Chapter 10
Love Will Find A Way
"Father, please reconsider."
"You will not go anywhere without an escort from now on."
"No that's not…"
"He used you to get to me."
"No! He loves me! For me!"
"Because you were my daughter!"
"You will not leave Pride Rock! You will stay where I can keep any eye on you. Away from him."
"You don't know him!"
"I know he's following in Scar's paw prints! And I must follow in my father's."
"You will never be Mufasa!"
Disappointed at her father's action, Kiara runs back into the royal den as Simba's eyes widen in shock. She notices an opening in the rear wall and kicks down the small pile of rocks blocking the opening before sneaking out. If Simba wasn't granting her permission to leave then she would go off on her own. To hell with her overprotective father, her love life and freedom were more important.
She had no idea where to look for Kovu but she did have a friend who could help her; Dornaus. The question was whether he had packed his bags or not. If he did then the Drone would not be operational and she would have to search for her lover without his help. Fortunately for the lioness, fate was on her side for this one. In fact, when she arrived, the human hadn't even sent his letter of acceptance to the Navy.
When he saw Kiara entering the dome, Dornaus found himself unable to send his letter of acceptance to the Navy. She was a close friend of his and he understood how Simba was ruining her life. How could he possibly leave for the US along with his girlfriend and leave a close friend of his in a life of misery. Sure he was cold towards his enemies but how could he possibly turn a blind eye on a good friend?
"Are you really leaving?" Kiara asks.
"Well…" he sighs. "You're the only reason I might not."
"Why?"
"Because I feel sympathy for the pain Simba has given you and I can't bear to let you suffer alone."
"I guess I might be able to trust someone after all."
"Surely you didn't come here to tell me that right?"
"I need to borrow your drone."
"To find Kovu? No problem."
…
Somewhere over the Pridelands, an unarmed Phoenix Type II drone flies through the night sky. Yet another billion dollar product made by Dallas Aerospace and Defense. These were visually similar to the Terminator and the power plant was also the same. What differentiated the two were the roles they were intended for. While the Terminator was a combat drone, the Phoenix was primarily used for Reconnaissance and CSAR operations.
Wing pylons for APKWS pods were gone, ditched in an effort to save weight and increase maneuverability. The Gatling gun was also gone and mounted in its place was a more powerful multipurpose sonar/early warning radar system, which allowed the pilot to locate submarines underwater or detect incoming cruise missiles. That being said, the new technology was virtually useless for finding a living thing on land.
Dornaus had to rely on sight and on the 360 degree rotating thermal/infrared camera. He banks his aircraft sharply to the right to avoid crossing the border. The ATC had only cleared him to fly within the Pridelands border and crossing said border would present substantial risk not only to the drone, but to other aircraft after all. There were plenty of private prop plane owners in South Africa and who knows if someone could be taking an after dark cruise through the skies.
But being unable to cross the borders meant decreasing the chances of finding Kovu since he could've crossed over long before the drone even got airborne. And that seemed to be the case. Three hours into the flight and the lion was still nowhere in sight. The fuel warning sensors blare on the control panel, indicating that there was less than 15 minutes of fuel left.
The journey back would take 10 minutes and that meant Dornaus could not push his aircraft further. He turns his drone in the direction of the airbase, ending the search with no results. Evidently Kiara was disappointed but she wasn't angry at her human friend. He did at least make an attempt to help her unlike her own father, who banished her lover without even giving him a chance to prove his innocence or redeem himself.
She turns towards the exit of the dome, her hung low. Tears were welling up in her eyes but the lioness tries her best to hold back her tears.
"Kiara?" Dornaus spoke. "Where are you going?"
"I think I need to go for a walk." She replies.
"Don't let it get to your head, young lady. Sometimes we just have to let things go no matter how painful it may seem."
"Kovu is my one and only true love. He is to me like Lena is to you."
"I see…" the human nods understandingly. "Well if you want I can try to get clearance to fly over the border."
"Nah, it's okay. I don't want to burden you any further."
"But I'm not burdened. You're a friend of mine Kiara, and friends should help one another in times like these."
"You've already helped me a lot by searching within the Pridelands. This next phase I think I should execute on my own."
"If you insist then by all means, go ahead. I'll be right here in case you need another air run."
"Thanks."
With a nod as a silent gesture of farewell, Kiara leaves the dome and starts walking towards the border. Simba would've sent Timon and Pumbaa to escort her on the journey but he didn't for two main reasons. One was that he was now at odds with Dornaus, who was sympathetic to his daughter's pursuit of ultimate freedom from him. If he sent his pals down, they would immediately be confronted with a gun armed human who might not even show mercy anymore.
The other reason was that he was still reeling in from the shock of his daughter's words. For all his life, Simba has always tried his best to follow his father's footsteps, hoping that one day he too would become as great as Mufasa. Kiara's words stabbed him in the heart like a cold sharpened dagger and he couldn't help but feel hurt his hopes and dreams being dissed by his own daughter. Back in the dome, a heated exchange begun between Dornaus and the ATC.
"I NEED clearance to fly past the Pridelands border." He said. "It's important."
"You don't own the skies of Africa, Dornaus." the ATC refuses. "Other people need to fly too."
"I'm talking about the security of a friend here!"
"Who do you think you are? The President Of The United States?"
"So you're just going to let her go off and die?"
"She's just a lioness, Dornaus. Worry more about human affairs."
"I don't give a flying fuck about what you think of her, get me clearance."
"What if I say no?"
"Then I'll just proceed without your guidance."
"I can cut off your connection to the terminator."
"Who said anything about flying the drone?"
Without warning, the line between the dome and the ATC was cut. The controller on duty that day sighs in frustration. How dense was the former serviceman anyways? Over at the dome, Dornaus rushes towards the MK V Super Mamba chopper. There was 30 minutes of fuel in the bird, not enough for a full on search. While he would've loved to get airborne as soon as possible, the human knew he couldn't do so.
He was going out there to help a friend, not to get himself killed. With that in mind, he attaches the fuel pump to the chopper and begins fueling the beast up. Near the border, Kiara continues her search for Kovu. She walks into a grass plain and accidentally startles a mating bird couple, who proceed to take off and proceed to join beaks affectionately in the air.
The lioness sighs and lowers her head, wishing that Kovu was by her side loving her like he always did before her father banished him. A soft tune begins playing in Kiara's mind as she proceeds to sing a song Dornaus had taught her when she was young in her heart
Kiara: (sings)
In a perfect world
One we've never known
We would never need to face the world alone
Two Antelopes nuzzle each other lovingly as their herd watches on, happy that their future was now ensured. Kiara turns away as she sees this, feeling even more down than before.
Kiara: (sings)
They can have the world
We'll create our own
I may not be brave or strong or smart
But somewhere in my secret heart
I know
Kiara moves through a jungle like area near the border. Two monkeys were showing their affection to one another up on a branch while two butterflies flew side by side with one another. The lioness crosses a pond and climbs up a branch before glaring up into the night sky.
Kiara: (sings)
Love will find a way
Anywhere I go
I'm home
If you are there beside me
Like dark, turning into day
Somehow we'll come through
Now that I've found you
Love will find a way
Several constellations could be seen in the night sky, including the rabbit and two fighting lions seen by Kiara and Kovu the night before. She lowers her head back towards the ground and notices a small bush near the river rustling. Despite clearly being too small to conceal a lion, it somehow made Kiara believe that her lover was nearby. As expected he was not and a frog jumps out from the bush, dashing her dreams.
She turns away sadly, seemingly have given up on the search. Slowly and unknowingly, the king's daughter enters the hunting grounds once ravaged by the fires. This was the place where Kovu had made himself home and he was quite surprised to see his female counterpart wander in. He slowly approaches her, singing the same song in his heart.
Kovu: (sings)
I was so afraid
Now I realize
Love is never wrong
And so it never dies
There's a perfect world
Shining in your eyes
The lioness feels someone following her and spins around. To her surprise, she finds her lover approaching her. Both of them run towards each other and nuzzle affectionately.
Both: (sing)
And only if they could feel it too
The happiness I feel with you
They'd know
Love will find a way
Anywhere we go
We're home
If we are there together
Like dark turning into day
Somehow we'll come through
Now that I've found you
Love will find a way
Kiara licks her boyfriend in the cheek, surprising him and causing him to feel flattered. Both of them proceed to chase each other through the hunting grounds, which was still covered in dust. At the end of their chase, they stop near a patch of dust. Kovu swipes the dust away, revealing a small shoot growing out from the destruction. He still hadn't forgotten what Simba had said to him earlier.
"Sometimes what's left behind can grow back better than the generation before, if given the chance"
Both: (sing)
I know love will find a way
A chopper suddenly appears, blowing away the dust and surprising the two lovers. Kiara looks up and sees a smiling Dornaus in the cockpit. It wasn't the cold smile he gave to Rafael earlier in the day. Instead it was filled with genuine happiness and gladness. The human lowers his altitude and gives a salute. His gesture is returned by Kiara and the chopper leaves the scene.
Now left alone once again, Kiara and Kovu proceed to chase each other back across the border. Like Nala, Kiara had learnt the art of flip-n-pin, and she performs the maneuver on her male counterpart. He licks her back on the cheek as she releases him from his pinned position. He then kisses her in the right cheek. Just then, the lovers notice their reflection in the water.
Both their faces happened to be combined together in the reflection, an indication of good things to come. Kiara was a little surprised when her male counterpart used "We Are One" to describe the reflection since her own father once said that to her during her days as a cub.
"We'll run away together." Kovu moves away from his girlfriend and begins to wiggle his hip a little. "And start our own pride."
"Kovu." Kiara walks over and nuzzles her boyfriend in the chin. "We have to go back."
"You're kidding, when we're finally together?"
"Our place is with our prides. If we run away, they'll be divided forever."
Kovu could only sigh reluctantly. His female counterpart did have a point. The two of them proceed to head back towards the Pridelands in preparations for diplomatic talks. Unbeknownst to them, the cold war which has lasted ever since the end of Scar's Tyrannical reign is about to turn hot.