A/N: Hey guys, well this chapter took me forever to write, it feels like, but here it is! First of all, I'd like to thank kora22, WolvesHunt101,Warriorcat119, PuttingQuillonParchement,Bang-Bang-Shot to the Head, and mimoo01 for their awesome feedback and suggestions that have helped to make this story what it is! You should check out their stories, I've looked at a lot of them, and if I had the talent these writers have, this story would be phenomenal! Their support has continually inspired and helped me, thanks so much guys! Also I'd like to extend a thank you to milele yako, and kate, who also left positive reviews that encouraged me! Please leave me a review to let me know what you think so far and remember, you can leave a review as a guest, I'd love to hear from ALL my readers. But even if you are unable to leave a review, I'd still like to thank you for reading my story and hope you enjoy it! Thanks! I don't own The Lion King!

Warning: This scene contains borderline graphic depictions of death, may not be appropriate for all audiences.

Chapter 10: Stampede of Memories

When Mohatu's eyes opened, he was quite surprised to find Jolina snuggled up next to him. Her head rested on his side, nestled into his thick mane. He also saw that his tail was draped over her body. Keep still, so as not to disturb the sleeping lioness, he looked down at her features. The innocent beauty she possessed confirmed to him that she was just what he'd thought her to be when he first laid eyes on her...an angel. He couldn't quite place a paw on the emotions he felt as he gazed down on her sleeping figure, and he had to suppress the strong urge to place a protective paw over her. He'd never felt this way about anyone, and somehow he knew that he'd do anything for the lioness that he held, and that scared him.

"No, this is stupid, there's no way I'm in love with her, I barely know her, even if she did save my life."

Jolina then began to stir from her slumber, pulling him away from his thoughts. Her eyes fluttered open and when she saw that she was snuggled up to Mohatu's body, she quickly jerked away, heart pounding, and she blushed deeply.

"Oh, I-I'm so sorry, I didn't realize..." she stammered.

Mohatu gave her a gentle smile and replied,

"Hey, it's fine. It does get kinda' cold at night."

"Uh-yeah." she answered before stretching her slim, graceful body.

"So, anyways, I was hoping we could go hunting together or something."

Mohatu frowned and said,

"Well, I'd love to, but I was hoping I could kinda', go off on my own for a bit. I just have some stuff on my mind."

"Oh yeah, of course, you've been through a lot, I'm sure that you need some time to think." Jolina replied understandingly, but still, the disappointment was obvious in her voice.

"So, I'll catcha' later then?" he said.

"Of course, well goodbye." and she walked off into the jungle.

His eyes followed her shapely figure as she left and his heart began wildly thumping, involuntarily.

"Uggh." he groaned.

"I've got to clear my head." he said to himself, before he too, headed off into the oasis, in the opposite direction.

Jolina sighed as she searched for breakfast. But it was no use, she just couldn't concentrate. Images of the handsome young lion kept flashing through her head, along with a myriad of confusing emotions. Several hours had passed since she had left the den, and she decided to give up, she just wasn't going to be able to focus enough to hunt. She was about to turn back when she heard loud footsteps and snorting noises. Never had she heard such a thing, and she was just about to turn and bolt when Mohatu plunged from the foliage, grabbed her, and placed a paw over her mouth to stop her scream, as they crashed into a large, thick bush. He released her and she was about to ask him what in the world was going on when she saw four enormous water buffalo bulls come plowing through the place she'd just been standing in. She looked at Mohatu, wide-eyed, but he signaled for her to keep low and quiet. The bulls tore around the area for a moment before they sauntered off into the woods. Mohatu let out a sigh of relief, but she just continued to stare at him, before saying,

"What in the WORLD was that all about?"

Mohatu looked at her and said,

"Well, I-uh kinda upset those guys."

But Jolina saw his suspicious look and asked,

"What did you do?"

Giving her a sheepish grin, he replied

"Let's just say...hehe... I might have upset their favorite female."

Jolina stared at the lion. Then a grin formed on her face and she fell to the ground rolling in laughter,

"Your INSANE" she cried. "Who hunts buffalo like that, and all on their own?"

And she continued giggling.

Mohatu soon joined in her on laughter, and after several minutes of wild giggling, he stood up and offered his paw to her.

"C'mon Joli, we'd better get outta' here before those buffalo come back." he said with a laugh.

But the beige lioness's face fell and she got up and turned away from him. She couldn't contain the tears and they flowed freely from her amber eyes. Mohatu, alarmed by her reaction, said,

"Hey, hey, what's wrong? Did I say something?"

Releasing another sob, she looked up at him with puffy, red eyes and replied,

"No,no, it's-it's just that well, you-you called me Joli. No one's ever called me that except my mom, it was kinda' her nickname for me, ever since I was a little cub."

Mohatu, who really couldn't stand the sight of her tears said,

"Oh, I'm so sorry, I won't call you that if it upsets you."

She looked at him and replied,

"No..no, I-I want you to."

Mohatu gave her a small smile before asking gently,

"So what happened to your mom?"

Jolina looked at him and something inside her shifted, and before she knew it, they were laying under the shade of the tree and she was telling him about her mother.

"Well, I called a large jungle my home, ever since I can remember. It was just me and my mom, we didn't live with a pride, I never met any other lions except for seeing a rogue here and there. I don't know very much about my mom's life before the jungle, she always told me that it wasn't important. I never knew my father, and when I asked about him, all she would ever tell me was that I looked just like him and that he had died the day I as born, but that he had loved me very much. I didn't have many friends that I could play with, so I was always off exploring on my own or with her. She was like my best friend, when I was a cub she used to tell me legends and stories about a wonderful pride and its brave kings and queens, I could listen to her story- telling for hours. I have never been closer to anyone... Anyways, one morning I woke up before she did, as always, and went for a walk. When I came back, I found a lion, one I'd never seen, laying dead near our den. I panicked and soon found my mom, she was severely injured, but still breathing, barely, and after she told me a few things, she was...gone. I-I didn't know what to do." Jolina was know openly crying, but she continued, "So, I just ran through the night, not hardly stopping when I reached the desert. Rafiki found me, as you know, in the middle of the desert and brought me here." she finished.

"Oh, that's-that's awful, I'm so sorry." Mohatu whispered.

"I don't even know how it happened. I mean, why would some strange lion attack my mother."

"I-I don't know." he replied.

It's just like, she was there one minute and the next...gone." Jolina whimpered.

Mohatu placed a comforting paw on her shoulder and said, "Yeah, I know what you mean."

Jolina looked up and said, "You do?"

"Yeah, I lost both my parents, my pride, and my home..." he whispered.

"What happened to them?" Jolina asked.

Mohatu suddenly turned and walked away from her, and sat down with his back facing her. His large frame was visibly shaking as he tried to keep his own tears at bay. Jolina softly approached and said,

"You don't have to tell me, I understand."

But the lion shook his head and said,

"No, I want to tell you, you deserve to know." And so he began.

"I spent most of my cub-hood playing and exploring like most other cubs. Our kingdom was plentiful and safe, and our pride was large. As I grew into an adult, it seemed that everything was perfect, then one day, a pair of rogues came, asking to speak with the king, that they had urgent news. They were both kinda' scrawny and worn looking, and they told my father-."

"Wait," Jolina interrupted. "Your father, your father was the...king?"

"Oh yeah, I guess I forgot to mention that," he shrugged.

"But if your father was the king, that would make you the prince!" she said.

"Yeah..I guess I was at one point, but that seems like a lifetime ago." he said distantly.

Jolina patiently waited for him to continue.

"Anyways, those rogues told my dad that terrible things were coming, and that he needed to evacuate the pride immediately, if we were to survive. My dad was a wise king, but I guess he figured that the two lions were either deranged or trying to stir up trouble, because he welcomed them to food and rest, then sent them on their way. I don't really blame him, that kingdom had been in our family for generations, and it's not exactly easy to take a pride of thirty some lions out of their home to aimlessly wander for a new territory. After that life went on normally, until about three months later the rains just...stopped. The land slowly became drier and drier, and I guess some of the lions began to remember the rogues' prophecy because an old lion and a group of young adults, many who were my friends, came to my dad asking permission to leave. My dad couldn't force them, especially in those conditions to stay, so they left. They were the lucky ones, they got out in time. The land continued to wither away, and one night, somehow a fire was started, and it consumed half the kingdom before we even realized what was happening. That fire took the life of hundreds of animals-including my mother's...

(Flashback)

The young lion could only stare as a huge blaze ravaged the dry land. He could hear the screams of many animals who hadn't been fast enough, and were devoured by the fire. His father was quickly gathering a large group of lionesses and their cubs and sending them to the other side of the kingdom, out of reach of the dangers of the smoke and flames. But then the lion noticed that someone was missing from the group..his mother. Turning back toward the fast-approaching blaze, he saw a dark figure running just ahead of it. He immediately recognized the lioness.

"Mom!" he yelled as he ran toward her. He had almost reached her when a blazing tree fell just in front of him, he barely got out of the way, and his fur was singed. Looking up he saw that the path to his mother was completely cut off. All he could do was watch as the dark lioness was trapped by a ring of flames.

"Mohatu Run! You can't stay here!" she screamed.

"No mom, I can't leave you!" he cried.

"You must! Be brave, my son. I love you." and those were the lioness's last words before the fire closed in around her. The lion could only watch in horror as the flames consumed his mother, the last of her he would ever see were her terrified blue eyes pouring straight into his, as her screams of agony cut through the night and ripped through his soul. The next thing the lion knew was that another lion, his father, was shoving him toward the rest of the pride.

(End of Flashback)

Mohatu stopped, the tears that had been gathering in his sad blue eyes, began to spill, but he quickly wiped them away and continued.

"Like I said that fire took many lives, and the few animals that had managed to escape, fled, never to return. And why would they, the sparse vegetation that had held on through the drought had been wiped out. A couple of months rolled by and one-by-one, lionesses began to disappear. Sometimes we'd find them dead out in the wasteland and some just never came back. It just kept happening until we were down to about seven lions, my dad and me included. Most of the lionesses left were in their prime, and extremely loyal to my dad. One of them though, was young, even younger than me, and when I happened to be walking by one day, out of nowhere, she attacked me. I was still very weak from the burns and this lioness had death in her eyes, she would've ripped my throat out if the other lionesses hadn't of pulled her off me. Then she turned on them...they had no choice but to kill her. I guess the lack of food and the painful losses we had suffered were too much for her and she just snapped. But the worst part of it was..that she...she was my little sister." Mohatu could no longer push away the tears as an overwhelming feeling of guilt, regret, and loss slammed into him. After a moment of sobs that shook him, Jolina stepped closer to him and nuzzled his shoulder.

"I'm so sorry." she whispered.

This seemed to give him strength because he continued his tale.

"Then one day, I saw the group of lionesses talking to my dad. I wasn't close enough to hear, but I saw my dad nod sadly, and the group came over to me. The oldest lioness said that they couldn't stay any longer and that they'd asked my dad to come, but he wouldn't, but said he wanted them to take me with them. 'Will you come?' she asked. The question shocked me, but I knew the answer. 'No, I-I need to stay here with my dad, but thanks anyways and good luck.' And with that the remnants of our once mighty pride was gone. My dad was taking everything really hard and one morning...

(Flashback)

The young lion woke to blood-stained sunlight pouring into the den that he now shared only with his dad. Noticing his father wasn't there he quickly stood and walked out. Looking around the area, he saw a sight that had become all too familiar, his father laying on the spot where his mother had been buried. The lion was about to walk away and give his father some privacy, but he noticed that his father's form was being very still...too still.

"Please..no," he thought as he ran to his father's side. But it was too late, the once wise and gentle king's eyes were closed, his body, that had seemed to age in a matter of months, stiff and cold...he was gone. This was too much, the pain he'd been able to hold back at the death of his mother, sister, friends, and his land could no longer be no longer be kept at bay. He let out a long, loud, sorrow-filled roar that the dead land echoed back. Then, viciously, he started to tear at the hard earth, he continued this process until the sun was setting. He climbed out of the deep hole, and gently placed the body of his father in the grave, next to those of his mother and sister, and buried him with the pile of dirt and his own tears. After the hard task was done, a sickening thought hit him as he sat near his family's graves, now that his father had passed, he was the king. Looking out across the scorched land, he almost laughed. He began loudly shouting,

"Yes, I am King now! King of this withered wasteland, leader of a great pride that no longer exists, ruler of this broken and scarred kingdom..."

(End of Flashback)

"I didn't have anywhere else to go, so I just stayed. I guess at one point I hoped that some lions would show up and I could leave with them, but none ever came. Then I waited for the only thing I knew I could count on...death. I lasted for about a month before the pain and hunger were just too much. I couldn't take it anymore, so I just... gave up. I guess around that time you found me."

Mohatu's tears were spilling over freely, covering his mane in soft, wet pearls. The story he'd just shared was too sad for her to offer words of comfort, so she did the only thing she could, she nuzzled her head against his chin and mane. Despite his sorrow, he was slightly surprised by the gesture, but he then pulled her closer into him and rested his chin on her delicate head. As they intimately embraced, neither pulled away. They remained there, tears intermingling, as they held and comforted one another...

A/N: All I can say after that is I hope you review and I appreciate your feedback. *Nantsingonyama*