drank a quarter of the bottle, and wanted some more liquor, and fast.  "It's mine, monkey! Finder's keepers. " Sarafina said, clutching the bottle with obsessive determination." It's mine, monkey. Finder's keepers. " Sarafina said.  Sarafina dis is not yours its Rafiki's for de medical purposes of cleaning wounds. Besides Rafiki found it in the aeroplane and Rafiki needs it." The baboon said wisely.

"No, monkey! I found it unattended, and I don't care what you think; so it's mine!"

"Sarafina, dis is not just for drinking; and if you don't hand it over, then you get a nasty bump on your head."

"Oh yeah? Well, I'll smack you so hard, you'll wish you were never born!" The half-inebriated lioness snarled. Why you." Rafiki was about to smack Sarafina with his stick when Nala heard the yelling stopped her nursing and padded over to the arguing. "Mom! Rafiki, what's going on here?" Nala asked in a soft tone.

"Nala, dear; please tell this stupid monkey that I found this bottle of... what do you call it? Liquor, right?" Sarafina said, looking at her daughter with unfocused eyes.

Rafiki looked at her sternly. "Nala, you tell your mother that Rafiki found dis bottle from the aeroplane, and Rafiki needs the liquor for fixing cuts and scrapes." The Mandrill said angrily, glaring disdainfully at the alcoholic Queen Mother.

Nala sighed, looking up at her dipsomaniac mother sadly. "Mom, you heard him; he needs the liquor for healing, so you can't have it. Besides, I don't want you drinking any liquor today, anyway. I need you to lead the hunt tonight; and I don't want to have to deal with one plastered lioness staggering all over the savannah while we're out hunting!"

Sarafina gasped, highly offended. "Nala, that's no way to talk to your mother! Y-You're *hiccup* grounded..."

Nala sighed in exasperation. "Mom, you can't do than anymore! I'm an adult
now, and the Queen; so you must listen to me." she said sternly.

"Hmph! Fine, honey; I am going to sunbathe since I can't drink." Sarafina said
bitterly, walking off in a huff. "Just remember that I raised you, too." Sarafina grumbled to herself as she left to go sunbathing.

Nala shook her head, slightly amused and annoyed by the brief spat, and went
back to nurse Kiara.

Rafiki took the bottle to attend to the wounded, as Mheetu and Ashanti
approached Nala to inform her that they were going to take a honeymoon
vacation. "Hey, Mheetu! How are you, little bro?" Nala hugged her brother warmly.

"Fine, Sis. How's my little niece doing?" Mheetu said, looking down at Kiara.

Nala smiled, nuzzling her daughter warmly. "Kiara's just fine; aren't you? Yes you are; yes you are!" Nala said, speaking to Kiara in baby-talk. For the first time, a smile cracked across the young cub's face.

"Aww! She smiled!" Ashanti said cheerfully.

"She sure did." Mheetu agreed, looking down at his niece adoringly.

"Yes, Kiara's first smile.." Nala sighed. She looked up, wondering why Mheetu
had come over in the first place. "So Bro, what's on your mind?"

"Well, Ashanti and I are informing you that we are taking a Honeymoon
Vacation, and will be back in three or four weeks."

Nala's eyes brightened curiously, "Oh, where you are you two going?" Nala asked.

Ashanti spoke up first, "Well... first we're visiting my parents for a bit..." Nala could plainly see the look of distaste on Mheetu's face at the prospect of meeting his in-laws, " and then we are going to that jungle where you and Simba grew up."

"Well that should be fun. Just... let me give you advice about the jungle before you leave." Nala said. Nala whispered in Ashanti's ear briefly, and then and wished Mheetu and Ashanti good luck before hugging them both goodbye.

Back in the Outlands, Vitani awoke in her new home to the sound of crying. She sighed, looking around the termite mound. She didn't want to wake up, but couldn't help it; Kovu was loud!.

Vitani was busy quieting her brother down, when she noticed two lionesses, one
younger than the other, walk in. Vitani's demeanor brightened when she saw the
two lionesses she recognized. "Tama! Spotty! I thought I would never see you
again!"

"Vitani! Boy, are we glad to see you."

"We are here to help you adjust to your new life." Spotty said coldly, acting as if she had been trained to repeat those words from memory. She was acting too brainwashed for this to be normal!

Unbeknownst to the lions, you see, Vitani's guilt was for naught; Kopa was
alive! He had survived his fall.. only to be captured by a naturalist. The naturalist had found the unconscious cub at the bottom of the waterfall, and had brought the cub back to his research facility in Kruger National Park, South Africa. The researchers and vets and studied him in his unconscious state briefly, before shipping him off to be bounced between zoos. Unfortunately, Kopa had no idea of what a zoo was, and could only spend the few moments he spent awake peering out of a shipping crate, wondering where the hell he was and what was going on. He was regularly given tranquilizers to keep him unconscious, until he arrived at his destination... Brooklyn Zoo.

Kopa awoke, alive but groggy, in middle of the night, surrounded by weird  howling noises. He slowly got to his feet, looking around with wide-eyed curiosity; he couldn't see much in the darkness, but could her all sorts of animals around him. He was walking on short grass, unlike any he had known in Africa.

He sniffed around, until he caught the scent of meat; right in front of him was a large raw steak, courtesy of Morton's Steakhouse in downtown Brooklyn. Kopa didn't know that; he just knew there was a fresh piece of meat in front of him.

Where am I? What is type of meat is that? What is this place? he thought, as he continued observing his surroundings. "Your in the Brooklyn Zoo kid." A  silverish tan and pitch black wolf with Electric green eyes said as he approached the edge of his enclosure to where Kopa was.

"You're in the Brooklyn Zoo, kid." said a voice in the darkness. Kopa spun
around to see a pitch-black wolf with streaks of silver in his fur and
electric-green eyes approaching the edge of Kopa's enclosure.

"Where?" What are you?"

"I am a timber wolf; but you can call me Strike. This is Brooklyn, a borough in a human city called New York." Strike explained. "My name is Kopa, I am from Africa. I was the Prince of our pride before I came here. The only humans I've heard about back there were dead in an aeroplane.

"That’s airplane kid. So you're from Africa. I was born here in the US. My mother was captured and died when I was only three weeks old.

  Strike snorted, "That's airplane, kid. So you're from Africa; I was born here in the US. My mother was captured and died when I was only three weeks old." he said rather casually, as if it was something he rarely thought about.

"Oh, I see. Well, I don't know much about wolves... or where I am for that
matter; but I would like to go home now." Kopa said, a touch of panic in his voice.

"Sorry, Kid; but you live here now."

"But my Mom and Dad-"

"Kid, just shut it and eat your stake." Strike said sharply, obviously annoyed.

"What?" Kopa said in confusion.

Strike sighed heavily. "The New York-cut steak in front of you. That piece of meat..."

"I've never heard of it; don't they have any zebra or antelope?"

"Kid, humans can't afford to feed you what you normally eat, so make do with you got and go back to sleep." Strike said before turning around.

"Um... okay. But I have more questions for you-"

Strike spun around, obviously tired and extremely irritated. The lion cub was really getting on his nerves... "Kid, you've got a lot to learn." he barked, and walked off into the darkness of his own enclosure. Once he had left, Kopa walked over to his steak curiously, taking a large bite out of it, and brightening up instantly; whatever it was, it was tasty. "Wow, this is better than Wildebeest!"

"Kid, shut up and go to sleep!" Yelled Strike. Kopa silently finished the steak, and lay back down on the short grass, staring up at the smog-blurred sky. A single tear ran down his face as he wondered if he would ever find home
again...

Chapter 3 A fairly Normal day for Pridlanders.

Somehow, it was taking longer to brainwash Vitani. In fact, two months had gone by, and she still didn't crack. But her treatment at the hands of Zira was bad enough; she was downright tortured by her; mentally, physically... and emotionally. Kovu, on the other hand, was easier; he was captured as a baby, and was now two months going on three. He was learning how to speak, and was starting to eat meat after being weaned with Tama's help. Nuka, now a teen, was always making fun of Kovu out of jealousy; but would be severely punished by Zira for it. Nuka was not to be Scar's heir; Kovu was.

No matter how valiantly she fought her torture, Vitani cracked to Zira's proselytization eventually. After weeks of resistance, there came one night when she was sparring with Spotty... and wasn't concentrating, either. She was too busy reflecting on the loss of her beloved