Darkness fell slowly, accompanied by the occasional rumble of thunder and flash of lightning. The Pride Lands were quiet as the herds found shelter from what was shaping up to be a rough storm, and even Pride Rock had fallen still. The lionesses and their angry king had fallen into fitful slumbers, most jumping subconsciously as nightmares and thunder disturbed them.

Maten and Saga moved slowly through the land. The crazed lion had become more cautious, paranoid about guards and warnings being sent to Kovu, but Maten trudged onwards with determination. Kovu already knew – Penrai probably sent him word. He began to growl but quickly suppressed it. Save your energy, Maten. He glanced sidelong at Saga. You'll need it.

It wasn't until hours after the moon rose that the rain began to fall. A long roll of thunder heralded the welcome storm, and then it came down like a torrent. The landscape lit up brilliantly with each flash of lightning, and Pride Rock stood out like a black shadow against the white sky.

Maten looked up at the impressive heights and smiled grimly to himself as thunder boomed behind him. His mane laid slick against his head as he stared upwards, his eyes blinking furiously against the drops that landed in his eyes. He forgot about Saga, instead focused intently on the darkness that was Kovu's cave, so close and yet so far.

He was home.

Oblivious of Maten being so close, Kovu slowly moved away from Kiara, jumped over Winda in a graceful bound, and walked to the mouth of the cave. He stared into the night sky with his good eye, the scars over his other burning as the rain fell on it. Despite the sting of the scars he moved slowly forwards into the pouring rain. Maybe the pain and the cold water of the storm would sooth his mind and wake him out of the stupor he'd been in lately.

He sat at the tip of Pride Rock, gazing sadly across the lands. His beautiful Pride Lands, now covered in the dark coat of night and greedily drinking in the much-needed water from the storm. A small smile came to his muzzle and he turned his face into the rain, the pain now becoming a numb throb and his eye closed. He felt the pain and sadness of the past few days drip off his body with the rain water. Perhaps this is all I needed to clear my mind… Time to think and a cold shower. He smiled and opened his eye again, noticing with some confusion seven new stars in the sky. Each had a faint ring of color around them - deep green, silver, white, black, blue, red, and finally light blue. Another star was brighter, as well. He heard a faint voice in the back of his mind and figured it was Ahadi's, since it belonged to neither Mohatu, Mufasa, nor Simba. Still and all, it was a cold voice – one that was not too welcoming.

The Wise Council is no more, Kovu. The seven ancient Kings now have their stars, and their queens wander the Dark Forest on all fours. Mufasa and Sarabi are no longer their pawns. Farewell, Kovu.

The message was short, but the ending powerful, and it make his fur bristle. He stared into his lands, now seeming unwelcoming and dark. A shudder ran through his powerful frame, and a small whimper escaped him. He returned his gaze to the now unwelcome sky then turned back towards the cave.

Maten's nose almost pressed against his, his blue eyes glowing. Close behind him, Saga fidgeted and cackled quietly, standing as a backup for Maten. Kovu only now realized how close he had come to death – one quick push from the powerful male…

Maten grinned slowly, a look Kovu didn't like. He swallowed hard, taking a wary step back – a step forwards for Maten. He had grown out of his lanky body and was now powerful and muscled. His eyes were so like Vitani's that, so close, he almost felt he was staring into his sister's eyes. Except, of course, that they were on darker fur and surrounded by a handsome, light brown mane, resting on a lion that more desired his death than she did.

Maten brought a paw up to gently stroke Kovu's cheek, almost lovingly. His voice was quiet and calm as he spoke – Kovu was trapped, and he would now take his time killing him.

"You killed your sister, Kovu. Out of cold blood. Because of a bunch of dead lions."

Kovu trembled and closed his eye, twisting his face from the paw stroking it. It was a stroke that Kiara would give him, his voice the calm voice of a lover. But looking into his face, all he saw was the desire to kill. Maten was simply toying with him, and he was enjoying it too. Because Kovu didn't have the voice to cry out for help with – his throat was tight with fear.

"You destroyed my friend. You killed my mother."

Another step backwards, but this time Maten didn't follow. Kovu's hind paw was now at the very tip of Pride Rock. He felt a cold wind swirl around him, causing him to shudder and whimper. Maten smiled slowly, now taking that step forwards. He had Kovu pressed against an invisible wall, backed up as far as he was willing to go. He would have to be pushed the rest of the way.

Hmm… Pushed…

Kovu looked past Maten to Saga, who was staring into the cave with a strange look on his face. He suddenly got up and padded quietly inside, and Kovu's sharp eyes caught him moving towards the pale lioness Elata. He growled quietly and tried to move forwards, but Maten remained rooted to the spot. Kovu stared up at him and snarled, raising his paw to strike out. Saga would not touch any of his lionesses – not Elata, not Winda, none of them. And especially not Kiara.

Maten was faster, though. Saga had trained him to recognize the intention to strike long before a paw is lifted, and he was already acting when Kovu began snarling. His claws raked vicious across Kovu's face, drawing four thick lines of blood. He sank his claws into his fur, holding his roaring face still while he screamed above a loud crack of thunder.

"You killed yourself, Kovu!"

He yanked his claws out of Kovu's face, calmly flicking his eyeball off the side of Pride Rock before he turned and walked towards Saga. Kovu's loud bellows of agony followed him and woke the Pride up, who watched with horror as the older gold lion was joined by a figure from their past, the blood of the king dripping from his paws. Kovu was thrashing around on Pride Rock, blind and in agony. Sooner or later he would fall off the side, or Maten would help him do it.

But first he had to deal with Saga.

He stood calmly by his side, looking at Kiara. She was staring at Kovu, but not daring to move. She could still feel the tension in the air, could see from the way Maten turned his eyes from her to Saga and noticed his claws sliding out of their sheaths. Saga looked over to him and grinned slowly, his voice slipping poisonously from his mouth.

"She is a pretty one, Maten."

Maten roared his challenge and smacked Saga powerfully in the jaw, hoping to send him sprawling. He, however, took the blow in his stride and twisted his face with the strike. He stepped away and stared calmly down his nose at Maten, who was standing against the wall and snarling. The lionesses slowly began to move backwards, forming a protective wall in front of Kiara. Outside, in the rain, Kovu lay completely still in the middle of Pride Rock.

Silence ruled as the two males faced off, each preparing to fight for two very extreme, very different prizes – one would become the king of the mighty Pridelands and have a full harem of lionesses waiting for him, and the other would be awarded death.

Maten and Saga met suddenly, both clashing in a flurry of claws and fangs. Maten clamped his jaws down on Saga's ear and raked his claws down his back, using a hind paw to defend his stomach. Saga twisted at an unnatural angle and forced Maten to the floor, his hind claws gashing deep cuts down Maten's stomach.

The younger lion roared and clawed viciously at Saga's face, soon feeling the weight on his chest lift. Saga ran outside, hoping to use the rain to clean the blood out of his eyes, while Maten rolled to his feet. He gasped painfully then stared outside, growling.

And suddenly, he felt a small cold spot on the back of his leg. He twisted his face around and saw Winda staring at him, her gentle eyes filled with pain. He started to move away but she slid up next to his ear, whispering to him.

"Please win, Maten."

He stared at her, shocked, then flashed a confident smirk and went back outside. Winda looked after him and whimpered quietly – it was in her own opinion that Maten would be best for the Pride now that Kovu was incapable of leading and would probably be dead. She slink back slowly to the group and pushed her way to Kiara's side, lying down by the grief-stricken Queen's side.

Noticing that the old lion was still trying to paw the endless stream of blood from his eyes Maten covered the distance between them in a single, powerful stride and pounced to the old male's back. Saga's bellow echoed with the sudden boom of thunder, and a bolt of lightning illuminated the sparring lions long enough for the pride to watch as Maten was thrown off Saga's back.

Maten grunted as he stopped rolling close to the edge of the mighty throne, watching Saga's slow approach. He stood uneasily, snarling into the face of the older male. His eyes were almost pure red now, save the small splash of brown in the center. Maten felt a cold fear grip him as he danced gracelessly out of Saga's reach. Saga would fight with the power of madness until he was dead - no pain would stop him.

Saga was right on him, following his clumsy dodge with a bound. He leapt mightily at the young warrior, slamming into his side and knocking him to the ground. Before he could struggle to his paws, Saga centered his weight on Maten's chest in an attempt to crush his ribs while he snapped at the writhing figure's neck.

The wind blown out of him, Maten was stunned for the brief second it took to realize that he was pinned. He began to jerk his head around, hoping to create too difficult a target for Saga's fangs while he tried to deal with his immense weight. Saga's laugh echoed through the night as he felt Maten's struggles die down and noticed his eyes rolling wildly. Almost... Almost...

When his mouth found the younger throat finally, he figured it was all over. But a sudden weight slammed into his left hind leg with bone-shattering force, and with a scream of agony he twisted away from Maten and fell to the ground. Maten remained still, fighting to regulate his breathing and watching as Saga tried to stand. In a final desperate move he had slammed both his hind legs into Saga's left with the desired result; if not broken, Saga now sported a dislocated leg.

Which was good enough for Maten.

The young male finally found his footing, standing for a moment to allow his head time to stop spinning before he stalked cautiously around the old lion. He circled like a vulture, watching his increasingly frantic attempts to find his footing. Like a flash he dove in and used Saga's back like a springboard, pushing him down as he almost got up. He found himself landing right near Kovu.

The king's head shot up, his blind eyes staring directly at Maten. He snarled with anger and stood slowly, breathing heavily. Maten was near - he could smell him. His voice came out as a hoarse bellow.

"I'll take you with me, Maten! I'll take you down with me!"

He dove towards the sound of heavy breathing and sank all his claws and fangs into the venerable flesh. His roar of victory was answered by a bellow of pain and Kiara's panicked scream. He wrestled the jerking form below him towards the side of Pride Rock, sinking in more grimly as the struggle became more frantic. He freed his jaws long enough to emit a final roar to his Pridelands, his pride, and his love before he rolled off the side with the doomed king. The silence that followed was broken only by the sounds of two loud snaps.