Taka_Pl's foreword 

“LLtQ - Beyond Redemption" is not a usual story (even for Cogitor, who writes rather unusual ones…). That is an alternative ending to “Long Live the Queen”, fanfic authored by me and published on Animation Source few months back. To read it, You have to follow original story – at least to 8th chapter. However knowing the whole plot-line of my tales is very helpful. But because You are reading this, I assume that is not a problem for You. So take a look on that extremely original fanproject.
 I guess that all fanfics are born thanks to surprise and insufficiency. Then We are reading book, watching film or comic, We are often crying: “No! not that way! I would have done it ten times better!” Doesn’t matter if that bold statement is true or not, We often write down a story that seems better in our eyes. Even if We are creating sequel or prequel, We use our own vision of favourite universe and that’s why such a text is so frequently very inspiring and wrapping up. If You add to this good execution – the result could give us some real pleasure and amusement.
 Cogitor started from the same point – he read my story and rated it with note lower than other of my tales. Some elements of that text irritated him so much, that I guess he said “I would have done it ten times better!” too. It’s up to You to decide if his version is actual better one (I’m the last person to judge it), but You have to check the story first. The whole set is the same, up to VIII Chapter (beginning of third part on ff.net version). From that point Cogitor’s vision starts to mix with original setting (my parts are marked with italic) and finally – his imagination takes over the scene. So You have here two snacks at once – my original idea, my basic plot-line and characters, but transformed according to Cogitor’s conclusion “how it would be if…”
 “If” is very interesting. Perhaps some straight-edged fans of my stylistics and “takaish” feeling (there are any? ;P ) would be shocked about what Cogitor did with original, but for me all changes are rewarded with stunning style of author, his extraordinary feeling of epic and plot keeping Reader in suspense until the end.
 Story is simply skillfully written, wrapping up till the end and setting very high expectations about future writing of Author.
TakaPL
March 2008

VIII For old times' sake

It means no Ancient Ones would help him. Someone from down here could.

As the night crept on, Vitani found it increasingly harder to keep her eyes shut. With every breath she took, she felt like she was becoming more conscious of her surroundings, more aware of the tension building up in her lean body.
Not to mention she felt like she was being watched. Like some unknown specter's eyes stared at her from the cold distance. She wasn't to far off on that account, but all in all, it wasn't that which was keeping her from sleeping, nor was it the trouble of pregnancy. More than anything else, a dark shadow which lay beyond her sight kept her up. The shadow of Priderock.
Only when Umeme had arrived in the Outlands the previous day, Vitani had fully understood the dire situation she was in. She was, in effect, being deposed. Deposed in all silence and discretion, sure, but deposed nonetheless. And as things were looking now, there was not a damn thing she could do about that.
She couldn't just go back and demand to be put back on the throne as queen, even though that was what the law dictated. But laws are hollow when you lack the power to enforce them. That's the thing about laws: they're all about power. And let that be just the thing she lacked. She lacked both moral authority, as most Pridelanders loathed her, and muscle, only having a retinue of less than half a dozen lionesses.
That lack of lionesses also ruled out the possibility of just seizing power again by force; as much as Nala deserved a decent trashing, Vitani knew she wasn't in a position to hand it out.
And let's not forget, her beloved Tanabi still walked the thin line between life and death, which would alone be enough to worry Vitani sick.
No wonder she couldn't sleep.
But Vitani wouldn't be Vitani if she just laid there worrying. She needed to come up with a solution, and preferably fast; the longer she waited around, the longer the lionesses of Priderock would have to become accustomed to the idea of Vitani being 'just another Outlander'. And she'd be damned if she'd let that happen. She decided she'd start by finding a better place to think.
The lioness carefully got up, maneuvering around her sleeping companions. Everyone seemed accounted for, except for... Umeme! Vitani couldn't help but feel a rush of panic.
Where could that lioness have gone all of a sudden? Was she actually out to try and get Vitani, or had she secretly returned to her 'true' home? Was she a double-agent? With all these thoughts going through her mind, Vitani sneaked outside, as careful as possible since she feared Umeme could jump her at anytime. Call it paranoia.
To Vitani's relief, however, she noticed a shade sitting on a ledge in front of her as soon as she walked out of the Golden Hall. There sat Umeme, quietly gazing up, obviously lost in her own toughts, unable to catch her sleep as well.

“Already found what you were looking for?”

Umeme quickly turned around in utter surprise, unaware that her queen had been watching her.

“Your highness! I...”

“Don't worry, it's all right. You don't know what to think, so you need some time alone to get your things straight... I understand...”

“Apologies, ma'am. It's just all so confusing,” Umeme conceded as Vitani came to sit beside her, “I just don't know what to do anymore...”

“You're not the only one, believe me...” Vitani sighed, then looked up at the stars. “You can sometimes learn a lot from just staring up there, you know...”

“I guess...” Umeme mumbled, “But I didn't get any answers yet.”

“You shouldn't look for answers, you won't be getting them that way. Looking up helps you relax; you can find out a lot because it'll help you find out the answers on your own... Or so I think...”

Both lionesses just stared up for a moment, locked in silence. Not really a tense silence, but not a pleasant one either. After a while, Umeme decide to break the question.

“Ma'am, do you already know what you will do after tomorrow?”

“Oh, that's easy: I'll return home. Home to Priderock, that is...”

“But you can't do that!” Umeme seemed a bit shocked at Vitani's cold demeanor. “Lady Nala will never let you back in just like that...”

“That's the problem, isn't it?” sneered Vitani, “I just wished I had some more claws backing me...”

“More lionesses? Ma'am, you're not seriously considering starting a war over this?”

“What if I was?” Something dark spoke of the way Vitani stared at Umeme, a determined and vengeful look. It obviously scared Umeme. “And even if I wasn't, the best way to prevent a war would be more lionesses. The way I see it, Nala might not have to much qualms fighting a mere four lionesses. But if there were more of us, she'd certainly reconsider...”

“I suppose that makes sense...” nodded the other lioness, not at all convinced, “But we don't have those kinds of numbers, I'm afraid...”

“If only we could think of something...”

“We need help, don't we, ma'am?” asked Umeme, obviously concerned.

“If I only knew where to get it...”

*

Feeding Tanabi was main thing troubling Thamath. Unconsciousness ruler was unable to eat solid food. So shaman tried to give him blood of preys to drink. He felt very uncomfortable about that, because lionesses brought him caught game and he with Simba had to deliver blood to patient. So herbivore monkey became executioner of poor mongooses, fenecs and other creatures capable to become Tanabi’s snacks.
Also that way of feeding monarch was not perfect. Shaman understood that lion had to eat some real meal, to regain lost proteins and vitamins that only solid meat could give. Condition of king was stable… for time being. Thamath prayed that Tanabi wake up in not long than three days.
“Any change?” asked Simba, who just opened his eyes. Strange, but male lion and male mandrill became nurses of king. Lionesses just hunted and guarder Priderock, leaving to bronwmaned and mandrill duties over Tanabi.
“No, sir.” Monkey shook his head. “He is still asleep. Pulse is normal, temperature is normal… He just seems to wait for something.”
“You may go sleep.” Said Simba. “I’m on guard right now.”
Shaman instantly stood up and left royal chamber, to find some place to sleep. Simba went closer to knocked down son and checked pulse himself. Right, nothing changed. But ex-king was also aware that time of his son was limited and every day in come weakened strength of lion.
“Tanabi!” thought Simba. “You just can’t die! You are the king who will prepare our pride for the Second Drought. If you are gone… all will be wrong. And… of course I love you. I wish you rule your kingdom as king and my heir... but if you don’t return to us soon, I must allow your mother to do her job.”
Then, just as if she was summoned by too loud thoughts of her mate, Nala entered royal chamber and without a word came to Tanabi. She kneeled down next to him and for long minutes just laid next motionless ruler. She nuzzled his face with her cheek and Simba noticed a tear slowly coming down from her eye.
“He is strong.” Said ex-king. “He will return to us.”
“I’m doing what I’m doing only because I know it right and necessary.” Replied Nala. Then she looked in eyes of Simba. “You don’t believe me, right?” Brownmaned shook his head, but she continued. “You think I got back only to sting Vitani? To return match for my our exile? I can’t say I have no anger in my mind. But tell me, what is reason of this all if not Tanabi’s good? I’m just paying price he couldn’t – cleaning that last remnant of Scar’s reign. Our son couldn’t stop Vitani from bringing those ghosts back to life. But now, doesn’t matter what he decide when he will be awake – he will be also stronger. Our pride will be stronger. We no longer have to bow in front of murderer’s shadow. I just stopped Scar from winning his war four years after his death.”
“Vitani is not like Scar.” Noticed Simba.
“But she wants to be, aren’t she?” asked Nala. “And yesterday she proved that. I can’t let her in, before she curse memory of Scar and Zira, enemies of your pride.”
In short recollection Simba reminded that Vitani never ordered him to condemn Mufasa. Maybe she knew that was impossible… or maybe she didn’t see any need of that. “After all she never said we are not of her family. But Nala is right, Scar started all misery in our pride and he can’t be salute as a ruler.”
“No, I think you are doing right.” Simba came to Nala and nuzzled her cheek. “Just… I’m afraid how would Tanabi judge our actions.”
“It doesn’t matter.” Replied Nala. “I’m taking all responsibility on me. I’m just doing what good mother should.”
She tried to calm all anger in her heart, but it was too hard. When she recalled face of Vitani, in her eyes appeared also silhouette of Sarabi. Nala never found body of her mother. She also never asked Outlanders what happened near Elephant Fort. But when she imagined dead mother, sight of triumphal queen’s stare also came to her mind.
*
When queen and her retinue woke up, it was already two hours after dawn. All were sleepy and tired after events of night, but Vitani seeing how late it was, cheered them to stand up.
“How are you doing, my lady?” asked Kucha.
“Better, much better.” Replied blue-eyed. “I think I will no longer slow you down nor be the weak spot. However I must ask you to hunt for me. I have a lot to do today.” Lioness nodded her head, then asked.
“But what?”
“Something you can’t help me with.” Queen replied. “To talk every dead Golden Pride left here. Today and only today I will act as Golden One once again. But tomorrow I will be back Pridelander and we will return where we belong.” Unintentionally she raised her voice almost to shout. Even Anasa, still sleeping then opened her eyes. “That is not exactly your matter, so leave me here alone until dusk. At night we all will salute Zira, Queen of Prideland and tomorrow we will reclaim her land.” Both Kucha and Maitha put much effort to hear it with calmness, but made no comments. Vitani noticed that and addressed to lionesses. “Girls, understand me – I’m not leaving tradition of Prideland’s Line. I’m reviving it… in its all complexity.”
“As I said – I step your every pawprint.” Said Maitha. “But do not expect to praise each one.”
“But if we leave you…” asked Kucha. “What will prince and Anasa do?”
“Just…” Vitani looked on cubs. “…play somewhere here.”
“In the Outlands!?” called scarred Kucha and Maitha.
“I grew up here and I’m still alive.” Snorted Outlandress. “They will be fine. Right, my dears?”
“I guess we have no choice.” Smiled Dhahabu.
“But don’t leave paths, don’t climb on too sloppy walls, don’t enter cracks…” Started to specify Vitani.
“…don’t play with avalanches, don’t wrestle on cliffs and don’t talk with strangers if we somehow find any.” Finished prince with laughter. “Mom, I know what you mean.”
“So, now go.” Ordered queen. “I need some time for myself and my old pride.

*

It was already well in the afternoon once Vitani reached her intended destination; the gleaming, red sun was already starting to set in the west. The Outland's terrain had never displayed a lot of variation, only barren and dull wastelands for as far as the eye could see, riddled with chasms and ridges, bones and termite-mounds. The place where Vitani stood now wasn't much different from any other place of the Oulands, really: just another huge, hollow mound.
But this former termite home was different; at least, to any decent Outlander it was. Only they could tell it from other termite-mounds, and only they knew what rested inside.
Vitani carefully entered through the rather small opening, into an equally small space. The Outlander's 'Mausoleum'. It wasn't a real mausoleum, of course, no bodies were kept there. The place was obviously to small for that. And besides, that wasn't the Outlander's way.
But that didn't mean the room couldn't serve as a place of remembrance, to the contrary: the Outlanders had their own rituals and customs for that, fitting the small room perfectly.
For each pridemember fallen, they kept in the small room a small token. A symbol, a reminder, a statement. The first token was just a piece of wood, taken from Border River. On the log, all living members of Pride had made their scratch to leave some sort of trace at least. It was a meant to recall Hawaa, the last one to have fallen before the Battle of the Reunion. Just next to that were the other 'shrines' – bones of an antelope, to recall Cheka, who died on the hunt. A few steps further: a bunch of dried Prideland grass, taken from place where Rama died, fighting Pridelanders. And another piece of wood, found in the river, to remind of Amini’s death during the crossing of the border.
It was a sober, clean and efficient way to remember the fallen; just the way Outlanders liked it. Nothing fancy.
Nothing Pridelandish, Vitani smirked.
But there was still something missing, an almost tangible emptiness in the room. Vitani carefully revealed a small piece of rock. She'd kept it secret for a long, long time, her own little totem. But she knew it belonged here. It was a small shard of rock from the cliff of Gorge River. She'd taken it from around where Zira had made her last stand, where she'd lost her last battle – that against gravity. Vitani placed the small relic next to the others; finally, Zira had the shrine in the Outlands she deserved. She was, at least symbolically, among her sisters once more.
A single tear slid down Vitani's cheek as she lay down the stone

“Bye, mom. I hope Kovu has taken the time to remember you, as I did. I'm sure he has, he's a good kid. Almost everything he's done recently has been in an effort to find forgivingness. I hope he got it...”

The lioness sighed profoundly, kneeled down solemnly kissed the cold shard of stone, then got back up. She glanced at all the other totems.

“Are you all listening?”

She didn't wait for a response, nor would it have made any sense to do so.

“I know it's been long. I don't know if I've been here nearly as much as I should have... But I need your help. I stand here before you an Outlander again. And I stand alone, alone in the defense of all we Outlanders believe in. alone in the defense of my mother's name, alone in the defense of my father's reign. But even now, I won't even think about betraying my name, or my history. And I sure as hell won't allow Nala to defile it some more. That's why I need my throne back, and that's why I need help. But I don't know who to turn to... please, tell me!”

Vitani waited, but she knew no answers would come. After a while, she got back up, disappointed even though she hadn't really hoped for a solution to present itself.

“Well, thanks anyway. Sorry for your time...”

She looked at the shrine again. Somehow, it still felt as if something was missing. There was still some room left next to the rock-shard she had just placed there.

“Dad's token should be there,” she mumbled, “But it can't. He never was a real Outlander... just a Pridelander with good tastes.”

Vitani giggled at her own remark.

“Besides, what to put there? How did he die again...?”

Suddenly, Vitani felt as if she was thunderstruck. A lightning bolt of idea's had just hit her, and her mind was working at it's full capacity. A smile formed on her face.

“I couldn't... That'd just be too much. But imagine the look on Nala's pretty face...”

Vitani started laughing out loud. Not out of joy, not out of amusement. It wasn't a happy laugh, no, it sounded almost as if she had gone insane. But she soon calmed down, addressing the shrine again.

“Girls, I have to say, brilliant. Just brilliant! I don't know how to thank you. Haha, just think of the irony! Just think of all the dismayed faces!”

With that, she thanked every last one of the lionesses represented in the shrine, and with every name came a face. And with every face of a sister long lost increased her sense of loss, and her rage. With what she was about to do, she'd put all regrets behind her, burn all the bridges. She'd finally become Scar's only true heir.

*

The sun set over the Outlands, first turning the entire landscape fiery read, before finally engulfing it in darkness. Kucha and Maitha had just returned form scouring all over the Outlands to find the cubs, bringing them back to the Golden Hall.
All three lionesses and the two cubs where waiting inside, when Vitani suddenly entered the darkened room. She looked around checking out her retinue. Still only three lionesses. She sighed, then looked up. The faint image of a few stars could be perceived high up, through the chimneys of the Golden Hall's mounds. Vitani wondered whether anyone was watching from up there. She always liked to believe so.

“Mom, I'm home...” she mumbled, not loud enough for the other lions to hear. Of course, the stars offered little to no response. Vitani couldn't help but smirk, unmistakably bitter. This wasn't her home anymore; she now belonged on Priderock. But events had forced her back here, an exile again. But she wouldn't just accept that without a fight. That wasn't like her. She'd stand and fight for her rights, no matter what the odds. Even if that meant breaking all the rules of decency and defying history itself. At this point, she was more than willing to do so.

“I had become to soft... I had almost forgotten who it is I am. But not anymore. Now I remember who I owe. I am the daughter of Zira and Taka. I am Scar's heir, and I'm not about to betray their memory. I'll fight to preserve it. No matter what it takes,” she thought, looking down on the few subjects she had left.

“Pride!” Vitani suddenly shouted. The tree lionesses and the cubs looked up at her with surprise and awe.

“I have spent my day alone, thinking, thinking and thinking some more. I've come to the point where there's only one thing I still need to know: are you with me?”

The lionesses seemed a bit baffled, and failed to respond.

“I asked, are you with me?”

Now, they all shouted they were indeed with their queen, nodding their head as they did.

“Swear it! Are you with me, no matter what, 'till the very end? Kucha?”

“I'm with you, my queen, I swear!”

“Maitha?”

“I'm behind you ma'am, no matter what.”

“Umeme?”

The last lioness obviously found it harder than the others to unconditionally proclaim her loyalty to Vitani, which wasn't a big surprise. But eventually, after a few moments' silence, she too folded.

“My queen, I'm with you. I'm with you to the whatever end you'll lead us, I promise.”

“All right, that's all the guarantees I need. Pride, I suggest you all get a good night's rest. We leave for the Pridelands at daybreak. As for me... I still have an account that needs settling. Umeme?”

“Ma'am?”

“You're coming with me. As for you, Kucha, Maitha, Dhahabu and Anasa, get some sleep. And be prepared for what tomorrow might bring. I'll be back as soon as I can.”

With that, Vitani signaled Umeme to follow her, and they both set of in the dark night, leaving their remaining friends wondering what it was Vitani was up to. They'd find out soon enough.

*

“Ma'am, are you really doing what I think you're doing?”

“Yes.” Vitani's answer to Umeme was as uncompromising as the wastes they were walking through. They'd been walking for quite some time now, westwards, and the surroundings had steadily gotten worse. Umeme knew where they were going, even though it was a dark and eerie place she'd never wanted to visit herself, and had subsequently never visited: The Elephant Graveyard. And Umeme knew darn well that place wasn't as empty now as it had once been, not at all...
They passed by the first elephant skeleton, descending into the valley that was the Boneyard. The place was even more scary during the night than it was during the day, as ghastly gas flares always burned in the distance, seemingly unreachable flickers of light in the darkness, illuminating the skeletons scattered all around. Umeme, who was obviously more than a little scared, tried to make herself as small as she could while following her queen. Vitani, however, did just the opposite, keeping her head up, her back straight and her pace tight. She couldn't afford to show any signs of weakness.
Suddenly, they heard a noise behind them. Umeme turned around, apparently in panic. Vitani just snorted. Then, in front of them, something which sounded like a distorted giggle. Umeme started shaking. Vitani, however, who had been through this routine once before, decided she'd try and speed things up.

“All right, lets cut to the chase here!” she shouted out into the darkness, “We know you're here, and you know we're here. I command you to show yourself!”

A tense silence. Another short burst of giggling. Then, Vitani growled ostentatiously, which seemed to help. A single shape moved forward towards them, out of the night. The moonlight made it's spotted fur look even paler than it did during the day.

“Who's commanding, might I ask?” grunted the hyena, “Who's commanding me in my own home?”

“It is I, Vitani, Queen of the Lions, sovereign of all the Pridelands...”

“Pull the other one!”

“I am! And this is my trusted servant Umeme. We have walked for many miles, and wish to speak to your lord and master.”

“You do, huh? Heavy...” grinned the animal, “But I've got a better idea: how 'bout you so called 'queen' and your servant make and scramble the hell outa here voluntarily, before we kick you out ourselves?”

“Hey, whatever makes your day. But I don't think your own queen Shenzi will be all that happy when she finds out about how you treated me...” Vitani noted.

“You lions are always such smartasses. Time someone taught you some manners, 'queen' Vitani!” growled the hyena menacingly, as he started advancing towards the lions. Out of the shadows stepped forth another six or so of his clanmates. But before Vitani even had the chance to think of a fancy reply, or unsheathe her claws, she was interrupted by the arrival of another hyena. The animal came running in, huffing and puffing, obviously tired from running rather fast.

“W-Wait up. S-stop, you- you numskull!” The animal obviously had trouble breathing and reproaching at the same time, “Phew, what's the matter with ya? You know you gotta wait 'till I'm here before you do anything. Next time, you'd better be asking permission to do anything, even breathe!”

The newly arrived hyena started giggling at his own remark. From the way his dark eyes flashed from one way to the other, no to mention his twitchy way of moving, Vitani thought she recognized him. He moved closer, to get a good look at the lions.

“Hehe, well hell's bells, she actually is Queen Vitani! You guys really ain't so stupid as to pick a fight with a queen, now are you?” The hyna asked his companions, after which he grinned at the lion duo, “But then again, you royalty didn't exactly come invited, now did ya?”

“Evening, Dakly,” Vitani noted sec. She was pretty good at keeping her cool, unlike Umeme who couldn't even bring herself to open her mouth.

“Hehe, see, look at how polite she is! You fleabags could all actually learn something from her!”

“Hardy-har-har...” noted one of the other hyenas sarcastically.

“Well, yeah, ahem, so eh, whadaya here for?” continued Dakly, addressing Vitani, now more down to business.

“I need to speak to Shenzi. Now.”

“Now? Well, gee I'd love to take you to her... but eh, I don't know if you noticed... it is kinda the middle of the night...”

“Just take me to her already Dakly, you'll be thankful you did...” sighed Vitani. She didn't have time she could waste on useless squabbling like this.

“You forgot the magic word...”

“What?” frowned the queen. This was getting ridiculous...

“I think he means 'please'...” whispered Umeme.

“I'm waiting...”

“All right, pretty please with sugar on top. Now take me to Shenzi already!” Vitani growled, now on the edge of insanity.

“All right, all right. Cool down. Yeez, you lions just can't take a yoke, can ya?”

*

“Let go of me already! I can walk, you know? Geez, I'm not that old...”

The two other hyenas backed of as Shenzi barked at them. Even though she sometimes needed it, she was still way too proud to allow any help when she got up from where she slept, or when she had trouble walking.

“Aunt...”

“Don't you 'aunt' me. It's still 'ma'am' to you,” grumbled the old matriarch as she ventured forward towards her cave's exit. Shenzi's two nieces, who had already gotten quite accustomed to their aunt's occasional grumpiness, decided it'd be best to trail behind her a few steps. Far enough not to invoke annoyance, yet close enough to step in when needed.
Shenzi shivered as she exited her living quarters; she found it comparatively cold outside. Not that the African nights were that chill, but the geysers spread out all around the Elephant Graveyard always kept the caves there relatively warm, one of the very few luxuries the Boneyard had to offer. Being the senior that Shenzi by now was, she had grown accustomed to that.

“Another bone-chilling night out on the boneyard...” Shenzi sighed. Banzaď and Ed would have found that hilarious. But they were gone now. With each pun she made, she felt more alone; no wonder she'd lost her humorous attitude.
She approached Dakly, who was waiting outside.

“I guess you couldn't keep 'em on hold 'till the sun came up?”

“Hehe, ha, I would have,” Dakly grinned, “If only the sun would ever shine in this dump.”

She should have really told ham that 'this dump' was their home, the only one they had. But she just didn't bother any more. Deep down inside, she'd stopped caring.

“Yeah... All right then, let's go see the Queen, while we're still young...”

The animals walked on towards a small plaza nearby, where the lions were being kept. Even though it was the middle of the night, a small crowd of curious bystanders had already gathered, shocked at the lions appearing.

“Good evening, your majesty...” nodded the hyena, “It's been a while since I've had the honor of welcoming you to my home.”

“Good evening, Shenzi. It's been a while indeed. I'm sorry I didn't pick a more appropriate time to come by, but I've had little choice in the matter...”

“Don't worry about it, I sleep more than enough during the day to make up for this late night out. By the way, I heard about what's happened to your partner, Tanabi. News like that eventually reaches even us... Anyway, I wish him all the best. If our clans had been on more cordial terms, I'd have even sent an official message of sympathy, but you know how it is...”

“I understand, there is the diplomacy to think about. But if you beg my pardon, I have little time, so I'd prefer getting straight to business. Do you have a place where we can talk more private?”

“Sure, if you wish,” yawned Shenzi, “Just follow me.”

The predators made their way up to Shenzi's cave. Dakly, Vitani, Umeme and Shenzi walked in, whilst Shenzi's two nieces waited outside, keeping anyone who was too curious out of hearing distance.

“All right, we can talk here. Now tell me, what brings you here, in the middle of the night?”

“It's a long story...” Vitani admitted.

“Shoot! I'm a sucker for stories...”

Vitani briefly summarized the mess she'd gotten into since Tanabi's accident. Shenzi listened attentively, getting more intrigued as Vitani's story went on. Each time Nala's name fell, Umeme couldn't help but notice a faint flicker in the old matriarch's eyes. By the time the story was finished, Shenzi sat up straight, her head up high and her eyes unusually full of life again.

“So that's where I stand now. I need my kingdom back, Shenzi.”

The hyena smiled vividly, and the eagerness simply radiated from her otherwise dull eyes. But she tried keeping her cool, at least for the time being.

“Well, that's terrible of course. First you partner taken a way from you, thrown in limbo for who-knows-how-long, and now your legitimate rule snatched from you by that...” She paused, preventing herself for getting all too excited, “By Nala, partner of the Usurper. It obvious where she got her bad habits... Anyway, I feel your pain, I truly do. But where do I enter the picture?”

“Isn't it obvious?” smirked Vitani. She already knew what game Shenzi was playing. She had no choice but to go with it.

“Sweetie, we both know that's not how diplomacy works. Now, go on, what are ya here for?”

“I need help,” Vitani admitted after a long and uncomfortable silence, “I need your help to get my throne back...”

Umeme gasped. She'd seen in coming from miles ahead, but she still found it shocking.

“Well... You have my sympathy, queen Vitani. But there is a yawning gap between sympathy and helping you fight your war, if it does indeed come to one...”

Vitani sighed, then nodded.

“All right, I get you. But, with all due respect, you owe me more than sympathy, Matriarch,” Vitani's tone had suddenly gathered a whole lot more strength, at sounded almost booming, even commanding, “Last time I spoke to you, I still remember, you begged me. You begged me to forgive your betrayal of my father, Taka. I remember it word for word; you begged me to forgive you, and asked if there was anything you could to to make up for your horrendous betrayal.”

Shenzi's eyes grew wider, while she herself seemed to get smaller. Vitani on the other hand, looked ever more imposing.

“You are in debt to my father, and through him you are in debt to me. Well, I offer you the chance to repay your debt. Now's your chance to make up for your past wrongs; now's your chance to make right your betrayal. If you stand by me now, if you help defend Taka's ideals and bloodline, you will have repayed your debt. You will have my forgiveness, and with that my father's.”

A profound shiver ran over Shenzi's spine, and her mouth turned dry. Vitani was right; if there ever had been a time to try and make up for her betrayal, it had been now. Now was the time to make amends, to finally address one of her biggest fears: to have to face Taka in the afterlife without having tried to right her wrongs.

“So, what say you?”

Shenzi swallowed, her mouth felt too dry to speak.

“What say you?” thundered Vitani again.

“I...” Before the old hyena could finish her scentance, however, she was interrupted by her nephew.

“Queen Vitani, could you and your companion please wait outside?” Dakly simply asked, suddenly awfully articulate and cool, “I need a word with my aunt.”

Being the guests that they were, Vitani and Umeme had no choice but to obey that request. Vitani was a bit disappointed as she walked out. She'd really hoped for a quick breakthrough, but it seemed things would bog down. But she needed an accord before sunrise, or she'd stand to face Nala alone, which wasn't an encouraging thought. After a few moments shared in silence, in which they heard little of the conversation that went on inside the cave between the hyenas, Dakly invited the lions back in. As soon as everyone was back in, Shenzi took off.

“Your majesty, me and my nephew have discussed your request for help. If it had been only me you needed help from, I'd be glad to assist you with no strings attached, to fulfill my duty to you. I have, however, a duty to fulfill to my clan as well. Dakly pointed out I cannot simply send them of to war to repay for my personal debt. So...” Shenzi obviously had some trouble uttering that, “It is with heavy heart I have to inform you we will need some guarantees before we put our lives on the line.”

The big word was out. They wanted something in return for their help.

“State your demands,” Vitani replied coldly. She didn't have time to be shocked, dismayed or insulted. Things had to move quickly.
Now Dakly stepped in again.

“All right, let me point this out clearly: my aunt is willing to help you without any obligations from your side, as she is fully aware of the sever debt she carries. These guarantees we demand are not for her's, but for the clan's help. You shouldn't blame my aunt for them.”

“Okay, let's agree on that for starters,” Vitani nodded, “What else?”

“Full and official recognition of our sovereignty over these lands. Entitlement to the same rights as any other predator in our relations to lions. The Outlands.”

“What? The Outlands? Out of the question!” gasped Vitani, “Your expecting me to give up the place where I was raised? No way. Your other demands can be met, but you ain't getting the Outlands.”

“Ma'am, I beg you to reconsider... Of your entire pride, only you still have a bond with the Outlands. The other lions barely acknowledge it's existence. We, however, could put those lands to good use...”

“No, I ain't buying it. I'm willing to give you the right to hunt in some parts of the Outlands, but they remain mine!”

“Then we have no deal, I'm afraid,” Dakly concluded, “Good night...”

“No, wait!” Vitani quickly responded, “We can work this out... What if I gave you the right to hunt on almost all of the Outlands...”

“No, that still isn't quite far enough,” yawned Dakly, “Okay, lets just get the record straight here: why is it you don't want us living in and owning the Outlands? Is it because you lived there?”

“You could say that...” Vitani kept thinking about the Outland's shrine, and the Golden Hall. She knew she was in a pickle, but she wasn't about to give those up. They just meant too much to her.

“Can that somehow be limited to certain area's?” questioned Dakly further.

“I suppose...”

“Ill tell you what: what if we designated certain 'sensitive areas' where hyenas would have to stay clear from, and which would remain under your de-facto control, while we got the rest of the lands?”

“I don't know,” Vitani kept doubting, she still felt as if her weak position was being exploited too much, “No, I can't do this. You're taking too much advantage of me here.”

“Well, what do you expect? You're asking quite a commitment of us, ma'am. If the last war cost you half your clan, you're not too eager to go at it again... The choice is your's; you take it or you leave it.”

A long, tense silence ensued.

“Say, Dakly, what do you think would happen if Nala ousted me for good?” Vitani suddenly asked,

“I don't know about you, but... last time I checked, she wasn't on too friendly terms with your kind. Simba neither. I might have just let you be, letting you have your Boneyard. But Nala and Simba might consider a more... definite, a more final solution, don't you think?”

Dakly swallowed. He hadn't thought of it that way. Not yet anyhow. Vitani had a point, Nala toppling Vitani wasn't exactly in the clan's best interest. Not at all.

“Yeah...” he grumbled, “Okay, say, what if we... what if we expanded those sensitive area's a bit? To about a quarter of the Outlands; both your symbolic hot-spots and some areas near the border with the Pridelands?”

De facto expanding the Pridelands into the Outlands? That could work...

“I don't think I'm entirely convinced yet...”

“Okay, I'll throw in the right to freely visit your sensitive areas surrounded by our new territory. On condition that any lion who uses it notifies us first,” Dakly finally conceded.
Nala thought about it for a while, in silence. She wasn't entirely pleased with the deal yet, but she had no margin left, both qua time and qua aces up her sleeve.

“All right, deal.”

“Phew, all right!” sighed Dakly, obviously relieved, “So your committed to keeping your end of the bargain?”

“You have my word as Queen of the Pridelands.”

“Right then; the Boneyard Clan is at your sevice, ma'am!” Dakly couldn't help but grin as he bowed before Vitani. Shenzi, however didn't grin. She smiled, contented, now full of life and energy again. She looked better than she had in ages.

“Time for those Simbast scoundrels to get their comeuppance!” flashed through her mind as she got up.

IX Warm Welcome

Day raised over Prideland with complete silence. Most of lionesses were already awaken, but still somehow feared to show awareness. Only active creature in cave – apart of Thamath, keeping guard over Tanabi – was Nala. When sun appeared on horizon, she entered royal chamber and woke up Simba, who was lying next to unconsciousness king.
“My dear…” she whispered, stroking his mane. “I must go.” Seeing he opened his eyes, but was still too sleepy to reply, she added. “Stay here with our son, we will candle ourselves. We will be back soon, I promise.”
Simba had no strength to protest – nightly guarding tired him, he also felt that Nala acted on her own and according to her own plans. If brownmaned wanted to stop those, he should have done it two days earlier. Then was the time of harvest what was planted before.
Nala bended down and kissed motionless Tanabi’s cheek, then turned back and exited chamber. She quickly woke pride and formed tight unit to march north. There wan no time nor need to hunt. That small war was about to be determined even before breakfast.
“Go!” called regentess from ledge of Priderock. Then she joined to silent ranks of lionesses. Eight huntresses of pride, led by ex-queen departed in river direction. They were observed by numerous creatures of savannah. Animals weren’t scared of being hunted, however they feared that day. Even if not everyone knew what was about to happen, every living creature there sensed scent of blood in the air. For the first time since year – another war was near.
Simba told Timon and Pumbaa to stay in Green Den whatever happened. Friends of course disobeyed that and set of on Priderock even before dawn. When they came to pride’s keep they noticed outgoing war party.
“That is not good.” Murmured warthog, looking on Pridelandresses.
“What’s a big deal.” Snorted meerkat. “They beat Outlanders year ago, so they will do the same now.”
“Are you sure those are again <Outlanders>?” asked Pumbaa, then feeling irritation of friend, added. “Right, let’s go to Simba.
Meanwhile Nala was on lead of unit, followed by Bidii and Mto. Seeing anger and slight uncertainness shown in steps of leaderess, greyfurred lioness asked.
“Ma’am, what is wrong?”
“Umeme.” Replied regent. “She should have been here already. Something happened there.”
Mto gasped with fear, following Nala’s premonition. However she couldn’t believe that Kucha and Maitha would raise their paws on lioness of pride. “No!” she thought. “It must have been Vitani herself. Only that Outlandress is capable of this.” But then she speed up, seeing that Bidii a bit outran her.
“Stay sharp!” called Nala. “We will settle it quick.”
So when ex-queen re-ordered her warrioress, Timon and Pumbaa reached Priderock. They entered empty cave to find just shaman, sleeping on doorstep of inner chamber and Simba inside. They came bedding of knocked out ruler and his father.
“Ow… murmured meerkat. “We didn’t know that is so bad…”
“Nice to see you, guys.” Welcomed them lion. “I doubt you could help… but I need just your company anyway.”
“Why Nala and others went so quickly?” asked Pumbaa. “Is that hunt?” Simba shook his head.
“No. It’s… Stars! I even can’t name that absurd… They want to stop Vitani from returning here and make her to step down.”
“Yeah! That’s good!” called Timon, jumping on Pumbaa and clapping his paws in the air. “Does it mean we are back in home for good?”
“Or for bad.” Said brownmaned. “This day could cost us dear.” Then he shook his head, as if he woke up from sleep. “But enough of that. We must do something. Call for Zazu or Tiko.”
Pumbaa (and consequently Timon, still sitting on friend’s neck) exited chamber to search for birds. Meanwhile Simba sat down next to Tanabi and started to stroke his mane, murmuring. “I shouldn’t do it, for I’m no longer king. But if you are away, I must stop that slaughter. However I still hope you suddenly wake and do it yourself.” Then from main cave lion heard loud voice.
“I have no bloody idea where that rascal is. I saw him two days ago, when he flew away…”
“Zazu!” called Simba. “Come here, quick!” Hornbill entered chamber and sat down on ground before brownmaned and his son. “You said there is no Tiko here?” bird shook his beak. “But when you saw him for the last time… Where he was flying?”
“To the Outlands, of course.” Replied majordomo. “I saw him following Vitani and…” Then blue-feathered paused for a moment and added with uncertain voice. “Or no… He was going more on east… Like in direction of Mighty Waterfall.” Simba gasped. “Do you have any idea why, sir?”
“Yakta!” called lion. “Your nephew went for reinforcements! He wants to bring Yakta, maybe even with pride of Green Valley.”
“E… Timon…” murmured Pumbaa. “You said that would be <short, victorious war>, didn’t you?”
“Well…” threw Zazu in. “If Tiko manage to bring eleven lionesses and two lions to aid Vitani, that war still will be most likely short.” And added with whisper. “But not victorious.”
“Zazu, you must fly there and negotiate the peaceful solution.” Ordered Simba. Seeing angry stare of bird, added. “I know you got the worst share, but I – thanks Stars! – haven’t any wings. So tell Yakta – if he in on way – to wait, until we reconcile Nala and Vitani. Returning here, tell Nala about Yakta. Then…” He lost any idea. “Damn! Tanabi, I really need you here.”
“I know, dad!” called Tanabi, however he couldn’t be heard. His spirit was floating over his body and looking on gathered creatures. “But I still can’t return. Something is still undone… Some of you have to make decision that will allow me to wake. You must settle this yourselves!”

*

All the lions of Golden Hall were already up, even hough the sun was still down under. Not that they had slept that much; as a matter of fact, they had been up for most of the night already. Up worrying. And who could blame them? It's not like the prospects of a new day were that inspiring, that uplifting. Quite to the contrary, their main motivation for staying awake was actually to make sure time didn't pass too swiftly. But they couldn't escape the inevitable, and it made everyone sick to their stomach.

“Well good morning...” mumbled Dahabu as he approached Anasa. He failed to suppress his yawning, which went a long way too describe how ironic his statement actually was.

“Yeah, brilliant...” grumbled the kitty.

“Wow, feel the gloom! What up with you all of a sudden, Anasa? It's not like you to say something like that...”

“I know...” she groaned, “But what would you expect? We're on the verge of marching against our own family! My mom's probably preparing to intercept yours right now, as we speak, it's messed up!”

“And the worst part of it is there's not a damn thing we can do about it... I feel so powerless...”

“Hey, hey, now it's you who's not being himself,” smiled Anasa, “The prince shouldn't just give up like that.”

“Touché...” Dahabu grinned, the yawned again, “Dang, I should have really tried sleeping more. I think I get why mom always empathizes we get our nap in time... But I should really be focusing on more important things, shouldn't I?”

“I dunno, sleeping is rather important too,” giggled Anasa, “But now, it ranks a bit lower on my priority list.”

“My thoughts exactly... We should really do something, this madness can't go on much longer...”

“I'm afraid it can go on much longer, but at least, it probably won't get worse. At any length, there's not much we can do now. We'll just have to try and play it by ear, and seize whatever opportunity comes along to sort this mess out,” shrugged the young prince.

“I guess... I just hope no-one gets hurt, on neither side.”

“You shouldn't think in sides...”

“Come on, Dahabu, don't give me that; wake up and smell the coffee!” grunted Anasa, “Your mom's about to declare war on mine...”

“Or the other way around...”

“Does that even matter? We're one pride, yet we treat each other like enemies. I can't imagine how any good could come from this...”

“Mom will have thought of something, I'm sure of it...” Dahabu whispered. Vitani had thought of something alright.

“Hey, peeps, what are you doing up so early?” Kucha suddenly asked as she approached the cubs, “You should really get some more rest, we've got a big day ahead of us...”

“... if not an entirely pleasant one,” added Maitha under her voice, earning her the evil eye from her friend.

“I wonder where the queen's at, she should have really been back by now...”

“What, miss me already?” suddenly echoed throughout the hall. All four lions startled and looked up at the hall's entrance. There sat Vitani, bathing in a reddish golden glow, as the sun started coming up behind her. The light reflecting of her fur into the dark hall gave her an almost golden aura, blinding to all who looked upon her.
The Queen had returned.

“Ma'am! Your finally back!”

“Mom!”

“What? We were only gone for a few hours, you know,” grinned Vitani as Umeme appeared behind her, “But I'm glad to see you all back again nonetheless. Anyways, enough with the welcoming already. It's time we got this show on the road.”

“But... what were you out doing all night long?” asked Maitha.

“You'll see soon enough. Now come on, get up and follow us,” replied Umeme, as Vitani already slacked back out again. With a certain feel of suspense, but mostly of anxiety, the lions got up and followed their queen out.
As they walked right into the rising sun's first rays, they all felt blinded at first, unable to immediately perceive that which was outside. They already found themselves a few feet outside the protection of their hall when they first saw.
Outside, arranged in a semicircle, waited row aster row of hyenas for Vitani, 35 in all. While the Queen causally approached them, followed in her wake by Umeme, Maitha and Kucha stopped dead in their tracks. In an instinctive response, they quickly snatched the cubs and took position in front of them, for protection.
Meanwhile, Vitani just strode on forward, stopping in front of an large, rather pale hyena who sat in front of the rest of her clanmates. Her characteristic bangs waved along with the gentle breeze which was blowing that morning.

“We stand ready, ma'am,” growled the hyena, bowing her had for Vitani.

“Vitani... I mean, your majesty! What is this?” shouted Kucha, obviously dismayed at what she saw, not unlike Maitha and the cubs.

“This, dear pride, is Matriarch Shenzi of the Boneyard clan and her followers. They have answered the call and stand ready to help defend my throne. They will escort us to Priderock,” Vitani noted without much ado. Both Maitha and Kucha gasped. That was a rather unexpected turn of events, for the worse for all the knew.
Not that Maitha and Kucha didn't support their queen, but what Vitani was doing now was going a bit too far. After all, even though both lionesses supported Vitani, they were still Pridelanders. For one, Pridelanders were a lot more suspicious of hyenas than Outlanders. And then you still had the problem that standing against your own pride is bad, but standing against your own pride alongside a clan of hyenas? That really was asking a bit much.

“Ma'am... are you serious about this?”

“Why wouldn't I be? Umeme told me the other day we needed help. I found help, be in a rather unexpected place.”

“But... if we enter the Pridelands like this we would look just like...” Kucha didn't finish her sentence, however,as she knew Vitani wouldn't appreciate the ending. But it seemed the Queen was hell bent on figuring it out anyway.

“I would look like who?” inquired Vitani, coldly glaring at Kucha, “Come on, say it. It's what on everyone's mind anyway...”

“You'd look like Scar taking over the Pridelands...”

“Then let it be so,” Vitani simply declared, “I always claimed I was Taka's true heir. Well the, today we will see in how far that is really true, as I truly thread in his paw prints.”

Both Maitha and Kucha still looked rather shocked, that wasn't really the answer they wanted.

“Are you still with me?” Vitani suddenly asked.

“I said I'm behind you no matter what...” whispered Maitha, “I don't like what I'm seeing... but I don't intend to break my word, your majesty.”

“I'm with you, my queen – even though it's against all my better judgment,” admitted Kucha.

“Good. Given the circumstances, I couldn't ask for more. Lets get going then...”

“Say, Dahabu?” whispered Anasa as the odd group set off towards the Pridelands, “Remember how you said it at least wouldn't get any worse? I think it just did...”

A soon as her lionesses had reaffirmed their commitment to Vitani's cause, she arranged them all in formation; the lions up front, followed by the hyena cohort. Since they hadn't even had time to agree on some of the most basic principles concerning their entryinto the Pridelands, Shenzi tagged along next to Vitani, just to get some basic issues straight.

“So, let me get this straight: you don't actually want us doing anything, do you?”

“Of course not, there's lots of things I want you doing,” sighed Vitani, “Just use some restraint, all right? Above all else, you're supposed to be a deterrent.”

A pretty expensive deterrent...

“Hey, fine by me... The less lives we have to risk the better.”

“Then what's you're problem?”

“Oh, nothing... I'd just love to put my teeth in one of those arrogant Pridelanders,” grinned the elder hyena, who was surprisingly fit for her age. Must've been the excitement of knowing you'll get to 'put your teeth in a Pridelander'. Of course, neither Maitha, Umeme or Kucha was amused, which they immediately made clear by grunting and growling.

“No offense, of course!” added Shenzi quickly, still a bit weary of all the lions around, “I guess I have to get used to being around lions again after all those long years... But I'd still like to give that Nala a decent trashing.”

“What do you have against Nala anyway?”

“What don't I have against her? I mean, as if it wasn't enough she was the one to bring back Simba, she almost killed me in the Battle of Priderock that followed. Not to mention she was instrumental in banning me and my clan from these lands...”

Once again, the lionesses weren't to enthusiast about their new ally's viewpoint. They might have been forced in a position where they had to oppose Nala, but they couldn't just ignore the fact she had at one time been their queen (and a rather good one at that).
Vitani, on the other hand, was rather pleased, be it in a cynical way: the more Shenzi was motivated to get even with Nala, the less likely it would be she'd just run off if things were to get ugly. It was nice to know her ally wasn't just motivated by whatever she'd get out of the deal (be it forgivingness or land), but also by some steadfast hate.
Of course, Vitani wasn't about to admit that; the official position was still she'd just try to get her throne back by bluffing, or scaring Nala, whatever you want to call it. But deep down inside, ever since her visit to the Outlander's shrine, Vitani had been hoping for an actual confrontation with Nala. A mix of bitterness, anger and pride, probably. Either way, it meant a peacefully solution was further away than it had ever been, at least if it were up to no one else but Vitani and Nala.

*

After a short walk which seemed to have lasted an eternity, Vitani reached the riverbank. The cool mud felt surprisingly comfortable under the queen's forepaws; must've been been the first pleasant sensation in over two days. After just standing around, almost as if meditating for a few moments, she turned around again, facing the followers assembled behind her. Most of the hyenas looked a bit bored, in great contrast to the overly anxious lionesses. And the most uncomfortable of all must've been Umeme.
Vitani hadn't worried too much about her: she had, after all, come along on the trip to persuade the hyenas to join the loyalist retinue, not to mention Umeme had openly affirmed her loyalty. But the nearer she came to her 'old' queen, it seemed, the more she started to doubt whether switching sides had been the right thing to do.
Umeme constantly told herself that what she was doing was the right thing to do, but in all honesty, she simply wasn't sure of that. She didn't know whether, when confronted with Nala in person, she wouldn't just defect again. She had become a pawn in the game of her own doubts and emotions, effectively powerless to make her own, rational decisions. She could only pray such would not lead her down the wrong path.
Umeme wasn't the only one who was praying; the same went for Vitani. She was praying for Umeme as well: not only did she need every lioness that was with her to overpower Nala, but Umeme turning over would also be a decisive blow to the queen's moral. Because if even a lioness like Umeme could remain loyal to her in these kinds of circumstances, all lionesses could. In a way, she represented the entire pride. If Vitani lost her, she lost the throne, at least morally. Any victory without Umeme would be a Pyrrhic one at best. But only time would tell if Umeme was strong enough to stand by her queen.
And then there were the cubs also. Vitani thought they looked a bit lost, at the grown-ups' paws. And they were lost, both of 'em, in a way: Dahabu felt utterly powerless, not to mention worried about what would happen to his mother. Anasa, on the other hand, felt more torn than worried; there she was, standing next to Vitani and a horde of hyenas, while her mother waited on the other shore, probably ready to actually kill the lionesses standing next to Anasa. Who should she cheer for? Vitani? Her mother? Both? Or just maybe she shouldn't cheer for anyone, and just pray to the stars that things would eventually still work themselves out, somehow...

“Ma'am, what'll we do with them?”

“Huh?” Vitani was suddenly drawn out of her deliberations as Kucha addressed her. As such, she had no idea what the lioness was on about.

“The cubs, what to do about them?” whispered the lioness again.

“Nothing. They stay here, and link up with whomever comes out victorious,” Vitani replied, quickly adding: “And that 'll be us. We will triumph, the only question is how that victory will come to be. Without bloodshed, I hope.”

“We all hope it won't come to bloodshed, don't worry...”

“... except maybe the hyenas,” whispered Maitha. It earned her the second glare of the day.

“Either way, we keep the cubs out of this,” concluded the Queen.

“All right, no hostages!” smirked Maitha, ironic as ever. The other lionesses didn't even bother to retort anymore.

“By the way, ma'am, how's the royal-in-being?”

Vitani smiled. She'd been thinking about that a lot too recently.

“Better that ever, actually. I've even been thinking about the names...”

“Yeah, I heard...” frowned Kucha, “Are you really planning on naming him Taka?”

“Phew, not really original, is it? I mean, with so small a family, I didn't really expect you lions to run out of names that fast...”

“Nice of you for being generous enough to share your take on the issue, Shenzi,” grumbled Vitani to the hyena who had just joined the conversation, brazen and tactless as ever, not to mention rather uninvited, “Anyway, I'm not entirely sure yet. I mean, if it's a girl, I'll simply have to pick something else. Something along the lines of Amali...”

“Amali, nice... Means 'hope', doesn't it? I like that way better than Taka, with all due respect...” admitted Kucha.

“Ah? Why is that?” Vitani asked, her voice suddenly harsh and reproaching, much to her fellow lionesses' surprise (although actually less to Shenzi's surprise). The Queen shot a cold stare at her subjects. “I think it's time we set the record straight here...”

A three lionesses around the queen suddenly felt awfully uncomfortable. They had vowed their allegiance to Vitani, yet none of them had ever really felt comfortable at her motives and ideals. It would have only been a matter of time before that would start to show. Even so, it could have hardly been a worse time.

“Let's not play each other for fools, all right? I know you resent Taka's reign and ideals as much as you resent Taka himself. I'd be lying if I said I didn't give a damn about that, but that is not relevant. I don't need you to like him, I don't need you to understand him and I don't need you to agree with him. We'll work on those, in time, by making them mandatory if need be, but not now. Now, I need only one thing: your unquestioning obedience as we restore his legacy. Not because you want to, but because I tell you so, because I am your ruler. And this starts by honoring Taka's name. Got it?”

The lionesses averted their gaze in silence.

“I said: got it?” Vitani asked again, now louder and even more stern.

“Yes ma'am...”

“Loud and clear...”

“As you wish...”

“Hey, now isn't that swell?” Shenzi suddenly yelped, both annoyed and indifferent, “Well, now that we've got that out of the way, how 'bout we take some time to cross this blasted river and do what we came here to do?”

“One: don't tell me what to do,” growled Vitani, “Two: brilliant idea. There will be no touching speeches, no heroics. We do our duty: yours is to restore Taka's legacy. Mine is to lead you. Things are afoul in our Kingdom... Now is not the time to make reply, not the time to reason why, you have now but to do and die. We set things right! Onward!”

With a sudden swiftness, Vitani put her first paw in the watter, and let loose an incredible roar. And even though she had half and half expected the exact opposite, every last one of her followers followed suit (save for the cubs, of course; they watched with rising fear and anxiety). As the lioness's roars thundered over the watter, the hyena's shrill, whooping howls started resounding all over the plains. A shroud of fear descended over the Pridelands: Scar had returned.

As her paws sunk ever deeper in the cool river's water, Vitani started to realize where she had before gone wrong, the words of her own speech still ringing in her mind. A true leader, no matter why or how she became in that position, could not lead from amongst her subjects, desperately craving their acceptance, agreement or even friendship. No, it followed from the very character of what it was being a leader that one could only lead if one estranged herself from the very subjects she was supposed to be leading. Estranged, alone in the darkness, walking the fine and invisible line between right and wrong, if such were even possible. That was leadership, a dark and empty void of loneliness, detached of contact, devoid of praise or glory; those were just mirages. That's one of the reasons why so many leaders failed: they succumbed under the burden. At the hearth of leadership lied being alone. Vitani had realized to late, failed to act accordingly and had fallen. All loyal to her now stood to pay the price. But now was not the time to repent and make amends, now was her chance to undo the wrongs wrecked upon Taka's legacy. Or die trying.

*

A short burst of coughs suddenly echoed through the cave. Simba quickly dragged himself out of his slumber and jumped up, rushing toward the struggling Tanabi. His rise might have been a bit swift, however, as he tripped over and fell down hard on the cave floor; waking up is a delicate process which should not be rushed.

“Awww! Crud, my chin...” mumbled the former king as he got up again. Meanwhile, Tanabi was still struggling to draw breath. “Tanabi!”

Simba quickly turned towards the a couple of water filled coconut-shells prepared for a moment like this. He bent over to grab the first shell and tried walking it over to Tanabi. His aim was a bit shaggy, however, as most of the watter ended up all over Tanabi's face, with little water reaching his throat. Simba swiftly went for a second portion, which he was able to get in Tanabi's mouth. Tanabi got down some, but coughed up most of the water again. Now, however, he was able to inhale enough air to moan for more water. Simba quickly acted accordingly.

“Father!” Tanabi whispered laboriously.

“Tanabi! Thank the Kings you're all right!”

“Father... Where's Vitani? Where's Nala? We gotta go find them now!” hissed the King, trying to get up. Getting up isn't that easy, however, after a four day coma. Tanabi fell down again, tried getting up, fell down again. Simba rushed to his aid and helped him up.

“Dad, we gotta stop Mom and Vitani now. We gotta get to the river!”

“What? How did you...” Before Simba could finish his sentence, Tanabi already staggered out, falling down once as he did. As he stumbled out into the sunlight, he realized how blurred his vision and how weak his muscles were, but he had no time to loiter. He had to get to the river. Simba rushed out right behind his son, calling for Tamath who was lounging nearby.

“Tamath! Tanabi's up, get over here!”

The shaman was of course flabbergasted and utterly stupefied, but he jumped up nonetheless and started chasing Simba and Tanabi, who were by now already rushing down Priderock.

“Tanabi? Simba? For the Stars sake, what's going on? Where are we going?”

“Tanabi woke up!” Simba gasped in between running, “Said he's off to the river!”

“What? Why... How did he...” Tamath found it increasingly hard to talk and run at the same time. “Tanabi! In the Kings name, eat something first; you'll collapse!”

It was Tamath who collapsed first, however, failing to keep track with the lions. Meanwhile, Simba and Tanabi still rushed on forward, suddenly flashing by Pumba and who were on communal quest for crunchy bugs.

“Ehhhh... Timon?”

“Not now, Pumba...”

“Ehhh... Timon...”

“Not now, Pumba...”

Like a cinder slowly igniting the dried savanna floor, Timon slowly yet suddenly realized this might have been one of those situations where you might have to turn aside from the bugs in front of you.

“Pumba?”

“Timon?”

“Is this one of those situation where there's someone behind us and I'm refusing to turn around?”

“Simba and Tanabi just rushed by,” Pumba noted sec.

“What? Why didn't you say so...”

“...You weren't listening.”

“Look, we could stand here all day arguing over who did what, while we could at the same time be chasing after Simba to ask what is going on.”

“Right,” Pumba agreed.

“So? What are you still standing here for?”

“Oh, okay!” the warthog suddenly grasped, and without further notice, he sped forth. The only problem was, he'd forgotten Timon.

“Hey! Hey! Wait up!” yelled the meerkat as he set of on his futile chase.

Meanwhile, Tanabi had about reached the outer limit of his endurance: his pace started to slow and his breathing got more and more irregular. Before long, he came to a grinding halt, coughing up bloody spit from his tortured throat, ravaged by the collapsing cave's coarse grind of stone and the four day lack of saliva that followed. Both Simba and Pumba caught up with him as the lion struggled to move forward.

“Tanabi, son, please, slow down! Take it easy, before you hurt yourself,” Simba plead in bits and pieces between his breathing. Tanabi, however, retained his stalwart determination to keep on moving forward.

“I... have... to... keep... moving...” he hissed under his breath. Another volley of coughs ensued.

“Simba, what in the world is going on?” Pumba uttered, obviously confused at the awfully confused situation.

“Hell if I knew!” admitted the former king, “Tanabi just woke up all of a sudden, and the next thing I knew he was off to the river! How did you know where to go anyway? How did you know anything anyway?”

“I just know, all right!” sneered Tanabi, “I know what fine mess you all made! Now help me get to the river already!”

With that, the King set off to run forward again, yet he immediately halted again as he busrt out in coughing.

“All right, whatever, just get a drink first, okay?” grumbled Simba as he dragged his son towards a nearby waterhole, which were aplenty because of the raining season. As Tanabi spat out some moor blood and took in a few gulps of water, Simba realized how bad his son's condition actually was.

'Tanabi, we can't keep on going like this... what if I just carried you?”

“Thanks, but no, thanks,” Tanabi grumbled as he eagerly lapped up the water, “I think I a little bit too old for that...”

“Hey, I'm not saying, I'm just saying...”

“Yeah, I appreciate it, dad,” grunted Tanabi as he got up again, “Let's go!”

Of course, Tanabi would have preferred not having to run all the way to the river, but he figured it wouldn't be that far anymore; he could surely walk that distance by himself. However, a few steps into his new sprint, the King suddenly and painfully realized he couldn't lift his paws up quite as high as he used to. The lion came to a sliding halt in the dirt, face forward.

“No offense, you majesty, but just maybe you should let you father carry you for the time being...” Pumba noted.

“Yeah, thanks for the 'head's up'... Dad, is your offer still open?”

“Always glad to help,” grinned Sima, as he knelt down next to his son. Tanabi slowly and uncertainly draped himself on Simb's back.

“Y-You guys!” could suddenly be heard from the bushes nearby. Not long thereafter, Timon appeared, still running as he was while chasing Pumba. He fell down on his knees from exhaustion, not being able to utter more than inaudible gibberish.

“Hey, Timon, how nice of you to join us! I think it'd be best if you hitched a ride with Pumba for the remainder of the journey. And why not, it seems to bee all the rage nowadays,” chuckled Simba. Neither Timon nor Tanabi were laughing.

*

Nala couldn't help notice how nice a day it was as she slacked on forward, towards the river. For one reason or another, all her previous encounters with fate had happened to take place in the midst of roaring fires and thunderstorms. Now, however, a pleasant sun lit the sky, not hot but likable, almost cozy. A gentle breeze caressed the emerald savanna grass, lush from the recent raining season, and every now and then a lone cloud floated on past. It really was a way too nice day to be rooting out insurgents. Then again, fighting in the pouring rain wasn't that much fun either....
Yet she couldn't escape the thought she'd have been better of just lounging in the sun, preferably with a Long Island Iced Tea... The only problems were, however, that lions don't know Long Island Iced Teas, and that Nala simply didn't have the time to linger around. She was yet again reminded of that fact when she saw Mto rushing towards her.
Mto had been one of the two lionesses Nala had sent out before the main group to scout on ahead; you can't be too careful. Even though she had seen many years and many victories, Nala still was far from arrogant when it came to the fine art of the fight. If there's one thing she had learned over the years, it was that you can never feel too comfortable, even if the prospects are facing off against a force less than half your size. Thus, she had sent out two scouts, of which one had just returned too report her findings.

“Your majesty!”

“Mto, back so soon? Have you already been at the river?”

“Affirmative!” nodded the lioness, sounding a bit tired from all the running around she had been doing, not to mention a certain undefinable anxiety that seemed to have gotten a hold of her, “I've even been able to get a glimpse of Vitani's retinue on the other shore...”

“All right, good!” nodded Nala, “That means we'd better pick up the pace, if we want to reach the river before them. Pride, hurry it up!”

As all lionesses hastened their pace, Nala began walking next to Mto. Now, she addressed her on a more discrete tone.

“Say, why did you return so soon?”

“Well...” The lioness seemed to hesitate for one second, then she went into a whisper, “It's because I have some bad news, and some worse news...”

“What?” gasped the former queen in surprise, “What do you mean, what's the bad news?”

“The bad news? Well, when I looked over at qu... I mean, Vitani's retinue, I counted four full grown lionesses, not three...”

“But that means...” Nala's eyes widened, and her voice filled with disappointment, “No... Umeme! It should have been anyone but you... Mto, were you sure you saw her?”

“I saw four lionesses, ma'am. And since Umeme hasn't returned to us, there is only one logical explanation...”

That was a bitter pill to swallow. She liked to believe that the fourth lioness with Vitani was anyone but Umeme, but as Mto said, that was virtually impossible. Yet Nala just couldn't believe it. Umeme, of all lionesses! The only one who had seemed to have stayed loyal during the time of Nala's so-called exile, the only one to have boldly stood up to Vitani and to stay alongside her former rulers. But now, it seemed as if she had chosen to rebel yet again, now against Nala, the lioness she had always obeyed and protected. Umeme had been as close to Nala as anyone could be, her daughter one could even say, now that Kiara had left with Kovu.

Now, however, it seemed as if she had turned over to Vitani's side. Now, of all times...

“So be it,” Nala eventually whispered, more to herself than to Mto, who still walked besides her, “If she has chosen Vitani's side, she will share her fate – we will sweep aside anyone who stands in our way and refuses to accept that things are back to normal. Back to the way they were before Scar's filth poisoned these lands...”

“Even Umeme?”

Nala swallowed.

Forgive me, Umeme...

“Even her.”

Both lionesses walked on in silence, for a few seconds. Rather suddenly, they reached the hill in front of the river. On the other side of that hill would they await Vitani's crossing of the river. Nala could see the other scout, Bidii, trotting down the hill towards them. She looked awfully anxious; Nala figured Umeme's turning over had something to do with that. Then, however, Nala suddenly realized that Mto still had more news to tell her. She'd have to hear it right now, as she was set to give her last orders before crossing the hill which obscured the river from their sight.

“Mto, I forgot: was there something else you had to tell me?”

“Ow, blast! Right, I almost forgot... How could I forget this? Well, ma'am, you see...”

Before the lioness could transmit her message however, a thundering roar swept over the hill. Not quite that of a male lion, but pretty impressive nonetheless. It was quickly followed by three more simultaneous roars, although not quite as powerful as the first.
But then, as if bellowing up from below the very earth they stood on, a shrill howling rose up, growing ever louder. An irregular wave of shrieking whoops washed over the assembled lionesses, who all instinctively lowered their ears and cowered down against the grass. Even Nala found herself suddenly watching the top of the hill with wide open eyes. A cold shiver swooped down her spine.
In her mind, she was instantaneously taken back to the Priderock of her youth. She felt like a little cub again, cowering in between her mother's legs in fear and anguish, staring at Scar above her as he finished his inauguration speech, talking of Simba's assumed demise, followed immediately by tens of shrill whoops, cackles and howls emitted by swiftly closing Shadows.
Nala's mind could only think of one thing, no matter how folly it sounded, subdued by fear: Scar had returned.

*

All four animals froze in their steps as the characteristic, far reaching howls started to die down in the distance. Only Timon, Pumba and Simba were old enough to actually know the emotional repercussion of that sound, feeling their stomach's clench together and their faces turning pale behind their fur. Tanabi wasn't quite as affected, but he did realize the important consequences of the sound he heard in the distance: things had just gotten complicated. He needed little time to think.

“Dad, Pumba, we just ran out of time – now run, run like your lives depended on it!”

They might very well do...

“For Stars sake, hyenas? If this is a bad dream, now'd be a perfect time for me to wake up...” mumbled Simba as he struggled to run while carrying Tanabi on his back.

*

With heavy heart, Nala's party walked up the hill in a tight wedge formation. Reaching the top, they looked down at the stream a few yards below them, and the opposing riverbank. And just as Nala had feared, there was Vitani, wading into the river at a steady pace, followed by her three lionesses. Nala immediately recognized the gold furred Umeme, crossing looks with her for just a moment. Was it fear, guilt, doubt? She could not tell what lay behind Umeme's gray eyes, yet it seemed to be an established fact that she was lost for the cause.
But regardless of how much of a disappointment that might have been, Nala couldn't afford to focus on it any longer, as Vitani seemed to have decided she wouldn't go down without a fight and had played out her last card: the hyenas. A few dozen of them followed Vitani into the water at the Queen's flanks. So she had finally decided to risk it all and claim her supremacy as her father once did: followed by scores of scavengers. There was no way back for her now, realized Nala, but that also meant there was now no way back for herself either. As if that weren't bad enough, it also meant that the playing field had been leveled; Vitani and Nala's forces now matched each other in strength. All of a sudden, what she had hoped would be either a short skirmish or a clean capitulation now stood to become a full-pitched battle.
Scanning the riverbank from which Vitani had departed, however, Nala at least noticed one bright spot in an ever expanding ocean of grime: two cubs sat idly at the water's edge. Now at least Anasa and Dahabu were accounted for, although they were technically in enemy territory.

“Anasa!” Bidii suddenly yelled, no seeing her daughter too. She looked like she was going to attempt to run towards the river in search of her daughter, but Nala halted her before she got the chance to set even one step.

“Bidii, no! Stand your ground; we can't go after Anasa now, no matter how much we would like to. She's safe now, at least they aren't using her as a living shield. We'll get your daughter back, but first, we have to deal with that insane Takaist lioness and her minions. You with me?”

“Anything you say, my queen.” Bidii was quick to correct herself. “That Outlandish usurper will pay for abducting my daughter... Even if I have to go through all of her henchmen first...”

“Good. Pride!” Nala suddenly called out, “Onward!”

The Pridelanders cautiously yet steadily marched down to about halfway the hill; they wanted to get as close to the river as they could without giving up the advantage of being on higher ground. Almost automatically, the lionesses formed a crescent with the ends pointing backwards, and Nala, Mto and Bidii in the middle.

“All right, lionesses, here we will stand our ground. The usurper might have harnessed Scar's forces of evil, yet we will brave them with the knowledge that we are the righteous, the strong, and the brave. Do not allow Vitani to tread on our soil, whatever it takes!”

*

As Vitani started feeling solid ground under her paws again, she addressed Shenzi one last time.

“So,you're clear on the plan?”

“Yeah, I got it figured out. If a fight breaks out, I'll try keeping as many lionesses tied down as possible without killing them, no problem – but no fun either.”

“Whatever. You just take care of your job, and we'll deal with Nala. Understood?”

“Loud and clear...” grumbled the elderly hyena. She didn't seem entirely satisfied, but was smart enough to realize that everyone just going off on their own wouldn't help either; that's one thing she had learned from her ample defeats in previous times.
Meanwhile, almost all of Vitani's small army had reached the shore: the lionesses close to Vitani, and the hyenas spread out on their flanks. Seeing as though everyone was ready for the final showdown, Vitani discretely signaled the advance, and her entire retinue followed as she approached the nearby seated Nala.

“You should never have come back here, Outlander,” spat Nala as Vitani approached, “There's no place for you here; not now, not ever. Crawl back to the dump you came from, that's what you've chosen as your home...”

“The only one who doesn't belong here is you, Nala,” replied Vitani, “You're the one who was banished, and you are the one who has trespassed on myland. I am the Queen of this land, regardless of my birthplace. I'll give you one last chance: leave now, and you won't suffer the fate that becomes the likes of you...”

“You talk awfully arrogant for someone who just entered a land of whom she has abducted two cubs, one of them a prince. Not to mention the fact you come uninvited, with scores of hyena filth. Like father, like daughter, I suppose...”

“You dare insult King Taka's legacy?” Vitani bared her claws.

“That scum's legacy consists of nothing but treason, murder and glaring incompetence. As Regent, I forbid you to spread Scar's poison any longer – you will not enter this land until you return the taken cubs and repent for your treasonous ideals...”

“I see but one traitor here – and she won't get away just by repenting...” hissed Vitani. Every muscle in her body was by now ready to pounce Nala, and her followers had already prepared for the seemingly inevitable confrontation. Yet at the last moment, an almost inaudible, high-pitched child's voice echoed across the river.

“Grandma! Don't do this! Just let mom in, please!” pleaded Dahabu from across the river. He didn't know what else to do, yet he couldn't just sit around and wait for his family to literally rip itself apart.
The young cub's desperate plea made both Nala and Vitani smirk. The outcry of the cub might have sounded naive, but that was just appearances; at the true heart of Dahabu's last-ditch effort to forestall the coming bloodbath lay nothing but utter despair. And that was just what the suggestion was: desperate. And futile.

“Sorry, lad, I can't do that,” replied Nala, more at Vitani than at Dahabu, “You heard what your mother said: if I let her in, that'll be the end of me. And that's only the beginning of it; just look how she's already aligned with those mongrel hyenas. Letting you mother in would usher in a second darkness, destroying the Pridelands as Scar once did... If Scar's fiendish rule is to be restored, it'll be over my dead body...”

“That can be arranged – now, for the last time, I, your Queen, order you to step aside... or be destroyed!” commanded Vitani, more vicious and relentless than she had ever sounded. As to illustrate her point, both her three lionesses and the hyena cohort started slowly advancing on the opposing formation. Nala, however, sitting several inches above Vitani, just smirked, unaffected; a textbook example of a Pridelander's pride and stoicism.

“Try me, Outl...” she had wanted to spit out, when a sudden lash of Vitani's paw interrupted her. Regardless of her age, the Regent still had superb reflexes and was able to duck aside at the last moment. She imagined feeling Vitani's paw sweep past her ear.
That very moment, with Dahabu and Anasa's shrill screams of disbelief echoing in the background, pandemonium broke loose at the Border River's south bank. As soon as Vitani's paw had passed over her, Nala jumped forward, her yaws poised to rip through vulnerable spot now revealed as Vitani's paw was still traveling through thin air. Of course, the two lionesses standing closest to Vitani couldn't let that happen. Before they could jump to their queen's aid, however, they were intercepted by the vigilant Bibii and Mto. And as those former pride-sisters crashed down in the soft grass, locked in what might well have been a life-or-death struggle, the hyenas stepped into action as well. Suddenly attacking up front, they forced the lionesses of Nala's pride to focus on them in stead of on Vitani. Using their vast numbers to pick at the outer ends of the lion's formation, and mobbing any lioness who got hold of one of their clan-mates, they quickly scattered the fight over a large piece of the riverbank. Lacking an appropriate battle plan, or even a decent formation, most lionesses of Nala's pride soon found themselves unable to intervene without being bit in the spine by at least seven hyenas: not having the intention to actually make a kill, the hyenas just used tiring hit-and-run tactics that were less harmful than they were confusing, tactics not unlike the one they used when hunting. That put the lionesses at a disadvantage, although that of course also meant less fatalities, as the hyenas had been ordered not to rake up (too much) kills.
As such, the climactic battle soon bogged down into deadly a game of tag on the flanks of the battle. At the all-lion center, however, things were a bit more dynamic – and violent. Nala and her two supporters found themselves matched up with four opponents. Soon after the first exchange of biting and mauling, without too much effect, a frontal charge of Nala made both her and Vitani tumble backwards towards the muddy riverbank. This made Kucha take quick look back in concern, away from her opponent, Bidii.
Big mistake.
With one fell swoop, Bidii was able to knock the other lioness sidewards, against a nearby rock formation. Kucha hit the rocks hard, creating an ugly bloody mark on the side of her head. Stunned, she immediately started sliding downhill, out of the fight for the time being. This freed Bidii's paws to try and intervene in the fight between Nala and Vitani. Racing towards Vitani and Nala, who sat a few yards away as their fighting had made 'em tumble into the riverbank's mud, Biddi was suddenly tackled from behind.
Umeme, who had for obvious reasons suddenly gotten second doubts upon seeing both 'her' prides mercilessly clashing, had tried not getting involved in the fight. It wasn't that she was a coward, but now that the moment of truth was upon her, she again started to doubt which side she wanted to win. As a matter of fact, she wanted both sides to win, or rather neither side to lose. It must have been looking Nala in the eyes as Umeme was crossing the river into the Pridelands which had put her on the fence once again – or maybe the realization that one of her two friends and queens now faced death, that there was no more hope for a peaceful outcome. However, upon seeing Bidii rushing forward to decide the battle in Nala's favor (which would be the end of Vitani), Umeme saw a chance to prove, not her loyalty too either cause, but her desperate and seemingly hopeless commitment to any solution that wouldn't mean the death of Nala or Vitani. With a short sprint and a sleek leap, she grabbed Bidii's hind-legs, and both lionesses came to a sliding halt.
Biddi wan't about to just let Umeme get away with that, however, and instantly retaliated by kicking her opponent in the stomach. At any length, Bidii was occupied for the time being. But that hardly meant the fight between Nala and Vitani had become a fair fight.
It was no fair fight by any standards: Vitani's advantage had been decisive from the start, not to mention obvious; Nala was just too old for this kind of thing. Not to mention that Vitani simply was the better fighter, trained from infancy for these kind of encounters. Nala put up a decent fight, but she weakened with any hit she was able to aim at Vitani, whilst the former Outlander only seemed to be gaining strength through the ecstasy of battle. As a testament to Vitani's superiority, there was the fact that only Nala was covered in mud from the riverbank; she was the one spending most her time getting knocked over and pushed about. The former queen even started to get the impression Vitani was playing with her as if she had been a mere hapless prey in her bloody game.
She wasn't too far off. After yet another painful blow to her head, Nala saw no other option to try and crawl away towards her pride to try and get some help if she wanted to survive. Vitani wasn't about to let that happen, however; there was no getting out of this one. She quickly beat down and grabbed the escaping Nala. The former queen tried to avert fate by putting her last strength into kicking Vitani's face with her hind-legs, but it seemed in vain: except for a bloody scratch mark all over Vitani's face, the only thing Nala did was make the enemy more determined. As blood dripped out of her fresh wound onto the mud, Vitani towered out above Nala, and a determined, contemptuous grin seemed carved on her face as she looked down on the nearly defeated lioness.

“Your pretty daughter ain't gonna save you this time, Nala...” Vitani's grin seemed to grow ever wider, and more vicious. For a moment there, Nala saw no longer Vitani, but instead Zira, grinning with scorn on her, the hated Pridelander, just before dealing the finishing blow.

X Winds of Twilight

The thick, damp jungle atmosphere quickly made almost all breathing difficult. Yet even so, the prides still pushed on, although it did take some effort: the almost intolerable heat, coupled with the humidity heavily weighing down on them made the lions exhaust far more quickly than usual. After all, the savannah-lingering lions weren't exactly adapted at the extreme jungle condition. But the fact they pressed on forward even then went a long way to explain their determination.
Yakta and Kwini walked out in front of the other lions, probably because they were more used to living in the jungle. Of course, it's not because they walked in the lead that they led the lions pride travelling with them; that task fell on Jino and Spotty who walked some feet behind them, followed closely by their pride.
It had actually been a stroke of luck that Jino, Spotty and their pride had been around at all; they had just completed a short visit to Yakta's realm, the Mighty Jungle. And that whilst Tiko, flying towards the jungle moments earlier, had already given up on the idea of trying to find Jino's Green Pride because they would have to travel too large a distance too reach the Pridelands in time. In stead, he had decided to just call upon Yakta and Kwini to try and help out. However, upon arriving in the jungle, he had quickly spotted the Green Pride. If not for that chance meeting, Tiko's intervention would have been pretty much in vain.

Not that the decision of both prides to join Tiko as he returned to the Pridelands had come without any complications. Spotty's joining them had been a close call, as she was already in a pretty advanced stage of her pregnancy. Jino had firs opposed Spotty's decision to follow him towards the Pridelands, strongly opposed it actually. Not unlike Yakta, who hadn't been too happy about Kwini putting herself in potential danger for a fight that wasn't her. But it seemed that in the Pridelands and it's surroundings, male dominance was somehow what in decline, as both queens decided to follow their partners either way, whether those partners liked it or not.

“Are you still sure you want to go on with this? You can turn back any time you want, you know...”

“Yeah, right, any time youwant,” grinned Spotty, not exactly staying in line with protocol, “I'm not turning back when it's my friend and my former queen who needs me, no matter what. If anyone should turn back, it would be you. This isn't your fight.”

“If it's your fight, it's my fight as well. Besides, as King, it's my duty to support my colleagues whenever I can – its a scary world out there, so we monarchs better stick together. Especially now that I married into the family, so to speak.”

Further to the front, Yakta and Kwini had a similar discussion, although they had to interrupt every now and then to check up on Tiko. The hornbill had taken it upon himself to, in stead of flying back home to report a mission accomplished, guide the Green Pride through the jungle to the best of his abilities, pointing out obstacles in the jungle where he could. Of course, his abilities in that area were somehow what limited because of all the foliage blocking his line of sight, but he was helpful nonetheless. Thanks to him, the lions crossed into the more open savanna before long, quickly nearing the Border River just of the Mighty waterfall.
Arriving at the border, the prides halted. Chanua quickly hooked up with the leaders of the pride. The Queen-Mother, queen to the late King Horen, had stepped down as a queen shortly after the fight in which her husband had lost his life to rogues, and the same fight where the prince had proven what he was capable of. She now spent most her time enjoying some well deserved rest, and assisting her son as much she could by bestowing as much wisdom and advice upon him as she could.

“It's just around the bend now, I suppose?” she asked Spotty.

“Yep, we're almost there.”

“I think we should let the bird scout on ahead, to be sure – we can't be too careful...”

“Good point,” nodded Jino.

“Well then – why don't you send him out?” yawned the Queen-Mother.

“I would... but I cant actually command him to do anything. He's not under my jurisdiction, thus no subject,” smirked the king, only half serious, “Yakta, how 'bout you do the honors?”

“Gee, I'd love to...” chuckled Yakta, “But I'm afraid he isn't my subject either – Tiko falls under Vitani's authority...”

“Hey, here's an idea,” shouted Tiko from up high, following the conversation with a mix of annoyance and amusement, “How 'bout I do some freelance work? Good? Great! Later!”

With that, the green bird soared on towards the Pridelands, leaving the lions to stare at him as he flew off.

“That bird's brazen arrogance is really out of bounds,” grumbled Yakta, “Vitani should really put him in his place more often...”

“Maybe if she put her entire pride in place more often, we wouldn't be needing to cover her back right now,” mumbled Spotty under her breath. She respected her former queen with all her heart, but she couldn't help but feel like Vitani had somehow brought this mess upon herself. But that wouldn't stop Spotty helping her former leader; after all, that's what friends are for. They help you out, regardless of whether the trouble you're in is caused by yourself or someone else. And as for respecting Vitani as a queen, Spotty was well aware that even queens are, all things considered, just lions – she could know, now being one herself.

“Hey!” Kwini suddenly shouted, “Look, up there... what's the Stars is happening up there?”

Spotty, drawn from her thoughts, as well as the rest of both prides quickly turned their stares up to the skies. At first, they saw little worthy of their attention: some vultures in the distance, the odd cloud every now and then... but then it became obvious what Kwini had been so excited about: in the distance, a small blue spot could be seen racing in the lions' direction, at fairly low altitude. However, as soon as the lions caught on with the blue spot, they noticed a similar green figure, hovering a lot higher than the blue one. Then, suddenly, the green spot turned around, picked up speed, and started soaring down. In a matter of seconds, it seemed to be catching up to the before mentioned blue spot. Before being intercepted, however, the blue spot shifted it's course slightly, making it's pursuer fly by with maybe an inch' margin. But the green dot wasn't about to give up just yet, turning around and going at the blue dot again. But the blue dot was agile enough to avoid attack after attack, continuing towards the lions.

“Wait a minute...” grumbled Yakta, “Aren't those... Tiko and Zazu! What's up with them?”

“If I didn't know better, I'd say they were fighting – seems to have become somehow what of an eerie tradition in these lands nowadays, family fighting family,” frowned Spotty. As the fight between Tiko and Zazu went on, both birds kept on nearing the lions. As they did, the lions could start hearing fragments of some sort of a shouting argument over who held the absolute truth. As always, that discussion was waged with ample violence to boot.
For most of the flight towards the lions, the birds seemed to be able to fly on without taking each other down. However, just before Zazu seemed to attempt a landing near Yakta, Tiko slammed into him, causing Zazu to crash down onto the ground hard, in stead of making a gracious landing as he used to.
His feathers now ruffled and full of mud and dirt, Zazu still seemed to have the spirit to rise out of the moist grass to try and address the lions, even though his hoarse voice was strained by fatigue and anxiety. Tiko wasn't about the let off already, however.

“How dare you even still come here, traitor! You disgrace our family, our office and our loyalty, yet you still dare show your face?”

“Please, Tiko!” shouted Spotty as she reached out to hold him back before the hornbill assaulted his uncle again, “What has gotten into you? Someone could get hurt!”

“With all due respect, your Highness, that was the whole idea!” snarled Tiko.

“Hey, show some respect, will ya? Both for the Queen and your uncle!” Yakta quickly reprimanded the bird. Meanwhile, Chanua paced over to Zazu to lend the mangled majordomo a hand. With ample effort, Zazu managed to hop onto her back, still wet, ragged and overly dirty from his painful crash-landing.

“Now, Zazu, what on earth is happening? Why are you here?”

“I-I came looking for you, Sires,” stuttered the elderly bird, shivering from anxiety and general discomfort at his present state.

“That much I figgured out already, what else?”

“I came to tell you that it is already all over...”

Tiko violently interrupted his uncle: “Lies! Sire, please, will you really continue to put up with the poison his words spread?”

“No, please, your Majesties, listen to me!” continued Zazu, pleading in uncertain voice, “It's over, the deadlock has ended – Lady Vitani has voluntarily stepped down, ceding all her powers back to King Simba; she moved back to the Outlands and...”

I don't believe a word of it,” growled Kwini, “He's just trying to stall us...”

“Yeah, I know Vitani, and she wouldn't just step down – the fact she had Tiko call us over is the best prove of that,” agreed Spotty.

“No, please, your highnesses, I would never...”

“Pull the other one, Zazu; we're not buying it,” smirked Spotty, “and even in the if the unlikely event you were right, it couldn't hurt to go check out the Pridelands either way...”

“After all, if you're right, we'll still have to go over there to congratulate Simba on his re-enthronement,” added Yakta in a sarcastic smile, “Let's go! Tiko, lead the way again – freelance, of course.”

In a matter of seconds, Tiko had flew up again, without even deeming Zazu worthy of a triumphant look, followed by most of the lions on the ground. Chanua lingered a bit, however.

“Since, notwithstanding my own blessed age, you're probably the oldest among us, I'll give you exactly three seconds to get off and fly along...”

“But I can't fly like this!” protested Zazu, more pathetic than angry as he held out his wet and mud-stained wings, of whom some feathers had crooked after his unfortunate landing moments earlier.

“Then you'd better hold on real tight,” chuckled the queen-mother, after which she too rushed off, following her pride. Luckily for him, the elder majordomo was indeed able to hold on, though just barely.

*

“Dad, enough! Stop...” grunted Tanabi, seeing how close they were to the Border River, where it seemed everyone's fate would be decided. Without uttering even one word of acknowledgment, Simba came to a stumbling halt and fell through his knees into the soft grass. From the screeching sound of his heavy breathing, Tanabi could make it his father was in no condition to talk. Pity; he'd have to go without encouragement from here on.
Of course, Simba's current state was largely the effect of the former king's own overconfidence – relying on the experiences he had had while carrying Tanabi when he was still a cub had proven to be a pretty misleading idea. But it could have been worse, reasoned Simba, just imagine how heavy Tanabi would have been if he hadn't been starved by his temporary coma. On the other hand, if Tanabi hadn't been weakened by the come, Simba wouldn't have had to have carried him for most of the way.

“All right, thanks, dad. Now you stay here, while I sort the mess out happening by the river.”

The lion was just about to continue his journey, when he saw Timon and Pumba re-appearing, which made him mindful of just one last thing he had to say.

“Oh yeah... and guys, remember: the carrying – it never happened, capice?” With that, Tanibi took off again, towards the river. Timon stared at him as the lion ran forth.

“Simba, I hate to have to break it to ya, but your kid is really starting to go cuckoo for coco pops...”

*

Umeme really was in a tough spot there – on the one hand, she was fighting it out with Bibii, whom supported Nala. On the other hand, however, it seemed Nala was quickly losing ground to the incredibly skilled and agile Vitani. But Umeme's entire idea had been to keep either side from winning this fight, thus keeping both her 'queens' and friends alive. As said, such a goal wasn't an easy one. But Umeme was determined, that had to count for something.
Bidii, whom Umeme was confronting now, wasn't about to let off, however. She had to be dealt with first without inflicting too much harm – a daunting task. For now, their wrestling fight was somehow what of a draw: Bidii threw a punch at Umeme's flank, Umeme aimed a bite at Bidii's paw, but for apparent reasons, no one seemed to be willing to go in for a final blow.
Then, as she was just knocked over by a well placed swoop from her opponent, Umeme saw an opening. In a swift and sudden motion, the lioness curled up, after which she forcefully thrust forward both her back-paws, scoring a major hit on Bidii's chin. Sticky streams of blood and saliva flew from the lioness' mouth as her head was thrown backward. In a stroke of misfortune, Umeme's hit had caused Bidii to bit of a small tip of her tongue.
Counting on her opponent being temporarily knocked out, Umeme got up and ran towards the river's edge, where Vitani was starting to overpower Nala, beating her down into the mud time and time again. However, she suddenly felt a sting of pain in her back, and lost her balance, falling face down in the dirt. She looked back, and saw Bidii digging her teeth in her hind-paw, which hurt hideously. She hadn't knocked her out after all, even though Umeme, as she looked into the other lioness' groggy, hazy eyes guessed her opponent was still pretty close to collapsing.
Bidii's persistence shouldn't have come as a surprise to her though; after all, Bidii was fighting not just for her queen, but for her daughter as well. And whomever gets between a mother and her child is in for a world of hurt.
At that very moment, however, a hairy paw suddenly appeared around Bidii's neck, violently pulling her back, then pushing her down onto the ground. It was Kucha, who had seemed to have gotten up again from her previous unconscious state, notwithstanding the fact half her head was still covered in blood from her previous fight with Bidii, moments earlier.

“Go!” shouted the lioness to Umeme, sounding awfully dazed as she did. As a matter of fact, Kucha felt so light-headed she could hardly stand up on all fours, but she had rejoined the battle nonetheless. Irony had it, however, that Kucha thought Umeme was about to spring to Vitani's aid, while in fact she wanted to try and keep Vitani from taking down Nala. Otherwise, she would have never sprung to Umeme's aid.
But that didn't matter ti Umeme, who now saw her chance to try and maintain some sort of balance between the two belligerents. And no moment to soon, it seemed, as Vitani now towered out above Nala, already lifting her paw for what seemed to be about the final blow as Nala tried crawling away desperately. Umeme sprinted forward, took aim and then leaped at Vitani, who stood with her back towards the approaching Umeme. Teeth and and claws bared, Umeme leaped closer as Vitani was aiming at Nala's vulnerable neck.

*

“Watch it!”

“Wha...?”

Before Dakly could even turn his head around, the lioness had already come in close enough to maul him hard. Putting all her energy in one uppercut, she hit the hyena smack on the chest. In the blink of an eye, he felt all the air being forced out of his lungs, after which he was momentarily unable to breathe back in again. He quicly fell down on the grass, convulsing as he struggled to draw breath.

“Oh no you didn't!” yelped Shenzi as she in turn charged the lioness. The feline, not expecting such a brazen charge and still focused on her first target, was caught by surprise. Before she could even growl in surprise, the hyena had already caught the lioness' neck in her yaws.
Of course, Shenzi's first reflex would have been to simply chomp down and shatter the lioness' spine, but at the last moment she remembered the promise she had made to Vitani: no killing. But she still had the lioness between her yaws, and if she'd let her go it would be Shenzi who would be on the receiving end to much more severe consequences – the Pridelanders had, after all, not made the same pledge to prevent fatalities among their opponents. Lacking inspiration, she couldn't come up with anything better than to use the enormous strength she had in her neck and yaws to try and knock the lioness out by banging her head to the ground. That wasn't an enormous success, though, and before long the lioness had wrenched herself free from the hyena's grip.
Here, however, the hyenas' numerical superiority came into play, as she was immediately mobbed by two fresh opponents. This freed Shenzi to check up on Dakly, who still lay down in the grass.

“Come, on get up already!”

“Give... me... a... second...” coughed Dakly.

“Please, don't tell me you're letting them beat you that easily,” chuckled Shenzi, “I'm almost twice your age, but I'm still up and running...”

“Well kudos to you,” huffed the still shocked Dakly, “But I'll have you know that... Ow crud!”

“You wanted to let me know that?”

“No, look! Over there!” Dakly shouted, pointing down at the river's edge. Shenzi turned around just in time to see Umeme grabbing Vitani, pulling her away from the downed Nala who was crawling away to try and recover. As the former queen wasn't hurt too bad, chances were that wouldn't take incredibly long.

“Crud! Two on one, that ain't fair!” She conveniently ignored the lioness she had just attached and who was still engaged with the two hyenas that had saved Shenzi's butt.
Concerned for Vitani now that Umeme seemed to have turned on her, and eager to finally confront Nala after all these years, Shenzi needed only a second's though to break away from the current fighting and storm down towards the river, having little regard for all else what was happening.

“Wait, aunt!” shouted Dakly, as he scrambled to his feet trying to keep up with Shenzi. And 't was a good thing he did, because as soon as Shenzi started running down, she got a lioness on her tail. With half a portion of luck and half a portion of skill, Dakly was able to bite her back paw, tripping the lioness over and ruining her chase. That gave Shenzi pretty much a clear path to the river, although it also meant Dakly would be in for yet another painful beating dealt by one of Nala's lionesses.
As Shenzi ran down the hill, avoiding the various skirmishes happening all over, she observed how Vitani became enraged at what she perceived as a betrayal on Umeme's part and attacked her without any restraint, forcing the other lioness to respond in kind. She could only imagine the bitter swears and reproaches such confrontation would produce. What she also noticed, however, was that Nala had gotten up again without either Vitani or Umeme noticing. Strangely enough, the old queen seemed relatively unhurt, and was obviously preparing to rejoin the fight at the most opportune moment – namely, the moment where she'd get a shot at Vitani's neck. Yet Shenzi reasoned the fight Nala had just crawled out of would have left at least some marks, making Nala a more suitable match to take on.
What Shenzi forgot to take into account, however, was that Nala's spirit had dramatically risen as soon as she had seen Umeme taking on Vitani – there seemed to be some hope after all that Nala's original plan would ultimately still work out as she had intended, even though the confrontation had, at first, turned out a disaster.

“It's time I end this madness once and for all,” whispered Nala, as she prepared to intervene in the fight unfolding between Vitani and Umeme, “Tough luck, Vitani: it seems as if my daughter did come forth to save me after all – even though it wasn't the kind daughter you were expecting.”

Nala readied her muscles, and picked her target: Umeme and Vitani were so occupied with each other, that they hadn't noticed Nala. The old queen now needed but to jump fort, onto Vitani's back, pull back her head and...
Suddenly, her stream of thoughts was interrupted as she noticed, from the corners of her eye, appearing next to her an row after row of enormous yellowish fangs. In an fast and unconscious reflex, Nala was just able to lift up her forepaw, preventing the unnamed yaws from clapping shut around her throat.
Immediately, a searing pain shot through her paw as she felt her tissue being ripped apart. In the blink of an eye, however, the pain moved up through her shoulder as her paw was suddenly and forcefully jerked backwards. The rest of her body soon followed suit, as the force of her opponents charge pulled her over, into the shallow part of the river.
This hadn't exactly been what Shenzi had had in mind: in stead of getting a hold of Nala's neck, she had bitten into her paw. Unable to stop her charge in the slippery mud, she had subsequently slid past Nala while still holding her paw, causing them both to tumble into the river. And in what appeared to be a stroke of luck on Nala's behalf, the hyena had been unable to find grip in the bone of Nala's paw, in stead just ripping through the soft tissue, tearing of skin and flesh in stead of breaking the paw. That of course also hurt – hurt a lot! – not to mention it somehow crippled the former queen. Yet it wouldn't exactly be the death-sentence a severed paw would have been.
Nala struggled to get up from the water. She quickly noticed she couldn't rely on her wounded paw anymore, because as soon as she did, pain racked her body and she just fell down again. But even though her agony was crippling, she was still conscious enough to try and figure out who had foiled her plan this time around and get back at her

“You!” she roared as soon she noticed a soaked Shenzi standing up near her, a few feet further into the river.

“What, you didn't think I had just disappeared, did ya? It's time I made you bleed for what you did to us for bringing back that fool of a Simba out whatever cesspool you dug him up from...”

“We should have killed you all when we first chance,” hissed Nala as she stumbled closer, hindered by her wounds and the cold water, “But that's a mistake I won't make twice...”

“My thoughts exactly...”

XI A Circle Broken

It had all seemed just a dream. A true fairytale. How else to describe her life's story?

Rising up out of a childhood in tatters, only to be put down under a tyrants heel. Fleeing her homeland, leaving behind the friends and the land she loved, having few hopes to survive on her own. But then, she stumbles upon her savior, way out in the wilderness, the knight in shining armor of whom she had already given up only dreaming about. But she found him, against all odds. She found not only her personal savior, but discovered in him the liberator of her entire people.
Of course, it had taken some prodding in the right direction, but it happened nonetheless: she had found the hero everyone had been craving for, and brought him back home with her. Things only got better from there on: they got rid of the bad guys, took over the kingdom and cuddled up to found their own little family.
But as the song goes, “Good times, bad times”. Here's where Nala's fairytale ended, and most of life turned sour. Sharing her home with the the enemy. Losing friends in struggle and betrayal... even her own son turning over to a treacherous coup. And then the humiliation of simply being replaced, and banished. Being replaced by a green, backstabbing and incompetent Outlander who had even ensnared Nala's own son. Vitani had stolen Nala's son, Nala's kingdom, Nala's pride and Nala's self esteem.
For a long time, the former Queen had no response to it. She did nothing but grovel in her own bitterness, lashing out at everyone regardless of their intent. She was especially disappointed by her former pride, all of whom had seemed to have turned away for her. What an ungrateful lot they were.
But here's where the dream had picked up again: her pride had suddenly rose up to her defense when the first opportunity arose! What a comeback, what a finale to her dramatic life!

In a way, Umeme's turnarounds in the last few days had kind of been modeled after the pride's behavior over the years: Supporting Nala, even when suffering under illegitimate ruler, then seemingly turning around to the enemy only to, in the end, when push comes to shove, still stand up for the only true Queen in the lands...
However, now was not the time to revel in that feel-good experience, or to just even stop to think about it. Now, 't was all about keeping her head above water and momentarily refrain from drowning outright, literally: by some unlikely chain of events, Nala found herself fighting for her life with a hyena she'd already supposed dead whilst up to her neck in the Border River's murky water.
She hadn't counted on that; this definitely wasn't what she had had in mind when trying to re-establish Pridelander rule to the Pridelands. She hadn't counted on Vitani having the guts to return, on things getting violent or on Vitani's unlikely new allies. Well, that last one wasn't entirely true... Nala knew her history; on the hyena account Vitani certainly lived up to her father's legacy. And it was turning out to be her demise, Nala feared.
As the pain from her wounded paw swirled up throughout her entire body, becoming ever more crippling, she cursed herself for having underestimated Vitani. Struggling with her wounds, her heavy, soaked fur and her eternal enemy Shenzi, she could not help but let anger get a grip over her at the prospect of losing her best – if not only – chance for a righteous comeback because of a combination of hubris and that heap of mangy poachers. She wasn't about to let that happen, not on her watch. Not why she had even the least bit of life in her. She'd die before she'd see another Scar rule the Pridelands, and she'd be taking a lot of others with her if she were. Nala had turned from the triumphant Queen she had been only moments before to a desperate rogue, to whom all means were viable to get where she wanted.
And the first obstacle she'd have to take was Shenzi. The hyena had been able to surprise Nala, and had gotten a shot at on of her paws. Her miscalculation in terms of speed and terrain had pushed them both into the Border River, however, where Nala's crippled paw was somehow compensated by the lion's superior skills when it came to moving in the watter. Nala exploited this by immediately pulling the hyena deeper into the river after first exchanging some obligatory niceties. Surprised by Nala's swift response and clarity of mind, Shenzi found herself without answer to Nala's sudden leap forward, which pushed them even farther away from the shore. Suddenly, she felt no more ground under her paws, went under, and could only resurface by devoting the entirety of her already diminished strength to keeping her head above water. Although Nala faced similar problems, she had needed not even half the effort her enemy had to put forth, if only because of having anticipated the need for a swim. Nala drew a long breath, then lunged in towards Shenzi and was able to wrestle her teeth around on of her opponent's paws, drawing her under.
Not having had any momentum to fill her lungs with air, Shenzi immediately panicked as she went under. Instantly, her body forced her to forget about the struggle that went on on the river's bank, to forget about the lioness she was battling and even give up whatever cover she might have had. The only thing that mattered now was getting her muzzle above the river's surface and breathe, anything else would mean the one of the most gruesome of deaths: drowning. Or so her struggling body told her, blocking out any sound of reason coming from her mind. And so, with only the thought of breathing fresh air propelling her, Shenzi stretched out her entire body, stretched out her neck, elevated her head and pushed with all her might to reach the surface. And, by a stroke of luck it seemed, it worked: her head suddenly popped out from beneath the river's surface amidst bursts of water violently sweeping hence and forth because of her struggle.
However, as relieved as the hyena instinctively might have been at first, greedily sucking in the much craved air with her mouth wide open, she was know right where and how Nala wanted her. With a swiftness that could only be explained by the burning hate she held against her foe, and seemingly unhindered by her wounds, Nala released the enemy's paw from her jaws, surged upward, and mercilessly bit down upon Shenzi's neck, which had been painfully exposed in the hyena's desperate effort to stretch out and break the surface to draw breath.
And even though Nala, who sank down with Shenzi again, now held the least air in her lungs, victory would be hers: it had not been her intention to choke, or even drown her opponent, regardless of what the hyena might have thought. As she wrapped her paws firmly around Shenzi's upper body and shoulders, almost in slow motion because of the natural resistance one faces when moving underwater, Nala sealed the old Matriarch's fate. Their eerie graceful underwater dance came to a terrible , strung out finale finale as Nala pulled with all her might to try and break her opponent. Shenzi tried her best to resist, but fatigue and old age had already taken too much of a tole on her weary body. In this last duel of strength, or maybe of the wills, between the two old rivals, it seemed Nala would be the ultimate victor: slowly but surely, Shenzi's powerful neck started to succumb before Nala's onslaught.
In this final confrontation below the Border River's surface, Nala won. All strength flowed from Shenzi's body as her neck finally broke. Upon sensing she had at last decided this seemingly eternal feud in her own favor, Nala felt for a moment victorious, releasing her opponent from her jaws, yet still holding her tight in her paws. Just maybe, hanging motionless underwater for an instant, pressed against her, Nala finally felt some sort of respect for the foe that had antagonized her so.
But even now, Nala wasted little time lingering. She quickly let go of Shenzi and made a break for the riverbank, emerging from the water again halfway there. With renewed vigor brought on by her hard-fought victory, Nala sped forward towards the still battling Vitani and Umeme, who fought only yards away. Fueled by adrenaline and an unleashed blood-lust, Nala sealed out all perception, save for the vision of the struggle between Umeme and Vitani in front of her. She did not feel the blistering pain shooting up from her mangled paw, nor the distress calls of a body pushed way beyond it's limit. She did not see a horrified Dakly plunging into the river somewhere beside her, or the battle around her that slowly came to a grinding halt. She did not hear the emerging cries of disbelief slowly rolling down the hill. She did not see the lone racing figure that made its way towards them, approaching fast over the hill as Nala went in for the kill.

*

What a disappointment this had turned out to be, Vitani couldn't help but think. Umeme had decided once and for all to betray her after all. And the funny thing was, she wasn't even any good at it! As if fighting with the strength of only half a lion, the enemy-turned-ally-turned-enemy-again that was Umeme was disappointing even in her betrayal. Vitani of course realized how Umeme's fighting with some more able-bodied opponents than the aging Nala Vitani herself had faced would have taken at least some sort toll, but it in no way was an excuse for the pathetic performance Umeme was putting up now. As if she didn't even want to stand and fight a decent fight, a fight fitting Vitani's skill and standing.
The fact she was actually disappointed of easily winning a duel, oddly enough, didn't strike Vitani as particularly strange. It's an Outlander thing, you know.

“Is that it? Is that all you've got?” snarled Vitani, as she easily evaded a half-hearted attempt Umeme made at lashing out. In a lightning response, the Queen grabbed her opponents paws with both hers, dug her claws deep in her flesh, and made a violent pull that sent a surprised Umeme suddenly flying forwards. She came to an abrupt stop, however, as her nose made contact with Vitani's forehead. Immediately after the perfectly executed head-butt, the younger lioness bounced back limply, leaving behind a splash of the blood that now spurted out of her nose on Vitani's chest.
Unable to get up again, Umeme just lay on the ground gasping for air. Vitani Casually strode closer, eventually standing over the groggy lioness. She bent down, then moved her head close to Umeme's ear. The lioness' fur gently rustled along with the rhythm of Vitani's heavy breathing as she exhaled. From the corned of her eye she could just see Dakly rushing by, but she didn't pay much attention to him. Her interest, as well as her vision, was now limited only to Umeme.

“You disappoint me, Umeme,” whispered the Queen, sounding surprisingly sad “I still had great hopes for you, even after all you'd done. I really had. But you betrayed me yet again... and for what? In your betrayal, you couldn't even succeed in giving me a decent fight...”

Umeme tried moving her head up, and that took her a fair amount of trouble; anyone else in her condition would have already already fainted long ago. Yet she still kept her eyes open, no matter how fuzzy her vision, and her head upright, no matter how much the world seemed to spin around her. Suddenly, her mouth moved as if she wanted to say something, yet no sound could be heard. Vitani only saw her teeth moving up and down, teeth now red of Umeme's own blood.

“What's that?” frowned Vitani, her voice now again laden with scepsis, distrust and disdain.

“Be... hind... you!” muttered Umeme again.
Vitani had only half heard what the lioness had said, but the sudden change of look in Umeme's eyes went a long way to fill in the gaps. In a reflex that was only fitting of the term 'catlike', Vitani abruptly turned around, one paw already lift up high to try and block whatever it was that headed her way. But that wasn't nearly enough to prepare her for a one-hundred fifty pound lioness crashing into her, even for a lioness as able as Vitani. For a moment there, her physical prowess was temporarily overcome by the surprise strike. It finally gave Nala, whom had obviously executed the attack, the upper hand in her now resumed fight with Vitani, if only for a short wile. But that short moment was all Nala needed.
As soon as Nala had pounded on Vitani, both of them had tripped backwards onto the unfortunate Umeme. It would have been comical if it hadn't been dead serious. With Umeme below her, forcing her back in an awkward and painful twist, Vitani suddenly found it awfully hard to combat Nala, now above her in a vantage position. All her previous smugness and self-assuredness had disappeared in mere moments. Now it was Vitani who found herself fighting for her life, or so she thought. Quite a turnaround, literally. In a desperate effort to survive, Vitani tried everything she could to shield her neck and face from Nala vicious fangs and claws. But through all the effort she made to defend herself, she failed to notice a sudden, searing pain that shot up below one of her front paws. Suddenly seeing an opening, she was able to place a crushing strike on Nala's jaw that momentarily threw the former Queen back.
However, as Vitani tried getting up, she became aware of the warm, throbbing pain at the base of one of her forepaws again. She found it harder getting up from her awkward position, suddenly starting to feel tired, out of nowhere, without warning. Her sudden fatigue was even that bad she was still lying down as Nala's now scarred face appeared above her again. Vitani could see the former Queen opening her mouth, revealing her teeth. Because of her surprisingly blurred vision all of a sudden, Vitani couldn't, quite make out whether Nala intended to gnaw at her or shout at her. But it seemed she wouldn't get the chance to do either. Like lightning from a cloudless sky, two enormous paws appeared out of the blue, violently dragging Nala away from Vitani in the mere blink of an eye.

*

All the air suddenly pushed out of her lungs by the unknown assailant's pounding on her, Nala found herself gasping for oxygen, lying down on the ground, oblivious to what the hell had just happened. All the unexpected turns of events, combined with too much adrenaline and a dangerous level of fatigue, and now being without air, Nala almost felt as if she was passing into a seizure. Of course, that wasn't about to happen, but she still needed a second to recover before she could even begin to piece together what had just happened.

“T-Tanabi?” Nala eventually gasped as she looked up into the single, burning eye above her.
The entire battle had by now come to a screeching halt, everyone's eyes now fixed upon the imposing Tanabi standing over the downed Nala. Despite his days-long coma, Tanabi's gritted posture was still terribly imposing, even awe-inspiring in the current setting. A deafening silence set in, and a cold wind suddenly gushed along the river, catching Tanabi's manes in a small updraft.
After a deep, long sigh, accompanied with the fitting disappointed smirk, Tanaibi turned away from his mother without a word, allowing her to timidly get up again. The stares of an entire kingdom seemed to make that a whole lot harder, to do – not to mention the crippling pain she began experiencing again all over her weary body.
Meanwhile, Vitani, now free of Nala's incessant attacks, had gotten up again already as well. But for some reason, she started feeling awfully light headed the moment she got up. She found herself staggering the moment she tried walking forward.

“T-Tanabi?” murmured Vitani awfully weakly, to her own surprise. She saw Tanabi carefully striding towards her, which off course filled her with indescribable joy. But that all faded away the moment she saw the look on his face, as he tried opening his mouth to speak. But his words seem to die halfway his throat. Vitani got the impression he was looking at something to the right of her. Wiggling hence and forth a bit, blinking to keep her eyes open, Vitani turned her head to the right. She didn't see anything at first, so she moved a bit further around. Then she saw Umeme, who was still having a hard time getting up, tripping down again the moment Vitani lay eyes on her. The Queen's attention was immediately drawn by the large, reddishly-brown blotches on the other lioness' flank. That sure was a lot of blood, Vitani couldn't help but think. Yet she couldn't discover any wound sizable enough to have caused such a mess, at least not on Umeme. She then looked at the ground. Between the trampled, muddy dirt was still more blood. It almost looked like a short trail, leading all the way to Vitani's own back paws. Then she suddenly noticed her own flank: all red and sticky, simply drenched. As she was looked on, she could witness a stream of fresh blood now making it's way down her right forepaw, adding to the small puddle that had already formed below her.

“W-What?” murmured the queen as she stared in disbelief, after which she turned her head towards the approaching Tanabi again. She started shaking slightly. “Tanabi...”

With those last words, Vitani stumbled forward, but tripped and started falling down. Almost immediately Tanabi rushed forwarded, surprising agile in his weakened state.

“Vitani!” Tanabi arrived just in time to support Vitani with one of his paws, quickly sitting down and carefully laying his Queen next to him as the entire pride watched their every move.

*

“Come on, hurry it up! We're almost there! It's just over...”

“All right already, we're here. Now where's the party going on?” huffed Yakta as he got up the hill. The other pride's stamina had proven to be a pleasant surprise, as they had been able to keep up with Tiko's fast flying with relative ease. Some good news at least, thought Yakta.

“Hey, Tiko, what's the matter, lost your tongue?” panted Kwini as soon as sh e too had braved what would prove to be the last hill on their way. She stared at Tiko, who was simply hovering in the sky staring forward. The lioness was wondering why the hornbill had suddenly interrupted his sentence, so she turned to her partner.

“Yakta, what-”

The lion, however, was just as deaf to her questions, simply staring in the same direction as Tiko was, his face inert as if carved out of stone. By now, Kwini had about gotten the hint, and she too looked out for whatever it was Yakta and Tiko where so intrigued by.

To the west of them, in the Border River's valley, Kwini immediately saw she had gotten a front row seat to the chaos down below, at the river's edge. Spread out over a small portion of the hill next to the river she noticed all the sandy, golden and brown blurbs standing in what seemed to be a pretty random pattern. It took her a moment to realize what it exactly was she was staring at. She quickly realized that the sandy and golden figurers were lionesses, some seemingly wounded, most of them opposed to the much more numerous brown figures, although some also stood face to face with other lionesses. Kwini couldn't exactly place the brown animals, at least not in the current context. From what she could tell, they were hyenas.

“Two things: one, what on earth is going on, and two: what on earth are the hyenas doing here? Tiko didn't mention those...”

Meanwhile, the other pride had arrived as well, them also staring at the pandemonium in the valley. Jino quickly rushed forward towards Yakta.

“All right Ya, what are we seeing here?”

“Honestly?” shrugged Yakta, not so much because of indifference but rather because he really didn't have a clue, “I have no idea whatsoever. There are lionesses, there are hyenas, some lionesses stand opposed to lionesses, some stand opposed to hyenas. The only thing I can somehow relate to is Tanaibi, right there...”

Yakta pointed to the only male lion in the valley.

“And yet even that doesn't seem to make sense,” smirked Jino, “Wasn't he like, near death?”

Suddenly, from above, Tiko shouted out again.

“Sires, with all due respect, but in stead of just standing here contemplating, shouldn't we intervene? I mean, that was the whole idea, wasn't it?”

“As much as I dislike that insolent bird's tone, I have to agree with him,” grumbled Spotty, “Ya, Jino, what do we do?”

“All right, all right, be cool. We'll do it like this: we storm down, form a defensive line near Tanabi, but we don't actually intervene until we know who's who and who's on who's side. Besides for as far as I can tell, any fight that might have happened is already over,” suggested Yakta, “You okay with that Jino?”

“One hundred percent, nodded the King, “All right, pride, you heard the lion! Move it!. Yakta, would you be as kind as to signal our arrival?”

“It'll be my pleasure,” grinned Yakta as he prepared for the loudest roar in pretty much his entire career.

*

After having shaken off what had seemed to be an entire horde of lionesses, Dakly was finally able to reach the river. However, maybe because of the constant delay the lionesses on the way there had given him, tooth and claw, it seemed like he had gotten there just too late.
What had made him make the run for the river was seeing both his aunt and the opposing lionesses' leader hitting the water. Immediately concerned the elderly matriarch wouldn't be able to pull it against an experienced lioness, Dakly had tried to put together some kind of intervention. However, both his team mates had gotten stuck somewhere along the way, and Dakly himself had only just escaped a lioness' yaws, so now he found himself alone at the water's edge, not to mention tardy. The last thing he had seen was, after a fierce struggle, both Shenzi and Nala going under, coming up again and then going under once more. From the looks of it, Shenzi had been in a tight spot, barely able to catch her breath. It was thus no surprise Dakly panicked the moment he saw Nala surfacing without his aunt. What made him even more scared was that Nala just made a break for the shore, which signaled she was apparently done with the business she had to take care of in the river.

“Aunt!” Dakly immediately screamed, after which he rushed into the water. The mud that sucked his paws in made that a surprisingly hard thing to do, frustrating him to no end, since he was still convinced that now every second mattered. Meanwhile, Nala had already gotten out of the water a few yards away from Dakly, but the two didn't seem to notice each other, nor the fact that the battle was starting to subside because of an unknown figure's appearance over the hilltop.
Before long, Dakly was finally in the deeper end of the river, and since Shenzi still hadn't surfaced, he immediately dove down around where he estimated the fight between his aunt and Nala had occurred. Because of all the stirred up mud, it was nearly impossible too see anything underwater – Dakly saw nor found anything at first. But pushed forth by fear, anger and the love for his aunt, he persisted and went down for a second time after drawing breath again. And then a third time. And in some macabre way, the third time was the charm: as Dakly was blindly scouring the bottom of the river, he suddenly hit a heavy, still somehow what warm object. Then he felt the paws, the tail and the head. This was definitely a hyena, which somehow what reassured Dakly. But she wasn't moving. The cold river's water now seemed to chill even Dakly's heart, as the horrible truth began to sink in, against all the fading hopes he still held.
With the tiny ounce of strength he had left after all the endeavors of the day, Dakly managed to grab his aunt by the scruff with his teeth, to try and pull her out of the water. That wasn't exactly easy pie, yet Dakly did still somehow manage to keep his head above water as he pulled forth Shenzi. The most frustrating thing about the trip, apart from the fact he was sick with worry about his aunt, was that he couldn't take in any serious amounts of air, having had to breathe in through his nose if he didn't want to risk letting go of Shenzi. Obviously, that arduous task consumed all of his energy and attention, so he didn't notice how Tanabi's intervention cut the already subsiding battle on the shore short.
The moment his paws touched land again, Dakly managed to put 'em down as firmly as he could, as to draw Shenzi onto the shore . He slipped once as he dragged his aunt out of the watter, causing them to both get smeared with mud. As soon as he thought he had gotten Shenzi far enough, Dakly instinctively wanted to shout out for help. His soar throat, however, combined with all the muddy water he had involuntarily had to swallow, made sure his shouts died in a long coughing seizure. Realizing he would be on his own for the seconds to come, Dakly himself turned back to his aunt's body which lay motionless, save for her back-paws that still gently waved along with the river's stream. He quickly dropped down next to her, carefully placing one paw over her chest while sliding another one under her neck.

“No, please no... Help us! Someone, please...” Dakly shouted out, his voice dying down as he noticed how limp Shenzi's head hung over his paw. Now more carefully supporting her, he gently licked some of the mud off her face.

“Someone, please help my aunt...” His whisper, however died in the thunderous roar that suddenly engulfed the entire Border River valley. The hyenas that had already gathered near Dakly and Shenzi all simultaneously looked up, along with pretty much all others in the valley, lion and hyena alike.

Headed by a comparatively imposing Jino, a golden wave swept down the hills to the east, its sudden appearance so intimidating most combatants on the eastern edge of the battlefield instinctively ran backward and braced themselves for impact. Because of that, Tanabi, who still held Vitani tight, suddenly found himself at the outer edge of the crowd as the newcomers stormed forward. Before long, the entire formation slowed down when they saw Tanabi, to eventually halt and form a wedge, Jino at the tip, in front of Tanabi. The King, however, didn't even look up, he had no interest for anything but Vitani right now. Jino was a bit uncomfortable with that, as he didn't understand what was going on right away, although he did think the way Tanabi lay with his paws wrapped around Vitani was a bit awkward in this kind of setting.

“Uh... Sire?” Jino tried, yet Tanabi didn't respond. And that's when Jino noticed Vitani was hardly moving at all. Before he got the chance to say anything else awkward, though, Spotty came to his side. She quickly noticed Vitani as well. At first, dismayed by the sight of a bloodied Viani, she backed away again, only to approach the fallen Queen again moments later.

“”Oh no... no... V-Vitani? My Queen?” stuttered the young lioness, her mind instantly reverting back to her days as an Outlander. Vitani, however, didn't respond, and seeing as how Tanabi held the lioness in a firm embrace, Spotty didn't dare approach any further so she wouldn't startle the grieving King. But because her instinct told her that Vitani needed her pretense, she skulked closer nonetheless.
Yakta, disturbed by Spotty sudden outcry, quickly elbowed his way from the back of the newly arrived Green Pride towards the front. As soon as he lay eyes upon Tanabi and Vitani, however, he too froze. His mouth opened for a moment, but no sound could be heard. He shuffled closer.

“Sis?” he carefully whispered.
Meanwhile, Maitha and Kucha had also somehow managed to crawl near. Both lionesses had taken serious beatings, Kucha still bleeding from the head, while Maitha had to limp forward on three legs, the fourth one being to badly damaged to stand on. But even they were still conscious enough to realize what was happening, although they didn't have the energy to do anything but stare in horror. In the background, most lionesses that had sided with Nala in the previous battle now started coming closer too, save for Nala herself, who tried staying in the background whilst making herself as small as possible. The hyenas, in turn, started gathering around Dakly and Shenzi.
Suddenly, to everyone's surprise, Vitani opened her eyes again, making Tanabi draw his head back a bit, as if shocked. The look in Vitani's eyes, however, was anything but clear, as she seemed to almost stare out in the distance. With ample effort, she opened her mouth again.

“Tanabi, I knew you'd come for me again...” she silently whispered, “I'm sorry I made such a mess of things while you were gone...”

Taken aback by those remarks, Tanabi could but stare whilst tears welled up in his eyes. Meanwhile, Vitani turned her head an crossed looks with all lions gathered around her.

“Hey, you're all here, great to see you...” the Queen mumbled somehow what incoherently. As Tanabi kept holding on to her, he could feel how she kept getting weaker by the second. She turned back to him and whispered in his ear.

“I think we've finally won...”

Epilogue

Even as dusk started setting in, Priderock's surface still felt warm after a long day of scorching heat. The past day had been almost unnaturally warm for the time of year, tiring and numbing everyone in it's wake. The hot air continued to linger around even now, near the evening.
It seemed almost impossible that the weather would have made such a turnaround overnight, yet it definitely had. Tamath had felt it happening with ever rising anxiety; it was as he had feared. Yet he had decided now would not be the time to give utterance to his fears, as the pride was already in deep enough as it was. That is to say, for as far as the shaman was concerned, this must have been the darkest day in the Prideland's history since long. But, staring at the grim crowd gathered on Priderock that afternoon, he became more and more convinced there would be many more of those to follow.
From where he sat, Tamath got a good look at the Pridelands down bellow, at the gathered animals of all different races anxiously staring up. The crowds were not nearly as thick as they would have been at a Presentation ceremony, nor were they as enthusiast. Below stood the animals who had been driven to Priderock because of disturbing rumors, and terrible tidings. Rumors of betrayal and murder, tidings of hyenas and foreigners that held camp at Priderock. And for as far as the animals could see, all that information had been accurate: a strange pride lead by two powerful lions now held watch at Priderock, carefully monitoring it's original inhabitants, and allowing none to leave. A delegation of hyenas had been seen ascending Priderock in the afternoon, not leaving since.
The fear was apparent in all the gathered animal's eyes; they did not know what was going on, yet they could tell it was severe. With heavy heart, they now waited for their King to guide them, and reveal the state of the Kingdom. But the King had not been seen for an entire day, as he seemingly hid himself away it the Priderock complex' deepest cave. Everyone waited for his reappearance, yet it never seemed to come.
Tamath, however, already knew all there was to know. Not too long ago, he had been summoned to Tanabi, to his dark cave deep down in the Priderock. He had soon encountered the King there, in a small, damp room, where he sat with his advisor Tiko and two of his lionesses, Kucha and Maitha, along with what remained of an antelope carcass from which the King nibbled every now and then. There, Tanabi had informed the shaman of what was soon to happen, and what would be his part in that. After that, Tamath had been ordered back out again. He remembered all the worried and curious faces as had had again appeared on Priderock's plaza. But he talked to no-one, and no-one had the courage to approach him. After him, many more were called upon to meet with the King, all going in individually and coming out again. Yakta, Jino, Spotty, Dakly, Simba and some others. But none of the lions that supported Nala, nor the former Queen herself. No, they just waited anxiously, kept in check by Jino and Yakta's prides, feeling their spirits dampen as the day progressed.
Then, finally, just as the sun started creeping down under the horizon, Tanabi suddenly appeared out of the caves. His eyes were still a bit reddish, both from mourning and a lack of sleep, and he still looked weakened by his days-long coma as he walked, but the way he held his head up high and the look on his face were unmistakably regal. In his wake slowly followed Kucha and Maitha, who still limped heavily, as well as Tiko, who flew behind them.
The green bird shot a look at his uncle Zazu, who sat silently with Simba and Nala. If looks could kill, Zazu'd have died ten times over. In stead, the former advisor just looked away, as did Nala. Simba, however, kept his eyes fixated on the party exiting the caves, especially Tanabi. The King noticed his father's stare and slowly started walking towards him. Instantly, Simba got up and took position in front of Nala.
For Tamath, Simba's behavior had been one of the biggest surprises of the day. The former king, after all, had more or less refused to play along wih Nala's plan for pretty much the entire duration of the crisis. Yet the moment the lions had set foot upon Priderock again, after a long and silent night of mourning in which Tanabi had taken Queen Vitani to her final resting place in the Outlands, Simba had been the only one to stick by Nala. Whilst all other lionesses had, be it because they saw their error or because they knew better than to side with the traitor, not even deemed their former Queen worthy of one word, Simba had stayed by his partner throughout the entire night and day that had followed the Coup, as it would come to be known. It seemed as if Simba's love for Nala conquered even the greatest mistakes from her part, no matter how it would make his son Tanabi think of him. Whether that was ultimately a sign of weakness or of strength, was in the eyes of the beholder.
Both lions were now directly in front of one another. It was disturbing to see the still wounded Nala cower behind Simba, now seemingly even fearing her own son. Looking upon her as she sat there now, alone and miserable, Tamath couldn't help but think it might not have been love that kept Simba with her, but pity. Pity for a fallen Queen.

“Father, you don't have to do this...” Tanbi suddenly grumbled, shattering the suffocating silence surrounding Priderock.

“You would do the same thing if you were in my stead...”

The memory of Vitani flashed through Tanabi's head. Would he have sticked with her, through good times and bad times, no matter what horrible things she did? The King sighed profoundly, then turned around. Nala seemed somehow what relieved. Funny, how she'd gone from a killing machine to an old, tired and scared lioness in one day. The incident with Yakta earlier must've had something to do with that. The moment Yakta had figured out what role Nala had played, it had only been an alert Jino to stand between Nala and her violent death. It must've been around that time Nala realized that killing Vitani hadn't been a victory, but a crushing defeat, possibly even worse than she herself getting killed in the duel.
Tanbi slowly continued to stride towards Priderocks promontory, walking right through the clutter of lionesses who had sided with Nala. All of 'em were fast to grovel out of the way and avoid the King's stern look, even though he'd have seen straight through them if their looks ever crossed. Kucha and Maitha, probably ordered to do so, followed his lead, all the way onto the promontory, sitting down halfway. Officially, that didn't have to mean anything, but it was obvious Tanabi wanted to transmit some kind of message with that – those lionesses were moving up in the world, even though they didn't exactly got to sit right next to the King just yet.
Tanabi scanned the crowd of animals surrounding his home with surprising indifference.

“Your Queen...” he had wanted to start of, yet he found his voice too hoarse for the volume he'd hoped to reach. He cleared his throat, then resumed with clearer voice.

“Your Queen, Vitani, has passed away. Yesterday, a day that will live on in infamy for generations to come, your Queen was slain in a vicious uprising. Those responsible are known, and will be swiftly and aptly punished. I will hold no eulogy. There was one in the Outlands, for those who cared...” Tanbi suddenly turned around and fixed his eyes upon his own pride, “And those who deserved. The Shaman will now give the last official passing rites, and give you the chance to pay your respects. In silence. Also, I would like to take the time to honor Shenzi, the late matriarch of the Graveyard Clan. For all the mistakes she made during her lifetime, she did eventually choose the right path, and even found the courage to lay down her life in defending Queen Vitani. For her there will be no sermon, as her own kind have looked after that. But we all pay respects to her nonetheless.”

In the secluded corner of Priderock where they sat, Tamath could see the hyena representatives bowing down their heads in silence, as did most of the lions. After that, without any further ado, Tanabi simply turned around and walked back down towards the rest of the lions, without giving a closing statement; the King had already personally mourned the death of his Queen, what happened now were just formalities he executed without much enthusiasm. In fact, chances were that few to none of his actions from her on would ever be enthusiast again.
After Tanabi had walked away, the shaman took to the forefront, giving the official passing rites to Vitani. These consisted of a series of motions and gestures, but no words. The entire Pridelands seemed silenced for a moment.
Every now and then, Tamath would look down and gauge how the other animals were doing. He saw a lot of distraught faces – Tanabi's address had given rise to more worries than it had actually relieved – and with good reason. The animals rightly feared the times that lay ahead; some of them had subconsciously already connected the dots. The freak heat-wave to have happened that very day had not been a coincidence. That was pretty much why the shaman had trouble focusing on his duties at hand: what was the use? No-one would be watching. The pride would have to do without the Kings of the Past's protection for the foreseeable future – and they had themselves to thank for it. One does not strike down his own Queen, in defiance of all the laws that governed the Circle of Life, and expect not to bare any consequences. No, there would be grave consequences alright. And they would follow shortly, be they imposed from above or below.
After Tamath wrapped up the sermon with a final gesture of the hand, most of the animals down below started dispersing, as night would fall soon. They would bring to their respective families the terrible and disturbing news gathered that day. Many would go to sleep fearing what the next day would bring, if they slept at all.
But before the day's end, Tanabi had still one last task to finish. Ever since Vitani had passed away in his own paws, the King had not spoken even one word to those responsible. His first urge had been to beat them down and exact revenge, but he had soon realized his weakened body would not have been able to do so. And besides, with an entire pride accomplice to the crime, how to ever punish them himself? It was at that time that Tanabi had felt a change in his mind, a new calm descending over him. He couldn't quite put it, it had been as if someone had stood by and whispered advice in his ear. And maybe that was the case; Tanabi had been to the other side. He already knew there were forces at work beyond those the eye could see. And then, he had suddenly known what fate awaited him. It wasn't what he had envisioned his life to be, but he really didn't care anymore. Vitani was gone. Whatever followed now... Tanabi would play his part, he would manage the kingdom until his son was old enough to continue his mother's line. But before that could happen, the pride would have to face many dark days. This would be the first.

Tanabi, sitting halfway the promontory in between Maitha and Kucha, looked down at his pride. Interestingly enough, no-one seemed to have the stomach to look back.

“Pride!” Tanabi suddenly roared, causing all the lionesses to spring up. Even Yakta and Jino, who had tried to stay in the background as Tanabi addressed the kingdom, seemed a bit surprised.

“Now that I've got your attention,” grumbled Tanabi, until he suddenly noticed one of his lionesses looking away again, “Hey! You, yes you! Do at least have the decency to look at your King as he speaks to you, will you?”

Some of the lionesses now looked genuinely scared.

“Now, I'm sure you all realize I've waited more than long enough to state the obvious.
You are traitors. Every last one of you. You betrayed the Circle of Life. You have betrayed your forefathers. You have betrayed me. And worst of all, you betrayed your Queen.
You are murderers. Every last one of you. And you'll pay accordingly...”

“You're full of it, Tanabi!” suddenly echoed across the courtyard. Tanabi, who suddenly found his speech interrupted, clenched his yaws together in repressed anger. He didn't even have to ask who had defied him, as he recognized the voice. And if that wasn't enough, the crown was actually cooperative enough to just point out the culprit, as all lionesses around her turned their heads or started shuffling away, fearing they'd be associated with the rebel, something they could all do without. In the small clearing that appeared stood a lonely Bidii. At this point, she probably wished she'd kept her mouth shut, but now that she'd already gone too far, she decided she could just as well finish what she started, and raised her head almost proudly.
All in all, no one was really surprised it had been Bidii to be the one to speak out. During the battle of the Coup, she had been one of the more fierce combatants, and she didn't to have lost her belligerent attitude just yet, unlike the rest of her companions. However, that hadn't been her main motive for speaking out. Tanabi himself had, the moment he took Annasa from her.

*

It had more or less happened by accident, though: right after Vitani had given her last breath, Spotty had suddenly pointed out that there were still two cubs stuck on the opposite riverbank. Naturally, Tanabi had, with a still grief stricken voice, immediately ordered some of the Green Pride's lionesses to go and fetch them. And they did, retrieving them with little effort. Tanabi's first concern had of course been Dahabu, who was beyond comforting at that point, having been forced to witness his mother's downfall from a distance without being able to do anything about it. In fact, Tanabi had been so concerned with his own son, that he had lost sight of the other cub, Annasa. He had only been reminded of her when her own mother, the somehow what mangled Bidii, had come rushing forward. The Green Pride-lionesses, wary of more assassinations, had immediately and brutally intercepted Biddi and pushed her to the ground. Naturally, Tanabi's initial response had been to tell the other lionesses to let go; what were they doing after all, holding down a mother who just wanted to be with her own daughter. However, it was at that time that Tanabi's new ego had first shown his face: suddenly, a little voice in the back of his head had another idea.

“Mom!” Annasa shouted, as she wanted to run towards Biddi, now firmly pressed against the ground.

“Wait!” Tanabi growled, however, turning to another one of the Green Pride lionesses (since his own pride-members had proven either dangerously unreliable or crippled by now), “Hold her back. Don't allow them together...”

Probably shocked by Tanabi's sudden outburst, Annasa came to a stop, allowing Jino's lioness to pick her up.

“No!” cried Biddi with a streak of desperation; the entire battle she had just fought had, for her been about Anassa. And now she was just barred from her? Even Jino, who was able to keep a cool head as opposed to the now emotional Yakta, thought that was going a bit far.

“Eh, your majesty, maybe...”

Tanabi silenced him with one stare from his sole, now stone-cold eye.

“They are to be kept separated until further notice, by force if need be...”

*

“You wish to add something?”

“I want to see my baby – give me back Annasa!”

“A traitor like you is not in the position to demand anything,” simply noted Tanabi, “And no, you won't be seeing Annasa for quite some time, I'm afraid.”

“You bastard...”

Before Bidii even realized what happened, what happened, Tanabi had suddenly aimed a strike at her head. The surprising strength the King had suddenly displayed quickly sent the lioness falling sidewards, as she was still somehow what from the battle a day earlier. As the entire pride gasped in shock, Biddi hit the ground with a muffled thump. Even Tanabi himself seemed a bit surprised at his own strength in his present, weakened state, although he regained his posture quickly as he looked down upon the unconscious Bidii.

“That's 'Your Majesty'.” The lion smirkingly turned around. “I'll finish with you later... Bu first, I've still got some other business to attend to.”

While a few lionesses shot to Bidii's aid in the background, Tanabi casually strode forward through his pride. All the lionesses naturally backed away, now gripped by fear than ever.
Although it made him sick to his very core, a part of Tanabi sort of liked that; they had, after all, simply stolen away all happiness from his life – what else could he do but respond in kind? Before, such reasoning would have appalled Tanabi, but now... a part of him he hadn't really know before found it fair, even just.
With those thoughts still brooding in his mind, Tanabi reached his intended target, after the unforeseen run-in with Bidii. He now stood before Nala, who was still being shielded from Tanabi by Simba, and to a lesser extent Zazu sitting on Simba's shoulder. Tanabi turned around to address the crowd one last time, now from among the lionesses.

“Apologies for the interruption. Now, as I stated before, all of you have sinned against both the laws of the Circle of Life and of our Kingdom in the most horrible way Whether the Kings of the Past will punish you for this, I do not know. I myself, however, will spare no effort to ensure justice is done swiftly, yet also fairly: I will make no distinction between the perpetrators, all will be served their fitting sentence, regardless of who they happen to be.” the King suddenly smiled, adding with a whim of sarcasm : “Consider yourselves lucky to have a King so just!”

He turned back to Nala, who had by now undoubtedly already smelled the coffee. Simba, however, still sat in front of her, more and more as if carved out of stone.

“Father, please, step aside. You have nothing to fear, I promise...”

“I find that hard to believe after you've just beaten a wounded lioness and mother into the ground...” Simba grumbled. Anyone who was listening attentively could have noticed how it pained the former King to take such a strong tone against his own son. As such, Tanabi didn't blame him for it.

“Father – dad, please, trust me. Just words...”

“Words are what hurts the most....”

“Simba,” Nala suddenly whispered, “It's okay. I love you, but this one... this one's for me...”

Although hesitant at forst, after a second's doubt, Simba eventually decided to listen to Nala and step aside. Mother and son now sat face to face.

“All right... here I am. Do what you have to do...”

“Mom... I'm sorry,” Tanabi whispered under his breath, after which his voice suddenly gained volume again, “Queen Nala, of all the traitors assembled here today, you are without a doubt the worst. Your actions during my inability to rule all amount to nothing less than high treason, and your cold-bloodied murder of Queen Vitani can only be described as regicide. Ancient laws and customs from more violent times, dating back to before our forefathers, have only one fitting punishment for such crimes. Death.”

In truth, no-one was really surprised, Nala least of all as she let her head hang low.

“However, it cannot be denied you were once a Queen of these lands, and that you are still my mother. Even though your behavior sinned against everything the Circle stands for, a son being forced to kill his mother in it's name is is a betrayal of the Circle just as well. So reassured me our Shaman. And as a King, it is in my authority to apply the laws as I see just. So assured me my majordomo.”

Now with a glimmer of hope shining through, Nala dared looking up again.

“Therefore, in stead of ordering your death, Queen Nala, you shall henceforth be banished, and be considered an outlaw. Nowhere you go shall anyone be allowed to help you, or as much as talk to you, lest they would befall the same fate as you. And from the next sunrise, if any member of the pride sees you, no matter where you are, it shall be their duty to strike you down. Nowhere shall you be truly safe anymore, not in the Pridelands, not in the Green Den, not in the Outlands, not in the Jungle, not beyond our known borders....

Tanabi paused briefly.

“Do you have anything to say for yourself, Queen Nala?”

“I'd rather you'd have just killed me in stead,” whispered the weary lioness, as the tears welled up in the corners of her eyes. But now matter how much such pained Tanabi, he pressed on.

“That for what concerns Queen Nala. Now for King Simba. You have, in effect, done no wrong. You were, at no point, complicit to Queen Nala's acts. It could be argued you were negligent, yet I have decided such was not the case. Naive? Probably. Weak? Maybe. Righteous? Definitely. But not negligent. As such, no punishment will befall you...”

“Tanabi, enough,” Simba suddenly growled, “I know what has to happen, and what you have to do. But stop this. We both know what will happen. I will never abandon your mother.” He scuffled over to Nala again. “Where she goes, I go...”

“Dad...”

“Sorry, Tanabi. You do what you have to do, I do what I have to do...”

“No, Simba, you don't,” Nala suddenly blurted, “Don't do this to me!”

“But my love...” Simba stuttered in confusion as he looked into Nala's watery eyes.

“No Simba. I have destroyed enough lives as it is already – I don't want you to throw your life away for me. I have a heavy enough burden to carry already...”

“Then I will carry it with you!”

“No, please, Simba, don't...” By now, Nala was literally pleading that her partner abandon her. “Forget me as soon you can, live your own life...”

“Nala, my mind is made up. I'm an old lion by now. You're my beginning, my end and anything in between; a life without you is one not worth living...” And before Nala could think of another response, Simba had already embraced her warmly, allowing her to shed her tears in his manes as the entire pride watched, most of 'em now driven to the point where they had to follow suit. Even Tanabi.
It reminded him of how he had loved Vitani, it reminded him of what life could have been. It pained his heart to know what he had to put his own parents, who has so lovingly and caringly raised him. But enventueally, his new ego got the better of him again. He raised his head again, his one eye now red of his own tears but filled with steel determination. He turned around towards the pride.

“If only you had just half the courage, or the valor my father has... Alas, you have proven it to be not so. And one of you more than all others! Umeme, I call thee forward!”

From the looks on many lionesses distraught faces, they were either shocked at Tanabi's blunt continuation of his inquisition, or simply enraged. However, after what had happened to Bidii, who was getting back to her senses by now, they didn't seem ready to act it, as they quickly pushed forth Umeme.
If there ever was one miserable lioness, it must've been her. She hadn't cleaned herself since the Coup, and could hardly hold her head above the ground. Tanabi was somehow what surprised she was able to stand upright altogether.

“Tanabi – Your Majesty, I-I...”

“Silence,” Tanabi gnawed, pushing Umeme deeper in than she was already, “You have no right to speak. You, the one who has shifted course more often than the wind. First opposing the traitor Nala, then turning over to your righteous Queen to eventually end up being complicit to her death? You are indeed the lowest...”

“But all I wanted to do was...”

This time, Tanabi didn't even bother to tell her to shut up, he just struck out at her, claws bared. As Umeme tried crawling back up again after having been floored by the impact, she stared at him with eyes filled with utter disillusionment. This was not the Tanabi she remembered. This was not the Tanabi she loved. The King himself held those very same thoughts: he couldn't recognize himself in anything he did anymore. Then again, the Tanabi they had both known before had been at Vitani's side. She was gone now, Tanabi saw no necessity anymore to hold back everything he feared about himself. To the contrary: it was his destiny to become that which he had always feared, he was convinced of that. It was the only thing which could help restore that which had been broken in the Kingdom.

“If anyone ever deserved death, it is you, Umeme. However, I shall spare you such fate. In stead, you shall continue to do what you so love to do: stand by Queen Nala. You will follow her into exile and become an outlaw beside her...” Tanabi gave her one last disdainful stare. “Am I not merciful?”

This time around, Umeme stayed silent.

“By that I take it you accept your punishment. Good. Now, is there anything you still want to say? If so, now is the time...”

Umeme now stared up again, disillusioned, disappointed, empty. Yet there was still some core of wamth in her, as she did indeed speak out.

“Sire... Tanabi, I...” she began stuttering, “I just – I just wanted to help. I wanted to help Nala, and Vitani. I didn't want any of this... I just wanted to... to stop them from getting hurt, but... I... I...”

The young lioness paused, giving way to an uncomfortable silence. Tanabi remained stoic.

“I loved Vitani, Tanabi! I really, really did. But... but...” Now becoming desperate, Umeme crawled closer to Tanabi, until she eventually came to a point where she was holding Tanabi's forepaws, spilling tears and saliva all over them. “Tanabi, I did it... I did it for you, Tanabi! I love you... I...”

She burst out in tears again, still cleansed to Tanabi's forepaws. The King however, just nonchalantly shook her off, adding to the lioness' misery, leaving her as she numbly mumbled incoherent gibberish. But Tanabi just moved on, walking towards the corner where the hyenas still sat – feeling awfully uncomfortable.

“Umeme, if there is one thing you should have learned by now, it's that you can be friends with everyone. At one point, you will have to pick sides. And standing by idly while atrocities are being committed onto your Monarch is just as bad as fighting against her yourself. And don't tell me it cannot be done! Three words: Yes, it can. And some of us have proven it can.”

The King now sat in front of the hyena delegation, Dakly up front.

“Dakly, your clan had the courage to pick sides, and pick the right side at it. Your clan, and your late Matriarch most of all, stood by Queen Vitani as even her own pride had turned against her.
In the past, mistakes were made. The Graveyard Clan has committed the most heinous of crimes in the past. However, the debt suffered then has wholly been repayed the moment your Matriarch laid down her life in defense of these lands' righteous Queen. You have shown that there was a different path available.
And for that, a reward is only fitting. Any agreements that existed between Queen Vitani and Matriarch Shenzi, I will honor to the fullest. It is only just that loyalty is aptly rewarded.”

“I am honored, my lord,” bowed Dakly, just as he was instructed to do earlier, “Although it has come at a terrible price for both of us, you can rest assured that you will always have the Graveyard Clan's loyalty...” That a lot of that loyalty had come in exchange for the Oulands, was conveniently omitted.
Tanabi now moved back to the promontory, where Kucha and Maitha still sat. To the entire pride's shock, Tanabi suddenly and gently slid one paw down Kucha's back, after which he added silently: “Yes, loyalty will be... rewarded.”
After that, he moved over to Maitha, and stroked her flank ostentatiously. The pride was dismayed, and confused. What they didn't understand, though, was that those gestures had nothing to do with love, but everything with the pride itself. It was just another punishment bestowed upon all those who had stood against Vitani: they were now degraded to second-rate members of the pride, lionesses whose bloodlines that had lasted generations now stood to end. It was a more terrible sentence than they could have imagined. But that wasn't the end of it, no...
Tanabi addressed the entire pride one last time.

“As for the rest of you... You have proven time and time again that you do indeed wish no Monarch. You have even gone as far as to kill her. So be it. You have rejected your Monarch.

You shall have a tyrant instead.”

The sun set on the Pridelands.