No Stopping Us Right Now

(July 4th Closed to Pepper and Nala)

Nala shook her head, trying to push the overwhelming amount of violent thoughts out of her head. She was hanging onto the slightest sliver of insanity, and, with every passing second, her mind was growing darker... And darker... And darker. Visions of bloodshed, evil, and misery danced in her head, but the creamy feline just wanted out. Right now, the queen was only sure of a few things. One: She was going insane. Two: There was no hope for her. Three: She had to get out of the pridelands. As. Fast. As. Possible. Looking around with wide, nervous blue orbs, the female lion tried to see something, anything familar, that she could hang onto until she was actually able to remember her way out. Her time was quickly slipping, and the once-peaceful lioness wanted to take off before she hurt someone.

But for some reason, everything Nala once knew, it was all slipping away from her. Her purpose, her past. Her future, the present. Her friends, her family. The ones she cared for, the ones she couldn't stand. The creamy lioness couldn't remember any of it. Everything that was once so familar seemed to be erased from her memory. Everything was growing so dark. Collapsing to her knees, the queen tried to keep her head up. C'mon Nala, you're strong! You helped defeat Scar! You're mate is Simba! Remember! REMEMBER! Be strong! She mentally urged herself, willing for her muscules to work again. Willing for her body to allow her to stand again so she could fight off this mental illness. But, all of a sudden, Nala completley collapsed to the ground, her body still and stiff. She just lay there, not breathing, not moving, not thinking.

Then, just as quiclky had it all happened, the creamy lioness shot straight back up, ears erect, posture straight, eyes wide. But this was not the same Nala, oh no. The evil had flooded in. Breaking the thin line of sanity and submerging her soul to evil. The once peacful, kind, sweet queen was now different. Very different. Sadistic smile blossoming on her face, she looked around, hungry for death and bloodshed. But then, suddenly, it felt as if she was hit in the back of the hea with a brick. As if something inside of her was screaming for her to leave. To get out of the pridelands. Yes, the effects of insanity had finally set in, but she still had a small peice of sanity left, urging her to leave while she still had the chance.

But it was like a man trying to swim in the ocean during a terrible storm. No matter how hard you tried to stay above the water, you would just be pushed back down,, sentenced to death by drowning. You would be thrown around and rolled with the waves, you brain hardly able to process what was going on. That was how the former queen was, right now. Overall, one word someone might use to describe it would be, insane.

Pepper sat alone near the watering Hole. The dalmatian pup prefered the solitude to think. The weight of her father and siblings' deaths were hanging over her like an ever present fog that refused to lift away. She loved them...she had came back to try and help but now she was reminded why she had left in the first place.

"Why does everyone I love keep dying..." she murmured to herself.

She felt a sob rising in her throat but she pushed it down. Crying wouldn't bring any of them back now. They were gone and there was nothing that a little freckled dalmatian could do about it.

Then her ears pricked up. She thought she had heard something shifting about in the grass and she turned her head around to look. At first she couldn't spot anything but the longer she stared, a figure of a large animal began to take shape in the grasses.

"H-Hello?" she called scrambling to her paws as thunder rumbled omniously above her "Who's there? Mum is that you?"

Nala froze upon hearing the pup's call, eyes going wide. Turning around slowly, the creamy lioness began to approach the pup, sadistic grin slowly growing on her face. Oooohhhh this pup, she would be her first victim. Pictures of the pup writhing in agony surrounded by blood flew through the former queen's head, bringing her to a slight, evil-sounding chuckle. Crouching in the tall grasses, the creamy lioness began to draw closer to the freckled female, ears plastered against the back of her skull. "This isn't your mommy, little one, it's your killer," She hissed, beginning to loosley circle Pepper, her pawsteps shaky and uneven as she tried to push down her excitment.

"Death is ringing, why don't you be a good girl and sit nice and still while I rip your throught out!" Nala cackled, a sadistic grin on her face as she began to draw tighter circles around the freckled female. The blue-eyed lioness pressed lower to the ground, as if wanting to conceal herself in the grasses. Shrouded by mist, the creamy feline began to pick up her pace, eager to finish off the pup. Perhaps if she made the pup scream loud enough, more of her friends would come. And, you know what they say, the more dead the more merry Nala becomes.

Icy dread filled Pepper's body. A knot formed itself and settled in her stomach. The young pup was afraid, her obsidian eyes darting from place to place trying to spot the faint outline she'd seen against the grass but it had vanished. It had claimed she was going to die. Pepper didn't want to die. She wanted to live.

"W-Who are you?" she whispered, he voice trembling and giving away how afraid she really was.

Pepper backed away from the grass, her ears pressed against her head. She had nowhere to run, Priderock was too far away for her yells to be heard and rescue would come too late, and she had nowhere to hide except in the waters of the Watering Hole behind her.

She was trapped. She was going to die and she was going to do it screaming in agony no doubt.

Ebony claws ripping up the moist soil, Nala began to draw closer to the young pup, tail swaying slightly as she slipped silently through the long savannah grasses. There was no melody, tune, or song that could ever compare to the fear-filled voice that rang throughout the savannah. How unfortunate this pup had been to travel out at such a terrible time. But fate finds you, one way or another. It traps you in a corner, suffocating you until your throught runs dry. Until you realize that the light of day and the sweet sound of birds singing is something that you'll never witness again. Until your life, your goals, your aspirations, your friends and family, your simplest moments, they all flash before you. Until you can only plead that it will only last a few seconds longer. But Nala wasn't worried. Oh no, the spotted female was only a playtoy to the creamy lioness. She was the appetizer, the entree would be something bigger, something better.

"Who am I?" The blue-eyed feline cackled, drawing her circles only a few feet away from the young pup, now. "I'm none other than your queen!" By the second, the sadistic lioness was growing closer to Pepper, eyes glazed with a deep hunger. "The queen that wants you dead," She hissed, pausing only inches away from Pepper's spotted ear. "The queen that will make you dead!"

And, with a menacing cackle, Nala swung a paw at Pepper, ebony claws pointed and sharp as she aimed to slam her huge paw into the young pup.

Claws came out of nowhere, raking through Pepper's skin and turning white coat scarlet. The pup yelled out in pain. She saw the look on the queen's face, she remembered the queen from her first time in the army and this was not the same lioness she remembered. This lioness was going to kill her. This lioness wanted her blood.

Pepper's legs trembled but her brain screamed at her to run. She wouldn't make it back to tha camp, but she couldn't stay here and face certain death at the claws of the homocidal queen. The young pup bolted for the long savannah grass as fast as her four laws could carrying her.

She barrelled forward, half blind and bleeding. Each step caused pain to shoot up and down her body but the adrenaline coursing through her veins kept her moving. She hoped that she was heading in the right direction because her fear had blinded her to the real route back to Priderock. Her breathing came in short pants as she ran and her heart beat frantically in her cheat, like a trapped bird in a cage, she didn't know just how many beats were left before it lay still as a stone.

She lifted her head and screamed with all her might, praying that someone, somewhere would hear.

"HELP! SOMEBODY! HELP!"

(Now open for Heroes who heard Pepper's scream, but don't all jump in at once.)

Somewhere in the back of her mind was the notion that something wasn't right. This was the reason Perdita found herself wandering around the Pridelands in the hopes of settling her seemingly restless mind. Things hadn't been going well for the dalmatian family, as had been made obvious by the deaths that had been piling on them, and Perdita definitely hadn't been able to put her mind at ease in that regard. All she had been able to do was dwell on what had happened. Well, no more. She was going to try and shake those thoughts so that she could be a better mother to her remaining pups. That was the main thought going through her head at that particular moment, but something caused Perdita to lose that thought.

"HELP! SOMEBODY! HELP!""

Perdita froze where she was and lifted her gaze up from the ground. That voice... that was one of her pups! Worst of all for the slender female, that pup was in trouble. For a beat Perdita didn't move. It was almost as if she was afraid to seek out her child - or rather, afraid to find out what trouble they were in - and unwilling to go forward. However, Perdita realized she knew which pup it was already. The voice alone gave it away as Pepper. Perdita shook her head, realizing that she couldn't just stand there, and bolted forward. She wouldn't let another of her children die. Not that easily.

"Hang on, Pepper! I'm coming!" Perdita called. She could only hope that she was fast enough to prevent something horrible from happening. Whatever was trying to hurt her pup, she could only pray that she could do something.

It was a slow day in the mess hall. Remy had little to nothing to do, just sitting there and sorting vegetables and fruits and spices. As exciting as it was, Remy also found it to be quite dull. He put the last of the spices in their places, and sat down on the counter. What could he make for dinner that night? He didn't know. And then, a screech broke his thoughts.

"HELP! SOMEBODY! HELP!"

A call for help! Remy knew he shouldn't answer it...but it was the right thing to do, right? He couldn't be impolite and not help whoever was screaming for help, right? In an instant, Remy grabbed the two things closest to him- a saltshaker and a green onion- and dashed out of the mess hall to the battle scene.

Oh no. He knew this wasn't a good idea! Right in front of him was a Dalmatian covered in blood, and he could see an angry lioness in the distance. What could he do? He'd get gobbled up by the lioness in three seconds flat! Or maybe, if he tried, maybe not...

He dashed forward on all fours, the objects from the kitchen (regrettably) in his mouth. "O'nt orry! I'b cobin'!" he shouted through the contents. Remy just hoped that the plan he was formulating would work...

Strike was walking into camp after completing some train. For some strange reason the burnt puppy could not shake the feeling that today was going turn out badly. It was kind odd feeling he got every now again, he would wake up one day and just "today is going to suck" most time however it was just that a feeling and it seemed like this day would be no different. That was unlit Strike heard someone scream for help, Strike recognized it instantly the scream belong to Pepper. Strike with out wasting anymore ran right towards were he heard the scream, he did not know what going on but Strike was not about just stand let someone else get hurt.

Small breaths of sleep escaped the wolf, as he was curled in a ball in someones tent. His eyes shut tight as he tried to dream of blood spill filled dreams, but all he got was a black void filled with his mentor's voice instructing him to kill whatever he possibly could. He shifted a little, eyes shut tight still, when her heard the loud scream for help.

"HELP! SOMEBODY! HELP!"

The eeriy sounding scream of a child made Mortaray shoot up from his slumber and get up on his fore paws. His eyes darted around the tent for a moment, before he got completely up and quickly padded out of the tent. He looked at his surroundings for a long time, quietly trying to see if what he heard was just a figment of his imagination. As he stared into the quietness of the pridelands two figures bolted past him, the mother dalmatian, and a rat. That's when he knew something was up. Narrowing eyes he threw himself forward breaking quickly into a run as fast as he could, catching up with Perdita with ease, he let his tongue hang out of his mouth as he took breaths so he could stay running like this for a while. That's when he saw it, a crazed lioness and the small pup. He came to a shrieking halt as he stared for a moment.

The fur along the male wolf's back went up, and his lips were pulled back. A loud snarl erupted from his vocal chords at the feline. When he saw Pepper he thought of Badger for some reason, or maybe his ownself as a young pup, maybe it was just his mind playing tricks but he couldn't help but feel complete and utter hate against the old queen. Letting out a vicious snarl he lunged forward at Nala attempting to bite into her neck or her face, anything he could possibly get at.

Nala's clear blue eyes narrowed when the pup began to run away, but her anger quickly vanished, being quickly replaced with a bout of menaical laughter. What a foolish pup, did the young canine honestly thing she could outrun a mentally corrupted lioness with determination like steel. There was no way in hell that the spotted pup would be able to escape the creamy lioness, Pepper was as good as dead! Straightening out, the queen began to casually stride up to the pup, only to freeze upon hearing Pepper cry for help. Eyes flashing, Nala's head swung around, slightly worried that someone may actually come to the pup's call. And, to the homocidal queen's avail, she was able to spot two more dalmatians.

Two more pelts for my den, no worries, The creamy lioness ensured herself, refocusing her attention on Pepper. Picking up her pace, the she-devil began to approach the fallen pup at a faster pace, eager to finish the deed. Springing forwards Nala stretched her claws out, centimeters from sinking her ebony daggers into the pup's spotted hide when she felt a blow in her neck section. Letting out a furious roar, the creamy lioness spun around, attempting to throw the Timber wolf off of herself. Craning her neck around, she felt the wolf's teeth sink into her mid-neck section, sending waves of pain throughout the homocidal queen's body. Wrapping her ebony fangs around the Timber Wolf's scruff she attempting throwing him off.

Mind practically bubbling over with thoughts of bloodshed and death, Nala erased the thought of the Wold from her mind, hardly even able to remember if he was still clinging to her pelt. Head swivling around, the creamy lioness refocused her attention on Pepper, twisted grin spreading across her face. "Is this what you're looking for?" The insane queen screamed, leaning forwards and sinking her jaws into the pup's body, body tingling in pleasure as she felt Pepper's flash ripping around her ebony fangs. Head shooting up, Pepper still in her jaws, she threw the pup at the adult dalmatian, eyes wild and her actions feral.

Remy gasped, his eyes widening in pure horror. This was supposed to be his queen? The lioness who was supposed to make sure that the heroes stayed safe? Clearly not. He dropped the leek, carrying only the saltshaker. It was evident to him that trying to whack her with a vegetable would only render useless. It was time to take action with his weapon- his glass weapon. Using the strength he could muster, he hurled himself towards the insane lioness, throwing the saltshaker in the air and towards her eyes in the process. With all of his will, he only hoped that it would crack open and blind her somewhat.

Remy then proceeded to start to bite her legs and rush up her body, biting and biting. Rat bites, he learned from an early age, could be deadly to a person. Was he a diseased rat? No, not in the slightest, he was quite healthy; but he thought this might open up wounds, and draw some blood.

Draw blood...the more Remy thought about it, the more he realized it was something he wasn't very comfortable with doing. But the hero was going to die if he didn't help, and everyone had to step out of their comfort zone once in a while, right? Remy continued to bite, biting as hard as he could.

If Nala wouldn't of bitten down so hard she probably would've gotten the wolf off but instead she just caused the fur, and flesh of his scruff to rip leaving horribly bloody wounds oozing in the wake of her attack. The wolf's eyes widened as the pain riddled his body, sending the painfully sensation through his tense body. He almost let out a yelp but the sudden rush adrenaline kicked in sending the already blood-thirsty wolf into a mad fury.

He let go off the queen and dropped to the ground. Dirt, or maybe mud, got in to his wounds sending more painful sensations to course through him but he blindly ignored them as he got up, his paws quickly finding themselves on the ground. He lowered his body angrily and threw himself up at the queen's lower jaw, parting his own jaws and attempting to clamp them around Nala's jaw, or part of her throat. He no longer cared for the pup's safety just seeking revenge on the queen for no reason. As far as he was concerned the pup was as good as dead now.

Pepper stumbled over her paws, she had to keep running. If she stopped then she would die...she wasn't going to make it. The camp was too far and blood had drenched her side. The queen's claws had cut deep...far too deep. Her blood kept coming, she knew that if she bled too long she'd eventually die and she felt she'd lost too much blood already.

A vicious snarl caused her heart to plummet. The queen had caught up with her. She wasn't going to escape although she secretly knew she wouldn't. She had hoped her call would be heard...it was too late.

Instead of a cream lioness, a wolf leapt and Pepper stared as he soared over her to do battle with the lioness chasing her. A rat also appeared from nowhere, biting at the queen. Pepper could barely move, only stare at the two animals who had come to her rescue. She would have yelled for joy or laughed...but she felt so weak at that moment that it was taking all of her strength just to stand.

She stumbled, her eyes drooping but she fought to stay awake. She had to but she felt she was floating away. The darkness was lingering in the corners of her eyes, waiting to take her.

Too late. Too late... too late...

Perdita practically stopped dead when she finally reached Pepper. Her poor daughter lay before her, helpless and bleeding out from the wounds Nala had inflicted, and all Perdita could do was stand there in stunned disbelief. This didn't last long despite that. Perdita forced herself to move to Pepper's side and tried to control herself. She couldn't lose control of her emotions again. Not yet.

"Pepper... Pepper, can you hear me?" Perdita asked. She silently prayed that she wasn't far too late. She wanted to be by her daughter's side just in case it wasn't her final hour. In spite of that silent prayer, Perdita found herself doubting that it would be the case. A lioness was much more powerful than a pup could ever be. Even still, Perdita couldn't abandon Pepper. Not when she needed her. "Mother's here, darling. It... it's going to be okay..." Perdita murmured. She realized that probably wasn't true, but she wanted to try and reassure her daughter.

Why? Why did this have to happen?