Chapter 12
Resignation

Despite being very cold towards Zira just moments ago, Dornaus felt guilt for his actions. He did just kill her in front of her adoptive children. The ATV ridden by him and Lena could be seen rolling alongside the now united lionesses. Lena was fast asleep and the guns used earlier, the Thompson and M60E4, could be seen within the gun scabbards, having been retrieved after the battle was over.

The human rolls up next to Kovu, who was trotting behind Kiara. Oddly the two never spoke a word after the battle. In fact no one spoke a word after the battle and there was silence, broken only by the sound of chirping birds in the trees.

"Kovu, I'm sorry." He said. "Come to think about it, I did act a little too coldly."

"You did what you had to do, Dornaus." The lion replies. "Simba's life was in danger and indeed, you did what you had to do to defend him."

"Wait, so you don't blame me for killing her."

"Zira wasn't my real mother to tell you the truth. And honestly speaking, I've lost all emotional connection with her after she gave me this horrible scar."

"Well it's kind of weird hearing it from you. Because I've always thought you and your mother were really close."

"Close? Bah! Only during childhood. And even then she was quite the abusive mother. I have nightmares about her."

"The way you put it… I don't think I'd want to imagine the feeling of being her adoptive son."

As if the killing never happened, the two share a chuckle with one another. Simba, Nala, and Kiara turn in surprise when they heard the chatter as no one had been talking up to this point.

"Anyways…" Kovu continues. "You want to know why Scar did what he did?"

"Yeah." Dornaus replies. "As long as it's not a propaganda talk."

"Definitely not."

"Proceed then."

"Truth is, Scar had a darkness inside of him. One which he could not escape from. It blinded him, clouded his judgement. And that combined with the jealousy he had towards his brother was what ultimately led to him killing Mufasa."

"That's… Wow, I'd never expected that to come out of your mouth."

"Simba taught me that."

A smile could be seen on the king's face. Maybe it was time he allowed the newcomer to marry his daughter. They did just settle their differences earlier. Dornaus on the other hand, looked a bit more concerned than usual. He was glaring at his government issue Blackberry smartphone and the latest update on the situation in the Middle East didn't look too good.

Just two days ago, a new faction had joined forces with the Islamic State. Previously the Americans have only deployed their elite units to conduct classified operations while the Iraqi Government bore the brunt with the aid of allied militias like the YPG. Now the extra help from the new faction, which had access to advanced equipment and new generation armored vehicles, allowed the Islamic State to reoccupy liberated areas of Iraq.

The American President and most of the Senate agreed that military action was required and boots were about to be sent down range. This also meant experienced on-the-ground commanders like Dornaus were vital to success. His country needed him badly and the male human wasn't about to shove his pledge of allegiance aside. He was born and raised in the United States, and was a true American.

If he was to be a true patriot, then he should accept the Navy's offer to return. Besides, the public opinion of him had changed considerably. Most of the bleeding hearts have finally got their heads out of their rear ends and saw the true side of war. As they passed the compound, Dornaus breaks off from the group, much to the surprise of everyone. Neither of them knew he was planning to resign from his position for the sake of his homeland.

"Dornaus?" Lena asked.

"Go on with the others and take my place when you reach Pride Rock." He replies with a smile to conceal his true intentions. "There are things which I have to attend to."

"What things?"

"Packing."

Kiara turns her head around in surprise. While she didn't hear the whole conversation, she did catch the word "packing". What was Dornaus planning to pack? Was he going on a vacation? The lioness sees Lena nod to her boyfriend before running back to rejoin the travelling group. All of them make their way up to Pride Rock where the Outlanders were given a welcome home ceremony.

Then came the extra special surprise. Simba gives full permission for Kiara and Kovu to marry each other, delighting them and the rest of the Pride. Now officially part of the royal family, Kovu joins them as they walk up to Pride Rock and roar. As they walked back down, they, like the others, were a little surprised to find Dornaus absent. He had never missed an event like this in the past.

Something didn't seem right to the royals and what was more peculiar was that Lena refused to mention anything about her boyfriend's intentions. The royals decide to pay him a visit and they are escorted by the female human to the dome. Upon arrival, they find three massive Chinook helicopters parked outside and Private Military Contractors moving some of the guns.

These were Dixon's men and they were taking all the none transferrable arms, more precisely all the select fire and heavy weapons, into their custody. Anele was standing right next to one of the helos and he was looking at a checklist as men took crate after crate of ammunition into the chopper. Inside the compound, Dornaus was talking to two US Military Attachés.

Two Humvees could be seen behind them with a soldier manning the .50 caliber M2 Machine Gun on one of them.

"Make sure not to damage that Kentucky rifle." Dornaus reminds one of the officers. "That thing dates all the way back to the revolution."

"We'll bear that in mind then."

Two Marines emerge from the dome, carrying a pelican case which contained the antique rifle. They load it onto the Humvee along with the M1 Garand and M1 Carbine. Most of Dornaus' pistols had already been taken with the exception of his M15. That was kept in the holster attached to his belt. His sword was also worn by his side. Simba could see that they were preparing to leave and he decides to approach the humans.

"Woah!" one of the officers reaches for his pistol but Dornaus stops him.

"Easy there." The male human said. "That's one of the sentient lions I've been talking about."

"Oh… So that's Simba."

"Yup."

"Where are you going, Dornaus?" the king asks.

"Back to the United States." He answers. "I'm answering a call to duty."

"So you were serious when you said you were going to resign."

"I wasn't but then I saw the update. Men like me are needed more than ever and returning to service is a matter of duty, not preference."

"But you already have your own duties here."

"My allegiance ultimately lies in the land of the free. If it ever came down to it, the United States would be the first I'd defend."

"And nothing will get you to think otherwise?"

"I'd rather die than see my home country get destroyed."

"Well if that's the case, then I won't impede you any further."

Simba backs away from his bodyguard as the human gives his friend the thumbs up. Anele nods and ushers the contractors forwards. These men would dismantle all the vital equipment to be sent back to the airbase before demolishing the dome with high velocity C4 explosives. Lena hands her M2 Carbine to one of Dixon's contractors since it too was non transferrable.

She joins her boyfriend near the parked Humvees as they hugged the lions and lionesses in an emotional farewell. Though the time they've spent together was relatively short, they've managed to form an unspeakable amount of trust and emotional connection. Neither of them wanted to see the other go but Dornaus had a duty he must fulfill. He asks his girlfriend to enter the Humvee first along with the officers.

He would be tailing the convoy in his Ford F-150 Raptor but before setting out, he had a few words left to say.

"Kiara, Kovu." He spoke. "Both of you have demonstrated your exceptional ability in deescalating a situation. Without you, the fight might've ended in a massive massacre not unlike the Hyena massacre during the Battle Of Pride Rock. For that, I'm very proud of you."

"Both Kiara and I knew what you were going to do." Kovu replies. "But to be honest, she was the one who convinced me to come back and reunite the Prides."

"Well now, look how far we've come." The human gives a smile. "Here we have Kiara. Once playful and naïve, she's now the perfect peacemaker."

"All thanks to you." She responds.

"Hmm, and now I think I just found my replacement. If your father would allow…"

"Of course." Simba nods in agreement. "We could surely use a peacemaker for future diplomatic issues."

"Then I shall promote Kiara to Chief Of Security and Pridelands Diplomat."

The lioness turns to her boyfriend, who turns to her. Both of them gave a smile to one another before nuzzling. She knew a great responsibility has been placed on her shoulder but Kiara was more than ready to take on the task of her human friend. Dornaus gives a final salute to the royals and hops into his Ford F-150 Raptor. The soldier manning the .50 caliber machine gun gives a thumbs up to the driver of the lead Humvee, signaling to him that the convoy was ready to move.

Diesel fumes filled the air as the Humvees rolled out from the compound with Dornaus and his Ford F-150 trailing behind. At 7pm local time(that's South African Time for you folks wondering at home), Dornaus and Lena would board a private Boeing 747 owned by an American senator and fly directly to Virginia. The Navy had already settled housing and transport issues, and the only thing they had to deal with was the jet lag.