I'm back at this fanfic deal! Man, I love writing these! Anyhow, this a sequel to two of my stories, 'Scars of Redemption, and 'One Last Try.' The events of both shall be explored further here. But if you didn't read any of them, it doesn't matter, because anything relevant shall be explained here.
If you see this: ()()()()()()()() it means the POV is changing. Don't worry, I'll say to whose POV it's changing to. Fun facts: Shenzi's name means pagan or uncouth, Banzai's name means brash, Ed's name means…. Well…. Ed, Macho's name (pronounced Maco, don't pronounce the ch sound) means vigilant or loyal, and Nafasi's name means chance. All these are in swahili.
Well, on with the fanfic! And please, do leave this humble author a review.
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Banzai's POV
"Hey Banzai!" Wake up!" Yelled Shenzi, as Banzai felt her push him over.
"Oh jeez Shenzi, is the sun even up yet?" Moaned Banzai, as he rubbed his eyes.
"I don't know, I can't tell. But I gotta show you something!" Replied Shenzi, enthusiastically. Banzai frowned, not sure he had heard her correctly. What could she possibly have to show him?
"Hurry up Banzai, are you awake yet?" Demanded Shenzi.
"Yes…..I'm awake!" He gasped, shaking his head in an attempt to wake himself up quicker. He glanced around, and saw that the sun had just peaked over the horizon, casting little rays of light across the area. Fahama and Ed were still asleep, with Ed scratching himself in his sleep.
"Right then… Come over here." Ordered Shenzi. Banzai trotted over to her, waiting to see what it was she has to show him.
"So…. What is it?" He asked.
"Okay, so now…. I'm going to walk over in this direction, and I want you to stay perfectly still and quiet. Don't make a sound, okay?" She asked.
"Got it." He replied, confused by the strangeness of her request. He watched her limp backwards a few feet, then, with a grin on her face, started to make clicking noises. He arched his eyebrows, even further confused. Was this some sort of joke?
Although, after a few seconds of her clicking, she started to move forward. Banzai didn't see her sniff the air, but she moved towards him, clicking as she did so.
"Okay…. I think you're right about…. Here!" Announced Shenzi, as she stretched her forepaw out towards Banzai. Immediately, she fell forward onto the ground with a small yelp of surprise.
"Are you alright?" Asked Banzai quickly, as Shenzi got back up.
"I'm fine." Grumbled Shenzi, as she sat down in the sand. "I just keep forgetting I can't stand on only two legs."
"Oh… Well, you'll get used to it." Said Banzai reassuringly.
"Yeah. I'm sure I will." Muttered Shenzi darkly, as she scowled. "Anyways, what I was originally trying to show you was that I could use sounds to locate objects, like you."
"Was that what the clicking was?" Asked Banzai.
"Yeah, that's what the clicking was. It's like I can hear how sounds move and bounce off things. If an echo is stronger, the object is nearer. If it's weaker, then the object is further away." Explained Shenzi.
"That's neat." Replied Banzai.
"It's useful. It means that I don't have to completely rely on other hyenas to be my eyes. This way, I can be on my own for more often." She said. She sounded wistful though, as if she really wasn't sure she believed what she was saying. Although to Banzai, it was clear she was just wishing really hard that things could go back to the way they were.
Banzai knew Shenzi hated her disabilities. She hated them more than lions, which was saying something. Being blind and cripple was a real comedown for Shenzi, a female hyena. Since the females were the dominant gender among spotted hyenas, females enjoyed greater strength and rank. Shenzi still kept her rank, but she had lost all the strength. As well as almost any form of freedom and independence.
"That's good." Said Banzai, not sure what exactly to say. He wanted to comfort her, but what exactly could be said to make a problem as large as hers better?
"Huh. Well, it is. Now come on, wake the others up. I don't care if it's still dark, we need to get moving." Ordered Shenzi, still scowling.
"Actually, the sun just came up a few minutes ago, so it's no longer dark." Replied Banzai.
"Shut up! I DON'T give a fuck if it's dark or light, we need to get moving! Now do as I said!" Yelled Shenzi, suddenly getting angry. Banzai gulped, realizing he had just corrected her over something she couldn't possibly know, and had given her yet another unwelcome reminder of her infirmity. Cursing his own stupidity, Banzai ran over to the other hyenas, and shook them awake.
Hopefully, the day wouldn't contain any more screw ups.
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Scar's POV
Scar had what some would call a 'personality issue'.
He suffered from a multiple personality disorder, and it was one of the most annoying things in his life.
His current one was the one from his cubhood, Taka. As a cub, he had still been innocent, and had not known the evils of the world around him. Unfortunately for him though, his father, Ahadi, had hated him. He despised his own son. And he had made Scar's cub hood miserable.
If it wasn't for the hyenas, Scar doubted he would have had any good cubhood memories.
When Ahadi had attempted to kill Scar, he had cut Scar on his face, over his eye. Scar had run to the hyenas, the only spot he felt safe. When Ahadi realized he could not get to Scar, he had instead exiled him from the Pridelands. Over the years, the separation from his mother drove Scar bitter, and jealous of what his brother had.
After his blasted father had died, Mufasa let Scar back into the Pridelands, but he wasn't Taka anymore. He had rechristened himself as Scar, and had demanded that the others call him as such. His bitterness drove away every part of Taka, even his friendship with the hyena trio.
And as he obsessed over his jealousy, bitterness became deep hate, and hate eventually became madness. He had driven himself insane, and lost sight of all that was good or pure. Looking back on it, Scar doubted he would have ever been able to kill his brother or carry out any of the heinous acts he had done if he had not been so far off the deep end.
When Scar had cemented his rule, he did not have reason, he did not stop and think about anything other than himself. And so he dragged the Pridelands into a slow decline, a decline that hadn't halted until his nephew had arrived.
Simba had gotten lucky in that fight, of that he was sure. But nonetheless, he was glad that he had lost that fight, because if he hadn't, he would never have met Nafasi.
Nafasi had taken him out of his madness, and had brought him to see reason, and to finally love again. He truly loved Nafasi, more than anything else in the world. He no longer cared about who sat on the throne at Pride Rock, because why should he? He wasn't even living in the Pridelands anymore!
There were only two shadows across his heart. And one of them was his old life. Now that he wasn't his old bitter self anymore, he knew what he had done was evil. But what had caused him to do it was his madness, and even though he was no longer insane, that part of him bubbled underneath, always threatening to come up if he he lost control of himself.
If he got too angry, the old jealousy would come back, and there was no control over actions unregulated by a conscience.
Nafasi had scars on her chest as an example of himself losing control.
But at the moment, he didn't have to worry about his insane personality taking over. Right now, there was nothing to worry about, nothing but good news. In only a few days, Nafasi would give birth to a cub, and whether it was a boy or a girl Scar would welcome it into the world.
The biggest reason he wanted cubs was because his own childhood had been so terrible. He wanted to give a cub an upbringing he never had, he wanted to spoil that cub with anything it wanted to make it happy.
He wanted to prove he could do a better job than Ahadi had.
His dream last night still disturbed him though, And Mufasa had proved just as annoying as ever. Somehow, somehow, Mufasa had talked about his own death about as nonchalantly as if he was discussing the weather. And apparently, Mufasa had forgiven Scar of his sins, and was now trying to secure Scar a spot amongst the had no idea how any lion was capable of such profound goodness, but then, he supposed he wasn't really the lion to ask when it came to things like purity.
It also bothered Scar that Mufasa had mentioned two tests. Mufasa had claimed not to have any hand in the supposed tests, but knowing his brother, Mufasa probably had his sticky paws all over it. Mufasa said that one of the tests was almost here, and that he should be ready for it.
But how the hell was he supposed to be ready if he didn't know what the hell it was?
Scar sighed, as he thought back to another part of the dream. Mufasa had shown him three cubs, and supposedly they were the cubs that had been his, but had died. He didn't know how true that was, but he hoped it was. It meant that at least his cubs had been rewarded for their suffering.
Scar hoped the cubs were enjoying the afterlife, but there was no point in focusing on them. He had to focus on the here and now, he had to focus on the present. Nafasi's cub was due soon, and so he couldn't allow himself to lose sight of what was important. When the cub arrived, he could finally fulfill his desire to he a father.
Well, all would come about soon enough.
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Banzai's POV
They had been walking in near silence for hours.
There wasn't really much to see though, as the day wore on, fog came out and enveloped the entire area. In fact, the fog was so thick that if Banzai put his paw put in front of him, he couldn't even see that. In order to stay together, they were in a short line, with Banzai and Shenzi in the back, Ed right in front of them, and Fahama leading the way.
To Shenzi, this day was just like any other, but for the rest of them the sudden lack of visibility forced them to slow down.
"Say, Fahama…. How much longer till ya think the fog's going to clear up?" Asked Banzai.
"That's is literally the eighth time you've asked that Banzai!" Shouted an annoyed Fahama.
"Actually, it's the ninth." Muttered Shenzi.
"I don't think I've asked that nine times…." Said Banzai, trying to recall what he had said earlier.
"Trust us, it's probably more than that." Added Fahama. Ed let out a laugh that echoed out along the river. Banzai rolled his eyes.
"I don't think it's been that much." He said.
"Look, how about we don't argue about this? And as your Matriarch, I officially declare you asked that question exactly nine times." Said Shenzi, with a little chuckle.
"I didn't do it nine times!" Pleaded Banzai.
"Your Matriarch has had her say. And if your Matriarch gives you an order, you follow it!" Replied Shenzi.
"All right, all right. I asked that question nine times. Happy now?" Asked Banzai.
"Not quite. As your Matriarch, I order you to admit one secret! One thing you'd rather not have any else know! And be truthful, or there'll be consequences." Said Shenzi, smirking.
"What! That's not fair! Why should I tell other hyenas a secret of mine?"
"I don't know Banzai, I think this should be amusing." Chuckled Fahama evilly
"That's the exact reason. Now hurry up, we need an embarrassing secret to tease you about." Said Shenzi, as Ed giggled with anticipation.
"Well, what does the secret have to be about?" Asked Banzai, hoping to narrow down his options away from certain things.
"It has to be something you've never really told anyone. Or at least something you've never told Fahama. And it can't be the length of a certain body part, I already know that's real short!" Chuckled Shenzi, as Banzai turned red. Ed and Fahama both enjoyed a laugh from that.
"Hey… Shenzi! Stop it!" He muttered to her, glad for the fog. If Fahama or Ed glanced back, they would see he was blushing.
"It's called blackmail. Tell us a secret, or I'll spill something even worse than that! How about your sleeping habit from when you were a cub?" Grinned Shenzi.
"Okay! Okay… Umm…. Let's see…." Banzai racked his head, trying to come up with something that wouldn't be too embarrassing, but unfortunately for him, it seemed ALL his secrets were embarrassing.
"Guys, stop! Stop!" Yelled Fahama suddenly, as Banzai bumped into Ed, who in turn bumped into Fahama, who in turn skidded forward across the ground.
"What did we stop for?" Asked Shenzi, who had no trouble in coming to a halt.
"There's a ravine here…. And I think it's deep!" Fahama replied. Banzai and Shenzi marched forward, to check out what Fahama had said. When they reached the gap, Banzai looked over the edge, but the fog prevented him from seeing the bottom. He grabbed a rock, and tossed it over the side. He didn't hear hear it hit the ground.
"That's deep." He observed.
"No kidding." Replied Fahama.
"So… Shall we go around it then?" Suggested Shenzi.
"I guess so. Although, it's weird, the rocks overturned here seem fresh. As if they had just been recently tossed about." Added Fahama.
Hey, I don't care if the rocks are recent, what I care about is that we get around it. Now, shall we hurry up?" Said Shenzi.
"Alrighty. Let's go." The group then turned to their right, and began to trot around the ravine. As they went, they knocked rocks over into the gorge, with little echoes cascading around them as the stones slid across the edge. Banzai observed the ground, and he saw that Fahama was right. In fact, it looked as the dust had just barely settled.
Strange.
Suddenly, the ground below him began to shake. Banzai jerked his head down towards the ground, his eyes wide. What the heck? Rumbling noises emerged from the ravine next to them, and cracks appeared in the ground, spreading across the area.
"What the hell?" Yelled Shenzi.
"An earthquake!" Replied Fahama.
"Well, shit. Run!" Shouted Banzai, as the shaking noise grew louder. All four of them gave a quick start, and ran forward. The ravine shook, and started to grow wider, and wider!
Banzai cursed, as he and Shenzi limped away from the gorge. Why did the earthquake have to begin now? Why couldn't it have done it sooner, or after they arrived? As cracks spread beneath their feet, Banzai contemplated the incredible timing of their situation. Although the ground had been recently shook around…. Perhaps they were experiencing an aftershock?
The ground in front of them suddenly opened up, another ravine forming. Banzai jumped over it, and over the next widening hole. He could barely keep standing, but he stumbled forward. Fahama jumped out of the fog next to him, followed by Ed. All around them, cracks and holes opened up, with steam billowing out of them, the gasses forced up and out by the earthquake.
They ran through the fog, not stopping unless they hit an obstacle. And even then, only for the few seconds required to go around. After a few minutes, the rumbling faded, and they came to a stop on solid ground.
"Well….. That was close." Said Fahama happily, as she recovered her breath.
"I'll say." Replied Banzai, also gasping for air. Ed however, didn't seem winded. Instead, he whimpered, and glanced around.
"What is it Ed?" Said Fahama.
"Yeah Ed, we're fine, we made it! The earthquake is gone. Now all we have to do is go far around the damned thing. Who knows about more aftershocks." Said Banzai, grinning. But Ed didn't seem comforted. He just kept whimpering, staring at Banzai.
"Huh. Maybe he's just frightened." Suggested Fahama.
"Maybe. What do you think Shenzi…..." Said Banzai, as he turned to speak to her.
His voice died in his throat.
"Shenzi?!" He called, glancing around.
Silence.
"Oh…"
"Fuck."
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They screwed up! What happened to Shenzi? And will she be all right?
It's a fanfiction crime to be following a story but not review. Constructive criticism accepted. No flaming!