Thank you s-s-l and of course King Ligerion for your reviews! If you do read, please review. Here's chapter 4, enjoy.

Disclaimer: I do not own the title Lion King or any of it's characters and places. Although, I do own the human characters.

Simba's pride gathered around a large tree, relaxing and recooperating from their long journey. Simba and Nala were lying down together near the base of the tree, while Timon and Pumbaa had gone off to find grubs to eat, all the while arguing about which ones are better, slimy or crunchy. The lionesses groomed themselves and each other, Kovu and Kiara had gone to look for food besides grubs. Kovu had gone with her because Kiara was still pretty young, and not a very strong hunter. The lionesses would've gone together, but they wouldn't be very effective if they were exhausted. Even Vitani was tired. It was getting closer to night time, the light blue sky now turning a light red-orange color. The stars started to sparkle, and one in particular stood out. He remembered what his father told him about that big star in the sky. It was his great grandfather Mohatu, the gentle king. He had heard great stories about how Mohatu would compromise to solve problems instead of fighting. That's why he was called the gentle king. Simba smiled, remembering that night of the storm when the lightning struck the tip of Priderock. It was a sign from his father, warning him that his reign would be challenged. Lightning represented the challenge, and the invaders represented the lightning. He was glad he didn't have to face it alone, and he looked at Nala with a smile. She was grooming herself, licking her paws.

"Simba!" a familiar voice called out. Simba and the lionesses looked up into the tree, and it was none other than Rafiki, the wise baboon. He jumped down from the branches and landed gracefully next to Simba. "What are you all doing out here?"

"We had to run from the invaders of the Pridelands." One of the lionesses spoke up. Rafiki nodded, stroking his beard.

"Ah yes. I saw dem earlier today." He pondered and a stronge wind gusted through the trees, dust and debri flew through the air. Rafiki lit up. "Simba! You must take your pride and move! De invaders are coming!" Simba jumped up when he said this, but winced and fell back down. Rafiki looked at him with concern.

"He still hasn't healed enough. The invaders did this to him." Nala told Rafiki, trying to help Simba up. "By the way, how did you find us here?" Nala was wondering how he had even known they were here.

"De winds spoke to me." Was all he said and smiled. Nala smiled as well. Mufasa was always there for them, watching over his son and everyone. Even though he wasn't there, he still guided them. Rafiki took a fruit off of his staff and opened it, taking some leaves he found around the area and crushing them, creating a mixture. He ground it down with a stone until it was a thick honey-like paste. He dipped his thumb in and spread it over Simba's wound. Simba let out a growl, but the pain soon subsided as it soothed his wound. Rafiki then took a banana leaf and wrapped it around his leg. Simba got up slowly, wincing slightly, but found it was much easier to walk.

"Wow! It's better!" Simba exclaimed, surprised. Rafiki smiled in satisfaction and then his face turned serious. He climbed up to the top of the tree and saw the invaders' trucks in the distance. He gasped.

"Simba! You must move now! Dey are coming!" Simba nodded in response as Nala assembled the lionesses.

"Nala, go look for Kiara and Kovu. Meet us at at the oasis." Simba told her and Nala nodded, running off into the jungle. "Let's go." He told the lionesses and ran off, wincing ever so slightly from the pressure on his leg. Vitani helped lead the lionesses, eventually reaching the oasis. Timon and Pumbaa showed up, their mouths full of grubs. Timon tried to talk with his mouth full.

"Thimba, thwhere are thu going?" Timon tried to ask. Simba looked at him questioningly.

"Uh…what?" Timon swallowed and Pumbaa did as well.

"Where are you going?" Pumbaa asked since Timon had a hard time swallowing.

"We need to get out of here, the invaders are headed this way." He said as a noise in the jungle caught his attention and he retracted his claws, getting ready for what was coming. All the lionesses did the same, but when Nala, Kovu and Kiara emerged, they relaxed.

"Simba! Keep moving!" Rafiki called out from a tree. Timon was about to ask who was talking but he didn't have time. The lions sprang into action, running through the forest again. Pumbaa and Timon were dumbstruck, confused. A gunshot fired and hit a tree about a foot from Pumbaa's head. They both screamed and ran like there was no tomorrow. They caught up with the lions who tried to run as fast as they could, but trees were making that difficult. Gunshots were bouncing off trees, missing them by mere inches, but this only caused them to run faster. They reached the edge of part of the jungle, a raging river in front of them. Simba looked back in panic, sniffing the air. They were getting closer very fast.

"Simba! We need to keep moving!" Nala was panicking as well, and the lionesses plus Kovu were waiting for him to make a move. He had an idea, but it was risky.

"Follow the river!" he ordered, running downstream on the bank of the river. Everyone followed suit, and soon after they started running, the invaders emerged from the jungle.

"Over there boss!" one of the men exclaimed, pointing downstream. The boss smiled.

"We got em' now! They're too stupid to realize what's at the end of the river." He motioned for everyone to follow as they started running down stream. He aimed his gun towards the lions, focusing his aim. He was about to shoot when Rafiki came out of the forest and kicked him in the face, knocking him into the river. He shot the air accidentally which alerted the lions to how close they were. The boss rose for air, very pissed off. "What the hell was that?!" Lewis looked at him, trying not to laugh.

"I think it was a monkey sir." He then burst out laughing. The boss got up and threw Lewis in the river, taking an automatic machine gun and shooting randomly in the jungle, hoping to hit Rafiki, but he was already gone. The boss kept shooting till he ran out of ammo in the clip and then started running downstream again, his men following, and Lewis way behind since he had to climb out of the river. The boss took his hand gun and shot forward towards the lions, whom were really far ahead.

Simba and the lions kept running as fast as they could. Pumbaa, remembering the jungle well, gasped. "Simba! We're trapped!" he exclaimed. Simba ignored him, knowing full well what he was doing. Nala then realized what Pumbaa meant, they all did when they saw the waterfall ahead. Simba kept running, determination in his eyes, but the lionesses were scared. Even Kovu was wondering if Simba had lost his nut. Timon pulled on Pumbaa's hair, trying to make him stop, but Pumbaa trusted Simba. Simba looked back for a split second, seeing the humans in the distance, and then he jumped. The lionesses hesitated at first, but then they jumped as well. Kiara wouldn't go, but Kovu took her with him. Timon and Pumbaa stayed up there.

"Ok…one…two…three!" Pumbaa ran but then stopped and backed up. "One…two…three!" he ran forward again but then stopped and backed up.

"Pumbaa, are you nuts!" Timon was trying to hold him back, but a bullet flew by his head. "Go Pumbaa go!" Pumbaa didn't stop this time, as he jumped. "AHHH!" they screamed as they fell 100 feet into the water. As the boss reached the edge, he stopped as well as his men. Lewis came up a few seconds later, panting.

"Damnit…" the boss said, throwing his gun on the ground in frustration. It fired a bullet and the men fell back in surprise. "We need to go back around. Come on!" the boss picked up his gun and started running back from where they came from. Lewis groaned in agony and started to run again.

"Boss…can't we just forget that lion?" Lewis gasped out. The boss glared at him but didn't answer. He just stopped, and when Lewis caught up, he threw him the river. The men resisted laughing at him.

"Lewis, you're becoming dead weight." He cocked his gun and pointed it at Lewis while he was emerging. Lewis looked down the barrel, scared for his life.

"Wait wait! You can't kill me! I'm the best tracker in this group! You won't find em' without me!" he covered his face with his hands, shutting his eyes tight. The boss just looked at him for a few seconds and then put his gun away. It was true, Lewis was the best tracker out of all of them. Lewis sighed in relief, but the boss picked him up by his collar, meeting him face to face.

"If you drag us down, you'll become a throw rug next to my fireplace!" he dropped him and then continued running. Lewis sprinted ahead of him, not liking the idea of being skinned. Ouch.

Simba emerged from the water, dragging Nala and Kiara with his mouth and paw. Pumbaa was carrying Timon and a lioness out of the water. Kovu took care of Vitani and some other lionesses until they were all accounted for. The lions lie there, in pain from the impact. Simba was in pain as well, but not as much. He dove with his body straight so it didn't hurt that much, another trick he learned while living out here. Nala coughed out water when she woke up and winced at the burning feeling on her body. Luckily, there weren't any rocks.

"Dad! Are you crazy?!" Kiara exploded but then winced when her skin tightened.

"It bought us some time to get away. They have to go all the way back through the jungle to reach us here." He helped up Nala and some other lionesses. Eventually the pain wore off and they were all up and walking again. Kovu calmed Kiara down. Timon squeezed the water out of his tail, also thinking Simba was a little nuts, but he held his tongue. They ended up deeper in the jungle, thick with green and plenty of places to hide from the invaders. Simba was starting to think it was ironic that the predators were now the prey. They the hunters, were now the hunted. "Let's get going, we need to find some shelter for tonight." He started walking deeper into the jungle, Nala by his side, followed by everyone else. After about 10 minutes of walking, Timon tripped and rolled behind some bushes. As Pumbaa went to fetch him, he realized that Timon had discovered a cave. It was very well hidden by vines and bushes, and he alerted Simba whom agreed that they could spend the night there. The cave was dark, but it would suffice. As they all got settled, Simba asked Kovu to go deeper into the cave to see if there was another entrance. As he explored, stumbling a little bit since he couldn't see, he reached a bend and at the end there was an exit that was also covered by vines and bushes. Beyond that was a small lake that broke off from the river they came from. Kovu told Simba of his find. He was pleased since if they had to run, they wouldn't be cornered in this cave.

"Simba," Nala walked up to him, "if they could track us before, they could track us now. We need to cover our tracks or lead them in different directions." She said. Simba smiled at her genius. Nala was very wise and skilled at these kinds of things, evaluating the situation for their safety. It's what made her a good hunter, a good fighter.

"You're right. We'll have to cover our tracks." He thought for a moment. "Timon, Pumbaa." He called them over.

"Yes your highness?" Timon said sarcastically. He was still a bit peeved at how Simba had made them jump off a waterfall.

"You two can do this quicker than anyone. I need you to cover the tracks into this cave and lead them in different directions to confuse the invaders. Can you do that for us? Make it look like we went farther past the lake or around it, things like that to confuse them." He explained.

"Of course!" Pumbaa said, snorting at Timon for pouting.

"Alright alright. But we better get some kind of reward for this!" he waved his finger at Simba. Simba just smiled and nodded. He'd think of something to repay them with. As Timon and Pumbaa left the cave, they were very careful of their surroundings.

--

He slashed and slashed at the bushes and plants that made it diffcult for them to pursue faster. He slapped mosquitoes and flies on his sweat drench neck and face, irritated. Lewis had not complained the whole trip, fearing for his life. He had took off his shirt, his hairy beer belly covered with sweat and his bald head a waterfall of sweat and dirt. The other men pinched their noses at the smell Lewis gave off. They had their shirts off, slashing at the plants and picking fruits off trees. The boss' muscles rippled as he violently slashed away, grunting. When they made it to the rushing river at the base of the waterfall, they stopped and dipped their heads in the water to cool down and take drinks. Some of the men pushed Lewis into the river to get rid of his smell, but even as he came out it was still there.

"Lewis, you got their trail yet?" the boss asked, dipping his shirt in the water and squeezing the water out of it. Lewis observed the ground and trees, looking for signs. He couldn't find any.

"They don't start here boss. They might start on the other side of the river." He pointed towards where Simba and the rest of the lions had emerged from. The boss nodded and looked for a way to cross since the current was too strong.

"We'll have to find a way across the river." One of the men said. The boss looked around for anything they could use to get across and spotted some vines in the trees. He stuck his knife in his mouth and climbed up one of the trees, his blonde locks sticking to his forehead. He cut some vines and let them fall. The men were wondering what he was doing. As he got down, he started tying them together to form one big long vine.

"It'll take to long to go around, we'll just have to go through." He explained to their confused looks. The men 'oh'd' and helped him with the vines. They tied one end to the trunk of a tree firmly and the other to the boss' waist. He took his knife in his mouth again and took in a deep breath. The men held onto the vine tightly, not letting him drift downstream as he swam hard to the other side. He had been under for at least a minute and they were starting to worry. Then, a hand reached out of the water and stabbed the knife in the ground. He climbed out and untied the vine from his waist. The river was very wide and powerful, but he successfully made it. He tied the vine around the handle of his knife and held on tightly to it. "Now, hold on to the vine as you cross!" he yelled to the other side over the roar of the river. The men followed his orders, and one by one they made it across, slowly and carefully. Lewis made it too, but he got cut a few times from the jagged rocks. As he emerged, he had a deep gash in his right leg. He winced, but didn't show his boss since his life was in jeopardy. He wrapped a gauze around it and a bandage tightly, concealing it with his pant leg. "Where to Lewis?" the boss asked, taking his knife out of the ground and putting it back in his boot. Lewis observed the surroundings, noticing minor disruptions in the bushes and faint prints.

"This way sir." Lewis pointed deeper into the jungle. The boss smiled and took his rifle out to be ready in case they spotted them. Lewis led them, following the trails left behind by the pride, but then he suddenly stopped.

"What is it Lewis?" the boss asked frustratingly. Lewis pinched his eyebrows together, trying to decipher any markings that give evidence of where the lions have gone. "Does the trail end?"

"No…it doesn't stop. It goes everywhere." Twigs were snapped to his left and bushes were flattened to his right, there were small prints in front of him, all going in different directions. "I…I don't know which way they went…" he gulped, feeling the frustration ooze off of his boss.

"Then we'll split up and follow all of them!" he screamed. "Lewis, Tiny, you're with me. Quincy, Jack and Steve, you go that way. Bulldozer, Zap and Vince, you follow the other trail. The rest of you, try to find high ground and see if you can spot the lions. Go!" he ordered. The men all split up, and Tiny, a man FAR from tiny, followed Lewis and the boss. "We're getting those lions, one way or another."

--

Simba's ears perked up, as well as Kovu's. They had heard a noise, a loud noise. It was definitely the invaders. He got up and peaked through the brush that sheltered the cave, watching for any movements in the jungle. The lionesses got up and prepared to run if they needed. Kiara, Timon and Pumbaa did the same, but Nala stood by Simba, prepared to help him. Kovu stood his ground as well. Everyone was dead quiet in the cave. Simba kept his eyes alert as he peaked into the jungle. Then he heard footsteps coming his way, but he stood completely still. It was a group of men carrying rifles at the ready. They started slowly walking towards the cave, cocking their rifles. Simba growled quietly and backed up, the lionesses slowly backing up as well.

"Kovu…" Simba called in the dark quietly. Kovu nodded, but it was unseen by Simba. They assumed their positions on the sides of the cave entrance. They got closer…and closer…their footsteps growing in volume…and then…

"Yo Vince! I see some prints over here!" one of the men called. They then started heading away from the cave, following the vague footprints made by Pumbaa. He managed to make them lion shaped somehow. Everyone sighed in relief and relaxed.

"Listen everyone, we can't stay in here forever. I think if we make it to the cliffs, we could lose them." Simba whispered in the dark.

"Sounds like a plan. When should we make a break for it?" Nala responded. Simba took another peak outside and noticed that the sky was very dark blue, on the brink of nighttime.

"Soon. We'll use the cover of night."

Well, there's chapter 4, hope you enjoyed! Please review, no flames please but suggestions are welcome. Thank you! By the way, I apologize for any errors, but I'm still in need of a beta reader.

SP1R17