Chapter 5
First Hunt

Within the cluster of trees, Rafiki paints a picture of Kiara and Kovu, both of them as young adults. He knew of the friendship between the two, and he also knew how Zira fills the lion with hatred. Things were not looking good for the royal family and the mandrill implores Mufasa for guidance. The late king responds spiritually by causing a cluster of passion fruits to rattle.

One of them falls to the ground and breaks in two. Rafiki takes the two halves and slowly combines them with the image of Kovu and Kiara in the background.

"What? Kovu? Kiara? Together?" The shaman remarks in shock. "This is the plan? ARE YOU CRAZY? This will never work! Oh Mufasa, you've been up there too long your head is in the clouds!"

Mufasa uses the wind to annoy the living daylights out of the mandrill to the point where he finally gives in. He did however, express doubt about the plan working.

Three years later…

From a playful and naïve cub, Kiara grows into a young adult lioness. Finally Simba saw her fit to leave the royal den without the need for marked paths and buzzing drones. At least, that was what she thought. It was time for her to show her worth and go on her first hunting session, a test the other lionesses before her have gone through. She leaves the royal den and meets her father and mother near the end of Pride Rock.

The other lionesses stood in rows on opposite sides of the path as the greeted their princess. Dornaus was also present and he stood at attention, wearing his Navy Dress Blues and clutching a M1 Garand.

"You'll do just fine." Nala nuzzles her daughter.

"Daddy." Kiara glares at her father. "You have to promise to let me do this alone, promise?"

Simba glares at his wife, who nods at him.

"Alright." He relents with a sigh. "I promise."

Kiara nuzzles her father before taking off for the Pridelands to begin her first hunting session. Back near the ledge leading to Pride Rock, Simba, Timon, and Pumbaa watch as the lioness disappears into the distance. Just behind the three, Dornaus marches off, rifle slung over his shoulder. He was off duty today and didn't have to come but he came anyways to witness the princess embark on her first hunt.

Now with the ceremony over, he was planning to head back to his dome and continue flying patrol missions with his Terminator Drone because why not? An extra aircraft in the air was more than welcome, especially if the patrol drone on duty needed backup. Back in the plains of the Pridelands, Kiara sneaks up a herd of antelope. She was about to ambush them when she accidentally steps on a fallen branch.

Alerted by the sound of a snapping branch, the herbivores take off, forcing a frustrated Kiara to run after them. Just up ahead, Timon and Pumbaa were stealthily watching the queen on her first hunt. They see her fail but then notice the antelopes charging towards them. Both of them scream and cower in fear as the stampeding antelopes charge by them harmlessly.

While they might've escaped the herbivores, Timon and Pumbaa's covers were blown.

"Timon, what are you doing here?" Kiara asks as she pants.

"Err, shopping." The Meerkat tries his best to find an excuse. "We thought of a nice pelt for the den, some throw pillows and some popery."

"My father sent you! After he promised to let me do this on my own, he lied!"

"No… He just doesn't want you to get hurt."

"I should've known he'd never give me a real chance." The lioness jumps over Timon and Pumbaa, headed in the direction of the Outlands. "I'll do this on my own, away from the Pridelands!"

"Ey wait!"

Timon and Pumbaa take off after the Princess but quickly lose track of her. Once again they've let her slip away. Maybe Simba should fire them for being such lousy baby sitters.

Now far away from the prying eyes of her overprotective father and his hired babysitters, Kiara continues her hunt. A drone flies overhead but did not seem to notice her as it flew around the area. The queen knew Dornaus wasn't keeping tabs on her but she was quite curious as to why he would be flying this far away from the border. Turns out the human had a mission of his own.

A Terminator drone deployed on a routine flight has detected unusual activity just outside the Pridelands and Dixon wanted an experienced pilot to go investigate. That pilot would be Dornaus. With the aid of his 360 degree dual mode camera which could alternate between infrared and thermal, the human locates the anomaly. Just two lions walking about with burning branches in their mouths.

Rafael must've taught them how to keep warm by starting a fire. In any case, the human didn't view them as a threat and prepares to return to the patrol route. He spots Kiara down below but does not attempt to force her back across the border. Instead he rocks his wings in salute, a gesture the lioness understood. Unbeknownst to the human, the two lions he spotted earlier weren't there just to collect fire.

They were Nuka and Vitani, and they were here under orders from Zira to set the hunting grounds on fire and hopefully fry the future queen before she could escape. Once they saw that the drone has passed, they immediately begin setting the area on fire as Kiara closes in on another group of antelope. Once more she fails to stay silent and frightens the herd away.

Much to her surprise, Dornaus' Terminator drone flies overhead once again. Shortly thereafter, the antelopes came running back in her direction. A wildfire has started and it was rapidly engulfing the entire hunting grounds. Kiara quickly takes off and runs for her life as the sound of a Gatling gun could be heard nearby. Just behind her, Dornaus was doing gun runs with his drone.

He had spotted Nuka and Vitani setting the hunting grounds on fire and wanted to make them pay for their actions. Possibly due to bad luck or worn rifling, he did not hit either of the two with the burst of automatic .50 caliber gunfire. Suddenly the missile warning sensors blare and the light flashes red on the control panel. Before the human could even react, a missile takes the entire right wing clean off.

Out of control, the billion dollar drone crashes into the African Savannah. The ten second self-destruct activates and the aircraft explodes, sending shrapnel and pieces of metal flying everywhere. A figure rises from the brush, clad in a ghillie suit. He was Rafael, who was now an adult and in his right hand was a Stinger Missile he secretly acquired from the black market.

"Dammit!" Dornaus remarks frustratedly as he gets off his chair. "There goes my billion dollar weapon of war. All thanks to a sixty thousand dollar MANPADS."

He runs over to the radio and rings up Dixon as he hastily gears up in preparation for an operation to extinguish the fire and save Kiara from the pits of hell.

"Dixon, scramble the fire department." He says anxiously. "Fire in the Savannah, repeat Fire in the Savannah."

"WHAT?!" Dixon exclaims in shock. "But how?"

"No time to explain. Get those waterbombers in the air, NOW!"

"Right away."

The fire sirens blare throughout the Pridelands, alerting Simba and Zazu to the danger. Realizing that his daughter might be in danger, the king scrambles Zazu to scout ahead and find Kiara while he runs to the scene. At the dome, Dornaus takes off in his ATV, also headed in the direction of the wildfire. They have everything to worry about, for Kiara was indeed in a lot of trouble.

She had been trapped by the fires and there was nowhere for her to run. Kiara panics and climbs onto a boulder as the smoke start to suffocate her. It was a really bad mistake, and one that could've easily killed her. During a fire, smoke rises into the air while oxygen concentrates near the ground and climbing onto the boulder made it the situation even worse for Kiara.

There was less breathable air up there and she quickly collapses from smoke inhalation. Before she lost consciousness, the princess notices a lion approaching her. He growls at her unconscious form then puts her on his back. This was no ordinary lion. His name was Kovu. Now a young adult himself, he had been assigned by Zira to infiltrate the royal family and gain an opportunity to assassinate Simba.

And to win the trust of the king, he had to save his former friend Kiara. The lion hauls his female counterpart through the burning inferno. Several waterbombers thunder overhead as they fought fire with water. Out of nowhere, an ATV zips pass the lion. Dornaus had arrived at the scene but somehow he missed them. Must've been the smoke. Heck, it was so thick that even Kovu was having trouble seeing.

But while the fire was successful in kicking off the infiltration plan, it was a double edged sword. Just a few years ago, Zira has adopted a female human into her family to keep Rafael company after seeing her alone in the wild. She had been accompanying Rafael, Nuka, and Vitani on their mission but the fire had separated her from them. With no sight of her, the three were forced to return home under the assumption that she was dead.

Their assumption couldn't be further from the truth. Not only was the female human alive but she was in fear and would be killed if no one came to her aid. She was bleeding from the leg after being struck by a ricochet during the Drone attack and the smoke was getting to her. Before long, she collapses due to blood loss and smoke inhalation. It seems as though her life would be over soon.

Not on Dornaus' watch. He had spotted his female counterpart while zipping around the inferno on his ATV. While his primary mission was to rescue Kiara, the male human couldn't bring himself to leave a young lady to her fate. He throws her on board his ATV and zips back towards the dome as the waterbombers high up doused the flames. Meanwhile Kovu was still trying to evacuate his childhood friend.

A misplaced foot and he send himself and his friend tumbling down a cliff and into a stream. He surfaces but noticed Kiara sinking beneath the waves. Kovu dives underwater and brings her back to the surface. If she died now then the whole mission would be dead in the water. The Outlander brings the king's daughter onto the riverbank, praying that he wasn't too late in pulling her out.

Slowly, she regains consciousness and gasps for breath.

"Where am I?" Kiara asks groggily.

"You're safe." Kovu answers. "In the Pridelands."

"The Pridelands? No! Why did you bring me here? Who do you think you are?"

"I think I'm the one who just saved your life!"

"Look I had everything under control!"

"Not from where I'm standing."

"Then move downwind."

Kiara turns to leave but her male counterpart blocks her. She turns in another direction but he blocks her as well. Sensing that her savior might have other motives, the lioness leaps over him but quickly turns back towards him in anticipation for a fight.

"What are you doing?" he asks in a familiar tone.

"Kovu?" Kiara gasps in surprise.

"Kiara!" a voice came.

Barely a few seconds later, Simba emerges. He growls at Kovu, who was a little surprised that he did not receive a thank you from the king after saving his daughter from the inferno. Nala runs pass her mate and nuzzles her daughter affectionately, relieved that she did not lose her child.

"Father! How could you break your promise?" Kiara angrily questions her father.

"It's a good thing I did." He replies, still glaring at Kovu. "I almost lost you. No more hunts for you, not ever."

"But I was doing just fine! Even before Kovu…"

"Kovu!"

The king growls at the savior of his daughter, who proceeds to growl back. Both of them were on the verge of fighting it out mano-e-mano when Rafiki shows up.

"Eh! You!" The mandrill shouts to the Outsider. "You just saved the king's daughter."

"You saved her?" Simba questions Kovu. "Why?"

"I humbly ask to join your pride."

"No! You were banished along with the rest of the outsiders."

"I have left the outsiders. I am rogue. Judge me now for who I am, or blame me for a crime I didn't commit."

Simba growls and begins pacing up and down. Kovu might have been an Outsider but he did have a point. Why should he be judged for something that he didn't commit?

"Simba, you owe him you daughter's life." Nala reminds her mate.

"Hmm, yes sire." Zazu lands in front of his Commander-in-Chief. "Clearly we are in his debt. And royal protocols demand that all debts be paid. Though in this case we might want to make an exception."

For a moment, the king ponders. On one hand he had to obey the laws laid down by his father but on the other was the power to shoot out an executive order and make an exception as stated by his majordomo. In the end Simba decides to let Kovu enter the pride. None of the previous kings have ever issued executive orders and he did not want to be the first, especially if it involved keeping someone out without reason other than grudge.

Now granted residency in the Pridelands, Kovu follows the king across the border. Right behind him was his childhood friend and her mother. The greatest hurdle was over, and the only thing left was to wait for an opportunity to eliminate the ruler and claim the throne.