Author's note:

This was an idea that has recently been stuck in my head for ages. But I've been so anxious to write, and at tims I still wince at the outcome. Oh well, I tried. :)

Enjoy!

Hit and Run.

Chapter one: I will not bow.

Rain, plummeting upon the Pridelands, only made her journey home more uncomforting. Wait... home? Could she even consider this place a home now? The gaunt lioness trekked onwards, refusing to remain at anybody else's side other than the princess — who had so kindly offered her help. It was all the encouragement Zira needed at this point. Help. Betrayed by her oh-so-loyal subjects at this point, including her own children, how would she even find a path to kill Simba when she was now outnumbered? She had barely seeked another way out, and it was because the awful truth was clear. The familiar feeling of defeat had smacked her across the muzzle; she was broken down on the inside.

She was totally vulnerable at this point, physically and emotionally. Marred in scars and dreadfully bruised, while utterly locked in a strong cage of uncertainty. Zira didn't know what to do. She had given up easily. Too easily. Marked a traitor by Scar, too, it seemed. Could the raindrops be her beloved king's tears? Yes, she was a traitor, perhaps. Yet she'd never accept Simba as a king. His daughter had rescued him, which was somewhat surprising. And now she was leading her to Pride Rock. Zira could tell Kiara had put all her trust in her — she just wished she didn't put it entirely.

Zira knew that at any point she could strike. She still had a burning hatred for the lion who had usurped her Scar; she wouldn't like him right away only because he'd allow her into his territory. Besides, Zira knew Simba felt as unstable bringing her into his lands as she was for bringing herself into his land. The sadistic outlander queen would probably only stay around Kiara. Kiara was a nice lioness; beautiful, strong, caring — all the qualities a queen needed. Though it was hard, Zira admitted it. The dream was still quite far, but maybe Zira could even get along with Kiara.

Right now, however, all Zira wanted to do was fall onto the ground and weep her pain out. Her thoughts of living in the Pridelands with a new king had started to make her regret her decision of accepting Kiara's help. She should've just let go and...

"Zira?"

What could possibly be important to interrupt a queen's thoughts?! Was she still a queen? No, not of these appalling lions. Of Scar... right. Zira had heard the soft voice that could only be the princess's, but she chose to ignore it. She was still quite upset, annoyed, tired and full of hatred. And though she hated to admit it, Zira also felt quite hurt. If they wanted her attention, they'd have to do more than just call her name. Anybody could do that. What form of address did the lioness want? She didn't know. But she certainly didn't want a simple 'Zira'.

"Zira?" Kiara repeated, her voice a little louder and sharper this time, "Are you listening?"

"Zira!" This second voice was undoubtedly masculine. Zira recognized it as her own son's voice; strong and powerful when he decided to yell. Zira wanted nothing more to do with her son. He had thrown all those moments in which she had helped him away. All the times she'd give him the most attention. Now he was getting none of it. The fact that he had so easily threatened her if she had tried something against Simba infuriated her. She had risked being killed for his own safety by entering the Pridelands when he met Kiara? Now it seemed he wasn't grateful.

"What!" The lioness snapped, not wanting to deal with anymore nagging. Her voice was evitably webbed with audacity, though she didn't care. She was enraged by Kovu's behaviour, and she wasn't afraid to show it.

Kovu growled, eyeing her in pique. After all this time, she still remained stubborn. If she wanted help from the pridelanders, she'd have to earn it. Showing gratitude was a major step to friendship here. "Can you at least listen?" He said, irritably. "You've been accepted into the Pridelands by the beloved King Simba — you could at least show your gratitude."

Zira's muzzle crinkled with a snarl. She would not be spoken to like a child by her own child. She knew how impudent and irresponsible she was being, she knew the limits. Much to their dismay, though, Zira didn't believe the traitors, nor the pridelanders, deserved her gratitude. "Why don't you ever show me your gratitude, you inconsiderate brat?" Zira's words had very clearly exposed meaning to it. She didn't want to show it, but she had now made it evitable that she was hurt by Kovu's threat and betrayal.

"I risked everything for you," The lioness continued, pausing for a moment. "I risked sneaking into the Pridelands to bring you home, when you met... her." Zira gestured to the honey-furred lioness which stood beside her. "Simba would've killed you then and there for trespassing, had it not been me that ran in to save you."

Kovu swallowed, thinking of something to say, but Zira had caught the lion off-guard.

"Everything I did was for you, for your future, and you still demand I give my gratitude for the one who tried to foil your perfect future?" To his dislike, Zira had noticed Kovu had nothing to argue. She offered a wry smile. "You disgust me, Kovu..."

"Don't even try it!" And yet another familiar voice had pierced into the conversation. Right before her stood her only daughter, Vitani, who had betrayed her at the last minute. "He did the right thing by trying to end it all. He fell in love, and he was clearly tired of war, too. Don't guilt him, because you've also realized war isn't the solution, it's why you're here now."

"You stupid lioness," Zira spat, jaded from her and Vitani's numerous arguments. "I didn't come here because I'm tired of war, I came here because there's nothing left for me to achieve. I had two goals, and it was to train Kovu to become king and you to become a fighter. However, someone's managed to spill the water on my path." She shot Simba a murderous grin.

Simba managed to bare his fangs at her. "If you'd like to change your ways, you're more than welcome to try," He said, hinting frustration in his voice. "But to insult and threaten us here isn't a wise move. I won't tolerate any rudeness."

He spun to face his pride lionesses. "Let us continue our journey home."

Nala had something to say. "Don't you think one of us should fetch Rafiki?" The queen was right — they had just returned from a battle! They needed some sort of checkup to make sure no major problems had been detected; that every lioness would be able to care for herself just like before the battle had even began. "Our lionesses could be in great pain at this very moment without us even noticing."

"Yes, what a wise thought, Nala," Simba replied, staring intently at the baobab sapling not too far away from where they were. He pirouetted, turning to face one of the lionesses that didn't look so wounded. "Usiku, travel to Rafiki's tree at this moment — tell him the king needs his help."

That was all she needed and she was off, sprinting as rapidly as she could to fetch the so-called mandrill.

Jaded, and somewhat famished, the lionesses continued their steady traipse back to the kopje, to which they'd reach in a few minutes. Zira still remained at the rear of the group, with Kiara ambling by her side, smiling at her on occasion. Zira had also noticed that the younger lioness kept giggling. She didn't understand, there was nothing funny going on. She wanted to snap at Kiara, though Kovu was near. She didn't mind starting another quarrel with him, so why not question Kiara's ridiculous giggles?

After Kiara's third annoying giggle, Zira finally inquired in her husky, rusty tone. "What's so extremely funny to have the little latter laughing so much, hm?"

Kovu, who was beside Kiara, shot Zira a threatening glare: she was on thin land. He knew she wanted to start something, and even if she didn't, there was no need for the impudence. Kiara, seeming not at all offended by Zira's comment, continued to grin contently, turning to face her. With a tone opposite to Zira's, she replied, "I'm just glad you're here, you've given me... us a chance to prove to you that you can be loved here at the Pridelands. In doing so, you've practically abandoned your desires. I really admire that."

"Hmph," Zira smirked, "I guess I am quite the dandy, hum?"

"Let's just hope she actually listens and tries not to foil our future plans." Kovu added, spoiling Zira's proud moment. Kiara frowned at her love interest, flattening her ears. She had a feeling Kovu wasn't going to get along with his mother, he wasn't willing to give her a second chance.

"I'm sure she will listen, Kovu," Kiara said comfortingly as she forced her head under her mate's chin, "She's your mother, you should try to believe in her."

The lions rounded the corner, finally writhing up Pride Rock. On the promontory now, Simba inspected each lioness as she walked inside the den to repose after the long and tiring battle. When it came to Zira, Kiara and Kovu, whom were at the rear of the pride, Simba charged forward, stopping all three of them. The princess dilated her eyes in confusion, not understanding why Zira was not permitted to enter the den.

"She's not permitted to lay in the den until we can trust her," The king informed, glaring at her, "She could go in the den and attack us. She's to rest out here. On her own."

"On my own?!" Zira snarled, perplexed. How could the kin... Simba be so harsh to someone like her? She had given up everything, abandoning her thoughts (as Kiara had said) to try and work with this pride. And this was how he treated her? Didn't she deserve some kind of praise? Oh, what an impudent little 'king' Simba was. And when he left without saying a word, she was utterly disgusted. Speechless even. It was fair he didn't like her, and she didn't like him either, but to force a guest to sleep out in the cold was harsh, disgraceful.

"That was a good idea," Kovu scowled, smirking at his mother's defeat. He stared upwards, towards the falling sun. "Hope you survive the night, Zira. Come on, Kiara."

However, his princess had made it clear she wasn't going anywhere. With great force, she tugged her foreleg backwards, a serious expression plastered on her face — She was practically appalled at Kovu's behaviour towards his mother. "Kovu, instead of scolding and provoking her, why don't you try helping her?" Her inquiry was difficult to answer, as he had no particular reason now as to why he could be so harsh. They both watched Zira take her place on the cold promontory ground, resting her head on her paws and curling her tail around her hind legs.

"Because... She won't change! She'll always be the same Zira that has hurt your family, hurt me and all of the outsiders." Kovu retaliated, knowing Kiara wouldn't accept that as a response, but at least he had one. "She'll be that smug little lioness looking for trouble, she'll try and usurp your father from the throne."

Kiara shook her head leisurely. "I know you're not happy about her being here; she's done a lot to us all. But if we show her she doesn't have a chance here, she'll spread the word that we're not exactly a welcoming pride. Everyone will hate us! Besides, she's come here because she's put everything in the past, just as we're supposed to do," Kiara said. "Show her how much we care about her and she won't have to usurp my father from the throne, because it's not a queen that gets all the love — neither does the king. We're treated equally here."

Kovu softened a little, but a frown still managed to draw across his maw. "Sure, Kiara. I know you want to try, but she's actually worse than you think — she wants to have power over the kingdom, she doesn't want love!"

"But she still serves a great place here in the pride, and she will have quite a high rank because one her targets was achieved." The light-furred lioness smiled. "Or will be achieved: it's you becoming king. It's what she wanted in the first place, I'm sure she'll settle for that. Besides, we'll show her how much she's appreciated here at the Pridelands that she won't even think about becoming queen."

"I hope it works, Kiara."

"Me too. And you know what the first step is?" She questioned, hoping he'd know the answer and would be willing to agree. She frowned when the male lion shook his head. "Company, of course. We're going to stay out here with her tonight."

"But, but, your fath—"

"We'd be doing my father a huge favour by helping Zira," Kiara chuckled, ambling over towards the reposed, gaunt lioness. "I promised to help her anyways."

Deep inside the den of Pride Rock, the lionesses were confined to the incredible warmth of the den. The lionesses had never been so pleased, and they had never felt so comfortable... well... the outsider lionesses, of course. The pridelanders were already accustomed to the fiery warmth, and were keen to share it with the outsiders- some of them at least. A young prideland lioness verticalled onto her paws, ambling over towards one of the lazed outsiders; one that looked particularly her age. She stood a few inches away, studying her intently as the lioness slumbered.

However, karma had decided to take a turn on her for being a little too curious. As the pridelander backed away, back to her sleeping place, a rock seemed to have caught her off-guard, tripping her up and causing her to collapse in front of everybody. Lionesses from all corners tried to hold in their laughter, placing their paws over their maws in order to not be accused as a meanie, or be embarrassed just as much as the fallen lioness was if the queen or king decided to punish them for laughing.

Flushing a dark red, the younger lioness turned to face the lionesses that seemed to speak to her. "Why were you looking at her in the first place?" Surely inquiries would mask their hysterical bursts of laughter, wouldn't it?

"I-I was interested in the o-outsiders," The juvenile stammered. "I've n-never s-s-seen an outsider before!"

It was now she realized she didn't like the outsiders as much as she thought. Accused and humiliated by tripping over, the outsiders would embarrass her even more,by trying to catch her off-guard and trying to get her in trouble by the king and queen. She could swear she felt a teardrop sliding down the side of her muzzle. Holding back tears was something every lion struggled at.

Not incredibly fond of the situation and the mocking outsiders, the queen decided to step in, narrowing her eyes at the outsiders as she ambled towards the embarrassed adolescent. "Stop this nonsense at once!" Nala ordered, slapping her tail on the cold, hard cave floor, silencing the cackling lionesses. "She's a young lioness! Is a little curiosity worth an entire interrogation? Everyone collapses once in a while. I'm sure she isn't as fond as I am with you laughing lionesses."

Nala's gaze softened, and a smile managed to sneak onto her face. "Here at the Pridelands, we respect each other and help others learn from their mistakes. Instead of questioning her and mocking her, why not encourage her and tell her to be more cautious? I'm sure you wouldn't like it if you were laughed at."

A dark-furred outlander raised her paw slightly. "But... Queen Nala," She addressed, bowing her head in respect, "Back in the Outlands, Zira told us to laugh at each other because then they'd learn to avoid doing such a silly thing in the first place. And... Sometimes you can't help but laugh."

"Yes, but you're not in the Outlands anymore, and Zira's not your queen," Nala replied. "I also understand that you can't help laughing sometimes, but if that's the case, it'd be best to hold in your laughter or not laugh at all. I'm sure you're capable of doing that, you're all wonderful lionesses, after all."

The outsider lionesses grinned at each other, before spinning their heads to smile at the pridelander. "Sorry." They all cooed in unison.

"It's okay," Angalia beamed back at them, "And thank you."

It had been a while since Simba had parted from the pride. He had too many things to think about, too many things to discuss with his father on his own. At this point, he was so confused on everything — his family could be in danger because he had brought his enemies ever so close. Or... to be fair, he'd brought Zira close. For sure, he didn't trust her. It'd take a lot for Zira to earn his trust. Or was there even a possibility? Regret was a familiar feeling for the lion, it's often smack him on the maw and drag his confidence down a little. Now was one of those moments.

Sure the outsiders had joined his forces and agreed to work with him because they were prostrated of Zira's cunning manips. But that didn't stop them from hating Simba. What if they did hate him still? What if they were faking the whole thing to be accepted into the Pridelands? Besides, reunion with the pridelanders wouldn't execute all those filthy lies Zira had forced into their minds. They probably still thought bad of him, of them. Simba was so confused, so guilty of everything: bringing his enemy as close to his family as possible, as close to his daughter- his precious, little princess as close as possible.

Surely she's harm them. By her appalling attitude she was displaying, Simba was almost certain she wouldn't give in to Kiara's words. He knew Zira would never accept him as a king. Her and Scar belonged together — she'd only obey him anyways. At times, Simba had wished he was just a normal cub, not a king, just living in a normal pride with his mate and family. Of course, working as a king was an honour; he had control of everything in the Pridelands, and he was respected far more than anybody else. However, being a ruler also had a downside. Haters.

Haters appeared on every route you turned, criticizing your actions, declaring wars and desperately trying to usurp your throne. In other words, Zira. He regretted letting her into his kingdom. He should've just told Kiara no like he always had! Why did he have to be so stupid and accept Zira into his pride? Why out his family at risk? Webbed with anger, frustration and thoughts, Simba kicked a rock. He was so angry, so infuriated. The last thing he needed was a rock to stare at.

"What's up with this lion today, hm?"

Simba pirouetted, coming eye to eye with the shaman, Rafiki. The red maned lion turned his face away in shame, not wanting to break down in front of a provoking little mandrill. However, in all seriousness, Rafiki said something else.

"Simba, the kings told me you're seeking guidance at this very moment."

Simba winced, his voice breaking slightly as he spoke, "I am Rafiki, I don't know what to do anymore. I've screwed up as a king; I've put my family in danger. And... I've allowed my greatest fear to leak into the Pridelands."

Rafiki slowly lifted up his stick, rattling it in front of Simba's face. "Simba." He acknowledged, "Saying you've screwed up as a king, will only make you screw up more. You need to believe in yourself."

"Well it's hard when your future is at stake."

"I know," Rafiki said, pulling his stick back. "However, you can learn from your past. As I said before. It's what your father did when he was a king."

Simba's eyes widened at his father's mention. He wanted to be a great king like his father, though it seemed impossible. "How am I supposed to do that, though?"

"What would your father do if he was still alive?"

Simba knew what his father would do, but he couldn't bring himself to say it. Him and his father were two different lions, both with different tolerances and capabilities. Perhaps he could do the same as his father, but it wouldn't feel right for him. Be wouldn't be sure where he was going. So, because he couldn't bring himself to say it, Simba said something to appear more clueless than Rafiki thought — it was a normal way to get out of the truth, even though he knew he couldn't escape it. "He'd... banish her." Simba concluded, fidgeting with his paw and looking away from the mandrill, afraid of his reaction.

To his dismay, the shaman exposed his large stick, proceeding to wack Simba on the head. "Oh, please, Simba," Rafiki moaned as he watched Simba dance around in agony. He wasn't a fool, he knew Simba knew the truth. "Tell me what you really think."

Simba huffed a sigh of defeat, rubbing his head and furrowing his eyebrows. "He'd try to cope with her, like he did with Scar."

"That a boy!" Rafiki praised, patting the lion's head as if he was some kind of African dog. "I know you'll do well. Mufasa lives in you."

Simba nodded, backing away leisurely with a warm smile on his face, "Thanks, Rafiki. I really needed this."

As soon as Simba had disappeared in the distance, Rafiki turned to face the night sky. He outstretched both of his long, scrawny arms up into the air, allowing his mane to be blown back by the strong wind. His eyes were shut; he seemed to be locked in a meditation of some kind.

"I really hope your boy knows what he's doing, Mufasa."

Rafiki knew Simba knew what to do. But there was still the anxiety that Simba wouldn't do anything stupid, and try to ignore Rafiki's words, or try doing the opposite of what his father would do just because he thought he was capable of doing it. Hopefully, luck would be on his side, and so would the whole pride. Everything was now rested in Simba's paws. It was up to him, and Kiara to help the outsiders and Zira fit in with the pride, and to abandon their dreadful desires and thoughts.

Author's Note:

If you're wondering where Timon & Pumbaa are, I decided to not include them in this chapter. Perhaps, they'll be in this story, but very rarely. I don't think they have anything to do with this, to be honest XD. Thanks for reading if you did, and please make sure to review, rate and maybe even question!