Chapter 8: Feel the Love

Simba sat over his mother's body, weeping tears onto her never-waking face. Beside him, the meerkats were halfway through with digging the grave, and Max kept muttering angrily to himself in words Simba couldn't hear. Nala and the pride sat in a ring of shrubs a hundred paces away, mourning without their king. Rafiki sat against a boulder and lowered his face from view, and Pumbaa sat beside him, reeling from what he'd just seen.

Simba's ears kept twitching toward the trees behind him. The leopards and cheetahs of the Pridelander army were arguing in whispers and hushes. Some wanted to go back into the hills and get their families, to rob Taku of the satisfaction of slaughtering them; others thought it was a suicide mission, as the raptors of the Pride Lands were circling in the sky and watching their every move.

Simba blinked his tears away and turned to the trees, catching the leopards' and cheetahs' attention. He hoped his gaze would get the message across: We need to talk. The leopard commander shot him a glare that made his blood go cold, but he padded out of the trees and trotted up to Simba.

"How many did you lose?" the king said softly.

"We'd need to go back and do a count," the leopard said in a dull voice, "but thirteen people are unaccounted for."

"THIRTEEN?!" Max hollered as he and the meerkats scrambled out of the grave. "You want us to dig a hole for thirteen of them?!"

"Relax," the leopard droned. "We're not going back for them. If the vultures want to make a meal of them, fine."

"Finally, a voice of reason," Max sighed. "But where are you goin'? I thought Simba wanted you to stay here."

The leopard's face went dull with disdain. "He's not my king, and he's got no jurisdiction out here."

"What do ya mean, he's not your king?" Timon said. "You were workin' with him just two hours ago."

"Not anymore," the leopard said. "Look, Simba, I'm grateful for what you did. I am. But impersonating Bara was a step too far. Thanks to you, the Pridelanders have got a bounty on our heads."

"Thanks to me?!" Simba's eyes started to go misty, and his voice went creaky. "They're trying to make us go extinct."

"They wouldn't have done that if it wasn't for you."

"Tell yourself that if you want; it's not going to make it true!"

The leopard rolled his eyes and started to pad away.

"Chui, you can't leave!"

"What do you want me to do? Sit around while he butchers my wife and daughter?"

"He's never going to let you within a mile of them. He's got birds in the air. The second you go back, they're going to report to him, and he's going to put in a rush order to kill you. There has to be another way to get them back."

"Like what? Taku and his merry band of herbivores are hunting carnivores. Thirteen of our people are dead or missing. All the birds out here work for our enemies. The only one who can help us is Zazu—but he's not coming back, is he?"

Simba replied with nothing but a hopeless stare.

"Great. Zazu's missing, Sakora's on the warpath, and our general's about to slaughter our families. Thanks for all the help...Your Majesty." With a snide smirk, he turned away and trotted toward the trees. "Good luck with Sakora. You're going to need it."

Simba started to reply, but Chui swung away and cut him off, barking at the rest of his men to follow. They padded alongside him and followed him into the trees, and the cheetahs rose up and trailed behind the leopards.

"Great," Simba muttered. "What next?"

"He's got a point," Timon said. "They're the only ones who can get their families back. Instead of waitin' around for Sakora to kill us, maybe we oughta go with Chui and help 'im."

"You're not hearing me, Timon. Taku's got birds watching us."

"It's better than waitin' for Sakora to kill us. I saw what Bara did to ya; ya think Sakora's going to treat ya any better?"

"He's right, honey," Madge said. "If we have to die, we might as well make a little less painful. And I'm not saying we're going to die, but if we are—"

"No. Taku's not the biggest bully out here. It's Sakora and his insane asylum of a family. If we try to save their families and Taku kills us, who's going to take down Sakora?"

Max shook his head and folded his arms over his chest. "It's not going to be you."

"Why not? No one else is going to. And if you can dig some traps, we can slow Sakora down."

"I don't care. I've got other problems to worry about."

Timon turned to Max. "What are ya talkin' about?"

"The other night, Simba told us to leave. His exact words were: 'Get your colony to their new home.' But did we? No. You pulled your 'Friends stick together 'til the end' crap."

"Simba's like my kid. What was I supposed to do, leave him?"

"You're supposed to look out for your family, Timon. Your real family...not some washed-up excuse for a king."

"Oh, yeah, sure. He brings his uncle to justice, and he's a wash-up. He takes out one of the biggest monsters in Africa, and he's a wash-up. Face it, Uncle Max: The only reason you wanna bail is because you're scared."

"You bet I'm scared," Max said. "I saw what Bara did to 'im. You want Sakora to do that to you or your mom? It's not going to happen if I can help it." Max kept glowering at him, and he swung away and started to march through the grass. "We're leaving."

Timon snickered at him. "Oh, that's just like you, Uncle Max. You run away to save your own butt."

Max stopped midstride and spun around, his face twisting in anger. "You're not playin' that card with me. You're the one who left home."

"Hey, it's called leavin' the nest. Somethin' you never did."

A sneer went up Max's face, and he swung all the way around and aimed a finger at Timon's face. "You know what? I'll stick around. I'm not going to run out on your mother...like you did."

Timon folded his arms over his chest and gave him a bitter glare. "Y'know, you did enough runnin' away back in your day. This one time, back when Ma was pregnant with me—"

Madge snatched him by the arm, choking all the blood out of it. "Timon...don't..."

He glared at her and jerked his arm away, then turned to Max. "Ya wanna go off on your own? Fine. It's your neck."

"Oh, I'm stayin'," Max said. "Because I don't run out on my family."

"Yeah," Timon said. "I know what ya really do to 'em..."

Without warning, Max swung around and bolted for Timon. Madge leapt into the fray and shoved them apart as they scrabbled at each other's necks.

"Both of you, stop it!" Madge said. "Timmy, I told you not to bring it up."

"Why not, Ma? It's true!"

"You don't know what you're talking about. It was a long time ago, and you weren't there. Now let's get to work. And put the past behind you...both of you."

Timon glared back at her, then jerked his arm away and shot a look at Max. "I don't want any more of your crap."

Max stared coldly at him. "I don't make promises I can't keep."

She shot them a final glare, then let them go. She leapt back into the grave, and she knelt down and started to dig. Max had a clean line of sight on Timon's face. He shot Timon a pained smile, as if he were on the verge of bursting into tears, then turned away and followed Madge into the pit.

"Your mother is dead because of you."

Simba lay on a table of rock in the shade of a tree, feeling the cold stone ease his throbbing wounds while he ignored Nala's scowl.

"This is why we have laws," she said. "If we don't follow the laws, people die."

He lifted his head and gritted his teeth at her. "Don't tell me about the law. Scar took over the Pride Lands, and my mother did nothing."

"Simba, don't you understand? If you keep breaking the law, it's only going to get worse. The violence is never going to end. People are going to keep dying! Why can't you just admit you made a mistake? Why can't you just give the laws more time to work?"

"Bara was a monster; he had to be taken out. And what would you have done with Taku? Walked up to him and asked him to confess?"

"I wouldn't have broken the law. I wouldn't have lied to my own people and pretended to be their enemy."

"And you know what you would have been? Dead. Because these people don't care about the Circle of Life. They don't care about our laws. All they care about is running the world. Sakora and his crazy family want to do it because they think they're gods, and Taku wants to do it because he thinks we need to be euthanized. Someone has to take a stand against these people, and since no one around here's going to do it, it has to be me. But you don't get that, do you? Or do you get it, and you just don't want to admit it?"

She let out a weepy chuckle. "You know what? If you don't care about tradition, I don't, either. I'm not marrying you, and you're not my king."

He sighed and shook his head. "C'mon, Nala, you don't mean that—"

"I couldn't pick a worse person to marry. You're breaking the law, and you don't care. Your mother is dead, and you don't care."

He snarled at her and leapt off the rock, backing her into the tall grass. "Yeah. I've been crying for the last two hours, and I don't care. I'm an orphan now, and I don't care." He swung his head to the open field in the east. "You know what? There's a whole bunch of antelope out there. Go eat something and maybe you'll think straight."

Her face twisted into a weepy grimace, and tears streamed down her face. "Your mother's not the only one who died. The Simba I know is dead. Does that even matter to you? Do you care about anything? Do you feel anything?" She snarled at him and swung a paw across his face. "Did you feel that?" She took her other paw and slapped him. "Did you feel that?!"

"What do you want from me?!" he said. "WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME?!"

"I want you to feel something!" she sobbed. "She fought for our lives, and now she's dead! She fought for you, Simba! She died for you!"

"I KNOW WHAT SHE DID! ALL RIGHT?!" A sob bubbled up in his throat, and tears spilled down his face. "I DON'T WANNA HAVE TO THINK ABOUT IT!"

He stifled his sob and waited for her to speak, but she fell back onto her hind paws and looked away.

"Do you think I like what I had to do?" he said. "I killed my own uncle. I killed Bara. I killed a unit of his pride, and I had to kill a lioness just to put her out of her misery. I had to pretend to be Bara just to get a confession out of Taku. I saw their faces—my own people were terrified of me. I've hated everything I've had to do, and I'm afraid if I don't stop now, I'm going to forget who I am. Nala, what do you want from me? What do you want me to do?"

She kept sitting there, head hanging above her forepaws.

"Nala?"

She didn't answer. There was a grunt and a shudder, and she started to rise up onto all fours. Her face was vague and blank, and her eyes gazed at nothing and no one.

"...Nala?"

She let out a whimper, her mouth hanging open, then groaned and toppled to the grass.

"Nala..." Simba stood over her, laying a paw on her face. "Nala!"

"Simba, get back." Sarafina swerved up to him with the rest of the pride behind her. "I said, Get back."

"Sarafina, please. Let me help—"

"She doesn't need your help," she said. "She doesn't need you."

She gave him a glare and turned away, crouching and lifting Nala onto her back. She carried her past a line of shrubs and into the trees, taking her out of Simba's sight.

The grave was fully dug and gaping up at the sky, waiting for Sarabi to fall into its mouth, and the meerkats started digging a maze of traps for Sakora and his pride. As the afternoon wore on and the shadows of the trees crept over the grave, the meerkats bounded out of the warren and gathered around a puddle of water, quenching their dusty throats.

"Nice goin'," Max said between gulps. "Ya finally dug a hole without breakin' it."

Timon ignored it and downed a swig of water.

"That was a compliment, Timon."

"No, it wasn't. It was a cheap shot."

"Both of you, stop," Madge said. "Things are bad enough without the two of you fighting."

"We wouldn't be if we were on our way outta here." Max took another draught, then wiped his lips with the back of his paw. "We could be savin' our butts right now. Instead, we're bustin' our humps, diggin' a grave and settin' traps for a king who's about to be slaughtered. But hey! At least Timon knows how to keep a tunnel standin' for longer than two minutes."

Timon smirked at him. "At least when I dig my tunnels, I don't bring 'em down on purpose. At least I'm not the one who committed a felony offense against my family."

Madge aimed a finger at his face. "Timmy, I told you not to bring it up—"

"He's been takin' shots at me all afternoon. He oughta remember what it's like to break a hole."

"You don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh, I don't? Well, maybe you can correct me, Ma."

"Timmy—"

"Once upon a time, there was a corridor in the southeast sector. Everyone told Uncle Max not to mess with it. He started digging, and the whole thing came down. A rock fell in from the ceiling, and my dad was underneath it. Does that about sum it up?"

Max glowered at him. "That was an accident, Timon."

Timon nodded and blinked his misty eyes. "Everyone said ya hated my dad...that ya wanted him dead."

"That was an accident!"

"After all those years, ya got what ya wanted."

"THAT WAS AN ACCIDENT, TIMON!" Max showed the kind of smile that's halfway to tears. "And yeah...I thought about killin' 'im. If you had a brother like him, you'd think about killin' him, too. A brother who taunted you and embarrassed you in front of your friends. A brother who stuffed your face into the burrow of a mouse after it was dead, makin' ya lose your lunch. A brother who shoved you into the path of a hyena while him and his stupid friends laughed their heads off. And that's the stuff he did when he was grown up. I couldn't believe my sister would fall for a guy like him. I thought she was nuts, and I thought if she had a kid, he'd be as bad as him. Yeah, I wanted him gone. Everyone knew it. When your dad died, I ran, just to avoid the scandal. But Flinchy caught me and hauled me back, and everyone put me on trial for weeks. I spent two months in solitary lockup. Yeah, that's right, Timon: They let me out. Because I didn't murder him."

Timon wagged his head and let out a sniffle. "Well, now I know why ya gave me such a hard time. You're the ultimate tunnel klutz, and you don't wanna admit it."

"Keep talking trash to me, I'm going to put your head where the sun don't shine!"

"Try it, old man! Digga tunnah!"

"I hope ya like the dark, Timon, 'cause here it comes!"

Timon lunged at him, and Madge jumped into the fray and grabbed them by the backs of their necks. "Stop it!" They swung their fists, but Madge pulled them farther apart. "Stop it! Now Timon, I forgave him a long time ago. It's time you forgive him, too. And Max, I forgave you for what happened. You oughta forgive yourself."

They didn't answer. They kept dangling in her grip and sharing glares.

"You know what, Timon?" Max said. "I don't care if you're my nephew. If ya get us to our new home, you're not going to be welcome."

"Yeah, that's fine with me. I'll be doin' somethin' even better than livin' the high life. I'm going to be servin' Simba, my friend and king. Let's see ya take that and shove it."

"Boys, that's enough!" Madge said. "Now both of you, get to work." She let them go and shot them a warning glare, then turned away and waddled up to a tunnel entrance.

Max gave Timon a bitter glare. "We'd better get back to it. We need some traps, and they're not going to dig themselves."

"Yeah, yeah," Timon said. When Max turned away and started digging, "I'll bring one down on your head, see how you like it."

Max didn't seem to hear it.

"Simba..."

The lion's eyes sprang open, and the cavern of Pride Rock went halfway into focus. Rumbling through the rocks was a deep voice, golden and heavy like thunder mingling with sunshine.

"Simba…"

Tears sprang in Simba's eyes, and his voice went trembly.

"Father..."

He got onto all fours and bounded out of the cavern, and his heart went into his throat.

A red-maned lion swung into view. His huge body was blurry and vague, his head buried in a mop of mane. "A king's time as ruler rises and falls like the antelope eat the grass….We all are connected in the great circle that's beyond our borders…The Great Kings of the Past put Nala in danger, and being brave doesn't mean you deliberately disobeyed me."

Simba shook his head in despair. "Dad…when will you be proud of me?"

The faceless lion lifted his head over his shoulder. "Before sunrise, he's your son..."

A lioness loped onto the promontory and turned her faceless head to Simba. "It's all right with me...as long as Zazu goes with you…"

"No," Simba said. "Mom...Dad...don't leave me..."

A peal of thunder cracked overhead, and the sky went dark with purple and black clouds. A sea of hyenas washed over the dusty land, their tongues and eyes lolling out. "We killed the Pride Lands! We killed the Pride Lands!"

Simba's heart trembled, and his legs began to buckle. "Mom! Dad!"

Pride Rock shook beneath his paws. The rock gave a mighty CRACK, and the slab began to fall.

Mufasa and Sarabi dropped out of sight. "SIMBA-A-A-A-A!"

"MOM! DAD! I'LL SAVE YOU!"

Simba burst into a run and leapt off the broken rock, hurtling through a purple sky. He tumbled through the air, watching the horizon spin all around him.

"Mom...Dad...don't leave me!" His voice rose to a cub's high shrill. "Mom…Dad! Help me!"

Sarabi's face billowed in the clouds. "You killed your father."

"NO! IT WAS AN ACCIDENT!"

Mufasa's face bubbled up. "You killed your mother."

"DAD! PLEASE!"

Rafiki poked his head from a billow of cloud and stabbed his staff at Simba. "You killed de Pride Lands, Simba!"

The hyenas cackled, filling the air with their singsong. "You killed the Pride Lands! You killed the Pride Lands!"

"Asante sana, squash banana—"

"You killed the Pride Lands!"

"We we nugu, mi mi apana—"

"You killed the Pride Lands!"

"A-wheeeeeeeee..."

"NO!"

"...eeeeeeeeeeee..."

"You killed the Pride Lands!"

"NO-O-O!"

"...eeeeeeeeeeeeee!"

"You killed the Pride Lands!"

"NO-O-O-O-O-O..."

"...O-O-O-O-O!"

"Simba! Simba, you're all right!"

The lion jerked awake, muscles shaking and breath gulping. He panted and stared all around, and Pumbaa and the meerkats came into focus.

Madge jumped onto the table rock and laid a paw on Simba's foreleg. "It's time for the funeral, honey."

Simba's face went all miserable, and he let out a breath and gulped down a sob. "I killed them..."

"What do you mean?"

"They died because of me," he whimpered. "My mom's dead...and now you're going to die..." He sniffled and wiped his face against his paw. "Max was right. You should've left—"

"Honey, if we wanted to leave, we would have. But we're not, because we know you're going to see this through."

"That's right, Kid," Timon said. "It's all going to work out. Besides, we're going to dig some more traps. Sakora and his pride won't know what hit 'em."

Simba sobbed and rolled onto his side. "Dig all you want, Timon...I'm done."

Timon's smile fell away. "What do ya mean, you're done?"

"What do you think I mean? I'm stepping down."

"Kid, you can't do that!"

"Why not?"

"Because you're the king!"

"We're not in the Pride Lands anymore. No one believes in me. The herbivores are an army. The carnivores are running away—"

"They're just angry at what happened to their families," Madge said. "Everything's going wrong for them, and they're looking for someone to take the fall."

He gritted his teeth and sent another pair of tears down his face. "Nala said she wants my father back...She had every right."

"Kid, she was just angry," Pumbaa said. "She's going to come around—"

"She's not going to come around...and she shouldn't." Simba let out a sob and lowered his head. "She should have my father back...not me."

"Kid, you can't just give up," Timon said. "No one else is going to take down Sakora, and your pride's not going to do what has to be done."

"I don't care, Timon. I'm done." He let out a trembly breath and turned his face away. "Just tell the lionesses, all right? At least that'll make them happy—"

There was a rustle and a gasp, and Simba and the meerkats swung to the lionesses.

All the lionesses turned to Simba at once. They stared at him in disgust, and Rafiki glared at him with a look of grief. Nala went up on all fours, her mouth hanging open. Fury warped her mouth and regret darkened her eyes, and with one look at Simba, she swung away and bounded into the shrubs.

Simba loped down off the rock and started after her, but Nala's mother gave him the slightest hint of a growl, and he stopped in his tracks and stared helplessly at her. She gave him another glare and took off after Nala with the rest of the pride trailing her.

"Now what?" Max said. "Simba, what did you do?"

He wagged his head in confoundment, then lumbered off the rock and trotted to Rafiki. "Is she all right?"

"She will be...in time."

"But what's wrong?"

The mandrill's face went flat and dark, all the warmth going out of his eyes. "You're going to be a father."

Simba fell on his haunches and gulped through his dangling mouth. "It...It's not Scar?"

"It's not Scar," Rafiki said. "It's you."

There was no smile, no clap on the shoulder, just a look of disappointment, and he hobbled away and followed the lionesses, leaving Simba staring off into nowhere.