Chapter XI alternative version

A Circle Broken

It had all seemed just a dream. A true fairytale. How else to describe her life's story?

Rising up out of a childhood in tatters, only to be put down under a tyrants heel. Fleeing her homeland, leaving behind the friends and the land she loved, having few hopes to survive on her own. But then, she stumbles upon her savior, way out in the wilderness, the knight in shining armor of whom she had already given up only dreaming about. But she found him, against all odds. She found not only her personal savior, but discovered in him the liberator of her entire people.
Of course, it had taken some prodding in the right direction, but it happened nonetheless: she had found the hero everyone had been craving for, and brought him back home with her. Things only got better from there on: they got rid of the bad guys, took over the kingdom and cuddled up to found their own little family.
But as the song goes, "Good times, bad times". Here's where Nala's fairytale ended, and most of life turned sour. Sharing her home with the the enemy. Losing friends in struggle and betrayal... even her own son turning over to a treacherous coup. And then the humiliation of simply being replaced, and banished. Being replaced by a green, backstabbing and incompetent Outlander who had even ensnared Nala's own son. Vitani had stolen Nala's son, Nala's kingdom, Nala's pride and Nala's self esteem.
For a long time, the former Queen had no response to it. She did nothing but grovel in her own bitterness, lashing out at everyone regardless of their intent. She was especially disappointed by her former pride, all of whom had seemed to have turned away for her. What an ungrateful lot they were.
But here's where the dream had picked up again: her pride had suddenly rose up to her defense when the first opportunity arose! What a comeback, what a finale to her dramatic life!

In a way, Umeme's turnarounds in the last few days had kind of been modeled after the pride's behavior over the years: Supporting Nala, even when suffering under illegitimate ruler, then seemingly turning around to the enemy only to, in the end, when push comes to shove, still stand up for the only true Queen in the lands...
However, now was not the time to revel in that feel-good experience, or to just even stop to think about it. Now, 't was all about keeping her head above water and momentarily refrain from drowning outright, literally: by some unlikely chain of events, Nala found herself fighting for her life with a hyena she'd already supposed dead whilst up to her neck in the Border River's murky water.
She hadn't counted on that; this definitely wasn't what she had had in mind when trying to re-establish Pridelander rule to the Pridelands. She hadn't counted on Vitani having the guts to return, on things getting violent or on Vitani's unlikely new allies. Well, that last one wasn't entirely true... Nala knew her history; on the hyena account Vitani certainly lived up to her father's legacy. And it was turning out to be her demise, Nala feared.
As the pain from her wounded paw swirled up throughout her entire body, becoming ever more crippling, she cursed herself for having underestimated Vitani. Struggling with her wounds, her heavy, soaked fur and her eternal enemy Shenzi, she could not help but let anger get a grip over her at the prospect of losing her best – if not only – chance for a righteous comeback because of a combination of hubris and that heap of mangy poachers. She wasn't about to let that happen, not on her watch. Not why she had even the least bit of life in her. She'd die before she'd see another Scar rule the Pridelands, and she'd be taking a lot of others with her if she were. Nala had turned from the triumphant Queen she had been only moments before to a desperate rogue, to whom all means were viable to get where she wanted.
And the first obstacle she'd have to take was Shenzi. The hyena had been able to surprise Nala, and had gotten a shot at on of her paws. Her miscalculation in terms of speed and terrain had pushed them both into the Border River, however, where Nala's crippled paw was somehow compensated by the lion's superior skills when it came to moving in the watter. Nala exploited this by immediately pulling the hyena deeper into the river after first exchanging some obligatory niceties. Surprised by Nala's swift response and clarity of mind, Shenzi found herself without answer to Nala's sudden leap forward, which pushed them even farther away from the shore. Suddenly, she felt no more ground under her paws, went under, and could only resurface by devoting the entirety of her already diminished strength to keeping her head above water. Although Nala faced similar problems, she had needed not even half the effort her enemy had to put forth, if only because of having anticipated the need for a swim. Nala drew a long breath, then lunged in towards Shenzi and was able to wrestle her teeth around on of her opponent's paws, drawing her under.
Not having had any momentum to fill her lungs with air, Shenzi immediately panicked as she went under. Instantly, her body forced her to forget about the struggle that went on on the river's bank, to forget about the lioness she was battling and even give up whatever cover she might have had. The only thing that mattered now was getting her muzzle above the river's surface and breathe, anything else would mean the one of the most gruesome of deaths: drowning. Or so her struggling body told her, blocking out any sound of reason coming from her mind. And so, with only the thought of breathing fresh air propelling her, Shenzi stretched out her entire body, stretched out her neck, elevated her head and pushed with all her might to reach the surface. And, by a stroke of luck it seemed, it worked: her head suddenly popped out from beneath the river's surface amidst bursts of water violently sweeping hence and forth because of her struggle.
However, as relieved as the hyena instinctively might have been at first, greedily sucking in the much craved air with her mouth wide open, she was know right where and how Nala wanted her. With a swiftness that could only be explained by the burning hate she held against her foe, and seemingly unhindered by her wounds, Nala released the enemy's paw from her jaws, surged upward, and mercilessly bit down upon Shenzi's neck, which had been painfully exposed in the hyena's desperate effort to stretch out and break the surface to draw breath.
And even though Nala, who sank down with Shenzi again, now held the least air in her lungs, victory would be hers: it had not been her intention to choke, or even drown her opponent, regardless of what the hyena might have thought. As she wrapped her paws firmly around Shenzi's upper body and shoulders, almost in slow motion because of the natural resistance one faces when moving underwater, Nala sealed the old Matriarch's fate. Their eerie graceful underwater dance came to a terrible , strung out finale finale as Nala pulled with all her might to try and break her opponent. Shenzi tried her best to resist, but fatigue and old age had already taken too much of a tole on her weary body. In this last duel of strength, or maybe of the wills, between the two old rivals, it seemed Nala would be the ultimate victor: slowly but surely, Shenzi's powerful neck started to succumb before Nala's onslaught.
In this final confrontation below the Border River's surface, Nala won. All strength flowed from Shenzi's body as her neck finally broke. Upon sensing she had at last decided this seemingly eternal feud in her own favor, Nala felt for a moment victorious, releasing her opponent from her jaws, yet still holding her tight in her paws. Just maybe, hanging motionless underwater for an instant, pressed against her, Nala finally felt some sort of respect for the foe that had antagonized her so.
But even now, Nala wasted little time lingering. She quickly let go of Shenzi and made a break for the riverbank, emerging from the water again halfway there. With renewed vigor brought on by her hard-fought victory, Nala sped forward towards the still battling Vitani and Umeme, who fought only yards away. Fueled by adrenaline and an unleashed blood-lust, Nala sealed out all perception, save for the vision of the struggle between Umeme and Vitani in front of her. She did not feel the blistering pain shooting up from her mangled paw, nor the distress calls of a body pushed way beyond it's limit. She did not see a horrified Dakly plunging into the river somewhere beside her, or the battle around her that slowly came to a grinding halt. She did not hear the emerging cries of disbelief slowly rolling down the hill. She did not see the lone racing figure that made its way towards them, approaching fast over the hill as Nala went in for the kill.

What a disappointment this had turned out to be, Vitani couldn't help but think. Umeme had decided once and for all to betray her after all. And the funny thing was, she wasn't even any good at it! As if fighting with the strength of only half a lion, the enemy-turned-ally-turned-enemy-again that was Umeme was disappointing even in her betrayal. Vitani of course realized how Umeme's fighting with some more able-bodied opponents than the aging Nala Vitani herself had faced would have taken at least some sort toll, but it in no way was an excuse for the pathetic performance Umeme was putting up now. As if she didn't even want to stand and fight a decent fight, a fight fitting Vitani's skill and standing.
The fact she was actually disappointed of easily winning a duel, oddly enough, didn't strike Vitani as particularly strange. It's an Outlander thing, you know.

"Is that it? Is that all you've got?" snarled Vitani, as she easily evaded a half-hearted attempt Umeme made at lashing out. In a lightning response, the Queen grabbed her opponents paws with both hers, dug her claws deep in her flesh, and made a violent pull that sent a surprised Umeme suddenly flying forwards. She came to an abrupt stop, however, as her nose made contact with Vitani's forehead. Immediately after the perfectly executed head-butt, the younger lioness bounced back limply, leaving behind a splash of the blood that now spurted out of her nose on Vitani's chest.
Unable to get up again, Umeme just lay on the ground gasping for air. Vitani Casually strode closer, eventually standing over the groggy lioness. She bent down, then moved her head close to Umeme's ear. The lioness' fur gently rustled along with the rhythm of Vitani's heavy breathing as she exhaled. From the corned of her eye she could just see Dakly rushing by, but she didn't pay much attention to him. Her interest, as well as her vision, was now limited only to Umeme.

"You disappoint me, Umeme," whispered the Queen, sounding surprisingly sad "I still had great hopes for you, even after all you'd done. I really had. But you betrayed me yet again... and for what? In your betrayal, you couldn't even succeed in giving me a decent fight..."

Umeme tried moving her head up, and that took her a fair amount of trouble; anyone else in her condition would have already already fainted long ago. Yet she still kept her eyes open, no matter how fuzzy her vision, and her head upright, no matter how much the world seemed to spin around her. Suddenly, her mouth moved as if she wanted to say something, yet no sound could be heard. Vitani only saw her teeth moving up and down, teeth now red of Umeme's own blood.

"What's that?" frowned Vitani, her voice now again laden with scepsis, distrust and disdain.

"Be... hind... you!" muttered Umeme again.
Vitani had only half heard what the lioness had said, but the sudden change of look in Umeme's eyes went a long way to fill in the gaps. In a reflex that was only fitting of the term 'catlike', Vitani abruptly turned around, one paw already lift up high to try and block whatever it was that headed her way. But that wasn't nearly enough to prepare her for a one-hundred fifty pound lioness crashing into her, even for a lioness as able as Vitani. For a moment there, her physical prowess was temporarily overcome by the surprise strike. It finally gave Nala, whom had obviously executed the attack, the upper hand in her now resumed fight with Vitani, if only for a short wile. But that short moment was all Nala needed.
As soon as Nala had pounded on Vitani, both of them had tripped backwards onto the unfortunate Umeme. It would have been comical if it hadn't been dead serious. With Umeme below her, forcing her back in an awkward and painful twist, Vitani suddenly found it awfully hard to combat Nala, now above her in a vantage position. All her previous smugness and self-assuredness had disappeared in mere moments. Now it was Vitani who found herself fighting for her life, or so she thought. Quite a turnaround, literally. In a desperate effort to survive, Vitani tried everything she could to shield her neck and face from Nala vicious fangs and claws. But through all the effort she made to defend herself, she failed to notice a sudden, searing pain that shot up below one of her front paws. Suddenly seeing an opening, she was able to place a crushing strike on Nala's jaw that momentarily threw the former Queen back.
However, as Vitani tried getting up, she became aware of the warm, throbbing pain at the base of one of her forepaws again. She found it harder getting up from her awkward position, suddenly starting to feel tired, out of nowhere, without warning. Her sudden fatigue was even that bad she was still lying down as Nala's now scarred face appeared above her again. Vitani could see the former Queen opening her mouth, revealing her teeth. Because of her surprisingly blurred vision all of a sudden, Vitani couldn't, quite make out whether Nala intended to gnaw at her or shout at her. But it seemed she wouldn't get the chance to do either. Like lightning from a cloudless sky, two enormous paws appeared out of the blue, violently dragging Nala away from Vitani in the mere blink of an eye.

All the air suddenly pushed out of her lungs by the unknown assailant's pounding on her, Nala found herself gasping for oxygen, lying down on the ground, oblivious to what the hell had just happened. All the unexpected turns of events, combined with too much adrenaline and a dangerous level of fatigue, and now being without air, Nala almost felt as if she was passing into a seizure. Of course, that wasn't about to happen, but she still needed a second to recover before she could even begin to piece together what had just happened.

"T-Tanabi?" Nala eventually gasped as she looked up into the single, burning eye above her.
The entire battle had by now come to a screeching halt, everyone's eyes now fixed upon the imposing Tanabi standing over the downed Nala. Despite his days-long coma, Tanabi's gritted posture was still terribly imposing, even awe-inspiring in the current setting. A deafening silence set in, and a cold wind suddenly gushed along the river, catching Tanabi's manes in a small updraft.
After a deep, long sigh, accompanied with the fitting disappointed smirk, Tanaibi turned away from his mother without a word, allowing her to timidly get up again. The stares of an entire kingdom seemed to make that a whole lot harder, to do – not to mention the crippling pain she began experiencing again all over her weary body.
Meanwhile, Vitani, now free of Nala's incessant attacks, had gotten up again already as well. But for some reason, she started feeling awfully light headed the moment she got up. She found herself staggering the moment she tried walking forward.

"T-Tanabi?" murmured Vitani awfully weakly, to her own surprise. She saw Tanabi carefully striding towards her, which off course filled her with indescribable joy. But that all faded away the moment she saw the look on his face, as he tried opening his mouth to speak. But his words seem to die halfway his throat. Vitani got the impression he was looking at something to the right of her. Wiggling hence and forth a bit, blinking to keep her eyes open, Vitani turned her head to the right. She didn't see anything at first, so she moved a bit further around. Then she saw Umeme, who was still having a hard time getting up, tripping down again the moment Vitani lay eyes on her. The Queen's attention was immediately drawn by the large, reddishly-brown blotches on the other lioness' flank. That sure was a lot of blood, Vitani couldn't help but think. Yet she couldn't discover any wound sizable enough to have caused such a mess, at least not on Umeme. She then looked at the ground. Between the trampled, muddy dirt was still more blood. It almost looked like a short trail, leading all the way to Vitani's own back paws. Then she suddenly noticed her own flank: all red and sticky, simply drenched. As she was looked on, she could witness a stream of fresh blood now making it's way down her right forepaw, adding to the small puddle that had already formed below her.

"W-What?" murmured the queen as she stared in disbelief, after which she turned her head towards the approaching Tanabi again. She started shaking slightly. "Tanabi..."

With those last words, Vitani stumbled forward, but tripped and started falling down. Almost immediately Tanabi rushed forwarded, surprising agile in his weakened state.

"Vitani!" Tanabi arrived just in time to support Vitani with one of his paws, quickly sitting down and carefully laying his Queen next to him as the entire pride watched their every move.

"Come on, hurry it up! We're almost there! It's just over..."

"All right already, we're here. Now where's the party going on?" huffed Yakta as he got up the hill. The other pride's stamina had proven to be a pleasant surprise, as they had been able to keep up with Tiko's fast flying with relative ease. Some good news at least, thought Yakta.

"Hey, Tiko, what's the matter, lost your tongue?" panted Kwini as soon as sh e too had braved what would prove to be the last hill on their way. She stared at Tiko, who was simply hovering in the sky staring forward. The lioness was wondering why the hornbill had suddenly interrupted his sentence, so she turned to her partner.

"Yakta, what-"

The lion, however, was just as deaf to her questions, simply staring in the same direction as Tiko was, his face inert as if carved out of stone. By now, Kwini had about gotten the hint, and she too looked out for whatever it was Yakta and Tiko where so intrigued by.

To the west of them, in the Border River's valley, Kwini immediately saw she had gotten a front row seat to the chaos down below, at the river's edge. Spread out over a small portion of the hill next to the river she noticed all the sandy, golden and brown blurbs standing in what seemed to be a pretty random pattern. It took her a moment to realize what it exactly was she was staring at. She quickly realized that the sandy and golden figurers were lionesses, some seemingly wounded, most of them opposed to the much more numerous brown figures, although some also stood face to face with other lionesses. Kwini couldn't exactly place the brown animals, at least not in the current context. From what she could tell, they were hyenas.

"Two things: one, what on earth is going on, and two: what on earth are the hyenas doing here? Tiko didn't mention those..."

Meanwhile, the other pride had arrived as well, them also staring at the pandemonium in the valley. Jino quickly rushed forward towards Yakta.

"All right Ya, what are we seeing here?"

"Honestly?" shrugged Yakta, not so much because of indifference but rather because he really didn't have a clue, "I have no idea whatsoever. There are lionesses, there are hyenas, some lionesses stand opposed to lionesses, some stand opposed to hyenas. The only thing I can somehow relate to is Tanaibi, right there..."

Yakta pointed to the only male lion in the valley.

"And yet even that doesn't seem to make sense," smirked Jino, "Wasn't he like, near death?"

Suddenly, from above, Tiko shouted out again.

"Sires, with all due respect, but in stead of just standing here contemplating, shouldn't we intervene? I mean, that was the whole idea, wasn't it?"

"As much as I dislike that insolent bird's tone, I have to agree with him," grumbled Spotty, "Ya, Jino, what do we do?"

"All right, all right, be cool. We'll do it like this: we storm down, form a defensive line near Tanabi, but we don't actually intervene until we know who's who and who's on who's side. Besides for as far as I can tell, any fight that might have happened is already over," suggested Yakta, "You okay with that Jino?"

"One hundred percent, nodded the King, "All right, pride, you heard the lion! Move it!. Yakta, would you be as kind as to signal our arrival?"

"It'll be my pleasure," grinned Yakta as he prepared for the loudest roar in pretty much his entire career.

After having shaken off what had seemed to be an entire horde of lionesses, Dakly was finally able to reach the river. However, maybe because of the constant delay the lionesses on the way there had given him, tooth and claw, it seemed like he had gotten there just too late.
What had made him make the run for the river was seeing both his aunt and the opposing lionesses' leader hitting the water. Immediately concerned the elderly matriarch wouldn't be able to pull it against an experienced lioness, Dakly had tried to put together some kind of intervention. However, both his team mates had gotten stuck somewhere along the way, and Dakly himself had only just escaped a lioness' yaws, so now he found himself alone at the water's edge, not to mention tardy. The last thing he had seen was, after a fierce struggle, both Shenzi and Nala going under, coming up again and then going under once more. From the looks of it, Shenzi had been in a tight spot, barely able to catch her breath. It was thus no surprise Dakly panicked the moment he saw Nala surfacing without his aunt. What made him even more scared was that Nala just made a break for the shore, which signaled she was apparently done with the business she had to take care of in the river.

"Aunt!" Dakly immediately screamed, after which he rushed into the water. The mud that sucked his paws in made that a surprisingly hard thing to do, frustrating him to no end, since he was still convinced that now every second mattered. Meanwhile, Nala had already gotten out of the water a few yards away from Dakly, but the two didn't seem to notice each other, nor the fact that the battle was starting to subside because of an unknown figure's appearance over the hilltop.
Before long, Dakly was finally in the deeper end of the river, and since Shenzi still hadn't surfaced, he immediately dove down around where he estimated the fight between his aunt and Nala had occurred. Because of all the stirred up mud, it was nearly impossible too see anything underwater – Dakly saw nor found anything at first. But pushed forth by fear, anger and the love for his aunt, he persisted and went down for a second time after drawing breath again. And then a third time. And in some macabre way, the third time was the charm: as Dakly was blindly scouring the bottom of the river, he suddenly hit a heavy, still somehow what warm object. Then he felt the paws, the tail and the head. This was definitely a hyena, which somehow what reassured Dakly. But she wasn't moving. The cold river's water now seemed to chill even Dakly's heart, as the horrible truth began to sink in, against all the fading hopes he still held.
With the tiny ounce of strength he had left after all the endeavors of the day, Dakly managed to grab his aunt by the scruff with his teeth, to try and pull her out of the water. That wasn't exactly easy pie, yet Dakly did still somehow manage to keep his head above water as he pulled forth Shenzi. The most frustrating thing about the trip, apart from the fact he was sick with worry about his aunt, was that he couldn't take in any serious amounts of air, having had to breathe in through his nose if he didn't want to risk letting go of Shenzi. Obviously, that arduous task consumed all of his energy and attention, so he didn't notice how Tanabi's intervention cut the already subsiding battle on the shore short.
The moment his paws touched land again, Dakly managed to put 'em down as firmly as he could, as to draw Shenzi onto the shore . He slipped once as he dragged his aunt out of the watter, causing them to both get smeared with mud. As soon as he thought he had gotten Shenzi far enough, Dakly instinctively wanted to shout out for help. His soar throat, however, combined with all the muddy water he had involuntarily had to swallow, made sure his shouts died in a long coughing seizure. Realizing he would be on his own for the seconds to come, Dakly himself turned back to his aunt's body which lay motionless, save for her back-paws that still gently waved along with the river's stream. He quickly dropped down next to her, carefully placing one paw over her chest while sliding another one under her neck.

"No, please no... Help us! Someone, please..." Dakly shouted out, his voice dying down as he noticed how limp Shenzi's head hung over his paw. Now more carefully supporting her, he gently licked some of the mud off her face.

"Someone, please help my aunt..." His whisper, however died in the thunderous roar that suddenly engulfed the entire Border River valley. The hyenas that had already gathered near Dakly and Shenzi all simultaneously looked up, along with pretty much all others in the valley, lion and hyena alike.

Headed by a comparatively imposing Jino, a golden wave swept down the hills to the east, its sudden appearance so intimidating most combatants on the eastern edge of the battlefield instinctively ran backward and braced themselves for impact. Because of that, Tanabi, who still held Vitani tight, suddenly found himself at the outer edge of the crowd as the newcomers stormed forward. Before long, the entire formation slowed down when they saw Tanabi, to eventually halt and form a wedge, Jino at the tip, in front of Tanabi. The King, however, didn't even look up, he had no interest for anything but Vitani right now. Jino was a bit uncomfortable with that, as he didn't understand what was going on right away, although he did think the way Tanabi lay with his paws wrapped around Vitani was a bit awkward in this kind of setting.

"Uh... Sire?" Jino tried, yet Tanabi didn't respond. And that's when Jino noticed Vitani was hardly moving at all. Before he got the chance to say anything else awkward, though, Spotty came to his side. She quickly noticed Vitani as well. At first, dismayed by the sight of a bloodied Viani, she backed away again, only to approach the fallen Queen again moments later.

""Oh no... no... V-Vitani? My Queen?" stuttered the young lioness, her mind instantly reverting back to her days as an Outlander. Vitani, however, didn't respond, and seeing as how Tanabi held the lioness in a firm embrace, Spotty didn't dare approach any further so she wouldn't startle the grieving King. But because her instinct told her that Vitani needed her pretense, she skulked closer nonetheless.
Yakta, disturbed by Spotty sudden outcry, quickly elbowed his way from the back of the newly arrived Green Pride towards the front. As soon as he lay eyes upon Tanabi and Vitani, however, he too froze. His mouth opened for a moment, but no sound could be heard. He shuffled closer.

"Sis?" he carefully whispered.
Meanwhile, Maitha and Kucha had also somehow managed to crawl near. Both lionesses had taken serious beatings, Kucha still bleeding from the head, while Maitha had to limp forward on three legs, the fourth one being to badly damaged to stand on. But even they were still conscious enough to realize what was happening, although they didn't have the energy to do anything but stare in horror. In the background, most lionesses that had sided with Nala in the previous battle now started coming closer too, save for Nala herself, who tried staying in the background whilst making herself as small as possible. The hyenas, in turn, started gathering around Dakly and Shenzi.
Suddenly, to everyone's surprise, Vitani opened her eyes again, making Tanabi draw his head back a bit, as if shocked. The look in Vitani's eyes, however, was anything but clear, as she seemed to almost stare out in the distance. With ample effort, she opened her mouth again.

"Tanabi, I knew you'd come for me again..." she silently whispered, "I'm sorry I made such a mess of things while you were gone..."

Taken aback by those remarks, Tanabi could but stare whilst tears welled up in his eyes. Meanwhile, Vitani turned her head an crossed looks with all lions gathered around her.

"Hey, you're all here, great to see you..." the Queen mumbled somehow what incoherently. As Tanabi kept holding on to her, he could feel how she kept getting weaker by the second. She turned back to him and whispered in his ear.

"I think we've finally won..."

Epilogue

Even as dusk started setting in, Priderock's surface still felt warm after a long day of scorching heat. The past day had been almost unnaturally warm for the time of year, tiring and numbing everyone in it's wake. The hot air continued to linger around even now, near the evening.
It seemed almost impossible that the weather would have made such a turnaround overnight, yet it definitely had. Tamath had felt it happening with ever rising anxiety; it was as he had feared. Yet he had decided now would not be the time to give utterance to his fears, as the pride was already in deep enough as it was. That is to say, for as far as the shaman was concerned, this must have been the darkest day in the Prideland's history since long. But, staring at the grim crowd gathered on Priderock that afternoon, he became more and more convinced there would be many more of those to follow.
From where he sat, Tamath got a good look at the Pridelands down bellow, at the gathered animals of all different races anxiously staring up. The crowds were not nearly as thick as they would have been at a Presentation ceremony, nor were they as enthusiast. Below stood the animals who had been driven to Priderock because of disturbing rumors, and terrible tidings. Rumors of betrayal and murder, tidings of hyenas and foreigners that held camp at Priderock. And for as far as the animals could see, all that information had been accurate: a strange pride lead by two powerful lions now held watch at Priderock, carefully monitoring it's original inhabitants, and allowing none to leave. A delegation of hyenas had been seen ascending Priderock in the afternoon, not leaving since.
The fear was apparent in all the gathered animal's eyes; they did not know what was going on, yet they could tell it was severe. With heavy heart, they now waited for their King to guide them, and reveal the state of the Kingdom. But the King had not been seen for an entire day, as he seemingly hid himself away it the Priderock complex' deepest cave. Everyone waited for his reappearance, yet it never seemed to come.
Tamath, however, already knew all there was to know. Not too long ago, he had been summoned to Tanabi, to his dark cave deep down in the Priderock. He had soon encountered the King there, in a small, damp room, where he sat with his advisor Tiko and two of his lionesses, Kucha and Maitha, along with what remained of an antelope carcass from which the King nibbled every now and then. There, Tanabi had informed the shaman of what was soon to happen, and what would be his part in that. After that, Tamath had been ordered back out again. He remembered all the worried and curious faces as had had again appeared on Priderock's plaza. But he talked to no-one, and no-one had the courage to approach him. After him, many more were called upon to meet with the King, all going in individually and coming out again. Yakta, Jino, Spotty, Dakly, Simba and some others. But none of the lions that supported Nala, nor the former Queen herself. No, they just waited anxiously, kept in check by Jino and Yakta's prides, feeling their spirits dampen as the day progressed.
Then, finally, just as the sun started creeping down under the horizon, Tanabi suddenly appeared out of the caves. His eyes were still a bit reddish, both from mourning and a lack of sleep, and he still looked weakened by his days-long coma as he walked, but the way he held his head up high and the look on his face were unmistakably regal. In his wake slowly followed Kucha and Maitha, who still limped heavily, as well as Tiko, who flew behind them.
The green bird shot a look at his uncle Zazu, who sat silently with Simba and Nala. If looks could kill, Zazu'd have died ten times over. In stead, the former advisor just looked away, as did Nala. Simba, however, kept his eyes fixated on the party exiting the caves, especially Tanabi. The King noticed his father's stare and slowly started walking towards him. Instantly, Simba got up and took position in front of Nala.
For Tamath, Simba's behavior had been one of the biggest surprises of the day. The former king, after all, had more or less refused to play along wih Nala's plan for pretty much the entire duration of the crisis. Yet the moment the lions had set foot upon Priderock again, after a long and silent night of mourning in which Tanabi had taken Queen Vitani to her final resting place in the Outlands, Simba had been the only one to stick by Nala. Whilst all other lionesses had, be it because they saw their error or because they knew better than to side with the traitor, not even deemed their former Queen worthy of one word, Simba had stayed by his partner throughout the entire night and day that had followed the Coup, as it would come to be known. It seemed as if Simba's love for Nala conquered even the greatest mistakes from her part, no matter how it would make his son Tanabi think of him. Whether that was ultimately a sign of weakness or of strength, was in the eyes of the beholder.
Both lions were now directly in front of one another. It was disturbing to see the still wounded Nala cower behind Simba, now seemingly even fearing her own son. Looking upon her as she sat there now, alone and miserable, Tamath couldn't help but think it might not have been love that kept Simba with her, but pity. Pity for a fallen Queen.

"Father, you don't have to do this..." Tanbi suddenly grumbled, shattering the suffocating silence surrounding Priderock.

"You would do the same thing if you were in my stead..."

The memory of Vitani flashed through Tanabi's head. Would he have sticked with her, through good times and bad times, no matter what horrible things she did? The King sighed profoundly, then turned around. Nala seemed somehow what relieved. Funny, how she'd gone from a killing machine to an old, tired and scared lioness in one day. The incident with Yakta earlier must've had something to do with that. The moment Yakta had figured out what role Nala had played, it had only been an alert Jino to stand between Nala and her violent death. It must've been around that time Nala realized that killing Vitani hadn't been a victory, but a crushing defeat, possibly even worse than she herself getting killed in the duel.
Tanbi slowly continued to stride towards Priderocks promontory, walking right through the clutter of lionesses who had sided with Nala. All of 'em were fast to grovel out of the way and avoid the King's stern look, even though he'd have seen straight through them if their looks ever crossed. Kucha and Maitha, probably ordered to do so, followed his lead, all the way onto the promontory, sitting down halfway. Officially, that didn't have to mean anything, but it was obvious Tanabi wanted to transmit some kind of message with that – those lionesses were moving up in the world, even though they didn't exactly got to sit right next to the King just yet.
Tanabi scanned the crowd of animals surrounding his home with surprising indifference.

"Your Queen..." he had wanted to start of, yet he found his voice too hoarse for the volume he'd hoped to reach. He cleared his throat, then resumed with clearer voice.

"Your Queen, Vitani, has passed away. Yesterday, a day that will live on in infamy for generations to come, your Queen was slain in a vicious uprising. Those responsible are known, and will be swiftly and aptly punished. I will hold no eulogy. There was one in the Outlands, for those who cared..." Tanbi suddenly turned around and fixed his eyes upon his own pride, "And those who deserved. The Shaman will now give the last official passing rites, and give you the chance to pay your respects. In silence. Also, I would like to take the time to honor Shenzi, the late matriarch of the Graveyard Clan. For all the mistakes she made during her lifetime, she did eventually choose the right path, and even found the courage to lay down her life in defending Queen Vitani. For her there will be no sermon, as her own kind have looked after that. But we all pay respects to her nonetheless."

In the secluded corner of Priderock where they sat, Tamath could see the hyena representatives bowing down their heads in silence, as did most of the lions. After that, without any further ado, Tanabi simply turned around and walked back down towards the rest of the lions, without giving a closing statement; the King had already personally mourned the death of his Queen, what happened now were just formalities he executed without much enthusiasm. In fact, chances were that few to none of his actions from her on would ever be enthusiast again.
After Tanabi had walked away, the shaman took to the forefront, giving the official passing rites to Vitani. These consisted of a series of motions and gestures, but no words. The entire Pridelands seemed silenced for a moment.
Every now and then, Tamath would look down and gauge how the other animals were doing. He saw a lot of distraught faces – Tanabi's address had given rise to more worries than it had actually relieved – and with good reason. The animals rightly feared the times that lay ahead; some of them had subconsciously already connected the dots. The freak heat-wave to have happened that very day had not been a coincidence. That was pretty much why the shaman had trouble focusing on his duties at hand: what was the use? No-one would be watching. The pride would have to do without the Kings of the Past's protection for the foreseeable future – and they had themselves to thank for it. One does not strike down his own Queen, in defiance of all the laws that governed the Circle of Life, and expect not to bare any consequences. No, there would be grave consequences alright. And they would follow shortly, be they imposed from above or below.
After Tamath wrapped up the sermon with a final gesture of the hand, most of the animals down below started dispersing, as night would fall soon. They would bring to their respective families the terrible and disturbing news gathered that day. Many would go to sleep fearing what the next day would bring, if they slept at all.
But before the day's end, Tanabi had still one last task to finish. Ever since Vitani had passed away in his own paws, the King had not spoken even one word to those responsible. His first urge had been to beat them down and exact revenge, but he had soon realized his weakened body would not have been able to do so. And besides, with an entire pride accomplice to the crime, how to ever punish them himself? It was at that time that Tanabi had felt a change in his mind, a new calm descending over him. He couldn't quite put it, it had been as if someone had stood by and whispered advice in his ear. And maybe that was the case; Tanabi had been to the other side. He already knew there were forces at work beyond those the eye could see. And then, he had suddenly known what fate awaited him. It wasn't what he had envisioned his life to be, but he really didn't care anymore. Vitani was gone. Whatever followed now... Tanabi would play his part, he would manage the kingdom until his son was old enough to continue his mother's line. But before that could happen, the pride would have to face many dark days. This would be the first.

Tanabi, sitting halfway the promontory in between Maitha and Kucha, looked down at his pride. Interestingly enough, no-one seemed to have the stomach to look back.

"Pride!" Tanabi suddenly roared, causing all the lionesses to spring up. Even Yakta and Jino, who had tried to stay in the background as Tanabi addressed the kingdom, seemed a bit surprised.

"Now that I've got your attention," grumbled Tanabi, until he suddenly noticed one of his lionesses looking away again, "Hey! You, yes you! Do at least have the decency to look at your King as he speaks to you, will you?"

Some of the lionesses now looked genuinely scared.

"Now, I'm sure you all realize I've waited more than long enough to state the obvious.
You are traitors. Every last one of you. You betrayed the Circle of Life. You have betrayed your forefathers. You have betrayed me. And worst of all, you betrayed your Queen.
You are murderers. Every last one of you. And you'll pay accordingly..."

"You're full of it, Tanabi!" suddenly echoed across the courtyard. Tanabi, who suddenly found his speech interrupted, clenched his yaws together in repressed anger. He didn't even have to ask who had defied him, as he recognized the voice. And if that wasn't enough, the crown was actually cooperative enough to just point out the culprit, as all lionesses around her turned their heads or started shuffling away, fearing they'd be associated with the rebel, something they could all do without. In the small clearing that appeared stood a lonely Bidii. At this point, she probably wished she'd kept her mouth shut, but now that she'd already gone too far, she decided she could just as well finish what she started, and raised her head almost proudly.
All in all, no one was really surprised it had been Bidii to be the one to speak out. During the battle of the Coup, she had been one of the more fierce combatants, and she didn't to have lost her belligerent attitude just yet, unlike the rest of her companions. However, that hadn't been her main motive for speaking out. Tanabi himself had, the moment he took Annasa from her.

It had more or less happened by accident, though: right after Vitani had given her last breath, Spotty had suddenly pointed out that there were still two cubs stuck on the opposite riverbank. Naturally, Tanabi had, with a still grief stricken voice, immediately ordered some of the Green Pride's lionesses to go and fetch them. And they did, retrieving them with little effort. Tanabi's first concern had of course been Dahabu, who was beyond comforting at that point, having been forced to witness his mother's downfall from a distance without being able to do anything about it. In fact, Tanabi had been so concerned with his own son, that he had lost sight of the other cub, Annasa. He had only been reminded of her when her own mother, the somehow what mangled Bidii, had come rushing forward. The Green Pride-lionesses, wary of more assassinations, had immediately and brutally intercepted Biddi and pushed her to the ground. Naturally, Tanabi's initial response had been to tell the other lionesses to let go; what were they doing after all, holding down a mother who just wanted to be with her own daughter. However, it was at that time that Tanabi's new ego had first shown his face: suddenly, a little voice in the back of his head had another idea.

"Mom!" Annasa shouted, as she wanted to run towards Biddi, now firmly pressed against the ground.

"Wait!" Tanabi growled, however, turning to another one of the Green Pride lionesses (since his own pride-members had proven either dangerously unreliable or crippled by now), "Hold her back. Don't allow them together..."

Probably shocked by Tanabi's sudden outburst, Annasa came to a stop, allowing Jino's lioness to pick her up.

"No!" cried Biddi with a streak of desperation; the entire battle she had just fought had, for her been about Anassa. And now she was just barred from her? Even Jino, who was able to keep a cool head as opposed to the now emotional Yakta, thought that was going a bit far.

"Eh, your majesty, maybe..."

Tanabi silenced him with one stare from his sole, now stone-cold eye.

"They are to be kept separated until further notice, by force if need be..."

"You wish to add something?"

"I want to see my baby – give me back Annasa!"

"A traitor like you is not in the position to demand anything," simply noted Tanabi, "And no, you won't be seeing Annasa for quite some time, I'm afraid."

"You bastard..."

Before Bidii even realized what happened, what happened, Tanabi had suddenly aimed a strike at her head. The surprising strength the King had suddenly displayed quickly sent the lioness falling sidewards, as she was still somehow what from the battle a day earlier. As the entire pride gasped in shock, Biddi hit the ground with a muffled thump. Even Tanabi himself seemed a bit surprised at his own strength in his present, weakened state, although he regained his posture quickly as he looked down upon the unconscious Bidii.

"That's 'Your Majesty'." The lion smirkingly turned around. "I'll finish with you later... Bu first, I've still got some other business to attend to."

While a few lionesses shot to Bidii's aid in the background, Tanabi casually strode forward through his pride. All the lionesses naturally backed away, now gripped by fear than ever.
Although it made him sick to his very core, a part of Tanabi sort of liked that; they had, after all, simply stolen away all happiness from his life – what else could he do but respond in kind? Before, such reasoning would have appalled Tanabi, but now... a part of him he hadn't really know before found it fair, even just.
With those thoughts still brooding in his mind, Tanabi reached his intended target, after the unforeseen run-in with Bidii. He now stood before Nala, who was still being shielded from Tanabi by Simba, and to a lesser extent Zazu sitting on Simba's shoulder. Tanabi turned around to address the crowd one last time, now from among the lionesses.

"Apologies for the interruption. Now, as I stated before, all of you have sinned against both the laws of the Circle of Life and of our Kingdom in the most horrible way Whether the Kings of the Past will punish you for this, I do not know. I myself, however, will spare no effort to ensure justice is done swiftly, yet also fairly: I will make no distinction between the perpetrators, all will be served their fitting sentence, regardless of who they happen to be." the King suddenly smiled, adding with a whim of sarcasm : "Consider yourselves lucky to have a King so just!"

He turned back to Nala, who had by now undoubtedly already smelled the coffee. Simba, however, still sat in front of her, more and more as if carved out of stone.

"Father, please, step aside. You have nothing to fear, I promise..."

"I find that hard to believe after you've just beaten a wounded lioness and mother into the ground..." Simba grumbled. Anyone who was listening attentively could have noticed how it pained the former King to take such a strong tone against his own son. As such, Tanabi didn't blame him for it.

"Father – dad, please, trust me. Just words..."

"Words are what hurts the most..."

"Simba," Nala suddenly whispered, "It's okay. I love you, but this one... this one's for me..."

Although hesitant at forst, after a second's doubt, Simba eventually decided to listen to Nala and step aside. Mother and son now sat face to face.

"All right... here I am. Do what you have to do..."

"Mom... I'm sorry," Tanabi whispered under his breath, after which his voice suddenly gained volume again, "Queen Nala, of all the traitors assembled here today, you are without a doubt the worst. Your actions during my inability to rule all amount to nothing less than high treason, and your cold-bloodied murder of Queen Vitani can only be described as regicide. Ancient laws and customs from more violent times, dating back to before our forefathers, have only one fitting punishment for such crimes. Death."

In truth, no-one was really surprised, Nala least of all as she let her head hang low.

"However, it cannot be denied you were once a Queen of these lands, and that you are still my mother. Even though your behavior sinned against everything the Circle stands for, a son being forced to kill his mother in it's name is is a betrayal of the Circle just as well. So reassured me our Shaman. And as a King, it is in my authority to apply the laws as I see just. So assured me my majordomo."

Now with a glimmer of hope shining through, Nala dared looking up again.

"Therefore, in stead of ordering your death, Queen Nala, you shall henceforth be banished, and be considered an outlaw. Nowhere you go shall anyone be allowed to help you, or as much as talk to you, lest they would befall the same fate as you. And from the next sunrise, if any member of the pride sees you, no matter where you are, it shall be their duty to strike you down. Nowhere shall you be truly safe anymore, not in the Pridelands, not in the Green Den, not in the Outlands, not in the Jungle, not beyond our known borders...

Tanabi paused briefly.

"Do you have anything to say for yourself, Queen Nala?"

"I'd rather you'd have just killed me in stead," whispered the weary lioness, as the tears welled up in the corners of her eyes. But now matter how much such pained Tanabi, he pressed on.

"That for what concerns Queen Nala. Now for King Simba. You have, in effect, done no wrong. You were, at no point, complicit to Queen Nala's acts. It could be argued you were negligent, yet I have decided such was not the case. Naive? Probably. Weak? Maybe. Righteous? Definitely. But not negligent. As such, no punishment will befall you..."

"Tanabi, enough," Simba suddenly growled, "I know what has to happen, and what you have to do. But stop this. We both know what will happen. I will never abandon your mother." He scuffled over to Nala again. "Where she goes, I go..."

"Dad..."

"Sorry, Tanabi. You do what you have to do, I do what I have to do..."

"No, Simba, you don't," Nala suddenly blurted, "Don't do this to me!"

"But my love..." Simba stuttered in confusion as he looked into Nala's watery eyes.

"No Simba. I have destroyed enough lives as it is already – I don't want you to throw your life away for me. I have a heavy enough burden to carry already..."

"Then I will carry it with you!"

"No, please, Simba, don't..." By now, Nala was literally pleading that her partner abandon her. "Forget me as soon you can, live your own life..."

"Nala, my mind is made up. I'm an old lion by now. You're my beginning, my end and anything in between; a life without you is one not worth living..." And before Nala could think of another response, Simba had already embraced her warmly, allowing her to shed her tears in his manes as the entire pride watched, most of 'em now driven to the point where they had to follow suit. Even Tanabi.
It reminded him of how he had loved Vitani, it reminded him of what life could have been. It pained his heart to know what he had to put his own parents, who has so lovingly and caringly raised him. But enventueally, his new ego got the better of him again. He raised his head again, his one eye now red of his own tears but filled with steel determination. He turned around towards the pride.

"If only you had just half the courage, or the valor my father has... Alas, you have proven it to be not so. And one of you more than all others! Umeme, I call thee forward!"

From the looks on many lionesses distraught faces, they were either shocked at Tanabi's blunt continuation of his inquisition, or simply enraged. However, after what had happened to Bidii, who was getting back to her senses by now, they didn't seem ready to act it, as they quickly pushed forth Umeme.
If there ever was one miserable lioness, it must've been her. She hadn't cleaned herself since the Coup, and could hardly hold her head above the ground. Tanabi was somehow what surprised she was able to stand upright altogether.

"Tanabi – Your Majesty, I-I..."

"Silence," Tanabi gnawed, pushing Umeme deeper in than she was already, "You have no right to speak. You, the one who has shifted course more often than the wind. First opposing the traitor Nala, then turning over to your righteous Queen to eventually end up being complicit to her death? You are indeed the lowest..."

"But all I wanted to do was..."

This time, Tanabi didn't even bother to tell her to shut up, he just struck out at her, claws bared. As Umeme tried crawling back up again after having been floored by the impact, she stared at him with eyes filled with utter disillusionment. This was not the Tanabi she remembered. This was not the Tanabi she loved. The King himself held those very same thoughts: he couldn't recognize himself in anything he did anymore. Then again, the Tanabi they had both known before had been at Vitani's side. She was gone now, Tanabi saw no necessity anymore to hold back everything he feared about himself. To the contrary: it was his destiny to become that which he had always feared, he was convinced of that. It was the only thing which could help restore that which had been broken in the Kingdom.

"If anyone ever deserved death, it is you, Umeme. However, I shall spare you such fate. In stead, you shall continue to do what you so love to do: stand by Queen Nala. You will follow her into exile and become an outlaw beside her..." Tanabi gave her one last disdainful stare. "Am I not merciful?"

This time around, Umeme stayed silent.

"By that I take it you accept your punishment. Good. Now, is there anything you still want to say? If so, now is the time..."

Umeme now stared up again, disillusioned, disappointed, empty. Yet there was still some core of wamth in her, as she did indeed speak out.

"Sire... Tanabi, I..." she began stuttering, "I just – I just wanted to help. I wanted to help Nala, and Vitani. I didn't want any of this... I just wanted to... to stop them from getting hurt, but... I... I..."

The young lioness paused, giving way to an uncomfortable silence. Tanabi remained stoic.

"I loved Vitani, Tanabi! I really, really did. But... but..." Now becoming desperate, Umeme crawled closer to Tanabi, until she eventually came to a point where she was holding Tanabi's forepaws, spilling tears and saliva all over them. "Tanabi, I did it... I did it for you, Tanabi! I love you... I..."

She burst out in tears again, still cleansed to Tanabi's forepaws. The King however, just nonchalantly shook her off, adding to the lioness' misery, leaving her as she numbly mumbled incoherent gibberish. But Tanabi just moved on, walking towards the corner where the hyenas still sat – feeling awfully uncomfortable.

"Umeme, if there is one thing you should have learned by now, it's that you can be friends with everyone. At one point, you will have to pick sides. And standing by idly while atrocities are being committed onto your Monarch is just as bad as fighting against her yourself. And don't tell me it cannot be done! Three words: Yes, it can. And some of us have proven it can."

The King now sat in front of the hyena delegation, Dakly up front.

"Dakly, your clan had the courage to pick sides, and pick the right side at it. Your clan, and your late Matriarch most of all, stood by Queen Vitani as even her own pride had turned against her.
In the past, mistakes were made. The Graveyard Clan has committed the most heinous of crimes in the past. However, the debt suffered then has wholly been repayed the moment your Matriarch laid down her life in defense of these lands' righteous Queen. You have shown that there was a different path available.
And for that, a reward is only fitting. Any agreements that existed between Queen Vitani and Matriarch Shenzi, I will honor to the fullest. It is only just that loyalty is aptly rewarded."

"I am honored, my lord," bowed Dakly, just as he was instructed to do earlier, "Although it has come at a terrible price for both of us, you can rest assured that you will always have the Graveyard Clan's loyalty..." That a lot of that loyalty had come in exchange for the Oulands, was conveniently omitted.
Tanabi now moved back to the promontory, where Kucha and Maitha still sat. To the entire pride's shock, Tanabi suddenly and gently slid one paw down Kucha's back, after which he added silently: "Yes, loyalty will be... rewarded."
After that, he moved over to Maitha, and stroked her flank ostentatiously. The pride was dismayed, and confused. What they didn't understand, though, was that those gestures had nothing to do with love, but everything with the pride itself. It was just another punishment bestowed upon all those who had stood against Vitani: they were now degraded to second-rate members of the pride, lionesses whose bloodlines that had lasted generations now stood to end. It was a more terrible sentence than they could have imagined. But that wasn't the end of it, no...
Tanabi addressed the entire pride one last time.

"As for the rest of you... You have proven time and time again that you do indeed wish no Monarch. You have even gone as far as to kill her. So be it. You have rejected your Monarch.

You shall have a tyrant instead."

The sun set on the Pridelands.