Chapter 36: Torn Apart
Well everyone, Wraith is finally dead but before everyone can go home, there's one thing to take care of first and it involves three certain hyenas. Just for ahead of time, easy there big kitty.
Soon after Kion sent Wraith flying into one of the hills to have rocks fall on top of him, Kion blacked out from exhaustion. Everyone dragged Kion back onto the beach and set him down. The rest of them laid down from exhaustion. Kovu looked towards Simba, who was inspecting where Wraith bit two of his toes off.
"Next time you decide to go on a family vacation, remind me to punch you in the mouth." Kovu said as he panted.
"No problem." Simba agreed as he panted. "My jaw still hurts from when you first punched me back in the jungle."
"That fight was intense. I thought we weren't going to win there for a second." Jasiri said.
"Yeah, I've fought against my uncle and his hyenas, Zira and her Outlanders, and many other things but this one was the by far toughest." Simba said.
Everyone voiced their agreements as they waited for Kion to wake back up. Kion soon began to regain consciousness.
"What happened, where am I?" Kion asked.
"Shhh. Don't worry about it, we'll tell you later. Just lay down." Jasiri said.
"Did I get him, is Wraith dead?" Kion asked, not listening to Jasiri.
"He is, you did good." Kopa said.
Kion looked towards the rocks where Wraith was buried. Kion sighed with relief.
"You truly are an amazing lion Kion, you know that?" Jasiri asked.
"Coming from someone like you, I guess I can say with confidence that I am." Kion said.
Jasiri laughed.
"You know everyone, the only thing I regret is…" Jasiri began to say before she was suddenly cut off.
A precision Roar of the Elders suddenly hit Jasiri from out of nowhere.
"Jasiri!" everyone yelled as she was shot several dozens of feet away from them.
Everyone looked to see where the blast came from. To everyone's horrific shock, Wraith was dragging himself out of the rocks he was buried in. He was still alive and he still had his Roar of the Elders.
"I thought Kion killed him!" Kopa shouted.
"Apparently not. He doesn't go down easy it seems." Simba said.
"How many times do we gotta get rid of this guy?" Kovu asked.
"I'll freaking tare him apart!" Kion angrily shouted.
Wraith had now fully dragged himself out of the rocks and everyone was able to get a fully look of his appearance. Everyone wondered how he was still alive. Wraith's head was caved in on the left, all his legs were bent in awkward angles, his mane and body were covered in cuts and gashes from the rocks and his fight with everyone, and he screamed in pain with every step he took.
"You fools! You cannot beat me, no one can! King Wraith of the Scarred Pride does not go down easily" Wraith shouted.
The four lions got ready for another battle.
"Is there a problem here?" a voice suddenly asked.
The five lions looked to see Shenzi and her clan standing on the hills, looking down at all of them, especially at Wraith.
"Shenzi, Banzai, Ed?" Simba exclaimed.
"Nice to see you as well." Shenzi said to Simba.
Wraith stared at up at the group of hyenas.
"Shenzi, Banzai, Ed? It is now our time, it is time to end this. You betrayed the Scarred Pride, but however, you can redeem yourselves. Kill Simba and his entire family here!" Wraith commanded.
Kiara suddenly came up and stood beside Shenzi.
"No Wraith." Kiara said.
"Kiara?" Simba exclaimed, confused to see his daughter standing by Shenzi's side.
Suddenly Nala came up and stood by Kiara. Nala's still had her vine stitches on her throat and she had to walk carefully with a paw holding her neck, but she still looked as strong and majestic as ever. Vitani also came up. She had some vines stitches and bandages on her belly where Zira scratched her, so she also had to walk slowly and carefully without stretching out needlessly if possible. Soon enough Simba's pride and Ni's resistance also came and stood with Shenzi and her clan.
"What is this?" Wraith asked.
"Wraith, ten years ago my Great Uncle Scar promised a new era where lions and hyenas came together for the future. It didn't happen with him back then but it's happening today, because both of our species now share something with one another we didn't have back then." Kiara announced, glancing towards Shenzi.
"Understanding, respect, and unity!" Kiara and Shenzi shouted in unison.
"And together we'll take you down. From today, never again shall you harm a single lion, hyena, or any other animal, including those of your own pride. Your reign of tyranny is done!" Kiara shouted.
"And don't bother calling to your Scarred Pride lions and hyenas for help. They won't be coming." Nala said, holding her throat closed so she could talk well enough for everyone to hear despite Kiara glaring at her for talking when she shouldn't be.
Wraith stared on in shock. He wasn't scared, just shocked. Wraith was a strong fighter but with how broken his body was along with the slight beating and Roar of Elders blast he took, he knew that he wouldn't be able to fight everyone off. Wraith stared around angrily at everyone.
"You all talk about being together, well you can all die together!" Wraith shouted.
Wraith tried to make a precision roar at everyone but Kion hit him with his own before he could.
"Now!" Kiara shouted towards Shenzi and her clan, seeing that they had their chance.
Shenzi and her clan went straight to work on Wraith. All twenty-three hyenas along with the Scarred Pride hyenas ran down the hill and began to tare Wraith apart. They pulled on his legs and his tail. Wraith tried to swipe at them as they mauled him but was unable to do any real damage to them.
"Get off me, I'm King Wrath, your king!" Wraith shouted.
"Shut up!" Banzai shouted before he tore Wraith's lower jaw off.
"Ha! Roar now!" a hyena dared.
"Strangle him with his own guts!" another hyena shouted.
Shenzi and Ed did as the hyena suggested and dug into Wraith's stomach. They grabbed his intestines and tied them around his neck to strangle him with them.
"Deck the halls with Wraith's intestines. Falalalalalalala!" a hyena sang as the two did so.
Wraith screamed in pain as he was continued to be torn apart. His legs and tail were soon ripped off and the hyenas began to devour the rest of his body. A hyena tore a bunch of fur, skin, and meat off Wraith's face, exposing the skull of half his face while the hyenas took care of the other side of his face. Wraith's screams turned into the best maniacal laughs he could muster with only his upper jaw. He looked through the hyenas at everyone else
"Remember me when you try to sleep at night!" Wraith tried to shout out but couldn't sense he didn't have a lower jaw to do so.
Wraith screams and maniacal laughs soon died along with him as the hyenas ate the rest of him. When the hyenas backed off, all that was left of Wraith was a lot of blood, some patches of fur and hide, tiny chunks of his organs, and many bones pulled mostly clean. After Shenzi, Banzai, and Ed pulled away, they ran towards Jasiri, not bothering to lick Wraith's blood of their muzzles. When the three got to Jasiri, she was still laying on the ground where she landed after Wraith hit her with his roar. The three rolled her over and looked down at her..
"Oh my god, is she dead?" Shenzi asked fearfully.
Kion came up to the four hyenas. Kion placed his ear on Jasiri's chest.
"No, just knocked out thankfully." Kion assured them, hearing a heartbeat.
Shenzi took Jasiri and cradled her body in her front legs and paws. Shenzi smiled down at the young adult hyena.
"It feels good to hold her again." Shenzi said.
Banzai rubbed a paw over Jasiri's cheek.
"She's still that bold little pup we lost." Banzai said.
Ed bent down and happily gave Jasiri's other cheek a lick. Jasiri suddenly began to stir. She slowly opened her eyes and looked up with blurry vision.
"Kion, is that you?" Jasiri asked.
"Partly." Kion said.
Jasiri's vision unblurred and saw Shenzi was cradling her in her front legs and paws.
"You?" Jasiri exclaimed in shock.
"It feels good to hold you again." Shenzi said.
"Let go of me!" Jasiri demanded, squirming out of Shenzi's grip.
Shenzi looked at her daughter with a hurt expression.
"But Jas…" Banzai began to say.
"Save it! I know what you're going to say and I'm not falling for it! You're not my parents, we look nothing alike, how could you two be my parents? Even if you were, I don't want you and I don't want to know you, because I know what you three are like." Jasiri shouted.
Jasiri retreated over to the Pride Landers, with Kion following behind her, trying to reason with her. The rest of Shenzi's clan walked over to her and Banzai, and stood behind her. Shenzi and Banzai looked to Jasiri. The two looked at eachother.
"There's no way I'm giving up on her." Banzai said.
"Yes, I know she doesn't mean that and she knows it to. She's just shocked." Shenzi said.
"We just need to give her, her space to process it and then try to spend time with her." Banzai.
After Banzai said that, Shenzi looked towards Kiara, Nala, and Sarabi, who were inspecting Simba's paw. Kiara said that they could come into the Pride Lands to bond with Jasiri and be with her, but they had to convince Simba first. Kiara had explained everything to Nala. Nala was obviously not for giving them a chance, but after thinking about what Kiara accomplished about a year ago and knowing that parents could change for the better for their children, she said she would give them one last chance, but only if Simba would. Shenzi and Banzai walked up to Simba.
Simba was introducing Nala to Kopa. Nala noticeably seemed overjoyed but wasn't able to say anything or make any big movements because of her throat wound. Nala noticed Shenzi and Banzai walking over to them and looked at them with a slight glare and growl. Simba noticed this and looked towards Shenzi and Banzai who had just sat down in front of him and the others. Simba glared down at the two hyenas who had tried to eat him, Nala, and some of his other friends when they were cubs.
"Simba." Shenzi said.
"Shenzi." Simba said calmly though is face wasn't calm.
Shenzi took a deep breath before she continued to speak.
"For Jasiri." Shenzi told herself in her head. "Me, Banzai, and the rest of the clan wish to humbly ask for your forgiveness."
"No!" Simba immediately said.
"Simba please, Jasiri is our daughter. We lost her years ago and we've only just found her again. She won't accept us, so we know she won't come with us or leave the Pride Lands and any friends she might have. Please allow us your forgiveness and allow us into the Pride Lands. We don't want to lose her again." Banzai said.
A look of surprise spread across Simba's face at the mention of Jasiri being their daughter. He looked towards Jasiri before going back to glare down at Shenzi and Banzai.
"Uh huh, like I'm going to believe that you two are related to a hyena that looks almost nothing like you." Simba said sarcastically.
"Gee, that sounds familiar." Ed frustrated, said in his own language to himself back where he was sitting.
Simba ignored whatever he thought Ed said and continued to glare down at Shenzi and Banzai.
"I will not allow hyenas into the Pride Lands." Simba said.
"Dad, Jasiri, her sister, the rest of her small clan, and Dalia are hyenas, yet you've allowed them into the Pride Lands." Kion said.
"They're different Kion. They're good-hearted hyenas, unlike these two and the rest of they're clan. They supported Scar, nearly ate me and my friends multiple times, helped in my father's murder, and not to mention they nearly destroyed the Pride Lands years ago by forcing the lionesses to overhunt. Plus they kept most of the food for themselves, nearly causing the rest of the pride to starve to death along with my mother's sisters." Simba said.
"Naanda, Diku, and Dwala." Sarabi whispered softly.
Kion looked at his grandmother for a quick moment before turning back towards his father.
"But dad, they just killed Wraith to help us and try to make amends for all they've done." Kion said.
"And fought against the Scarred Pride lions and hyenas while you and the others went to fight Wraith." Tiifu added.
"They did it just to try and get Jasiri back not to help us out of the 'goodness of their hearts' or try to make an amends." Simba argued back.
"Alright, I'll admit that we did basically destroy the Pride Lands and cause starvation and not to play the blame game, but that was just as much your stupid uncle's fault as it was ours. If he had been a better king, none of that wouldn't have happened. Also, my mother had just died back than, forcing me to run my clan before I was ready. I was two back then, I was just reaching maturity for a hyena and I had to find out how to feed everyone when I didn't have any wisdom to guide me at still a very young age. That was before I even first met you. I and the rest of my clan have learned since then. It may not seem it, but we really have, honestly." Shenzi said.
"Yes, unlike Scar, we take responsibility for our actions and admit when we've done wrong." Banzai explained.
"There's no promise you make that I can trust." Simba said.
"Daddy, I know your history with them isn't a too fond one and like I've been told, I can't deny that they did horrible things to you and the Pride Lands and deserve to be punished for it, but everyone deserves a second chance." Kiara said.
"Yes, but this would be their millionth chance, and have you forgotten what they did to Taka?" Simba asked.
"They've apologized and Taka has decided to try and forgiven them, so have I." Kiara said.
"You forgive too easily Kiara and maybe Taka does to." Simba said.
"But dad…" Kiara began to say, but was interrupted by Simba.
"And you heard them. Jasiri doesn't even want them. Right Jasiri?" Simba asked.
Everyone looked to Jasiri. Jasiri was confident about not want Shenzi and Banzai at first, but she was now starting to look unsure. Jasiri had told her parents that she didn't want them, but with what was happening now, seeing Shenzi and Banzai fighting so desperately for her, she suddenly didn't know what to think anymore. Jasiri adverted her eyes away from the confrontation between them and Simba.
"What about Nuka then, does he not deserve a second chance for what he's done even after helping us fight against the Scarred Pride?" Zuri, who was standing next to Nuka, suddenly asked.
Simba looked back at Nuka. Simba remembered how Nuka had come close to killing him a year ago when the Outlanders ambushed him and tricked him into believing that Kovu had willingly led him into the ambush. Nuka was also there when Zira apparently murdered Kopa, but he only watched Zira attack Kopa and nothing more. Simba was about to say that he wouldn't give Nuka another chance either even though he helped kill Zira, but he remembered that he was still basically a cub when he banished him to the Outlands, besides, his crimes were more forgivable than Shenzi, Banzai, and Ed's.
"Nuka can have a second chance but not Shenzi, Banzai, and the rest of their clan." Simba said.
"Just because he's a lion and Shenzi, Banzai, and the rest of their clan are hyenas?" Zuri correctly guessed.
"That's not true." Simba half lied.
Simba turned back to Shenzi, and Banzai.
"I'm warning you two and your clan. Get out of my sight before I decide to do something drastic." Simba said with venom in his voice and his claws beginning to unsheathe more than they already were.
Kopa saw that he had to step in before things got too heated, and he did so. Kopa at first when he heard about Jasiri's relationship to Shenzi and Banzai, was mixed about forgiving them. However, now seeing it in person, he saw in Shenzi and Banzai's eyes that they were being genuine in wanting forgiveness and wanting to change. Kopa made his move.
"Dad how long have I been gone?" Kopa asked.
"About five years." Simba said.
"And Jasiri and her parents. They've been separated since Jasiri was only a couple months old. They lost her and thought they might never see her again but now the three of them have found each other again." Kopa said.
"What happened with them is not my problem." Simba said.
"Dad think about it. They've gone through basically the same thing you, me, and mom have and your tearing them apart again. You only just found me again, how would you feel if you and me were being torn away from each other again as well?" Kopa asked.
This caught Simba off guard.
"But you and me aren't being torn apart again, we're going back home." Simba said.
"No, we're not." Kopa said.
"What?" Simba exclaimed looking at his son.
"You're not the father I remember. The father I remember would never tare a family apart who was torn apart once before than found each other again. The father, I knew believed in second chances, he cared about everybody, was just with all criminals, and because of you, Dalia, and from what Kiara accomplished over year ago, so do I. Vitani, Dalia come." Kopa said.
Dalia helped Vitani walk so that she wouldn't open the wounds on her belly.
"What are you doing?" Simba asked.
"If there's no place for Shenzi, Banzai, and their clan in the Pride Lands to be with their daughter again after years of thinking she was dead, then there's no place for us." Kopa said as he, Vitani, and Dalia stood beside Shenzi and Banzai.
"No" Kiara protested.
Kiara couldn't believe it, she had just learned about her older brother a couple weeks ago, she had just met him in person, and now it was looking like she was probably going to lose him again. Trying to get Shenzi and her clan a second chance and into the Pride Lands wasn't going the way she'd hoped.
"You can't." Kion said.
"Unless our father gives Shenzi, Banzai, and the rest of their clan a last chance and lets them into the Pride Lands, me, and Vitani are not coming home." Kopa said firmly.
All of the Pride lander lionesses cast the royal family sad glances. They all had missed Kopa as much as they did and even though they didn't really trust Shenzi's clan either, they understood why Kopa was making his decision and wanting them to have a final chance. The former Outlanders cast the royal family looks of pity also because they had been part of Kopa's supposed death and they all felt that it was their fault that this scene was happening right now. Simba looked to Kopa.
"You want me to just forgive and forget what they did?" Simba asked.
"No, they still need to be punished for what they've done. If you want, banish them from the Pride Lands for just a week, a month, a year, somewhere within that timeframe, as long as they get a second chance." Kopa said.
Simba looked around him, everyone was waiting to hear his decision.
"We promise to be good and respect the circle of life in your." Shenzi said.
The rest of the hyena clan voiced their promise to respect the circle of life as well.
"Dad." Kiara said.
Simba looked at Kiara.
"The Outlanders didn't deserve a second chance for being part of Zira supposedly killing Kopa but you still gave them a second chance and they changed. The same ca be said for Shenzi and her clan." Kiara said.
Simba looked at Shenzi and her clan.
"All hyenas, even them are all part of the circle of life to Simba." Dalia said with a wise voice.
"She right." Nala admitted.
"Mom." Kiara slightly scolded, reminding Nala that she shouldn't be talking because of her throat wound.
Simba looked to the sky, hoping that his father or any of his other ancestors would guide him, but no answer came. Simba looked back to his son and the rest of the hyena clan. Simba sighed and made his decision.
"I told Kiara once that we are one, that we're all one family under the sun. I thought I understood it myself back then, but Kiara showed me that there was more to it. After she showed me that there was more to it I thought, I finally understood it, but it appears that I still don't understand it." Simba said.
Simba took once last look at the hyenas.
"I'd like the Pride Lands and have lions and hyenas to come together in a great, glorious future we're we all will truly understand what we are one fully means. I'll give you all a second chance." Simba said.
"So, we can come into the Pride Lands?" Banzai asked.
Simba gave a nod.
"And no temporary banishments." Simba said.
"Alright!" Banzai shouted.
"But remember, this is a your very last chance. I'll still be keeping my eyes on you all for a while, and if you misuse your last chance, you won't get anymore." Simba said, with a firm voice.
Shenzi walked up to Simba and reached out a paw. Simba took Shenzi's paw in his and shook it.
"We will not misuse our last chance." Shenzi promised.
Kiara sighed in relief.
"That went quick and easy." Kiara said.
"It's all about the power of words my dear." Sarabi told her granddaughter.
Ed suddenly said something in his own language.
"What did he say?" Simba asked.
"We'll have to teach you all how to understand him. He said that we won't over hunt either and only hunt for food, not sport, or anything else you think is 'normal' hyena behavior. Oh, and he says that he believes that when Taka made his own offer to get us out of the Scarred Lands and into the Pride Lands, he believes that he mentioned a check." Shenzi said.
"No, I didn't." Taka said.
There once was a lion named Wraith, whose cruelty and intimidation did not lack, but when it came to surviving, he was no magician and he won't be coming back... Well, alive at least. There is a possibility for a nightmare sequence later in the story and I've got a prequel story planned that will show us some of Wraith's cubhood and some of his time as a Scarred Prider and recruiting others like Terry, remember, the lion who's face Kopa turned into swiss cheese, we'll also see him recruit others like Ni, Zira, Shenzi, Banzai, Ed, and Nuka for example and some other stuff that I plan to talk about. Well, good-bye Scarred Lands and hello Pride Lands for the next chapter. Until than, good night/day, hope you are all still having a great summer, and God bless everyone, except Wraith of course, that -bleep- is burning in Lion Hell now; Shenzi, Banzai, Ed, hope that Wraith Cream Pie, as I guess you three would call Wraith, tasted good for ya'.