Chapter Five

When Vitani and Tyber returned to Pride Rock, Simba noticed Tyber walked a little less heavy of step. He could only speculate how their date in the Pridelands had gone, but he suspected she made him feel better – if only a little. But he still needed a lot of work before Simba could confidently say they cured him of what Simba termed as his ailment. A lot of things needed to be done. One such thing was to inform Tyber that the human justice department was working overtime – or so he had been assured – to find his family's killer. However, because there was a severe lack of evidence, finding him would be difficult – the assailant left nothing that would identify him, so Tyber would be the only one who could say who it was. He approached Tyber as he walked into the foyer with Vitani and spoke, "Tyber... I need to speak to you. Alone."

"Sounds ominous," Tyber commented.

"Not quite," Simba said. He motioned his head for Vitani to head to her domicile, and when he and Tyber were alone, he said, "First off... I'm not going to force you to talk about what happened to you. Not until you're ready. That said, I spoke with the human justice department, and they assured me they're working day and night to find your family's killer." Tyber's eyes shifted from green to red, then red to blue. He closed his eyes, heaving a sigh, and walked some way away from Simba before stopping.

"Even if they find out who did it... I doubt they'll be able to catch him. If they were competent in the least, they'd have nailed the bastard before he killed them," Tyber said.

"Understandable you would say that. But at least give them credit for trying to make things right," Simba replied.

"I trusted them to deal with him before. I told them so many times what the man was doing – and they never acted when it could have made a difference," Tyber hissed. "So you can understand if I view them as lazy and incompetent. They cannot be trusted to do what's necessary when it must be done." Without another word, he marched into Vitani's domicile.

"Man's holding a grudge," Kion said, now emerging from hiding in his domicile. "Holding the entirety of his race responsible for the crimes of one."

"Can you blame him?" Simba asked. "After what he's been through, can you really hold it against him?"

"Considering he was nearly killed by this unknown assailant, no – but what's the point of seeking justice for him if he won't give us anything to help us give it to him?" Kion asked.

"That's enough, Kion," Simba said sternly. "It may have escaped your notice that Tyber has a reason not to trust us."

"Then why is he here?" Kion countered.

"Because he has nowhere else to go," Simba stated. "What would you have me do? Throw him out into the streets when he has nothing?"

"No, but I'd rather you not let him keep us in the dark," Kion responded. "You're letting him push you around, and that's gotta stop. You're letting him be-"

"He is merely acting as I would were our positions reversed!" Simba snapped. "And for the record, even though he's unwilling to talk to us on the matter, he did give us some information we can use!"

Kion backed up a bit at his father's sudden anger, but he regardless asked, "And what information is that?"

"Whoever murdered his family is someone he has clashed with before – someone he tried to alert the authorities about, but they did nothing," Simba answered. "You need to seriously tone down with the anti-outsider attitude. Instead of judging him, try to do what the rest of us are doing and get to know him."

It was then that Nala made herself known: "Remember, Kion – if the visions are accurate, Tyber will be Vitani's soulmate. We cannot drive Tyber away; it would be cruel and wrong of us, and not just to him, but to Vitani, as well."

"So where does that leave us? What do we do in this moment?" Kion asked.

"We pass on what we learned from Tyber to the humans, which should narrow their search for Tyber's assailant," Simba said calmly. "As for you, Kion, you need to take a step back and examine the situation from Tyber's perspective. Put yourself in his shoes." Simba then walked past Kion, heading to the domicile he and Nala shared, and Kion spoke to him just shy of the door:

"Why is he so important to you, all of a sudden? Besides being Vitani's potential soulmate, what makes him so valuable to you?"

"Because, as strange as it sounds, he reminds me a lot of myself after your grandfather died," was all Simba said before he entered the doorway, leaving Kion to his thoughts, to really step back and consider his reasons why he was seemingly so against Tyber.

\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Tyber had not heard the exchange between Simba and Kion; he had been meditating for some time when he felt a sudden, severe and overt chill strike him, waking him from his meditation. He felt a massive disturbance in the Force, and just briefly before waking, he saw him. Now, sensing this sudden disturbance, he felt it was tied to him somehow. He rose from the floor, grabbing both his lightsabers and donning his cloak. Something told him he would not need the rifle. That done, Tyber walked out of his room, and immediately caught Vitani's attention, who was finishing up cooking in the kitchen. "Tyber? Is everything alright?"

Tyber knew better than to lie to Vitani – especially considering how she had risked Simba's wrath just to keep Tyber warm. "There has been a disturbance in the Force," he finally said after a few moments of silence.

"Bad?" Vitani asked.

"I cannot be certain," Tyber answered. "But I feel it's tied to him."

"Who, Kion?" Vitani inquired.

Tyber shook his head. "No, not Kion... my enemy. Nemesis. The murderer that tried to kill me."

Vitani's face turned to shock. "Are you certain it's tied him?"

"Again, I cannot say definitively – but I can feel it," Tyber said. Vitani ditched her apron and went into Tyber's room to fetch his assault rifle.

"Wherever you're going, I'm going with you, and that's not up for discussion; no way am I gonna let you face this alone," she told him. A strange rumble crept from Tyber's throat.

"I thought you might," he said. He reached for his back and pulled his hood over his head. "Just keep the rifle safetied unless absolutely necessary." He then marched out of the domicile with Vitani in tow. They walked through the foyer, not a soul was in sight. Not even Kion. They marched out of the foyer and into Pride Rock itself, where the sight of Tyber cloaked in black and Vitani holding his rifle – which was a weapon no one in Pride Rock had ever seen before – caused some concern among some folks. Most simply scurried out of the way. Others muttered and murmured in concern to one an other. This caught Kovu's attention as he was walking into Pride Rock as Tyber and Vitani were walking out of it.

"Something you want to tell me, Vitani?" Kovu asked.

"Tyber is investigating a disturbance in the Force he felt – and he thinks it might be tied to his unknown assailant," Vitani whispered to him.

"Don't you think we should tell Simba?" Kovu suggested.

"Not until we know more," Vitani answered.

"Where's he going?" Kovu asked.

"I don't know," Vitani admitted.

They must have been walking for at least an hour, taking seemingly random twists and turns, when they were stopped by a large band of black-clad armed...

"Hyenas," Kovu hissed, seeing the interlopers. "You realize you're not supposed to be here, right? We are legally within our rights to-"

"Oh, but you're not the target, Prince Kovu," the leader of the bunch said. He pointed a finger at Tyber. "He is."

"Assassins..." Kovu growled. "And of what interest is he to you?"

"It's just a job – and a very big payday," the leader said. Looking directly at Tyber, he added, "Jeff sends his regards, and hopes you stay dead, this time."

When Tyber spoke, his voice had a vicious, dark thrum to it that made it so alien to Vitani that she didn't recognize it: "You would be wise to leave this place... while you still have your skin intact!"

"Ooh, the Jedi knows how to play!" one of the hyenas snickered.

"You think I'm intimidated by your threats?" the leader scoffed.

"Enough of this – let's just kill 'im and go home!" another exclaimed, firing a shot at Tyber. But the shot went wide, and hit a wall off to Vitani's right.

"You're going to have to do much better than that," Tyber hissed in that voice. Vitani heard a click as Tyber unclipped something, then a snap-hiss as one of his lightsabers went active.

"What the hell...?" one of the Hyenas gasped.

"He's a Sith! Kill him!" another shouted. They all raised their laser weapons, and began firing at Tyber. But Tyber was deflecting every shot with unimaginable speed, almost twirling his weapon like a baton at a parade. After one last swing that deflected a trio of shots, he reached out, then made an upward pulling motion, and the hyenas' weapons suddenly flew out of their hands. But it didn't end there – Tyber started yelling, then screaming, and finally crying a blood-curdling war cry as he became surrounded by this blood-red aura. He snarled, leaping up and into the hyenas' midst, taking out two as he landed before they could react. The rest drew melee weapons, and tried to fight Tyber off. But trying to fight with Tyber in this state was like trying to grapple with a shadow; Tyber was a blur. Even heavily-outnumbered, he was a sight to see. He landed a gutting slash on one, disarmed another and spin-kicked him into a wall, and dove backward to avoid a decapitating slash from another, catching his fall on his hands, then bringing his feet up to crack the hyena's nose on his right heel, then leapt onto and from a wall, bringing his other foot around to kick the hyena across the face. He cried another war cry, and lunged for one hyena frozen with fear, jabbing his lightsaber in to his gut, then lifting him off his feet, bringing him over his head, and slamming him down on his head, breaking his neck.

Vitani was astonished to see Tyber like this. He was vicious and violent, dispatching the hyenas with absolutely no regard to mercy. With Tyber swinging those crimson blades, Vitani was quickly coming to realize – his anger and rage were far worse than she suspected. Tyber may have been right; whoever murdered his family, whoever tried to kill him may have pushed him toward the dark side. And if this is what Tyber was like pushed toward it, Vitani shuddered to think what he would be like fully consumed by it. He was utterly terrifying. But Vitani was determined – she would work through this. Help him find peace, no matter what.

There was a pause in the battle. Tyber stood ready for attack, and the remaining assassins were arrayed against him. Out of over a dozen hyenas, only six were left. Kovu was shocked; Vitani was just as astonished. Kion, now arriving on the scene, was horrified. This, to him, was proof of his beliefs against Tyber. He was a monster, and should never have been allowed into the Pridelands. "You should have run when you had the chance!" Tyber hissed in that dark voice. He undid his cloak, letting it slide off his back, and his second lightsaber flared, with that same red glow. He went on the attack, and the assassins found it impossible to keep up with him, with his Force-assisted acrobatics and rage-fueled blows; he even ran up one wall, kicked off spinning like a drill bit, and upon landing, both his lightsabers flashed out and decapitated two. The fighting continued until only the leader of the bunch was left standing. And he was absolutely terrified. Tyber, as though to shout to the sky, roared, and from his hands shot what almost looked like arcs of electricity, striking each of the assassins he'd killed, which seemingly disintegrated their bodies, and it all streamed back to Tyber, surrounding him in a purple aura, before it dissipated.

"What... what are you?!" the leader asked hoarsely. Tyber didn't answer, just started advancing on him. The hyena, terrified, backed away, but tripped and fell. Tyber was about to lunge for the kill when a voice cried out,

"Tyber, stop!"

Tyber stopped immediately, looking back at the one who'd spoken, and for the first time since he'd been here, Vitani saw his eyes as bright yellow. "Remember who you are!" she shouted to him. "You aren't a killer! You don't have to do this!" She approached him slowly, arms out to show she was unarmed. "Easy, Tyber... you don't have to do this. Look around you – you've already won. There's no need to kill him. Just let him go." Tyber didn't verbally respond, but the blood-red aura pulsating around him began to slow. Kion frowned slightly on seeing this. Could it really be...? He thought. Vitani pressed her advantage. "You know well the dangers of the dark side; you know well where it ends. Don't let it consume you just when you have met a woman who knows how you feel.

This time, Tyber actually spoke: "The dark side is a tool, much like the light. A dangerous tool, but a tool nonetheless."

"And you've used that tool – don't let it use you. You have every reason to be angry, every reason to be enraged – these men tried to kill you, and you did no more than defend yourself. But this..." Vitani indicated the terrified hyena. "... this isn't you. There's no need to kill him." The aura surrounding Tyber slowed even further, and was starting to fade. It was working, Kion thought, though he was in shock that his family was right on this matter. "Look at him, Tyber – he's beaten. He knows he cannot best you alone if a full squad could not do the same. You and I both know you don't have to kill him. Let him go, Tyber – let the anger go. It has served its purpose. Don't become what you despise." Tyber heaved a shivering sigh, and the aura vanished, his lightsabers deactivated, and his eyes shifted to blue. He toppled over, and Vitani was quick and close enough to catch him as he fell. "Gotcha!" she quietly proclaimed. "I've got you, Tyber..." Kovu was quick to support his sister, getting Tyber's other arm and they both began carrying him back to Pride Rock.

Simba, who had witnessed the whole exchange from a distance, approached Kion from behind. "Do you see it now, Kion?" he asked.

"I believe so, father..." Kion replied. "He's a monster... but one we could help find peace with his inner demons. But to do that, we need to understand what drives them, and how we can help put an end to it all."

"I think it time we paid Mufasa a visit, then," Simba suggested. "Find Rafiki."

/

It took far less time for Kion to find Rafiki than Simba had expected – amazingly, Rafiki had sensed the incident from his perch and was already heading for Pride Rock when Simba sent Kion. Now, the three were descending into the burial crypt that ran beneath Pride Rock, toward the chamber where Mufasa was interred. The three were in agreement – they needed Mufasa's advice on Tyber and how to proceed in the wake of his recent episode.

"Dad... are you sure grandpa will have the information we seek?" Kion asked.

"We're looking for advice, not information," Simba said. "Father has always been good for advice."

"Even so, dad-" Kion began.

"Now's not the time to be getting cold feet," Simba cut him off.

"Listen to your father, Prince Kion – he knows better what young Tyber is going through than you," Rafiki stated. "And we all agreed that we need Mufasa's advice on how to proceed. If Tyber is to assume his place, he first needs to find peace; and Mufasa may have some insight on how we can help him find it." They walked into Mufasa's chamber shortly thereafter, where Rafiki spoke almost to no one in particular: "Oh, old friend... I bring you two who wish to speak to you. They are very worried, as I am, Mufasa." Silence followed this, and for a moment, Kion was unsure Mufasa would show.

"Simba," Mufasa's voice finally echoed. "Kion... it has been long since either of you have entered my crypt. Tell me, what worries you?"

"Father... we are lost. We took in an outsider, and now..." Simba began.

"I know of Tyber. A human, afflicted by a power none before him have ever had, troubled by a harsh past he neither wanted nor deserved... but you would not seek my advice unless something drastic has happened," Mufasa responded.

"He is angry, father – tormented. He-" Simba started. This time, Kion cut him off.

"He killed over a dozen assassins in a fit of rage none of us had ever seen before," he told Mufasa. "What happened to him to inflict such anger and rage?"

"My children, there is little I can tell you that you cannot glean yourselves. But you must reserve judgment, Kion – not all is as it seems. Always is there a reason behind such anger – and to understand it, you have to be brave, and venture where so few ever had. Rafiki, old friend... you know where to go. But tread carefully; few who venture into such a tormented man's past emerge from the experience... unscathed," Mufasa explained. "And always remember – rather like Kovu was, Tyber may be an outsider, but he has the potential to change the Pridelands forever. What change that is will stem from how you proceed. There are benefits, and there are risks. Show the same mercy and forbearance you showed Kovu, Simba, and you and Kion may find yourselves on new frontiers..."

Mufasa's voice vanished, and Rafiki hummed in concern. "Mufasa is right, Simba... but I was hoping not to have to do it."

"You can get into his mind, can't you?" Kion asked.

"I can – he and I have powers... quite similar to each other. He might say I am touched by the Force in some ways," Rafiki affirmed. "But we must be careful – looking into the mind of another, especially without consent, is a dangerous thing."

"But if it'll help us find justice for Tyber, we have to try," Kion suggested.

"Kion, are you aware of what your suggesting?" Simba asked. "We'd be invading Tyber's mind without his consent just to find out who tried to kill him!"

"Would you do any different for me? If it were me that was nearly killed, would you not go into my mind to determine who did it?" Kion countered.

"That's different!" Simba exclaimed.

"No, dad, it's not! You implied it yourself – Tyber's one of us, now! He may not like it, but we need this information if we are to bring him justice! He has left us with no alternative!" Kion exclaimed back.

"That doesn't mean we should just-"

"Simba," Rafiki interrupted, "Kion has a point. Tyber's one of us. I share the sentiment that he deserves justice, but I agree with Kion that Tyber has left us no choice – sometimes, one has to do the wrong thing for the right reason." Simba paused, trying to think of another solution, but slowly coming to grips with the fact that Rafiki and Kion were right – and they were short on options.

"Fine," Simba finally said. "But I still think it's wrong. We're invading a man's mind without his consent – and if he became aware of it, it may provoke him."

"That's a risk we're going to have to take, Simba," Rafiki responded. They all assumed a meditation position in a triangle, and Rafiki started humming strangely. Simba and Kion kept their eyes closed as Rafiki did this, not sure how he was going to link them to his mind as he ventured into Tyber's. It went on for what seemed hours, until they all saw a bright flash of white light, and then...

… found themselves in a somewhat-dirty house. They stood in what Simba assumed to be a Living Room, as there was a stand that had a large, flat screen TV attached to it, an air conditioning unit in the corner with the vent going out the window, a couch with a cover over it, two recliners, and a small nightstand between them. A kitchen and dining room lay near it, and on the counter was a small box that seemingly didn't belong. Outside the windows were the sights of a vibrant countryside – a farm land, if one were to go by the fields they saw. This had to be Tyber's home – so what-

The creaking of wood alerted Simba and Kion to the presence of another. They both turned to see Tyber, staring directly at them with a confused frown on his face. Then, he went to the couch to sit down. He heaved a melancholic sigh, resting his head in his hand. It was then that the front door opened, and what Simba assumed was his mother came in, followed by two brothers, another woman, then a younger woman, then an elderly gentleman.

"You better have gotten this house cleaned up," the first woman growled.

"I did, mom," Tyber responded.

"If you did, then why are you sitting there?" the first brother asked.

"Why not check over your work?" the second brother added.

What the hell...? Simba thought. His family treated him like a slave! Was that why he didn't trust them? Because of what his own family did to him? The situation got worse by the second, with Tyber's family railing at him for the slightest error in his "cleaning." It was almost as if they were intentionally trying to provoke him. But, unlike his episode earlier, he was doing an admirable job keeping it controlled. But then it hit Simba, as Tyber's family were gathered around the living room, harassing and tormenting him – a sudden, cold shiver in his spine. Tyber evidently felt it, too – he visibly shuddered. He cast a look out the window next to him, and Simba and Kion looked as well, and saw someone who was not there before – a husky man with a beard and glasses, holding...

Simba's heart stopped cold when he saw what the man was holding – a detonator. Tyber, Kion and Simba all looked to the kitchen, where that small box gave off a slight DEET!

The explosion in the memory knocked Simba, Rafiki and Kion out of the trance and onto their backs. When they recovered, they were left with one question: They now knew the face of Tyber's assailant, and from what the hyenas had said, they had a name, Jeff – but why did Jeff try to kill him?