AUTHOR'S NOTE – I'm so sorry, I can't believe how long it took me to get this chapter done! I hope you can forgive me! You won't believe how hard it can be to find the words for a story that's perfectly clear in your head. And then in a foreign language. Anyway, thank you very much for being patient and for your wonderful reviews. A special thanks to Nicole Reeves, who just started reading and reviewed each and every chapter. I'm really flattered by your kind words. Well, I noticed that Kovu's eyes are more green than blue after I watched TLK2 again, but well, now in my story, they stay blue. Okay now, here's chapter 7. Enjoy! ;)

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CHAPTER 7: Through despair and hope...

"I'm never gonna come back! NEVER!" Lina shouted back at her mother, running into the shadow of the night. It seemed as if she never got out of Kiara's sight, but further and further away from her at the same time.

"No! Lina! Come back! I'm so sorry!" Kiara was in tears. She felt a horrible pain in her heart, and in her legs. She couldn't move.

"Lina! Sister!" Ari cried, suddenly breaking into a run. "I'm gonna get her back, mother!" He shouted over his shoulder, running after Lina as fast as he could.

"Ari, no!" Kiara pleaded, still unable to move. Then a cry – Lina's cry! She was gone. "Lina!" Kiara could still see her son, but he tripped and clawed to the ground – he was holding on to the edge of a gorge, desperately trying not to fall, crying: "Mommy! Mommy!"

"Mommy?"

Kiara awoke, her head shooting up into the air. She was startled, breathing heavily. It was only a dream. Her son stood next to her, wearing a confused look. When Kiara had calmed down, she looked at him and asked worriedly: "Ari, what's wrong?"

Ari squeaked in an angsty voice: "Mommy, where is Lina?"

It took Kiara a few seconds to realise what her son just said. She opened her mouth and looked at the spot between her and Kovu. It was empty! Kiara looked all about her, her whole body trembling. "Lina?" she whispered. "No... Kovu!!" She cried, standing on her paws now, waking up everyone in the cave.

"What is it?" Kovu asked, looking up at her.

"Lina is gone! She's gone!" Kiara shouted in despair.

"What?!" Kovu sat up, now fully awake. Simba, Nala and Vitani gaped with a disturbed look as well.

"Oh no... Takita!" There was another desperate cry, and everyone turned to Kinja. "Takita's gone, too! This can't be happening!"

Kiara could no longer stand it. Through her tears, she glared at her mate and snarled: "And it's YOUR fault!"

Kovu gaped, and Simba inquired: "Why his?"

As Kovu gulped and looked down to the ground, Kiara explained in a tearful, but angry voice: "He decided that Ari should be our heir – over my head! He told Rafiki to change it all, and he claimed I agreed. He defied the Great Kings, and now They're taking Lina away from us!"

Simba roared in anger and growled at his son-in-law: "YOU WHAT??"

"No, Daddy, now is not the time to argue!" Kiara stopped him. "We have to find them! Listen, everyone! We have to look all over the Pride Lands for them! Mitauro, you stay here and look after Ari. The others, search in each and every place within our Kingdom! Kovu, Simba, Nala and me, we'll search the borders and beyond, if necessary. I will head for the Northern border..."

"But you won't go to the Outlands, will you?" Kovu interrupted. "You can't go there alone. I'll join you."

"We have to consider every possibility," Kiara replied, still with a hint of anger in her voice. "And I need you to look elsewhere."

"Then I will come with you," Vitani spoke up.

"Thank you, Vitani," Kiara said, trying not to cry again. "Now everyone, get going! Kovu, take Zazu with you!"

"I will look at the Western border," Kovu said with a sad gaze at his mate, his head hanging. As he trotted away, Simba decided to search in the East, while Nala would head for the South.

Before she and Vitani were about to leave the Royal Cave, Kiara noticed a sobbing. She turned around to see Kinja and Roho still lying in their corner. Kinja was crying heavily, her head in her paws, and Roho did his best not to break down like her. Carefully, but trembling because of her own sorrows, Kiara approached them: "Kinja, Roho, you should be looking for your daughter, too, come on. We have to find them."

Kinja wasn't able to look up at her. She lifted her head only a bit, kept her teary eyes closed and shook her head, sobbing: "This can't be happening. We can't just lose another cub... we just can't."

Kiara and Vitani were startled by these words. Kiara asked in a trembling voice: "You... you had another cub? When? When did you lose it?"

Roho looked up at her and said weakly: "Do you remember when we first joined your Pride? When we didn't feel at home first?"

"Yes, I remember," Kiara replied. "You left about half a year after the reconciliation. And you came back just a few days before I had found out about my pregancy."

"Yeah, we've been away for quite a long time," Roho agreed. "We just didn't feel we belong, though our friends like you, Vitani, already felt at home. We tried to live in the Outlands again, with another Pride far in the East, with some cheetahs in the South... and finally, we found a nice place to live in the jungle, north of the Outlands. There, our son Nivio was born."

Kinja sobbed heavily again as he mentioned his name. Kiara looked at them in a worried way as she inquired: "What happened to him?"

Roho sighed and let some tears run down his muzzle, before he continued: "We were attacked by a large gorilla one day. I tried to defend us from him, while Kinja wanted to bring Nivio somewhere safe. He was just a few weeks old, so she carried him in her mouth. I can't recall all the details of the fight... but... it was near a waterfall and... we lost him..."

"It was all my fault!" Kinja cried out. "It was my fault he died."

"No, Kinja, dear," Roho nuzzled her. "It wasn't your fault. It just happened." Then he looked up at Kiara and Vitani again. "We searched for him the next three days or more. But we never saw our little son again... That was when we returned to the Pride Lands again, trying to forget about all our sadness."

Now Kinja lifted her head and sniffed: "I'm sorry we never told you. We didn't want to cause you any trouble. And a few weeks after our return, I was pregnant with Takita. Her birth was the most wonderful thing that ever happened to me. I can't believe she..."

Kiara shushed her and nuzzled her friend. "We're gonna find her! You don't have to go if you don't feel strong enough. Mitauro and Ari are still here with you now. Vitani, come on, there's no more time to lose."

"I... I..." Vitani stuttered, looking from Kiara to Mitauro, from Mitauro to Kinja and Roho, and back to Kiara. Then she nuzzled Kinja shortly: "I'm gonna find her!" And finally, she nuzzled Mitauro, before she headed out of the cave.

"Mommy?" Ari sniffed. "Please find them. Find my sister and Takita."

Kiara licked the tears away from her son's cheeks and said: "Don't worry. We're gonna find them." And with that, she and Vitani sped out of the cave and into the North as fast as they could.

-

The morning sun rose above the Outlands. It burned on the barren grounds and on the dust-covered fur of two cubs lying there. No shadow fell on them, as they were lying in the middle of the rocky, sandy wasteland. They were both on their right sides, Takita curled up close to Lina's belly. Lina was the first to open her eyes, totally exhausted from the long run that night. Suddenly, she was startled. She lifted her head, eyes widened, ears perked up. There were some strange sounds coming from far away, not quite like voices, and really frightening. Lina nudged her best friend's head several times.

Takita finally looked up at her: "What is it, Lina? I'm so tired."

"Do you hear that?" Lina whispered, listening carefully.

Takita yawned and then perked up her ears as well. "I hear someone calling... calling your name."

Lina shook her head and replied: "I hear something else. It sounds like... Wait! Calling my name?" Indeed, Kiara and Vitani were close to the Northern border by now, but Lina could only guess it was them. "They're looking for us! We have to hide!"

The two cubs quickly got on their paws and looked all about them for a place to hide. They headed for one of the large rock formations and ran into the den within. Barely any sunlight came into the cave, as its ceiling was pretty low. There was only one small hole in the rear of the den through which a cub of their size would probably fit. That hole let in a few rays of light. Lina and Takita hid in the darkest corner of the cave, trying not to breathe too loudly, listening closely. They still heard the voices of Kiara and Vitani. But the other sound was still there as well. And they were shocked to notice that it was much closer to them by now. Their hearts were racing. Two long, hideous shadows became visible in the entrance of the cave. The sound became clearer. It was a sniffing and something else. Like an evil, suppressed laughter.

"Hyenas!" Lina whispered. "Let's get outta here!" As the two figures entered the cave, the cubs crept out of it through the small hole. Once outside, they ran without looking back.

-

"I think they were here," Kiara said to Vitani, sniffing in the low grass at the border. "But where are they now?"

Vitani looked over the river which marked the border between the Pride Lands and the Outlands, her ears perked up. "I think I hear some hyenas over there..."

Kiara gasped. "Oh no, what if Lina and Takita are there? We have to go look for them!" She said in panic, heading for the big tree trunk to cross the river.

"But Kiara, we have to be careful!" Vitani remarked, following behind her. "Remember, we're not in our lands any longer."

-

Lina and Takita had reached the other side of the Outlands, where the river streamed through the gorge where Nuka let his life, years ago. There used to be a dam back then, and some larger tree trunks remained there even now, letting the water flow underneath. Though they didn't seem very stable, the cubs saw no other way. "Let's cross the river," Takita suggested and stepped onto the tree trunk. It shook under her paws, as she cautiously balanced towards the other side. Lina gulped and followed behind her.

-

Kiara and Vitani left the elephant graveyard to their right, as the sounds of the hyenas definitely didn't come from there. They slowly snuck from one den to the other, from one rock formation to the next one. There was nothing to be found. Kiara couldn't stand it any longer. Not as careful as before, she climbed one of the largest rock formations she could see, to the very top. She just had to get a good view. She looked all about her – all of a sudden, a growling face in front of her, bared teeth, scaring eyes, and Kiara was struck in her face.

-

Takita had just made her way to the other side of the river. Now she and Lina, who was just in the middle of the river, froze, startled from the sounds of a fight. Lina pinned her ears and turned around. "Mommy?" she squeaked.

"Lina, watch out!" Takita shouted, and Lina gasped. The tree trunks under her paws were moving. The river was streaming so strongly, the trunks started drifting apart. And as Lina tried to move on, she tripped. "Lina!!" Takita cried as she watched her friend fall into the water. Lina got to the surface, coughing and held on to the closest trunk she could reach. But the dam broke apart, and Lina was taken downstream.

"Help!" Lina yelled, tightening her grip to the trunk.

"Lina! Hang on!" Takita cried, running next to the river after her.

-

Vitani sped up the large rock where two hyenas were now standing and barking angrily. She roared and struck them both in their faces, leaving bloody stripes. One of the hyenas stepped backwards growling, but the other one jumped on Vitani's back, biting into it. Vitani roared in pain, but managed to shake the attacker off her. It landed on the ground, whimpering in pain. Vitani jumped towards the other hyena, striking again. This time, she wounded its throat, and the hyena howled loudly. It raced down the rock, almost tripping, towards the other one. Vitani ran down, ready to attack them, but once both hyenas got on their paws again, they sped away as fast as their injured legs could take them.

Vitani sighed in relief. But then, she gasped. "Kiara?" She looked all about her, panicking. "Kiara!!" There, Kiara lay on her side, at the foot of the large rock formation where the fight had taken place, apparently unconscious. She had fallen all the way down. Vitani quickly approached her and nudged her jaw.

"Kiara?" She tried, her voice trembling. "Please, Kiara, wake up."

At that, Kiara moaned and cocked her head to the side. "Uh... Vitani?" She said weakly, blinking at her. "What happened?"

"You were attacked by a hyena," Vitani explained. "There were two of them, but they're gone now. I don't think Lina and Takita are here. At least, I hope it. We have to get back. Can you get up?"

Kiara tried to move, but as she got on her forelegs, she gritted her teeth and winced in pain. She collapsed to the ground again.

"Kiara, what is it?" Vitani asked in shock.

Kiara looked at her with a painful expression. "Vitani... my legs. My hindlegs. I can't move them...!"

End of Chapter Seven

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AUTHOR'S NOTE – I hope you liked the dream sequence in the beginning. I really like dreams in stories, I hope it was good. Writing all those descriptions is getting harder and harder. Please review and tell me what you think about this chapter, and about the cliffies! Am I too mean? ;) I really hope to get the next chapter done faster, but I can't promise, as University starts again in a few weeks and I already have to start learning now. But be patient, for this story's still far from over! See ya around! ;)