Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters in this story that appear in the hit movie The Lion King, which belong to those brilliant masterminds at Disney. I do, however, own any and all original characters here.

Summary: Vitani is dumped into a strange new land where she meets even stranger new friends.

A/N: Yay! Snow day! (that rhymes!) I've decided that this story is going to be loosely based on 'The Taming of the Shrew' by Shakespeare, since the two movies are reportedly based on his works anyway. It's also occurred to me that some of these names might be used by other authors, but the characters are my property, okay? Show me a copyright on the name and I'll change it, but otherwise don't bother me.

Something Fierce

By

Brin

"The power of accurate observation is frequently called cynicism by those who don't have it." - George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950)

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Chapter One: The Messenger

Vitani awoke with a pounding headache. Her turquoise eyes opened slowly, showing nothing but a blur of shapes.  She lay in an uncomfortable position inside a strange box with bars on all sides. The lioness sprang to her feet with a growl, but the act caused too much blood to rush to her brain and she fell down again. Cruel laughter, like that of hyenas but not quite, could be heard. She opened her eyes again, this time seeing four ugly creatures looking at her hungrily. They made noises at each other that Vitani couldn't understand. She backed up as far as she could and snarled at them. They laughed louder. It was then that Vitani noticed an old lioness on the other side of the bars to her right.

"Give it up, cub," whispered the old lioness with a sad expression. "You're not getting out of here."

"How would you know?" asked Vitani bitterly. "What do you know?"

"I've heard the legends of these creatures," replied the other lioness. "Sadistic, malicious, cruel. They haven't been seen in these parts for too many years to count, though."

Vitani snorted and resumed snarling at the appalling beasts before her. They laughed some more, then moved out of sight. Vitani pressed her face against the bars to try and see where they had gone, but soon one of them appeared above her cage. He smirked at her and tugged on one of the bars, causing the front wall to fall. Vitani was out in half a second, spitting and snarling, only to have something wrapped around her neck from behind. She roared in rage as one of the two-legged beasts dragged her across the ground, past a huge row of branchless trees pressed so tightly together that there was no way through them except for the opening she was being heaved through now. Burrs dug into her flesh as she struggled against the rope around her neck. Another two-legged ran over and grabbed the rope, nearly strangling the lioness as she continued to thrash about.

This went on for a few minutes, then Vitani felt the familiar sensation of something stinging her. She looked down and saw the same pink feathers as before, then glanced up and saw one of the two-legged beasts smiling wickedly at her. In his hand he held an ugly gray bar.

After a second or two, Vitani's limbs grew heavy once again. She stopped struggling but, instead of going out cold as before, slowly fell into a state of semi-consciousness and collapsed.

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Kovu paced back and forth on the large, jutting slab of pride rock, teeth bared with frustration and anger. Other lions stood a safe distance away, unsure of what to say to the troubled prince. The sun had fallen behind the horizon not too long ago and the first stars were glittering above.

Kiara sat closest to the raging lion, face screwed with confusion and sympathy for her mate. "Kovu, please… calm down."

"I can't calm down!" he roared, then sighed when he saw Kiara's ears droop. "I'm sorry, Kiara, but… my sister is out there, somewhere, and I can't do anything about it! What am I going to do? I can't live my life not knowing what happened! I've got to go find her."

"But Kovu, you may never find her—"

"Don't say that, Kiara. Don't say that to me," snarled Kovu. He resumed pacing. "I'll find her, or die trying." After a few more seconds of pacing, the young lion started towards the stairs leading down the side of Pride Rock. Before he could get there, however, a familiar mandrill face appeared over the side.

"Stop where you are, young cub!" commanded Rafiki, holding out his stick.

"I'm not a cub, now move," growled the dark lion.

"You are a cub as long as you act like one," said the old baboon in his heavily accented speech. "Now, sit, sit. I will tell you what I know of dis mystery."

The lions, including Simba and Nala, gathered in a circle around the old baboon with curious eyes.

Rafiki sat crossed-legged and eyed each individual lion before beginning his tale, "Many years ago, before even old Rafiki walked de earth, a strange beast set foot in de Pridelands. He brought with him de red flower. He used to destroy de trees to enjoy de warmth from it. De great king Kale did not like de presence of these strange creatures. He tried to destroy de intruders, but dey used de red flower and killed him. Kale's attack scared de two-legged creature and he left the Pridelands, never to return… until now." He hung his head gravely. "De tracks left by dese creatures are strange to me. I'm afraid dey have taken Vitani far away from the Pridelands – farther than you, cub Kovu, could ever go alone. Dis threat cannot be handled by one pride alone. Dis involves all de prides – you must join together to defeat dis threat of man."

The lions gasped. So that's what they were called. Man. The name sent shivers up their spines, though they didn't know why.

"Dat is your only choice – join with de other prides, or de man-beast will destroy us all." He motioned with his stick to the horizon and, as if on cue, a dark form appeared on it, only to collapse into the tall grass a moment later.

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"She's waking up."

"No she's not."

"Yes, she is."

"No she's not!"

"Shhh!"

Vitani groaned and heard two sharp gasps. She opened her eyes halfway. "Who's there?"

"Binti!"

"And Dogo!"

Vitani placed her paws over her ears. "Not so loud," she begged, blinking to clear the blurriness from her vision.

Two young lions stood before her, one smaller and of a lighter color than the other one. The smaller one, a female, still had faint spots on her underside. Her coat was a creamy color and her eyes brown with green towards the middle. The male, slightly older, had the beginnings of a mane growing between his ears and trailing down the back of his neck, stopping between his shoulder blades.

Vitani staggered to her feet. "Where am I?" She looked around to find herself in the middle of a wide grassland, much like the Pridelands, but without trees.

"We don't know," chirped the female, Binti. "We were kinda hoping you could tell us."

The older lioness blinked a few more times, finally gaining full consciousness. "How should I know?"

Binti shrugged and Dogo took a bold step forward to sniff Vitani. "Where are you from?" he asked.

Vitani moved away from the lion, uncomfortable with his presence. "The Pridelands."

Dogo's eyes widened. "Really?! No way! A Pridelander! My dad used to say that the best prey in the world were in the Pridelands! I've always wanted to visit there."

"So you've heard of it?"

"Yup!" Dogo smiled.

"Then where are you from?" asked Vitani in a bored tone.

"We're from the Highlands," declared Binti proudly. "Farthest pride to the North."

Vitani nodded, slightly impressed. "That's pretty far from the Pridelands."

The three lions' heads turned as a sound was heard in the darkness several feet away. Out of the tall grass appeared the old lioness that Vitani had seen before, and behind her trailed a cub.

"Where are we?" asked Binti immediately.

"I don't know," responded the elder coolly. She sat on her haunches and glanced at the cub next to her. "This belong to anybody?"

The tiny cub mewed softly, her tiny eyes filled with tears. "Where's my mommy? Where's Aunt Shangazi?" She looked at Vitani and inched closer. "Do you know where my mommy is?"

Frustrated, Vitani shook her head and began pacing. "No, I don't know where your mommy is! I don't know where we are! I don't know what's going on, so don't ask!" she snarled, directing her rage at Binti, Dogo, and the cub, while the older lioness looked on.

Unphased, the cub chirped, "What's your name?"

"Vitani," replied the golden lioness curtly.

"I'm Amana," announced the cub. "She said her name is Ajuza. She's a rogue." The youngster gestured to the elderly lioness, who was frowning at her.

The five lions stared at each other in turn, then Vitani and Ajuza leapt to their feet when they heard a rumbling roar from not too far off.

"Stay here," said Vitani to the three younger lions, then bounded off with Ajuza right behind her. They slipped through the tall grass silently, barely even breathing. Their cat eyes saw straight through the darkness with frightening precision.

Another roar came.

Now Vitani recognized the tone: an angry male. She pressed her body to the ground, practically belly-crawling against he ground. They hadn't gone far when the grass broke and the two lionesses spotted a huge male sitting on his haunches like a lost cub, licking his bleeding shoulder.

Vitani's heart leapt into her throat, her blue eyes widening. The lion before her had creamy fur, but a bushy mane that was darker than Kovu's, yet not quite black. Since his head was down, the young lioness could not see his face, but nonetheless she was impressed by his formidable size.

Abruptly, the lion raised his head and sniffed the air. "Who's there?" he roared, jumping to his feet. "Show yourself!" He looked straight at Vitani and snarled.

Caught off guard at being spotted, Vitani made a small sound.

Hearing this, the lion bounded forward and pounced the lioness, pinning her to the ground with his massive weight. "Who are you?" he bellowed.

Vitani panicked. "I… I…"

"Speak quickly!"

His face was mere inches away from hers; so close that she could feel his breath on her muzzle. This, of course, didn't help any with the young lioness' disorientation. She was too busy trying not to stare into his sharp black eyes to form words in her mouth, never mind remember her name.

"Hey! Leave her alone!" squeaked a small voice.

Vitani craned her neck around, spotting Binti poised to pounce a few feet away. Jolted back into full conscious, Vitani hit the distracted male with her paw. He tumbled off of her and she pinned him, teeth bared. Ajuza stood at his head with a wry grin on her face.

"Well, well, well, what have we got here?" hissed the old lioness.

The lion snarled at her, but she merely smirked down at him.

"Who might you be?" asked Ajuza.

"I'm Prince Ume of the Lowland Pride! Get off of me!"

Ume… how aptly named, thought Vitani as she reluctantly moved off of the colossal lion. "A prince, huh?"

The lion stood to his full height, towering over Vitani, and growled quietly. "Yes. I was taken from my lands on border patrol. Where are we?"

Ajuza let out a puff of air. "You tell us."

Ume glared at her and said, "Fine, so none of you know?" He looked at Binti with a critical eye, then spotted Dogo approaching and growled deeply.

The younger lion froze in his tracks upon spotting Ume, who was nearly twice as big as him. A look of pure terror came over his face and he cowered low submissively. Binti trotted over to the young lion and put a paw on his head comfortingly. "Don't worry about that big ol' bully," she said softly to him.

"Leave him be, Ume," said Vitani brusquely. "He's just a kid."

Ume regarded her with a wry look on his face, then stood and stalked away.

"Where are you going?" called Ajuza.

 "I'm going home," announced the lion over his shoulder.

"Vitani, follow him," ordered the old lioness, receiving a look of disbelief from the younger lioness. "Just do it!"

Vitani grumbled under her breath before trotting after the male. As she watched his retreating form, a small grin cross her muzzle. His muscles rippled underneath his smooth fur, which seemed to glisten under the dim light of the stars. He was so massive in size that even Simba would look miniscule standing next to him. Maybe this wasn't such a bad thing…

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Kovu sat close to the young lioness as she drank greedily from the waterhole, impatiently waiting for her to finish. Sweat gleamed on her matted fur, burrs digging into her legs. She had been running for longer than any lion should, judging by the state of her. After a few minutes of drinking, the lioness was sated. She stepped away from the waterhole and lay down, exhausted.

"Who are you?" asked Kovu in a stern voice.

The lioness observed him out of the corner of her eye. "Where's the King? My orders were to speak with the King."

"I'm here," said Simba, stepping forward. "This is Prince Kovu. Please, tell us why you are here."

After taking a few deep breaths, the lioness sat up and began, "I come from the territory to the northwest of here, the Lowlands. My king, Maliki the Swift, sent me here to ask if you know anything about the disappearance about his son, Prince Ume."

"The Lowlands?" exclaimed Simba. "You've come a long way."

"The disappearance of Ume is of the greatest importance. As the only son of Maliki, he is needed at home." The lioness' tone expressed her urgency.

"So this is happening in other lands too!" said Kovu, looking excited. "My sister disappeared from our land late this afternoon. I believe she was kidnapped. There was a foul smell in the air where she last was."

The lioness nodded eagerly. "Yes, yes, the same with Ume! He was patrolling the borders, and never came back. We found strange tracks – like rocks rolled across the ground."

Kovu leapt to his feet, exclaiming, "Exactly!"

"Then this isn't the only place it's happened," declared the messenger. "We heard wind of a commotion in the Highlands. The king of that area is brother to Maliki. A traveling rogue told us that he saw an old friend of his get kidnapped by strange ape-like animals, and he's the only one who's seen anything."

Before Kovu could say anything more, Simba stepped in. "It's getting late, and none of us are in any condition to talk about this. How about we turn in for some sleep, and take care of this in the morning…?" He trailed off in question.

"My name is Rasuli," said the lioness. She bowed her head. "Thank you for welcoming me, but I must return to my pride as soon as possible."

Simba nodded. "Come rest."

As they walked back toward Pride Rock, Simba fell into step next to Kovu. The young lion was staring at his paws as he walked, his mind not entirely there. The king nudged the other lion with his shoulder. "You okay?"

Kovu glanced at him gloomily and softly replied, "Yeah. I'm just tired." He hung his head and hastened his pace, quickly leaving Simba and Rasuli behind.

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Vitani silently followed Ume for a short distance, then he abruptly stopped walking. As the young lioness approached, she could see why:

He had run out of space to walk.

Before them loomed a wall of tree trunks, like the ones Vitani had seen before. They towered as tall as Rafiki's baobab tree. It was painfully obvious that no lion could climb it so, instead, Ume dove forward and started digging. He muttered to himself frantically as he dug, but the trees extended underground. He dug faster.

Vitani sat on her haunches to watch him, suddenly feeling a great weight settle over her, constricting her chest and causing her throat to tighten. Her head whipped left and right. The row of trees extended over a nearby hill. She ran to the top of it and looked down. The trees continued for some distance, then they turned abruptly. From her spot on the hill, Vitani could see far over the relatively landscape. Her breath hitched in her throat. All along the horizon on every side the trunks loomed ominously, leaving no space between them. At all.

"We're trapped!" Ume roared, pulling his head from the hole. He looked up the wall and tried to climb it, digging his claws into the wood. With his strength, he managed to get a foot or two up, but his massive weight dragged him back down. Yet, even if he had reached the top, the spiked wires running over the top of the trunks would prevent him from jumping over. A raging roar left him, sending a shiver down Vitani's spine from where she sat.

The young lioness lay down at the top of the hill, eyes swiveling around in their sockets, hoping this was all a dream… but no matter how she wished herself to wake up, the enclosing walls remained. She was, indeed, trapped.

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When Kovu reached Pride Rock, he paused for a moment at its base. He stared up at it desolately, then looked over his shoulder at the orange-tinted outlands with a frown. He sighed and was just about to climb the steep rocks when he heard a derisive voice:

"…I don't see why he was so sad. Personally, the girl made me nervous. She was so quiet and always stared, like she was studying us."

"Yeah, I don't think anyone but Kovu is too sad that she's gone. Did you see what she did to Nala?"

"Exactly! The girl was first in line to bite our heads off. The other Outlanders have been really great, but Vitani…"

Kovu snarled at the three offensive lionesses as they turned, spotted him, and instantly crouched down in an inferior gesture. The young lion recognized them as two of the more dishonest, yet young lionesses of the pride, Duzi and Zulia. They cowered at his feet, knowing they had been caught red handed this time.

"Um… Kovu, Sir, I can explain," began Duzi with a sheepish smile.

"Silence!" roared Kovu, towering over them with narrowed eyes. "Now you listen to me, and listen well. Vitani is my sister, something you two can understand." He looked between them pointedly. "My mother is dead. My brother is dead. I don't have a father for all I know… Vitani is all I have, and so help me I will have the two of you running for your lives if you ever speak of her like that again. Do you understand me?" When they could only get out stuttering words in response, he raised his voice, "Do you understand me?"

"Yes, sir!" they blurted in unison, cringing underneath his wrath.

Kovu regarded them critically, chest heaving with the rage he felt. "Get out of my sight," he ordered, his voice disturbingly quiet. "Now."

The two lionesses nodded hastily, then darted away as fast as their legs could carry them while Kovu watched them go, suddenly feeling very empty inside.

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A/N: Filler chapter. Not much going on here. Next chappy will be better.