A Hyena's Tale Ch. 14

(This is the final chapter of the first Installment.)

The great, mighty beast laid in his mountain. He looked out to see the forests of his kingdom burning bright with fire. The alliance he had brought together fighting against the hostile animals. Ah, the gathering of nations. Such a spectacle was what he was hoping for. Animals that were as different as Trees and Rocks learning to live and work together. The poor Hyenas had already been so much. They had fought so hard to earn their freedom. Now they were being forced to keep it. These animals that dared try to torch the Backlands must've been in League with whatever evil presence he feared existed in this world. The fires grew higher as the Army of evil had Katali's group surrounded.

He also saw the small group of male Hyenas climbing up his mountain.

After all that he had heard from his Cuckoo Bird, Scar Snout could imagine that Janja and his clan would run from such a fight. They made their way up the side of the great Volcano without hesitation. And, suprisingly, when they got high enough, they began to dig. Dig? Why were they digging? Were they making holes to hide in?

And that was where he remembered.

The Cavern lake.

That must've been why they were digging. Now he got it! They were trying to release the Lake and put out the fire. Brilliant! But he knew the intruders could not be driven out on their own. He knew he had to do one thing.

He had to leave his cave.

And that was something he had not done since his beloved mate died.

--

Jasiri growled as she faced off against the slender Lioness. Both of them had their claws unsheathed, ready to battle each other. "Long time, Zira." The Hyena spoke defensively.

"Not long enough, Hyena." Zira replied with a smirk. "So, you've dared to try and stand between Scar and his conquest, correct?"

"Scar can have the Pridelands for all I care, "Jasiri scoffed at her enemy, knowing that her ties with the Pridelanders was now broken, "But I am drawing the line at out new home. Now get lost!"

Zira just smirked and turned her head to see the Brown Hyena with yellow eyes fighting one of the Jackals.

Rookus growled as she faced the dog. "You think you can take me down?" She half smiled. "That's just as logical as a Hippopotamus swimming in sand." At the last statement she made, Rookus chuckled as she clawed at the Jackal. "Ya see? Totally sandy, am I right?"

The Jackal did not seem to laugh as his expression looked unsatisfied and bored before going fierce again and baring his Canines again and tussling with her again.

Jasiri merely rolled her eyes before leaping back into action against Zira, who roared and leapt onto her, toppling her into the dirt.

--

Giza watched as the Lions and Crocodiles approached where her and her siblings were. Above them on a branch was Gunge, who looked hesitant to be there. The Cuckoo Bird sighed before asking the oldest princess. "Remind me, Radi, why am I not taking you to your den?"

"Because," Radi sounded like she really wanted to make a point to her Major Domo. "If we stop these guys, then you can have enough time to go up to the sky and find out where that fire's coming from. We'll be in the den before Mother and Father know we're gone."

Gunge had to thinm on this for a bit. He had never disobeyed an order from his king and queen before. He had always done what he was told, no questions asked. So flying into the smoke-ridden skies and leaving the cubs on the ground to fend for themselves seemed highly unrealistic. What would they say if they heard of this?

His thoughts were interrupted by the screech in the skies.

The figures were barely seen, but still able to make out. Vuktures. There were at least five of them. And from what Gunge could see, they had burning sticks in their Talons.

It was here that Gunge made his decision.

"You know what, Radi? You're right. I'm off, then." He flapped his wings and flew to the skies, where the Vultures were flying to where they'd drop their next sticks. As Gunge flew up to the evil scavengers, Radi and her siblings listened for any words to come from the evil stalkers.

But they did not expect the brown cub to leap in front of them.

"Well, well, well," Kovu growled, advancing towards them. "Six little birds itching to fly." He smirked as his siblings and the Crocodiles they brought with them surrounded them.

"Oh, and what does that make you?' Haraka smiled as he faced the Lion. "The Dodo?"

A word such as this did not sit right with Kovu, who apparently showed his anger at this little pun. The older male and the female cub both stifled a chuckle, along with the Crocodiles, only to be silenced by a glare protruded by Kovu's Green eyes, before turning his attention back to Haraka. "Don't you know who I am? I am the paw picked heir of the great and powerful Scar!" He jumped into the air and pinned the red furred prince to the ground, growling in his face. "Don't you forget it!"

The growling in his mouth was replaced by a yell of pail as said feeling went into his tail. He turned his head in fury to see Giza with his tail in her mouth. He swiped his claws at her and turned to his siblings and the Crocodiles. "Don't just stand there, get them you morons!"

The older male Lion, Nuka, tried to claw Matata, who jumped out of the way. "Catch me if you can, blackhead!" He teased before jumping onto the tail of one of the Crocodiles, causing him to yell out in pain.

Vitani, the tan-furred cub, tried to catch Jino and Vita, but the two Leopardenas proved to be too fast, tricking her to run into the other Crocodile. Radi gave a nod to Haraka, who seemed to understand what it meant. Apparently, they had a plan. Haraka led fur of his siblings away, with Kovu and his small crew at their heels, while Radi ran to the underbrush.

--

"Attention Parliament." Mzingo, the lead Vulture, addressed his four followers. "As Scar's young heir, Kovu, has explained, we are to torch not only Mirihi Forest, but the entire Backlands as well. So, all in favor of getting started on the majority of the Backlands?"

His motion was met with one "I!" from each of the four Vultures.

'The I's have it, let us begi-"

A blur of Grey and Yellow rammed itself into the British Vulture, almost knocking him out of the Sky. To the rest of the Flocks surprise, a Cuckoo Bird zoomed around them. "Come and get me, you carrion-licking Drumsticks!" Gunge dared to them.

Mzingi glared at the small bird, then turned to three of his flock. "You three take care of that foolish Cuckoo, Mwoga and I will carry on with the burning." He and one of his Vultures then flew off with their burning sticks as the other three chased after Gunge.

--

Radi hid in the bush her brother had told her to take refuge in while he and the other siblings dealt with the Lions and Crocs. Soon enough, she saw him and the others coming around the corner. Haraka huffed as he and the others stopped to breath. "What happened to our friends?" She asked her brother.

"I dunno." Haraka answered. "They were just behind us a minute ago."

"They went this way!"

They heard the sound of Kovu's voice almost as suddenly as they had lost him and his group. In amatter of seconds, they saw them coming the same corner they had just come from. Radu hid in the bushes again, but this tie, having one end of a vine in her mouth. On the other side of the pathway, haraka held the other end of the Vie. Giza, Matata, Jino, and Vita stood in the center of the pathway, directly in the sight of the Outlanders.

"There they are!" Vitani pointed out. "Let's get 'em!" She led her brother and the Crocs to their targets.

Giza and the other three Leopardenas jumped out of the way and watched as their hidden siblings pulled on their ends of the vine. The feet of their enemies were caught in the tripwire that was the vine, causing all of them to tumble down the hillside that was at the end of the pathway. Radi and Haraka let go of the vine joined their siblings in looking down at the sight of their foes laying in a pile, groaning in pain.

But there was one thing.

"Wait, what happened to greens eyes?" Jino asked, only to be rammed by something quick.

Kovu held his paw against the Leopardena's face, who he pinned to the ground. "Now you've gone and made me mad." He growled as he glared down at the Leopard/Hyena mix. "So guess what? I'm going to do my worthless siblings a favor and getting rid of you myself!" As he raised a paw to strike Jino, something small and Grey flew past them, followed by three Lappet-faced Vultures who knocked him off of him.

Gunge perched himself in front of the naughty cubs face. "Not if I have anything to say about it, young sir." He said politely, before giving him a peck in the nose, which made Kovu yell out "Ow!"

The royal siblings laughed at their Cuckoo birds little act. Gunge was always a brave little bird, but not every bird, regardless of bravery, had the nerve to walk up to a Lion and give him a sharp peck like that.

But the smoke that they saw before them continued to rise.

--

Makucha swatted to male Jackal off of himself as he battle through the pack that surrounded him and his sister. "Ugh," He groaned as kicked a Jackal away from his tail. "Sometimes it kills to be the oldest."

'Well, you know what they say, bro." Theluji said as she battled a bloated male Crocodile. "It's not the spots that makes the Leopard, it's...." She tried to find the next line of the old saying, but it was such a phrase that seemed a little blury to her. "Pretty much everything else." These were the best words she could come up with to end the saying.

The chuckle of the Brown Hyena behind them was what caught their attention. "Leopards?" Rookus tilted her head with a smile. "More like Leoburns!" She began to laugh as all Hyenas do.

And she was practically the only one.

Makucha and Theluji both just exchanged confused glances to each other, and while they were at it, the Outlanders they were fighting, who had equally confused expressions. Rookus looked confused as well, but this was because she expected them both to laugh. "Get it? Because you're Leopards? And the place is burning? Get it?"

Her small explanation was interrupted by the swing of a mighty tail. She got up and saw that the Monitor Lizard the Outlanders had brought with them was responsible for it. "If it is one thing I cannot stand," Kenge growled maliciously. "It is terrible Jokes!" He lunged at Rookus who just stood up.

"Come on," Rookus dared the big Lizard. "Let's see those teeth, squirt."

The eyes of the reptile went small as he bared his gleaming, white fangs. His expression was easy to read; absolutely furious. He let out an angered yell and charged at the Brown Hyena who had the nerve to call him small.

--

Zira had left the Crocodiles to battle the Leopard Queen while she dealt with a bigger problem. Django circled his old enemy as she was circling him. The two of them had known each other from a past experience. And by the looks on their faces, it did not end on the best of terms.

"I waited a long time fir this, Zira." Django snarled at her.

"Yes, I imagine so." Zira rolled her eyes casually. "It is quite like Dragon to not forget a battle so wasting of Lionesses time."

"Was my tail a waste of time?" Django raised his eye brow (If he had one) and swung his wooden tail at her. "Ya see what I've had ta do ta stay alive?"

"Indeed." Zira did not seem amused by this, or anywhere interested. "Not much of an improvement on your skills, Django."

The flames that surrounded them paled in comparison to the anger Django felt inside. After what ZIra had done to him all those years ago, she was still thinking she was stronger than him! It mattered not, though, because Django would drive her and her allies out of his home, one way, or another.

--

It was like digging into one giant boulder. Janja and his clan had tried to dig deep enough for the whole lake inside the mountain to burst open and extinguish these flames. He had already lost one home, he was not going to lose another. And he had just made amends with the only family he had left. All of this was not going to be ruined by the thought of everything around them being barbecued.

"It's no use, Janja." Nne looked up at his leader. "We don't have enough claws to break enough water out."

"You do now."

The spotted Hyenas all turned their heads to where the voice had come from. Tombie limped over to where his brother and his clan were, the mud still encasing his injured leg. Despite this, it did not stop him from meeting his brother on the mountain.

"What're you doin' up here, Tombie?" Janja asked with urgency in his voice. "You can't be up here with a broke leg."

"What this?" Tombie motioned to his leg that was covered in dried mud. "I've had worse than this. Need any help?"

Janja did not have time to argue. The Backlands was burning bright red with flames. Their friends were down there practically outnumbered. So now was the time to act. Tombie began to dig into the hard, rocky ground with his caws. He, along with the other Hyenas, dug as hard and as fast as they could. The water that protruded from the cracks still merely trickled as the Hyenas continued to claw at the hardened ground underneath their paws.

But the sound of the gushing was a welcomed sound they wanted to hear.

All their clawing was beginning to pay off! Water began to flood from the cracks, but they still needed more. They continued to claw. More. More. More. More. And more.

The ground began to crack all around the side.

Chungu, Cheezi, and the other Hyenas began to back away. "Uh, Janja?" Chungu looked at his leader. 'I think we'd better move."

"Good call, Chungu." janja nodded. He icked his brother up on his back and ran to safety along with his clan. Just in time for the water to burst from the mountainside. The water flooded down like a Tidal Wave, washing over the forests below them, and putting out the Fires.

--

Zira stood up shakily. The water had just finished flooding over her. The whole lot of Outlanders were washed back by the flood that had just erupted from the mountain. Her eyes opened and saw that the Leopards, Hyenas, and Komodo's had climbed up to safety, in trees or on rocks.

And they were bowing for some reason.

She looked up and saw that a Komodo Dragon that was a good bit bigger than an Elephant slowly walked to her and the other Outlanders. He glared down at them threateningly, and spoke to them. "These lands are under the protection of my subjects. I want you to send a message to your master. We will never fall to your paws, you and all who are allied with you are not welcomed here, and you will leave now or suffer the consequences."

Kovu had stepped forward and growled at Scar Snout. "You don't scare us, right Nuka? Vitani?" He turned his head to see his siblings fleeing along with their mother and the rest of the Army of Scar. He looked back up at Scar Snout who growling coldly. The cub stepped back and ran after them. "Mom! Guys! Wait for me!"

Gunge watched as they ran away and yelled after them. "You better run, you brutes!"

Rookus and the other Hyenas climbed down and cheered along with their friends. She turned to one of the female Spotted Hyenas. "Nice fightin' out there, Nabii."

Madoa climbed down next to her sister. "You were amazing out there, Jasiri."

"Not as amazing as you kicking Reirei in the face." Jasiri laughed. "Thank you for getting me out of that."

"I will always stands by you, Jasiri." Madoa nodded. Until the Backlands end."

"Do not forget, my friends," Scar Snout's voice made everyone turn their heads to the giant lizard. "You all showed tremendous valor in today's battle, but one of us put out the roaring flames of the Outlanders."

"Who was it?" Norok asked confused.

"Our newest all, Janja." Scar Snout stepped aside as said Hyena walked towards them, along with his clan and his brother. "Three cheers for Janja! Hip Hip!"

"Hooray!"

"Hip Hip!"

"Hooray!"

"Hip Hip!"

"Horraaaaay!" The Backlanders cheeing rang and echoed through the kingdom, their voices ringing like a choir singing.

--

Once she had finished cheering, Rookus turned to the tough male Hyena tat stod next to Jasiri. Over the course of time that they had come to stay in the Backlands, Rookus had never seen Barbarus smile. So she would just ave to try.

She approached the male and gave him one of her (in)famous jokes. "Hey, Barbatus? What do you call a lumpy-striped Zebra?"

Barbatus turned his confused face to the Brown Hyena. "What are you talking about?"

"Pregnant!" The female blurted out. Afterwards, she began to comically laugh at her own joke. Barbatus, however, seemed like he had just heard the worst kind of gibberish, walking away, confused with what he had just heard.

Rookus, not wanting to lose her crowd, followed him. "Hey, get it? Pregnant? Lumpy? There are the joke, barbie!"

--

Jasiri watched as her bodyguard left and saw Janja walking towards her. She smiled and approached him herself. "Hey, look who's the hero now." She said playfully.

"Well, I couldn't just let the whole place burn down." Janja shrugged. "Besides, it was the right thing to do... wasn't it?"

Jasiri chuckled. "It sure was." She smiled warmly once she finished laughing. "I knew you'd come around sooner or later."

Janja looked over her shoulder and saw Tombie nuzzling Madoa. He smiled as warmly as Jasiri, knowing that his life was now what he always wanted it to be. "You were right Jasiri." He sighed.

'You were right."