Son of a Legend

Part 8: Trust Issues

Mkali was walking right behind Rani as she led him into the Tree of Life. Tamaa and Simko were giving him the stink eye, but this was unknown to Mkali.
"So, we have to heal your broken leg," Rani points at Koda, "your concussion," she points at Kushona, "and hardest of all, your scar."
Mkali nods. "I'm ready to start my healing." Mkali says.
"I'm glad to hear it." Rani says. "All of your healing will start tomorrow, including rehabilitation from the starvation you faced on your journey." The whole Lion Guard lets out a sigh of relief. "Taji, Simko, Tamaa. Show them the spare dens that they can stay in." The three children of Rani lead the Lion Guard to their dens.
"Hey guys. I just wanted to say that I'm sorry for what I did back there. I just... haven't been myself lately, and -" Mkali tries to apologize.
"Save your breath!" Tamaa interrupted. Mkali sees Taji, a lioness who looks like her mother, but more muscular and having blue eyes, shaking her head.
"I can't speak for those knuckleheads, but I accept your apology." Taji says.
"Thanks." Mkali smiles at her. He can't help but think that she is pretty. Taji shows Koda and Kasi their rooms. Simko gestures to Mkali to follow him. Simko shows Mkali his den. As Mkali walks in, Simko shoves Mkali in with his unbroken arm. Mkali stumbles and looks back at Simko with an angry look in his eyes. Simko sees this and smiles.
Mkali takes a deep breath and smiles. "Thanks for showing me my den, Simko, was it? I hope your arm will heal fast."
Simko's face falls from amusement to anger. He storms off.
Once a safe distance away, he pulls his brother aside. "I hate that, Mkali guy." Simko says to his brother.
"At least he didn't do that roar thing to you." Tamaa says.
"Why don't we attack him while he's sleeping? That way, he won't be able to fight back, and we can get our revenge." Simko suggests.
Tamaa looks at the sun and sees that I is setting. "He should be asleep in 2 minutes. So we'll take care of him, then we'll join mom on patrol and act like nothing happened." Little did they know that their older sister heard their scheme.
"I'd better tell mom about this!" She says to herself.
Simko and Tamaa ran to Mkali's den. Mkali wasn't asleep, but he was tired, though.
"Did you guys need something?" Mkali asks after he yawns.
"Revenge!" Tamaa yells as he grabs Mkali and throws him against the wall of the den. Simko and Tamaa then start kicking him while he is down. Tamaa then kicks him and sends him flying away.
"No! Guys! Stop! Please! For your own good, stop!" Mkali begged.
Tamaa didn't listen, and he charged at Mkali with his claws out. Tamaa was about to land the final strike, but out of nowhere, Mkali grabs Tamaa's hand.
"I WARNED YOU!!" Mkali yells at the brothers. He has that phycopathic look back in his eyes. He scratches Tamaa in the face, using his own claws against him. Mkali then punches Tamaa in the throat, which knocks Tamaa down. Mkali then stomps on Tamaa's stomach, causing him to cough up blood.
Simko kicks at Mkali from behind, but Mkali slides under it and kicks Simko in the knee, breaking it. Mkali then jumps on top of Simko and starts punching him repeatedly. Simko's face is bloody, and he is unconscious, but Mkali keeps punching him.
As Mkali is about to land the final punch, a hand that has brown fur on it grabs Mkali's fist. Mkali rips his hand away, grabs the hand, lifts it up, and claws the side of the lion who had grabbed his fist. It turns out that this lioness was Rani.
"No! Sis!" Baliyo runs up to try and grab Mkali and calm him down, but Mkali dodges and stabs Baliyo in the same kidney as he had earlier that day. As Baliyo falls down, he sees that his Lion Guard, with the addition of Taji, is standing at the entrance. Misuli runs up and pushes Mkali up against the wall of the den and pins his arms to the wall.
"Mkali! Calm down!" She pleads. She looks Mkali in the eyes, but she doesn't even recognize the lion looking back. Mkali yells, and he pushes back against Misuli's attempt at pinning him against the wall. Misuli starts to push back as hard as she can, but not only is Mkali countering it, but he is pushing back and at an alarming rate, too. Mkali pins Misuli to the opposite wall. The Lion Guard is in shock, as Misuli is the strongest amongst them by far, and Mkali is not only matching her strength but having greater strength than her in the moment.
Mkali knees her in the stomach, then punches her to the ground.
Kasi grabs Mkali from behind, but Mkali throws his arms up, breaking Kasi's hold. He then claws at her. Lasi dodges, but Mkali clips her ear. She screams in pain.
"Kasi, no!" Koda yells. Koda charges forward. Mkali punches at Koda, but Koda catches the punch. "Mkali! Snap out of it! You're attacking your own team! You attacked royalty!"
"I didn't attack anyone! I was only defending myself!" Mkali yells back. The two fight and engage in a bloody battle that lasts about 3 minutes. Mkali throws a wild punch at Koda, but Koda dodges and ducks behind Mkali's back. Koda then put Mkali into a rear naked choke. Mkali claws at Koda's arms, but Koda ignores the pain.
"Come back to me, man! I'll choke you out if I have to!" Koda says with tears in his eyes. Eventually, he felt Mkali stop fighting back. He let his leader go, knowing that he had choked him unconscious. Koda turns to Tamaa, who is on the ground, coughing up blood.
"What did you two do to make him do that!?" Koda demanded angrily.
"Nothing! We came in here to check on him, and then he attacked us." Tamaa lied.
"What about the plan to beat him up while he was sleeping that I overheard?" Taji interrogated.
"If there's one thing that you can always count on with Mkali, it's that he will never throw the first punch. Scar or not." Koda says.
Tamaa sighs. "We just wanted revenge for what he did in the mountain pass." Tamaa admits.
"You mean when he tried to greet you guys, and you attacked him!?" Koda demands. Tamaa doesn't respond.
"Queen Rani, Baliyo, Lion Guard, I'm going to apologize on Mkali's behalf. He just hasn't been himself since he got that scar." Koda says.
"We know," Rani grunts. She turns and glares at her conscious son. "You, on the other hand, are in big trouble."
Tamaa hangs his head.
Mkali starts to come to. He crawls to the wall of the den, then uses it to sit up.
"You alright, man?" Koda asks his cousin. Mkali looks around and sees all of the chaos he caused when his scar took over. Mkali unsheaths his claws and attempts to slit his own throat with them. Luckily for everyone, Koda is there to stop Mkali from doing so. He grabs the one hand, and then he grabs the other before Mkali can try to slit his own throat again. Koda pins Mkali to the ground.
"What are you doing!?" Koda screams at his cousin. He looks into Mkali's eyes and doesn't see the phycopathic look but one of fear and regret. Mkali doesn't answer, but he keeps trying to fight Koda's grasp. Baliyo and Rani each grab a vine and tie it around one of Mkali's wrists. Then then tie the other end to hooks on the den of the wall.
"What are you doing to me!? Stop! Please!" Mkali begs with tears in his eyes. Taji comes running towards them with a dark flower in her hand. She hands it to Rani, who holds it in front of Mkali's face. Mkali breaths in and inhales powder that is on the flower, which causes him to doze off. Koda turns to Tamaa. "Look at what you've done! You made the once mighty leader of the Lion Guard deem himself unworthy of life! We almost lost our leader! Our friend! Our brother! Because of you!" Koda screams at Tamaa.
Taji goes over to Mkali, and she starts to treat some of his wounds.
"I can't even begin to imagine what would've made him do that." She says.
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Part 8 is in the books. Mkali is starting to not only doubt himself, but he sees himself as a danger to the Lion Guard and Night Pride. Will the Night Pride be able to heal Mkali? Find out in the next part, which should come out this weekend.