Part I:

Nothing To Lose

Chapter One

Vitani, Simba and Nala waited outside the Medical facility at Pride Rock, awaiting the medics' report. It had been nearly three hours since Vitani, Kovu and Kiara had found the man bleeding to death in the park. While hopeful the man would survive, they feared he wouldn't – his wounds were just too severe. Vitani held onto the man's weapon – at least, she thought it was his – as they waited. She was still in shock over however it was that he knew her. Could it be that he had dreams of her, as she did of him? It was difficult to say.

One of the doctors came out to speak to Simba, and Nala and Vitani both were behind Simba. "What's the word, Doc?" Simba asked.

The doctor – an Avian – sighed heavily. Vitani braced herself for bad news. "He... he will make it." Vitani felt a wave of relief. From his tone, she had feared he'd say the man had died. But what was said next only made Vitani more worried: "But how he survived this, I cannot explain."

"What do you mean?" Nala asked.

"This man, whoever he is, shouldn't be alive; we pulled over a dozen metal fragments out of his chest – two of which nearly clipped his heart – and more than twice that many pieces of glass out of his back. The blood loss alone should have killed him; all we can say is, somehow, the gauntlets he was wearing may be a contributing factor to his survival," the doctor explained.

"Gauntlets?" Simba asked.

"I can't say I'm familiar with the technology in them – but I think they kept him alive," the doctor responded. "We tried to remove one, and the patient nearly went into cardiac arrest. Regardless, he'll survive, but I can't explain how."

"Do you know what caused those wounds?" Simba inquired.

"Not a clue," the doctor responded. "I sent the medical report and the fragments of metal and glass to the lab for analysis. I'll know more in a few days."

"What about the weapon he was carrying – the sword?" Vitani queried.

"That's even scarier," the doctor responded, indicating the said "sword" Vitani had in her grasp. "It's something from the Human homeland – a Lightsaber, the weapon of a Jedi. What gets me, is, the humans themselves don't actually have that level of technology. It was something in their media shows and movies."

"So where the hell did he get one?" Nala asked.

"I wish I knew," the doctor admitted. " We found a second lightsaber that dropped from his clothes before we started the operation." The doctor tossed the said weapon to Vitani. "Regardless, I would strongly advise one of you keep an eye on him, make sure he doesn't hurt himself any more than he already is."

"I'll handle that," Vitani volunteered, before Simba could speak. "Just move him to my domicile when he's fit to move."

"The med techs are bandaging his wounds right now, we'll have him moving within the hour. If you will excuse me," the doctor said. Simba nodded, and the doctor left, after which Simba and Nala turned to Vitani.

"Vitani, are you sure you want to have him in your domicile? Kovu told us-" Nala started.

"I know what Kovu said... but something tells me I'm the only one he's gonna trust right now," Vitani interrupted. "When we were face to face... he somehow recognized me, and it caused him to pause. I get the distinct impression he knows me, and therefore trusts me."

"It could be something else," Simba suggested. "He's from the human homeland, so..."

"Would it matter?" Vitani countered. "He trusts me, whereas Kovu nearly got decapitated when he tried to wake him, and had I not stepped in, I can't say to what would have happened. Just seeing me... stopped him."

"She's got a point, Simba," Nala told Simba. "I'm not at all certain having Timon and Pumba watching him would be a good idea, not after he survived... whatever it was, exactly, that he survived. If he trusts Vitani, who are we to argue?"

Simba grumbled quietly, but nodded in agreement. "Very well. Just be careful, Vitani – we still don't know who he is, much less how he got here, and in that condition. I agree with you in that something happened to him, and I'd very much like to know what." With that said, Simba walked off in another direction.

"He seems worried," Vitani noted.

"I can't say I blame him," Nala replied. "Truth be told, I share his concerns; whatever happened to him that left him in that state may have affected his mind, as well – you saw it, when he nearly took off Kovu's head."

"Would you be any different if you had been in his condition and woke up in unfamiliar territory?" Vitani asked.

"I could not tell you that until I know what happened to him," Nala responded.

"Point is, he was injured, confused, and from the look on his face, he was terrified – he doesn't know where he is, much less who he can trust, and when he wakes up, we're gonna have to come up with some way to convince him to trust us," Vitani explained.

"He's not gonna have much choice, but I can still see your reasoning on the matter. Frankly, I'm just as shocked as you that he survived whatever this is. But from the doctor's report... metal fragments in his chest? Glass shards in his back? Call me on jumping to conclusions, but it sounds a lot like he was hit by a bomb and blown through a glass window," Nala speculated.

Vitani paused to consider this. While there was presently no evidence, Nala's theory just happened to fit the facts. But, if she was correct, what were the exact circumstances? And how did he end up in the Pridelands?

The medics and nurses came out, wheeling the man Vitani had rescued in the park on a wheeled stretcher. It was then that she had an idea. "We shouldn't delve into his past right away – we should first try to befriend him. When he wakes up, he's gonna have a lot of questions."

"Indeed," Nala agreed as they watched the unconscious man being taken to Vitani's domicile. "Maybe we should start with his name."

"I was thinking that, too – and a name might ease Simba's worries, if only a little," Vitani said. She then walked in the direction of her domicile, where she stopped in the guest room just in time to see the medics gently put the unconscious man in the bed there. Once they'd left, Vitani sat down in a nearby chair, watching him. He just lay still, breathing steadily and remaining unmoving, aside from the occasional twitch.

"I doubt he'll wake up that fast," said Kovu's voice. "From what I heard, the doc had to give him heavy sedatives to keep him still so they could operate." Vitani looked to the doorway and saw Kovu standing there with Kiara.

"He may still wake up soon," Vitani stubbornly maintained. "You saw it in the park – he has nightmares. It's why the doctors had to sedate him."

"You're thinking that, when the sedatives wear off, a nightmare may wake him?" Kovu surmised.

"At least a possibility," Kiara stated. "Mom was speculating to dad during the operation that whatever happened to him was severe enough to give him nightmares."

"And I want to be the first person he sees when he wakes," Vitani concluded. "He's gonna have a lot of questions."

"How is it you know all this?" Kovu inquired.

"Think about it, Kovu," Vitani told him. "Put yourself in his shoes; you're gravely injured, near death, and you suddenly get plucked from where you are and dropped in a completely unfamiliar environment, no familiar faces but one you somehow recognize. How terrified would you be?"

"O... kay, yeah – you have a point there," Kovu admitted. "But what if he doesn't know what we want to know?"

"We're not going to delve into that – not now," Vitani said. "For now, we just comfort him and try to get him to trust us, answer whatever questions he has... the way I see it, he's going to be confused and scared. I would be, too, if I were in his position."

The conversation was interrupted as the man groaned, moving onto his side. Then he twitched violently, then again, and again, muttering in his sleep. "No... no... you... bast... you..."

"He must be having a hell of a nightmare," Kovu commented. Vitani had her attention fully fixed on her new roommate. The twitching, the injuries, and how he seemed to be seeing someone in his dream... she began to suspect that whatever happened to him had been the work of someone else – someone who intentionally harmed him and left him in that state. For a moment, just on the threshold of consciousness, Vitani could swear she heard a distant explosion – but she daren't ponder it, as the second she heard that blast, the man of her dreams woke with a scream, the scream of a man who had seen something truly unspeakable, a terrifying crime that was committed against them – and lived to tell the tale. Kovu leapt back, Kiara dashed for cover outside the room, and Vitani was startled into tripping on the chair she was sitting in. The man scrambled, but with his drained strength, fell out of the bed and hit the floor with a loud thunk! He scrambled his legs, trying to back up, but he was already backed against the nightstand. Vitani was the first to recover and stood up. She raised her hands to show she was unarmed, but the man wasn't having it – he reached out, and the rifle Vitani found – which was leaning against the far wall – flew into his hands, and he turned it on Vitani.

"Stay back!" he shouted.

"Easy, sir!" she said as calmly as she could, present circumstances considered. "It's alright! You're safe! You're safe." The man still held the rifle pointed at her, but shifted his aim to Kovu. Vitani put herself between the two, keeping her arms out in plain view. "It's alright," she told him reassuringly. "You're safe – we're not going to hurt you. We're actually trying to help you."

"You were pretty banged up when we found you," Kovu added in. "Honestly, we're surprised you survived, given the severity of your injuries."

"We brought you here after we found you in the park – do you remember?" Kiara asked, now coming back into the room. The man's aim shifted back at Vitani. His eyes were a brilliant violet hue, but he panted and his hold on the rifle shook.

"Where am I?" he finally spoke.

"You're at Pride Rock," Vitani answered. She slowly approached him, eventually getting within arm's reach of the rifle, and gently pushed it away. "It's alright – I'm a friend." She indicated Kovu and Kiara. "We're friends – your friends. I'm Vitani – that's my brother, Kovu, and his wife, Kiara. What's your name?"

The weapon the man had slipped from his grasp, and it dropped to the floor. He was silent for a long time before he finally answered, "Drakona... Tyber Drakona."

"Well, Tyber, you were badly injured, but luckily, we were able to patch you up – but I think it'll be a while before we can get you on your feet again," Vitani said. She reached out to help him up, but her hands were swatted away by Tyber, evidently not wanting assistance. He then painstakingly got himself back into the bed, where he sighed in relief, then telekinetically pulled the rifle back into his hand again, then removed the magazine, visually inspecting it, and loading it back in.

"Thank the Force this thing's still loaded..." he muttered.

"Tyber... if I may, what exactly is that?" Kovu asked.

"It's one of my Force-creations – an AR197 Dual-Purpose Assault Rifle," Tyber answered.

"You created that?" Kiara asked, shocked.

"Created it... designed it... brought it from my mind into reality with aid of the Force, much like most of my possessions," Tyber affirmed. "I cannot explain how I do it – it is something... instinctual."

"Interesting... but I don't think you'll need a dual-purpose assault rifle here in the Pridelands," Kiara said.

"Yeah... unless you're expecting someone to attack you?" Kovu agreed.

"I neither expect nor presume anything, Kovu – but, where I'm from, it's better to have something and not need it... than to need it and not have it," Tyber responded.

"That... actually makes sense," Kovu said. "But still... why an assault rifle? Did you fight a war or something?"

"War..." Tyber repeated. "... call it that. A war I fought. A war of survival. A war of justice. A war to keep my very sanity... intact."

"We don't want to go into that topic," Vitani said, "Not when you just woke up."

"I'll..." Tyber grunted, shifting in bed a bit. "... I'll agree to that – the less said, the better."

"If we're not discussing distant history, let's talk recent – do you know how you got here?" Kovu asked.

Tyber lifted his head to look at Kovu with a frown on his face. "You mean you don't? I assumed it was one of you who brought me here."

Kovu frowned. "Why would we have brought you here?" he asked.

Tyber let his head back down, resting on the pillow. "Why, indeed..." he replied. "One has to wonder... if there isn't some unidentified party in this." Tyber looked to Vitani. "How long was I out?"

"A few hours," Vitani answered. "You were severely injured when we found you."

"Injured... yes, speaking of which, Kovu – no hard feelings about nearly decapitating you," Tyber apologized.

"I'm not holding it against you," Kovu told him. "I suppose, were I in your position, I'd react no different."

"Perhaps... but I think we have spoken enough, and I do not wish to hold you from your affairs," Tyber stated. "I wish to be alone, to think."

Wordlessly, Vitani, Kovu and Kiara all left the room. Hours later, before retiring for bed herself, Vitani would return to find Tyber out cold and snoring.