Simba watched as she walked on in front of him. Words couldn't even begin to describe how much he loved her. He knew that Nala felt the same way for him. But unlike her, he wasn't afraid to say it. How she was ever so elegant as the gold sun reflected through her fur, the light glossed her eyes, and her smile so light. Simba resisted the urge to pounce on her and make her his once again. She stepped into a wider valley than the one they were in and Simba stayed where he was.

"Nala." He began. Nala looked back and smiled.

"Yes?"

"I love you." Simba sighed with relief. She knew he loved her but he had been waiting to get that off his chest all morning.

"I love you t-" Her words were suddenly cut off by a loud rumbling. It was a stampede. Nala ran for the small crevice which Simba stood in but lost her footing and crumbled to the floor.

"Nala!" Simba leaped forth but the opening was too small to get to her. She was so slim that she could walk through it, but Simba was jammed between the two canyon walls. Then in a flash the cloud of wilderbeest crushed her. Simba cried out in agony as the stampede cleared. He finally was able to squeeze himself into the open valley and bring himself to Nala's cold bloody body. Simba gazed down at her lying lifeless before him. Just a minute ago he had shared an intimate moment with her, and now she lie in ruins. Simba's eyes began to tear and his cries were like rain, each wail released a massive amount of tears which all fell upon Nala. He continued to look at her through watery eyes, then blinked and at a moment's notice, turned away. A cool breeze swept through his fur, which caused his eyes to tear up even more.

"I can't go on" He mumbled. He started to turn his head around but couldn't look back at Nala's corpse. Simba started off into the pride lands...

Later that evening Simba found himself lying beneath the red sun. The warmth comforted his cold face and Simba closed his eyes. If he could only go back in time and change everything; the death of his father, the death of Nala, everything. But grieving about his past wouldn't help him. He brought himself to stand, then proceeded forward. As he walked on the sun began to hide it's face behind the clouds and a very familiar memory struck him. He was on his way into the shadow lands, the place where everything originally went wrong. The sun was now hidden completely behind the clouds and it began to thunder. These cloud were darker than any he had ever seen before, and they started to cast down rain. He could not believe that anything could pour harder than his tears. So he cast himself down on the dirt and cried along with the clouds. Nothing could stop him now, he had lost everything he had ever had, so it was pointless. Then he brought his back up against a rock and told himself, "I want to die." Then he cried even more. Just as he closed his eyes a voice spoke.

"I know what you are going through." Simba did not know the voice, and if he did he was too broken up to remember. He did not see the being whom the voice projected out of, he just kept his eyes closed. Simba laid still against the sloshy mud and after half an hour he asked "Are you still there?" Of course he didn't know who he was talking to but the voice replied "Yes, I am here." Something about the voice soothed him, and something about it made him afraid. He knew he had heard this voice before, but Simba did not know where. He would have opened his eyes to see, but he did not want to look at this wretched world any longer.

"Simba, I know what it's like to lose a loved one. Don't think that this pain belongs only to you." He was right, Simba wasn't the only one going through this. Simba started to enjoy the company of this stranger and even managed to smile a little as the stranger spoke comforting words to him and assured him that things would be ok.

"Part of me wants to open my eyes to see who you are, but I also feel like it would be better if I didn't know who you were." But Simba couldn't hold his eyes shut much longer.

"You know who I am." The voice answered. Simba slowly opened his eyes and could not belive what they beheld.

"Banzai?" He asked. Simba was no longer comforted, but he was afraid. He remembered the past, how Banzai had tried to murder him on several different occasions. Then Simba turned away. "Simba..." In this darkest time of hopelessness Simba had felt comforted by Banzai's words, yet he could not bring himself to like him, for all the tradgedy Banzai had brought before. Then Simba brought himself to cry again. Now when he had lost the love of his life a foe tries to comfort him. But why Banzai? Why now? After all the times he had laughed when Simba was depressed, why this time? "Simba I know that our history isn't so great and that we are sworn enemies..."

"Then why do you try to comfort me?"

"We have all had our good moments."

"And this is one of yours?" Banzai didn't want to say anything else, he just wanted to comfort Simba. So he laid his hand upon Simba and Simba jerked away. Then Banzai tried once more to lay his hand on Simba and this time Simba did not react, he just stood still. After several moments Simba finally budged and moved a little closer to Banzai. Banzai did comfort Simba, maybe he really did care. Then Banzai smiled and said, "Still afraid?" Simba was feeling a little better, so he budged little until he was next to Banzai, and Banzai's arm was wrapped around him.

"Not so bad is it?" Banzai asked. But Simba still wasn't sure about how he felt. After a few agonizing moment's of non-emotion Banzai did something Simba would have never expected him to do. Banzai embraced Simba whole-heartedly and passionately; but Simba still did not react so Banzai let go of Simba and let out a sigh then began to walk away. Then and there something inside Simba sparked and he yelled "Banzai wait!" Banzai glanced behind to see Simba smiling at him. "How about another hug?" Simba asked joyfully. Banzai walked back to Simba smiling and they laid in eachothers arms. For the first time Simba had noticed how soft Banzai's fur was, he noticed the sparkle in his eyes, and he noticed the beating of his heart. Simba knew know that maybe, just maybe, he would take Banzai as his lover...