Hey there, and welcome back to the Lion King novel. There was a scene in the 2019 remake with Nala leaving Pride Rock to find help, so I'll definitely be including that. Also, I feel like adding a little apology scene in this story on Timon and Pumbaa's part; I feel like that could've been added in both the original and remake.

For this part, it excludes the part where Zazu has to be Scar's court jester and sing songs for him, including knowing that Mufasa's name is now forbidden from being said by Scar. I've decided to try and add some of that here.

Uploading Date: August 23, 2019

Enjoy!

...

The Reunion

Nala waited as every lioness in Pride Rock slept. In the shadows of the cave, Sarafina was still huddled with young Nuka, looking more comfortable with her than with his parents. Though their ribs showed through their tawny coats, they looked relaxed in sleep. Even so, Nala felt her eyes well up with tears. Even her and Simba's friends, the cubs they grew up with, had been divided: her female friends (Kula and Tama) had been drafted into Scar's hunters, while the males (Chumvi, Ni, Malka, and Tojo) were driven out of the pride once they became adults, something that lions in other parts of Africa usually did.

Day by day, the lionesses suffered. Scar had followed through on his promise to feed the hyenas first, leaving the lionesses and cubs to get the leftovers. Whatever scraps were found were given to the cubs first. Of course, Scar not being the head of the Lion Guard anymore didn't help matters either. He had learned a trick to use the Roar of the Elders at dark clouds to make rain from them, so had he still had the Roar, he would have summoned some long-lasting rain to help heal the land. Alas, he couldn't, and even if he could, he wouldn't.

So that night, Nala decided to leave Pride Rock to find help. On this night Sarabi was awake, her eyes clouded with pain, as she observed how much damage Scar and the hyenas had done. There were no noises that night in the Pride Lands. No night bird noises, no crickets chirping, not even an elephant rumbling. In fact, there wasn't much life left in the Pride Lands. The only animals living there were the lions, hyenas, Zazu, and a few other brave souls that dared make a home here.

Nala walked up to stand beside Sarabi, who looked around at her. "Are you sure there is no convincing you to stay?" she whispered to the younger lion.

With a nod, Nala responded, "I have to find help for us, Sarabi. There's no use in waiting anymore."

The older lioness nodded. "I know you do," she murmured. "I just wish for you to be careful."

"And tell my mom not to worry," Nala whispered. "I'll be fine. And I'll be back with help soon, I promise."

Sarabi leaned forward and pressed her nose against Nala's forehead one more time. And this time, she was praying. Nala closed her eyes and prayed with her. She prayed to the great kings to give her strength, to help her find anyone to help the pride save their home.

"Take this prayer with you," Sarabi declared, pulling away from Nala. "And good luck. May the kings of the past watch over you and guide you. And where the journey may lead you, always remember your pride."

Nala nodded and pressed her muzzle against Sarabi's shoulder, while Sarabi headed back into the cave.

There was one major problem as she went out, however: Scar and his hyenas patrolled Pride Rock every night. Back when Mufasa was king, no one needed to be monitored. They were free lions, relaxed by day and night on good days. But now that Scar was around, hyenas constantly roamed Pride Rock, searching for troublemakers or traitors to Scar. And on this night, Scar and a couple of hyenas were making their rounds at the bottom of the great mass of rock.

Nala crouched in a clump of dead bushes, praying that he wouldn't catch her scent. Hyenas had pretty good senses of smell, about as strong as a rhino's sense of smell. She pressed herself into the dirt, hoping to get some of it on her skin so that her scent would be covered. She was just finishing up when Scar and his hyenas came strolling by, their smell foul with the stench of rotting meat.

Suddenly, Scar stopped right in front of the bush. His green eyes narrowed, and he sniffed once or twice. A sinister snarl form on his muzzle, and his hyenas lined up alongside him, yipping and cackling. He growled at them, and the hyenas chittered back, before they drew nearer to her hiding place. Nala prepared for them all to pounce, to find her and attack her.

But before Scar could get closer, Zazu suddenly flew down in front of him. The hornbill must have seen Nala trying to sneak away, for he was now holding out his wings as if protecting her from Scar's view. "Lovely night, Sire!" he said with a weak chuckle. "What a marvelous night for taking a walk and all that."

Scar rolled his green eyes. "What do you want, Zazu? I need to finish monitoring Pride Rock and everyone who lives here, so make it quick."

While Nala slunk quietly past them, Zazu began telling them stories about his cousin mistaking himself for a woodpecker. Scar and the hyenas began getting bored, at least until Zazu started singing. He at first sung about troubles, only for Scar to tell him to "sing something with a little bounce in it". So Zazu, with a smirk, sung a few song that Scar did not like, songs that some were called "It's A Small World" and "Let It Go". When Scar objected, Zazu then started singing about coconuts all standing in a row.

"Big ones, small ones, some about as big as your head," Zazu finished singing, exhausted. "I never had to do that for Mufasa."

But Scar heard him, his face contorting to rage. "WHAT?!" he roared, making Zazu jump up with fright. "What did you say? Don't you dare lie to me!" he snarled as Zazu tried covering what he said. "I told you and everyone else never to mention that name in my presence! I AM THE KING!"

"You never said anything of the sort!" Zazu bit back, losing patience. "You just made that rule up on the spot. Are you that upset over Mufasa's name?"

Behind Scar, some of the hyenas started laughing and mentioning Mufasa's name over and over. Scar's dark fur was bristling until suddenly, he whirled around and smacked those hyenas across the face. The hyenas whimpered and stumbled back, promising never to say Mufasa's name ever again.

"That's it!" Scar snarled, getting into Zazu's face. "I hereby banish you from Pride Rock for life! If I see you around again, I'll eat you myself!"

He swiped his claws at Zazu, who quickly flew away from the flailing claws and up to the night sky. Zazu definitely did not want to be caught by those claws again, not like what happened years ago.

Nala watched as the hornbill flew over her, heading for where Rafiki's baobab tree was. She hadn't meant to get Zazu into trouble with Scar, but she was still thankful for his help. Then she looked up to the stars in the sky, hoping that the great kings were running with her that night. One more look at Pride Rock, which was appearing smaller the more she ran, and she headed for the Pride Lands border.

I will be back, my pride, with all the help I will need, she promised as she ran off into the night. I will return!

...

A good night's sleep did wonders for Simba's attitude the next morning. He felt more refreshed and ready to start the day. Today, after thinking about it over a late breakfast, he decided to actually do something instead of doing nothing all day. It didn't have to be big, something like a walk would do. Stretching his legs one by one, he walked away to find his friends.

When he found Timon and Pumbaa, they were swimming in the river. Timon was riding on top of Pumbaa's belly while the warthog did backstrokes. Simba called a good morning to them, and they waved back before paddling back to shore to greet him.

"Hey, we're sorry we laughed at you last night, Simba," Timon said, drying himself off with a leaf. "We were acting like a couple of jerks."

"Ah, Hakuna Matata. I'm feeling a lot better now," Simba replied, grooming himself. "What do you guys wanna do today?"

Pumbaa shook himself dry, his tail whisking about. "We were gonna help you find your favorite grubs," he explained, "to make up for last night. Do you wanna come with us?"

Simba nodded. "Sure. But can we take a walk first? I'd like to do a little something for once."

The pair nodded before Timon turned to Pumbaa. "Sure, why not? A little walk never killed anyone."

So that was what they did. It was a peaceful morning to go for a stroll. Simba appreciated the peace and quiet, allowing his thoughts to give way to the gentle breeze and the sound of water trickling down rocks. He even stopped to smell some flowers along the way, which made his tail tip twitch.

While they walked, Timon began singing a song, called "The Lion Sleeps Tonight". Pumbaa added the backup chants while Timon led the singing. They even got the other animals in the jungle to join them: first Daabi, then antelope, then the bush baby. Eventually, Bhati and the elephant shrew joined them, singing together and even dancing to the tune. Finally, Simba joined in by dragging out some of the tune, which Timon once accused him of "riffing".

However, Pumbaa had spotted a big blue beetle and went his own way, wandering away from the group. He ended up at the edge of the jungle and near the savannah end, where he and Timon usually never went to. Up ahead, the beetle had landed on a log, and Pumbaa slunk closer and closer until he could almost taste it. With an oink, he jumped up onto the log, his hooves digging into the bark.

A twig cracked, and Pumbaa glanced behind him. "Timon?" he called.

But there was no answer. Pumbaa shrugged and started crawling up the log to see the beetle, unaware of his appearance. He had seen Simba try this when he was a cub, back when he had caught his first flying grub. He was getting closer and closer...

Suddenly, a lioness burst from the tall grass, roaring and baring her teeth. Pumbaa screamed in terror, jumped down from the log, and started running back into the jungle, the lioness hot on his heels, no matter how much turns he made. He ignored Timon's shouts of "PUMBAA!" from not too far away, running this way and that. His luck turned for the worse, however, when he ended up getting stuck under the root of a large tree; there wasn't enough room to fit an aardvark.

Fortunately, Timon was running up to him, eyes wild with concern. "Hey, what's going on?" he demanded.

"SHE'S GONNA EAT ME!" Pumbaa screamed in Timon's face.

Timon hopped up to the branch Pumbaa was stuck under and looked to where Pumbaa ran from. He was right; a lioness had been chasing the warthog, getting closer and closer.

"WHOA!" Timon yelled as he jumped to push Pumbaa out from under the tree root. "Jeez, why do I always have to save your - AHHHHHH!"

The lioness had gotten closer and closer now. Just before the lioness could reach them, however, Simba leaped over the tree root and landed on her. The lioness looked surprised before Simba slammed her to the ground. In a few seconds, both lions were back on their paws, wrestling and grappling with each other. Their roars echoed in the jungle, startling and scaring the other animals that lived here.

"Don't worry, buddy, I'm here for ya. Everything's gonna be okay," Timon reassured Pumbaa, patting his rear while watching the fight. When he saw Simba briefly get the upper hand, he yelled, "Get her! Bite her head! Go for the jugular, the jugular!" Then he darted back to Pumbaa, adding with a grin, "See, I told you a lion would come in handy."

Meanwhile, the lions' grapples turned into wrestling. Simba saw the lioness rushing at him, so he reared on his hind legs to slam his paws down on her shoulders, to prevent her from going for the throat. As Bunga had taught him, exposing the throat in a fight was not good...but Simba remembered that his belly was now exposed to attack. The lioness kicked him there, and the two wrestled on the ground until she pinned him, one paw on his neck and the other on his throat.

Then Simba recognized the lioness. He remembered seeing the teal eyes, the dark tan fur, and the way she had pounced. There was only one lion he knew who could pin him down like that. As the lioness continued to growl down at him, he choked out one name:

"Nala?"

The lioness's face immediately changed from anger to surprise as she got off of him, staring with jaws agape. Simba sat up, staring at the familiar creature. "Is it really you?"

"Who are you?" the lioness asked, confused.

"It's me. Simba," was the answer.

The lioness's eyes seemed to shine when the name rang in her ears. "Simba?"

Numb with joy, Simba nodded. And soon enough, Nala's face turned to pure joy as she and Simba greeted each other and jumped around like cubs. Timon was gawking at them, jaws wide open, ignoring Pumbaa asking if he wasn't going to be eaten after all.

"Simba! You're alive!" exclaimed Nala as they jumped around.

"It's so great to see you!" Simba cheered. "What're you doing here?"

"What am I doing here? What are you doing here?" Nala asked breathlessly.

They were so busy greeting each other and jumping that they hadn't noticed Timon walking over to them, demanding answers. After having avoided their trampling paws, he shouted, "HEY! WHAT'S GOIN' ON HERE?!"

Both lions looked down at him. Simba couldn't keep the grin off his face as he introduced his friends to each other, "Nala, this is Timon. He's taken care of me while I was away. And Timon, this is Nala. She's my best friend!"

"Friend?" Timon repeated incredulously. "Some friend she is! She tried to eat Pumbaa!"

"I didn't know," Nala replied. "Any friend of Simba's is a friend of mine."

"Hey, Pumbaa! Get over here!" Simba called to Pumbaa. The warthog had pulled himself out from under the root and was now walking to them. "Nala, this is Pumbaa. Pumbaa, this is Nala."

"Nala's such a pretty name," said Pumbaa, smiling at the lioness who nearly ate him moments ago. "Pleased to meet your acquaintance."

Timon face-palmed and sighed. "Pumbaa, don't say 'meet' like that. She's gonna see you as a rack of ribs!"

Nala, ignoring Timon, smiled back at Pumbaa. "The pleasure's all mine."

Simba had to admit that Timon hadn't been wrong before. Nala had really been into the hunt, chasing Pumbaa down like a savage. Hopefully, he could introduce his old friend to some grubs so that she wouldn't eat him or anyone else.

"Whoa, whoa! Time out!" Timon interrupted, bringing the chatter to an end. "So let me get this straight. You know her. She knows you," he said, pointing to both lions. "But she wants to eat him," he said as he pointed to Pumbaa, who twitched an ear. "And everyone's okay with that? ...DID I MISS SOMETHING?!"

"Timon, relax," Simba chided him lightly, nudging him with his paw.

Nala was circling around Simba, admiring how he looked. "I still can't believe you're alive, Simba," she breathed. "And you look just like your father. If only he was alive to see you."

Hearing the reference to Mufasa almost made Simba frown, but he pushed it down the best he could. Then he circled around Nala in return, smiling and remarking, "And look at you. You've really changed."

"Wait till everyone finds out you've been here all this time," Nala said, her voice turning a little serious. "And your mother...what will she think?"

But far from reassuring him, Simba felt doubtful and even afraid. Did they know that he had caused Mufasa's death. It was even what Scar reminded him about what Sarabi would think if she found out that her son killed Mufasa.

"She doesn't have to know," he told her firmly. "Nobody has to know."

"Of course they do," said Nala. "Everyone thinks you're dead."

Simba was surprised. "They do?"

Nala nodded solemnly. "Yeah. Scar told us about the stampede. He became king after he told us this."

"He did?" Simba asked, even more surprised. It was strange on how Scar came to be on the throne so fast after Mufasa's death, and it didn't sound right. Then he shook his head. There would be time to think of that later. "What else did he tell you?"

"What else matters? You're alive." Then Nala's eyes widened in realization, a hint of a smile on her face. "And that means, you're the king."

The old Simba would have felt happy at the thought of being king. In fact, his cub self's words "I just can't wait to be king!" rang in his ears like bats' squeaks in a cave. All in all, this sounded like his old dream was coming true.

But far from making Simba happy, it startled him. He couldn't go back to Pride Rock, not after what he did; in fact, he didn't want to go back. He didn't belong there.

"Simba? King?" Timon scoffed, leaning against Simba's paw. "Lady, have you got your lions crossed!"

Nala's eyes narrowed. "No, I'm serious. Simba's the king."

Timon rolled his eyes and retorted, "Yeah, sure. He's the king, I'm the emperor, and Pumbaa is the Grand Poohbah."

But Pumbaa was staring at Simba, as if he were a grub too magnificent to eat. He got down to his knees until his snout nearly touched the ground. "King? I humbly bow before you, Your Majesty! I gravel at your feet!" he declared before trying to kiss his paws.

"Stop it," Simba muttered, pulling his paw away.

"It's not 'gravel'; it's 'grovel,'" Timon scolded Pumbaa. "And don't! He's not the king...are ya?"

"No, she's wrong," Simba snapped at them. "I'm not the king. Maybe I was gonna be, but that was a long time ago."

Simba no longer felt happy about the reunion. Things had gone from amazing to terrible in a few minutes. Seeing Nala again after all these years was amazing. But being reminded of his past, and how everyone would react to seeing him be alive, was terrible.

"Let me get this straight. You were the king, and you never told us?" Timon asked, amazed. "We've taken care of a lyin' king for years?"

"Look, I'm still the same guy," Simba tried to reason.

"But with power!" Timon interrupted with a grin. "Like that crazy chick said, you're the king now!"

Nala bent her head down until she reached Timon's eye level. "Could you guys excuse us for a few minutes?"

Timon folded his arms in protest. "Hey, whatever she has to say, she can say in front of us. Right, Simba?"

Simba wasn't sure what to say at first. Of course he trusted Timon and Pumbaa; not with his deep secret, of course, but he wouldn't tell anyone else in the jungle if something was wrong. But then again, he wanted to spend time with Nala again, after having not seen her for so long.

Finally, he replied, "Maybe you'd better go. I'll catch up with you guys later; I just wanna catch up with Nala first."

Timon stared at him, mouth agape. Then he rolled his eyes and started heading off. "It starts," he grumbled. "You think you know a guy..."

Pumbaa sighed as well, but he followed his best friend. While they were in the bushes, Simba heard Pumbaa say, "I knew he was a king all along, Timon. I felt it in my gut!"

"No, Pumbaa, that's gas," Timon bit back wryly. "And did you get a load of that? Aw great, now I gotta gravel."

"It's grovel," Pumbaa reminded him.

Simba chuckled as he watched them go. "Timon and Pumbaa. You learn to love 'em," he remarked.

But his smile faded when he saw Nala's reaction. She had looked away from Simba, a sad look on her face.

"What?" Simba asked, catching up to her. "Nala, what's wrong?"

"It's like you're back from the dead," Nala replied, looking around at him with a pained expression. "You don't know how much this will mean to everyone...what it means to me."

Simba smiled and brushed up against her. "Hey, it's okay now. I'm here."

To his surprise, Nala reached over and rubbed her head along Simba's neck. "I really missed you," she murmured.

"I missed you too," he rumbled, returning his friend's nuzzle.

In the time that Simba was reunited with her, Nala seemed different to him. She still had the same description from when she was a cub, but she seemed tougher, wise, and stronger. In fact, she looked like she had carried a heavy and terrible burden. With empathy for his best friend, Simba decided to help her out.

"Come on, I'll show you around the jungle. You look kinda tense," he urged her. "I'm telling you, you're gonna like it here."

With a nod from Nala, the two lions walked down the jungle path together.

To be continued...