Author's Notes:
Chapter 16: Long Buried Secret and Kovu's Exile
"No! There's no way you're Kopa! He died at the claws of Zira and the only way to prove you're him is by saying something he and only he knew." said Shred looking away.
"Okay then. You have or had a crush on my sister." said the lion smirking and he knew he hit the right spot because...
"AAAH!" screamed Shred before he buried his head in the loose sand.
"See? I'm alive and well, aside from my leg crippling me." said Kopa with a smirk.
"Okay, okay. I believe you now. But one thing bothers me; WHY didn't you tell us you were alive?!" snapped Shred.
"Gee, everybody thinks I'm dead and I was in a coma for 7 days, what do you expect?"
"Good point. By the way, aside from the scars you look like you could have females just crowding you."
"What about you?"
"I look too much like Scar to really go out, I hang in the shadows, making quick appearances...sort of like a spy..."
"How's Vitani?"
"I...broke up our friendship the day after you 'died'."
"WHAT?! Why?!"
"Look at me! I got this massive scar trying to help you! She tried to help too but...my anger for failing to help blinded me...she's not the same..."
"Well, you're the same again. I bet we could get her back..."
"Oh no, I am NOT doing another one your schemes! Remember the rhino incident?"
"Hey, that would of worked had somebody not laughed away our position!"
"Oh sure. How about the vine swing over the lake? I face-planted into a tree due to that idea!"
"You were afraid of heights, not my fault."
"That's it! HAHAHA! Come here you!"
The two start play fighting and Kopa gets pinned.
"HA! I win again!" said Shred as he got off and then noticed Kopa's left hind leg was bent a little, "Uh, hold still. This might hurt a little."
"What?"
*CRACK!*
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
Pride Rock
Simba shot awake at hearing the scream of pain but then put it out of his mind as his imagination and went back to resting.
Back at the Plains
"WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL-"
*CRACK!*
"AAH!" yelled Kopa after Shred fixed his leg.
"I warned you." said Shred with a slight smirk. Kopa then tested out his leg and he found he could move it better and it didn't hurt as much as it did before.
"Thanks." said Kopa looking at Shred.
"No problem. By the way, what do you plan to do?" said Shred raising an eyebrow.
"I need time to think before I...face my family."
"I understand. Years of being thought dead can have an impact on those you know. Oh, little heads-up, be wary if you encounter Vitani, she might not recognize you."
"I'll keep that in mind."
With that Kopa got up and walked over the border to the Out Lands and Shred walked back to his home. Shred was walking by the log dam in the ravine and looked down to see all the Out Landers chasing Simba and Kovu was nowhere in sight, he then spotted Nuka with his claws dug into Simba's leg.
"Yes! This is my moment of glory!" snarled Nuka as he tried to pull Simba down only to have one of the logs he was using as support snap under him, causing him to lose his grip on Simba, fall down the dam, get pinned and finally crushed by logs as Simba got away. Shred made his way stealthily down until he was hiding in the shadows across from the group of Out Landers as Kovu came in and started removing logs only to get shoved aside by Zira. He backed away as Zira began digging franticly until she found Nuka, half buried under logs. Shred could hear the conversation he was so close.
"*Cough! cough!*"
"Nuka..." gasped Zira.
"I-I'm s-sorry m-mother, I-I t-tried..." wheezed Nuka his lungs and almost every other internal organ crushed.
Zira shushed him before he took his last breath and went limp in her paw. Vitani walked up and saw Nuka's now lifeless body and hung her head in sadness. After a few minutes Zira asked Scar to look over Nuka and then turned angrily towards Kovu.
"YOU!" she snarled and he looked at her in shock before her claws swiped across his face. He cried out in pain and then looked defiantly at her, a vertical scar over his left eye.
"What have you done?!"
"I...I don't...I didn't...I have done nothing!" snarled Kovu as his mother tried to scold him only for him to snap at her.
"Exactly! And in doing so you have betrayed your pride. Betrayed Scar."
"I want nothing more to do with him!"
"You should of thought of that before you betrayed us. Thanks to you Simba is alive and Nuka is dead."
"No."
"You killed your own brother!"
"NO!" roared Kovu taking off.
"Let him go." says Zira stopping the group from chasing after Kovu. They all freeze when sadistic laughter reaches their ears and then the laughter of hyenas. Shred steps out of the shadows with a smug grin on his face.
"How wonderful a day this is for me!" said Shred chuckling sinisterly, "Looks like I don't have to kill anyone from the Out Lands, the death of Nuka has made you a wreck Zira. I love that."
"You!" growled Zira glaring at Shredder as he continued to chuckle.
"I'm not here to fight, just to see if anything was worth watching and I was correct. Watching Nuka die was fun." said Shred with a sadistic chuckle that turned into a laugh.
"Why you-!" growled Vitani advancing at him.
"Sorry, but I have better things to do, Vitani." said Shred as he disappeared into the shadows leaving Vitani shocked.
'D-did he just call me by my name?!' thought Vitani stunned.
Pride Lands; 45 Minutes Later
Kovu walked towards Pride Rock receiving glares and hearing hushed whispers.
"Kovu!" Kiara yells happily only to have her father roar and get in her way before he walked to the tip of Pride Rock. Fang was watching from one of the lower ledges of Pride Rock with a questioning glare.
"Why have you come back?" said Simba looking down at Kovu.
"Simba, listen, I had nothing to do-"
"Silence! When you first came here you asked for judgment..."
"Simba, please, I ask for forgiveness."
"Daddy please, listen to him." said Kiara her voice cracking with sadness.
"Silence! Well, I pass my judgment now..."
Kovu looks around in panic as the other animals say things all at once and then looks back at Simba.
"EXILE!"
"No!" said Kiara.
*Elephant trumpets*
*Various animals stomp their feet, and make various angry sounds*
[Not One of Us Plays]
~Deception
Disgrace
Evil as plain as the scar on his face~
~Deception (An outrage!)
Disgrace (For shame!)
He asked for trouble the moment he came~
~Deception (An outrage!)
(He can't change his stripes)
Disgrace (For shame!)
(You know these Outsider types)
He asked for trouble the moment he came
(See you later, agitator!)
Deception (An outrage!)
(Just leave us alone!)
Disgrace (For shame!)
(Traitor, go back to your own!)
He asked for trouble the moment he came
(See you later, agitator!)~
~Born in grief
Raised in hate
Helpless to defy his fate
Let him run
Let him live
But do not forget what we cannot forgive~
~And he is not one of us
He has never been one of us
He is not a part of us
Not our kind~
~Someone once lied to us
Now we're not so blind
For we knew he would do what he's done
And we know he'll never be one of us~
~He is not one of us~
~Deception~
~Disgrace~
~Deception~
~Disgrace~
~Deception!~
[Music Ends]
Kovu walks sadly into a sandy region as Rafiki watches and groans.
"Daddy, how could you do this?" said Kiara somewhat angry at her father.
"He used you to get to me! Don't you see that?" said Simba sternly.
"No! He loves me for me."
"Because you are my daughter! From no on you are not to leave Pride Rock without an escort, understand?!"
Kiara runs off as Shred and Ed walk up to Fang.
"Do you do the job I told you two to do?" said Fang looking at Ed and his son.
"Yes, dad." said Shred saluting.
"Ha ha ha ha ha!" laughed Ed putting on his imbecile act.
"Good, let's hope Mr. Maneless doesn't find out." said Fang before five burst out laughing.
"Something funny Fang?" said Simba looking at his friend.
"Uh...yeah. Funny joke. Oops, toobadIforgotwhatitwas!Gottago!Bye!" said Fang before the five took off leaving dust clones that disappeared in the wind. Simba raised an eyebrow but shrugged it off unaware of his daughter escaping out the backside of Pride Rock through a hole in the wall and she began looking for Kovu.
END CHAPTER