Here's chapter twenty and please review. Thanks to my reviewers below.
Amber: Yes that chapter was sad…but this chapter…well just keep reading to find out what I mean. And don't worry, I don't mind long reviews. In fact, I love them. The longer the review the better. Thank you for reviewing my friend and I hope you like this chapter.
.7: Yup that was quite a twist. Thanks for reviewing and enjoy the chapter.
Sherrylonglegs: You will see what happens to all the families at the end of this chapter. Thanks for taking the time to review. I really appreciate it. Anyways, I hope you enjoy the chapter.
S-techno: If you thought that chapter was emotional, just wait until you finish this one. Yes, I love the sibling bond between Nala and Tojo as well. Yeah, Tojo must be heart broken right now. I would say more, but I don't want to spoil anything for you. Thanks for reviewing, I really appreciate it. I hope you like the chapter.
posiedonera333: I'm glad you liked it. Thanks for reviewing and enjoy this chapter.
Doclover: Yeah it was a bit predictable. I know the last chapter was emotional…but read this one. I don't want to spoil anything. Anyways, thanks for reviewing and enjoy this chapter.
Nala's fan: Yes I loved Shinda as well. And I'm glad you're back to reviewing. Anyways, thanks for leaving a review and I hope you like this chapter.
Balto90: Thanks for the review my friend. I really appreciate it. I hope you like this chapter.
BlackLouie: Yes, Shinda was one of my favorite characters too. Just keep reading to find out more…I don't want to spoil anything. Thanks for the review and enjoy the chapter.
With new anger fueling him, Simba ran straight at his father who was battling dangerously with Runju.
"Forgot about your damn rivalry!" Simba thought.
"Call of the war!" Simba roared at Mufasa.
"Simba get out of here or you'll be the next one that I'm fighting!" Mufasa growled.
Just as Mufasa got ready to lunge at Runju again, Runju jumped on Simba and before he could react, he was being pinned down by Runju.
"Runju!" Mufasa growled, advancing on him. "If you put another claw on him-"
"Move any closer and I'll rip his throat out!" Runju roared for the whole battle field to hear him. Mufasa froze, knowing that if he moved even an inch, Simba would be killed.
"No!" Nala ran towards them but then skidded to a stop when Runju tightened his grasp around Simba's neck.
"No…" Nala begged. "Don't do it! You're not going to gain anything out of this!"
"It'll teach you a very important lesson…" Runju hissed. "Never disobey me!"
The Pridelanders tried making their way towards them but the River Pride blocked them and Nala realized that she was completely stuck. No one could help her.
"Talk." Nala thought. "It's always better than violence."
"I'll do anything you want…" Nala hissed. "I promise. Just let him go."
"It's too late Nala!" Runju growled. "You should have thought of the consequences of your actions before you did them!"
"That's about me! Not him!" Nala cried. "Let him go! Or take me!"
"Wait…" Simba choked out from the pressure on his neck. "I'll make a deal with you. You and I have a one on one battle. Just you and I. If you win…you can kill me as you please. But if I win…you call of this war."
Runju eyed him carefully. He had fought Simba earlier and he had proven to be a tough match. But Runju had been doing fine with him until Nala had run in.
Besides, Simba had taken more injuries than him. He was in bad condition.
"Very well." Runju cautiously let him up. "But I'll warn you…you are going to lose and suffer a very painful death."
"That's a risk I'll take for my Pride." Simba growled and looked around at all three Pride's staring at them.
"Stay back!" He growled at everyone and pushed Nala away so she wouldn't get hit.
Without a warning, Runju lunged at him and raked his claws down his fur and he roared in pain. He swung his paw against Runju's head barely missing his eye. He threw Runju onto the ground and tried pinning him down but Runju pushed him off and he landed on the ground, gritting his teeth from the pain.
Akila stood beside Nala closing his eyes every time Simba took a hit. He turned to Mufasa. "Let me help him."
"No Akila." Mufasa's voice was surprisingly quiet and his eyes were full of grief as he realized how much his son was willing to do to protect his Pride. "This is their fight."
Nala watched them holding back tears knowing that there was good a chance that Simba wouldn't even survive the fight. He already had too many injuries. Across from her the River Pride was watching their king, with Sarafina at the head. Her eyes held the same grief as Nala's did.
Simba and Runju's fight went on for at about another half hour before Runju managed to shove Simba near the gorge.
"No!" Nala sobbed, trying to make her ways towards them but Akila held her back.
Simba struggled to get up, his legs shaking and refusing to hold him up. He was covered in blood just as Runju was but Runju's injuries were minor compared to Simba's.
"I warned you that you would lose and suffer a painful death." Runju hissed, holding Simba down.
"Get up Simba." Mufasa whispered, his heart pounding with fear. "You are strong. Get up." He knew if he moved even an inch, Runju would kill Simba instantly.
Simba could barely keep from crying out in pain. He could barely see what was in front of him, let alone block Runju's blows. He knew it was the end. He had failed at protecting his Pride.
Through hazy vision, he saw Runju's bringing his paw down to slash his throat. But just as he was a flash of pale creamy fur flashed in front of him protecting from the hit.
"Nala!" He gasped out and tried to sit up. He silently screamed at his legs to hold him up but they wouldn't.
Runju let out a roar of fury at his daughter and tried to strike Simba again. Nala jumped in front of him taking full force of the hit. The impact of the blow sent her flying down the gorge.
"No!" Simba roared. "Nala!" He stumbled onto his feet and sprinted to the edge of the gorge along with Runju and many other lions both from the River Pride and Pridelands.
Simba looked down just in time to see a pale creamy body being swallowed up by the water.
"No…no…this isn't real. You're dreaming…wake up…wake up!" Simba screamed at himself but it was no use. He tried roaring out but no sound came out.
He wanted to scream, to yell to kill everyone on the battle field but he couldn't.
He could do nothing.
He knew it was true.
Nala was dead.
"NO!" Simba roared. "NALA!" Tears began streaming down his eyes, realizing that she was dead.
"No…no she can't be dead!" Simba mentally screamed at himself. "I can't live without her…let me die too!" Akila seemed to realize what his older brother was thinking and stepped in front of Simba so he couldn't jump into the gorge.
"Nala!" Sarafina sprinted towards the gorge and peered down and her eyes filled with tears as she realized her daughter wasn't anywhere to be seen.
"No! No!" She crashed down on the ground weeping.
Tama rushed to edge of the gorge nearly falling as she peered down the side. Her eyes went wide with horror as she realized there was no sign of Nala.
Simba's friends came to his side all of them mourning for their friend. But Simba couldn't feel any grief anymore.
All he could feel was fury.
"What have you done!?" He turned on Runju roaring at him. Runju's eyes were wide with horror as he realized that he had thrown Nala to her death.
I…I…" For once Runju was out of words.
"She warned you!" Simba roared. "She warned you that you would lose more than what you would gain! What did you gain out of this! If you keep going, every single lion here will be killed! That goes for you too!" He whipped around growling at Mufasa who was still stunned at Nala's death.
"Last chance," Simba hissed at both of them. "Call off this war!"
"I agree with Simba!" Came a new voice. Asante was limping towards them.
"What the hell are you talking about?!" Simba demanded. "Why do you care!?"
"This war was to take my anger out on you two." Asante hissed. "Only my daughter paid the price for it."
"What?" Simba asked.
"Riya's dead!" Asante growled. "She died in a war that I ordered to fight! I wanted to take my anger out and win but I didn't. And my daughter had to pay the price!" Ashanti was standing a little ways off with tears streaming down her eyes.
"I'm calling off the war on my part." Asante hissed. "My Pride is leaving now." He turned to his Pride and nodded at them. He took the lead as they began the long walk home.
"See!" Simba growled. "Nala's dead because of you! She tried to tell you but no! You two just had to prove that you were better than each other!"
"Simba…" Runju growled. "I-"
"No!" Simba shoved him back. "You don't get the right to talk here! You're the one who threw Nala to her death!"
Runju's face was stricken. "I was aiming for you! She got in my way. If I had known that she would have jumped in front of you, I would have never struck again!"
"I'm only saying this one more time!" Simba roared, looking at the Pridelanders and the River Pride lions. All of them were covered with injuries and most of them were mourning for the ones they had lost.
None of them were in good condition.
"Look at what this rivalry has done to us!" Simba growled. "It took too many lives! Shinda, Nala and many others! We have spilled enough blood tonight! This rivalry ends tonight!"
"I second that!" Kudeka came up to them.
"What?" Simba asked.
"Shinda's dead…" Kudeka hissed. "A lioness from the River Pride killed her! A lioness from her rightful home! I'm done fighting." Then she turned to Runju speaking to him so only Simba would hear them.
"You spent a lifetime wanting to be King. Spent all those years waiting to grow up so you could be free of our father. You tried to get rid of me so you could step up to power. " Kudeka said. "And now what Runju? You are worse than Ares! Your daughter died trying to unite the Pride's and if you can't honor that…I would honestly rather have Ares as the King."
Runju's eyes filled with deep grief. He knew that Kudeka had hated Ares more than anything in the world. If she hated him more than Ares…he knew that he had crossed the line.
"You will lose more than what you gain." Nala's voice echoed through his head and he held back tears. She had been right. The only thing he had gained out of the rivalry was his proudness and reputation. But Nala? She had been worth more than that. Only he had been too blind to see that.
"What have I done?" Runju thought to himself.
It was too late to change the past. Runju knew that. But it wasn't too late for the future. The rivalry between the Prides was in the past. He could never have a future if he didn't let go of the past.
It was time to let go of the past.
Turning to both Pride's, he let the rain wash through his mane and he closed his eyes thinking of Nala. "This is for you Nala…I did what you wanted me to do…you were right. It's too late for me to help you…but I'll help the others…I promise. I hope you're proud my daughter." His eyes teared up but it blended in with the rain water.
He turned to Mufasa whose eyes still had deep grief in him.
"Let this end tonight Mufasa." Runju said. "This is for my daughter and all the others who lost their lives in our blindness. I can ask for no more except for forgiveness."
Mufasa sighed silently; he had spent a lifetime following in the paw prints of his ancestors, keeping the rivalry alive and teaching his sons and the others to do the same. He had been blinded by it. What had he done? Simba had finally showed how wrong he had been.
"And I too, Runju." Mufasa said softly. "And I too. It is time to unite the Pride's."
One by one, the two Pride's bowed to each other. A feeling of peace settled in the air around them. Finally, after generations of hating, it was over.
They were one.
Simba looked around with mixed emotions. He felt happiness and relief at the sight of the two united Pride's.
But it had taken Nala's life for it to happen.
"Why…why was it you?" Simba thought choking up again. He silently told himself to keep it together, not to break down in front of both Pride's. He could mourn later.
"Let's go home now." Runju said to everyone. "We will heal both mentally and physically…then both Pride's will join for a funeral so we can mourn those who sacrificed themselves so we could have this peace." His voice choked up a bit.
"Very well my friend." Mufasa said. "I will see you soon." Nodding, Runju turned and his Pride followed him home.
Tama, Kula and Shari were left in.
"You three," Runju turned to them but there was a sorrowful smile on his face. "I was wrong before. You may choose where you go."
Tama wanted to stay in the Pridelands…but she wanted to stay with the River Pride just a for a while. That was the only way she could really remember Nala. She began to tear up again remembering that Nala would never be able to see the union of the Pride's.
She took one look at Kula and Shari and she knew they were thinking the same thing.
"I'll be back." Tama said. "I just want to go home for a while…for…for Nala." Mufasa nodded along with Moraan who was standing beside her. She nuzzled him before she turned and followed her Pride back home.
Simba watched them leave. What was he going to do now?
"We never should have returned." Simba thought. If only they hadn't turned back. Nala would have been alive.
"Simba." Simba turned to see his parents waiting for him.
"Come back home my little one." Sarabi said.
"I…I can't…" Simba said with his eyes filling with tears again. "Not without Nala."
"Simba…" Mufasa said softly. "What would Nala want you to do?"
Simba knew they were right. Nala would have wanted him to go back home. She would have wanted him to go with life.
Nodding he walked towards his parents and they pulled him into their embrace before they began the long walk home.
Hope you enjoyed and please review. You guys probably hate me right now. First Shinda and now Nala. But I thought this was the only way to teach the Pride's a good lesson. There's probably going to be about two or three chapters left. I don't plan on writing a sequel but I do plan on doing a story with some one shot chapters about life after the war. Would you guys want to read that? Also, for those of you who read my other story, The True Heirs, I was also planning on writing a story with a couple one shot chapters. Would you be interested in reading it? Which one first?