CHAPTER 1: One of Us

Flashback

"Kovu! Wanna play?" Vitani asked her brother cheerfully.

Kovu gave her a slight smile before looking at the ground.

"What's wrong 'vu?"

"Mother won't let me. I need to train, again," he answered timidly.

"Oh." But, seeing the disapointment on his sister's face made him feel guilty. "But, I guess I can play; just for a while though."

The frown on her face instantly lifted to a smile, "Yay! Hey 'vu," she said as she swatted her brother with her tail, "You're it!"

The two cubs played for what they thought was only a few moments, but it wasn't.

"Kovu! How dare you! You know that you musn't play with this, this rat! You need to train so you will be ready to kill Simba!" shouted Zira.

She looked as if she was about to explode. She had a snarl set to her face.

"I-I'm sorry, m-mother. I-I didn't mean to disobey you, honest." said Kovu as he cowered backward into the brush.

"Get out of the grass and come to me!" she said as Kovu timidly walked towards her.

"I-I'm sorry, mother, but I-"

"Enough!" she yelled as she smacked him full force in the chest.

He let out an 'oomph' as he hit the ground, nearly dead. The last thing he heard before he went unconcious was his mother yelling,

"You are a disapointment Kovu, you have disgraced me! You are a disgrace to have as a son!"

End Flashback

Vitani flinched at the thought. She had just witnessed her mother's death, but she felt nothing. Zira was only the lioness who had raised her, not her mother. As far as she had concerned herself, she was an orphan.

" 'tani? Are you coming?" asked her now fully grown brother.

"Where? To the Pridelands?" she asked

"Well, yeah. Where else would we go? Besides, Simba said all of us can go, and last I checked, you were part of 'us'."

"But-"

"Nope, now come on; I'll race you!"

The two siblings ran off, racing to Pride Rock, just as they had never been able to do as cubs. Just then, thinking about her cubhood, Vitani remembered someone. Nuka!

"Kovu!" she yelled, "Kovu, wait! What about Nuka?"

"I-I thought he was dead?" Kovu answered with his voice quivering.

"Yeah, but we should at least burry him, right? He is-was our brother. And, he was the one who got treated the worst. Mother hated him."

Kovu didn't say anything, afterall, she was right. Kovu simply nodded in reply.

They made their way back to Priderock before confronting Simba and the rest of the Pridelanders.

"We are going back for Nuka." said Vitani sternly.

They heard murmurs amoungst the crowd, mostly from the Pridelanders.

"Why?" they asked. "He was weird, and, sorta smelled."

"Why?!" she replied infuriated, "Because he was one of us? Or maybe becaue he was friends to all of you? Or-"

She was stopped by Kovu, who knew how his sister got when she was angry. " 'tani, calm down."

The only thing she did before turning back to the crowd was sigh angrily.

"Anyone who wants to come can, if not, well." she turned and walked, but only heard the pawsteps of her brother, his mate, and mother and father in law.

"Fine," she muttered to herself just loud enough for a few of the Pridelanders to hear.

"Wait!" shouted someone. It was one of the ex-outlanders. Vitani recognized her from training with her mot- Zira. Dotty. "I want to come too."

There were obvious tears in her eyes and her voice was quivering.

Vitani smiled and softened her voice saying, "Alright."

Kovu was the first one to go into 'the Gorge', but when he had trotted over to where it happened, something was different. There were claw marks along the logs, small ones, like a cubs. Then, once he had gotten closer he saw that Nuka wasn't under the wood. He stood there shocked until Kiara came up to him.

"What's wrong?" she asked concerned.

"Th-there are no logs on him. And claw marks along the logs." he said just as Vitani had walked up. "And he- it looks like he is moving."

Vitani ran up to him and pawed at his shoulder, "Nuka? Nuka, wake up? A-are you okay?" she asked. There was no response, but she could see the rise and fall of his chest with each shallow breath. "Kovu! He's alive, get him back to Priderock!"

Dotty had run alongside Kovu to be next to him. The tears had started flowing again, but they weren't tears of grief.

"I'll run ahead and call for Rafiki." said Kiara.