Sorry about the wait guys. Computer thought it would be a good idea blow its own brains out and stop working properly and amongst a whole host of other technical issues right now there hasn't been a lot of time for me to write this. But I've got it done now, at last! So yeah, this is the last chapter in this short story about everyone's favorite yellow cheetah. Enjoy.

Chapter 6

Time is illusive, when you think about it. One day five minutes can be just that, five minutes. Other days five minutes can seem like an eternity. More so when you have some very pressing matters on your mind. Time seems to go so fast when you contemplate important things, life changing decisions, as you fear for what could happen if you make the wrong choice. It's because you're blocking out all other stimulus around you in order to concentrate, and so you lose track of real time. Trouble is that there are some people who find it near impossible to stop, to escape this never ending loop of thought.

For Fuli, what was meant to be only a few days turned into weeks, months and finally it became years. All that time away from her original home had had an effect on her too.

The cheetah had done pretty well for herself since she'd been living out here. There was a fresh supply of water just a few feet away from her cave den, herds of animals frequently came through every couple of days or so that she could hunt for food, it had all the basics needed in life. Except company. Not that she wasn't used to being alone, but recently it had seemed like such a weird concept to her for some reason.

In the end she never went back to the Pridelands. Although she wasn't really sure why. No, actually she did know. It was out of fear. Fear of people's reactions to her being alive. Fear of the memories from all around the Pridelands that would keep reminding her of that terrible tragedy that happened that day. It was because she'd lost the sense of belonging in her own home. That was the real reason she hadn't returned.

And she'd almost given up on that previous life. But while searching around beyond the confines of her new territory Fuli had encountered a lone lion. She never found out much about him. She could barely even remember his name, what was it? That was it! His name was Karff. His name didn't matter however, but he spoke of some things that had apparently occurred in the Pridelands over the last few years. He spoke of a lioness called Zira leading an outlander invasion on pride, and how she was beaten by Simba's daughter, Kion's sister. Kion...

Oh, how she missed that lion.

But from what this lion said it sounded like they were having trouble back home. And although it may have passed they would still need time to recover afterwards. And that got Fuli thinking...

Would it be worth it to head on back and check up on them? Perhaps they needed help after this latest battle? Or perhaps they were fine? Who knew? The thing was, Fuli found herself desperately missing home more than ever now. She thought she could cope out here by herself but it seems that even the thought of bad memories wasn't enough to keep her away.

Now she was preparing to leave another familiar place in favour of returning to an old one. Of course she still had her doubts but right now they were nothing compared to the voice in her head saying 'go back now'. Fuli was sat in the mouth of her den watching the clouds go by. After a while she stood and glanced back into the cave she'd been calling home for the last few years. She might never come back to this and so savoured her final look at the place.

Soon she stopped and wandered outside where she stood for a good couple minutes. Which way was the Pridelands again? Was it... that way or... no it was that way. Yes it was definitely that way.

Well this was it. Fuli was about to abandon the last three or four years of her life to go back home, to her real home: the Pridelands. She took a deep breath, stole herself and broke out straight into a sprint back the way she had come four years before. Only this time in the reverse direction. It would take about two days perhaps, with her memory failing her slightly on the whereabouts of the Pridelands, to get to the border. If she was quick it could take just one day.

This was shaping up to be yet another new chapter in her life, albeit a very uncertain one. She needed to prepare herself mentally for what was to come. There was no telling what changes had gone on during her absence so caution was very important right now. Fuli was sure that she would be fine upon her return, but there was still one thought running through her head all the way while running.

Please let this be the end of it. The end of the pain.

And there you have it. The end of another fic. Please leave a review and tell me what you thought.

Now that that's done, I would like to take this opportunity to say that if you haven't read my other Lion King stories yet I would really appreciate it if you could check them out. This short was just one small part of the wider plot that I made in those stories and I have a few ideas that I can add to it in future fics as well. Thank you.

Well I guess I should be heading off to do some stuff now. I don't know when exactly I'll have another story up but until I do, bye for now.