Lion King III: The Pridelands Reborn Chapter XVII
#17 of Lion King III: Pridelands Reborn
Chapter 17
Kopa's POV:
We were lost- ridiculously and hopelessly lost.
"Daddy, I'm tired. Where's Mama?" Maua asked, looking at me expectantly. I shook my head as we kept walking in the gloom.
"I don't know, darling. I don't know." I didn't know exactly where we were now, either- this place was far too confusing, with all its twists and turns and proliferation of side tunnels. At least the gods were kind enough to steer the combat away from us to the point that not even the screams of the dying could barely be heard.
I set off down the tunnels again, carefully trying to see if I could pick up any hints of Fuwele. But I found nothing. After wandering around blindly for a few minutes, I was starting to lose hope. Every second I didn't find her was a second she could be dying or trailed or tortured...
NO, I thought to myself sternly. She's fine. She WILL be fine. I reluctantly pushed that subject far from my mind and set off on the first straight tunnel I found, praying that fortune would smile upon me one last time.
As I walked along the dark passageway, a figure appeared from the darkness walking silently. I tensed, glancing down at my daughter. Glancing around, I spotted a small recess in the wall of the tunnel. Quickly, I picked up Maua by the scruff of her neck and placed her in the recess. "Stay here." I whispered, before returning my wary eyes to the figure. The figure came closer and closer, and I crouched, ready to fight if it was Sadic or Drake. But when the lion finally reached me, I saw a sight for sore eyes. There was Brasta, looking like hell itself had been chasing him.
"What the hell are you doing here?" Brasta demanded, looking over me like he was wondering whether to hug me or kill me. I couldn't miss the sharp edge to his question- he'd forgotten to finish with, And why isn't Fuwele with you?
"Where's your better half?" I asked, glancing around for Strike and trying to lighten up the mood just a little bit. I evidently failed in this, if the sudden flash of pain across Brasta's face was anything to go by.
"I can't find him," he said calmly. But I could tell he was not near as calm as he was pretending. "But that's not the point; why aren't you with Fuwele?"
"I got separated from her; actually, that's why I came down this way..." I trailed off. I was looking at him pleadingly now; maybe he had seen her, or caught her scent, or something?
"Then what are we doing standing around here for?" Brasta said impatiently, waiting a second for me to pick up Maua as we shot down a tunnel. With Brasta I was certain I'd find Fuwele; but I just hoped we weren't too late...
Hurt. That's all I could think when I laid eyes on her. She was hurt, I was hurt, Brasta was hurt... but her the most.
She lay upon the cave floor, curled up slightly. If I didn't know better, I would think she was sleeping. But the bloody gashes along her beautiful body spoke otherwise. I glanced back at Brasta; despite his mask of calm, I saw the look of horror in his eyes. Because it matched the one in mine.
I approached her slowly, trying to keep myself calm- and as I got closer, I could see she was shivering slightly. I breathed a sigh of relief; she was at least alive. But in very poor condition.
I stood over her, looking down with fear and anxiety. I took a breath, and shook her gently. "Fuwele." I felt her stir slightly, and I tilted her head up towards me as she opened her beautiful green eyes. "Fuwele..."
Fuwele's POV:
"Fuwele..." I heard my name being called, as I drifted on the edge of a black abyss. A warm, comforting voice calling me back, back into reality, back into pain... back into Kopa.
I opened my eyes to see the face of my beloved Kopa, gazing down at me. I could see the pain in his eyes as surely as I knew he could see the pain in mine. "Kopa..."
He smiled slightly, appearing to be in a trance-like state. As if he was telling himself over and over again that this wasn't happening. "My darling, I swear I'll get you out-"
I shushed him gently. "Kopa.. honey can you come closer for a second?" I asked weakly. I had to see him, to hear him... to feel him one last time. I knew what was in store for me- I knew it when Sadic had cornered me. What he'd told me before he walked away, laughing at my pain.
Kopa walked over in an almost trance-like state, I could see his brain running at a million miles per second. I took a breath, and said, "Kopa, I've loved you practically ever since I laid eyes on you, and I want you to know that, even after I'm-" he cut me off with a hug.
"Don't think like that we can get you out of this, we can..." he babbled through his tears, however he stopped once he saw my face.
"Kopa just please...hold me." I asked starting to drift off again. He latched on to me as if he squeezed tight enough he could keep me from going.
"Mama, are you okay?" I felt something warm touching my shoulder. I looked to my right to see my daughter, looking up at me with wide eyes and nuzzling my arm as if that would help make it all better. Even now I could feel the pleasant darkness beckoning to me, a siren song singing from the depths of my pain. But I couldn't go back just yet- I needed to tell my mate and daughter goodbye... and my brother of the horrors that await him.
"I'm alright Maua. But I'll have to say goodbye soon..." I look up at Brasta, taking note of the lack of Strike nearby and the raw pain in Brasta's eyes.
"Brasta, there's something I need to tell you. Sadic, he-" I groan in pain for a moment, taking a sharp breath before continuing. "He's waiting for you somewhere in the tunnels. He... he left me as a sort of welcoming guest."
Brasta growled at that, his raw emotions becoming more and more evident. "I swear to you, I'm going to-"
"Please, Brasta just... find another way out. Take Kopa and Maua with you and go, don't go after him or you'll regret it. And brother please find the happiness you are looking for..." I drifted off again. I knew his secret- his yearning for happiness, for true romance... for the love he wished he could have without hiding. I knew, for all his attempts at stoicism, that he had been slightly jealous of me. "And I forgive you." I saw the flash of understanding in his eyes, and he looked down. I turned to Kopa again, seeing his look of desperation, and whispered, "I know Kopa, but don't worry about me. It's okay, but now just stay with me..." I laid my head over his neck and looked towards Brasta.
"Brother, please send my soul off to our ancestors in peace..."
With a breath, he began, stumbling over the words. "I commend you, dear sister. to Mortis, the Lord of Death, and entrust you to the Gods, whose creature you are. May your spirit, as it leaves the body, be met by the noble company of angels. May the high court of the ancestors, the great Kings and all the saints meet you in paradise. Far from you be all the terror of darkness, the hiss of flames, the anguish of torment." He was close to sobbing, I could tell, but kept going on, "Far from you be the powers of evil. Let them shrink abashed into the vast chaos of everlasting night when you draw near with your escort of angels. Let the god of Death arise and His enemies be scattered; let those who hate him flee at his coming! Let them vanish like smoke; as wax melts before the fire, so let sinners perish before the face of the Gods, while the good triumph and make merry in their presence. Shame and confusion come upon hell's legions, and let evil's cohorts not dare to bar your way. May the Gods give you a place in the ever verdant gardens of Paradise, and may Death place you among the saints..."
And as he did the last rites I slowly faded from this world, surrounded by those I loved and who loved me...it was meant to be.
" Love Never Dies" by Andrew Lloyd Webber begins.
"Who knows when love begins
Who knows what makes it start
One day it's simply there
Alive inside your heart."
I thought back on all the times I had had with Kopa- when we met, when we fell in love. I couldn't remember how or why, but I could remember how I felt.
"It slips into your thoughts
It infiltrates your soul
It takes you by surprise
Then seizes full control
Try to deny it
And try to protest
But love won't let you go
Once you've been possessed."
I couldn't deny it- and I never had. I was in love with him, proudly and honestly. But despite that, things weren't how they were supposed to be. I had to let go- and there was nothing I could do about it.
"Love never dies
Love never falters
Once it has spoken
Love is yours
Love never fades
Love never alters
Hearts may get broken
Love endures
Hearts may get broken
Love endures."
Despite everything that had happened, my love for him would endure. Even in death, I had to let him know that. Even from Heaven, I would love him.
"And soon as you submit
Surrender flesh and bone
That love takes on a life
Much bigger than your own
It uses you at whim
And drives you to despair
And forces you to feel
More joy than you can bear."
I had gave myself to him- fully and freely. And our love had grown so much more than how it started. We had been together through nights of anxiety, joy, and pain together- but in the end, our love had gotten us through everything.
"Love gives you pleasure
And love brings you pain
And yet when both are gone
Love will still remain."
Despite all Sadic had done to me, the pain could not eclipse the joy I felt at that moment. To die with my mate, my daughter and my brother around me. Even in a time as dark as this, love remained the bond that held us all together.
"Once it has spoken
Love is yours
Love never dies
Love never alters
Hearts may get broken
Love endures
Hearts may get broken
I would miss my life. I would be unable to hold my daughter in my arms anymore, unable to comfort my brother in his times of agony, unable to lay by my mate. But I would see them again, one day. In Heaven. I closed my eyes as I felt Death come upon me, and a warm feeling spread all over me as the pain melted away.
"Love never dies
Love will continue.
Love keeps on beating
When you're gone
Love never dies
Once it is in you
Love may be fleeting
Love lives on
Love may be fleeting
Love lives on."
I sighed, letting three little words out as I breathed my last. "Love... never... dies."
Brasta's POV:
"Requiem aeternum dona eis, domine, et lux perpetua luceat eis. Requiescant in pace."
" To Die For" by Hans Zimmer begins at 2:20.
Silence...pure, unadulterated, thick as fog silence. It hung in the air like a miasma choking our words as we saw the last sign of life leave my sister Fuwele forever as I finished the last words of the prayer for the dying; 'May she rest in peace.'
The silence was suddenly broken by a soft sniffling. I looked to my right to see Maua sobbing as she gently tried to prod her mother's body with her nose. "Mama. Mama, wake up." Kopa just looked on helplessly as she nuzzled her mother. "Wake up, please get up. Come on, Mama, you've got to get up. Mama, you've got to come with us..." She tried to nuzzle Fuwele's cheek. But her mother's head just fell back limply.
Maua looked up at me helplessly, then her father. "Dad, we've got to get help. She'll be alright, won't she? Please, we need to find some help..." Her voice quieted as her father held her in her arms, both of them choking on their sobs. I couldn't help it- a tear ran down my face as I looked down upon my sister. She was gone.
Then a sudden realisation hit me like a bolt of lightning; Sadic, the demon responsible for all our pain was out there in the tunnels, and I'll be damned if I let him wait much longer. I had to get Maua and Kopa to safety- and Gods willing, Strike if I could find him! I looked towards Kopa, composing my face into it's usual mask. "Kopa, we need to leave. The battle is still on!"
Kopa looked as if struck, and shook his head. "You're right." He looked down at his daughter, picking her up by the scruff of the neck again. "Come on, Maua.." As they headed for the entrance to the nearest tunnel, I started forming plans in my head again. Sadic was still out there- and I wanted so badly to send him straight to hell! But I had to find Strike, too- if he was alive, it would mean at least some good outweighed the evil of the situation we were in. Turning towards another tunnel, I slowly slinked away, hoping Kopa and Maua wouldn't realise...
I broke into a run as I heard Kopa's cry of alarm upon realising I had left. "Wait, COME BACK, DON'T YOU REMEMBER WHAT SHE TOLD YOU?" But I kept on running-I left him with Maua, and I knew they'd be safe. Sadic wanted me and me alone and I was going to give him that and more. And Gods willing, I would kill him. But as fatigue set in from running, and the red faded from my vision... I started to think again.
Sadic obviously was trying to confuse me in the tunnels, so obviously I needed to find some backup. Gods, if I could just find Strike...
As I panted from fatigue, I heard the sound of paws padding off in an adjacent tunnel. I immediately chased after them. Adrenaline rushed through me, spurring me onward. Gods, I hoped it was Strike. If I could just find him safe...
"Strike wait up!" I yelled. As I ran, I found my way into a large chamber, with the entrances to more tunnels everywhere. I felt my heart sink as I looked around; Gods, he could be anywhere...
"Oh, Brasta... you won't have to wait to see where he's gone." A voice I knew too well crooned behind me.
Sadic...
I spun around with a growl, facing the veritable demon in a lion's fur. "Sadic." He eyed me with a look of hunger, grinning madly.
"Hello, my dear Brasta. Did you enjoy my little present?"
I looked up at him and spat, glaring up at him coldly. "Certainly not. Now, you bastard, where's Strike? I want to know before I kill you."
He just looked at me with slight distaste, his grin widening. "How does it feel, Brasta, to have the ones you love ripped from you?"
"How does it feel, Sadic, to know the Gods have you damned for all eternity?" I said in reply, eyes not moving from him. He just eyed his claws, extending them as he appeared to be unaffected by my response.
"Rather ecstatic, now that you mention it. Maybe the fires of hell will give me more power to torment you in death. I know you certainly won't be seeing the pearly gates anytime soon." I nearly flinched at that- what did he know? I was a far better lion than he had ever been. "Oh, and you know I will. I will make sure you remember me. I will make sure I have you writhing and screaming beneath my claws. I want the last thing you see to be may face when your wrenched from this world, unable to rejoin your precious Strike."
I froze at that; what was he getting on about? I felt a chill spread down my spine as he continued. "You failed, Brasta. You sinned as much as I, Brasta. Unable to protect your pride. Unable to protect your sister. Unable to protect him." I felt shame, hot and burning spread through me. What did he know of me? "He was never yours, really. Not your brother, not your friend, nor anything else you would have wanted him to be. You know the truth- he never gave a damn about you. It was only ever in your mind. I made him admit that as he died. He never cared for you- only for the power that being the prince's friend gave. But even without you, he would have been worth ten of you, you disgusting little rat. But without him, you're nothing- I made sure of that. Lucky for you, I never told him the truth as he died." I looked up at Sadic, then looked down at the floor. Strike had.. never really been loyal at all? Never a true friend? Had it all been fake the whole time? Why did he even fight with me, then?
I shook my head. It couldn't be true; Sadic was just taunting me. "Stop it, you bastard. I know you're lying."
Sadic tilted his head. "Maybe... maybe not. Point is, Brasta, I know. I know what you hid. And I know that if Strike knew the truth, he would hate you as much as you hate me. You are only on your own, now."
Kopa's POV:
Damn it Brasta, you better make it out of there alive! I thought as we fled through the tunnels, Maua hanging onto me. We ran for so long, me keeping the tears from my eyes and Maua hanging on with all her might to my neck. Just like I hugged Fuwele before she-
NO! I can't think about that now. I have to get my daughter to safety, and then Brasta I'm coming to find you. After a while of running around aimlessly I found a tunnel that seemed to be lit with the glow of the sun. I turned... and there was Brasta, looking the worse for wear with a heavily bruised shoulder, emerging out of a tunnel to our left. He looked up at me, panting. "Sadic... coming. No time. Let's go." We looked at each other for a brief while, and no further words were exchanged as he pick Maua off of my back and placed her on his.
Bright sunlight shone onto us as we ran, emerging from the tunnels into the open air. Ordinarily, I would stop to look at our surroundings- we were standing on the top of a small hill against the ridge we had just emerged from. Below, a long river cut into the landscape like a blue serpent, foaming and trickling across the grassy plain in front of us. A little ford was visible before us, and we picked up our speed as we heard the sound of laughing again. I glanced back for a brief second- there was Sadic, Drake, and his hyenas looking down at us. They were smiling at our misfortune, laughing horribly as we fled like whipped dogs.
Stretched out below us for about a mile or so across the river was a lush jungle, picturesquely untouched by the horror that was behind us. We scarcely knew where we were going, but kept on running as our paws splashed across the shallow ford. As we descended into the vegetation it seemed only one thing mattered. We were alive.
And that's the end of this chapter! My thanks again, as usual, to my co-writer TheKoolCat, and my recently resurfaced co-writer, StriketheWolf!
StrikeOldOne: Thank you for your help, Strike. And glad to see you back on this project.
Reish95: Thank you for the compliment- and I hope you like this chapter as well.
The author would like to thank you for your continued support. Your review has been posted.
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