Chapter 25

It was a little difficult for Baako to tell where exactly they were, partly because one of his eyes was swollen shut and there was not very much light coming in the room save from a single set of cracked windows.

From what he could see, he was whisked away to somewhere that was abandoned: an old office building judging from the few rusted, dilapidated desks and broken down chairs by several corners of the room.

It would have been nice to have seen how far away from school he was taken, but there was a sizable gap in his memory from the time he was grabbed and knocked unconscious by Richard and his group before waking up in his current location.

Baako winced slightly from the sharp pain in his ribs. He wished he could check whether they were broken from all the blows he was subjected to, but his wrists were bound tightly by a strong cord as he was hung by them against the wall.

Richard loomed over the boar, his face several inches away as he gazed intently into his eyes while rubbing his chin.

"Hm, gotta say, you're actually a lot tougher to break than I thought. Most herbivores would usually piss their pants way before we get to this point."

Maybe if you decided to do something more original than tying up and beating me up in some abandoned building, I might consider shaking in my boots, Baako scoffed inwardly.

"Hm? Got something to say?" Richard grabbed the boar's chin while squeezing his cheeks with his thumb, index, and middle finger.

Baako merely glared, refusing to say anything—partly out of refusing to give him the satisfaction of reacting to his taunts and also knowing that things may become worse if he provoked the white lion.

"...Guess you really are a little more than hot air," the white lion chuckled. "I think I'm starting to like ya, Porky."

The boar jerked his head out of the carnivore's grip in disgust. Richard merely laughed, amused by his defiance.

"...Hey, Richie?" said one of the twin, short-maned lions.

"Hm?"

"You sure this is okay? I mean, the school's been on high alert since that theater kid got devoured, right?"

"Eh, I wouldn't worry about that, Ludo," Richard said dismissively. "If they were really that serious, they would've caught the guy already. Besides, it's not like we're on school grounds anymore, right?"

Ludo turned to his brother, who only shrugged in response as he shook his head.

It didn't seem like they have any real opinions of their own—true lackeys through and through, Baako thought to himself.

He did have to agree that the school hadn't been all that proactive in finding the true culprit, most likely in order to keep the status quo or not cause an uproar. At the very least, they're no longer monitoring or bothering Rob anymore.

Ugh…why am I still worried about that idiot, he thought, huffing quietly to himself?

"Now then, back to business." Richard sauntered towards the boar and slammed his hand on the wall next to Baako's head, almost as though he was flirting with someone.

"There's more than one way to prepare pork, and I've tried them all."

The hairs along the boar's back and neck immediately became erect as the tip of Richard's tongue glided across his black lips and exposed teeth.

This sicko…! Strangely enough, Baako's body shook with as much fury as fear for his life.

"Seriously, what the h*ll do you get out of all this!?" he blurted out angrily, his body almost swaying forward as he lunged towards Richard. "I already know you're on thin ice with the school thanks to your stereotypical "bad boy" shtick, so why go so far!?"

The white lion gazed down at Baako with an almost bored expression on his face for a few moments before finally sighing.

"...See, this is why I can't stand herbivores: they don't understand their f$# !& place!"

It took Baako a second to realize air being pushed hard from the bottom of his diaphragm, as well as the incredible pain that radiated from the middle of his stomach to the entirety of his torso.

He could barely make a sound, save a short gasp and then a heavy cough garbled by metallic-tasting fluid shooting up from his stomach and spilling out of his mouth.

"Hahaha, see that!? I actually held back this time and your body couldn't even handle that little punch!"

The boar coughed and gagged, his vision becoming blurred as he struggled to keep himself conscious.

"D…D*mn…you…" he quietly wheezed.

"Heh, I've always hated how everyone looks down on us just for being carnivores," the white lion began anew. "Pretty weird considering how much bigger and stronger we are, don'tcha think? I wondered why that was for a long time. That is, until I had my first bite of meat."

Richard chuckled and then sighed as he tilted his head up slightly, closing his eyes. "Man, you wouldn't believe how delicious that meal was…! It was then that I finally realized: why should I have to listen to anyone that I can easily put on my plate? Especially when my species is always called the 'king of beasts?'"

If he wasn't still reeling from the pain in his torso, Baako would have been rolling his eyes. A lion calling themselves the "king of beasts" was considered the biggest egotist and this guy said it so casually like it was gospel?

"Now whenever a herbivore acts all high and mighty, like our future "Beastar" for example, it pisses me off almost as much as it makes me laugh," Richard scoffed. "I can easily turn that scrawny li'l Bambi into jerky anytime I want, and everyone puts someone like him on a pedestal? What a f $%#& joke!"

This time, the proud carnivore seemed legitimately upset as he ranted. The boar knew there were several carnivores that were none too thrilled about Louis becoming the next Beastar, especially when it would most likely elevate an herbivore's position over them in society. He also understood that there were plenty of good predators that would rather discard their instincts and live their lives without being feared and looked down upon.

Even so, Baako had zero sympathy for an animal that was clearly enjoying trampling on others and who was truly in love with himself.

"Ah well, I guess it won't matter soon, anyway. There's already plenty of carnivores ready to off him. Just gotta make sure I get to him first so I can have a piece of him. Been a while since I last had venison."

Richard soon turned his attention back to the weakened boar and gave a thin smile as he stepped slowly towards him.

"Now…what to do now?" Richsrd mused. After a few moments he snapped his fingers joyfully. "Got it! First thing I'm gonna do i–"

BANG!

All three lions swerved their heads behind them towards the closed door. The booming increased with each successive hit until–

CRAAASH!

A very large cat tumbled into the room before stomping one foot on the ground to regain his balance.

"R…Rob?" Baako wheezed, his uninjured eye widening. "Why are you…?"

Richard growled loudly as his fists and body tensed up. "That $%#& Lorde turned coat and ratted us out…!? When I get my hands on him–!"

"B-BAAKO!"

The liliger bolted towards the group, his eyes fixed upon the hanging boar.

The twin lions attempted to intercept him by trying to grab him, but Rob struck the sides of their heads with two powerful backhand punches, sending each reeling a ways away before dropping to the ground.

It was then Richard's to confront the bulldozing hybrid. He was more prepared to attack Rob and stepped forward to strike his snout with his fist as he approached.

It failed. The liliger grabbed the front of the white lion's blue uniform as well as kept his body at arm's length, which kept the latter's fist just out of reach from landing an actual blow thanks to the difference in the length of their limbs.

The much larger carnivore then immediately took hold with his other hand and proceeded to effortlessly lift the lion a foot or so off the ground before ultimately throwing him across the room, his body slamming against the wall before dropping down to the floor.

Rob then resumed his sprint towards Baako and looked as though he was about to weep when he finally reached him.

"Oh R-Rex…! Look what th-they've done to…y-you," Rob stammered frantically, practically in tears. "I'm…s-s-so sorry! You w-wouldn't have b-been i–been in this m-mess if I…!"

This B.S. again, making it all about him, the boar thought, gritting his teeth. I was the one that pissed off the wrong guy! Get a $%&# ! clue!

Baako was just about to repeat his thoughts loudly to the frantic liliger, but saw Richard, Ludo, and Tyson rising from the ground–the leader barking out some sort of order to the twins.

"Y-You idiot…! Pay attention behind you!" the boar yelled.

For a split second, Rob looked at the herbivore with some slight confusion, but then found one of the short-maned lions jumped upon his shoulders and wrapping his arms around his neck before he could react.

The other twin then tackled the young hybrid from his side in an attempt to topple him to the ground.

To their disappointment and obvious shock, however, Rob remained upright despite just barely losing his footing from the first tackle.

Baako wasn't all that surprised the liliger could not be moved out of place. With Rob's large and muscular body, along with his solid stance he adopted from all his years of basic training from his bighorn family, he knew it would take a few more large carnivores to actually beat him.

After a dozen seconds of struggle between the three big cats, Rob yelled out in crescendo as he began leaning all his weight in a direction a bit diagonal to where one of the twins was pushing against him.

The sudden shift in weight caused the lion to lose his own footing, and before he could regain it, he found himself getting pushed back hard until he was smashed against the wall right next to a window.

As the smushed lion toppled to the ground, holding on tight to a shoulder that was apparently injured, the one grappling Rob's neck yelled out, "Ty!"

That lapse in attention was just enough for the liliger to peel the worried brother's arms off of him, flip him forward over his shoulder, and slammed him on his back upon the same wall hard enough that sound of the impact resounded throughout the entire room, making Baako winced in sympathy to the victim.

As soon as the liliger turned around to face the boar again, Richard charged at him fast, roaring out while preparing to strike him once more with a fist.

Almost just as quickly, Rob raised his forearms in front of his face, blocking the blow easily. It wasn't the end of the white lion's attack, however, as he continued to throw successive punches and the occasional kick, not allowing the larger cat to counter.

It didn't seem like he was able make any leeway against the liliger, but then Richard started changing his attack pattern slightly by beginning to use his claws to swipe at his flesh.

Rob groaned as the nails scratched through his fur and into the skin of his forearms, drawing blood and eventually dripping down to his elbows.

The boar knew it would only be a matter of time before the liliger's defenses finally drop from the pain claw marks, and it only served to piss him off even more.

"For the love of…will you hurry up and fight!? You're embarrassing your own species!"

"Wh-what…!?" Rob responded as he continued to be assailed by the white lion's attacks.

"Ugh, are we really gonna do this again!? Start acting like a real carnivore and fight back!"

"Rrrrrgh, stop…s-s-saying that!"

THWACK!

Rob slugged Richard hard squarely in the jaw, actually sending the white lion flying backwards across the room until he hit the ground with a loud thud.

The liliger found himself completely stunned as he slowly raised and stared at his closed fist. He wasn't given enough time to process what had occurred, unfortunately, as the white lion quickly propped himself from off the ground and glared at Rob.

His face and snout became completely scrunched up as he growled with fangs almost completely bared. As soon as one foot was planted on the floor, Richard sprinted, or rather lunged, towards the larger carnivore, roaring and spreading his arms out as though he was prepared to grapple him.

Big mistake.

Rob affirmed the boar's thoughts by clasping his hands with Richard's and the two big cats began pushing against one another.

Naturally, the stalemate lasted only for a short time before Rob slowly overpowered the white lion, his legs shaking and threatening to buckle as he was pushed back.

Desperate, Richard yelled out and began kicking the liliger's leg furiously, which caused him to grunt in pain and weaken his stance slightly.

At that point, it was Rob's turn to shout out as he reared his head backwards and—

CRACK!

As the cringe-inducing sound echoed throughout the empty office room, Richard's legs shook furiously before falling to his knees and falling to his side with a groan.

The liliger almost stumbled himself, but he shook his head vigorously as though to keep himself conscious and moaned while rubbing his forehead. It seemed that all his training in BMA tempered the front of his skull to the point that a headbutt could prove dangerous to most animals. Baako was just relieved that that hard head of his served him well this time around.

A moment later, Rob hurried jogged back to the young herbivore and began frantically looking over him and checking all the obvious bruises.

"Rrrgh, I'm fine," said Baako, jerking his head away after the liliger gently held it with one hand. "Just got beaten up a little, is all."

"...I-I'm sorry. Th-th-this wouldn't have…h-happened if I w-was more c-care—careful around—"

"And quit apologizing already!" Baako interrupted before coughing. "It wasn't like you were the one that got me…"

He trailed off seeing someone lumbering towards them from behind the liliger.

Somehow, Richard had manage to bring himself off the ground and was now stepping closer with a look of an animal ready to rip and tear someone apart.

"Rob!"

The startled liliger manage to follow Baako's line of sight and swerve to find the white lion charging at him once more.

Rob readied his stance quickly enough to face the raging carnivore, but then briefly flinched.

It was split second, but Baako was somehow able to catch sight of something reflecting light flying towards the liliger's face.

Before either he or the liliger reacted, Richard threw a very quick jab and the sound of something like small pieces of glasses could be heard right before the white lion's fist made contact with Rob's face.

Rob staggered slightly from the impact and stood frozen as though he was in a trance.

Baako craned around to get a better view of the liliger's face and was about to ask what happened, but shivered as he saw a small drop of red liquid quietly splash on the floor.

"...Uh? Uuugh…!? WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGHHHH!"

The hairs along the boar's neck and back stood on end as the shrill cries of the large carnivore pealed throughout the entire office. He was positive the screams were loud enough to spill out through the halls and the cracked window.

Rob clutched his face with shaking hands and collapsed on the floor, writhing as though in extreme pain–and with what looked a lot like blood coating his fingers, that seemed to be the case.

Baako could then hear roaring laughter, cruelly harmonizing with the liliger's anguished wails.

"AHAHAHHAHAAAAH! Is that really all it took!? A puny bottle of blood and you're down for the count!?"

Now the herbivore understood what had transpired in those brief seconds. Richard threw a small vial of blood he just happened to be carrying and took advantage of Rob's phobia to immobilize him.

Baako was almost impressed by such a sneaky tactic, but was too enraged by the fact that the white lion actually executed it.

As the liliger floundered, Richard stepped towards him. "I can't believe some pansy-a$% b*stard like you lucked out on being born a giant among carnivores. And now here you are, crying on the floor while being absolute. F$%# &. Pathetic. Excuse. For. a predator!"

With each emphasis he made on his words, the white lion furiously kicked Rob's exposed side.

The young hybrid could only groan and whimper as Richard's foot struck him, too paralyzed to resist or fight back.

"Rrrrrrrgh, knock it off!" Baako yelled, holding back the urge to cough after doing so.

The white lion froze mid-kick and slowly turned his head towards the dangling boar, glaring as Baako mirrored his angered expression.

"You think this proves anything!? That you're the better carnivore!?"

Now Richard turned his attention entirely upon the herbivore, slowly stepping towards him with heavy footsteps.

"You and I both know you'd keep losing to him if you hadn't played dirty like that!"

"You'd better watch that f%$ #& mouth of your, Piggy, or—"

"Oh, you think cheap threats are gonna work now? I'm not not done by a long shot!"

The lion let loose a low growl and gnashed his teeth as he advanced towards him.

"I get it! That guy laying on the ground over there is far from the ideal carnivore. He's a big wuss, a crybaby, and an all-around idiot sometimes, but he knows how to give it his all when he gets motivated enough. He might have a ways to go, but even he's a better man–a better carnivore–than you'll ever be!"

Baako paused momentarily. He was supposed to still be angry with the liliger and yet he finds himself singing his praises.

Richard was now right in front of him, his eyes fixed on the boar with a glare that threatened to pierce right through him.

"...So, what now? Gonna devour me?" Baako asked, doing his utmost to not turn from the predator's gaze.

The white lion said nothing for a while, leaving the room silent save the small cries of the anguished liliger on the ground.

Richard then opened his mouth slowly. "I've lost my appetite…"

KKRRRCKK!

Baako siddenly heard a muffled, sickening crack.

"G…GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!"

An undescribable pain shot straight up from one leg to his brain, reverberating to the rest of his body.

The back of his throat burned as his screams spilled out like a torrent and was very close to completely passing out from the pain.

The boar's head then slumped down, the air in his lungs completely empty and his mouth completely agape.

His vision began to blur, but was still able to see a large hand wrapped around the area below his knee and shaking furiously as it squeezed.

His bones were crushed.

"Hehe, there's the squeal," the white lion exclaimed coolly.

Suddenly, a great and terrible roar shook the whole room. It even caused Baako's whole frame to tremble.

Richard's grip immediately loosened, obviously startled by the bellow. His hand then quickly disappeared from the boar's view and soon he heard shouts and snarls, along with the sounds of hits, the shuffling of feet, and finally a huge thud.

The pain in Baako's shattered leg subsided somewhat after Richard released his hold on it, and he shook his and he shook his head a bit before wearily raising his head. Whatever aches he still had soon was completely ignored as shock and slight terror filled him at the sight in front of him.

The boar almost thought a new vicious lion had suddenly appeared, but he knew from the size and specific features that that was Rob. With a face painted red, teeth completely bared with exposed gums, a face and snout more wrinkled than he thought at all possible, and eyes burning so brightly with the purest rage, Baako's body instinctively jerked as though to escape as fast as it was able to despite his wrists being completely bound.

Over and over, the liliger punched, swiped, and pounded with two closed fists Richard's head and chest, straddling himself over the white lion's legs. With each blow, Rob grunted and snarled as though he was cursing the downed carnivore to death in every breath.

The boar could quiver in fear and disbelief whilst he watched his best friend relentlessly beating Richard down despite obviously being knocked unconscious long ago.

"Stop…Rob stop…!" Baako breathed out shakingly. "You won already, so you can relax! Hey! ROB!?"

His loud pleas fell on deaf's ear. The liliger refused to slow down his attacks while his eyes remained fixed on Richard's bruised and bloody face.

"Dude, you're gonna kill him at this rate! Ro—!"

"ROBBIE, STOP!"

A familiar tigress dressed in a white uniform suddenly sprinted towards the incensed hybrid and wrapped her arms around his thick torso.

Rob jerked and snarled as Lily struggled to keep him from thrashing.

"It's okay now…! It's over," she said shakily. "You don't have to fight anymore, so please…"

The large hybrid continued flailing for a few more moments before showing any signs of calming down. Lily continued doing her utmost to soothe him until finally his body stopped struggling against her embrace.

Rob's face began to relax from its contorted state, with his eyes becoming more lucid and unclouded by rage. Soon, he became almost completely still save for ragged and unsteady breaths.

The liliger gave a dazed and confused expression as he slowly scanned the room, as though he had just woken up and forgotten where he was momentarily. Soon after, however, realization seemed to have come to him, his eyes now filled with fear and his ears flattening as his body began to tremble.

Right before his gaze slowly turned downward towards the unconscious and battered white lion, Lily quickly moved to the side of him and pulled his head into her chest in an embrace, almost covering his eyes with her arms.

"Wh…what did I…?" Rob whispered.

"Shh, shhh…It's alright now. You're alright," the tigress answered softly, despite betraying a small amount of distress in her voice.

"N-no…I was... I-I-I almost…!"

"Not another word…! Please...it's over now."

Tears immediately formed in Rob's eyes, his eyes shining and clear in contrast to the face painted red around him. They soon spilled over as his breathing quickened into quiet sobs.

The tigress said nothing—only squeezed her arms tighter around his head, gently rocking back and forth as though trying to pacify a small child.

Rob's cries grew louder and louder, but the female tigress continued swaying him softly as the fur on her arms became wet with tears and splotches of animal blood.

Baako gritted his teeth, partly from the pain in his leg and body as well as the pang of regret that suddenly assailed him watching the large carnivore fall apart. He wondered if he could have done things differently, then neither of them would have been reduced to the respective states they were in.

His train of thought was suddenly interrupted by the sound of shuffling feet. Looking up, he saw a red-maned lion nervously peaking into the office room, surveying the aftermath of what had occurred.

"Hey! Hey, Lorde!" Baako yelled over Rob's loud sobs.

"Uh—!? Y-yes…?" the carnivore answered timidly.

"Don't just stand there gawking! Get me down from here!"

"A-ah…! Right!" Lorde quickly trotted over to the dangling boar, slowly down a bit as he passed Rob and Lily, and began clumsily untying the cord after finally reaching him.

Baako braced himself for the drop, making sure to put all of his weight on his unbroken leg as soon as he reached the floor. He then fell over to his side, gasping as the aches from all over his body assailed him at once. Lorde then careful lifted him up from the ground until he was finally upright, kneeling down next to him with a nervous hand on his back

"Umm…should we…?" the lion asked, turning his attention to the couple.

"Nggh…! Nah, give them a minute," Baako said, hissing as he grabbed his side.

He knew it would definitely take a while to make it back to school from wherever he was taken, and possibly longer to explain to some of the principal and staff as well…

Author's Note

Yes, I know I keep saying this, but this was definitely a hard chapter to make. Haha
And now that there's a small break for me in work, I can devote more time to finishing Robbie's story!

Once again, thanks so much to everyone that has stuck with it for so long!