Chapter 2: Close Encounter.

Two months had passed since the day Keira was murdered. The boys were taken back to Ikhaya Labantu, a village hidden amongst the mountainous terrain of Lesotho that was unknown to man. Here lived a mutant society unofficially 'ruled' by a powerful mutant tiger called Shere Khan. No one dared to go up against Shere Khan, although many wished to. What made him so powerful were his allies. Many years ago Shere Khan and his large family and friends of mutant tigers, made an alliance with a pack of mutated lions that had moved from Kenya to Lesotho. The tigers too had moved to Lesotho after finding problems when living in Asia. Shere Khan gained control over the citizen's of Ikhaya through fear. There wasn't anything that anyone could do about it. Shere Khan's fortress was impenetrable.

Shere Khan's fortress was located on the edge of Ikhaya Labantu. The 'mansion' as he called it, was carved out of stone. Large vines twisted around the rocky walls and foundations. The mansion was filled with stolen furniture and artifacts that made the place look quite exquisite. A crystal clear outdoor pond or 'swimming pool' rippled beside the far wall. Large sweeping lush, green lawns where surrounded by tall wooden fences and stable sandstone walls. It was hard to get into the place without being seen by one of his fellow mutant comrades or by one of his tamed animals. This was where the boys had been situated.

The three-month-old cubs had begun their training as guard 'dogs'. The tigers that trained them cared not for their names, as it was a ruling that when training animals, mutants weren't allowed to become too attached to them. All the cubs showed the potential to be very good fighters some day. After all, mutant lions and tigers had trained them. The tigers and lions favoured Raphael and Leonardo the most. Raphael liked to fight and hunt while Leonardo was loyal. What they didn't like was Michelangelo's fun filled attitude and Donatello's peaceful personality. 'The Identical Ones' as they were referred to, caused many headaches for the animal trainers.

*****

"So, has anything of interest happened lately with the locals?" Shere Khan asked Zareb. Shere Khan frequently invited Zareb over to his home to ask him almost the very same question. Shere Khan and Zareb both secretly hated each other but both had more reasons to stay 'friends' than to become enemies. Zareb had an extremely good reputation with the local citizens of Ikhaya Labantu, which helped Shere Khan as he could get inside information from him. Zareb remained friendly with Shere Khan, as he knew that he would not live for long if he were to become an enemy.

"Oh, nothing much really. The…" Zareb was interrupted by the noisy conversation held in the next room.

"Ugh! Those bloody Identical Ones, I swear. It's one of the worst ideas the patrol team has come up with! If those two cubs don't stop smiling then I'm gonna…"

"SEBASTIAN!" Shere Khan roared. Sebastian popped his head round the wall that separated the two rooms. "Come here son", Shere Khan ordered. Sebastian did what his father said and walked into the room.

"What the hell were you talking about?" Shere Khan said, somewhat annoyed.

"I was talking about the cheetah cubs that arrived here about two months ago", Sebastian answered. Shere Khan raised an eyebrow.

"Cheetah cubs? What cheetah cubs?"

"Didn't anyone tell you?"

"Well obviously not as I would not have asked the question 'What cheetah cubs", Shere Khan says rudely. He slaps Sebastian on the head. "Moron". Zareb stands idly by, not wanting to get involved. Sebastian rubs his head.

"About two months ago, the patrol team brought in four cheetah cubs that could be trained as guard…"

"All male?" Shere Khan interrupts.

"Um… yes. They brought them in to…"

"You IDIOT! Where are they? They must be destroyed IMMEDIATELY!" Rage burned in Shere Khan's eyes. Sebastian gulped.

"They… they should be outside in the gardens somewhere… HEY!" Shere Khan pulls Sebastian by the ear, heading towards the gardens. Zareb followed, praying that a miracle will come and save the cubs from annihilation.

*****

It was the third time that day Michelangelo had been kicked in the stomach. He sulked in the yard, his stomach tight with ongoing pain. He didn't understand why he was being treated in this manner. He always tried to be as friendly as possible, but that never seemed to be enough for them. He was miserable. So was Donatello. Raphael and Leonardo, however, didn't mind and claimed that they enjoyed the treatment they were receiving.

Michelangelo saw Donatello heading over. He didn't feel like talking, so he crawled into a nearby shrub.

"Mikie?" Donatello whispered through the leaves. Michelangelo didn't respond. Donatello crawled into the shrub and sat beside his older brother. Michelangelo noticed the cut on Donatello's face: the result of this morning's training session. Michelangelo felt sick in the stomach.

"I dun' like t'is place very mutch", Michelangelo said suddenly after a few minutes of silence. Donatello nodded. Michelangelo could tell that he looked exhausted. Donatello shuddered and looked Michelangelo straight in the face, eyes full of despair. "I wanna go 'ome", Donatello whispered. He rested his head on Michelangelo's shoulder.

A whistle was heard not too far in the distance. It was the noise that was given when the cubs were wanted. The identical twins did not come this time; instead they both looked fearfully through the leaves of the shrub to see what was going on.

Leonardo and Raphael had naturally answered on cue. Both of them obediently sat in front of the tiger that had always been their trainer. Donatello noticed the larger, fiercer looking tiger that stood behind the other. "Sometings eevil about t'is" Donatello said to his brother. The larger tiger looked at Raphael and Leonardo as though they were bugs that needed to be squished quickly. The enormous tiger pulled out two sais and approached the two cubs sitting in front. Michelangelo's eyes went wide. Something definitely was not right.

Michelangelo screeched out the cheetah distress signal. Leonardo and Raphael's ears pricked at the alert. Shere Khan lunged for Leonardo, sai in hand. Raphael pushed his brother aside just in time to avoid Shere Khan's possibly fatal blow. Leonardo began to run, Raphael close behind. Michelangelo and Donatello ran from their hiding spot to join the others. Shere Khan had already recovered from his miss and was hot on the cub's tails. The young cheetahs accelerated to their top speed. Shere Khan had no hope of catching them now. The tiger, out of breath, stopped and threw both of his sais as a last resort. All four cubs dodged the final attack before running straight through the entrance and out into the wilderness.

Sebastian and Zareb ran up to stand behind Shere Khan. "How… how come they could run that fast at such an early age?" Sebastian asked with a dumbfounded look upon his face. Shere Khan glared at him.

"Because it was THEM!" He yelled, his patience incredibly thin.

"What? But… but it couldn't have been them. I mean, they're not mutants".

"Yet", Shere Khan corrected. "They're not mutants YET! Don't you see? It's their destiny to become mutants, just like how it's their destiny to defeat ME!" Shere Khan angrily paced around trying to calm down. "When the patrol team found those cubs, was there a female cub amongst them?"

Sebastian shrugged. "If there was, then the patrol team didn't say a word about it". Zareb held a worried look.

"We'll have to find out then. All could not be lost. Come Sebastian. Let us have a little chat to the patrol team. I'll see you tomorrow Zareb", Shere Khan said. Both he and his son headed off back to the mansion. Zareb knew that it would not be long before the truth of the female's whereabouts was known. Zareb wasted no time and headed directly for home.