Here's the first chapter of 2017! So it's been a long time since I've updated and my apologies for that. But life does get very busy for me and I need a long time to write. Thanks to TMNTTLK lover, Black Louie and RogueRaven 18 for reviewing. I really appreciate it! A few more reviews would be nice… :)
Anyway, here's the next chapter and I hope you like it.
Back in the Pridelands, Simba was returning back to Priderock. It was a few months since Akila's incident with Scar and he had healed completely and had resumed his role of second in command. As for Scar, Simba had sent word to neighbouring Prides to help him find Scar's location but they hadn't been successful. Wherever Scar was hiding, he was hiding well.
Going past the trees bordering Priderock, Simba spotted many of the Pride members lounging underneath the trees. Among them, Simba spotted a lioness named Ashika. He felt a nagging feeling remembering exactly who the lioness was. It was his Ariya's mother.
Simba remembered Ariya and how lowly he had thought of her. It was not only until Ariya had told him about her mother that Simba realized exactly how much Ariya had been through and why she acted the way she did. He still felt sorry for the Ariya and hoped that she had found happiness wherever she was. She deserved it.
There was a cub in her adolescent ages next to Ashika. It was Raina, Ariya's younger half sister. Although the cub looked a lot like her mother, she looked nothing like Ariya. Simba knew Ashika's mate, Iacron. He was a good natured lion and was well known and liked in the Pride. Although he and Simba talked on many occasions ,he still couldn't get rid of the nagging feeling he always got when he talked with Iacron. No matter how good he seemed to be, it wouldn't change how Ashika and him had treated Ariya.
"Simba?" Came a voice. It was Alex and Tojo. He had done good on his promise with Alex and the rest of his friends. He had found time for them and now they were just as close as they had always been before Simba had gotten busy with his duties as King.
"Anything wrong?" Simba asked. He bumped heads with his friends in greeting.
"No but Akila said that you would take over his patrol for him. He's doing something with Malaika right now." Tojo said.
"Oh right." Simba sighed. "Do you want to go now?" He enjoyed being able to patrol with his friends. He was often busy and missed out on spending time with them so patrols were a good way to catch up. Alex nodded and the three were off.
A while later, Kiara emerged out of the dens with Nala. Seeing that it was mid morning, Nala turned to her daughter.
"I have to go hunting now." Nala said. "Stay at Priderock until your father comes back. Okay?"
"Mom!" Kiara complained. "Can't I come with you? I'm going to be bored by myself." Nala chuckled at her. She had only began talking fluently a while ago and she was learning quickly.
"Not today Kiara." Nala said nuzzling her. "When your older, you can come with us." She gave the top of her head a lick before heading down Priderock.
Kiara sighed and sat down. She knew that Danyssa was at the River Pride so she couldnt' play with her and she had no idea where Jasiri was. She knew her brothers left the den early to go play with their friends but she wasn't allowed to leave Priderock without an adult yet.
"Kiara?" Kiara turned to see her grandmother, Sarabi walking up to her and nuzzled her youngest grandcub. "What's wrong?"
"There's no one to play with me Grandma." Kiara said nuzzling Sarabi.
"Why don't you come play with Vijay?" Sarabi suggested, licking the top of her head. Kiara nodded and followed her into the dens. Ajjali, now nearly an adolescent bounded past them giving her mother a nuzzle before she left.
"Kiara!" Kiara felt someone pouncing on her and she looked up to see Vijay standing over her with a grin.
"Get off!" Kiara laughed pushing him off with her back legs. With a playful growl, she jumped on Vijay and the two of them rolled around the den laughing and trying to pin each other down.
"I'm the hungry hyena and you look like a good snack!" Vijay said growling the best he could. With a squeal, Kiara ran around and out of the den with Vijay chasing after her.
Seeing Vijay run after her, Kiara bounded down Priderock. She suddenly heard Vijay calling out behind her.
"Kiara watch out!" Kiara suddenly felt her running into someone who felt a bit too familiar and she looked up to see her father towering over her along with Alex and Tojo.
"Kiara…" Simba said raising his eyebrow. "You know you can't leave Priderock."
"Daddy it's not my fault!" Kiara said. "Vijay chased me out of the den!"
"No I didn't!" Vijay exclaimed. "You ran out of the den!" Kiara glared at him and pounced on him but Tojo used his paw to separate the cubs.
"Enough!" Alex said. "Vijay, Zuri and Anjani are in the meadow. Why don't you go play with them?" Vijay nodded and after sticking his tongue out at Kiara, he ran off.
The males chuckled seeing Kiara's frustrated face.
"Come on little Princess." Tojo said. "How about you come with me and we can take a nice nap?"
"I wanna play with Daddy." Kiara said turning to Simba and clung onto his front leg. "Please Daddy! Can we play?"
"Daddy's a bit tired right now…" Simba said. "We can play tonight."
"Please Daddy, please!" Kiara begged clinging onto him. She looked at Simba with bright pleading eyes and Simba sighed knowing he couldn't say no. He heard Alex and Tojo chuckling at him.
"Alright." Simba said. "Let's go." Kiara giggled and after nuzzling her uncles, she bounded down Priderock with Simba behind her.
"Kiara slow down!" Simba chuckled. "You're going to tire yourself out!" Kiara waited for Simba to catch up.
"Mom went hunting. Did you see Kion and Kopa?" Kiara asked wondering where her older brothers were.
"I saw them following the lionesses on the hunt for the first time today." Simba said. "They're going after antelope today so it's not too dangerous for them to go." He saw Kiara's face fall.
"It's alright my little Princess." Simba said rubbing his cheek against Kiara's. "You'll be old enough to go with them soon enough." He led Kiara to the stream and gently nudged Kiara in knowing she had only splashed around in the small pond before.
"It's okay, I'm right behind you!" Simba assured keeping a close hold on her.
Kiara waded into the water, enjoying the coolness. She felt Simba sending a wave of water at her and she laughed before splashing Simba. She loved playing in the water with her father. Simba would come into the water and play with them unlike Nala who didn't like getting wet unless she had to.
After about ten minutes, Kiara heard the flapping of wings and turned to see Zazu flying down towards them.
"Zazu whats wrong?" Simba asked, giving the hornbill his attention.
"Sire, the rhinos and the hippos are fighting again over Zuberi lake." Zazu said. "You must attend to it now."
"I know." Simba nodded. "Zazu, take Kiara back to Priderock."
"Dad!" Kiara whined. Simba nuzzled her.
"I'm sorry Kiara but I need to take care of this." Simba said. "Go find Uncle Tojo, he'll play with you." Giving her another nuzzle, Simba was off and Kiara followed Zazu home.
"Don't worry Princess Kiara." Zazu said seeing the cubs dejected face. "Soon you'll be big enough to play with everyone else."
"But that's going to take so long Zazu." Kiara frowned as she trotted back home. Upon arriving at Priderock, she climbed up the rocks and into the den to look for Tojo. He was no where to be seen but she spotted Shinda dozing lightly in the corner of the den.
"Auntie!" Kiara pounced on Shinda's back and she raised her head.
"Hello my little cub." Shinda said licking her face. "What're you doing by yourself?" She picked Kiara up and placed her between her paws.
"There's no one to play with me." Kiara said. "Can we play Auntie?"
"I'll play with you right after you get a bath." Shinda smiled and Kiara nodded letting her aunt groom her. Unlike her brothers, Kiara enjoyed baths and would often get dirty just to get one. Shinda spent her time cleaning Kiara. She had raised Kiara just like she would raise her own cubs as she had done with Kion and Kopa. After not being able to have cubs of her own, she and Alex had practically raised Simba and Nala's cubs.
Kiara felt herself getting drowsy and with a yawn she buried herself into Shinda's fur and closed her eyes. The afternoon heat felt good and before she knew it Kiara had drifted off but opened her eyes again when she heard voices in the den. Rubbing her eyes with her paws, Kiara got onto her paws to see her older brothers in the den along with some other cubs.
"Kion and Kopa are back." Shinda nudged Kiara. "Why don't you play with them?" Kiara nodded and bounded over to her older brothers nuzzling both of them. Kopa returned her affection and Kion pressed his head against Kiara.
"I thought you went with Mom on the hunt?" Kiara asked.
"We did but they didn't make a kill. So they sent us back and went to find another herd." Kion said. "It was really cool Kiara. You should go see it."
"I'm not allowed to go." Kiara said folding her ears down. "Do you wanna play with me?"
"We were gonna go play at the pond." Kopa said. "It's really hot and…" His voice trailed off at the look Shinda was giving him.
"Kopa…" Shinda raised her eyebrows at Kopa, giving him a knowing smile. "How about you two play with your sister for a bit? She's had nothing to do all morning."
"Auntie!" Kion tried to protest but shut his mouth as he noticed the look Shinda gave him.
"Alright." Kion sighed. Shinda smiled and nuzzled all three of them. "You can play around Priderock but don't leave Priderock with Kiara." The cubs nodded before bounding outside.
"I wanted to play at the pond!" Kopa huffed.
"But I'm not allowed to go Kopa." Kiara said. "We have to stay here."
"You can stay here." Kion smirked. "We're gonna go."
"Boys…" The cubs turned around to see Simba giving them an amused smile.
"Daddy!" Kiara ran to her father and nuzzled her head against his leg. Simba returned her affection before nuzzling Kion and Kopa.
"And just where were you going to go Kion?" Simba said giving his son a knowing grin.
"No where." Kion smiled back. "We're staying here Dad."
"Good." Simba said. "It's too hot too leave Priderock and play anyways and I want you here by the time the lionesses come back from the hunt. Come with me to the dens." He nudged his cubs back into the royal den.
"Dad, can you take Kion and I patrolling at the northern border?" Kopa asked. "Isn't that where the elephant graveyard is? Grandpa said it was safe to go as long as we're with some adults and we don't go past the border."
"Well…" Simba thought for a minute. "I'm going to patrol there tomorrow with Amri, Moraan and Chumvi…"
"Please Dad!" Kion begged. "I want to see what the elephant graveyard is."
"Alright you can come." Simba said. "But we're not going into the Elephant Graveyard. You can see what it is from the border."
"Can I come too?" Kiara asked. She hadn't gone on any patrols with her father or any of the males before.
"Sweetie the northern border is the furthest border and it's the longest patrol too." Simba said. "I don't want you tiring out when we go there, it's a long walk. I'll talk to Mom and we'll see if you can come patrolling at another border. Uncle Tojo and Uncle Akila are going to be at the western border tomorrow, how about you go with them?"
"Alright." Kiara said lowering her head. She hated being too young to go with her brothers but at least she would be able to go on the patrol for the first time tomorrow.
"Too bad you aren't old enough Kiara!" Kion smirked. Kiara growled and pounced on him and the two of them rolled around the den trying to pin each other down. With Kion being bigger than her, he managed to pin Kiara down.
"Gotcha!" Kion grinned. Kiara threw him off before only to be pounced on again by Kopa who held her down firmly with a smug look.
"Kopa!" Kiara struggled to get out of his hold. Simba reached over and gently used his paw to pick Kopa up and off of Kiara.
"Come on Dad!" Kopa exclaimed. "It was fun!"
"Leave her alone Kopa." Simba chuckled. "You know she still too young."
Suddenly Kiara heard noises outside and she realized it was the hunting party so Nala would be back.
"Mom's back!" Kiara exclaimed running out of the den with Kopa and Kion following her.
"Mom!" Nala turned around and smiled at the sight of her cubs running towards her with Simba a little ways behind. She bent down and nuzzled all three of them.
"What have you been doing all morning?" Nala asked. She licked the top of Kiara's head.
"I was at Priderock." Kiara said looking excited. "Mom tell Daddy that I can go patrolling with Uncle Akila and Uncle Tojo! He said he would ask you. Tell him Mom!"
"And what's this about?" Nala laughed looking at Simba. He greeted his mate with a loving nuzzle.
"She wants to go patrolling tomorrow. I can't take her to the northern border tomorrow, she'll probably tire out. But Akila and Tojo will be at the western border tomorrow so I was thinking of letting her go then. What do you think?" Simba asked looking at Nala for her response.
"Well…" Nala began. "I-"
"Please Mom!" Kiara clung onto Nala's front leg. "I really wanna go!"
"Alright…" Nala chuckled. "You can go. Now come on, I have our share of the kill." She lead her family to where she had stashed their kill. After feeding, Nala settled down with Simba by her side and pulled Kion towards her to clean him.
"Mom!" Kion complained. "I wanna go play!" He struggled to get out of Nala's firm grasp.
"Kion, stay still and you'll be done sooner." Simba chuckled, grabbing Kopa by the tail as he tried running away. He sighed and flopped down on the grass.
After Nala was done bathing the twins, they hurried off to find their friends much to Kiara's disappointment. Nala noticed her daughter's face and pulled Kiara into her paws with a smile.
"Don't worry Kiara." Nala said running her tongue along Kiara's back to comfort her. "You'll be old enough to play with them soon enough."
"Besides, in the mean time you can play with me!" Simba said giving Kiara a grin.
"You're not as fun as Kion and Kopa, Daddy!" Kiara huffed. Simba pretended to look hurt, placing his paw over his heart to mock her. Nala chuckled at her mate.
"Sorry Daddy…" Kiara said, squeezing into Simba's paws and nuzzling him. Simba smiled at his youngest cub and rubbed his face against hers lovingly.
"Now come on." Nala said. "Its time for your nap." She picked Kiara up and placed her between her and Simba, shielding Kiara from the glaring sunlight.
"I'm not tired Mom." Kiara protested. "And I don't want a nap!"
"Shhh," Nala said. "You know you get tired."
"Don't worry, we won't tell your brothers that you took a nap." Simba chuckled, running his paw along her back and Kiara settled down. Simba knew the twins loved to tease and harass Kiara over the fact that she still had to take naps. Nala settled her head on top of Simba's shoulder and two of them talked quietly to let their daughter sleep.
TLKTLKTLKTLKTLKTLKTLKTLKTLKTLK
After two or three weeks, Kiara begged her parents again to let her go play with Kion, Kopa and the rest of the cubs. Simba and Nala agreed as long as she agreed to stay with Kion and Kopa and not go very far from Priderock.
"Kopa, Kion keep an eye out on her." Simba said. "Both of you know that she's never been away from Priderock without an adult."
"Yeah Dad I know." Kion said. "We'll watch her."
"And Kiara…" Simba turned to Kiara and placed his paw over her tail to keep her still. "Listen to Kion and Kopa. Don't run away from them."
"I won't Daddy." Kiara said. "Can I go now?"
"Run along." Nala nuzzled her cubs. "Be careful!"
"Okay Mom." Kopa said as they bounded back Priderock. Nala noticed the worry on Simba's face and she rubbed her cheek against his.
"It's okay, they'll be fine." Nala said, licking his cheek before she pulled back.
"I know." Simba said giving her nose a lick to return her affection. "But she's still so young and I'm worried that Kion or Kopa will get distracted. They're still cubs."
"They'll be fine." Nala assured as they headed towards the trees bordering Priderock. "Besides, I told them not to gone for too long. My parents and some of the River Pride will be here by the evening so they know they have to be back by then." Nala was glad her parents were coming, her visits to the River Pride had become less and less frequent as she got busier with her role as the Queen and taking care of three cubs took up a good chunk of her time.
Simba and Nala settled down underneath a large acacia tree to stay in the shade. Nala settled her head down in her paws wanting to get some sleep.
"Tired?" Simba smiled as he nuzzled her cheek.
"Of course I am." Nala smiled. "Taking care of three cubs gets tiring you know."
"How about we try for another one then?" Simba joked, and ducked to avoid Nala's paw swatting him.
"I'll pass." Nala chuckled closing her eyes. She had definitely wanted more than one cub, but she couldn't imagine having to take care of four. Simba settled his head on top of hers and soon enough the King and Queen were asleep.
TLKTLKTLKTLKTLKTLKTLKTLKTLKTLKTLKTLKTLK
An hour or two later after playing with their friends, Kion and Kopa had shown Kiara the places they played at near Priderock.
"That's where Haru, Kion and I always hide out when we play lions and hyenas." Kion said pointing at the abandoned dug out. "But you can't tell anyone because it's a secret."
"Can I use it too?" Kiara asked looking at her older brothers hopefully.
"Okay." Kopa said. "But you can't tell anyone else! So not even Jasiri and Danyssa!" He knew they were Kiara's best friends.
"Come on." Kion said. "There's still a lot of cool places you have to see." They lead Kiara a little ways past the waterhole and the meadow to the grove of acacia trees that the herds of giraffe often fed at. It was empty today.
"We play tree tag here." Kopa said. "But only when there's no giraffes or else you might get trampled."
"Tanabi almost got trampled once." Kion said. "But then Mom, Tama and some other lionesses got here in time and saved us."
"We got in so much trouble!" Kopa said with a grin. Kiara laughed and was about to ask her brothers to take her to more places when they heard growling behind them. Kiara turned to see what was growling and her eyes went wide with horror when she spotted two hidious creatures approaching them.
"Kion…Kopa…" Kiara was too scared to speak.
The twins looked at the approaching creatures with fear. Both Kion and Kopa knew they were hyenas, they had seen Simba and some other males fight of a clan of them at the border.
"Hyenas!" Kopa exclaimed. "In the Pridelands?"
"Run!" Kion shoved Kiara forward. "Run!" Feeling terrified, Kiara ran with Kopa and Kion behind her. The hyenas were now chasing them. One hyena pounced on them from behind and Kiara felt teeth grabbing her tail. She let out a terrified wail and both her brothers turned back.
"Kiara!" Kopa cried out. He slashed his tiny claws across the hyenas cheek and with a shriek, it let go of Kiara and she jumped out of their grasp. The other hyena growled and before any of the cubs could react, it grabbed Kion by the scruff and began running away with the other one close behind it.
"Kopa! Kiara!" Kion's terrified echoed behind them.
"Kion!" Kopa began running after them and stopped when he realized that he couldn't catch up.
"Kopa…Kopa what're we gonna do?!" Kopa turned to see Kiara crying. She rubbed her eyes with her paws. "I want Mom and Daddy!"
"Come on!" Kopa panted. "We have to go back to Priderock and tell them what happened!" He turned and began running as fast as he could to Priderock with Kiara struggling to keep up behind him. When they reached Priderock the sun was beginning to set. Kopa spotted some of the River Pride and figured that his parents were with his grandparents. Sure enough he spotted Simba chatting with Mufasa and Runju.
"Dad!" Kopa staggered up the rocks. "Dad! We…" Kopa was too exhausted to continue.
"Kopa?" Simba asked noticing Kiara and Kopa. "What happened? Why's Kiara crying?"
Kopa was still reeling for his breath, trying to talk and Kiara latched onto Simba's paw and buried her face against his fur. "Daddy the hyenas took Kion!"
"What?! What hyenas?" Simba let out an angry growl at the thought of hyenas harming his son.
"What hyenas Kiara?" Mufasa asked, looking at his granddaughter fear in his eyes.
"We were playing by the acacia trees." Kopa panted. "And…and we turned around and saw hyenas. We ran but they got Kion!"
"What happened to Kion?" Nala asked coming around the corner with Sarafina. Chumvi, Kula and her mother,Sarina were behind them with Jasiri.
"Hyenas took Kion Mom!" Kiara said. Nala's eyes went wide with fear for her son.
"Zazu!" Simba roared to the hornbill who had flown in to listen. "Fly ahead and find them!" Zazu nodded and flew away as fast as he could. Simba turned to Mufasa.
"Organize an overheard search party!" Simba said. "I'm going after them right now!" He bounded down Priderock.
"I'll go too." Chumvi said and he and Simba were off.
"I'm not staying here." Nala said and Kula nodded in agreement.
"Daddy, inform the Pride and tell them to be ready if we need them." Nala said looking at Runju who nodded. Nala nodded and followed Simba and Chumvi down Priderock with Kula behind her. Runju hurried off to tell the rest of the Pride what had happened.
"It's alright Kiara." Sarafina pulled a still terrified Kiara towards her. "You're safe now."
"But Grandma, they took Kion!" Kopa cried. "What's going to happen to him?"
"Are they hyenas going to hurt him?" Jasiri asked, looking at Sarafina and Sarina with wide eyes.
"Everything's going to be okay." Sarina assured. "Now, I need all three of you to head back into the den." She nudged Kopa and Jasiri while Sarafina picked Kiara up. They headed into the den where the Pride was in a frenzy after Runju had spread the news about Kion. Tojo, Alex and the rest of the males were already ready to go and find him once Zazu returned with the news.
"Kiara?" Sarabi headed towards them when she spotted how distressed her grandaughter was.
"Grandma, hyenas took Kion!" Kiara said tears streaming down her eyes. Sarabi nuzzled her trying to comfort the terrified cub. Shinda walked up to them.
"Everyone's waiting for Zazu to come back." Shinda said. "Akila knows if Simba can't find Kion, he'll order the males to scour the borders while some of the lionesses will need to search throughout the Pridelands."
"I'm going with them." Sarabi said and Sarafina nodded.
"Shinda…" Sarafina looked at her niece and then motioned to Kiara. Shinda nodded, all of them knew that after Simba and Nala, Shinda was the one who could comfort Kiara. She picked Kiara up and settled down in her corner of the den cradling Kiara in her paws. Alex came over and lay down next to them, both of them comforting the little cub.
"Everything's going to be okay sweetheart." Alex licked Kiara's face, wiping away her tears. "We're going to find Kion."
"Why…why…did..did they take Kion?" Kiara asked between sobs and hiccups.
"I don't know." Shinda admitted. "But everything's going to be fine. How about you try and get some sleep now." She coaxed Kiara down and began grooming her to comfort her. Kiara's whimpering faded away and she buried herself into Shinda's fur to try and get some rest. Kopa came over to them and squeezed himself between Shinda and Alex. Shinda licked the top of her godson's head and Alex bent down and talked to Kopa quietly, assuring him that everything would be okay.
Meanwhile, Simba, Nala, Chumvi and Kula had followed the scent of the hyenas only to have it fade away near the western border.
"Why would they come here?" Nala asked, feeling distressed. "The elephant graveyard is past the northern border!" She choked down a sob at the thought of Kion and Kula nuzzled her.
"We can't say that for sure." Simba said as Zazu flew down to them.
"Did you find anything?" Simba asked.
"Nothing sire." Zazu said. "But we must check the hyenas graveyard as well. They should have taken him there."
"Zazu, fly back to Priderock now." Simba said. "Tell the Pride that we need all male to scour every single border. We need some to come with us to the Elephant graveyard and we need some lionesses to search within the Pridelands." He was doing his best not to panick.
"Tell them to meet us at the norther border!" Chumvi said as Zazu flew away and the four of them began running to the northern border.
Back at Priderock, everyone was still waiting for Zazu to come back with news. Zazu flew into the den and everyone looked at him anxiously.
"Zazu what happened?" Akila asked.
"There's no sign of Kion." Zazu said. "Simba needs the males to scour all the borders and some of the lionesses to search within the Pridelands. They also need some of you to join them as they go to the Elephant graveyard."
"We'll come to the elephant graveyard." Tojo said. Sarabi and Mufasa nodded along with Sarafina and Runju.
"We'll come too." Ishan and Penda stepped up with Kula's parents, Sarina and Rojo.
"Alright." Akila nodded. "The rest of the males will be at the borders and the lionesses can search in the pridelands."
"Zazu," Runju turned to the hornbill. "Fly over to the River Pride and tell the males what happened. Tell them to stand guard at the borders in case they can spot the hyenas with Kion." Zazu nodded and flew off.
TLKTLKTLKTLKTLKTLKTLKTLKTLKTLK
Meanwhile, the hyenas had gone well past the borders making sure to cover their scent so no one could find them.
"Shenzi…" One of the hyenas spoke. Shenzi set Kion down and kept her foot ontop of him so he woudn't run away.
"What is it Janja?" Shenzi asked looking at her mate.
"Scar wanted all three cubs and we only got one." Janja said. "What are we going to do?"
"It doesn't matter." Shenzi said. "As long as we have one cub, we will have leverage over Simba. That's all Scar wants." Kion looked at them with wide eyes. What were they going to do with him? His heart pounded with fear. He had heard of Scar's name occasionally but he only knew that he was a rogue. His father didn't talk about him in front of him or his siblings and Nala had only told him that they didn't need to worry about him.
"Now come on." Janja said. "Scar's waiting and no doubt, Simba and the Pride are heading towards the elephant graveyard. We need to get back and make sure they're okay." Shenzi nodded and grabbed Kion again, sinking her teeth into him and he cried out in pain. Over an hour had passed when Kion spotted a male with a flowing jet black mane waiting for them. He figured it was Scar. The hyenas reached him and set Kion down in front of him. Scar smiled evilly at Kion and he began shaking in fear. What did they want?
"This is Mufasa's grandcub?" Scar sneered, circling around Kion. "I was expecting something more…appealing."
"I'm Prince Kion of the Pridelands!" Kion snapped, doing his best to conceal his fear. He knew he was the smaller one out of Kopa and him.
"I know who you are Kion." Scar chuckled. "Believe it or not, I know you much better than you think."
"Where are the other two?" Scar demanded looking at the hyenas.
"They got away." Shenzi said. "We grabbed the Princess but she managed to escape. We needed to get out of the Pridelands before they could spot us."
"Very well." Scar said nodding. "I will take him from here. I will send a messenger with our next steps." The hyenas nodded and left. Scar turned around and locked his gaze with Kion who stepped back from him. Kion wanted to cry! He wanted nothing more than his mother and father but he knew that they were far away in the Pridelands. What were they going to do with him?
"Mom, Dad…you have to find me!" Kion wailed to himself silently.
Scar glared at the cub with cold eyes. He had a red tuft of her, much like his father…like his grandfather. He growled at the thought of Mufasa. He had failed to get Akila but had succeeded with Simba's cub. Now…now he could have his revenge.
Growling, he clamped his jaws around Kion, hearing the cub let out a yelp of pain and began carrying him towards where the rest of his Pride was waiting. They had left their main home so just in case Simba went to look for them, they would have their real home hidden.
Scar smiled internally. Everything was working out and now he would have his revenge!
TLKTLKTLKTLKTLKTLKTLKTLKTLKTLKTLK
Nala, Simba and the rest of their group had reached the elephant graveyard. Nala smelled the hair hoping to find a trace of Kion's scent but to her despair there was nothing.
"Are you going to confront them?" Tojo asked going to Simba's side.
Simba nodded. "They took my son and they'll pay the price for it."
"Let's go then." Mufasa said. "Nala, if worst comes to worst, we'll take care of the hyenas. You find Kion and both of you get out of here." Nala nodded, her heart still pounding in fear.
Simba led the way in, jumping down the ledge into the graveyard. Bones littered the ground and the stench of hyenas was overwhelming.
"Let them know we're here Simba." Chumvi said. "We're ready." Simba nodded and let out a loud challenging roar. It only took seconds for them to hear the cackling of hyenas. They appeared out of the shadows and Nala tensed, looking around to see if any of them had Kion.
Nala growled silently, if any of these filthy creatures had her son she would rip them limb by limb.
"King Simba of the Pridelands." One hyena stepped forward. "What brings you so far from Priderock?"
"Where is your matriarch, Shenzi?" Simba growled. "I need to talk to her now!"
"My sister Shenzi and her mate, Janja aren't here." The hyena said. "I'm Banzai and anything you need to tell her, you tell me."
"My son was kidnapped by two hyenas who entered the Pridelands." Simba growled extending his claws. "I'm giving you one chance to speak. Where is he?"
"Your son isn't here." Banzai said. He knew Shenzi and Janja were delivering him to Scar.
"Lies!" Simba roared. "He was taken by hyenas and all hyenas in these areas live here! Where is he?"
"We don't have him!" Banzai sneered.
Nala glared at the hyenas. Despite her anger, something told her that Banzai was telling the truth.
"If you don't have him…" Nala said stepping up beside Simba. "Do you know who does?"
"Yes…" Banzai said. "But I will only agree to tell you if you can promise that you won't attack us."
Simba snarled angrily but nodded.
"Shenzi and Janja took him. But they aren't here." Banzai said.
Simba roared angrily. "Where are they?!"
"I don't know." Banzai said. "Shenzi and Janja only left me with little information. All I know is that they took him under Scar's orders. That's all I know."
"Scar?" Simba demanded. "What does he want with Kion?"
"I've told you everything I know." Banzai said. "If you need to know anymore, the only way you can find out is through Shenzi and Janja."
"Where are they?" Mufasa growled stepping up beside his son and daughter in law.
"Right here!" Came voice. Shenzi and Janja emerged out of the crowd.
"Shenzi, I'm giving you once chance!" Simba growled. "Tell me where my cub is or else I will kill every single hyena here."
"I don't think you're in a position to do that Simba…" Shenzi chuckled. "Yes, we took your son while he was playing with his siblings. We took him to Scar. We made a deal that to help him. We delivered your son right to Scar."
"What does he want with Kion?" Simba growled.
"Simple."Janja said. "To have leverage over you."
"And…" Shenzi chimed in. "If you or your Pride kills a single hyena, I will send a message to Scar and he will personally kill your son and deliver his body right to Priderock!"
Nala let out a roar of fury. "Where is Scar?" He sapphire blue eyes burned into Shenzi's brown ones.
"We can't tell you." Shenzi said. "That's part of the deal we made."
"I swear to the spirits above that if you don't tell me where he is I will kill you right here and now Shenzi!" Simba roared.
"You can kill me all you want Simba." Shenzi chuckled. "But remember, if you touch a single hyena from my clan, your son will be dead. Am I clear?"
Simba growled silently, realizing he was stuck. If he killed a hyena, Kion would be dead. He locked eyes with Nala and Simba knew she was thinking the same.
"Then give Scar a message for me." Simba snarled. "Tell him that if he puts a single claw on my son, there will be a heavy price. Is that understood?" Shenzi nodded, the smirk still on her face.
"Let's go." Simba turned to the rest of his group and they headed back towards Priderock.
Sorry again for the long delays but from the way things are going, I think I'm only going to be able to update every few months or so. I miss the days where I was able to update once or twice a week but unfortunately life is way to busy for me now. So anyway, looks like things for Simba and Nala clearly aren't going very well right now with his son being in Scar's clutches. I know this chapter had a lot of Kiara in it but this was the first chapter where she could fully talk so I wanted to add a bit more of her to explore her character more. Please do read and review, it helps me write and improve this story.
And for those of you who read my other story, "It Never Really Ends" I'm about halfway through the next chapter so just keep an eye out for another update!