not gonna be able to carry us all the way to shore… just let go, okay? It's okay… we still love you, Shujaa... at least… I do…"

Damn. Even in such a situation, she couldn't bring herself to say it straight.

"I love you too," he replied, resentfully, but still making Uvuli's heart leap, for a second, "that's why I'm not going to let you go."

Silence, for a moment. She thought he was finished speaking, until he continued, in a tone so sad and dejected that it almost hurt to hear.

"Come on, Uvuli… you didn't think about me at all, did you? How would I live, without you and Kochai? What… would I do with my days? I've lived alone before… you don't know how terrible it is… that solitude..."

"You'd have… other people around… everyone else in the Pride Lands…"

"But I wouldn't have you. I'd be in solitude from you… I can't live in solitude from anyone that I love. Least of all you two—you made this bloody voyage bearable. What would I do on a boat without you two to keep me busy?... Imagine that, for a second."

Briefly, Uvuli was visited by an image of Freak sitting, eating, sleeping, and training on a mechanical, robotic schedule for the entirety of the trip. She laughed again, quietly.

"You're starting to… get an accent, dude… 'bloody'… heheh… FOB…"

"I think people from Hindustan sound distinguished," the li-tigon replied, in a hurt-sounding tone. "Bloody cruel of you to belittle me like this, madam."

The hyena laughed out loud, for a moment. Freak's social skills had improved by leaps and bounds, over the time she'd known her, but she'd never, ever dreamed of him being so lighthearted for even a second, not in a thousand years—yet, here he was, sharing happy banter with her.

"S-so… how's… the crustacean?..."

"Not well, I'm afraid. I did to her what I did to you, but she still hasn't woken up…"

Uvuli pulled herself up, somehow, looking down at Kochai. She was motionless, and it didn't seem likely that that would be changing anytime soon. The young feline had doubtlessly gotten more water in her lungs than she had, and this was to say nothing of oxygen deprivation, particularly to the brain. Kochai wouldn't be the same… if she lived.

She was breathing, though—barely. Terribly, the hyena wondered—was the little feline she'd come to think of as a little sister… was Kochai brain-dead? Would she never wake up?

Shutting her eyes, a grimace on her expression, Uvuli had her answer—she simply didn't want to think about things, not for the moment. All she wanted to do was to sit back, mentally, and let Freak carry her to a different reality.

Soon, though, that started to seem less and less likely.

It was incredible that he'd resisted the undertow for so long, but the effort of carrying along so much extra baggage, so to speak, was starting to take its toll. Freak was having a hard time keeping the pace he was—and if he decreased it, they would end up moving away from shore. To get there, he'd have to move at least as fast as he was moving, for another five miles… and that didn't seem like it was going to happen.

"I guess it wouldn't do me any good to ask you to let go, eh?" Uvuli said.

Freak didn't answer. He simply kept swimming, ignoring the complaints and protests his muscles started to give him—he'd come too far, by then, to consider giving up.

Uvuli sighed, and, shaking, started to move her forelegs, again.

"Uvuli, if you let go, I'll rescue you again. That's a waste of energy, and we're only going to make it barely, as it is. I can't afford to cut things close…"

The cards were on the table, it seemed. She couldn't sacrifice herself, or he'd prevent her—Freak was negotiating, it seemed, holding a gun to his own head. And, damn him, it was working.

"Well… I guess I'll hang on, then. Just for you…"

"Good."

Uvuli left him alone, for a moment, while she considered her options. Giving up wasn't something she was used to doing, but, quickly, she realized, she didn't really have a choice. Freak was going to take her—and Kochai—to shore… or he was going to die. Her only course of action, therefore, seemed obvious.

The arts weren't greatly encouraged in her homeland, not after the fascist that ended up having her mother killed came to power. In fact, they were actively discouraged—anyone caught promoting the ancient tribal dances and ceremonies that had once defined their culture had been executed.

Still, though, some had been defiant. And her mother had been one of them… for just long enough to teach her daughter one song.

Uvuli wasn't a good singer, not really. She hadn't had the chance to practice, much, and, surely, she remember at least one or two parts of it incorrectly, but that was irrelevant. What was important was that she was sharing her mother's last gift with Freak, just then, as he carried her and Kochai back home. Hopefully, it would be enough to make his venture successful, because it was the last advantage he was getting—from here on out, he was on his own.

"Just let go, Shujaa…"

"No."

"Please…

"No."

"I'll hunt for you for the next two weeks…"

"No—how?"

"You'll see…"

"No. And you're making me waste energy by talking."

Once set on a goal, it seemed, Freak couldn't be shaken from it, no matter how far-fetched it was.

Shore wasn't getting any closer, and it wouldn't, either. The li-tigon could simply no longer move fast enough to overcome the increased flow of the current beneath them—they were stuck in a standstill, and, soon, their advances would be reversed. Soon, Freak would collapse out of sheer fatigue, or hopelessness, when he finally grappled with the fact that the Land of the Spirits, as close as it was, was out of reach.

Exhaustion was starting to set in, and Freak couldn't ignore it—he tried to change tactics, swimming to the north, then south, but the undertow was equal in all regions. There was no escaping it.

He hadn't let go of Kochai, either. And he never would, although the young tigress was still unconscious, dead weight in his paws. She was silent, too, heartbreakingly so… it really did look like she'd never wake up.

Uvuli tried to help Freak by kicking her legs, a bit, but if this had any effect on their situation, they couldn't tell—they were as motionless as ever.

For Freak, the effort of moving, or trying to, became as constant and shapeless as the water around him. His mind wandered, after he tried, and failed, to motivate himself into fighting through the stiffening of his muscles, toying with distant, vague possibilities—any images that filtered through the haze of his consciousness were abstract, far cries from reality.

Out of simple curiosity, the li-tigon tried to leave his own body again—he couldn't enter Uvuli's consciousness, though. Floating around, it seemed, a moment passed before he found himself in a familiar setting…

"This is the Sacred Mesa. Why…? How?"

"Kochai."

He turned, though not out of any will of his own—he was still working on figuring out his precise locations. It seemed that he was very close to the center of the mesa, but he couldn't, and wouldn't be certain, it seemed. Soon, his vision was filled with not the curving vines and trees of the forest… but with something else.

"Nasher? How?"

The older feline was smiling down at him—since when was he that big? Freak tried to look around, a little, but couldn't—he was trapped, in a way. Not that he minded seeing his recently departed relative much…

"Since when does he address me as Kochai?"

It was then that Freak realized—he wasn't in a currently existing reality, nor one generated by his own mind. He was in a memory.

"Yes, Father?"

She always was affectionate. It was a bit different, though, to be on this side of one of her ubiquitous cheekrubs.

Looking far up at the tiger, Freak felt humbled—he'd never appreciated, really, how amazing of a being Nasher was. Or, perhaps, his view, just then, was biased—that was likely. Kochai, after all, greatly loved her father—she always had.

"Can you tell me… why is your mother a better fighter than I am? I can't figure it out—I'm certain that I'm stronger, and quicker… it's got me beat."

"'Is'?"

He—or, rather, Kochai—canted her head, a little, wondering why Nasher would ask such a question. For her, her mother's combat superiority was simply something she took for granted. After a moment, though, the kitten had her answer, and delivered it brightly.

"It's simple, Father—she's more stubborn than you are in this way. Yes? For example, if struck, you would back away and prepare for another attack, yes? This is sometimes wise… but Mother will usually ignore her own pain and fear, and keep attacking. This is why she usually wins…"

"I see," Nasher said, somewhat grumpily. "Bloody hypocrite, always saying that I'm an 'obstinate atheist'…"

"But, dear Father, you are—"

"Hush."

Kochai didn't feel sad, though—shortly after that curt word, her father playfully knocked her over. Then, Freak was finally able to experience, in a fashion, what he would have if either of his own parents had lived to see his cubhoood—he watched paws that might have been his grip the powerful limb in front of him, felt teeth that might have been his graze its appendage…

He laughed. Kochai giggled. Then, though, playtime was over.

She followed him, then, playing, as always, by taking the effort to hop around, copying the positions of his massive paws perfectly. Freak wondered where they were going, then decided that it didn't matter, at least, not to Kochai—she would always follow those that she loved without question or hesitance.

"So… perhaps I should be a bit more hard-headed. What do you think about that, daughter?"

"It sounds wise to me…"

"Mm? Say somethin', Shujaa?"

"I—no, I don't think that I did."

"Huh. How'd you like the song?"

"Beautiful," he answered immediately. "Truly."

"Really? Thanks. By the way—how are you speeding up? Don't you have, like, nothing left?"

"Yes," Shujaa admitted. "I suppose so."

The li-tigon didn't explain things further, after that. All he did was focus on the distant, but approaching shore… and the fact that he wasn't the one that had begun the conversation.

Kochai was.

"Gah… I don't think I've ever had such a horrible entrance…"

"I certainly have. When I came into Hindustan…"

"Well… we're back. Damn… is all of the Desert like this?"

"Of course not. Most of it's less wet."

"Great…"

They were back.

Their return, of course, was less than flashy—Freak had propelled them to shore with a hairsbreadth margin of error. Panting, the li-tigon had hauled himself to dry ground, ignoring how much of a pain it would be to get the sand out of his fur, once it stuck there. Uvuli was, by then, well enough to pull Kochai along, setting the kitten to rest between her and Freak.

Even as they moved, the Sun beat down on them hard, almost instantly vaporizing any moisture left on them—welcome to the Desert. They were hot, wet, exhausted, hungry, thirsty, and mentally fatigued… but they were home.

Exhausted, they lay as they were, side by side, for just a moment. Uvuli laughed, several times; Freak just smiled. Somehow, the feat they'd just accomplished looked more impressive in hindsight. They'd defeated an ocean, it seemed. Perhaps defeating Kifo was possible as well.

Freak's eyes flickered open what must have been several hours later. It was late afternoon, and Uvuli and Kochai were still sleeping, still next to him—good.

Satisfied with things, for the moment, the li-tigon stood, then made his way back into the nearby ocean. His paws tracked deep, well-defined tracks into the wet sand behind him, until he was deep enough to submerge himself in the somewhat caustic saltwater.

After a few moments of simply staying still, allowing the waves to roll over him, Freak left the water again, for the last time that day—he was clean. Then, for the first time in months, he looked over the Land of the Spirits.

There wasn't much to see where he was—just several dozen square miles of rolling dunes and sand. The Desert, at least, hadn't changed during his absence. The Sun was low in the sky, by then, with several hours yet to go before it set—thusly, the sky was still bright and clear and blue.

The li-tigon was suddenly almost overwhelmed with a sense of accomplishment—he'd been sent to one of the most hostile environments to beings like him on Earth… and he'd lived. Not just that, but he'd prospered, in a sense—he was back home stronger and smarter and better equipped for the fight that would determine the fate of the Land of the Spirits forever. He truly was blessed.

Freak was tempted to contact his parents, at the very least, to tell them that he'd returned. Now, though, wasn't the time, nor the place—his eyes narrowed. Perhaps the Desert had changed over his absence…

After he'd gotten over the initial rush of realizing, on a gut level, having been simply too exhausted to do so upon his immediate arrival, that he was home, Freak saw that the lands—the Desert, at least—had suffered.

The sky was cloudless, but the Sun… simply wasn't as bright and flawless as Freak remembered it. The Sun here was like it was in the vicinity of the city, back in Hindustan—it was blocked, somewhat, by a lingering, foul presence in the air. Freak couldn't smell it, but he knew it was there.

"That's certainly a threat… and I don't think it's my twin. I'll have to find out… I'll have to ask Simba. Or Rafiki. And, to do that..."

"I have to get back to the Pride Lands."

He smiled, briefly, but honestly. Then, he looked back to the two females that had made his journey bearable—enjoyable, even. Exhilaration threatened to take over, again—Kochai… she'd finally have her chance to be around any number of new friends, new loving faces, new relatives. And everyone, no doubt, would be relieved to see that Uvuli was alive and well.

"And me… I wonder if they've missed me?... I wonder… how they'll greet me…"

The li-tigon wasn't an overly emotional being. Just then, though, he was justified in allowing just a drop, or two—or a little more—of wetness enter his eyes. Similarly, he was justified in dropping to his knees and kissing the ground—he was home.

After staying where he was, for a few moments, muscles flexed, due to his posture, Freak stood. The wind kicked up for a moment, courtesy of the sea—a wave rolled in, hissing, slightly, before dissipating just next to his feet. He looked at his shadow, for a moment, before him—tail flicking, slightly, he could see that he had grown.

Would anyone in the Pride Lands even recognize him? His eye color had changed, as had his fur color, along with the intensity of his stripes, the nature of his mane, and any number of other physical features about the li-tigon—and that was to say nothing of the manner in which he now conducted himself. Now, he wouldn't hesitate to say, when he met them, how much he'd missed them as well. Now, he knew that emotions weren't necessarily weakness.

Movement—it was nothing, though, he noted, immediately after turning, instantly, far more quickly than he was capable of the last time he'd been in the neighborhood. Just Kochai…

She'd stirred in her sleep, and, a moment later, Freak realized what that meant. He shut his eyes, thanking his superiors because of it—the Spirits really were with him.

"Stop…"

"Then wake up."

Instead of stopping, the insistent nudging at her side simply grew—she whined, then growled, a bit, turning around to bat at whatever was touching her, somewhat irritated.

"Leave me alone; I'm very tired…"

"From what, Kochai? Think about it, please..."

"No, thank you, I do not think that I will…"

Subconsciously, though, she did wonder—what had she done to exhaust herself?

Freak watched, knowingly, as his young cousin remained still, for a moment, breathing in and out, softly. Then, suddenly, and predictably, she jumped up, springing into the air, eyes wide—before she could do anything hasty, though, he'd grabbed her, with a paw, and forced her to look at him.

"You're alright. Calm down—no, Kochai," the li-tigon said, holding, a little tighter, as the kitten attempted to escape, hyperventilating in terror. "Calm down… you're alright. Shhh..."

He released her. And, a moment later, she did relax, though not by much. Green eyes searching his, for an answer, after she'd turned around, examining her surroundings, she suddenly hid next to him, wary of an incoming threat, it seemed. It touched Freak—she saw him as a source of safety. As a protector.

"Wh-what happened? Where are we, big brother?" she said, pressing herself against his side, as if to make sure that if a speedy escape needed to be made, she wouldn't be forgotten. "Where's the boat?"

"We don't need the boat anymore, Kochai."

He simply looked down at her, after that, waiting for her to understand what that meant. And, a moment later, she stopped searching the surrounding areas for some approaching demon—and looked up at him, eyes wide.

"So… we have… this is the Land of the Spirits?"

The li-tigon nodded. "Disappointed?" he said. "I would have picked a better location… but there wasn't much choice. Are you alright, Kochai? You almost drowned…"

She didn't reply, and, instead, simply took two steps forward. Freak understood—he would have been curious, if he was in her position, as well. But, it seemed, the li-tigon didn't know his relative as well as he thought he did—she knew her priorities.

Kochai's destination wasn't the nearby rise, from which one could doubtlessly obtain a truly incredible view of the Desert that had once been Freak's home. First, she made her way to Uvuli's side, checking that the hyena was alright—obviously, this was so.

After that, though, she slowly made her way up the dune. Freak followed her—she glanced back, once, to make sure that he was there; apparently, she was less than confident outside of her home turf.

"Good," the li-tigon thought. "It'll be a learning experience for her… as leaving everything familiar behind was for me."

"Wo-o-o-ow…" Kochai said quietly, a moment later—until then, she'd been wordlessly surveying the Desert. The size of the region was difficult for her to grasp—her homeland was a patchwork of different environmental zones. A single geographic feature of this size was, to her, something almost inconceivable.

The tigress looked to the south, then the north—first the Wet Forest, then the twin mountain ranges that isolated the Jungle. She stood as tall as she could, trying to see more than a glimpse of green over the top of the distant, still bright blue waterfall that had once been the li-tigon's method of accessing the Bloody Shadows.

"And is that where you lived, big brother?" she said, suddenly turning to face Freak. After waiting for an answer, for a moment, she tilted her head, bright green eyes searching his.

"Why are you looking at me in that manner? Is there something on my fur?" The kitten proceeded to check herself, all over, for any discoloration or clinging debris. Her obsessive mannerisms would, no doubt, instantly win her favor among the rest of the females of the Pride Lands.

"No, not at all," Freak replied. He then took two large steps towards Kochai, and, gently, proceeded to play with her, allowing her to use her teeth against his thick, protective mane. "I've… imagined you here before. Many times. But I never really imagined that I'd actually see you here… if that makes sense."

"Certainly it does, big brother," Kochai giggled. She continued the battle, for a few moments, before giving up, mostly out of exhaustion.

Somewhat guiltily, Freak simply sat next to her, and allowed her to rest her cheek against him for several moments.

"Being here is like a dream for me, also," the tigress said. "I never imagined… that I might actually be here. This is so exciting… very soon, I will be among any number of other females—yes?"

The li-tigon nodded in affirmation, though with only half a mind. His concentration was already on the future—a simulacrum of a plan had already formed, but implementation, he felt, couldn't wait.

"I can't wait," Kochai purred quietly. "I promise that I will be the best little sister ever…"

For a few moments, the two felines remained where they were, apparently surveying the Desert. Kochai's mind was on the Pride Lands—she was, wishfully, imagining herself being allowed to hunt with big sisters and aunts, as Freak had told her was the strategy lionesses used to take prey down. Freak, though, was focusing on the oncoming war.

"Wake your big sister up, Kochai," the li-tigon said, feeling her look up at him—his gaze didn't shift, though. "It's time to move."

"Ugh… why do we have to move so quickly? This is exhausting…"

"Why complain? It only makes things worse, yes?"

"Hush, shrimp."

"Very well, big sister."

Freak really was pushing them hard—after only five minutes of getting situated, Uvuli had been told that it was time to go. Apparently, they couldn't spare an hour, or an afternoon to rest. On an academic level, the hyena could appreciate that… but it wasn't going to stop her from whining.

"Man, your grandma's crazy, Shujaa… living in a place like this… sheesh. How do you tell if you've been going in circles or not?"

They'd been on the move for an hour, now, but still, every dune they came to looked like the one preceding it. Such monotony failed to awe Uvuli quickly—now she was just tired.

It was almost dusk, but there was still an hour of sunlight left. Gentle, cooling breeze floated across the landscape at intervals ranging from one minute to five, caressing the sand kicked up by the trio's motion for several yards before setting it down just as smoothly as it had lifted it.

Moonlight was scarce, but starlight no longer was. The ominous, hovering entity that had blocked out the Heavens until just moments earlier seemed to have left—Freak looked up, for a moment, tossing some of his mane out of the way. The li-tigon saw no supernatural entities staring down back at him… but, perhaps later that night, that would change.

"It takes practice," Freak said. "A lot of practice," he amended. "But this was her home—and mine. I know my way around… slow down for a moment," the li-tigon said, suddenly.

The two females complied, instantly, remaining in the simple phalanx formation they'd started their little early evening jog with. Twenty yards later, and the constant stream of pugmarks that had showed their entire trip from the coast to their current position—the heart of the northern Desert, another few hours from the waterfall—had changed. Individual tracks had become closer and closer until, finally, there were none left—they'd stopped.

Freak was concerned, this was obvious to see. Uvuli faced outwards from their formation, a little, as did Kochai—but there didn't seem to be anything around. Just wind, and dust, and the giant shadows cast by the dunes all around.

"Wait here. I won't be long," Freak said, before, silently, moving off to the west, slinking low to the ground—had he detected something?

Kochai shot a questioning glance at Uvuli, but the hyena just shook her head. And, by the time the tigress looked back to where Freak had been, he was gone.

Now, this was an experience he never dreamed he'd have again—moving through the Desert, covertly, either under or on the endless dunes and sloping surfaces it boasted. It was almost like he was searching for a foreign dictator again—but this wasn't Freak's goal. Not that night.

"Shindani, Msaka, Adhabu… What have you been up to? Still fighting?..."

His destination was the Western Oasis—the most commonly used watering hole in the Desert. It was far from the violent border with the territories to the south, but there was no choice—any other oases that had existed were long dry.

Now, just before sunset, was when the lionesses were likely to be quenching their thirst. It was strange, though—Freak had seen no signs of combat—none. Had the war finished? If it had… the Desert Warriors had lost. There was no question about that.

Perhaps, though, they'd managed to hold out, somehow—and were waiting for him just another two miles away.

The li-tigon moved quickly, very aware that if Uvuli and Kochai were attacked by any invading or occupation force, they wouldn't last long. Still, he had to know, for sure, the fate of his grandmother's protégés. If they were alive… he wouldn't let them stay in the Desert, even if he had to personally drag them out, kicking and screaming every step of the way.

The Western Oasis was surrounded, on all sides, by high, rising dunes. This hid it from view, even from very close by, making it the ideal position to hold and defend—Freak considered announcing himself before moving in, to avoid attack. But then again, if the Desert had fallen, then the Western Oasis would be converted into a guard post—and any forces there would be eager to exact revenge on a being responsible for dozens of casualties on their side.

In the end, Freak decided to move in silently, creeping up to the very lip of overarching dunes that hid the Western Oasis. Just inches from peeking out, he started to consider what to say to the lionesses, if he found them…

When the li-tigon finally looked, though, he realized that he wouldn't have to say anything.

There was no one there, neither feline, canine nor reptilian. There wasn't even an oasis there, anymore—it had gone dry, it seemed, like any number of other watering holes to the south. The dry lakebed didn't even look parched—there wasn't even a lakebed anymore. Sand had covered all evidence that water had ever been there, it seemed; not even a skeleton, or defiant plant remained in the area.

Freak was in the right place, this was for certain. Walking around in the depression, somewhat dazed by the manner in which this geographic feature had simply vanished from the face of the map, he sought some sign of the Desert Warriors—a track, a scent, a stray strand of fur, anything…

Nothing.

And it was getting time to get back to Uvuli and Kochai.

As noiselessly as he'd entered, Freak stalked out of the Western Oasis—he didn't quite leave it without looking back, once. Turning over his shoulder, as if to insure that no lingering spirit or signal had appeared behind him, he shut his eyes. Then, he started to move again.

"Goodbye," the li-tigon thought. "I guess I won't ever see you again… but I promise, after I'm finished with my twin, I'll be back—and I'll find out, for certain, your fate. Even if I have to battle through every dog and dragon in the Desert, just to speak to one surviving veteran… I'll do it. You three, and Sikia… are as much a part of my family as the Pride Landers. I'm sorry for leaving you…"

Poor Kochai and Uvuli. After Freak left them, there was nothing to do but wait, and imagine that every sound was one of distant, violent combat; that every gust of wind would bring with it the scent of blood; that every distant blur was the li-tigon's cold, lifeless body, being dismembered and eaten by some vicious Desert creature.

Understandably, they were nervous, and, slowly, moved towards one another, so that they were back to back. As far as they were concerned, the Desert was downright creepy, without Freak—even Uvuli, a veteran by any standard, didn't dare speak any words of comfort to Kochai. She hardly dared to breathe.

"Psst. I'm back."

Uvuli jumped, then turned, in a heartbeat, to face the west—Kochai joined her, and, a few seconds later, the two females relaxed.

"Why the—how—sand? Are you part mole, too?" Uvuli asked, eye twitching, slightly, as she watched Freak noiselessly emerge from the dune before her.

"No," the li-tigon replied, curtly, shaking himself off, briefly. "Now… let's get going."

Uvuli and Kochai shared a glance, before forming up on him again, and following, again jogging to the north. He wasn't usually this cold—well… with respect to recent times, anyway.

It wasn't long before he spoke, softly, though they didn't have to strain to hear him over the noiseless falls of his paws.

"I looked around for the Desert Warriors, just a little. I checked the Western Oasis… the path that took me there covered all areas we used to use for sleeping… and I found nothing. So… they either lost the war, completely, and escaped… or never left the Desert."

A few moments passed. They were getting closer to the waterfall, but Uvuli didn't know how Freak intended to scale it, to get to the Jungle. He had told them both how his mother had escaped Samehe—Kochai, perhaps, was small enough to make it up that sheer face, Freak mused. But that's not how he intended to get back to the Jungle…

"It looks more impressive in the daytime. I promise," Freak said. "But still… this really is magical, isn't it?"

"Yeah," Uvuli panted. "It really is… now, can we get a break? I'm beat…"

The li-tigon looked at her, then Kochai, but not for long, before nodding. Instantly, the females collapsed, exhausted—this was too much work with too little food and rest.

On the plus side, though, now they had clean, drinking water—the oasis here hadn't dried. There was still a clear two square miles of jungle, in a fashion; a carryover from the wilderness hundreds of feet above. One shock of Desert sand defiantly reached do the very edge of the water, though—this was where Freak had finally come to rest.

He looked up, far up, but could still only see the fringes of his Jungle home. He had to struggle to avoid having an out of body experience—and simply shook his head, smiling. Everything had fallen apart, but now, it was all coming back together.

He took a few steps forward and knelt, drinking from the clear, dark blue pool of water in front of him—he paused, once, then continued, with much more enthusiasm. It had been months since he'd tasted that particular blend of minerals and organic matter—the residue of plant life and volcanic ash from the Jungle.

When he was finished, the li-tigon looked around him, for a moment. The trees here were mostly palm; some where larger, moss-covered variants of the forests that he'd spent his cubhood in—there wasn't much grass, though, and there simply wasn't enough infrastructure, so to speak, to support much animal life.

There were birds, though; dozens of the brightly-colored avians were in a nearby tree, sleeping, as noiseless as Freak was as he stalked towards them—then changed his mind.

"It's been a long time since I've seen another land animal, besides Kochai and Uvuli… I'll leave you alone for tonight…"

They still needed food, though, and to satisfy that need, Freak simply made his into water, until he was shoulder-deep—then, after taking a deep breath, he pressed his face under the surface.

"Hey… get up, you two… we have to keep moving…"

They hadn't fallen asleep. Not really. They'd just been resting their eyes…

Whining, quietly, Kochai stood. She was about to protest, until her nose twitched, then her eyes widened.

"What is this?" the young tigress asked, staring at something just a few inches in front of Freak's feet. "This… is a fish, yes?"

"Fish, yes," the li-tigon affirmed, as, moaning, Uvuli got up as well. "I've eaten it many times, particularly in my cubhood. You've never had it before? How bizarre."

"Don't make fun of me," Kochai complained, as she approached, curiously sniffing at the kill in front of her. "I tried it once when I was very, very small… I think… what does it taste like?"

"Like fish. I don't know how to describe it," the li-tigon sighed. "What would you say, Uvuli?"

"I would say that I need some REMs, not fish. Why'ja get us up again, ya slave driver?" she said, only half joking.

"I'm sorry," Freak replied instantly, making the hyena feel guilty—a little—as he continued. "I want to be in the Jungle tonight—now, I know I've asked a lot of you today already… but I'm going to ask a little bit more. And you're going to want to have some energy for it," the li-tigon said, with a not entirely sane twinkle in his eye—it unnerved Uvuli, for a moment, before she shrugged, and joined Kochai in feasting on the fresh, somewhat chilly meat before them.

The li-tigon started to eat a moment later, as well. Fish, he thought, idly, really was an excellent foodstuff—it was certainly a break in the norm; it was lean, healthy, and had few bones that could do real damage if swallowed.

"So, uh, what do you have in mind, y'know? For how to get up to the Jungle?" Uvuli asked. "Heh… guess I'm good for anything, now," she said, looking over her worn, but not entirely beaten muscles. "As long as it's not more effing swimming…"

"Language," Freak said, in a warning tone, mock-glaring at Uvuli as he covered Kochai's ears with his paws, until she squirmed out of his grasp. "And… well, to be honest…"

You guessed it—more effing swimming.

This was dangerous, and, to be fair, somewhat foolish, too. Freak had no reason to think that it would work, except that it simply felt like it would in a manner that couldn't easily be put into words.

Perhaps it was a bit more than somewhat foolish.

But it was the only speedy way to get back to the Pride Lands.

The pool into which the waterfall from the Jungle poured had was bottomless—at exactly one point. There was a hole leading from it—a black, evil-looking oval that Freak led his two wingmen towards without fear.

They dived into it, and, instantly, were bathed in darkness—Kochai and Uvuli couldn't see, for a moment, but then, slowly, Freak's form became visible, as did their surroundings.

They were traveling through a smooth, somewhat ridged tunnel—it was difficult to tell the color of the surrounding rock, but—how were they seeing anything at all? What was that dim, pale bluish glow that was lighting their way? What was Freak clutching in his paw?

Uvuli tried to figure out, for a moment, how the struggling, squirming fish that the li-tigon had caught, at some point, was somehow producing light with its body, but then simply decided to accept it as yet another miracle associated with Freak's presence.

Kochai was keeping up, well, although they'd been underwater for over a minute, by then. At first, they'd simply moved northwards—then, there was a sharp turn, and they were swimming straight up, quickly, without stopping once. After all, though Freak could hold his breath for a truly impressive amount of time, Kochai and Uvuli were normal beings.

Suddenly, though, they broke surface—and, for the first time in her life, Kochai was in the Jungle.

They'd come through what looked like nothing more than a small puddle, in a swampier part of the territory. Just a hundred feet behind them was the waterfall—and, looking past it, they could see the Desert they'd trekked across, as silent as it was earlier that night.

Uvuli was still catching her breath by the time Kochai was curiously looking at this, sniffing at that, tapping at this—everything was new to her, and, unlike the Desert, the Jungle was exciting for more than ten seconds. She was entranced by every knobbled root that isolated the puddle from which they'd emerged, every moss-covered vine that hung from the treetops, every one of the hundreds of different plants immediately visible.

"You lived here, yes, big brother? When you were my age?"

"That's right, Kochai," Freak said, softly.

The tigress turned to the li-tigon—smiled, widely—then got back to her work. She took it upon herself to scout out the surrounding area, leaving him to guard Uvuli, who, for some reason, found the rapid ascent exhausting.

"You're leaving her alone?" the hyena panted, sprawled out near the triangle of open space that led to the waterfall.

"You have to let cubs go at some point," Freak replied—though, she noted, he was looking directly away from her for a reason. "That's doubly true for Kochai. I'm not even sure that it's fair to call her a cub, with all that she's been through… I can't believe how friendly she's turned out to be. She's nothing at all like me."

"Well, you didn't have a protective big brother, or a father, or a mother, or a human pal, at all," Uvuli pointed out. "Or a big sister," she added, as an afterthought.

For some reason, the hyena then felt the need to join him in surveying the Jungle, focusing directly on wherever soft, distant noises told her that Kochai was. It was incredible that the young tigress had made such an impression on her so quickly—she really was precious.

"That's true," Freak accepted. "If I did… do you think I'd… be like she is…?"

Now that was hard to imagine. Uvuli thought, for a moment… but didn't answer. Freak was… how he was. There was no changing the damage that had been done to him… but perhaps it was possible to reverse it. The Dark One had already done quite a lot in this regard. Perhaps the day wasn't far off when Freak was no longer a freak, but was simply normal—that, really, was all he'd ever wanted.

Or perhaps normality was something entirely unattainable for the li-tigon. Something undesirable, as well. He was special, and there was no use in denying that—perhaps a more tenable goal was to create within him a feeling that, no matter what he did, or where he went, he'd always have a place in the Pride Lands, among friends and family—if he wanted it.

Perhaps this feeling had already been created. But only time would tell.

"She's been gone for a while," Uvuli said, and it was true. More than fifteen minutes had passed since Kochai had slipped off to reconnoiter the surrounding areas.

"She has."

"Gonna go and find her?"

"No."

"Want me to?"

"Not yet."

"Worried at all?"

"Of course."

How maddening. Uvuli felt this way, despite the fact that her cubhood wasn't exactly as far behind her as it often felt—and despite the fact that Kochai could hold her own against anything twice her size and strength, and many things far more powerful than that.

"How long do you wanna give it?" Uvuli asked, after another five minutes, getting to her feet. "I mean… it's a jungle out here, Shujaa. Anything could happen."

"You're right," the li-tigon replied. "Let's give it… another fifteen minutes. But I don't think we'll need that long…"

Just then, a very familiar, very cute face popped out of the nearby treeline—Uvuli did a doubletake. How and when had she lost track of Kochai's location? What on Earth had she been tracking instead?

"Have we learned anything?" Freak asked, in a somewhat smug, but very gentle—and very fatherly—tone.

"Yes," the young tigress replied, sadly, as she walked forward, slowly. "Leave insects alone whenever possible…"

"Am I missin' something here?" Uvuli said. "What happ—oh, damn! Hwoof! Yuck—what did—oh, jeez, you gotta take a bath, Kochai. Gah. What did you do, put your paw through stinkbug-zilla?"

"A nest of them," she said, mournfully, making her way to the same puddle that they'd emerged from. "I was not paying close enough attention… and now…"

"Here," Freak said suddenly, knocking an oblong fruit in the tigress's direction, suddenly. "Split this open, and rub it on the… affected area. It'll bring things under control… and, within an hour or two, you'll be back to normal."

"How do you know this, big brother?" Kochai said, in a dejected tone, though she did as he'd said. With a claw, she slit open the tough but juicy yield, took a sniff—its scent was neutral—then vigorously rubbed it all over her back left paw.

Somewhat tired himself, Freak sat down, several inches from Uvuli. He watched as Kochai sniffed at herself again—gasped, in surprise, as what she was doing actually seemed to be working—and continued until the unseen chemical reaction was completed.

"Thank you for helping, big brother. How do you know so many things? Your brain is very big, yes?"

"I'm not sure it works that way," the li-tigon said, allowing Kochai a sense of victory by falling over when she gently pounced on him. "I learned that by watching a lemur do the same, when I was very small. It was knowledge received too late, though."

"So you have stepped into nests of stinkbugs as well, yes?" the young tigress said, giggling, somewhat guiltily, forelegs rested on the li-tigon's side.

"I had to lay low for two days. It was terrible."

Kochai laughed, merrily, then folded her paws, resting against Uvuli. It was late, and, after stopping long enough to think, the kitten found that she was exhausted. Shutting her eyes, she purred, softly, nuzzling the warm body next to her, before relaxing completely.

"We came so far today," she murmured. "Through the Desert, then into the Jungle… it's incredible, yes? This must be the greatest journey any non-human has ever made."

"Maybe, short stuff," Uvuli replied, stroking the cub's head with a paw, several times. "And just think—either tomorrow night, or early the next morning… we'll be home. I mean, really home… back in the Pride Lands."

"I cannot wait—why don't we leave now, yes? I have plenty of energy left," the tigress said, suddenly opening her eyes, staring, intently, at the hyena.

"Are you kidding me—"

"Yes," Kochai interrupted, before Uvuli could go any further. Laughing, softly, at the expression on her face, the kitten shut her eyes again. She sighed, then, and relaxed again. "Good night, big sister… good night, big brother…"

"Good night, little Kochai," Freak replied, looking northwards, for some reason, a very serious expression on his face. "Try to get some sleep, you two. There's something… that I'd like to check on."

"What? No, dude, you gotta get some rest, too," Uvuli said, looking up, opening her eyes—but it was too late. By the time her gaze met the part of earth the li-tigon had occupied until then, he was gone.

Night, it seemed, was the one time that the pother Freak had sighted earlier, just a few miles north of his current position, didn't apply—at least, not as strongly. At least, not here.

The Pride Lands, visible from the top one of the several trees that had encroached up the side of the Eastern Volcanoes, were still cloaked, still buffered from anything above. The constant, dusty, sooty, unnatural cloud cover meant something, Freak knew—but what it meant, he didn't yet know.

Stony faced, eyes almost precisely the shade of the rock around him, the li-tigon continued to stare forward. Pride Rock… it was so close. Freak couldn't wait to get back.

The journey there might not be without conflict, though, and that was worrying to the li-tigon. Once dawn broke, Freak felt certain that the stifling cloud always over the Pride Lands would extend to cover the entire Land of the Spirits—or, at the very least, from the unexplored north to where he was now—the southern Jungle.

What that meant remained to be seen, but it couldn't be good. The li-tigon was wary of everything he didn't understand, and he didn't understand what was going on in the Land of the Spirits at all.

And he wasn't going to change that by depriving himself of much-needed rest.

Freak dismounted from the tree, landing, thirty feet below, without a sound, despite his size. He didn't have to walk for long to get back to Kochai and Uvuli—in case they needed protecting, he hadn't strayed more than a quarter mile from them.

"It's going to get dangerous here," Freak thought to himself. "And soon. And not just for them—for me, too. To stand up to whatever's going to come my way, I need to be constantly vigilant, always on my toes. In this new Land… who knows what might happen?"

Fortunately, that night, the answer was nothing.

After just three hours of rest, Freak's eyes opened, and stayed that way. Dawn brought with it sunlight, but not as much as he was accustomed to, not in this part of the world.

Out in the open, several feet from either Kochai or Uvuli, it was shadowed on the ground—clouded. Gray seemed to be the dominant color—the multitude of colors normally visible in the early morning were simply gone.

Nearby trees gave way to a Jungle that didn't seem to offer any shelter from the suppressing presence. Freak stood, without realizing it, and walked onto the thicker grasses and fallen branches of the forest, just to check—but it was all as it seemed: colorless, and nearly lifeless. What few living beings the li-tigon could see move in an unnaturally lethargic manner—jerkily, slowly; as if constantly in fear for their lives.

A quick look at the sky confirmed that the black, writhing smog that had been only over the Pride Lands just hours ago had now grown in size, moving to envelope what looked like the southern fringes of the Desert—and it was still expanding.

There was a deadened feeling about the place, detectable even within the air—Freak smelled decay, coming from no particular source. It was like the land itself was dying—and that was an explanation that made sense. What young, new plants there were looked shriveled and unhealthy, much like, Freak was sure, the animals that fed off of them would.

And that was another thing—he couldn't detect any animal in the immediate vicinity larger than a bird. No prey for a predator of his size, not really—had they all died?

That didn't seem likely. Perhaps, then, they'd left.

If that were so, then Freak knew their location—it was also his.

Again, he felt that deep, desperate longing rise within him—he missed the Pride Lands dearly.

This time, though, there was a sense of real hope and anticipation that came along with the all-too-familiar homesickness. The Pride Lands were no longer a pie in the sky, a goal that, while admirable, was practically impossible to reach. Now, they were just a day's travel away.

"Up so early, big brother?" said a soft, yawning voice, from just behind the li-tigon.

"It's a big day. For you, too," he added, turning towards the small tigress as she stumbled to her feet, stretching, cutely. "Today, you'll meet the rest of our family for the first time. Nervous?"

Even as she walked over, still half-asleep, to affectionately nuzzle the li-tigon's shoulder, she nodded.

"Very much so, big brother. I hope they'll like me…"

"Don't worry, Kochai. I've said it before—everybody loves you."

"I know I do," said a very groggy, very tired Uvuli, even as she forced herself to stand, looking down at Kochai with a sincere, albeit exhausted smile. "You're sweet, cute, fun, and, when you're less of a small fry, you'll be a great fighter, too. So chillax, sister, and just wait until everyone can get their paws on you. You'll be too popular."

"Oh… I hope so," the kitten said, looking far up at the hyena, a somewhat pinkish tinge lighting up the pale, white-orange fur on her cheeks. "And you promise, big sister, that even if no one else likes me, you still will, yes? You will always be my friend… yes? And you too, big brother?"

"Of course," both replied, without any hesitance whatsoever. This made Kochai smile even more widely than she usually did, before prancing off, singing something about getting breakfast.

Freak and Uvuli were alone again, and, for a moment, simply looked at one another. Eventually, the latter turned away in embarrassment—this was terrible. She had to force things through at some point.

"We should get going," Freak said, "and don't worry about Kochai. She'll know where we are."

"Yeah… let's rock and roll…"

It was interesting to see the li-tigon in what could be called his most natural environment for the first time. The grace and quiet confidence he normally exuded with every step was only amplified by the fact that this land was part of his bones—after all, he'd grown up here. The Jungle was nothing if not the most defining location in Freak's life.

After ten minutes of stalking northwards, eyes on their prize, Uvuli spoke. All at once, her words were unplanned… and the culmination of months of planned things that went unsaid.

"I love you, you know."

"I know."

"Not that way. The way… Vitani did."

"I know."

Well. That was certainly an interesting revelation. Uvuli wasn't quite sure how to react to it—so she simply decided not to. Rather, she just remained where she'd always been: at Freak's side, in his immediate vicinity… but never too close. She never crossed that invisible boundary that the li-tigon had set and never allowed anyone inside—except, of course, for little Kochai.

"When did it start?" Freak asked, out of the blue. He spoke as if in a carefully measured tone, focused on not letting too much emotion enter her voice.

"A long time ago," Uvuli replied. "Since you left us…"

"I'm sorry about doing that," Freak said, after a moment. "I needed… time."

"I know."

There was silence, again, and Uvuli was starting to regret saying anything at all. Freak wouldn't reject her outright—he was too considerate, now, to do something like that. Perhaps things would have been better if she'd said nothing at all.

Suddenly, though, the hyena felt him—quite intentionally—bump into her shoulder. Looking up, hardly daring to believe what was happening, she saw him smile down at her.

"Things are starting to go my way."

Kochai was surprised by how much freedom she'd suddenly been allowed. Surviving the trip to the Land of the Spirits, it seemed, was one of the best things she'd ever done—that thought brought a smile to the young tigress's face, even as she triumphantly made her way to the northwest—she aimed to cross paths with Uvuli and Freak in any moment.

She smelled them both, but not well enough to tell where exactly they were. And since laying relatively low was their strategy for avoiding unnecessary attention, just then, she heard nothing.

Kochai really did like the Jungle, and if Freak wanted to return to his original home after he was finished wiping the ground with his twin—that's what she fully expected to happen—she'd consider joining him, if not immediately, then in a few years, after she was simply too old to be properly socialized into a pride.

It made her somewhat sad to know that, by nature, she'd never be able to spend all of her life around others. This was the fate of her species—this flaw had had a hand in driving her parents apart, and, in the end, killing them.

Kochai had learned from their mistakes, though. And she'd promised herself to know her limits—when it became unbearable for her to be around others, she wouldn't push it. She'd leave, before really bad things happened.

For now, though, nothing brought her greater pleasure than doing what she was doing—proudly carrying a very large tropical bird of some sort in her mouth, back to her two adoptive siblings. In the future—the very near future—she'd enjoy doing the same for her entire pride.

It wasn't long before Kochai found Freak and Uvuli again. Intending to give them a scare, she sneaked towards them, as silently as she could manage—it occurred to her, at some level, that they'd almost certainly heard her and were simply playing along… but all at once, she stopped in her tracks.

"Why so close?" she said suddenly.

Freak and Uvuli turned, facing her with many emotions on their faces, none of which were surprise. So, they had heard her coming. And, still, they were no more than a centimeter from one another's sides.

"I have only ever seen Mother and Father walk so close to one another. What's this about?"

The two looked at Kochai, then one another, then back at Kochai.

"Well, you see… that is… Kochai, there are just things that you're too small to understand," Freak said patronizingly, looking at his young relative in as condescending of a manner as possible. "What's happening here is a secret. Understand?"

"Ahh…" Kochai smiled, nodding—she did understand. After retrieving her kill, she brought to the two older beings, setting it in front of them. "Yes, big brother. A secret… this makes sense. Congratulations," she added.

Uvuli beamed at the young tigress, for a moment, and briefly wrestled with her before they both joined Freak to share their meal. The li-tigon's eyes, bright and happy just a moment ago, quickly turned dull and brooding.

"Now if only I can make this last longer than what I had with Vitani. If it ends, it won't be the female who dies, this time. It'll be me…"

The first day Freak had ever been in the Pride Lands for a prolonged period of time was, let's politely say, tumultuous. As he recalled, he'd had his life threatened, albeit not directly, and, in response, had taken a hostage—after ditching another hostage.

Things had changed, the li-tigon noted, since the last time he'd been in the area. Compared to what they looked like now, for instance, the Outlands had once been a wet, green paradise.

Some things, though, didn't change. And, just fifteen feet from its borders, by then, Freak saw that one of the few remaining constants in the Land of the Spirits was the Pride Lands.

They still stood proud and noble, as much of a lush paradise as they were when Freak had left them. Standing on a low hill, alongside Kochai and Uvuli, he was able to survey the plane that dominated the Pride Lands' southern regions—and there, in the distance…

"I cannot see so well at this distance," Kochai said, quietly. "But… is that…?"

"I can't be sure," Freak breathed, "but… I think so."

"Who is it?" Uvuli said, squinting, hard. "I can't… I don't recognize… it's a male," she said, "but… it's not Tanga, or Kovu, or Simba…"

"You're sure?"

"Completely."

Freak continued to look at the distant, lone figure for a moment. Then, he started to step forward, feeling a rising sense of anticipation as he did so. In five steps, he'd be back in the Pride Lands, along with Kochai and Uvuli… four, three, two, one…

And he'd returned.

Kochai gasped, lightly—Freak's eyes simply widened, before he nodded in an understanding manner. The Pride Landers hadn't been doing just nothing while he was gone, it seemed.

Which further decreased the possibility that he was, even then, looking at an enemy invader. No, Freak was certain, he was looking at an ally. A friend. Or, for all he knew, another family member.

How, though, to contact that distant lion?

As the answer surfaced in Freak's mind, it brought with it a smile. He'd never been a fan of drama… but this was tradition.

"You'll have to tell me," he said, glancing first at Kochai, then Uvuli, "if this has changed as well. I think it might have gotten a little louder."

They both gave him questioning looks, for a moment—that ended, though, when Freak roared, so loudly that all those above as well as those in the Pride Lands heard him. He was back—and this time, he wasn't going to leave so easily. Not until he took victory from the cold, dead hands of his enemy… or he himself perished. That was the line in the sand Freak had drawn—and, this time around, he would not retreat from his responsibilities.