Kovu was a rather satisfied lion. As he watched over the African sunset, he thought about his wonderful new pride. He had everything he wanted; Kiara, a friendly home, a fair king, a plentyful supply of food... what more could he want?
In the morning Kovu woke early, determind to explore more of the pride lands, that was now his permanent home. However, Simba came up to him and asked if he could speak to him.
"About what?" Asked Kovu nervously, wondering what he could have possibly done wrong.
"Well, Kovu, I'm getting old now and I suppose sometime I shall have to retire from being king." Simba answered. "And I was wondering if you would follow in my pawprints and become the new leader."
Kovu couldn't believe his ears! Surely he couldn't be king, as he had betrayed the pride so many times in the past! Simba must have been joking.
"No way...really?" Stammered Kovu, not sure what to say.
"Well, surely you should of known that you would be the heir. You are the future queen's husband, you know." Said Simba. "Plus, you and Kiara are the only lions in the pride that have cubs right now."
Kovu smiled to himself as he thought of his first cub. He and Kiara had been so proud! It was their own little girl! Kovu loved visiting Kiara in the evenings, as she couldn't walk much for a few days and she had only given birth a few days a go.
"Tommorow I retire and you become king," Continued Simba. "We shall also need a ceremony for your little cub, as she will be your heir. Later I'll give you a little training, and tommorow you're into action as the new king of the pride lands!"
Kovu listened, astonished. He was so happy. Later, after his training, he went to tell Kiara the news.
"Kiara...did you know that we're..." However, it was obvious that Kiara already knew, as she bounded up and down, shouting, completley forgetting about her cub.
"I know, I know!" She screamed. "I've been waiting to be queen for ages and ages!"
"Alright, alright, settle down! You need to remember you're not supposed to run for at least a week after you've given birth." Sighed Kovu.
"You cares about that stupid advice that that baboon gives me," Growled Kiara. "I feel fine, and anyway, it's close enough to a week anyhow."
Kovu rolled his eyes. Sometimes Kiara really annoyed him, though most of the time he loved her loads.
"Also, Simba suggested to me a ceremony for our girl," Mentioned Kovu. "So it would be wise to discuss to Rafiki about the occasion."
"There's no way that the baboon is gonna hold my baby over the cliff of pride rock!" Exclaimed Kiara, horrified. "What if he drops her, or holds her too tight so that she chokes, or worse!!!!"
Kovu chuckled loudly. When Kiara wasn't being annoying, or she wasn't being a really lovely wife, she was being extremely funny, though she didn't mean it! Kovu had a lot of laughing fits when Kiara was in humour mode!!
When Kovu and Kiara had finally calmed down, they said goodnight to eachother.
"Night night, Kovu."
"Goodnight, Kiara. Tommorow a new era starts; king Kovu's reign! Wish me luck!"
"I shall! Goodnight!"
Kovu woke the next morning, feeling really excited and proud. He couldn't wait! All of a sudden, loads of lionesses and Simba ran into the cave.
"Good morning, your majesty!"
"Hello, sire!"
"Congratulations, king Kovu!"
Kovu grinned at them all as he walked proudly out of the cave. Outside, Kiara waited for him.
"This is brilliant!" Exclaimed Kiara. "Now every animal does what we say!"
"Don't you mean what I say?" Corrected Kovu."I'm the king."
Kiara, who was rather surprised by Kovu's boastful attitude, suggested that they go and play outside.
"Oh Kiara, grow up. I have no time to play. I've got alot of royal responsibilities I need to attend to." Said Kovu, sighing.
"Oh fine. But don't let being king make you big - headed." Snapped Kiara. "Pride comes before a fall!"
Kovu had a really good day of being king. He checked all the antelope, the zebras, the elephants and all the other animals on the plains. He remebered his quick training from the night before.
"Right, I shall now check the lionesses to see who is going out hunting today." Said Kovu to himself.
He arrived back at Pride Rock and nearly bumped into Vitani, his sister.
"Aha. Good morning, Vitani." Said Kovu to Vitani.
"Hello, Kovu. Or should I say, your majesty!" She answered. "I'll be going out hunting with Nala today."
"Ok." Answered Kovu.
Kovu wandered over to where Simba was.
"Kovu, has your first day of being king been ok for you?" Asked Simba.
"Oh yes, certainly." Answered Kovu.
"Well, Kovu. As you know, I'm quite old and everything now, so I just thought...I might go on vacation."
Kovu snorted loudly. He couldn't manage being king without Simba.
"Well...ok but...I don't think I'll impress you, but for you, I'll try." Stammered Kovu shyly.
Simba smiled. "I shall be back in about a week or two, not that long. Don't worry, Kovu. I know you'll do me proud. I'm going to spread the news now, but I'll shall be leaving later."
Kovu nodded in agreement, though he still didn't think he could do it on his own.
A few days went by and Kovu became a rather successful king. Everyone liked him and thought him a fair king.
However, one day, things turned for the worse.
That day Kovu was wondering through the savannah with Kiara, checking up on all the animals and listening to Zazu's morning report. Suddenly, he saw a flash of brown through the tall grass. Kovu creeped up to the brown shadow.
"Who's there?" He growled.
"Father?" Came the nervous reply. "Where are you?"
"Who's that?" Whispered Kovu to Kiara.
"Oh no, its Kopa!" Said Kiara to Kovu.
"Kiara? Well, of course it's me. Who do you think it is?" Snapped Kopa, still out of sight.
"Who's Kopa? Like your big brother or something?" Asked Kovu, only joking.
"Exactly."
"I was kidding, Kiara, he's not really your..."
"I said he is my brother! Now shush, or he'll hear us!"
Kopa, who was getting impatient, carried on asking who was there.
"Alright, I've had enough. Dad, Kiara, show yourselves." Kopa scowled.
Kovu and Kiara found Kopa, who was rather surprised by Kovu's appearence. Kopa was a rather bulky lion, who resembled his father apart from his light brown mane.
"Hello Kiara, and hello Fa- you're not Simba! Where's Simba and WHO is that??" Roared Kopa.
"Oh, Kopa, this is Kovu." Started Kiara. "Kovu, Kopa. Kopa, Kovu is my hudband and current king. Father's on vacation.
Kopa couldn't believe his ears! He knew Kovu alright - Scar's heir! How DARE he marry his little sister, and why on earth did Simba make him KING?? Kopa's mind was whizzing with horrible thoughts.
"Scar's hand chosen heir?!!" Gasped Kopa. "Kiara, you and father are idiots! You let HIM in???"
"Wait! I can explain..."
"You listen to me, Kiara! That Kovu is out of our pride at once! His reign has finished!!"
"Please, Kopa. I come in peace. You see, everyone here has put the past behind them, so there are now no followers of Scar, not even me, exist anymore." Explained Kovu.
"What a pathetic bunch of lies!" Roared Kopa. "I'M now the current king until my father comes back, and when he does return, I will explain to him why he found you dying of the starvation in the outlands, where you belong."
Kopa aimed an attack, hunching down into a pouncing position.
"KOPA, NO..." Screamed Kiara.
However it was too late. Kopa lunged at Kovu, grabbing at his tail with his jaws. Kovu tried to struggle free, but, in his attempts, lost half his tail within Kopa's jaws.
Kovu's roars of pain made Kiara scream. She told Kovu to run while she went to fetch help. What were they going to do now??
However fast Kovu ran, Kopa was still only a few feet behind, making sure he was lost in the outlands once and for all. Kovu felt really dizzy.
He collapsed unconsious.
Kiara, who was in extreme shock, galloped across the plains towards Pride Rock for help. She was so frightened about what had happened to Kovu. She now positively hated her older brother. If only he understood.
Kiara stopped to think. She thought about where Kovu could have gone. Kiara decided she wasn't going back to Pride Rock, instead she would just go and find Kovu, to protect him. She couldn't bear to think about Kovu on his own, in the outlands.
Kiara quickly fetched her cub from her cave of Pride Rock. While she was there, she overheard Kopa talking to the lionesses about what had happened.
"It was a terrible tragedy, to lose two valuble pride members," Weeped Kopa. "Kovu killed and Kiara lost...how will we cope..."
Kiara frowned as she listened to what Kopa was saying. Then she realised. What a liar! She couldn't believe what Kopa was saying. How could he be so horrible to his own sister? Kiara furiously grabbed at her cub and made a dash out of Pride Rock.
When she made it to the outlands, she softly called to Kovu.
"Kovu? Where are you? Please come out, it's only me, Kiara. Kopa's gone, now." She called.
Kovu appeared from a dead bush. He walked over to Kiara and hugged her.
"Oh Kiara. You should of got help." He whispered.
"I couldn't bear to leave you on your own." Kiara answered.
"Kiara, what are we going to do?"
Kiara thought for a few minutes.
"We have to go back." She decided.
"We can't!" Shouted Kovu in despair.
"Shush, or someone will hear! Look, Kopa doesn't know that our two prides have now joined. He will probably think that there has been a raid of outlanders since Father's gone, which is why we must go back and explain. We have to, before he kills half of the pride!" Explained Kiara.
"So, do you know the way back? Because I certainly don't!" Snapped Kovu miserably.
"We'll just have to try," Said Kiara. "It's our only hope."
So Kiara and Kovu tried navigating which way was the pridelands. However, the further they went, the more barren the landscape became. They were surely and truly lost.
After a whole day of searching for home, Kiara and Kovu decided to give up. Instead, they tried to make themselves at home in a cave they found.
"This should do for the night," Said Kiara. "Kovu, look after the cave while I go and find something for tea."
Kiara decided to leave a trail of leaves behind everywhere she went, so that she didn't get lost. It was still very worrying though, as she thought the leaves might blow away. She used coconuts instead.
Kiara searched everywhere for something to eat, however there was literally no life out here at all. She wondered about going back and asking Kovu how on earth he and his family survived out here when they were outlanders. In the end, she thought about Timon and Pumbaa. What if she dug in the sand and tried looking for grubs? It wouldn't be a very nice meal, but it would be something.
She ate a few and gathered some up for Kovu. She then followed her trail of coconuts back to the cave. However, when she got to the cave, she heard a gentle sob from inside.
"Kovu...?" Whispered Kiara.
She walked slowly in the cave. There she saw Kovu, standing over a dead lioness.
"What happened?" Kiara asked nervously.
Kovu didn't say anything. Kiara went to see for herself.
"Vitani!!" She screamed.
"Kopa killed her!" He roared. "She followed your trail of coconuts and found me here. She was limping. She said that Kopa had killed any pride members in our pride who were related to Scar or Zira!"
"What else did she say?" Asked Kiara.
"Nothing. She died before she could say anymore..." Sobbed Kovu.
Kiara and Kovu were devastated.
"Oh, Father. PLEASE come back..." Begged Kiara to the stars that night. "Everything is turning upside - down. WHY did you leave us in charge? WHY didn't you tell Kopa about the outlanders joining us? We don't know what to do..."
However, the stars were as silent as Kiara had expected them to be.
Back at Pride Rock Kopa had chased off all the former outlanders and relatives to Zira. Nala, Sarabi and Sarafina had all made an effort to explain, but Kopa just growled at all of them, completely ignoring their explanations.
And it wasn't just the lions that were troubled. Zazu was prancing up and down in his tree, trying to think what to do.
"Why can't Simba return?" Sqwaked Zazu to himself.
Zazu suddenly had an idea. What if he could fly off and try to find Simba and tell him what had been happening at Pride Rock? Simba had told Zazu where he was going and how to get there, however Zazu was having trouble remembering what he had said.
"Now, I know it began with C," Thought Zazu. "It sounded something like float...coat? Croat? Cone? Cole?"
However Zazu had never heard of places like that before. He then saw two lion cubs from a distant pride play in the waterhole. That reminded him!
"Coast! That's it! Simba said he was going to the coast of Africa!!!" Shouted Zazu triumphly. "Right, I better be going! East coast here I come!"
Zazu flew over Pride Rock and way beyond the Pride Lands. He didn't need to worry about getting lost like Kiara did. Zazu was a navagating expert, he literally knew everywhere in Africa off by heart.
He finally got to the outlands. Zazu saw a bit of land that had been dug up. How very strange...who would of dug that up????
He carried on his journey, perching on trees occasionly for a bit of a rest. Finally, after hours and hours of flying, Zazu made it to the sea. He stared out to the bright blue sea, wondering where Simba could be. Fortunally, he saw a lion - shaped figure walking along the sandy beach.
"SIMBA! OVER HERE!!" Shouted Zazu, landing a few metres behind Simba.
Simba turned around to see who was shouting. He was very surprised to find Zazu calling to him.
"Zazu! What is it?" Called Simba to Zazu.
Zazu flew over to Simba and perched on his shoulder.
"Simba! It's Kopa! He's returned!"
"Yes, but what's so bad about that?"
"Don't you realise he doesn't know about Kovu and the outlanders? He thinks that they raided Pride Rock while you were away. So, misunderstanding, Kopa chased away all relatives or followers of Zira or Scar. Vitani tried standing up for them, but Kopa killed her!"
Simba was shocked at what he was hearing. He needed to return to the pride lands at once.
"And what about Kiara and Kovu?" Asked Simba nervously.
"Kopa chased away Kovu and Kiara," Explained Zazu. "He literally bit Kovu's tail off. I saw it all. However, when he got to Pride Rock, he lied to all of the remaining pride, saying that they were lost, when actually he chased them away himself."
"We've got to go back immediantly!" Exclaimed Simba. My daughter will have died of starvation out in those outlands! Come on, we need to hurry."
So Simba and Zazu started the race against time. If time won, then Simba might have lost his daughter, his great grandaughter, and his son - in - law.
Meanwhile, in the outlands desert, Kiara and Kovu were dying of starvation. Grubs weren't enough to fill a lion's belly. It was hopeless trying to get back to Pride Rock, and anyway, if there was a miracle that they managed to find there way back, Kopa would just kill them anyway. That night Kovu and Kiara were discussing what to do.
"It's hopeless, Kiara. We are going to die. Lets just face it." Said Kovu miserably. When Simba returns, how will he find us, anyway?"
"Kovu, don't give up hope. Quick, look. There's a shooting star. Let's wish that everything will be ok when Simba returns." Suggested Kiara.
"Kiara, I'm not in the mood for silly baby jokes." Groaned Kovu. However, as soon as Kiara had left to go to the cave, she could hear him doing exactly what she had suggested.
"I wish everything will be ok when Simba returns." Wished Kovu. "Oh, this is pathetic. I'm just gonna go to sleep."
So he joined Kiara in the cave.
The night was a very long and miserable one.
Meanwhile Simba had finally made it to the pride lands.
"Quickly! Over to Pride Rock."
Simba and Zazu sprinted over to Pride Rock.
Meanwhile Sarafina, Sarabi and Nala were trying to persuade Kopa to try and find Kiara and Kovu.
"They're not worth it." Growled Kopa. "We're better off without them."
"Kiara is my daughter!!!" Screamed Nala. "And you practically murdered her!!"
Simba watched as Nala made an attempt to bite Kopa, but Kopa slapped her before she could.
Simba had had enough. He pounced furiously onto Pride Rock and shoved Kopa over.
"SIMBA!!" Everyone screamed.
"Father?" Asked Kopa, nervously.
"Kopa, WHERE is Kiara and Kovu?"
"Oh, father, I have something to tell you. Well, while you were gone, the outlanders attacked our kingdom, and Kovu, Scar's hand chosen heir, became king. So, I protected your kingdom by chasing them away. Sadly, Kiara was so addicted to that horrible Kovu, that she was so pathetic to go with him."
Everyone gasped as they heard the truth.
"Kopa, you are in A LOT of trouble." Scolded Simba.
"But I was only trying to proctect Pride Rock." Answered Kopa, confused.
"You've made a huge mistake."
"But..."
"No buts, I'll explain when we find Kovu, Kiara, Vitani..."
"Oh, er...Vitani's dead."
"WHAT? You killed her???"
Kopa nodded his head, shamely.
"Look, Kopa. Let me say..." Started Simba.
"Yes, I know, Dad. Everyone was trying to tell me, but i was so stupid not to listen to them. I never believed that our two prides would ever mingle. Zira feels so strongly about Scar...by the way, where is Zira?"
"She died a while ago."
"Oh," Said Kopa. "So that's why the outlanders came here. Because there was no Zira to stop them."
Simba nodded.
"What have I done!!!???" Cried Kopa. "I thought I knew it all. I've probably killed my own sister..."
"Let's go and look for them. You are probably right, you may never see your sister again."
Simba, Nala, Sarabi, Sarafina and Kopa went out to the outlands to search for Kiara and Kovu.
"KIARA, KOVU," Called Simba.
"Simba! Look!" Cried Nala. The ground has been dug up here...could have Kiara or Kovu done some digging for food?"
Sarabi saw the trail of coconuts.
"Hey! Let's follow this trail. Kiara might have dropped coconuts wherever she went so that she didn't lose Kovu." She said.
"Well done girls!" Praised Simba. "Well spotted! Come on, guys. Lets find them!"
The search party followed the trail of coconuts until they came to the cave.
"Kiara!" Shouted Nala!
"Mum!"
Everyone was pleased to see Kiara...but where was Kovu?
"Where's Kovu?" Asked Simba.
"I don't know. He went out hunting a few minutes ago. Let's follow his trail."
So everyone followed yet another trail, which led to a rather familiar place for Simba.
"The wildebeast gorge!" Exclaimed Simba. "The herds are on the move! What if Kovu is down there?"
"He is!"
Just then, they saw Kovu clinging on to the side of the gorge.
"KOVU!!" Screamed Kiara.
Kiara started to run towards him, however Kopa got in her way.
"No, don't risk your life. I will rescue him. I have been the one to treat him so badly. I am responsible for his battered tail."
"Alright, but be careful." Warned Simba. "I have bad memories from here."
Kopa ran to the edge of the cliff.
"Kovu!"
"What are you doing here?" Snapped Kovu, still clinging on to the edge of the cliff.
"I'm trying to rescue you."
"Why??? Before you were trying to kill me. No, I'll get up myself."
"But Simba's back, Kovu. I've realised I've made a big mistake, and I'm really sorry," Explained Kopa. "Just let me help you out of here and I'll explain..."
But Kovu refused. "I don't trust you."
But, just as Kovu struggled again to get back on his own, he lost his grip...and fell exactly the same way Mufasa had.
"AAAAAAH!!" He screamed.
"NOOOO!"
Everyone stared as Kovu fell within the wildebeest stampede. As soon as the herds stopped, Kiara was the first one down to find Kovu.
"Kovu!" Called Kiara.
Everyone went down to join her.
"I'm sorry, Kiara," Apologised Kopa. "I tried."
"I know." She weeped.
Just then, there a lion - like figure came from within the dust. As he closer, everyone could see who it was.
"KOVU!!" Everyone screamed.
"I'm sorry, Kovu." Said Kopa to Kovu. "I understand now."
Kovu smiled weakly to Kopa.
"I forgive you. Like Simba says, we are one."
When they got back, they had a big surprise.
"My family!" Cried Kovu. "I thought Kopa had chased you away for good!!!"
"Zazu showed us the way back," Called one lioness. "We thought it was safe to return when we heard Simba was back."
"Oh yes, Kopa's learnt his lesson." Agreed Simba.
"Oh, before we celebrate," Mentioned Kiara. "I've got one more question. Who's king?"
Simba thought for a moment.
"All three of us can rule together." Said Simba, looking from Kopa to Kovu.
So that's how it was. Simba, Kovu, and Kopa ruled together.
Kovu was happy again. He might not exactly be a king anymore, but it certainly was better than living out in the outlands! He watched his cub grow up to be a valuble member of the pride, and him and Kopa eventually (it took a while!) became friends.
"I am so lucky," Thought Kovu one night. "What a wonderful world."
T H E E N D