Zira had seen the flames from afar. Tailed by three cubs, and laden with more, she could not rush home as quickly as she wished, but a few of the lionesses with her saw the blazing sky as well. They eagerly scooped up a cub to help her, and began to pound their feet against the craggy earth to return to Pride Rock. Zira, puffing, followed suit. Panic flared in her chest as they ran. There was simply no telling what disaster had now struck the beaten Pridelands.
Sarabi and Sarafina had snarled at her that there was no more prey and they wouldn't try their paws at it again until Scar understood that, but with cubs and her desire to please their king, Zira had led a hunting party anyway. They had traveled far in hopes of finding stray antelope or wildebeest, but had come across nothing more than scrawny hares that her accompanying lionesses had been unable to resist devouring themselves. Indeed, Zira herself wouldn't have admitted that she had scarfed down a small, pathetic hyrax when nobody was looking.
As they raced home, she worried about what the fire meant: if the rest of the pride was okay; if Scar was okay. She cursed herself. She had taken her cubs with her since she did not trust the hyenas, but now she wished she wasn't so cautious. Scar was their king, after all, however rough his leadership was proving… she was to trust his judgment. And he treated her more than kindly in comparison to the king she had escaped from before meeting him, from her old pride…
Finally, they reached the source of the flame. Whatever greenery remained by Pride Rock was engulfed in a bright, orange blaze, and the sounds of hysterically giggling hyenas and the roars of lions echoed in a clamor around them. Zira put a paw out in front of the lionesses following her to stop them. "Wait! I don't know what's going on. Take care of the cubs."
One of the lionesses - a grizzled female named Sauti - nodded. The other lionesses dropped the cubs they were holding and pushed them toward her, and then looked up at Zira, as if asking for her permission to follow her. Zira gave them a curt nod, and then bolted toward the flames. Dodging falling branches and hissing undergrowth, she found the underside of Pride Rock. Rain began to pour from the opened skies, and the fire slowly died with an eerie moaning sound. The shrieking of hyenas faded away, and Zira watched as they slunk off, seemingly evaporating into shadows. She howled in shock at the sight that greeted her when she reached a small clearing beneath Pride Rock.
All that remained of Scar was a broken and bloodsoaked, dark pelt. His mane lay in tatters around it, saturated in muddy water and thick blood. In fact, the only way she determined it was Scar was by the scent that lingered through the metallic stench of blood in the air. The stench of many lions, including a strange one, as well as hyenas, filled the air as well.
"Who's done this?" Zira finally gasped, rearing back from the scene ahead of her. Her ears were pulled back in shock and her whiskers quivering in horror. Roaring overhead suddenly got her attention. She could make out some voices, including Sarabi and Nala, and other lionesses from the pride. But the overpowering roar she could not decipher. She skirted around the base of Pride Rock, and the lionesses following her frantically, and found the slope that would lead to its top. It was racing with rivulets of water, and with her heavy belly, climbing it was made even more difficult, but she sank her claws into the gritty path and hauled herself to the top anyway.
Once there, she saw the cause of the noise. A lion with a bright, golden pelt and ruddy red mane stood at the end of Pride Rock, roaring his victory to all of the Pridelands. Zira looked around and saw that the lionesses were roaring alongside him. It dawned on her their betrayal, and Zira interrupted their festivities with an ear-splitting, screeching snarl of her own. She angrily smacked a puddle of water ahead of her with a paw full of outstretched claws. "What is the meaning of this?"
"Zira?" Sarabi turned around and smiled slightly, toothy fangs just visible beneath her lips. She flicked an ear. "Zira, we are free! Simba has returned…"
"And Scar?" Zira bared her teeth at Sarabi. Her ears were pressed against her skull, and the rain had soaked her to the bone. She looked ragged and the hurt expression on her face began to morph into one of anger and hatred. "Did you help this outsider kill Scar?"
"Zira, please listen," it was Sarafina who spoke this time. Zira knew her to be Nala's mother. "Before you arrived, our previous king, Mufasa - he died. We thought his son, Simba, had died, too. But Scar was lying about that. Here he is, in the flesh, Zira…"
"How do you know it's him?" Zira hissed, lashing her tail. It sprayed muddy water onto her pelt, and flicked a line of liquid at Sarafina's nose.
"He is my son," Sarabi continued for Sarafina, sitting on her haunches. She gritted her teeth. Scratches were visible around her neck and she looked pained. Zira soon realized all of the lionesses bore fresh wounds. "I would recognize my son anywhere, no matter how long it has been, Zira. Someday, you will understand that, too."
"You haven't seen him for years! Scar told me that story! He was a cub! He didn't even have a mane yet, no parts of one!" Zira's angry words grew to a constant roar. "You have no idea if you just killed your king for an imposter!"
It was the new male - 'Simba' - who spoke now. "Zira, is it? I… didn't mean to kill him. He fell off the side and the hyenas attacked. I was going to let him leave…"
"Don't talk to me, you sorry imposter!" Zira hissed at him and swatted him away when he began to pad over to her. "I know what male lions are like! Scar was different! He had to fight for everything he cared for. Others like you just waltz in and then expect everything to be there for you from the start, and for all the lionesses to agree with you. Maybe that herd of gazelle will," Zira gestured with a paw toward Nala and the other lionesses behind Simba, "but not me, you hear? I bet that's the story you told them to get them to listen to you, too!"
"Zira, I was there. I saw it all," Nala interjected, giving her a stern look. "We are telling the truth. Why won't you believe us? We're your pride."
"This stranger shows up and claims to be the long-lost heir to the throne, and you eagerly depose your king for him. How can I trust such traitorous lions?" Zira spat back. She was soon joined by other lionesses, as it seemed they had only just managed to make their way up the slope to the top of Pride Rock. They filed around Zira, flanking her in a frightening way. Simba began to back up.
"He is the father of your cubs, isn't he?" Simba asked next, his voice taking a very soft tone. He gave Nala a pointed look when she went to say something, and then sighed. "Look, I know this is hard. I promise I will explain everything. Won't you just give me the chance? ...I don't want to hurt you, Zira."
"Don't give me your pity!" Zira shrieked, and then leapt at the new king. Infuriated by the treason of her brethren, and by their unwillingness to listen to reason, she felt she would just have to show them, show them how quickly this king would change his tune and beat a pregnant lioness for her insolence. But Zira got a sick satisfaction when she attacked Simba, for her lionesses from the hunting party joined her and tore into his flanks, back, mane. Zira tasted his blood and her front paws found his neck.
She heard the roars of other lionesses, but had enough time before one threw her off Simba to look into the male's eyes and say, "One day, I will kill you. You may have them fooled, but you don't have me fooled." Saliva dribbled from her chin and gave her a maddened look.
But that was all she had time for, for Nala suddenly barreled into her stomach and sent her careening into the back of Pride Rock. Zira yowled in pain as it wracked her belly, and she saw stars when her head hit the rock. She landed on her left side, flat against the earth. She attempted to get up only to be met with shooting pain that ravaged every part of her body. She yelped and put her head back down.
Simba limped over to her. "I don't want to hurt you, Zira. Please. Let me help you, and let me explain…"
"You've… explained quite clearly!" Zira whimpered, clenching her eyes shut against the pain. "So did Nala. So did everyone. They want to so badly believe you'll be better, let them. Scar is the only honest male lion I've ever met…"
Simba shook his head. "Zira, he had you fooled."
"How so? What does a brute like you know of honesty?" Zira asked, cutting her eyes at him. She still didn't get back up.
"Scar killed my father, Mufasa, and then got rid of me so he could take the throne. He didn't do anything honestly. It was never his place to rule the Pridelands," Simba said quietly. "He befriended the hyenas to do his dirty work. They overhunted the Pridelands. He didn't care about it, either, did he? My mother told me he didn't."
"You're lying!" Zira gasped finally, flicking her ears as she lifted her head and glared at him. "That's what you want them to think!"
"I know you're hurting, if he was the father of your cubs… You want to believe he was a good lion. And I understand that, but Zira, some truths… are just terrible, and need to be dealt with…"
Zira reached up with a free paw and lashed claws across Simba's nose. He winced and sucked in a fast breath, backing away from her and bringing a paw up to touch his nose. When he looked at it, blood had dribbled onto the pad of his foot. He growled his frustration. "We'll keep you inside for a while and help you, and if you still refuse to believe me, then you and your friends can leave."
Zira shakily attempted to get to her feet. Pain, though duller now, still rocked the lower half of her body. She scowled at Simba and flicked her tail. "You won't keep me in your den. I don't trust you or traitors."
"Then you can leave now," Simba said simply. Nala pulled her lips back in a vicious snarl to emphasize the point.
"Then leave I will," Zira answered in a broken voice. She turned to leave and a small group of wayward lionesses followed her. Zira walked at a much slower pace now, her back legs stiff with the pain, and her chest heavy with sorrow. When they reached the outskirts of Pride Rock, where she had left Sauti with her cubs, Sauti began to pelt her with alarmed questions.
"What happened? Is everyone okay?" And when she noticed that Zira was walking strangely and several of them bore deep scratches, she added, "What's wrong?"
"Scar is dead," Zira answered her flatly. Her head was hanging low. "A new king has taken power. His name is Simba. The rest of the pride stands behind him. They believe he is the long-lost son of Mufasa."
"They can't be serious," Sauti protested, her ears lying flat against her dull cream fur in shock. "Do they really believe that?"
"That's what I tried to say!" Zira despaired, "But they would not listen to me!" She sat down and watched as her three cubs scrambled away from Sauti and over to her. They were still quite young, and didn't understand what all the adults were upset about. Hofu, Nuka, and Rengo were their names. They were the offspring of Scar, as Simba had surmised, as well as the cubs she was pregnant with… or perhaps had been pregnant with. She put a paw against her pained stomach and tried to soothe it. She would make sure Nala would pay for that.
Sauti's green eyes went even wider as she suddenly understood the weight of what Zira had revealed. "You're going to have to leave the Pridelands… Zira!"
"Yes," Zira growled. "We can't stay here. I can't stay here. I don't trust any of them. Or what they would do to my cubs…"
Sauti nodded her head in understanding, slowly. Malkia, another lioness, bumped her head against Zira's shoulder, shocking her and making her look up in surprise.
"Whatever you choose, we're with you. Right?" Malkia looked to the seven or so other lionesses around her, and then Sauti. They all nodded, bar Sauti. The elderly lioness sighed and smiled sadly.
"Zira, I would love to. I am your aunt and have known you since you were a baby. But I'm old, Zira. There is no way I'll survive in the Outlands…" She dipped her head. "You are strong. I hope you farewell, Zira."
Zira lifted her head and looked at her aunt longingly for a moment. "Thank you, Sauti."
The heartfelt goodbye was interrupted when deep growls found their way to Zira's ears, as well as the lionesses' around her. Looking around wildly, Zira's eyes rested on Nala, Subiri, Yasi, and other lionesses that she couldn't distinguish stalking them through the grass. Zira shouted in alarm, "Grab a cub if you can and run!"
Zira herself snatched up Nuka. Before she checked to ensure the others had listened to her, she began to run, just barely missing Nala's claws from slashing her thighs. They had ran quite a distance before she realized nobody else was holding her other cubs. She stopped abruptly. "Where's Hofu? And Rengo?"
"I couldn't grab them, Yasi was on my tail," one of the lionesses gasped. Similar responses came from the rest of the group. Zira looked back and her paws itched to run back and grab them, but she knew that would endanger Nuka, and aside from that, she knew she couldn't take on those lionesses. They were far stronger than she, and had many more numbers. Zira snarled her frustration, which slowly became a wail of pain.
"I'm sorry, Zira," one of her lionesses whimpered, backing away from her. Zira shook her head. She didn't have time to deal with them. Simba's lionesses would catch up to them soon. She scooped Nuka up once more, who was beginning to mewl in fright at all the commotion, and then continued to run. And run they did until they entered the Outlands - the territory beyond the Pridelands.
They only stopped to rest for a short while, for the former pampered Pridelanders quickly learned that the Outlands was much less forgiving than where they had came from. Crocodiles stalked every watering hole, and other, prideless lions prowled the plains. The occasional leopard also gave them a run for their money, for while a lone leopard could not hope to take on a whole pride of lions, they held a decisive advantage in that they were very strong and could climb trees far better than the average lion. Zira would have dared to say that food in the Outlands was even scarcer than it had been in the Pridelands during the draught, for she and her followers eventually became so malnourished they were reduced to feeding on the many termites that called the Outlands their home to survive.
In fact, it became such an issue that their eventual home became the largest termite mound in the desolate valley they had come across. They lived off the pesky bugs. That fact alone irritated Zira to no end, for they were lions, and such proud creatures should not have to live that way, but they were simply too weak to try to move anywhere else. Tightness on food was made even worse when Zira's pregnancy came to term, and she had two more cubs (Kovu and Vitani) to join with Nuka, not to mention the various lionesses that had followed her.
Malkia, the one who had encouraged them to help her, was the first to succumb to the harshness of the Outlands. While not old, she was more so than the others, and met her demise at the paws of hyenas. The infamous clan of Shenzi's making, it had ambushed them when they dared to venture far from the massive termite mound they called home, and they had focused on Malkia as their target. Outnumbered and in no shape to fight, the rest of the lions had been forced to retreat while the hyenas feasted on her corpse.
Zira grew mad with her hatred for Simba and all that had become of the Pridelands. She fully intended to take it over and make it her home once again. Scar, when alive, had told her that the next son she gave birth to, she would name it Kovu and it would be the next king of the Pridelands: his true heir, and Zira intended to fulfill her mate's dying wish, and get her revenge, no matter what.
Even with the horrors of the Outlands, it seemed to pull the short-tempered lions closer. They supported one another faithfully, and when Zira introduced her proposal for usurping the Pridelands from Simba, she had been met with unanimous approval. The only discontent seemed to come from Nuka, who would simply have to deal with his envy since Kovu had been ordained by Scar, and from Kovu himself, who, she reasoned, was just too young to understand why what they were doing was correct.
Even if it took Zira many years to train Kovu to do what he was destined to, she made efforts to make Simba's life a living hell before that plan came to fruition. She killed his son Kopa by luring the mischievous and prideful cub into the Outlands and into the ambush of waiting hyenas, and managed to trick Simba's third child, a son named Kion, into killing another lion, effectively ridding him of his powerful 'Roar of the Elders,' and forcing Simba to banish him.
His second cub, though, a female named Kiara, Zira made no attempts on. Her plan rested on the fact that she was female, for she planned to make Kovu kill Simba and take Kiara for his mate. He would rule the Pridelands, and she and the rest of her battered following could return to the Pridelands once and for all, and finally receive justice for Scar's death.
But for Zira, none of her plans ever reached maturity. Kovu grew to have actual feelings for Kiara, and inadvertently killed Nuka in his unwillingness to help her achieve her goals. Her comrades left her side when they realized they simply didn't have it in them to fight anymore, and Zira's vengeance would kill them in the end. Kiara's soothing words talked even her most loyal of subjects, not to mention her daughter, Vitani, into leaving her side.
Zira would not accept living beneath Simba, the killer of her mate, and the cause of so much of her pain. She had lost five cubs to him, all in all; those two that had been accidentally abandoned to his lionesses, then Kovu and Vitani whom he had corrupted, and Nuka, whom her own son had inadvertently killed. Unable to bear the rage and sorrow that engulfed her in that final moment when she stood in the eye of a vicious storm, her Outlanders backing away from her and joining Simba, Zira roared to the skies above.
She then leapt at Kiara in a murderous rage, and the two cats whirled in a mess of claws and teeth until Zira was flung off a cliff over the raging waters of a dammed riverbed. Kiara had offered to pull her back up, but Zira refused. Now an elderly, bitter lioness, Zira gave a guttural, outraged roar, and then followed with a hateful smirk.
"No," she growled. "Never."
And with that, Zira retracted her claws, and slipped from the cliff face.