THE LION KING 3, PART II:  DIFFERENCES

 

Intro:

            Now we get to HofuÕs story.  Finally, one that doesnÕt take place in the Pride Lands.  My friend Mystery Kitty wrote the plot and backstory; but she asked that I donÕt publicly display her email address.  Send everything to me (the6silent6one6@yahoo.com) and IÕll send something off to her if necessary.  Please leave feedback; I like to know how I did!!!

 

Email me for the unedited version of the story.

 

Note:

            You could read any part of this story first, it doesnÕt matter.  All of them have secrets that are revealed in another segment.  You do not have to read this story chronologically if you donÕt want to.

 

Characters:

From Disney:

Simba (8 Years)

Nala (8 Years)

 

My Original Characters:

Epesi (Not yet alive)

Giza (Not yet alive)

Hofu (Newborn)

Hatari (Ageless)

Huzuni (Ageless)

Zuri (Ageless)

 

Royal Family Tree (simplified):

                                                                        Mohatu

                                                                              |

                                    Igunoi + Frehda          Ahadi + Uru

                                                |                                         |

                                                |                       ---------------------------

                                                |                       |                 |                 |

Sarafina + Xygolapo       Sarabi      +     Mufasa         Scar + Zira    Veni + Trapa

               |                                         |                                   |                      |

               |                                --------------           ---------------------          |

               |                                |                 |           |                           |         |

            Nala           +          Simba        Kimba  Nuka                    Vitani    ?

                               |               

                        ------------        Phantooh + Kura

                        |              |                         |

                    Kopa       Kiara       +      Kovu

                                                     |

                                           ----------------

                                          |                      |

                                      Giza               Epesi

 

Perspective E:  The Puppeteer

Chapter 1:  New to the World

Chapter 2:  Voices

Chapter 3:  The Connection is Made

Chapter 4:  Lost in a Sea of Madness

Chapter 5:  Dreams

Chapter 6:  Precious Memories

Chapter 7:  Growing Pains

Chapter 8:  Return

Chapter 9:  Heading Back for Home

Chapter 10:  ItÕs Too Late

Chapter 11:  Moving On

Chapter 12:  Untold Apology

 

About Me:

 

            LetÕs see; me; well, umÉ IÕm told that IÕm bipolar; but itÕs really not my fault.  ItÕs all because of the voices, they speak to me and tell me to do bad things; and if I donÕt listen to them then theyÕll do away with me.  Hatari is my angry voice, Huzuni is my sad voice and Zuri is my seductive voice.  They all want me to do what they want instead of what I want and I hate them.  I wish that they were never there.  I really am nice; seriously!  I just donÕt want to die, so I do what they tell me and they make me cry for absolutely no reason.  I always cry because of the things that they make me do, IÕve done so many bad things in my life; for awhile I didnÕt even want to live, but I was too afraid of dying.  Maybe it was my survival instincts, they told me to do whatever it took to surviveÉ and so I didÉ

 

            Aside from all of that stuff I really am nice.  I didnÕt have it easy as a cub, but I got out of there and I started feeling happier for awhile.  Eventually he came into my life; the one who I would manipulate without even meaning to.  IÕve always wanted to apologize to him but I never got the chance; my voices made me do things that IÕm not proud ofÉ  Sorry, I didnÕt mean to get back onto that topic again.  I hate the fact that everything had to turn out this way, but I was powerless; it was like I was a pawn in my own life, I could do nothing but watchÉ

 

            Okay, I guess that I donÕt even know who I am; I have an identity crisis.  Ever since I started hearing them I lost myself; I lost myself within the void of my own emotions.  I didnÕt deserve to live; I couldnÕt live with myself, but the fear of death kept me living; it kept me from making the inescapable decision, the only permanent decision that any creature could possibly makeÉ

 

I am Hofu, and this is my storyÉ

 

Chapter 1:  New to the World

 

ÒThe darkest souls are not those who live within the hell of the abyss, but rather, those who choose to break free from that abyss and walk silently among us.Ó

-       Dr. Samuel Loomis

 

            A lot happened to me on the day that I was born; nobody else really wanted me around, I was nothing more than a mistake.  My mother died while giving birth to me and my father always took it out on me.  It wasnÕt fair, itÕs not like I ever did anything to him (well, not directly or on purpose at least); but he refused to listen to reason.  I couldnÕt do anything to stop him; I was just so small, so tiny, so miniscule, I could do nothing other than wait for it to end.

 

            None of the other lionesses would even try to stop him.  He was a tyrant king, and he was the most brutal lion that we had ever known.  We cowered in fear of him; shirking our responsibility to stand up to him.  They would always watch me; I could see the fear and pity in their eyes, they would stand in horror, pure shock, as my father would do some of the things that he did to me.  I cried myself to sleep every single night; not knowing what to do or where to go.  My father took away everything from me; he took away my cubhood, he took away my happiness, he took away my innocence, he took away my kindness resulting in one bitter lioness, and he took away my hope; I never had any hope for the future.

 

            To me, the future always seemed so bleak and dark with nasty creatures hiding around every corner.  I was too scared to wander near one of those corners, but I was on a straight path; it was inevitable for me to go anywhere else.  When I did approach one of those corners all of the bad that could possibly emerge from a situation would, and did, cripple me.  These demons lurking in the shadows existed for the sole purpose of making my life a living hell.  They did no good for me; there was never a silver lining, no ray of light to pierce through the darkness, no happiness to balance out my estranged emotions.  I was shrouded in perpetual darkness, nothing was ever going to come and lift the thick, black fog that concealed me.  I am not who I am supposed to be.  I was never meant to be this bitter lioness; I was meant to live a normal life like all of the rest of us.  Honestly, though, what is a normal life anymore?  Maybe this is normal.  It doesnÕt seem right, but that doesnÕt mean that itÕs abnormal.  However, what IÕve seen with most other animals leads me to believe that I had an abnormal cubhood.  I never shouldÕve becomeÉ this!  ItÕs not right, itÕs not fair, itÕs not ÒnormalÓ.

 

            I learned very quickly how to black out; I would just black out everything that happened, it nullified anything that my father could possibly do to me; especially as I got older and the punishments became increasingly cruel.  I couldnÕt live under this regime for much longer; I couldnÕt live under his reign; he had done nothing good for me.  My father would leave me physically exhausted, mentally unstable, and emotionally drained on a daily basis.  I had to get away, nobody even tried to stop himÉ

 

            Finally, I was old enough to hunt; after catching my first kill I felt very confident.  That was all that I needed to do in order live on my own; my father was still the same lion, I knew that he would never change.  One night I stayed up, that would be my first and only act of disobedience, and once everybody was asleep I got up and left.  I left the den and just started running; I had no idea where I was headed but anywhere was better than the Dwabe Lands.  For three days I continued southward until I found a little spot.  It had a decent sized waterhole, enough prey, and decent sunshine and shelter; the only problem was that it wasnÕt very attractive.  Of the very little grass in the area all that I could find was dead grass, there was literally no foliage, there was dirt everywhere, and the bugs; I hate those little winged things.  I was all alone, but I was finally away from my misery; I was finally happy, however, what happened next was so scary that I didnÕt know what to doÉ

 

Chapter 2:  Voices

 

            For quite a while I was content, I was actually enjoying my life.  Everyday it was just me; I had no rules, no responsibilities, and no vicious father; it was nothing short of heaven.  Except, heaven has a decent population; out here it was just me.  I started to get lonely, not just lonely, but bored as well.  Without others I felt like there was a part of me missing.  I had nothing to look forward to, nobody to spend time with, nobody to love, nobodyÉ nothingÉ just me.  I felt like I was rotting, like my very spirit was being drained right out of me.  ItÕs one thing to be on your own for a few days, but after awhile you begin to need others.  I was beyond the few days borderline; it had been weeks since I had contact with anybody other than those whom I would hunt (obviously I donÕt strike up a conversation with them.  ÒHi, IÕm going to eat you for sustenance.Ó WouldnÕt make a good conversation starter).

 

            Maybe it was the loneliness getting to me, but I started sensing the presence of another.  Constantly, I would check behind me to make sure that someone wasnÕt creeping up behind me.  There was never anybody thereÉ  One day, however, it moved beyond a sense; something spoke to me.  There wasnÕt anybody speaking to me, it was some unknown entity; it wasnÕt a physical being, but it wasnÕt a ghost either.  IÕll never forget the very first thing that it ever said to me, ÒHOFU!!!  HOW DARE YOU LET YOUR FATHER CONTROL YOU LIKE THAT!!!Ó  I didnÕt quite understand what it was talking about, how it knew my name and my past, and why it even cared.  This voice completely ignored anything that I had to say and introduced itself as Hatari.  It told me that I shouldnÕt give in so easily; I deserve better than what I got, and then it left.  I was left alone with my thoughts.  It was such a brief visit; but I just shook it off as a hallucination.

 

            A few days passed by uneventfully; just more boredom and loneliness.  Until, that is, Hatari came back.  I tried asking who it was but the answer that I got just confused me even more.  ÒI am burning.  Deep within you I lurk.  I am a consciousness but not your consciousness.  I am you and yet I am not you.  I do not really exist.  I have no shape, no form, no desires, no free thoughts; I have no more than you are willing to give me.  So far all that you have given me is pure rage.  Your hatred towards your father has fed me over the course of your life.  I am you and I am not youÉÓ  This response not only left me befuddled, it also left me horrified.  From what I could understand I had a separate consciousness living within me and feeding off of my hate.  I had no idea what thisÉ thing was going to do or even what it was capable of; I feared that it might take over one dayÉ

 

            I spent the next few days terrified, I didnÕt move unless if I absolutely had to.  ÒSomeone out there is messing with me.Ó I thought.  I heard a voice, but it wasnÕt HatariÕs voice.  This voice was sad and miserable; it introduced itself as Huzuni.  Huzuni sounded so chary and melancholy that I felt unfathomable pity just listening to its words.  When I asked Huzuni I got the same answer, save for the first part:  ÒI am frozen.  High above you I lurk.  Etc.Ó  Now I was absolutely terrified; there were either two animals messing with me, or I actually do have many separate consciousnesses that are being separated out from me.  I didnÕt know what they wanted; but whatever it was, it couldnÕt have been anything good.

 

            Only hours later a third voice chimed in; this on is Zuri and sheÕs tingling deep below me.  Zuri was the last of them; and all three of theseÉ beings stayed with me, existing (or not existing) to terrify me; or so I thoughtÉ

 

Chapter 3:  The Connection is Made

 

One lioness, three voicesÉ

Making all of the wrong choicesÉ

One of great anger, one of despairÉ

One of carnal desires, none can repairÉ

 

Hatari, hungry for all of the hatredÉ

Too picky to crave anything elseÉ

Constantly being so irritatedÉ

Wanting to tear off other animalsÕ peltsÉ

 

Huzuni, stuck in the plain of eternal miseryÉ

Ignorant of joy and lifeÕs simple pleasuresÉ

Pain and torture only bring ecstasyÉ

Helping out Huzuni would require extraordinary measuresÉ

 

Zuri, wanting only one thingÉ

The most basic thing that life has to offerÉ

Bearing absolutely no restrainÉ

There are none who can top herÉ

 

Hofu, caught in the middle of this chaosÉ

Four emotions being separated from a central systemÉ

Happiness being the only thing in left in the rhythmÉ

Without the others as part of her, there is but chaosÉ

 

Chapter 4:  Lost in a Sea of Madness

 

            I tried living out my life as normally as I possibly could but that only made Hatari angrier and the other two even more restless.  They started speaking to me even more than usual.  Once every two days, once a day, twice a day, four times a day, eventually I couldnÕt take it anymore; I had to submit to them.  They started feeding me all kinds of lies, but I believed every single one of them.  I hated them, but I felt like they were the only ones that I could trust.  Everybody else, every actually existing creature, was nothing more than dirt; myself included.  It was worthless to try and reason with them because theyÕd never do anything more than cause me pain.  Hatari made me believe this.  Huzuni made me believe that there was never any hope, in fact, hope didnÕt even exist; it was a myth to help cubs cope with things.  Nothing was ever meant to work out, no matter what no outside forces would ever help me, and I couldnÕt even help myself.  Everything in life is meant to go wrong, and every little bit of it is my fault.  My mom died because of me, my father became a lunatic because of me, the other lionesses lived in fear because of me, and now IÕm all aloneÉ and itÕs because of me.  Zuri never came out much; she said that she had no reason to yet.

 

            I felt like I needed the voices; they kept me company and filled the rift that was torn open inside of me when I left home.  I had nothing else; I needed them and they said that they needed me just as much.  They wanted me to do their bidding, they wanted me to fulfill their needs; they not only wanted me for these, they needed me for them.  I became their slave, I hated for Hatari and I acted on that hate, I sorrowed for Huzuni and I acted on that sorrow, and I lusted for Zuri and acted on that lust.  Did I want to do any of those things?  Does it really matter?  I had to, or else they would all leave me.  I didnÕt want to be alone againÉ

 

            They each taught me how to their bidding; it all started with Huzuni.  Huzuni trained me to be miserable for its sake.  I learned to think about the horrible things in my life so that I could cry on cue.  I learned to wallow in my own despair which would drain my energy and feed this inner demon that craved misery.  I quickly developed the skills of an apathetic, depressed creature.  I needed these skills for faking my way through the deaths that I would later cause thanks to Hatari.

 

            Hatari was second; I needed anger in order to truly want to kill others.  I was told over and over again how much suffering that I was put through that I didnÕt rightfully deserve.  They treated me like dirt or they ignored me completely when they shouldnÕt have.  I despised those that didnÕt give me a fair chance; I became bitter and odious towards them.  I couldnÕt wait to get my revenge; it gave me goose bumps, just thinking of all of the things that I could do to them once the time came.  They didnÕt deserve to live and I knew it.

 

            Last and definitely not least (I think the least necessary is Huzuni) was Zuri.  Zuri said that one day a lion would come into my life and I needed to seduce him in order to truly fulfill the will of Hatari.  All that Zuri did was give me my first taste of what it was like to be in heat; that was all that I needed in order to fulfill her desire, everything else would come naturally.  Zuri was having too much fun though, she kept torturing me with it; she would keep me in heat for months at a time when there was nobody else around, and it was absolute torture.  Hatari told me to hate her but that I still needed her for when the time truly comes; I could kill Zuri after that, (but how do I kill something that doesnÕt even exist?).

 

Chapter 5:  Dreams

 

            I felt as if all of my energy had been exerted into my training.  Three very different emotions all overwhelming me and completely canceling out the other ones as if they werenÕt even there; it was too much to bear.  I may not have been stuck in a routine like many other animals out there but this wasnÕt any better, in fact, this was much worse.  I had a dream one night.  Zuri approached me in a savannah that I didnÕt recognize; Zuri was a very beautiful lioness and one that any lion wouldÕve easily wanted as his mate.  She was literally the peak of perfection, I felt so ugly as I stood beside her.  My ears arenÕt round enough, my nose sticks out too far, my eyes are a horrible shade of blood red, my tail is too long and the fur on the end is too puffy, my nostrils are too close together, all of my smallest imperfections came out as I looked at her.  Zuri was so beautiful, in fact, that I wouldÕve had her.

 

            Zuri left me a message:  ÒHeÕs coming, then all of your training will be put into use.Ó  I saw a flash; it was of a lion, he was tall and light.  His fur was golden-yellow and he had a cream colored underbelly.  His mane was a deep black along with his tail fluff.  His eyes were of two different hues; his left eye was green and his right eye was red, just like mine.  He looked strong, and yetÉ he seemed so helpless; like he needed someone, I guess that I was just what he needed; oh, Epesi, I really am sorry for the things that I made you do.

 

            Hatari was watching over the two of us in the sky, laughing maniacally.   Hatari was the true essence of ugliness; whatever self-esteem that I had lost due to Zuri I regained by looking at Hatari.  I had seen no other like her; one eye was deeply cut and the other one was missing entirely.  Half of her teeth were missing with pools of blood filling their place; ugh, I canÕt stand thinking about her grotesque appearance any longer.  I donÕt know what she wanted but it scared me; her voice became more and more demonic as the sky shifted to black and the large rock structure that stood so proudly behind it slowly crumbled away.  I saw two other lions (one a lioness).  The lioness was very beautiful as well; she was a little lighter than some of the others and had shimmering blue eyes.  Her figure was just right, not even the slightest bit too thin or too fat; it was absolutely perfect as it was.  Her image was replaced by fire.  Next I saw the red lion; red fur, brown mane, green eyes, an emo looking tuft of fur on his mane.  He had some muscle but not much; I saw his image break in half.

 

            I woke up, I didnÕt know whether or not the voices were actually reaching out to me and trying to tell me something or if it was just some random nightmare.  I shook it off as just some nightmare and went back to sleep; I donÕt remember dreaming at all after that last one.  When I awoke the next morning I went about my business as usual; it was just like any other day.  Once the shadows were at their shortest length I saw a cub running towards me; he was being chased by another cub so I tried to call out to him but he couldnÕt hear me.  I wanted to help him and when he finally understood me he just looked puzzled.  When he looked at me I was horrified; this little cub had a left green eye and a right red eye; his tail fluff was pure black.  I took a step back, mostly from shock, as I realized that this was the same lion that I saw in my dream; he just wasnÕt fully grown yet, and neither was I, really.  I was old enough to hunt but I wasnÕt yet fully grown myself.  He caught up to me and introduced himself as Epesi, he told me that his mom went psycho and he needed to escape; but now his sister and her friends found him and Imara (one of the friends) is now coming after him.

 

            Imara caught up and I heard HatariÕs voice become very demonic as he began to tell me over and over again to hurt the cubs; I blacked out.  When I came to both of the cubs had deep gashes across their backs, so naturally I asked them if they were all right.  Epesi just stared at me, completely stunned; then he started yelling at me, I was afraid that I had done it to them.  I didnÕt want to hurt them, but when I blacked outÉ who knows what couldÕve happened.

 

            EpesiÕs grandfather came up to us and he began yelling at me as well.  I was scared; this Simba was very frightening to me.  I didnÕt know what to tell him because I honestly didnÕt know what had happened.  I just said the first thing came to mind, ÒIt was a hyena.Ó I stupidly said.  Epesi stood with his mouth agape and his grandfather didnÕt really believe it but he took it anyway (maybe he didnÕt want to know the truth).  After he walked off I blacked out again.

 

Chapter 6:  Precious Memories

 

            ITÕS BECAUSE OF ME THAT HOFU FORGOT EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENED WITH THE CUBS.  I AM ONE OF THE VOICES; I AM HATARI!!!  IF HOFU KNEW WHAT HAPPENED THEN OUR PLAN WOULDNÕT WORK; OUR PLAN TO OFF ÒDADDYÓ.

 

            IN ORDER TO PUT THE PLAN INTO MOTION WE NEEDED A VULNERABLE TARGET; CUBS WORKED OUT PERFECTLY, ESPECIALLY SHY AND TIMID ONES LIKE EPESI.  ALL THAT HOFU WANTED TO DO WAS HELP; THATÕS NOT WHAT I WANTED AT ALL.  I NEEDED A TOOL; SOMEONE WHO WOULD WILLINGLY OBEY WITHOUT QUESTIONING IT, I NEEDED EPESI.  I KNEW FROM THE MOMENT THAT I ÒSAWÓ HIM THAT HE HAD ISSUES.  WHAT I DID WAS SLASH HIS FRIEND ACROSS THE BACK (USING HOFUÕS BODY, OF COURSE) CAUSING HIM TO FLY OFF TO MY LEFT AND HIT THE GROUND WITH AN AUDIBLE ÒTHUDÓ.

 

            AFTER I KNOCKED OUT THAT CUB I HAD TO ENSURE THAT EPESI WOULD SOMEDAY RETURN.  SO, I CAUSED HIM PAIN; HE NEEDED TO FEEL HIS BLOOD TRICKLE DOWN HIS BACK.  I SLASHED HIM AS WELL AND HE FELL TO THE GROUND TRYING NOT TO CRY.  EPESIÕS FRIEND GOT UP QUICKLY BUT HE DIDNÕT TRY ANYTHING ELSE, HE WAS TERRIFIEDÉ

 

            Hello, Zuri here.  When Hatari hurt Epesi I left a longing sensation within him. This would guarantee that when he got old enough to mate that he would return here.  Think of it as a little time bomb that I implanted in him during HatariÕs brutal scratch.  Once that bomb went off Epesi would suddenly feel like he needed to return here without even knowing why.  It was a win-win situation in the end; Epesi would get what he wants from me and IÕll get what I want from him (well, two things).

 

            ONCE THE WHOLE ORDEAL WAS OVER AND DONE WITH I RETREATED BACK INTO HOFUÕS MIND WHERE I RIGHTFULLY BELONGED.  I WATCHED AS SHE TRIED TO LOOK FOR AN EXCUSE TO TELL SIMBA, BUT THAT PATHETIC LION BELIEVED HER ANYWAY.  ONCE THEY WALKED OFF I TOOK OVER ONCE MORE.  I STILL HAD UNFINISHED BUSINESS.  I WENT BACK TO HOFUÕS HOMELAND; THE DWABE GROUNDS.  ONCE THERE I PAID HER FATHER A VISIT AND HE WAS NOT PLEASED WITH ME.  HE WAS ABOUT TO SMACK ME WHEN I SAID SOMETHING THAT LEFT HIM FROZEN IN HIS TRACKS, ÒDAD, YOU WILL DIE BY MY PAWS SOMEDAY.Ó  HE WAS ABOUT TO HIT ME HARDER WHEN I SAID THE PART THAT MADE HIM FREEZE, ÒDAD, I DIDNÕT KILL MOM, YOU DID.  IF YOU TWO DIDNÕT DECIDE TO HAVE A CUB THEN SHEÕD STILL BE ALIVE; ITÕS YOUR FAULT MOMÕS DEAD, NOT MINE!Ó  I HAD LEANED IN AS CLOSE TO HIS FACE AS I POSSIBLY COULD WITHOUT TOUCHING IT, HE JUST STOOD THERE IN SHOCK; I TURNED AND WALKED AWAY, HE DIDNÕT SAY A WORDÉ

 

            ZURI, HUZUNI, AND I ARE MORE THAN JUST VOICESÉ WEÕRE DEMONS TAKING THE FORMS OF INTANGIBLE BEINGS.  WEÕRE NOT SCHIZOPHRENIC MANIFESTATIONS BUT REAL CREATURES THAT DO EXIST; BUT WE ALSO DONÕT REALLY EXIST.

 

Chapter 7:  Growing Pains

 

            As my body grew so did the frequency of the voices that ran through my head.  They could see the future and would always tell me of the day when I would finally use the training that they gave me.  I spent months mentally preparing for absolutely anything that I might do.  Eventually Hatari, Huzuni, and Zuri became relentless (right around my third birthday actually); and they would always be around, whether or not they would speak was a different story, but they did make their presence known.  I was miserable; I never had any peace, I never had any privacy, I never had anythingÉ just them, and they never left.  I thought that maybe if I died they would go away; but then things got worse.  I took a plunge down a steep cliff with tons of sharp rocks on the way down; I did dieÉ but only briefly.  I was revived; I just thought that maybe I didnÕt try hard enough, so I dunked my head into the waterhole until I lost all oxygenÉ I was revived again.  They were laughing at me, taunting me with their faceless heads, looming over me as if I was their shadow, they wouldnÕt allow me to die.

 

            As I grew from an adolescent into an adult I felt their hold on me tighten every day.  Soon my thoughts were no longer my own, all of my thoughts were theirs.  They told me that I couldnÕt die because they needed me, only once their tasks were accomplished could I die in peace.  I was miserable; I had nothing to live for, in fact, death was the only thing that I had to look forward to.  I wouldÕve done absolutely anything to get rid of them; they were plaguing me, making me ill, just like a virusÉ only worse, these were parasites.  They were the worst kind of parasites because they kept me alive so that I could suffer endlessly as they worked their way through my body and into my brain.  Eventually I just started blacking everything out; I could remember absolutely nothing during the times when they took full control of my body.  I was their slave, plain and simple, and they could do anything that they wanted to me without me even knowing it.

 

Chapter 8:  Return

 

            It had been over two years since I first met Epesi on the day of his return.  This was the lion that I saw in my dreams.  He was the one with the black mane and the two different colored eyes; he was the one whom they needed to manipulate to meet their goals, I wouldÕve happily carried out these goals myself but they wanted to get the pleasure of accomplishing these acts on their own; I blacked outÉ

 

            When I awoke Epesi and I were laying next to each other on the ground; I knew exactly what had happenedÉ it still tingled between my legs.  Although we were there and we showed happiness towards each other I felt nothing but sadness on the inside.  There I was, knowing and not knowing what I had just done; maybe it wasnÕt what I thought it was, but then what?  No, thatÕs not what upset me.  What upset me was the fact that I was being used by theseÉ entities; and now I would be using another.  These thoughts were clouded out by ZuriÕs afterthoughts and vanished into the very back of my subconsciousness (the only part of me that was still me).  Hatari came into me next, she fought Zuri for dominance of the situation but Zuri was too stubborn to just step down.  I felt like I was going insane, I had two very different personalities fighting for control of my body while I sat there and watched, dumbfounded.  I couldnÕt fight back, it would take too much energy to try and subdue them both, let alone one of them.  I could never do anything but sit back and watch as I did things involuntarilyÉ

 

            I wanted to cry so badly, but they wouldnÕt let me; they said that my emotions were too weak.  I had an army of weak emotions, but even they couldnÕt take out these massive behemoths which only carried a single emotion; maybe I was too weak.  ItÕs such a relief to be able to think about all of this now, they wouldnÕt let me stop and think back then; everything was done on impulse, their impulse that is, and they controlled my thoughts, even my dreams.

 

            Epesi had to return to his home, the Pride Lands; nobody there could see him with me, I was their enemyÉ all because of a stupid conflict that occurred over five generations ago.  I was once more left all alone with the entities that took over.  Epesi did return everyday; but IÕd always black out the whole visit, by the time IÕd come to he would be gone, completely out of sight.  Hatari was getting tired of this; he said that next time we would get him to do our biddingÉ

 

Chapter 9:  Heading Back for Home

 

            Hatari decided that it was finally time to take Epesi back to my home.  She asked him if he was ready to move onto the next step and he said that he was.  We spent a whole month there building up trust.  Apparently my father had passed while I was away so everybody was free once more, but that doesnÕt change the fact that nobody did anything to stop him when he was torturing me.  Although I couldnÕt help but feel sorry for a lot of them; most had either broken down to mere shells of lionesses or had completely lost their minds.  Hatari made me lose all sympathy for them by telling me how despicable they were.  I didnÕt feel sorry at the time; but looking back it was a sad sight to see, my ex-pride was living in absolute misery.  They had no males at all because they didnÕt trust any; nobody was in charge and nobody could reproduce.

 

            I introduced Epesi to everybody but they all snarled at him, some even threatened to kill him; but I quickly stopped everybodyÕs negative feedback with a loud, vicious roar (with HatariÕs help, of course).  I watched as my second cousin started laughing maniacally for no absolute reason; several other lionesses began to join her (they obviously werenÕt thinking clearly) so I had Epesi take care of them.  All of the ÒcrazyÓ lionesses were killed off because I didnÕt need to run some kind of a nuthouse where IÕd have to take care of the needs of those who canÕt help themselves; assassination was a much simpler task.  Epesi became my assassin/torturer, I took charge of everything and led a tyrannical reign.  If it wasnÕt for Huzuni making me feel miserable at the funerals everybody wouldÕve realized that I was to blame for every death; but I needed to hide it, they needed to feel as if I was their savior and not like my father.  Every ÒaccidentÓ that occurred was always early in the morning before anybody was even awake, a lioness would just be gone as soon as everyone else woke up.  Then Epesi and I would begin a rumor that we either saw them run off or die in some way.  It was difficult and we had to do a lot of improvising and creative thinking to get around some of them but all in all we succeeded.  Any male that passed through was immediately neutered by Epesi in order to release testosterone from the body; this would ensure that they wouldnÕt try and fight Epesi for control.

 

            Everything went smoothly for the first two weeks, and then everybody got suspicious about all of the ÒaccidentsÓ.  It was expected that a few would try and run off to find a better place, but there are always those who stay behind until the bitter end; we overdid it in our attempts to make the rebellious ones disappear.  Eventually they had guards at night; they would all sleep in shifts to make sure that nothing went wrong; if somebody had to go to the bathroom theyÕd have a guard escort them.  There wasnÕt much I could do about this, but it was all right; all of the rebellious ones were gone and phase two of my plan was about to begin.

 

Chapter 10:  ItÕs Too Late

 

            MWA, HA, HA, HA, HA, HA!!!  I WATCHED AS THOSE FOOLS COWERED IN FEAR OF ME.  NOBODY COULDÕVE PREPARED THEM FOR WHAT WAS IN STORE.  THEY WERE SCARED, NO, THEY WERE TERRIFIED OF ME; AND THEY HAD EVERY REASON TO BE.  IT WAS ALL BECAUSE OF ME THAT SO MANY LIONESSES DISAPPEARED SO SUDDENLY, THEY DIDNÕT KNOW WHAT I WAS CAPABLE OF.  ALL OF THEIR FOOD WAS TO BE GIVEN TO EPESI AND I IMMEDIATELY AFTER THEIR HUNTS; WE WOULD LEAVE THEM ONLY THE TINIEST SCRAPS.  THEY COULD NOT GO TO THE BATHROOM WITHOUT MY EXPLICIT PERMISSION.  THEY COULD NOT STAY UP ANY LONGER ONCE THE SUN HAD SET.  THE ONLY REASON THAT THEY OBEYED WAS BECAUSE THEY SAW WHAT EPESI WAS CAPABLE OF; IF THEY WANTED TO MESS WITH ME THEN THEYÕD HAVE TO MESS WITH HIM AS WELL.

 

            THEY ALL WANTED TO KNOW WHY I WAS TREATING THEM LIKE THIS; THE ONLY ANSWER THAT I GAVE WAS, ÒYOU FORCED IT UPON YOURSELVES.  YOU LET A TYRANT RULE ONCE, YOUÕLL LET IT HAPPEN EVERY TIME BECAUSE YOU CANÕT STAND UP FOR YOURSELVES.Ó  EVEN WITH THAT RESPONSE THEY HAD NOTHING TO SAY; IT WAS LIKE THEY DIDNÕT EVEN CARE THAT I WAS MALICIOUS.

 

            I was trapped; trapped within HatariÕs cage, and I couldnÕt break free.  I desperately clawed at the edges of it only to discover that I was too weak.  If they really needed me then why did they keep me locked up like this?  All around me I could hear Hatari, Huzuni, and Zuri laughing at me.  They would mock me, insult me, laugh at my tears, tell me how much pain I was causingÉ it was too much to bear.  Ah, the voices; the demons, the pain, the thoughts, the hopelessness, this subexistence, this inability to act, this relentless suffering, their insults, their sadism, their laughs, AHHHHHH!!!!!!  I was insane, but I was sane at the same time.  I wanted to just jump up and slash out their throats; what I was going through was absolute torture.  I couldnÕt handle it, I didnÕt know just how much more I could take, I didnÕt know how to stop them, I didnÕt even know who I wasÉ

 

            THINGS CONTINUED FLOWING SMOOTHLY; I WAS IN CHARGE, EPESI WAS ALWAYS BY MY SIDE (LIKE MY LAPDOG), AND EVERYBODY ELSE WAS MISERABLE.  WITHOUT FOOD THEY DIDNÕT HAVE THE STRENGTH TO STAND UP TO ME, WITHOUT WATER THEY BAKED UNDER THE RAYS OF THE SUN, WITHOUT FRESH AIR THEY GREW EVER MORE CLOSTROPHOBIC OF THE CAVE THAT THEY WERE STUCK IN, AND WITHOUT MEÉ THEYÕD BE SO HOPELESS BECAUSE THEY CANÕT GOVERN THEMSELVES.  I SHOWED THEM THAT HAVING A LEADER ONLY LED TO DESPAIR; IT ALWAYS DOES.  WHEN YOU HAVE ONE PERSON IN CHARGE OF EVERYTHING THEY WILL ABUSE THEIR POWER, SOMETIMES WITHOUT EVEN KNOWING IT, AND EVERYBODY LIVING UNDER THEM WILL BE MISERABLE.  I DECIDED TO LEAVE THEM WITH THIS LITTLE BIT OF KNOWLEDGE; EPESI AND I LEFT THE PRIDE WITHOUT LOOKING BACK.  ALL THAT I WANTED AS VENGEANCE WAS TO TEACH THE WORLD A LESSON, IT WAS HOW RULERS ARENÕT WORTH IT; EVERYBODY NEEDS TO TAKE CARE OF THEMSELVESÉ I THINK THAT THEY LATER DIED OUT.

 

Chapter 11:  Moving On

 

            EPESI AND I CAME TO PRIDE ROCKÉ WE HAD FINALLY REACHED HIS HOME.  I INHALED THE AROMA OF THE PRIDE LANDS; IT WAS VERY PLEASANT.  IT WAS BEST IF EVERY PRIDE LEARNED THE LESSON THAT I HAD TAUGHT MINE; EPESI AGREED WITH ME.  EVERYBODY THERE SEEMED TO HATE ME; BUT I HATED ALL OF THEM JUST AS MUCH.  WE STAYED THERE FOR A FEW HOURS BEFORE WE GOT THE DEN TO OURSELVES (I DONÕT KNOW HOWÉ) SO WE HUNG OUT THERE UNTIL EPESIÕS SISTER GIZA RETURNED WITH HER MATE IMARA.  THEYÕRE THE KING AND QUEEN OF THESE LANDS.  I WANTED TO WAIT UNTIL THEY WERE ASLEEP BECAUSE THEY WOULD BE THE ONLY ONES HERE BESIDES US.  ONCE THEY FELL ASLEEP EPESI AND I APPROACHED GIZA (EPESI TOLD ME NOT TO WORRY ABOUT IMARA; HE WAS ONE HECK OF A SLEEPER).

 

            GIZA WAS OFF IN DREAMLAND; I URGED EPESI TO SLASH HER THROAT; HE FINALLY WORKED UP THE COURAGE AND DID SO, IMARA FOLLOWED SHORTLY AFTER.  ONCE THEY WERE OUT OF THE WAY WE HAD TO MAKE SURE THAT THIS ROYAL FAMILY WOULDNÕT CONTINUE.  KIARA AND KOVU COULDÕVE JUST EASILY HAD ANOTHER CUB; I NEEDED TO ENSURE THAT SUCH AN ACT WOULDNÕT OCCUR.  ONE OF THEM NEEDED TO GO AND ONE OF KIARAÕS PARENTS NEEDED TO GO.  THIS WOULD ENSURE ONLY ONE LIVING MEMBER OF EACH GENERATIONÉ WE DECIDED THAT KIARA AND SIMBA WOULD BE THE SURVIVORS SINCE THEYÕRE FATHER AND DAUGHTER.  THIS WAY THEY WOULD STILL HAVE EACH OTHER FOR COMFORT AND SUPPORT; AFTER ALL, IÕM NOT TOTALLY HEARTLESS.  THE ONLY REASON THAT WE CHOSE SIMBA OVER NALA IS BECAUSE SIMBA AND KIARA WERE THE NICER OF THEIR RESPECTIVE PAIRS AND I FELT THAT THEY DESERVED TO LIVE MORE THAN THEIR MATES.

 

            IT WAS DARK OUTSIDE WHEN EPESI AND I LEFT THE DEN; HE RECOGNIZED HIS PARENTSÕ PAWPRINTS IN THE DIRT AND WE FOLLOWED THEM.  THERE WERE KIARA AND KOVU; SLEEPING IN THE GRASS RIGHT IN FRONT OF US, EPESI THEN (CENSORED) AND KOVU WAS CHOPPED IN HALF.  NEXT WE NEEDED TO GO AFTER NALA, BUT WHEN WE DISCOVERED THAT SHE WASNÕT ASLEEP WE DECIDED TO WAIT UNTIL MORNING.  WE WAITED IN THE SHADOWS OF PRIDE ROCKÕS DEN.  SIMBA AND NALA WALKED INTO THE DEN ABSOLUTELY HORRIFIED BY WHO THEY FOUND AND THE CONDITION THAT THEY WERE FOUND IN.  EPESI THEN GRABBED A ROCK WITH HIS MOUTH AND TOSSED IT INTO THE WALL CREATING A SPARK WHICH IGNITED A STICK.  HE USED THIS FLAMING STICK TO TORCH NALA; SIMBA HAD US EXILEDÉ

 

Chapter 12:  Untold Apology

 

            I snapped out of it; the voices were gone; Hatari, Huzuni, and Zuri, I no longer even sensed their presence.  I had the last three years of my life completely blacked out, I couldnÕt remember anything; I snapped out of it to see Epesi lunging right at me.  He started asking me why I did this to him and why I made him do the things that he did.  He was right in my face but I was too stunned to say anything.  I had been unconscious for the past three years and I awaken to find a lion whom I barely know yelling at me and telling me how I ruined his life.  He lunged at me and made me meet my makerÉ