Every time I compare this story with my favorites, I think, what am I doing wrong? This is because two of my favorites are sequels that are still currently being written and yet they have more reviews than mine. I admit, their stories are good but I'm still jealous. A little note, updates will be a lot slower for a while, I'm now occupying the living room so I won't have as much free or private time to write. Hope you guys are okay with that. Hope this chapter is good enough so you don't go breaking down my door.

-X-

"Amazing!" gasped Tama at the sight of the ocean.

The water reflected the moon in the background and the night sky gave it an ominous feel to it. It gave them a sense of mystery and eternal beauty. Kopa seemed amused by their reactions to this sight which he had seen numerous times before.

"This lake is huge! I can't even see the other side" commented one of the Pridelanders.

"To be honest, we don't know if there's another side" chuckled Malka. "This isn't a lake, it's an ocean, and you can't see the other side because we don't know what's out there. If you keep walking along the shore, you'll never be on the other side of this vast body of water."

"What about this ground? The soil is so light and shifty, does anything even grow on this dirt?" asked Kula. Her curiosity was overpowering her rudeness from earlier.

"This isn't dirt of any kind. It's sand, sediment, broken down by the weathering of rocks and other earthy substance. The waves are strong and they break the ground here and replace it with sand" explained Pumbaa.

Everyone stared, stock still, at the warthog. The future shaman of the Pride Lands smiled sheepishly under all their stares. "Rafiki's been teaching me for quite some time now…" he explained vaguely.

"I remember my first visit here and the shocked reaction I had to the ocean and the beach. I had never seen nor felt anything more amazing" smiled Simba. But then his smiled faded when he remembered who it was that had brought him here.

Malka looked over at his friend and knew the feeling he was experiencing now. Losing loved ones from an unnatural death seems to run in the blood of kings. Kanu's grandfather was assassinated by a rogue and the heir to the current king of the Southern Kingdom was crushed in a landslide.

"I remember my reaction the Pride Lands" said Malka in an attempt to get Simba's mind off of the subject of his father. "When I had asked, where the ocean was and you looked at me funny, like I was this huge freak or something."

"But then we became friends" reminisced Simba.

Things were silent for a while as everyone continued to watch the waves lap at the shore. The rest of the pride from the Western Kingdom turned in for sleep. It had been a while since they slept on a full stomach.

Kopa turned to King Malka with full intentions of finding out what had happened while he was gone. "King Malka, what happened here exactly? Why did the hyenas break the peace treaty?" the prince asked.

"Well, they are hyenas, it should've been obvious to never trust them" scoffed Kula.

"Kula" Tama scolded.

Malka ignored the lioness's rude comment and turned his attention to Kopa. "They attacked about a week after you and Tamina had left. But they didn't strike the pride directly; they aimed for the hunting party. That's when…" Malka found it difficult to say her name without his voice breaking. "That's when the queen was killed. We found out quickly and we tried to talk it out but they wouldn't listen to reason. We don't know why they broke the treaty; we just know that they declared war on us. Our pride has diminished significantly as you can see and then Kamaria died later on. That's when Jelani ran off on his own…To get help. He didn't tell anyone except Chaka who told us after he didn't return."

"I should've told you all earlier" a voice sighed from nearby.

"Chaka, you're here! And here I was thinking you were gone too" Kopa remarked as he bounded up to his old friend.

"Hey Kopa…Sorry I wasn't here to greet you earlier. I was out spying on the enemy" said Chaka with a small and hollow smile. "I found out your real name when I heard the pride inside the cave talking about you."

"You're hurt" said Kopa suddenly. Chaka blinked and looked to where the prince was looking. The Coastlander saw that one of his hind legs was bleeding from a deep gash. He had forgotten about it when he saw a pride of unfamiliar lions speaking to his king. "Yeah, I cut myself earlier. No big deal…"

"Let me take a look" said Pumbaa. The warthog walked up to the lion and studied the gash for a bit. The sight and smell of blood was enough to make the poor animal faint but he stayed strong and went out to pick the right herbs to treat it with. "Infection hasn't set in but it's best we get it treated quickly before it does" said Pumbaa as he worked.

Chaka looked over at Kopa with a raised eyebrow. "Your shaman…is a smelly warthog?"

"Yeah…Don't worry he's perfectly qualified" chuckled Kopa sheepishly.

"This also means that he is off limits for food" added Simba.

When Chaka caught sight of Simba he bowed respectfully to him. "King Simba, it is an honor to have you fight alongside us."

"Raise your head." After Chaka did so, the king of the Pride Lands continued. "I hope to resolve this issue without having to resort to violence but if it comes down to it; my pride is willing to risk their lives for yours" said Simba.

"I never signed up for that" muttered one of the Pridelanders. The lioness next to her shushed her.

Pumbaa came back with the right medicinal materials and began to treat the wound. First he disinfected the injury and then wrapped it in bandages. All of this was done with a skilled…hoof.

"How's that? It's not too tight is it?" asked Pumbaa.

Chaka was impressed by the skill this warthog had as a shaman. "That's feels much better. Thank you."

"You're welcome, it's what I do."

"Chaka, what did you see when you were over there? Is there pack expanding?" asked Malka.

Chaka shook his head. "They seemed to have stopped. I think they've decided they're going to take a break to repair any damages done to their pack and then continue their assaults on us. This really isn't good; we already don't stand a chance against so many hyenas, so how can we win?"

"Then we have two options. Either we settle this dispute peacefully or we have to find some way to ambush them and kill matriarch Shenzi" concluded Malka.

Simba froze as he stiffly turned to the other king. "Did you just say matriarch Shenzi?"

Malka was a bit unsure of what to make of Simba's peculiar reaction to the hyena pack's matriarch's name. "Yes, Shenzi, that's the name of the matriarch" nodded Malka.

"You don't think it's the same Shenzi do you?" Pumbaa asked Simba.

"It's possible…I mean, we never knew what happened to her and the rest of her pack after they were banished" reasoned Simba.

"Wait, you're telling me that the hyenas we're up against are the same ones that were working for Scar all those years ago?" questioned Chaka in disbelief. "That's insane! If they find out you're here, they might tear you apart or something."

Simba sighed and looked to where hyena territory was. "He promised me they had changed…" Simba muttered quietly. It was quiet enough so the others couldn't hear him. If they did, many questions and controversy would arise. And that was something they didn't need right now.

Almost every single hyena had fled the Pride Lands by now. The only ones that were left were Shenzi and the rest of her trio. "The three of you must pay for your crimes. Therefore I must banish all of you. You can never return to the Pride Lands" said Simba.

"I understand" said Shenzi. After everything, she was just too tired to argue with the new king. It would just be easier to just leave and start life anew. But even as she said it, there was a hint of reluctance in her voice of leaving her home.

She turned away from the king and walked away from the Pride Rock. Ed and Banzai followed close behind but when they were only a short distance away, Banzai turned and padded back to the king.

"What is it Banzai?" asked Simba. Simba's body language betrayed the ease that his tone implied. It was clear that the lion had his guard up against the hyenas.

Banzai did the last thing Simba expected him to do. Banzai bowed down to him in respect and held guilt all over his face. "I am sorry for everything we had put you through since you were cub. It was wrong of us and we have seen the errors of our ways" the hyena apologized without raising his head.

Simba felt awkward since this was really the first animal to bow to him since he became king. Actually, this was the first animal to bow down to him since his return to the Pride Lands. "Raise your head Banzai" the king instructed. Banzai did as he was told. "Despite the challenges I faced after you chased me from my home, I learned so many valuable and important lessons. I think that what happened; happened for a reason, don't forget that."

"So you forgive us for what happened? You forgive us for being involved with your father's death?"

"I learned a long time ago that it is better to forgive than to take revenge. I blamed myself for my father's death for years but when I was able to forgive myself, I found the parts of me that were missing. It's not a matter of whether or not I forgive you, but rather if you forgive yourself."

Banzai was incapable to look at Simba's face without feeling guilty but the king's words had a strong impact on Banzai. "I don't know if I will be able to forgive myself but I will try. And I promise…Us hyenas will only do what is righteous and just from now on. You can count on it."

Simba smiled. "I will…"

"A promise I couldn't keep…I've failed…" muttered Banzai with one paw in the salty water.

-X-

"Vitani, have you seen my mother?" asked Kiara. She just returned with Rafiki meditating on her back. Vitani had laughed when she saw the sight but became serious when she saw her sister-in-law's worried expression.

"I think she just came back with the rest of the hunting party. Oh, and Kovu's asleep so I suggest some quiet would be good" Vitani told her as Rafiki leapt off of Kiara's back.

"You seem very unsettled this evening, is something the matter princess?" asked the mandrill worriedly. Before she could answer, the shaman placed a hand on her forehead. Vanished and reappeared by her side to inspect it. Vanished once more and reappeared behind her and lifted up her tail.

"Whoa!" exclaimed Kiara as she jumped away from him before he could do anything more than lifting her tail. "Rafiki, I'm fine, I just need to tell my mother something."

"Ah yes, I am sorry. At this age, I get very worried that one of you may be ill and die before old Rafiki" chuckled the shaman. "Also at this age, I must sleep much more." The mandrill walked out of the den and moved his way to one of the separate caves for his residence.

"What do you need to tell Nala?" asked Vitani once the old mandrill was gone.

"I…" she glanced at the sleeping form of her mate. Kovu had the cubs protectively in a ring formed by his arms. Her voice dropped down to a whisper so as not to wake them. "I saw rogues."

Vitani lowered her voice as well. "Rogues…Are you sure?"

Kiara nodded. "I'm worried they might've come here for hostile take-over because they heard that half the pride was gone."

"That could be…But why are you keeping this from Kovu? He's the temporary ruler, shouldn't he be informed about this?"

"He's worried as it is, we don't need to add to that stress."

"Yeah, you're right about that…"

"I'm going to go find mother, you stay with Kovu and the cubs. I'll be right back."

Kiara left the den with one more worried glance at her family. She found her mother easily with her light coat standing out in the dark. And yet, she's still the second best night huntress, shocking but true.

"Mom, could I speak to you in private?" asked Kiara politely as she approached the queen.

Nala noticed her daughter's uneasy body movements and shifty eyes so she knew this had to be important. Hopefully it wasn't something to be overly concerned about. "Of course" she replied.

The two lionesses found a more secluded area where they could speak away from listening ears. Kiara sighed softly before starting. "I was out to get Rafiki earlier and on my way there, I saw rogues."

Nala knew to be wary of rogues but most were usually lost souls looking for a place to stay. "Did they look dangerous or did they say anything that we might have to concern ourselves over?" asked the queen.

"Not really…I'm not even sure if they're hostile but…I'm worried mom" sighed Kiara.

"No one ever got hurt from being too cautious…" said Nala before adding more to herself. "At least that's what Ma's motto is."

"Well Kovu has! He's driving himself out of his mind by being too cautious. It looks like he's going to just die from exhaustion!"

Nala suddenly came to a conclusion. "Ah, now I see what this is about. You're not concerned about these rogues; you're concerned about Kovu. You're afraid he's pushing himself too hard."

"Mom, what am I going to do? He won't take a single minute to relax."

"Calm down…Tell you what, Kovu is going to take tomorrow off. We'll ask Vitani to keep an eye on him to make sure of that. She'll also watch the cubs while you show me where you saw the rogues. After that, leave everything to me and you'll be relaxing along with the rest of your family…minus me."

Kiara took in another deep breath. "Thank you so much mom. How are you able to deal with all of this so easily?"

"Simple, your father was worrying over every little thing when he became king. What I'm telling you is similar advice to what Sarabi told me. I'm only passing on knowledge from one queen to another" smiled Nala.

"I really wish I could've met grandma…Is there anything else she told you that could be helpful to me in the future?"

"There is one thing. The strength of a kingdom does not lie with the king but with the queen. The king only symbolizes the nature of the kingdom, whether it is good or evil, the queen symbolizes the stability. If the animals see the queen is troubled or panicked then they will feel the same. You need to keep calm if the kingdom is to work efficiently."

Kiara listened intently to her mother's - her grandmother's words. She had never thought of being queen this way before and it put the whole kingdom in a brand new light. She now knew that the role of a queen was just as important as that of the king, if not more, the princess smiled.

-X-

"Here's what I was able to find out" said Chaka. He drew out a map in the wet sand with a claw. He marked where the most hyenas were posted and where the matriarch usually slept or positioned herself. "It seems that there are no blind spots between any of the guard posts so if it comes down to war, we may have to fight our way through the post with the least hyenas."

"But we don't want a fight" reminded Kopa. "Where are the most reasonable hyenas posted? The ones that are willing to take us to see the matriarch so we can discuss a new peace treaty."

"The most reasonable of the hyenas would be the negotiator but we haven't seen him since he told us that Jelani was dead" said Malka.

"Are we sure this is the same Shenzi and her hyenas? It seems much too organized and planned out" pointed Zazu.

"Maybe she grew a brain while she was away" muttered Kula.

"I think our best strategy is to be direct. Demand to see the matriarch and don't take no for an answer" suggested Simba.

"Why can't you guys just leave the kingdom? You know, live to fight another day. You can gather some other prides to help out and then take back your kingdom" said Tama. "Or escape completely and start anew."

"We can't. The only means of escape are either by the beach or the way you guys came here. But we can't go the same way you guys came in" said Chaka. "The distance is too far for the elderly, young, and sick. There are too many of them to transport."

"And the beach is an even worse option. Not only is the distance too far but we'll never be able to make it to freedom before high tide" explained Malka. Noticing the pridelanders' confused expressions, he continued. "High tide is when the sea level rises and floods the coast."

"Ohhhhh."

"We'll put it to a vote. All those in favor of directly going to the matriarch, say 'Aye'" said Simba.

A unanimous "Aye!" came from a large majority of the creatures.

"Hey! What's with all the 'aye'-ing?" asked Timon. He came out from behind a bush with Tamina who was fast asleep on his back.

"We just agreed on a plan for tomorrow" replied Tama. "It's nothing major or anything like that."

"What happened to Tammy?" asked Kopa. He walked over to his foster parent and his eyes widened at the sight of the large bruise on her cheek. He knew that there were hyenas roaming everywhere but he didn't think they'd run into trouble so quickly. "Who did this to her?!"

Timon was just about to tell him when he hesitated. Tamina told no one about her family life, he knew this because even when he tried to know more about her family, she'd just change the subject. It was clear she wasn't ready to tell others the truth about her. That she was just like them, with a weakness.

"She, uh, I stupidly woke up a hyena that was sleeping near the border and Tammy protected me. The hyena was about to get a blow in but then…POW! The girl took down that dog like it was a newborn pup!" Timon said not so casually. "After the visit she got tired so I'm carrying her back."

Kopa raised an eyebrow at the superfluous explanation but decided to brush it off. He knew Tamina could take care of herself. "Well, thanks for taking care of her I guess. Just to be sure, Pumbaa, would you mind?"

Pumbaa nodded and led his friend to a secluded den away from the predators. These were the warthog's temporary living quarters but now it's going to have to accommodate for two others.

"I think it's time for us to turn in as well" Simba yawned.

"Sounds like a good idea…Tomorrow we'll set out to do negotiations with the hyenas" said Malka before adding in a mutter. "I just hope it doesn't all boil down to a blood bath both sides will regret."

-X-

I didn't realize the amount of time I would actually have on the computer. Apparently, my sister hates me typing more than she hates fanfiction itself. Thankfully, whenever I have computer homework, I always type a little without her knowing. Anyway, hope you liked this chapter and don't forget to review! Until we meet again!