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Chapter Text

"The jury has come to an agreement. While he would not be put into juvenile prison, he would be under heavy surveillance to prevent any attack towards innocent carnivores until we know for certain what caused his rampage."

Those were the last words the young colt remember of his trial from 2 weeks ago, having mix feelings regarding the whole ordeal as he still saw himself as a monster and a danger to any of his friends or any innocent beast, fearing that whatever curse he had could detonate at any moment. He was specially terrified of harming or killing Alejandro, not only because he was a carnivore, but because he was his brother of another species, the mere idea of shuch a thing happening hurt his heart greatly. As he sat on his bed, inside of the room of a mental hospital, the young zebra heard steps of someone coming as his ears rise up in response, looking towards the entrance as a female snow leopard nurse open the door of his room, her kind expression towards him making Sharik feel a little better.

Nurse: "How are you feeling today, Sharik?"

She kindly asked. The zebra had a hard time responding as he didn't want to sound upset.

Sharik: "I'm... conflicted, and scared... I'm still worried about turning again into that... monster." He responded, ears lowered as his sadness showed.

Nurse: "Is alright, sweetheart, you are not the only one who feels that way, yet your case is certainly a first." She then got close to the zebra and gently pet Sharik in the head to then put a hand on his shoulder, looking at him in the eyes. "Don't worry, we on this hospital are gonna do everything in our power to help you. You are not alone in this struggle. You have a loving family and good friends who want you to be happy and recover, and I am sure you will be able to." She said as she gave a sweet smile to the young colt

This made the young striped equid smile for the first time in days, feeling a glimpse of hope reaching towards his wounded heart.

Sharik: "Thank you. I needed to hear that."

Nurse: "You are welcome, now, how about you get some breakfast before starting our day? Your mother told me you love this dish."

Then the nurse brought up a cart on which there was the food tray for Sharik, on it there were 3 spinach quesadillas, a bowl of fruit salad with honey and and a glass of grape juice. At the sight of his breakfast, the young zebra suddenly became more joyful, his tail started waging and his ears perked up as he sit ready to eat, which he did by taking the fruit salad first, happily enjoying his food as the nurse smiled at the sudden burst of joy on her patient.

While typically, all patients ate at the cafeteria, due to Sharik's unknown condition and lack of knowledge regarding how it detonates, meant that he had to stay at his room while eating to prevent any accident or conflict, since the hospital he was admitted in had a majority of carnivore patients who were previously meat addicts, and many of these were also pantherine cats, making it all the more important to keep Sharik isolated from them, which made other patients suspicious about the young zebra, believing either they kept him away because he was a herbivore, or that whatever he suffered from was extremely dangerous, but even so, Sharik never express any ill feelings anytime he was expose to them, while most of the ones he interacted with were nurses and his designated doctor, he always spoke to them openly and he even got as far as to offer his help if he thought it was needed. This gentle and noble nature made it all the more difficult to determine what was exactly the cause of his devastating rage or what this "Curse of Madness" actually was, as while he wasn't the first patient to have these mutations, none of the previous cases were taken seriously since it was believed that the cause were drugs made with carnivore parts, however, he being the youngest patient with this condition could give more clues on the matter.

While Sharik was enjoying his breakfast, in the office of the doctor in charge of Sharik were his father, wearing a gray polo shirt and some blue jeans, and his mother, Jasiri, a beautiful female Burchell's zebra with yellowish eyes, ondulated stripes on her face and dressed in a green blouse with golden brown pants, talking about the current state of the young zebra as well as what treatments he would be put through.

Doctor: "As of now, Sharik hasn't shown any aggression towards carnivore personnel. However, we haven't found yet anything regarding how this "curse" of him works or what effects does it has on his mind. He also has shown sings of posttraumatic stress, among those being night terrors and some sudden reactions."

That last part worried Jasiri greatly. While Akida nodded on a serious yet sympathetic expression, he knew that his son was going to suffer from that after the incident.

Doctor: "In addition, he mentioned someone called 'Jabari'. Is he someone related to him?"

After the doctor asked this, both parents were saddened at the mention of that name, Jasiri in particular started to sob and clung to her husband in comfort, while also hurt by the memory, Akida answer the question.

Akida: "He... was our younger son, and he and Sharik were very close on their relationship as brothers. Unfortunately, Jabari was killed when a predator attacked our home, Sharik tried to save him, but he was unable to."

The revelation was a very sad surprise for the doctor, who expressed his sympathies towards the couple. Then, after calming down a bit, Jasiri spoke.

Jasiri: "Since that day, Sharik has blamed himself for not having been strong enough to protect him, ever since then, he became more protective of his friends and even my third son. I believe this was somehow related to his outburst."

Doctor: "That could be the case based on that incident, when he saw his friends in danger that day, his "curse" must have activated to allow him to protect them, which might be a reason as to why he acted so violently, out of fear of loosing anyone else."

Akida: "It could be, yet I would like to know more about the Curse of Madness, I have noticed the abnormalities that it caused to his body, and I may not know much about chemistry, but it could be that these alterations are affecting his brain"

Jasiri: "Although we should not ignore his PTSD, is there any treatment that could help him recover from that?"

Doctor: "Yes, Mrs. Zaragoza, some therapies have been performed on him in order to treat that, however as of now, the priority would be to determine the physical and behavioral effects of this curse on him, for that, I consulted with a doctor that specializes on these cases."

Shortly after that, the door opened to reveal a big female spectacled bear dressed in a medical uniform, and a lab coat appeared and presented herself to both zebras. She was around 1.78 meters in height and had a serious yet maternal expression on her face.

Doctor: "She is Doctor Azumi Ishikawa. A pediatrician experienced in cases such as this. She will be in charge of analyzing how much this condition has affected your child."

Azumi: "First time I attend one that isn't a bovid or a suid, I hope he isn't a rude one."

Akida: "I can guarantee that he is a well-mannered boy." Said the stallion as he standed up to greet her. "I am Akida Fernández, and this is my wife, Jasiri, we are Sharik's parents." He then extended his hand in greeting, which the bear reciprocated.

Azumi: "It's a pleasure to mee you, have heard about you on the news, you are quite a famous cop. And you got quite the wife, hehe."

Surprised by the tone of the doctor, Jasiri couldn't help but blush at the comment of the bear, while Akida smiled with pride, if a bit bashful, due to these compliments.

Doctor: "Forgive Dr. Ishikawa, she tends to be a little too expressive sometimes."

Azumi: "What can I say? I prefer to say what I am thinking, providing it doesn't offend anyone, so where is the patient, Yamato?" She asked the brown hyena.

Yamato: "He is on Room 212. On the 6th floor, we have him isolated from most carnivore patients."

Azumi: "Huh, smart choice, hope he is not one of those who abuses this curse, I have dealt with some patients who actively use their condition to attack and kill any carnivore they saw, we lost a few patients and personnel because of it, they even experienced joy in doing so."

Jasiri: "Rex, that's horrible. It's sad that there are herbivores who think like that, but Sharik is not at all like that. Ever since the incident with the four panthers, he has been very scared of the damage he could inflict on them. Sharik has always tried to empathize and socialize with carnivores. That's how he met his closest friend, who is a black jaguar."

This caught the bear's atention as this was something new, none of her patients with the curse have had even a glimpse of tolerance towards carnivores, and here there was the youngest patient with this condition supposedly not only looking to empathize with them, but even befriending carnivores, needless to say, she was intrigued.

Azumi: "Well, in that case, he might be more responsive to the treatment. I will go to pick him up for his checkup, and then I'm going to run some tests on him."

Yamato: "Very well. Mr. and Mrs. Fernández, if you could please follow Dr. Azumi, I'm sure your son will be happy to see you."

Akida: "My thoughts exactly, come on Jasiri, our son is waiting for us." He said smiling as his wife reciprocated the smile.

Jasiri: "I can't wait to see him again."

Then the zebras and spectacled bear got out of the office and headed to the colt's room.

Meanwhile in his room, Sharik was reading some comics that he brought with him to entertain himself in between therapies, the one he was reading was an issue on the adventures of a diverse crew of autonomous robotic organisms on a ship called "The Lost Light" and he was on the issue #13. He was a big fan of this saga, and reading these comics made him feel more upbeat, remembering when his friends disguised themselves as their favorite characters for a costume party, feeling a little nostalgic for those times.

Sharik: ("I hope they are doing ok, bet they are still a bit fearful of me, especially Alex...)" He thought, getting sad when he remembered their faces of fear and shock. He didn't blame them one bit for that. ("I hope they can forgive me, I don't want them to see me as a monster... but... am I really one?")

All of a sudden, he was brought out of his thoughts when he heard steps closing in on his room, and while some were the already ubiquitous paws of the nurse taking care of him, he could hear planted feet and... 2 pairs of hooves! That last sound making his ears right up as he recognized them immediately, getting up his bed in excitement. Then, when the doors opened and the nurse greeted him, he darted out towards the pair of adult zebras standing behind her, giving them a great hug as he waged his tail in happines, a hug his father quickly reciprocated.

Sharik: "¡Papá, mamá, los extrañé mucho, no saben lo feliz que estoy de verlos!"

He said with teary eyes, like if he hadn't seen them for years, and his father didn't wait to reciprocate the hug.

Akida: "También te extrañamos hijo, es bueno ver que andas bien."

While indeed happy to see that Sharik didn't look as depressed as before, he was concerned at the way Sharik nearly cried when he hugged him, knowing this was part of his PTSD, it was clear that Sharik was still hurt emotionally. After that, Sharik went to hug his mother, which Jasiri corresponded happily.

Jasiri: "Me alegra verte más feliz que antes, corazón, nos contaron que haz tenido terrores nocturnos, lamento mucho que hayas sufrido algo tan horrible." She pet his colt as she comfort him. "Mi pobre angelito no merece eso."

Sharik: "Sí... fueron terribles, afortunadamente la enfermera Eileen y el Dr. Yamato me ayudaron a superarlos... aunque aun tengo pesadillas a veces."

As he spoke with his mother, the zebra colt noticed a female spectacled bear that looked to be a doctor. Maybe he was gonna be put into custody of another one.

Sharik: "Um... hello, were you assigned to tend to me?" He asked on a polite tone.

Azumi: "You caught up quickly. I am Dr. Azumi, I will be performing some tests on you to understand what you have and how it affects you, though, by looking at you right now, it seems that you were having it rough, you haven't been sleeping well, right?"

Sharik: "Not really, it's even being harder for me to go to sleep without assistance."

Azumi: "I see. It seems that the incident had a bigger effect on you than I thought, but don't worry, I'm gonna make sure you overcome it." She said with a smile, which comforted the young zebra. "Now follow me so we can start with the tests."

Sharik nodded and, along his parents, followed Azumi towards her office. During the way there, the colt remained clinged to his mother as he was still fearful regarding his condition, which Jasiri noticed immediately and gave him comfort by caressing his head to make her son feel better. As they walked through the halls, they heard something drop to the floor, and upon turning, the 4 animals saw that it was a nervous-looking dhole who had tripped and struggled to get up on his own, just when a nurse nearby was about to help the dhole, Sharik got there quicker, much to the surprise of his parents, and carefully lifted the carnivore back on foot, then he noticed a unoccupied walker nearby and gave it to the dhole, who was surprised yet grateful for the aid of the young zebra.

Dhole: "Thank you, little one. You are perhaps the first herbivore to help me when I'm down." He said while still surprised about what Sharik did.

Sharik: "No problem, always happy to help." He said with a smile, then he returned to his parents and took his mother by the hand.

This show of kindess made his parents quite proud, but also hopeful that their son wasn't truly an onsight attacker due to his curse, Azumi and the nurse were quite as well surprised, as were too many of the patients present on the living room, specially since it was the first time they saw the little herbivore from the rumors.

Azumi: ("This kid is quite intriguing. Even after all that he went through, he managed to help someone in need. Perhaps it wasn't hatred that fueled his rampage.") She thought while looking at the young colt.

A while later, the bear and the zebras arrived at her office, upon entering, Sharik felt a little chill due to how cold the office was compared to the corridor, but he quickly got used to it, after that, he sat down in front of desk along his parents, watching the doctor typed something on her computer, believing to be his medical profile. As she finished typing, Azumi started asking Akida and Jasiri about Sharik's health.

Azumi: "Does he have any allergies or other health conditions?"

Jasiri: "Well, he is allergic to dust, and on his abdomen, he has a scar as a result of a hippopotamus attack when he was 7."

Just the mere mention of that event made Sharik's blood run cold. That day made him terrified of even watching hippos from a distance. Such was his fear that he was oblivious to the rest of the conversation between his mother and Dr. Azumi, but he didn't take long to snap out of it.

Azumi: "Alright then, with all that done, let's get started. Sharik, could you please stand on the weighting machine? Remove your shoes to get an accurate measure."

Sharik: "Oh, ok."

The young boy took off his sandals as he alongside Azumi walked towards the weighting machine, the doctor standing right next to it as Sharik got on the pad. Once in there, Sharik stood straight in the platform as Azumi raised the height rod to just above his head, while moving the poise weights to reach the accurate weight of her patient, the results were quite surprising yet expected, as even before arriving at the office, Azumi knew by just looking at him that he was bigger than his age group by a big margin.

Azumi: "1.72 meters and 76 kilograms, you are certainly a very big boy." She said on a maternal tone, which made Sharik blush a bit.

Sharik: "Hehehe, thanks, my mother always said I was gonna get way bigger." This got a gentle laugh out of Jasiri.

Azumi: "Well, she wasn't wrong. Your growth rate is indeed enhanced, just like with the others, but you are on a more middle point. Now, this examination will include checking your body completely, that means I need to check your vitals, your muscle mass, and even your sexual development, so you will need to be naked at the end of the checkup, your parents agree to the terms but you have the last word about if you want it to be that way." She explained in detail.

While the idea of his genitals being examined made him blush quite noticeably out of embarrassment, he knew it wasn't gonna be anything bad or perverted, and a quick look at his parents, who nodded to him for reassurance that it was alright, the colt gave nodded and took out his shirt, pants, left only in underwear, though this revealed something that Dr. Azumi wasn't expecting, and that was that the body of the young zebra was covered in scars, of both teeth and claws. Seeing the body of their son with all of those scars made Jasiri and Akida grief at the pain that he went through, while Azumi had a sympathetic look on her face, gently caressing her patient on his head.

Azumi: "I'm sorry for what you went through. Those scars looked like they were very painful wounds."

Sharik: "They were... but other than the one in my belly... I... I want to believe I got them defending my friends... even if... if it meant turning into that monster." His ears lowered in sadness and fear of that memory, yet it quickly changed to a more determined and brave expression. "I want to know what it is and to control it."

Such a determination surprised yet made both Sharik's parents smile in hopeful joy, while Azumi smirked at the resolve of the young male.

Azumi: "You are very brave, little one, that's a quality many more herbivores should have. Now, let us continue with the checkup."

Sharik nodded as he went to sit on the exam table, moving his legs a bit as Azumi prepared her tools on a wheeled counter, similar to that of an operation room, and the first item she grabbed was the ophthalmoscope to check the eyes of the young zebra, watching the characteristic neon-green eyes that every mutant she examined had, though the green on Sharik's eyes seemed to be more neutral as opposed to the lighter tones of the suids and deer and the darker greens of the bovids.

Azumi: "Doesn't seem to be any anomaly. Have you experienced any vision trouble?"

Sharik: "No, I can see very well, even in the dark. Zebras have better night vision than many other herbivores. "

Azumi: "Oh really? That's quite interesting, I didn't know that"

While this was happening, Jasiri could not help but to feel hopeful for how his son was now so upbeat and happy, even Akida, who usually was more serious about stuff in general, felt a bit more optimistic. After checking his eyes, Azumi turned off the ophthalmoscope and put them on the counter to then grab a small lanter and a metallic tongue depressor.

Azumi: "Alright, say 'Ahhhhh.'"

Sharik: "Ahhhhhhh." He opened his mouth as Azumi put the tongue depressor over the zebra's tongue, revealing 4 large fangs that had developed from his canine teeth, each measuring 7.5 centimeters much to the surprise of the spectacled bear, it was a wonder his lips could cover those fangs completely.

Azumi: "Wow, those are the largest fangs I have seen so far. Bet your bites are really nasty." She smirked. "Fortunately, your tongue doesn't seem to have been on the receiving end when you were chewing."

Sharik got a little chill about that, since it was one of his fears after he developed his fangs, if he wasn't for the counseling from Alejandro, he would have probably put some holes into his tongue by now. Once she took a good look at the rest of Sharik's mouth, not noticing any anomaly on his other teeth or the inner flesh nor that his fangs dug into his gums, Azumi got the tongue depressor out and turned out the lantern, leaving both items in the counter as she turned on another device that was close to the stretcher, it was a trapezoid CPU with a monitor on top of it and a metal bar with some chewable material covering it. Sharik had seen one of these before, when Alejandro was undergoing a checkup, though he didn't anticipate that this would be a part of his.

Azumi: "This is a bite force meter, I bet by the look on your face that you weren't expecting to be biting on one of this."

Sharik: "No, if I'm honest, although, did the other patients have a stronger bite force because of the mutations?"

Azumi: "Indeed, the muscle mass grows continuously throughout the body, that includes around your jaws, meaning you could now outforce some carnivores on that end."

That was a surprising revelation for the 3 zebras, Akida, while already knowing some of the symptoms of the curse, he never expected that it would also include the mandibles, believing that it would be focused on the limbs and torso of Sharik, Jasiri was too quite shocked, while there were herbivores with a stronger bite force than any mammalian carnivore such as hippos and gorillas, she never expected that her son went above some carnivores species.

Azumi: "Well then, now you know what to do, bite with everything you got, think that you are eating a very sturdy nut."

Sharik: "Jejeje, good idea."

With that mentality, he bite with all of his strength into the soft layer of the meter, and the readings were once again a big surprise as it registered no less than 850 PSI, surprising both parents and the young colt as well.

Azumi: "You are still full of surprises, little one, that has been the strongest bite force so far registered among my herbivore patients."

Sharik: "Thank you very much, hehehe. Hey, one question: were all of those other patients teens like me?" He asked, curious.

Azumi: "Yes, the former youngest was 14, others were 15 or 17 years old. As I said, you are the youngest."

Sharik: "Ohhh, that's interesting."

After that, Azumi turned off the bite force meter and handed him a dynamometer, which measured the strength of his hands, and based on that, she could get an estimate of his limb strength. Upon understanding what he had to do, Sharik pressed the dynamometer with great strenght and the measurements registered were quite outstanding, as he registered 89 kilograms pare square centimeter, meaning that his limbs were stronger than even above average individuals of his species at his age, becoming another surprise for Jasiri and even Sharik, though Akida recoiled a bit, remembering the damage that such strength could do.

Azumi: "Very well, it seems that you have become quite stronger than your age group, you may even become stronger as you grow, but you must learn how to control your strenght, little one." She said as she took note of this on Sharik's file.

Sharik: "I know, and that is something I am more than willing to do for my loved ones, though I always aspired to be stronger, so I can protect everyone else, just like what dad told me." He said, smiling with determination and admiration for his father.

Akida could only smile with pure paternal love for his son. The way he admired him was always so heartwarming.

Akida: "You are already very strong, hijito, more than I could ever ask for, just remember to be careful with what you do with it."

Sharik nodded happily, almost forgetting about his curse, but he quickly got back to what was happening when he felt a sphygmomanometer around his arm, turning to see Azumi put the earpieces of her stethoscope to then start inflating the device, once completely inflated, she used the diaphragm of the stethoscope to listen to his pulse and checking his blood pressure, getting a measurement of 126/85. Once she was done cheking that, she deflated and removed the shygmomanometer, leaving it on the counter.

Azumi: "Seems that your blood pressure has gotten a little higher, but it's not something to be concerned off, however, you should be careful into avoid sudden spikes of stress, it could cause you more harm during those periods."

Sharik nodded at that warning from the doctor, understanding that stress can be dangerous.

Azumi: "Very well, now, I'm gonna check your heart, so relax and let me listen." She said on a motherly tone as she placed the diaphragm of her stethoscope over Sharik's chest, listening to his heart as the zebra had a slight but noticeable blush during this part of the checkup. After checking to the aortic valve, Azumi changed the diaphragm to the tricuspid valve, carefully listening to each heartbeat of the young herbivore.

Lub-dub ~ lub-dub ~ lub-dub ~ lub-dub ~ lub-dub ~ lub-dub ~ lub-dub ~ lub-dub ~ lub-dub ~ lub-dub ~ lub-dub ~ lub-dub ~

As Azumi moved on to the pulmonic valve, she noticed that Sharik's heartbeats grew stronger and became more frequent, this was evidently one of the alterations of the curse, however, she knew that his heart had also grown a thicker myocardium given the evidence with her past patients, though it seemed that the zebra had the highest heart rate so far. All the while, Sharik watched as she moved the stethoscope across his chest.

Azumi: "Your heart sounds very healthy, but your heart rate has become quicker than normal. It appears too that it has become sturdier to better pump blood across your body, compensating for your higher growth rate and general increment of body mass." She explained as she listened to the zebra's mitral valve.

Sharik: "Wow, that's actually kinda cool. Now I have a very strong heart, jejeje." He said with a blushing smile. Jasiri couldn't help but feel tenderness over his son's reaction, though it still was intriguing how this curse also affected his organs.

Azumi: "I like that attitude. Keep it up." She said with a smile as she finished checking his heart. "Alright, now it's turn for the lungs. Whenever you feel the diaphragm of the stethoscope, I want you to inhale and exhale deeply. Alright?"

Sharik nodded as the doctor put the stethoscope's diaphragm over his back, and just as she requested, Sharik started to give deep breaths, repeating this each time Azumi auscultated his lungs through his back, fortunately she didn't detected any abnormalities, however she had a hunch that they also grew bigger just as his heart.

Azumi: "Sounds very good, now lay down for me to check your abdomen."

Sharik: "Alright, just be careful with the scar on my belly."

Azumi: "I promise I will." She smiled, which gave Sharik comfort as he laid down on the exam table, Azumi then placed the stethoscope on his belly to take a good listen, after a quick revision of his bowels and stomach, not finding anything wrong, the ursid doctor took off the stethoscope and put it on the counter and then she began to palpate his abdomen, being careful both with her claws and to not hit the big scar on the right side of the abdomen. As she did this, Azumi realized just how well developed was Sharik in terms of musculature, as his abdomen was surprisingly sturdy, even the part of the scar, though because of how damaged it was it became the most sensitive spot, evident by the zebra's pained reaction upon feeling the palpation on that spot, wich worried his parents a bit. After the complete check-up on his abdomen, Azumi stops and lets Sharik sit back up.

Azumi: "Everything is good on your abdomen, and it is quite hardy, too. Your muscular system has also had an increased development. You may prove physically stronger than what I speculate."

Sharik: "That's awesome... though I wish it hadn't come with this horrible curse."

His sad expression was quickly intercepted by the doctor, who gave her a reassuring smile, alongside his mother who came to give him a gentle hug and a kiss on his forehead, not wanting him to be sad again, which was successful on making the colt smile and feel better, then Jasiri release him from the hug as Azumi explained the last part of the checkup.

Azumi: "You may be wondered from earlier why it is necessary that I check your sexual development, and that's because the curse affects that too. Now, it happens in 4 different ways: either they become completely sterile, they become infertile, their genitals get deformities, or, as you may expect, their fertility gets enhanced, which is why this is part of the checkup.

Now understanding what she wanted to check with his private parts, Sharik nodded a bit embarrassed as he lowered his underwear, revealing his genitals to the doctor who closed in and started to inspect them thoroughly.

After the genital examination and a sample extraction done privately by Sharik himself, as well as taking a blood sample for later analysis, Azumi allowed him to dress since the checkup was over. With all the data gathered, the young colt went towards his parents while the spectacled bear sat on her desk, adding the information into Sharik's file.

Azumi: "Well, Sharik, you are in very good health, while parts of your body have certainly being altered, there have been so far positive, and it your sexual development hasn't been affected in the slightest, of course, that is as of right now, as you grow more, these mutations could change too, so we will have to keep an eye on how your body mutates with this 'curse' of yours."

Sharik: "Oh, well, that's good to know, I was worried my body was badly altered." He said with a kind smile while Jasiri gently hugged him around the abdomen.

Akida: "So now that his check-up is done. What is going to be the next test?" Asked Akida curiously.

Azumi: "The next test is gonna be in a couple of days after I finish analyzing his blood sample. They are going to consist of different exercises to determine his physical capabilities as well as to discover what triggers his rage state." She said in a more serious tone.

That last part made Sharik quite nervous as he was very scared of becoming that rage-fuelled monster, however, with some comfort offered by his mother and also by his father, Sharik got a bravery boost and nodded in acceptance of those tests.

Akida: "When would these tests be realized and where? I hope it is going to be in a controlled environment."

Azumi: "Yes, it will, I have a special room dedicated to these kinds of tests. Your son will begin his in around 2 days. Until then, he will undergo therapies to treat his PTSD. I will send you his results on his blood and semen samples once they are done alongise the rest of his file."

Akida: "Very well, thank you very much, Dr. Azumi, your help is greatly appreciated."

Azumi: "I know, and you're welcome." She said with a smug smile as the 3 zebras left the room, Akida and Jasiri wishing to share some time with his son before they had to go, leavinf Azumi to start examining the samples collected.

Later that day, Akida and Jasiri went back home after spending time with their colt and a long afternoon at work, just as Jasiri was taking a bath, Akida wad on the living room, talking through his cellphone with a private contact.

Akida: "Everything in order?" He asked his contact.

Contatc: "Yes, it is, nothing out of the ordinary." He responded back, seemingly in hiding like a spy. "I know you are very worry about him, sir, but I feel this is a bit too much, this hospital has a very strong security team, and based on what you told me, he is not the kind of kid to look for trouble."

Akida: "I know, but I prefer to be sure that he is completely save in there, the hospital admits plenty of meat addicts and I fear that they would try to do something to him, not to mention the possibility of him entering on that Primal Rage state again, and I couldn't trust anyone else with this task."

Contact: "I know, old friend, and I understand your concern perfectly, I will probably do the same on your place." The contact sighed slightly. "He is a special kid, Akida, a shame such a kind soul has this awful curse."

Akida: "I know, which is why I want to help him however I can so this doesn't torture him anymore, but... if for any reason he loses control..."

Contact: "I got the tranquilizers ready. He will fall asleep the moment they hit. And I will be close by when it happens." He assured him.

Akida: "Very well, I contact you in a couple days to see if anything happens, just make sure to remain vigilant and hidden, this operation is very extra-curricular and I already have a lot on my plate at the station."

Contact: "Hehehe, you know you can always count on me, Akida, good night."

Akida: "Good night, Oxyotl." And with that he hung the call, and later return to his room, thinking about his son, on the way there, he saw a picture of Sharik and his now dead brother, a picture Akida caressed as he remembered those beautiful moments his 2 colts shared together. ("Don't worry Jabari, your older brother is in good hands, and he will recover soon, I promise. ").

Chapter Text

The following day from his check-up, Sharik had woken up quite early, at 8:00 am for what the clock hanging on the wall of his room said, and while it was earlier than his usual waking hour, for the first time in a while, Sharik didn't feel the need to go back to sleep, as if the visit from his parents helped his mind and emotions to heal a bit. With this in mind, Sharik exhaled of relaxation and went over the courtains to open them, letting sunlight enter his room, preferring natural light whenever it was daytime; aftet this, he walked towards his comic stack, which was on a shelf near his bed, when suddenly he found some colored envelopes right next to his first issue of "Rage of the Dinobots", and conveniently there was also a silver card opener next to them. Taking the first envelope, which was yellow, he used the card opener to get the folded letter inside, once he got it, the zebra colt left the envelope and card opener on the shelf and sat down to read the letter, which was surprisingly written in spanish.

-Querido Sharik:

-Me enteré de que fuiste finalmente ingresado a un hospital mental para que puedan entender que es lo que tienes y ayudarte a sanar, y me hace feliz saber que estás recibiendo ayuda para lo que sea que tengas. Imagino que, por aquella expresión que tenías ese día, que pensabas que te tenía miedo, que te veía como un monstruo... no mentiré, ver como enfrentaste a esos 4 carnívoros sí me asustó mucho, pero sabía que no lo hiciste por maldad, solo estabas desesperado por protegernos, pero sea lo que sea esta "maldición", te impulsó a ir demasiado lejos. Tú no eres un monstruo, tú eres mi mejor amigo, mi hermano, y un héroe; por favor, deja de torturarte con la idea de que eres un monstruo, me duele mucho saber que te lastimas a tí mismo de esa manera. Prometo que, cuando pueda verte de nuevo, te daré un enorme abrazo para que te sientas mejor, sé que siempre te ayudan a alegrarte, y también prometo estar contigo durante tus tratamientos, si no de forma física, por medio de estas carta. Espero que pronto te recuperes y descubran qué es lo que tienes, te extraño mucho y quiero volver a pasar un día contigo. Te amo, hermanote.-

- Atte.: Alejandro, tu hermano jaguar.-

After reading the letter, Sharik felt an overwhelming sense of relief and joy, even starting to cry after reading what Alex wrote for him, his greatest fear dying out and feeling the love on each word lifted a great weight on his mind and, most notably, his heart. Suddenly, a female babirusa nurse, who overheard the colt's weeping from outside his room, entered quickly to see if the patient was alright, fearing that he had some sort of mental breakdown.

Babirusa nurse: "What's wrong, little one, are you sad?" She asked worryingly, noticing as she got closer just how big he actually was.

Then, to her surprise, when Sharik lifted his head, there was a happy smile on his face as the tears flowd down his cheeks.

Sharik: "My closest friend... he... he wished to see me again and hug me... he... doesn't believe I am a monster." He said, sobbing in pure happiness.

Those tender words told the nurse everything she needed to know, giving Sharik a warm smile as she passed him some tissues to clean his tears and nose, after that, the zebra colt went over the rest of the cards, to open each one of them and read the messages his friends had sent him, each of them sharing the sentiments of the first one as well as some friendly surprises, all of these messages brought so much needed happiness to the zebra colt, feeling his mind and heart heal thanks to these small but significant gifts. Unbeknownst to him or even the nurse, someone else was watching this touching scene, as the invisible protector of the colt and partner of Akida, smiled himself as he witness Sharik demeanor changed greatly in such short time, contemplating just how close of a bond he and his friends shared.

Oxyotl: (They are going to love hearing about this).

He then moved to another place on the hospital to prepare his report for Akida, speaking of him, the striped stallion was at the police station, working alongside some of his colleagues as they were corroborating their progress on their efforts to put down an illegal supply chain for meat markets, pinpointing the most likely place where they could catch them all.

Patroclo: "According to our sources, the smugglers have agreed on meeting on this sector of the outskirts of the city, right on the basement of a busy seafood restaurant located at the Winter Coast boulevard at 7:34 pm tomorrow, in order to make their trade agreement with their most recent client." Explained the wolf as he marked the place on the map projected on the whiteboard with a marker.

Baltasar: "However, it appears that they have made attempts to cover up exactly which members would attend the reunion or how much security would they have, furthermore, we haven't been able to identity their buyers, yet we do know they come from the black alley market of the neighboring city." Added the black wolf, making Akida consider their options for successfully catching these meat smugglers, which have been responsible for multiple cases of missing herbivores in the last 3 months, finding it odd as to how they have been able to hide their client's identity so far, he then turned towards his second in command.

Akida: "Have our interrogators been successful in getting information from the captives?"

Patroclo: "Only that his clients are one of the 4 main groups of the black market. However, they referred to them as 'cold and superstitious', which could mean that the Dokugumi is the suspected buyer."

Akida wanted to add something to that analysis, but he was interrupted when a large white rhinoceros entered the room, this individual being third in command of the police force.

Rokuro: "Sorry for the interruption, but Oberon wishes to have an audience with you, Akida... they found out about Oxyotl."

This sudden news made the wolf brothers worried about their lieutenant coronel, knowing that the extracurricular task he assigned the chameleon to him was unauthorized despite his rank, as Oxyotl was one of the top infiltrators and spies of the police force. Sighing a bit in defeat, understanding this was going to happen sooner or later, he stood up.

Akida: "Very well, lead the way, Rokuro." He said on a neutral tone as both herbivores walked out of the room towards his boss's office.

On the way towards the office, Akida saw the different looks his colleagues gave him, this was not only due to the fact that he, a high ranking officer among them, had a son afflicted with the Curse of Madness, but also because he managed to cover up Sharik's rampage and got him a private trial. Many of his colleagues and his friends working with him gave the veteran looks of sympathy and empathy, understanding he went to great lenghts to aid his son on this delicate situation, yet a few of them looked at him in disapproval of his decisions, seeing Sharik as a serious potential threat that should be imprisoned, disregarding how it could harm the colt in the long run.

After a quiet march to the office of his boss, Rokuro open the door and informed the boss of his arrival, Akida entering shortly after, standing in front of an imposing mountain silverback gorilla who was the Brigade General of the local police force, right next to him there was his second in command, an african elephant and around them were other 4 police officers: 1 in favor of Akida, while the other 3 were glaring at him in disappointment or even anger.

Oberon: "Good afternoon, Akida. I imagine you already know why I asked for you to come here."

Akida: "Yes sir... I know why. And I understand that it wasn't something that my rank permitted me to do."

Oberon: "Indeed it wasn't. Oxyotl is our top infiltrator and also trains new recruits, so with him occupied into whatever task you assigned him to do. Ramon has been getting busy with the gap he left."

Ramón: "Yeah, that's right, his absence has brought a lot of trouble for me given that few others are as qualified as him for his mission profiles, not to mention such potential is being wasted on taking care of that little monster of yours at that hospital which shouldn't have had admitted him in."

That last part of the Gambian giant rat stroke a nerve on the zebra, his anger starting to build up as he remembered how some of his colleagues, even one he considered a friend, tried to push him into sending Sharik to a juvenile prison, however, the saltwater crocodile next to Ramon gave him a slap to the head on response to that part of his slander.

Ramón: "OW! What the hell, chopper face!?"

Denzel: "You have no right to impose such a thing on the young colt. He never wished to be born with the curse nor to do what he did. Treating him like a monster would have only turned him into a real one." He said with a characteristic hiss, something that was a part of his dialogue as a crocodile.

Oberon: "He is right, Ramon."

Ramón: "Oh, for Brachio's sake! Don't tell me you are picking his side now." He angrly replied.

Oberon: "No, I'm not, but I agree with Denzel, he does not deserve nor was the best choice to sent him to a juvenile prison, that would have only caused more harm than good."

Magnus: "Not to mention that the jury specifically said he was to be on heavy surveillance during his time on the hospital, reason why the security on the facility was increased ever since his arrival. However, that brings me back to your 'extracurricular assignment', Akida." He turned towards the striped equid, making him a bit nervous as he saw the imposing elephant face to face. "How is that Oxyotl even accepted to do such a thing? I understand he is your friend, but the facitity in which your son is hospitalized has already a strong security team. Were your worries such that you ordered him to do so?" He asked on a calm yet firm demeanor, wanting to find the honest answer without being so judgemental, yet.

Sighing softly, Akida responded.

Akida: "To be completely honest: yes, I am very worried about him, and for what could happen on the hospital in which he is admitted, both to him and what he could do to others, on top of that, his mutation could make him a target for illegal experiments, like what the Wukong Clan did." He got silent for a moment when he remembered the state of the cursed animals the apes captured, how they drained them, used them as gladiators and used them to reproduce with female slaves to produce more of that chemical. "We all remember how they were able to infiltrate or beat the security teams, even the toughest ones, to kidnap all of those patients with the curse for their purposses, and given that Sharik is the youngest case, I'm scared that something similar happens to him, even if the Wukongs are gone, who is to say somebody else won't do such things?" His expression soon turned into that of a father fearful for his son's life, to which most in the room shared a sympathetic look, while Ramón wasn't convinced, believing this to be just an elaborated excuse.

Akida: "I did want to send additional protection, but of course, that would be draining personnel for other operations, so I dropped the idea... up until Oxyotl approached me and offered that he would guard him." That came as a surprise for everyone in the office, especially for the gorilla and the giant rat, as they thought Akida had directly ordered Oxyotl to do this by abusing his rank, and given how solitary the panther chameleon tended to be, it made it all the stranger than he approached the zebra with this offer.

Akida: "Of course, I initially refused, but after plenty of insistence, I ended up accepting, which is how he ended up guarding my son at the mental hospital. If you wish, I can recall him to help us in this operation."

Just as Ramón was about to say something, Oberon went ahead to reply to Akida.

Oberon: "If he truly volunteered, we should call him for confirmation first, and then, he could perhaps stay to continue protecting your son."

Ramón: "Oh fer bootin' up cold! Are you seriously gonna let him do this with MAH best infiltrator? He should be out there getting us clues about this meat supply deal, not playing babysitter with your kid!" Said the rat quite angrily, much to the annoyance of his comrades, minus Akida, since he hasn't met him for that long.

Akida: (Chale, I have seen honey badgers calmer than this guy, más fuerza para Denzel)

Oberon: "Listen Ramón, I understand that this means it's going to be harder to gather intelligence regarding the deal, but we already gained good enough information and you have other excellent infiltrators that you can send in to spy upon the gangs involved. If Oxyotl offered his services to Akida, that is his choice and we can't forced him to back down from it." Said the ape on a stern and commanding tone, and Ramon had no other choice but to accept it, much to his disapproval of the situation. Then he turned back at Akida.

Oberon: "However, be advised that, if his presence is critically needed, we would pulled him from his current duty and leave your son to the protection of the security team of the hospital, is that clear?"

Akida: "Yes, sir, and thank you for your understanding."

While the final benedict of Oberon relieved Akida a lot, and Denzel, Magnus and Rokuro were in agreement with it, it didn't sit well with Ramón and the remaining 2 officers present, one in particular, an american bison, lashing out angrily at this.

Bosco: "Are you serious!? All of this just for a slap in the wrist!?" Said the irritated bison standing next to Rokuro and Akida, clearly pissed than the zebra didn't receive a higher punishment for unauthorized redirection of personnel, even if it was voluntarily. "I knew the jury made the wrong choice. That monster of a colt should have been in prison if it meant not having the possibility of somebody freely redirecting our beasts for his own purposes, not to mention the fact that he is a latent threat to any carnivore present on that hospital, and who is to say he won't harm herbivores too!?" The bison yelled in anger, directing it all towards Akida.

While the zebra stallion remained stoic before the bison, he was internally hurt for how some still saw his son as such a horrible being just for a curse he didn't ask to be born with. However, Bosco's rant was not well received by Oberon, who in turn responded to his aggression with authority as his commanding officer.

Oberon: "That's enough, Bosco! You know very well that throwing the kid in prison was not under anyone's power, and you are under no right to declare him a monster for something out of his control, and even less to antagonize Akida for accepting an offer of extra protection for his son at his most vulnerable coming from one of his friends."

The bison gave an annoyed scoff after hearing that.

Bosco: "Yeah, says you!"

Oberon: "That's right, says me. You wanna question my orders one more time!?"

Answered the angry gorilla as he stood up and closed the distance to the bison and tapped his shoulder as he said that threat towards him. Bosco tried to reply but he was intimidated by the commanding presence, anger and resolve, as well as the fact Oberon was almost as big as him, making him only mumble in an attempt to respond, but quickly backed out from the discussion, yielding to his boss.

Bosco: "I... I still don't trust this was a good choice." That's the last thing he said before he returned to his seat.

After the tension settled down, Akida released a breath he didn't know he was holding, feeling a bit scared at the display of authority from his boss, but that died out quickly. Shortly after that, alongside a discussion of how the crackdown operation was going, the zebra was dismissed, and he returned to work. An hour and a half later, Akida entered his lunch break and went to a bench on a park nearby to start eating the lunch Jasiri packed for him, which was 4 molletes with pico de gallo, a spinach salad with radish and a garibaldi bread as a desert, just looking at this delicious lunch prepared with love made Akida's heart flustered as his tail wagged happily.

Akida: (Jasiri, te amo muchísimo)

As he was about to dug into his food, he heard the footsteps, a large fellow herbivore that approached where he was sitting, greeting his fellow perissodactyl with a friendly handshake.

Rokuro: "Mind if I join you for lunch?"

Akida: "You are always welcome, Roku." He said with a smile as the white rhino sat down next to him, opening his own lunchbox with a delighted expression.

Rokuro: "Hehe, I got a bromelia salad today. I guess she wanted to spoil me a bit."

Akida: "Same here, Jasiri has always been so loving to me, I'm always thankful for having her as my wife. Although I'm curious, you never told me about your wife until now, so tell me, who is the lucky girl?" He asked mischievously as he started to eat his molletes, making the rhino chuckled as he too started to eat.

Rokuro: "Oh, you wouldn't believe it, but, for starters, she can be very stubborn when she sets something on her mind, but she is also compassionate, confident, caring... absolutely beautiful and fluffy." He said with a big smile as he thought about the special moments he had with her, which caught the zebra's curiosity.

Akida: "Oh really? So is she another rhino, perhaps a black one or indian rhinoceros?" He said as he pulled out the rhino from his thoughts, a light blush forming on his cheeks.

Rokuro: "Well, actually, she is a very beautiful spectacled bear, close to Jasiri's size, and she is also a doctor, specialized in the treatment of teenagers, if I recall correctly."

That description made Akida partially astonished as that fitted the description of a certain someone whom he had met yesterday, though he didn't want to jump into conclusions yet, even if the prospect of his rhinoceros friend having this individual as a wife was very surprising already.

Akida: "Did she, by any chance, tell you the hospital she works in?" He tried not to sound suspicious as he made that question, eating his molletes in-between sentences.

Rokuro: "She works in the 'Redemption and New Hope' hospital, a mental hospital that was made mainly for carnivores but it also accepts herbivore patients, mainly those who are more prone to aggresion such as peccaries." He explained as he ate his salad, noticing that Akida looked stunned, like he was told a huge revelation, and suddenly realized why that was the case. "Is Sharik admitted into that hospital?" He asked with an astonished tone.

Akida: "Yes, and not only that, your wife is the doctor who examined him yesterday. He left quite a good impression on her, mainly for his compassion towards carnivores. She told me the times she dealt with some who were very aggressive."

Rokuro: "Yeah, Azumi told me those horror stories from when she saw her colleagues get killed, and she show me the wounds she sustained, even going as far as to confessed that she now understood how herbivores felt, but even so, I'm glad she is Sharik's doctor right now, hopefully with her help, he might be able to control his curse.

Akida: "I hope so, my friend, I hope so."

Redemption and New Hope Hospital 2:34 p.m.

As the two police officers enjoyed their lunch, Sharik was being escorted towards the cafeteria for the first time since his arrival to the hospital, making the young colt feel both nervous and excited for being allowed to eat near other patients, but undet the supervision of his nurse; while this decision was met with understandable controversy at first, Azumi and Yamato were able to convince the staff and their boss to allow the young colt to interact with other patients, making sure he was kept away from the more problematic ones to avoid a potential trigger of the curse, besides, many patients were wishing to see him or even say hi to him after the display of kindess from yesterday.

Eileen: "I can see you are happy to finally be out of your room. It is refreshing to see a herbivore smaller than a black rhino wishing to be with carnivores." She said with a gentle smile as she walked down the hallway, taking the zebra by the hand as she noticed his tail wagging quickly.

Sharik: "Well, I'm sure many herbivores could be jealous that rhinos and elephants don't have to worry about being predated, but any herbivore should give carnivores a chance to socialize with them, and viceversa too, it's sucks that there are condescending carnivores." He expressed with a kind demeanor.

As they passed by some other nurses and some patients, Sharik couldn't help but watch the diversity of species around them, many of these being carnivores of various kinds, such as monitor lizards, cougars and bush dogs, but to the surprise of Sharik, there were also some herbivores such as indian rhinoceros, cassoaries, and even a przewalski horse; not long after they walked by, many of the present nurses and patients saw the big yet noticeable young herbivore passing in front of them, who they recognized as the one who helped that dhole to stand back up. Excited to see him up close, some of them stopped briefly what they were doing to say hi towards him, which the zebra happily reciprocated, and some poodle toy and golden retriever nurses even started to sniff Sharik gently, making the zebra laugh as the noses felt ticklish around his body, though Eileen was quick to pull him out of the sniffing canids as she calmly scolded them for doing that without the patient's consent, although Sharik said he didn't mind at all that they smelled him in that way, remembering than this was similar to how he met Joaquín when he was 6 years old.

After that very friendly encounter, the snow leopard and the zebra reached the cafeteria, which for a hospital like this, was surprisingly not segregated despite the type of patients they treated in the facility, making the zebra smile as he was glad that here nobody was considered a monster, such expression was noticed by Eileen which also make her happy.

Eileen: "It's seems you enjoy the coexistence promoted by the hospital."

Sharik: "Yes, been among carnivores is just as comfortable for me as to be with most herbivores." (I just hope that there isn't any of THEM)

Eileen: "That's wonderful, Sharik. There's a section of the cafeteria where most of our younger patients sit. You could go there and interact with them once you pick your..."

???: "Excuse me, Eileen, could I talk to you for a second?"

Hearing that sudden voice made both animals turn around to see who was calling, and in that moment Sharik froze in raw fear at who's voice that was: standing before both of them was a huge female hippopotamus dressed in a nurse uniform who apparently was a colleague of Eileen, but any conversation between the 2 of them was lost as Sharik stared terrified at the one beast that almost killed him, his ears were pointed forward as his heart was pounding inside his chest and his hands were trembling like if he was inside a freezer, looking ready to run for his life at any moment, and that's when the hippo turned to look at him.

Gloria: "Oh my! If it isn't the young zebra colt I have heard about? How are you, young boy, ready to get something to..."

Sharik: "AHHHHHHHHHHH!!"

Barely 4 seconds aftet the hippo talked to him, Sharik ran away as fast as possible, shocking and scaring everyone around them due to his terrified scream as he dashed out of the cafeteria, leaving the dumbstruck nurses looking the way he went through.

Gloria: "What just happened? Was there something that scares him that much nearby?" She asked, confused and worried, but just as she made that question, a critical memory dashed through Eileen's mind, realizing in alarm what had just happened.

Eileen: "Oh my Rex, I forgot! Azumi told me this morning that Sharik has a strong fear of hippos! He must have been terrified upon seeing you!" She said abashed of forgetting something so important and greatly concerned for the safety of the colt.

Gloria: "Oh, Brachio! We have to find him before something happens to him!"

The nurses went immediately looking for the runaway colt, worrying that he could be in danger or hurt himself while running in fear, taking different paths to cover more places on the hospital in hopes of catching up to him. Meanwhile, Sharik kept running without any hint of getting tired, his memories of the day he almost died passing through his eyes has if he was watching a video of the event, looking for the best place to hide until the hippo went away, fearing too that there could be any more hippos in the hospital and that, just like him, could randomly become aggressive and attack at any moment. After running for what felt like a kilometer and a half, the zebra colt hide in a empty room and closed the door behind him, sitting against the door as he curled up as he started to calm down, crying a bit from the sheer trauma and PTSD he just experienced, but at the same time... he could not help but feel ashamed of how he was acting.

Sharik: (Why... why must I act this way towards hippos? I hate being scared of them, but I can't stop myself... am I being a hypocrite for having this fear? Is this how many herbivores feel towards carnivores... what carnivores may feel towards cursed herbivores?)

As the young herbivore reflected on those thoughts, he heard someone knocking at the door which made him hop with fright and instinctualy got into a fighting stance to defend himself if that was the hippo from before, but much to his surprise, what open the door was something completely different.

Meanwhile the 2 nurses kept looking around for the zebra colt while trying to stay calm, something easier said than done when the patient in question had a very dangerous "curse" and that it is the only actual study case of said condition. After 10 very long minutes, the 2 nurses regrouped to see if they had any success.

Eileen: "Nothing either?"

Gloria: "I'm afraid not. Jeez, I'm starting to feel quite bad about this ordeal, given what you told me. I should have known better than to approach you like that with him at your side"

Eileen: "Is not your fault, Gloria, I was the one who forgot to tell you that, but what's important right now is to find him before something else happens."

???: "I think I found what you were looking for."

Hearing that raspy voice made the 2 females turned towards where it came from, and they suddenly felt a striking chill running through their spines. Standing before them was a tall female shoebill stork nurse that was older than both Eileen and Gloria, with a very intimidating facial expression, as she had a reputation of being the "drill sargent" of many nurses and patients in the hospital; due to this, Eileen was dreading that she would have being rough towards the colt and Gloria feared she would get the scolding of a lifetime, yet to the surprise of both of them, the stork had Sharik, who looked calmer now, in a maternal hug with her right wing as he was hugging her back, still noticeably scared at Gloria but gaining some reassurance from the stork.

Naomi: "I found him hiding in a storage room. Poor kid was sobbing out of fear inside there, but it seems he has calmed down a bit." She explained as she kindly petted the herbivore in between his ears, making Sharik feel better even if he once again was in the presence of that hippopotamus. "Is he by any chance under your care, Eileen?"

Eileen: "Yes he is, I forgot to warn my colleague that he is afraid of hippos and... well, this happened. It was my fault." She said as she bowed in shame.

Gloria: "It was also partially my fault, I shouldn't have approached so carelessly towards them."

Naomi: "I see. Well, you two must be more careful in the future to avoid this to happen again. Fortunately, nothing bad happened. The patient is safe... and it is quite fond of hugs." She said that las part with a maternal tone as the zebra was indeed hugging her before releasing Naomi from the hug and approaching Eileen while still trembling due to the hippo nurse presence, feeling regret for his phobia as the snow leopard hugged him, but he then turned towards Gloria, much to the surprise of the 3 females, and spoke to her.

Sharik: "I'm... I'm sorry for how I reacted when you talked to me. It's true that I'm terrified of hippos like you, and... I hate that I'm scared of you, I don't like to be afraid of another species." He said quite sadly, like if his phobia was somehow a discriminatory act towards the animal he feared the most, catching all 3 nurses off guard as they didn't expect Sharik to feel regret for a fear that was understandable.

For a moment, neither Eileen, Gloria or even Naomi knew what to say, but then the hippo nurse got close to Sharik and hugged him softly, a hug that the young zebra, while startled at first, returned happily, as this was probably the first time in years he confronted and defeated his phobia, even for just a moment, his ears pricked as he smiled gently before Gloria spoke.

Gloria: "You are very kind, sweetheart, and I understand how you feel, but it is not your fault to feel that way. Fear is something natural."

Naomi: "Even so, it's a good sign that you want to stop fearing hippos, while there's no guarantee that it will dissappear, you are showing commitment to not let it control you, I'm sure you will eventually succeed in doing so."

Sharik: "Thank you, both of you, I promise someday I won't be as scared of hippos anymore." He said with a kind and hopeful smile before returning to Eileen as they both walked back at the cafeteria, leaving Gloria and Naomi watching as the 2 made their way towards it.

Naomi: "He is a good kid, I've heard about what he did yesterday, but I didn't expect him to fear another herbivore. He must have had a very bad encounter."

Gloria: "Most likely he did, males of my kind can be very aggressive without provocation, I'm just glad he wishes to improve his view on us. He is very kind-hearted."

Naomi: "He sure is. Hopefully, he will recover soon." She said with a gentle smile.

Back at the cafeteria, Sharik first choose his desert, which was a big slice of lemon pie, before he got served his meal from the day, which was some cooked rice with vegan curry and shrooms, tomato with sliced potatoes and a mineral orangeade, a meal that made his mouth salivate a bit as he was very hungry. Once he had his food trail, he looked for a place to sit and eat, and to his surprise, a lot of teenage patients offered him a place on their tables, from herbivores to carnivores alike, and while he tried to decide which one to choose, he saw one that was particularly empty, safe for one small feline who seemed sad at something; having made his choice, Sharik went to the table of the lonely carnivore, who as he got closer noticed it was an ocelot with a saddened expression on his face, and sat just in front of him, surprising the smaller cat at the sight of such a huge teenage zebra.

Sharik: "Hello, can I sit with you to eat? You looked lonely and I thought you would like to have some company."

Ocelot: "Really? Um... sure, you can sit with me." He said quite surprised yet happy than somebody wanted to sit with him for lunch. It seemed to Sharik that he had been the first to ask him to accompany him.

After sitting down, Sharik began to eagerly eat his meal in big bites to then chew throughly, savoring his food like he hadn't eaten in days, much to the surprise of the much calmer ocelot who gently laughed at how this zebra ate, it was funny in a way. Once he swallowed, Sharik decided to start a conversation with the ocelot after forgetting to introduce himself properly.

Sharik: "Sorry for not doing this earlier, I almost forgot: my name is Sharik, and I'm a Burchell's zebra."

Óscar: "Nice to meet you, Sharik. My name is Óscar and I am an ocelot." He said happily. "So um... why are you in the hospital? If you don't mind me asking."

That question made Sharik freeze just as we was about to eat another bite of his food, truthfully, he didn't like to talk about his condition, nor thinking too much about it, and even explaining what he did could probably traumatized Óscar, but on the other hand, he was aware than in this mental hospital they treated carnivores that devoured other animals, and while he didn't eat anyone, he was, in a way, not much different, so after taking a deep breath, he answered his possible new friend.

Sharik: "I... lost control of myself when my friends and I were attacked by four carnivores during one night... and... I... I..." It became hard to continue the answer, flashbacks of him bashing violently the Indian leopard's head against the ground until he crushed it and him tearing the lioness's jaw flashing by his mind as he attempted to finish his answer. "I killed all of the carnivores, brutally." He finally said, gasping for air as if he was suffocating after saying that.

Needless to say, Óscar was shocked at that revelation, not only because of the fact that Sharik was responsible for killing 4 carnivores, but the fact that he had WON the fight against what were most likely adult carnivores at his age in the first place, was both surprising and concerning, but at the same time, he felt sympathy for the zebra, as he could understand the reasons a herbivore like him would go that far, and while he did feel fear over what this herbivore was capable of, he took his hand to comfort him as Sharik started to tear up from those horrible memories.

Sharik: "I... didn't have any choice, it was either let them eat us or protecting my friends... but I was unable to control myself..." His ears lowered forward in sadness, and his eyes shined slightly, revealing to Óscar their neon-green color. "I am cursed."

Óscar: "Hey, it's okay. You didn't want that to happen, it wasn't your fault" He said with a worrying expression as closed to him to caressed his head to confort him, which worked as Sharik started to calm down, still sobbing a bit.

Sharik: "Thank you, sorry if I almost broke down... it's just that I don't like to remember that."

Óscar: "It's alright, I'm sorry for asking. I didn't know it was that bad." He lamented, but now understood how a zebra such as him ended up in this hospital. "I guess it is only fair then that I tell you why I am here, you see... I was a victim of abuse, both physical and psychological."

Sharik stood quietly after hearing that, he have heard of such cases in the past, particularly cases of domestic and child abuse, but this was the first time he would listen to the victim of such a case in person.

Óscar: "My family was... not a very healthy one, my father was very harsh and he... well, he wasn't always rational. My mother was a very kind female and did her best to care for me, even when things were hard... but sometimes even she broke down over the hardships my family, or rather, former family, went through." He sighed in sadness, tears starting to flow through his eyes, to which Sharik responded by caressing the ocelot in the head, succeeding in making Óscar feel a bit better as he continue to tell his story.

Óscar: "During much of my life, I had a mixed relationship with my father. He could be a good dad, but... he was often aggressive or negligent of me or even my mom, but he at least tried his best, but that's until... until... I confess that I was gay!" He exclaimed the last part, gasping for air due to how hard it was for him to say it openly.

Sharik was shocked at this revelation, in part because he was surprised that Óscar was homosexual, due to the fact he had never met someone with that orientation, but more importantly, because he knew what was coming next, for back when he was in México, his father had told him stories regarding such cases.

Óscar: "Once I confess my true feelings, my mother was supportive and understanding, but my dad... he was disgusted, angry at the fact that I wasn't a 'well-formed male', the venom on his words broke my heart..." He sobbed again, this time more intensely, as Sharik continued to give him comfort with an understanding expression. "I was often bullied at school due to just being homosexual, from verbal to physical, and my father constantly bothered me during that time, my mother doing her best to defend me, it went off like that for almost an entire year, those were the worst months of my life, until that day came."

At that moment, the poor ocelot experienced terrible flashbacks, remembering the scene when he heard a loud growl, the screams of her mother... and her bloody and mangled corpse, it was then that he couldn't take it anymore and started to cry in anguish, and as the carnivore fell into the pain and sadness, Sharik went to his side and hugged him tighly, caressing him to help him let it all go and gave him a feeling of security, something that was being witnessed by many of the patients present and even some of the nurses who were on it's way to aid the young felid, surprised that the zebra colt once again got there first.

Óscar: "After that... I ran away, far from what that monster could do to me, but I fell into a canal and after reaching the bank I fell unconscious. Fortunately, a kind couple of jaguarundis found me and, after a long process, they adopted me. They gave me the love I was missing for a long time, but my trauma from everything I experienced left me depressed and... my heart still bares those wounds." He said as he corresponded to the embrace, feeling understood even without any words being said from the herbivore.

Sharik: "You did not deserved that, nobody should bully you because of what your feelings are, or if you think different than others, anyone who hates those who do not think alike are truly horrible people, for we all deserve to be happy, we all have the right to love and be loved and to choose those with whom we want to share it. I'm glad you found a family who truly loved you as you are." Those wise and kind words touched the young ocelot's heart on a way he never expected, putting his hand on his chest as the warm of what Sharik said sink in.

Óscar: "Thank you, Sharik... that's the nicest thing anyone of my age has said to me, I... you really don't mind that I am gay?"

Sharik: "I don't, and I find it fascinating to meet someone like you, I always liked to meet beasts of all kinds, and I learned to appreciate how, even when we are all different, we can also be so much alike, and honestly, having you as a friend opens a new perspective to me, and you can be sure that with me, you will feel more than welcome."

He spoke with a kind smile, and just after saying that, the ocelot hugged him tighly, sobbing this time in joy, and as the embrace lasted for 3 solid minutes, everyone around them watch them with happiness, moved and touched by the zebra colt's kind and inspiring words, some among them, such as Eileen, even teared up for the heart-felt speech, and while he was focused on his friend, in that moment Sharik was, on the eyes of many, someone worthy of a very special title in their society.

After the warm hug, Óscar gently raised his head to look towards Sharik, his brown eyes meeting the neon-green orbs of his first herbivore friend.

Óscar: "So are you, as well?"

Sharik: "Not exactly... I'm mainly attracted to females, but I also like males, too, mainly those who have a more lightweight and agile physique, though... so you can say that I am in between."

That revelation surprised Óscar quite a lot, but then he giggled softly as he smiled to the zebra.

Óscar: "I see now, you are bisexual, that's very cool."

Sharik: "Oh, so that's what it's called, jeje, well, now I know how to explain this to my parents." He said as his face experienced a warm blush, which was quite adorable to see for the ocelot, although he became worried for what Sharik had said.

Óscar: "You haven't told your parents?"

Sharik: "No, I haven't, but it's not for a bad reason. I just didn't identify exactly what I was feeling. Now that I fully know, I will be able to tell them, but they sure would be for quite a surprise, hehehe."

Óscar: "Oh, that's good to know, I'm glad you don't feel scared of telling your parents about your orientation. I hope it goes well."

Sharik: "Thank you, Óscar."

After that, both patients continue to eat happily, enjoying their mutual company as well as their meals, which in the case of Óscar was a fish milanese with tofu and a spinach salad with tomatoes and broccoli, with a vanilla pudding as dessert.

Óscar: "Hey Sharik, I wanted to ask you..."

Sharik: "Yes, Óscar?,

Óscar: "Well, um, you see, I have a liking for wearing makeup, even for therapies, and... I mean, if you don't mind, would you.... would you like to have a makeup session with me?" He then stayed quiet, waiting a bit anxiously for the zebra's response. And after thinking about it for a bit, Sharik answered.

Sharik: "I would be glad to join you, although I would prefer not to wear any lipstick, that thing is annoying."

Óscar: "Really? That's awesome! And don't you worry, you are free to choose what makeup you want to use, though if you asked me, some black eye shading would look wonderful on you, especially with your stripes."

Sharik: "You think so? Thanks, hehe, wow, all of a sudden, I feel fuzzy on the inside."

Óscar: "I think it's because you are excited, as am I. So, you think we can do it tonight?"

Sharik: "Sure, so long as our nurses allow it, I will gladly join you." He said, smiling happily

As this was happening, Eileen and the nurse assigned to Óscar, who was a female sumatran tiger, were agreeing to arrange the meeting between the two friends so they could share the evening together, knowing than it would do wonders to their mental health, but also they were soften at the idea of seeing the 2 boys wearing makeup, perhaps they would also join them.

Fernández's household 7:45 p.m.

After a long day at work, Jasiri finally returned home to rest and spend some time with her family, now wearing a casual attire of a light yellow blouse and some blue pijama pants, sitting in the living room as she played with her youngest son: this 5yo colt, youngest of 3, had thicker black stripes on his arms and thicker white stripes on his legs, with some ondulated stripes on his neck that were similar to the ones Jasiri had, but he also had the face and eyes of his father, and unlike Sharik at this age, he had a thinner build but strong-looking legs and arms, and he was wearing a red t-shirt and a blue overol. This colt was Oliver, and he was happily playing with his toys alongside his mother, smiling and barking with joy as he drove his green and purple toy bulldozer to a wall of Lego blocks, smashing them as if it was taking down a building. As time passed by and mother and son played, Oliver eventually pass by a picture of him and his older brothers, and while he unfortunately was unable to meet one of them, he looked with sadness the missing presence of the one that he saw as his best friend... and his hero, said sadness was quickly noticed by Jasiri, who approached his son to hug him.

Oliver: "Mami, ¿cuándo va a regresar Sharik? Lo extraño mucho." He asked once more, and no matter how many times he asked the same, each one of them were painful for the mother's heart.

Jasiri: "Sharik aun tiene que quedarse en el hospital, mi cielo, va a estar ahí por 3 semanas más hasta que se recupere completamente" She explained to his colt, who hugged her tighly, and she corresponded while caressing his head and crin.

Oliver: "Espero que sane pronto... no quiero que se quede ahí para siempre. Eso no va a pasar, ¿verdad mamá?" He asked with a more noticeable sadness, tears starting to collect on his yellow-orange eyes.

Jasiri: "No, corazón, Sharik no va a quedarse para siempre ahí, él va a regresar con nosotros, solo tenemos que ser pacientes." She calmly explained to his little son, giving him a kiss on his forehead and a loving smile, which helped to relieve Oliver. "If you miss Sharik so much, then we could go visit him on Saturday. It would probably be shortly before his physical tests, but I'm sure he would be more than happy to see you."

At this suggestion, the young colt started to jump and throttle with great happiness, barking as he accepted full-heartedly the proposition to visit Sharik.

Oliver: "¡Sí, podré estar con mi hermanote de nuevo!¿Puedo llevar mis juguetes para jugar con el, puedo mami?" He asked with raised ears and an adorable smile, which Jasiri could not help but feel tenderness and love for the overwhelming cuteness of his youngest son.

Jasiri: "Por supuesto que puedes, hijito, pero tienes que cuidar muy bien no perderlos, procura llevar al menos 10, para así evitar irrumpir con el horario del hospital."

Oliver: "Ok mamá, así lo haré." And then he immediately went to pack 10 toys to play with his older brother, even taking some he was using until now.

As this was happening, Jasiri smiled happily as she sat on the living room to rest calmly, and as she turned on the TV, two gentle arms hugged her around her chest as someone rested his head over her shoulder, Jasiri quickly identified it was her husband and she caressed him and kissed him on his cheek, affection than Akida returned to by kissed his wife on her lips, both connecting their hearts on this moment of pure love.

Chapter Text

As he slept during the early morning, the young colt was, for a good while now, at peace, resting deep within his slumber without any disturbance, breathing softly as his mind wondered on it's subconscious state, his mixed dream flashing images of an adventure build by a young mind, but this unfortunately was not to last. As he slipped into the horizon on his dream, Sharik suddenly seemed to have woken up in the middle of a forest surrounding what looked like a big settlement, he was dressed in a strange uniform with a green and brown color pallet, carrying multiple bags with stuff inside them, including what he could identify as a pistol; upon inspecting his surroundings, he saw many other soldiers dressed on the same uniform, by his count, there were atleast 8,000 or even more, and all of these were herbivores, both mammalian and avian, but what struck him the most was the fact that all of them had neon-green eyes, some were lighter shades, some were darker, and then there were some neutral tone just like him, with all of this to take in mind, an evident question began to form on his head.

Sharik: (What are we going to do? Are we... wait... what are those tubes?)

Then from those same tubes came loud sounds of something being ejected from the inside, and the colt turned soldier quickly realized that those were mortars, hearing the projectiles fired from them fall towards the settlement, fearing it was gonna be destroyed in a explosive fashion, however when the bullets hit the ground, what came was a bright flash and a deafening sound, from which he realized that he was wearing protective gear on the form of sound dampers and shades, both of which he took of after the flash banished, but in doing so, Sharik started to feel something off about this whole thing, like he was not inside his own body despite the similarities, like if he was living someone else's memory.

Sharik: (Oh Brachio. What the hell is going on? What is this?)

His thoughts were suddenly stopped as the sound of panicking screams reached "his" ears, no doubt the animals residing on the settlement, he could also hear gunshots which shocked him internally but it didn't even seem to have an effect on "his" body, and as that was going on, every soldier surrounding him was standing up, seemingly ready for attack, and as he started to stand up himself, he heard the supposedly paralyzing roars of atleast 4 tigers that tried to stand up against the offensive. At that very moment, listening to the sound that would paralyze many herbivores, he felt his heart pounding inside his chest, his ears pointing backward, and, much to his dismay, a raging snarl was heard from inside "his" mouth, feeling the huge fangs concealed inside of it, and then there was the cacophony of demonic sounds... that came from the entire herbivore brigade.

Sharik: (No... no, no, no, no, NO!!!)

Then, to his absolute horror and as he sweat intensely, the army of herbivores charged at the carnivores, with 3 white rhinoceros taking the lead as bullets somehow bounced from their bodies, showing they were equipped with armor, and tore through the guarding bengal tigers soldiers like they were made of paper, goring them to pieces with their horns and throwing their guts everywhere, repeating the process with other carnivore soldiers just as the rest of the army charged at the settlement, and to the horror of Sharik, he realized than this was a refuge for civilians. Just as he learned how dire this was, "his" body attacked a nearby cheetah soldier who tried to make a bayonet charge against him, but before the cheetah could even get close enough, "he" grabbed the weapon with one hand and pressed hard against it until the entire front half break, and just a second after that he punched the cheetah straight into the face... destroying the entire snoot of the carnivore who fell dying in the ground, but he didn't got any time to process such a horrible act as a male african leopard soldier tried to attack him, but "he" just kicked him with great force on the chest, it was so strong he could hear the cracks of the sternum, dooming the felid as he dropped to the ground to subsequently charged against any other carnivore "he" saw on the surroundings, each one "he" encounter met a violent, gruesome and barbaric end.

Sharik: (Why is this happening? Why is this massacre happening? Why am I witnessing this horror!?)

He asked himself in terror and despair as he saw "himself" pierce the chest of a female maned wolf with a powerful fist to then bite a monitor lizard on the neck and tear it appart, causing her to bleed out. It was going on everywhere on this refuge: elephants trampling and ripping any carnivore apart; rhinos, buffalos, gaurs and mooses stampiding against massive groups of civilians desperate to flee; apes throwing animals to their deaths from the buildings; bats and birds of prey falling from the sky, some with their wings torn off; and he even witness a single boar devouring an entire mongoose family, all the while he heard countless screams that were slowly becoming less in number. It all happened so fast and yet it felt deviously slow, being pulled from his thoughts just at the moment when "he" tore the jaw and a large string of flesh from the torso of a massai lion, just as he did that day, to then violently bashed the head of a teenage japanese wolf against the wall of a building, shocking Sharik after he realized what species it was.

Sharik: (What? Japanese wolves? But they went extinct decades ago! Wait... IS THIS HOW THEY BECAME EXTINCT?!)

Sharik then was taken aback by a hippo chewing a nile crocodile on his jaws to then completely split the animal in half, adding to the horror he was witnessing and was unable to avoid, everything around him descended into a nightmarish slaughter he was begging to escape from, but no matter what he tried to do, he was sealed into it.

Sharik: (Stop, stop, stop! PLEASE STOP! ANYONE, HELP ME STOP THIS!!)

???: "Why would you want to do that? Don't you wish to exterminate them?" Asked a sudden voice, one which oozed terror.

Then suddenly everything stopped, and the whole settlement and every beast inside of it disappeared, replaced by what appeared to be a room illuminated by a number of lights in the ceiling, making Sharik turned frantically, noticing he could finally move and that his body became his once more, and then he heard hoofstepts.

Just as he turned around to see from where those sounds came from... he felt his heart stop in absolute terror.

Standing right before him was the soldier of the memory, a Burchell's zebra just like him, but he looked completely emaciated: the uniform was dirty and torn, damaged armor plates covered the torso and legs, bloody gouges were exposed on his arms and legs, and had a broken helmet on it's head, but the most terrifying thing was it's face... or lack there of, as it was almost entirely a bare skull with only the eyes and ears being any semblance of flesh remaining, the mere sight of such a figure terrified the zebra teenager greatly, trembling as he saw it approaching him with a blank expression, but he could tell by the eyes that he seemed interested on him, scared of what intentions it may have.

Sharik: "Who... who are you? W-wha-what do you want from me?" He asked, quite scared.

???: "Hmm, how disappointing, I was expecting that you were going to act braver to my appearance, but you are still young, despite what you are now capable of." The voice of this entity was coarse and deep. It sounded almost demonic. "As for what am I: I am the embodiment of all your sins. I am your curse."

The revelation shocked the zebra, not believing such a demon was a part of him.

Sharik: "I-impossible. How could something like you exist within me? I am NOT a monster!"

Entity: "That's what YOU want to think about yourself, but the truth is that you are just as monstrous as I am, or have you forgotten why are we here?"

The flashbacks of his rampage once more flashed into his mind, how he brutalized the 4 carnivores in a way that would horrify even the most reckless of animals.

Entity: "You may think yourself as a good and kind beast, one that would not wish to harm anyone. That may be true, but it hides the horrible animal you are now, and you fail to embrace it."

Sharik: "I would never embrace such acts as something to be proud of. I am not one of the monsters of that... that...

Entity: "That memory? Jejeje, fool, you descend from one of them."

The revelation made Sharik's blood freeze inside of him, sweat starting to pour out of his face in raw shock and terror after what the Entity told him, and despite how much he wished to deny it, the fact that he felt such a resemblance of himself in that body was more than enough evidence of that.

Entity: "You descend from a monster, one that had no qualms or remorse for the lifes he took, but despite that, on the day of your rampage, you defended one of THEM" It said that last part with corrosive hatred as images of a black jaguar, Sharik's brother of another species, appeared above them, making Sharik dread once more about the prospect of hurting him "You were exactly like how your predecessor was, but you have this empathy for those carnivores, something that is just an obstacle from what you are destined to."

Those words plagued Sharik's heart with great fear and pain, dropping on his knees and hating that the entity was, in a way, right, he can and did become a monster, he killed those carnivores violently and without mercy and... had he not gone after the last 2, he dreaded to think what he could do against his friends, how he could have mauled Alejandro, how he could kill Joaquín, or even what harm he could now do to Óscar... those thoughts manifested as images that began surrounding him, witnessing himself killing every one of them in a gruesome manner, screaming in pain and terror as he clutched his head, trying to stop these images from appearing.

Sharik: "¡DETENTE, NO ME FUERCES A HACER ESTO! ¡NO TE DEJARÉ FORZARME A HACERLO!" He screamed in despair.

Entity: "Patético, tratando de negar tu legado. ¿Y para qué?" It approached the young cebra, grabbing him by the neck as the herbivore tried to free himself from the choking grasp. "¡Para ellos no eres más que carne viviente! ¡Ellos mataron a millones de herbívoros en el pasado! ¡ELLOS MERECEN SUFRIR COMO LOS DE NUESTRA ESPECIE HAN SUFRIDO!" As it violently screamed, a green fire ignited from its eyes, trying to corrupt the young herbivore and forcing him to oblige.

Sharik cried in fear, tears flowing from his eyes as he felt himself succumb to his madness, thrashing violently to release himself from this entity's grip, yet it seemed useless as "he" wasn't letting go, and just as it's grip over him was maintained, he saw from under his hooves a green fire starting to consume him, and as the fire climbed his body, he began to feel a burning rage taking over, his own eyes glowing in the neon green fire as guttural snarls came from his mouth, something that made the entity "smiled" as this was happening.

Entity: "Yes, let it consume you, embrace your destiny."

As the fire burned and climbed up his abdomen, the young cebra felt himself weakened, as if the flames consumed his energy to make him easier to succumb to the madness. Just as the fire was reaching for his chest, new images started to appear all around them, but unlike the ones from before, these were his memories, memories of the times he shared with his friends, both carnivores and herbivores, the support and compassion the nurses showed him, the love of his family, the friendship he formed with Óscar and, most importantly, the bond he build with Alejandro, how both of them became brothers of another species, the memory of how they met flashing above them as a light of hope. As the entity saw in confusion what was going on, Sharik started to regain strenght thanks to his memories, forcing the grip on his neck open to then violently kick the entity directly into it's chest, sending it flying for almost 10 meters as he landed on his feet. When the entity stood up, he was shocked to see the zebra standing tall against it, not only that, but the flames that consumed him were gone, replaced with a bright aura that surrounded his body like a suit of armor, and even when his eyes shined in a neon green glare, his right eye slowly changed of color, becoming a neon light blue, leaving the entity speechless as it didn't know what was happening, but he didn't get a time to react as Sharik spoke.

Sharik: "Te equivocas, Bludgeon. Puede que esté maldito, y quizás haya causado esas horribles muertes, pero nunca permitiré que esa locura me consuma, no dejaré que tomes control de mí, voy a luchar contra esta maldición y la dominaré para nunca volver a causar esa atrocidad. Lucharé para volverme más fuerte, por mis amigos, por mi familia y en honor a mis hermanos." The glow on his eyes and the light of his aura increased as he spoke each word with courage, bravery, and love, a look of great determination formed in his face. "¡Juro por todos ellos que ganaré esta guerra contra tí!"

The entity, who now had a name, was watching expressionless the display of the young teen, but it was truthfully astonished for the courage that this kid was showing against him; even with this, he could see that he was still scared of what he could do, making him chuckle sinisterly.

Bludgeon: "Es lindo que afirmes que podrás dominar esto, pero será interesante verte intentar." He expressed on a mocking tone, beginning to dissipate like the smoke of a campfire. "Consider this your victory, but never forget this: we WILL see each other again, for I am a part you, always will be." After those last words, Bludgeon vanished into the darkness, leaving the young zebra alone and at ease, for now.

Waking up in a cold sweat, the young cebra hold his chest in one hand as he breathed anxiously, slowly calming himself down to finally give a last exhalation in relief, happy that such a nightmare was over, at least for now. As he felt the sweat flowing through his face, Sharik stood up from his bed to go towards the bathroom, giving a quick glance at the clock on the wall.

It marked 6:30 a.m

Surprised by how early he woke up this time, Sharik put that aside to then enter the bathroom and wash his face, taking a time to reflect on everything that happened as he watched himself in the mirror, fortunately, he didn't saw Bludgeon in there, so for now it was all on his head.

Sharik: (Si eso era realmente la manifestación de la maldición... entonces esto va a ser mucho más difícil. No sé como les contaré esto a mis doctores)

After washing his face, Sharik returned to his bed and grabbed one of his comics, turning on the table lamp next to his bed to start reading as he awaited the sun to rise.

R&NH Hospital's Cafeteria

8:50 a.m.

After the whole waking up ordeal, and explaining Eileen about his nightmare, Sharik was escorted by Naomi as the snow leopard notified Yamato and Azumi about this development, hoping that it would not be a problem with his physical tests that he would undergo today, but even with all of this in mind, Sharik smiled as not only he defeated what a carnivore would describe as it's predatory instincts, he knew this could be a step closer to heal, and such joy was noted by the shoebill stork, who gently caressed the young herbivore on his head.

Naomi: (Even after everything that happened this morning, he finds a way to smile. Oh, how jealous I am that he is not my son) "I see that you are quite optimistic despite your nightmare, you must be quite proud of your success in dealing with your curse."

Sharik: "Yes, I am. Honestly, it was a terrifying encounter, but I drew strength from my memories, the ones about my friends and family, and I was able to drive it away! I won against the curse for the first time!" He exclaimed in joy, full of hope that he could conquer it now.

Naomi: "Hehehe, I love that optimism, little one, you are certainly very strong despite of how your curse operates, hopefully we can help you to complete that conquest" (Awww, so cute. He is going to become very popular in the future, hehehe)

After arriving at the cafeteria, both nurse and patient parted ways and Sharik went to grab his food trail, which consisted of a fruit bowl, 3 pancakes with butter and honey and milk, while most herbivores preferred to drink almond or soy milk, Sharik didn't like any of those and instead went for regular milk for his breakfast. Heading to the table where he ate with Óscar last time, the zebra found the ocelot once more, and after sitting down, they both ate happily and talked about how they were doing today and about stuff they both like.

Óscar: "So you are an anime fan too?"

Sharik: "Yeah, I picked a liking for it even before moving over to Japan, I think the first one I saw was Dragon Ball, one of my favorite series since I was younger, and got me into practicing some martial arts myself."

Óscar: "Oh, that's so cool, no wonder you became that strong, it would be nice to see you practice, hehe~" He flirted a bit, making the herbivore smile gently "I prefer more romantic animes, like The Princess and the Pilot, that's just a classic."

Sharik: "Hehe, can imagine that, I got a friend who also loves that anime. You could probably watch a marathon together one day."

Óscar: "Oh, I would love that." As both of them continue to eat, an expected question came to Óscar's mind. "So, who are your friends? I bet they are a diverse group. "

Sharik: "Yes, we are. My friends are all of different species of both herbivores and carnivores. In fact, the first one was a jaguar." He said this with much joy, for it was one of his favorite memories.

Óscar: "Oh really? That's cool, so you became empathic to carnivores because of that friend of yours?"

Sharik: "Yes, he was a great influence in me, and since we both met, we became inseparable."

Óscar: "Wow. Well, I do hope one day I get to know him, and I'm sure glad I would get to join such a diverse friend group... though I hope they don't mind that I'm gay."

Sharik: "Don't worry buddy, they will accept you with open arms, although Francisco probably would make some light jokes about it, he tends to be boisterous and unfiltered, but you won't find a more loyal cape buffalo on this side of the world."

The reveal that Sharik was friend of a cape buffalo left Óscar speechless, cape buffalos were infamous world wide as one of the most dangerous bovine species, even above gaurs, as they often attacked and killed carnivores onsight, especially spotted hyenas and lions, even other herbivores such as wildebeest or deer were not save from them, so the fact that Sharik befriended the one herbivore with the title of "Black Death" made him wonder what other animals this cebra called friends, and he was glad he chose him as one of them.

Óscar: "Dude, you are starting to sound like an ambassador for carnies and herbies. Are you trying to become the Beastar?"

Sharik: "Uhh... what's a Beastar?" He asked embarrassment, a shock to anyone close by to hear him say that question. "You would think after living here for 3 years, I would already know, but... truthfully, I haven't even heard of the term until now." He lowered his ears in shame.

Óscar: "Wow, I wasn't expecting that, but don't worry, Sharik, I would tell you everything you want to know about the Beastars."

Sharik: "Thank you, Óscar, I will appreciate that." He said with a kind smile.

Óscar: "No problem, now pay attention because it's quite a lot." Then the ocelot proceeded to explain what a Beastar was and the role they played in society all the while Sharik listened closely.

Yamato's Office

While the 2 young animals ate, Yamato was, alongside Azumi, discussing about what Eileen had told them about Sharik's nightmare before he went to the cafeteria; they have first learned about it from a barn owl nurse that worked at the night shift who overheard the zebra's panicked awakening of which he had recover quite quicker than expected, and when Eileen went to tell her about what exactly occur, she gave them a drawing Sharik made of, from what the zebra had told her, was THE manifestation of his curse, a single look to that emaciated soldier was enough to make both carnivores feel very worried, but they now had a new insight of how this curse works.

Yamato: "I never expected that the curse could also alter the instincts of an animal. It's something... disturbing, if I'm honest."

Azumi: "I'm not sure how he was able to beat this thing, but perhaps now it means that we could try some therapies utilized on carnivores to help him gain a better control over this 'Bludgeon'"

Yamato: "Even if they could work, first we need to identify what has been triggering the curse in the first place, something I believe you will find out today."

Azumi: "Yeah, I will make sure of that... but... I have my doubts about the detonation part. You saw how scared he was of becoming that 'monster' again."

Yamato: "I know, but we both know than this is the best way we could help him to gain control, I'm sure you will be able to give him the reassurance he needs for these tests. He trusts you."

Azumi: "I know, and I have the tests ready. It's just that he is so young, I myself am worried that this may be too much for him."

Seeing his colleague and friend being nervous like this, contrary to the bold and confident personality she generally showed, made him realize that she was truly preoccupied about how this could affect Sharik and the mistrust it could result from this. Standing up from his desk, Yamato went towards the spectacled bear and put a reassuring hand on her shoulder, looking at her with a friendly smile.

Yamato: "I understand that this may be a difficult thing to do, Azumi, but I'm certain he will agree to do this, we have seen how brave and selfless this zebra colt is, and there's no one better to aid him in these tests than you, you can give confidence and safety to anyone here, I wouldn't trust you with this task if I didn't know you can." Said the brown hyena, which made Azumi feel better about what must be done.

Azumi: "You are right, Yamato, he may be young but he is very brave, besides, I'm pretty sure he would like to brag about his strenght during the tests like the stud he is." She said with a small laugh, which made Yamato chuckle a little. Afterward, Azumi exited the office to go towards the "test lab" to make the final preparations. "I will tell you when everything is ready, and make sure to have your therapies ready for your patients, I don't want to find you slacking."

Yamato: "Hehehehe, I will, don't worry." And after that, both carnivores went back to work.

R&NW Hospital Test Labs

1:34 p.m.

After Sharik took his cognitive behavioral therapy, which helped him greatly overcome the PTSD of his rampage, he was escorted by Eileen towards the test labs of the hospital, on the way there, she explained to Sharik what those labs were for, which was a new addition to analyze the capabilities of cursed herbivores and study what their triggers were and to further study how the mutations altered the physical capabilities, all in a concealed and secured place to avoid collateral damage or any accident. On the way there, the snow leopard noticed her patient was nervous.

Eileen: "Fearing to enter into that curse, sweetheart?"

Sharik: "Yeah... I'm not sure if I will be able to calm down before I hurt somebody, and... well, the whole prospect of becoming that monster again terrifies me." He said in a saddened tone, his ears pointed forward. In response to this, Eileen hugged the young herbivore and caressed his crin to make him feel better.

Eileen: "I understand it is scary, but it is going to help you conquer this terrifying curse. You are very brave, and you have a big heart, I'm confident you will achieve this." She said with a gentle and kind voice, which gave Sharik reassurance and the boost in morale he needed to go forward with the tests.

Sharik: "Thank you, Eileen, I promise I'm going to beat Bludgeon. I would never let him turn me into a monster!" He said with bravery, ears pointing upwards.

Eileen: "That's the spirit, Sharik! Now go, Azumi is waiting for you, I have to attend the other patients, but you are in good hands."

Sharik: "I know, and I hope things go well with them." And with that, Sharik entered the office of the lab when Azumi was waiting for him on her desk. "Hello, doctor, good afternoon."

Azumi: "Hello Sharik, I'm glad to see you again, take a seat." She said gently, and after Sharik sat down, the briefing began. "Alright, as you know, I'm going to run some tests on you to determine your physical capabilities and to find out what detonates your curse, I understand the last part is very scary and you may not want to go through it, but it is necessary to help you control this curse."

Sharik: "I understand, doctor, and... truthfully, I am scared, but I don't want to let my fear stop me from recovering." He said once again with great determination, making Azumi smile at the sheer bravery of the colt.

Azumi: "Very well, in that case, follow me." She then stand up from her desk and guided Sharik to the test field of the lab, which looked quite a lot like a gym mixed with medical equipment, no doubt to measure what he could do.

As both animals accessed the test ground, Azumi brought him towards a table, on said table there was a glas container with what seemed to be 2 cooking gloves, making Sharik curious about what the use of these soft-looking gloves would be.

Azumi: "Alright, the first test we are gonna do is pain tolerance and physical resistance to harm."

Then she open the glass cage and took both of the gloves carefully, showing the inside of the mittens to the zebra, who got a big surprise to see a leaf-made glove infested with enormous ants in both of them, getting a bit nervous about what he had to do.

Azumi: "Back in South America, there are tribes that practice this coming of adulthood ritual, which consists on a boy introducing his hands into a pair of gloves full of bullet ants, and the boys take part in this ceremony at your age, but unlike them, you won't need to do it 20 times, hehe."

Such an explanation of the ritual made Sharik's skin crawl a bit in shock, fearing that it could be a very painful experience even with his possible resistance, however, it also find it peculiar that Azumi was a latín american such as him, though he leave that talk for later.

Sharik: "So... for how long do I have to keep my hands inside the mittens?"

Azumi: "Around 30 minutes, if you feel that you want to stop, tell me, and I will immediately take them off, alright?"

Sharik gulped a bit in fear, but he retook his determined mindset and stepped forward.

Sharik: "Let's do this."

With that conformation, Azumi placed both ant infested mittens over the young herbivore's hands, the sudden moves caused the insects to panic and began to sting the young zebra, feeling the pain of all the hundreds of stingers coming from the angry swarm. While the stings were certainly painful, and he could feel his hands swelling in response, Sharik wasn't feeling as much pain as he expected, in fact, it was even manageable for him, leaving him in quite the shock as he looked at Azumi, who had a knowing smirk on her face.

Azumi: "Impressive, you seemed to have developed a very strong resistance to pain and harm. Even some of the bigger herbivores I attended expressed more discomfort during this trial."

Sharik: "Wow, good to know I'm not the first one, hehehe, although I thought, AUCH! I thought all of them had the same resistance as me."

Azumi: "While that's true, it appears that your body saw the need to make you even more resistant due to past experiences, in this case, because you were nearly killed at a very young age."

After the 30 minutes had passed, Azumi took off the mittens from Sharik's hands and put them back on the glass cage, which only now was apparent for Sharik that was an artificial anthill for the ants to live, watching Azumi leave some food for the ants on a compartment below them, then she went back to Sharik to examine his hands.

Azumi: "The swelling is only 35% of what I was expecting, and your skin doesn't show that much damage caused by the stingers or mandibles either. Are you feeling any burning or irritation?" She asked as she gently touched the hands of the zebra colt, who could feel a notable yet slight discomfort as a response of that.

Sharik: "Yes, I feel they are burning, but it's not as painful as I expected. I'm glad the swelling isn't as bad. I guess I am more sturdy now due to my curse."

Azumi: "Seems to be the case. Well, now, I'm going to put some oinment on your hands before we go to the next test, for which you will need to be shirtless as this involves taking cardiac measures." She then went to a wheeled table and took a jar from there.

Sharik: "I understand. Man, my mom is gonna get very concerned about this"

Azumi: "Leave the explanation to me, which reminds me, your parents will be visiting today. They said someone else was coming, a little brother of yours, if I recall correctly." She said to then approach Sharik with the open jar, revealing a greenish white oinment, from which she took a good amount on her fingers to begin applying it on the hands of her patient.

As he received the oinment, Sharik's face turned into a huge smile from the mention of his brother, his ears pointed upwards and his tail wagged with great joy as he struggled to stay put for the oinment application.

Sharik: "Oliver is coming? Oh my Brachio, that's wonderful! I have missed him so much! I bet he will be excited to see me again, too!" He said with great happiness as his words expressed his love for his little brother, something that warmed the heart of Azumi as she couldn't help but smile at the cebra's excitement.

After healing the zebra's hand, Azumi and Sharik went towards an electric treadmill, a stationary bicycle, an ecg machine next to them and, surprisingly, a collapsible bed right next to it with a sport short on top of it, making the equid wonder how exactly would this test be done, watching Azumi preparing the machine before she began to explain.

Azumi: "Judging by your facial expression, you are questioning how all of this relates to your physical tests."

Sharik nodded at this cuestion as he, per order of Azumi, took his hospital clothing and placed it on a coat rack to then put on the sport shorts.

Azumi: "What I'm going to do is to perform a stress test on you.The test is to measure your heart function while working at its hardest, such as when you are exercising. I have done this test on the other cursed patients for the same purpose, this is due to the alterations that the curse has had on your heart, which could lead to cardiac abnormalities or other possible ailments."

Sharik: "Oh my. I hope there's nothing wrong with my heart if that's the case, but... did any of them have any cardiac ilness, like, for example, arrhythmia?"

Azumi: "One of them did, a bongo antelope. He had tachycardia and got some medicines and therapies prescribed to help him treat his ailment, fortunately, it is highly unlikely that you develop something like that, but it is always good to be sure, don't you agree?"

Sharik: "Yes, better safe than sorry. So, how do we start?"

Azumi: "First I will measure your vitals on rest, so I will connect some electrodes to your body before you lay down on the bed" As she said that, the bear doctor took 8 electrodes from the ekg monitor and pulled them gently, extending them so they could reach the zebra's body, after that, she gently placed 2 close to his shoulders, 2 on the center of his chest and another 4 surrounding his left pectoral, 3 of these covering valves of his heart.

Sharik: "Jejeje, it tickles." He said as he felt the suction cups stick to his body.

This earned a maternal smile from Azumi as she connected the last one on his abdomen, placing the holter on the shorts band that connected to the heart monitor, finally, Azumi placed a cuff similar to that of a shygmomanometer on Sharik's left arm, with the curious zebra looking at all the things that were now connected to his body, as he did, he heard a sudden beeping sound coming from his left, and upon turning, the zebra teen saw the screen of the monitor, now turned on, an on it there were 3 lines that formed strange reliefs, and on a separate column divided on 4 squares that had some digital numbers that represented, for what he could understand, a measure taken from him, each set of numbers had a different color, with the former 3 matching the line left from the column. This reminded him of a machine he saw one time when he was in the hospital, but he didn't exactly know what he was looking at.

Sharik: "What are those measures on the screen? Are all of those coming from me?"

Azumi: "That's right, the 4 of them represent data collected from the electrodes and the scuff." She began explaining as she pointed at each of the column cells. "This yellow number represents your heart rate, the number representing how many times your heart is beating per minute, the green one represents your breathing frequency, blue is for oxygen saturation and red is your blood pressure." She explained while pointing to each measure shown in the monitor as the zebra looked with a natural curiosity and interest, paying particular attention to the yellow one as it marked a 85 while he was sitting on the bed.

Sharik: "Is it normal that my heart rate is that high on rest?" He asked a bit in worry.

Azumi: "It technically is, the normal range is 60 to 100 beats per minute, although you have so far the highest heart rate from all of the cursed patients I have examined, you might be full of energy." She said with a kind smile as Sharik blushed a little for that observation.

Sharik: (Well, now mom might know how I was such a tireless colt, hehe)

After 10 minutes of measuring his vitals on rest, Azumi activated the treadmill and ordered Sharik to start with the second part of the test, complying and starting to walk at a normal pace, with the spectacled bear commencing to slowly increased the speed, the idea being to see how long it takes the zebra to reach his cardiac threshold.

R&NH Hospital Reception

2:05 p.m.

As the test was going on, Jasiri and Oliver arrived at the mental hospital on her car, having parked at a nearby small public parking lot in front of the hospital to then cross the street towards it. Jasiri was wearing a grey oxford t-shirt and black jeans while Oliver was wearing an black shirt with a deco of The Flash and denim overalls and he was carrying a red backpack, both were wearing shoes specially designed for equids that had horseshoes at the bottom. After entering the hospital, both mother and son went to the recepcionist desk in order to check the visit scheduled for today.

Jasiri: "Good afternoon, I am here to visit Sharik Fernández." She spoke politely to the nurse as she kept an eye on Oliver, who looked around curiously.

Upon recognizing the female zebra, the receptionist, who was a female arabian wolf named Suki, quickly checked the schedule, finding that there was indeed a visit marked at this hour.

Suki: "You came a bit earlier than expected. Currently, Sharik is undergoing his physical tests, but it doesn't seem to be any problem with you going to see him right now. "

Oliver: "He is getting tested? Is he doing okay?" Said the little colt whose voice caught the nurse off guard, looking over the desk to look quite surprised at the younger zebra colt.

Suki: (Hmm, he seems much smaller than his brother. Perhaps he doesn't have what he does). "I'm sure he is, little one. You came to see him, too?"

Oliver: "Yes, I'm his brother, and I miss him a lot. I want to see and make him happy to help him recover quickly." He smiled, excited and innocently.

Suki: "Awww, that's so cute on your part, I'm sure Sharik will love to see you." She then turned her gaze towards Jasiri. "Sharik is with Doctor Azumi on the test labs on the back of the facility, I will call Eileen so she escorts you to the lab, she may take a while to come if she is busy."

Jasiri: "That won't be a problem. We can wait. Come on, Oliver, let's wait for the nurse." She called her son as both went to sit on the chairs nearby to then wait for the nurse's arrival, which the little colt took advantage of as he grabbed from his backpack a notebook and a box of crayons in order to complete a special gift for his older brother.

Test Labs

As the 2 zebras waited, Sharik was running on the treadmill at great speed, breathing in coordination with the movements of his arms and legs as his vitals were registered in the monitor, his heart rate and blood pressure had greatly increased and his oxygen saturation was a healthy one, yet for Azumi, it seemed that these reading were a bit off since, while the heart rate was faster than before, it wasn't as quick as she expected.

Azumi: "Seems there is an inconsistency with your heart rate. Do you practice any sport or martial arts?"

Sharik: "I do, I took self-defense lessons, and my uncle teaches me mix martial arts, mainly muay thai and mma. Why?"

Azumi: "Compared to when you were resting, your heart rate while exercising seems to be lower than I expected. It appears you have done some intense exercise before, and this is a result of that."

Sharik: "You can be sure of that. My uncle's training routines could be very difficult for some of his students, I was one of the few who could endure it all. He often told me he was forging us to become warriors, jeje."

Azumi: "Sounds like he was a tough teacher, although I bet he was nicer to you given the family connection." She said as she took note of the measures and the condition of the zebra as he continued running.

As this was going on, Eileen was guiding Jasiri and Oliver to the entrance of the test labs; while she initially was curious and a bit worried about the younger brother of her patient, her fears were quick to dissappear when she saw that Oliver's eyes were not green, and as Jasiri explained to her, he was a colt of regular size for his age, which made the contrast all to evident between the 2 male zebras. As they were getting closer, both females could hear the excited taps Oliver did as with his hooves and how his tail wagged furoiusly, making it a pretty adorable sight.

Eileen: "Hehehe, I see that you are very excited to see him again, aren't you?"

Oliver: "Yes I am, I missed him so much, and I want to hug him and make him feel better just as he does with me when I'm sad." He said excited, touching Eileen for his jolly attitude and how much he loved his brother.

Eileen: "Awww, you are so cute. How did your mother conceive such a cute little angel?"

Jasiri: "I ask myself that every day." She answered playfully.

Finally, the 3 animals arrived at the entrance of the lab and Eileen opened the door so all of them could enter, once inside, Jasiri saw that it had a layout much similar to a regular lab, with machines used to recolect both physical and psychological data from different patients, as well as some tranquilizer guns in case any patient got out of control, at their left, there were 3 huge windows from which they were able to see what appeared to be a gym of a respectable size, on which there were plenty of appliances dedicated to the physical tests of, in this case, patients afflicted with the Curse of Madness. She then saw his son running on one of the treadmill as Azumi wad examining him, happy to see that everything seemed to go well, while Oliver was having a difficult time to look at what was happening, but with a little help from his mother, he was able to watch Sharik undergoing his test.

Oliver: "Mom, why is Sharik running on that? And what are those things on his chest?" He asked, curious and a bit worried for his brother, but Eileen gently gave the colt the answer he was looking.

Eileen: "Azumi, the doctor attending your big brother, is putting Sharik through a stress test, which means she is making him run to see how well his body responds to physical stress such as exercise. The things he has on his body are electrodes, which measure his heartbeat and breathing that is registered on the monitor next to him."

Oliver: "Ohh, is he doing okay?"

Eileen: "Seems to be the case." She then turned her sigh towards Jasiri. "Azumi has completed the blood test of Sharik. She will give you the results after the trials."

Jasiri: "Thank you, I'm glad to see everything is going well for him."

Eileen: "I need to depart to attend other patients, Azumi will call me if anything happens." Then the snow leopard went off to attend her other patients.

As this was happening, Sharik had begun to reach his cardiac threshold, which was a surprising rate of 130 beats per minute, higher than the regular estimates of his age group.

Azumi: "Very well, it seems like you have reached your threshold. Are you feeling tired right now?"

Sharik: "A bit, I don't feel exhausted, but I could use a break from this."

Azumi: "Alright, let's start cooling off."

Azumi then started to gradually reduce the speed of the treadmill, allowing Sharik to slow down and start to cool off, breathing in an out continously to aid in this process as sweat was visibly flowing down his face and neck, but other than that, he didn't look all that worn down by the exercise he did, taking a cloth Azumi gave to him to wipe the sweat.

Sharik: "Oof, I can feel my heart pounding, haven't exercised like that in a while."

Azumi: "I can see that. You did well in there. Your readings are once more outstanding but healthy, given your condition." As she took notes of the results, she saw 2 figures on the window above them, smiling as she knew what that meant. "And you had quite the public this time."

Sharik: "What do you mea..." He turned towards the window and almost stopped on his tracks upon watching his mother up there, but what truly shocked him was the presence of a little colt on the arms of his mom, his tail starting to wag in joy as he recognized who that was. "Oliver!"

Oliver: "¡Mira mamá, Sharik nos está viendo, está feliz de vernos!" Said the little colt as he saw the expressions of his brother, waving happily on salute as Sharik corresponded from the other side, thing that Jasiri also began to do.

Jasiri: "Yes, he is, Oli. It seems you have made him very happy."

As this was going on, and the treadmill came to a stop, Azumi approached Sharik with her stethoscope to check his heart and lungs, but because of the huge joy running through the colt's little body, he gently got out of his mother's embrace and went towards the door than lead to the gym, which Jasiri quickly noticed and tried to stop him.

Jasiri: "Oliver, wait!" She tries to go after him, but Oliver was faster, and once he entered the gym, he darted towards his big brother, and as Sharik witness his little brother run towards him, he got off the treadmill and gently crouched down to embrace his little brother. As Oliver finally reached Sharik, the 2 brothers shared a big hug, both their tails wagging in pure joy of being reunited once again after so much time being separated. As they shared this loving embrace, tears started to come out of both of their eyes and they didn't let go of each other for many minutes; this heartwarming and beautiful reunion was not without it's witnesses, and Jasiri, who was now inside the gym, saw and cried with maternal happiness and tenderness her 2 boys sharing the brotherly love they were missing, Azumi too was touched by this scene and even smiled happily at such a cute scene.

Oliver: "Te extrañé mucho, Sharik, creí que te iban a dejar aquí por siempre, que no volverías a casa." Hearing his brother say that tugged as his heartstrings, understanding how lonely and worried Oliver was since he didn't entirely understood what was happening, Jasiri too felt the same, approaching to caressed his younger son as she kissed both on them in the forehead, smiling as his 2 boys shared this moment together.

Sharik: "No te preocupes Oli, no me iré para siempre. Aun necesito quedarme aquí para poder averiguar que me pasa y poder sanar, pero pronto podré regresar a casa. Tienes mi palabra de que volveré" Both brothers then saw each other eye to eye, his neon green eyes contrasting with the yellow orange of Oliver's eyes.

Oliver: "¿Deveras? ¿Promesa de rayas?" He asked as he gently extended his arm, the patterns of his stripes completely visible. Such a gesture was corresponded by Sharik, who linked his stripes with the ones of his little brother.

Sharik: "Promesa de rayas." He said with a tender smile, making his brother smile in happiness too. However, their moment came to a stop as the spectacled bear doctor put a gentle hand over Sharik's shoulders.

Azumi: "Not to interrupt the happy reunion, but we need to continue the trials."

Nodding to his doctor, Sharik let go of Oliver and stood up to full height, with Jasiri and Oliver stepping aside. Afterward, Azumi placed the earpieces of her stethoscope to later place the diaphragm of the stethoscope on Sharik's chest to examine his heart, which was still agitated by the exercise he did. As Azumi checked his patient's heartbeat, Oliver became curious about what she was doing, getting closer to her under the supervision of Jasiri.

Oliver: "Are you checking my brother's heart? Is he healthy?" The innocence on his voice and question made Azumi internally melt of cuteness, smiling to the little colt as she stopped the examination to answer him.

Azumi: "He is quite healthy, and his heart sounds quite well. Would you like to take a listen?"

Oliver: "Yes, please!" He replied, excited.

Taking off her stethoscope and cleaning the earpieces with some nearby wipes as Oliver took a small bench to use as a step, she placed the earpieces on Oliver's ears and let him put the stethoscope on Sharik chest, allowing the colt to listen to his older brother's heartbeats.

Lub-dub~lub-dub~ lub-dub ~lub-dub ~lub-dub ~lub-dub ~lub-dub ~lub-dub ~lub-dub ~lub-dub

Oliver: "Wow. Your heart sounds very strong, it sound like 'PUM-PUM~PUM-PUM~PUM-PUM' it's so cool!

Sharik: "Aww, gracias hermanito." He said while blushing at such an adorable compliment, which made both his mother and Azumi die of cuteness.

Right after this very adorable scene, Azumi disconnected the electrodes from his chest and turned off the ECG monitor to then proceed to the 3rd trial, which consisted on examine his physical capabilities regarding his raw strength, which was part of the reason this part of the laboratory was setup as a gym. Moving to a modular terrace on which sat the 2 zebras, and the doctor to observe the patient in action, Sharik began with the first trial which was lifting barbell weight of 200 kilograms 30 consecutive times, much to Jasiri's concern as she thought this was too much for such a young boy, however those worries were laid to rest as soon as Sharik lifted the huge weights on his first try, and he proceeded to repeat the process until reaching the goal, leaving both herbivores in shock for how easy he achieved it, while Azumi observed analytically as she took notes of what she was seeing. The next test consisted on dragging a cart carrying 6 blocks of cinder, each weighting 200 kilograms, with a harness around his body, throughout a curse of 1 kilometer, and while at the beginning he struggled because of his age, eventually he was able to drag his cargo all the way to the end of the course, such a display of strength was quite shocking even for Azumi, as only her buffalo and gaur patients were able to complete the dragging course without dropping exhausted. Jasiri, too, was in shock, witnessing how his son had such inmense strength at this age, wondering what his limits would be when he is older, as for Oliver, he was quite amazed by his brother's feats, believing he would become a superhero, not knowing yet than such strength came with a deadly secret.

The final exam was a less demanding one since all Sharik had to do was hit the force meter. First, he had to give it a punch without holding back, which he did and the meter registered an astounding 1,280 kilograms of force, which was already strong enough to easily break concrete and inflict great damage if he wasn't careful. Afterward, he had to kick the same spot, and with one powerful swing of his leg, the meter registered 1,500 kilograms of force, which was higher than the normal kick strength of his species. Such force left Azumi speechless as this was by far the strongest kick of any of her patients, only the water buffalo she examined before came close to this force on the kicks, and in punches Sharik wasn't behind either, she believed when he was older he could potentially become the strongest non-megafaunal herbivore of the whole city, but for both her and Sharik it was clear that he needed to learn how to control his strength, for even a single wrong hit could be lethal.

After his physical trials, Azumi prepared an encephalogram device to his head via electrodes similar to the ECG test, after that and with the help of Jasiri, she placed 5 realistic looking mannequins that replicated the bodies of carnivores, from bones and flesh to organs and even blood, of these dummies, the first was shaped like a black jaguar, the second was a black caiman, the 3rd one was a polar bear, the fourth was that of a Mackenzie Valley wolf and the last one had the shape of a harpy eagle, all of these had the anatomical characteristics of each species they represented, like the armored skin of the cayman and hollow bones of the eagle. Having already an idea of what the purpose of the mannequins were, Sharik swallowed in fear of becoming that horrible monster again, especially now that his own younger brother would see him in that state of pure primal madness. As he was contemplating in terror what was going to happen, he felt a tight hug around his waist, turning to see that his brother was the one hugging him.

Oliver: "Don't be scared, Sharik, you are very brave and strong. You always helped me when I needed it, and now I want to help you beat this curse." Said his brother with the same determination he showed many times before, smiling as he caressed the head of the little colt.

Sharik: "Gracias, hermanito." He smiled before watching Oliver return to his mother as they ans Azumi ascended to the observatory of the lab, no doubt to avoid any collateral damage; once they were in there, she turn on a microphone that connected to some speakers at the corners of the windows, and then she began to explain Sharik about this test.

Azumi: "Alright, Sharik, this is the final test. As you may have realized by now, we are going to discover what exactly triggers your curse, as well as how it makes you act against carnivores. To accomplish this, l will play a series of recordings of different infrasounds to see which ones detonate it and make you so aggressive. The mannequins in front of you are to analyze the damage you may cause in such a state, each one of them replicating to a near match the real-life animals. Once 10 minutes pass and/or when the 5 mannequins are destroyed, I will make you calm down to get you out of the trance. Are you ready to do it?"

That briefing on what was going to happen didn't pass the nerves of Sharik at all, if anything, it made him even more nervous, Jasiri and Oliver also looked quite scared of what could happen, especially Jasiri since she had a better idea of the carnage his son was capable of, but more importantly, she wonder what methods would Azumi use to get Sharik out of his madness state, believing it was going to be tranquilizer darts, while Oliver hoped everything would be ok, taking his mother's hand in comfort. After 3 very long minutes, Sharik once again took his determined gaze and answered, his voice able to be heard clearly inside the office.

Sharik: "I'm not going to lie, I am TERRIFIED of what is going to happen to me... but I'm ready to face Bludgeon again."

Azumi smiled at this statement. However, this confused the 2 zebras as they didn't know what Sharik meant by that name.

Azumi: "Very well, honey, I will just explain some things to your family, and we will proceed." She then turned off the speakers as Sharik mentally prepared to massacre the dummies, which, due to how realistic they were, especially the jaguar one, made him all the more nervous about it.

Azumi: "Alright, I'm sure you may have questions, but this is important, I'm going to explain you how I will calm down Sharik, but for that I will need the help of Oliver."

This came as quite the shock for both of them, while this made Oliver excited for helping his brother, Jasiri, quite understandably, became very concerned at how he would be of help, but Azumi was quick to explain herself.

Azumi: "On 2 of my past patients with the curse, I discover that they were able to get out of their mad state upon listening to the voice of someone very close to them, in the first case it was the mother of the patient, and in the second it was their twin brother. My theory is that the curse can detonate not only as a result of infrasounds, but also when someone dear to the subjects is on grave danger, and if they hear them asking to stop, they will know they are safe and will do so immediately, and given how close the relationship between Oliver and Sharik is, it may be the best way to pull him out of the madness."

The revelation that Azumi made to them left both zebras speechless, but also made them very hopeful and relieved that they could save Sharik for causing great damage on such a way, and for Jasiri, it was tragic that the cursed herbivores would enter such a state in order to protect their loved ones, wondering what could happen if said loved one was a carnivore.

Oliver: "So, to help rescue my big brother, I have to tell him to stop, like, really loudly?"

Azumi: "Only to catch his attention initially, after that you must talk to him calmly, like if you were comforting him when he is sad."

Oliver: "Oh, then I will do it. I will save my brother just as he saved me from that monster!" He proudly stated as he made a superhero pose, which, while cute, was bittersweet for Jasiri due to what that "monster" took from them.

Azumi: "I like that attitude. Keep it up so you can help him." She smiled at the colt before turning on the microphone again. "Alright, Sharik, be ready, I'm going to start reproducing the infrasounds." She then turned on a laptop she brought with her and connected to the speakers. After that, she opened some audio files that contained the infrasound recordings, starting to reproduce them.

The first infrasound was that of an elephant, which was deep and seismic, making Sharik tremble as he could feel it pass through his body, sensing the great power of the of the infrasonic communication of the proboscideans.

Sharik: (So this is the secret elephant communication method Sebastian told me about. It is quite stronger than I thought)

While this was happening, the electrodes of the encephalogram, which were wireless, transmitted the brain activity of the zebra throughout the experiment to the main machine located in the office, printing the brainwave activity on registration papers, so far Sharik seemed mostly calmed, with some alterations related to any minor movement he was making or any thought. The second infrasound was that of a bat echolocation, which were high pitched and very squeaky.

Oliver: "Hehe, that's adorable." He commented as he listened to it. This didn't make Sharik act abnormally.

The third infrasound, which was the mating call of an american alligator, was able to put Sharik in a high alert state, turning erratically towards all directions as if he was watching for an oncoming threat, a sight that was disturbing for Jasiri.

Jasiri: (Oh Brachio, what is happening to my baby?)

Finally, the last recording was that of the roar of a tiger. The infrasound emitted from it was so powerful that it paralyzed Jasiri and made Oliver yelp in fear. Even Azumi was affected by the proximity of the roar.

However, the moment Sharik listened to the infrasound of the carnivore, he became tense for a second, and then a guttural snarl emerged from his throat as he revealed his fangs and sharp incisors, the neon green color of his irises overtaking the entirety of his eyes, leaving only his pupils which had shrunken at the same time this happen, giving him a monstrous gaze... and then... he gave a demonic, unnatural, horrifying roar as he stared at the mannequins, his mind, cloud by the madness, believing that those were carnivores with hostile intentions, and almost immediately after his roar ended, he charged towards the closest mannequin, and drilled a hole on the wolf's chest with a single hit. Time seemed to stop for Jasiri as she covered Oliver's eyes to avoid him witnessing such violence, even if it was against dummies, but the roar Sharik emitted was already enough to scared him, worrying about what just happened to his big brother. Azumi, while already used to see this level of violence, was nonetheless concerned for how even such a noble beast as Sharik could succumb to the madness.

This was far from over, as time appeared to recover it's flow, Sharik pulled his arm from the drilled chest of the wolf dummy and then proceeded to attack violently the bear dummy, punching it so hard it broke the skin and blubber, drawing streams of fake blood, cracks of the bone replica could be heard from the observatory; after eliminating the bear, and rising his head with a raging face, he pounced at the eagle dummy and, gripping the wings, he violently torn them from the body before slamming his fist violently against the head. As Jasiri watched in horror how his son was causing such a bloodshed, Azumi quickly took her chance to prepare to drag him out of the madness.

Azumi: "Oliver, get ready. Your brother needs your help."

However, the little colt was paralyzed by what was hearing, his sensitive ears catching every detail of what his brother was doing as the sound of jaws being ripped apart echoed through the gym. Just as it seemed that he would be unable to help, Jasiri quickly turned his son around and looked at him in the eyes, her maternal gaze calming the young colt as she spoke to him.

Jasiri: "I know it is scary, my love, but you must be brave now more than ever. Sharik needs you to escape his madness. Remember how he helped us so many times before? Now is your turn to help him! You can save him from the madness!" She spoke on a soft and motivational tone, rising the morale of Oliver who, with a similar determination to his brother, went towards Azumi to liberate Sharik from his curse.

As Sharik finished up the mannequin of the caiman, having torn the throat with a single bite and shattered the jaws, he turned to the last remaining carnivore: the jaguar. While his rage and instincts screamed at him to kill it, there was a very powerful opposition coming from his inner self, not wanting to attack that carnivore in particular as it was uncannily familiar, however, Bludgeon wasn't having any of that and violently pushed him to attack and kill it, charging at great speed with his blood-covered fist raised and fangs unsheated

Oliver: "¡Sharik, detente!"

The scream of his brother paralyzed Sharik right on his tracks, standing on a type of torpor as his curse was putting out, and Bludgeon started losing his grip over the young zebra. As the suspense of what could happen next increased, Jasiri felt the urge to intervene and help Sharik, however, she was cautious to do so in worry that it could caused an unintentional negative interference, but she gave her support to Oliver by placing her hands on his shoulders, showing him he wasn't alone and giving him the confidence and will he needed to save Sharik.

Oliver: "Por favor, hermanote, ya no tienes que pelear más, todo está bien, estamos a salvo. Sé que tienes miedo de que nos pase algo, pero no quiero que te hundas en la ira. Sé que siempre has estado ahí para ayudarme, a papá y a mamá, eres nuestro héroe y mi hermano. ¡Por favor no dejes que esta maldición te domine! ¡Regresa con nosotros, te amamos!"

Sharik: "O-Oli..." The heart-felt words of his brother bathed his mind in a light of love and hope, tears falling from his eyes as he thought back everyone he loved, his family and his friends, how each one of them had changed him to make him who he is, as well as the love they all shared, and as he bravely declared before, he will conquer his curse.

Eventually, the eyes of Sharik returned to normal, and his rage vanished from his mind, leaving the zebra a little disoriented as he recollected what had just happened, watching at his surroundings to see that he had utterly destroyed the mannequins minus the jaguar one, and that he was covered on fake blood that tasted like some sort of syrup, but as he recovered his senses, and saw once more the mannequin he hadn't destroyed, a smile began to appear on his face, getting closer to the dummy as he touched it gently.

Sharik: (Unbelievable... I... I was able to stop. Oli... you really helped me, little brother)

Watching from the observatory, Jasiri was speechless at what she just witness, not only how Sharik calmed down so quickly by hearing Oliver's voice, but by how did Oliver knew just what to say in order to achieve it, needless to say, she was very proud of her little angel, hugging him in joy as her tail wagged fueled by said emotion.

Jasiri: "You did it, Oli. You were able to save him!"

Oliver: "I... I did it..."

Sharik: "Oliver, you did it! You were right! You saved me from the curse! Thank you! I love you, hermanito!" Said Sharik overjoyed, as he now knew that those he loved so much could pulled him out from his madness, raising his hopes of conquering the curse.

Oliver: "I did it. Yeah, I did it!!" Said the little colt who bounced in excitement.

Meanwhile, Azumi was checking the readings recorded by the encephalogram during the madness stage, and just as she expected, the readings went off the roof, but much to her surprise, there were 2 great anomalies on the brainwave patterns: one was clear as it was when the curse seceded, but the first one registered was quite strange, as it was taken just after Sharik destroyed the cayman mannequin; turning towards the gym as Jasiri and Oliver went there to hug the zebra teen, Azumi realized that the black jaguar mannequin was left untouched, besides some fake blood splattered on top of it. Remembering how Jasiri had told her about the black jaguar that was close friends with Sharik, she believed that such close bonds could be the key for the young zebra to heal and beat his curse.

R&NW Hospital Room 212

4:30 p.m.

With the trials of today finished, Sharik was escorted by Eileen and accompanied by his mother and brother to his room, and once in there, Oliver took his backpack and pull out his toys so he could play with his brother, and Sharik gladly accepted to play with him. While the 2 boys were playing with their toys, many of these being figures of robots of different shapes and colors capable of transforming into a variety of vehicles, Azumi and Jasiri were talking about the blood test results of Sharik, which revealed plenty of interesting things.

Jasiri: "Sharik's blood is toxic? How could that be?" She asked quite in shock.

Azumi: "For what I was able to see on the testing, his blood produces some kind of toxin that eliminates most parasites and microorganisms that enters his bloodstream, but this same toxin, based on experiments made with feral wild cats, can outright kill them if consumed. Fortunately, the toxin also gives out a foul taste, so most often than not, any carnivore that bites him would immediately back away, in addition, this toxin doesn't appear to harm his body in anyway."

Jasiri: "That's a big relief, I was fearful this could compromise his health, though the fact this 'toxin' making him having a foul taste is quite peculiar, atleast that would help him against predator offenders he may face in the future." While Jasiri didn't have a bad outlook towards carnivores, she always understood that predation, much like other serious crimes, was still a threat, and given Sharik's nature of protecting those in need, she was worry that he could get badly wounded or worse on this scenarios. "Were there any other anomalies on his blood?"

Azumi: "I discover that he was producing a big amount of additional hormones, among them adrenaline, growth hormone, noradrelanine and testosterone, which is the cause of his incremented physical development and strength, but it seems to be correlated with his madness state. Due to the results of the experiment, he will be kept away from any carnivore that displays aggressive tendencies in order to avoid infrasounds, but he won't be kept away from carnivores as a whole."

Jasiri: "That's good to hear, Sharik hates segregation, and he would not want to be subjected to it, which happened during his trial." She said as she remembered how depressed and scared his son looked during that time, even now it broke her heart.

Azumi: "I understand that feeling. That's how many patients on this hospital feel after the predations they committed, even though many of them failed to devour their target."

As they continue to discuss the results, Oliver showed Sharik a couple of drawings he made for him. In one, they were together as they rode on a yellow cloud through the sky, and there was another one in which Sharik defended him, Jabari and his friends from a feral crocodile using a large stick, back when they lived in Yucatán.

Sharik: "Wow, Oli... son fantásticos. Haz mejorado bastante en tus dibujos."

Oliver: "Gracias hermanote, quise hacerlos como regalo para que te sientas mejor aquí, y también para que tengas algo de mí mientras te quedas en el hospital."

Sharik: "Muchas gracias Oli." He smiled and then hugged his little brother, which the younger colt happily reciprocated.

Ancient Jungle Street

4:45 p.m

.

On a 2 floor house that had a mix of japanese and american architecture, more specifically on one of the rooms on the second floor, a young beast was painting a nostalgic image of himself and his best friend, one that he yearned to see again. This young mexican jaguar of 12 years of age, wearing yellow shorts but lacking a shirt, was not a typical individual, for starters, he was melanistic, meaning that his body was almost completely black, although his spots could still be distinguish if you shined a light on top of them; the second was that, for a jaguar, he was quite small and thinner than normal, to the point of sometimes appearing malnourished. This physical condition was because of a premature birth resulting from an accident. Because of his delicate state at birth as well as how it translated into his physical development, this jaguar was quite shy and found it hard to socialize with others, that was until he met a special someone, a Burchell's zebra that, overtime, became his closest friend and his brother of another species.

As he dipped his brush with paint of a different color, he heard someone gently opening the door, turning to see who it was, the young beast saw a female black jaguar, much older than himself, dressed on a doctor outfit with a stethoscope around her neck, said jaguar looked quite a lot like him, from the color of the eyes to the spots and even his crooked fingers, and the female was giving him a smile and a look that he would recognize anywhere. This was his mother, and it seemed she had just come back home from work.

Ximena: "Hola Alex ¿Cómo te sientes hoy?" She asked on a warm voice, his son in question leaving the brush over the paint pot to stand up from his chair and going towards her, giving her a warm hug.

Alejandro: "Hola mamá, pues he estado bien, entreteniéndome pintando." He said on a soft and tender voice, letting his mother see the painting he was making, which was of the first time he and Sharik went out together.

Ximena: "Aww, es una obra muy linda, estoy seguro de que le va a encantar."

Alejandro: "Gracias mamá." As he said that, his frowned a little after remembering what happened to his friend, but he changed his attention when he heard his mother's voice.

Ximena: "Alex, ¿podrías sentarte en la cama, por favor? Es hora de revisarte." She said as she took her stethoscope from her neck.

Alejandro: "Ok, mamá." He then sat on his bed, right next to his desk, and her mother utilized his wheeled chair to come close to Alejandro.

Ximena: "¿Haz sentido dolores en el pecho o mareos?" She asked as she placed the earpieces on her ears, looking over the scar on her son's chest.

Alejandro: "Mareos no, aunque sí sentí una leve molestia en mi pecho tras venir de la alberca."

Ximena: "Ya veo. Bien, déjame escuchar." She then gently placed her stethoscope over Alex's chest, listening carefully to the heart of her son.

L-dub-dub~ lub-dub~ l-dub-dub~ l-dub-d-dub~ lub-dub~ l-dub-dub~ lub-dub~ lub-d-dub~ lub-dub

As she listen, Ximena look a bit sad, remembering her son's heart was in a delicate condition; due to his premature birth, Alejandro suffered from patent ductus arteriosus, an opening between his aorta and pulmonic artery, which while able to be treated on time, it left him with a permanent cardiac arrhythmia, causing him to get tired faster and sometimes pass out if he pushed himself too far.

Ximena: "Hmm, aun late irregularmente, pero parece que la natación te ha ayudado a mantenerlo regular. Recuerda tomar tu medicina esta noche."

Alejandro: "Sí mamá." Even while he tried to sound positive, her mother could sense that something was troubling him greatly, and he knew what that was.

Ximena: "Aun te preocupa Sharik ¿no es así?" She asked as she gently placed a hand on his son's face, temporarily taking out the earpieces of the stethoscope.

Alejandro: "Sí, me tiene muy preocupado, no sé si su condición haya mejorado o no y, la verdad tengo miedo de que se vuelva ese monstruo otra vez..." He shivered at the grim memory, remembering the cry of desperation from the zebra which soon was replaced by that unnatural roar. "Even at the trial I could see he was terrified for what he did. I just wish I could see him to help him."

As he expressed his concerns, getting sad for the curse that haunted his brother, Ximena quickly hugged him to gave him much needed comfort, and after that he look at him gently, admiring how Alejandro still saw Sharik as his closest friend despite the fact such a horrible curse haunted him

Ximena: "I understand what you mean, even if he did what he did, he never meant that to happen, and I'm happy you see it that way." She said as she thought about something to cheer Alex up, and then an idea came to mind. "Si quieres, podrías organizar una visita al hospital con tus amigos para poder ver a Sharik, puedo asegurarte de que va a estar muy feliz de verlos otra vez." Upon hearing that idea, Alex beamed in hope and happiness, a smile that her mother always loved to see from him.

Alejandro: "Sí, podríamos hacer eso, y quizás pueda llevarle algún regalo para hacerlo sentirse mejor, aunque probablemente Joaquín no pueda venir por... bueno, ya sabes."

Ximena: "Entiendo eso, corazón, pero igualmente será algo maravilloso para Sharik, ustedes comparten un lazo muy especial, y eso podría ser de valiosa ayuda para ayudarlo a recuperarse."

Alejandro: "Gracias mamá, voy a asegurarme de ayudarlo tal y como siempre me ha ayudado a mí. En nuestra manada, nos cuidamos entre todos." Such inspiring words made Ximena very happy, it was something wonderful how Alex had changed so much after he met that zebra, how they had help each other to overcome everything in life so far.

Ximena: "Very well, Alex. Now let's continue with your check-up, after that you can organize the visit with Francisco and Sebastián."

Alejandro: "I will mom, they are gonna be happy to join."

Chapter Text

Sanjo City's Courthouse

June 14, 12:23 p.m.

10 days after the carnivore massacre, the courthouse sparked with activity as a good number of people arrived at the place, all being related to the accused, the killed carnivores and the 3 witnesses, but there was also the selected jury, a limited gallery due to the private nature of the trial, and plenty of police officers, all of which were there to ensure the security of the present carnivores and prevent the killer to do anything rash or dangerous... that is until they learned about who the accused really was, with said revelation causing great discord among many of the officers present, some trying to bring comfort to their zebra comrade as he grieved over the situation of the forced killer, and others were understandably upset about this whole situation.

Chester: "This is not fair at all, not for him. What choice did he have? He doesn't deserve to be treated like a criminal!" Said a cheetah officer, one of the youngest present, who was clearly bewildered by the situation. "Seriously, if he hadn't done anything, all of those kids would have died. This is not what he deserves."

Ramón: "Oh, quit ya' jabbering, kiddo. Aren't ya' forgettin' he KILLED four of your kind? He is just as much of a menace as other killers, if not more so."

Chester: "Are you serious!? Would you have preferred that the kids were killed!? He was not given a choice!"

Ramón: "So what? Yeah, sure, he killed the assailants, but what about his kitty friend? He could have been mauled too, 'sides, I find it quite ironic that you feel pity for a herbivore like him. If he was a carnivore, I bet you would be spitting daggers at him."

Chester: "What the fuck are you...!?"

???: "Stop! This isn't going to help the case in any way!"

The sudden voice stopped the discussion between the young cheetah and the Gambian giant rat, who they turned to see a older-looking white tiger approaching them, no doubt having heard the commotion from a nearby room.

Taisuke: "I understand your concerns Chester, I myself feel that way, he was put into a horrible situation where he had to resort to such violence, but at the same time... I must agree that he displayed some... unnatural characteristics, due to his curse, but even then, he should not be treated as a monster. And he deserves our empathy, not as carnivores, but as fellow beasts."

Hearing those wise words, Chester nodded in agreement, but Ramón was not one to be so easily convinced

Ramón: "Oh fer bootin' up cold! Why is it so hard to see he should be locked in!? With that curse on him, he is extremely dangerous!"

Taisuke: "Even if he has the Curse of Madness, he deserves to be treated right, after all, he is a kid, and for what I have seen, he already went through enough things, we should not be slandering him like that."

Chester: "Oh Rex, he must be so scared. That reminds me, who was assigned to escort him? Is Akida with him?"

Taisuke: "I'm afraid he was not allowed to escort his son, and he was busy with his wife and third child, but will be present when the trial starts."

Akida: "And I hope he is being treated well." Commented the zebra, surprising the 3 animals who were his comrades as he walked towards them. "I was told Rokuro was assigned to escort him alongside Denzel, but I'm not sure who the other 2 are, I only hope they don't treat Sharik as a monster... I still remember how he broke down after I found him."

Taisuke: "You have my empathy, Akida, and I hope everything goes well."

Chester: "Same here, I haven't met him personally, but I was told he is very kind-hearted. It would have been an honor meeting him on better circumstances."

Such kind words from both felines made Akida smile and lifted his mood enough to feel better, but a certain rodent wasn't so kin on keeping this kind atmosphere.

Ramón: "Yeah, yeah, yeah, let's just hope that little colt of yours is kept under control. Call me a pessimist, but I don't want that curse detonatin' all of the sudden, especially since we still don't know what triggers it." At this reply, the zebra stallion exhaled a bit irritated, but Ramón had a point.

Akida: "You are right, whatever detonated that curse could very well be nearby without us knowing, but that's not what worries me the most." His frowned in sadness as he remembered the delicate mental state of his boy. "He's completely traumatized and disturbed by what he did, I remember watching him, on his bathroom break on the station... slamming his head against the mirror..." He paused, feeling great pain for just remembering that heartbreaking scene of his son torturing himself. "The look on his eyes... I can't even describe it, but I knew he hated himself." He sighed worryingly as his comrades were strongly taken aback by that revelation, even Ramón seemed worried about the degrading mental state of the young zebra teen, and Chester looked horrified, fearing that things could become worse for the herbivore. As Akida tried to keep his composure, Thaysuk approached him to comfort, giving the zebra a shoulder hug to aid him recover, which Akida silently thanked.

Taisuke: "You are not alone in this struggle, my friend, and neither is your son, he has you, Jasiri, and his brother and friends, and you have my hopes that everything will go well."

Akida: "Thank you, Taisuke, I truly hope it does."

Sanjo's City Police Station

12:34 p.m.

At the police station of the district, headquarters of one of the most renowned and effective police divisions of Minajū-chihō, there was a holding cell containing a very peculiar prisoner dressed in an orange jumpsuit, one deemed a monster, a dangerous aggressor, but right now he was neither of these things. Instead, the young zebra teen responsible for the 4 murders was silent as a tree, a lost stare was marked into his face as the guilt and regret ate him from the inside; even after 10 days, the same question plagued his young mind, as he vividly remembered each brutalizing kill he made, and each time he looked into his hands, they were covered in blood and guts.

Sharik: (¿Por qué... por qué tuve que matarlos? ¿Tan siquiera hubo alguna mejor forma de poder protegerlos?... ¿Siquiera podré ser perdonado?)

These and many other questions plagued his mind like crops swarmed by locusts, so deep he was on his disturbed mind that he didn't even notice the 4 officers approaching the cell until he heard the door being open, and even then, only his ears turned at the sudden sound, his gaze lost on the wall, like a soldier who witnessed his friends being blown to pieces.

???: "Oh my Rex, this is worse than I thought." Said one soft and kind voice, the slight chirp alluding that this was a bird of some kind.

???: "He has the thousand yard stare, probably even falling into juvenile depression." Said another gentle but rougher voice. It seemed to belong to a rhino.

???: "Who cares about his mental state? He reduced 4 young adult carnivores into mincemeat. Any sympathy towards him will only get another animal killed." Replied a more hateful voice, the words spelled from it harming the young zebra's heart as he placed a hand on his chest, almost like he was starting to break down. And then a slap was heard.

???: "Don't you DARE to slander him like that! You have no idea the kind of horror he experienced. Haven't he done anything, 8 animals would have died instead of 4!" Said a growling voice, the roughest of the 4, but any other part of the conversation was lost to the spaced-out cebra.

Not long after the argument continued, he felt a gentle and soft hand over his shoulder, and when he returned to reality, he finally saw one of the four officers that came for him, and this one was a new one for him: it was a female peregrine falcon who had green eyes, just like him, yet hers had a yellowish tint and he only saw amiability in them. For what Sharik could see, she seemed to have an athletic built, but her belly was visibly swollen by something and was wearing a short-sleeved variant of the uniform to accommodate her wings.

Araceli: "Hello, little one, my name is Araceli. It is a pleasure to meet you." She said with a tender smile, which lifted Sharik's spirits enough to answer.

Sharik: "H-hi Araceli, I'm... I'm Sharik."

Araceli: "I understand you are very scared for what is happening, but I want you to know that you are safe with us, and that your family will do everything in their power to help you."

As Araceli was having this heart to heart with, her comrades were watching from outside the cell, and while the rhino and the crocodile couldn't help but smile at this scene, the bison had a strong disagreement on what she was doing, but was prevented of doing anything by the white rhino.

Bosco: "She can't do that! This is against protocol!"

Rokuro: "Sharik needs all the comfort he can receive before his trial. He has suffered enough already and doesn't need your aggressive tendencies on his shoulders."

Denzel: "He is right. You better calm down before you do something. Otherwise, you may face the consequences with Akida or Magnus." Hissed the saltwater crocodile. Hearing that even Magnus was involved in this trial, Bosco calmed down and restrained himself of taking action unless the rest did, but he still would have preferred to give a tougher treatment towards the colt.

As the falcon continued talking with the zebra teen, she noticed bloodied bandages on his head, gently touching them with care of not causing pain to the boy.

Araceli: "Those wounds... you didn't have them before. Did someone hurt you?" She asked quite concerned, to which Sharik reluctantly responded.

Sharik: "No... I did that to myself." Just as he said that, shocking Araceli and the other supportive officers, Sharik started to sob, his pain overflowing from the inside. "I... I was in the bathroom, washing my hands after doing my needs, but... then I saw myself in the mirror and... and I... saw myself... c-cover in blood and... my eyes..." He struggled to finish the sentence, the memory of that demonic reflection still tormenting him as if it was grappling with his mind... as well as how he headbutted the mirror. "I... I hate myself for what I did... I... why did I have to... I didn't want to lose them... am..." He could not take it anymore and broke down in tears, bawling his eyes out in despair.

Feeling her heart sank after witnessing the poor teenager crying in such depressed way, Araceli didn't waste any time and gave the most maternal hug she could give to the young herbivore, which Sharik corresponded desperately as he continue to cry in fear and sorrow. This was enough to make Rokuro feel his heartstrings pulled in sympathy for the poor boy, and even Denzel, usually the most collected of the 4, couldn't help but share his empathy to the young herbivore, understanding how much pain he was experiencing as the weeping began to cease, fortunately Araceli was able go calm him down.

Araceli: "There, there, let it all go." She said as she gently caressed him with her wings, the soft feathers making Sharik feel better but also nostalgic of her mother's touch. "I understand that this situation is very scary for you, but you are not alone in this struggle. I, too, wish that things were different, but you must not let yourself dwell in what could have been. I understand right now is going to be very hard, but, try to think on what you were able to save, and all of those that love you and wish to help you, they will be there for you, and, if it can be arranged, perhaps some could visit you before the trial."

While the four officers knew than visits for the prisoner would be almost impossible to get due to the rules of the courtroom, the fact that there COULD be a chance to begin with make Sharik erect his ears in happiness, his tal wagging ever so slightly as he silently thanked Araceli for the motivation he needed, giving her a hug which the falcon corresponded gently. Just as they embraced each other, Sharik felt something move from the abdomen of Araceli, causing the bird to moan and putting the young zebra in alert.

Sharik: "Something move inside you... a-are you ok?" He asked worryingly.

Rokuro: "What do you mean by that?"

Sharik: "Something move... on her belly." Said the colt with some innocence, making the peregrine falcon blush as she understood what he meant.

Araceli: "Hehehe, don't you worry, little one, what you felt is something very special. I'm pregnant." She said with a chirp of happiness and a blush on her face, which caused Sharik to suddenly beam in excitement, his ears perked up and his tail started waging, an almost full 180 from the emotional wreck he was moments ago, much to the surprise of the 3 males waiting outside of the cell.

Sharik: "That's wonderful, congratulations! Um... if... you don't mind... could I..."

Araceli: "Yes, you can, Sharik." She said in response to what the colt wanted to ask, when suddenly Bosco burst in to restrain the colt by force, yet he was detained from doing so by Rokuro while Denzel positioned right next to Sharik to protect him.

Rokuro: "BOSCO, WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING!?"

Bosco: "He CAN'T be allowed to do that, he just wants to trick us into getting close to Araceli just so he can kill both of them!! He is evil, I'm telling you, just like the rest of these goddam mutants!"

Rokuro: "What kind of scrap are you saying!?"

Sharik: "STOP!!" The sudden yell coming from the kid shocked the 4 police officers, as the young zebra stood up, tears threatening to come out of his eyes once more, as he stared angrily at the bison, his neon green eyes managing to intimidate the bigger herbivore, and then he spoke. "I would rather cut my own tail, grill it, and eat it before I even dare to do such a thing! I... may have done what I did, but I don't find the enjoyment you think I get from it. I didn't want that to happen, I don't want to be a monster!!"

Letting out a sob after saying those piercing words, with tears flowing through his eyes and face, the zebra colt was once again embraced by Araceli, giving him comfort. After calming down, she let her touch her swollen belly, feeling the egg inside of her as he gently caressed her.

Sharik: "The egg is quite big. It's so cute." He said with a calm and warm smile, remembering the time he caressed his mother's belly when she was pregnant with Oliver.

Araceli: "Thank you, you look quite excited, hehehe." She could not help but blush at how happy Sharik was while feeling her baby, he was such a kind, lively and gentle boy, making it all the more tragic that he now was seen as a monster, and how that had hurt him.

After such a heartwarming moment, Araceli stood up and nodded to Rokuro and Denzel, who entered the jail cell while carrying some restraining equipment, one look was all it took for Sharik to know that those were going to be use on him, his previous expression of sorrow returning.

Rokuro: "I comprehend if the sight of these things are scary, Sharik, but it is necessary for you to wear this in court. If it were up to me, I would only put shackles on you."

Sharik: "I understand, Rokuro, I don't blame you, any of you for that matter, you are police officers doing your job, after all." He sighed on a deanimated tone. "I just wish I hadn't fallen into madness... and killed them like that."

Those words touched the officers as the 3 of them felt pity for him, but Bosco remained steadfast and didn't share a glimpse of sympathy for who he considered a monster, believing he just wanted to gain pity from people to advocate for him.

Bosco: (All of these goddam bastards are the same)

Denzel: "Even if you had the blood of those felids in your hands, you are not a bad animal by any means. You succeeded in defending those you love, never forget that. If it serves for anything, I hope everything goes well in your trial. You deserve to have a good life." Said the saltwater crocodile with eloquence and sympathy for the young herbivore, lamenting that such a good person had to be treated like a monster, and he could empathize with that better than anyone.

Sharik: "Thank you, Mr. Denzel, I hope too that everything goes well." He said with a small smile, which the crocodile reciprocated before the zebra raised his arms. "Go ahead."

Nodding in understanding, Rokuro crouched slightly to reach Sharik's waist and then he put a belt with 6 metal buttons a big metal ring in the middle, and attached to said ring were a pair of handcuffs, which Rokuro placed over the zebra's wrists; out of curiosity, Sharik pulled those handcuffs to the sides with moderate strength to see if they were strong enough to truly restrain him, and the cuffs didn't even seemed to have trouble doing that, strangely reassuring the zebra teen. After that, Rokuro pulled away to give Denzel space in order to place some legcuffs on the young herbivore, these cuffs had a large enough chain to allow Sharik to properly walk, but he couldn't kick nor run properly.

Rokuro: "Before I place the muzzle on you, have you eaten anything before we arrive?"

Sharik: "Well... no... I haven't gotten any breakfast, I don't know if they forgot, but..."

Just after saying that, Denzel immediately turned angrily towards Bosco, who in turn looked like he just shat himself out of fear when confronted by the big crocodile.

Denzel: "YOU WERE SUPPOSE TO GIVE HIM BREAKFAST THIS MORNING!! WHY CAN'T YOU LET YOUR PETTY HATRED ASIDE FOR JUST ONE SIMPLE TASK!?" He yelled in rage, fed up with Bosco's hatred of Sharik just for a curse he didn't ask to be born with and out of empathy for the colt, which ironically did scare both Sharik and Araceli for a moment due to how unexpected and aggressive that was. Before Bosco could even offer a glimpse of defense, Rokuro stopped him, placing a hand on his friend's shoulder.

Rokuro: "Denzel, this is not worth the anger, I understand how you feel, but acting this way won't solve anything." He said firm with a strong demeanor, not appearing to be intimidated by the anger of the reptilian carnivore.

Denzel, understanding the words of his partner and friend, calmed down and let go of Bosco. After that, Rokuro turned towards the hungry colt to offer him some food.

Rokuro: "There's a cafeteria in front of the station, we can get you something there before going to the courtroom." Said with a paternal tone, making Sharik nostalgic for his father's affection.

Sharik: "Thank you, I would appreciate that." His gentle voice and good mannerisms were another contrasting thing between the young cebra and his actions, but that could wait until the trial. Once his cuffs were secured, he was escorted by the 4 officers out of the police station and taken to the police car where they put him, afterwards, Rokuro kindly went to the cafeteria to fetch him some food, specifically, as petitioned by Sharik, a cherry tomato, spinach, avocado and cheese "cuernito".

Rokuro: (Man, he is just as gourmet as his father, Brachio blessed whatever chef gets to cook for him). He thought with a slight chuckle

Sanjo's City Courthouse

44 minutes before the trial

As Sharik was getting his breakfast, all attendants of the judgment had entered the courthouse and were preparing for the session that was going to take place here, both the defense counsel and the prosecutors were talking towards the families of the killer and the dead in order to explain to them what they will do and the strategies they would utilize on the trial. As this was going on, on a separated room, 3 young beasts, an african elephant, a cape buffalo and a black jaguar, were trying to make sense of it all; these 3 teenagers, all of them presenting scars of their wounds and dressed formally for the occasion, were the survivors of the attack executed by the now dead carnivores, and while their injuries weren't severe, the mental scars of that event took their toll on them, in good part because of the fact they were almost killed and eaten, but the main reason was due to their friend, the one who always stood up for them, became a macabre monster out of desperation to save them, with the youngest in particular, the small black jaguar, having it worse than the other 2, not only because of how worried he was for Sharik, but also because of the horrible deaths he had inflicted upon their attackers. While many carnivores would salivate and feel hunger the moment they smell fresh blood or meat, Alejandro felt a very profound fear and terror at the sight of either of them, and due to the mangled state of the corpses coupled with the screams and the unnatural roar his equine brother made, he was trapped in a whirlpool of emotions, clinging to the elephant for comfort as he could hear the buffalo pacing back and forth, who had a mix of anger, fear and worry painted on his face and body language.

Francisco: "This is so wrong.... he... this should not have happened." He said with great concern and a palpable frustration. "He only wanted to protect us from certain death, he never even knew he had... THAT inside of him" He said with great annoyance, fuming in barely held back anger as he stomped the wooden floor, threatening to cave a hole due to the strength of his legs.

At the sight of this, Sebastian stretched his trunk and placed it on the shoulder of the bovine in an attempt to calm him down and comfort him.

Sebastián: "It's been a while since I have see you like this, and I know you are hurting..."

Francisco: "OF COURSE I AM!" The buffalo teen practically screamed with a look of anger and fear in his eyes. "How else am I supposed to feel regarding what happened!? We were attacked, nearly died by those carnivores despite our best efforts to fend them off, and Alejandro nearly gets eaten alive by that fucking lion. And just when we were about to lose, Sharik saved our lives with... whatever that rage mode was, and despite the way he did it, he saved us from being those assholes meal!! And THIS is how he gets repayed!? BY BEING TREATED LIKE A FUCKING MANIAC!?" He practically yelled that last part, his face turning a redish brown due not only out of anger, but from all the tears that were flowing down his eyes like a waterfall.

Sebastián: "You don't want him to be imprisoned, period." Said the elephant. "None of us do, and you are not the only one devastated for this." He said as he looked towards the sobbing jaguar hugging him.

Francisco: "Yeah, I understand Alejandro, but why are you NOT enraged by this!?"

Sebastián: "¡Estoy muy furioso por todo esto, Francisco!" The elephant raised his own voice, catching the young buffalo off-guard and making Alex's heart skip a beat. "¡No hay nada más que quisiera que borraran los cargos en su contra, que lo declaren inocente o que al menos no lo metan a una prisión! ¡Pero esas decisiones no nos corresponden y tampoco podemos hacer algo en este momento!" While he was angry and very concerned for Sharik, Sebastian understood well their current situation, even if the 3 of them wanted it to be different. In response, Francisco calmed down a bit, but he was still greatly frustrated, and sad.

Francisco: "I... I should have known better than to stay until sundown, we should have left when it hit 7:30 pm. This is all my fault." He said sobbing, reaching to his proboscidean friend for comfort to his grief.

Sebastián: "It wasn't your fault, even if had we left, they would have ambushed us anyway, and the place has surveillance cameras, it was easy to believe we would have been safe there." He said as he caressed the buffalo with his trunk and hugged him, just as he did the same with Alejandro.

Alejandro: "Yo solo espero que esté bien, tengo miedo de que lo manden preso por mucho tiempo, o peor..." He said fearfully, yet he also felt anger in his heart. "Why did they have to attack us? Why do carnivores have to do this?" He questioned in loathing, which felt both wrong and justified at the same time, creating an inner divide and a feeling of hypocrisy, for he was too a carnivore.

Sebastián: "Alex, just because you are also a carnivore doesn't mean that you are evil. There may be bad carnivores out there, but many other carnivore are good people, and you are one of the best I know. Don't let the actions of a few bad beast define who you are, you have proven yourself to us long ago." He said as he comforted the small carnivore, making him feel much better and even painting a smile on his face.

Alejandro: "Muchas gracias, Sebastián, necesitaba oír eso"

Francisco: "Jeje, por un momento sonaste como él... y pensar que él y yo antes éramos agrios rivales."

Sebastián: "Así es, Sharik nos ha enseñado bastantes cosas pese a que aun somos niños, y de nosotros él ha aprendido también." He smiled as he remembered the moments they all shared, memories he would never forget. "Ahora mismo debemos hacer lo que podamos como testigos para defenderlo y, aunque sin duda habrá consecuencias, podemos garantizar un castigo menor para él, dado a lo que él pasó también."

Alejandro was about to say something, but then they heard the door open and the 3 turned to see who had entered, standing before them was a 34 yo black and brown adult german shepherd dressed in a black lawyer outfit with a whitish blue buttoned shirt under the long-sleeved suit and a brown tie. Upon seeing the 3 young beasts, the dog smiled as a smaller, younger shepherd walked pass him, smiling and waging his tail happily upon seeing his friends again. Unlike his father, this young german shepherd had a predominantly orange-brown fur on his head, with 3 white spots on his snout, and his arms were a mix between brown and black, and was wearing an orange polo shirt and jeans, he was also noticeably taller than Alejandro.

Upon watching the arrival of the dog, Alejandro quickly separated from Sebastián and got up from the chair to ran towards him and hug him, which the young dog happily reciprocated, as he was greatly worried about the state of his friends.

Alejandro: "Me alegra tanto que estés aquí Joaquín, no tienes idea de lo mucho que te necesitábamos." Said the young jaguar as Joaquín gently pat him in the back to comfort him, and shortly after Francisco joined the hug, seeking that same comfort from their canine friend.

Jordan: "Es bueno ver que estén bien, estábamos preocupados por ustedes, especialmente Joaquín." Commented the older shepherd as he saw Sebastián approaching. "Hello Sebastián, glad to see you are keeping an eye on them."

Sebastián: "As always, mom and dad leave us here to comfort each other until we give our witness account. It's good to see you will be the lawyer of Sharik. He needs all the help he can get."

Jordan: "Yeah, he is a very good beast. Someone like him deserves a good defense, I will do my best."

Francisco: "You are damn right about that." He said in a boisterous tone, his faith seemingly restored. "So Joaquín, are you going to be on the gallery of the trial?"

Joaquín: <Indeed, I would never let any of my friends behind> He answered with sign language as he was almost completely mute, only able to make some animalistic sounds characteristic of his species, despite of this, he could express himself quite well.

Francisco: "Nevertheless, it's great you came, now we can be Sharik's moral support!"

Jordan: "I'm afraid that won't be possible, Francisco, atleast not for Alejandro and Joaquín, only herbivores that aren't police officers can get close to him, they will have to be at a distance."

Francisco: "¡AY NO MANCHEN!" Exclaimed the young bull, understandably upset by this rule, which also made the others sad but didn't diluded their resolve to help him however they can, though Sebastián did scold Francisco softly for the use of that foul language.

Sanjo's City Courthouse

35 minutesbefore the trial

Finally arriving at their destination, Rokuro parked the police car in front of the building, turning off the vehicle to then get off the car, the white rhino officer waited for his colleagues to do the same, all the while the restrained zebra teen struggled to do the same due to his now limited movement, receiving aid from Araceli to properly get off and stand; watching the kid again, Rokuro and Araceli felt sorry for him, as his snout was now covered on a black grazing muzzle and his hands were covered in mittens, all of this made him look just like a predator offender, and since he was a herbivore, his acts were more heavily judged, as many of these murders were done out of hatred and paranoia, yet at the same time, not as often prosecuted equally as authorities were more lenient towards herbivore killers, since for the most part, were made in self-defense, even so, some cases such as this were more heavily investigated.

Rokuro: "Alright, this is it. Let's hope everything goes well." Said the rhino in an attempt to boost Sharik's morale, though it wasn't successful, the zebra remaining silent and sad.

Bosco: "Doesn't seem he wants to talk, his trial would be short if that is the case."

Denzel: "Don't rub it, bison, but... I do hope you can endure all of this, other than Bosco, I wish anyone of us could help you more."

If he didn't have the muzzle on, Denzel would have seen a thankful smile from the young herbivore's behalf, yet he was still afraid of what could happen when entering the building. Once they were inside, Sharik was immediately bathed by stares of several policemen and attendants, many of the former shared sympathy for the son of one of their most valuable officers while many of the latter, especially the carnivores, saw him with fear and resentment, yet he was protected from those wounding eyes thanks to Rokuro, Araceli and Denzel, while they continue their path towards the holding cell room, where he would be staying until the start of the trial, a pair of hooves were heard coming around one of the hallways, and the eyes of the colt beamed in whatever happiness he could muster when he recognized that it was his father.

Akida: "Sharik..." Unable to say anything else, he approached the restrained colt, with Rokuro allowing him to get close to him, and gave the biggest hug imaginable to his son, a mix of joy, grief and worry emanating from the older zebra, if Sharik could freely move his arms, he would have reciprocated this much needed affection.

Sharik: "Dad... are they..." He spoke with fear in each word, concerning his father as he slightly let go of the hug to see his son to the face, tears falling from the neon-green eyes of his child. "I... I am gonna be executed?"

That question broke Akida's heart like nothing else in his life have done before, and 3 of the officers escorting Sharik, as well as some others nearby, were disturbed by such a question coming from the young zebra, and the worst part is that such a sentence, while rare, was possible in Japan, and while it didn't apply to Sharik due to his age, it was concerning he even thought of that possibility. Holding back tears as best as he could for the sake of his son, Akida quickly calmed him down and answered, caressing Sharik's cheek as this was not covered by the muzzle.

Akida: "Sharik, please don't think of that, nobody will execute you, you will not get such a judgment. We... can't deny what happened, but you did it out of desperation and defense for your friends, so the judge may be more lenient on you for that." Despite the fact that such a thing was unlikely, this was the best way he could comfort his son, who pressed himself against his father as a way of hugging him, which he quickly corresponded as Sharik started to sob, tears falling from Akida's eyes too because of the state of affairs regarding his oldest son, with most of his colleagues present sharing sympathy, empathy, and support for the 2 zebras so everything went well during the trial.

After another 4 minutes of this father-son moment, Akida let go of his son as Bosco and Rokuro escorted him to the holding cell room; with his son gone, Akida went towards the male bathroom with a subtle hurry, trying his hardest to keep his tough and stoic police persona as pain and sadness started to overwhelm him. Once he finally made it to the male bathrooms, and just as he made sure nobody followed him, Akida, one of the bravest and most daring police officers of all of Sanjo City, the best of the best and responsible for the fall of the most dangerous criminal clan in all of Japan... broke down crying inconsolably, his heart bleeding for what his son went through and what awaited him, the restrains he saw him wear bringing back dark memories of all the cursed herbivores he rescued from the despicable Wukong Clan, many of those suffering grievous abuse and terrible wounds; how, even by some of his comrades, his son was degraded as a monstrosity, even a demon, and the worst part: how his son crumbled and harmed himself due to all of this hatred poisoning his kind heart, it was just too much for the father to deal with.

As he continued to cry, he heard 2 other animals entering the bathroom, turning quickly to see who they were... and unlike plenty of herbivores, he felt great relief upon watching the 2 carnivores that had discovered his current state. Taisuke approached first, sharing Akida's worries as he himself was a parent, understanding how much this affected his black and white comrade; Denzel, while not having kids of his own, he too felt and understood his pain, for he was among the first to know Sharik personally, and he knew how gentle and noble the kid was, this was one of the main reasons he supported Akida and defended Sharik so much, especially since, unlike many of his herbivore comrades, neither of them judged him for being a intimidating carnivore... or for his dark past.

While this was going on, the door opened once again and the 3 animals turned to see who it was... the moment Akida laid eyes on that animal, he felt a burning rage inside of him. Entering the bathroom was a african wild ass who was 7 centimeters shorter than Akida, with a beige coloration, a grayish white snout and a short brown mane with dark eyes and multiple bruises on his face, dressed in the same uniform as Akida but without the decorations, and not 2 minutes have passed since he entered that the wild ass could feel he was in danger just with how the Burchell's zebra was looking at him.

Wild Ass: "Umm... did I... arrive at a bad moment?"

Akida: "WHAT THE BLOODY HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE, RUSSELL!? WHO THE FUCK AUTHORIZED YOU TO BE HERE!!” Yelled Akida with venom in his words, standing up aggressively against the wild donkey, like if he had done something against him to earn this hate.

Russell: ”Well… Bosco vouched for me, and they gave me another chance to remain in the police force, although I´m in hot water rig- WAHHHHH!!

He didn´t even have a chance to finish that sentence as Akida tackled Russell, making him crash agaisnt a wall. As Russell looked back at Akida, a furious expression painted in his face as he towered over the smaller equid, fearing for his life as the zebra stared machetes towards him, not daring to say anything else.

Akida: "I don´t give a FUCK about how Magnus let you stay, I want to know why YOU were sent here, you DO NOT deserve to be anywhere near my son after what you did!!" He yelled in pure anger, making the african wild donkey sweat in terror.

Russell: "W-w-what did I do? I-it surely wasn´t that bad."

Akida: "Don´t play the idiot game, you KNOW DAMN WELL WHAT YOU DID!" As he continue to unleashed his rage towards the donkey, Thaysuk quickly intervened and separated Akida from Russell to prevent the former from once again pummelled the equid into submission. All the while Russell kept trying to defend himself.

Russell: "Listen, Akida, you know the protocols to deal with cursed herbivores, even if he was your son, we still needed to..."

Denzel: "What you did was WAY beyond protocol. Just because he was cursed and killed those carnivores didn´t meant you had ANY RIGHT to beat him repeatedly in his abdomen. ESPECIALLY OVER HIS SCAR!!!" He spat in anger, remembering the first time he saw the aftermath of such assaults, with the poor boy grabbing his almost bleeding belly as he cried in pain.

Russell: "Ah-a-I... I was keeping him in line so he wouldn´t cause any problems, besides... cursed ones already give herbivores a very bad name"

Taisuke: "And a despise towards us carnivores is justification for such torture?" Asked the white tiger, who despite being the calmest of the 3, had a palpable anger towards the cowardly donkey. "As police officers, we have an obligation to be more ethically upstanding than the average beast, not less. Your actions were born out of a toxic hatred towards us carnivores and a unjustifiable resentment towards beasts who never asked to be born this way, and you torture those who are kind and with a deep pain for otherwise you know damn well you can't fight them. It is beasts like you that give herbivores a bad name." The wise words of the white tiger resonated with Akida and Denzel, with the crocodile nodding in agreement and the zebra silently thanking the tiger for this backup, yet his rage still boiled against the traitor of his trust and friendship.

Russell: "Dude, wild african donkeys are in critical danger of extinction. Do you seriously believe having a stained reputation by a cursed equid is going to do ANY favors to my species, or any other equid species for that matter!? He is a monster, those cursed ones are worse than all of those predator offenders, you Akida witness that firsthand!"

At such an offense, Akida was ready to strike once again at the foul mouth donkey, who raised his hands in fear of the attack of his former friend, but nothing came, instead, the same sharp and angry stare from before was all that made contact with Russell, which was still enough to make him wet his pants... metaphorically speaking.

Akida: "I won´t drag myself to your pathetic level, but know this: I don´t give a burning FUCK about you nor your species status anymore. You are under NO RIGHT to say such horrible things of my son, less so for what you have done to him. Now, you better do your business here and get out before I change my mind." Warned in a strong and steadfast tone, to which Russell quickly nodded and got up to use one of the toilets. After that display of controlled aggression, which was even intimidating for both carnivores accompanying him, even if they saw it hundreds of times already. Akida then turned to his friends. "Let´s go, Sharik will need us." He said to then get out of the bathroom and head towards the holding cell room, imagining that her wife and youngest son were already there.

Courthouse Holding Cell

28 minutes befoe the trial

At the room where Sharik was held, with all of his restrains at full view and guarded by Bosco and Rokuro, both Jasiri and Oliver, accompanied by Francisco and Sebastián, had just arrived to see the state of Sharik and if he was ok... the sight of his current state horrified them, moreso due to the bandages covering his head, which were visibly soaked with his blood. Bosco, not wanting to tolerate this "drama show" attemped to drive the small group away, only to be stopped by Rokuro, who silently told him to let them have this. The bison backed down shortly after.

Jasiri: "Oh dear Brachio, what happened to my baby!?" Exclaimed Jasiri in grief, tears falling from her eyes as she witness Sharik´s head wounds and how he was restrained like a cannibal, Oliver was in total shock, only getting out of it when he started to cry over his big brother´s deplorable state, hugging his mother in search for comfort as Jasiri herself was devastated.

Francisco: "What have they done to you...?" Asked the buffalo teen in horror, wanting to break apart the cell´s door to go and help his friend, but he knew that was not going to end well and restrained himself, for as hard as that was.

Sebastián, while not finding the words to even express himself, aided his friend with a calming embrace as Francisco started to sob, while he looked towards Sharik. A few seconds later, Sharik seemed to finally detect their presence as he stood up to greet them, walking slowly and melanchollicaly until he reached the entrance, his arms not even able to reach the bars.

Sharik: "Sebastián... estás... estás bien... Francisco..." The paused and slow speech of the zebra was both worrisome and relieving, yet his eyes told them exactly how was he feeling inside, despite his genuine smile behind his muzzle of the happiness he felt for seeing his friends again, and the relief for them being alright. "¿Dónde está Alejandro... y Joaquín?" Such a question was hard to answer due to the delicate mental state of the zebra, but even with that at stake, he deserved to know the truth.

Sebastián: "I´m sorry Sharik, they were unable to accompany us."

Rokuro: "Due to the threat you represent towards carnivores, it was decided than the trial would be segregated in order to avoid any further carnivore casualties... this includes both of your carnivore friends:"

The bitter news were another damaging bullet to Sharik´s already wounded heart, never before in his life has he experienced segregation, and he was heavily against it, so to hear that he made such a meassure necessary was too much, and once again, he began to cry... yet this time, he had a comforting hand in the shape of a trunk, as Sebastián hugged him with it in the same way he had done to Alejandro and Francisco as well as surprising both police officers for this clever tactic. Showing a renovated glimpse of happiness, Sharik nuzzled the trunk to correspond to the affection given to him as Sebastián watched him with a glance similar to the one he uses with Oliver. Not long after, and just when he stopped crying, Oliver reached the cell´s door and extended his little arms towards his big brother, making Sharik get as close to him as possible to then hold his hand, despite wearing mittens, the mere touch of Oliver managed to heal some of his heart´s wounds.

Oliver: "Hermanote, por favor no te rindas, te quiero mucho." Those heartfelt words boosted Sharik´s morale just enough to feel hope again, caressing Oliver as best as he could due to his waist handcuffs. Such a scene made Jasiri smile and cry in a mix of emotions, getting her turn to approach the door to caress his dear son, Sharik instinctively placed his head over her hand, slowly closing his tearful eyes to the gentle touch of his loving mother.

As this was happening, Akida, alongside Thaysuk and Denzel, had finally arrived at the holding cell room, just in time to see the moving scene, gently getting closer to do the same, caressing his son gently on his head.

Akida: "Pase lo que pase Sharik, nunca olvides que te amamos. Para nosotros, nunca serás un monstruo, y haremos todo lo posible para ayudarte." He reassured to his son, and this paternal message was just enough to make him wag his tail on renovated hope.

Sharik: "También los amo." Said with a gently and soft voice, almost feeling that he would fall asleep in his mother´s hand, but unfortunately, this moment was cut by Rokuro.

Rokuro: "The trial is about to start, we must go." He said to his friend, who in turn nodded and told everyone to move from the door so they could get Sharik out, and after some sad goodbyes, the group went to the courtroom as Rokuro and Bosco opened the cell.

Courtroom

6 minutes before the trial

With the judicional panel, the defense counsel and prosecutors now ready for the trial, every animal meant to attend began to enter the room, fluently walking towards their seats like water through a stream. Jordan and his colleagues were waiting for their young client, while on the other side, the mother of one of the dead pantherines, specifically, the mother of the congo lion, watched in disgust as to how such a monster was allowed to have a defense in the first place, all the while, the gallery sat down, carnivores being separatad from the herbivores and more heavily guarded, a very rare sight to many of the herbivore attendants, but a tragic reality than 4 young friends had to obey. Despite having his parents and Joaquín to comfort him, Alejandro was very anxious and nervous for his herbivore brother, biting a leather teeter to vent out as much stress as possible; Ximena kept a close eye on him as this was happening, fearing that such pressure could be harmful to his heart, while Marcus kept his hand on her to assure her that all would go well, wishing he could share this same sentiment towards Akida and Jasiri, who sat at the left side of the catwalk, with the latter hugging Oliver as the small colt hold a plushie of a seal.

A few tense minutes passed, but finally, the judge, who was a male orangutan, arrived and sat in front of the judicial dais, looking around at the present beasts.

Maurice: "Let the accused pass, so it can be judged accordingly." Said the orangutan, his voice emanating wisdom and compassion.

Just as he ordered, the 2 guards, both of them being gaurs, opened the gates to let Sharik and his escort pass. The moment he entered the room, many animals gasped in shock to see that the one resposible for the murders, the one beast that, allegedly, did so in desperation to protect his friends, was just a boy, who didn´t even have half the age of his assailiants, yet they could see he was massive for his age. As he slowly walked towards the defense dais, he stroke fear into most of the carnivores, feeling and smelling dread emanating from the young colt, which resulted in them backing away even on their seats, their body language indicating the terror they felt; on behalf of the herbivores, some were also scared of the cursed zebra, while others saw him with pitty, lamenting he was in such situation, but among these crowd, a few watched Sharik with envious eyes, wishing to know what kind of power did this curse possesed, and how to obtain it for their own secret desires.

As all of this happened, Alejandro, who watched all from the front row of seats, was absolutely heartbroken for the depressing state his brother of another species was, he knew he was going to be restrained, but never had he expected that it would be in such dehumanizing form, silently crying as he hugged her mother in comfort, who shared her sympathies and empathy for the young boy.

Once Sharik arrived at the dais, with his escort staying nearby, Sharik turned to see the judicial panel, who watched him with a serious face, and he could also feel the pure hatred those in front of him had against him, not only the mother of the lion he killed, but also what seemed to be the sister of said lion. Gulping nervously, he awaited for the trial to comence, which did shortly after.

Maurice: "Very well, now that we are all present, let us start the trial for the case of the 4 murders commited in June 4th, perpetrated by the young Burchell´s zebra: Sharik Fernández."

And with that, the judgement began.

Chapter Text

Get My Future

Sanjo City's Courtroom

June 14, 13:36 p.m.

Not long after the start of the trial, and just after the judge silenced the start of a very angry rant of the lioness mother, Jordan began strongly by showing to the judge and jury the footage taken by the surveillance cameras which showed what had happened at the night of the murders, how the 4 boys were just peacefully playing on the park together when suddenly they were ambushed by the 4 young adult pantherines, followed by Sharik punching the male leopard away from him as he fell into the madness, roaring furiously before charging and attacking the 4 young adult felids, starting with pummeling the lion away from Alejandro. This revealing footage detonated a shushed argument in between the jury and even a lot of the beasts in the gallery present were surprised about this revelation, half of the carnivores present believing the attack was a hate crime.

Jordan: "As the video demonstrates, Sharik was put into an extremely stressful and difficult situation, in which he was pushed to take very drastic measures in order to save the lives of both his friends and his own. Given the motives of the four carnivores, as well as the wounds they inflicted upon the young boys, it is clear that it was a kill or be killed scenario, one that lead to this tragic outcome."

His words resonated within the jury, who processed the information given to them in a shushed discussion as they developed their verdict, meanwhile, the prosecution struggled to respond to the evidence showed to them, making the lioness glared at the poor zebra teen who had a somber expression as this all happened.

From within the gallery, many of Sharik's relatives that came for his trial were looking at him with worry due to the mental state of the young boy, particularly his mother and grandfather, with the latter strangely wearing a mask and some shades, like if he wanted to conceal something. His close family members not the only ones there concerned for him, as despite having had their moment to reconnect with him, Francisco still wished to be at the zebra's side, helping him stand against the prosecutors.

Francisco: "Pobre Sharik, nunca lo había visto tan triste, es como si le hubieran roto el corazón." Spoke the buffalo with a low voice volume so as to not disturb or interrupt the trial.

Sebastián: "En cierta forma, eso fue lo que sucedió, solo espero que su depresión no empeore."

Francisco: "Lo mismo digo. Joder, Kasumi probablemente vaya a querer cortarme mis cuernos por esto." He gulped in fear, knowing that the red kangaroo would 100% do that when she learns about this.

Just then, the prosecution declared falsehood over the surveillance footage, claiming that it was a misrepresentation of the events that "actually" happened.

Miles: "What you fail to realize, Jordan, is than the 4 carnivores didn't actually look to harm them, they were attempting to catch the boys and take them back home since they were out later than what most kids should be without supervision. As such, Sharik's rage induced episode can be seen as a form of unprovoked aggression towards the 4 good pantherines that wanted nothing more than to aid them."

To say this claim caused an uproar would be an understatement, not only from the families of the boys, but from most of the herbivore side of the gallery, since it was evident than the fibber doberman was trying to turn their assailants into victims, taking advantage on how herbivores heavily discriminate and criminalize carnivores, but the young buffalo wasn't gonna let that slide.

Francisco: "¡BULLSHIT!"

Yelled the angry teenager as he stood up from his seat, shocking everyone present, even getting Sharik out of his depression due to how sudden Francisco's action was.

Sebastián: "Francisco, calm down, please, don't light up a scandal." Said Sebastián ashamed and worried of how bad this could end for him, but the hot-headed bovine wasn't deterred at all.

Francisco: "You seriously DARE to consider those 4 bastards as VICTIMS!? They wanted to EAT OUR GUTS! What other evidence do you need!? I am in favor of treating carnivores fairly, and with respect, heck, one of my friends who was a victim of that attack IS a carnivore, and he was going to be devoured too! So you don't get to gaslight everyone into believing MY FRIEND is a monster!"

Before he continued, Sebastián was able to finally make him sit back down, and alongside Francisco's mother, he scolded the buffalo just enough to get him to calm down. After that offensive and aggressive uproar of the young buffalo, the trial continued, and based on what Francisco said, Jordan got an idea.

Jordan: "Your honor, if I may, since herbivore testimonies appear to be unreliable, given the social bias, I could get the witness account of the one carnivore that, as the young male states, was also attacked by the 4 pantherines, specifically, the one that was going to get eaten by Haruki."

The confirmation that one of the boys attacked during that night was a carnivore shocked half of the herbivores present as well as almost every one of the carnivore side of the gallery, even the mother of Haruki was quite taken aback since she didn't know about it, just as Miles was already sweating bullets regarding this development. Meanwhile, within the carnivore gallery, said young boy was already getting nervous, feeling his heart pounding in his chest out of pressure and fearing he may pass out because of this.

Alejandro: (Maldición ¿Por qué me pasa esto? Quiero con todo mi corazón ayudar a Sharik, pero estoy muerto de miedo. ¿Tan siquiera soy un buen amigo al ser tan tímido?)

Fortunately, a comforting hand came to aid him in the form of his mother, who, with a tender smile, told him that he will do just fine when he gets call as a witness, his father and Joaquín joining to support him, which gave the young jaguar the resolve and bravery he needed, and just in time.

Maurice: "Very well, you may call your witness to the stand, let us hear what he has to say."

Jordan: "Thank you, your honor. In that case, I call Alejandro Hernández to the stand."

With his name now called, Alejandro stood up and went over to the witness stand, and as he walked over, he catched the eye of quite a few animals due to how small he was at this age, especially in comparison with his friends, something that made him shake in nervousness and fear, but with his resolve solidified, he moved forward and stood up on the stand, the sight of the black jaguar standing there made Sharik gain hope and even showed signs of happiness in the form of his ears perking up and his tail wagging noticeably; these signals made Alejandro smile back as his friend, and with a deep breath, the jaguar began to speak.

Ancient Jungle Street

July 6, 9:14 a.m.

After some very anxious summer days and precise yet excited planning with his friends, Alejandro began his morning with a joyful attitude, jumping out of his bed towards his closet in order to get dress as soon as possible, an energetic and excited contrast to the generally calmer and shy nature of the young carnivore, but this was all for a good reason, as this was the day he will finally reunite with his brother of another species, even if for just a couple of hours. As he began to change clothes and leave his pijamas on his bed, wearing now a yellow shirt and some brown pants, Alex could hear his mother entering the room, blushing slightly due to being discovered in the middle of his happiness rush, making Ximena chuckle with a smile.

Ximena: "Vaya, alguien está muy emocionado el día de hoy, es bueno verte tan feliz, otra vez." She said gently as she went over to her son to give him a hug, which Alex happily reciprocated.

Alejandro: "Sí, estoy simplemente muy emocionado de volver a ver a Sharik, aunque mentiría si dijera que no estoy nervioso, es decir, no sé exactamente si ha estado bien ahí dentro o si se ha mejorado, pero quiero mantenerme optimista de que lo está." He replied while putting on his shoes as quick as possible, wanting to be ready before his friends arrive. "A Francisco le permitieron ir con nosotros, a pesar de su castigo, y dijo que llevará a una amiga suya de clases de artes marciales, aunque no me dijo quién."

Ximena: "Eso es magnífico, Alex, y estoy segura de que Sharik está bien, más aun con tu visita." She assured her son to then give him a hug, which the young male happily reciprocated. "Ahora, baja rápido a desayunar antes de partir, y que no se te olvide el regalo que vas a darle." Said Ximena as she pointed at the painting Alejandro had been working on over the past few days.

Nodding with a gentle smile, Alejandro got out of his room and went towards the kitchen to grab his breakfast made by his mother, which was a bean and cheese omelette with jam-spread toasts and a glass full of milk, making the young carnivore lick his choppers in hunger to then grab the plate and glass and afterwards walk to the dining room, placing his breakfast on the table. Just as he was about to dig in, someone suddenly hugged him from behind, making Alex jump from the unexpected action before recognizing who catched him in the hug.

Alejandro: “Hola papa, buenos días.” He chuffed happily as his father continued to embrace him and gave him a nuzzle on the cheek.

Marco: “Buenos días, mi pequeño artista, veo que ya estás preparado para la ida con tus amigos al hospital. ¿Van a venir pronto?” Asked the non-melanistic jaguar as he lay his son down so he could start eating, sitting next to him as he too had his own breakfast ready.

Alejandro: “Dijeron que vendrían a las diez en punto, puesto que el hospital donde tienen a Sharik está a una hora de aquí, más o menos.” He explained as he cut a piece of the omelet and then ate it, humming in rejoice for how delicious it was as he then took a sip of his milk.

Some 6 minutes later, Alejandro had finished his breakfast and went back to his room in order to prepare the gifts he made for Sharik, putting the first painting on a big enough frame to then placing it inside a green giftbox, as this was the zebra´s favorite color, but that wasn´t the only painting he had made, for there was a second one right next to him that was already in a frame, but this one was quite different, for it was set inside of hospital room, with the zebra and the jaguar on top of one of the beds facing each other, staring at each other with curiosity and happiness. Upon watching this picture, Alejandro couldn´t help but smile and hug the painting, for it was one of his most cherished and valued memories.

Hospital Star Médica, Río Lagartos, Yucatán

April 11, 8 years ago

It felt like another day in the hospital for Alejandro, being completely alone with only the toys his parents gave him as company; the room he was hosted giving what comforting ambience it could give with its white and light blue walls, but it did little to the loneliness the jaguar was feeling. As far as he could remember, this hospital room had been his main home, with very few occasions in which his mother took him back “home” with her, all because he was small and delicate of health, particularly his heart, and he had the scar in his chest to reminding him of this. While the nurses offered some kind company whenever they came to tend to him, and his parents came over to visit whenever they could, it wasn´t enough to alleviate the loneliness Alejandro felt daily, looking out the window to some kids playing in a nearby park, longing for one day obtain what they have.

Alejandro: (Desearía tener un amigo.) Thought the kid as he sighed downhearted.

As if destiny somehow heard him, all of the sudden he heard someone entering the room, shaking up in shock and fear due to the abruptness of this entrance as he turned around to see what was happening; at first, he thought that they came to take him away for another operation, but then he heard the squeaky sound of the wheels of a gurney, which meant that they had brought someone else into the room, he couldn´t see who or what this new patient was as the doctors and nurses blocked the view; as he observed what was going on, his mother suddenly appeared from among the group and went towards him, she seemed to have something to tell him.

Alejandro: “Mamá, ¿qué está pasando?” Asked the cub in a nervous tone.

Ximena: “Tranquilo hijito, no es nada malo.” She answered before caressing his son in his head, giving him a warm smile. “Hay un niño herbívoro en la otra cama, una cebra de Burchell macho, tiene una pierna rota debido a un accidente y está todavía dormido por la anestesia, lo asignaron aquí para que se recupere.”

This revelation came as a shock to the small cub, never before has another kid been sent into this room, and he was the main reason as to why, but before he could ask his mother about why this zebra was the exception, she kissed him in the forehead and, alongside the other doctors and the nurses, got out of the room to attend other patients, leaving Alex alone with the still asleep zebra, the only sound left being the oscilloscope registering the herbivore´s heartbeats and the occasional trickle of the IV drips of both patients. Unsure of what to do, the black jaguar remains close to his bed, watching the sleeping zebra.

Alejandro: (Ay Rex, sé que deseaba conocer a alguien, pero… ¿qué se supone que debería hacer ahora? ¿S-siquiera es amistoso? ¿Será uno de esos rufianes de los que me contó mamá?)

As he nervously pondered about his situation, the still asleep zebra moved a little in his bed, making Alex shake in fear as he gripped his heart in the area of his scar, like if he was going to have a stroke out of panic.

Alejandro: (Maldición, tengo mucho miedo… pero… realmente quiero intentar conocerlo… intentar que seamos amigos)

Gathering resolve and taking a deep breath, the young jaguar approached the bed of the sleeping herbivore and, using a nearby wooden shoal, he went up the bed just enough so he could sit next to the zebra, looking at him with curiosity and wonder, the black and white pattern being of particular interest for the little panther for it was like looking at a piece of art, with all the different stripes of the equid looking like the gentle traces of a paintbrush on paper, just like in that arts show he loves to watch, and the ones in the neck were especially eye-catching.

Alejandro: (Wow, lucen como relámpagos, no sabía que las cebras podían tener rayas así, son muy hermosas.)

As he continued to watch the patterns of the zebra colt, Alex couldn´t help but to stare at his casted leg, feeling a bit sad for the pain he would have undoubtedly felt, sensing empathy as he placed his hand over the scar of his chest, the mark of his own pain… and of how close he was to die. Just as he was reflecting over their wounds, the cebra had begun to move once again, and it seemed like he was about to wake up, which made the jaguar panic and he got off the bed immediately, hiding behind a nearby drawer just as the equid began to open his eyes, surprising Alejandro due to their unique neon-green color, and after he woke up, the cebra took a look to his surroundings, fighting off the leftover dizziness that the sedative caused while remembering how he ended up here, looking at his casted leg.

Sharik: “No volveré a correr de forma tan descuidada en la alberca.” He said to himself, inadvertently revealing to the hidden jaguar how he broke his leg.

Just as he let out a breath and was about to lay back in his bed, he heard a slight sneeze nearby, causing him to jump slightly due to the sudden sound, and as he turned around, he got a surprise to see a second one of those IV holders just next to a chest of drawers, which meant that he wasn´t alone in the room. This also came as a revelation to Alejandro, his blood running cold as he learned that his presence was discovered by this new kid, shaking like a leaf in fear that he would act aggressively against him, but to his surprise, he heard a gentle voice coming from the other side.

Sharik: “Hey, está bien. Sé que tienes miedo, pero no te haré daño. Por favor, quisiera conocerte.”

Such words made Alejandro froze for a second before sensing his heart beat in nervous excitement. Was this zebra really meaning what he said? Does this colt really want to know who he is? Whatever the true answer may be, the jaguar´s desire to have a new friend won over his insecurities, and he slowly revealed himself towards the zebra colt, who in turn gave him a gentle smile.

Alejandro: “H-ho-hola…”

Sharik: “Hola, me alegra poder verte bien. Me llamo Sharik. ¿Cuál es tu nombre?” Asked the zebra with surprising joy and excitement, seemingly dismissive of his broken leg.

Alejandro: “Um… me llamo… me llamo Alejandro.” Answered the small jaguar, still nervous about this first encounter, and yet, something about the way the zebra spoke to him made him feel surer of himself, slowly walking over the opposite bed towards Sharik.

Sharik: “Mucho gusto, Alejandro.” He smiled towards the carnivore, showing innocent curiosity towards the characteristics of this peculiar felid. “Wow, eres completamente negro, es bastante padre.”

Alejandro: ¿De veras? Um… gracias Sharik…” He said a bit flustered since he had never received such a compliment from another kid. “Tus rayas también son bastante bonitas, en especial las de tu cuello… parecen relámpagos.” Shortly after saying that, the shy black jaguar covered his mouth in embarrassment, fearing that he overextended and that Sharik may feel weird about that compliment, however, the cebra just chuckled as he touched his respective thunderbolt stripes.

Sharik: “Gracias, no muchos se fijan en eso. Las cebras como yo tomamos gran orgullo en nuestros patrones de rayas, son únicas en cada individuo.” Said with the same joyful disposition as before, which gave Alex more confidence as he got closer towards Sharik, up to the point he was in reach of his arms.

Once at reach, Sharik gently extended his right arm towards Alejandro who in turn did the same, and as both kids reached each other, they noticed the clear physical differences between one another, particularly in size and body mass.

Alejandro: (Órale, él se ve bastante más grande y fuerte que yo, no sabía que los potros cebra eran así de grandes. Ojalá tuviera ese tamaño)

Sharik: (Vaya, él es muy pequeño y flaco, espero que no tenga algo grave. Seré cuidadoso y gentil con él)

Shortly after that unspoken comparison between each other, Sharik took the jaguar by his hand and pulled gently to invite him to get onto his bed, which Alejandro, now fully confident, accepted in a heartbeat and jumped towards it, landing softly on top of Sharik and in a position in which the 2 of them connected noses, making both kids laugh as they accommodated themselves to better fit in the bed, although it was harder for Sharik to move due to his casted leg and the spikes of pain he received everytime he tried to do it.

Alejandro: “Tranquilo, trata de no moverte mucho, tu fractura podría empeorar.”

Sharik: “Ok, lo intentaré. Hey ¿cómo sabes sobre fracturas? ¿Tu mamá es doctora?”

Alejandro: “Sí, ella es una doctora de aquí. De hecho, creo que fue ella quien trató tu pierna.”

Sharik: “Órale, voy a agradecerle cuando la vea. Por cierto… ¿tú por qué estás aquí, en este cuarto?” He asked innocently, but when he saw that his question made Alejandro get sad, he got very worried and immediately tried to apologize. “Perdóname, no sabía que era algo que te ponía triste, no debí haber preguntado.” He quickly replied, fearing that he may have ruined any chance of forming a relationship with him.

Alejandro: “No no, está bien, no me molesta que preguntaras. Es solo que… bueno…” He paused as this was a heavy topic for him, but he felt confident enough to tell Sharik about it. “Es porque soy frágil.”

He then repositioned himself so he was kneeling between Sharik´s legs and pulled apart the top of his hospital gown to reveal a large gash down the center of his chest, which was held closed with metal staples.

Alejandro: “Mi mamá me dijo que nací antes de tiempo, y que mi cuerpo no se había desarrollado completamente cuando sucedió, y… a causa de eso, tuve un serio problema del corazón, por el cual me operaron más de una vez.” He frowned as he remembered how scary those experiences were. Ever since he was a baby, his body recalled every memory of those disturbing times, times in which he could have died had it not been for the efforts of the doctors, and the love of his mother. “Debido a eso… mi mamá me asignó a esta habitación para que pudiera estar a salvo, ya sea de accidentes o enfermedades, y pues… desde que tengo memoria, he estado aquí, solo y… temeroso del exterior.”

Sharik couldn´t help but express great concern and sympathy for the black jaguar. Since he was a foal, his parents had always took him outside to parks, the beach, or even the jungles near the city, so that he could run freely and enjoy the outside world. To hear that Alejandro was unable to do that due to his health conditions was heart-wrenching. Not wanting him to be sad, Sharik immediately and gently hugged Alejandro, his larger frame covering the jaguar completely as the carnivore was shocked by the sudden action, but it didn´t take long for Alex to reciprocate the hug, both boys maintaining the embrace for multiple minutes, before they separated just enough to see each other at the face.

Sharik: “Lamento que hayas tenido que pasar tanto tiempo aquí solo, pero ya no será así, porque yo voy a ser tu amigo.” He said with a happy and kind smile.

The moment Alejandro heard that affirmation, taking a few minutes to process Sharik´s selfless choice out of the suddenness and shock, he tightly hugged Sharik again and this time began to sob in the zebra´s chest, yet these were not sad tears but happy ones, as the little jaguar finally had what he wished with all of his heart: a friend.

Alejandro: “¡Gracias! ¡Gracias por querer ser mi amigo! ¡Prometo que seré tu mejor amigo!” He exclaimed with such happiness and excitement that it made the zebra laugh in reciprocation of those feelings, both boys sharing affection like if they were brothers.

A few minutes later, Alejandro got down from Sharik´s bed and went towards his toy stash, bringing over some of his toys to play with his new friend, the zebra braying in excitement as he helped Alex get up again so that they could begin playing together, unbeknownst to the 2 kids, somebody was watching them. Ximena had just arrived to the entrance of the room to check up on her patients, but she was caught by surprise to see her son hugging the zebra colt like if he was his big brother, and when she heard that the 2 of them had just become friends, she felt an immense joy overflow her heart, smiling happily as she watched them play with one another eagerly. While assigning Sharik to Alex´s room wasn´t exactly what she had planned, as this was one of the few remaining rooms adequate for children, she hoped than the zebra colt could give her son company and help him to gain confidence on himself, something she was unable to do often due to her tight schedule as a doctor.

Ximena: (Desearía tener una cámara conmigo en este momento.)

Shortly after, she entered the room to properly check on them and take note of Sharik´s vitals, and hearing the joyful voice of Alejandro as she told him about his new friend, before exiting the room and leaving the 2 kids to continue playing. As she walked away from the room.

???: “Entonces ¿cómo les está yendo?

A familiar voice asked Ximena as a couple of Burchell´s zebras walked into view, smiling kindly as she went to update them on the state of both boys, the female in particular holding the hand of a smaller and younger colt.

Ximena: “Se están llevando muy bien, Akida, justo ahora están jugando juntos, es muy adorable.” She couldn´t help but squeal just a little as she remembered the cute scene.

Jasiri: “Awww, una lástima que no pude verlos.” Replied Jasiri excitedly.

Jabari: “¿Sharik tiene un nuevo amigo? ¿Podré conocerlo?” Asked the little colt innocently, getting a gentle pet on his head by his mother.

Akida: “¿En cuánto tiempo podrá regresar a casa?” Asked Akida still concerned over his son´s health, but happy that he had made a new friend.

Ximena: “Va a pasar al menos una semana aquí antes de que pueda volver a casa, sin embargo, y dada la sugerencia de Jasiri, hablé con el resto del personal, hemos decidido dejar a Sharik aquí con Alejandro, esto para ayudar a Alex a ganar confianza y que pueda eventualmente estar cómodo con salir al exterior, además, no hay nadie de la edad de Sharik para que le haga compañía, sería beneficioso dejar que su amistad se desarrolle donde puedan estar juntos."

Hearing this surprised Akida as his wife haven´t told anything of this to him before, to which the zebra mare sheepishly apologized as she wasn´t sure if he would have agreed to this arrangement, however, the stallion just gave a small chuckle as he nuzzled his wife lovingly to express that he wasn´t upset, calming Jasiri and making her smile, before turning back to Ximena.

Akida: “Muy bien, entonces está decidido, espero que su lazo de amistad sea una muy fuerte.” Said Akida with a happy smile, which both females reciprocated.

Meanwhile back at the room, the 2 kids played happily, enacting a scene of prehistoric times in which an ankylosaurus was humiliating a tyrannosaurus after the latter foolishly bite down the armored body of the herbivore as the former was still chewing on some ferns.

Sharik: “GRAAAAHHHH!!! ¡Mis dientes, mis dientes, ahhhhh!” He couldn´t help but chuckle after such a melodramatic sentence.

Alejandro: “Te lo advertí, tonto, ahora sufre las consecuencias.”

They both happily laughed as they continued to have fun together, forming a bond of friendship and love that would last for many years to come.

Ancient Jungle Street

Present Day, 9:56 a.m.

With everything now ready, Alejandro was waiting for the arrival of Francisco to go to the Redemption and New Hope Hospital in order to see his best friend once more, in the meantime, he was feeding his pet axolotls with some worms, which the amphibians ate happily in big gulps, making the jaguar smile at how adorable they were.

Alejandro: (Los quiero mucho, ajolotitos)

After feeding his pets, Alejandro went over his desk to grab the gift box, and 2 minutes earlier than expected, he received a call from his cellphone, which he picked up immediately as he hold the box to his chest in order to answer the call.

Alejandro: "¿Ya están afuera?" He asked happily.

Francisco: "Yes we are. Get down so we can go at once." Replied the equally happy buffalo.

Alejandro: "Ok, allá voy Francis." He hung up the call and saved the phone in the back pocket of his shorts to then run towards the stairs, carefully going down so as to not fall until he was at the entrance. "Ya me voy, les hablo cuando regrese."

Marco: "Cuídate hijo, que todo salga bien."

Ximena: "No se te olviden tus pastillas, amor, y haz caso a lo que Natasha te diga."

Alejandro: "Sí mamá, así lo haré, nos vemos luego."

Just after that, he opened the door and went out towards the car in which his friend was waiting for him, closing the door behind them, and as he got out, Ximena went over Marco, who opened her pajama robe to then start kissing her belly, which was now noticeably swollen, making the female black jaguar laugh softly.

Marco: "Me sorprende que hayas logrado mantenerlo oculto hasta ahora. ¿Cuándo vas a decirle?" Asked the male as he caressed her wife's pregnant belly.

Ximena: "Cuando regrese del hospital, quiero que sea una sorpresa para él." She said with a gentle smile as she began chuffing for the love her husband gave to her and their developing cub.

Back outside, Alejandro walked towards the car of Francisco's family, which was a black van, and just as he reached the door, it open to the side to reveal the excited young cape buffalo that awaited him, said teen wearing a white polo shirt and some grey pants.

Francisco: "Hop on board, buddy, we are going now!" Said with great joy, which the jaguar reciprocated with a big smile as he entered the car, sitting right next to Francisco as he closed the door. "How are you Alex, all ready to go?"

Alejandro: "Glad to see you too, Francis, I'm ready to go! Oh, hello, Natasha, good to see you." He went over and gave a warm hug to the older female buffalo, who was wearing a red and black t-shirt and gray jeans, she had dark brown eyes and her horns didn't form a helmet-like boss on her head.

Natasha: "Good to see you again, Alex, and I'm glad you are so excited as well." She said happily as she reciprocated the hug. "Now buckle up and get ready to go."

He nodded as he went over one of the seats and buckle his seat belt, after that, Natasha started the car and they were on their way, shortly after that, Alejandro placed the gift box on his lap as he noticed something.

Alejandro: "Hey, didn't you say you brought a friend with you? Where is she? Did she cancel or something?"

Francisco: "Oh no, she is right here with us, but she insisted on being a surprise reveal."

Alejandro: "Really? Well, where is she hi..."

???: "BOOOH!"

Alejandro: "AHHH!"

The poor jaguar flinched on his seat from the sudden scare, holding his heart on his hand as the friend that Francisco was talking about finally revealed itself from behind his seat, and to his surprise, it was a female red kangaroo, dressed in an orange blouse and blue skirt, who looked quite strong and was taller than him (not that it was a surprise as he was quite small) shortly after he calmed down, just when the kangaroo and Francisco began to laugh.

Alejandro: "You two are jerks, I told you I don't like to be scared like that."

Francisco: "Hey, no need to be angry, Manchitas. It was all in good fun."

Kangaroo: "That's his nickname? Hehe, it fits them. He is quite cute." Said the female kangaroo, which made the jaguar blush noticeably, moreso due to his shy nature.

Natasha: (Hehehe, seems that Alex brought himself quite the attention~) "Kasumi, be nice with Alejandro. He is more reserved and shy than your ungulate friends."

Kasumi: "I will, Natasha." She smiled as she turned back towards Alejandro, getting a bit closer so as to know him better. "Well, as you heard, my name is Kasumi. It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Alejandro."

Alejandro: "T-the feeling is mutual Kasumi, Sharik and Francisco have told me a lot about you, I... I hope they have spoke well of me."

Kasumi: "Don't worry, they did, hope they did the same to me."

Alejandro: "Well... I remember than you defeated both of them during a sparing match, and that Francisco was very angry that a girl defeated him."

Francisco: "DUDE! I told you two NOT to tell her that!" Replied the embarrassed buffalo, making the marsupial laugh hysterically, as she remembered quite well that day.

Kasumi: "Oh my, I bet that was Sharik who told you that, I never expected him of all people to roast Francisco like that."

Alejandro: "Hehehe, yeah, that was quite funny, though to be fair, he did admit that he was also embarrassed of loosing against you the first time, but he was more humble about it."

Kasumi: "Yeah, he has always been humble when it comes to his defeats and mistakes, that's a quality many other males should have."

Francisco: "Ok, you don't have to rub it in, Kasumi." He said frowning but kept a positive mood, though he felt that her mother also agreed on what Kasumi said. "But on another topic, I heard that they found out what had caused this 'curse' to detonate on him, he might tell us once we are with him at the hospital."

Alejandro: "Those are wonderful news! We will finally know how to help him!" He beamed in excitement, but he retracted a little after remembering Kasumi had saw him act like that. "Umm... sorry for that, it's just that, well..."

Kasumi: "Hehehe, no need to explain it, Alejandro, I understand how you feel."

Francisco: "Yeah, buddy, you are not the only one happy about it, I'm excited too, after all this time, we finally get to see him again, I bet he will be very happy just when he learns we are coming."

Alejandro: "Very true, I even got some gifts that I made myself for him, I hope he likes them." He said as he showed the gift box to his herbivore companions.

Kasumi: "Awww, that's so considerate of you. What gifts have you made for him?" Asked Kasumi in curiosity.

Alejandro: "Can't tell, it's a secret." Replied to Kasumi with a wink.

Francisco: "Even for gifts, you are always a stealthy cat." He said with a chuckle, to which Alex laughed as well, all while they continued their journey towards the hospital, and towards their friend.

Sanjo City's Courtroom

June 14, 13:41 p.m.

Alejandro: "We... were just playing around, like you saw in the video... we were not bothering anyone and tried to remain careful and..." His nervousness of standing in front of the whole jury was making it hard to speak, the poor jaguar felt quite intimidated. "Sharik and Sebastián finally convinced Francisco of going home before it was too dark, he reluctantly agree... we were on our way home when... they... they attacked us. It was just as the video demonstrated, we did our best to fight back..." He paused at that part, cursing himself profusely for being too physically weak to fend off that lion by himself.

Jordan: "So you can confirm they intended to devoured you?"

Alejandro: "Y-y-yes, s-sorry if I am erratic with my response..."

As Alejandro gave his witness testimony, Sharik couldn't help but cry as his best friend and brother of another species stood up to help in his defense, and even while the jaguar cursed his weakness, the zebra proudly witness firsthand how strong he actually was, if not in body, in spirit.

Miles: "Your honor! This witness clearly does not possess credibility!" Exclaimed the doberman, trying to diminish Alejandro's account

Maurice: "How does the defense respond?"

Jordan: "I admit, the witness was and is still shaken up. But I believe that's a very understandable response. Not only is this his first time in court, he is traumatized by the events that transpired, and worry for his friend's well-being." He then turned towards Miles, looking him dead in the eyes. "I have no doubts regarding his credibility. "

Alejandro smiled at Jordan in thanks for backing up his claim, as well as to give him confidence in himself for the remaining of the witness account, just then, Miles stood up and walked towards the witness stand, his slight smirk telling Jordan he was planning something.

Miles: "This park you were at. How far was from the place you live?" Asked assertively, making the jaguar nervous, much to the worry of his parents and friends.

Alejandro: "Um... it's... it's no too far, about 40 minutes at foot."

Miles: "By foot, huh? Seems a bit dangerous for young herbivores to casually walk around back home. Yo do know that the place was a hotspot for predation in the past, right?"

The revelation stunned a big portion of the gallery present, shocked to hear than the 4 boys walked over a place with a dangerous history, Akida and his comrades only winced at that, remembering not only the predations that took place there, but also the number of carnivores that were killed by herbivores on that same area, whether regular herbivores or cursed beasts. Gulping in fear, but determined to defend his friend, Alejandro answered.

Alejandro: "Well... we... we knew the history of that place, however... it did became a safer place thanks to the efforts of the local police force, so me and my friends didn't see any danger in going." Replied more sure of himself, though the grin on the doberman's face still made him nervous and uncomfortable.

Miles: "That may be the case, but even so, if you were aware of the many predation cases that took place in the area, why is it that you didn't protest against they going there? Were you even worried about the possibility of them being eaten?"

Alejandro: "W-wha-what are you talking about? A-a-are you assuming that...

Miles: "You wanted the attack to happen, you planned it and swindled Haruki and his friends to do so with the promise of meat in order to make your friends seem like the victims and to fuel the murderous desires of Sharik." He stated, smirking more clearly as he believed his plan had worked

A loud and conjoined gasp was heard all around the courtroom, some out of shock of the claims coming from Miles, believing that to be the case, others were offended by such a claim, especially Ximena and Marco, they would never teach their son to do such an atrocious thing, the families of Alex's friends were also insulted by such an accusation, with Sebastián trying his damnest to stop Francisco for goring the lawyer with his horns, even Sharik himself tensed up the chains of his shackles, an action born out of instinct in an attempt to defend the dignity of his carnivore brother against such an insult, but was quickly calmed down by Araceli, who stood next to him in the defendant post, Jordan was outrage at the lows his rival went to in order to manipulate the events in favor of his client, and he was about to object when...

Miles: "Can we really trust the words of a manipulative carnivore? If he is lying, then I sincerely doubt the credibility of..."

Alejandro: "HOW DARE YOU!?"

The scream resonated like a gunshot through the entire room, even the hardiest of police officers were shaken by the intensity of the sudden outburst, and many small beasts present were paralyzed by the loud sound, carnivores and herbivores alike. When the initial shock seceded, a new one emerged when everyone saw who had made such scream: it was the same shy black jaguar standing at the witness stand, glaring daggers at Miles and even baring his fangs against him... yet tears were flowing through his eyes.

Alejandro: "How do you DARE to accused me of being a traitor!? Why would I even THINK of such a horrible thing!? My friends are part of my family, we have been together even under horrible events, Sharik especially being the reason my life change for the better. If it wasn't for him..." He momentarily turned to see Sharik, both animals looking each other in the eye, almost like if they were psychologically hugging each other. "I would probably be miserable in my present, if not even dead. I would NEVER betray him after all he has done for me and for our friends and families, so don't you DARE mark me as that sort of horrible, despicable asshole, nor Sharik as a bloodthirsty monster." Said with great fury, yet also with great love for Sharik.

Sharik: "A-Alex..." The zebra couldn't help but cry at the words said by the jaguar, the way he valued his friendship, how, even when he thought of himself as a horrible beast, he still saw good on him, it was enough to revitalize his heart as he began to sobbed, his tail wagging in between the chair bars as Araceli comforted him witha hug.

The sobbing of the zebra teen touched the hearts of many present, as it was now clearer than before that Sharik wasn't any sort of monster who seek to harm others, but rather a boy who had been through a painful hell, and a herbivore that had earned the loyalty of his friends. Jasiri couldn't help but also cry when she heard his son, almost standing up to hug her baby, Rafael felt deeply touched as well, understanding the horrible experience that is being cursed; Francisco, Sebastián and Joaquín were speechless, never before had Alejandro acted with such bravery and bravado, and all in order to protect Sharik; Ximena too was shocked, but in her heart, she couldn't be happier at how much had his son had changed for the better, as before, he would never even thought of doing such a thing, Marco shared the same sentiments. This however, was bad news for Miles, as his plan was now compromised and the mother of Haruki, Sarugaki, was also very irritated by this, now there was no way of changing the narrative.

After all of this shock and anger, the judge hit his mallet against the circular base in order to qualm any turmoil remaining.

Maurice: "Order, order please." Said the orangutan calmly, making Alejandro calm down as Miles stared fearfully for what he might say next. "It appears than the testimony of Alejandro, as well as the evidence presented by Jordan are both veridical, meaning the attack was deliberately planned by Haruki and his friends to feast upon the young boys meat."

While that initial statement of the judge made everyone on Sharik's side quite happy, even making the ears of the zebra in question perk up temporarily after he calmed down, Jordan knew well that this wasn't the end of the trial.

Maurice: "However, we cannot ignore the fact that, while done out of desperation, the rampage demonstrated some unnatural abilities for a boy of his age, chief among them being the fact he alone defeated 4 fully grown carnivores in battle when even his elephant friend struggled to keep his attacker at bay."

Despite this coming as a shock to many of the ones present, those who supported Sharik knew that it was true, whatever he had, it gave him supernatural capabilities, the officers silently agreed to this, for each one of the cursed herbivores they encountered also presented supernatural strength and/or endurance, each of them with various degrees of difference depending of the species.

Maurice: "As such, me and the jury will discuss the proper benedict to determine what shall we do in this situation, for this I declare a 14 minutes break, and if anyone has anything to add to the discussion, you may step forward to tell us.

Taking this opportunity, Jordan and surprisingly Denzel, followed the orangutan and the jury to the room in which the benedict would be discussed as the rest of the attendants went to their break, Sharik being escorted out of the room with Thaysuk taking the place of Denzel, all the while Alejandro returned to his family, who hugged them and praised his bravery, yet he only hoped this was enough.

R&NH Hospital Test Labs

July 6, 10:53 a.m.

Once again he was in the big testing room, ready to take part in another experiment, while he agree on this with full trust of his doctor, the last test he was submitted to actually scared him, as it involved him walking in the middle of a group of 13 carnivores, all of them volunteers taken from the hospital itself, either nurses or carefully selected patients, among those being Eileen, Naomi and Óscar, this was in order to confirm a theory that Azumi had developed regarding how the Curse of Madness affected carnivores passively, utilizing the alligator mating call to stress Sharik just enough so this effect could detonate, and it worked perfectly as she checked the results and notes she took.

Azumi: "It seems that your increment in hormone production not only affects your development, it also gives you an aura of fear that carnivores can detect by their sense of smell, and for what some volunteers told me to, you smell like if you were death incarnate."

Sharik: "Oh Brachio, that's terrible... I... I cannot phantom how terrifying that would be." He said quite concern about this 'aura of terror'. "So... is there any way I can suppress it so I don't scare them?"

Azumi: "Hard to say as of now, I must do some more tests in order to fully understand it, however, it seems there's a correlation between your levels of stress and the activation of the aura, so try to avoid stressful situations until you gain a better control of it."

Sharik: "Alright, I will try my best, though I hope I can do that before I enter school again in August."

R&NH Hospital Reception

Parallel to the tests, Alejandro and the rest of the herd had already arrived at the hospital, parking not too far away from the entrance, and as they others walked towards it, they met up with Sebastián and his mother, both adequately dressed for the ocassion, the elephant happy to see his friends again as hi gently hugged them with trunk and arms.

Sebastián: "I'm glad to see you arrived well, it has been a long wait."

Francisco: "Certainly has, big guy, but we are finally here together, and we even brought someone new to the group." He said and then proceeded to introduce Kasumi to Sebastián.

Kasumi: (Wow, he is huge, and seems even older than Francisco) "Hello Sebastián, is great to finally meet you."

Sebastián: "The sentiment is mutual, Kasumi, any friend of Francisco and Sharik is a friend of mine." Their introduction was then gently interrupted by a bigger trunk that wrapped gently around Sebastián's arm, said trunk belonging to his mother.

Sofía: "We can safe the rest of the introduction for later, let's us enter so we can get to Sharik sooner." She said with a tender smile.

Alejandro: "She is right, let's go now, I'm shaking in excitement." Replied Alejandro who had begun to bounce happily.

Sharing the excitement, the teens alongside Natasha and Sofía entered to the reception, explaining their motive of their visit, surprisingly, Eileen was already awaiting for them just when the receptionist was about to call for her, and after a short introduction and briefing about some visit rules, she guide them towards where Sharik was currently, unbeknownst to them, Azumi had prepared a new test for the zebra.

R&NW Hospital Test Labs

11:10 a.m.

Azumi had once more places 5 carnivore mannequins in front of Sharik, but this time something was different, as the mannequin of the black jaguar was now replaced with that of a lioness, and the eagle was replaced with a hybrid, one that was half wolf and half deer.

Sharik: "Um... any particular reason we are making this test again?" Asked the zebra, surprised by the matter.

Azumi: "I wanted to see how the Curse made you act against hybrids, so that's why I decided to take it again in order to confirm my suspicions." (There's more to it than that, but it must be kept a secret. Hopefully, they don't take long).

As this was going on, Eileen kept leading the herd towards the room Sharik was being kept in, however as they walked, Alejandro noticed that they had taken a detour to where the rooms were supposed to be.

Alejandro: "Um...p-p-pardon me, Eileen, but... why have we gone through a different corridor if the rooms were towards there?" His question was shared among his friends, but strangely, Natasha and Sofía seemed to know what was going on.

Eileen: "Don't worry, little one, he is right at the end of this corridor, you will see." She assured him with a smile, though it did little to qualm the suspicions and worries of the jaguar.

Back at the lab, Azumi had prepared the sound system in order to play the tiger roar once more, and it seemed that she had the timing just right.

Azumi: "Alright, I will begin playing it now."

Just like the first time, the moment Sharik heard the tiger roars, he became tense for one second, and then he snarled fiercely as his eyes became completely neon-green, and shortly after, he unleashed his horrifying and unnatural roar before attacking the mannequins, yet this time, his roar was heard by beyond the test labs, and those who heard it became extremely worried.

Francisco: "What the...? THAT WAS SHARIK!!"

Sebastián: "He must have lost control again!"

Kasumi: "Oh Brachio, this is horrifying!"

Eileen: "Alright everyone, calm down, Dr. Azumi is just making some tests on Sharik to see how his curse works and how to control it, mantain calm and... Hey wait!!"

Just when Eileen was trying to get everyone to calm down, Alejandro drop the gift box and went running as fast as he could towards the labs from where the roar came from, reaching it within minutes as he quickly opened the door, surprising Azumi as she didn't expect him to arrive that soon, before the bear could began explaining everything, the jaguar went over the window to see what was happening, and much to his horror, he saw Sharik tearing appart the carnivore replicas, being left paralyzed and with palpitations in his chest born out of fear, but this was quickly cut short when the doctor reach him and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, one look at the doctor told him that she knew well what she was doing.

Azumi: "You want to help him? Then follow my instructions." Said the spectacled bear in a stern yet calming tone, one that Alejandro immediately follow.

Back at the testing ground, Sharik had turned the mannequin of the nile crocodile into mincemeat as he then kicked the leg of the spotted hyena one, pulverizing the limb before crushing his skull with both of his fists, there were only 2 mannequins remaining, and despite the herbivore half of the hybrid, that was the next one to be eliminated, which he did by tearing the antlers off the head and stabbing the mannequin in the gut repeatedly, opening the abdomen entirely as organ replicas and fake blood started to spilled out. His sight then turned to the lioness, and just when he was about to charge against it...

Reunited

Alejandro: "¡SHARIK DETENTE!"

That voice, the voice of someone he feared to never see again in person, that he dreaded to harm should he lost control of himself, had stopped his curse in it's tracks, the words of his best friend reaching deep into his heart

Bludgeon: "¡IMPOSIBLE ¿CÓMO ES QUE ESE CARNÍVORO PUEDE DETENERME!?" Yelled the curse inside of Sharik's head as the jaguar continued to speak to him.

Alejandro: "Sharik, sé que tienes miedo, no solo de tí mismo, sino de tu Maldición, y lo que podría pasarnos si pierdes control, pero no estás solo en este conflicto. Te prometí hace años que siempre sería tu amigo, y no importa lo que pasé, siempre lo seré, y nunca te abandonaré aun en una situación así, te amo, mi hermano de otra especie."

Sharik: (E-e-él... vino a salvarme... ¿e-en serio me ayudará a luchar?) "Alex..." As soon as the curse seceded, just as his eyes returned to normal, Sharik was left frozen in place as he processed everything that just happen, and soon realized that Alejandro had not only managed to do the same thing Oliver did, but he was the first carnivore that liberated him from his madness. The overwhelming joy made him drop on his knees and began to cry, yet the tears were of pure joy.

Azumi: "Amazing, you are the first carnivore able to do this..."

She didn't get the chance to finish the sentence as Alex immediately ran towards the entrance to the test field, going directly towards Sharik and, when they got close, they saw each other eye to eye for the first time in many days, and both friends couldn't help but smile as tears flew from their eyes, followed by the biggest, most love-filed hug the 2 friends could give to each other, the jaguar gently caressing the face of the tearful zebra.

Sharik: "Lo hiciste Alex... me salvaste."

Alejandro: "Tú salvaste mi vida antes, Sharik, y siempre estaré para ayudarte, así como siempre estuviste ahí para mí."

Sharik: "Muchas gracias... te amo, hermano."

Just as the 2 of them were sharing their feelings to one another, the rest of the herd arrived, and while shocked to see the carnage Sharik unleashed to those replicas of carnivores, minus the lioness one, they were extremely relieved and happy to see that Sharik was no longer trapped in the madness, and they knew that Alejandro was the one who saved him, and fortunately, Sebastián managed to recover the gift Alex wanted to give to the zebra.

Peace and Love

Chapter Text

Get My Future

Sanjo City's Police Station

June 8, 9:30 p.m.

Taking a break from his shift during what appeared to be a relatively calm night, with his partner taking the patrol vehicle away, Denzel entered the station and went over the jail cell area, carrying a peculiar paper bag on his right hand.

Denzel: (I wonder if Sharik has ever tried castella before? If what his father says is true, then I'm sure he would love this.)

He chuckled a little as he remembered how Akida told him that Sharik was a glutton for pastries, imagining the boy scarfing it down the moment he brought them out of the bag. Just as he approached the entrance of the holding cells, he began hearing some very loud yelling coming from the inside, carefully placing his ear close to the door to discern what he was hearing, being surprised to recognize Russell's voice.

Russell: "YOU FUCKING DEMON! YOUR EXISTENCE IS A DISGRACE FOR US HERBIVORES!" The screams of Russell echoed furiously from the inside of the room, spewing venom and hatred towards the prisoner in there who yelled in horrible pain as he was hit with a tonfa.

Upon barely hearing the screams of the poor boy Russell was tormenting, Denzel tackled open the door open, almost breaking it, and rush over the cell as the wild ass continued his assault, too distracted with tormenting the poor cebra teen, and just as he was about to strike at the crotch, Denzel entered the gate and, in a flash that Russell barely managed to register, he dealt him a powerful blow in his abdomen with his tail, sending him towards the wall of the cell, the impact knocking the equid unconscious.

Bellowing in savage fury, Denzel was about to attack Russell again when he heard the terrified and pained cries of Sharik, turning immediately only to watch in horror what Russell had done to him: his exposed torso and arms were covered in bruises and lacerations, no doubt caused by Russell when he hit him repeatedly, but the worst of the damage was in the abdomen of the boy, more specifically, his belly scar, so bad it was that it had begun bleeding profusely.

Denzel: (Dear Rex... he didn't have any mercy against him. That fucking bastard wanted to kill him.)

Placing the pastrie bag inside a fanny pack he carried around with him, Denzel crouched down and carefully reached towards Sharik, who was still crying in pain due to his beating, and as he approached, Denzel saw that the poor cebra was handcuffed, explaining why he hadn't defended himself from Russell. Acting quickly, Denzel went over the unconscious wild ass and took the keys of the handcuffs to release Sharik, tempted once again to murder the abuser right now as he stared down at him with barely contained rage.

Denzel: (You cowardly fucker. I should just kill you now, to prevent you for doing this ever again... but Sharik's health is way more important than your sorry flesh.)

Going back with Sharik, he gently hold his left arm, but this caused the cebra to scream once again in pure terror as he tried to stand up, only for the pain of his wounds to pull him back in the ground, such a scene was heartbreaking for the crocodile, reminding him of all the cursed herbivores that suffered indescribable horrors under the Wukong Clan. Fortunately, thanks to his owl level night vision (due to Russell leaving almost all lights of the holding cell sector off) Sharik quickly recognized who had arrived and, with his remaining strength, he went over to Denzel and hugged him desperately, ignoring that he was handcuffed as he cried his eyes out against his chest.

Sharik: "D-D-Denzel... i-it-it hurts, it hurts so much." He said between sobbings. "H-he... he tortured me... he... he wanted to... wanted to..."

As he struggled to speak, Denzel immediately hugged him back, using the key to release Sharik from his handcuffs as he comforted the terrified teenager, not understanding why such a kindhearted animal had to suffer this much. Sharik didn't deserve this.

Denzel: "You are safe now, Sharik. Russell won't cause you anymore harm. I promise you he would never touch even a single hair of your crin ever again." He spoke to the cebra with a kind and almost paternal tone, aiding Sharik in calming down as he continue to hugged him, just as he did with some of the herbivores he saved, particularly a young banteng bull who had his eyes gouged out brutally by a chimpanzee grunt.

Right as Sharik calmed down just enough, even while he was still sobbing, Denzel gently lifted Sharik and carried him on his arms, bridal style, as the zebra instinctively hold his neck with one of his arms as he still held his right hand over his re-opened scar; not wasting anymore time, Denzel rushed outside of the holding cell sector and went over the exit, as he did, some officers were watching them depart saw in terror the state that Sharik was in, but the saltwater crocodile only responded that it was an emergency and he needed to go to the hospital as soon as possible, luckily for him, the hospital was just a 8 minutes from the police station even by foot, and while he was no sprinter, Denzel ran as fast as his legs could carry him.

Sharik: "D-Denzel... I...

Denzel: "Save your strength, Sharik. Don't worry about anything else. You need urgent medical care." Said the crocodile in a serious yet compassionate tone, as he was mortified by the boy on the inside, but he kept his professional demeanor to give Sharik the reassurance he needed.

Once they finally arrived at the hospital, Denzel entered in hurry, much to the shock of many animals present in the reception, especially once they saw the state of the poor young herbivore in his arms.

Denzel: "He was brutally beaten by a traitor of the police force. He needs a doctor, immediately!" He exclaimed with a surprising composure mixed with palpable worry, and soon enough, a doctor and a couple of nurses came rushing in with a gurney, in which Denzel gently places Sharik and rested his head delicately on the pillow; just as Sharik was left on the bed, with the mule deer nurse checking his vitals with an stethoscope, the cebra immediate grabbed Denzel's left arm with a grip strong enough to make the crocodile wince due to the sudden pain, not expecting that he had such strong limbs.

Sharik: "Denzel, don't leave me, please. I'm scared." He cried as tears flowed down his eyes, the terror of what he endured being palpable through his expressions.

At this words, the doctor, who was a horse, quickly looked towards Denzel, and trusting the police officer, he allowed him to stay at the boy's side during his procedures, at this, the crocodile smiled, and then responded to Sharik.

Denzel: "I won't be going anywhere, Sharik. I'm here for you."

The words of the crocodile tranquilized Sharik just enough, but due to the intense pain and shock his body had endured, the cebra eventually fell unconscious on the gurney, making the doctor and his accompanying nurses rush Sharik towards the room where they would tend to him, Denzel following suit to serve as his protector, taking a mental note in calling Akida as soon as Sharik was healed.

Sanjo City's Courtroom, Jury's Room

June 14, 13:50 p.m.

To say that the testimony of Denzel was shocking would be insufficient, as nearly everyone present were horrified by the torture the poor zebra went through, with some of them, Jordan included, imagining that plenty of other imprisoned cursed herbivores shared a similar fate due to the resentment of angry and aggressive police beasts.

Maurice: "Thanks for your testimony, Denzel. It will help us a lot in deciding the final benedict." Said the orangutan calmly, his expression emanating compassion and worry for the boy.

Giant forest hog (Male): "So, what shall we do with him? He can't be in a holding cell anymore. It would further harm him mentally and put him at risk of another abuser."

Sri Lanka leopard (Female): "Considering any possible mental illness he may have developed after all he went through, he should be sent to a mental hospital so he could receive treatment and recover." Replied the leopard with a gentle tone.

Marsh deer (Male): "But to which one? Which hospital would be able to both treat his mental trauma and help him with his 'Curse of Madness'?" Asked the deer intrigued.

Sloth bear (Female): "He could be sent to the Redemption and New Hope Hospital, that one excells at treating mental trauma, my son is being treated there and he has made a lot of progress."

Blue and yellow macaw (Female): "But isn't that hospital mainly for carnivores? Sending him there could place many animals in danger, given that we don't know much about his 'curse'"

Sloth bear (Female): "Yes, but they also treat herbivores with aggressive tendencies. He could be admitted under that same diagnostic, in addition to his mental trauma."

Maurice: "Hmm, that seems to be one of our best choices." The orangutan then turned back to Denzel. "Is there anything else about the Curse of Madness we should know, Officer Denzel?"

In response, Denzel frowned and hissed, remembering the horrors he witnessed while working under those horrible apes. However, he nonetheless began to tell the rest about what he knew.

Denzel: "Besides the fact that it turns the herbivores affected by it into violent killers via an unknown detonator, and the male bias of the mutation... he must be under heavy supervision, but to be specific, this is NOT because of the threat he represents, but because of how much his life is in danger due to the curse."

This revelation came as a shock to all of the present jury, to Maurice and even to Jordan, wondering what could put the lives of these unpredictable animals in danger.

Denzel: "As you may already know, the Wukong Clan was a criminal organization that operated many dark business, among them were animal trafficking, in particular..." He growled in self-detriment as he remembered he once worked under those monsters, and the horror he induced upon the afflicted herbivores he caught... "They kidnapped those herbivores afflicted by the Curse of Madness, harvesting their blood to sell as a chemical weapon, no matter how much damage the process caused, breeding them in order to have a 'continuous supply', using them as gladiators for their illegal fights, sometimes even as sexual slaves... and they didn't care about the age of these herbivores: kids or adults, teens or old males... all fell victims of the Wukong's grip. Those who did not comply... were often tortured brutally, and once they outlived their usefulness, they were put down."

As he revealed this, the jury, Maurice and even Jordan were left speechless and horrified, to think that the most dreaded crime syndicate profited of the cursed herbivores, with even children not being safe from the reach of those monsters, the horrible actions they committed against them, how they were treated as nothing but disposable products in ways that not even the Black Markets would dare to do...

Sri Lanka leopard (Female): "... those poor beasts... how could they?" Said the leopard with horror and disbelief at these revelations, a hand holding her heart due to shock and horror.

Bongo antelope (Male): "There's no doubt to be had, the kid requires to be protected, even if admitted into the hospital."

Marsh deer (Male): "Woah, hold on a second. How does he exactly know about all of that? Wouldn't that mean he worked for those monsters in the past?" Asked the deer angrily and nervously, understandably so, since the Clan was feared by carnivores and herbivores alike.

Jordan: "I can assure you, mister, that Denzel is someone highly reliable and trustworthy. He was a valuable ally in bringing the organization down."

Denzel: "The only reason I even worked for those fuckers was because there was no other choice, I was never in agreement with what they did, especially to the kids."

This affirmation caused some light discussion among the jury, who were quite surprised to learn about Denzel being a traitor to said organization, and while a few of them were still skeptical about if they could trust him, most others were more accepting of him, especially since Akida himself trust him with the safety of his own son. As they discussed, Denzel and Jordan petitioned that a strong enough security force was deployed in the R&NH Hospital in order to, not only protect Sharik, but also anyone in the faculty, which caught the jury and judge by surprise.

Norwegian cat (Male): "Um, if I may, Officer, while I understand that it is important for Sharik to be in the safest place possible for his recovery, with the Wukong Clan gone, why would it be necessary to deploy federal security forces in the hospital? Wouldn't that give the wrong idea for the medical personnel and patients residing in there?" Asked the felid in a polite tone.

Jordan: "We understand that concern, Mr. Nakamura, and it would seem that Sharik would be relatively safe in the hospital, but there are still plenty of threats for him now that he is vulnerable, said threats coming from people that still hunts these cursed individuals. "

Denzel: "While it is true that the Wukong Clan was 'forcefully' disbanded, there are splinter factions still operational in the outskirts of the city, in particular, the group called 'The Six Eared Macaques' represents the biggest threat to his security, given they were the branch responsible for many hospital and prisom hijacks in the past, all in order to capture any afflicted herbivore... even against strongly defended installations."

A sudden silence felt upon the room, and both Denzel and Jordan could tell they were all terrified at the reveal of splinter factions of the Wukong Clan still operational, which not only would mean that more cursed herbivores would be in danger, but that they could potentially reinstate their organization, which would put countless lives in danger, especially those of carnivores that had a bad history with primates, such as the already critically endangered Philippine eagle, not to mention the way they practically enslaved and ruled over some of the more impoverished districts. After a long and heavy silence, with only some shushed discussions among the members of the jury who recovered faster, an answer was finally given.

Marsh deer (Male): "We have agreed to the deployment of federal security forces in order to protect Sharik and the hospital he would be admitted in."

Maurice: "Very well then, the size of said security force would be discussed later, but with the verdict now decided, it would be done shortly after the trial's end."

Jordan: "Those are excellent news, your honor, I will inform Akida about this when the break is over."

Maurice: "In addition, it would be good to discuss some changes regarding the treatment of the cursed herbivores that are still under vigilance or captivity, but I'm sure the police force are starting to work regarding this topic."

Denzel: "We are, your honor, but I do believe it would be a good change to remind others that cursed herbivores possess the same rights as any other beast. I know better than many what is like to be labeled as a monster."

Maurice: "Indeed. Well, since there's a few minutes left, would you like some coffee, gentlemen?"

At this offer, both the lawyer and the policemen smiled and accepted, hopeful that from this day forward, things were going to be better for the young cebra and others like him.

R&NW Hospital. Visitor's Area

July 6, 11:45 a.m.

After the current test in which Alejandro succeeded in rescuing Sharik from the madness stage, the herd gathered and went towards the visitor's area, where they began talking to each other to put everyone up to date, especially with how Sharik has been doing during the last 3 weeks since he was admitted in, all the while, Alejandro kept hugging Sharik, which the cebra reciprocated happily.

Sebastián: "So, how have you been feeling, Sharik? I hope that the doctors were able to aid you heal."

Sharik: "Well, for the first couple of weeks, I was still quite depressed over what happened. The fact that I was kept in isolation didn't help, but the doctors and nurses have been kind to me, and have help me a lot."

Francisco: "Chale, that's rough, buddy, I can't imagine being isolated from other animals like that. I mean... I understand that it was a precaution, but still... hard to imagine."

Kasumi: "Agree on that, it is quite depressing to be separated like that. Did the doctors that attend you were herbivores because of it?"

Sharik: "Actually, my main nurse is a snow leopard, and she has been very kind and supportive, and the doctor attending me is a brown hyena and my most current one is a spectacled bear. So yeah, I haven't been 100% isolated from carnivores."

Alejandro: "That's good to hear, Sharik, and it does appear that your curse is not something that deliberately attacks any carnivore on sight, which is also very good."

Sharik: "Yeah, one could compare it to the instincts of a carnivore, but honestly, I think it is something more... complicated than that, but if it is something I can gain control of, I would gladly accept that challenge."

Alejandro: "I'm sure you will succeed, brother, you are the strongest animal I know." He said with a happy smile towards his best friend, but he suddenly realized they were getting some glances of some other patients and medical personnel surrounding them, which made the jaguar a bit nervous. "Um... why are people staring at us? And why do they look surprised?"

Francisco: "Now that you mentioned it... yeah, why are they staring?"

Sharik: "Oh... hehe, funny story... the first day that I was allowed out of my room for a medical check up, coincidentally, the same day my parents visited me, there was a dhole that fell over and struggled to get up, probably due to a nervous episode, for what Dr. Azumi told me. As soon as I saw him, I immediately went towards him and carefully help him to stand back up, then I handed him a walker, he said I was the first herbivore to help him." He smiled with a soft blush after that, not knowing back then how this would alter his image. "It was the first time anyone else saw me outside of my room, and since that was the first thing I did once I was out, well... you could say I gained plenty of good reputation around here, so I assume they are surprised to see that I have a big group of friends, hehe."

Hearing this made the group smile happily, while it was expected of Sharik to aid those in need whenever he could, the fact that he did such act even after everything he went through was a sign that his recovery was going well, which were great news for the herd as this could lead to Sharik being eligible for outpatient medical care.

Francisco: "I knew you wouldn't stay out of your heroic nature forever. It's great to see that you have recovered so well, Rayitas." Said the buffalo as he rustled Sharik's mane happily, to which Sharik responded by shaking his head and whinny in joy.

Kasumi: "Awww, how cute are you when you are happy." Said Kasumi while blushing a little.

Sharik: "Thanks, hehehe." He replied blushing.

Alejandro: "Hey Sharik, one question. You mentioned than the day your parents visited, you underwent a medical examination. Does that mean you were sick or something?" Asked the jaguar worryingly.

Sharik: "Oh yeah. See, while I have mainly received treatments for my mental state, they also examined my body to see how the Curse has affected me since it also alters the body of the herbivores that have it."

Sebastián: "Hmm, it does make sense they decided to do that. After all, you are larger than the average of your species, and you have developed fangs and a more pronounced musculature. "

Kasumi: "What? Sharik has fangs?" Asked the kangaroo with great surprise.

Sharik: "Yes, I do. Look." Then Sharik raised his lips and opened his mouth, showing Kasumi the 2 pairs of fairly large fangs that had grown from his canine teeth, with the upper 2 being the largest.

Kasumi: "Wow... they look like a mix of boar tusks and water deer fangs." Said the kangaroo in awe, as she had never seen Sharik's fangs before. "So, do all cursed herbivores develop fangs like those?"

Sharik: "If they don't have any, then yes, to those who already have them, or have tusks, they become even bigger."

Sebastián: "Quite interesting, although I hope you haven't had any problems with the fangs, like getting your tongue pierced by it."

Sharik: "Oh don't worry, I got the help of the best tutor in fang management right here." Said Sharik while pointing at Alejandro, to which the jaguar gently smiled.

Alejandro: "That's right, ever since they came out, I took it up to myself to teach him how to chew without harming himself in the process, and it went quite well."

Francisco: "Hehe, the benefits of having a carnivore friend." Replied the buffalo with a upbeat tone. "What else did they discovered in your check up, Sharik?"

Sharik: "Well, among some of the things she examined was my bite force, which at the start was quite surprising, since I have never done one before."

Kasumi: "Bite force? I thought that was something they only checked in carnivores."

Sebastián: "While true, measuring bite forces are also done in some herbivore species with strong jaws, such as gorillas, boars and hippos, but I never heard of zebras taking part on those tests."

Sharik: "Yeah, I was probably the first one to do that. Regarding the test, once I bit into the chewable rod, the monitor registered the strenght I put in said bite... it was of 850 PSI."

After revealing that, Sharik saw how shocked his friends seemed at said revelation, something he had been expecting, since he knew he would have to tell them everything he learned about his curse.

Francisco: "Holy crap. That's stronger than most carnivores of our age... it's hard to believe, if I'm honest."

Sebastián: "I concur, it could mean that, as you grow older, you may have a bite force comparative to that of jaguars or even gorillas!"

Alejandro: "Sharik having the bite force of my species? Well that's an interesting prospect. Guess I have another thing to teach you, then."

Sharik: "Thanks Alex, I would appreciate that." He smiled gently at him. "So yeah, the curse not only gave me fangs, but also augmented my body by developing a higher muscle mass all over my body, from my limbs to my torso and even my mandibles. It also had an effect on my inner organs, particularly my heart; Dr. Azumi told me that my heart grew larger and developed thicker layers of tissue so it could pump blood better all around my body, to compensate for my larger size and body mass."

Kasumi: "So you took the saying of 'being big hearted' quite literally by the looks of it."

At this reply, the boys (and girl) couldn't help but laugh heartily as this was both true and quite hilarious, with Francisco in particular laughing the hardest since he had quite the funny bone in him when it came to jokes and comedy.

Francisco: "Oh man, you beat me to that, Kasumi, and it's funny cause it's true, hehehe."

Alejandro: "Hahaha, you are right, Francisco. Although... um Sharik... y-you... uhh... you wouldn't mind if I..."

Sharik: "You can take a listen if you want, I don't mind." Said Sharik with a kind smile.

Trembling at the sudden acceptance of his best friend, but also smiling with noticeable blush, Alejandro gently placed his ear in the cebra's chest to take a listen to his strengthened heart.

Lub-dub ~lub-dub ~lub-dub ~lub-dub ~lub-dub ~lub-dub ~lub-dub ~lub-dub ~lub-dub ~lub-dub ~lub-dub

Alejandro: "Wow... it does sound very strong... it's quite nice." Said the jaguar nervously but happily, after listening for a couple minutes, he separated from Sharik's chest. "But, does this incremented growth present any problem for your health?"

Sharik: "Fortunately not in my case, Dr. Azumi said I was in perfect health... though she also discovered that my blood is toxic for carnivores."

Everyone but Sharik: "WHAT!?" Said collective scream scared and shocked the surrounding patients, nurses and visitors, even Natasha and Sofía (who were sitting in a nearby couch) were taken completely aback by it.

Sharik: "Yeah... I had a similar reaction when she told me that, but don't worry, said toxicity doesn't affect my health in any way."

Alejandro: "Good to know, but holy Rex, how is that possible? Why would the blood of any organism develop a poison like that?"

Francisco: "Also, how toxic is your blood exactly? Does it kill any carnivore that so much as bite you?"

Kasumi: "Moreover, how much of a dosis does it require a carnivore to die by it?"

Sebastián: "Woah guys, calm down. I understand you are quite shocked about this, but let's not overwhelm our recovering friend like that."

Alejandro: "Oh right... sorry Sharik, it just that it was such a bombshell to take in."

Kasumi: "Yeah, I'm sorry for getting all crazy about it, Sharik, you don't have to respond all at once if it is a hard topic for you."

Francisco: "Likewise, Rayitas."

Sharik: "It's ok guys, don't worry, I can understand your shock." He replied in a polite tone to his friends, understanding their reactions well since he could imagine doing the same on their shoes. "Well for starters: Azumi told me that the toxin was produced directly by my body as an additional defense mechanism, though the purpose and exact chemical composition of the toxin is still unknown; it is extremely toxic if ingested by carnivores, and according to her experiments, it can kill any carnivore and parasite by taking the equivalent of a 30ml glass, fortunately, biting me doesn't outright kill the carnivore that does it, and since the toxin also gives out a foul taste, they will pull out immediately after."

Francisco: "Phew, that is quite good to know, that means any love bites you get from any cat won't result in they committing hara kiri, still, be careful with that, Manchitas." He then started to laugh, much to the dismay of Alejandro.

Alejandro: "HEY! What's THAT supposed to mean!?" He exclaimed angrily and embarrassed, as Francisco sometimes teased him with how affectionate he was with Sharik, to the point one may think he was in love with him, fortunately, Sharik was able to calm him down enough to prevent Alex to slap Francisco in the face, though he himself couldn't help but chuckle.

As the herd was enjoying their moment together, someone was looking at them in the background, someone who had conflicting thoughts regarding the cursed cebra. Ever since he smelled that "aura of terror" during that test in which he participated, Óscar was having conflicting thoughts about Sharik: on the one hand, he was the kindest and noblest herbivore he has ever met, who not only accepted him as he was but also became his first real friend, yet on the other hand, he still remember the pure terror he felt when he smelled the aura his body emanated after listening to that crocodile bellow, such contrasts between each part of Sharik somehow mixing together just like his black and white stripes, and yet as he saw him interact with his friends, he could only see a friendly and cheerful person

Óscar: (My instincts are telling me to not get anywhere close to him, despite knowing he isn't anywhere close to a bad person. Hmm, it's ironic... now I know what many herbivores feel when they are close to carnivores such as me.)

As he reflected on the irony, he immediately set aside any worries and fear remaining on his inner self, as he wasn't going to judge or discriminate Sharik just as he didn't when he met him, and with a toothy but amicable smile, the ocelot went over to the table Sharik and his friends were sitting on... just in time to see Sharik carry an elephant bigger than himself with little difficulty.

Alejandro: "¡Rex Santo! I'm completely speechless!"

Francisco: "Holy Brachio! You are like an superhero, wey, that's awesome!" Said the buffalo excitedly as he witness such a feat.

Kasumi: "That's right, it is simply amazing that you can do that!"

Sebastián: "Yeah, I agree, but it would be better to put me down, everyone around us seem a bit shocked about what you can do."

Not needed to be told twice, Sharik gently put Sebastián back down on his seat, and in that moment, he noticed on his periferal vision that a certain someone had just arrived, and he quickly went over him to give him a hug, which the ocelot corresponded happily.

Sharik: "Óscar! I'm glad you decided to come over here... despite how scared you were of me during that test." He said with a saddened tone at the end, but was quickly uplifted by the ocelot.

Óscar: "There's nothing you should feel bad about, Sharik. You accepted me for who I am without question, and I would do the same thing for my first great friend." He said with a kind smile, turning towards the rest of the herd. "So, these are the friends you told me about? They are quite the diverse bunch."

Sharik: "Oh yeah! Guys, I want you to meet Óscar, a friend I made here in my stay on the hospital. Óscar, these are Alejandro, Francisco, Sebastián and Kasumi, my herd." He explained happily with his ears straight up as he signaled each one of them as he said their names.

Alejandro: "Hello Óscar, nice to meet you."

Francisco: "Quiubo. Welcome to the herd."

Sebastián: "A pleasure to meet you, Óscar, feel yourself welcome."

Kasumi: "Hi there, Óscar. Hope we can get along well."

Óscar: "Wow... thank you to all of you... I have never met so many friendly people at once." Exclaimed the ocelot quite joyfully and with a blushy face as he sat left side of Sharik, looking over to Alejandro. "My, Sharik, you didn't tell me your jaguar friend was so cute and handsome. He definitely fits my taste~." He said in a flirty manner while winking at Alejandro.

Alejandro: "Umm... hehehe... t-t-thanks." He said quite timidly, not knowing how to react to that.

Francisco: "Woah! Not to sound rude, but... are you gay, Óscar?" Said the buffalo a bit fearfully as Kasumi was staring at him to prevent him from saying any offensive joke since the buffalo's speech filters were non-existent.

Óscar: "Oh, don't worry, Francisco, it's alright. And to answer your question: yes, I am."

Kasumi: "Cool, never met someone gay before. I hope that hasn't caused you any problems."

Óscar: "Fortunately, not anymore, especially since I met Sharik, he accepted me as soon as I told him."

Sebastián: "That's one of his best qualities: Sharik always accepts good people regardless of what makes them different to himself, something he has taught us ever since we met." Replied the elephant with a warm smile.

Alejandro: "Yeah, much like with you, Óscar, he offered to become my first friend shortly after we met, and he has always been there to help me whenever I needed him, he is a great friend and brother." He said with a joyful smile, his fangs showing just a little bit due to happiness.

Sharik: "Aw guys, I'm flattered. I'm just glad I have been a good influence for all of you." He said with a smile as he wagged his tail.

Óscar: "So, how did you meet Sharik, exactly? We met during lunch time on the Hospital's Cafeteria." Asked the ocelot with curiosity.

Alejandro: "Oh, we met in a hospital too. He was assigned to my room for recovery of a broken leg."

Francisco: "We met in elementary school, we used to be heated rivals, but became good friends over time."

Sebastián: "I met him at the beach back in Río Lagartos, was curious about my trunk since I was the first elephant he met."

Sharik: "Well... can you blame me? Hehe." He chuckled a bit blushed.

Kasumi: "He and I met in a martial arts class, and we became friends shortly after our first match, which I won." She said with a smug grin on her face.

Óscar: "That's so cool!" He exclaimed happily.

While the friends continue talking with each other, and Alejandro gave Sharik the gift he made for him, for which the cebra happily thanked his best friend for it, Francisco remembered the "discussion" he had with Kasumi two days after the trial, how she was so furious and devastated by the news and how she blamed him for all that had happened, placing a hand on his chest as he remembered the kick she gave him due to how his rebellious and irresponsible attitude places them in so much danger... not that he didn't already blame himself just as much, unbeknownst to the buffalo, Sharik already had noticed his change of mood.

Sharik: "What's wrong Francisco, are you feeling unwell?" Asked the cebra with worry.

Francisco: "Not exactly..." While nervous, Francisco took a deep breath and began to speak what he needed to. "Sharik... I want to apologize... for everything. It was through my dumb and reckless choices that landed you in so much trouble and pain... even before the trial, with how that awful cop beat you up."

After he mentioned that, Sharik was left paralyzed due to the horrible memory, yet at the same time, he expressed empathy for his friend, understanding the pain of guilt he carried as well. For their part, Sebastián and Kasumi, the latter still not fully forgiving Francisco, gave comfort to their friend who was beginning to sob, while Alejandro gently caressed Sharik to comfort him over his traumatic experience, even Óscar helped him with this, as Sharik had previously told him about this event, as well as the hippo bite, after he witnessed the scars on the herbivore's body during one salsa accident.

Francisco: "I... I will understand if you don't want to be my friend after all that has happened because of me... you didn't deserve this and... if there's anything I could do to gain your forgiveness, you can tell me and I would do it." Said the buffalo with tears already building up on his eyes.

Shortly after hearing the heartfelt apology, Sharik gently placed a hand over Francisco's shoulder, and with a gentle smile, he answered.

Sharik: "If you truly wish to do anything to gain my forgiveness, then please, allow yourself to forgive yourself, because I have already forgiven you."

After hearing the kind words coming from Sharik, Francisco was left speechless, he expected Sharik to be angry with him, that he was going to put his friendship into question or even not wanting to see him again once he was out of the hospital, and yet... he forgave him before he could even apologize. Francisco wasn't the only one surprised by this, as Sebastián and Alejandro, while they were hoping this would happen, weren't expecting Sharik to do so that quickly, and for her part, Kasumi was quite shocked about such a response.

Kasumi: "Really? Not to sound rude or anything but, Sharik... Francisco almost got you four killed, how can you forgive him so easily?" Asked Kasumi, but her tone was not one of anger of disbelief, rather of the same confusion that Francisco was experiencing.

Francisco: "She is right, Sharik... I... I was the cause you suffer so much: you almost die, you got arrested, beaten by that Rexawful wild ass... and my decision lead to the activation of your curse.

Sharik: "While it is true that all of those things happened, it wasn't directly your fault. You chose to stay later on the park not out of any malice, but because you wished to spend more time with us, something you were unable to due to your extracurricular assignments; we couldn't have known about the carnivore gang waiting for us in ambush because we were so certain than that park was a safe place and that they wouldn't dare to commit such an act. As for my curse... it was bound to happen, sooner or later. To tell the truth... my dad already suspected I had it since... my grandfather is also cursed. "

Alejandro: "What? So... the Curse of Madness can be passed down genetically?

Sharik: "Yes, but it can sometimes skip generations, which is why my dad doesn't have it." He then turned back to Francisco. "The point is, despite the bad things that had happened to me, to us, none of it was out of malice, and despite the fact it was a careless choice, I know you will learn from it and become a better version of yourself, just as you did before, when we became friends."

Hearing how Sharik not only forgave him, but just how much he valued him as a friend and always believed he could become a better person, made Francisco's heart quiver as he openly began sob with tears coming out of his eyes as he stood up to give Sharik the biggest hug he could, which the cebra gently corresponded as he patted his friend in the back.

Francisco: "I don't know if I deserve such a good friend as you, but I am so grateful that we are friends." He said while sobbing in happiness.

Sharik: "I wouldn't have it any other way." Replied with a smile.

After the heartwarming shared by the 2 boys, Kasumi stood up and went over Francisco, placing a hand on the buffalo's right shoulder, to which he turned to see her.

Kasumi: "If he can forgive you, and believes that you can become a better beast... then I forgive you too. Just don't disappoint me, please."

Smiling happily, Francisco turned around and hugged Kasumi gently, to which the marsupial corresponded as well, making the rest of the herd smile happily as the friendship between the 3 fighting buddies was restored.

Francisco: "I promise I would never do such thing, I value your friendship too much for that."

Kasumi: "I know you do." She smiled at him happily.

Óscar: "Wow, this is... quite the friendship dynamic... sorry if I sound weirded out, I'm not used to this, hehe."

Sebastián: "Oh don't worry Óscar, you will fit just fine, count on it." Said the elephant as he gently caressed his new friend with his trunk, affection the ocelot gladly accepted.

Then, much to the surprise of the herd, Alejandro stood up and bowed in front of Sharik, who was confused as to what he was doing until the jaguar spoke.

Alejandro: "Sharik I... I also wish to apologize to you... I... I'm sorry I was so weak... that I was unable to help you fight back those predators due to my physical limitations... I... I wished I was stronger so I could have defended myself so you haven't become so desperate...and..."

Surprised and saddened by the words of his brother of another species, Sharik interrupted Alejandro by giving him a very big hug, which caught the jaguar off guard as he now was the one shocked by the cebra's actions.

Sharik: "You have nothing to apologize for, Alex, you are not to blame for anything, nor are you weak." He broke off the hug so he could see his friend to the face. "You may have limited physical capabilities, and it's okay to have them, for we all have our weaknesses, but despite those limitations, you have become someone brave and compassionate, and you always have been there to help us in our times of need."

Sebastián: "Sharik is right, you may not be strong in body, but you are very strong in heart and spirit. Your actions during the trial demonstrated that perfectly."

Francisco: "Not to mention that you are the most agile among us, and an excellent swimmer, so even physically, you have your own strength." He said confidently to his friend

Hearing those kind words and learning that his friends never undermined him, how when he saw himself as a weak beast, they saw and praised his strengths, despite whatever limitations he may have, all of that made the jaguar smile and cry in joy, hugging each of the 3 herbivores who, despite being larger and stronger than he was, they all saw him as an equal, something he valued with all of his heart.

Alejandro: "Thank you, thank you so much. I love you guys." He said with great joy.

Sharik: "We love you too, Alex." Corresponded with a kind smile.

Óscar: "Awwww, how cute, you truly have a strong bond between each other, it's so wonderful."

Kasumi: "Sure it is, and all thanks to the zebra that started it all." She said happily, but then Kasumi remembered something about Sharik's curse than everyone wanted to know. "Oh I almost forgot! Sharik, did you find out what detonates your curse? Is it related to carnivores as well?"

The question brought everyone back on track, as they remembered than that was precisely one of the biggest mysteries of the curse, and was something if special importance to them so as to avoid it as much as possible.

Sharik: "Yes, I did. The day in which Dr. Azumi performed several experiments on me to determined what were the capabilities of my enhanced body, she also performed an experiment in which she tested on me 4 recorded sounds made by 4 types of animals, these were all 'infrasounds', low frequency sounds than some animals can make, like elephants, for example, this in order to discover which one detonated the curse.

Sebastián: "I see, so during the experiments, I assume she utilized the roar of a large carnivore, such as a tiger, it triggered the aggressive response you had on the night we were attacked. Correct?"

Sharik: "Yeah, that was the one who caused me to rampage, and as you saw today, she utilized mannequin replicas of different carnivore species to see how I would... um... well, you already know."

This revelation was particularly concerning for Alejandro and Óscar, fearful that their own infrasounds might become a trigger for Sharik's curse, but since it was Alejandro himself who got him out of the madness state, the jaguar had hope that he, along with the others, could be able to save Sharik from the madness if the zebra was lost in it.

Alejandro: "In that case, I will make sure to be near you when that happens." He affirmed confidently, which shocked Óscar at the start since Alejandro was a carnivore, yet he let the jaguar explain himself. "Since I managed to rescue you from the curse, and considering than your little brother did as well, then it means that anyone who is very close to you at heart we will be able to get you out of it whenever it detonates."

Sharik: "You are right Alex, and I am so happy to know that you will be able to rescue me, or anyone of you, for that matter." He replied with a happy smile and ears fully erected, such happiness was transmitted to his friends like an aura of positivity. "Oh speaking of which. Where is Joaquín? I had hoped he would have come with you, guys."

Kasumi: "Joaquín? Is that another friend of yours, Francisco?"

Francisco: "Yes, he is a german shepherd, as for why he didn't came..." He took a quick glance towards Sebastián and Alejandro, both of which told him with their sights to use the cover they came up with. "He has severe indigestion, and he was unable to come with us because of it." He answered, but he sounded a little nervous.

Sharik: "Oh I see, well, I hope he recovers soon, I wish to see him again."

Óscar: "Yeah, me too, I want to get to know him in person."

Kasumi: "Me too." While she suspected that Francisco and the others were hiding something, she decided that it would be better to ask later, as it seemed to be a delicate topic.

Time went by as the friends continue to happily converse, with Alejandro giving Sharik the special gift he had prepared for him, to which the cebra thanked him greatly, caressing the jaguar on his head as he chuffed joyfully, but unfortunately, time had ran out for the meeting, and Natasha and Sofía, alongside Eileen, went over the teens to tell them time was up.

Eileen: "Sorry, little ones, but I'm afraid that visit time is over, and it's time for Sharik and Óscar to go to their respective therapies."

Natasha: "And it is also time to go back home for us, Kasumi's parents are waiting for her."

Sofía: "And Sebastián, remember that today we have to visit Joaquín, too, so we better get going."

Although it was sad news for the herd, they knew than their visit had brighten Sharik's stay much more than it could be put into words, and with a new member in the pack, things were looking to become better each day. After some long and sentimental goodbyes, especially between Sharik and Alejandro, they group departed from the hospital and went in their separate ways, while the zebra and the ocelot stayed behind, with nurse Eileen escorting both Sharik and Óscar to their respective therapy sessions.

Óscar: "Hey Sharik."

Sharik: "Yes Óscar?"

Óscar: "I wanted to ask you... in what school you are studying? When we get discharged, I want to enroll in the same school you and the herd attend to so we can be together and know each other better."

Sharik: "That sounds wonderful, Óscar, as for my school, it's called Noah's Arc high-school, it is a school that accepts all matter of beasts, there's even some Komodo dragons studying there."

Óscar: "Really? That's so interesting, I have heard Komodo dragons are quite rare outside of Indonesia and Komodo Island."

Sharik: "Yeah, it's so cool to get to meet rare species. You will love the school."

As the 2 boys were happily talking to each other, Eileen couldn't help but feel overwhelming tenderness at how happy the 2 patients were talking with one another, knowing this represented how much they have healed psychologically thanks to the visit of today, and while she was happy for the progress they both have made, on her heart, she sensed that she would miss them a lot due to how sweet and kind mannered they both were, especially Sharik.

Eileen: (The way Sharik changed Óscar into a more open and happy beast is so beautiful. They are so different from each other, and yet now they coexist as members of the same herd. He would become a wonderful Beastar).

As she thought about this possible future, she escorted the boys to the offices of their respective doctors, and when they arrived, each one of them open the door for their patient: the first one was a large female capybara, a gentle and maternal herbivore with a soft and warm expression, smiling towards Óscar who returned the gesture kindly; the second was the empathic and paternal brown hyena who Sharik was more than familiarized with, smiling happily towards Yamato who gently rustled Sharik's mane, after that brief and unspoken greeting, both patients entered to the offices of their doctors and Eileen went on her way to attend other patients.

Ancient Jungle Street

July 6, 1:12 p.m.

After arriving at his home, thanking and saying goodbye to his friends, Alejandro walked towards the entrance of his house and knocked the door, being greeted by his father who hugged him happily as he corresponded with the same feeling. Entering the tailgate and closing it behind them, the 2 jaguars went over the entrance of their house and entered calmly, with the 2 jaguars taking of their shoes (or sandals in Marco's case) and placed them on a wooden shoe rack as they preferred to walk barefoot around the house; as they entered, Alejandro noticed the absence of a certain someone.

Alejandro: "Um, papá ¿Dónde está mamá?" He asked a bit worried about her.

Marco: "Ella está en el patio de atrás, nadando en la alberca, me dijo que tiene una sorpresa para tí, pero que debes entrar con ella para que pueda mostrártela." He said with a knowing smile, being stealthy with the revelation of what Ximena was hiding.

Intrigued and curious, Alejandro wasted no time and went up his room to change into orange swim trunks, just before he went down, he heard the alarm of his cellphone and took one of his heart pills out of the bottle and ingested it quickly without water to then leaving he bottle on his desk and calmly trotting towards the backyard.

Alejandro: (Menos mal me tomé una antes de llegar al hospital, no me habría gustado tomar una a la vista de tanta gente.) He thought as the pills were a private manner for him plus his family and close friends.

Exiting through the back door, Alex went to their garden, which was filled with a diverse range of tropical plants, to then walked the stone pass that lead to their pool, and just as his father had told him, his mother was there, bathing peacefully, wearing a long skirt yellow and white bikini and was enjoying some choco-vanilla ice cream with some butter cookies.

Alejandro: (Eso es raro, mamá rara vez come dulce antes de la comida.)

As Ximena was enjoying her sweet craving, she detected with her whiskers that someone was nearby, turning around to try and detect who was closing in, feeling a little chill as she realized it wasn't her husband; when she turned to her left, Ximena got a little scare when she saw her son crouching down in front of her, placing her bowl of ice cream a bit further of the pool's edge so as to avoid water falling on top of it.

Alejandro: "Hola mamá, veo que te dí un buen susto, jejeje." He said to then gently nuzzle her mom before entering the pool.

Ximena: "Hola mi gatito fantasma. ¿Cómo te fue en la visita?" She asked as she hugged her son with plenty of love, kissing and licking Alejandro on the head and cheeks.

Alejandro: "Fue bastante bien, Sharik estaba muy feliz de vernos y ha mejorado bastante, también nos contó mucho acerca de su Maldición, e incluso conocimos a un nuevo amigo llamado Óscar, un ocelote que él conoció en el hospital." He explained joyfully, but while hugging his mother, he could feel her womb was bloated by something, and judging by the shape it took, Alejandro stared in disbelief.

Ximena: "Eso es maravilloso, corazón, y me alegra escuchar qué tendrán un nuevo miembro en la manada." While she was smiling, she grabbed a stethoscope from a nearby table and handed it to Alejandro. "Y nosotros pronto tendremos a un nuevo miembro de la familia." She said with a maternal expression on her face.

Shocked due to the surprise reveal and with excitement building up in his heart, Alejandro quickly grabbed the stethoscope and, placing the earpieces on, he then placed the other end on her mother's inflated belly, at that moment, he heard something very special.

Lub-dub ~lub-dub ~lub-dub ~lub-dub ~lub-dub ~lub-dub ~lub-dub ~lub-dub ~lub-dub ~lub-dub ~lub-dub ~lub-dub

Those little yet strong heartbeats made him so happy that he could barely contain it, smiling wide in pure joy as he looked at her mother, who was equally smiling in happiness.

Alejandro: "Voy a ser un hermano mayor, voy a tener una hermanita." He said as he hugged his mother and continued to listen to the healthy heartbeats of his little sister, happy that she wouldn't suffer what his own heart had.

R&NH Hospital

July 6, 9:43 p.m

Inside of his room, Sharik had finally begun opening the gift that his best friend had gave him, and upon lifting the top of the box, he smiled wide and happy upon seeing what his gift was, gently taking each framed painting as he remembered both beautiful moments, memories that he would hold dear to his heart until the end of days.

Sharik: (Lucen como si fueran genuinas fotografías, y capturan cada detalle perfectamente, Alex, eres un grandioso artista).

After looking at the paintings, Sharik stood up and began placing them on appropriate places so he could enjoy them: the first one, representing the first time they went to the beach together, was placed on top of the shelf near his comic book stash, and the second one, that of the first time they met, was placed on top of the table near his bed, smiling as he aligned the painting right below the lamp so the light could brighten it.

Unbeknownst to the zebra, and even the guards stationed near the perimeter of his room entrance, someone was watching the young teen from outisde of his room with sinister intentions. Sitting on top of a tree growing near the building, a female yellow baboon was stalking Sharik, observing the young boy with a pair of binoculars as she awaited for the time in which Sharik went to sleep, planning to kidnap him and take him to his superiors.

Yellow baboon: (Such a handsome young male, and that body of his looks quite strong~. I bet that's the curse doing his work. The boss would love to obtain his blood... and I would love that black cock of his between my breasts and in my cunt). She thought that last part with a depraved perverted expression, remembering doing such things in the past before the Clan was dissolved.

As she continued watching, she saw that the snow leopard nurse that attended his target began to prepared him for sleep, which was just what the monkey was waiting for. Climbing down the tree and disguised as one of the nurses, she began to walk towards the hospital, hoping to blend in and get access to the 212th room so she could extract her target. On her way there, she felt a slight sting on her back, slapping it as she thought it was a pesky mosquito, but as she did, the baboon realized it was something larger than a mosquito... she then collapsed on the floor, paralyzed completely.

Yellow baboon: (WHAT!? WHAT IS HAPPENING? WHY I CAN'T MOVE!?) She questioned in panic, but she couldn't even speak, only her eyes were able to move, yet she could only stare above her.

As the monkey laid on the floor, she heard someone approaching, but she wasn't hearing it's steps, for those were completely silent, instead, she heard the click of a weapon, a bolt action rifle to be precise, and as the sound got closer, she finally saw who had approached her... and her blood ran cold the moment the chameleon became visible above her. In the times of the Wukong Clan, before the arrival of Akida and Denzel's betrayal, there were very few law enforcers that the Clan feared, many being treated as worthy opponents at best or as cannon fodder at worst, often treating those they could overwhelm with reckless brutality, mauling them to the point of leaving them unrecognizable, yet there was one that stroke fear even to the higher ups, one that was able to infiltrate their compounds no matter how well defended they were, a cold blooded agent that brought down some of the biggest members of the Clan and could kill even the largest gorilla without suffering a single touch. Such terror, such a deadly hunter, was the one that stared down at the female baboon with those cold, black eyes.

He That Hunts Unseen was the guardian of her target, and she now knew why her partners had failed to capture the cursed zebra.

Oxyotl: (Another one of the Macaques, it seems that they are getting sneakier with their infiltration methods, hope she was the last one).

As his paralyzed victim laid motionless, 2 guards soon came and, with a nod of the chameleon, took the yellow baboon with them as Oxyotl got his phone out to give his report to the father of his protégé.

Oxyotl: "Hello Akida, I hope you are having a good night. I am calling you to report about tonight's activity, caught another stalker of your son, this one seems to be one of the macaques." He said as the chameleon examined a insignia he took from the paralyzed baboon.

Akida: "Excellent, Oxyotl, thank you for keeping him safe. For how long would she be paralyzed?"

Oxyotl: "The effect of the dart should disolve in 8 minutes, just enough time to get her into headquarters for interrogation. She may lead us to the Six Eared Macaques's base of operations."

Akida: "I will inform Oberon about this. Keep yourself vigilant. We don't know how many other infiltrators may be surrounding the facility."

Oxyotl: "I will Akida, you can count on that."

Akida: "Thanks, and if you can, say hello to Sharik for me, he has been wishing to know 'He That Hunts Unseen' for quite some time."

Surprised by that, the chameleon was left thinking briefly about that, it was quite unusual for him to appear before most people when he was on duty, especially those he was assigned to protect, but at the same time, it felt... nice, to hear that the young herbivore wanted to meet him.

Oxyotl: "I'll see if I got the time to meet him, hope he doesn't get scared by me appearing out of camouflage."

Akida: "Trust me, he won't, but do try to do it on a non frightening manner if you wish not to scare him."

Oxyotl: "Very well Akida, I will call you if anything else happens, hope your wife and younger child are alright."

Akida: "Thank you Oxyotl, they are indeed well and resting. I have to go now, have a good night, and good hunting, my friend."

Oxyotl: "Rest well, old friend." He smiled as they both finished the call. After that, he looked up to the window on Sharik's room, thinking about what Akida told him, in the end, he decided to do so.

Inside of his room, Sharik was reading one of his comics, specifically one called 'Spotlight: Trailcutter' which was about said Autobot feeling unappreciated and having to face down a invading party of Decepticons on his own after the screw-up of one of Brainstorm's (another Autobot) inventions. Coincidentally, Trailbreaker/Trailcutter was one of the favorite Autobots of the cebra, especially for his special ability.

Sharik: (Cómo me encantaría tener un generador de escudos, con eso podría proteger y ayudar a tanta gente, además de mis amigos y mi familia.) He thought happily while waging his tail while reading the 10th page of the comic.

Suddenly, the young cebra heard a knock on the window, and while startled at first, that feeling quickly became curiosity and, leaving the comic on the bed, he went over the window and gently opened it; as soon as he did, he could see the silhouette of a figure appearing in front of him, with said figure changing color and revealing his natural golden yellow coloration with brown stripes and a brown tail, a prominent crest showing above his head.

Just as Akida had told Oxyotl, Sharik didn't look at him with fear or worry, but rather intrigue and curiosity, and as the young teen approached him, he gently extended his hand in greeting.

Sharik: "Are you the guardian dad told me about?" He asked with a kind voice.

Said question surprised the chameleon, he hadn't expected Akida to have told Sharik about him, but still, it felt nice that he had approached him with such a friendly and kind disposition, extending his hand to correspond to the greeting.

Oxyotl: "I am, Sharik, it's good to finally meet you in person. I am Oxyotl."

At this response, Sharik smiled happily, and like if it were a contagious disease, Oxyotl smiled as well.

Peace and Love

Chapter Text

Hiding The Secrets

Municipal Library

June 22, 13:34 p.m.

8 days have passed since the court session and later admission of Sharik into the mental hospital, and even after all of that time, the boys were still not completely over it: the worry of the well-being of their black and white friend being ever present within their minds. Adding tho this was the fact that none of them knew what exactly was the Curse of Madness beyond what little information the police force was able to recover from the Wukong Clan, as most of it was destroyed during the assault on the main compound of the organization, with the remnants having little to nothing that was of use so far.

In an attempt to discover whatever clues that could help them understand this enigmatic curse, Joaquín, the most curious and smartest of the group (Sebastián would strongly disagree with this claim) decided to investigate as many historical documentations as he could in order to obtain as many answers as possible, as such, he went to the local library, which was relatively close to his house, and began to search for anything related to the Curse of Madness on the history section of books, specifically those related to the War of Extinction, yet so far, he was unsuccessful.

Joaquín: (Maldición, ya van 23 libros y ninguno habla de algo relacionado a la Maldición de la Locura ¿Qué acaso es un fenómeno relativamente reciente?)

He questioned as he continued to find little to no clues or answers about the dreaded curse, closing the last book with a strong smackdown in frustration as he traced his fingers on his head with that same sentiment.

Joaquín: (Carajo, esto ha sido inútil, no puedo creer que no haya registro alguno de la maldición.) He thought frustratedly, but that's when he realized something. (¿Y qué tal si... la razón por la que no he encontrado nada es porque... la Maldición fue censurada por completo? Sí, ese podría ser el caso... pero ¿por qué censurarlo cuando todavía afecta a los animales hasta el día de hoy?)

As he reflected on that, he heard a close by conversation of what appeared to be 2 of the librarians working here, curious to know what was happening, he got a bit closer to more accurately hear what they were talking about, looking over throughout a small hole in the bookshelf left by a couple of taken books. As he did, he saw those two librarians, a malayan tapir and a banteng, discussing something while the former was placing some books on a book cart.

Malayan tapir (male): "Remind me again why do we even have these books in the library? These are supposed to be banned from public places like this one." Asked the irritated yet nervous tapir as he accommodated the books.

Banteng (Female): "Because these are for licensed historians and higher learning class programs of institutions like the Charles Darwin Academy. These may be banned from public access, but they sure help those learning in higher places."

Malayan tapir (male): "Yeah, I get that. But don't you think we should be more careful with these things? Last time one of these was published, there was a whole domestic dog and equid revolution in ten countries, a miracle it didn't start another war."

Joaquín: (¿¡Qué!? ¿Revolución de perros domésticos? ¿Pero por qué?)

Banteng (Female): "I understand your worries, Fahim, but have for sure these will be kept in the vault safely, besides, is not like anyone could access it."

Fahim: "Yeah, I suppose you are right. It's just that reading some of this stuff makes me very nervous." He said as he placed a book that was about secret chemical weapons. "Jeez, can you believe the sort of stuff they used during the war? I'm glad those weapons were destroyed."

Susan: "I somehow doubt that all of them were. Now that you are done, let us finish with this. You still owe me a date at the beach~." She teased to then gave Fahim a kiss on his cheek, making the tapir blush and smile lovingly as the two of them began moving the cart, unaware that a certain smart but silent dog was watching them.

Joaquín: (Acceso prohibido o no, necesitamos esas respuestas... joder, solo espero no arrepentirme de esto.)

With his objectives now set, the german shepherd silently and stealthy followed the herbivore duo towards whatever vault they were taking those books, fortunately for him, there weren't a lot of people today on the library, and he cleverly made himself look unsuspicious by simply appearing to be scrolling through the different shelfs like the bookworm he already is, one of the reasons he often came to the library even on vacation.

After following the library workers for what it felt like an hour, the dog carefully yet sneakily watched as they got closer to what seemed to be a large dark green door, the one who presumably was that of the vault where they stored the "banned" literature was stored, and as he saw the tapir opening it, Joaquín remained vigilant, yet hidden, to try and find an opening, and after some 20 minutes, the 2 herbivores came out of the vault, though they looked a little more careless than before.

Fahim: "Welp, that was our last assignment, but the others won't come around for half an hour. Care for a coffee in the cafeteria?"

Susan: "I would love to, my mix choco bun, but we should first lock the vault out."

She then went over the door and closed it, followed by utilizing a password keyboard installed on the door to activate the lock. Joaquín made sure to listen and watch carefully which key was pressed.

Susan: "All done, now we can go and get our break before our beach date."

After that, the couple began to walk away from the vault, all the while kissing passionately and hugging each other in a very mellow way, much to the slight disgust of the hidden dog.

Joaquín: (Neta, como dan diabetes estas parejas. Ojalá no me llegue a pasar lo mismo a mí o a mis amigos.)

After making sure he was completely alone in this section of the library, not catching any other nearby smell, the shepherd quickly approached the vault doors and placed the code, memorizing it by sound and the movement pattern of the banteng.

Joaquín: (Okay, entonces es 8092016)

Just after he put the code, the door was unlocked, and Joaquín proceeded to carefully open it to then access the vault, closing the door behind him so as to not draw any suspicion. Once inside of the vault, which was thankfully illuminated by some roof lights, the german shepherd was amazed at the amount of books and documents hidden inside of this place, his young mind wondering the sort of mysteries that hid in each book, newspaper or even in some electronic archives, since he noticed some relatively modern computers in some desks nearby the bookshelfs.

Joaquín: (Santo cielo, esto es básicamente una mina de oro... pero necesito concentrarme, mis amigos necesitan la información sobre la maldición, especialmente Sharik).

Not losing any time, Joaquín immediately began checking every book he could find about chemical warfare, attempting to find anything that gave significant information regarding the Curse of Madness, checking the chapter index of each book so he could more easily find what he was looking for, but even among these books, he was having little to no luck in finding what he was looking for.

Joaquín: (Joder, ni siquiera estos libros tienen lo que busco. ¿Qué tan horrible son los orígenes de la maldición para ocultarlo de esta forma?)

After reading through the indicies of many books and being close to giving up, the dog finally came across one book whose index had something that the others didn't: the enigmatic name of a forgotten substance.

Joaquín: (¿Químico X? ¿Acaso será...?)

Immediately flipping the pages until arriving at the chapter, being the last one of the entire book, Joaquín began to read attentively each letter of each paragraph relating to what Chemical X was and how it related to the Curse of Madness, needless to say, he was shocked and disturbed when he discovered the truth.

Joaquín: (Madre santa, esta extraña sustancia... es la causante de la maldición... y fue usada para convertir a los herbívoros en super soldados durante la guerra... si es que se les puede llamar así. Las formas en que masacraron a millones de carnívoros... es más aterrador de lo que imaginé.)

As he continued reading, learning about what effects Chemical X had over the herbivores and carnivores who drank it, horrified by what it did to the latter, the dog quickly searched for whatever notes of a cure were present in the book, which he eventually found.

Joaquín: (Vaya, me alegra saber que el autor de este libro agregó la existencia de la cura de la mal-... Espera... ¿Cómo que ya no funciona?)

Growling in frustration, Joaquín shoved his right hand on his head at this last revelation, so far he had come learning about the Curse and it's origins, only to find out that there was no way to cure it for those who were born with it, as Chemical X was so deeply integrated within the cursed herbivores bodies than trying to remove it would cause much more harm than good.

Joaquín: (Pobre Sharik, supongo que tendrá que aprender a vivir con su maldición, aun así, esta información es vital para que puedan ayudarlo, será mejor que la anote.)

Grabbing the canvas bag he brought with him, Joaquín opened it and took a notebook, pencil and eraser from it, following that, he quickly began to take notes about the information in the book, particularly the origin and discovery of Chemical X, what effects it had on the body of herbivores (including what species were unable to consume it) and how it affected the behavior of those mutated by it. As he was taking his notes, he heard the door opening and, quickly placing his things inside of his bag, the dog hid bellow the desk, using a metal sheet to cover himself as he listened to the library worker that had just entered, with a quick and stealthy sniff of the newcomer's scent, he determined that this was a female border collie, and she appeared to be carrying something.

Border collie (Female): "That pale, scaly son of a bitch!! All of those horrible things I went through, all the suffering... IT WAS BY DESIGN!?" As she yelled in frustration, a loud cracking sound echoed in the chamber, alongside the sound of something being thrown into the floor violently. "I should just destroy all of these... but then... everyone would forget... the revolution and the... Fuck!"

Once again, that "revolution" was mentioned, and Joaquín could only speculate in curious worry. What was this revolution about? What happened to dogs and domestic equids that made them do such a thing? Did other domestic species do something similar? Who was this scaly individual, and how was he involved in all of that? Whatever that whole event was, he knew now that he needed and wanted to discover it, even though it sounded like it was a very disturbing secret. Just then, she heard the collie pick up the box and placed it on top of a table, her growls telling him that she was still very frustrated, perhaps even disheartened.

Border collie (Female): "I just hope that whoever gets his hands on this, uses it to change things for the better, for all of us domestics... especially you."

Wondering who she was referring too, a more detailed sniff revealed that she was pregnant, which both surprised him and made him unconsciously wag his tail in joy, but he quickly recovered his focus as he patiently awaited for the expecting mother to get out of the room, which she eventually did as he could hear the door closing, gently removing the metal sheet and getting out of hiding, although he noticed that he had left the book he was using open.

Joaquín: (Menos mal que no se dio cuenta del libro. Bueno, ahora a ver lo que ella trajo)

Turning around, he went over the table in which he heard the box being laid on and quickly realized that it was filled with what appeared to be VHS tapes, something quite peculiar as he thought all of those were phased out and discarded, the fact that whatever information about this "domestic revolution" was recorded on tapes told him that this event was way before he was born, maybe around the 70s.

Joaquín: (Vaya, no esperaba que alguien más tuviera cintas de VHS, esto es tecnología muy retro.)

He thought with amazement as he gently hold and examined the tapes, each of them had some adhesive tape on top in which a name was written, no doubt being about the sort of information these had inside of them, among these were some that had the name of "Project Genesis" with each tape that shared the name possessing the "Vol." abbreviation with a number next to it, suggesting that they all form a collection of some sort, but that wasn't the only mark the tapes had, as the tapes of this collection also presented a sticker of an animal, all of whom depicted a specific kind of domestic species: horses, cows, cats, sheep, and the one he had on his hand was about domestic rabbits.

Joaquín: (Oh Rex, esto es básicamente el catálogo completo... pero ¿por qué ocultan el origen de los domésticos? ¿Tan grave fue aquella "Revolución" de la que esa pareja hablaba?)

The mere thought of discovering what was this all about made him tremble to his core, but in the back of his mind... this was a secret he wished to uncover ever since he was a pup. His parents never told him how exactly dogs like him came about, and even his history teachers never touched the subject, remembering how they even acted scared whenever he brought it up; somehow all of that made a bit of sense, but it made him wish to know the truth even further. Knowing he didn't have much time, and his curiosity and wish for knowledge outweighting his nervousness and uneasiness, he took the tape about dogs and quickly looked for a book or a tape about the Domestic Revolution, succeeding in finding the latter after a quick search inside of the box, with both tapes on his hands, he went back to the desk and put them inside of his bag, carefully placing them so they wouldn't be damaged on his way back home.

Joaquín: (Ok... creo que ya tengo lo que necesito... el problema será como poder salir de la biblioteca con estas cintas)

Going now towards the exit of the vault, which was disturbingly still open, Joaquín carefully and silently came out and closed the door behind him, later went to the door panel to put the code, properly locking the door with nobody in his surroundings that could expose him.

Joaquín: (Phew. Joder, me sentí igual que Tom Crook en sus películas de "Cacería Imposible", bueno, ahora solo necesito encontrar una forma de pasar las cintas sin sospecha por la recepción.)

As he walked through around the library, Joaquín inadvertedly walked through the Hall of Retro Technology, a special display in which the younger generations could study and even enjoy some of the old tech that came before modern times, ranging from phonograms to boom boxes, old video game consoles such as the Super Beastendo and the Saiga Dreamcatcher, but most importantly, it also had VHS players that let you watch movie tapes, and that's when Joaquín got a brilliant idea.

Joaquín: (¡Claro. Puedo utilizar estuches de VHS vacíos para guardarlos y hacerlos pasar por las películas! Caray, como me alegra que pueda pensar en ideas tan rápido)

Not losing any time, he quickly searched through the catalogue of tapes in order to find 2 empty ones that could be of use, and sure enough, he was able to find 2 of these, one of which was coincidentally one of his favorite movies.

Joaquín: (Ahuevo, nada como 'La Bestia de las 20,000 Leguas'. Una de las mejores películas stop motion de todos qué los tiempos)

After placing each tape on it's respective case, Joaquín calmly walked towards the circulation counter of the library in order to borrow these tapes. Once he reached the desk of the librarian, who was an ocellated turkey, he took the tape cases out of his bag and placed them on the counter alongside his carnet.

Ocellated turkey (male): "Oh, so you want these 2 movies? I'm glad someone else appreciates these cult classics, THEM is an underrated one. Wouldn't you agree?"

Joaquín nodded happily at the question. He was a big fan of stop motion and monster movies, and anytime he could, he would watch some of the ones his father had in his studio. After borrowing the tapes, he got out of the library and went down the stairs, passing by a diversity of animals, most of them being tropical and subtropical species of different parts of the world.

Joaquín: (A veces me sorprende lo diversa qué es Sanjo City en términos de especies tropicales, incluso hay algunos murciélagos hondureños aquí. Se siente igual que en Río Lagartos)

After walking down the stairs, Joaquín went over the bicycle parking and, getting a key out of his pocket, he unlocked the lock of his bike to then put his helmet on, making sure to have his ears poking out of the holes, and then he hop on his back and rode his bike back home, anxious about watching the tapes in order to learn about what that domestic revolution was all about.

Elephant Trail Avenue

June 22, 14:20 p.m.

Arriving home after 15 minutes, fortunate to have all routes relatively clean on his way home, Joaquín opened the garage door with a control button that his parents gave to him as so he could park his bike inside of his house, which stood out from most of the others by having a more western design and arquitecture, but that included some japanese parts here and there. Once he parked his bike inside the garage, carefully leaving it on a special bike rack that he himself installed and his helmet on a perch, the dog closed the garage door behind him and went towards the entrance of his house and opened the door, going over the living room to see if his parents were home, but it seemed as they were absent; going over the kitchen, he found a note planted on the fridge via a decorative magnet, it appeared that his mother had wrote it for him.

-Para Joaquín:-

-Hola hijo, si estás leyendo esto significa que no hemos regresado a casa aun,. Tu padre está en el bufete trabajando, yo llevé a tu hermana a una reunión con sus amigas y tuve que ir al doctor, por lo cual regresaré más tarde. Te dejé tu comida en el microondas para que te la calientes, recuerda cerrar con llave.-

-Atte.: Tu madre que tanto te ama ♥︎-

After reading the note, smiling with a slight blush at the last part due to how sweet his mother was, Joaquín decided that it would be best to eat before watching the tapes, and he quickly went over the microwave to take out his lunch, which was a large grasshopper steak with a side of steamed vegetables and rice with soy sauce, the smell of the food was enough to make the german shepherd smile and stare in hunger as he took out the plate.

Joaquín: (Nada como una buena comida después de regresar de la biblioteca)

Serving himself a glass of apple juice, he went over the dining room and orderly set the table to eat comfortably, which helped calm his mind out of the uneasiness he was feeling for what he was about to uncovered, even thinking about it made his body quiver in nervousness.

Joaquín: (No tengo idea de lo que descubra en aquellas cintas... quizás incluso sea una mala idea). He thought with ever growing dread, but his wish to uncover the secrets burned brighter that his fear. (Sea lo que sea que descubra... no merece ser borrado de la historia)

14 minutes later, after Joaquín finished his meal and washed his dishes, he took his bag and went upstairs towards his father's studio, once he arrived there, he opened the door to afterwards enter into the room. The studio of his father had a very standard setup, having a large black office desk with two chairs in fron of it, a large computer on top of the desk and some file racks next to it, there were also some book shelfs adorned with some small statues and a picture of him and his father, but what he was looking for was on the other side of the studio. At the left side of the room, there was a large CRT televisor (or box TV, as he liked to call them) sitting in the middle of a large white shelf, with the rack on the right having plenty of movie tapes and the left one having quite a few DVDs. Joaquín remembered this televisor fondly, as he and his father used it to watch movies together since he was a pup, and it was from there he gained his liking for classic and stop motion movies, wagging his tail at those happy memories.

Joaquín: (Espero que el VHS aun funcione)

Going over the home "cinema", the dog checked behind the televisor to see if the VHS was connected, and to his luck, it was, which made it all the easier for him to play the tapes as quick as possible; turning both the TV and the VHS player on, and making sure everything was working right, Joaquín set up the former to movie setting and, from his bag, he took out the first tape from it's casing, this one labelled as "Project Genesis. Volume #1: Dogs" and inserted the tape into the player and pressing the power button.

Joaquín: (Llegó la hora, no hay vuelta atrás)

Sitting on a chair he borrowed from the desk of his father (since he preferred a more solid seat for such a serious research) he waited for the tape to load and start playing, and soon enough, it began. The first thing to appear was multiple blue and green lines that together formed the shape of a chromosome, and surrounding it were 2 figures: one which seemed to be a dog and the other a horse, the first of domestic breeds to be created, finally below that collage, the words "Project Genesis" appeared.

Joaquín: (¿Proyecto Génesis?... tal parece que este es el proyecto que dio origen a los domésticos)

Shortly after that, the scene transitioned to what seemed like the beginning of a presentation, and right in front of it was the largest crocodile Joaquín had ever seen. This crocodile stood 3 meters tall, but what was even more striking was the fact that it was completely white, being the first time he saw an albino of any sort; the face of this reptile was intimidating yet quite interesting, as it look a bit whithered due to age and had some big scars on his face, making Joaquín wondered if he was a frontline soldier, but based on the medals in the tailored uniform he was wearing, it appeared he was actually a medic, which made Joaquín wonder what role this crocodile had on this "Project Genesis" exactly.

White crocodile: "Greetings, esteemed members of the World Recovery Organization. I am Gustave Fischer, the saltwater crocodile. Today I came to propose you a important tool to aid in the recovery of our war-torn world, as well as a reliable replacement for the workers lost in military service." Said the crocodile with a quite noticeable german accent.

Joaquín: (Con razón es enorme, los cocodrilos porosos son la especie más grande de todas, pero... ¿Qué quiere decir con "reemplazos"?) He asked himself, worrying that he may or may not understand where this was going.

Suddenly, Gustave lowered a backdrop that was installed in the wall behind him, and shortly after, he activated what appeared to be a slide projector, showing up two graphics that represented statistics of the population of both carnivores and herbivores, soon learning what they represent.

Gustave: "As you know, the recently concluded Carnivore-Herbivore war, better known as 'The Great War of Extinction' caused a massive reduction in the population of both factions; as you can see on these graphics, the population of herbivores worldwide has diminished by 66%, however, for carnivores, the casualties were much higher, being left with only 25% of their original population. Among these casualties, we have lost more than 45 different species and subspecies of sophont animals, including the japanese otter, the atlas lion, the syrian elephant, the mexican grizzly bear, the 3 species of warrahs, the javan tiger, the eastern elk, the Guadalupe caracara, the northeastern and western black rhinos, the quagga, the caribbean monk seal, the choiseul pigeon, the broad-billed parrot, the Guadalupe macaw, the mauritius owl, the aurochs, the mauritius woodpigeon and, most recently, the thylacine. We have also lost many of their feral counterparts while those that remained are currently endangered." He then transitioned to a slide that showed pictures of the last members of some of these species, both from when they were alive and of their tragic ends, resulting in the collective gasp and fearful bickering among the present public, who where evidently greatly concerned about all of this devastation.

Barely a second after hearing that revelation, Joaquín was left staring in silent shock, his jaws wide open as he felt his body tremble in horror. He had heard of the great war before in his history classes and even read some books that touched the topic, but never had he expected that it caused not only an unbeastly number of deaths everywhere in the world... but that it even caused so many species to go extinct. It was way harder to digest than what he ever thought it would.

Joaquín: (Rex Santo... todas esas bestias... países enteros incluso... eso sin contar a los ferales afectados por el conflicto... ¿cómo sobrevivimos a esa catástrofe?) He asked himself horrified, yet also feeling a deep grief for all that was lost.

Gustave: "While the total death count was a sum of all the species that formed the covenant of our society, some families were more affected than others, for example: canids lost around 63% of their global population, with some species such as the hokkaido wolf and the aforementioned warrahs being completely wiped out, moreover, the population of the ethiopian wolf and african painted dogs have reached critical levels, we lost all contact with the bush dogs and short-eared dogs in South America and grey wolf populations have been exterminated on half of their native ranges; only 70% of fox species and jackals retain a stable population and coyotes are beginning to recover, but as you understand, they cannot fulfill the same roles that the larger canid species do. To combat this issue and allow the ravaged populations to recover, my science team and I have come up with a solution, one which could change our society for the better and impulse our recovery far more quickly than the current estimates."

As he finished, he pressed the button to transitioned into the next slide, which apparently showed 2 different logos of what seemed to be different organizations: the first one was that of the horse of the Project Genesis logo, but it appeared to have some strange markings on it's face; the other logo had not the shape of a domestic dog, but that of a dingo, which was strange since the shepherd didn't remember that species to be a type of dog.

Gustave: "Originally, there were 2 scientific divisions dedicated to the creation of what we called 'beasts of war', which as the name implies, were animals bred for the sole purpose of serving as expendable troopers to reduce the number of casualties from their wild counterparts; as a result of this, they were equipped with cheaper and defective gear in order to cut costs due to the damaged economies of many countries."

As he said that, the slides behind him showcased plenty of dog and horse breeds, some of them being unrecognizable for the young shepherd

Joaquín: (¿Qué? N-no es posible... ¿los perros y caballos domésticos fuimos creados para la guerra?)

Then, much to Joaquín's horror, the next slides demonstrated the military tactics in which dogs were utilized, those being beast waves to overwhelm herbivore defensive positions and weakened them so as to allow the rest of the army to move forward, witnessing the staggering casualties that resulted from that; to add insult to injury, he saw how horses and donkeys, despite being treated comparatively better, were often euthanized when they suffered injuries to their legs and were forced to pull heavy equipment by foot, despite of the presence of larger and stronger herbivores.

Joaquín: (No... ¡No! No es posible... ¿para eso nos crearon... para ser usados como peones desechables?) He yelled in his mind as the revelation sank deep into his heart, tears forming and falling from his eyes, sadness overcoming him after the truth of the existence of his kind.

Shortly after, and hearing similar sentiments from the public in the recording, Joaquín saw the slide transitioned once again into the logo of Project Genesis, with Gustave standing tall in front of it, though he noticed he was wearing a crane to move, perhaps meaning he was injured in duty.

Gustave: "After the war ended, and with the nefarious state of our society was left in, the 2 organizations melded together to form what you now know as 'Project Genesis'. And you may be wondering: 'What would all of those animals, bred specifically for war, do to help us to restore our society?'. The answer is quite simple: new and cheap labourers."

He then transitioned to the slide in which there were showcased dogs and domestic horses, some being new breeds, working mainly in factories and even in farms. This surprised a good chunk of the present public, and said surprise quickly grew into interest.

Gustave: "While originally created to perform battlefield duties, both domestic dogs and domestic equids are very versatile and malleable, which means they can be indoctrinated to do any job vacant left behind by our fallen brethren. In addition, we have been able to create new breeds that are more docile. This is not all, however, as dogs are also more endearing and amicable, making them better able to interact and socialize with herbivores, as for horses, many of them are, on average, larger and stronger than most wild equids, and they are much more tolerable of carnivores, but can become hostile when ordered to. All of these traits, alongside their enhanced intelligence, allows them to fit into any role you wish to use them for, with a guarantee that they will do their selected job to their best capabilities."

Gustave then passed onto the next slides, which illustrated the different experiments done in order to create the domestic species, showcasing selective breeding and expository tests to filter out the specimens exhibiting the desirable traits... how they disposed off those with undesirable traits, and the intensive training each of them underwent to mold them into their future roles. Such a sight seemed dystopic and out of a science fiction movie, so it came as disturbing and saddening to see that it was something engraved in history.

Joaquín: (Esto es horrible... no... no quisiera creer que esto es real pero... todo está grabado... y ocurriendo frente a mis ojos.) He said to himself, his composure breaking down as his existence lost worth.

Gustave: "Now, I know you may be wondering about the technical stuff, like what do these breeds eat or how to make sure they don't get out of control." Said the crocodile after the public in front of him stopped speaking, no doubt wanting to get their hands on as many of these laborers as possible. "The answers, fortunately, are already available."

Then, instead of a new slide, an assistant of the crocodile, a large shire horse, brought forward a large bag that had a symbol made up of a dog's face who was smiling while eating what looked like food pellets from a bowl, it was almost like a cereal box mascot.

Joaquín: (Ahora entiendo porqué los shire están en peligro de extinción hoy en día). He said as the horse then opened the bag, revealing countless food pellets inside of it, while some where red or green, most were brown.

Gustave: "What you are seeing is the perfect food to feed your new canine labourers: these croquettes contain all the nutrients dogs need to fulfill each task given, made out of meat of feral animas, carbohydrate-rich grains such as rice, nutritious lipids like fish oil, vegetables like spinach and radish, as well as some additional additives that will greatly benefit them, most importantly, however, is that the production of these croquettes is quite cheap, which means that you will not have to worry about the costs of food for your new work force; besides this croquettes, dogs can eat almost anything, even most fruits and vegetables, but they must be kept away from some that might be too toxic for them."

As he continued on, Joaquín began to feel sick in his stomach after watching those croquettes. As if what had already learned so far wasn't disheartening enough, seeing the kind of food that they created specifically for his species was a direct insult to his dignity, it was like they were being treated as captive ferals. So much was going through his mind than the rest of the tape pass out as white noise, up until it came the topic of housing for the new domestics, which were as derogatory as the fact they were being fed literal pellets, but what came next would be far worse that what he could ever imagine.

Gustave: "Now, despite the efforts of making domestic dogs as docile and herbivore friendly as possible, they are still prone to aggression, especially breeds like the pitbull and the mastiff, due to their original purposes as war beasts, however, as with the rest of these issues, we were able to come up with the perfect solution."

Nodding to his assistant, he went towards a corner of the room to take something, and when the horse returned, he brought a wheeled table that had 6 strange bottles on top of it, each bottle was filled with a strange blue liquid, it almost resemble a blueberry poweraid. Then to add into the surprise, an aggressive and snarling dog, a german shepherd no less, was brought in front of everyone by a large spanish fighting bull, being tied up in a similar way to Sharik during his trial but without any muzzle.

Gustave: "What you are seeing here is a special brew that's capable of calming even the most aggressive dogs and can also give them enhancements to their strength and endurance in order to optimize their job performance."

Taking one of the bottles and opening it, Gustave proceeded to give the dog a drink of the brew, and a few seconds later, any sign of aggression was gone, replaced with a calm expression on the face of the shepherd and even some little joy on his eyes, this of course amazed the present representatives of the WRO, with many evidently wishing to get their hands on the brew alongside their new labourers. While he could see certain benefits regarding this weird brew, Joaquín knew better and was highly suspicious about this substance, especially with how antidepressants took between 2 to even 8 weeks to take effect.

Gustave: "Now, it is important to mention that this brew should not be a replacement for water, as if they drink too much, they will become ill, and will develop health issues such as overweight and sexual problems, the last one being a more critical one because their rapid reproduction is key to their reliability and success."

Joaquín: (Hijo de puta... ¿trayendo cachorros al mundo tan solo para que sean esclavos? ¿¡Qué tan malvado es este maldito cocodrilo!?) Lacking a voice yet wishing to scream, the poor dog hold his wounded heart after hearing such horrible thing.

Gustave then began to speak about the different illnesses of dogs, ranging from moquillo and even rabies to blatantly saying that the selective breeding of dogs could result in genetic disorders and deformities... that last one made Joaquín remember the words of the border collie back at the library, how she said their suffering was "by design", and then it strongly resonated on him. On his family, there was an extensive history of pathological problems: from hip and elbow dysplasia, the former affecting his grandfather and the latter his father, to his aunt who died due to degenerative myelopathy, how both his own mother and sister suffered from ventricular tachycardia... and even how he was born with severely malformed vocal cords. All of that caused by the same selective breeding, all of those experiments, and a most definite abuse of that tranquilizing substance; everything that brought them into existence have also caused possibly irreversible damage to, not just his own breed, but countless others as well, all so they could be born as slaves who didn't have any sort of right and could be used freely for whatever purposes those who owned them wanted to. Anger, sadness, and pain plagued the gifted dog's mind and heart, sensing the purpose of his existence fade away like a tower eroded by rain.

As he felt himself fall into a deep depression, he heard Gustave getting into the specifics of domestic equids, and how those individuals, dogs and equids alike, were to be euthanized or straight up shoot down should they become too aggressive or problematic, but the distraught dog didn't even raised an ear, for said last revelation was sadly a logical conclusion to this; just as the presentation ended, with the last slide showing the names of the animals that worked alongside Gustave, he heard the representatives of the WRO rise up and collectively applaud the despicable saltwater crocodile and his creations... said praise only fueled the depressive state of the young dog.

Joaquín: (Así es como inicia el sufrimiento, con un estruendoso aplauso...)

Once the recording ended, the VHS was gently ejected out of the player, and with whatever will he had left, Joaquín stood up to grab the tape and put it in the case he brought it in... only to then fall on his knees as he began to cry uncontrollably while, silently, regretting everything that led him to this point, regretting being born a dog... sensing his life no longer had a meaning or purpose. And as his life lost all purpose... his mind, clouded by grief, anger, and pain, began to plan how to end it all.

Elephant Trail Avenue

June 22, 4:32 p.m.

While normally it would be a safe walk in between Ancient Jungle Street and Elephant Trail Avenue, ever since the ambush at the park, Alejandro preferred to be accompanied by somebody of trust I'm order to go anywhere within the district, and while usually Sebastián would be more than enough (since Francisco had been grounded until Sharik was dismissed from the hospital) this time they were not alone: his mother had chosen to escort them to Joaquín's house after she performed a routine cardiovascular checkup on her son, mainly in order to keep him safe and to help Alejandro regain his confidence, alongside her, a female german shepherd of sable colored fur walked next to them. This dog was Lola, mother of Joaquín, and she had accompanied them since she knew about the investigation her pup was doing, and she was the one who told Ximena about this during her appointment with her, since the jaguar was her cardiologist. Both of them, as well as Sebastián and Alex, were dressed in casual attires.

Ximena: "Espero que haya logrado dar con lo que buscaba, incluso en la biblioteca local es difícil encontrar información no censurada de la guerra."

Lola: "Estoy segura que lo hizo, Joaquín siempre ha sido muy astuto para encontrar lo que busca, incluso en lugares donde nadie esperaría." She replied in her velvety voice tone, which was quite soothing.

Ximena: "Bueno eso es cierto, lo obtuvo de tí." She chuckled softly, then she turned towards her son and noticed he was quite nervous. "¿Estás bien, corazón? Te ves muy tenso." She asked as she petted Alejandro on his head, noticing he was munching on one of his teethers.

Alejandro: "Um... Solo estoy nervioso... aun... aun me preocupa que nos vuelvan a emboscar... aunque sea aun de día." He said while taking the teether out of his mouth, his larger left ear shaking noticeably due to his anxiety.

In response to this, Ximena crouched down to Alex's height and gave him a loving hug followed by some cat kisses (basically licks) to his face, all the while she held him close to her chest so he could hear and feel her heartbeat. This was a technique that she developed during her naturalist maternity period to calm Alejandro when he was but a fragile kitten, and has worked wonders every time her son was very anxious or stressed.

Ximena: "No tienes de qué preocuparte, hijito, nada malo va a pasarles mientras estén con nosotras, no dejaré que nadie te haga daño, mi precioso balam." She spoke to him on her most maternal tone, which was enough to put Alejandro at ease as she nuzzled her mother on her chest and neck, feeling safe and relaxed once again.

Lola: "Aww, son tan tiernos ustedes dos." She said smiling with her tail wagging a little, but this make her noticed something. "Hey Sebastián, ¿por qué tu madre no vino? Se supone que ustedes deben estar acompañados por un adulto cada que salgan." This rule was implemented ever since the end of the judgment, as to make sure that the boys of the herd (minus Joaquín since he wasn't attacked) were safe from any further ambushes.

Sebastián: "Pues ella se quedó conmigo hasta que Ximena vino a recogerme, por desgracia las cosas en su trabajo han sido complicadas desde aquella pelea entre aquel tigre y al oso malayo al cual atacó."

Lola: "Oh, ya veo, recuerdo haber visto eso en las noticias, fue horrible. Espero que ella esté bien."

Sebastián: "Estresada, pero bien, aunque sigue estando cabrona la situación, sobretodo por los funerales de ambos animales."

Lola: "Bueno, esperemos que todo salga bien, ya suficientes tragedias han ocurrido últimamente."

After that small talk and with Alejandro calmed down, the 4 animals kept walking until the arrived at the house of the shepherd family, which made Alejandro and Sebastián hopeful to know what Joaquín had uncovered as they reach the entrance. As they waited outside, Lola took her phone out of her purse to call her son and tell him they had arrived, but her worry began when Joaquín didn't respond, not even after trying 3 more times.

Lola: "No está contestado, debe de estar ocupado." She said as she then look for her key in her purse.

Alejandro: "Espero que no sea algo malo." He said nervously, but his mother help him to keep calm.

Sebastián: "Probablemente siga revisando lo que descubrió, siempre ha sido alguien con la nariz en los libros, jeje."

Alejandro: "Cierto, al igual que tú." He smiled gently.

After Lola got his key and opened the door the 4 animals were greeted with... an empty house, which was very concerning since it meant that, either Joaquín wasn't there or he was truly busy with something.

Lola: "¡Joaquín, ya llegamos!" He screamed to call her son, but there was not any sign that he had heard them. "Esto es extraño, él siempre es el primero en ver quien llegó."

Ximena: "Probablemente esté en el baño. Será mejor esperarlo."

Lola: "Sí, mejor. ¿Gustan qué les sirva algo, agua o tal vez té?"

Alejandro: "Bueno... agua para mí."

Sebastián: "También yo."

Ximena: "Yo un té de manzanilla."

Lola then nodded and went over the kitchen to serve the drinks while the rest walked towards the living room, but as they walked past it, a strange smell came over Sebastian's trunk, a smell that worried him the moment he recognized it.

Sebastián: "Um... Lola... ¿Acaso hay algún cultivo de cebollas cerca?" He asked this as it was common for some herbivores (rabbits, groundhogs and prairie dogs for example) to have their gardens dedicated to growing vegetables and fruits.

Lola: "Sí de hecho, nuestro vecino tiene una finca algo grande, y ha sembrado algunas cebollas. ¿Por qué?"

Sebastián: "Oh ya veo, es que me llegó el aroma hasta acá, jeje" (Algo anda mal, ellos nunca comprarían cebollas, pero de algún modo el aroma está muy cerca).

Meanwhile on his end, Alejandro got curious with a few plants in pods close to the stairs, enjoying their colors and smells, especially since these were species native to Yucatán, making him feel nostalgic but happy; suddenly, as he smelled the flowers, a strange iron-like sent came over his nose, and instinctively he panicked as he recognized it immediately, looking towards the origin of the smell, he found was a tiny red liquid dot resting on a leave, and he knew perfectly what that was, but his panic exploded the moment he identified from where, or rather... from who that came from.

Alejandro: (¡Joaquín esta herido!)

Acting fast, the young jaguar rushed upstairs, much to the surprise of the others, and quickly followed the scent of the blood of his canine friend, this became increasingly complicated, as his sheer fobia of blood tried to make him stop and flee, but he was not going to let one of his closest friends in a moment like this. Tracking the scent and following a disturbing trail of blood droplets that increased in size, Alejandro arrived at a door that lead to the balcony of the house, a large metal-brown door that had 2 large level door locks, which he used to open it and quickly get in the balcony... what he saw in there made his heart sink into his stomach.

In front of him was Joaquín, but what he had next to him disturbed the jaguar greatly, as there was a knife covered in blood and a cutting table with an onion in it, which Joaquín was cutting with another knife. Speaking of the dog, he was covered in cuts on his arms, his chest, and even on his snout, and with the addition of the onion, it was clear for Alejandro that Joaquín was planning to kill himself, and he just catch him right at the moment the german shepherd tried to eat a slice of the onion.

Alejandro: "¡JOAQUÍN, NO!"

The terrified scream of the black jaguar made Joaquín regain his senses, looking over at Alejandro with the most devastated facial expression the panther had ever seen: his eyes were red and there were trails of tears flowing down his snout, but he could tell that he had them before he cut the onion.

Alejandro: "Joaquín, por favor no lo hagas... no sé qué te pasó o que hayas descubierto, pero... por amor a Rex... no ingieras esa cebolla. Por favor, no quiero perderte." He said with tears in his eyes and his heart wailing due to how much self harm had his friend inflicted upon himself. Just then, Sebastián had arrived after listening to Alejandro's rush, and he was equally mortified by what he saw. Just when time seemed to freeze for the 3 teenagers, Joaquín took from the table a small notebook and gently threw it to Alejandro, who catched it with no problem. It was then that Alejandro realized Joaquín had written something in the page of the notebook...

-He descubierto la verdad... la razón por la que los perros existimos. No valemos nada, nos crearon para morir y después para vivir en la esclavitud. Mi mente está devastada... ya no sé si mi existencia vale algo... tengo mucho miedo...-

-¡AUXILIO!-

Just then, Joaquín chomped at the slice of onion, and Alejandro immediately rushed to stop him from swallowing it, which began a struggle between jaguar and german shepherd as he desperately tried to save his life.

Alejandro: ¡Llama a mi mamá y busca un botiquín médico!" He told to Sebastián, who almost immediately went to do both things. "Joaquín, sé que no estás pensando cuerdamente, pero debes escucharme. Sea lo que sea que descubriste de tu especie no te vuelve alguien sin valor, tú eres una persona muy especial y valiosa. ¡Eres mi amigo, un muy querido hijo y un animal muy inteligente! ¡No te dejes sucumbir por tu miedo, no estás solo!"

He desperately pleaded to his friend in order to help him to avoid suicide, achieving that Joaquín opened his jaws, which allowed Alejandro to shove his fingers inside of his mouth and, flexing his fingers to unleash his claws, catched the piece of onion he was about to swallow, saving him from a deadly intoxication, but the damage was already done as Joaquín began to cough and puke, for he had swallowed the juices of the onion, but once again, and despite the scent of blood causing him an inner panic, Alejandro stayed with him and gave him first aid by cleaning his wounds with antiseptic wipes that he carried with him in case of emergencies. Just then, he heard the others run upstairs and into the balcony entrance, and while Lola screamed in horror upon seeing Joaquín's serious condition, immediately calling 119 (medical emergency) as Sebastián stood behind to gave her comfort, Ximena rushed forward with the first aid kit to treat Joaquín's wounds, each of these were cuts that ranged from flesh wounds to even stabs.

Alejandro: "Logré desinfectar sus heridas, pero las de sus brazos son profundas, temo que haya atravesado alguna arteria importante." He said to his mom, fearing for the well-being of his friend.

Ximena: "Haz hecho bien, mi angelito de Ixchel, me encargaré del resto." She then began to apply gauze into his wounds while the paramedics arrived.

Meanwhile, Sebastián was successful in calming Lola down just enough, but the female dog was still rightfully grieving for her son and questioning what lead him to do such a horrible thing to himself, the elephant also had that question in mind, and then he noticed the notebook in which Joaquín wrote down the message. Going over to where the notebook was, he gently picked it up with his trunk... the moment he read what Joaquín had written, and not wasting any time, he went over to Lola, who was caressing her son to gave him whatever reassurance she could, and hand her over the notebook, and it was then that the female german shepherd froze in place, her expression changing to that of a pragmatic shock yet keeping her motherly worry for his pup.

Lola: "Mi amor... lamento mucho que te hayas enterado de esta manera... y más por todo el daño que te ha causado." Said Lola ominously as she then hugged Joaquín with all the love she could muster on her heart after Ximena had patched his wounds.

This wording confused Ximena and surprised Alejandro, but Lola was quick to explain what she meant.

Lola: "Joaquín descubrió el origen de los perros... descubrió que fuimos creados... para ser esclavos."

Such revelation left Alejandro and Sebastián speechless, having a hard time digesting the fact that dogs were bred for such macabre motives, and the worst part was that it somewhat made sense given the current situation of many dogs worldwide. Ximena, however, could only lower her head in sorrow, for she already knew the truth about the dog revolution from 23 years ago, and how much it unveiled of the history of, not just dogs, but all domestic breeds, with domestic horses and donkeys being the other "artificial animals" that suffered the most.

Redemption and New Hope Hospital

July 8, 13:12 p.m.

Laying on a comfortable couch, Sharik was receiving a regular cognitive behavioral therapy session from Doctor Yamato, which had help him a lot in dealing with his post-traumatic stress and depression that resulted from the attack 3 weeks ago, such time span passing surprisingly fast for the young zebra, even if at the start it was rough and painful, but this just made him all the more happy that he was recuperating well, both on his mind and on his heart. As the doctor and the zebra continued their treatment, a male takahe nurse gently opened the door of the therapy room, and it seemed that he arrived in a little hurry.

Takahe (male): "Sorry to interrupt your session, doctor, but I came to borrow Sharik for a moment. His presence was requested by the father of one of the patients that arrived yesterday."

Sharik: (¿Qué cosa, quién de esos pacientes habrá pedido que vaya con él?)

Yamato: "Very well, Edmund, you can take him to see said patient." He then turned towards the zebra as he stood up from the couch. "Well, Sharik, I suppose we will end it here, we have made quite a lot of progress ever since you came here. You may be qualified for outpatient medical care."

Sharik: "Those are great news, doctor, I was missing the sensation of sunlight in my stripes, as much as I dislike heat, and in advance, thank you for everything."

Yamato couldn't help but smile at the kind words of his patient, it seemed like yesterday when he arrived as an emotional wreck, and it made him happy that he was able to help a herbivore of such a noble heart that not only saw carnivores as equals, but consider them as friends, too.

Yamato: "Just doing my job, Sharik. Now go, this young boy needs you."

Sharik nodded and then accompanied Edmund to where this mystery patient was residing, although now that he was next to him, the takahe couldn't help but feel small in comparison to the zebra, making him wonder how large this teen was going to be when he grew older.

Sharik: "Excuse me Edmund, but, if you don't mind me asking; who exactly is this patient that needs my help? Sure, I have helped that dhole when he was struggling to get up and became Oscar's friend when he was all alone, but... it feels weird to be requested like this, since I am not part of the Hospital's personnel." He asked quite politely.

Edmund: "Well, this patient in particular knows you very well, atleast for what his father told me, and that you have a way to gave comfort and raise morale up to any animal that seems sad, like what you did to Óscar." He responded, making Sharik both blush and become even more intrigued.

Sharik: "Well, that explains it, I will see what I can do to help this guy." (Caray, si me conoce tan bien, debe de ser uno de mis amigos... ¿Pero quién podría ser?)

After a few but tense minutes of walking, in which Sharik received greetings from some of the personnel that passed by and even a sniff of some canine nurses yet to have met him, the 2 animals arrived at the room in which this patient resided... all it took was recognizing who was at the entrance to let him know the identity of the patient, the zebra rushing towards the shepherd lawyer to get his answers.

Sharik: "Jordan... ¿Qué pasó?" He asked in shock, but mostly in deep worry for his friend. As he did, he noticed that Jordan was crying and barely recuperating from what seemed like a sorrowful weep.

Jordan: "Joaquín learned the truth... about dogs... I... I didn't want him to find out this way... he is so young." Said the dog as he sobbed erratically.

Sharik: "W...what truth?" Asked even more worried.

Recomposing himself just enough to properly tell him, Jordan began to explain to him, atleast in summary, how dogs were created and their original purposes, said revelations horrifying the young equid as he found it hard to believe that entire species (since he also mentioned domestic equids) have been created for such sinister purposes... yet at the same time... he could see how that came about, for desperation called for some atrocious choices. Jordan didn't stop there, for he also described how dogs were treated like purely expendable tools, and how their methods of creation caused so many health problems within them, many of which ended fatally, for those above care not for their well-being.

Jordan: "It is why the "Domestic Revolution" happened, 23 years ago, on November 20th." He said this while giving him a briefing of the revolution, a worldwide conflict made up of protests (peaceful and otherwise), vandalism and even armed uprisings, with México in particular being the country which saw the bloodiest fighting between domestics and natural animals. Both Jordan and Lola were among the younger participants of said revolution, and they almost became part of the casualties.

Sharik: "I... I'm sorry Jordan. Your species didn't deserve this... no species does." He said saddened by the tragic tale, his mind trying to fully comprehend the true extent of such story.

Jordan: "Thank you, Sharik, but this is not fault of your generation... it's one of countless wounds left by the great war."

Edmund: "I'm sorry to interrupt, Mr. Aguilar, but your son is awaiting for his friend, and I think we shouldn't keep him waiting." He said a but awkwardly, since he didn't want to sound offensive while Jordan spoke about such serious topic.

Jordan: "It's alright, I will let you in there so you can talk to him... and you should know this... he... he almost committed suicide, but Alejandro was able to save him."

While relieved and happy that his pantherine brother was able to save him, the fact that Joaquín even attempted suicide due to this was heartbreaking, he could only phantom how much damage such a revelation could cause to someone's mind. Just as the door open and he went inside, he struggled to come up with what to say to his friend, but his thoughts were cut short when he finally saw Joaquín laying on his bed. Reminding him about how he himself entered covered in bandages for his wounds, Sharik saw Joaquín being covered in bandages all over his arms and chest with gauzes covering his snout, some bandages were still soaked with dried blood.

Shocked and terrified for the well-being of Joaquín, Sharik walked over towards his bed and gently caressed him on his head, this called the german shepherd's attention and, upon seeing Sharik, he immediately hugged him as he cried his eyes out, a feral whining coming out of his mouth as perhaps one of the only times Sharik has heard his voice. Not a moment too late did the herbivore reciprocate the hug, nuzzling Joaquín to comfort him and help him vent all out, all under supervision of Edmund.

Sharik: "Lamento profundamente por lo que te pasó Joaquín... nunca imaginé que los perros tuvieran semejante historia... no merecían esto."

Joaquín: "G-gracias Sharik..."He struggled to talk via sign language, his mind still overwhelmed with emotions from his discovery. "¿P-podría preguntarte algo?"

Sharik: "Por supuesto"

Joaquín: "Tú... ¿Crees que los perros como yo tenemos algún valor? ¿Crees que somos más que simples esclavos?"

Upon hearing this question, Sharik was able to piece together what to say in order to make his friend feel better. And with a gentle and caring smile, he responded.

Sharik: "Claro que lo son. Los perros son animales muy especiales en su manera única: son caninos inteligentes, empáticos y sociales que pueden relacionarse fácilmente con casi cualquier tipo de animal, una habilidad qué admiro bastante. Sé que aun hoy en día muchos perros aun siguen siendo tratados de forma muy mala, pero hay gente que lucha para darles los derechos qué todos merecemos en esta sociedad, y varios individuos se han vuelto gente dedicada a cambiar el mundo para mejor, algunos entre ellos siendo héroes de renombre." After saying this, he thought back at how Jordan helped him back at his trial, but also into other brave dogs that saved countless lives, such as Frida, Balto and even Smoky. "Comprendo que el pasado de tu especie haya sido uno terrible, pero no significa que tú no tengas valor. Es lo que nosotros hacemos con el regalo de la vida lo que nos define, y sé que tú harás cosas muy especiales con dicho regalo, así como yo y todos nuestros amigos." He said this while caressing his canid friend, noticing that he slowly began to smile once more.

Letting the words of wisdom and love sink into his mind and heart, Joaquín began to regain hope, his tail starting to wag as light and hope returned to his eyes. Even though his wounds, physical and psychological, were still affecting him, this boost in his morale gave the impulse he needed to began recovering.

Joaquín: "Sharik... muchas gracias, a-aun siento que me queda mucho por sanar pero... me haz dado ese inicio."

Sharik: "De nada, para eso son los amigos." As he said that, a slight blue glow enveloped his green eyes. "And... if you wish, I can stay here with you, for as long as you need. I'm... I'm considered to go into outpatient medical care, but... I can simply say no and stay with you if you..."

Then much to his surprise, Joaquín gently shut his mouth with his hand, silencing Sharik as the dog then began to speak.

Joaquín: "Sharik, agradezco que quieras quedarte conmigo, pero tú ya haz hecho suficiente por nosotros. Haz sacrificado tantas cosas por ayudarnos y no me refiero solo a salvar a nuestros amigos. Este... en cierto modo, fue mi sacrificio, pues a pesar de que descubrí esta obscura historia, y lo que me causó, logré encontrar información importante de la Maldición de la Locura, mi papá se la dio a tu papá, y creo que le dio mis notas a tu abuelo"

Sharik: "¿En serio? Eso es maravilloso Joaquín, muchas gracias. No tienes idea de lo mucho que esto ayudará no solo a mí, sino a otros como yo." He said smiling wide while his ears perked up and his tail wagged.

Joaquín: "Lo sé, también me alegra haberte ayudado, pero el punto es que tú te mereces esa transferencia a atención médica ambulatoria, y no quisiera ser quien te quite eso."

After listening to what his friend said, Sharik took a moment to let that sink in. What Joaquín had told him was true, he had done plenty of sacrifices in order to help his friends and his family, often these weren't anything heavy, but sometimes they cost him greatly, just like what he did to protect his friend and landed him on the hospital; while he often didn't mind give his help to others, there were times that someone (mainly his mother or father) had to stop him from doing so, and this was one of the most impactful ones.

Sharik: "Ok Joaquín, haré lo que me pides y aceptaré esa transferencia." He said, his voice turning a bit more serious. "Sin embargo, voy a venir a visitarte cada que pueda, también le diré a los demás para organizarnos y venir a verte."

Joaquín: "Estoy más que de acuerdo con esa idea. Gracias por entender, Rayitas." He said while smiling and wagging his tail, a movement which was in sync with Sharik who also expressed that same happiness.

As this was going on, Edmund couldn't help but watch, moved, as the two boys talked, amazed by how their bickering uplifted both of them in different ways; but what surprised the takahe the most was how Sharik knew what to say in order to lift Joaquín's mood so quickly and in such impactful way, and he wasn't even a psychologist in training, needless to say, he knew that zebra colt was something special.

Edmund: (He will be a fine Beastar one day, of that I'm sure).

Jasmine Dragon Restaurant

July 8, 16:26 p.m.

On a table inside a large and exquisite building, a restaurant that mixed chinese and japanese arquitectures into one and offered his services to all kinds of beasts, large and small, from the land or the sea, with a wide arrange of dishes and drinks (most famously tea), a large figure was sitting calmly while enjoying some nice yellow tea alongside some tartlet cookies. This animal was quite large, so much so that many would believe that it was a big horse, were it not for the stripes that covered his arms, neck and face, with 6 of these in particular presenting a lighting bolt shape (3 white ones and 3 black ones). Similar to his grandson, he had neutral neon-green eyes and 4 fangs, but his were significantly larger and protruded from his mouth, particularly the top pair, giving him a look that resembled that of a musk deer, and was wearing a sand yellow t-shirt, brown pants, outdoor horseshoes and a black charro hat with some golden and white patterns. This zebra stallion was Rafael, a former member of the mexican military forces, and now a honest real estate agent. Usually, he would be spending time with his beloved wife back home, but today he had a special meeting, to which he agreed to meet in here.

Rafael: (Hmm, siempre elegantemente tarde, jeje, supongo que estaban ocupados).

Just then, 2 figures arrived at the entrance of the restaurant, and the old stallion smiled upon identifying one of them: the first figure was a large male arabian oryx, dressed in a white and brown jellabiya with an orange-red, elbow-lenght sleeved coat, he had a headscarf around the base of his large horns, an orange scarf around his neck and metallic brazaletes on both of his wrists, and on his face he had 2 identical scars that run down his cheeks. This antelope was Nadim Avdol, a good friend of Rafael that he met during one of his journeys on Egypt, and one of the few mutants that suceeded in mastering the Curse of Madness. He was the one that arranged the meeting, for he had told him that there was an organization (albeit a small one) that could help his son.

The second animal however, caught Rafael by surprise, for he did not expect that cetaceans, of all animals, were involved in this as well. This specific cetacean, who was wearing a navy blue tuxedo and a maroon tie and moved around on top of an automatic wheelchair specially designed for marine mammals that couldn't walk on land, was a bottlenosed dolphin who had an aura of wisdom around him, like he knew and understood things most people would have a hard time doing, but his most notable feature were 4 large tusks that emerged from his bottom jaw, said tusks resembling those of prehistoric cetaceans, to add into this unusual appearance, he also had neon-green eyes, meaning he was too a mutant, which shocked Rafael since, as far as he was aware of, only herbivores could become afflicted by the Curse.

As the 2 newcomers approached the table already taken by Rafael, the oryx went ahead and greeted his good friend, which the Burchell's zebra happily reciprocated.

Rafael: "It's so good to.see you again, Nadim, it's been a while. How's the wife doing?" He said on a boisterous tone of voice.

Avdol: "The feeling is mutual, Rafael, and she is doing quite well, thank you." He said with a kind smile as the dolphin arrived next to Avdol. "Rafael, this is profesor Xavier Darwin, one of the scarce cetaceans that has also been afflicted by the Curse of Madness."

Rafael: "Well I'll be... I would have never expected a sea mammal that wasn't a sirenian to also be afflicted. It's a pleasure to meet you in person, Mr. Darwin."

Xavier: "Pleasure is all mine, Mr. Fernández, now, let us begin." He said politely as he and Namid took seat, or more accurately, Namid took seat while he cleared a space for the dolphin. "Now, I'm sure Avdol told you about our small organization here in Sanjo City."

Rafael: "Correct, back then I was amazed that such a thing existed here in Japan, moreso when he told me about the involvement of cetaceans. Though you guys were more about keeping to yourselves, no offense."

Xavier: "None taken, almost no land animal knows about this either. In fact, this was a most recent discovery." He admitted calmly, surprising Rafael even more about this revelation. "I will go into details on how it affects cetaceans in another time. Now, for what Avdol has told me, your grandson also inherited the Curse. Correct?"

Rafael: "That's right, and it detonated right in the night he and his friends were attacked... it was a blood bath when it happened. Fortunately, he has been recovering well at the mental hospital he was admitted."

Nadim: "Yeah, Yamato has told me as such, he also told me that, despite the fact he is cursed, he has formed strong relationships with carnivores and expresses a desire to conquer it to use it for good." Said Namid with intrigue.

Rafael: "Haha, that's my dear grandson! Since he was 4, Sharik has always shown a brave and heroic attitude, got it from the proud legacy of the Fernández family!" He replied proudly and a bit loudly, striking a pose that looked like he got it out of a VERY bizarre TV show.

Xavier: "Hahahahaha, well then, I imagine he is going to benefit a lot if he chooses to join our therapy program, especially since he is responsible for the future law reforms that will be created to help out the mutants."

Rafael: "He is? That's incredible! My little grandson has not even gotten into senior high school, and he has already left his mark. I'm so proud of him." He said with a tear falling from his eye out of joy.

Nadim: "I can imagine he is quite special, but we should discuss more about his inscription into the program, and about his protection. I have heard rumors that some of the remnants of the Wukong Clan want to capture him, both for his curse and to take revenge on Akida."

Xavier: "Not to mention how he can relate so easily with carnivores and the ways he could help other mutants to achieve coexistence with them without the worry of entering into the madness state from a sudden infrasound."

Nodding in agreement, Rafael called a waiter so he could take the orders of his comrades, for they will have much to discuss about the future of the youngest mutant that has made friends with the same beasts the Curse of Madness pushed the mutants to exterminate.

Peace and Love

Chapter Text

Beast Wars Neo - Love Forever - Kimi two Mamoru Tame Ni

Ancient Wildlands

Time: Unknow.

Before civilization was built, on times in which the great mammoth steppe extended throughout the entire northern world, nature ruled supreme. Abiding by their laws, all living creatures, from the smallest protozoan to the largest of trees, from the timid and slippery hunters of the underground to the titans that shape the forests with their size and power, coexisted and competed with each other in the complex ecosystems built on this living world. It was among one of this many ecosystems, an open forest of the land known as Africa, where a young lonesome creature, a beautiful white lioness, dressed in tribal loincloths, walked carefully among the foliage; the lioness had entered this part of the forest in search for someone, a beast that was close to her heart.

As she continued to roam the forest, the lioness heard fearsome grunts and cackling at the distance, followed by the startled and aggressive barking of a zebra, a stallion to be exact; this mix of sounds worried the lioness, and made her run towards the direction in which the commotion was; as she continue running forward, changing to all fours to increase her speed and agility, she began to noticed signs of fighting within her surroundings, from broken twigs to torn bushes, marks of claws and strikes on the ground and blood... that last one made the lioness freeze in place, shocked to see a small puddle of said red liquid right in front of her; fearing the worst, she approached the small puddle and gave it a strong sniff in order to recognize the smell of who's blood was... her heart skipped a beat when she discovered it was of her beloved nature animal, yet something was wrong... for within the blood's scent, a toxic odor emerged like smoke from a fire.

Lioness: (What? But... why does his blood smell like that? Was he bitten by a black mamba?)

Just as she tried to make sence of the smell of the blood, a loud and alien roar echoed through the foliage, causing many feral animals local to these forests to stampede away in fear of such an unnatural sound and for her to be paralyzed in fear, shortly after the roar, a strong crushing sound followed by the pained wails of feral hyenas came into her ears; while terrified of the monster that gave such a horrific sound, her worries about the zebra stallion pushed her forward, running as fast as she could on all fours in order to reach him and help him to escape such monstrosity, praying she could get there in time.

After what felt like an eternity, and with the sounds of battle getting closer and closer, hope began to fill her heart as she prepared to defend her beloved stallion... a flying object suddenly crashed against her, making her fall and roll into the ground due to the impact and broken momentum, after recovering from that fall, the lioness looked up to see what had collided with her... only to gasp in horror as she covered her mouth with her hands in fear: the mangled corpse of a pachycrocuta, with the legs pulverized, the lower jaw nowhere to be seen and the chest completely torn off, lay before her as blood oozed from the exposed flesh; such a sight made the lioness tremble in the most primal of fears, questioning what creature could do such a horrible thing, but her answer was quick to arrive as another pachycrocuta landed near her, this one barely alive and coughing blood, the wounds on it's body appearing to have been caused via powerful blunt force. To witness such powerful predators, beasts that stroke fear into the heart of even the strongest life animals, being beaten in such a brutal and macabre way, scared the lioness to the core, her instincts screaming at her to run away as the toxic smell from before began filling her nostrils, but just as her fear grew, so did her determination to find and help her beloved partner, more so when she found out that the toxic smell was mixed with the zebra's scent as she restarted her running towards the epicenter of the commotion.

Finally arriving at the destination, in which the pained wails and cracking sounds became stronger, the lioness was greeted by a gruesome sight: 4 pachycrocutas laid ripped appart in front of her, their blood and guts spilled all over the place as 5 surviving pachys, who alongside those now dead seemed to be members of a clan, were left standing. All survivors were trembling as they stared at the one responsible for murdering their clan mates, with one of them being furiously strangled by the monster who was responsible for all of this. At first, upon not seeing her beloved zebra among the dead, the white lioness had hope that he had escaped and avoided confrontation with this monster... until she saw the same 8 lightning stripes on its neck.

As the light bathed the killing ground, the full figure of the zebra stallion was revealed: standing at the same stature as a brown bear, adorned in armor made of bone and leather, covered in bite marks and slashes made by the predators desperate to defend themselves, and wearing the skull of a murdered dagger teeth, a neon green light emanating from the eye-holes of his tetric battle mask. After he cracked the neck of the poor hyena with a single squeeze, the zebra threw the body into the ground like a sack of rocks and, turning towards the frozen survivors, he unleashed a monstrous, furious, and alien roar.

Heartbroken by the revelation of who the monster was, the lioness was left paralyzed in fear just as the pachycrocutas, who soon tried to flee, but the zebra, now turned a monster, would not allow it. Charging at great speeds, he approached the first of the 5 survivors and strike at it fiercely at the neck, piercing its flesh and spraying blood all over, some falling into the other fleeing hyenas; shortly after, he smashed both of his fists into the back of the next closest giant hyena, the force of the blow bursting open the abdomen of the feral mammal and spilling its guts all over the ground, followed by grabbing the rear leg of another hyena and violently ripping it out before furiously biting and tearing the nape of its neck, the feral beast fortunately dying shortly after as the next one was almost hit in the head with a fist strike... only for a blur of white to tackle the monster and let the survivors escape the massacre.

Recovering from the unexpected tackle, the striped monster began to get up from the ground, all the while he glared at the beast responsible: a white lioness. As the white panther looked at him with a scared but determined expression, the monster moved his arms up and took the skull mask he was wearing, slowly pulling it out of his face to then let go of it, revealing the face of the killer. The lioness was distraught with what she saw, where it once was the face of a kind and noble zebra, the one of a bloodthirsty killer had took its place: root-shaped stripes ran down his emaciated head, a neon-green light shined from his eyes like if his soul was tainted with hatred, and 4 large fangs protruded from his mouth, all covered in the blood of the lives he took away.

As he roared in blind rage and hatred, the altered beast charged at the lioness, who braced herself as best as she could, and attacked her with savage strength, the impact harming the white panther as both animals rolled in the ground until the monster trapped the lioness under his body, blowing in primal rage as he stared at her in the eyes, his neon gaze striking fear into the heart of the life animal as his mouth opened wide, ready to rip out the throat of what appeared to be his next victim.

But... just when it seemed the monster was going to claim another life, he stopped... staring directly at the lioness, his neon gaze colliding with her hazel eyes... and then tears began flowing down the monster's eyes, regret and horror emanating from them as the lights of primal rage died out, for he now recognized who he had attacked. As the tears fell down his face, breaking down in sorrowful weep, the lioness gently extended her right arm and caressed the monster with her hand, rising slightly despite the pain her body felt so as to get closer towards him, and with a voice sweet as honey, she spoke to him.

Lioness: "It's ok, you can cry as much as you need. I'm here for you, I will never abandon you."

As she kept caressing him, the monster once more began to change: his emaciated and warped face turned once more into that of a zebra, the blood of his fangs was now all gone... and his armor became it's noble red and blue; feeling himself free from his madness, the warrior raised his sight, just in time to be embraced by the warm hazel eyes and kind smile of the angel who had rescued him.

After the cebra warrior return to his true self, warmly smiling towards the lioness, a strange dark green arm latch onto his head, causing the nature animal to scream in pain as his body became engulfed in green flames; shocked and worried for her partner, the lioness looked towards the origin of the arm... only to witness a horrifying monster of dark green and black body with a white zebra skull for a face, and said monstrosity was now struggling against her guardian for control, making the stallion agonize in merciless torture as the bizarre entity tried to claim control of him.

Zebra warrior: "GAAAHH!! LEAVE ME ALONE! I WON'T BE YOUR WEAPON!" Screamed the warrior as he struggled against the entity, but he was being overwhelmed as the flames engulfed more parts of his body. All the while, the entity sadistically laughed.

Sensing the pain of the warrior in her heart, the lioness, growling in determination, stood up and hugged the warrior with all her love, and when the flames were about to surround them, a white light shined valiantly and extinguish all flames, engulfing the warrior entirely and severing the arm of the entity that tried to corrupt him, who wail in pain as the light burned it's unnatural flesh. As the entity retreated, it saw the light slowly die out, revealing two large feathered wings that shone like stars, one of them enveloping the warrior like a matress, both wings came from the lioness who had turned into a beautiful yet powerful angel, and her eyes shined red with determination and courage, just as the warrior's shined in blue and green with bravery and ferocity.

Lioness: "YOU SHALL HARM HIM NO LONGER!"

Her voice echoed through the forest in divine power, and as she embraced the warrior with her left arm, a spear formed into her right hand... just as the warrior unsheated a battle axe, ready to once again fight against the entity that caused him so much pain, a blue helmet with a faceplate covering his mouth materializing on his head.

Lioness: "As he protected me from harm and depravity, so shall I defend him from your twisted and perverse intentions! Under my wings, you shall never touch him again!"

Roaring in anger at the taunt of the white angel, the dark entity charged at her and the cursed warrior, who in turn charged in unison against the monster, ready to fight together until the stars fell from the sky.

Stardust Street #77.

District 0 July 10th, 8:05 a.m.

Inside of her white colored room, the young and beautiful bright lioness awoke suddenly from her sleep, her alarm clock ringing at the hour she had marked yesterday, turning it off as she began to recolect what she had experienced in her dream, needless to say, she was having a hard time processing everything that happened.

Alika: (What was that dream? I... was in an African forest somehow, and... the warrior who saved me... his eyes... is that why he almost attacked me last time?)

She thought back at how the warrior, whose species she now knew was a zebra, massacred those giant hyenas mercilessly and in such horrible ways, but... in some ways, his fighting style was similar to when he had saved her from those kidnappers, yet it was evident now he had hold back in that time so as to not succumb to such aggression, which led her to the elephant in the room.

Alika: (That monster... it was so horrible and terrifying, and the way it gripped the warrior's head... it must be why he became such a bloodthirsty monster... but... how did such an entity take hold of him in the first place? Whatever the case, it seems I was able to save him from that thing... although I don't know where those wings came from, or what they mean.) She thought and took a deep breath, more determined now to fulfill the promise she did to herself under the full moon. (Whoever the warrior is, I will find him and protect him from that monster!)

Just as she was reinforcing her resolve, the sound of the door opening scared her out of her thoughts as an older lioness came into view. This lioness was also completely white, save for her nose, her eyes were baby blue in color and she was well-endowed on her chest, and was wearing a formal white buttoned shirt with white grey jeans; this was Bianca, Alika's aunt who took care of her for half of the year.

Bianca: "Good morning, Alika. I'm glad to see you have woken up already. Did you sleep well?"

Alika: "Oh, good morning, auntie. Yeah, I had a good sleep, but you scared me a bit when opening, hehe." She said a bit embarrassed since that had always happened to her since she was a kitten.

Bianca: "Sorry honey, but you know today is an important day: you will be moving back with your parents."

Just hearing that made the young lioness beamed in joy. Every year on July 10th, she went to live with her parents for a total of 6 months, before coming back to District 0 where she stayed with her aunt and younger cousin, this was done to keep her safe against poachers who hunted brights for their pelts.

Alika: "I know! And I am so excited to see mom again! As well as my little sister! Although... I just hope dad comes in time to receive me this time. He always arrives late the day I move with them... it's feels like I'm not that important for him." She sighs saddened.

Her father was the current owner of Thundermane Energy, a company responsible for the development, management, generation, and safety of nuclear power plants, being the most important energy producing company of not just Minajū-kyo, but all of Japan. Since her father inherited the company from her grandfather, it meant that he often didn't have a lot of time to be with his family. Seeing the mood of her niece deflate like that on such a special day for her, she sat next to her on the bed and gave her a big hug, followed her a loving lick on her forehead, which helped her to feel better.

Bianca: "Ali, don't think such negative things. I understand where you are coming from. After all, Abasi is a very busy lion due to the kind of job he has, but even so, he has always done his best to be there with you and support you." She said with a gentle tone as she comforted her niece. "Remember that time when you were sick with flu and he stayed all day taking care of you? He even made your favorite soup to make you feel better."

Alika: "Hehehe, that's true, I was surprised with how well he knew how to make it. And he even watched my favorite movie with me." She said with an uplifted smile.

Bianca: "Right? And despite he coming late, he always makes sure to bring you a nice gift to welcome you, like that cute cerulean blouse you wear so much."

Alika: "Yeah, it became my favorite blouse to wear, and he bought the best one. And he also gave me that BangBang album, just when I thought it sold out."

Bianca: "That's right! You see it now? Your father has always make a great effort to be demonstrate that he loves you, even on the days he comes back late, and I'm sure this time will be different after a little talk your mom had with him, hehe."

Alika: "Hehehe, mom has always been able to pull him out when needed. She is the best." She then gave her aunt a big hug. "Just like you, thank you so much for everything." Her smile was so warm that touched Bianca deeply, like when she held Alika for the first time.

Bianca: "Awww, you are more than welcome, Ali. You know I'll always be there for you, just like with your cousin." She said happily as she gave her another lick on her head, a typical display of affection among all types of felids. "Now get dressed and ready, remember that our doctor's appointments start at 9:10."

Alika: "Oh right, I almost forgot! I will be ready soon." She said to then get out of bed and go towards her wardrobe while Bianca got out of the room to go serve breakfast.

As she was taking out her pajamas, she remembered the black marking on her chest, so out of curiosity, she went towards her full-body mirror to take a look at it: the mark remained right above where her heart is, however, it had now adopted a shape that resembled the head of an equid, specifically, a zebra, like the one of her dreams.

Alika: (Is this supposed to happen? I guess it has to do with that zebra from my dream. I will definitely not be able to hide this from the doctor, but I think that could be good. Maybe that way I could learn more about this.)

Deciding she would let her doctor check the marking, she continued changing into her selected outfit, which consisted of the cerulean blue blouse her father gave her (even thought it would make her stand out like a sore thumb), a knee-length white skirt, and white digitigrade sneakers. After looking at herself in the mirror and closely checking that everything was perfect with her outfit, she exited the room and went downstairs towards the dining room where her aunt had set three plates of breakfast consisting of an omurice, fish sausages, and a cup of nokcha with honey. Licking her lips, she first went to wash her hands at the bathroom to then go towards the table, but before she could do that, a blurr of white ran towards her and gave her a tigh tackle hug, much to the slight annoyance and pain of the lioness, as she caressed and hugged her younger cousin: a 10 yo male lion which, other than the tips of his ears and tail, was completely white, and his eyes were blue similar to her aunt.

Kimba: "Good morning, Ali. How are you today?" Asked the energic cub as she looked up to his older cousin, who he had come to see as his sister.

Alika: "Good morning to you too, Kimba, and I am good, although that tackle hug of yours was certainly... impactful." She said with a pained smile as Kimba had trouble controlling his strength when it came to his style of hugging.

Kimba: "Oh, sorry, Ali, is just that I'm excited to visit Uncle Abasi and Aunt Tsunade! It's been a long time since we have seen them." Said the lion cub as he sat down the table alongside Alika.

Alika: "Yeah, I'm also excited to see mom and dad again, as well as my little sister, although I had hope you were already dressed up for the occasion." She said while digging in her breakfast by splitting the omelet over her rice, making reference to the fact that Kimba was still on his pajamas.

Kimba: "Oh... well, I will be ready after breakfast, and then we will go to your house!" He said excitedly as he began eating, staring with the sausages just as Bianca sat down and began to eat as well.

Bianca: "Just remember that today we have to go to the doctor before visiting your uncle and aunt, and it is important that you two get your vaccinations." Said on a slightly serious tone, which made Kimba pout in annoyance since he felt that the appointments drained them of too much time.

Due to the security measures that the district set in place in order to protect its inhabitants, which consisted of border walls, security booths and both terrestrial and aerial guards, the bright citizens were unable to often interact with the outside world, with those who got out receiving tracking brazaletes, tags or collars to keep them on the radar and help them if necessary. This isolation, in addition of some families recurring to incest to "keep the bloodline pure", lead to bright animals being more vulnerable to diseases that they could contract from outsiders; as a result of this, every inhabitant of District 0 had to undergo a medical checkup every 3 months so as to ensure they were in good health. While Alika and the bright part of her family did undergo the mandatory checkup, they had the privilege to take it from a particular doctor of trust, with the results of the checkups being sent to the district via e-mail.

After the 3 lions finished their meal, Alika went for her suitcases, which were wheeled ones, and took them to the living room, placing them in the floor while his cousin was dressing up; as she awaited for her aunt and cousin to be ready, she began to again question about the mark on her chest and more importantly, about the dreams she have been having ever since that first night.

Alika: (I know I make that oath, but... I still don't understand why... who is that warrior that has been protecting me? How would I recognize him among the hundreds of zebras out there?)

She then placed her hand on the area of the marking, feeling her heart beat strongly inside her chest as she thought about what all of this meant for her, what she would do once she finds him, and if she would be able to achieve it.

Alika: (Guess I will leave destiny to guide me.)

After this moment of reflexion, Alika heard her aunt and cousin walking down the stairs and going over the entrance of the house; with Kimba now wearing a white polo shirt and overalls, her aunt seemed to be talking with her mother on the phone as she joined them with her wheeled suitcases in hand.

Bianca: "Ok, Tsunade just told me our escorts are waiting for us outside of the security booth. They will accompany us through our journey into the city and make sure nothing happens to us."

Kimba: "Okay, mom. I wonder if they are going to be bears like last time? It's fun how Uncle Abasi always rotates the species protecting us." He said innocently, since he liked to guess what animals would their guards be every time they left District 0.

Alika: "Probably not this time, but I believe they are the best when it comes to bodyguards since they are so strong." She said with a smile, admiring those animals strong enough to protect others.

Bianca: "That's a good mindset. Maybe you could use it to get you a fine and strong boyfriend in the future." She said jokingly while chuckling while Kimba laughed, and Alika's face turned from white to red in embarrassment as the 3 of them got out of the house, walking towards the exit shortly after.

While the 3 brights walked towards the exit of the district, since they lived relatively close to it, the guards assigned by Abasi, which were a pair of large gray wolves, waited for them near a motorbike parking rack that was located a block away of the entrance of the District, unbeknownst to anyone, however, was the fact that these were not the actual guards, but poachers in disguise.

Shenzi: "They are up to arrive in 7 minutes, I hope you are ready for this, babe." Said the first "guard" to her partner, who seemed to be scratching himself under his "skin. "

Banzai: "Good! This mask is killing me! Ugh! Damn wolves and their long fur, it's itchier than when we shed our winter coats!"

Shenzi: "Would you keep quiet!? You're going to give us away with your whining about the fur! Even Ed didn't complain near as much as you!"

Banzai: "Yeah, that's because he isn't sharp enough to notice. Speaking of Ed, where is he?"

Shenzi: "He said he will arrive in 2 minutes, assuming he decided not to have fun with the other guard assigned to the mission." She said while chuckling a little bit. "It's still funny you refuse to have fun with that cute female wolf."

In response to that, Banzai approached Shenzi and hugged her from the waist and pulled her closer, followed by lifting the front portion of their masks to then giving her a passionate kiss, which she happily corresponded.

Banzai: "You know perfectly well that I'm yours, and only yours~." He said while gropping Shenzi's left breast, making his mate giggle and blush under the mask.

Shenzi: "Awww, you make my heart flutter, bad boy~, but save it for later, we have a job to do."

Shortly after that interchange, a black van arrived in front of the 2 impostors, showing a third wolf-disguised animal who had a slightly lolling tongue and an over excited expression; this was Ed, who despite appearing to have a mental disability, was a valuable member of the team.

Banzai: "Oh, right on time, Ed! You picked a nice one." Said Banzai as he saw the car in detail. "That Abasi guy doesn't spare any expense to transport his family, too bad it would cost him way too much this time, hehehehe."

Shenzi: "Oh, in that we agree, my dear, but right now we must be patient. Ed, are the others in position?" To this question, Ed nodded excitedly, which made Shenzi smile. "Excellent, now remember, we first will escort them to the medical clinic and let them take their checkups, and after that, we take them to the meeting point with the rest of the pack so we can effectively capture them and coarse Abasi into paying a hefty ramson to release them."

Banzai: "Oh, we are going to be RICH by doing this. But... we are not going to release them all, aren't we?" He asked with a macabre smile.

Shenzi: "Of course not, babe, we are going to keep her daughter. Her pelt and meat would make us even richer." She said while gently pitching her boyfriend on the cheek, all the while Ed laughed maniacally. "Well, now that we all know what to do, let's get to work."

After a determined nod from the two males, Shenzi went over her motorbike and took it out of the parking to positioned it in front of the car, followed by Banzai who also had his helmet on, and when the 2 turned on their respective vehicles, the trio went towards the entrance of District 0 to await for their unsuspecting victims.

Once Bianca and the kids arrived at the exit, she went over the security booth to get her passes, which would keep them on the radar, and after that they exited District 0 just as their transport had arrived.

Bianca: "Oh, right on time, you are certainly quite punctual in your duties." She said with a kind smile as the driver exited the car and went to open the door for the 3 panthers while one of their escorts kindly helped them to pack Alika's luggage on the trunk. After that, the driver went back into the car as the male escort came back to his motorbike to then go to the medical clinic.

Asa (Ed): "How are you doing today, Mrs. Bianca? You sure look pretty today." Said the wolf to her passenger, making Bianca giggle softly at the compliment.

Bianca: "Thank you, I'm quite well today, and so are my son and niece. It has been quite a calm morning." She responded with a soft voice.

Asa (Ed): "Oh, I'm sure the kids are quite happy to come out to the city. Hope you get to enjoy what it has to offer." Said 'Asa' on a surprisingly joyful tone, like if he was a kids show character.

Alika: "Thank you, mister, we absolutely will. It is nice to see the color of the outside city, which is always such a contrast to our district."

Kimba: "Yeah, it's good to not always see pure white, I always liked how colorful it is out there."

Asa (Ed): "I get you, little fella, I'm glad to hear you enjoy the outside world, hehe." (Oh, I almost feel bad for what we are going to do to you, hahahaha).

And with that, they continue on their way, the 3 lions unaware of the danger that awaited them... or how destiny would join 2 young beasts.

New Hope and Redemption Hospital

July 10th, 8:56 a.m.

The day had finally arrived, today Sharik was going to be dismissed from the hospital and go back home after almost a whole month, and while his treatment wasn't completely done, since he was now on outpatient medical care, Sharik would be free to once again hang out with his friends and enjoy the rest of the summer. Despite this great opportunity, even after all he went through and how others said he absolutely deserved this... Sharik felt unsure about leaving the hospital, not because he feared he would lose control of his curse again, but because of the friends he was leaving behind, worry that he would no longer be able to help them; as such, he spend as much time with them at breakfast as he could, so as to properly say goodbye to them, atleast for now.

Sharik: "Well... this is the day... I... I honestly never expected to leave like this. I mean... never did I expect to make a new friend here, nor two of them staying behind for further recovery. It... makes me feel conflicted." Said the zebra as his ears were flat back, expressing his sadness.

Óscar: "I know how you feel, Sharik. Even before I arrived I was very lonely, but everything changed the moment you came to eat with me... the cafeteria is going to feel a bit empty without you here." Said the ocelot as he had a face that mixed sadness and happiness.

Joaquín: [I understand that you don't want to leave us behind, but remember that this is something you earned, and you should not prevent yourself from enjoying it.] He then went towards Sharik and gave him a hug as well as a friendly lick to his friend in order to lift his mood. [We will be alright in here, plus, you promised to visit us in the meantime.] He expressed with his skillful sign language.

Sharik: "You are right Joaquín, and that is a promise I will fulfill. You can count on that." Said the zebra with regained confidence. "I hope that we can soon enjoy a nice summer day together, perhaps with the others or just us three. Either way, it would be a great day to remember."

Óscar: "Awww, Sharik, you are so kind and soothing when you speak like that. It's so cute." He responded in a flirty and friendly tone, making the 3 friends laugh heartily as they continue to eat, treasuring these moments together like if it was the last day of their lives.

Once breakfast hour was done and the patients were transfered into either their rooms or their therapy sessions, Sharik hugged both carnivores with palpable love, a gesture Óscar and Joaquín returned with equal sentiments, their close bonds echoing among the animals present, who saw them as a beacon of true coexistence between species, and hope for those who had lost it.

Just when Joaquín and Óscar departed into their therapies, Sharik was approached by a trio of different carnivores: the snow leopard who gave him comfort and safety when he his mind and heart were broken; the brown hyena who healed him and helped him to overcome such traumatic events; and the spectacled bear who aided him to uncovered so much about his curse and taught him the first steps for conquering it. So much did he owed to these carnivores for all that they did for him, and he was unable to come up with a way to thank them fully, but at least he knew where to start. Giving them a smile that expressed nothing but joy, he performed a saikeirei in front of them, and clunky as it may be since it was his first time doing it, the 3 carnivores understood perfectly what he meant by doing this.

Sharik: "I don't believe I have the right words to express how thankful I am to you." He then stood up straight again, looking them face to face. "Even though my treatment will continue, I... I know this may be the last time you see me, so... through this, I thank you for everything." The tears forming on his eyes reflected perfectly how he felt on the inside.

Not wasting anytime, Eileen was the first to go over the zebra colt and gave him a big and fluffy (as snow leopards naturally are) hug, which Sharik reciprocated immediately as both nurse and patient shared a sentimental goodbye.

Eileen: "Sharik... you have been the most tenderhearted and noble herbivore I have ever met. When I first got assigned to you... I was honestly worried because... my other herbivore patients were quite mean towards me and even openly hostile, and it discouraged me to work with herbivore patients. That was until I met you, and even when you initially acted aggressively, you were nothing but kind and courteous despite your damaged state. And when you helped Óscar and the dhole, you showed me that you truly value carnivores as people and as friends. It may sound weird, but... your mother was very lucky to have you as her son, I wish to have a baby who is as noble as you."

Those words touched his heart as he continued to hug her nurse, his tail wagging joyfully as he felt a special warmth fill him, for what Eileen said was a rare but very special compliment.

Sharik: "I... I'm flattered, Eileen, thank you." He smiled as a bright red blush painted the white stripes of his face.

After the hug between nurse and patient ended, the two doctors approached Sharik next, both warmly smiling to him as Azumi, curiously using a metal staff, began to rustle his main, which made the zebra whinny in happiness.

Azumi: "Sharik, when I first was assigned to you, I was quite skeptical and even worried about how you would behave. As I have told you, there were other cursed herbivores before you under my care, and some were... quite happy to abuse their curse to cause great harm to carnivores."

As she said that, she couldn't help but touch her abdomen, the place in which her most aggresive patient, a gaur, violently gored her with its horns; to her surprise, and in a demonstration of empathy, Sharik placed his left hand above hers while also putting his right hand over his own abdominal scar, making the bear smiled motherly to the colt.

Azumi: "The moment I saw you help that dhole, I knew you were different from the rest, that you were an empathetic and thoughtful herbivore... in some ways, you reminded me of my husband in that regard." She said with a blushing smile, and while she never told Sharik about who her husband was, he could imagine who that could be based on what she told him. "You reminded me that, just as there are mutants out there who would abuse their curse, there's also those who wish to control it and use it for good. You are a very strong and brave herbivore, Sharik, I'm sure you will inspire many others to conquer this Curse."

Sharik: "Thank you so much, Azumi, that means a lot to me." He said smiling with such joy that his fangs became visible, which made his smile a bit spooky but cute.

Finally, Yamato himself approached Sharik, and, placing a hand on his shoulder, the brown hyena smiled proudly to who he considered his favorite patient, not that he would say he has favorites out loud.

Yamato: "Sharik, you have come so far from how you were when you came here. I remember how damaged and fearful you were, and I deeply lament that such horrible things happened to someone like you." He said in a sorrow but sympathetic tone, one Sharik appreciated. "Yet despite all of that, you managed to find the strength to push forward to recover, and even to fight back against the Curse that afflicts you. I realized now that said strength comes from a place of love, for those you call family and friends; you must always remember said love, for it is a powerful ally against any darkness that tries to overcome us."

Those words of wisdom resonated within Sharik, for even back when he faced death itself after the hippo attack, the love of his family and friends pushed him forward to survive and overcome all challenges that life might put on his path. And from that same love came his will and determination to stand up for those who can't stand for themselves, no matter what species may they be; it was this heroic nature that fed his desire to become a hero, whether he became a police officer and followed the steps of his father... or as a bright star that protected his new home and all that inhabited it.

It was then that Sharik quickly gave the brown hyena a big hug, which, while initially shocked the feliform, he corresponded warmly shortly after. Sharik didn't say anything else, for through the hug, he expressed everything he needed to tell.

After the moving farewell, a tall figure walked over the 3 carnivores and the zebra teen, and upon looking at him, Sharik immediately went over his father, both zebras embracing each other with so much love and relief, after a whole month apart, they were now together once again.

Sharik: "Estoy tan feliz de estar de nuevo contigo, papá, te extrañé mucho." He said with his ears perked up and his tail wagging, gestures that Akida also expressed.

Akida: "También estoy feliz de estar contigo, mi pequeño guerrero, más viendo que ya haz mejorado mucho"

Suddenly, the father and son moment was interrupted when the barks of a smaller zebra were heard, and it was then that Sharik saw Oliver appearing behind Akida. Smiling with joy overflowing their beating hearts, and with tears coming out their eyes, both brothers embraced like never before, happy that the promise they made each other would be fulfilled at last.

Oliver: "¡Por fin vendras a casa! ¡Por fin podremos jugar juntos otra vez!" He said beaming in pure joy, earning a rustle on his main courtesy of his older brother. Such a scene brought tenderness and joy to those bystanders who watched them, and even Akida felt his heart filled with the love only a father could feel.

After their embrace, the 3 cebras began to walk towards the exit, not before saying a last goodbye to the good doctors and nurses that helped them; as they exited the facility, Sharik noticed that someone was missing.

Sharik: "Hey papá ¿Dónde está mamá? Creí que vendría con ustedes" Asked the zebra, surprised, for he knew his mother would not have been absent for something like this... unless she was busy with something else.

Akida: "Oh, tu madre se quedó en casa, ella ha estado preparando algo muy especial para tí." Said Akida with a knowing smile to then kiss his son in the forehead.

The news of a surprise being prepared for him made Sharik beam in excitement, for surprises were a thing he always loved and remembered fondly, and he couldn't wait to see which one his mother had prepared for him. As the herbivores walked towards their car in order to go back home, someone watched them from the shadows as they departed, smiling happily for he knew he had succeeded in his task.

Oxyotl: (My work here is done. I hope you have a very good summer, Sharik. Maybe one day we will meet again.) Thought the veiled chameleon as he himself went back home, satisfied with his fulfilled duty.

Higashikata Medical Clinic

July 10th, 9:25 a.m.

Sitting on the waiting room, Alika was calmly reading a magazine about her favorite K-pop bands while she also kept a watchful eye on his cousin, who was playing in a Beastendo DS as her aunt underwent her examination, sighing calmly as she looked around the room. The clinic they were attending to was one of the most recognized and prestigious of the whole city, not only due to the quality and affordability of its services, but also because of their history of accepting all sorts of beasts even during the 50s, when segregation was historically at its highest level worldwide. Alika could see a great variety of beasts either expecting to be called, on their way to receive treatment, or or working as part of the facility's personnel, and it was nice to see that, similar to District 0, all coexisted in peace regardless of whether they were carnivores or herbivores, there were even some rare species here, such as anoas, crocodile lizards, kakapos, and even marine animals such as spotted seals; truly a biological menagerie.

Alika: (Wow, I always forget just how diverse this city truly is. There's always a new species to be found on each corner. It's so wonderful how colorful the world outside of Distric 0, all animals have such unique colorations and patterns, it's like I'm watching living art!) She said with fascination, as while she wasn't exactly interested on arts, Alika always appreciated the colors of the world around her, especially with how conditioned she was to pure white. (I wonder if Kimba feels the same).

Speaking of her little cousin, Kimba had left his Beastendo on a table and was now looking at the aquarium installed near the recepcionist desk, watching with fascination the colorful fish, snails, and even some crabs that shared this watery residence.

Kimba: (Wow, they are so cute. I wonder what other fish are in the sea? Would they be as colorful?)

Suddenly, the door of the room in which they would receive their examination opened and Bianca exited calmly, going over her niece as she held a cotton to her arm, which meant that they were going to get vaccinated as well, much to Alika's dismay as she didn't like needles.

Bianca: "Ok, Ali, is your turn. The doctor is waiting for you in her office."

Alika: "Erm... ok, aunt." She said a bit nervous about the prospect of being vaccinated, but a quick hug from her aunt calmed her enough to keep herself positive.

After that, Alika went to the doctor's office, and entered calmly, the room was equipped with the typical furniture, supplies and equipment you would expect, although the exam table was significantly bigger that she remembered, probably to accommodate for large herbivore patients. Not long after her entrance, she was received by the familiar face of the doctor that had attended them for many years now: a collected and cordial female indochinese leopard, who was wearing a yellow sleeveless blouse and some brown pants alongside her signature doctor's coat. Upon seeing each other eye to eye, Alika couldn't help but smile happily at her doctor, bowing in greeting while keeping a fancy posture.

Alika: "Hello, Mi Cha. It is nice to see you again."

Mi Cha: "The feeling is mutual, Alika. Have you been taking good care of your health?" She asked with a gentle smile.

Alika: "You can be certain I have, but I can't never be too sure." She answered proudly like the lioness she was.

Mi Cha: "Oh, that's wonderful to hear, Alika. Let's begin then. Take out your shoes and walk over the weight scale."

Nodding confidently, Alika did as told and went over the weight scale, this one was a bit different since it was a digital model, and also included a height scale that allowed Mi Chan to measure how much had Alika grown.

Mi Cha: "1.65 meters and 63.5 kilograms. You have grown quite a lot, dear."

Alika: "Thank you, I have noticed that too. It has taken a toll on my wardrobe, hehe."

Mi Cha: "Oh, I can imagine." She took note of the measurements obtained on her clipboard. "Ok, let us continue, dear."

From there, the examination went quite normally, with Mi Cha not finding any abnormalities on Alika's temperature, face, reflexes or blood pressure, however, things suddenly changed once she took out the digital sphygmomanometer of her arm.

Mi Cha: "Ok, Alika, everything looks good so far." She said as she took the stethoscope. "Now, for the rest of the check-up, I will need you to take off your top clothing, including your bra, so I can check your mammary development."

Sensing herself paralyzed when Mi Cha told her that, remembering that she would have to reveal the mark to her, Alika steeled herself and nodded, proceeding to undress herself until she was completely topless. It was then that Mi Cha noticed the deep black mark on her patient's pure white chest, which took the shape of a zebra's head, and to say she was surprised would have been an understatement.

Mi Cha: "Alika... what... what is that?" She asked in a mix of shock, curiosity, and worry as she approached the young bright lioness to take a better look at it.

Alika: "I sincerely don't know, doctor, all I know is that it first appeared back in July 4th, it... happened after a strange dream I had, one in which I was rescued by what appeared to be an equid clad in armor." She explained with a slight blush and an uncertain tone, making Mi Cha realize that this was also a mystery for Alika.

Mi Chan: "I see... very well, we can check that later. Right now, I'm going to listen to your heart." She then put the earpieces followed by placing the diaphragm of the stethoscope right above Alika's chest, attentively listening to the heartbeats of the young lioness while gradually moving the diaphragm around her chest to check all the valves of her heart.

Lub-dub ~lub-dub ~lub-dub ~lub-dub ~lub-dub ~lub-dub ~lub-dub ~lub-dub ~lub-dub ~ lub-dub ~lub-dub ~lub-dub ~lub-dub

As Alika was getting her heart listened to, elsewhere in the city, a certain zebra could feel that something cold and metallic was touching his chest, placing his hand on it trying to decipher what it was, but the touch felt familiar, reminding him of Azumi checking his heart during his examinations.

Sharik: (¿Por qué estoy sintiendo esto? ¿Acaso... es esto relacionado a aquella marca blanca?) He thought while the memory of his discovery of the extensive growth of the mark in the morning replayed on his mind, thinking of what that could mean.

Back at the clinic, Mi Cha placed the stethoscope on her mitral valve, and after listening closely for a few seconds, she separated the diaphragm from Alika's chest, taking off the earpieces for now.

Mi Cha: "Your heart sounds good and healthy, but your heartbeats appear to have become stronger and a bit quicker. It seems to be coincidental to the appearance of the mark." She explained calmly, taking notes of the data obtained.

Alika: "I see... well, I did feel that my heart beat stronger the night it first appeared, so I suppose it makes sense."

Mi Cha: "Well, fortunately, it isn't related to any cardiac disease, so there's nothing to worry about."

After that, the indochinese leopard examined her lungs with the stethoscope, not noticing any abnormalities. Once she finished, and after also examining her abdomen, she took off the stethoscope and placed it around her neck.

Mi Cha: "Ok, Alika, now we will start with your mammary exam. Are you ready?"

Alika: "Hehe, yeah... I'm not sure how this will feel, but I'm ready." She answered a bit nervously and blushed from the face, but confident.

With that confirmation, Mi Cha began to examine her breasts thoroughly, checking that they had been developing properly, finishing after a few minutes. As she felt her breasts, the leopard also discovered that the skin of her chest, particularly the one in the area where the black mark was, had become ticker, seemingly just enough to prevent mots types of claws to do any damage.

Mi Cha: "Alright, your breasts are developing fine, the mark on your chest, however, appears to have stimulated the formation of a ticker layer of skin under it, not quite sure why or how, though, but is nothing serious or threatening for what I can tell.

Alika: "I see now. Well, if it isn't harmful, then I think it's nothing we should worry about." (Did the warrior do this to me to protect me? It's so bizarre, but... I suppose it could serve me well in case I am in a fight).

Mi Cha: "Well, other than that and your heart, it hasn't altered anything significant, but you would have to keep that mark hidden to remain in District 0."

Alika nodded and gulp in worry, remembering the case of the kangaroo nicknamed "Orion" and what she had to do to stay on the district due to the spots on her inner tigh, even though her family's status would be more than enough to help here. As she pondered on that, Mi Cha prepared a syringe with a fresh needle and filled it with the vaccine assigned to her patient. Upon seeing the needle, Alika recoiled nervously, while she didn't exactly feared needles, she disliked being pinched, since her skin was quite sensitive to such type of physical contact.

Mi Cha: "Ok, Alika, the vaccine is ready, and I know you don't like the pinches, but it's important that you get this shot. I have some teethers if you want one too..."

Alika: "No, I don't need one!" She exclaimed loudly, much to the surprise of the leopard doctor, then Alika realized what she just did and shrank in embarrassment. "Sorry, sorry, I'm just still very nervous... but... I don't wish to rely on that to be able to take vaccines, I want to be able to overcome this without the assistance of such tools." She said on a much calmer but still a bit embarrassed tone.

Mi Cha: "Hey, don't need to feel ashamed, Alika. It's quite normal to feel nervous about vaccines. But if you really want to not use the teethers, then there's no problem in that."

Trembling a bit, Alika stay firm on her choice and let Mi Cha proceed with the vaccination, and while it definitely hurt a bit more due to her sensitivity (which on another part of the city made a certain zebra slap his arm, thinking a mosquito had stung him) and after that, the doctor placed a cotton pad with alcohol in the area of her arm in which she inserted the needle.

Mi Cha: "There we go! Wasn't so bad, was it?" She said with a kind smile. "You can dress up now, darling. Tell your cousin to come next when you exit the room."

Nodding in a more relaxed mood, the white lioness quickly went to put her blouse back on, making sure no wrinkles formed on it or her skirt, and just before she exited, she went towards her doctor and gave her a hug.

Alika: "Thank you, Mi Cha. You have always been a great doctor for us."

Mi Cha: "Awww, you are most welcome, Alika. It's my job, after all." She replied happily, enjoying the genuine gratitude she had for her work.

After that, Alika exited the office and went for her cousin so he could get his check-up done... unfortunately, Kimba had gotten into a nasty argument with two other kids: a marsh crocodile and an aardwolf over who got to play with the best toys of the box available for the children on the waiting room with Kimba insisting that they should distribute them equally, needless to say, it got a bit heated and messy quite fast, with Bianca and the mothers of the other carnivore kids trying to resolve the conflict.

Alika: (Oh goodness, not again.) She thought as she went towards his cousin to help Bianca finish the conflict so he could get checked.

Migratory Avenue

July 10th, 9:38 a.m.

Just as the lions attended their medical appointments, the family of zebras were heading back home on Akida's car so that Sharik (who now wore a green t-shirt with coastal design and denim pants) could receive his special surprise; while the absence of his mother meant that he could sit on the front, the eldest zebra colt insisted on seating with his brother on the back so they could catch up with their brotherly bond, and while they were waiting on a red traffic light, both boys were drawing and playing a word jumble together, much to the delight of Akida, who always enjoyed to see both of his boys get along so well.

Oliver: "Car-... carchari..."

Sharik: "Carcharodontosaurio, así se pronuncia." Explained Sharik as she circled the word on the jumble, which had a thematic of both mesozoic and cenozoic fauna, which also included drawings of the respective animals which one could colored if they found the right name of the animal.

Oliver: "Vaya, eres bueno con esos nombres, muchos para mí son trabalenguas." Said the small colt with amazement for his brother's knowledge on dinosaurs.

Sharik: "Lo aprendes con la práctica, a mí también se me dificultaban algunos." He said as he looked for another word. "Mira este, ¿puedes pronunciar el nombre?"

Oliver: "¡Claro! Es un... uhm... un stegomastodon. ¡Hey, lo dije bien a la primera!" Beamed Oliver in excitement.

Sharik: "Sabía que lo lograrías, Oli, aprendes rápido." He said quite happily.

As the traffic light turned green and the cars circulated again, Sharik couldn't help but look outside the car window, and as he did, he noticed a special sight at the other side of the avenue: a large male banteng, who seemed to have vision issues, with a smaller bengal tigress, both of them were openly embracing and kissing each other in a scene that got them mixed reactions from the people around them while other animals were just passing by and not caring about their shared display of affection.

Sharik: (Que lindo. Es genial ver que parejas entre carnívoros y herbívoros pueden florecer libremente en esta ciudad sin ser discriminados. Ellos merecen amarse con todo el corazón. ) He thought happily... but said happiness began to turn into worry and sadness as he gently touched one of his fangs. (Pero... ¿podré siquiera tener una relación así? Es decir... aun tengo un largo camino que recorrer para conquistar mi maldición, pero... ¿será suficiente para permitirme amar a un carnívoro de esa manera?)

His expression became a bit saddened as he reflected on how life around carnivores might become more complicated for him, but it fed his determination to succeed in the conquest of his curse so he could one day be able to achieve such a relationship, besides, he always thought felids were the most attractive type of carnivores.

Akida: "Hey Sharik ¿cómo te estás sintiendo, ya feliz de estar afuera del hospital?"

Sharik: "¿Huh? Oh, bueno, se siente bastante bien estar finalmente afuera, aunque también me siento como si hubiera estado confinado a un búnker por años, jeje. Me alegra bastante poder ver la ciudad otra vez." He said happily, making his characteristic smile that could make anyone else smile as well, which always worked on his father.

Akida: "Me alegra mucho oír eso, Sharik, te extrañamos bastante. La casa se sentía vacía sin tí." He said while gently caressing his son before going back to focus on the driving. "Y dime ¿algo o alguien que vayas a extrañar del hospital?" He asked in a playful manner.

Sharik: "Pues... honestamente... sí, las enfermeras y doctores qué me atendieron eran buenas personas... y tras pasar tanto tiempo con ellos, siento que sí los echaré de menos. A Joaquín también, pero en la misma forma que Alejandro, Francisco y Sebastián me extrañaron. A quien más extrañaré será a Óscar, no sé cuánto tiempo más va estar en el hospital, pero... bueno, yo fui su primer y único amigo, y aunque ahora tiene a Joaquín... quisiera todavía estar con él." He said on a melancholy tone, something that reflected just how much he valued his friendships, no matter if they were as recent as this one.

Almost immediately, Oliver went over Sharik and gave him a big hug to prevent him for getting sad, a gesture the older cebra sibling happily reciprocated as Akida watched with a gentle and knowing smile, understanding how Sharik felt.

Akida: "Está bien, Sharik, podrás venir a visitarlo cuando la oportunidad se de, ya después averiguaremos cuando le darán de alta." This, of course, led to Akida's curiosity about Sharik's most recent friend. "Cuéntame sobre Óscar.¿Cómo es ese muchacho? Imagino que es un carnívoro también."

Sharik: "Así es, Óscar es un ocelote. Lo conocí el día después de que fueron a visitarme en el hospital, durante la hora de la comida. Me di cuenta de que estaba solo e inmediatamente decidí ir a sentarme con él, eso lo hizo bastante feliz. También... bueno, hablamos mutuamente de como terminamos ahí... incluyendo el hecho de que estoy maldito." That last part he mentioned it more nervously, as he understood that such a hard topic was not to be said willy-nilly to every person you suddenly met.

Akida: "No te preocupes Sharik, estaban dentro de un lugar seguro donde tratan a animales con ese tipo de padecimientos, no había problema en que le contaras sobre tu maldición." He replied calmly and understandingly, happy that his son was confident enough to even do that. "Aunque ¿Qué le pasó a Óscar?"

Sharik: "Justamente a eso iba. Óscar es homosexual, y... debido a eso, su padre lo maltrataba y abusaba, su madre intentó protegerlo pero... imagino que sabes como acabó" He lowered his ears forward on sympathy for his friend, receiving comfort from Oliver even if he didn't understand some of the things Sharik said.

Akida: "Ya veo. Pobre muchacho, ningún niño debería ser agredido o discriminado solo porque deciden ser gays." He expressed with a sense of anger to all of those people he dealt with on cases such as that. "Pero he de suponer que encontró una nueva familia ¿verdad?"

Sharik: "Oh sí. Me dijo que lo adoptó una pareja de jaguarundis, y ellos han sido bastante buenos padres para él, lo apoyan y aman sin importar sus diferencias." He replied with a happier tone. "La bronca es que aun tiene traumas con los que lidiar, lo cual hizo qué lo ingresaran al hospital, y le ha estado yendo bien afortunadamente. Espero se recupere pronto."

Akida: "Igualmente, suena a que es un buen muchacho. Me alegra que hayas tomado iniciativa para volverte su primer amigo, eso ayuda mucho a personas con síntomas de depresión o ansiedad." He said while feeling proud for his son.

Oliver: "Sí, ¡y tú eres el mejor amigo que cualquiera podría tener!" He exclaimed happily.

Sharik: "Awww, gracias Oliver. Gracias papá" He replied, smiling and touched by his little brother's affirmation. "Aunque... Óscar también me ayudó descubriendo una cosa de mí mismo... una que... no te he contado a tí o a mamá por un buen tiempo." At this revelation, coupled with the nervousness on Sharik's voice, Akida became quite curious and even a bit worried, said sentiment being shared by Oliver. "Verás... yo... yo..." He gulped fearfully. "Soy bisexual."

That revelation came as quite the shock for Akida, leaving him silent for 2 very long minutes as he processed what Sharik had said, all the while the zebra teen looked very nervous about his father's silence. Oliver, not understanding what that meant, became quite confused about this new concept.

Oliver: "¿Qué es bisexual?"

Sharik: "Um... es complicado Oli, eres muy joven para entenderlo aun." Said with a trembly voice, and then his father spoke.

Akida: "Está bien hijo, me alegra que tengas la confianza de cortarme esto... y siendo sincero... ya suponía que eras bisexual, considerando lo abiertamente cariñoso que eres con hembras y machos por igual, jejeje."

This revelation came as a huge shock for Sharik, boiling down to a mix of relief, happiness and a bit bothersome due to how direct that was, a heavy blush painting the center of his snoot and cheeks as he processed that.

Sharik: "Jeje... Gracias por comprender, papá, es... algo bastante aliviante poder sacar eso de mi pecho."

Akida: "De nada, mi pequeño centinela." He replied with a smile. "Solo avísanos cuando tú y Alex vayan a empezar a salir juntos de esa forma."

Sharik: "¡Sáquese a volar, no vamos a llegar a eso!" He exclaimed embarrassed and a little mad, but soon both Burchell's zebras started to laugh and bark at the slight jab joke, all the while Oliver, still not understanding what they meant due to his young age, was happy to see how his dad and older brother once again got to have fun together.

Higashikata Medical Clinic

June 10th, 10:00 a.m.

After all 3 lions got their check-ups and shots done (with Kimba getting to take a toy from the box after not feeling any fear during his) the 3 lions were guided by their "escorts" back into the car, not knowing that those "wolves" had something very sinister in mind.

Bianca: "Well, it went over quite fast, didn't it? I told you it would be the best hour to arrive here." She said as they got into the car, looking at many animals that were just arriving into the clinic, since she knew this clinic filled up around this hour.

Kimba: "Yeah, you were right, mom, it was shocking to see how many people had just arrived the moment I went out of Mi Cha's office, is like they came out of nowhere." He said happily as he played with his new toy, which was an action figure of Ultrabeast, which was the protagonist of the series of the same name.

Bianca: "That's right, this clinic may be one of the best ones, but it is also one of the busiest ones, so you always want to make an appointment in the morning or by the evening if you want it to be as quick as possible." As she caressed her son, she noticed that her niece was silent, like if something was bothering her. "Is something wrong, Alika?" She asked, worried.

Alika: "Huh? Oh, it is nothing, aunt, I was just thinking about something random, I'm fine." She said in an outwardly calm tone, but in reality, she was still pondering about the mark and the cursed warrior that gave it to her, still unsure about where, how, or even if she will find him.

While Bianca wasn't all that convinced, she decided to let her to her thoughts as she figured that it could be something particularly personal and that she would later feel safer to talk about it.

As they continued their way towards the house of Alika's parents, the escorts and the driver suddenly took a turn from which they were supposed to go, confusing Bianca and making her suspect that something wasn't right.

Bianca: "Excuse me, young man. Why are we taking a detour? The way to my sister's house is in that direction." She asked sternly to the "wolf" chauffeur, her tone being much more aggressive than her usual one.

Asa (Ed): "Oh, don't worry, Mrs. Bianca, we are just taking a shortcut to your family's house. Besides, there was an accident on the avenue, so the traffic would be stuck for a while now."

True to his words, a car crash had occurred in the the middle of a street cross that heavily slow down the circulation, but this accident was in reality a sabotage done by 3 hyenas, using drones to pester an innocent driver to crash into another, and to make it more severe, both of the victims they set up for this crash were truck drivers. Among those affected by it was Akida and his sons, who were forced to take another route back home. Coincidentally, this route was parallel to the one the lions and "wolf escorts" had taken. Just when both cars drove parallel to one another, two young beasts, either by mere coincidence or guided by destiny, caught a glimpse of one another... and suddenly, everything around them changed.

The Bridge of Destiny

Like on their dream, the great bridge of stone and clay stood in front of them, the other side clouded by a dark fog, however, as carnivore and herbivore watched the other side, a bright light erased the fog that covered the bridge, showing the figures of the white angel and the cursed warrior. Confused and intrigued, the young beasts were unsure of what to do, but the avatars of light and justice, the former with a motherly voice and the latter with a confident gesture, invite them forward to reach the other side, assuring them that all would be alright; after thinking it over carefully, the lioness and the zebra moved forward: Sharik kept himself on high alert and ready to fight in case anything tried to ambush him, while Alika moved with nervous steps, fearing that something may attack her and cause terrible harm. Once they reached the other side, both teens were embraced gently by their saviors: the angel caressed and soothed Sharik, making the zebra nuzzle her with love in response, and at the same time, the warrior gently patted and comforted Alika, the young lioness chuffing relieved and safe in the arms of her defender as she rubbed her head on his helmet.

After the gentle embrace, both avatars gently release the teens, and it was then that they both began to do something both beasts didn't expect: slowly but surely, they removed what covered their face. The lioness finished first, taking off her face veil, and the warrior took off his helmet shortly after, gently putting it on the ground; both Alika and Sharik had their mouths wide open in shock, as each respective avatar had the face of who they saw on the opposite end of the road, but in adult form, with each minute detail, from the lightning bolt shaped stripes on the neck to the unique hazel eyes, being completely visible for each young beast.

Atlast, with the mystery of the identities of those who saved them was revealed, the eyes of each guardian began to glow brightly: the angel's in red and the warrior's in green and blue.

Ganges Stream Street

June 10th ,10:30 a.m.

Exiting their strange vision who appeared to have frozen time and take them into another world, Sharik and Alika shook their heads due to how quickly everything had went by, but when they stared at each other again, their eyes retained the color of their guardians, and hidden by their clothes, the marks of the lion and the zebra began to glow on deep black and platinum white respectively, their hearts pounding within their chests as they have finally found each other, like they swore on that fateful full moon night.

Sharik: (No puedo creerlo... es ella... ¡ella es la ángel!)

Alika: (Oh my Rex! It's him! He is the warrior I swore to find!).

Instinctively, with a hand on their chest to hold their beating hearts, the white angel and the cursed warrior placed a hand on the window of the respective cars they were in and gently smiled at each other. As they were so focused on this mystical connection, unaware from the world around them, their reactions were quickly noticed.

Akida: (Huh? ¿Qué estará viendo Sha...? Oh... tal parece que esa joven leona capturó su corazón. Un momento, ¡ella es del Distrito 0! Esto quizás complique las cosas si realmente quiere que ella sea su novia.)

Bianca: (What has gotten Alika to...? Oh my! It seems like she has found her soul mate! Wait a minute... a zebra? Is a zebra the one who has stolen her heart? I... never expected that she would have a liking for herbivores... but how would their relationship even develop?)

As both father and aunt pondered over this sudden development, the hyenas realized they had a car next to them, and the moment they saw who was driving, the two escorts almost immediately panicked.

Banzai: "SHIT! It's Akida! How the hell did he end up here!?" Yelled Banzai in panic via a special comlink on his helmet, which allowed him to not spill the beans.

Shenzi: "Fuck if I know! We need to get out of here quickly and rendezvous with the others! Ed, drop the disguise, we are entering phase 2 now!" Said with a similar fear towards the zebra stallion.

The moment Ed received the signal from Shenzi, he started to laugh maniacally, much to the surprise and dismay of the bright lions, as they saw him take off a wolf-shape mask, revealing the grim and deranged face of the hyena who looked at them with a predatory gaze as he whipped out a loaded revolver.

Bianca: "What!? Who the fuck are you!?" Asked Bianca in a mix of shock, fear and maternal instinct, quickly positioning herself to protect her niece and son.

Ed: "Haahahahaha!!! You were so easy to fool, all we needed was scent blockers and some ugly masks to get to you! And now, your pelts will be ours! Ahahahaha!"

Witnessing all of this happening in front of him, and managing to hear the screams of terror of the angel and evil cackles of the hyena, something inside of Sharik ignited, a blazing fire that impulse him to act, at the same time, Akida quickly prepared to act, grabbing a hidden pistol he had inside the glove box. But before they could do anything, something crashed against his father's car: a dark grey van driven by more of those sinister hyenas, who also carried weapons!.

Oliver: "AHHHHH!!!"

Akida: "¡SHARIK, CUBRE A TU HERMANO!"

Ducking just in time, the zebras avoided a barrage of bullets shot from an FN P90 at the car, heavily damaging the vehicle and leaving it unusable. The sudden violence and the gun shots terrified all beasts that were around the area, causing them to quickly run away less they may be next.

Janja: "That's enough. They aren't going anywhere!" Said the hyena at the wheel who started immediately to catch up with his clan mates, leaving the surviving zebras behind.

As the gang drove off, Akida quickly rose from its cover, having some small scratches here and there, and turned to see if his sons were alright.

Akida: "¿Sharik, Oli, están bien?" Asked in worried and panic, with the sound of Oliver weeping relieving some of his worst worries.

Sharik: "Estamos bien, papá, logramos ponernos a salvo a tiempo." Said Sharik as he hugged his little brother tightly, trying his best to calm him down.

Akida: "Ok, me alegra ver que ambos están bien." He said as he sighed in relief, but quickly turned serious as he took out his phone to make a call. "Oberon, can you hear me? I have a critical situation right here. I encountered bright poachers on my way home, and they attacked us to dissuade us and cause mass panic."

As Akida was calling for reinforcements and Oliver cried his eyes out on his big brother's embrace, Sharik began to feel a strong pain on his chest, and as said pain made him gasp and snort in response, he saw from the eyes of the lioness how the hyenas were tying her up and what seemed to be her family, beating them each time they struggle or fought back, and they even groped her and the older female on their most vulnerable state! Growling fiercely, and with both of his eyes glowing in a neon-green light, Sharik, much to the shock of Oliver, stood up and opened the door, not before passing his little brother a toy to help calm him down on his absence.

Oliver: "¿Sharik? ¡Sharik!" Exclaimed the foal in fear as he saw his brother walk away from the ruined car, gripping the styracosaurus plushy he gave him in fear.

Akida: "We are on Ganges Stream Street and..." He stopped talking upon barely seeing Sharik sprint at full speed on his global vision... right behind where the hyenas went! "¡SHARIK, REGRESA AQUÍ DE INMEDIATO!" He yelled in fear and worry.

But Sharik wasn't listening and instead ran at full speed, grunting and snorting in exertion as he kept running to save the white angel. Inside of his mind, Bludgeon attempted to use this as an opportunity to take over Sharik and use him to cause another massacre, but he was suddenly stopped by a new entity: a bright blue soldier covered in platinum armor came forward, grabbed him by the torso, and throw him away so he could not harm Sharik again. Just when the armored entity was left standing on the zebra's subconscious, it started to glow on platinum and blue, and an aura of the same colors faintly covered the stripes of his body, his left eye changing from a alien and raging neon-green to a righteous and calmer neon-blue.

Gathering into an alley, the hyena gang, led by Shenzi and Banzai, were restraining and dragging their bright victims into the van so they could take them back to their hideout and obtain their skin, flesh and bones, but this proved to be harder than expected as Bianca was fighting tooth and claw to protect Alika and Kimba, roaring defiantly as she pulled and broke free from the ropes two of the hyenas were using to catch her, and slashing against any who dare approached her son and niece, succeeding in repeling Janja with a deep claw strike to his snout.

Janja: "AGH! YOU BITCH!" He yelled in pain at the white lioness, and just when it looked she was going to pounce against him, she was stopped mid-air by a shot to her left thigh, causing her to fall to the ground as she screamed in pain.

Kimba: "MOM!" Cried the lion cub in horror as tears flew down his eyes, only to be shut with a strike of the butt of a rifle.

Chungu: "Stop whining, you little prick!" Snarled the hyena aggressively as he continued to tie and gagged the cub up. "There, all ready to go."

Banzai: "Not so fast, Chungu, we still need Abasi's daughter!" He said as Alika bit him on his arm and wiggled her way out of her grasp. "AGH! Get her!"

Alika: "I will go for help, Kimba! Hang in there!" She told her cousin as she made a run for it, trying to escape the poachers.

Quickly following his orders, the other hyenas went after the young white lioness, who tried to desperately ran away in order to get help from the closest authorities and survive. As she ran as fast as she could, flashbacks from her nightmare began playing on her mind, the hyenas now chasing her taking the role of the demons who almost raped her... and added to said terror, a sense of shame and impotence flew through her mind.

Alika: (Fuck! Why am I not fighting back? I may be a bright and a young girl but I am a lioness! And Abasi's daughter, for Rex's sake! I shouldn't be running away like a scared rabbit! And yet I just left my aunt and cousin to their luck on the hopes of getting help that may not even arrive in time! Why I didn't stay!)

Her train of thought was cut short when one of the hyenas chasing her, a female, tackle her to the ground and grappling her so she couldn't escape, tying her arms to her back with a ziptie.

Jamila: "Haha! I got her! Let's go back to the others!" Said the first female, who was an older teenager compared to Alika.

Lou: "Great catch, Jamila! I knew you will get the hang of it!" Replied the second female happily, seemingly the oldest of the two. "Take her with the others, I will stay behind in case anyone followed us.

Jamila: "Gotcha, good luck!" She said with a joyful smile as she ran back to the pack.

Unfortunately, just when Lou was left all alone, a blurr of black and white appeared right in front of her, attacking the hyena with righteous fury, her weapon laying pulverized on the ground.

Back at the alley, the pack had secured Bianca and Kimba just as Jasiri came back, carrying Alika like a sack of potatoes and leaving her next to her relatives, all 3 lions cowering in fear of what they had planned for them.

Janja: "Excellent job, dear, you have become a fine hunter." Said Janja as he hugged his girlfriend, giving her a deep kiss and letting her grope his ass.

Jamila: "Thank you, my cutesy plushy, I wanted to impress you today, and seems I succeeded~" She replied on a flirty voice before being interrupted by Shenzi.

Shenzi: "Ok people, let's get ready to depart. Chungu, Ed, load them up into the van and make sure to shut them up, I don't want you playing with the lady on our way back."

Tano: "Oh come on! You want me to hold back with such a sexy body? Atleast let me suck a breast."

Bianca: "You pervert!! How dare you!"

Tano: "Shut up!" He growled to then hit Bianca on the head with a baseball bat he carried, knocking her unconscious.

Kimba: "MOOOOM!!" Cried Kimba in pure terror, crying uncontrollably as he desperately tried to wake his mother up, only to be lifted up by Chungu and carried towards the van.

As this was happening, Alika once more felt impotent and useless, she had failed her aunt and cousin in getting the help they needed, and now she too was going to suffer a horrible fate, sobbing frustrated as she blamed herself for not being able to be strong. In this moment of absolute vulnerability, there was only one thing on her mind.

Alika: (Great warrior, please, help us!)

From the other side of the alley, a large object collided with the side of the vehicle at great speed, piercing the sliding doors and leaving a gaping hole in the vehicle.

Shenzi: "HOLY SHIT!"

Chungu: "WOAAHHH!!"

Banzai: "OH MY REX!!"

Jamila: "AHHHHHH!"

Tano: "WE GOT BUSTED!"

Bud: "WHAT THE FUCK!?"

Alika: "Huh?"

After the initial shock, the hyena pack inspected what had collided with their van in such a way... the moment they recognized the figure as one of their own, all but one of them froze in fear.

Bud: "Lou!" Screamed the bulky female hyena in worry as she entered to check on her beaten up sister.

What she saw horrified her: Lou had multiple bleeding bruises, heavy blunt lacerations and her jaw was badly broken, amazingly, she was still breathing.

Bud: "Who did this to you, sister?" Asked Bud in rage and great worry as she gently hold her wounded and unconscious sister.

She got her answer after the clan and the 2 lion cubs heard furious barking coming out from the other side of the alley, turning to see where said sound came from, all carnivores present were shocked: a single zebra colt, of the same age as Alika but noticeably larger, stood right in front of them, and despite that zebra being significantly younger than most of the hyenas, all of them could sense an aggressive and violent aura emanating from the herbivore, who glared at them with eyes glowing in alien neon-green and valiant neon-blue.

Alika: (It's here, he has come to save us.) Thought the lioness as she saw the zebra standing against her kidnappers, just like when the armored warrior stood against the demons in her dream. Tears falling from her eyes thanks to this new spark of hope.

Sharik: "I will only say this once: Let those white lions go and get out unharmed, or I will fight all of you to save them!" He exclaimed in a high and ferocious voice, one that belonged to a soldier or a police officer rather than a young boy.

Despite of this discrepancy, all 10 hyenas were paralyzed, the dreaded aura and smell of death coming from the young colt making them afraid to even move, as the zebra waited for them to choose their next action, ready to do what was necessary in order to protect the lives in danger.

Banzai: "S-S-Shenzi... w-what should w-w-we do?" Asked the second in command, terrified of the prospect of fighting the zebra colt who almost killed one of their own.

Shenzi: "I... I am not sure... I..."

Cheezy: "Oh for CRYING OUT LOUD! He is a single, stupid, young herbivore, we can take care of this ASAP!" He then raised his P90 and started firing at the colt, making the others break from their shock and regained initiative. "Ahahahahaha!!! Die, you piece of fresh meat!"

Alika: "Noooo!" Yelled the lioness in panic, thinking the zebra would die right where he stood.

To the shock of all present, however, the young zebra quickly dodged the barrage of bullets by running through the walls around them, his muscular legs and metalic horseshoes allowing him to maintain a steady jug through the brick walls as Cheezy tried and failed to shoot him; shortly after he landed back on the ground, he kicked a nearby trash can towards his attacker, the can hit the hyena square in the torso, knocking the weapon out of his hands, and just when he was about to stand up.

Sharik: "ORA!"

Cheezy received the hardest kick he had felt on his life, sensing his lower jaw tore off and his teeth forcefully fall off to then be sent crashing back first against the opposite wall, the impact leaving a cracked hole on the structure as he fell unconscious to the floor. Both hyenas and lions had their jaws dropped in shock at the display of agility and combat prowess of the zebra, paralyzing the poachers as they struggle to even think of what to do.

Jamila: "That... that is NOT normal!" She exclaimed horrified.

Kimba: "Mmmph! Mmmmph!" The cub tried to scream despite his gagged state, but was once again silenced by Chungu via a punch to his face.

Alika: "Kimba!" Cried Alika horrified by how they were torturing his cousin.

Shenzi: "Shut the fuck up and don't intervene!" She yelled back to Alika, a palpable fear emanating from the otherwise intimidating voice. "Ed, this herbivore is much too dangerous for us, you know what to do!"

At that order, Ed began to laugh maniacally, much to the dismay and worry of Kimba and Alika all the while the rest of the hyenas stood back from him; this sudden action made Sharik curious but highly alert, knowing something potentially dangerous was about to happen. At that moment, opening a fanny pack that he carried as a belt for his pants, he took out a large piece of meat and shake it mockingly in front of Sharik, horrifying Alika and Kimba at the despicable taunt the hyena chose to do, but everything became worse once they saw the skin attached to the meat.

Ed: "You recognize this? That's from one of your kind! A tasty and succulent breast piece from a cute colt like you! Ahahahahaa!" He laughed once again as he the ate the meat in front of Sharik with impunity, making the rest of his clan smile excitedly while Alika and Kimba were appalled by this display of disrespect and barbarity. "Hmmm, so delicious, almost as much as their tender hearts once I ripped them out of their bodies, death or alive, that doesn't matter for us hyenas."

After saying that, the crazy spotted hyena ate the piece of meat with a ravenous appetite, and a few seconds later, his body began to grow in muscle mass, ripping his t-shirt and jacket off to reveal how much bulk he had gained, and his eyes gained a dark red glow.

Ed: "Still willing to fight, herbivore?" He asked mockingly, his fangs forming a sinister smile as he stared against the young cebra.

This was a tactic normally used by the Undertaker Clan when a particular target (herbivore or carnivore) was too much dangerous for them to handle, consisting of toying with the opponent's feelings and either intimidating them or taunting them so they could exploit these moments of weakness/emotional blindness to attack in coordination and take them down, with meat being the item of use against herbivores on such cases. While all hyenas were waiting patiently for the zebra to fall into the trap and as the two lion cubs looked in horror and disgust by the barbarism of it all... Sharik remained expressionless against the buffed up hyena, much to the surprise of everyone present... and then...

Sharik: "Good grief. Are you that much of a coward that you have to resort to flailing meat in front of me and telling horror stories about your crimes? Such pathetic mockery of a spotted hyena."

His words left everyone, including the white lions, frozen and speechless, and for some, scared to death; this herbivore had just seen a carnivore eat viciously a large piece of meat from his own species and heard those anecdotes of them devouring herbivores alive... and not only he didn't even flinch, he called them cowards and a disgrace to the clan's species.

Alika: (Oh my Rex... I... this is so bizarre... how could he sound so unaffected? How can he sound so calm after all of that?)

Kimba: (Does this zebra have no fear? That guy is a serial predator offender! He should be at least weary of him!)

Jamila: (W-w-what the fuck!? HE CAN'T BE SERIOUS!)

Janja: (Is this herbivore out of his fucking mind!? How can he stand so chill in front of something like this!?)

Bud: (Oh Rex... we have angered a monster... a monster that is going to kill us.) She thought in pure terror as she hugged her badly injured sister to protect her.

Banzai: (Impossible!! Ed's tactic has always worked!! Why isn't this zebra at all intimidated by this!?) He asked himself, going crazy out of the sheer disbelief from what he witness.

Shenzi and Chungu were simply paralyzed by what they had just witnessed, never before a herbivore had acted this way against this tactic, and the way he spoke, combined with the aura of fear emanating from him, combined with his glowing and raging eyes, made them unable to formulate thoughts properly. But the one who took this unexpected defiance the worst was Ed, for now he was the one taunted, insulted by what was essentially child, growling in anger for his wounded pride as a carnivore.

Ed: "You... YOU SON OF A BITCH!!"

Screeching and snarling in pure anger, Ed pounced Sharik almost immediately but the zebra was quick to act and dodged him by jumping backwards, after this, he kicked the hyena but Ed was able to dodge in time and immediately counter attack by trying to bite Sharik's leg, the zebra was quick to act, however, and pulled his leg just in time to then throw a jab and cross combo against the hyena, hitting all punches right at his face before Ed blocked the last ones and repeatedly punched Sharik on his chest, succeeding in taking him off of him; after that, he began to feel a sharp pain across his face, tracing his finger over it to analyze the damage, and what he discovered was quite surprising for him.

Ed: "Hehehe... impressive, your punches bruised me like hell and you broke my skin open, despite the meat making my body more durable. I forgot how strong zebras actually are, hehehe." He said on a twisted voice as he showed Sharik multiple bruise scars on his body. "But it is hardly something I haven't dealt with before."

Sharik: (Such a monster, the pleasure he takes from killing is repulsive.) He kept himself collective and ready to continue the fight as he acknowledged those punches weren't as painful as he thought, remembering his own enhanced endurance.

As the 2 beasts were engaged in combat, the hyenas cheered their clan mate as Alika and Kimba could only watch in worry, hoping the zebra was able to come out on top and release them. Suddenly, Ed rushed Sharik in a burst of speed that the zebra didn't expect, and while he was able to raise his arm for defense, the male hyena bite down at his arm with full force, digging his fangs on the zebra's flesh and drawing a good amount blood.

Sharik: "Aaaagh!"

Alika: "AHHHHH!"

The hyenas all cheered as Ed kept digging his fangs into the herbivore's flesh.

Shenzi: "That's right! Give him hell, Ed! Show him what punishment he gets for insulting us!"

Banzai: "HELL YEAH! With his arm broken he is absolutely fuck! Keep going!"

Bud: "Let's go Ed! Avenge my sister!"

Kimba: (Oh no! We are doomed!) He thought with tears on his eyes, dreading that this was the end.

However, the moment Ed tried to pull out from his opponent's arm... he found out his teeth were deeply stuck within the zebra's limb! Moreover, as Sharik's blood poured into his mouth, the toxic effect began to ignite, starting by corroding his tongue and palate!

Ed: "GRAAAAAAH!!! I can't pull out!!! It's too tough!! Why is my mouth burning!?" He screamed muffledly in pure terror, trying desperately to let go of Sharik's arm, but it was no use.

Sharik: "It seems that you have bitten more than what you can chew." Said Sharik in a tone so serious, it sounded terrifying. Then with careful precision, he grabbed the upper jaw of the hyena, and took it off his arm to then pull it free followed up by throwing the spotted hyena to the ground... and it was then that Ed and the others realize something disturbing.

He didn't even reached the bones of his arm!!

Ed: "What!? Impossible!! No equid limb can be that den-" The last thing he saw were two glowing green and blue eyes...and a platinum white/black fist clashing against his face.

Sharik: "ORA-ORA-ORA-ORA-ORA-ORA-ORA-ORA-ORA!!!"

Not letting any breathing room for his opponent, Sharik attacked Ed with a coordinated yet brutal barrage of punches all over his torso and face, each punch leaving grievous wounds to his enemy's body, tearing flesh and crushing bone with every hit he landed before giving him an uppercut, sending the hyena high into the air, before pulling him from his leg and slam him hard against the ground. Such a sight broke the morale of the rest of the clan, who couldn't believe what they just witness: a herbivore casually beating their strongest member while under a meat boosting!

Tano: "BASTARD!!!"

Whether out of desperation for his clan or pure foolishness, Tano charged at Sharik with his baseball bat in hand and swung his weapon towards the zebra's head, but Sharik saw this coming and, on another display of strength and durability, he blocked the bat swing with his right arm... and the bat broke on impact!

Tano: "WHAT!?"

He barely had time to process what happened before Sharik gave him a brutal forward kick to the sternum, sending him flying backwards and landing inside of the hollowed van, much to the horror of Bud who took her unconscious sister out of the way as her comrade crashed hard against the opposite door.

Tano: *Cough, cough* "RAHHHHH!" Wailed the hyena out of the intense pain he was feeling, having a hard time to breathe as the kick has broken his sternum and ribs.

Deciding to go on the offensive by taking advantage of the shock he had caused, Sharik dashed forward and started attacking every hyena left standing, landing an left uppercut and a cross punch against Janja before being pushed from him by Jamila, and was about to hit him with a jab but he quickly blocked her arm and proceeded to land two hooks to her abdomen and face before giving her a powerful kick to her thigh, breaking her upper leg and leaving her incapacitated, just in time to dodge a desperate pounce from Banzai who attempted to bite him on the neck, answering with a jumping knee strike to his head, breaking several of his teeth before giving him a roundhouse kick to the gut, sending him crashing against the wall and knocking him out. After that, he saw Janja getting up and trying to ambush him with a combat knife in hand, but he immediately threw a back kick on the stomach, leaving him breathless as he fell to the ground, and just to make sure, he kicked and stomped him on the chest repeatedly until he was absolutely sure he couldn't stand back up, miraculously not killing him, before turning his raging glare towards the last 3 poachers, raising his lips as he bray ferociously against his enemies, and in doing so, revealing one of his secrets.

Alika: "Wait... he has fangs!?" Asked the bright lioness in open shock, never had she expected that the cursed warrior would bear teeth only seen in carnivores or primates.

Such revelation shocked the remaining hyenas, but her voice also caught the attention of the zebra, who turned to look at her, ears perked up, and his expression softening due to the familiar and soothing presence of the bright carnivore, a sentiment she shared with him even though they didn't know each other, their hearts beating in apparent unison as their marks began to glow, making Sharik realized that the clothes of the lioness were badly torn due to the machinations of the hyena clan.

Kimba: "Mmmph!!" Cried the boy muffled, but was enough for Alika to notice something dangerous.

Alika: "Watch out!!" She exclaimed, terrified.

Seeing what she meant thanks to his wide range of vision, Sharik blocked a series of punches and kicks coming from Chungu and Shenzi, but this distraction was enough for Dub to surround him to grab him by the arms and locking him in place, her physical strength being enough to slow Sharik down as her remaining clan mates began to punch him repeatedly on his face and torso. This counterattack didn't last long, however, as Sharik kicked both frontal attackers away and, with his far superior limb strength, broke the grapple and elbowed Dub on the ribs before turning around and hitting her with 3 consecutive elbow strikes to the chest and head, all attacks leaving her so wounded she collapsed into the floor, only to then turned towards the 2 remaining hyenas standing, who held their abdomens due to the sheer pain inflicted by his kicks.

Sharik: "If you are done messing around, I suggest you to surrender. This conflict does not need to be extended any longer." He said on a fearsome yet gentlemanly tone, surprising Alika and Kimba for this sudden change of attitude of the zebra, but in a way, it also comforted them, knowing that their savior was just as capable of being chivalrous as he could be ferocious.

Chungu: "S-Shenzi... I... I think we should listen to him, we can't fight anymore." Said the male hyena in fear as he saw Jamila struggling to even move due to her broken leg while the rest were in a very bad state.

Shenzi: "Never! I refuse to be beaten by a prey like him! I will end him!" Yelled in pure anger and hatred, charging at Sharik to try and bite his face off as the zebra prepared to strike back.

Ed: "DON'T BITE HIM!"

The sudden scream of Ed, who somehow was still conscious and capable of (albeit hardly) move after the brutal beatdown Sharik gave him, caught the attention of all left standing, but it became immediately evident that something was wrong with Ed: his tongue was burned and parts of it were completely dissolved, his teeth were all corroded and his mouth had gaping and bleeding holes on his cheeks and lips, but the worst part was the blood he constantly coughed up, like if it was drowning on it.

Shenzi: "Ed... what's going on? Speak to me!" Asked yelling in great concern for her adoptive brother.

Ed: "His blood... his flesh... don't bite him, he is toxic!!" He replied in sheer panic as he continued to cough blood, screaming in pain as more of his flesh burned, falling unconscious again due to his wounds.

This revelation shocked all carnivores present and still conscious, even Alika was left speechless after hearing that the warrior of her dreams, the same zebra that came to her and her cousin's rescue, possessed blood and flesh that could melt a carnivore's face... the moment Sharik looked down at the bite wound on his arm, it silently confirmed what Ed had warned them about.

Chungu: "You... you are not an animal." Said Chungu as he fallback in terror. "You are a demon... YOU ARE A DEMON!"

That word pierced his heart like an arrow through an apple, a painful reminder of what he was capable of and how dangerous he could be to other, but despite this, he stood strong against his adversaries who, ironically, felt like paralyzed prey trying to run away. Despite of that, due to her guilt of her comrades, her family, being now badly wounded or even dying because of her, Shenzi cut loose all logic and reason, growling fiercely against the zebra that ruined their hunt, unsheating a kukri she held on a hidden sheat of her pants.

Chungu: "Shenzi, wait!" He tried to stop her, but it was in vain.

Shenzi: "Dieee!!"

She screeched in desperation and blind fury as she swung her kukri, only for the zebra to catch the weapon with his left hand by the sharp edge, even as it cut his hand, to then breaking the blade with a tight squeeze followed by delivering a last and powerful right cross directly to her face, breaking both of her jaws and throwing her to the ground, leaving her alive, but seriously injured.

Witnessing his leader lie on the ground after such powerful punch and with the zebra glaring machetes at him, Chungu did the only logical thing left to do: he raised his hand in the air and surrender, begging the herbivore not to kill him, then the zebra spoke.

Sharik: "If you have anything to tie you up, go and look for it." His voice sounded sinister and cold blooded.

The carnivore immediately obliged, and while sobbing out of fear, he ran towards the van to look for what he had ask him for. With the threat of the hyenas now completely neutralized, Sharik took a deep breath and began to calm himself down, the aura of fear emanating from him slowly going down and the glow on his eyes turning off, his left eye returning to his "natural" color, and once he had calmed down, he quickly went towards the tied up lions and, using a piece of the broken kukri, he cut off their bindings and set them free.

Sharik: "I deeply apologize for the brutality you had witness, but it was a necessary thing to deal with those poachers." He said on a much calmer and kinder voice.

Barely a minute after being released, Alika turned towards the zebra and gave him a big hug as she cried out of joy on his chest, the sudden hug surprised Sharik greatly, but he instinctively corresponded and even caressed the bright lioness on her head to comfort her, a gesture she greatly appreciated.

Alika: "Thank you, thank you so much!" She said while sobbing.

Sharik: "You are welcome... white angel"

The mention of those words made Alika raise her head in surprise, and at that moment, both zebra and lioness lock eyes once again, their marks shining brightly as they each felt different but similar emotions: Sharik felt relieved and calm, knowing he had succeeded in defending the white angel from those who had hurt her; Alika felt safe and happy, for she had found the cursed warrior and she was going to do everything in her power to help him fight against the monster that cursed his mind and heart.

Kimba: "Mom, mom please, wake up."

The two animals were taken out of their thoughts as the voice of the youngest lion entered their ears, and not a moment too late did Alika run towards Kimba and the still unconscious Bianca, worried sick about her aunt as she put her ear near her mouth and nose to listen for any life signs.

Alika: "She is alive, but badly unconscious." Said the white lioness in both relieve and concern as Kimba kept hugging his mother.

Kimba: "T-thank Rex she is alive but... w-w-what can we do now?" He asked sobbing, still shaken up by everything that has happened.

Not wanting his younger cousin to break down, Alika went towards him and gave him a big hug and cat kisses on her forehead, which helped to calm him down a little bit.

Alika: "We will be alright, we are save now, all thanks to the zebra that rescued us." She express in a calm and maternal tone, but there was also some admiration hidden within those words, for said zebra was the strongest herbivore she had met.

As both cousins comforted each other, Sharik carefully put Bianca's hands next to her head and (the left one) on her right cheek before rolling her towards him, putting her on the first aid recovery position, then he went towards the knocked out figure of Banzai, he took off and folded his jacket so as to use it as a pillow for Bianca to more comfortably rest her head.

Sharik: (Le agradeceré a Alex al rato por enseñarme esto) "This will keep her stable and safe until help arrives, my father has already informed the authorities about this. She will be fine." He reassured the two lions and gave them a gentle and optimistic smile, which Kimba happily reciprocated.

Alika: "Thank you so much." She replied while smiling at him. "I just hope help arrives soon... I would not want you to put yourself in any more danger."

Rokuro: "Then it is a good thing we have finally arrived."

The sudden new voice perked Sharik's ears up as he and the lion cubs turned to see a full squadron of policeman in front of them, all armed and ready for action... getting the shock of their lives to see all but one member of the Undertaker Clan lying on the floor badly wounded, with only one of them still conscious and one of the beaten up hyenas having his mouth melted by some kind of acid.

Ramón: "What in the name of my dear great aunt R.C. happened here!?" Asked the rat in pure shock.

Chester: "I... I think Sharik just beat us into stopping them." Answered the cheetah, who was also quite in shock.

Rokuro and the other officers present were also quite astonished by what they were witnessing, and it was something some found hard to believe despite knowing who was the one that faced the poachers head on, but what was even more scandalizing for Rokuro and the others who knew about him was that Sharik, somehow, was able to hold back himself enough so he didn't killed any hyena nor let himself become a threat for the white lions. Such a thing was relieving for the white rhino, since it meant that there was a chance that Sharik could control his curse.

Jamila: "Please! Help me! Take me to jail right now! I don't want to be next to that monster!" Yelled Jamila in pure fear as she tried to drag herself towards the police officers.

Hearing such poisonous words coming from her, despite the fact that she was a despicable animal, made Sharik visibly winced as he reached for his heart with his hand, even though he tried to kept a mask of indifference towards such insults. This didn't go unnoticed and, to the surprise of those present, Alika stood up and, glaring angrily towards Jamila, she pointed at her and spoke.

Alika: "Bold words coming from a horrible beast like you!! You and your disgusting clan came and kidnap my family and I to turn us into raw meat and pelts, even going as far as to wishing to rape us! You are the actual monster here, you bitch!"

Such strong language coming from the previously stunned lioness came as yet another shock to everyone, even Sharik and Kimba, who were not expecting such strong anger and hatred to come from someone with a kind and modest demeanor.

Alika: "This gentleman right here risked his life to protect us from you, and he was on his complete right to be as violent against you as possible given you are dangerous criminals!" She exclaimed and then looked towards the male zebra next to her, only for then hug him by his waist in a gesture of gratitude. "He does not deserve to be labeled as something he is not. He is a hero! And an animal deserving of the upmost respect." Said on a calmer but still strong and sturdy tone.

After hearing such words, Sharik felt his heart quiver in happiness and a warm blush covering his face. Despite his intimidating appearance, brutal actions born out of necessity and even with his anomalus characteristics, this white lioness didn't label him as a monster, but she instead praised him and called him a hero. All of this made him smile moved and comforted, and as a result of this, she gently hugged her back, making the bright lioness blush and a few of the officers (especially Rokuro) aw due to the cuteness of such a scene.

Sharik: "Thank you... for not seeing me as a monster."

Hearing those words coming from the zebra, Alika smiled happily as she gently caressed the equid on his head. Both of them didn't know it yet, but this was the start of a special and beautiful relationship, one that would unite them and help them overcome many challenges that were still to come. But for now, they could relish on this victory.

Peace and Love

Chapter Text

A World Ruled by Beasts

Buenas tardes, damas y caballeros. I am Sebastián Loxotierrez, speaking to you at the behest of The_Last_Ferructus (such an interesting ceratopsian). For what I have been told, the world you call home is quite different to my own in terms of biota, and after certain clues on past chapters, you may or may not be curious about what exactly coexists with us. As requested by this ceratopsian character, I will, with great pleasure, elaborate about the more natural aspects about of the world I inhabit, so to avoid leaving you in the dark about certain terms that may appear in the future.

To start off, I will explain something important: while your species lack any non-sophont counterpart, except perhaps the chimpanzees, the many species that comprise my society, which are mammals, birds and reptiles, do possess a non-sophont counterpart. These animals are referred to as "ancestral animals" or more vurgarly as "ferals." As the name implies, these animals are not at the same level of cognitive and reasoning capabilites as the ones that formed the modern society of our world, but they do have various degrees of intelligence and even sentience, with non-sophont elephants and orangutans being good examples of this. It is widely accepted that the sophont animals, such as myself, evolved from populations of these animals that gained a higher level of reason and cognitive, but as of now, it is unknow what triggered such evolution or where exactly started. The most supported origin of these sophont beasts so far has been in the Southeast of Asia, given the appearance of the first ancestors of sophont beasts in the islands that comprised the ancient landmass known as Sunda.

Something important to clarify is that not all animals have these counterparts: amphibians, boney and most cartilagenous fish, and cephalods never presented populations, remaining as completely feral species. However, there are exceptions to this: the mako shark, the great white shark, the great hammerhead shark and the mantaray are the only fish species with sophont counterparts, this is believed to be because they are the smartest species of fish in the world. For the part of amphibians, it is thought that whatever gave us our sophontness did not affect them, and as such they have remained the same; as a side note, many species of amphibian, chiefly frogs and axolotls, are quite popular pets worldwide, especially in tropical regions, in fact, a good friend of mine has 2 axolotls as pets: one pink and one black. On the other hand, fish are farmed and used as one of the principal protein sources for carnivores, the others being invertebrates (such as arthropods) and eggs, cephalopods are also fished for the same purposes, although their consumption is more regulated by many governments worldwide.

Moving on, the relationships between sophont and ancestral animals have been complicated. In ancient times, many herbivore sophonts coexisted peacefully with their ancestral counterparts, commonly sharing territory and resources equally whenever they were available, some however were less welcoming of these competition, and acted just as territorial to them as with other sophonts and ancestral animals. The same could not be said about the carnivore sophonts, also known as "life animals" as while they respected and even venerated their ancestral counterparts, they also directly competed with them for the same prey, which often forced them to relocate to areas in which they were less common, and no, back then they didn't consume sophont herbivores, otherwise known as "nature animals." Of course, not all of them shared this issue, as sophont and ancestral vultures, cetaceans, and wild canids managed to coexist peacefully with limited competition, thanks to mutual cooperation and deep social bonds. Even to this day, some tribes of sophont animals maintain such an ancient lifestyle, sharing territory and resources with our ancestral kin. Unfortunately, these relationships were greatly stained during the War of Extinction, as many ancestral animals suffered great losses due to poaching, habitat loss, pollution, and the many deadly weapons employed in the conflict; this has resulted in a majority ancestral beasts to become aggressive or evasive against their sophont counterparts, some of the very few relationships still standing are those between sophont and ancient elephants, parrots, primates and, surprisingly, zebras. Many attempts to restore these lost bonds have been made, but most have been unsuccessful.

Now, Ferructus has told me that you unfortunately live in an era in which most ecosystems are depleted of megafauna due to not fully understood reasons, and for that, you have my most sincere condolences. But since we are on that topic, you may be happy to hear that my world conserves a good majority of its Pleistocene megafauna. Despite experiencing a similar extinction event during the end of the Pleistocene, which resulted in the disappearance of some megafauna like Bos palaesondaicus, elasmotherium, tetrameryx, and Smilodon gracilis, many other species such as the Columbian mammoth, mylodon, Smilodon populator, homotherium, megatherium, giant bison, etc., still survive to this day, this is because, in my world, they were able to recover from the climate changes that occurred around that period, although I should also recognize that the lack of pressures from Homo sapiens could potentially have also helped. Similar to the ancestrals, many of these animals are greatly respected in modern society, some even have become worshipped as deities. A good example of this is the Palaeoloxodon namadicus from India, in which they are reveared as the guardians and arquitects of the jungles, with their presence representing times of prosperity and safety; another example is Panthera spelaea, which is uphold by lions as the quintessential standard of what a lion should aspire to be, since this is the largest Panthera species in the Old World.

As you may already expect, the War of Extinction also affected many of these species, in some cases, even caused their extinction. You already know some of the casualties such as the Quagga and the Tasmanian tiger, but other species such as the elephant bird, the paramylodon, the protocyon, many of the dwarf species of Sicilia and Cyprus, half of the muskox species and the teratornis, also became extinct as a result of such bloody conflict, which also resulted in greater hostility towards the sophont animals after the war ended. This war also resulted in many Pleistocene species losing ground in many areas, like the woolly mammoths, which can only be found nowadays in Russia and Alaska, the lost of eremotherium in México, the disappearance of Homotherium on half of Europe, auroch being now gone from North Africa and Central Asia, etc. Fortunately, many conservation efforts have been executed to protect these endangered species, aiding them in their recovery of not just their populations, but also of their ecosystems, since the societies of my world greatly value nature, for that's where we all came from.

Something you may remember me mentioned is the lack of Homo sapiens pressure during the Pleistocene, which may lead you to believe humans don't exist here. Well, I'm afraid that is incorrect, for you see, all human species you know off also evolved in my world, and they even coexisted with nature and life animals during millions of years... unfortunately, many of those interactions were quite hostile, since they occasionally hunted nature animals and quite often entered in conflict with life animals, but some troops of humans were quite friendly with our kin based on fossil evidence, particularly with the ancestors of modern sophont primates. It is currently not fully known what exactly caused their extinction, but it is believed a mix of radical climate change alongside a mysterious pandemic could have eliminated most species. I say most because there are a few survivors: the first and most notable one being Homo floresiensis, also known as "hobbits" due to their small stature; these humans mainly inhabit Isla de Flores, located on Indonesia, but have also being encountered on Komodo island, Sulawesi and Java, and are known to settle their tribes within caverns of the jungle; contact with these tribes have been something normal for the inhabitants of the islands, but the humans usually prefer to keep their distance, not that I can blame them, honestly. The other surviving species of human is, surprisingly, Homo sapiens, but not in the way you may think, as the only member registered of this species are the pygmin tribes on the Congo, which live more or less the same as the ones in your world. Honestly, I wish I could meet those humans one day, it would be amazing to meet another form of intelligent life external to our covenant.

Well, it's been a pleasure to speak to everyone of you, but I believe is time to wrap things up. I hope you have gained a better understanding of the natural side of this world of mine, and I will see you next time.

Cordially: Sebastián Loxotierrez.

Chapter Text

Beast Wars Neo - Love Forever - Kimi two Mamoru Tame Ni

After the fight between Sharik and the Undertaker Clan, the police officers secured the perimeter and arrested the last member of the clan left standing, not that Chungu offered any sort of resistance due to how much he wanted to get as far away as the zebra as possible, much to the amusement of Ramón, since he always enjoyed seeing carnivores acting afraid of herbivores, a sense of comedic irony, according to him. As they took the only not beaten up hyena into a patrol car, the rest of the gang was taken by paramedics in order to treat their severe wounds... although even they were surprised that half of them were still alive. They also took Bianca into another hospital for treatment for her concussion, leaving the two lion cubs under the care of the police and paramedics until their parents arrived.

Cougar nurse (male): "Your wounds are fortunately nothing serious. Give it a day or two, and they will fully heal." Said the nurse on a comforting voice to Alika and Kimba, who were sitting down in a stretcher, as he finished patching up their wounds, with Kimba having a bandage and gauze over his head and face due to the hits he received.

Alika: "Thank you, mister. How is the zebra boy who rescued us? Is he alright?" She asked in a worried tone. She was provided with a plain white shirt after her previous blouse was badly damaged, much to her dismay.

Cougar nurse (male): "He is doing fine, a doctor is treating his bite wound as we speak... although I would be more worried about his father's scolding." He said jokingly, knowing that Sharik was Akida's son.

Speaking of Sharik, he was receiving treatment for his bite wound by a Grevy's zebra doctor, who was starting to get concerned over the fact that Sharik was demonstrating a huge pain tolerance as she cleaned his wound via irrigation.

Grevy's zebra doctor (female): "Are you sure you aren't feeling pain? At all?" She asked as she applied isotonic sodium chloride to properly clean the wound.

Sharik: "I can assure you that I am feeling this, despite not expressing as much of a reaction as I should." He told the doctor with a kind smile, being notoriously calm despite what had happened earlier.

Grevy's zebra doctor (female): "Very well, if you say so." A few minutes later, she finished cleaning the wound. "Alright, sweetheart, I'm going to begin stitching your wound, so please keep still so I can do it as carefully as possible." She said with a gentle voice.

Sharik: "Understood." He did as instructed and kept still as she took and opened a suture kit, with which she began to carefully stitch the deep bite wounds Ed left on his arm, not expressing any noticeable pain during the process.

As Sharik was being treated, Alika couldn't help but look at him with admiration and joy, she barely knew the zebra, but beyond the mystical connection that she shared with him, there were things about the cebra that made her interested in him: for starters, he was very strong physically speaking, with a surprisingly well-defined and strong body for his age, based on his arms and legs, which had marked muscles; he was also very agile and adept in combat, the sum of these traits making him an excellent defender as she witnessed not long ago. While those characteristics were already quite impressive, the thing that stood out the most for Alika was the disposition of this herbivore to stand up for those who couldn't defend themselves; even if the risks were high and odds were against him, a sign of great bravery even if it became a bit extreme when he didn't even flinch by looking at that hyena eating a piece of zebra meat. Contrasting with the most fearsome characteristics, and in addition to his bravery, was how gentle, kind and well-mannered he was while he helped her aunt and even with his apology for the display of violence, despite of it being necessary at that moment, yet it didn't seem like both sides of him were in conflict, but instead, they formed a sort of harmony, like the black and white stripes that painted his body in a beautiful pattern. For her, it was more than clear that this zebra was a true gentleman, one she subconsciously had begun to feel attracted to.

Kimba: "Uuuuuu, you like him." Teased Kimba immediately after realizing how her cousin was looking at their savior.

Alika: "What!? Kimba, I barely even know him! How could you say that!?" She exclaimed at her cousin with anger born out of embarrassment.

Kimba: "Well, you don't exactly look at your heroes with dreamy eyes and a cutesy smile without feeling that they steal your heart, hehehe." He smiled innocently, but it was evident that he had mischievous intentions with what he said.

Alika wanted to deny Kimba's affirmation, but she didn't got the chance as she saw the zebra lift off his shirt to let the doctor attending him apply antiflamatory ointment to the bruises he gained during the fight, such a sigh made Alika's face turned red barely after seeing the side of his muscular and striped torso, earning her a naughty grin from Kimba as this pretty much confirmed what he suspected.

Alika: "For the love of Rex, don't push it. It might be just an ephemeral crush." She said while giving a playful slap to his cousin in the arm. Despite her words, she knew in her heart that they would become something much more intimate.

Kimba: "Ok, ok, I promise I will not. Can't promise that if you become a couple." Replied with a chuckle, much to the dismay of Alika.

As they were bickering, Sharik couldn't help but also watch the white lioness he had saved, though thanks to his 350° vision field, he was able to do it without drawing attention. As he looked at her beautiful white fur, her agile and strong yet plump physique, her cute hazel eyes and soft face, he understood now why she appeared on his dreams as an angel, and with her presence alone, he could feel the same sort of tranquility and peace he felt when she hugged him with her wings during said dreams, subconsciously wagging his tail at the mere thought as the doctor applied the ointment on his chest.

Sharik: (Quiero conocerla más de cerca... quiero poder entenderla mejor para así siempre poder protegerla... y... quizás... tal vez...)

Oliver: "¡SHARIK!"

As his mind flourished with imaginary scenarios involving him and the lioness, Sharik heard the worried cry of his little brother as he turned to see him running towards him, happily receiving Oliver by standing of from the stretcher and hugging him, lowering his shirt to avoid smearing him with the ointment of his chest.

Oliver: "Hermanote... I... I was so scared... I... I thought you would get into more trouble or... that those hyenas were going to hurt you... or worse..." He said in between sobbing as he used a hankerchief he had to clean his tears and blow his nose. "Por favor... don't scare us like that."

Sharik: "I'm sorry I scared you that badly, hermanito. I understand your concerns, but I had to act quick to save them... and yes... I know they were dangerous, but you can always trust your big brother to be careful against the bad guys I come across." He said in a comforting manner to his little brother, caressing his crin and even kissing him on his forehead. "Fortunately, I was able to defeat those horrible animals and save those lions without harming myself that much, even so, I promise you I will be more cautious."

While he knew that Sharik would probably still jump headfirst into danger if a similar situation presented itself, Oliver knew he could trust his word of being more careful whenever he did, besides, if the prospect of facing beasts such as crocodiles or ground sloths didn't stop him from protecting those he loves, he doubted anything could.

Oliver: "Ok, big bro, I hope you do." He then noticed Sharik had his arm bandaged. "What happened to you? Did one of the hyenas bit you?" He asked concerned.

Sharik: "Unfortunately he did, but what he didn't achieve was to break my arm. It seems my limbs were too tough for them."

Oliver: "Wow! That's incredible!" He said with admiration and fascination, as Sharik has just tanked one of the strongest bites of the whole animal kingdom with an ease usually exclusive to very large herbivores.

As the brothers were having this little conversation, and just as the doctor finished applying the ointment, Akida quickly catched up to them, making everyone who didn't know him personally surprised and shock to see the hero of Sanjo City arrive to such a scene, moreso when they saw him approach the 2 zebra boys.

Alika: (Wait... is that Akida? How is he related to him?) Asked the lioness intrigued, like almost everyone in Sanjo City, she knew who Akida was.

Kimba: "Hey, doesn't that zebra who saved us look a lot like Akida? Don't you think...?"

Not a moment too soon after he asked that the older zebra began scolding the younger male in a very paternal manner.

Akida: "Sharik, what in Rex and Brachio's name were you thinking!? Charging at dangerous criminals unarmed like that!? You could have died!" Said with a mixture of concern and worry with a pitch of anger, something that made said younger zebra cower at the scolding.

Kimba: "Holy Rex! Our savior is Akida's son!" He exclaimed with shock.

Alika: "I didn't know Akida had a son." Such a reaction was not exclusive to Alika, as Akida had kept the identity and existence of their sons quite secretive, only ever being known that he was a father whenever he went out with his kids.

Sharik: "For that part, I am very sorry, dad, but this was something I had to do. You know well what those guys would have done to the lions, and the mere thought of that just... ignited something within me... the impulse to go and help them. I can't exactly describe what it is but, it allowed me to saved them, and for that, I am grateful" He spoke understanding the worries of his father, but at the same time, with pride and conviction of succeeding in his endeavor to protect the carnivores.

Knowing well that Sharik had a history of sticking his neck for others regardless of the threat, and that was often no use to try and stop him, the stallion sighed as he caressed the head of his colt.

Akida: "I'm just worried about you, son, especially after you just got out of the hospital. We can not risk another incident like the one in which your curse first detonated. But it makes me happy to know you were able to handle this. For that, I'm proud of you." He smiled happily.

Oliver: "Yeah! Hurray for my big brother! He is a hero!" Said Oliver while hugging Sharik.

Sharik: "Thank you, Oli, and thank you too, dad." He answered happily as he hugged both of them.

Alika: (Awww, that's so cute! They are very close to one another!) She thought as an expression of tenderness formed on her face.

Just as this was going on, a limousine arrived at the scene and parked at the other side of the perimeter set up by the police, catching the eye of many of the present animals and making Alika and Kimba beam in relief and happiness as they knew who was inside of the vehicle. Exiting the vehicle from the left side, a beautiful transvaal lioness with a shiny yellowish brown fur and a slim but well-developed figure, dressed in a formal attire comprised of a brownish gold buttoned shirt, beige formal pants and black digitigrade shoes, her expression was one that demonstrated high status and a bit of superiority, but that quickly changed when she saw her daughter and nephew alive and well, dashing towards them like only a mother could, with the two lion cubs doing the same, culminating in a hug full of relief, happiness and love as the 3 lions cried in tears of joy.

Tsunade: "I'm so glad you are safe! I was terrified when I got called by the police about this! Are you two alright!?" She asked in a mix of euphoria mixed with still lingering fear as she hugged the cubs tightly.

Alika: "Yes, mom, we are both alright. One of the kidnappers did hit Kimba quite hard, but the doctor said he didn't suffer any serious damage."

Kimba: "That's right, my head still hurts, but I will be OK, auntie! But... I'm still worried about mom. They were very violent with her." His expression became one of sadness as he remembered how they shot at her and knocked her out with that metal bat.

Tsunade: "It's ok, Kimba, the doctors will take good care of her. I assure you she's going to recover well." She then gently licked his nephew's forehead to comfort him, which made Kimba smile again. "Now, who was the one responsible for saving you? He deserves our gratitude."

Alika: "Well, believe it or not, it was a male zebra of the same age as me. He was right next to us when the doctors treated us." She then gently pointed out to the gurney Sharik was still on, alongside Akida and another smaller zebra, with Kimba nodding in confirmation of her claim.

At this news, Tsunade was left speechless, processing what her daughter had just told her. While she knew that herbivores were very strong themselves, some even stronger than the largest of carnivores, she also knew that, quite often, herbivores didn't even think about helping a carnivore in distress, especially when it came to the large ones, as there was a heavy stigma on them not needing any help due to their power and pride, so to hear that an herbivore, especially one like a zebra, was the one who saved them, not to mention he succeeded at such a young age, was something she wouldn't believe have she not appear right in the aftermath of the event.

Tsunade: "Well, no matter what species this boy is, he still deserves our thanks. Come on, kids, let's meet our hero." She said as she stood up to go towards the zebras alongside her daughter and nephew.

Kimba: "Yeah, let's go!" He said excitedly, which got a gentle chuckle from Alika.

Meanwhile, Sharik had received a call from his mom after she contacted Akida about why they hadn't arrived yet, and as one could expect from any loving mother, Jasiri was very distressed and worried about her first baby boy, much to Sharik's chagrin.

Sharik: "Sí mamá, estoy bien, las hienas no me hicieron mucho daño. Este... sí, una me mordió, pero no fue nada grave, la doctora ya me curó el brazo. Está bien, tendré más cuidado para la próxima. También te amo mamá, chao." He said to then finish the call and hand over the phone to his dad. "Hijole, no la había oído así de preocupada desde hace tiempo."

Akida: "Pues considerando lo que hiciste tras que balacearan el coche, no me sorprende que se haya puesto así. Aun eres muy joven, Sharik, y tienes que evitar meterte en situaciones así." He said a bit sternly to Sharik, which made the zebra teen frown slightly, to which Akida caught up quickly. "Aunque... tus actos demuestran un gran potencial. Quizás con algo de entrenamiento puedas desarrollar esas habilidades qué mostraste hoy."

Hearing what his father had told him, Sharik's expression became that of an excited kid as his tail began to wag quickly, and his ears perked up. Such an opportunity to take police level training excited him so much as this was what he aspired to become one day, especially if it meant that his skills could be honed in into refinement.

Sharik: "Gracias papá, prometo dar mi mejor esfuerzo." Said Sharik as be happily hugged Akida.

Akida: "Jeje, de nada hijito." He replied and patted his son on his crin, earning a whiny from the younger zebra.

Just then, Oliver saw 3 figures approaching, the largest of which made him actually nervous as he clinged to his dad's waist, which got his attention.

Akida: "¿Qué ocurre Oli? ¿Alguien se acerca?" He asked to then turn around to see who had came, getting a big surprise the moment he layed eyes on the 3 white lions, one of which was quite well known in both Honshū and Hokkaido. "Mrs. Baeklaea! I wasn't expecting you to arrive." He said with a tone of voice that made it sound like this wasn't the first time Akida had met with this lioness before.

Tsunade: "Hehe, good to see you again, too, Mr. Fernández. Seems you are still sharp as always with such cases." Said the lioness in a friendly manner.

Oliver: "Papá ¿quién es ella? ¿La conoces?" Asked the little colt in his native language, which made the 3 lions a little confused as to what he had asked.

Akida: "In a way, I got to meet them during the case of a saboteur who almost disabled one of their power plants." He explained to his youngest son.

Tsunade: "Yes, that caracal almost cost us a ton of yen and the jobs of many honest carnivores, not to mention the risk he put so many lives into." She then smiled towards the little zebra, which made the younger colt calmer as he returned the gesture. "Is this your son? He looks quite similar to you."

Akida: "Yes, he is. His name is Oliver and is my youngest son." He said proudly as he caressed Oliver on his crin. As he did, Sharik stepped down the gurney and went towards his father, standing at his right. "This is my eldest son. His name is Sharik, and the one responsible for saving your family."

As he said that, Kimba and Alika appeared next to Tsunade, the former amazed and excited to meet Akida in person while the latter was focused on her savior; silent as they were, Sharik and Alika couldn't help but smile towards one another, feeling butterflies in their stomachs as they shared a closer look to each other.

Alika: (Oh Rex, he is so handsome. His stripe pattern is quite cute, too, and his eyes... they somehow fit him well, and he looks so strong and muscular.)

Sharik: (Brachio santo, ella es preciosa. Su pelaje blanco es sumamente hermoso, y su físico rechoncho es muy tierno... sus ojos son tan coloridos.)

As both future lovebirds were eyeing each other, Tsunade couldn't help but to look more closely towards Sharik, not only because of his heroic act, but there was also something that caught her suspicion, specifically, his eyes.

Tsunade: (He looks much bigger than other kids his age, as well as more muscular. His eyes may be due to genetics, but... no, there's no way a dokkaebi would do something like this.) "So, you are the one who saved my daughter? You were very brave in doing so, youngling. It's quite rare for herbivores to stand up and protect large carnivores from those who want to harm us."

Sharik: (It's sucks how true that is.) "I was just doing what any stallion should have. Despite how dangerous it may have been, I was not going to stand by and let them get away with harming them." He said as he took a look at his bandaged arm, feeling a sense of pride for what he accomplished. "I have the strength and will to do what was right, and no matter the odds, I will always stand for those who can't stand for themselves, regardless if they are carnivores or herbivores."

Hearing such determination and nobility made Alika blush to the point of making her try to hide it with her hands, and Kimba was fortunately too amazed by what Sharik said to notice it. Akida felt great pride upon hearing his son's words, and Oliver beamed in admiration for his older brother. Of course, the greatest intrigue came from Tsunade, for she now saw the great contrast present on this young cebra.

Tsunade: (Amazing, I never met a herbivore with such determination and values. He sounds like he truly values carnivores as people deserving of respect. But... how it can be when it shows signs of being an dokkaebi?) "I'm glad to hear you hold carnivores in the same regard as herbivores, few I have met which held such a notion as honestly as you. And for your brave act to save my family, you have my gratitude." She said to then perform a saikeirei in front of him, a gesture the zebra reciprocated humbly.

Sharik: "You are most welcome, Miss Tsunade." Shortly after his reply, he was taken aback by a hug that came from Alika, a shown of affection which the zebra happily reciprocated with his tail wagging.

After the adorable hug between the two teenagers of different species, Alika gently separated herself from Sharik to properly introduce herself and speak to her hero... but unfortunately, she found that harder than initially expected.

Alika: "I... um... I'm r-really grateful for w-what you have done... and, uh... I'm... sorry that you, you're injured for... risking you health fighting those poachers." (What the hell was that!? I sounded like a nervous wreck! Oh heavens, why did I have to embarrass myself like that!? And in front of mom, too!)

Despite her inner panic for the gibberish spoken out of nervousness, her herbivore counterpart gently smiled as he placed a hand on her shoulder, making her relax and put her thoughts in order.

Sharik: "I understand what you mean. I can assure you that my injuries weren't severe, and it was all worth it to protect you. Also, you don't need to feel ashamed. I would also be very nervous if I was meeting my hero for the first time." (Like right now. I SO wish to nuzzle and hug her! She is just so cute and beautiful!)

Just then, Sharik was the target of a very strong tackle hug, and while under normal circumstances, he could handle one, this one came way too close to his abdominal scar.

Sharik: (¡AGH! Ouch, por poco y me da de lleno ahí)

Kimba: "Thank you so much for everything! You are a superhero!" Said the younger lion with great admiration and joy, which made Sharik further blush and smile in gratitude.

Sharik: "Kimba, right? You are most welcome, and I'm glad that I was able to save you." He said with a bit of a bashful tone.

Oliver: "Wow, big bro. You just gained new fans. You are truly a superhero." He said excitedly as he also went to hug his brother, almost competing with Kimba to do this.

Akida: "Hehehe, that seems to be the case. Hope that doesn't get into your head, Sharik."

Tsunade: "He does deserve the recognition. After all, what he has done at his age is quite the daunting task." She then looked towards Sharik. "That being said, I believe he also deserves a reward. So tell me, Sharik. Is there anything you would like me to get you?"

Such an offer was surprising from those who were nearby to hear it. Even Akida was speechless upon hearing such an offer. This was not undeserved. However, as Tsunade was one of the richest animals of Minajū-kyo, and with such money, she could really offer nearly any sort of reward to anyone. Thinking carefully about what he could wish, Sharik found it actually difficult to come up with a proper answer.

Sharik: "I, um... I... sorry but I don't know exactly what reward to choose, well... one not involving food, that is... jeje." He said, embarrassed.

Sensing an opportunity to get to know the zebra better and believing this would count for a very good reward, Alika got an idea and was quick to present it.

Alika: "Well, if I may suggest an offer, I could invite you to my birthday party."

This offer freeze Sharik in place, surprised that the lioness he had just met was willing to invite him to such an event. Tsunade also became surprised, but it quickly turned into a feeling of unease and concern.

Tsunade: "Excuse me, gentlemen." She then took Alika and retreated a bit further from the zebras. "Alika, I understand you want to reward that boy by inviting him to your birthday, but you barely even know him. Besides that, you know well that your father doesn't respect smaller herbivores, much less zebras due to how hostile they are towards lions." (Not to mention the fact than that boy may or may not be cursed).

Alika: "I understand that, mom, but he deserves it for risking his life to save me, Kimba and Aunt Bianca. He demonstrated to me that he is a true gentlemale on his actions, and even now, he doesn't show any sort of malice." She defended calmly but somewhat passionate her decision, her drive to approach the zebra of her dreams, strengthening her resolve. "Besides... is not like I have that many friends to invite... especially since Chieko and Finnegan are no longer with us." She frowned in sadness after mentioning those names.

As she lived a good chunk of her life on District 0, Alika had naturally made friends with other bright beasts inside of the district, two of these being Chieko, another white lioness, and Finnegan, an albino white-tailed deer, both of her were her first friends and people she hold close to her heart. Both of them were victims of different tragedies: Chieko, alongside her family, were killed by poachers one day they left District 0 for medical check-ups, while Finnegan suffered from cronic waste disease and had to be put down. Remembering the heartbreak her daughter experienced as a result of such losses and not wishing for her to experience such depression at her birthday again, Tsunade caressed her daughter and gave her an approving smile.

Tsunade: "You have my permission. Just make sure to convince your father of it, too."

To this answer, Alika hugged and kissed her mother very happily and went back towards Sharik, who appeared to have had a similar conversation with his dad, not that he could blame Akida for being cautious about his son's security, especially as she know with who that zebra was enemies with.

Alika: "So, I bet you were also asking permission to go, right?" She asked as she held her arms behind her back in a feminine manner.

Sharik: "Yes. You see, I have a party of my own back home, and... well, there was the issue of me going to two parties in one single day, but I'm sure the dates don't overlap, hehe." (And the fact that I am very homesick from my stay in the hospital)

Alika: "Oh, don't worry about that. My birthday is in a week, so it is not overlapping in any way." She said, smiling, unaware of how much this was making Sharik fluster.

Sharik: "Great, then I will be able to go with no problem!" (Holy Epona! Her smile is making my heart go on a stampede! She is so angelically cute!) He was at a point in which he couldn't hide the blush forming on his face or the wagging of his tail.

Alika: "Excellent! Well, I will send you an invitation so you know where it will be. Although, you can swim. Right?." (Oh Rex! He is blushing! He is even more adorable when flustered!) She did her best not to entrap the equid in a hug or squeal out of cuteness.

Sharik: "Oh yeah, I swim pretty girl- pretty good! I swim pretty well, hehe."

This kinda awkward but adorable interaction between the teenagers was not lost to their respective parents, and Tsunade and Akida were quite happy but also concerned about what was forming here.

Tsunade: (Oh my, I can smell that she is attracted to that boy Sharik. This is going to be a problem with the arrangement.) She thought with concern, but she trusted her daughter with her choices and this new relationship.

Akida: (Even if they seem to be getting along that well, this is going to be dangerous. Sharik's still a long way to go to control his curse, going to a party full of carnivores could be a disaster.) Despite of his worries, he decided to trust his son's strength and judgement.

After a little more chattering between the two families, in which both Kimba and Oliver got a chance to also meet one another and even getting along well, both lions and zebras went their separate ways and towards their homes just as police and paramedics packed up and leave. Oh the way back, Sharik and Alika couldn't help but to feel great excitement in their hearts, for they will have a chance to spend more time together, to understand each other better, and to forge the new bridge that formed the path of a mysterious yet bright future.

Fernandez Household. Ancient Jungle Street No. 85

July 10th, 11:45 a.m.

Inside of the living room of the Fernández family household, which was a mix of traditional japanese and modern western architecture with a large and beautiful garden (which helped the boys stretch their legs), a traditional japanese entrance which doubled as a garage door and an interior that was quite modern yet kept an air of traditional design, both the majority of the herd and Sharik's family awaited anxiously for his arrival alongside Akida and Oliver, moreso when they learned via the news about the attack orchestrated by the Undertaker Clan. Despite Akida calling them and confirming they were okay, and that they suffered no injuries other that some small scratches, things changed the moment Sharik told them about his fight against the clan and how he basically beat all of them, while only getting a serious injury on his arm due to being bitten by one of the hyenas. Expectedly, this was a huge shock for everyone present, especially when taking into account the curse that afflicted Sharik, but in a way, this was also relieving as he not only gained a temporary control of his curse, but also succeeded in using it for good in saving those lions, even so, some of the present animals were still visibly nervous, particularly Alejandro, as he was chewing onto one of his teethers to relieve such nervousness.

Francisco: "Don't worry, buddy, everything will be alright. I'm sure that bite wasn't that bad." Said the buffalo as he comforted his pantherine friend.

Kasumi: "Yeah, Sharik is quite tough, I'm sure he will recover fine from that wound."

Alejandro: "I do hope so... even then, it's hard not to be concerned." Answered the cat with a worrysome voice, but now he was a bit calmer thanks to his friends.

As this was going on, Jasiri, although she was already calmer, couldn't help but feel worry for her husband and kids, getting the comfort of her mother who also came to receive Sharik from his hospital dismiss, parallel to this, Raphael was also being comforted by his wife Rocio, who was a jolly and tender Burchell's zebra with a more curly mane and a stripe pattern which accentuated the white stripes on her legs and face, while presenting black stripes that formed a "Y" shape in both sides of her neck.

Rocío: "Ten, cariño, I made you some tea for the both of you. It will help you ease your nerves." She said on a tender voice as she passed the cups to her husband and daughter-in-law.

Rafael: "Gracias, querida." He then gave her a kiss on the cheek before taking a sip of his tea. "I needed this."

Jasiri: "Gracias, Rocio." She also took a sip of her tea, helping her relax. "Todavía no puedo quitarme la sensación de que el brazo de Sharik fue dañado más de lo que me dijo. Quiero decir... se enfrentó a hienas manchadas, incluso si su resistencia física ha incrementado, puede que no sea suficiente.." She said with the natural concern of any mother.

Jamala: "Entiendo tus preocupaciones, hijita, y aunque sea probable que haya pasado, ten por seguro que los médicos lo ayudaron a sanar, y que se pondrá bien pronto." Said the mother of Jasiri as she caressed her daughter's mane. Her stripe pattern was quite similar to Jasiri's, also presenting the ondulated stripes on her neck, but the ones on her snout had a "V" like shape.

This helped Jasiri calm down better as she hoped for the best, even if the worries about her eldest son were still abundant in her mind. Just then, they heard the gate opened and the familiar voices of 3 male cebras, and almost dropping her cup of tea, Jasiri went straight towards the entrance of the house and exited in order to run towards her family, tears flowing down her eyes as she hugged Akida in joy and relief, sentiments shared by the stallion as both of them shared a kiss, after this, she hugged and kissed both of her boys with pure motherly love, her tail wagging like crazy due to this overwhelming happiness.

Jasiri: "¡Estoy tan feliz de que ya hayan vuelto. Estaba tan preocupada." She said with some tears flowing from her eyes.

Oliver: ¡Mamá, no me sueltes! ¡Quiero estar contigo!" Said Oliver in pure relief of being back home after such a terrifying experience.

Jasiri: "Oh mi bebé, mami va a mantenerte a salvo." She said as she kissed her son in his forehead. Afterward, Jasiri turned to Sharik, gasping a bit upon seeing his bandaged arm. "¿Estás bien Sharik? ¿No te hirieron de gravedad?" She asked with great concern.

Sharik: "Estoy bien, mamá, la hiena no me rompió el brazo." He then demonstrated that by freely but carefully moving his arm. "Aunque sí necesité de algunos puntos, pero la doctora dijo que sanaré bien." He then hugged his mother, who was relieved to hear that his wounds weren't anything severe.

Shortly after, the three zebras greeted the rest of their family, Akida got a double hug by Rafael and Rocío, latter of which showered him with kisses, Sharik got a quadruple hug by his friends and Oliver was embraced by his maternal grandma, an atmosphere of joy and love which they all welcome after such an event in which two families would have been broken. Once everyone got back in the house, they started to celebrate Sharik's return, but not before he told everyone about what exactly went down on his fight against the poachers.

Alejandro: "¿Entonces fue por eso que la hiena te mordió?" Asked the jaguar in amazement and admiration for his friend's heroic actions.

Sharik: "Sí, es por eso, y vaya que fue una dura mordida, pero valió la pena."

Rafael: "¡Haha! ¡Ese es mi nieto! Siempre supe que seguirías los pasos de tu padre en ser un héroe." He said proudly as he hugged him with one arm.

Akida: "Papá, no lo animes, aun es muy joven." Replied the concerned father before going into the kitchen.

Sharik: "Gracias abuelo." Dijo sonriendo. "Y pues... también está el hecho de que... de algún modo logré mantener mi maldición bajo control, lo suficiente para evitar fatalidades y proteger a los leones."

Sebastián : "Increíble, creí que el control de la maldición era irrompible a menos que alguien con una profunda relación contigo te libere."

Alejandro: "Es verdad, ¿cómo es que pudiste controlarla?"

This question made everyone at the table quiet as they thought about what could possibly be the cause. However, as the most experienced one in dealing with the Curse of Madness present, Rafael soon made his grandson a crucial question.

Rafael: "Sharik... ¿Por casualidad no sentiste como si algo estuviera deteniendo la maldición? ¿Cómo si hubiese otra fuerza luchando a tu lado?"

This quite bizarre question left everyone present confused, as if the Curse of Madness wasn't something already supernatural. However, to their surprise, Sharik actually found sense in that question.

Sharik: "Sí... sí hubo una. Era una figura que portaba una armadura azul y blanca. La vi levantando a Bludgeon... y... lo lanzó como si nada, lejos de mí. Y me ayudó a controlar mi fuerza, y mi furia."

Rafael: "Ya veo..." He said with a thoughtful expression. "Then your Defensor Mode has also mutated, for now it takes the role of the check to your curse."

Francisco: "Defensor Mode? Don't you mean 'Protector Mode'?"

Oliver: "What's Protector Mode? Is what mom does whenever she pulls me from something dangerous?" He asked curiously.

Kasumi: "Protector Mode is a temporal enhancement of a herbivore's strength, stamina, and speed. In this mode, they fight more fiercely in order to defend themselves or others." She then turned towards Alejandro. "Carnivores have an equivalent to this called 'Beast Mode', which is basically the same thing."

Alejandro: "Órale." He said in amazement.

Rafael: "Yes, you are correct, jovencita. However, with cursed herbivores, Protector Mode doesn't work the same way." He said as he drank a sip of tea from his cup. "Since the Curse of Madness makes herbivores go into a violent frenzy, which can go as far as to even... kill carnivores close to us, Defensor Mode has adopted the role of a counter-force to prevent us from falling into said killer frenzy, which allows us to control and use the power the curse bestows upon mutants, like Sharik and me."

Sebastián: "Incredible, so even the mutants themselves can create countermeasures for the curse. This will help you greatly, Sharik."

Sharik: "I know, and that's wonderful. But... I don't feel like it's going to be that easy."

Rafael: "Oh, don't worry, that's what the outpatient care is for. You will be instructed into how to control your curse and to master Defensor Mode to serve as your check for it. That's how I learned to control it." He said with an optimistic smile, which showed the full length of his 12 centimeter fangs. A sight which was quite bizarre for the rest of the herd

Alejandro: (Ay we. ¿Así de grandes serán los colmillos de Sharik cuando crezca?)

Francisco: (Hijole, hasta pareciera ser parte jabalí)

Kasumi: (Dang, no me imagino lo difícil que sería estar entre otros herbívoros luciendo colmillos así... fuera de los ciervos de agua chinos)

Sebastián: (Huh. ¿Me pregunto como se verían en otras especies afligidas por la maldición?)

Shortly after that, Jamala and Jasiri came into the dining room from the kitchen with trays of Sharik's favorite food: empanadas. From beans to cheese, spinach and prawns, there were plenty of types to choose and feast upon, and Sharik in particular was beaming at the mere scent of them, his tail wagging so strongly that one could fear that it may fall off and with a smile so wide that his own fangs became completely visible, so much was his joy that it extended to his friends, little brother and grandfather.

Rafael: "Awww! Extrañaba ver esa cara tan alegre, me recuerda a cuando empezaste a nadar por primera vez." He said to then caressed his grandson's head.

Kasumi: "Dang Sharik, careful with that, you may become a female magnet, hehehe."

Francisco: "HEY! That's MY joke!"

Sebastián: "Hahahahaha!"

Alejandro: "Well, you are not wrong about that, jejeje."

Sharik: "Aich, guys, please don't say that. It's embarrassing." He said while covering his blushed face.

In response to this, Jasiri hugged and tenderly nuzzled his son, rubbing all the motherly love she was saving in her heart to give him in this special day, such a show of affection was quickly corresponded by the young colt, who whiny in response as he also hugged her with reciprocating love, kissing and nuzzling Jasiri in the same loving way from the day he was born.

Jasiri: "Bienvenido de vuelta, mi amor. Te extrañamos más de lo que puedo expresar en palabras." She said in her sweet and loving voice tone.

Sharik: "Gracias mamá, también los extrañé mucho. Pero finalmente estoy con ustedes de nuevo." He said with a happy smile.

After that, Jasiri and Jamala sat down while Akida and Rocío began serving a specially made drink with quite an intense red color, which would've confused anyone unfamiliar with this drink, believing they were drinking blood... they actually had quite a funny story regarding that which involved a few vampire bats.

Akida: "Espero les guste, es 100% casera." He said happily as he began serving the drink on the glasses next to the plates of everyone in the table.

Kasumi: "Huh? What's this?" She asked curiously, as she had never seen this drink before.

Alejandro: "Es agua de Jamaica, una bebida típica de todo México." He then drank from his glass, enjoying this drink fully.

Francisco: "It's a bit sour on the first trial, but you quickly acostumed to it, goes well with sugar."

With those words in mind, Kasumi carefully took a sip from her glass and after savoring the drink for a few seconds... she actually got a liking for it.

Kasumi: "Hmm, not bad. It's quite good."

Alejandro: "Right? It's especially good in the way Mr. Akida does it."

Akida: "Thanks, Alex, it's a family recipe." He said as Rocío hugged him and gently nuzzled him.

Shortly after the banquet the family and friends shared together, the teens went towards the living room in order to play some videogames like before everything happened; just as they prepared one of the consoles, which was a WildBox Alpha, Sharik stood up and went towards another area of the house, one he was meaning to visit the moment he came back. Exiting the main house, the young zebra walked through a stone path, passing through some of the colorful plants his mom cultivated in their backyard, and kept going until the path changed from stone... to petals. These petals were very special for Sharik's native culture, for these were none other than the petals of the cempasúchil, a flower who served as the road for those who were now in the afterlife. In a sign of respect to this sacred path, the young zebra took off his ungulate sandals and calmly began walking down the orange path, and when this ended, he stood in front of an odd structure, well... for those who didn't know this tradition.

Sharik: (Parece que mamá y papá lo modificaron un poco, ahora está más protegido de la lluvia.) He thought with a gentle sob.

This structure was an altar, one that was adorned with colorful crepe paper flags, presenting plates and glasses in which they would serve the offerings each November 1st, some calaveritas made from clay and others from sugar, a few toys and one dinosaur themed brazalete... and most importantly, the pictures of the animal who now lay here... the one time Sharik's oath was broken. Carefully approaching the altar, whose gold-colored doors were wide open, perhaps in anticipation of his arrival, Sharik gently caressed the altar as he saw the pictures in front of him; each picture illustrated a duo of brothers, who were so close to one another it was hard to take individual photos of each of them, one even included Oliver as Sharik hold him on his arms and... his first biological brother gently looking towards his then baby brother, all happy to be together. Those memories made Sharik's scarred heart quiver in nostalgia, tears began flowing down his eyes, for he knew those days were long behind... but even then, he smiled happily, knowing he got the chance of having a wonderful younger brother with whom he lived great adventures together, even at such a young age.

At the center of the altar, just in front of one of the few individual pictures his family had of him, lay a beautiful urn, silver grey in color and adorned at the center with paintings of a therizinosaurus, which symbolized some of his brother's personality. With a grip so strong that it could be just as gentle, Sharik took the urn and gently hugged it, sobbing once again as the tears flew down his face.

Sharik: "Hola Jabari, he vuelto a casa."

Just as his feeling began to filter out, a gentle hand reached out to his shoulder, one that he didn't need to turn his vision to recognize, smiling with relief as Alejandro hugged him tightly, letting the zebra sunk into his smaller frame, and soon enough, Oliver joined the hug. The love they all shared, plus the memories he held dear to his heart, made Sharik slowly recover from his sadness, returning the urn to its place so he could also reciprocate the hugs to the brothers that still were with him just as he took another look at the altar.

Sharik: "Te prometí que siempre protegería a nuestra familia, Jabari. Esa promesa aun la mantengo, y aunque no logré cumplirla ese día... no me he rendido en mantenerla... y en cierto modo... la he podido cumplir." He said with silent regret, but also comfort in knowing that, despite everything, his friends were still with him.

With the three brothers saying their silent goodbyes, they all went back into the house, following the same path, but just as they left the altar behind, a figure manifested ever so slightly behind him, an entity that Sharik had met before.

???: "Yo te cuidaré a tí también. Siempre estaré contigo."

And just as he suddenly manifested, the armored guardian vanished, going back to where it came from to fulfill its duty.

Baeklaea Mansion

12:23 p.m.

In the western side of the Shokujūgawa river, connected to the Kemonochō district via a bridge made out of steel and concrete, there was a second district of the city named Dōbutsumachi, a more traditional japanese area which maintained a more native atmosphere in contrast to the cultural mix seen with its eastern counterpart. Crossing the bridge towards Dōbutsumachi, Tsunade, alongside Alika and Kimba, were sitting a little quietly as they arrived at the other side, with Alika in particular both excited and nervous regarding the promise she made to the zebra, the latter being due to how she was going to explain this to his father.

Alika: (Ok... so... should I just tell him as it is? Or... maybe should I lie and tell him that he is a white tiger... no, that's going to bust the moment he sees him arriving. Better to just be honest about it, he'll understand.)

Tsunade: "Thinking about how to break the news to your father?"

The sudden question took the young bright lioness out of her thoughts, almost jumping due to how sudden it was.

Alika: "Um... yes... I'm still unsure how he will react... and... um..." Her nerves were making it harder for her to formulate her sentences. "I... I feel like I should tell him straight, but... I don't know."

Tsunade: "I think that it would be better to be honest towards him, even if he does get upset about inviting that zebra boy to your birthday." Her response comforted Alika, but the tension was still noticeable.

Kimba: "Why does Uncle Abasi dislike zebras? They don't seem to be bad animals?" Asked the young male innocently.

Tsunade: "Unlike that boy Sharik or his family, many zebras are very ill-tempered and quite hostile towards lions, and while this is in good part due to their normal fear and hatred towards carnivores... it also has to do with the fact that lions are one of the most common carnivores to attack zebras during predation cases, which correlates to our feral counterparts being some of the main predators of theirs." She said in a saddened tone, knowing how it felt to be accused of such crimes or to be branded as a monster. "Due to this, there have been multiple cases of zebras assaulting and... even killing lions, either as retaliation for predatory offenses... or just for the mere sin of existing." Her tone shifted to a more somber as she frowned, knowing most of those murders were inflicted upon females and children.

Hearing why his father disliked cebras so much left Alika quite shocked, but also intrigued and even a bit unsure: if cebras were so hostile towards lions, why did she form a link with one? But it also became more evident how much Sharik differed from other cebras, as not once did he ever act with hostility towards them, and in fact, he was very friendly and cordial, which made her hopeful that perhaps he could be well received by her father... but even then, she doubted it.

Kimba: "Oh... that's horrible." Said the male cub with notable sadness. "But... Sharik and the other 2 were very nice with us... does that mean...?"

Tsunade: "There's always exceptions with everything, Snowflake, but you must remember that fact, for a good majority of herbivores are very unfriendly towards carnivores, and some are quite openly hostile."

Alika: "But even so, you should strive to try and socialize with them. Even if they are less in number, there are quite plenty of herbivores who are very amicable to carnivores. Those are the ones you should look for if you wish to befriend them." She spoke from experience, remembering Finnegan fondly despite her passing.

Tsunade: "You are right, Ali, and you found quite the gentlemalely herbivore in that boy. For what is worth, I would accept him as your friend if you choose him as such."

Alika: "Thank you, mom!" She beamed in happiness.

Chauffeur (male Asian lion): "Miss Tsunade, we have arrived."

Then the limousine parked right in front of a large and quite beautiful mansion built in a mix of modern and traditional japanese style, possessing the typical rooftop, a beautiful garden with a koi pond in the middle of the main gate and the house proper, both connected via a sturdy and well-kept wooden bridge. The gate itself were a pair of large wooden door and the surrounding walls had a warm orange-brown coloration, this whole structure was especially designed to prevent any sort of assaults, presenting barb wire on top of the walls and a system that applied a reinforced metal cover to the doors should anybody tried to break in.

After getting down from the limousine, the gate opened to reveal 4 security guards, 2 being brown bears and two being tigers, alongside a comparably smaller butler, who was a rare ethiopian wolf, this individual was quite close to the Baeklaea's family, as he served the family ever since Abasi was a teenager, being loyal and helpful in any way he could.

Emile: "Good evening, Mistress Tsunade, we are glad you came back well." He said with a relieved smile, which only grew wider the moment he saw Alika and Kimba. "Oh, thank Rex, you are alright! We were all worried sick for you."

Alika: "Emile!" She then jumped towards him and hugged the older canine joyfully. "I'm so glad to see you again, I thought that was the end of me!" She said with a teary expression

Emile: "It's alright, young lady. What matters is that you are safe now." He replied, tears forming and falling from his eyes. Shortly after, she released her and hugged Kimba. "And Kimba, I'm glad you are safe too, and I'm sorry about your mother. I hope she recovers soon." He said while caressing the young boy.

Kimba: "Thank you so much, Emile." He said happily, hugging the butler tighter due to his worry.

Tsunade: "Excuse me for interrupting Emile, but is my husband here?" She asked with concern, hoping this time he had arrived on time.

Letting go of Kimba, Emile stood up and looked at Tsunade, smiling.

Emile: "Yes, he is, Mistress Tsunade. He almost got a panic attack when he heard about the attack,but he is fine and waiting for you. And in case you were wondering: Sun-Young is resting on her crib, she has been fed by one of the housewives during your abscense."

Tsunade: "Well, let's not keep them waiting any longer. Come on, kids, let's enter."

Just as the chauffeur took the limo into the garage, the 4 animals entered through the gate followed by the 4 guards, who closed the door behind them, once inside, the 2 lion cubs felt happy to see the koi pond surrounded by the lush garden of the mansion, after everything they went through, it was like returning to paradise.

Meanwhile, on one of the dormitory rooms of the house, the father of Alika and owner of the Thundermane Company, Abasi, had just laid her baby daughter on his arms as a sort of comfort after learning what happened, praying they arrived safely. Abasi was quite a large and, by lion standards, dominant lion, presenting a muscular build and a large black mane, his eyes were just like those of her eldest daughter and he currently was dressed in a black business suit, reflecting the fact he came back home as soon as he could.

Abasi: (I hope they are OK, that nothing happened to them... to my precious daughter.) So worry he was that he didn't even bother to consider how his company was doing on his absence, despite the fact that he left it on the trusty hands of his secretary.

Just then, one of the housewives, a female indian wolf, entered the room and went over Abasi, bowing in respect once he was near him.

Minerva: "Master Abasi, your family has arrived and is waiting for you in the living room." She said with a soft but cordial voice.

Feeling paralyzed upon hearing the news, the lion stood up and gently gave Sun-Young to Minerva, who carried her carefully, and immediately dashed towards the stairs leading up to the first floor, and once he went down, he turned to the living room with a comical mix of elegance and clumsiness (last one due to the sudden adrenaline rush). Once he entered the living room, the lion could barely hold back tears as his daughter stared back at him, also with teary eyes.

Alika: "Dad, I'm so glad to see you! I thought that I was not going to say goodbye to you!"

Abasi: "Oh, Alika, you have no idea how scared I was! I thought I lost you, but thank Rex, you are safe! My beautiful princess." He hugged her daughter tightly as both lions sobbed in joy.

Not long after, Tsunade and Kimba joined the family hug as Emile went to thr kitchen in order to bring them some much needed refreshments, in the meantime, Alika and Kimba told everything to his father/uncle about what had happened, which became a series of frightening surprises for the adult lion.

Abasi: "Rexdamn, I knew this would not work forever, now that they recognize the patterns." He said in frustration as he drank from his cup of tea. "Now I will need to develop a new escort strategy to protect them."

Tsunade: "Calm down dear, I understand your frustration, but we can take it easy for now, just assign a group of trusty guards during the summer, you don't have to change them constantly."

Abasi: "Perhaps, but still, I don't want her protectors to become predictable... but I suppose we can go easy with that now that such despicable clan has been brought down."

Kimba: "Yes, the one who saved us took them all down by himself. It was amazing! Granted... he did go a bit overboard with the violence, but it was an emergency." Said the young white lion as he drank from his cuckoo-cola.

Abasi: "So, tell me more about this 'savior' of yours. Was it one of the police officers that arrived?" He asked, curious and a bit anxiously.

Alika: "Um... well... n-not exactly." Her answer came as a shock for her father as she struggled to respond properly. "You see... it was a boy of my age who came to save us."

The answer made Abasi spit his drink on the cup, almost chocking on it as Emile came quick to clean it up, while he himself was also shocked to hear this.

Emile: "A 12 yo boy, Mistress Alika? Is that what you said?" He asked incredulous.

Alika: "Yes... as hard as it is to believe, it was a male teen of my age, but quite noticeably taller..."

Tsunade: "I can confirm her claim, I got to meet that same kid when I arrived at the scene, and the injuries on this boy's body were more than enough proof."

Abasi: "Still, it's quite a shock to hear such a young male succeeded in such a dangerous endeavor. Was he a large carnivore? Perhaps a bear or maybe another lion?"

Alika: "Um... n-no, it wasn't a carnivore at all... the one who saved Kimba, Aunt Bianca, and I was... it was a zebra."

And as if the first revelation wasn't enough to shock him, Abasi felt his jaw drop hard into the ground and his body frozen, for what his wife had told Alika about his outlooks on zebras (minus the hero of Minajū-kyo) was true.

Abasi: "Impossible! There's no way a zebra that does not belong to the police force would help a lion, let alone a bright female!" He claimed with palpable disdain towards those herbivores.

Alika: "But it's the truth, father, it was a zebra that beat down the hyenas of the Undertaker Clan and saved our lives. And he wasn't like the zebras you talked us about: he was courageous and unbreakable, but also quite kind and well-mannered. He is a true gentlemale." She was very careful not to show herself blush upon describing the qualities of Sharik, using her red berry milkshake to cool herself enough to avoid it.

Abasi: "That maybe so... but still, I can't bring myself to fully believe that it was a zebra who did it. His kind is so hostile towards us lions that a white tiger being the one who managed to save you would be more believable to me." He said with visible resentment towards zebras, like if something had forged his sentiments to be that way.

This of course was a bit disheartening to Alika, since it felt like his father was valuing his grudge over the massive risk that Sharik had placed himself in order to protect them, it didn't matter to her that he was a herbivore, for in her heart, she know who he truly was.

Abasi: "Despite this, however..." He quickly added, both after seeing how much the acts of the zebra mattered to her daughter and nephew... and also because Tsunade was quite irritated about his reaction. "...I will put aside my dislike of zebras in order to properly give my gratitude towards this boy, for he risked his life to save yours and that of your cousin and aunt. Besides, as lions... we can't look down upon an act of bravery like that."

Such words uplifted Alika greatly, leaving her glass of milkshake to then go and hug him joyfully, which he corresponded with plenty of fatherly love.

Tsunade: "That's much better. Now, about that gratitude, Alika has already offered him something quite unexpected to thank him."

Abasi: "Really? And what is that reward, exactly?"

Alika: "Well... let's just say we will need to add dishes for herbivores to the menu of my birthday party." She said with an innocent smile.

Abasi: "Oh... ok, my princess, it shall be done." (Rex give me strength, please).

Tsunade: "Well then, I will talk to the cooks in order to add that in the menu. Alika, you go and prepare the invitation for Sharik, I will call Akida to give you the direction to send it."

Abasi: (This zebra's father is Akida?) He thought in surprise.

Alika: "Yes, mother. I will have it in no time." She said happily as she ran to her room to make the invitation for him.

Kimba: "Oh, that reminds me. Where will we host the party?" Asked the little male since he didn't know yet about where the party will take place.

Fernández Household. Ancient Jungle Street No. 85

July 17th, 13:10

The room resonated with the excited and anxious hoof claps of the young cebra residing on it as he put his change of clothes and ungulate snickers in a green backpack, quickly passing to change into his Transformers-branded swim trunks, which was illustrated with Seaspray, Riptide and Broadside, three Autobots who were specialized for aquatic missions. This urgency was quite well founded as today was Alika's birthday, and as the one person she invited outside of her family and friends, he wanted to make a good first impression.

Sharik: (Ok, ya empaqué uno de mis mejores shorts, la camisa que mamá me ayudó a escoger. ¿Me estará faltando algo?)

As he excitedly continued to prepare, he went towards the bathroom to groom his crin and striped pattern... just as he took a look at his torso, he saw once again all of the scars he had gained: from those made by the carnivores of that terrible ambush to the ones caused by Russell while under captivity, all the terrible memories flooding his mind and poisoning the excitement and upbeat attitude he had seconds ago, gently tracing his fingers on each one of them.

As he was lost in his mind, saddened by horrors past, two arms calmly surrounded his body in a warm and loving hug, which he reciprocated by gently grasping them with his hands, feeling better for the love he received yet still uncertain and worried about his scars. Such sentiments were felt by his mother, as she could sense this change via the heartbeats of his eldest son.

Jasiri: "Mi pobre bebé de la selva, aun te aflige lo que ha pasado. ¿No es así?" Her voice was as sweet as honey, giving Sharik the confidence he needed to talk about this.

Sharik: "Sí... realmente me preocupa que vean mis cicatrices, es decir... todos los que irán serán carnívoros y, no quisiera hacerlos sentirse mal por verme con esto... o que supieran la verdad de lo que me pasó... de mi maldición." His state was worryingly reminiscent about how Sharik acted during his captivity, and while not as depressed as back then, it was something Jasiri didn't want his son to feel again.

Jasiri: "Descuida, cariño, no tendrás que mostrarlas en la fiesta, sé que no te gusta usar remeras pero, afortunadamente, tengo otra solución para esto." Then Jasiri stood up and went towards the gabinet of the bathroom, and from there, she got out 2 small containers of what appeared to be cream of different colors: one black and one white.

Sharik: "Esto... ¿es eso maquillaje, o crema para la piel?" Asked the colt upon seeing those strange substances.

Jasiri: "Es un maquillaje especial, querido, sirve para cubrir las cicatrices en la piel y ayudarles a sanar. Usé esto para cubrir mis cicatrices de embarazo luego de darte a luz." She said as she took a bit of the white cream on her fingers. "Descuida, esta crema es liposoluble, así que el agua de la alberca no la va a quitar." After reassuring his son, Jasiri began applying the cream on the areas in which his scars covered the white stripes, carefully avoiding to stain the black stripes, and once she finished with those, the process was repeated with the black cream.

Sharik hold still during this process, but he became a bit flustered by what his mom was doing, it reminded him of a documentary in which he saw tribal women painting their sons with symbols that signified their coming of age, although he didn't feel ready for such a thing yet. Suddenly, he was taking out of his thoughts when his mother kissed him on his belly, more specifically, on the large scar on his right side.

Sharik: "¡Mamá, ahí no! ¡Me haces cosquillas!" He said as he laughed while his face blushed brightly. Since that was the most sensitive spot in his body, it was easy for him to get flustered if anyone or anything touched it.

Jasiri: "Lo siento, Sharik, no pude evitarlo. Quería hacerte sentir mejor." Said the loving mother as she couldn't help but chuckle at her son's reaction. "En fin, ya terminé de aplicar la crema. ¿Qué tal si echas un vistazo?"

Quickly turning towards the mirror, Sharik was amazed with the results: his body now looked like he never suffered any injury to begin with, and his white fur was even brighter now thanks to the cream. This was just what Sharik needed, and, barking happily, he hugged and kissed his mother in gratitude to then begin combing his crin, tail wagging wildly due to this newfound optimism. Once he was done, and after putting on his green beach shirt and ungulate sandals, the zebra took his backpack and went downstairs, waiting for his mother in the living room as he took out the invitation from his pocket, smiling happily as he looked at it.

Sharik: (Aun no puedo creer que esto esté pasando. Estoy muy emocionado y nervioso de asistir, pero va a valer la pena para conocerla mejor... y poder estar a su lado.) Even if he kept it on his thoughts, it was more than clear that Sharik was quite in love with the lioness he met.

The invitation at first looked like your typical fancy letter for an event like this, with the color chosen for it being the personal favorite of Alika, which was cerulean blue, and also had some decorations that gave away the type of party she was going to have and the place in which will take place, but more importantly, however, was a special message than the lioness hid inside of the envelope, and one that the zebra was reading right now.

-Dear Sharik:- -I understand that you and I have just met 7 days ago when you saved my life, and other than the brief moment I got to thank you for your actions, we haven't interacted properly with each other. However, as strange as it may sound... I have felt a peculiar connection with you in particular, one I'm sure you are also aware of. I am unsure what this means or why it even happened, but what I know is that it somehow tied us together, and if that's the case, I want to have the chance to meet you better and develop a friendship with you, and that's mainly why I invited you to my birthday party. I do hope you arrive well and that we can become good friends, as well as to learn why our link exists.- -Sincerely: Alika Baeklaea... The White Angel-

Reading this made the mark in Sharik's chest glow in bright platinum white, it seemed like this was one step forward in understanding this destined connection, but more importantly for him, however, was the development of this friendship, for it meant that he will get to know her better and be close to her so he could protect her from whatever wished to cause her harm, and... in a more subconscious way, having her aid in defeating Bludgeon so that he may never fall into the Curse of Madness again.

Just as he was reading the letter, he heard the footsteps of his mother going down the stairs, which meant that she was also ready to go; looking over, he saw that she was wearing a nice tropical flirty beach dress, which was ankle-length and black with multiple palm leaves of different colors as well as some presenting a leopard pattern, she was also wearing ungulate japanese beach sandals and was carrying with her a black and white purse.

Sharik: "Luces muy linda mamá." He said with a warm smile, which caused Jasiri to blush.

Jasiri: "Awww, gracias corazón. Tú también luces muy guapo, estoy segura que vas a llamar la atención de cualquier chica que vaya a la fiesta." She replied in a playful manner, teasing her son as any mother does.

Sharik: "Jejeje... probablemente sea así." He smiled, blushing as he thought precisely about how Alika would react when he sees him all trimmed up. "Bueno, ya es hora de partir. La dirección está en la invitación así que podremos guiarnos con Zoozle Maps."

Jasiri: "Muy bien, entonces nos vamos ya, tu padre nos alcanzará una vez lleguemos al salón de fiestas."

Sharik: "Sale pues. ¿Pero qué hay de Oliver?"

Jasiri: "Oli se va a quedar con sus abuelos, especialmente después de que se torciera su tobillo." She said, worried about his little colt since Oliver had twisted his ankle by accident after he slipped with a wet jargon. "Le advertí que tuviera más cuidado, a veces olvido lo osados qué pueden ser los machos como ustedes, jeje."

Sharik: "Jeje.... sí, no niego nada de eso." He said with a chuckle as he himself has done some quite brash things, like that one time he almost fell from a tree while trying to prove to Alejandro that he could climb as well.

After that small talk between mother and son, Sharik saved the letter and pick off the gift he and Jasiri had bought for Alika, which was inside a decently sized green and yellow gift box; after setting up the alarm and getting out of the house, the two zebras walked towards the garage and into Jasiri's car, which was a black van. After opening the gates of the garage, Jasiri turned on the van and pulled out to the street, and once they were out, she closed the gate with the control and both headed towards their destination.

Atlantis Party Center

July 17th, 13:28 p.m.

The Atlantis Party Center was a one of the most popular party rooms of all Sanjo City, especially during the summer, as it had a large 12x7 meters pool adorned by paintings of coral reefs and marine life, there was also a water slide at the end of the pool and in the opposite side there was a set of stairs that went down the water, allowing for easier entrance or exit from the pool, and at the center, there was a beautiful artificial waterfall adorned with local vegetation, making it feel more natural. On the other side of the party room, there was a roofed section in which plenty of round tables and chairs were placed for the attendants of the party, while other rectangular tables were set for different things: the first one was to set up Alika's birthday cake and to put the presents, the second one served as a "bar" in which there were soft drinks served as many of the guests were minors, and the third was a snack bar with several types of snacks available, each table was adorned with fancy tablecloths and centerpieces that symbolize the african savannahs; the whole roofed section of the party center was adequately decorated for the birthday they were hosting, with pennants having the message of "Happy Birthday" hanged over the cake table and a second row of these having the name of the birthday girl. Speaking of birthday girl, Alika, alongside Kimba and her parents, were already at the party center, and the lioness was very pleased with how everything was adorned and prepared for her special day.

Alika: "It's perfect! I love how everything looks, and the center was already spectacular." She said quite happily, almost wishing to jump into the water... despite the fact that she was still wearing her dress.

Abasi: "I'm glad you liked it, Snowflake. It was something your mother and I planned carefully for days. You know I always want you to have the best birthdays." He then hugged her daughter lovingly, nuzzles included.

Tsunade: "Hehehe, well, I hope you have the same energy when you do Sun-Young's birthday parties." Said the lioness as she was sitting on a chair, having removed part of the top of her dress in order to nurse her baby girl lovingly. "Although I think decorations will be the least of expenses with this one."

Alika: "Hehe, my sister sure eats a lot." She smiled happily. "Hope the others can make it, I missed my other cousins a lot, and I hope Bianca can come too."

Abasi: "They will come, Ali, have that for sure, and Bianca was actually dismissed earlier than expected. Her recovery went very well." He said happily, which also made Alika smile.

Kimba: "That's great, I was so worried about her, glad she will be back home so soon." Said the young white lion who had already changed into his black swim trunks.

As the family awaited for the guests to arrive, plenty of other animals were working actively to ensure everything was in order and ready, but the personnel was not like the one that worked at the Baeklaea's mansion. Something special about the Atlantis Party Center was the type of animals it hired, as all of them were semi-aquatic, aquatic or marine animals: from herbivores such as marine iguanas, beavers and hippos to carnivores such as crocodiles, otters and fishing cats, even marine mammals found work in here, such as the main chef who was a large male walrus, who wore the typical cooking uniform with a fancy chef hat. Said walrus came towards Abasi in order to speak with him.

Pablo: "The starters are done, sir, and my cooks are working hard on the main course, we will have them ready faster than a marleen catching a sardine, hehe." Said the head chef with what appeared to be a norwegian accent.

Abasi: "Excellent, Pablo, you truly are as good as they said." Said the male lion happily. "Though, you also prepare the 'special' meals I told you that day, right?"

Pablo: "You mean the herbivore menu? Yes, we have. It took us a bit longer to get the proper ingredients for those. I'm surprised you even invited herbivores to the party."

Abasi: "I may dislike zebras, but I owned it to that boy for saving my daughter, besides, he is the son of Akida, I wouldn't want to treat his family poorly despite my biases." He said with a bit of irritation, despite good intentions. "Make sure you have them ready along the rest of the course."

Pablo: "Yes, sir. We will make sure to give your family and guests the best seafood you ever tasted." With that, he went back to the kitchen.

Abasi: (A nice fellow carnivore, but damn, does he smell like the food he prepares). He thought calmly.

Suddenly, multiple animals appeared at the entrance of the Party Center, showing up their invitations to the recepcionist, a female leopard seal, who lead them into the place, just in time for Abasi to notice and smile happily.

Abasi: "Oh, they made it!" He said happily as he watched the kids come into the roofed area of the center.

Tsunade: "Of course they did. You are their parents's boss." She said a bit skeptical and nervous, for she feared these kids were not going to be nice to Alika.

As the children were coming forward to deliver the presents, some began to bicker among themselves as to who was the girl celebrated today, since most of them never met Alika before, in fact, they didn't even know she existed.

Gray fox teen (♀️): "I hope this girl is nice. But why is she all white?" She whispered to the kid next to him.

Iberian lynx teen (♂️): "I don't know. I hope she gets better."

As they all walked to the cake table to leave the presents, Alika was watching them arrive as she drank some Serpent Up, greeting the guests of her age in an educated and fancy way, despite of this outward demeanor, she was sad that her friends would not be coming to the party...

???: "Alika! Alika!"

Alika: "Huh?"

Then to the shock of the lioness, a kermode bear appeared from among the crowd and went straight to her, something she did as well with great joy as both girls gave each other the greatest hug of their lives, caressing each other with so much love that one could be forgiven for believing they were a couple (hey, where did I see something similar?).

Yōko: "Oh, Rex Ali, I'm so happy to see you again! I'm so sorry I wasn't with you the day you were rescued, but I wasn't even allowed to leave the house, and security got bumped up!" She said while sobbing in joy.

Alika: "It's ok Yōko, I forgive you. I'm just happy that you are here with me at last, I missed you so much." She replied with small tears flowing from her eyes.

Yōko: "Me too, me too." After recovering from that, the bear quickly remembered something. "Oh, I almost forgot, I got you this present. I hope you like it." She then gave Alika what seemed to be a medium-sized gift box that was wrapped in white and cerulean blue wrapping paper.

Alika: "Awww, thank you so much, Yōko." She nuzzled her best friend and went over the table, leaving the present there. "Hey, that reminds me. Did Jolyne come with you, too? I haven't heard from her in days."

Yokō: "Oh... well, I don't know, maybe she wanted to... you know... prepare you a surprise." She said with a smug smile.

And just when the white lioness was about to ask what she meant, a blurr of dark brown came rushing Alika and even tackled her to the ground, and as soon as she recovered, the friendly face of a female sea lion was touching noses with her, smiling widely and happily.

Jolyne: "Helloooooo." She said with a quite clear marine accent (think of it as a bubbly spanish accent).

Alika: "Jolyne, you made it!" She said happily to then hug her dear marine friend. {How have you been on these summer vacations? I heard you went to Hawaii.}

Jolyne: {That I did. It was amazing, the islands were beautiful, the seas so clean and full of life, it was paradise.} She said joyfully, although only her friends understood her since she spoke in seaspeak.

Alika: {That sounds wonderful, I hope one day I can go to Hawaii to.} She replied happily on fluent seaspeak. "Hey, want to go swimming? The pool is fully available."

Yōko: "I thought you'd never ask. Let's go." Then the girls were off the dressers to change their clothes (except for Jolyne as her clothes doubled as swimsuit), but as they did, Alika couldn't help but wonder if a certain someone was going to arrive, but she hoped he did.

Meanwhile outside of the center, a elderly couple of lions were on their way to the party, both dressed formally for the occasion as they walked in a hurry, worried they might have arrived too late for the birthday of their dear granddaughter.

Yuna: "I told you to go left on the Wildpass Avenue! But you insisted on your so-called 'shorcut'!"

Yong: "It was a valid shortcut! How was I suppose to know that a drunken moose was going to block the street entirely?"

Yuna: "You have to remember that it also has the most popular herbivore bar on this side of the river. You have to remember that, darling."

Yong: "Let's just hurry. Hopefully, we will still arrive in ti- WOAAHH!" Suddenly, the crane of the elderly lion snap in two after getting stuck in a crag on the pavement, causing him to fall into the ground.

Yuna: "YONG!" Yelled the lioness in worry as she went to her husband to help him stand up, but due to her age, this proved quite difficult.

Yong: "Just go ahead, dear! I will reach you later." He said despite knowing that it would be very hard for him to stand without his crane.

???: "That won't be necessary, sir."

The kind and much younger voice took both lions by surprise, which only grew once they saw who it belonged to.

Back at the party, everything was going smoothly. The waiters served drinks to guests, the pool crew make sure everything was in order and provided some pool toys for the teens and kids, the DJ handle the music well and the cooks had everything nearly done, a seemingly perfect party... almost. Abasi seemed to be worried about something, like if there was someone in particular whose presence was lacking.

Tsunade: "What's wrong, honey? You seemed tense."

Abasi: "Sorry dear, it is just that my parents haven't arrived yet, and I fear that something may have happened to them along the way." He said as his mane stood on end, foe his parents were always punctual.

Tsunade: "I'm sure they are alright, dear, you worry too much." She then comforted her husband with a kiss in the cheek, hugging her as her baby daughter layed sleeping on her stroller.

Meanwhile, something similar happened to Alika as she looked over towards the entrance, like if she was waiting anxiously for someone to arrive. She had planned for her to go towards Sharik and received her personally so that he could help aliviate the initial shock of his presence as a zebra and acclimate the others to his presence. Since zebras were highly hostile towards carnivores, she had developed this plan so that the rest of the guests felt more secure and comfortable around him... and to prevent that demon from taking control of him.

Yōko: "Waiting for someone?" She asked in curiosity, approaching Alika as she was lying on the pool's edge.

Alika: "Yes, there is... someone in particular I invited to the party... someone that is... um..."

Yōko: "Let me guess, the one who saved your life?" The question almost made the lioness jump, and the bear continued before she could ask. "I learned about your rescue from my parents. Your dad was quite secretive about what animal saved you."

Jolyne: {Was it a large carnivore? Maybe a brown bear or a tiger?} Asked Jolyne as she emerged from the bottom of the pool.

Alika: "Um... no, it's not. You see..."

Then, all of a sudden, the whole room gasped collectively, drawing the attention of Alika and her friends as well as Abasi and Tsunade, and what they saw left everyone, carnivore and herbivore alike. Walking in front of the door that led to the host office before the proper entrance of the center, was the former owner and CEO of the Thundermane Company and father of Abasi... having his left arm held by a zebra teenager! Nobody present, not even the herbivore workers, expected that Abasi invited a zebra, of all herbivores, to the birthday of his daughter, and the lion himself was simply paralyzed by what this young male was doing.

Sharik: "Alright, mister, just tell me where you want to sit down, and I will guide you to the table." The way he spoke was kind and gentle, and he carefully kept the pace of the elder carnivore as they went.

Yong: "Thank you kindly, young boy. Sorry if I haven't said anything until now, but... what you are doing is... well... unusual."

Sharik: "It's ok, I get that a lot. But honestly... it kinda makes it special."

Alika: (Oh my Rex! How did he cross paths with my grandpa!? Did my grandmother also meet him!?) The white lioness was left completely speechless at the scene, a hurricane of admiration, nervousness, and shock flowing through her mind.

Yōko: "No way... no way he is a zebra." Said the bear in shock.

Jolyne: "Does he even know who he is holding? I can't believe it."

Iberian lynx (♀️): "This is so surreal. Why would a herbivore like him do such a thing? Did he pay him or something?"

Snow leopard (♂️): "I don't think so... he doesn't seem to even know who he is."

Black bear (♂️): "How is he not even nervous about being around so many carnivores? Is he insane?"

Sea otter waiter (♂️): "Oh wow, that's so admirable of him. He doesn't seem to care if he is a carnivore or not."

Marine iguana waiter (♂️): "He is truly special. Never have I met a land herbivore like him before."

After what appeared like an hour for many of the present, but were just a few minutes for Sharik and Yong, they arrived at the table in which Abasi and Tsunade were sitting, and in another act of kindness, he helped him sit down.

Sharik: "And there we go, sir. All done."

Yong: "Thank you so much. You are a very remarkable young male." He said happily to then turn towards his son and daughter-in-law. "Abasi, my dear boy! I'm so happy to see you!" He said to then stand up and hug said lion happily, something Abasi could barely correspond due to his current shock.

Sharik: "Hehe, glad I was able to help. My mom will arrive with Mrs. Yuna soon." He smiled happily, and then he noticed a quite familiar face next to him. "Oh, hello Mrs. Tsunade, glad to see you again."

Abasi: "He knows you?"

Tsunade: "Yes babe, I told you this the day of the rescue." She said a bit annoyed. "Sorry about that, my husband is still quite shocked by what you did. You are very kind, little one."

Sharik: "Oh, so he is your father. Well, it was an honor to have helped him, Mr. Abasi." He then gave a respectful saikerei towards the lion, who was yet again surprise with how educated this kid was.

Abasi: (I can't believe it. Alika was right, this boy is truly a gentlemen, even despite being a zebra.) "Well, thank you, young Sharik. I was told my daughter herself invited you for her birthday, she is at the pool with her friends." He said while signaling said pool. "Did you come here by yourself?"

Sharik: "Oh no, my mom is on her way, she told me she needed to help Mrs. Yuna with something."

Jasiri: "That's correct, Yuna told me she forgot her daughter's present in her car, so I went to retrieve it." The zebra mare then promptly appeared next to her son with Yuna sitting next to her husband. "And you also forgot about your present, jungle baby, but fortunately I brought it with me, too."

Sharik: "Oh, thanks mom, hehe." He said with a slight blush for having forgotten something like that, but it was for something important.

Meanwhile back at the pool, Alika was still in shock about what had just happened, but she was also incredibly happy for how Sharik's introduction went by, even if she was unable to reach him in time to help him to fit among the other guests; on the other hand, the way he helped her grandfather and how he spoke so eloquently, but also sounding like a proper male, made her heart flutter and her face turned red like a mature rose. This did not went unnoticed, and was quite the surprise for her friends to discover why she acted so nervous when speaking about her savior.

Yōko: "Ali... are... are you...?

Alika: "Uhh..." Such question drag her out of her thoughts faster than a bullet exiting a pistol. "I... uh..."

Jolyne: {Oh sweet mother of the seas.} She said jaw dropped. {YOU ARE IN LOVE OF A HERBIVORE!} The excitement on her voice was something neither of the land girls expected.

Alika: "Thank you for atleast saying that in Seaspeak." She said even redder now. "And... I... am not that sure about being 'in love', I want to get to know him better before I could even call him my friend."

Sharik: "Then I would love for us to known each other in a proper way."

Taking the girls by surprise, the zebra they were just talking about had appeared just in front of them, smiling in a friendly manner as he sat down at the edge of the pool.

Sharik: "I'm happy to see you again, Alika, and in a much better situation. Are they friends of yours? If so, nice to meet you."

His friendliness towards carnivores became more than evident to Yōko and Jolyne, the former seeing it as something very unusual and even unnatural while Jolyne seemed to accept it with open arms. All the while, Alika could just feel her heart hammering against her chest, struggling to even uther a word as he stood against not only her savior, but also the Cursed Warrior with who she shared a bridge between their hearts.

Peace and Love

Chapter Text

Beast Wars Neo -Love Forever - Kimi two Mamoru Tame Ni

As the bright lioness put her mind back together to make a coherent sentence, Yōko had gone out of her shock to cordially say hi to the newcomer who had claimed to be Alika's friend.

Yōko: "Um... h-hi, um... Alika had just told us a bit about you. Hehehe... we... we seriously didn't expect that you were a zebra, out of all herbivores. M-my name is Yōko and I am a kermode bear, and the sea lion is Jolyne."

Sharik: "Nice to meet you. My name is Sharik, and I am a Burchell's zebra." He said while keeping his friendly smile. "Gotta say, it's my first time meeting the kermode subspecies of black bear. It's quite the honor."

Yokō: "Why, thank you." She said with a bright smile, a light blush appearing on her face due to that compliment.

Jolyne: "You are quite the eloquent one. It makes my heart happy to see that in land beasts like you." She said with an equally kind smile. Although the way she phrased it was a little strange for the zebra, he could understand what she meant.

Sharik: "Thank you, Jolyne, hehe." He then turned towards Alika, noticing she was still blank, which worried him a little. "Huh... excuse me, Alika... are you alright?"

Fortunately, that question managed to get her out of her scrambled thoughts, shaking her head to better recompose herself before speaking with Sharik face to face.

Alika: "S-sorry for that, hehe. It's just that... you left quite an impression back there. You took us all by surprise by helping my grandfather. It was very kind of you." She said in a shy manner, inadvertently making Sharik also blush.

Sharik: (Santos cielos, es tan preciosa.) "I'm just happy that I could help him, he was struggling to stand without his crane and I am not one to leave the elderly without aid. My grandfather taught me to always lend a hand to those in need."

Alika: "Hehe, sounds like he is a good beast."

Sharik: "Yes, he is." He said with a bit of admiration for Raphael. "Anyway, think I can join you in the water? Is hot today."

Alika: "Of course you can. You are my special guest, after all, and we still have that unfulfilled wish of knowing each other better." She said with a more confident and friendly expression.

Yōko: "Yeah, it would be nice to interact with a herbivore outside of District 0, more so with one that's actually nice to carnivores."

Jolyne: "Feel welcome with us in the water. We all float in here." She said in what could be considered a creepy reference to a certain movie, but only spun around adorably.

Smiling happily, Sharik then proceeded to take off his shirt and leave it right over a nearby chair, in doing so revealing his complete stripe pattern. The white stripes of his upper back and arms were more prominent while the black ones on his lower back and legs appeared to be the thicker ones, his torso presented a singular central black line that divided his body in two, with stripes connected to it from the sides of his body, and the ones on the top looked like the silhouette of a flying bird; the most noteworthy, however, were the lighnting bolt-shape stripes on his neck, 8 in total, four of those were white and the other four were black. For both the bright carnivores and the pinniped, witnessing such a well-defined bicolor pattern was something quite beautiful, and in addition to the strong physique of Sharik, made the three of them blush noticeably.

Jolyne: (Wow, he is quite pretty looking, never thought equids could have such ornamentation.)

Yōko: (Oh my, not only is he buff, but also quite handsomely decorated~. Zebras are quite cute herbivores.)

Alika: (Oh Rex... I never saw the full pattern of a zebra before. It's like a piece of art come to life.) She thought in wonder. "Your stripes look very beautiful, Sharik. They formed a very nice pattern."

Barely 6 seconds after saying that, the white lioness covered her mouth in shock and shame, blushing strongly for having spoken so carelessly. Her friends and Sharik also got a big surprise from that, the former because of how much that sounded like flirting and the latter due to the unexpectedness of such a compliment, which made his heart flutter as his tail wagged happily, which made the girls (minus Alika) coo in surprise.

Sharik: (Le gustan mis rayas... oh Braquio, no esperaba que me dijera algo así.) He thought as he felt quite flustered and his face blushed brightly, painting his white stripes in a warm reddish-pink hue.

Yōko: "Well, would you look at that. It looks like you have him charmed~." She said in a mischievous tone towards her feline friend while nudging her playfully.

Jolyne: "Oh, this is so cute, like the starting love of a romantic manga." She squealed in excitement, which made things more awkward for the herbivore and the carnivore.

Alika: "I... uh... um..." (Crap, why did I say that? Oh no, this is not what I was planning to do.) She could feel her heart once again hammering against her chest, but unbeknownst to her, Sharik felt the same way too.

Sharik: (Damn, this does complicate things if we want to be friends before being a couple).

As the pool was close to the roofed area, the mothers of both teens noticed this interaction play out, which made them both quite surprised, intrigue and worry flowing through their minds as they could see the seeds of a new relationship forming.

Tsunade: (She is acting again like this. How has this herbivore enchanted her so much? It doesn't seem like it's just going to be ephemeral.) She thought with intrigue and concern, especially in regards to how his husband would react to this development due to Abasi's bias and... another more complicated reason.

Jasiri: (Oh my, Sharik is quite enamored with that girl... but, it seems too soon for such a relationship to start, not to mention her parents may not approve of this.) She thought with worry, remembering how his son used to be treated as abnormal due to how friendly he was with carnivores, with many believing he had ulterior motives fueling such an attitude.

After both the zebra and the lioness calmed down from their accidental flirting, Sharik was about to drop down into the pool until he felt somebody clashing into his back, an impact he endured with little issue.

Kimba: "YOU CAME! It's so great you were able to come to the party!" Said the little white lion as he hugged his hero, dressed in red trunks and without the bandage on his head.

Alika: "Kimba! How many times do I have to tell you that's not the right way to greet people?" She scolded his cousin, acting once again as his older sister, which she could be considered as by all but biological technicalities. (Admittedly, he endured it better than I expected. He is definitely a strong male).

Sharik: "Nice to see you well, too, Kimba. I'm flattered by your excitement, but you should listen to the advice of your cousin. This could potentially be dangerous for more fragile animals, and it could lead to nasty injuries."

Kimba: "Oh... ok, I will." He said apologetically, the words of the zebra he considered his hero resonating within him. "But... can I still hug you?"

Sharik: "Of course, I'm always up for a good hug." He smiled and corresponded to Kimba's hug, making the young lion meow in happiness.

Alika: "Wow... you are quite good with kids, that's something wonderful." She smiled.

Sharik: "Thank you, I got plenty of experience with my brothers." He replied, smiling, thinking of Alex, Jabari, and Oliver.

Yōko: "You are full of surprises, aren't you? We will get along quite well."

Sharik: "I sure hope so." He then entered the water with Kimba, his body trembling slightly due to the temperature of the water. "Uff, it's cold. I like it."

Kimba: "Yes, I was getting annoyed by the heat. This is quite refreshing."

Alika: "Yeah, this place always makes sure to have the right water temperature for the summer, plus, it's more comfortable for marine animals that work here."

Sharik: "Oh, that's right, I've noticed that there were many marine creatures here. Haven't seen these many in years. It's great to know they, too, call this city home."

As this was going on, Abasi, unaware of what had transpired, was talking with Kimba's father, Caesar, as he made sure that his friend was comfortable, guiding him towards the family table and noticing that the mother of the zebra boy was sitting next his wife, holding back an irritated face.

Abasi: (Great, now I will have to sit close to a zebra, if it wasn't cause she is Akida's wife, I would not tolerate such a thing.) "Say, Caesar, how has Bianca been, I hope her recovery has gone without any trouble."

Caesar: "She's been doing great, Abasi. The doctor told me her concussion has been healing well, and her leg is the same, but her current condition didn't allow her to come due to the possible loud noises, so she stayed back at District 0."

Abasi: "I'm sorry to hear that, but I'm glad that she is resting and doing better now. Let us hope everything goes well."

Caesar: "Thank you. Now, I was told by Kimba that the one who saved him is here, right? Where is he?"

Abasi: "Oh, the zebra boy, right? He is..." He quickly glanced around the place to search for Sharik, but once he saw where he was, his expression became one of disgust but paradoxical happiness, due to how much her daughter enjoyed the herbivore's company. (Rex, give me patience, for I want my daughter to be happy.)

It was a good thing he didn't hear or see the accidental flirting between the two.

Caesar: "Oh, looks like the zebra has become good friends with your daughter, that's good to see. He seems to be a good kid."

Abasi: "Yes, he is... even so, I don't trust him entirely." Then the 2 lions sat at the family table, in which Caesar saw Jasiri sitting close to Tsunade.

Caesar: "You must be the mother of the boy who saved my wife and son. My name is Caesar, and it's a pleasure to meet you." He then shook hands with the mare.

Jasiri: "Likewise, Caesar. My name is Jasiri. It's good to see that your kid is safe and sound after what happened a week ago. Even I got quite scared about what my dear boy got himself into, but I'm honestly proud of what he accomplished that day."

Caesar: "I can understand your worries, I almost had a heart attack upon hearing the news of the event, and while I would have preferred that such a young male didn't risk his life like that... it can be denied he is strong of will and body. I haven't met many herbivores with such convictions of helping carnivores."

This made Jasiri smile proudly and happily for his eldest son, such positive recognition of Sharik's sympathy and compassion towards carnivores was something that she always enjoyed hearing, for it was a sign that the actions of Sharik left a positive mark in this often divided world, and as his mother, she couldn't be more proud.

Back at the pool, Alika, Sharik, Yōko, Jolyne and Kimba were happily swimming and playing together, throwing water at each other and even chasing one another in the water, and while they could all swim quite well, nobody was at the level of Jolyne, the sea lion moving swiftly and elegantly as her species was well-known to do. As she did, she couldn't help but notice that Sharik had a very odd-looking mark in his abdomen, one that looked like a reddish crater with no fur covering it. With innocent curiosity, she approached the zebra and gently poked the mark with her snout, but in doing so, it caused Sharik to flinch and stop entirely, immediately going into the surface as he gasped for air and put his hand over the mark, his sudden reaction causing everyone else to stop and look towards him with concern.

Alika: "Sharik, are you alright!?" She exclaimed with great concern, strangely similar to that of people who love each other.

Sharik: "Y-yeah, I'm ok, it's just that I felt something touch my abdominal scar." He answered as he kept holding the right side of his abdomen, gradually calming down.

Yōko: "Wait, a scar? What type of scar?" She asked, worried and surprised, as she hadn't seen that the zebra had any visible scars on its body.

Before he could answer, Jolyne emerged and went straight towards Sharik, a look of regret on her face, making him know who had touched him there.

Jolyne: "I'm so, so, sorry! I didn't know it was a sensitive part of you! I should have known better than to poke it like that!" She exclaimed in a panicked and regretful expression while covering her snout with her flippers, fearing that she may have compromised the seemingly fragile trust of the herbivore. Much to her surprise, however, Sharik simply petted her head, making her look up at the calm and gentle face of the zebra.

Sharik: "It's alright, Jolyne, you didn't know about it. Actually, I should have just told you before, but... that's... that's a sensitive topic for me. It came from a grievous injury I suffered in the past."

Kimba: "Really? That sounds very bad, I hope that you are well now. It looks like it was a very deep wound."

Sharik: "It was, but I'm fortunately better now." His calm tone helped the others relax in relief. "I appreciate your concern for me, just be careful the next time, please. That scar is quite sensitive to touch, so any unexpected glance does startle me easily."

Yōko: "Dully noted, Sharik, we will be careful."

Alika: "I concur, and if anything makes you uncomfortable, just let us know. You are our friend and my guest after all."

Kimba: "Yeah, and we want you to be happy, too." He then swam by his side and hugged him gently, which the zebra reciprocated.

Sharik: "Thank you. I appreciate that you consider me your friend, it makes me quite happy." He said with a kind smile. Then Jolyne approached him again, this time with a curious demeanor.

Jolyne: "Um, if you don't mind me asking... what caused the scar you have now? Did a carnivore attack you when you were younger?" The question froze the other 3 carnivores, fearing that it may have been a pantherine cat, a bear, or a crocodilian, the one responsible for his sensitive scar.

Sharik: "Actually, no, it was not a carnivore the one who injured me... rather, it was..."

???: "How are we doing, hearties? Enjoying the pool?" A rough voice suddenly spoke to them, making everyone turn towards the owner of such a voice... and Sharik's eyes widened in horror the moment he saw what animal that person was.

In front of them stood a huge male hippopotamus, reaching 2.3 meters tall, and it was very bulky, with a slightly noticeable beer gut under the suit he was wearing. The hippo appeared to be dressed in the typical uniform of the Aqua Center but with a few modifications, as it had a pirate coat and a captain's hat alongside a belt with a sword sheath that held a toy cutlass. Despite looking quite friendly, and indeed Kimba and Jolyne, alongside other kids present, appeared excited for his appearance, Sharik was terrified, especially since he was chest-deep in water.

Hugo: "Ahoy, mates! Mah' name is Captain Hugo Blubber, or Captain Blubber, if you will. I'm the organizer of the Atlantic Water Center's party activities, and I came here to make sure you were having a great time." He said in a jolly yet quite deep voice, sounding exactly like a pirate from a kids' show, which had quite a lot of the present kids excited.

Kimba: "Are we going to go looking for a buried treasure!?" He asked excitedly

Jolyne: "Oh, are we going to explore the 7 seas?" She quickly added with equal excitement.

Alika: "Hehehe, you two are quite lively." She said happily.

Out of the sudden, Alika felt like her heartbeats had spiked up in frequency, and a strong chill went up her spine, as if she became paralyzed in fear. Out of instinct, she quickly turned towards Sharik... and she realized those feelings were coming from him, that something had the zebra so scared he looked like he was about to flee like a terrified gazelle. Acting quickly, she swam next to him and, placing her hands on his shoulders, immediately turned him towards her, locking her soothing hazel eyes with his neon-green gaze. Surprised by the sudden action, Sharik slowly began to calm down, but was still absolutely terrified of the presence of the hippo, and after figuring out what it was the thing that had him so scared, she decided to go somewhere else for a while.

Yōko: "Hey Alika, is Sharik okay? He looks like he is panicking." She asked worryingly upon realizing Sharik's state.

Alika: "It's alright, I will just take him somewhere else so he can relax. Take care of Kimba for me in the meantime, please."

Yōko: "Don't worry, he is in good hands. Hope he can recover from his fright." She then returned to the group in order to participate in the activities Hugo had planned for the party, starting by bringing some inflatable toys for all ages to play with.

As the two departed, Jasiri, having realized hippos were working here, had gone towards the pool to prevent Sharik from falling into a panic attack, but much to her concern, he wasn't there, nor was Alika. Fearing that something bad may have happened that involved the two of them, she quickly went to look for them, putting up an excuse that she needed to go to the bathroom so that the others didn't suspect that something was off.

Meanwhile, Alika gently guided Sharik to a more secluded part of the pool, one that led to a smaller jacuzzi located next to a large water slide, and while it wasn't turned on, it was still comfortable enough for the two of them. Once inside, Alika gently let go of Sharik as he took deep breaths to recover from his fright, and then he looked at Alika with a face similar to the one she had made when he saved her.

Sharik: "Thank you, thank you so much for helping me there. I... feared that I could have caused a lot of trouble back there if... well..."

Alika: "It's ok, you don't need to worry anymore, we are in a safe place now." She said in a comforting voice, one that Sharik found quite sweet and soothing. "So... it was a hippo who left you that scar, right?" Her question was careful and gentle, giving Sharik enough confidence to talk about it.

Sharik: "Yes... one attacked me when I was just 7 years old... it almost killed me." He said with a nervous tone, his body trembling in terror each time he remembered the deadly maws of that monster clamping down on his body, surrounding his abdomen with his arms in primal fear.

Feeling great pity for the way that memory affected the zebra, Alika quickly hugged him, caressing his crin as she made sure to give him all the comfort she could. This sudden affection took Sharik by surprise, but he happily accepted it, hugging the lioness back and even nuzzling her as a sign of gratitude, making Alika blush but also glad that she was being successful in comforting him. As both of them shared this moment of intimacy, their marks began to glow once again, making them feel their connection strengthen as their hearts beat in synchronized harmony, so much was the shared affection that they almost kissed each other in the lips, but they soon stopped in their tracks and gently let go of each other, their faces blushing bright red due to what they were about to do.

Alika: (Oh Rex, that was so embarrassing! Barely 2 days of knowing him, and I almost kissed him!) "So uh... feeling better now?" She asked to break the ice between them.

Sharik: (Joder, eso habría sido demasiado incómodo. ¿Qué me impulsó a hacer eso? No quisiera apresurar una relación así.) "Um... yes, I feel better now, jeje." He replied shortly after, lessening the awkwardness that formed between them. "But... it sucks... I mean... being scared of another animal like that... it makes me feel that I'm calling hippos everywhere monsters." His ears lowered in shame after saying that.

That was surprising to hear for Alika, and it made her think this could be one of the reasons Sharik didn't have any hostility towards carnivores, as these were typically regarded as monsters by many herbivores.

Alika: "You should not blame yourself for that, Sharik. You went through a very traumatic experience, so, naturally, you act that way. It's not something that one can easily control." She spoke in understanding while nuzzling the zebra, and this seemed to uplift his mood quite a lot.

Sharik: "You are right. Still... I want to one day not be afraid of hippos anymore, at least not as much as I do now." He said with a determined expression on his face. "That's a promise I made to a female hippo some time ago, when something similar happened, and it's one that I want to fulfill, no matter what... but... it would be easier if I had some help."

His words once again captivated the white lioness, the determination and willingness to face his phobia to achieve a proper coexistence being something she found admirable, and the way he humbly admitted wanting some help showed once again his more gentle side. Such a recurring contrast was something she found very cute and quite endearing.

Alika: "Well, if that's what you wish, maybe I could help you do it. We could practice with the hippos that worked in this party center, and I could calm you down if you feel your fear overwhelm you."

Sharik: "Really? I would love to. Thank you, Alika." He said with a more upbeat and happy mood, his ears perking up as a smile was drawn on his face, only the tip of his fangs were visible.

Alika: "You are welcome, Sharik." She corresponded and smiled too, not bothering to hide her fangs in doing so.

Sharik: "You have a cute smile. It's good you don't feel the need to hide your fangs around me." He said while blushing slightly.

Alika: "Awww, thank you, yours is cute, too." She too felt flattered as she replied.

As this was going on, Jasiri, looking over from one of the pillars holding the slide, was surprised to find out that Alika was the one who aided Sharik to calm down from his phobia, and not only that, but they seemingly have bonded over that experience, finding it so adorable the way they hugged and nuzzled each other, almost like they were a couple, but she was also content that they appeared to want to take things slow and to first meet each other properly.

Jasiri: (They are so cute together. It reminds me of how Sharik aided Alejandro the first time they hung out together back in Yucatán. It's so beautiful how Sharik can befriend carnivores so easily.) She thought moved.

Just as she was about to leave, for she did not wish to disturb them, someone else appeared suddenly next to her and accidentally collided with her, making them both fall and startling the two teenagers in the jacuzzi, with Sharik instinctively standing in front of Alika. Then, when both females stood up, they both gasped in shock.

Alika: "Mom!?"

Sharik: "¿¡Mamá!?

Tsunade: "Um... uh... I... I wasn't expecting this." She said with great embarrassment as she and Jasiri stood up.

Jasiri: "Sorry, Sharik. I came here looking for you after I saw that hippo at the pool. I feared you were going to suffer a panic attack."

Sharik: "Oh... well, I almost did... but..." He then, much to the surprise of everyone present, gently took the hand of Alika. "Alika quickly helped me avoid falling into panic. She took me here to relax and make me feel safe. She is surprisingly good at this sort of thing." He said while trying to dismiss the awkwardness that had just formed.

Alika: (He is holding my hand!) "Oh, hehe... it was nothing, I just wanted to make my guest feel comfortable at my party. And about that... I got experience through my cousins since Kimba is terrified of thunder and Eun-woo has glosophobia." She added nervously, scratching the back of her head.

Jasiri: "Well, it's great to see you were able to help my son. Ever since he was attacked by one, he has had a deep fear of hippos, especially males, and since he was in the water... I feared it would have intensified it." She then approached the jacuzzi and bowed in gratitude towards Alika. "Thank you so much."

The way Jasiri had thanked her for helping Sharik in this way was unexpected for the lioness, but it also made her feel happy, for it meant that she was able to aid him in something important, perhaps not in the fight against that monster she saw on their dream, but nevertheless, she succeeded.

Alika: "It was my pleasure, Miss Fernández." She corresponded to the gesture. "Although, why did you come here, Mom? Did something else happen?" This question made Tsunade react awkwardly, as if there was something she wanted to tell but didn't find the way to do it in this situation

Tsunade: "I wanted to make sure you were ok, Snow Angel, since I didn't see you with the others in the main pool, plus... your friends and cousins are about to play seahorses and mermaids, and I didn't want you to miss it." While this wasn't exactly the whole truth, Tsunade didn't want to sour the moment they were both sharing.

Alika: "Are they about to play that!? I'd better hurry to play, too!" She exclaimed excitedly. "Oh and... sorry for having worried you earlier."

Tsunade: "It's ok, dear. Now, let's go quickly."

Nodding in understanding, Alika took Sharik by the hand, and both got out of the jacuzzi and back to the pool, followed by Jasiri and Tsunade, who once again, noticed how close they had become.

Jasiri: "I hope you don't find it weird how my son has been interacting with your daughter. Sharik has been quite friendly with carnivores ever since he was a foal, and it has set many people off about him."

Tsunade: "It's quite alright. I'm actually glad that Alika has made a new friend, especially one as kind as him. It's been a long while since I have seen her this happy." She then looked towards her, a smile painting her face. "You have raised a wonderful son."

Jasiri couldn't help but smile in return at what Tsunade had said. As both mothers returned to the tables, Sharik and Alika made their way back to the pool where Yōko, Jolyne, and Kimba were waiting next to Captain Blubber, who had entered the water and was organizing boys and girls in order to play the game.

Captain Blubber: "Ah! The birthday gal has arrived at last, and it seems she has found herself a fine and strong steed for this game, hehe." Such a comment made Yōko, Jolyne, and Kimba laugh a little and made the other land carnivores present shocked since many wouldn't even approach a herbivore in such a casual manner.

Alika: "Um... yes, you could say so, hehe." She answered with a blushy face, making sure that Sharik remained calm and secure by keeping close and caressing him. The zebra himself smiled and patted the back of his head at the suggestion of being Alika's noble steed.

As the pair came close to the group, with Alika being greeted by the two newcomers who turned out to be her paternal cousins, Cptn. Blubber began to explain the rules of the game: the girls (except for Jolyne) would be designated as mermaids, and the boys would be the seahorses (jokingly referring to Sharik as a "sea zebra" which made him chuckled), the seahorses would form a circle in the water and the mermaids will stand behind them, and depending on which group does Blubber caller selects, said group would swim in circles clockwise, until the music stops. If it stopped when the mermaids were the ones swimming, they had to take their place behind their respective seahorse; on the other hand, the seahorses would back out between the mermaid's fluke (legs) under the water before swimming in the same way, and when the music stopped, they were to swim back under the fluke and stand up. If any of the duo failed their objective, they would be eliminated until only one couple remained.

Of course, Alika and some of the other girls flustered at the idea of the boys swimming under them, but everybody was excited to play, and so they organized themselves in their respective circles; besides the already established carni-herbi pairing, Yōko paired up with Jolyne, Kimba paired up with a lioness that had curly head fur, Alika's cousins paired up with each other, and the rest of the kids paired up with whoever they wanted.

Captain Blubber: "Alright mates, now that everyone is ready, let us begin." He then took some amplifiers connected to a music player. "Seahorses, you go first!" He then put on the music.

As soon as the music began to play, all the boys and Jolyne backed out between the flukes of their respective mermaids and started swimming in circles around them, this went on for a few minutes until the music stopped, and then all seahorses went back to their mermaids as soon as possible, with Jolyne being the obvious first for the obvious reason of being a sea lion, followed by Kimba, a monitor lizard, Sharik and the rest. Unfortunately, not all of them made it in time.

Cptn. Blubber: "Sorry mates, but you are out." He said to the loser couple, which consisted of a male serval and a female caracal, who got out of the circle and swam to the pool's edge. "Alright, now is the turn of the mermaids. Get your flukes ready!" He joyfully said as he played the music again.

As the game went on, more and more couples were being eliminated, and eventually it all went down to the final 3 couples, which were Jolyne and Yokō, Kimba and the curly-haired lioness and Alika and Sharik, all 3 of them determined to win the game as they stared at each other with competitive ferocity and unwillingness to back down. During the next round, in which the mermaids got their turn once again, the music abruptly stopped... and unfortunately for Kimba, his mermaid got back last.

Kimba: "Oh damn it! We lost!" He grumpily exclaimed in disappointment an expression shared by his friend.

Alika: "YES! Just in time. I thought I was not going to make it!" She exclaimed excitedly as she recovered her breath, receiving a thumbs-up from Sharik.

Yōko: "Hahaha, you thought you could defeat a bear in the water? You got another thing coming for you, girl." She grinned proudly as Jolyne clapped her front flippers.

Jolyne: "Simply wonderful. This game is so much fun! We should do this more often." She exclaimed joyfully.

Kimba: "I suppose it is." He sighed and turned towards the curly-haired lioness. "Sorry that I got upset, Lyra, I really wanted to win this one." He said a bit in shame.

Lyra: "It's ok, Kimba. What matters is that we enjoy playing it." She answered with a smile and a hug to his friend, which the white lion reciprocated.

Alika: "Hehe, you are so cute together." She said as she enjoyed the shocked and flustered look her little cousin gave her. "Well Yōko, this time you will fall to the queen!" She told her ursid friend with fearsome determination.

Yōko: "Don't be so certain, Ali, in water nobody is beating Jolyne, not even that strong steed of yours will be a match." She answered with a fierce ursine glare that matched that of her pantherine friend.

Sharik: "Hehe, you sure are a competitive duo. Reminds me of a good friend of mine. We are still quite the competitive rivals, in a good sense."

Jolyne: "Really? Now that's a story I would love to hear." She replied happily.

Yōko: "That can wait. For now, let's focus on winning this match."

Alika: "I agree wholeheartedly." She said with a fierce but playful growl that was followed by one from Yōko.

This, however, had the unexpected effect of putting Sharik on very high alert, his eyes locked on them and his lips rising as if he was about to bark madly or even bite someone, but he was able to control himself and snap back to reality, fearing any possible detonation of his curse.

Sharik: (Mierda, eso estuvo cerca. Joder, justo cuando pensé que podía bajar la guardia... pero... parece ser que aquel gruñido de Alika no me afectó de la misma manera que el de Yōko, supongo que aquel lazo que compartimos me ayuda a tolerar los de ella.) He thought as he placed himself into position, ready for the last round.

As soon as the music started, both Jolyne and Sharik got behind their respective mermaids and began swimming in circles around them, ready for the moment the music stopped and then moved back to their partners. Suddenly, just when it paused, both herbivore and carnivore swam as fast as they could back with their partners... and Jolyne passed below Yōko as swiftly as a slide on snow, beating Sharik, who just barely managed to catch up to her, leaving him and Alika in second place.

Yōko: "Wahoo! We won!" She said in excitement as she raised her arms in victory

Jolyne: "Yeah! We did it!" She exclaimed as she jumped from the water and came back down with a big splash.

Alika: "Aw damn it, we lost!" She exclaimed in frustration, lightly slamming her palms in the water. "Still, you did great, Sharik. I didn't know you were so good at swimming."

Sharik: "Thanks, Alika. I was never going to beat a sea lion in water, but I have learned to swim quite well in the past, hehe." He replied with a kind smile, then he received a hug from the lioness, which he happily reciprocated.

Jolyne: "Awww, you are so cute together." She beamed tenderly as she watched both lioness and zebra sharing that show of affection.

Yōko: "Not even a day, and you already act like a couple. Seriously, Ali, stop watching so many romantic movies, hehe." She smirked.

Alika: "Shut up, Yōko, this is not like that!" She exclaimed, embarrassed, a red blush covering her face, with Sharik gently chuckling at that.

Yōko: "Ok, ok, if you say so." She teased her as she rolled her eyes. "Anyway, what game do you think will be next?"

Jolyne: "Maybe it will be collecting hoops underwater." She suggested as she rose from below the water.

Alika: "Perhaps we will be playing Shark, that game is always so fun."

Sharik: "Hmm, it may be that we will play Marco Polo, or perhaps it will be..."

Suddenly, Abasi himself appeared at the pool's edge and, upon spotting him, Alika immediately went swimming towards him, and out of pure instinct, Sharik followed her trail, much to the slight annoyance of the male lion, but at the same time, it was convenient for him.

Alika: "What is it, Father? Is everything ok?" She asked with concern, hoping that nothing had gone wrong.

Abasi: "Oh, it's nothing, dear. I just wanted to tell you that Isamu is here, and he was looking for you."

Sharik: "Isamu? Is that a friend of yours, Alika?" He asked with curiosity.

Alika: "Yes, he is. We have known each other since we were cubs, although he can be a little... annoying." She said that last part in an uncomfortable tone.

Sharik: "Oh, that's great." He replied with a smile but couldn't help but feel a little jealous.

Abasi: "As for you, Sharik, your father has just arrived, and I'm sure you don't want to leave him standing, right?"

Sharik: "My dad is here? He came sooner than I thought!" He exclaimed happily, his ears fully perked up, and before he went out of the pool, he hugged Alika and nuzzled her affectionately.

Alika: "Hehehe, that tickles." She chuckled as she corresponded the hug and nuzzled the zebra back, much to the dislike of Abasi.

Abasi: (Ugh, I would prefer that he wasn't so physically affectionate to her.) He discreetly winced.

Then the pair came out of the pool, shaking the water from their bodies the natural way (at a distance in which Abasi didn't get wet) before grabbing their towels and drying themselves further to then go and receive the newcomers. As Sharik happily greeted his father, Alika went towards a newcoming male lion, who had a blond mane, dark sandy colored fur and dark brown eyes, and she could see he was wearing a very fancy black tailored swim shorts and a buttoned beach shirt; overall, he seemed dress to impress, which was something the lioness knew all to well was a habit of this flamboyant cat, though it was in a way that sometimes got a chuckle out of her. Now, being in front of each other, the young lion hugged Alika in a quite suggestive manner to then kiss her in the cheeks, the former causing her to growl in disapproval and irritation.

Isamu: "Glad to see you again, Alika. I was quite worried after that whole kidnapping deal a week ago. How has your birthday gone so far?" He asked in a quite friendly tone, opposite of the way he acted just a few seconds ago.

Alika: "It's going quite alright, but I already told you not to put your hand over my tail or on my waist when you hug me. That is off limits." She said with an assertive growl, just low enough so nobody but the two of them could hear it.

Isamu: "Hehe... sorry, I was just keeping the image up, you know, with both being an arranged couple and all." He answered nervously, not wanting to spoil her friend's special day. "But changing topic, I am surprised you chose this place for your birthday party. Atlantis Party Center gets more competition for renting and hosting parties than any other center in all of Sanjo City, especially during the summer. How did Abasi book it up for yours?" He asked, quite surprised.

Alika: "Three weeks ago, he took me to check this place out, as he knew it was quite popular during this time of the year, and as soon as I told him I liked it, he booked it in at a very high price. The owner of the place just couldn't refuse." She said with the smug smile only a rich kid could have.

Isamu: "Well, I gotta say, you made an excellent choice." He said smiling happily, but then he noticed 3 peculiar guests, who were quite unlike the rest. "Huh? Ali... why are those 3 zebras in here? I thought your father hated them with a passion... and frankly, I'm not too comfortable with them here, either." He said with quite noticeable fearfulness at the last part.

Alika: "Relax, Isa, I invited them to my party." She said with a smile. "The adult zebras are the parents of my VIP guest, who is the boy who saved my life, as well as that of my cousin and aunt. I owe him a lot for that day, which is why I invited him to my birthday." She expressed with great happiness, one that gave the impression she admired said cebra.

This revelation left Isamu's mouth agape, finding it hard to believe what he had just heard. As far as he knew, herbivores were, if not terrified of them, openly hateful and actively hostile towards carnivores, almost always choosing to leave them to their fate whenever they were in danger, remembering how one of his friends, who fell down the stairs in a mall, was left to suffer in pain despite 6 herbivores being nearby to help him. Not even the security guard, an okapi, batted an eye at his injured state. To learn that it was a herbivore who saved Alika, a zebra no less, made Isamu question everything he knew about them, and maybe this one could be a cool animal to hang out with.

Isamu: "Well... as long as this zebra is nice with carnivores like us, I suppose I could be fine with him around. Even so..." He thought of his question well before he spoke. "Has he expressed nervousness of being among this many carnivores?"

Alika: "Nope, on the contrary. He is very chivalrous to us carnivores, we became friends quite quickly, as well." She answered with a warm smile.

Isamu: "Really? That's reassuring. Maybe I have nothing to worry about." He said quite relieved.

Parallel to their conversation, Sharik was telling his father about what he had done at the party so far, and Akida was quite happy that, despite his curse, his son retained his friendly demeanor towards carnivores as well as his ability to befriend them, although when Sharik mentioned Alika helping him when his phobia of hippos triggered, he became intrigued at Sharik's nervousness as he described it how it went.

Akida: "Entonces... ella te llevó al jacuzzi del otro lado del parque, donde te abrazó y te acarició en la crin para calmarte debido a que el hipopótamo activó tu fobia... y en después la hociqueaste en agradecimiento. ¿Correcto?" Asked Akida, who was quite surprised by this revelation.

Sharik: "B-bueno... sí, así fue más o menos como sucedió. Um... ninguno de los 2 se sintió incómodo por esos afectos... sentimos que era algo natural." The more he tried to explain it, the more awkward was it becoming for the poor zebra teen.

Akida: "Ya veo." He then smiled in a near villainous way before making the next question. "¿Por casualidad se dieron su primer beso estando en el jacuzzi?"

Sharik: "¡PAPÁ!" He barked in embarrassment and irritation, blushing so much his stripes turned brown and hot pink. As usual with any teenager, this reaction got a few laughs out of his parents.

Akida: "¡Jajajaja! Perdón Sharik, no era mi intención molestarte. Pero se ve que te estás volviendo muy cercano a esta leona Alika."

Jasiri: "Sí, los llegué a ver cuando fui a buscarlos, eran tan lindos juntos, parecían la pareja ideal."

Sharik: "Ok ok, ya parenle, por favor." He then took a deep breath to calm himself down. "Admitiblemente... me gusta Alika... pero quiero primero establecer una buena relación de amistad con ella... no me siento cómodo con la idea de ser novios tan rápido."

Akida: "Está bien, hijo, me alegra que quieras tomarlo con calma, eso te ayudará a reforzar la relación que quieras formar con ella." He said to his son as he caressed his head.

Jasiri: "Es verdad. Tu padre y yo iniciamos con calma para conocernos mejor, antes de volvernos una amorosa pareja." She then stood up and hugged Akida, both sharing a deep loving kiss, making Sharik smile. "Confía en tí mismo, Sharik. Eres un muchacho de buen corazón y de gran empatía hacia los carnívoros, vas a lograr formar esa relación que deseas sin problema alguno."

Sharik: "Gracias mamá." He smiled with renovated resolve and hope, his tail wagging a little before hugging his mother in thanks for her encouraging words.

Suddenly, he saw Alika approaching with a new male lion, believing this was the friend she mentioned before, and while he still felt a little jealous, the zebra threw that feeling away and approached, kindly smiling at the nervous-looking male of his age.

Sharik: "Hello. You must be the friend Alika told me about. My name is Sharik, and it's a pleasure to meet you." He then extended his hand in greeting to the newcomer.

Isamu: (Wow, he is huge! Though he seems to be very polite.) "H-hello Sharik, pleasure to meet you, too. I'm Isamu." He returned the greeting, shaking hands with the striped herbivore. (Jeez, his grip is very strong! I knew zebras had strong limbs, but he appears above average in that.)

Shortly after that greeting, the teens went to grab some drinks and snacks at the bars before going towards a free table, reserved specially for Alika and her friends; once there, the three sat down and began to eat their snacks before the waiters began to serve the proper meals. Isamu got himself some cricket chips with hot sauce and a full glass of Mitsuya cider, while Alika served herself some catnip apple gummies and a serpent up. As for Sharik, he got himself a lot of vanilla cupcakes and a mineral orangeade, and he was quite the glutton with those tasty treats.

Alika: "Oh my, you seem quite hungry, Sharik." She said while giggling, finding it adorable how Sharik ate so eagerly.

Sharik: "Hehe, sorry, I just can't help it when there's pastries or cookies. I have 4 sweet teeth."

Isamu: "Wow, I'm jealous of that. I can't taste sweet at all, I'm one of 64% of felids that can't."

Sharik: "Well, that's true, quite a lot of felids can't actually taste sweets, though they can savor other components of sweet foods that are of their liking."

Isamu: "Yeah, many other carnivorans have that blessing of being able to savor it, but for me, it tastes half like toothpaste if it isn't dairy."

Alika: "Haha, lucky for me, I can." She said with a smug smile as he ate some gummies. "Hey Sharik, I was wondering."

Sharik: "Yeah?" He replied while cleaning cupcake icing off his mouth with a fabric napkin.

Alika: "Well, I always wondered: Are zebras white with black stripes or black with white stripes? I have heard stories that they were once all white but gained their stripes after they got burned in battle against baboons for water."

Isamu: "Funny, I thought they were black at first, then got blessed with their white stripes by the perissodactyl goddess, Epona."

Both tales got a hearty chuckle out of Sharik, who had heard those stories plenty of times in the past. It always seemed quite funny how it was the zebras who got the most interesting tales about their stripes; for as simple of a mix black and white may appear, it gave his species a uniqueness many found endearing and stylish.

Sharik: "Hehe, the classic dilemma, I don't think it would ever get old." He smiled, but he didn't show his teeth. "Now, to answer that, it's the latter: my skin is black, but the fur of my stripes is white, due to it lacking melanin." He then extended his left arm gently. "You can sense it by yourselves if you want."

Surprised by the way Sharik wanted to answer their question, Alika and Isamu began to gently traced their fingers down each stripe of his arm; on each white stripe, they could feel his durable but surprisingly soft white fur, while every black stripe had equally soft but black fur, and through it, they could see his black skin, which felt thicker than what a normal zebra would have.

Alika: (His fur is so soft, he must take good care of it.) She thought with a tender smile... but she also noticed the bite marks on Sharik's arm. (The scars are still there... of his battle against the poachers. He is so brave, but... I wish he hadn't gotten such an injury for protecting me.)

Isamu: "Huh, so it's true then, you are black with white. That's quite cool."

Alika: "While I do like white a little more, it's interesting to learn how your pattern is formed, Sharik. And your fur is quite soft. Do you use any conditioner?"

Sharik: "Nope, I just brush my fur after bathing, no need for hair products." He said humbly.

Isamu: "Wow, quite the modest guy, eh? I do use quality conditioners, after all." He shakes his short mane with great pride. "Manes like these require the utmost care. It's the insignia of lions like me."

Sharik: "Hehe, I can see that. I hope your mane grows to become the best around." He said chivalrously.

Isamu: "Thank you, buddy, and if you like, I can give you tips to make your crin even more good-looking."

Sharik: "Thanks, I would appreciate that."

Alika: "Glad to see you are getting along quite well." She smiled happily, though she also began to wonder what Sharik would look like if he stylized his mane, giggling a little at her fantasies of love for this herbivore.

As they bicker amongst themselves, multiple waiters went towards the tables of the partygoers and served the meal especially chosen by the birthday girl, one of Korea's most recognizable dishes internationally, and Alika's favorite food. This dish, called sundubu jjigae, consisted of dubu (tofu for those who don't know Korean), mushrooms, onion, and, in this case, seafood. It also came with a nice complementary dish known as banchan, which was comprised of kimchi, seasoned seaweed, pickled radish, and fried shrimp. The mix of smells of the food made nearly everyone lick their lips in anticipation, with some amongst them, particularly the felids, making a quite funny face in anticipation of their meal, Alika being one of them as she stared at the approaching waiter with the food for their table with a blep face, and so goofy it was, Sharik couldn't help but laugh... which came in the form of the iconic zebra barking.

Alika: "Huh? What's so funny, Sharik?" Asked the bright lioness in confusion after hearing such a sudden bark.

Sharik: "Sorry, sorry. It's just....you made a quite cute and funny face after smelling the food." He explained between laughs.

Alika: "Oh... did I?" She blushed in embarrassment but smiled shortly after. "Hehe, well, that's why it's my favorite food. It's just so delicious."

Sharik: "Relatable, hehe."

Isamu: "Oh, so now you don't get mad when someone points that out! Does he have VIP privileges I'm not aware of?" He replied angrily, for whenever he was the one laughing at that, Alika usually gave him a (albeit soft) slap to the face.

Alika: "Oh hush, Isamu! He just didn't know that about me."

Yōko: "Besides, heroes do deserve VIP treatment, right?" Said the bear teasingly as she sat back at the table. "Sorry for being late, Jolyne and I needed to go to the bathroom."

Jolyne: "Unfortunately, it was a little more crowded than expected." She said a little embarrassed.

Alika: "That's okay, at least you made it in time for lunch." She said while trying her best to ignore the teasing Yōko made. "Hey, where is Kimba?"

Yōko: "He went with his dad to call his mom. I hope Mrs. Bianca is doing well at her house."

Alika: "Thanks, Yōko. I hope so, too." Her expression slowly changed to one of worry.

Isamu: "Well, let's leave those worries aside and start eating. It would be a shame if this gets cold."

Sharik: "Good idea, Isamu. Plus, this will be my first time eating... uh... how was this dish called, again?"

Alika: "It's a sundubu jjigae, a stew made out of mainly soft tofu, but it can have many other ingredients, like vegetables."

Sharik: "Really? That sounds delicious already." He said before grabbing the spoon next to the pot and digging in. "Oof, I was not expecting the spicy flavor." He said after eating a piece of tofu.

Isamu: "That's gochugaru, a Korean chili powder. It gives this dish quite the extra flavor." He explained to them before taking a bite out of the stew. "Oh wow, lobster and octopus? You certainly went gourmet with this one, Ali."

Yōko: "Not to mention the shrimps in the banchan, I love when we get to enjoy so much seafood."

Jolyne: "Yeah, it's quite great!"

Alika: "I'm glad you are enjoying it, guys."

Just before she started to dig in, Alika watched at Sharik's pot to make sure that the waiter had served the proper vegetarian sundubu jjigae her father ordered for the occasion, and so far everything seemed fine, as she could see it was prepared with leek, potatoes, spinach, green lobster... wait a second, there's something wrong with this dish!

Alika: (Oh no! Someone must have added lobster by accident when preparing Sharik's pot!) "Wait, Sharik, don't..."

Her message fell on deaf ears as Sharik took a large piece of lobster with his chopsticks to then eat it in the most nonchalant way Alika has ever seen an herbivore do, fearing he would get upset by this mistake... yet to her utmost shock...

Sharik: "Hmm~ delicious! This is the best lobster I have ever had!" He exclaimed joyfully, his ears pointed at the sky happily.

Hearing that phrase coming from the only herbivore on the table made the others understandably shocked, looking at the zebra in disbelief as Alika was left speechless... just in time to see Sharik adding shrimp into his stew and eating them with the tofu and potatoes. Not once did they see Sharik wince in disgust or even stop to process the fact that he was consuming other animals, even if these were arthropods.

Yōko: (Oh my Rex, this can't be real! I had never seen an herbivore that would eat shellfish without even a little hesitation!)

Jolyne: (Wow... he is certainly a very peculiar herbivore. I never thought an ungulate other than a boar or a warthog would willingly eat shellfish, less so that they would like it this much.)

Alika: (I can't believe it... he does like shellfish? I... I was fearing he would be grossed out or offended by it, but... he's just eating it without a care in the world. Sharik... you are certainly a very different herbivore.)

Isamu: (Holy shit! Does he not have any moral dilemma when eating the lobster!? I thought all herbivores were religiously against the idea of consuming other animals!)

They weren't the only ones having these reactions, as some other carnivores nearby, either waiters or partygoers, also witnessed the zebra consuming the cooked flesh of the lobster, some almost spitting their drinks or choking out of the bizarre scene in front of them.

Meanwhile, as he continued feasting on his meal, Sharik felt that something was off, and just then, he realized everyone at the table was staring at him with expressions of disbelief and bewilderment. While it was admittedly a bit spooky, Sharik was more weirded out by why they were staring at him like that... only when he ate another shrimp did he realize what had caused such reactions.

Sharik: (¡No mames! ¡Se me olvidó decirles!) "Umm... I can explain." He said sheepishly.

Isamu: "Sharik... how can you eat that? I mean... You acted so... like... so calm about it."

Sharik: "Well... It's not like I'm eating them alive."

Isamu: "That's not what I mean! You just ate other animals, and you are a herbivore. It should be obvious what's abnormal in here." He said in sheer and barely contained shock, and while Alika didn't approve of how judgmental he sounded, she couldn't deny he had a point.

Alika: "While I would have worded that differently, I do agree with Isamu, Sharik. Don't get me wrong, I have met a few herbivores who ate carnivore foods, mainly eggs, but even they draw the line at shellfish. Sorry if the question sounds a bit too judgmental."

Sharik: "It's ok Alika, to be honest, this isn't the first time I was in a situation like this. I have left many animals speechless over the years whenever I eat shellfish."

Jolyne: "Does this mean you also eat fish, Sharik?" She asked in curiosity... while also sneakily stealing a few shrimps for herself.

Sharik: "No, I don't. I mean, I tried it once, but... I didn't like the taste, plus the spines were too much for me."

Yōko: "Yeah, that's the only bad thing about eating fish." She admitted in a more relaxed tone.

Isamu: "Ok, getting back to the question. Don't you feel uncomfortable over the fact that these are animals you are eating?"

Sharik: "To tell the truth... I did the first time I ate them, but then, I began to understand that, from a certain point of view, it's not so much different from herbivores eating plants, since plants are living organisms, too. Over time, I came to accept that as a part of life, since all living things consume other things to survive. A carnivore who is my closest friend taught me that lesson, and from there, I began to see life in a new way, one that each day I understand more and more."

Such philosophy left Alika, Isamu and Yōko quite surprised, leaving them silent in reflection for a while as they made sense of his words, at the same time, Jolyne smiled at Sharik, happy to meet an herbivore that understood and accepted the circle of life, earning the zebra a gentle nuzzle from her in appreciation of reaching such wisdom about life at this age.

Alika: "Well... that's certainly a very good philosophy, Sharik, and I think it is great that, through this, you can relate to us carnivores better." She smiled, feeling her admiration for Sharik grow once again.

Sharik: "Thank you. I have always made an effort to better relate to the carnivores with which I share this world." He smiled back, but he appeared to be covering his teeth in a similar way a carnivore does.

Alika: (He is hiding his fangs.) "Hey, uh, if you don't mind me asking... who is this carnivore you said is your best friend?" She said with a noticeable hint of jealousy, one that Yōko tried her best not to laugh at.

Sharik: "Oh, that friend of mine is a mexican jaguar. His name is Alejandro, and we have been friends for 8 years now." He answered proudly.

Needless to say, such a revelation was another shocking surprise for everyone present, even Jolyne, though she found said surprise quite welcome.

Isamu: "Wait... THAT'S your best friend? The 3rd largest cat species in the world?" Asked Isamu incredulously, expecting Sharik's carnivore friend to be a dog or maybe even a small carnivore like a badger or even an ocelot.

Yōko: "Well, that explains a lot about how you have been acting with us. You already have experience." Said Yōko, nudging Alika playfully as if to allure that she got lucky, making her felid friend blush in nervousness.

Sharik: "Hehehe, you could say that he taught me many of the proper mannerisms for interacting with carnivores, which is somewhat ironic since he is quite shy." Parallel to this, and far from where the party was going on, said jaguar sneezed while he played video games in his room, thinking someone just spoke about him

Alika: "Really? Well, he sounds quite the opposite of you, but I'm happy to hear that you share a good relationship with him, Sharik. Hope ours can become just as good." She said with a discreet yet loving expression towards Sharik, one that he identified and corresponded as such.

Sharik: "I hope so too, Alika." He smiled back with a gaze showing nothing but attraction and love. "Oh, I want to show you something."

Suddenly, Sharik went towards a set of shelves, where all guests who wanted to enter the pool could leave their backpacks, and from his green pack, he got a little item which was covered in a protective plastic coat. With the item in his hands, he returned to the table just as Kimba arrived from calling his mom, surprised to see that Sharik had come back with something.

Kimba: "Hey Alika, what did I miss? Other than the sundubu jjigae." He said before starting to eat the stew.

Jolyne: "Well, turns out Sharik likes to eat shellfish quite a lot and isn't bothered by it in the slightest, and he is very close friends with a jaguar." She said with a cute smile.

The way she spoke so casually about these revelations stunned the young cub, almost dropping his chopsticks as he stared at Sharik.

Kimba: "Is this all true? Are you close with a carnivore?" He asked in what seemed to be a shocked yet very curious tone.

Sharik: "That's right! Alex and I have been through many adventures and experiences together, and we are still going strong as best friends." He then showed them the item in his hands, which was a laminated technicolor photo. "I carry this everywhere to honor our friendship."

The scene depicted in the photo was of Sharik, when he was 6 years old, standing belly-deep into water on what appeared to be a coastal mangrove forest; right next to him, there was a comparatively small black jaguar, both smiling and hugging each other in pure happiness as they enjoyed their first visit to the mangroves together.

Isamu: "Well, that's something I never expected to see today... or ever."

Sharik: "I know. A zebra carrying a technicolor picture? I admit it is quite rare."

Jolyne: "It's cute that both of you are hugging in the photo. You really are close friends." She smiled as she continued to look.

Kimba: "Woah! Is he a black jaguar? That's so cool!"

Yōko: "Yeah, melanistic animals are quite rare, too, almost as much as leucistic ones like Alika and me."

Sharik: "That is true. Then it must mean I have been very lucky, considering that not only is a melanistic jaguar my best friend, but that I also got to meet three leucistic beasts." He smiled in joy.

Alika: "Aww, Sharik, you are so modest." She then stood up to go and give a big hug to the zebra, which he reciprocated.

Isamu: (Hey, wait a minute... is Alika... nah, it can't be, they haven't known each other all that long.) He thought as he was getting a little suspicious about how Alika was acting, not out of jealousy, but rather concern about her safety.

Meanwhile at the table in which the parents of both lioness and zebra were sitting, Abasi saw the interactions between Sharik and Alika, keeping a close eye on how this zebra interacted with his daughter, and so far, Sharik has been quite the complete opposite of almost every other zebra he knew, not to mention he was so comfortable with consuming what most herbivores would not even dare to touch. It was clear that he was an enigma, but at the same time, he made her daughter very happy... even though Abasi was suspicious about how Alika was acting with Sharik, almost as if...

Tsunade: "Everything alright, dear?"

The mellow voice of his wife brought him out of his thoughts, turning towards her so as to quell any worries she may have, but in doing so, he also noticed that Akida and Jasiri, especially the former, were also keeping a close eye in the interaction between his daughter and their son, which caused some suspicion to emerge but left it hidden.

Abasi: "Yeah, my love. It's just that I couldn't help but see how happy our daughter has been acting with her new friend. It's refreshing to see Alika open up with other kids her age." (Even though she and that Sharik boy have been acting too romantic.)

Tsunade: "Indeed, I have seen for myself that both of them have quickly become good friends. Though I'm very surprised that he was also able to gain Isamu's trust. He's usually very distrustful of them."

Akida: "That's one of Sharik's best qualities: he doesn't judge anyone based on species. If he sees good in you, he will always extend a friendly hand, even if it doesn't end up becoming a friendship."

Jasiri: "Indeed. One of his current friends used to be a very nasty bully in elementary school, but when Sharik began to know him properly, he was able to help him change his ways and become a better person."

Tsunade: "Really? That's quite wonderful. He has very good social skills if he was able to truly change a person like that."

César: "It's refreshing to see friendly herbivores outside of District 0. Honestly, I think that if it weren't because all animals there are white, we would be just as divided."

Such a thought was quite sad, yet it held the heavy truth about their society; even after decades of reconciliation and work for a peaceful and proper coexistence, both sides still held deep resentment and distrust for one another, something that may never be fully resolved. Despite this, through animals such as Sharik, there was hope that such prejudices would become less frequent, allowing for a stronger union and better coexistence.

... if only such hopes weren't tainted by unnatural mutations.

As they finished their meals, Kimba began to tell the tale about how Sharik's rescue went with great excitement, with the zebra smiling in shy flattered for how his apparent fan was so euphoric about it, not that he could blame him for it, after all, he would do the same if he were to meet Optimus Prime.

Kimba: "And then she unsheathed this huge knife from her belt and swiped it at Sharik, only for him to grab it like nothing and break the whole blade with a single squeeze of his hand! Like it wasn't even sharp!"

Yōko: "Holy Rex! That was extreme! Like, I assumed that whole situation was already crazy, but him beating all of those adult hyenas like that? That's just nuts!"

Jolyne: "Yeah, it would have been one thing to beat one assailant, but twelve of them? With some being armed?"

Isamu: "Don't forget that he somehow DODGED bullets! HOW!?" He exclaimed in complete shock, having understandably a hard time believing that story.

Sharik: "Hehehe... well, it just came at the heat of the moment. And to be fair, I was wearing sneakers with metallic horseshoe soles, so that was the thing that let me even pull that off."

Alika: "It's still quite a daredevil act, not to mention how you didn't flinch after witnessing that Ed guy eating zebra meat in front of you. That almost made you seem emotionless."

Isamu: "For real, even I would be trembling at the sight of that, and I'm a carnivore."

Sharik: "That's because I was trained by my father and a friend of his to become unsensitive to such provocative tactics. We usually did that at the police station at least three times a week, and some of his carnivore colleagues volunteered to help us with the training."

Isamu: "What!? You were trained by policemen? That's crazy!"

Kimba: "Wow!! You are even more awesome than I thought! You could be the next top police officer of the city!" He exclaimed excitedly.

Sharik: "Well, I wouldn't go that far just yet. I mean, I'm still just a middle-school teenager who doesn't even know the basics, but I like to think one day I will rise to that level."

Alika: "I do hope you succeed, you already have what it takes to become a true hero."

Sharik: "Aww, thanks, Alika." He smiled flattered.

After a few minutes, the waiters began to pick up all the empty dishes from the tables, the sundubu jjigae having been a success within the guests, much to the delight of the birthday girl; just before the cake cut, Alika decided to quickly go to the bathroom to not be late for it, as the cake prepared for today was not only her absolute favorite, but she also wanted to cut it with Sharik, the mere thought of both of them holding hands while to hold the knife made her tremble and squeal in excitement, but kept it to herself as best as she could. A short while later, and after washing her hands, she walked out of the female's bathroom... only to accidentally bump into someone, causing her to fall butt-first into the floor as she then heard the sound of something breaking; after the initial shock wore off, Alika realized she had bumped into a bengal tigress, and it had caused her to spill her drink all over her and her friends, which were a nile crocodile, and an african leopard.

And it was more than evident they were all very angry.

Alika: "Oh goodness... I'm so sorry, I should have been more careful."

Chiaki: "Damn right you should have! Look at this! Our favorite sundresses are ruined!" She growled.

Alika: "I-I know, and it... It looked expensive, maybe I can..." She was then abruptly interrupted by the crocodile.

Katrina: "Yes, tell us! Tell us how you can just buy us new ones, you damn sugar baby!"

That last part struck a deep nerve with Alika.

Alika: "How dare you! I may be the daughter of the CEO of the Thundermane Company, but I'm not some spoiled child nor that disgusting thing you just said!" She growled greatly offended.

Chiaki: "Oh really? Then explain to me how you can have such a party in this expensive place? That's something that could bankrupt many families, you know!?

Laura: "Of course she wouldn't! She is a lioness, lions are the only top-order carnivores that get everything on a silver platter, fed with silver spoons from birth. All the while, the rest of us must struggle for scraps in a society that hates us!" She said with venom oozing with each word.

Alika: "H-hey that's not true, we lions go through the same struggles as any other carnivore, even more so due to societal stigmas around us." She tried to defend herself, but it only resulted in her getting growled at by both the tigress and the crocodile.

Chiaki: "So you admit that lions ARE the privileged ones, huh?" She said before menacingly unsheathing her claws, her intentions were clear as water.

Alika: "I... uh..."

Now fearing for her life, Alika tried to run away, but just as she did, a 4th animal swooped in and kicked her on the chest to knock her down so she couldn't escape from them.

Osprey (♂️): " You ain't going nowhere, you privileged scum." Said the raptor menacingly.

Katrina: "Oh, aren't you a dear, babe?" She said lovingly to the bird, before hissing in anticipation. "Now we get to make her now how harsh life actually is."

Chiaki: "Couldn't say it better myself."

Taking initiative, Chiaki swiped her claws against Alika, slashing her in the abdomen to then punched her in the face as the osprey held her in place so she couldn't escape, all the while being cheered on by her friends. Alika tried desperately to fight back, doing her damnest to slash at her with her claws and punch her, but she was outmatched by the stronger and more skillful pantherine, and to makes matters worse, nobody would be able to hear her from this far back due to the music playing at the roofed area.

But one could feel exactly what she did.

Sharik: (Agh! What the... Oh no... Alika!!)

Dashing so suddenly it shocked everyone present, especially his parents, Sharik once again saw through Alika's eyes and was horrified to see and feel that she was being attacked by that group of bullies. As much as he had wished to go without any other confrontation that might trigger his curse, he was not going to let those bastards harm her white angel, his left eye shining in neon blue as he quickly approached his destination.

Back at where the attack was taking place, Alika was dropped to the floor like a broken rag doll, her body covered in bruises and cuts as tears fell down her eyes out of pain and fear, cursing herself for not being strong enough, for letting fear overcome her so easily. As she struggled to even stand back up, Chiaki kicked her back onto the floor before grabbing her by the neck and pulling her close to her face.

Chiaki: "Not so proud now, aren't you?" She grinned.

Alika: "Agh! Why do you do this? What's there to gain from beating me like this?" She asked with a fragile facade of defiance, but it was clear she was scared.

Chiaki: "Because I love to make the wealthy 'holier than thou' suffer, to make them know how the world really works."

Just when she was about to punch her again, the tigress and her group heard a furious barking coming from behind them, and just like a week ago, the cursed warrior had come to Alika's rescue. Yet as he watched the scene unfold before him, it quickly became distorted, as Sharik once again witnessed that horrible yet faithful night... the same moment Alejandro was about to be eaten by Haruki.

Alika/Alejandro: "Sharik, help me!/¡Ayúdame, hermano!"

Such a flashback nearly triggered his curse, holding back himself as best as he could to avoid even giving a millimeter for him to grab a hold of him, yet despite this, he stood strong and defiant, his muscular physique and great size allowing him to easily intimidate even the crocodile.

Sharik: "I don't know what has led to this, but I won't let you harm her anymore! Let her go, now!" He demanded in the same strong voice tone of that day, putting himself in a fighting stance, ready to fight.

Katrina: "Oh how charming, your black and white prince has come to save you." She mocked Alika as Chiaki, now more concerned with the new arrival, dropped her to the floor.

Chiaki: "What do you care, herbivore!? Can't you see this is a carnivore matter?" She replied angrily.

Sharik: "Mistreating and bullying another animal, more so a friend of mine, is something of my concern! So I tell you once again: leave her alone. I don't wish to escalate this conflict." He kept firm, giving a reassuring look to Alika.

Alika: "Sharik, be careful." She replied fearfully, yet in her heart she had hope and reassurance that he would aid her, no matter what.

Chiaki: "Oh how cute of you. But tell me, grass-muncher..." She began to approach Sharik with a menacing expression, a scheme having formed in her mind.

Alika: (Oh no, she is going to roar at him!) "SHARIK, WATCH OUT!"

Sharik: "What, why is go-?"

The neon-blue light disappeared from his left eye, and the neon-green came back with burning vengeance.

Chiaki: "How can you fight when you are paralyzed in fear?" She smirked, believing that she had gained the advantage.

It happened so fast, like time itself had stopped, but the tigress soon felt a powerful strike in her liver area, air and blood escaping her mouth before she was sent staggering against a wall, the impact causing her critical injuries as she fell unconscious against the floor. Such a sudden yet powerful act of violence left everyone frozen in pure shock... and then came the smell. Impending doom, horror, unnatural rage, that's what the assailiants smell; even Alika was paralyzed in pure fear by the smell that was emanating from Sharik, and in her heart, she could feel a sinister grasp take hold of him, a dark corruption poisoning from the inside, and the infernal heat, the flames that had surrouded the warrior, Sharik, in her dream. She quickly realized what this was, yet she never thought it would be this oppressive and sinister in the real world.

The deafening, alien roar echoed through the entire building, scaring every single carnivore to their core, even shocking all herbivores present. Jolyne and Yōko hugged each other tightly, shaking like little mice in front of a storm; Kimba, like many kids present, screamed in terror and ran towards their parents in search for protection and comfort, even though the parents themselves felt just as much dread; Isamu felt his heart stop in that moment, shaking in pure terror as he felt that his legs gave out, falling butt-first into the floor; Yuna and Yong suffered flashbacks of the past, horrific images of similar events playing through their minds and in front of their eyes, embracing each other in mutual protection; Tsunade held her baby tightly to her bossom out of instinct, as if to shield her from horrors she thought long gone, while poor Sun-Young cried in pure fear, holding to her mother for dear life. Jasiri was frightened upon hearing such a macabre sound, ever after already hearing it for the first time at the tests in the Redemption & New Hope hospital, it was still horrifying to listen to the transition of her dear son into such an unbeastly monster; Akida was even more horrified, the memories of all the suffering his son went through after the awakening of his curse flooding back at him, like if history was about to repeat itself.

However, no other animal felt more dread than Abasi. The horror on his eyes, his mouth agape in paralyzed silence, the trembling of his body reminiscent of a rabbit staring at a hungry fox... the tears flowing down his eyes... it brought him back to a terrible nightmare, one that he lived in the flesh. Many years ago, his native home of Okinawa went through a nightmarish tragedy, a genocide the like of which hasn't been seen since the dreaded Kalong-ni massacre. 20 herbivores, all afflicted by the Curse of Madness... 980,054 murdered carnivores. He and his parents were the only ones who survived. He thought he and his family escaped, that they were never going to cross paths with such demons ever again... and now, one was right in the birthday party of her daughter.

Acting on pure parental instinct, Abasi rushed immediately to where the roar came from, even if the price to pay was his life, he would never let her daughter suffer the same fate as all he had lost on that day.

Tsunade: "ABASI, NO!" She exclaimed in panic, fearing for her husband's life.

Akida: "I'll go after him! Keep everyone safe and do not leave this area under any circumstances!"

The hero of Sanjo City, with great reluctance, whipped out a stun gun to be ready if it came to the worst, yet he prayed to Braquio and Epona that no shot from it would be needed. Staying behind, Jasiri feared what would happen now, worried about those who were now in danger... and terrified at the prospect that her son would be once again incarcerated.

Back at the bathrooms, Laura was the next to suffer the wrath of the cursed herbivore, her arms were broken and her body thrown forcefully at the door of one of the bathrooms, her shredded form laying amidst the broken pieces; Katrina was his next target, striking furiously at her abdomen before kicking her at the chest, followed by grabbing her by the tail and slamming the Nile crocodile repeatedly against the floor, the loud crackling of her bones only being silenced by the screams of pain and fear from the tortured carnivore. After the last and most powerful slam, blood spilling all over the crater he created, Sharik approached the crocodile and stomped hard on her chest, breaking her sternum so she couldn't run away... he was about to pry open her mandibles, rip them away to make her suffer, yet he stopped himself from letting Bludgeon get his way, letting Katrina pass out from shock and pain.

Bludgeon: "¿¡Qué haces!? ¡No niegues tu destino! ¡Cumple con tu labor!" He yelled at him inside his mind.

Sharik: (¡CÁLLATE, DEMONIO!)

None but Alika could hear his desperate mental resistance, and while the language in which he and the monster spoke was alien to her, she could feel the inner turmoil and pain that the monster was causing him. She knew that she had to stop this, yet her instincts were telling her to run, to escape the monster.

Alika: (GAH!! DAMN INSTINCTS! WHY DON'T THEY LET ME MOVE?!?) She cried internally in desperation.

Ousei: "YOU SON OF A BITCH!"

The osprey, now free from his paralysis, charged at the zebra to avenge his girlfriend, trying to use his talons against him, only for the zebra to grab him by the legs and slam him hard against the ground, and once he was at his mercy, Sharik grabbed him by the center of his wings... breaking the joints and partially tearing them apart, barely stopping himself from fully detach them as the osprey screamed in agony before falling unconscious.

Despite the horrible wounds inflicted on her former assailant, Alika could see and feel just how much Sharik was fighting back to avoid killing anyone, but it was quickly taking a toll on him. Instincts be damned, she had to act now!

Bludgeon: "¿¡Qué esperas!? ¡Mátalos! ¡Están a tu merced!"

Sharik: (Cállate... ¡CÁLLATE!)

Alika: "SHARIK, STOP!"

The sound of her voice pushed Bludgeon back like a shockwave, stunning Sharik and his inner guardian before Alika rushed at him... and surrounded him in a tight hug. As Sharik felt her body press against his, the marks on their chests began to shine in dark golden and bright silver lights, the link between their hearts has once again been formed; through this link, Sharik felt the poisonous grip of his curse being purged from his heart and mind, just like how she did before as the angel of his dreams. For that single moment, ever since that dreadful night, Sharik was free from his curse.

Alika: "It's going to be ok, Sharik. You don't have to fight anymore. I'm here. I won't let HIM torment you." She spoke out of instinct, her voice almost angelical.

Sharik: "A-Alika..." His voice, monstrous in tone, slowly returned to normal.

As both were sharing this bond, Abasi and Akida had just arrived at the scene, and the scene they were witnessing was something neither could believe; surrounded by 4 badly beaten, yet surprisingly still alive teenager carnivores, Alika was embracing Sharik, with him appearing to be in a calming bliss as a result of this display of affection, sobs of relief could also be heard coming from the zebra stud.

For Akida, this almost seemed like a miracle. Though he had heard of very few cases in which carnivores could tranquilize cursed herbivores, never before had he witnessed something like this. While the reason behind how this worked was still unknown to him, the mere fact that it succeeded gave him hope that Sharik could truly overcome and prevent his curse from controlling his life, that he could truly be free.

Abasi, however, was blind to all of this, the resurrecting PTSD from Okinawa, plus the brutal injuries inflicted upon the unconscious teenagers, made him only see Sharik as one thing: a threat, and he was not going to allow his daughter to endanger herself like this.

Akida: "Abasi, wait!!"

With Akida unable to stop him, Abasi ran towards them and began to forcefully try to separate them, in doing so, the link between zebra and lioness began to sever, and the curse, while weakened, managed to gain some control back from Sharik.

Alika: "FATHER, WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?" She exclaimed in shock and concern, trying to break free and come back with Sharik.

Abasi: "GET AWAY FROM THAT MONSTER!" He growled back.

The infrasound of his growl further strengthened the curse, and believing that Alika was in danger, Sharik lunged at Abasi and tackled him to the floor... followed by giving him a powerful bite directly at his shoulder, before pulling back and tearing away a large chunk of flesh and bone, blinded by madness much to the horror of Akida and Alika, the lion moaning and screaming in pain beyond words.

Alika: "FATHER!"

Hearing her scream made Sharik raise his his sights towards her, his mouth covered in blood and gore much to the horror of the white lioness, her appalled expression and the metallic taste of blood were enough to once again bring him back to reality... immediately spitting the piece of flesh out of his mouth while desperately trying to clear out any remaining trace of blood. Watching his surrounding in horror, Sharik began to tremble and cry, fearing that he may have once again turned into a murderous monster... only for Alika to approach him again and caress his head followed by making eye contact with him, the gentle touch and her caring look helping him feel calmer, but he was still horrified for what had just happened.

Sharik: "I... they aren't dead... aren't they?" He asked in a tone of desperate fear.

Alika: "I... I'm not sure." She answered nervously.

Akida: "Don't worry, Sharik. Nobody is dead, they are just unconscious... and badly injured." Said Akida, who took the initiative to tend to the carnivore teenagers as Alika was calming Sharik down.

Even though he felt relieved that he succeeded in holding Bludgeon back, the shame that he failed due to the consequences of not completely beating him back weighed down on him. Before he could even say anything else, he heard the approaching footsteps of at least 8 other animals; slowly turning towards them, he felt a sharp pain in his heart upon seeing that his and Alika's mother, as well as her friends, had just arrived to witness the aftermath of his curse. The look of horror in those he had met today was especially painful, as he didn't want them to know about this, a sentiment Jasiri shared as she went over her son, hugging him in comfort as Sharik did his best not to break down. The other 4 animals that came were personnel of the party center, who had brought first aid kits to tend to the wounded, with Akida also helping them with this task.

Tsunade: "How did this happen?" She was the first to break the silence, looking at her daughter with a face of worry and horror.

Alika: "It wasn't Sharik's fault. Those four animals tried to attack me due to an accident and Sharik came to defend me, but..."

She was suddenly interrupted by a scream of pain and anger from Abasi, who was getting patched up on his bite wound while the paramedics arrived.

Abasi: "I should have known from the start! That boy is not an animal, HE IS A MONSTER! A DEMON BORN FROM THE CURSE OF MADNESS!" He said while sitting up as he was getting his bite wound treated.

Such strong words pierced Sharik's heart like a harpoon, tears falling down his eyes as he clung to his mother who comforted him as best as she could. The others were shocked and confused about what this "Curse" was, but Tsunade became horrified upon hearing that name, learning that the one who saved her daughter was one of those mutants.

Alika: "Father, Sharik was just trying to protect me from those 4 teenagers that tried to..."

Abasi: "SILENCE! I would NOT tolerate any sort of defense or sympathy for a monster like that, especially from my daughter!" He exclaimed angrily before turning towards Akida. "I can't believe that demon spawn is yours, let alone that he managed to fool my daughter into being invited! You and your wife should be ashamed of having such an abomination as a son!"

Jasiri: "HOW DARE YOU!? My son is not an abomination! He risked his life to save your daughter!" She yelled back as she comforted Sharik, who had begun to openly cry.

Akida: "She's right! Sharik may be cursed, but that doesn't mean he is a monster! He would never..."

Abasi: "SHUT UP!" He exclaimed while avoiding at all cost emitting another infrasound. Then, he glared at Sharik, his piercing stare making the poor zebra nervous as his mother tried to protect him. "I want you to get out, and never, NEVER cross paths with me or my family ever again."

Such assertiveness sent chills down the spines of even Alika, knowing well that he was absolutely serious, much to her dismay. Just when Alika wanted to say something in defense of Sharik, the zebra went towards her and stood in front of her... before dropping to his knees and performing a dogeza, trying his best to keep his composure.

Sharik: "I... I'm so sorry, Alika, for all of this. For ruining your birthday. " He would have said more, but his mind was too blurred with sorrow and regret.

Alika: "Sharik, I..."

Abasi: "Alika, get away from him."

Finding herself incapable of challenging her father, Alika reluctantly backed away from the zebra, feeling their bond weakened through a sharp pain in her heart, unable to hide it as she grasped her chest with one hand, something Sharik did as well. Eventually, Sharik stood up and, with head hanging low and tears flowing down his eyes, began to walk away, escorted by his parents; as the zebras moved towards the exit, the looks of all the partygoers rained down upon them, not daring to speak, but their emotions being felt just as strongly, Sharik didn't even have the strength to look towards the friends he had just made, knowing he would only find fear on them.

Yōko was appalled by what she witnessed, and yet, she couldn't sense any true malice out of Sharik, something sinister had driven him into committing such horrible deeds, yet she couldn't even phantom what could it be. Jolyne saw the zebra in lament and pity, saddened upon learning that the so-called legends were true, that the herbivores had truly done the unspeakable with their own kind. Isamu felt betrayed, believing that Sharik all his empathy and understanding towards carnivores were an act, but this soon became a confusing contradiction, as such sentiments rang true if he didn't at any moment hurt Alika... but a dangerous contradiction was all that he could see in Sharik.

None, however, felt worse than Alika, for not only did she feel the pain of her warrior, but because of one grim realization: she failed him, she failed to protect him from the monster's control, she failed to protect him from the accusations that he was a monster. She failed the one beast she truly fell in love with. As the lioness watched him and his parents disappear into the crowd and leaving her sight, she dropped down to her knees and broke down crying, covering her eyes with her hands as the light of her mark died down, the bridge of their bond now critically damaged. Listening to her cry, Tsunade immediately went towards her to comfort her, followed by Yōko, Jolyne, and even Isamu, all the while Abasi could only watch in sorrow, but his mind was still wrapped around the fact that the son of Akida and the one responsible of saving her from the poachers resulted to be a breed of mutated aberrations that should have been exterminated long ago.

Abasi: "Tell the guests that the party is now canceled. There's no point in continuing after this." He spoke in a somber tone to one of the employees, lamenting how everything had gone so wrong.

Capybara (♀️): "At once, mister."

After that, Abasi looked down saddened. What was meant to be the perfect day for his daughter, full of happiness and joy, turned into a tragic and sorrowful one, stained by violence and blood. At that moment, he swore to himself that Alika would never be endangered like this again, even if it meant keeping her isolated from any herbivore... all to avoid another encounter with the demons of Okinawa.

Fernández Household. Ancient Jungle Street.

18:45 hours

Once a room lifted by the energy of a happy colt, now was a dark self-imposed prison. Sharik sat in a hugging knee position on his bed, sinking his head between them in silence, the occasional sob or blowing his nose with a napkin were the only sounds that could be heard. Despite the insistence of his parents and even his little brother, Sharik refused to open the door for them, even if it was for receiving any food or drink that might comfort him, for he believed he didn't deserve any of that.

Sharik: (¿Por qué tuve que nacer así? ¿Por qué carajo no rechacé la invitación de Alika? ¿Acaso nuestro vínculo fue un error?) He thought in regret and self-detriment.

So sunk was he on his sadness that he didn't noticed someone arriving at his window, a small black phantom that came to aid him in his dire time of need. Gently knocking the glass of the window, Alejandro saw Sharik raised his head to look at him, the jaguar saddening upon witnessing just how devastated Sharik looked, what happened at the party broke him severely. Unlike with his parents and Oliver, Sharik was quick to go towards the window and opening so that Alex could enter his room, which the jaguar spend little time in doing so before hugging Sharik tightly, and while at first he hesitated, the zebra corresponded the hug, sobbing a little as he felt the comforting touch of his best friend.

Alejandro: "Tus padres me contaron todo... está bien si no quieres hablar de eso." He then looked at him eye to eye, seeing Sharik not as a monster, but as his best friend and brother. "Sea lo que sientas, o que necesites decirme, no dudes en hacerlo. Estoy aquí para tí, siempre lo estaré." He then gave him a gentle smile.

As tears fell again from his eyes, Sharik felt great relief and happiness after hearing his brother saying he had his back, hugging and nuzzling Alex in a silent thank you for always being by his side, even in the darkest of times. Alejandro only smiled as he caressed his big brother in return, sitting down with him at his bed before pulling out a small bag which contained tuppers with some much needed comfort food in the form of vanilla and raspberry shortcakes, alongside a flask of water.

Alejandro: "Mi mamá las preparó más temprano, pensé que te ayudarían a sentirte mejor."

Sharik: "Gracias, Alex." He smiled happily, his fangs protruding slightly from his mouth, before eating with the first carnivore he ever met.

There was no other words spoken, nor were needed to be said, for despite their many differences, they both found comfort and happiness in their friendship, a bond unbreakable as diamond, and forged out of love. The link with the White Angel may have been severed, but the Black Phantom would always be by the Cursed Warrior's side, just as he would be for him, until the end of times.