To all of you who mentioned insanity in your reviews, yes. I am insane. The only reason I ain't on meds in a padded room is because I can hide it. ;D

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The first thing he was aware of was a pounding in his skull. Ed groaned, shaking his head a little bit to try and rid himself of the pain before cracking his eyes open a bit. However, he was overcome by a rush of dizziness, and for a moment, all he could see was spots.

He was aware of voices, one deep and knowing, one giving off an irritating tone, and two that seemed to belong to children. He groaned again as he brought up his left hand to rub his eyes. Thankfully, it didn't seem to be too bright where he lay, his back supported by stone.

The voices stopped, and Ed felt all four gazes turn to him. He finally opened his eyes and saw his surroundings for the first time. What he saw, needless to say, scared the hell out of him.

He was in a small cave. Three lions and a bird were staring at him. He screamed.

One of the lions, the adult of the trio, crawled into the cave, moving slowly toward the young alchemist who was now trying desperately to crawl further back into the cave, forgetting temporarily that a: he was already backed up against the wall, and b: he could easily use alchemy to get the hell out of there.

However, he did think of a way to feel like he had a fighting chance. He pulled his right arm up, the blade he'd formed with alchemy as he'd ran from Scar still there, and held it in front of him, the tip pointing straight at the lion's head.

To his surprise, the beast didn't react the way he thought it – no, it was definitely a male, judging by the mane – would. The lion simply stopped moving, lowered his head, and looked Ed straight in the eyes.

They sat like that for a minute, Ed breathing hard and wishing his heart would go back to beating at a normal pace, and the lion watching him with what looked like patience in his eyes. Finally, Ed clapped his hands, got rid of the blade, and let his arms drop.

"Why does this always have to happen to me?" he muttered as he lowered his gaze.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to frighten you," came an unexpected reply, and Ed blinked a few times as he tried to comprehend what he'd just heard. From the lion's mouth.

"…Huh?"

"Dad, what's happening?" came a query from one of the younger voices. The lion right in front of Ed turned his head to look back out the cave entrance.

"Simba, I asked you to be patient while I finish this," came that same voice, again from the lion's mouth. Ed began massaging his temples with his left hand.

"This can't be happening…" he muttered to himself.

"Are you all right?" came that deep voice again, and Ed looked up to see the lion's face inches from his own. Ed unconsciously scooted back as far as he could go as he tried to think of an answer.

"Um… I think so…" he finally got out. "Wh-what exactly is this?" he asked.

"I'm surprised as well. I didn't think your kind could understand us."

"Is this some kind of joke?" Ed asked weakly, going back to massaging his temples. His head really hurt. A lot.

"As far as I know, it isn't. I know that humans don't speak the same language the rest of the animal kingdom does, but I have heard of exceptions."

"Well, I'm not an exception," Ed stated, refusing to believe what was happening. "If I could communicate with animals I should have learned about it by now."

The lion chuckled, which sent Ed into an even greater state of panic and confusion. Lions didn't chuckle. They were members of the feline family. They didn't chuckle. They roared or growled or purred or whatever else. They. Did. Not. Chuckle!

"I'm sorry, but I can't explain this to you because even I don't know the answers. However, I do know that you're injured. That is obvious enough to me."

"Huh…"

The lion's gaze moved down to Ed's legs, and Ed's eyes followed. As he saw what was beneath the torn leather, Ed let out a pained groan. Oh yeah, he could feel it now…

"Zazu, find Rafiki and ask him to come to Pride Rock. He may be the only one who can help…" The lion looked at Ed curiously, as if…

"Edward. My name is Edward," Ed stated.

"Yes, sir," came the irritating voice, just before Ed saw the bird that had been next to the lion's rear haunches fly off.

The lion in front of him slowly backed out of the small space, revealing the two cubs behind him. One seemed to be the lion's son, and the other looked like a female. Ed's mouth twitched in a weak attempt at a smile. Just like in the books he'd read back when he was a kid…

"You'll have to ride on my back," the adult lion stated, shaking his mane to rid himself of the dust from the cave ceiling. Ed paused for a moment, trying to figure out what he should do now. Obviously, these animals meant him no harm, but where were they taking him?

Another look at his leg sent Ed into a quiet panic. He wasn't in any condition to argue. Hell, he could die out here, and then where would he be? Lion food, probably, he mused as he slowly pushed himself out of the space.

"Edward, my name is Mufasa," the adult lion said. "This is my son Simba, and his friend Nala."

Ed nodded his greetings to the cubs. He was sure he'd get to know them later on, but right now he had to focus on the matter at hand…

"Can you pull yourself onto my back?" Mufasa asked as Ed made a vain attempt at standing.

Ed nodded and somehow got onto Mufasa's back, grimacing at the pain that shot through his legs as Mufasa stood. He looked around as they started on their way, hoping to see this 'Pride Rock' that Mufasa had mentioned. He really didn't think he'd be able to make it too far…

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Simba watched Edward curiously as they made their way back to Pride Rock, as Mufasa got Sarabi's assistance in creating a comfortable place for him to lie down, and as Edward slowly lay on the cushioned stone, his chest heaving from the effort.

"Simba, Nala, go outside."

"Aw, dad…" Simba complained. "Why can't we stay in here?"

"Because Edward is injured and right now, he needs to rest. You can come back when he's doing better."

Simba scowled and reluctantly padded out of the large cavern, Nala trailing behind. Man, he really wanted to see more of the human…

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Once his son was out of the cave, Mufasa lay down next to the human, resting his head so that he was looking Edward in the eyes.

"How did you get so far away from your kind?" he asked.

Edward looked down for a moment, appearing to be deep in thought, before answering. "I'm not quite sure. I was… running from someone, and then I lost my footing and fell… and when I woke up…"

"So you don't remember."

Edward shook his head. "I mean, it would make sense if you lived near that town nearby, but…"

"There are no human settlements anywhere near here," Mufasa finished. "Even with our speed, you would have had to travel for days to get this far, and look at yourself."

Edward let out a low moan as he shifted into a more comfortable position. "I guess I'm stuck, then, huh?"

"For the moment, yes," Mufasa answered.

The pain in the human's eyes was surprisingly abundant, and Mufasa found himself thinking of Simba. Imagine having to see that pain in your own son's eyes.

There was a rattling at the entrance to the cave. Mufasa and Edward both turned their gazes to the figure making its way toward them.

"Is this the human?" Rafiki asked, stopping right in front of the two. "What happened to you?" he directed the question to the human.

"I fell," Edward replied.

"You understand me? Good, this will be much more fun."

"Fun…?"

"You wouldn't want a boring impossible to understand old thing like me taking care of you, right? Hold still now, we have much to take care of this afternoon. Preferably without a certain king and his pride watching."

Mufasa sighed dramatically and nodded to Sarabi. "Shall we join the others?"

"I suppose we could," Sarabi replied, walking regally to the cave entrance. Mufasa smiled and followed. Edward would probably be just fine.

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Because, you know, I figure Rafiki's gotta know something about medicine with the type of character he is… If you disagree, then I call… ARTISTIC LICENSE! -poof-

Just so you know, the chapters for this fic are going to be pretty short, and yes, there will be an explanation for why Ed can talk to them, but it will come later. Much, much later.

Also, I bought fuzzy slippers the other day. I love them. Now my feet don't freeze during the day. :D