Hey guys, hope you enjoyed the last chapter. Here's the next chapter and thanks for the reviews last chapter. I know I've been promising to do the replies to the reviews for the last few chapters but me kind of lost track of them. So for the next chapter, I'll do the review replies of the last chapter and this one.

Anyways, hope you enjoy and please do review.

While Nala was off looking for Simba, Simba was already past the border. He had already scoured as much as he could without finding anything but he knew that going any further alone was too risky.

Simba silently debated on asking Akila to come with him secretly but he knew that Akila and Nala were good friends and it might slip out. All that would come out of them was that Simba shouldn't go.

But he had to. Simba knew he just couldn't sit around and do nothing all day.

Soon Simba began to realize that there was no use in looking around. There was nothing here and he couldn't go further without someone else with him. With an irritated sigh, he began heading back home.

Little did Simba know that Scar was watching him from a good distance away.

"I could get him now." Scar said, clenching his teeth as he pondered over his opportunities. But Scar knew that that would be too easy. And even if he did take Simba know, Nala and Akila would both keep the Pride safe and secure along with support from Mufasa and the River Pride. They would be even more on alert if Simba was found dead and that would make things trickier for him.

Suddenly a thought hit Scar. He couldn't take over Simba's Pride by just taking Simba down. Simba and his throne was protected by a large number of other lions. He had to take them down first before he could get to Simba.

"It'll be worth it." Scar muttered before he turned and began the long journey back to his Pride.

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A few hours later, Simba was back in the Pridelands and Zazu had spotted him before reporting back to Nala. By now, Nala was irritated at her mate for leaving and not telling anyone.

"What's wrong?" Simba asked the minute he saw her. Simba nuzzled her cheek softly as he approached her but she didn't return his affection. "Nala?"

"Simba where were you?" Nala asked. "I've been looking for hours. Did you tell anyone before you left?" Her sapphire blue eyes pierced into Simba's amber red ones.

"I was at the border dealing with some herds." Simba said, hoping she wouldn't see the lie.

Nala raised her eyebrows at him. "I thought you were off today? And wouldn't Zazu have seen?"

"I gave Zazu the day off so he was probably relaxing instead of flying around the Pridelands." Simba shrugged. "Besides, I don't need Zazu for everything Nala."

"Simba…" Nala gave him a look.

"Nala." Simba smiled back at her mockingly.

Nala rolled her eyes at him before heading back to Priderock but she didn't protest as Simba pulled her in closer and nuzzled her neck. Nala smiled at him and licked his cheek before they headed back to Priderock. They bumped into Mufasa and Ajjali by the Waterhole. Simba didn't speak a word with him but Nala and Mufasa chatted for a few minutes before the couple continued making their way to Priderock.

When they reached Priderock, Nala walked ahead so she could go collect Kiara from Moraan and Tama. She never had to worry about leaving Kiara with anyone because she knew that her daughter wouldn't misbehave. Kiara trotted out of the den just as Simba climbed the last rock up to Priderock.

"Daddy!" Kiara hurled herself towards Simba. Simba chuckled at his youngest and gave her side a nuzzle. "Hey my little Princess. What have you been doing all day?"

"Play! Danyssa!" Kiara giggled batting his nose with her paws.

"Ah so you had fun playing with Danyssa." Simba licked the top of her head before picking Kiara up. He and Nala took Kiara back into the den.

"Kiara." Nala picked Kiara up and placed her in her paws. "It's time for your nap."

"No tired." Kiara babbled and squeezed out of her paws. She crawled back to Simba and climbed into his paws. Simba gently let Kiara gnaw at his paw. Nala knew that all three of her cubs ran back to Simba when it came to things like baths or naps. Simba was less firm and lighter on those sorts of things unlike Nala who was stricter with them. It drove Nala insane sometimes on how her mate would just laugh and let them fool off but Nala knew she could never stay mad at Simba.

"Simba." Nala looked at him. "Tell me where you went."

"I told you." Simba turned to face her. "I went to the border when I heard commotion from there."

"Why were you so far out near the border in the first place?" Nala asked.

"I was just walking and monitoring the Pridelands for a bit." Simba replied. Nala gave him a long hard look and Simba knew from her face that she still wasn't buying it.

"Look." Simba said just as she opened her mouth to protest. "I went to the border to deal with the herds. You can believe what you want to believe."

"What?" Nala asked narrowing her eyes at him giving him a cold look. Kiara noticed her mother's expression and her eyes went wide. She had never seen Nala looking angry like that. Usually her mother was always laughing and smiling.

"Mama?" Kiara asked, cocking her head but Nala didn't notice.
"What do you mean I can believe what I want to believe. What do you think I'm thinking?" Nala demanded.

"I mean." Simba said raising his voice. "That you don't believe what I'm saying but I don't care. You can believe whatever you think of what I was doing but I was at the border!" Kiara turned to her father with a surprised squeak at his anger. Whenever Simba got angry, she would usually just cling onto her mother until it was over. Kiara batted Simba but he didn't notice.

"What do you think I'm thinking Simba?" Nala asked, her tone annoyed.

"I don't know." Simba said. "And I don't care!" He got up, catching Kiara before she could fall and put her back on the ground before he stormed out angrily. Kiara felt tears unlocking in her eyes as she turned towards her mother. She was scared at all the anger her parents were displaying.

Nala finally noticed how upset Kiara was.

"It's alright my little cub." Nala pulled Kiara into her paws and rocked her back and forth. "Daddy just got a little angry. He'll be back." Kiara just sniffed and wiped her face against Nala's chest. Nala cleaned her face up with a few licks.

"Come on." Nala soothed. "It's time for your nap." She nudged her cub down and Kiara didn't protest and she settled down snugly in her mother's paws. Within a few minutes, Kiara had dozed off.

Kion and Kopa bounded in and settled down when they saw that Kiara was napping.

"You weren't at the resting place for our feeding time Mom." Kopa said.

"I'm sorry my darlings." Nala nuzzled both of them. "I was a bit busy." Once she had fed both Kopa and Kion, Nala gave them permission to go out and play again. The twins sprinted out.

Nala settled her head down on top of Kiara hoping to sleep for a bit. She knew that Simba was lying onto her but she just couldn't figure out what he would do that she couldn't know about it. She felt a pang of annoyance and hurt go through her but she let it go. She trusted Simba. Just as she was getting drowsy she heard Simba coming back into the den. Simba settled down next to Nala and Kiara pulling both of them in close to him and Nala didn't protest. She knew she couldn't stay angry at him for long and Simba couldn't either. She buried her face into his neck and drifted off.

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Later that day, Kula and Chumvi were enjoying some time for themselves. Jasiri had asked to go to the River Pride in the morning and Chumvi had taken her there and would go back later to collect her.

"I was meaning to talk to you about this." Chumvi said after the two of them stopped to take a drink from the pond.

"What is it?" Kula asked, entwining her tail in his.

"It's…about…about Enye." Chumvi said his tone going down and he saw a flash of pain and Kula's eyes but she swallowed hard.

"What about him?" Kula asked.

"I know we never found a body or any proof." Chumvi said taking a deep breath. "But lately for the past few weeks…I just have this feeling that something about that isn't right…like there's something that we've missed. It's like the spirits above are trying to tell me something but I just don't know what."

"Chumvi." Kula said after a few moments of silent. "You know it's never going to feel right. Enye shouldn't have died at that age…" A sob escaped her and Chumvi pulled her in closer but Kula regained her composure.

"He shouldn't have died at that age and we never found a body. At the very least we could have gotten some sort of closure if we had found a body but we didn't." Kula said. "And…it's never going to feel right. Not until the day that I die and join him."

Chumvi wanted to say more but he could see how upset Kula was. He knew that deep down just like him, the grief of losing Enye had never left her. And it never would. Sometimes if he really thought about it, he wanted to kill himself so he could join Enye. But in the end, he always reminded himself that they still had Jasiri. And that made everything better.

"I know." Chumvi pulled her in closer and rested his chin on the top of her head. "Until the day we see him again."

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A few weeks later, Kopa and Kion were walking around the Pridelands bored out of their mind. Simba had finally agreed into letting them go further than the Waterhole and the two cubs had done all the exploring they could.

"Maybe we can go back and play with Kiara." Kion suggested, flopping onto his back.

"But what if she's sleeping?" Kopa asked. "Mom never lets us wake her up. Besides, she can be boring sometimes."

"Isn't Dad at home today?" Kion asked, rolling over. "I wanna go see if he can play."

"Yeah, I wanna ask him for more pouncing lessons." Kopa said sitting up straight.

"But we always have pouncing lessons with him or Mom." Kion protested. "I'm going to ask him if we can play tag."

"That's so boring!" Kopa huffed.

"No it's not!" Kion said narrowing his sapphire blue eyes. "It's fun!"

"Is not!"

"Yes it is!"

"No its not!"

"Who said?"

"I'm older than you so I know more!"

"Only by two minutes!" Kion exclaimed. "Mom said!" Kopa only puffed his chest out proudly.

"Well then too bad!" Kion said. "I'm going to go find him right now!" He turned and ran back to Priderock and Kopa didn't bother following.

Kion ran as fast as he could to Priderock, trying not to stop. By the time he got there, he was out of breath and staggered up the rocks. He was glad to hear his father's voice in the big den along with Akila's.

"Dad!" Kion ran into the den and skidded underneath Akila's legs before he crashed into Simba.

Simba gently used his paw to scoop him up. "What's wrong son?"

"Can you play with me Dad? Please?" Kion asked, looking up with a grin. Simba smiled.

"Why're you all out of breath Kion?" Akila asked.

"I had to run here and beat Kopa." Kion said.

"Where is he?" Simba asked.

"I don't know. He probably went to play with someone else." Kion said. "But can you play with me Dad?"

"Of course." Simba said and trotted out of the den.

"By Uncle!" Kion called over his shoulder.

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Meanwhile, Kopa had decided to venture further into the Pridelands and find someone else to play with. Before he realized it, he saw the two flower trees that his parent had told him not to go past unless he was with an adult.

"I wonder what's there anyway." Kopa muttered. He knew that Simba and Kion were probably playing now and he couldn't find any of his other friends to play with. It was too late in the day to go visit the River Pride.

"I can just go see what's there. Mom's probably busy and Dad's with Kion so he won't notice. I can just go and come back fast. I haven't been there a lot so there's probably a lot of exploring that I can do." Kopa thought and without hesitation he had trotted past the trees and further into the Pridelands.

Before Kopa knew it, he had reached the border. He recognized it from the numerous times he father and uncles had taken him patrolling with them.

Suddenly, Kopa heard a snap and he turned around to see a cub. Gasping, Kopa jumped away.

"Who are you?" The cub asked, cocking his head. The cub was grey and filthy but he looked older than Kopa, almost in his adolescence.

Kopa found his strength. "Prince Kopa of the Pridelands! Who are you Outlander!" He crouched down and began advancing on the cub despite him being much smaller than the Outlander cub.

"Hey!" The cub began moving back. "I'm not going to cause any trouble! I just wanted to see the Pridelands!"

"Why?" Kopa asked, his voice still a growl.

"Because I live in the Outlands." The cub said shrugging his shoulder sadly. "I've never seen so much green in my whole life. The Outlands are a barren desert."

"Oh." Kopa relaxed, feeling sorry for him. He knew he was lucky to be born in a big healthy Pride. His parent's constantly reminded him that there were others who were not as fortunate as him.

"Want me to show you around then?" Kopa asked his voice much friendlier. Kopa knew that it was his father who decided if someone from the Outlands could come into the Pridelands.

"But I'm the future King." Kopa reminded himself. Besides, his parents always told him to remember those who weren't as lucky as him. By showing Nuka around, he would be doing what his parents always told him to do.

"Alright." The cub relaxed. "Are we allowed?"

"I don't know." Kopa shrugged with a mischievous grin. "But don't worry, I'll make sure that we won't get caught."

"Alright!" The bigger cub bounded forward. "Let's go!"

"Wait!" Kopa called. "What's your name?"

"Nuka." The cub replied. "My name is Nuka." He gave Kopa a friendly smile.

"Alright Nuka!" Kopa grinned. "Let's go!"

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A few hours later, Kion was all tuckered out from playing with Simba.

"Tired Kion?" Simba asked as Kion flopped onto his back beside Simba.

"Yeah." Kion said with a yawn. "Can we go back to Priderock now Dad?"

"Sure." Simba said. Kion crawled onto his back and Simba got up and began heading back home. He had enjoyed playing with Kion. He didn't get to play with his cubs as often as he would like to so the times that he did meant a lot to him.

"Too bad Kopa missed out." Kion said, breaking Simba away from his thoughts.

"Yeah." Simba said. "Are you still mad at him?"

"Kind of." Kion shrugged. "He always wins an argument by saying he's older than me!"

Simba laughed remembering how he had always said that same thing to Akila when they had been cubs. And then both of them had used it on Ajjali when she had been born.

When they reached Priderock, Nala was at the entrance of the den waiting for them. Kiara was behind her playing with her mother's tail.

"Hey Mom!" Kion rolled off Simba's back and nuzzled his mother's chin. Nala licked the top of his head.

"Hello sweetheart." Nala nuzzled him. "Where have you been all day?"

"I was playing with Kopa and then I went to play with Dad." Kion said. Kiara came over and tackled him down and he growled playfully before pinning his little sister down. Kiara fell down with a squeak.

"Where's Kopa now?" Nala asked. "Why didn't he join you two?"

"I don't know." Kion shrugged and chased Kiara into the den. She ran in squealing.

"They got into a fight." Simba said. "Kopa's still out playing."

Nala looked worried. "Maybe we should go look for him."

"The sun hasn't begun to set yet." Simba said. "Kopa's come back later than this. If he isn't back by the time the sun starts setting, I'll go look for him. But I'll go tell Zazu to fly around the area he plays in and look for him now." Nala nodded, but she couldn't ignore the strange feeling left in her stomach.

She went back into the den and cleaned Kion up and fed both the cubs. By then, the sun was beginning to set and Simba walked into the den with Alex and Akila behind him.

"Zazu came back and said Kopa's not anywhere around the boundaries we set for him." Simba said, his face worried. "I'm worried that he went further past the limits we set him." Kion listened intently to the adults.

"No." Nala said shaking her head. "He's never done that!" A deep cold ball of fear formed in her stomach as she thought of her son.

"We're going to look for him now." Akila said. "We'll get Tojo and a few other males. Kopa just might have gotten distracted so we don't want to alert the entire Pride. If he's not back by the time the sun's completely set, we can organize the Pride into search parties."

Nala nodded. "Alright. I'm coming too."

"Nala stay with Kion and Kiara. We'll bring him back I promise!" Simba stepped forward and nuzzled Nala. Nala nodded and Simba walked out with Alex and Akila.

"Nala?" Nala turned to see Tama, Kula, and Shari and Shinda. Malaika and Shani were behind them.

"I heard what happened." Tama nuzzled her. "They'll find him don't worry!"

"Moraan, Chumvi and Amri went as well." Shinda said. "One of them is bound to find him."

"He's never done this before…" Nala said. "What could have possibly made him go further than what Simba and I set out for him?"

Suddenly they heard a sob from behind Nala and the lionesses turned to see Kion bawling while Kiara was looking at her older brother alarmed.

"Kion what's wrong?" Malaika nuzzled her nephew, licking away his tears.

"I got in a fight with Kopa and he wouldn't come back to Priderock with me!" Kion sobbed between hiccups. "It-it's m-my fault he-he got lo-lost!"

"Kion!" Nala picked him up and nuzzled him, trying to soothe him. "It's not your fault. Kopa knew what the rules are." Kion nodded, burying his face into Nala's chest.

"Come on." Shari gently ushered Kion into the big den. "Let's play go play with Haru."

Kiara trotted over to Shinda and pulled on her aunt's leg. Shinda bent down and nuzzled her.

"Kopa?" Kiara asked cocking her head. She wasn't quite sure what was going on but she knew it had something to do with Kopa.

"Kiara, Danyssa wants to play with you." Tama said. "Let's go!" She picked Kiara up and carried her into the big den.

"I can't wait any longer." Nala moaned, closing her eyes. "I have to go look for him myself."

"Nala." Shani stepped in front of her cousin. "Wait until Simba comes back. Follow his plans." She knew Nala's entire life revolved around her cubs so it was hard for her wait and see if Kopa was with the males. But they had to follow the plan Simba had left them.

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Meanwhile, Kopa and Nuka were finally done exploring. Kopa knew it was late and that his parents would worry but he felt bad for Nuka. He had wanted to see as much of the Pridelands as possible.

Besides, he had enjoyed playing with Nuka. He was more fun to play with than Kion.

"So where you going to go now Nuka?" Kopa asked. "Back to your Pride?"

"I guess." Nuka said with a sigh. "I have to go find my Dad now."

"Oh." Kopa said. "Isn't he going to be worried about you now?"

"Nah." Nuka shrugged. "My Dad doesn't like me."

"Why not?" Kopa asked.

"I wish I knew." Nuka lowered his head. Kopa felt a pang go through his heart. He couldn't imagine his life without Simba. Another reason why he was so blessed.

"I should go now." Nuka said. "Thanks for showing me around the Pridelands."

"No problem." Kopa said. "Are you going to come again?"

"If I can I…" Nuka's voice trailed off and his eyes went wide looking past Kopa.

"What?" Kopa asked.

Before Nuka could reply, Simba stepped out of the bushes and let out an ear splitting roar at Nuka.

Sorry for such long waits for the chapters. School and work have been keeping me busy. Anyways, so Nuka had a little run in with Kopa but too bad Simba caught him before he could leave. What's going to happen next? Stay tuned to find out.