FINALLY! i found time to write! lol, here it is! enjoy!

Chapter 14 – Simba's Revelation

The journey back to the Pride Lands went by rather quickly. We did not stop for any reason. Though his breathing grew heavy after a few hours, Simba did not slow his pace at all. If anything, he actually picked up his speed. It amazed me that such a small cub had grown into this powerful young lion.

All day we traversed across the sweltering desert. All a while, the gray sky of the Pride Lands had swam into sight in the distance ahead of us. Part of me knew that Simba, determined and ready as he was, needed to see his devastated home with his own eyes before understanding the full magnitude of the situation.

A few hours into the journey, I began to lose myself in my thoughts. A twinge of worry would occasionally become present in my consciousness. However, I was constantly reminding myself of why we were doing this. That reason, and that reason alone, was keeping my fear at bay. Yet, something even more worrisome became present and far more demanding in my mind.

What if Simba ended up like Sekou? Scar was certainly more than capable of repeating his previous acts, and he would certainly not willingly give up his kingship. I had finally got my brother back, and Scar was sure to attempt to kill him upon his return. And if Simba failed, then I would be alone and defenseless…

Sarabi would still be on your side…

As this thought entered my mind, another worry overtook my first one.

Had Sarabi given birth to her cub yet? If so, where was it now? Would she have been successful in hiding it, or would Scar have taken it already?

These and more questions troubled me for some time, and all worries of our impending task were temporarily pushed from my mind.

Simba, sensing my worry (though I knew he didn't know about what) started talking to break the silence. It was soothing to have something to fill the silence. He told me of his life in the jungle. Apparently, the meerkat and warthog, Timon and Pumbaa, had found Simba only a day or two after the stampede, barely alive in this desert. They saved him and kept him with them. He grew up with a "worry free" lifestyle. He was raised by Timon and Pumbaa on a diet of bugs, though Simba admitted that as he got older, he occasionally ventured out of the jungle to do some hunting.

Only yesterday, Nala had come to the jungle looking for food and help. She and Simba rekindled their friendship, but soon afterwards had an argument. Nala wanted him to return to the Pride Lands and take his place as king, but Simba said that he could not. He still would not tell me the reasons why, and I did not want to push the issue. He told me about the vision he saw of our father, and I told him that was where I came in.

By the time Simba had finished his story, we had reached the border of the Pride Lands. He slowed to a stop and sat down to catch his breath. I slid off of his back and straightened myself up as I stared around.

Not much had changed, but then again I was only gone for just over three days. The ground was as dry as ever, and bones littered it occasionally. Dead weeds and grass occasionally poked through it. Above, gray clouds hovered and yet they did not yield the rain that was so clearly stored in them. Even with their cover, the lands were still sweltering hot.

I looked over at Simba who had regained his breath. He was on his feet again and was staring around. His eyes were filled with horror at what had become of our home and his mouth hung agape in a silent gasp. An overwhelming pity for him grew inside of my heart. He began to walk forward, slowly turning his head to take in the entire view. Silently, I walked by his side.

We reached a ledge that overlooked a grand portion of the Pride Lands and stopped at the edge of it. Below us was a ravine that used to be the river that flowed between my stream and the waterhole and beyond. Now, a dry and barren riverbed was the only remnants that water ever used to flow here. To the southwest loomed the dark shape that was Pride Rock.

I glanced at Simba, whose face was slowly turning back and forth staring at this wasteland he once called home. His mouth was still hanging open. Then his eyes rested on Pride Rock.

His brow contracted and an angry look became etched into his face. I looked away, a sort of satisfaction becoming present inside of me. Now he understood the full magnitude of the situation.

Now he was more than ready to take on Scar.

A voice rang out behind us that slightly startled me.

"Simba! Ayden! Wait up!"

I looked around, and saw Nala running towards us. Both Simba and I stared at her, surprised that she had shown up out of nowhere.

She stopped in between us and looked up at Simba.

"It's awful isn't it?" she said solemnly.

Simba looked back out to the shadow land.

"I didn't want to believe you." He sighed.

"What made you come back?" Nala asked, glancing over at me. I could see the question in her eyes. I shook my head, signifying that Simba's return was not my doing.

Simba smiled and looked back at Nala. "I finally got some sense knocked into me, and I've got the bump to prove it."

I smiled at this. He was still the same fun cub I knew, just older. Again, Simba's face went stern.

"Besides, this is my kingdom…" he glanced at me briefly. "…Our kingdom."

I grinned as Nala stared at me for a moment.

"What?" she asked, confused.

Simba smiled at her. "As far as I am concerned, Ayden is just as much of a king as I am. We are brothers, and we will share equal power and responsibility. My father and Scar hated each other the older they got, all because one carried more power than the other. I won't make that same mistake. So Ayden will be king as well."

Nala looked back at me, and smiled. "A very wise and responsible decision indeed. Your father would have been proud," She said.

Simba looked back out to Pride Rock, a small smile curling his mouth. "Like I said, this is our kingdom. If we don't fight for it, who will?"

Nala moved closer to Simba and said almost in a whisper, "I will."

He looked back at Nala. Happily, yet warningly, he said to her, "It's gonna be dangerous…"

Nala perked up her ears and smiled. "Danger? Ha! I laugh in the face of danger!" she said, mock-laughing. Clearly, I was missing something. I made a point to ask them what was up.

From behind us came a voice I did not recognize.

"I see nothing funny about this!"

I swung around, my hand diving into my pocket for my knife. I brought it out, unswitched, and looked around for our visitor. A reddish-brown warthog and a small meerkat were standing several feet away. The meerkat had his hands on his hips, a smug look on his face.

Simba looked down at them. "Timon! Pumbaa! What are you doing here?"

I put my knife away. Apparently, these were Simba's friends he had spoken of. They were nothing to fear.

The warthog, called Pumbaa, moved forward and sank into a low bow. He spoke in a scratchy, yet deep voice. "At your service, my liege."

Timon the meerkat stared up at me with a mixture of fear and curiosity.

"Ya know, you look a lot bigger when you're not unconscious."

I laughed and kneeled down to his level.

"I'll be nicer to you than most of my kind would though." I told him. "I'm no threat to you. I don't think we've been properly introduced. I'm Ayden, brother of Simba and soon-to-be second king of the Pride Lands."

Timon's eyes grew wide, as did Pumbaa's, who was now staring at me.

"Another king?" Timon said incredulously. "Oy! I'll never understand politics!"

I chuckled and stared at both of them. The warthog stared at me for a moment, and then quickly bowed to me as he had to Simba.

It felt really weird to have somebody I had only just met bow to me…In fact, it felt weird to be bowed to at all. I wanted to tell him to stop, but I figured I would have to get used to this kind of behavior. When he righted himself, the warthog spoke up. "I'm Pumbaa, and this here is Timon."

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you both." I said sincerely. I looked back at Simba and Nala who were both smiling.

A warm feeling overcame me, and I could not resist smiling. I was finally home with Simba, my brother, and Nala, who was like a sister. And we had two friends here with us. It was hard to remember the severity of our situation when such a happy moment was upon us.

Timon walked and stopped next to Simba, observing the devastation.

"Ugh…" he sighed, "We're gonna fight your uncle? For this?" There was definite disapproval in his voice.

Simba sighed, "Yes Timon. This is our home."

More to himself, Timon said, "Boy…talk about your fixer-upper." Then he spoke up to Simba and me. "Well Simba, Ayden, if it's important to you guys, we're with you to the end." He placed his hand on his stomach, outstretched the other behind him, and bowed to both of us.

Again, it felt very awkward to be bowed to, but I smiled at him in gratitude.

The five of us stood still for a moment, staring out at Pride Rock. The clouds overhead were slowly moving as a wind picked up and blew them to the northwest.

This was it. After over two years of suffering, torment, sorrow, and pain, it was coming down to this. We were where we needed to be, and our dangerous task was laid in front of us, waiting to be carried out.

Quickly and silently, we made our way to Pride Rock. Oddly enough, there were no hyenas wandering the landscape. Even as I began to wonder where they had disappeared to, the answer presented itself.

We reached a large base of rocks that were situated just to the north of Pride Rock. As we climbed them, the base around Pride Rock came into view. Every few feet, hyenas lazily lay resting. We ducked behind a broken log to avoid being seen. We all peeked over the log at the grotesque monsters.

"Hyenas…" groaned Timon, fear apparent on his face. "I hate hyenas. So what's the plan for getting past those guys?"

Without missing a beat, Simba looked at Timon and whispered, "Live bait."

Timon smiled. "Good idea." Then his smile faded and he became stern as he realized what Simba was getting at. "Hey!"

Simba stared at Timon, the utmost seriousness on his face. "Come on Timon! You guys have to create a diversion!"

Timon rolled his eyes and loudly burst out, "What do you want me to do? Dress in drag and do the hula?"

I leapt forward and clasped his head in my hand to silence him. The nearby hyenas had glanced over at his outburst, and we all ducked down to avoid being seen.

"Quiet!" I hissed at him through gritted teeth. His eyes met mine, and I felt him relax in my grasp. I released his head. He caught his breath for a moment, and then stared up at me, his hands on his hips.

"Timon, you need to do whatever will get them out of our way!" I whispered urgently. "Simba told me that you're smart! You can do this! The whole plan depends on it!"

A small smile tugged at Timon's lips at the compliment. He sighed, "All right then. Oy…come on Pumbaa. I've got an idea."

He turned around and headed back into the Pride Lands. Pumbaa, with one last glance at us, turned and followed his friend. I watched as they disappeared around the corner of a large rock.

Simba, Nala, and I watched the hyenas for a few moments. They were all lying around so lazily, making our once majestic home look atrocious. Anger boiled inside of me. I grasped the knife in my pocket, longing to kill each and every one of them. But I knew if I did, then I would end up like Sekou.

Something moved behind me, and I turned and saw a sight I would never forget. Timon had somehow fashioned a very authentic looking hula outfit, complete with grass skirt, leis, and a flower in his hair. Pumbaa was holding what appeared to be an apple in his mouth. Upon closer inspection, I saw it was actually a very round and rusty colored stone.

Simba chuckled a little bit. "I didn't think you'd take that particular idea of yours seriously."

Timon rolled his eyes. "Hey, the kid said to do whatever it takes. This should work. Just get ready to go for it when we do this."

I sighed, fighting not to laugh. Together, Simba, Nala, and I moved behind the log to the end of it, ready to move when the hyenas were distracted. Timon and Pumbaa silently moved into the open. Pumbaa lay on his stomach, placed the stone in his mouth like an apple, and closed his eyes. Timon sighed, rolled his eyes, and then turned around, his back facing the hyenas.

For a moment, I thought that fear had got the better of them, for neither one moved. Then, at the sound of drums, Timon quickly spun around, yelling at the top of his lungs, "LUAU!"

Every one of the sleeping hyenas woke up, and the relaxing ones gave a start. Turning their heads in Timon and Pumbaa's direction, they watched bewilderedly as Timon began to hula and sing a tropical tune. Slowly, the hyenas stood up and began to walk in Timon and Pumbaa's direction, their tongues hanging out, drool dripping disgustingly from them.

Timon continued to sing, but his face became more and more fearful as the hyenas drew closer. Next to me, I noticed movement and I turned to see Simba and Nala were slowly creeping out into the open while the hyenas were distracted by Timon's song. I moved forward and stayed next to Nala.

Staring at Timon the entire time, we kept sneaking forward. If I was not worried that the hyenas would spot us at any second, I would have paid more attention to Timon's song. The situation would have been hilarious, if not for those bloodthirsty and vicious monsters.

Only five more steps…three more…one more…

We reached the safe point behind a large rock, and I signaled to Timon. He ended the song, and not a moment too soon. Both he and Pumbaa bolted out of sight before the hyenas could take one bite out of them. But like bullets, they too ran after Timon and Pumbaa, and soon disappeared out of sight.

I stared around. From here, we could easily make our way up to Pride Rock and find Scar. They hyenas that lay around the base of Pride Rock were too far away to notice us moving around.

"Nala," Simba whispered, "You find my mother and rally the lionesses."

Nala nodded at him and glanced at me. As if he read her mind, Simba also looked at me, and said, "Ayden and I will look for Scar."

Inside, I was smiling when he said this. Simba truly wanted me to be a king alongside him. Why else would he want me to face Scar with him? If he really wanted the throne to himself, the law stated that he would have to take it by himself. But having me at his side when he was attempting to defeat Scar would make me just as eligible for the kingship.

Nala nodded again, and stalked off towards a small pack of tan in the distance. I recognized it as what remained of our majestic pride.

I got on Simba's back and leaned close to his body so we would not stick out. Quickly, he slunk near the base of Pride Rock, careful to avoid being seen by any lurking hyenas.

"Scar would be up in the den." I whispered in his ear. "He rarely ever leaves it."

I saw his head nod slightly as he pressed onward. Slowly, Simba climbed a mound of rocks. When we reached the peak, we were only yards away from the pathway that lead up to the summit of Pride Rock and down to the den. As Simba took a step forward, a loud and harsh voice rang out from below us.

"SARABI!!"

Scar's unmistakable voice echoed across the Pride Lands. It surprised me how close he was. Simba stopped moving and slunk low to the ground. We peered over the edge of the mound we were on. Scar's back was only about ten feet below us. Simba ducked down, for the relaxing hyenas grew attentive at Scar's voice, and they looked up at him. I saw Simba unsheathe his claws and I slipped off of his back, taking out my knife. Simba got into position to pounce on top of Scar. Suddenly he grew tense and his eyes, wide, as another voice became present.

"Yes Scar?" it said, very monotone and unkind.

I glanced over the peek and saw Sarabi stand attentive and stern in front of Scar. Simba sheathed his claws again. He would not dare attack Scar when he was so close to his mother.

I looked up into his face, and I saw a mixture of joy and pity in those ruby eyes. It had been long over two years since he had looked upon his mother. A tear streaked down from one. I reached over and placed a hand on his shoulder, in an attempt to comfort him.

Scar's harsh voice brought me back to attention.

"Where is your hunting party? They're not doing their jobs!"

Still in her monotone and borderline disrespectful voice, Sarabi replied, "Scar, there is no food. The herds have moved on."

"No," said Scar stubbornly. "You're just not looking hard enough!"

"It's over. There is nothing left." Sarabi said, annunciating each word to place emphasis on this obvious fact. She lost a bit of her composure as she continued. "We have only one choice. We must leave Pride Rock."

"We're not going anywhere!" Scar growled, shaking his head at Sarabi.

Raising her voice, Sarabi cried, "Then you have sentenced us to death!"

He moved close to her face and said in the same tone, "Then so be it."

Exasperation in her voice, Sarabi whispered, "You can't do that!"

Scar stuck his nose in the air and said in arrogance, "I am the king! I can do whatever I want."

Absolutely mortified, Sarabi whispered, "If you were half the king Mufasa was, you…"

But she never had the chance to say what Scar was. He had flung around and struck her hard against the face, screaming "I am TEN TIMES the king Mufasa was!"

Sarabi fell to her side at the blow, and slid across the ground. At the same time that I shot up, Simba stood up next to and growled ferociously, staring down at Scar.

Scar looked up at us and his face suddenly drained of color. His eyes became fearful, and he backed away against the wall next to the den.

"Mufasa…Ayden…no, you're both dead!" he whispered.

Far from it…I thought. I assumed this meant that the hyenas had lied to Scar about my escape, and simply told him that I had been killed. Either that or he thought I had died of thirst in the desert.

Simba rushed down to his mother and stopped in front of her. I strode down the slope and stood next to him. He nudged at Sarabi, who lay with her eyes closed. For a moment, I feared the worst.

Then she stirred and opened her eyes. Dazed, she stared up at Simba.

"Mufasa?" she whispered.

For a moment, I flashed back to when Simba had found me. I too had thought he was Mufasa. They looked so similar in their pelt and mane color.

Simba shook his head slowly. "No, it's me."

"Simba?" A small smile came to Sarabi's face at the recognition of the cub she had given birth to. Then her eyes moved over and met mine. "Ayden? You're both alive? How can that be?"

"It doesn't matter." Simba whispered. He moved lower to her and nuzzled her lovingly. "We're home."

I smiled down at Sarabi, and then looked over at Scar. The fear on his face was slowly being replaced with realization.

"Simba?" he said confusedly. "Simba! And Ayden too! What a surprise to see you both…alive?"

The last word was directed up at the three hyenas; Shenzi, Banzai, and Ed, who stood on a ledge above Scar. Simultaneously, they gulped and backed out of sight.

And suddenly, the mystery finally began to make some sense. The scene began to play like a movie in my head.

The day that the stampede occurred, when Simba had run away, Scar had sent the hyenas after Simba. The chase lasted until they reached the cliff that led down into the thicket of thorns. Simba had fallen down and miraculously had sustained no injuries. Then the hyenas, not willing to risk injury to themselves or death, had left Simba to die. They returned to Scar, and lied to him, telling him that Simba had been killed.

Now only one part of the mystery remained; why hadn't Simba returned home?

Simba's growl brought me out of my own mind and back to our current situation.

"Give us one good reason why we shouldn't rip you apart." He said to Scar, approaching him slowly. I took out my knife and walked next to Simba, stalking Scar.

He had stepped forward when he realized who we were, but again, Scar was backing up as we approached him.

"Now Simba….Ayden…" He said almost pleadingly. "You must understand. The pressures of ruling a kingdom-"

"-Are no longer yours." I finished Scar's sentence before he could.

"Step down, Scar." Simba commanded.

"Oh! Well….uh…yes…I, uh, would, actually." Scar twittered, "However there is one problem. You see them?"

He gestured upward, and Simba's and my gazes were drawn up to the ledges that lined the summit of Pride Rock. Several groups of hyenas were situated upon them, staring evilly down at us.

"They think I'm king." Scar said, gesturing to himself.

"Well we don't." A voice came from behind us. Scar inclined his head to look over us, and Simba and I flung around to see Nala and the entire pride appearing over the side of the incline. Ayana was helping Sarabi get to her feet. I noticed that Yetunde was not present, and I felt my heart fall a little bit, for I had liked Yetunde very much.

"Simba and Ayden are the rightful kings." Nala finished.

Simba turned back to Scar and said sternly, "The choice is yours, Scar. Either step down or fight."

Just so Scar would get the picture, I raised my knife. He now knew that he would be facing both Simba and myself.

Every moment that I had ever been close to killing Scar or facing him, I was always afraid. And I was always alone. But not this time. This time, I had Simba with me. With him at my side, I did not know fear. Scar would not remain the king. Whether or not we needed to force him from the throne, Scar would not remain king.

"Oh, must this all end in violence?" said Scar silkily, sliding across the wall and past Simba. I raised my knife slightly higher, poised to fling it at any moment.

"I would hate to be responsible for the death of a family member, wouldn't you agree Simba?" Scar asked, his voice growing sly.

"That's not going to work Scar." Simba said quickly. "I've put it behind me."

"Oh yes, but what about your faithful subjects?" Scar responded quickly, "Have they put it behind them?"

I stared over at Simba and opened my mouth to ask him, but Nala beat me to it.

"Simba, what is he talking about?"

Every lioness was staring at Simba, curiosity etched into their faces. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Zira appear at the mouth of the den. She stared for a moment at Simba, bewilderment crossing her face. Then she stared back at Scar who began to speak again.

"Ah, so you haven't told them your little secret." He said, almost gleefully. "Well Simba, now is your chance to tell them. Tell them who is responsible for Mufasa's death."

A knot became apparent in my stomach as I stared at Simba. Scar could not possibly mean what I thought he meant. Surely it was just another one of Scar's lies.

Simba's eyes met mine. I saw nothing but guilt and sorrow in those ruby orbs.

My heart plummeted to a depth that it had never gone before. It could not be true! It just couldn't!

Don't jump to conclusions! He has yet to say a name!

Little comfort came from this thought, but I placed every ounce of hope in it. I prayed that Simba would say anything, any name, but the one that I expected.

Simba straightened himself, looked at his pride, took a step forward, and said boldly, only two words.

"I am."

Ok, i know i said the next chapter would be the climax, but this chapter is already over 4000 words, and to be quite honest, i'm not done yet. but some readers were getting restless, so i figured i would just cut the chapter into two regular sized ones instead of one huge one. FOR SURE the next chapter will be the climax.