Son of a Legend

Part 22: No More Games

Kopa sliced at Mkali's leg. Mkali hissed in pain and let Kopa go. Kopa ran out of the lair, followed by the rest of the killers. Vitani growls and runs after them, but Mkali gets up and stops his mother from charging blindly into battle.
"Mom, stop! If we just blindly run after them, they'll just pick us off one by one! That's how they almost killed me and Koda." Mkali tells his mother.
"We have the numbers on our side, so we need to use it. There's five of them and 13 of us." Koda says.
"11." Kovu corrects. "Leah, you stay here and watch over your sister." Leah nods.
"The only reason that they are effective as a group is their ability to lead us into traps and attack when we aren't watching our back." Koda continues.
"We have 11 fighters. We'll make four groups of 2 and one group of three. One member on the Lion Guard to each group." Mkali tells them. They split into the following groups:
Mkali and Vitani
Koda and Simba
Kasi and Kiara
Misuli, Laika, and Nala
Kushona and Kovu
Leah and Asha are to stay in the lair.
"Kasi, Kiara. You guys get the one in the zebra mask." Mkali looks at them and gives commands. "Koda and Simba, you guys take the buffalo. You three get the giraffe. Kushona and Kovu take the antelope." Mkali turns and looks at his mother. "That leaves Kopa to us." He growls. Vitani clenches her fist and nods. Mkali sees a look in Vitani's eyes that he has never seen before. Not even during the war. Mkali knew that no matter how badly he wanted revenge on the lion that had killed his father, Vitani wanted it 10 times more.

Koda and Simba...
The former king and the Pridelands' bravest are tracking the scent of a buffalo. Even though the inside had been carved out of the head, the fur still had a scent, which is what they were tracking.
"So, what are we to expect from this guy?" Simba asks his grandson.
"I haven't seen the buffalo mask in action that much, but their strategy is to bait us into chasing them, then they will all gang up on you and try to kill you. That's exactly what happened to Mkali and I." Koda tells Simba. "They will attack you from behind if given the chance to, which makes me think they aren't the best fighters ever."
They hear someone running behind them. The steps get louder and louder. "So much for stealth," Koda whispers to Simba. Koda times a swipe behind him with his claws out perfectly. Koda sees a lion wearing a buffalo mask fall to the ground with 4 fresh gashes on the lion's throat. Koda rips the mask off of the lion, revealing that it is a lioness. The blank stare in her green eyes tells the two Pridelander that she is dead.
"Let's go help the others now." Simba says. Koda nods.

Kasi and Kiara...
"So, tell me more about the wedding." Kiara says to her future-daughter-in-law.
"Normally, I would. Now's not the time for that, though your majesty." Kasi says as she tracks the scent of a zebra.
"You don't have to call me that. Just call me Kiara." She replies.
Kasi suddenly stops in her tracks.
"What's wr -" Kiara starts to ask but gets cut off.
"Shhhh!" Kasi says sharply. She points to a rustling bush. The killer in the zebra mask pops out. He takes off running, but Kasi is lightyears faster than the killer in the zebra mask. She tackles the killer. Their head bounced off of a rock. Kasi rips the mask off and sees that there is a male underneath it.
"Let's go help some of the others." Kasi tells the queen.

Kushona and Kovu...
"There's antelope horns sticking up from behind that rock, your majesty." Kushona whispers to the king.
"Alright. You walk past the rock to lure him out, then I'll sneak up from behind and kill him." Kovu tells Kushona. Kushona walks over to the rock and is tackled by the killer. Kovu runs over and pulls the killer off of Kushona. He unsheaths his claws and slits the throat of the killer. Kovu let's them fall to the ground, and he grabs the mask.
"Let's go." He says to Kushona.

Misuli, Laika, and Nala...
The three lionesses are walking. "So, I heard a rumor that you might have a thing for my brother. Is that true?" Laika asks.
Misuli scoffs. "No! He's like a brother to me! Nows not the time to be talking about that!" Laika flinches a little bit at how Misuli snapped at her. They are walking under a tree when they hear a branch snap from above them. Misuli looks up and sees that the killer in the giraffe mask is about to drop down onto Laika. Misuli kicked the base of the tree. The killer fell out of the tree head first. There was a pop when the killer hit the ground. Misuli ripped off the mask. It was a male, and his neck was broken. Nala felt for a pulse.
"He's gone." Nala told them. "Let's go help one of the other groups."

Mkali and Vitani...
No words had been said between the mother and son since their departure from Priderock. Not that there was a need for there to be. The mission was clear, and they weren't going to jeopardize it by making small talk.
"Well, if it isn't the son and the wife!" Kopa says from behind them. As if on cue, a huge bolt of lightning comes out of nowhere and strikes the ground between them. There is a wall of fire between the two groups. Everyone else shows up behind Mkali and Vitani, having completed their assignments.
"Why would you kill your brother!?" Simba yells at Kopa.
"All my childhood, it always been, 'Kion, this! Kion that!' You always talked about him like he was better than everyone! There was nothing special about him!" Kopa yelled back.
"He was the best defender that the Pridelands have ever known!" Koda yelled at his uncle.
"Some defender he was! He got his best friends' pride exiled from the Pridelands because he was weak! Then, 3 years later, he attacks that same Pride! Then he gets the Pridelands involved in war that we had no business being in! Then, another 4 years later, he kills 2 elderly lions, one of them being a former king! He then beats his king up in front of the entire kingdom! A few more years go by, and he kills 9 animals in another war because his pathetic son couldn't fight his own battles! And to top it all off, he died just like any lion!" Kopa yells at them.
Mkali wants to charge at Kopa, but he knows he will get burnt if he tries to.
"Come and get me, why don't you?" Kopa taunts. "Ask Koda what will happen." Koda growls softly.
"Kopa, you are exiled from the Pridelands! Effective immediately!" Kovu shouts at him. Kopa laughs.
"Make me leave!"
"Kopa, have you ever seen the roar in action before?" Mkali asks.
"No, why?" Kopa responds. Mkali turns to look at everyone. They all nod. Mkali looks up at the night sky.
"This one's for you, dad." Mkali says. He turns back towards Kopa, gets in his stance, and releases a roar that hits Kopa so hard that when he disappeared over the horizon, he was still in the air.
"If that doesn't kill you, Kopa, then I will with my bare hands if I ever see you again." Mkali growls under his breath.
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Part 22 is in the books. I hope that you guys are enjoying it, and if there's any feedback that you have for the story, I'm all ears. Part 23 will come out tomorrow, Part 24 is TBD. Thank you guys so much for reading, and I hope you all are having a great day or night!