1) There are a couple of scenes that I would take some time to revise but I guess the one that I really want to fix is the Pack v. Pride War, the battle scenes were way too vague and some things were just a bit choppy in my opinion. I like the results of the battle, just not the battle itself, I didn't really go into much detail with that.

2) Like I'd tell all of you. But I think if I was in their position, I'd just be happy, not even thinking about anything else other than his return.

Anyway, here is the newest chapter and we are back in the present. Just a little heads up, I've joined the new Creative Writing Club at school so that's going to take a ton of time from my writing so updates are going to be lagging. I hope you can all deal with that, I love you all, and here is the newest chapter! Review people!

-X-

Timon paced back and forth in worry as Pumbaa watched him. "I can't believe this happened!" Timon exclaimed in disbelief. "The entire Pride Lands…burnt to a crisp! Oh, this is no time for sitting back; we've got to find who did this and make them pay!"

"That's the thing" Pumbaa exhaled. "All of the witnesses say that the attackers were the Black Pride, which make sense, they never really liked the Great Kingdoms in the first place. But they've never had a reason to attack us before, so why now of all times? What was their true objective?"

Tamina shrugged from where she was sitting and eating her fourth bowl of grubs prepared by Ma. "Perhaps they got word that Tau was there and they wanted to get rid of him and his son for good? That's the only logical reasoning I can come up with."

"Same here" Pumbaa sighed. "But how did they know?"

It's been about half a day since Pumbaa separated from the rest of the creatures of the Pride Lands. He decided that it would be a good idea to check on the oasis and inform Timon of what was going on. He knew that Kiara and Mosi would be able to deal with the mass of creatures just fine on their own. And he could only hope to see Simba and his group come as well.

Twitch jumped down from the top of the tallest tree and landed right next to Timon. "I see the king, queen, as well as seven other lions with them. I can't tell if their all from the Pride Lands so that's going to be your own judgment."

"Seven others, that's two extra, are you sure you didn't miscount?" asked Timon.

"Maybe they fund two stragglers" Ma suggested.

"Or perhaps they've taken some of the attackers as prisoners for questioning" Tamina added casually.

"Either way, I thank you, Chief Twitch" Pumbaa bowed. "You have been a great help to me and the rest of the Pride Lands. I do hope that accommodating seven lions will not be too much trouble on you and your colony."

"None at all" Twitch chuckled whole heartedly. "It's the least we can do after what happened and besides, you and Simba are friends to this colony. It would've never caused trouble among the other meerkats to have you all stay."

"Thank you." Pumbaa, followed by Twitch, Timon, and Tamina who was leaning on Ma for support, walked to the edge of the Oasis to greet the traveling group of lions. As soon as they go there, they could see Simba running up to them and then giving Pumbaa a big hug.

"I'm so glad you made it out of there okay" Simba breathed. "I was so worried when I saw those injuries on you."

"It's fine" Pumbaa chuckled as the pulled apart. "But I am more concerned about those two other lions with you." The warthog stepped away from the king and was examining Shujaa and Imara, the only lions he couldn't recognize.

"Judging by their fur, I'm guessing they're the enemy" Tamina grinned. "Is it okay if I go rough them up a bit? You know; a little torture until I can get them to squeal?"

Without giving them so much as a second to reply, Tamina was just about to go at them if Timon hadn't restrained her. "You are in no condition to do anything physical in your current state. Besides, for all we know, they might be friends."

Tau stepped forward in their defense. "Trust me, they are."

"Well all right" she shrugged.

"Where is everyone else?" asked Kovu as he looked around. "Where are Kiara and my cubs? Pumbaa, if you're here then so should they, right?"

"They went on ahead to the Southern Kingdom" Twitch told him. "There is absolutely no need to worry about any of them. They've got a huge group of various and seemingly strong animals with them, I doubt any creature will bother them. The princess seems to be doing an excellent job at leading them."

"Kiara is? That's great" Nala breathed.

Kopa nodded in agreement. "I'm glad to hear that they're all fine but I really wish I could see Neo right now…Maybe we should get a move on, we'll be able to catch up! Pumbaa, when did you and the rest of the group separate?"

"Hours ago" Tamina answered. "The only way to catch up to them is at the Southern Kingdom or if they decided to take a rest stop for the last few hours."

"Nice way of putting it" Vitani muttered.

Afua yawned and then grimaced when he heard his stomach growl loudly. "And this may be just me but I think we're all too tired and hungry to keep on moving. We should be taking a rest stop ourselves before we collapse from exhaustion."

"Well why didn't you say so?" Ma inquired. "Come on, we'll take you guys to the closest water hole here."

"Okay" Imara started. "Am I the only one who's struck by the fact that a bunch of meerkats and lions are acting like friends and that nothing is strange about one of the top and one of lowest in the food chain is communicating with each other?"

"No, I'm with you" Shujaa muttered.

"Same here" Tau sighed.

"You'll get used to it" Vitani chuckled. "Now come on, I am completely dehydrated!"

-X-

A blue bird landed on Tojo's shoulder and reported back to the elder. "Thank you, you are dismissed."

"Well?" Mheetu asked impatiently.

"Both King Kanu and Malka have agreed to come see us" Tojo told the king. "Apparently, battles have broken out around their kingdoms as well with their minor prides and Hasani's forces. They believe that it may be time as well."

"I see…" Mheetu sighed. "I was worried about this happening but we have no choice, do we? Things have gotten way out of paw and now a full scale war is going to break out amongst all the animals."

"I've always been grateful that I wasn't born during wartime" Tojo told him. "You were born right before Scar's reign; you suffered much worse than I did. Our inexperience may lead to our downfall in this war but we have something those war hardened soldiers don't."

"What's that?"

"We have heart" Tojo smiled. "While the veterans know about war, we know about peace. We know what it's like to live in calmer and peaceful times so we will want to keep it that way. We won't be fighting for the sake of winning or becoming stronger but for freedom. I know that that's what Hasani is aiming for as well but I have a feeling that we will come out victorious."

Mheetu scrunched up his face. "He was born during peace as well."

"True, but he lived without the love he needed" Tojo told him. "You suffered more but you became pure because you had the love of your mother and your sister to keep your heart clean. Hasani lost love after love and each time they were reborn into something new for him, but he became tired of the cycle, he lost his ability to recognize the love that follows him."

"I see…" Mheetu nodded. "You know, sometimes I really feel like you're the one who deserves the throne, not me."

Tojo chuckled in amusement. "Trust me; you are much more level headed between the two of us and the members of this pride trust you more than they do me. The qualities in a king do not count in their knowledge, experience, or strength but their beliefs and the trust their people put in him. That's how I knew you were the right choice to be king."

Mheetu smiled at his friend's compliments but his attention was averted when a certain lioness walked in. "Uncle Mheetu? I hope I'm not interrupting anything important but I'd like to know what's going on right now."

"You're not interrupting anything at all Kiara" Mheetu told her. "I can understand if you're worried for your mate and parents. I'm missing my sister, your mother, right now as a matter of fact."

The princess nodded. "Tojo, did your any of your bluebirds find them yet?" Kiara asked, getting straight to the point.

Tojo nodded with a smile in reply. "They just came back with a message telling me that they are all fine and at the oasis at the current moment. Apparently, Kovu wouldn't stop asking questions about you, wondering if you and the cubs were safe and all."

"Typical" Kiara rolled her eyes but smiled nonetheless. She became solemn rather quickly as she was reminded of the other reason for entering this den. "And what about Hasani? What are we going to be doing about him if it is confirmed to be his doing for the destruction of the Pride Lands?"

"We don't know for sure if it was him who did it" Mheetu muttered before giving her the known facts. "But it has been confirmed that he has started fighting with the other Great Kingdoms directly. He has sent his forces there to charge attacks on minor prides living under the ruling of the Northern and Western Kingdoms."

Kiara frowned in confusion. "What about here in the Southern Kingdom?"

Mheetu simply shrugged in response as he looked to Tojo for an answer. But the older lion didn't seem to know much either. "For the most part, he has left us alone, I don't have any idea why but I do know that we shouldn't let our guard down either way. We are having a little meeting with all the kings of the Great Kingdoms as well as representative from every minor pride to discuss these issues."

"So then…Are we going into war?" Kiara asked.

Mheetu hesitated but knew that his niece deserved to know the straight truth, she wasn't a little cub anymore. "It seems likely…"

Kiara grimaced, she had hoped that every bad thing going on had died down so that her cubs wouldn't have to be exposed to adulterated problems but it seemed that it was already too late for that. She had hoped and pleaded with the Great Kings of the Past, that her cubs would be born and raised in a time of peace and prosperity. A war is not what she wanted. "What are we going to do? What are the cubs going to do?"

"Kiara, I understand that you're never been in this kind of situation before but you need to remain calm" Tojo instructed. "Your cubs and all the other young ones will be kept safe for the entire duration of the war so they won't be exposed to the bloodshed and cruelty of the battlefield just yet. There is absolutely nothing to be worried about."

"Saying that there's 'nothing to worry about' is a major exaggeration" Mheetu muttered.

"Shush!"

"No, it's fine" Kiara assured them. "I just hope that my cubs will find some time to have fun before everything goes down."

"I know what you mean."

-X-

Ashanti was having a lot more fun than she was expecting with the other cubs from the Pride Lands. She had expected some depressed young cubs since they had just lost their home but the rumors were true, lions from the Eastern Kingdom were very brave. But she knew to steer clear of the topic of their burned home.

"This place is so cool!" Amali smiled. "I can't believe that we've never been here before!"

"Well it is miles away" Neo reasoned but he was enjoying exploring the Southern Kingdom as well.

Kianu seemed to be the only who wasn't enjoying the exploration, he liked being with the other cubs but he just couldn't help thinking about his father and the fact that it was the Black Pride that had attacked them. It felt horrible to think that the pride that had betrayed you in the past would return to destroy their new home. So, one could easily assume that Kianu blamed himself for the destruction of the Pride Lands.

Kioni noticed how the golden was lagging behind so he decided to join the other cub. "You seem awfully quiet, is something wrong? If it's about your dad, I'm sure he's fine, he with some of the best fighters in the Pride Lands."

Kianu noticed the uncertainty in her voice but decided to ignore it, thinking that it would be better to leave her with that mindset rather than altering it negatively. "I'm just worried is all…And I kind of think it's my fault for what happened to your home. The Black Pride followed me and my father all the way there, even after months. If I hadn't irked those scavengers that chased us into your kingdom, you wouldn't even have to deal with me right now."

"Don't say things like that!" Kioni quickly shook her head. "You're a lot of fun when you show the real you so I don't regret meeting you or anything. Besides, my mom says that it's useless to think about the 'what ifs' because we can't change the past but we can work towards the future."

Kianu frowned. "How do we do that? The Pride Lands are gone."

"Silly. The Pride Lands aren't gone, just depleted, the land will grow back and then we can return. After that, the herds will slowly start to come back. It happened after Scar's reign, it can happen again. So don't ever say something is gone forever."

"So it's like the Circle of Life?"

"It is the Circle of Life, Kianu. Life dies but it comes back, sometimes, the next generation turns out better than the last. So that's why we have to work to make the Pride Lands even better than it was before."

Kianu smiled, he had to admire the princess's optimism; it was truly contagious. "Yeah, you're right; we'll make the Pride Lands twice or maybe three times more amazing than it was before."

Ashanti looked behind her to see that Kianu and Kioni were falling behind and talking animatedly to each other. She turned to her other step-cousin, Kito. "Is that your sister's boyfriend?" she snickered in curiosity.

Kito looked back to his sister and then grinned. "As far as I know, oh yeah. Those two are closer than my mom and dad are."

"That is such an exaggeration" Amali drawled. She stopped there and tilted her head to the side before nodding in semi-agreement. "And yet it's a fairly accurate description of their relationship at the same time."

Neo gagged. "I don't get what the fuss is all about when it comes to love! I think it's kind of gross how intimate mates become and they just seem so shameless."

"I know right?" Kito chuckled. "Mom says that I'll understand when I'm older but I know for a fact that I am going to prefer to be without a mate for a long time." He ran up to the top of some rocks to emphasize his speech. "But I'll prove that I don't need a queen to be happy, it'll be the members of my pride and my land that I protect that bring me happiness."

"As noble as that sounds" Ashanti grinned as she pushed Kito off of the rocks. By now, Kioni and Kianu had caught up and were now curiously watching the show. "I think love is a beautiful thing and it doesn't matter the age, gender, or bloodline. I know this for a fact because I love my dad even though he's not my real dad. So when I grow up, I'm going to use this logic when picking a mate because I have this wonderful feeling whenever I'm with the ones I love and who love me back."

"Okay, you're delusional" Kito scoffed.

"Better to hold onto delusions than give up on love" Ashanti retorted.

Kito frowned. "Do you really want to start a fight with me?"

"Please, I'd beat you in two seconds flat."

"Like Kianu!" Kioni chimed.

Everyone but Kito and Neo burst out in fits of laughter. "Oh, come on, lighten up you two" Amali told the princes in between giggles. "I've said this like a million times to Kianu but I think it's a first for me to tell you two to do that."

"Anyway" Ashanti said after she had finished laughing. "Why don't we take a break from this little tour? We can get a drink over there."

The cubs were all taking a break by the water hole, trying to relax their tired paws after all the walking they did today. Kito didn't seem very happy anymore though nor did he look as lively as the others. "I miss dad" he finally sighed after his sister prodded him.

"I know what you mean" Neo muttered. "Except for me, it's both my parents. We've been in the Southern Kingdom for two days already and still no signs of them. I'm starting to get excessively worried about them."

"Well you can't be so negative" Kioni told them. "I'm sure dad will come back. Not just him but grandpa Simba, grandma Nala, uncle Kopa, auntie Vitani, and uncle Afua too!"

"You can't risk being too positive sometimes" Amali told her best friend. "Besides, if you're negative then it won't hurt as much is they don't show up." That's when the cub broke down crying. "But I miss daddy so much! I never got to know mommy and now I might never see daddy again."

The other cubs stood up from where they sat and tried to console her. It seemed that none of them had much luck at that since most of them were desperately wishing their parents were with them as well. "Amali, please don't cry because when you cry it makes me want to cry" Neo tried. He sniffed as he tried to hold back his tears.

They all stopped trying to cheer one another up when Neo started crying and now Kioni was close to breaking down as well. Kito just laid there in his paws, trying to ignore the tears that hit the ground and sound of youthful ragged breathing. Kianu wanted so badly to cry but he was so used to being his father's brave warrior that he's forgotten how to even shed a single tear.

"There's still hope" Kianu reminded himself, his voice just barely above a whisper. "If those two made it in time then they would've saved them. They're probably coming back right now and they're just going to tell us that they had to stop to tend to their wounds."

Kito looked up and approached the slightly larger cub. "What two?"

"N-nothing, I didn't say anything."

"Yes you did."

The other cubs looked up from where they were sulking to watch them.

It didn't take very long for Kianu to finish contemplating on whether or not he should tell them, he just hoped they wouldn't take it the wrong way. "Before we left the Pride Lands, I bumped into these two lions from the Black Pride. They told me that they knew my father and that they were there to help. I believed them so I told them how to get my father and the rest of the older lions where they were fighting."

"You did what?" Kito yelped in disbelief.

"Now hold on, before you jump to conclusions" Ashanti stopped him. "Did these two lions give you any factual evidence that they knew and were friends with your father?"

"Well…No" Kianu admitted which only riled up Kito more. "But I knew I could trust them."

"You could've sent assassins at them!" Kito shouted at the other cub.

"Stop!" Ashanti tried but the prince ignored her.

Kito got right up in Kianu's face and for once, the former rogue didn't fight back or rise up against him. "They could be dead right now and it's your entire fault! Even your own dad! You're the one who put them in danger and now they may never come home!"

Kianu snarled. "I knew I could trust them!"

"How do you know that?!"

"I just did!"

"That's a stupid reason!"

Kito lunged at Kianu and they started fighting each other, claw, tooth, and fur. It was nothing like the play fights the two of them usually had. The other cubs forgot about their worries and quickly tried to intervene.

"Stop it you two!" Kioni tried.

"You're just making matters worse!" Amali added.

But the two of them were simply ignored and they both recoiled when blood was spilt, whose it was, they weren't sure. But they just knew they had to stop it. "Which is the stronger one?" Ashanti quickly asked.

Kioni didn't know why it mattered but answered anyway. "Kianu."

"Amali, you go get an adult, I'll restrain Kianu and you two do the same with Kito" Ashanti ordered. "Do it now before they end up killing each other."

"But if we jump in then we're going to get caught up in that mess!" Neo told her as Amali ran off. "And you can't stop Kianu by yourself."

Ashanti rolled her eyes. "Fine, I'll stop them both, you two stand back; this could get ugly." Ashanti watched the struggle until she had found the perfect opening; she shot off like a lightning bolt and squeezed herself in between the two cubs. She pushed them apart easily enough but now came the difficult part.

She could see the claw marks and blood dripping from Kito's side so she knew that she could ignore him for a few seconds while she dealt with the more threatening cub. Kianu tried to leap over the Southern princess but she made a high jump over him and fell on top. Kianu growled from underneath her body weight but she just rolled out of the way of his attacks and then pounced on Kito, holding him down while keeping in mind of his injury.

Ashanti was breathing heavily as she tried to hold down the prince. "you two, hold down Kianu before he gets back up."

It was too late for that, Kianu got up swiftly and tried to go at Ashanti this time, thankfully, Neo and Kioni barreled into him and held him down. It was pretty clear that they weren't thinking very clearly anymore as they were still trying to get at each other's throats.

Ashanti was momentarily distracted by the close call which gave Kito the chance to throw her off of him. His breath came out heavy and ragged and he staggered towards Kianu but before he could even reach them, a loud roar echoed, causing them all to freeze.

They slowly turned to see that Amali had completed her task sooner than they had been expecting for standing next to her, were Mheetu and Kiara. "Enough" both adults growled.

-X-

Sorry if everything seems a bit choppy or off. I was trying to complete this quickly so that I could update. As you should know, I've become even busier than ever before so the updates are going to be getting a lot slower from her e on out. I hope you can all deal with that. Oh, and because of my busier schedule, there will be no more questions, plus, I'm tired anyway. Hope you all have been good and please leave a review! See you all next time!