[PRIVATE: DGFone & Thewhistlerify]

[DGFone]

Despite the last thing that Delano wanted to do was leave Lina, he knew that he didn't have a choice. Breaking up the embrace, he got shakily to his feet. "I know what I saw. And what I saw was him. Lina... I'll be back soon." He tuned to the queen, and nodded, signaling that he was ready to go.

Stepping outside again, he noticed how it was getting quite dark. Neither when he ran out, nor when he ran back in, did he notice that the sun was setting. Still, he was able to find the general direction of where he had gone, and soon found his trail. "Follow me..." He had to force himself to start walking, but he nevertheless lead the queen and the pair of lionesses on wards.

---

Back inside, Umeme knew that the mood would not improve until everyone would come back safe. She knew of a few things she could say to try and help the mood, but also knew that this time, it wouldn't work. Especially on Muroki, who was clearly nervous and angry at having to stay behind. So Umeme took one of his paws and wrapped it with one of hers. "He'll be fine," she said softly, "we'll all be fine."

Kato was also looking very afraid, no doubt worried for his mother. Umeme put on a smile. "Kato, come here." She waited for the prince to walk over before wrapping her other paw around his body. "We just need to wait. Everything will be okay." She would be content to remain in this small huddle as long as Muroki and Kato needed her help with this long wait.

---

Delano stopped where his trail ended. As much as he did not want to be here again, this was where he saw the lion. "It as here. And Sanders was walking..." he motioned with his paw. "...somewhere in that direction. I didn't look too closely. I.. I ran back as soon as I knew it was him." He didn't like how this was the most help he could be, but there was nothing else he could do. He waited for the queen to make her call. Either she would need his help for some more, or much more preferably, she will give him the permission to run back to safety. And Lina.

[TheWhistlerify]

Despite being a very calm and timid lion, Muroki had to resist the urge to either formally refuse the queen's order or to just go with them without even saying a word. As a few more lions and lionesses came to escort her, though, he realized that he wouldn't be allowed to come no matter what. With his injured shoulder, however, it was probably for the best. Surely showing something to the queen and then running straight back to the royal den wouldn't take Delano too long. And if it did end up taking too long, then Muroki hoped the guards wouldn't get in his way and try to stop him from leaving.

Lina walked over to Muroki, Kato, and her sister, smiling slightly at the somewhat motherly sight in front of her. She saw Umeme give her a concerned look but didn't think much of it. "I'm okay." she said, sitting down next to them. True, she didn't like the idea of Delano going out there, but it's not like he was alone. "Delano's with the queen and all these other lions and lionesses. He'll be fine..."

~~~~~~~

The queen and her party came to a stop behind Dekano. The look on his face suggested that he didn't have anymore information they might be able to use. "Run back to my den and stay there." she said, turning to look at her guards "We'll search the area where Delano said he'd seen him head to. In groups of three. Do not go on your own, understood?" Once she had their affirmatives, they began their search.

Spoiler: show

What do they find? Sanders? Hatari? Both of them? Also, I think it'll be unappropriate for Sanders to be encountered for the last time without Muroki and Delano being there... If this is the last time, that is...

[DGFone]

Umeme grinned slightly at how well Lina was taking the whole ordeal. While she herself felt like everything would be alright, she at least was with Muroki. On the slight chance that something terrible would happen, it would be Delano who would be in the most risk, and yet here Lina was, hardly looking worried at all. Umeme was quite impressed by her sister. And next to her, Kato was also doing rather well considering that his mother was searching for a dangerous lion, and his father had yet to return home.

---

Delano almost didn't need to be ordered to run back before he did just that. He ran as fast as his legs could carry him, and to his great relief, he reached the safety of the den without incident. Slowing down, he walked inside where he spotted the others huddled in a small group.

As soon as he spotted Lina, he immediately felt somewhat better, and rushed to her side. "We didn't see him there," he told them, "but they are searching the entire area for signs of him. That's when she had me run back here."

Now that his mad flight back to safety was over, he began to really feel the fatigue of both running so fast combined with the lack of rest from before. He lay down by Lina's side, closing his eyes. "I hope nothing happens," he muttered, "Sanders... what was he doing so close to here?" Almost right away after saying this, he was already out of it, in an uneasy sleep. They can't do anything but wait, and hope.

---

Sanders looked at Hatari with a displeased look on his face. "Yesterday's events were a one-off deal," he told the other lion. "How in the world did they survive? And not only that, but they killed the very lions I sent to make sure the job would be done properly!" He growled at Hatari. "You wouldn't know why they got... lucky? Would you?"

He had found Hatari hiding out in the kingdom itself, but knew that it was solely because this place was rather hard to find. He was very displeased to find Hatari here with everyone targeted yesterday still alive, but he didn't know yet that it was Hatari himself who made it that his plan had failed. "There were some good news though. I got scent of Delano and who I have to presume is Muroki. Better yet, it seems that his brother is wounded. That means he's weak. Tomorrow, I will fetch you, and together, we will finish this once and for all." For all he could care, Kato was a sweet addition to the list, but now it was getting riskier to stay in the kingdom at every moment. Kato would certainly be guarded all the time now. But the others... unlikely.

Little did he know that these very guards were now on his trail, and closing in.

[TheWhistlerify]

Muroki was getting me and more restless by the second. Even though Delano had barely been gone for a few minutes, it was already incredibly difficult for him to remain seated in one place. Umeme noticed that at some point, but it wasn't necessary for her to try to calm him down because, at that very moment, his brother came rushing back into the royal den. Muroki had so many questions he wanted to ask but, considering the insufficient amount of sleep his brother's had recently, he decided not to wake him up.

When bringing the little he did know about Sanders into consideration, including how Delano hadn't mentioned that the former leader of the underworld wasn't alone, the possibility that Sanders was currently looking for them or for Kato seemed very unlikely. "You don't think he's looking for Hatari, do you?" he asked Umeme as he watched Lina lie down beside her restless looking mate, sounding somewhat concerned regardless of the fact that Hatari was more than capable of protecting himself.

~~~~~~~~

Hatari didn't even bother to stand up once he realized that Sanders still didn't know why his plan with the gorge and the dam had failed yesterday. "Am I supposed to know why your plan, which you never told me anything about to begin with, has failed?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at him. Making Sanders crankier wasn't the best idea, some would say, but Hatari knew that Sanders wouldn't try to kill him unless he was given a good reason to (seeing how he was the only one left who could help Sanders, by the looks of it).

He had to resist the urge to tell Sanders to bugger off right then and there. Sanders was alone now, that was true, but the former leader of the underworld was one of the few lions Hatari knew who were as skilled as he was in fighting or even more than he was. As much as he wanted to get it all over with now, Hatari knew what a huge risk he'd be taking if he tried. "Sure, whatever." This time, though, while supposedly helping Sanders, he'd make sure the bastard was caught and done with for good.

Just as he was about to tell the older lion to get lost and let him get some rest he became aware of the fact that the two of them were being growled at. "There you are..." They looked in the direction of the speaker and saw the queen staring at them with a blank expression. "If I'd known you would end up coming this close to my doorstep I'd have saved me and everybody else the trouble of constantly looking for you." She looked at the lion who, back when he was her kingdom's chief of police, she'd even considered as a friend. Sure enough, the queen had quite an escort with her. They were surrounded and outnumbered.

[DGFone]

Umeme didn't have any idea as to what Sanders was doing in the area. "But Hatari doesn't like going inside the borders, you know that. So... I don't really think so." She thought about it some more. "I mean, there is always a possibility, but Hatari can take care of himself." She looked at Kato, who stared back, clearly confused. "You don't think he's looking for us, do you?" She didn't want to scare the prince any further, but she didn't want to simply exclude any reasons because they weren't nice to think about either.

---

Next to Lina, Delano wasn't able to get any rest. No sooner had he fallen asleep, his mind started acting up again. He found himself wandering about in the open plains, but it was very dark, unnaturally so. He called out for help, but initially received no reply. That is, until a strange voice, almost like a mutated combination of Sander's and Gakuru's except very unnatural sounding, replied to his pleading. "Do not worry. I will help you." Delano tried to find the source through the darkness, but couldn't see a thing. Then all of the sudden, a... creature emerged from the darkness. It looked like a lion, except that from the muzzle, it had the strangest of noses, almost like that of a hornbill's. Something about it's appearance was unsettling, and Delano backed away in fright, whimpering the entire time.

The creature simply followed him. "Do not be afraid. I sense the disease in you. Just like the others." Others? Delano looked around, and on the ground, lay Muroki and Lina. Except they were very clearly dead, and looked like they were torn apart and reattached together. Yelping out in fright, Delano tore off in fright, not knowing where he was running, just as long it was away from that thing. "Do not be afraid. I am the cure." In the dark, Delano didn't see where he was going, and tripped, falling painfully to the ground. Just in time for the creature to catch up, still walking slowly and calmly. "Don't worry. It will all be over very soon. My cure is most effective." It reached out and touched Delano, releasing a sharp wave of pain causing him to cry out in pain...

...And wake up, still screaming in pain and fright. Not realizing where he was yet, he jumped back, only to hit a wall painfully. The next thing he knew, a set of paws wrapped around him, and he cried out in fear, trying to escape.

---

Sanders recognized the voice from anywhere. How did they manage to find him here? While it was true that he right next to their home, he had made sure that he was't seen by anyone. Not that it mattered anymore. Putting on a fake smile, he looked back at the queen. "Ah, and good day to you too, your highness. It's been a while, hasn't it?" There was no way that he was going to let her take him down when he was so close to ending it all. But if he could distract her, than perhaps he can at least get revenge by taking her with him. Looking at her escorts, he was already planning how to get at her throat before they got at his. Part of that plan was to keep her talking.

[spoiler]I wanted to get a joke in that for me, SCP actually stand for Source Code Project, but eh, whatever. Couldn't figure out how to do it nicely.[/url]

[TheWhistlerify]

Muroki shook his head at Umeme's question. Anyone would be smart enough to know that Kato was well guarded after the previous day's events, and he doubted Sanders was stupid. "I doubt that." He couldn't think of another reason for Sanders to be so close, but the important thing was that they were safe where they were. That said, neither of them expected Delano to suddenly wake up by bouncing directly into a wall and screaming like his life depended on it.

Kato, who was probably the jumpiest of them all right after Delano, let out a startled yelp and immediately backed away. Lina was the first to try to calm Delano down, but she found herself unable to hold Delano in place as he tried to get up and run away. Luckily for her Muroki came over, and he was able to gently force Delano back down and then hold him there. Sure, Delano didn't realize that he was safe, but they couldn't risk letting him run off.

~~~~~~

The queen growled, keeping her eyes directly on Sanders the entire time. "Cut the crap."
Knowing Sanders, Hatari knew that the lion wouldn't be acting so calmly if things weren't going his way. This meant that he had another trick up his sleeve. "I've never met royalty before!" he exclaimed all of a sudden, walking over and standing right next to Sanders in order to be ready for anything, putting on a fake expression of excitement. "I mean-"

"Shut up." said the queen with a growl. "Deciding what to do with the two of you isn't my decision, unfortunately. You will face trial for your actions. Either come willingly or you will be taken by force."

Spoiler: show

SCP stands for Secure Contain and Protect. It's a made up foundation that contains / locks away unnatural things. There's a game for it with the very SCP you copied into here. It's SCP 049. I really like the website and game, so putting 049 here brought a smile to my face. Thanks for that. C:
Making Lina and Muroki wake up and act like zombies, as they should have, was what was missing here.

[DGFone]

With Lina and Muroki busy restraining Delano, Umeme went over to help the prince. While Delano clearly didn't intentionally scare the prince, Kato was also beginning to look like a nervous wreck, and Umeme knew that Muroki wouldn't mind if she left him in order to help the younger lion. "Kato, it's alright..." She gently took the prince into a hug, letting him slowly calm down. She gave him a slight grin. "Delano isn't going to attack you, don't worry." What struck her as odd was that she didn't expect Delano to react like this either. He clearly had another nightmare, but she thought that those had left him a long time ago. Or was it because of what he saw? Thinking about it, he hadn't looked too well the previous night either...

As hard as he tried to escape his "captors", Delano couldn't break through the grip holding him down. "Let go of me!" He continued to struggle some more, but as he became more aware of being awake, the lack of any actual pain apart from where he hit the wall was telling him that it wasn't the faithful creature he just saw, but someone else. Daring himself to look, he saw that it was non other than Muroki and Lina, and unlike in his nightmare, the looked very much alive and both in one piece.

Now remembering where he was, he ceased fighting against them, and sure enough, Muroki hesitantly let him free. He collapsed on the ground, shaking uncontrollably and panting from his efforts to try and escape. "I... I don't..." He fell silent as Lina sat down next to him, trying to provide him with comfort. He couldn't get the images of the nightmare out of his mind. Just as he thought that perhaps he might be getting better, his mind decided to give him one of the worst ones yet. Remembering the reassembled bodies of his brother and Lina made him feel nauseous, and it took all of his effort just for Delano to prevent himself from throwing up on the ground.

---

Sanders was preparing to make his move, and saw his opportunity when she diverted just enough attention away from him to order her guards to attack. Just a little less attention that will give him the chance to pounce on him...

...Only to be hit hard over the head by non other than Hatari of all lions. Before he could even comprehend the betrayal, he was knocked out cold. His body was picked up by one of the queen's lionesses as Hatari himself was knocked unconscious and picked up as well. With the two unconscious lions under watchful eyes, the queen and her guards turned and made their way back to the den, where they can restrain the lions in one of the smaller caves.

[TheWhistlerify]

Lina let out a sigh as Delano finally calmed down, not even bothering to ask whether it was another nightmare because the answer was obvious. She lay down beside him, doing her best to silently comfort him. She hoped that, if the queen was successful in capturing Sanders, that Delano's nightmares would finally leave him for good.

Kato managed to calm down after Delano stopped struggling against Muroki's grip. While he didn't really think that there was any reason for him to fear Delano, he still felt somewhat restless with him around after their conversation earlier. Just as Muroki was about to ask the prince why he was so scared of Delano, the queen walked back into the den with some of her guards. "I want that cave guarded 24/7 by no less than 8 guards at the very least. You can break their legs for all I care if they try to escape."

She nuzzled her son as Kato ran over to her, obviously glad to see that she wasn't hurt. Then, looking at the others, she continued. "We got him."

[DGFone]

As glad as Delano was to hear that Sanders was captured, when the queen mentioned breaking legs if he would try to escape, Delano couldn't help but remember that the very thing happened to him. He let out a small whimper and pressed himself harder against Lina. It was good news that the queen had captured the lion, but he feared that until Sanders was properly dealt with, he wouldn't be able to let his guard down, and would continue to be afraid for as long as he didn't know that Sanders cannot be a danger anymore.

Umeme leaned slightly against Muroki, glad to see Kato look so happy again when his mother walked in. Still, there was one thing she wanted to know. "So what's going to happen to him now?" She also thought of asking to perhaps see the lion that was responsible for so much hardship, but chose against it. Not only did she think that the queen most likely not allow her to see him anyways, she wasn't curious enough to see him anyways.

But then she realized something else. "Wait... ' if they try to escape? There was more than one?" Suddenly Muroki's comment about perhaps Sanders was seeing Hatari seemed a lot worse now.

[TheWhistlerify]

The queen embraced her son and held him close, noticing that the whole idea of breaking the legs of other lions was making him a little uneasy. "That's for the king to decide." she said, not looking like she cared too much seeing how the important thing was that Sanders wouldn't be hurting anyone ever again. "If it were up to me, though, then he'd wish I had him executed on the spot." She growled, ignoring Kato's uncomfortable shaking. "As for the other one, I'm not sure who he is yet. The two of them'll probably be interrogated before anything will be decided in his regard."

"Who is this other one?" asked Muroki hesitantly. After betraying Sanders in the gorge it would be very likely for Hatari to not go back to his home in fear of being attacked there. So there was a chance that it was him.

"I don't know." repeated the queen. She was about to say something else when Muroki cut her short.

"Can I see him?"

"Absolutely not." The guards were going to be busy enough keeping an eye on each other's backs in order to have some unrelated lion wondering about inside.