Shadowland

Chapter 13

Only War

I am not Walter Disney, nor am I related to Disney in any way. The characters Simba, Nala, Mufasa, Sarabi, Kiara, Kovu, Zira, Vitani, Nuka, Sarafina, Zazu, Scar, Rafiki, Timon, Pumbaa, Shenzi, Banzai, and Ed belong to Disney. Mohatu and Thembi belong to other people. All characters in this story, not mentioned here are my own creations.

Shadowland, Chapter 13: 'Only War' is property of Troy Wong, and is not to be resold or posted on any other site without my permission.

"…And on this night, their cries of sorrow will turn to screams of rage. Their tears will become raging, torrential rivers that will show no mercy, and their blood, drawn from their tyrants' weapons will summon storms a hundred times worse than those of that seen in The Fall…"

-Extract from the 4th part of the 283rd prophecy of the Great Shaman Metutu, during the reign of

King Mohatu; Greatest and Highest King That Ever Ruled.

The Amber Valley Resistance had seen Torres walking carelessly back from the Dark Lands. They had seen him as he spotted them, too, in the dark of the night; as he charged towards them, as he began to yell and scream in other languages that they had no knowledge of.

They had seen his undoubtedly newfound power, and they had been afraid. That was why they did not lend their strength when Daeon was thrown to the round, or when Ryun was in full-contact combat with Torres, and losing.

Now that those two lions had been temporarily disabled, partly thanks to the Resistance's foolish reluctance- one knocked out and unconscious; the other suffering from too much pain to move, Torres had the upper hand. Not only that, but he had also done the same to the magically gifted ones of the alliance as he had done to the two lions mentioned earlier. Now there was no one to restrain his dreadful enchantments.

There was only brute force.

Now, the Resistance did not care for their own safety, as individuals. They had realised that if they did not take the chance offered to them, and try to win the fight now, they would never get that same type of chance again.

The animals shouted their warcries, and charged at Torres with all their might.

The antelopes were first to do so, making huge, graceful, bounding leaps towards their target. Torres somehow dodged most of them. As for those that he could not so easily evade as he did with the others, he charged them, catching them in mid air, then ramming them into the ground with the strength of a rhinoceros.

Mixed with those jumping creatures was the vast herd of wildebeests. Like a potent wave crashing onto a shoreline, they were upon Torres, charging, leaping, and running at him. But they were all dodged- overshooting. They met with the antelopes behind Torres, swerving around to face him again, ready to run back. They were furious at what that cruel being had done to their witch doctor, and their young Kyomaraju. Their need of revenge had beaten their fear.

When the next wave of animals came, Torres renewed the power of the storm he had brought on earlier, and pushed all of them back with strong winds and stinging rain that fell sideward towards them. Everyone but the wicked lion was being forced backwards, in fact. It seemed that the wind and rain was coming down, the greatest concentration of it all on Torres. Then, just before the natural forces would hit the one that brought them, they would swerve up so that they did not touch him, or the ground- instead, unleashing their fury onto the enemies of the demonically challenged one.

Nobody on the Resistances' side could move forwards, only back, back, giving Torres more room, losing their ground. They were of hundreds, and Torres was but one. Yet, they were fighting a losing battle.

The seconds grew longer and longer as, one by one, each of Torres' potential opponents lost hope.

Suddenly an enormous bull elephant burst out of the mass of smaller herd animals behind Torres, cutting though the wind with frightful ease, trying to take him by surprise. But Torres turned around just in time, and laughed repugnantly as they collided into each other, making a sound similar to that of one million wildebeests stampeding into a wall.

The Resistance stood well back and watched with hope as the two wrestled furiously with each other, testing their strength. While Maloumba's face began to show his great strain, Torres was smiling a corrupt, beastly smile. They all wanted so badly for them to be able to help, but they knew that if they did, they would be crushed when one of the two in battle fell.

Without warning, Maloumba let out a trumpet with a bellow, and forced Torres over onto the ground. The lion landed with a pleasing 'smack' sound, whereas Maloumba's feet smashed back into the ground with a crash. The large elephant made his way over to the enemy, who was now bleeding out of his mouth, and kicked his front legs up in the air like a stallion, ready to crush him underfoot.

But with ten times more velocity as Maloumba had charged out of the crowd, Torres got to his feet and struck the elephant in the chest. Maloumba yelled, taken by surprise as he was toppled over onto his back. The crowd gasped and shrieked at the sight.

And in a second, Torres was upon him, bellowing wrathfully. Vast bolts of black and purple lightning appeared out of nowhere and struck Maloumba all over. He roared in anguish as the dark bars pierced him in a way that did not create wounds. The screams of all members of his herd, particularly Charlotte's, could be heard clearly.

Again Torres laughed, but much harder this time, like an uncontrollable fit. He had been driven mad by something- most likely the spirit that dwelled in the Dark Lands. After he had licked away the blood dripping from his chin and vainly inspected his claws, the gloomy energy blots disappeared, leaving their victim lying alarmingly still.

Charlotte ran out of the crowd to her father's side, quickly followed by her mother who was obviously worried about her safety. The little girl dropped down to her knees as she reached her beloved father. She began to call him and nudge to him to make him wake, but no signs of life came from him.

"Charlotte! No!" called her mother, running towards her, and then stepping in between her daughter and Torres.

Torres' eyes gleamed and he smiled another one of his horrible smiles as he took a step forward. His mouth had begun to bleed again without him knowing. "What's this? A whole family that has been able to walk against my magical winds? Ha!" he laughed with delight. "How foolish your daughter is, for running out here unprotected- and how foolish you are, running out after her to give her protection!"

A tear left the wise old woman's eye as she glanced at her dead love. A piece of her died at that moment, too. But she forced herself to speak. "You, Torres, are a beast!" she yelled. "I remember the days when you were a good leader! We all do! What made you change?"

Abruptly, Charlotte's sorrowing sobs filled the background more than anything else as she realised the truth. It was the truth that her father had died.

That question loosened Torres' control over the storm. But just when everyone else thought they could rush forward to the elephants' aid, more of the dark lightning crashed right in front of them, exactly the same as the horrible energies that had killed Charlotte's father. They stopped immediately with a scream that showed they had been startled.

"I saw my pride for what they were- idiots! They were weak fools, and they were dragging me down… A burden I did not need! Now I rely only on my lord, and nobody relies on me! I more powerful than I have ever been!" he answered.

Before Charlotte's mother could reply, or even open her mouth, Torres had silently called forth more lightning, and targeted her. Instead of words came terrible screams. Charlotte shrieked in horror and looked as if she was about to run to her mother, but she did not. She must have reasoned with herself- told herself not to.

In moments, it was over for her mother, as well. The little elephant's eyes filled with tears as she began crying outwardly. She was no longer trying to hide her feelings, which, despite her efforts, the others already knew about. At the same time, her tribe, which she now owned- although, of course, that was not the first thing that came into her mind at the time- shouted out in rage and grief.

Then, Torres turned his gaze to the tiny being standing in front of him, and walked towards it. Charlotte seemed to shrink as that lion approached her, teeth bared, blood dripping from his chin and claws. "So, I child I have here!" he began.

"What made you think that you could face me, child?" he boomed. "Or did you just want to confirm the death of your father? … Trust me, that brute could never have escaped my wrath, nor could your mother. You will be no different, once I set my powers upon you! I will enjoy seeing your tears flow even faster than they are now, as you squirm…" Torres began to inch towards the helpless girl, lost for words and frozen by fear. "Your muscles will cramp and burn all at the same time. Your head will throb, and you will feel like it is about to explode! Then, then comes the-ARGH!" yelled the lion in pain.

"Shut your mouth you idiot lion!" yelled another strong voice that was easily as loud.

It was a leopard that had struck Torres, and clawed him down the spine. He had moved so quickly that even Charlotte, directly facing the place that Torres' attacker had came from, did not see him until he had spoken.

Before Torres could move, the leopard struck again and again, slashing, kicking, and biting mercilessly as his victim cringed dramatically, shouting, screaming, roaring in his agony as his blood trickled out of him like water in a fountain.

The thunder and lightning stopped. The storm calmed. The circle of animals was no longer held back. Torres could not have held it any longer. Suddenly, there was nothing but the sound of Diego's muscle against Torres' body.

The sun began to peek over the clouds.

And a cheer. A call. Then two. Three, four, ten, sixty, over a hundred. So many joined in until everyone was cheering Diego on, shouting praises, and booing Torres, cursing against the lion. Diego had never heard this sort of thing before. He had always believed in himself, and no one else. But as he did hear the cheers, he was filled with new strength. And in his attacks, he did not stop.

Charlotte watched closely, still in shock, as Diego the leopard forced Torres back, step by step. Then, as the lion's mouth opened, she gasped in fear. She knew that Torres was about to attack his attacker with more of the lightning, and that the leopard would fall, just like her mother and father had- just like the shamans, witch doctors and seers had. Just like so many others.

But with a deep, sharp growl, Diego struck Torres' jaw, closing it shut, and even causing some snapping and cracking sounds to come from it; breaking it.

"One way or another, you will not shame the name of leopards by casting one of your stupid spells on me!"

Torres struggled from the leopard's grip and tried to run, but stumbling, tripping and falling after a second. He did not look so powerful now. He was trembling in fear. But he got up, and ran away, trying to break the circle.

The elephants would not let him pass. When he went to the antelopes, they stomped and kicked at him. And what would his lions and lionesses do when he begged for passage through them.

Gharah eyed him disdainfully for a moment, looking at his hopeful, fearful eye, and the other which had swelled shut- looking at the blood disgustingly pouring from his body. Slowly she with all eyes on her, she lifted an arm, and struck him across the face so hard that he fell to the ground.

Painfully he lifted himself up and leaped at Gharah who did not do so much as blink. But he did not reach her. Diego had grabbed him and tossed him onto the ground, further away from the lioness. But somehow, Torres managed to get himself back up. Now he was leaping at Diego.

But he stopped a centimeter away. The crowd gasped in horror. Torres fell to the floor.

Without any hesitation whatsoever, Diego had ripped out his throat.

xxx

Hear me, Coyle; Second Shaman of Claw. Hear my call. Hear my plight.

"Who are you? Are you the voice that I heard in the caves?"

That one is gone for good, now. You are free. He can no longer bother you.

"What about you? Aren't you just like him?"

No. I am not inside of you, Coyle. I am simply speaking to you through your thoughts… I see that the thought is hard to understand. But bear with me. I know that you are fighting a war tonight. I know who you are fighting. And I know that you will win, if you just do one thing…

"Tell me. I can do it for you. Please."

At the back of the main terrace of Lava Den lies a large boulder. Observing this boulder carefully, you will see that it resembles the face of a mandrill.

"Yes. What about the stone?"

Destroy it- at all costs

"But how? And why?"

I promise you, that if you destroy that stone, you will win the battle. And how? I can give you powers… They will stay with you forever. But you must be careful with them. You will not want to end up like-

"Hezakiah the Traitor."

What? … How do you know of that name?

"It came to me in a dream."

You know of his betrayal? You know of Kiara, and Simba, and Rafiki?

"All those names are familiar to me."

Good. Very good. Now go. You have been empowered. Remember- destroy the boulder.

xxx

Four shadows had crept to lava den in the night. They had planned with others there for this for days. They crept up the side of the structure, spying on their enemies, waiting for the right time to spring the attack. All of their allies were there. They were all ready. They all had the matter on their mind. That was what lost them the element of surprise.

Somehow, the mandrills knew of the plan. It was as if they could read minds. So many minds thinking of the same thing at once, all so anxious. It was just as secretive as screaming detailed versions of their arrangements out when standing metres away from the shamans.

The mandrills attacked right away. At that time, they had the high ground. They had the better position. And they had the upper hand. They still did.

The three that hid beside Coyle had leaped out of cover without any hesitation. Of course, Coyle did the same.

And in seconds, they were fighting, slashing, cutting, biting- fighting, slashing, cutting and biting the air. As fast as they went, and as accurate as they could be, they could not lay a paw on the quick moving shamans. They moved so fast in fact, that at some points in the skirmish, they could not been seen.

In just ten minutes, the hyenas had gained fifteen casualties, despite the fact that they had started out with twelve against one. Just like the Amber Resistance had been, they were fighting a losing battle.

Coyle lunged forward and missed again. The shaman's staff that had proven to be dangerous cut through the air precariously close to his face. Coyle had dodged it by inches. Then, a hyena fighting alongside him had run forward as he did, and copped the full impact of the blow. As a result, that unlucky one was knocked off the hazardously placed ledge right behind him. This mandrill was forcing them backwards, step by step, off the edge.

And it just so happened that it was the opposite side of the rock that the voice in Coyle's dream had spoken of- the side that the giant boulder sat on- the face shaped boulder that he had to destroy.

But Coyle had classified it as a dream, and a dream only. Though he did remember it very well. And there was, actually, a face shaped rock across the platform. It resembled a mandrill with his mouth open, shouting. It looked like the sculpture was angry, or in pain.

An empty black ball flew out of the shaman's hand, impacting the hyena on Coyle's right hand side. In place of a scream of pain, the solider just made a choking sound, and fell to the ground.

Use your powers.

Another ball appeared. This time it was soaring towards Coyle. He ducked just in time, and the sphere flew right over him. He was about to charge forward again, when something told him to turn around. When he did, he saw the orb coming back to him, with more speed than before. Again, he ducked just in time. It smashed into the rock in front of him, pulling the stone inwards, crushing it, and sending splinters everywhere. The mandrill performed a back flip to avoid the flying stones, and started to wave his staff around as to keep them from hitting his body.

Go! Now!

Coyle took the chance. He gave a yell for those fighting the same opponent as he was to follow his actions. Then he charged forward. But just when they thought they were going to injure someone, they felt themselves being pushed away. Then they saw the shaman's palm held out. They saw his lips moving rapidly. They were the 'invisible hands' that Kalandro had told them of.

Why do you ignore me? Destroy the stone!

Coyle could ignore the voice no longer. He had convinced himself that he had no magical abilities whatsoever along his journey, but he head also convinced himself that he was not going to win the fight if some miracle did not take place.

He focused greatly on the rock ahead of him, telling himself that it would shatter, telling himself that it would break. But nothing happened. And at that moment, he felt the shaman's staff striking him across the face. He fell onto his back, hitting the ground with a thud. His head was spinning, and soon, he could taste blood.

He heard Sapphire's voice, crying out of pain. Then he heard Orion- who had surprised him greatly upon his unexpected return- doing to same as Sapphire. They had been struck, just as he had. What a strange coincidence it was. Or perhaps it was nothing of the sort.

Then he heard Orion continue to groan in pain, and then a shout at the same time as a roar. Coyle forced himself to get back up. The fight that he had been leading had moved somewhere else, past him. He turned to Orion, worried that he would see something terrible. And he did. It just wasn't what he had expected.

Orion's eyes were glowing an eerie bright red. His mane had exploded into a huge, rippling black wave, and he appeared to be bigger and stronger than he was. Orion roared again. The hyenas around him began to fall, screaming in agony.

"What is wrong with him?" thought Coyle out loud, watching on. Orion turned to Sapphire, still on the ground. He stalked up to her and leaped, seizing her in his grip. Suddenly he was tearing and biting at her, and she was yelling for mercy. Coyle was horrified at this. He had to stop it.

So he ran at Orion and rammed him onto the ground. "What are you doing?" he questioned in shock.

In another, unfamiliar, sinister voice, Orion shouted back, "Get off me, you fool! Or you will fall at my hands, too!" before Coyle felt himself floating up into the air, off Orion, who seemed to be possessed by a demon.

'It's one of the shamans! He's going to throw me off the edge!' he realised in terror. But before anything more could happen, he was roughly dropped back down. Orion was attacking the shaman that had been holding Coyle up- and he was winning. But as a hyena rushed to his side to help, he turned on his fellow fighter, and with invisible hands, just like the mandrills had used, the hyena was thrown off the edge of the rock.

Something was wrong. Orion was crazy. He was turning on his own allies. They did not need any more casualties than they already had. Coyle resolved that he had to break the boulder. He rushed towards it, clawing and shoulder bashing it. After awhile, he pulled back, furious to see that he had done no damage. He roared in frustration.

And to his amazement, the rock began to show cracks. The cracks were growing more and more like rivers, down the face. Then, fragments of the stone were coming loose and rolling off the main body. More and more began to do so. Bigger, heavier pieces. Until eventually, the whole thing burst to pieces. Coyle ducked away from the flying particles late enough to see a glowing globe of light had shot upwards towards the sky upon the boulder's destruction.

Then, he felt a great jolt. He felt his wounds being healed. Then everything became a blur as he lost control of his body. All he could receive from the outside world were voices- particularly the voice that had spoken to him in the dream.

"Leave these hyenas alone, Hezakiah!" he heard, feeling his own mouth open and speak the words.

"So, you have come back, my master? I have beaten you once in a previous life. I will do it again, and this time I will be sure to imprison you in something far stronger than a rock!" answered a voice that came from all directions.

Sapphire had seen the glowing light force itself into Coyle. She had seen him falling to the ground, and then getting back up again with his eyes shining like the sun, and his wounds healed. Even the scar across his eye that Torres had given him all the way back at Amber Valley, before their journey had even started was gone.

Next she saw a specter of darkness plunging down from the sky, and doing the same as the glowing light had done to Coyle, to a mandrill. In moments, the mandrill had engaged Coyle in combat. But something was different.

The two were evenly matched.

"Why did you want to return here so, Rafiki?" yelled the mandrill as he was forced back a step. His eyes were like black holes in the darkness behind him. And it seemed that he was calling Coyle 'Rafiki'.

"Hezakiah! When will you learn?" replied Coyle in a slightly different voice. He was calling the mandrill by the name of 'Hezakiah'. Then it hit her. The two had been possessed, just like Orion had been. She knew the names of the two in combat- Coyle was now Rafiki, and the shaman was now Hezakiah. But what was the name of the thing inhabiting Orion's mind and body?

"History will repeat itself, old man! You will not win!"

"We shall see my apprentice. We shall see." Coyle and the mandrill continued fighting, blocking, attacking, blocking, dodging, attacking. It would not stop. None of them gained ground, and none of them lost it. They must as well have been stuck to the spot.

Then, then clouds lit up with bolts of lightning dancing across them. Thunder boomed, just like the booming voice that came from above. "Stop this madness, Scar!"

Orion ducked and seemed to cower in fear. The red glow in his eyes grew weak, to a dull pink hue. "M-Mufasa?" he whispered. "My brother?"

Another light appeared, coming down from the clouds. It was heading for Sapphire, and she knew it. But she dreaded the thought. She knew what the spirit was going to do once it had her. It was going to kill the 'Scar' it spoke of- it was going to kill Orion. She tried to hide from it, but she could not. She felt a jolt. She felt her legs give way. She felt her wounds healing ever so quickly.

Then, there was nothing.

Rafiki and Hezakiah had fought their way up to the highest part of lava den- the only part that you would hurt yourself badly if you fell off it. Rafiki was lunging forward, dodging, and recoiling. Hezakiah was using the shaman's staff to its full capabilities.

Mufasa charged at Scar, knocking him onto the ground. Orion's body scrambled up to its feet, and charged back, knocking Sapphire's body back as Mufasa had done to him. The two brothers wrestled with all their might. Slowly, somehow, Orion was being forced back to the ledge behind him. He was losing the fight to Sapphire.

Back at the top of Lava Den, the magic had begun. Rafiki was leaping impossibly high for a lion, dodging all of Hezakiah's black orbs that were sent at him. Coyle felt himself high in the air, then plunging back down to the ground and landing softly. Then he heard a muffled scream, and the sound of a staff being dropped onto stone.

Rafiki had forced Hezakiah off the edge of the rock. Now he was clinging on for his life. The shaman in the form of a lion strode with a sense of contained pride to his apprentice. "History does not always repeat itself."

"We shall see!" yelled Hezakiah, lifting himself back up and soaring up into the air. He was going to land right on top of Coyle, crushing him. But Rafiki had other plans. Coyle's voice roared for Rafiki, and immediately, a vicious storm blew in. The winds were moving at hundreds of miles per hour. All the hyenas below screamed as they were slowly pushed towards the ledge by the wind. One by one, they were forced to grab onto the ledge if they valued their lives.

Mufasa and Scar had done the same. And not even Rafiki could stand the winds. He was holding on to the ledge that Hezakiah had hung from seconds ago in no time at all. Hezakiah, still in mid-air received the full brunt of the gales, and yelled as he was blown away from the ledge, out above clear ground. Then, the ground was rising to meet him all too quickly. In a second, every bone in the body of the mandrill he had used was broken. And Hezakiah was gone for good. The winds calmed.

Immediately after this, the dark coated mandrills fighting the hyenas froze and gasped for air. Their figures began to melt and bubble, turning into black liquid. The fluid at last grew too heavy and liquid-like to support itself, and collapsed to the ground, spilling everywhere.

Even faster than Hezakiah had fallen to his doom, the Great King Mufasa and Scar the Deceiver were battling it out again. But Scar was winning. He pushed Mufasa onto the ground, and raised an arm to strike, claws extended. But before Orion could draw blood, Rafiki had stepped in, and was striking him repeatedly. Scar could not get a paw in, and before he knew it, he was dangling off the north ledge of Lava Den, just as Mufasa had been on the gorge, hundreds of years ago.

"Please, Mufasa! Help me!" begged Scar, glowing red eyes filled with fear.

"I will not force you off like you did to me so long ago… I am not a coward, like you." replied Mufasa solemnly and sternly. Rafiki stepped back and watched on.

"But I will not save you after all the grief you have caused my son… My kingdom!"

"What?" Scar was losing traction. He was slipping. He was going down. Soon he would not have any stone to grip onto- just the air. In seconds, he was falling. His screams echoed throughout the land. Then, he was silenced.

As Sapphire and Coyle came back to their senses and caught a glimpse of two bright lights disappearing into the clouds above, they heard a monstrous sound that, at first, they did not realise. But then they turned to they Grey Mountains and saw them crumbling and collapsing. The ground was shaking violently. They felt the rock that they were standing on tipping to one side. All of a sudden, they were sliding down the rock whose left side had reached the ground.

They both blacked out as they hit the ground.

"After this final war, the Great Kings of the Past will turn back to the dead land, and give it new life. They will forgive betrayals of times past, and they will bring water, and sunshine, and food back to this dead land. Animals from every corner of the continent will run, with all their might to this land, and they will rejoice, for the suffering will be over, and they will be able to live with content once more, for the curse will be shattered into a million pieces, and the poverty, the plagues, the famines and the droughts will be over, and will never come back. Things will once again be just like they were during the early reign of King Muroasha the Deceiver and they will stay like that forever."

-5th part of the 283rd prophecy of the Great Shaman Metutu, during the reign of

King Mohatu; Greatest and Highest King That Ever Ruled.