New Beginnings

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the original characters in Ice Age. They all belong to Twentieth Century Fox and Blue Sky Studios, not to me. I also do not own the Lion King characters, for they are owned by Disney. All lines in bold are either from any of the Ice Age movies, any of the Lion King movies, either Brother Bear movie, or from a song that will be specified at the beginning of the applying chapter.

Chapter 1

Diego's P.O.V.

Everyone leaves the cave to give Shira and me some time alone with the cubs.

"We should name them before anyone interrupts us, or before they stop nursing," I suggest.

"I'll name the largest male and the smallest female," Shira tells me.

"You can start with the naming," I say.

The largest male is the solid black cub with the white-tipped tail. Shira looks him over before she announces his name.

"His name is Shadow," she reveals as she gently licks his head.

Shadow remains still and calm as Shira cleans his tiny body. The next cub is the gray-colored female with the white underbelly. I look her over before deciding on her name.

"Her name is Maya," I tell my mate as Snowflake squirms over to me.

The third wolf cub is the red-furred female that Simba carried.

"Cierra is the perfect name for her," Shira purrs as the adventurous wolf cub climbs over Blizzard.

This leaves the tiny white male cub that I am fond of for me to name. I notice for the second time the black zig-zag on his front right paw. The longer I look at it, the more it looks like a lightning bolt. That's when the perfect name hits me.

"Bolt is a name that suits him, due to the lightning bolt zig-zag on his front right paw," I tell Shira.

"We have a perfect family, Diego. I love you and all of our cubs more than anything else in the world," Shira purrs as I nuzzle her ear.

I realize that Bolt has stopped nursing, while all of the other cubs are still drinking milk. Knowing that Bolt and Snowflake are the smallest, I try my hardest to get him to nurse longer. As I crawl closer to my cubs, I hear Bolt's stomach rumble with hunger. Even though he can't hear me, because his ears aren't open, I talk to him.

"Come on, Bolt. You need to drink some more milk in order to grow up to be big and strong," I persuade, even though I know his ears won't open for another seven days.

My efforts aren't futile, because Bolt wiggles back to Shira's stomach and begins to nurse again. By this time, Blizzard, Rose, Junior, Lily, Shadow, and Cierra are finished nursing. I finally settle down and face opposite of Shira in order to make a protective barrier around our twelve cubs. I let out a gigantic yawn, but I know that I must stay up in order to protect Shira and the cubs. As I lay my head on my paws, I notice Kovu heading in the opposite direction of the cave that he shares with Kiara and their two cubs. I decide to dismiss his actions and go back to focusing on my family.

"Diego, I'll take the first watch," Shira promises.

Almost instantly, I fall asleep alongside our cubs.

Kovu's P.O.V.

"Stupid Diego always has to ruin everything!" I yell as I walk through the woods. Kiara's probably starving by now, but I'm too angry to hunt. Some might think anger helps you kill prey easier, but it has the opposite effect on me. If I'm angry when I hunt, it's twice as likely that I'll get killed. I try to beat Diego and Simba with carcass sizes enough as it is. Throw my anger into that, and I'm likely to go after an adolescent or even an adult mammoth. That can get me killed, for sure. I kick several rocks as I go along, and I continue to think of how much I hate Diego. He's getting closer to Kiara; only to one day betray her by taking away all that she loves! This reminds me of the plot my mother wanted for me. My plans to kill Simba and take over the Pride Lands are lost, but I CAN kill Diego and take his territory!

"You have the same blackness in your soul that Scar had," a memory of my mother whispers in my ear.

"I've failed you once, Mother. I'm not going to fail you a second time," I vow.

As I edge closer to the outskirts of the territory I am allotted, I smell a suspicious scent. It vaguely smells like Diego, but yet it is completely different. I follow the scent trail along the course of a winding path. Within a few minutes, I am standing in Diego's favorite clearing. I've heard from Sid that this clearing is the spot that Diego has the greatest memories with Shira. I have the urge to totally wreck this clearing, just to bother Diego. However, my curious side gets the best of me. I continue towards the unknown scent. It becomes stronger now, and I look around for any signs of the mysterious animal. The ocean comes into view, and I notice a huge piece of ice floating a few feet in front of my face. Another couple of seconds pass before two hazel eyes stare out at me. For a brief second, I think it is Diego, but then I remember something. Diego has green eyes like I do. The figure pops out of a bush and growls as I approach. A growl builds in my throat, and I get in a defensive position. The fading light of the day shines on this figure. He looks similar to Diego, but he has a murderous look in his hazel eyes. I instantly stop comparing this saber to Diego. Diego could never have a look like that in his eyes, no matter how hard he tries.

"Who are you?" I ask in my most threatening voice.

"My name is Oscar. What is yours? I've never seen you around here before," the tawny saber replies.

"I'm Kovu, RGHTFUL ruler of the Pride Lands. I have tried for days to rid this landscape of a saber named Diego," I answer.

"Kovu, can it really be you?" Oscar asks.

"How do you know me?"

"I know your father."

"Sorry, but you're wrong. My father died a long time ago. That's not even mentioning my adopted father," I sigh.

"That's what you think. In the years of my exile from any established saber pack, I have met your real father. He lives back where you are from. He's very eager to meet you," Oscar announces.

I gasp at this sudden piece of news. My father has been alive all this time! My pride told me that he died before I was born.

"As much as I would like to meet him, it's going to have to wait for at least six weeks," I tell Oscar.

"What will happen in six weeks?"

"My two cubs will be old enough to walk and fight. They'll be able to meet their other grandfather."

"I'll send some of my crew to his kingdom to tell him. His pride will rejoice at the news that their prince will return soon," he promises me.

"There's another pride?" I gasp.

"Yes, and you are rightful prince. Meet me in this spot at least once a week and we'll discuss plans for eliminating Diego, and possibly Simba as well," Oscar advises.

"As you command," I answer.

I begin to walk out of the clearing, and Oscar walks towards the pirate ship. I am pretty happy with the alliance I just made.

Kiara's P.O.V.

Where is Kovu?! I am STARVING! To prove my point, my stomach lets out a loud gurgling noise, and a sharp pain passes through me. This sudden movement within my stomach scares Ari and Layla as they nurse. Knowing that I must eat more meat in order to provide milk for my cubs, I devise a plan. Ari and Layla are soon done nursing, and I know what I must do. I grab Layla by her scruff and begin walking towards the herd's cave.

"Kiara, what's going on?" Uncle Pumbaa asks.

"I'm having my mother look over the cubs for a few minutes. Can you go to my cave and grab Ari?" I respond.

"Sure thing. I'll be right back!" he promises.

I soon enter the herd's cave. Quietly, I pad over to my mother and my sleeping siblings. Mom raises her head as I approach.

"Kiara, how are you doing with being a new mom?" she asks, her blue eyes sparkling in the moonlight.

"Everything's fine, other than the fact that Kovu hasn't been home since this morning!" I reveal.

"Have you eaten anything today? That's how you keep producing milk."

"I ate one rabbit, but that was early this morning. That's why I'm bringing the cubs to you. I need someone to watch them while I hunt," I tell my mother.

"Your father can go hunting for you when he gets back," my mom assures.

"Mom, this is something I need to do on my own. I'm a mother now. It's time I learn to hunt."

With that, I carefully place Layla near Cali. Uncle Pumbaa soon brings in Ari, and I place my son by Jerome. I now exit the cave, preparing to hunt.

Upon leaving the herd's cave, I head towards what I know is decent hunting grounds. There is a herd of gazelle in my sight. I am taking this opportunity as a redo for my first hunt in the Pride Lands. I carefully move forward, but my foot hits a rock under the snow. The herd of gazelle stampedes in the opposite direction. I sprint after them, and decide to try a pounce. Springing forward, I feel my body connect with something. Looking down, I see that the "something" is Diego.

"Generally, I just talk to my friends when I see them, but that works too," he grins.

"I'm sorry, Diego! Kovu hasn't been home since this morning, and I'm starving. I figured if I pounced I could catch a gazelle," I tell the orange saber.

"You can't catch one from that far away. Trust me, I know. I take it you don't do much hunting in the Pride Lands," Diego says as he stands up and shakes the snow off of his pelt.

"No, I don't hunt at all. My father banned me from going on hunts," I answer.

"Did he do that because you were pregnant?"

"No, he did it when I almost died in a fire on my first hunt. I knew better than to hunt when I was pregnant. There are too many bad possibilities."

"True. You could hurt yourself, injure the unborn cubs, or even worse, land the wrong way and kill the cubs," Diego remarks.

"Did you let Shira hunt when she was pregnant?" I inquire.

"I did not let Shira hunt after she found out that she was pregnant. I took over hunting, and brought back more than three meals a day," Diego answers.

"It took that much food to feed her and your unborn cubs?"

"Believe it or not, Shira had eight cubs growing inside of her. She had nine mouths to feed at once."

"Doesn't she still have nine mouths to feed because the cubs are nursing?" I question.

"No, she's actually feeding thirteen. We are adopting four motherless wolf pups as our own. I have twelve cubs now," Diego smiles.

My stomach growls, yet again, and it reminds me why I'm out here.

"Well, I better get back to hunting," I tell Diego.

"I better get back to Shira and the cubs. It's my turn on watch duty," he replies.

Diego quickly climbs the boulders that lead into his cave. I return to hunting, and use the darkness of the night to my advantage.

Within five minutes, I am eating a gazelle. The carcass is soon diminished into bones, so I go to retrieve my cubs. Once Ari and Layla are curled up alongside my tummy, I begin to worry less. Even though they haven't opened their eyes, I can tell when my cubs are asleep and when they are awake. Their light breathing tells me that they are asleep. I wrap a paw around my two cubs, and begin to fall asleep myself. Kovu better have a good reason for not being here all day.

Author's Note: Well, I got this chapter uploaded faster than I thought I would. It may be a while before I update again, because school starts in less than a week, and I have to go back-to-school shopping. Also, once school starts I will not be able to update as frequently, but I will update eventually, so be sure to check back. Thanks again for your support, and reviews are greatly appreciated!