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Chapter 14: War is Upon us!

Strike's POV:

At that point, everything turned into alarm. Kopa stood there frozen for a few seconds, until Brasta shouted. "Kopa! Take Maua to safety and alert the lionesses. For the Gods' sake, get going!" Kopa nodded and ran out of the den. I ran to join him, but was stopped at the last second.

"Strike!" Brasta shouted.

I stopped and turned around. Drake and Sadic's forces were on their way to slaughter the pride. Every man, woman, and child were desperately trying to get into each of their positions with what little time they had left, and Brasta, the mastermind behind this entire defence plan....was just standing idly by while everyone else took action. That didn't make any sense, and it certainly didn't make it sense for him. Intrigued, I padded over towards him.

"It's total chaos!" I said, raising my voice just so Brasta could me hear over all the noise our friends and pridemates were making.

"Yeah, just like last time." he replied.

I frowned. I knew what he was getting at. "No, it's not like last time." I argued. "We're prepared for this this time, we have a plan, and we have you." I reminded him.

Brasta of course said nothing, it wasn't like I had been expecting him to, and glanced over at Tojo...or should I say Kopa. The lion was talking to several of our pridemates outside the den. He had already said good-bye to Maua, now I could see he was covering up any kind of worries he had with his best brave face. Something Brasta was attempting to do, but doing it badly for some reason.

"Strike, if we don't make it out of this..." he suddenly said.

I didn't like where he was going with this. I had heard enough talk about death since the call went out that we were being invaded. "We are going to make it out of this." I said firmly.

"Let me finish." he growled, and I backed off. His mind already made up about whatever he was about to say, and I knew Brasta well enough to know it was impossible to change it now. He was too stubborn, just like I was. "I want to thank you for helping me and family out this past year. You may have started out a rogue, but you've been more than a good friend to all of us, and a good... brother." he confessed. Though brother didn't seem to be the word he was looking for.

I grinned a little, but I still wasn't ready to drop my point. If I was really the friend Brasta said I was, I wouldn't let him keep doing this to himself. "Brasta, I promise you, we're not going to lose this battle. So long as I'm still breathing, I will protect you and our pride." I said.

He only stared at me. Except, I couldn't help but get the feeling that he wasn't staring at me, but staring right through me. Especially when a solitary tear rolled down his face. "Brasta, don't do that zoning out thing on me now. Not now!" I complained.

This seemed snapped him out of it, for the time being, and he smirked at me. I knew before he spoke that he was going to change the subject. I hated it when he did that. "Forget about me. Aren't you going to say your good-byes?" he asked.

"No, because we're going to survive this." I insisted.

He snorted. "Strike, this is hardly the time to go into denial. This is a war. And all wars have casualties. So in the small chance that something does happen to one or both of us, we shouldn't go with any regrets, should we?" he asked me patronisingly, though not in an arrogant way.

Damn it! He used logic against me. And good logic at that. I hesitated, before I finally gave in. "Fine. Brasta, you and I haven't always been the best of friends." His face dropped a little with that. A hint of regret? "But you've been a good friend to me this past year too. You stood up to your own father on my behalf, and that's something no lion has ever done for me. Thanks." I said, extending my paw towards him like any self-respecting lion would do before battle. How was I to know he would take it one step further?

One second Brasta's grabbing my arm and the next second he's hugging me, like how a brother would say goodbye to his sibling before they parted ways for an unknown amount of time. He really had come to see me as a member of his family. Considering the rather cold welcoming he gave me when I first arrived, I was touched.

"Goodbye Strike." he mumbled, and I knew it took a lot of effort on his part just to be this vulnerable.

"Goodbye Brasta." I replied, returning the embrace.

I couldn't imagine what kind of hell he was going through up there in his mind, because the way he held onto me, it was like he never wanted to let go. This was a side of Brasta I had never seen before. He didn't just seem paranoid and guilt-ridden like he had for the past ten months; he also looked broken, and resigned to the fate he was certain would befall him and his comrades. But I meant what told him; hell itself would freeze over before I let those monsters hurt my family again.

He looked up at me, about to open his mouth again. "Strike, I..." The sounds of shouts behind him caused him to turn around, and glancing back at me, he finally let go.

When we finally did pull away from each other, we were almost trampled by another wave of frenzied lions. Drake and Sadic's army was almost here, and little did I know it then, but this era in my life and all our lives was not only about change, but come to an irrevocable end.

Brasta's POV:

I could feel it; the spectre of death was in the air. It was in front of us, behind us, above us, amongst us. Everyone of us were on edge, waiting, praying. None of us completely knew what was in store for us; all we knew as that we were going to die. We just didn't know which one of us.

With that in mind, we stood silently, watching on. We were already in our formations- a backwards wedge formation, with the tip facing the entrance to the caves. Two smaller wedges were on the right and left of our main force, covering our flanks. I stood in the front line of the left, and I glanced across at Strike at the right. In front of the ridge where our caves were was an enormous hill, sloping up away from us- we would see them when they came. For good or ill, I had yet to know.

A fool would say we were in hell. But even I, one of the most religious lions in our pride, knew that hell was nothing compared to what was about to befall us. Sometimes I hated being right. But I usually was. Now all that was left to do was wait for them to come to us. So why did I have still have that sickening feeling in the pit of my stomach that it wasn't going to work? That... No, I couldn't think like that. All the other lions and lionesses were focused on getting to their jobs, and I had to be too. Soon anyway.

Kopa had already taken his position on the front line, having already said his hasty good-byes to Maua and Fuwele. Despite all our differences in the past, I knew he was a man of his word, and would protect his mate and his cub to his last breath. I wish that was enough to placate me. But all the comfort and reassurance wouldn't help me shake the terrifying idea of my sister at Drake and Sadic's mercy, their jaws tearing into her...

Or Strike. I had said my own good byes, but couldn't help but worry what would happen to him. This was one of the things I was the miss the most when I was dead. I would miss my pride and my family, but most of all I would miss him. My roguish adopted brother. The brother who I sometimes, foolishly, found myself wishing was more than...

I froze. I thought I had heard something. But that couldn't be; it was too quiet. There was no sign of them , not a whisper of their movements. Nothing but the sharp whistling of the wind...

Then came the laughter. Horrible, screeching, insane laughter, like gleeful demons cackling away in hell. Incessant, piercing, seemingly disembodied laughter that sent a chill up my spine. I looked ahead- but all I could see nothing but the hot sun over the crest of the hill. I looked closer, squinting my eyes- and thought I saw something. My eyes widened as I realised I was right, and the laughter got louder and louder as they appeared on the top of the hill, one after another. Dozens upon dozens of hyenas, laughing in spite, laughing with bloodlust and fury. And last but not least appeared Drake and Sadic, leering cruelly down at our poor, outnumbered force.

They had finally arrived. Kyrie eleison.

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