Welcome back! I know it's a day late but so much as happened, both good and bad.

As stated, week 2 gets chapter 2! I'm thankful for the follows and encouraging words I've gotten so far. I know this story has a long way to go to get back to the 20 something chapters it once had, but I'm excited about it and I want to see if you guys are excited as well.

I do also wish to apologize for publishing it so late. Due to the recent Virus Epidemic my college is now calling for an eviction of all students. So I've been working on packing up my dorm in order to get ready for a 12 hour drive back to my home state of Louisiana.

Despite things being rough I wanted to get this out to you guys. I want to stay true to my word despite situations, even national ones like this.

Again if anyone else is being affected by this then my heart goes out to you all. Thank you again for your patience and support. The least I can do is give you all something enjoyable to read during our quarantine time.

With that being said guys, Enjoy!

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Ch. 2 Starting at the Beginning

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It wasn't long until the orange morning faded and pure sunlight shined down onto the lands. Animals of all shapes and sizes could be seen wandering the grasslands, galloping across the fields, and soaring high in the cloudless sky. Among them all, Simba and his family journeyed past them, taking in the beauty of the kingdom. By now they were a good distance away from Pride Rock as they journeyed towards Rafiki's tree. Though the further they walked, the fewer animals they saw. Even the land began to change from green and ripe, to dry and barren. It made sense since Rafiki's home laid near the boarders of the Pride Lands, away from the eyes and ears of many of the residents.

Simba headed the group, following a path he had used countless times since he took up the role as Lion King. On the path they walked, pawprints of their previous journeys, and the journeys of those who came before them, were visible on ground they all treaded. Though the red maned lion was loved and respected by all the creatures, he knew that a king was only as good as the council he surrounded himself with, which would be a lesson he would give his successors today. It was at that moment that the sound of Kovu clearing his throat caught Simba's attention.

"So," the brown male spoke up, breaking the silence, "Is there a reason we're heading to the boarder?"

"Weren't you paying attention?" Kiara nudged Kovu as she walked beside him, "We planned this trip yesterday."

"Of course, I was paying attention," Kovu quickly responded before getting a sheepish look on his face, "I just don't remember what the trip was about." Realizing this, Kiara rolled her eyes and gave her one of those 'really?' looks. This prompted Kovu to respond with: "What? You looked relatively stunning that day."

"Wait, are you…" Kiara blinked in surprise before getting a shade of pink on her cheeks and narrowing her eyes at him, "Are you telling me that me being at the conversation you had with my dad distracted you?"

"Will you forgive me if I say yes?" Kovu asked which earned him a playful swat from Kiara. She wasn't really mad at him, just found his response to be corny while at the same time flattering. Nala overheard them both talking and looked back at the young adults with an amused expression on her face.

"We're going to see Rafiki, Kovu." Nala answered his previous question, "We're going to be showing you both where the histories of the Pride Lands are kept as well as check up on Rafiki's new apprentice."

"Wait a minute," Kovu replied, "I thought all the histories were kept at Pride Rock." Kiara knew what Kovu was talking about. The Lion Guard's Lair was also a place where histories and paintings were plastered all over the walls. They told many stories ranging from Simba's return, to Scar's fall, to the exile of Zira. This caused the young lion to be a bit confused, which the royal family understood.

"Yes, there are many such histories painted onto the walls of Pride Rock," answered Nala, "Though they can be changed or taken away. During Scar's reign he erased many of the histories stored within the walls in order to do away with the noble deeps of Mufasa and those who came before him. However, the true histories are kept in Rafiki's home so that they could be preserved in case of a crisis. It's for that reason that many lost paintings and stories were able to be restored after Simba returned to the throne."

"Wow. I never really thought of something like that." Kovu said, reflecting on what Nala told him.

"Yep!" Kiara added happily, "Always pays to remember where you come from!" It was certainly a unique concept, one that not many prides or animal kingdoms practiced, but that was just one of the many things that made the Pride Lands stand out among other places in Africa.

"So, I'm guessing we're going to see where he keeps it all? The histories I mean." Kovu addressed Nala.

"Correct," Nala replied, "and you'll also learn how the mejuzi keep such histories."

"Wait, wait, don't tell me. They got their own private cave to store them all?" Kovu asked again with a witty grin.

"Actually," Simba addressed the group as he suddenly stopped on a small hill and pointed outwards with his paw, "He keeps them in there."

The group looked towards where Simba pointed and out in the distance they saw Rafiki's home. It was a massive Baobab tree, towering tall with branches outstretched and reaching to the sky like arms reaching towards heaven. Everyone just stood there and admired the grand home. Kovu had never seen such a massive tree in his entire life. Kiara had seen it before when she was young, but would only travel near it when being taught a royal lesson or when she hung out with Rafiki's old apprentice: Makini. Both Simba and Nala had journeyed to the tree several times, both during their cub years as well as when they became king and queen. Now here they were, all grown up and ready to teach the next generation.

"Wow!" Kovu exclaimed excitedly as he gazed up at the tree. Simba couldn't help but smile as he looked at Kovu's energetic expression. It was like looking at an overgrown cub who had just learned about the Great Kings of the Past. Kovu quickly walked up to the tree, marveled by its size and majesty before saying: "It's so huge!". Suddenly his comment was met with a laugh and a response from up in the branches.

"Wait until you see the inside!"

Everyone looked up to see a young mandrill sitting on one of the many outstretched branches. Kovu squinted as he made out the features of the monkey, having blue stripped cheeks, red running across his forehead and down his nose, and yellow rings around his eyes. It was clear that he was much younger than Rafiki, seeing as how he was smaller, spoke in a different accent, and had small patches of a black mane growing around his chest. It was obvious to the group that this was Rafiki's young apprentice: Marifa.

"Hello Marifa," Simba greeted, "Is Rafiki home?"

"Of course! When is he ever not these days?" the apprentice replied, "but what are you doing standing out there? Come on in and make yourselves comfortable."

"That's a joke, right?" Kovu asked as he raised an eyebrow, "Do you expect us to climb up? We're not leopards you know."

"Oh, I knew I forgot something," Marifa said jokingly while he slapped himself, "how silly of me. I forgot to unlock the door."

Suddenly, Marifa leaped from his branch and began to freefall. Everyone, except for Simba, gasped; thinking that Marifa was going to crash. But before he hit the ground, Marifa grabbed on to a nearby vine that was hanging down from the tree. The young baboon slid down the vine with both speed and grace. When he got to the bottom and planted his feet firmly on the ground, he gave a quick tug on the vine. Then something clicked inside the tree, and a section of it opened, revealing a secret passage way inside. Marrifa then gave a polite bow, motioned to the entrance and said: "After you." Simba and his family cheered at Marifa's performance, enjoying the dramatic greeting.

"Pffft! I knew he was going to do that." Kove said while rolling his eyes.

"Of course, you did, dear." Kiara chided, in a rather sarcastic tone, "Will you forgive me if I don't buy it?" Using her boyfriend's choice of words from before earned her a disgruntle, yet playful, growl from Kovu.

One by one, the lions entered into the narrow passageway that spiraled upwards to the center of the tree. As they got to the top, everyone gazed in awe at the room they were in. All around the tree walls, there were pictures of animals, ranging from: zebras, to kudu, elephants, buffalo, wilder-beast, and of course, lions. As Simba and his family gazed upon the endless wave of pictures, Marifa came walking in carrying his own staff, which had feathers tide on the tip instead of fruit.

"Welcome everyone!" he announced, "To the Pride Land's Hall of History!"

"Oh Marrifa," Nala gasped, "This place… it's amazing!"

"It's beautiful!" Kiara said.

"Eh," Kovu shrugged, less than impressed, "it's nice, but if you ask me, the monkey has too much time on his hands."

"Now come along! Don't dawdle!" Marifa motioned, leading the group further through the tree, "Master Rafiki is waiting for us." The group walked down the halls, looking and admiring many paintings and the stories they told. The first council of King Yandu the Just, Queen Bella's conquest during the War of the Roars, The Exodus of King Mohatu, all of these amazing moments in the Pride Land's history could be seen on the walls of the tree. Though while the prince and princess looked around, Simba talked with young Marifa.

"Well, my friend, what has Rafiki been up to lately?"

"He has been very busy," Marifa replied, "he has been working on his latest drawing for the History Wall of Kion and journey to becoming King of the Night Pride. It is almost complete, but as you know, these things take time."

"Yes… Time." Simba repeated as he suddenly stopped in his tracks. A certain wall had caught his attention. It was of a golden lion with a red mane and a faint stain of pink paint across the top of its forehead. This was a picture of himself.

"Well, hello handsome." he said jokingly as he put up a paw next to the painting. Though he had a smile on his face, his expression had somewhat of a sad undertone to it as he gazed at what would be his section of the tree, "Come a long ways from that oasis, haven't we?" Simba's stopping at the certain spot in the wall caused the rest of his family to notice and approach him. Marifa followed them as well, willing to entertain the royal family a bit long as they took their time in enjoying the tree. Little did he know that they were about to uncover something that even he did not know about.

"Wow Dad," Kiara said as she walked up next to her father, "is that you?"

"Yes ma'am." Marifa answered her question as he pointed up with his staff, "This wall here is the history of your father, King Simba." Upon looking a the section, Kovu couldn't help but notice how there were other pictures around Simba's but none of them seemed to really be related to the lion king himself.

"So… where is the rest of his story?" Kovu asked in confusion.

"Ah! Don't worry, it's all there. It just needs a mejuzi to tell it." Marifa stated, which confused Kovu even more.

"Sorry but I'm not following you, monkey boy."

"Observe." Marifa then took his staff and tapped a nearby painting of another king of another lifetimes. Suddenly all the other pictures surrounding the painting began to spread out and away from the one Marifa touched, making room as new paintings of the king's life suddenly appeared. Rafiki used to do this all the time back at Pride Rock for the Lion Guard paintings, but never did art move out of the way so that other art could appear.

"You see young master; this is something we like to call: Mejuzi Storage." Marifa attempted explained, "Paintings and telling of a lion's past can take up a lot of space. So, every art that is made gets stored into a section of the tree and marked by the picture of the ruler. If there is ever a time a mejuzi needs to look at a section, they unlock it with their staff and all the other paintings magically move out of the way so that the chosen history can be portrayed and told."

"So, every painting done of my dad is put in his section of the tree? How?" Kiara asked, being baffled as well by this new piece of information.

"Well your majesty," Marifa said with a shrug as he lifted his staff and all the past paintings faded and all the other paintings returned to their normal spots, "The best explanation I can give is magic! Like Rafiki once told me: if you keep looking for impossible answers then you'll only wind up with more questions."

Those were certainly wise words of advice and ones that Kiara and Kovu understood from a certain point of view. Though this was all incredibly neat, Simba knew that he couldn't prolong this any longer. Upon seeing that Marifa could make the paintings come to life, he knew that it was best to begin as soon as possible.

"This is what we will be looking at today." Simba told them as he pointed at his own picture, "It's time you see what my rule as king was like. Today you will be witnessing boy my successes, as well as my failures." Nala came up beside him and gave an encouraging look. They both knew what was about to happen, what they were about to show. All morning this had been weighing on Simba's mind. Ever since he became the Lion King, Simba had learned to put on a smile to assure both his subjects as well as his friends and family that everything was ok, even when they were not. Now at this moment, it was time that they tell their story to the next generation, the whole story.

"Marifa," Nala addressed the apprentice, "Could you please open Simba's part on the history wall?"

"Right now?" the apprentice asked in surprise as he gestured with his hands, "But Master Rafiki isn't here yet. Wouldn't it be better to wait?"

"No," Simba shook his head as he spoke in a quiet voice, "I think we've waited long enough." Looking once more at his daughter, he hoped that he didn't mess this up. despite his care free life in his early years there had been so much that he had messed up on. His decisions with Kovu, believing his uncle when he was younger, but nothing greater than when he first became king. He only wished that his daughter would understand why she never learned about it until now.

Shrugging, Marifa went to Simba's painting and tapped it with his staff. As the paintings began to shift and move, Kovu and Kiara began to whisper to one another.

"So where do you think the story will start?" Kovu asked.

"My presentation. Duh," Kiara replied, "Dad and mom would brag about it all the time when I was growing up. They said I was the mark of a new beginning."

"You sure? I bet it'll start with an epic clash between Simba and Zira."

"No way! I came first, then Zira and Dad started-"

Suddenly they stopped as Simba's history appeared. Both looked up to see in the beginning that Simba was on top of Pride Rock, roaring in the rain after dethroning Scar. Yet as they continued on, they noticed weird things in the paintings. The paintings adjusted, showing Rafiki presenting the Pride Lands with a cub, but it wasn't Kiara."

"What… is this?" Kiara asked in a hushed whisper as she looked intently at the picture. The cub in question was golden like she was but it had a mane on top of his head, like Kion from his pictures. However, this wasn't her younger brother, for the mane looked different and was a more faded red, almost brown in color. All Kiara could do was stare in confusion while Simba and Nala just looked up at the young cub being presented.

"Oh Simba," Nala said sadly as she leaned her head on his neck, tears pricking her eyes, "It feels like it was a lifetime ago."

"My King! I'm so sorry! I don't know what happened!" the apprentice bowed his head in respect and began apologizing. He too did not know what took place during those times and he felt like he made a mistake that saddened the queen, "This has never happened to me before. There must be something wrong with this stupid staff of mine. Must be mixing up the histories."

"Calm yourself Marifa." The lions and the young apprentice looked back to see Rafiki enter the room and approach them while using his staff as a walking stick, "You did nothing wrong."

"B-But Rafiki," Marifa stuttered as his master past him and approached Simba's wall, "That couldn't be true! This isn't Kiara? Who is this?"

"Simple," the old mandrill replied as he tapped the painting once more with his stick, causing it to move again, "It's not Kiara." This of course caused both Marifa and Kovu to look at the old mejuzi with deadpanned expressions.

"You don't say, mon-kay," Kovu replied, pronouncing Rafiki's species in a sarcastic tone, "That still doesn't exactly tell us who this is."

There was complete silence throughout the room. All eyes were fixed upon the wall, especially the younger of the group. They knew it was Rafiki's job to maintain and keep the histories of the Pride Lands; that included furnishing and maintaining them, and yet this section in particular held a piece of history that none of them except the rulers and Rafiki know about.

"Uncle?" Marifa pressed as he pointed at the cub who was presented, "Who is this lion?" A tear rolled down the old mandrill's face, as he slowly approached the wall and placed his hand nest to the painting of the cub.

"That is not for me to share I'm afraid. Not just yet." Rafiki gestured over to Simba and Nala who were both looking at their daughter with soft eyes. This just made the golden lioness even more concerned.

"Dad?" She asked hesitantly, not sure what to expect. Simba took a deep breath and exhaled as he came over to her and put a paw on her shoulder while looking back and forth between her and the picture.

"Kiara," He slowly began, "do you know why I made Timon and Pumbaa follow you wherever you went when you were a cub?"

Kiara thought for a second before answering: "No, not really. I just thought you were trying to be a good parent."

"Well… that was part of the reason." Was Simba's slow reply before turning to Kovu to ask him next, "Did Zira ever tell you about what happened right after I came back and defeated Scar?"

"Of course," Kovu responded, surprised by such an obvious fact that nearly everyone knew, "She said you banished her and her followers because they were still loyal to Scar."

"True, but she did not have followers to begin with and she had different motives at the time."

Kiara and Kovu's attention were locked onto Simba, wondering what point he was trying to get at. The Lion King then gazed back at the picture and stared at it for some time. Though he smiled as he looked at the picture, his slump posture showed that he was struggling on the inside; as if he was carrying a heavy burden. In his mind, Simba tried to find the right words for what he had to say. It was very important that he explained exactly what was happening.

After a moment of silence, he explained: "That name of the cub is Kopa." He glanced back at Kiara and Kovu as he continued, "There were many things that happened early on in my reign that haven't been talked about by anyone. This cub was one of them."

"Kopa?" Kiara was Kiara's immediate question. Simba would nod as he looked at the painting of the cub being presented then back at her daughter's amber eyes. He couldn't hold this from her any longer.

"Yes Kiara. He," Simba stuttered, trying to find the best way to put it gently to her, "He was… Kiara… he was your older brother."

Her brother.

Those words seemed to echo in the minds of everyone in the tree. Kiara's eyes widened, Kovu's jaw went slack, and Marifa dropped his staff in shock. No one was expecting what was just revealed to them.

"I… I have older brother?" Kiara gasped, still trying to take it all in. She looked at her father, both confused and hurt, "Why? How? I never had an older sibling!" Simba watched as her daughter shook her head in disbelief. It was a difficult truth but one that she needed to know.

"Sweetie," Nala walked up next to her daughter, trying to comfort her, "please understand, there was so much going on at that time. So much of that time in our rule we couldn't afford to share with you or Kion. We only wanted what was best for you, we didn't…"

"What?!" Kiara agitate asked while backing away from her, "how is not telling me I had an older sibling considered looking out for me?!" Kovu stepped aside, knowing how Kiara got when she was frustrated, and right now he could tell she was about to blow her top off. Simba, however, stepped in and tried to explain this to her the best he could.

"Kiara," Simba said softly as he gently placed his paw on her shoulder; which caused her to look back at him with a glare that would make even a rhino nervous, "Please, just listen. Yes, we kept your brother a secret, but you have to trust us. There was a reason for it." He then looked at Kiara with pleading eyes, hoping that his daughter would understand what he was trying to do. "You see Kiara, your mother and I, we did many things during the beginning of our rule. Those decisions have both allowed us to grow but they have also left scars on our lives, scars that we did not wish to expose you to. The fate of many friends and family were some of those scars. When you came along, we wanted you to experience the childhood that we never had the pleasure to have. We didn't want you going through life having the burden of never knowing family and friends who cared about you. And it wasn't just us Kiara. Timon, Pumbaa, Zazu, the entire pride didn't want to see you nor Kion sad and afraid of the past. I'm… I'm sorry that you are just learning about him now."

Kiara turned away from Simba, unable to look her father in the face. She was furious at him for keeping her in the dark; but, in her heart, she realized why he did what he did. She thought about what her father and mother did. She knew that this must have been hard for not just her parents, but for her entire pride as well. They took it upon themselves to carry the burden of no longer having a friend, no, their family around with them; a feeling that they shielded her from ever having.

Thinking about that, made her think back to the day Kion told her that he and the Lion Guard would be living in the Night Pride from now on. Though she was happy for them, it broke her heart to see her brother go off. She grimaced as she imagined how she would have reacted as I child if she learned that her older brother had not been there for her. Knowing that her father was probably feeling terrible at this point, Kiara raised her head and looked at him straight in the eyes. Simba expected a hateful glare from Kiara, but to his surprise, her eyes were not full of hate… but forgiveness.

"Dad," she choked, trying to find the words, "I understand." Everyone was surprised by Kiara's answer, especially Simba. He was about to say something, but Kiara continued, "You and Mom were just trying to look after me, like you always have. I'm sorry I-"

"No," Simba interrupted gently, "I'm sorry. I should have told you about Kopa a long time ago. It would have probably prevented all this confusion you're experiencing." Having said that, Simba put his paw on Kiara's shoulder and pulled her in close to his chest. Knowing that her father was sorry, Kiara did the same and hugged him back.

"I love you Kiara," the Lion King said with as much love as a father could give, "Don't you ever forget that." Everyone else just sat around watching this touching moment between Simba and his daughter. Nala and Rafiki smiled, relieved that Kiara was taking this well. Marifa was also happy, but touching moments always made him cry for some reason. As he sniffed and tried to wipe the tears from his eyes.

"Um, Dad?" Simba lifted his head and looked at Kiara, who was now smiling gently at him. "I know this might be a sensitive subject, but what exactly happened to Kopa?" Before Simba even had a chance to answer, Rafiki stepped in.

"What happened?" He exclaimed with glee, "Everything good and wonderful! That's what!"

"What do you mean?" Kovu asked. Rafiki then motioned to everyone to come in close to him.

"In all my years there have been very few I've seen touched by your father and cubs that he's had with Nala. That includes you, Kion, and even Kopa. His story is intertwined with your father's. For as a prince took the throne as king, a new life entered the world as a prince." As Rafiki talked, everyone gathered around the section as Rafiki tapped the tree and the pictures began to move. They appeared to be going backwards from the presentation to a picture of Simba waiting outside the den with anxious looks on their faces. All the while the old mejuzi began to tell the tale of Simba and his coming of age as the lion king.

"Like any good story it is best to start at the beginning." Rafiki stated as the pictures began to move as he spoke, "Not long after the return of Simba and the defeat of Scar, the Pride Lands began to once again began to show signs of life. Grass and water began to return as well as many herds who had received word of Scar's passing and Simba's ascension. A few months pass and Nala began to show signs of pregnancy and it wasn't long until a new member was added to the Pride Lands. It was on this day that the Pride Lands would change forever. This my friends, is the beginning of Simba's Reign."

To Be continued…

And that my friends is chapter 2!

Fun fact: in the first draft when I was writing this story, cub Kion was going to be joining the family. That was back before the Lion Guard was actually a thing. Gosh I feel old now. Lol.

For those of you who are actually taking the time to read the author notes, thank you again so much for reading my new chapter. This reboot already has over 200 views. Amazing! If we can get this story up to 20 followers and 20 reviews before the next chapter comes out next week then that would be a great goal to reach!

Again, sorry that this is coming out a day late. I'll try to do better. In the meantime guys, this is Rogue Lion signing off.

(Salutes Audience)

PS, I updated my pfp on this site. I got it from an artist for my birthday and I think it looks epic but it would be cool to know your thoughts as well.