I got this idea from a story called 'A Light for everyone' by Alex Draco. The beginning of this story is similar to the beginning of his. However, my story goes in a bit of a different direction. But it was inspired by that story! You should go check it out, it's very well written in my opinion. One more thing. I am using some of Tearthgrrl OC's, just because they really add to the story. Tearthgrrl hasn't added anything to her profile for three years now, so I figured it would be okay to use some of her OC's. But credit where it's due!
Tearthgrrl OC's:
Maumbu- Ed's big brother, a healer, sort of like Rafiki.
Hasina- Maumbu's mate
By the way, whenever you see : ()()()()()()(()(())(), it means the point of view is changing. Also, I did some research and it turns out that even if a person is totally blind, they will still be able to see random lights and colors, those lights and colors just don't correspond to what is actually in front of them. But for the purpose of this story, total blindness will mean that all the person will be able to see is darkness. No lights or colors, just a black void. To clear things up, 'Macho' means 'vigilant' in swahili. And the name is pronounced 'maco' don't pronounce the ch sound. Also, I don't know if you knew this, but Scar's name was Taka before he got his Scar.
Anyways, on with the fanfic!
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Shenzi's POV
Shenzi opened her eyes, and looked around.
Which of course was a surprise in itself, because she couldn't see.
That meant she was back in a dreamscape.
Which of course was wonderful. Being on a dream was infinitely better than real life. Here in a dream, she could see, she could hunt to her content, and there were no limits, because dreams always ended. You didn't have to worry about consequences, because when it was over, whatever happened in the dream would exist only in memory.
The best part was the temporary restoration of her sight. Since this was a dream, her dream, her blindness didn't transfer over from reality. It certainly was exhilarating to lose that handicap, even if only in a dream.
Shenzi stood up, and looked around again. She was in the Elephant Graveyard, inside an Elephant skull. Beside her, Banzai and Ed lay snoring, completely oblivious to her presence. It was nighttime, but no stars were out. Shenzi trotted out of the skull, taking in more of her surroundings. This was her cub hood den, along with her friends. Looking down at her paws, she saw they were rather short. She was an adolescent again!
Shenzi wrinkled her nose in confusion. Every time she dreamed, it was always about an event from her past. But what was so special about tonight? She had relived the day she became Matriarch dozens of times. And the day she met Banzai and Ed. And the day her mother died. Not all her dreams were happy ones.
The question here was, what was she supposed to do now? Maybe she should just prance around and run as fast as she could and otherwise enjoy her sight before she woke back up. That would make her happy. And she would need some happiness too, considering how dismal it was to be awake lately. Be blind wasn't fun for her, especially since her favorite pastime was running through the grass with the wind in her fur. That alongside admonishing Banzai and eating zebra. Zebra was her favorite food after all.
As Shenzi sat outside the skull pondering on what to do next, she heard a voice call her name.
"Shenzi! Help! Help me!" Screamed someone from off in the distance. Shenzi's eyes widened and her fur bristled. That was tonight? She was reliving this of all things? It had been years since she had dreamed about tonight's events. Ever since they slew Scar, this one had stopped.
So why was it back now of all times?
It didn't matter. Long ago, she had swore to herself that there were certain dreams in which she had to mirror to reality down to the letter. And this was one of them. She turned around and ran back to the skull to wake up her cohorts.
"Ed! Banzai! Wake up!" She yelled, as she whacked them both.
"Oh geez Shenzi, what time is it? Can't this wait…" Moaned the younger version of Banzai. Ed got up instantly, giggling and smiling.
"No! Now come on! We have to hurry if we're going to get this right!" She responded urgently. Which was true. They had to hurry if they were going to make it in time.
"I said come on!" She repeated, as she went back out of the skull. Banzai and Ed trotted out to follow her.
"What is it then?" Asked Banzai, as he rubbed his eyes. Just at that moment, the voice came again, louder this time, and closer.
"Help me! Shenzi! Somebody, help!"
"Is that… Taka?!" Asked Banzai, incredulously.
"Yes! And clearly, he needs help! Now follow me, or we won't get there in time!" Said Shenzi. With that, she turned around, and ran down the hill as fast as she could go. Which wasn't that fast. The legs of a pup did that to you, being shorter and whatnot.
This wasn't her least favorite dream. Her mother's death was the worst, but this one was up there. Despite that, she knew exactly where to go. She ran through a ravine, and then up a hill. The three of them skidded to a stop on a small cliff, that overlooked yet another ravine. The Graveyard had a lot of them.
"Okay, we're almost there." She whispered to her friends. "Stay low, and don't be seen!"
"Where's Taka?" Asked Banzai, as he looked around.
In answer to his question, a dark orange lion ran by them. It was larger than a cub, but not as large as a full grown lion. It had the beginnings of a mane, and was clearly an adolescent. The lion chasing it however, was most certainly a full grown lion, with a large black mane, and sharp white teeth. Taka was being chased by his own father, and his father didn't seem particularly merciful at the moment.
Taka's eyes were wide with fear, or at least his right eye was, the other was closed with blood streaming down the left side of his face. He had a long gash across that eye, and it was very fresh. Clearly he had only gotten it moments before. Taka saw the ravine and slid to a stop before he tumbled over the side. His father also stopped, growling at his son angrily.
"I'm sorry dad! I'm sorry, I meant to tell you earlier! Leave me alone!" Cried Taka fearfully, as his father, Ahadi, advanced toward the cornered lion.
"You never respected me son. I told you to do something, and you refused! And then I find out that you're actually friends with hyenas! Don't you remember what they did to your grandfather Mohatu?" Snarled Ahadi, as he slowly crept toward his son.
"No! I, I,,, the hyenas aren't that bad! They just… just please let me go!" Pleaded Taka, as he grimaced from pain and fear.
"No. You were always the runt, the disappointment. I should have done this a long time ago, I should have thrown you out at birth. It was only ever your mother that kept my wrath at bay. Now, I'm going to finally be rid of you." Growled Ahadi, as he raised his paw, claws extended.
Shenzi knew time had run out. Quickly, she turned to her comrades to explain her plan.
"Okay guys, here's the deal. I'll run in on the left, Banzai, you go in on the right. Claw him as hard as you can, then follow my lead. Ed, just bite him on the butt as hard as you can, and run. Got it?" They both nodded vigorously, and Shenzi turned back around to execute her plan.
"Go!" She yelled. Shenzi ran forward toward Taka, passing Ahadi on the left side. As she ran, she stretched out her paw, claws unsheathed. She raked Ahadi on the side, doing her best to scratch as deep as she could. Ahadi roared in pain, as he whipped around to see who had slashed him. Ed stood there, licking his chops, having already bit the angry lion on the leg. Immediately, Ed took a hint and ran off as fast as he could. Ahadi failed to see Shenzi and Banzai in time, and they ran to Taka, who stood gaping at the hyenas.
Shenzi jumped at Taka, and headbutted him backwards. Both she, Taka, and Banzai fell over the edge of the ravine. Fortunately for them, she knew exactly what to do. She readjusted herself, and they slid down, and skidded to a stop at the bottom.
Taka got back up, and then fell back down onto the ground. He groaned in pain, as blood spurted out of his face. The entire left side of his head was streaming with the red liquid. Ahadi had slashed him real well.
"How badly are you hurt?" She asked urgently.
"Ugh… Hi Shenzi." He replied, trying to smile at his friend. All he managed was a twisted grimace.
"This isn't a time to dilly dally! How badly are you hurt!" She repeated.
"Man… Father got me real well on the face. You can probably tell that though. I can't even open that eye…." Taka winced in pain, clearly doing his best to keep from moaning.
"Listen, as long as Ed has got your dad distracted, we got a chance. If we can make it to my mom, she'll protect us. Even the king can't fight a whole clanful of Hyenas." Said Shenzi.
"Let's go then!" Interrupted Banzai.
"Right. Are you strong enough to walk?" Asked Shenzi, looking at Taka.
"I think so.. I took a little spill in you guy's escape plan." Replied Taka.
"Hey, it was either that, or getting eaten. You tell me which is worse. Now come, we gotta go before Ahadi finds us." With that, Shenzi nudged Taka again, to urge him to get up. There was no way she could drag an adolescent lion as a hyena hardly older than a pup. If Taka didn't move himself, they would be in trouble.
"I'm working on it… Ungh.. Heh.. Okay." Taka gasped from pain, his paw twitching, resisting the urge to wipe the blood from his face.
"This way." Shenzi and Banzai trotted down the length of the ravine, sticking next to Taka. They could at least provide their friend with moral support.
Eventually, Taka stumbled out of the ravine, still grimacing. The blood kept flowing, leaving a trail behind them. If Ahadi found it, he could track them down quickly enough. A few more minutes passed. Angry roars sounded around them, the sound of an infuriated lion. At least he hadn't found them yet.
They were only a few more hills left to go! In a few more minutes, they would be safe, protected by the members of their clan. Ahadi would have to back off then! At that moment, Ed came bounding up to them, his crazed smile still gracing his face. He laughed, and stood in front of the three of them.
"Ed! What are you doing here! Where's Ahadi?" Asked Banzai roughly.
In response, Ed simply giggled. Shenzi had never been able to make sense of Ed's babbles. But Banzai always could understand them just fine.
"Ahadi's distracted? Good job Ed!" Congratulated Banzai. Banzai then turned to Shenzi to translate.
"Kingy is looking for Ed over at the geyser fields. He won't know Ed is gone for hours yet! The colored steam is pretty good for escapes." Said Banzai, eyebrow cocked.
"Sweet! We just got a few more hills to get by, then we'll reach the main encampment. We'll be safe there, and we could get Taka patched up." Replied Shenzi optimisticically. Man! Her voice was really sqeaky! Being a pup meant annoying high voices.
"Let's…. Let's get there then…ungh!" Groaned Taka. He was starting to lose too much blood!
"Right. We're off!" Said Banzai.
"Oh I don't think so." Growled a menacing voice from behind them. Shenzi slowly turned around, as did her three comrades. There stood Ahadi, teeth bared, advancing closer to them.
That wasn't good.
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Kiara's POV
Kiara and Kovu stood in Rafiki's tree. They had gently dragged Shenzi's body over here as fast as they could, in hopes of helping Shenzi. Rafiki, the Pride's Shaman, was adept at the healing arts, so he was the only one who would be able to help here. They had no idea where Maumbu, the hyenas healer, had ran off to, so they couldn't go to him.
When they had arrived at the base of the gigantic tree, they had called up to the mandarill, who had helped them to get the injured hyena up the tree. Once up, Rafiki began to inspect the patient, diagnosing her.
"Verra serious, verra serious indeed." Mused the Shaman. He picked up one of Shenzi's legs and shook it gently. "Dees two legs are broke." He said as he gestured at Shenzi's right back leg, and her left foreleg. "But wat ees more worryin ees her back."
"Can you fix it?" Blurted Kiara. She had to ask that question, it was weighing in on the back of her mind.
"Dat ees the trouble eesnt it?" Said Rafiki. "De spine is a veree delicat part oh dee body. If eet wasn't snapped too badlee, dere ees a chance I can help her. But a total severence, that even I can't doo a ting about."
Kiara gulped. If Shenzi's spine was broken completely, she wouldn't be able to walk ever again! That was practically a death sentence, even worse than the blindness that currently ailed Shenzi.
First, Rafiki took a salve and rubbed it onto the extruding part of Shenzi's back. Then, he took a sharp rock and carefully cut open that area of the skin. He examined the spine, and gently fingered the extruding part.
"Well, unless yoo two don't weesh to lose yer breakfast I suggeest you leave fo dis part." Said Rafiki, gesturing to Kovu and Kiara. Kiara nodded to Kovu, and they walked over to another giant branch to sit down.
"So then… That's not good." Started Kovu.
"Yeah, No kidding." Snorted Kiara. They both sat in silence for a few more moments.
"What if she becomes lame? Losing her legs,,, how horrible that would be." Said Kiara. Hopefully Kovu would have something comforting to say.
"I agree. That's horrible, for any animal. You know, I originally thought that hyenas were evil, vile creatures, but meeting Shenzi has changed that outlook. Hyenas are just like you or me." Said Kovu.
"It's not their fault for getting a reputation as filthy scavengers. They had to scavenge the worst of the worst in order to survive. If anything, we lions are the mean ones in this story." Mused Kiara.
"Well, I suppose that's why we're doing this. Helping hyenas I mean. To redeem for the sins of our ancestors." Replied Kovu.
"I just dearly hope she'll be alright. She's suffered so much already, she doesn't need this." Added Kiara, worrying.
"Rafiki is the best healer in the Pridelands! If anyone can do it, he can. We just have to show a little faith." Replied Kovu seriously.
"I suppose so…." Said Kiara. She looked up at the stars, shining coldly down on her. Most nights, the stars were comforting, but tonight, they were just bleak. Kiara laid her head down on Kovu's forelegs, closing her eyes.
Some sleep would do her good.
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Well, a short little chapter to check back up on Shenzi. Not much that's too central to the plot. The dream has no bearing at all, but at least Kiara and Kovu got Shenzi to Rafiki. It's a fanfiction crime to be following a story but not review! Constructive criticism accepted. No flaming!