Time for Kiara, Kovu and Leela to put their plan into action. Enjoy.

Chapter 21

It was hard to tell when it was morning in the underground bunker, what with it being underground and all, but it seemed like morning was the time because all the other inhabitants were getting up and going to somewhere else, leaving Kiara, Kovu and Leela in their quarters, in near silence. The three of them had been up for about an hour already so Kiara could explain her plan to them. It seemed like the whole community here was busy with something else which was perfect. Kiara was about to leave to commence the first stage of per plan.

"You two know what you have to do?" She asked.

"Yeah. Don't worry. We'll be busy doing our bit." Kovu replied.

"Thank you, Kovu. We'll be able to go home after this is done. I'll make sure of it."

Kiara, doing her best to act confident, turned away and headed for the exit, but paused herself at the sound of Kovu's voice.

"And Kiara. I love you. Good luck."

"I love you too." She returned the phrase.

"Please be careful." Leela said.

"I will. Now we'd better hurry if we're going to get this done in time."

And this time Kiara left the quarters and was soon out of sight.

She had told Kovu and Leela that they were to go and keep an eye on the people here. See what they did and make sure they didn't go near the Zote Kuona chamber where Kiara was going. And they also had to keep a close watch on Ahadi and Uru to stop them from finding out, that is if they didn't already know. Right now though it looked as though all the lions were heading to the surface. Why though? Was there some kind of attack from their enemies going on? If so it would be the perfect distraction. Kovu initiated their departure from the sleeping quarters as he approached the exit.

"Come on. Sounds like their having fun without us. Lets go and see what we can do." He said.

"Lets just keep them away from Kiara for as long as possible, OK." Leela replied.

The two of them then left the room and went in the opposite direction that Kiara went, towards the crowd of lions now hurrying towards the surface. They had to push their way past numerous slow goers on their way. They were both just hoping that Kiara was successful and that she'd find a way to get them back home at the same time. But more than anything, Kovu hoped that she'd still be alive by the end of it all.

Kiara was alone in a particular tunnel that she remembered lead to the chamber where the Zote Kuona was housed. So far she hadn't come across any other living thing in the damp passageways, a good sign. She had narrowed down their options and really there had only been one viable thing for them to do. Destroy the Zote Kuona and find a way out of these lands without the help of Ahadi or Uru. It was risky but at the same time it was their best option. Soon Kiara came to the small opening in the cave wall where the passage continued for a short time before coming out into the place she wanted to be. But when she went inside there was more than the black mass of tentacles in the centre of the chamber, there was also a lion stood in front of it. He looked similar to Mufasa. Ahadi! So he and Uru did already know. But how?

"Surprised to see me?" He asked.

Kiara then realised that her mouth was agape, hanging open in surprise.

"Kind of, I suppose." She answered after a few moments. "Where's Uru?"

"She's busy with the soldiers up on the surface. We're under attack from our enemies."

"And just who are these enemies of yours? You still haven't told us."

"All in good time, dear."

Ahadi then came closer to Kiara and began to walk circles around her, inspecting her.

"I expected you to react like this to finding out about our plan. To finding out about the true nature of this place." He said, softly but sinisterly.

Kiara kept her eyes fixed in one place so she didn't get distracted by Ahadi's circling.

"You call this heaven? An afterlife? It's just another example of what goes on back on Earth." Kiara said, acting calm in the presence of her enemy.

"It used to be a heaven, until they came and ravaged the landscape, forcing us underground and sparking a deadly conflict that's been going on for centuries now. We've been unable to beat them ever since."

"And that's why you got so desperate you were prepared to destroy an entire world to achieve victory. Does everyone turn evil when they come here or is it exclusive those in power?"

"I don't know what you mean by 'evil' my dear Kiara. We're simply trying to survive. Just like you do in the Pridelands. Essentially there's no difference."

How could this be any relative of Kiara's? Someone who was perfectly fine with committing genocide in order to continue living.

Suddenly a large shape of light appeared in front of the Zote Kuona. It was half opaque, half transparent. It showed something happening, it looked like the surface where she, Kovu and Leela first arrived here.

"Ah. A view of what's going on upstairs. Here's your chance to see our enemies." Ahadi said.

Kiara watched the view of the surface as all the lions from the bunker were running towards something in the distance. She couldn't quite make out what it was yet, but she could make out the bodies of two very familiar lions. Kovu and Leela were in the crowd, looking around to make sure they could see everyone. At least they were doing their job, but they'd gone straight into danger. The lion's enemies then came into view. And they were... Unlike anything Kiara had ever seen before.

And you'll find out next time what those things look like. We're getting very close to the climax now, in fact we're pretty much there already. Chapter 22 will be up in a couple days or so.