Chapter 8: The Mountain Pride

Close to Malka's Home, 16:00 pm…

"So this is where you call home." Code Red remarked as his optics passed over the mountainous area surrounding him, the Autobots, Kion, Malka and the Lion Guard.

Malka nodded. "Although ever since the Decepticons began to menace my pride, things don't look as good as they would usually."

Code Red nodded. He could already see evidence of Decepticons having attacked the area: Blackened rocks that would have otherwise been a bright grey, charred and burned plants littering the floor whereas they would have been healthy and full of life.

Malka frowned as he noticed Code Red's expression. "This was the site of the first attack by that Decepticon you faced earlier. We had finally managed to locate him and get him somewhere that we could confront him. I demanded to know why he was there, what his intentions were and whatnot. He responded by firing right at me."

Code Red shrugged. "You want to make a statement, you go up to the top dog in any crowd and knock them off. It's what I'd have done."

"Indeed." Malka said. "Either way, it was the first massacre. And unless you locate and neutralise Shadowstreak, it won't be the last."

Code Red nodded. "I don't plan on leaving until I do, Malka."

Malka nodded. He made to say more, but was interrupted by the appearance of a white collared pigeon swooping down towards them. Smiling, he said: "Ah, Uaminifu. Just who I was hoping to see."

"Welcome home, Malka." The pidgeon replied. "Was your journey fruitful?"

Malka nodded, gesturing behind him to Kion, who stepped forward. "Uaminifu, meet Kion."

"Honoured to meet you, Prince Kion." Uaminifu said.

"You too." Kion said.

Uaminifu was quick to regard the presence of Code Red and the Autobots. "I assume you are the assistance Malka said he was fetching?" He asked.

Code Red nodded.

Malka looked between them and said: "We can exchange pleasantries later." Looking to Uaminifu, he said: "For now, let's get on home."

Malka's Home…

Code Red had to admit, he was impressed by Malka's home.

The entrance leading into it was dominated by a mixture of large, high-reaching trees and jagged rocks, giving off a sense of a firm but fair household, with the rock representing the firmness and the trees creating the sense of fairness.

He could tell Kion was awed by it all himself, as he observed the leader of the Lion Guard looking around the area with an impressed look crossing his face.

The rest of the Lion Guard were equally impressed, all gazing around the area in awe.

Finally, after a few minutes' walk, they entered into an area that Code Red imagined was the main courtyard of Malka's home. Large rock formations made gave the area surrounding Malka's home a castle-like aesthetic, said formations appearing none too similar to walls.

They were directly facing a slope that led up to a small cave nestled atop a cliff, with another, much larger cave directly next to it.

He was quick to notice Malka directly beside him, looking up at the cliff-cave.

"Home sweet home." Malka said wistfully.

Uaminifu soon joined them. "I'll let everyone know you've returned." He said, launching himself into the air and flying towards the cave on the cliff.

Code Red half expected to find a massive throng of lions, lionesses and more than a few cubs to come barrelling down and swamp them. So he was slightly surprised when instead, one lioness burst out, followed suit by a teenaged male lion.

"Malka! You're back!" The lioness said as she rushed Malka.

"Of course I would be!" Malka said as he nuzzled the lioness. "Why wouldn't I be?"

The lioness sighed. "Uaminifu reported hearing the sounds of battle nearby. We feared the worst."

Malka laughed heartily. "Thankfully, I had the necessary muscle in order to prevent that from happening." With that, he gestured to Code Red and the Autobots.

The lioness looked up and nearly shrank back in fear. But upon ascertaining that Code Red and the Autobots were friendly, she composed herself, and said: "Welcome to our home. I am Tama, Malka's mate."

"Honoured to meet you, Tama." Code Red replied. "My name's Code Red. The two Autobots to my right are Bombast and Doubletake respectively, and those to my left are Frontline and Overclock."

"Whoa!" The teenage lion said. "You really are bigger than anything Dad's said he's seen."

Code Red folded his arms. "Best be lucky we're friendly too, otherwise you would be in trouble."

Malka walked over and said: "This here is my son: Afua. He's my eldest."

Code Red eyed Malka. "Afua, huh? Sounds like the sound you make when you're trying to say 'Afa' but you sneeze mid-sentence. Sort of like this: Afu-" Code Red quickly feigned a sneeze, and mock staggered back, as if the sneeze had been a punch to the face.

This sent the Lion Guard and everyone else bursting out laughing.

As if remembering, Malka broke up the laughter by gesturing for Kion to come forward. "Tama, Afua, meet Simba's son, Kion."

Tama smiled at the sight of Kion, and said: "Welcome to the Mountain Pride's humble abode Kion."

"I'm honoured to be here." Kion said with an optimistic smile. "May I introduce the Lion Guard?"

Promptly, the Lion Guard came forward and introduced themselves.

Once pleasantries had been exchanged, Tama began looking up towards the cave on the den. "But I doubt you've come all this way just to say hello. Let me fetch my daughter." With that, she took off towards the cliff.

Kion looked over to Malka. "Why didn't your daughter come down with Tama and Afua?" He asked.

"My daughter is a little shy when it comes to meeting new people." Malka replied. "I imagine it's more so when it comes to boys." Turning to Code Red, Malka said: "Make yourselves at home, Autobots. You've had a long journey. Best to get some rest before heading out."

Code Red shook his head. "We'll be fine." Turning to Doubletake, Code Red said: "Start reconnoitring the area around this place. I want a full report of the lay of the land by midday tomorrow."

"Yes sir." Doubletake said, transforming and speeding away.

Code Red turned next to the others. "Frontline, Bombast, stand guard at the entrance. I don't want any surprise Decepticon attacks."

"Yes sir!" Bombast and Frontline said as they moved to do so, just as Tama returned.

"Kion, meet mine and Malka's daughter, Mzuri." She said, stepping aside.

Kion's jaw would have dropped to the floor had he not divined Code Red's immediate reaction had he done just that.

Mzuri was easily Kion's age, a near perfect mix of her mother and father. Unlike Utawala, who almost completely took after his father, Mzuri only claimed her father's golden pelt. Her eyes were like her mother's; emerald green. And to say that even at her young age, her beauty shone through was an immense understatement.

Code Red eyed Mzuri with narrowed optics, taking in her posture and body language, imagining what she must think of Kion, who was clearly giving off an air of confidence.

He briefly considered cracking a joke, but decided against it. He had no sense of Mzuri's personality, so he would reserve any jokes he made until he had a better judge of her character.

But then he noted the obvious tension. It was already tense, but now the tension was so thin, you'd be able to cut it with a knife. Maybe an icebreaker was needed:

"Now would usually be the time for me to crack some sort of ice-breaking joke, but judging the circumstances, I don't think that'd be a good idea." Code Red said. Gesturing to Kion, Code Red said: "Mzuri, may I present Kion; Leader of the Lion Guard, son of an overprotective halfwit called Simba, and all-round goody two-shoes."

Malka audibly nearly cracked up laughing at the remark concerning Simba, but fell silent soon after as the silence enveloped them again.

It was quickly broken though, as Kion seemingly swallowed his nerves and said: "Hey."

"Hey." Mzuri replied. Her voice was soft and gentle, like calm waves on a beach, yet with a hint of self-assuredness behind them.

After that, Kion seemingly breathed a sigh of relief. "Well, I'd introduce myself, but after Code Red's intro, well…"

Mzuri chuckled. "Is Simba really an overprotective halfwit?" She asked.

Malka looked at Tama. "I'm not sure I'll be allowed to answer that question in front of your mother, Mzuri." He said.

Code Red folded his arms. "Well, spend enough time around myself, and I'll tell you all you need to know, Mzuri." He said, smirking at Malka.

"What about your mission?" Malka inquired.

"Doubletake will report back to me when we have more information." Code Red replied. "In the meantime, I'll hang around and stay by Kion, along with the Lion Guard." With that, he looked down at Kion and Mzuri. "Speaking of you two, let's take a walk. Get to know one another a little better." With that, Code Red, Kion and Mzuri took their leave.

Malka shook his head before looking to Tama.

"That Code Red certainly is a character, isn't he?" Tama asked.

Malka nodded. "The first thing he said to me was if I had any embarrassing stories to tell him regarding Simba."

Tama chuckled. "How many did you tell him?" She asked.

Malka chuckled. "Only the one about Simba's attempted jump into a shallow pool of water and walking out with less of a capacity for bearing children." Malka replied.

Tama laughed. "Is that right?" She asked. "Well, I'd have loved to see that take place.

Malka nodded. "My only worry about him is that he'll start grilling Mzuri for embarrassing facts about me." He said.

"It's true." Said one of the Lion Guard, the cheetah. "Code Red lives for mocking people. He doesn't mean it maliciously, he only means to be funny."

"Yeah." Said the honey badger. "I heard that one time, he sang a version of the ceremonial summons. Only his version featured all sorts of insults directed at the royal family."

Malka chuckled. "I would have given anything to have been there for that." Malka said. Looking around, Malka said: "Either way, it's best you make yourselves comfortable. It's been a long day, and I'm sure you all need some rest."

"Follow me." Tama said as she turned away, walking towards the larger cave network.

Malka watched the Lion Guard walk away with his mate, before turning to Afua, who'd been silent for some time. "What's eating you, son?" He asked.

Afua shook his head. "Nothing. It's just that... Seeing Kion. It reminded me, you know?"

Malka immediately adopted a sad but understanding look. "I know, Afua." Taking his son by the shoulder, Malka added: "But remember what I've told you. The past is beyond our control. What is within our control is the present, and how it shapes the future." Looking around, Malka said: "Now, let's head on after your mother. She's probably got her hands full with the Lion Guard."

Afua nodded. "Yeah." With that, father and son made their way into the den, unaware that they were being watched.

Nearby...

Shadowstreak materialised into existence, a smile spreading across his countenance. Contacting Crossfire, Shadowstreak said: "Commander! I have visual confirmation that the Autobots have arrived at the home of the pride I have been harassing. What are your next orders?"

"Continue to monitor them." Crossfire commanded. "The Autobots' guard will be up no thanks to your fiasco earlier. We will give it some time before my plans are put to action. Ensure you are not seen either. I would not have you add to your list of failures by revealing my plans to the Autobots. Crossfire out."

Shadowstreak scowled at the insults, but ignored them. He was still a soldier, and orders were orders. With that, he disappeared once again, and decided to head in the direction of where Code Red had headed off to. He hoped he would be able to glean some information that might grant the Decepticons a measure of advantage, not to mention more favour with Crossfire.

Well, it appears all is well. Kion has clearly taken a liking to Malka's daughter, and to some extent, vice versa. Whether or not that translates to romance will depend on me.

With that said, let's answer some reviews:

Adam Carver: Yeah, as well as the business end of Code Red's Path Blaster (He still has his oath to Nala to keep, remember?).

Daniel's the man 98: Thanks. I like to mix between short and long chapters, so that I don't oversaturate things. Sort of like how I like my pro-wrestling match cards; a few long epics (See NXT Takeover: New York as an example), amidst a few short but sweet bangers.

Jason Chandler: What can I say? Game recognises game, and Crossfire wouldn't really expect a carbon based organism to be capable of sadism quite like Zira was. Hell, I'd wager Megatron himself would be impressed by Zira; provided she lives long enough to meet him.

Jestalnaker94000: Well, Shadowstreak is the spy and assassin in Crossfire's circle of Decepticons. He knows what he's doing, so I'd be surprised if the Autobots did catch him. See this chapter for reference.

Mike Noland: I imagine that plan would've crossed Crossfire's mind, but I doubt he'd go through with it. He's here to eradicate the Autobots, not assassinate those he imagines as unwitting pawns in his plans.

And that is it for this chapter. Thank you all so much for reading, and I hope you enjoyed it.

With that said, I shall see you next week with chapter 9, where romance possibly continues blossoming between Kion and Malka's daughter, under Code Red's watchful optics.

T-Rock14