pray, of course' Vushu said. ' both she and Sima wre carrying pictures of Kovu " they he;ld the pictures up to the light ' May Ozai the merciful shield this prisoner from harm and may he carry him home to safety in his weighty arms " they intoned together. ' as part of the ceremony thge pictures were cast into the fire so that the image could become visible only to the divine. Sima thought back to a time early in her life on mawashii, where she had few friends. she had prayed to ozai to send her a friend and build up on her confidence, and Ozai must have heard her because the very next day she had met Vushu for the first time, who had let her stay with her and from that their friendship blossomed.
Vushu's memorty was of figting a huge 3200 pound boar on Mount Ringer, the kind that ran you over and asked questions later. She had prayed at a local shrine for strength , and her prayers must have been answered because she managed t o slay the born and bring his body backj to become burgers.
_ Kopa and kiara styopped at one of the 15 shrinews to pray, as instructed they ed picturs of Kovu out over the fames ' Come home safe' Kopa intoned as he burned the picytures. Kiara cried , tears running down her face as she burned the picture ." just come home " she whispered as the photo burned away in her claws.' We'll get him back Kiara. I promise ' Kopa sad. " and i;m smothering him with kisses and hugs.' Kiara said." more than usual?' kopa laughed.' hes not leaving my sight.. well, unless he;'s in the hospital or something, like Stripetail was." kiara said .
_
as stripetail stepped on to the plains, there was a flash of lightning and Mertavius stood on a flinty outcropping over him. 'Welcome to dreadzone wizard! I do hope you can handle these ruffians, I actually have a wager on you with the Oxhead of Pragen 4. They bet me that you wouldnt survive 10 minutes in Dreadzone. Easiest wager i ever made. If you win- As I fully expect- their planet will belong to me and they will become my servants. lets us hope at least they are better at serving me than they are at gambling.." " wheres Kovu?' Stripetail said. ' If you are here then you must have him. Where is he?' What, you dont have the rest of his family blundering around looking for him? Isn't that your normal forte , sending mortals to do an immortals job?' Mertavius sneered. " you know, if not for that blasted ring you gave him, i could have turned him into a nice rug and a pair of boots. Well, no matter, he did provide some entertainment at least, i went into his small mind and probed all the corners finding out every repressed memory , every fear that scurries around in that peach pit he calls a brain. here he is ' mertavius gestured and a magical image appear next to him. Kovu was tied claw and foot to a chair inside what looked to be a space capsule. his mouth was securely covered with a glowing gag, and the lion looked exhausted and resigned to his fate. " Anger flashed in Stripetail's eyes. " i have placed his capsule somewhere on this planet. your clock will start the moment I finish talking. You have precisely 15 minutes to find him, IF you do not find him in 15 minutes a magical miasma will start filtering into that capsule a process that will take about a minute. the miasma will be fatal to him within 10 seconds once he breathes it in. ' a magical time appeared in the sky with a gesture from the green squirrel. ' another gesture dispelled the image of the imprisoned Kovu . " And of course, you're going to have to fight your way through all of Vox's goons in the meantime. You want any chance of saving your little lion friend, you're going to have to bring your real powers to the fold. " You're deranged Mertavius. "Stripetail said coldly. " No, wizard, deranged would involve me slowly , painfully, mercilessly slicing him into little pieces while he was still breathing, and i made you magically watch the whole thing ." Mertavius retorted. " and then you would have to break your precious rule about ' No reviving the dead" He said mockingly. " Unless you want to have to bring his scattered , fragmented remains home to the Pridelands in a small box. I'm sure King Simba would LOVE that. and he;'d LOVE you after you told him what happened, that you let his son in law get pulverized. " Stripetail's face worked then his mouth was set in a thin line. ' Enough of the jibes Mertavius. Surely you have better things to do with your time then try and get me rattled? besides, you have coin riding on me, although you havent lost a wager since that dragon race on Orgon 46..' mertavius' eyes narrowed ' " It figures you would bring that up.. but now you're wasting tome. your clock is now ticking.. and the guards are closing in.. " meratvious vanised in a puff of smoke and a loud bugle call echoed through the area. A wave of armed warriors raced over the plains towards Stripetail, their weapons and armor gleaming in the sun. this was a mix of mortal and zombie as exposed bones and eyesockets were visible.' the clock in tha air started ticking dowen. A glowing white shield appeared around Stripetail and his staff glowed bright white. " Hang on Kovu, i"m coming ' Stripetail said, before letting forth with a vicious blast of lightning.
