R U N

[Mega]

Mega paces from side to side near the entrance of the cave before moving aside allowing the lionesses who were Jasper’s guards to move forward along with the man. Low growls leave Mega’s throat as he leaps down from rock to rock trailing them until he was on ground level looking up at Nala daring her to look him in the eyes begging him to tell him it wasn’t true that she had a hand in her own husbands murder.

Afua simply presses against Kopa having sat by his side while this whole thing had been going on.

"Guilty of collaborating with the queen to murder her own husband."

A mixture of a roar and cry escapes Mega’s lips and by all accounts it would look like he would either attack Jasper or Nala right there. The poor male was confused and conflicted as all hell.

Afua reels back at the man’s words head jerking in seconds to look at the crowds reaction to this statement from their ex leader.

~~~~~
“Oh blood hell” Silver gasps out, his gun clicks into place ready for the whole group to go into a frenzy and attack the pride-landers with him possibly in the middle of it.

“What? What is this madness?!” Grey Brother snarls out, “is this isn’t even about the black bloods and rouges it’s about you Nala, you and your dead husband!”

[Kopa]

Kopa had it up to here with Nala, and he was going to call her out. He left Afua's side and walked closer to where Nala was, as he was sick and tired of all these lies and the betrayal that he was at his breaking point.

"Are you kidding me? Then you should condemn yourself as well!" Kopa growled, loud enough for anyone to hear. "You were a part of Dad's-" he stopped. "of Simba's death just as much as Jasper was, and didn't tell a soul, even your own children because you wanted to save your own god dang hide!" his anger was to his max now.

He glared hard at Nala, his ear throbbing.

[Kiara]

Oh. Oooh no. Things were about to get so very messy. Crimson eyes shot from left to right as Jasper dropped the proverbial fat in the fire, stoking the tinder that was the air's tension in a palpable manner. It didn't take a genius to know that chaos was about to break loose. With nary a glance spared for her mother Kiara sidled away, backing up until she could slip between her fellow cats. A paw reached out to Afua's shoulder -- the only clear-headed member of Pride Rock she felt she could trust.


"Afua," her voice was low beneath the rising calls and roars, "we need a council. Go down into the crowd and see if you can find... Find..." Who was left? Jasper had been the only member of the council that Kiara knew personally, and the rest had become too scattered to find quickly. Who then could they call upon? The lioness felt her heartbeat quicken apprehensively. "Find people that can be trusted. Anyone well-respected, with... With fair opinions. Ask around if you need to, but try to bring them up here. Do it quickly!" Without a breath to waste Kiara slid away. Doing her best to keep behind the adults at the edge of Pride Rock - who were most readily visible to the crowd below - she crept to Jasper's back. Hopefully her height and the crowd's ire towards Nala would keep her from being noticed.

"If you're not careful you're going to cause a riot!" Fear brought her whisper to a hiss and a tremble to her legs, but the young teen did her best to keep her back straight despite it. Was she happy, asking for this man's guidance under the circumstances? Certainly not. But the day prior had proved clear as day that if the army were to listen to anyone, it would have to be one of his associates. Mother could not be allowed to preside over the trial, but in order to try and regain some form of control over what might very well become a mob Kiara needed a voice of reason. "I need help from someone they'll listen to. I don't --" A sudden shout from before made the child flinch, flattening her ears as her eyes shot to the source before returning. "I-I know they won't listen to me but I can't let this happen!"

[Mulan]

  Up until now, Mulan had remained stoic and silent; a good little soldier. She had found a place to stand amongst the throng of bodies, but unfortunately not near anyone she particularly knew. She could at least see some others, though: Silver with his young ward, Huela perched upon the Gourmand, and the rogue Flynn Rider, to name a few. It felt awkward, however, to go approaching them socially at a time like this, and it kept Mulan's feet rooted in place.

  Eyes drifting upward, Mulan's heart hung heavy in her chest, watching the cold gray clouds drift listlessly across the sky. Her mind still racked with terrible and conflicting thoughts, each more uncertain than the last. She wanted to believe Flynn and Silver, wanted so desperately for them to be right. Nala would only exile Jasper. She would only see him removed from his power and cast out, and he would take his closest companions with him. The Freedom Fighters were not an army of public executions. They wouldn't kill him.

  But there had been a tension in the air, electrically charged and so thick that Mulan found it suffocating. Her muscles were tightly coiled springs, her instincts screaming at her that something... no, everything was wrong. She looked up, up, high onto the ledge where the lioness queen presided over her court. It was intimidating to see her looming so high. It really did give a greater sense of intimidation to any onlookers from below. Perhaps that was the point.

  Nala called for Jasper, and he was led out in binding. Mulan's brows had furrowed then, her lips pursed into a fine line. But she had remained a good little soldier. The queen announced his crimes, and demanded his riposte.

  And Jasper had delivered.

"Guilty of collaborating with the queen to murder her own husband."

  A gasp was ripped from Mulan before she could stop it. Unsurprisingly, the trial's audience went into an uproar, with equal cries of accusation towards Jasper and those coming to his defense. Mulan herself was even less sure of what to think than ever before. The entire thing, a conspiracy?

  There was the chance that Jasper was lying, of course. You could scream any number of things in the face of such a desperate situation. But while she couldn't see his eyes from here, Mulan could hear it in his voice. Whatever the circumstance may be, Jasper believed what he said as the truth.

[Flynn Rider]

"Guilty of collaborating with the queen to murder her own husband."

Wait.

Did he just say-

...

What.

WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?

Flynn quickly glanced side to side and all around as the Freedom Fighters burst into chaos. The untrained eye would have lost those he had kept his eye on in the madness, but he didn't get his crown as the best rogue in Corona for having an untrained eye. (And if you're sick and tired of hearing how he was the best rogue in Corona, hooooooooooooooo boy you're in for a ride!) Flynn noticed Tarzan, crouched in a tree; Mulan, desperately trying to understand what happened; Silver readying some sort of a gun for who knows what; and oddly enough, an adolescent lioness crouching beside Jasper, seeming pretty worried. Flynn couldn't tell if it was the Crown Princess Kiara or not, but Eugene didn't need to know that. His priorities were completely the same as the last time the Freedom Fighters burst into chaos; make sure Rapunzel was safe and sound, then find friends and get out of there. 

Problem One: Making sure the two of them could get to Corona or any safe area safely. Meaning they needed a ride out of there.

And Eugene was pretty sure he knew a cook with a ship.

Flynn pulled the frying pan off of his side and held it high as he rushed into the crowd. If Rapunzel was looking for him and was worried, a raised frying pan would be hard to miss. Rushing, jumping, sliding past people, he kept his eyes focused on Silver, reaching him under a minute.

Not fast enough, Fitzherbert.

"Silver, Jim, it's me, Flynn! Listen, maybe it's because I'm not versed in Lion-Kingdom politics, but this feels more like a battleground than a courtroom. Perhaps we should, oh I don't know, get out of here before we lose more than our wits?"

Come on Blondie...Find me so we can get out of here...

John Silver Rapunzel  Jim Hawkins

[Nala]

Nala sniffed in disapproval. Submission would have been Jasper's best defense. She might have exiled him for that gesture of goodwill. But there was no possibility of mercy now.

"Am I the Blackblood Legion?" she asked the defendant derisively.

Nala could sense the rising tension and felt every hair in her pelt tingling. The incensed crowd grew louder and louder. She better hurry this along before it got out of hand.

"Are you kidding me? Then you should condemn yourself as well! You were a part of Dad's - of Simba's death just as much as Jasper was and didn't tell a soul, even your own children because you wanted to save your own God dang hide!"

Nala paid no heed to Kopa's words. "The prince is tired," she said. Two new lionesses appeared, seemingly from out of nowhere, to flank Kopa on each side. "See him to his chambers."

Kopa was corralled inside. Nala did not watch him leave, nor did she notice her daughter's absence.

She then drew herself up to full height. "Jasper is a traitor," she reminded the agitated crowd through bared teeth. "He conspired with the Blackblood Legion to murder our KING! How many more of us would he have picked off? How can we trust Jasper not to betray our secrets or turn on us in the future? He has betrayed us once, and he will do it again - unless we put a stop to it right here, right now. There is no room in the Pride Lands for divided loyalties."

Then Nala did something strange:

"Kanzi, do come up here."

[Huela]

“Bullshit!”

For the first time since her arrival, the little scrapper seems primed and ready to brawl. Despite her size, despite her lack of strength, Huela seems absolutely outraged, and her voice is adding to the rising chaos.

“If you were in on this too, you should be punished, too! Traitor!!”

——

Magma eyes follow Flynn as he pushes through the crowd towards Silver, and her lips couldn’t help but curl up into an almost... wicked smirk. It seemed the nay-sayer’s pure and perfect monarchy was pious and rotten, and now they scrambled from the truth like roaches in the light. It was lovely to see.

But one form wasn’t moving.

Stone coils gently work through the crowd, eventually looping carefully around Mulan’s ankles. Sure, the told-you-so’s were sweet, but they weren’t the focus here. The whole army— every ally — was caught in what seemed to be evolving into a playground squabble over blame. But for more dangerous. And with far more weapons.

“Miss... Mulan, is it? It’s growing dangerous out here. Please, try to focus. You need to stay alert.”

Despite her appearance, Dhall’s words to the woman are soothing and cool. The Monarchy could crumble, for all she cared. But the soldiers didn’t need to suffer any damage due to it. Mulan has no part in this drama: she shouldn’t suffer for it.

[John Silver]

"Silver, Jim, it's me, Flynn! Listen, maybe it's because I'm not versed in Lion-Kingdom politics, but this feels more like a battleground than a courtroom. Perhaps we should, oh I don't know, get out of here before we lose more than our wits?"

“Aye lad” Silver turns to look at Eugene giving him a confused look as if he wasn’t going to recognize him. “I got the same sinking feeling, let’s get our arses outta here before it gets worse. Grab the others and meet me at my ship” he gently pushes Jim forward now “Jimbo, get to yer ship and gather as many of our group that want to get out of here.” Silver instructs before moving through the now very angry crowd of soldiers. He pauses however looking back as Nala speaks once more.

[Jasper]

Screams of protest from both sides of the crowd rung out like the chime of a bell as he spat out his poisonous words but it was almost as if they hadn't phased Nala. Some part of him wanted to look down towards his army, to see their reactions, to know that they believed he was telling the truth yet all he could do was stare at Nala.

The animosity directed towards her was ever growing, rapidly and violently like fire catching the dry brush, setting everything aflame. He had no want to reel in his intentions, he wanted blood, he wanted revenge for what she had done. In his mind, he knew the truth, all of it. How things were much more twisted than anyone realized. The only other people who knew of it were dead. His brother and Simba.

He wished one of them were alive, to help prove how wicked Nala was. How he had not wanted anything to do with this in the first place. But... Love was a funny thing. Especially after coming out of something so traumatic as losing everyone you cared about. He had been deceived by her, deceived by Simba. He had been certain things would change but he was so ungodly wrong. Things had turned dark fast and before he could do anything to stop it she had him in her grips. Her claws on his throat but he was not the only one who ended up suffering.

"Kanzi, do come up here."

Bile raised in his throat, sickness building to the point he wanted to throw up. Kiara's words barely got Jasper to glance down at her, but his expression said two things. He could not control what the crowd decided to do, and that something very, very wrong was about to happen. His gaze shifted hurriedly back to Nala, teeth bared but the anger did not reach his eyes as before only fear shimmered through. "Leave them out of this." He whispered harshly.

[Jim Hawkins]

Jim was still pacing when Silver had even pushed him gently. He wasn't really choosing any sides, but he was worried for both the lion family and pride and the ones who supported Jasper.

He wasn't biased, but he did know they probably had to leave and he wouldn't hesitate at a chance to.

He quickly moved to his ship and glanced at Silver to see what else he wanted him to do. "You're not very specific!" He called.