Sorry it took so long. :/ I'm really just lazy, and I didn't exactly feel like writing in a while. But I once again sucked it up and finished this. This still isn't the end though. xD But really, if you will, could you guys perhaps tell me if you are even feeling the SLIGHTEST bit bored with this story yet? I hope not, but I'm just curious. It's getting quite long.

Maisha followed Zazu back into the Pride Lands, but the atmosphere was absolutely not the same as the last few times she stepped in. What had happened? Had they got into another fight with Gyasi's lions?

Taha panted from beside her, and Jespur and Badrani came from behind.

Where were they going in the Pride Lands anyway?

"We have to do something!"
Cheja stood from beside Mauti and Dewaloo, laying low in a bush. It turned out that Mauti had not been following the familiar scent of Dakima, but Cheja. It didn't surprise her, though. She hadn't seen him for the longest time. Meanwhile, Kovu, Kiara, Nala and Vitani had charged into the Elephant Graveyard after Vorker's lions had all lunged for Joka and Dakima. They had been spotted, and they were fighting back with all they could...but they were losing.

"Zazu will be back soon!" Kovu roared over the snarling of lions. He struggled over a large, bloody wound on his shoulder. "I know he will!"

Joka stood at Dakima's side, protecting the young lioness. Vorker had jumped down from his mound as Erevu was broken out of his cage, and the two were fighting ferociously.

"Even after Maisha, Taha...and that tiger and leopard get back, that still wont be enough to help us!" Kiara exclaimed, out of breath.

"We need the whole pride, Kovu!" Vitani heaved an exhausted sigh as she swung her paw around to slap another lioness down with claws unsheathed.

"I told Zazu to round up as many as he could!" Kovu informed them hopefully.

All hell seemed to be breaking loose, and Maisha and her friends were still only about halfway there.

Zazu glanced down at them with a wild expression on his face, "Head for the Elephant Graveyard!" He ordered. "Maisha, you'll find your parents there. I need to go and get the rest of the pride."
"Can you at least tell me why?" Maisha demanded.

Zazu sighed and lighted down at her paws again. "The pride is fighting with an unknown army of lions. They've never seen them before, but they need your help."

"Let's go." Taha gasped.

Maisha nodded and ran as fast as she could to the Boneyard, her friends beside her, and Zazu flew away back to Pride Rock.

Joka was still standing Dakima's and his ground, until one voice a little ways behind sounded, catching his attention as it rose above the roars and snarls over other lions, "This definitely isn't as easy as taking out that weak daughter of Erevu's!"
With a low growl, Joka snapped his head around to glare at a golden-brown furred male with a small, dark brown mane. This male had a vicious look about him.

That's the one who hurt Nafisa. Joka thought angrily. He began to charge toward the male with a loud snarl, but Dakima held him back.

"What are you doing?" The emerald-green eyed lioness demanded.

"That's him!" Joka roared. "The one who hurt Nafisa!"
"Joka, many of them hurt Nafisa all at once." Dakima pointed out. "I can't believe I'm saying this to someone who is older than me, but please don't rush in. It's suicide!"
"Dakima," Joka growled. "let go of me!" He knew he was being incredibly childish, not displaying the personality of a true king, but honestly...he didn't care at that moment. He wanted this lion dead.

Joka finally broke loose of Dakima's grip, but the lioness only yanked him back again, "I thought you Pridelanders were peaceful lions!"
"We have our limits," Joka grumbled, still trying to break free.

His ears suddenly pricked to his father's voice, "Look, there she is!"
"Maisha," Kiara lifted her head above the flurry of teeth and claws.
"How can we trust her?" Snarled a Pridelander lioness within the flurry.

"Never mind that!" Kovu growled, glaring over at her.

Maisha silently slunk in and ducked as one of Vorker's lions lunged for her, but that was merely a distraction...because as Maisha looked on after him, another lion pounced upon her and pinned her down.

"Augh!" Maisha hissed up at him, lashing out with both sets of claws.

"I see weakness," The lion who pinned her sneered, grinning evilly after dodging both blows that Maisha sent up towards him. "weakness, nothing more! What? Pride so helpless, they need to invite outcasts back in to protect them?"
"My sister is nothing of the sort!" Joka came charging in and lunged straight for the slick-worded male, pinning him down and biting his shoulder. The male let out a yelp and freed himself from Joka's grip before bounding off.

"Joka!" Maisha exclaimed happily, running for him and rapping her neck around his in a hug, almost forgetting they were in the middle of a battle.

"Careful!" Joka snapped, yanking her out of the way of a savage-looking lioness. "You're welcome," He muttered, charging forward and rip at the same lioness for jumping at Kiara before the queen had time to react.

"Do you forgive me?" Maisha demanded, immediately taking her place at her brother's side, covering him.

"Maybe," Joka replied calmly, swiping his paw out at yet another soldier. "I never did like holding too much against you." His greenish-blue eyes flared.

"Oh, I'm so glad." Maisha breathed, leaning her head on her brother's mane affectionately for an instant before getting back to the fight.

"Oh, 'Revu," Vorker jumped far away from Erevu's paws, smirking. "I just remembered...your daughter and I have never been properly introduced." He began padding away calmly out of the Elephant Graveyard.

"NO!" Erevu snarled, charging after him.

Kiara gasped, watching him leave with wide, reddish-brown eyes. "Kovu, look!"
"Erevu!" Kovu called, his heart pounding quickly. "I've got to go after him. It may be a trap."

"We can't do this without you, Kovu," Sarafina spoke up worriedly.

"You'll all do wonderfully, I must-" Kovu was interrupted as Joka stepped towards him forcefully.

"No, dad." Joka murmured. "I will go. I wont let him hurt Nafisa."
"If you're going, I am too!" Dakima growled, coming to his side.

"You need to stay here." Joka turned to her.

"Joka!" A voice called.

Joka turned to see Cheja running over. "Let me come!"
"Why?" Joka glared at him in contempt.

"I...need to." Cheja looked away. "I'll just..tag along after you."
"What's your purpose?" Joka demanded, his teeth baring slightly.

Cheja stared at him for a few heart-beats, then he turned away and bounded off, to the very entrance to the Elephant Graveyard.

"Cheja?" Maisha padded up to Joka. "Was...was that...?"
"Yes, he cares about us." Dakima murmured, shaking her head sadly, but her ears pricked suddenly, her eyes widening, as if she just realized something...and she did, "Vorker is...is Cheja's father..."
"What?" Joka gaped at her in disbelief.

"Sire! Come quick!" Zazu flew into sight.

"What's up, Zazu?" Kovu demanded.

"It was a trap!" Zazu's words were incredibly frantic, much like before when he was coming to get Maisha and Taha. "He led Erevu and the rest of the pride into a trap! There's more!"

Joka took a small side glance at Maisha before muttering, "Let's go."

"Who exactly are you taking with, Joka?" Kovu asked in a cross manner.

"I'm not taking anyone wi-"
"You wont be able to take them on alone." Dakima said, her voice firm and dismissive, and it nearly made Joka jump from where he stood.

"I don't plan on "taking them on"," Joka said impatiently. "I...just need to go and protect Nafisa." He rushed off before she could respond.

"No-" Dakima was about to call after him, but was tackled over.

"Dakima...?" Kovu gasped, running back into battle after them.

"Joka!" Maisha made it out without getting attacked and hurried after her brother.

As Joka ran from the Elephant Graveyard after much trouble trying to quickly climb up the wall to get out with his claws, he heard the flapping the wings and glanced sideways to see Zazu flying on beside him.

"What should I do, Prince Joka?"

"Zazu, you..." Joka thought hard for a moment, trying to think of their last chance for hope that they might actually still have. It was hard, but it suddenly came to him. "...go into the Outlands, Zazu."
"What?" Zazu gasped. "Why?"

"Get Lord Gyasi," Joka instructed carefully. "tell him that...that if he doesn't want to be invaded in the near future by Vorker and his soldiers, he can just come in here and help us. Maybe even..." He sighed stressfully. "...He can defeat Vorker, I know he can."
"Em..." Zazu cleared his throat. "..v-very well, Prince Joka. I'm off."
"Good..thank you, Zazu." Joka nodded greatfully to him and began to pick up the pace, his paws drumming against the terrain. Little did he know that Maisha was gaining on him, and little did neither of them know that Dakima wasn't incredibly far behind.

As the battle nearer in front of Pride Rock came into Joka's sight, he came to a hault to glance around worriedly. Where was Erevu, and more importantly, Vorker?

"Joka?" Tia came running over, her pelt faintly stained with blood. "What are you doing back?" She as well looked exhausted, and for the first time, Joka felt sorry for her. The tan-furred lioness was shaking all over from deep cuts and wounds, and her legs looked terribly un-stable.
"Tia," Joka took a small step towards her, nudging her cheek in concern. "where is Penda?"
"She's still in there." Tia replied in a scared tone, motioning towards the flurry of lions, to Joka's own surprise that she didn't seem to be in the mood for flirting with him at that moment.

"Have you seen Erevu pass by here?" Joka asked her.

"No," Tia panted, her head hanging. "s-sorry."

"It's okay." Joka placed a paw on her shoulder. "You should go and rest."
"I...I can't." Tia murmured. "I need to help Penda."

"I can't stop you," Joka said. "but please do be careful." Before he even knew what he was doing, he licked her on the cheek and quickly ran off, only glancing back once to view, in his amusement and pleasure, Tia's shocked but rather triumphant expression as she watched him go.

Then, the further he ran across the Pride Lands, the more sure he was of where Erevu and Vorker were. Rafiki's Baobob Tree came into sight, and Joka didn't see anything out of the ordinary just yet.
"Rafiki?" He called, cautiously climbing up the tree.

No reply.

"R-Rafiki? Are you there?" Joka called again. He was getting nervous now, and he would have even appreciated Rafiki to pop up out of nowhere like he usually did.

However, there was still no reply.

When Joka finally reached the top, he jumped into the tree hollow and glanced around carefully. Everything was still. Even the many herbs and shells that hung from the ceiling by vines and ropes remained still, nothing there, not even the gentle, eriee breeze to stir them.

"Rafiki..." Joka whispered, gingerly padding forward, his paws not even making a sound.

Then, suddenly, Joka felt as though he had stepped in some sort of liquid. He glanced down, and his heart almost stopped...

Blood.

"Rafiki?" He called a tad louder, making his way further into the tree, wincing everytime he stepped in the blood beneath his paws.

Joka then let out a terrified gasp at the next thing he saw: Rafiki, sprawled against the very bottom of the wall and knocked out cold, a rather large wound on his side, and Joka then learned where the blood came from.

"Rafiki, no..." Joka sat down next to the mandrill. Was he dead?

For how long he sat there trying to determine whether or not that was true, only the hard banging noise under the floor got the Prince's attention.

"Huh?" He glanced down, but still only the blood was there. Did the Baobob Tree have a basement?

As the banging noise continued, a muffled scream of pain was to be heard to follow from under the floor, the most torturous sound Joka ever remembered hearing, and to Joka's horror, he knew who the owner was immediately.

"NAFISA!"

Oh, another cliff-hanger, have we? Don't worry. I wont make you wait as long for the next one. I promise. I have a pretty good plan as to what is going to happen.