My school was used as a shelter during hurricane Sandy so I have Monday off! But my grandmother insisted that school was open so I wasted two hours of my time on Monday getting to school and coming back. But this gives me a chance to write a little more. So I just want to thank all my readers for you know, reading. I'm happy to see so many people dedicated to reading my stories that I just want to offer some other Lion King stories for you to read.

Incarnate Firefly – This particular writer is writing a five book series about Kopa's return. He is definitely an inspirational writer and knows exactly what he's writing about. Kopa who has suffered through classic amnesia meets a lion who considers himself an outcast. It is just full of family drama and chaotic but sinister plans. They are called Kopa's Legacy and currently he is writing the second book in the series.

Bookworm Gal – The best writer I have ever seen. Truly amazing and I love her writing style. Most of you have probably seen it but she has written one story about the Lion King and it's a real hit. It's called When Did I Become a Parent? And it stars our favorite little meerkat, Timon. Check out Timon's journey from unnatural meerkat to loving parent.

Also to Littletiger – I actually learned about Mheetu around the same time I first started reading stories about Kopa. According to various sources, Mheetu is Nala's younger brother. I think he's her half-brother, I can't be sure. In many stories where Kopa still lives, Mheetu is the one who raises him. So maybe I'll add Mheetu in a later story. He won't be in this one that's for sure. I'm planning on turning this into a series so hopefully he'll be seen in the sequel or the third story.

Those are my two top Lion King writers and an answer to a reviewer's question. Hope you guys check the stories out, they're in my favorites so just go to my profile and click away. But I'm not done yet. As you should know, hurricane Sandy hit my home state as well as others and now many people are devastated. You can help those lucky survivors out, just text "REDCROSS" to 90999 to donate ten dollars for those who have had their homes destroyed by Sandy. Thank you for your donation. Now I've held you up long enough, to the story!

-X-

Max relaxed his tired old bones after digging near the border of the Oasis. Sure Timon tells him not to dig but he just can't help himself. At least he refills the holes with dirt so that there was no sign of him digging at times. He sighed in relief, sat back to view the stars, and thought back to the days of Fearless Buzz.

Timon wasn't like Buzz, he wasn't fearless, but he definitely had his spirit. It was then Max realized how similar the two of them were. They were different, unique, they didn't belong in the colony…They belonged with family. And that was exactly what Buzz was trying to tell him before that fateful day.

-X-

"Hyenas! The hyenas! They've found us!" screeched Twitch's father, Glitch running into the tunnels.

All the meerkats gasped in horror. And already they were starting to panic.

"Calm down! They can't get us as long as we stay in the tunnels" pointed out Max.

Everyone stopped and started agreeing before Glitch shook his head, still with that panic-crazed look in his eyes.

"No! You don't get it! They're digging!" shouted Glitch.

As if on cue, a large paw broke through the dirt from above. It reached down and scooped up a screaming meerkat. With that, the entire colony went back into mass panic and hysteria.

"Quick, get deeper!" ordered Max.

As the colony began to dig furiously trying to get deeper, someone quickly tapped Max on his shoulder in complete urgency.

"Not now Maisha!" said Max.

"But Uncle Max-!"

"I said not now!"

"The nursery! No one's there, my kits are going to be…" said Ma

She didn't have to finish. The nursery was filled with newborn kits and they would all be eaten. To make it worse, Maisha recently gave birth to three kits. His face registered panic when he heard a large crash near the nursery.

"No!" he shouted.

Thankfully from the dust cloud ran in a rather large male meerkat carrying five kits.

"Oh, Buzz, thank goodness you're safe! And the kits too!" cried out Ma in relief as she hugged her mate.

"But I couldn't save them all" panted Buzz in disappointment.

"Five is better than none, hurry we have to go!" ordered Max.

"No! You don't get it! Some of the mothers were there…But now…" whispered Buzz. He stood up with much resolve. He gave his three kits to Ma and the other two to Max. "I have to try and avenge their deaths"

"What! Buzz, don't do something you'll regret" said Max.

"You might die out there, I can't let that happen" added Ma.

"...I have an idea…But I won't be coming back" said Buzz reluctantly.

"No…You can't just leave! What about the kits, what about our kits?" said Ma in tears.

"Listen Maisha, I love you very much. Don't forget that…" said Buzz as he pulled Ma into a tight embrace. He looked down at the kits. "And I love all of you as well…Be good to your mother…" Finally he turned to Max. "I know we may not be very fond of each other but I need you to tell the colony to do something"

"I'm not going to have them risk their lives for something you want to drag them into" huffed Max.

"Don't worry…My life is the only one that's going to be put at stake out there" Max chuckled. "I just need you to make a tunnel near the gorge…"

"The gorge? What are you planning?" asked Max.

"Just trust me…" said Buzz as he told Max his plan.

"But then you'll be crushed!" protested Max.

Buzz gave him a sad smile before turning toward the entrance. He was about to walk out before Ma stopped him.

"But the kits…We haven't even named them…" whispered Ma.

"I'm sure you'll think of something…But name this one Timon…That's my real name after all" said Buzz softly touching one of the male kits who wasn't crying like the other two. "He seems to have the same spirit as I do…"

"I know I said you didn't belong with this colony but I'm fairly certain that your place is not in the afterlife" said Max still attempting to stop him.

"…You were right when you had said that I didn't belong with this colony…I belong with my family…"

"Then why are you leaving it?"

"Leaving it? I don't see it that way…I'm protecting it"

Those were his last words before running up to face the hyenas alone, at least to them. They could here him taunting the hyenas up above.

"Hey, you mangy mutts! Come and get me!" taunted Buzz from above.

Ma held the kits close to her and fell back. She began crying. Max felt that he needed to say something to comfort her but he knew he was needed elsewhere. He ran to where the rest of the meerkats were digging. He told them to stop and led them in another direction.

Soon enough he dug himself up to the surface once his job was complete. He stood near the gorge and watched as Buzz ran into the crevice with at least thirty hyenas on his tail. It was insane but Buzz was able to outrun them. But he finally stopped when he was in the middle of the gorge. Buzz looked in Max's direction and gave an almost imperceptible nod. Max was even surprised he saw it from his position. The lead hyena pounced on him at the same time Max shouted the signal.

"Now!"

From inside the tunnels all the meerkats tackled the wall. The top of the gorge shifted and slowly a single rock fell in. One of the hyenas cackled crazily when the rock missed. But he was silenced when the entire wall began to collapse on itself. In the end a huge rock slide crushed them all.

Once the dust had cleared, Max hopped cautiously onto the pile of rocks. He looked around and knew that there were no survivors. He sighed sadly as the rest of the colony from above cheered.

He made his way back and sat down next to his crying niece. He patted her back and spoke comforting words to her. The rest of the colony was preparing a feast and enjoying life. They didn't care about the rest of the meerkats who had lost their kits or mates.

"We're going to have a proper ceremony honoring them…And don't even think of ending your life…Your kits need you…Timon needs you" whispered Max.

"But Buzz…He's gone…" cried Ma.

"Shh…I know…But he left in a way the rest of us would be too scared of…He was fearless…" said Max.

"Fearless Buzz…"

-X-

Timon never did what he did out of recklessness. He didn't fight the hyenas in the hopes he might die with some honorable name. No...He fought not for the colony's sake or even for his own, he did it for Pumbaa and Simba…His family. He never actually met his father but he sure did act like him.

It was strange, from that day on Max had promised to be a little more like Buzz for Ma's sake. But in the end he did the exact same thing to Timon as he did to Buzz. He neglected to support him and only went against him every time. If only there was a way to change that…

"Max, big trouble!" shouted Twitch running in.

Huh, how odd that the memory Max went back to started with Glitch and now Twitch was running into the scene.

"What is it Twitch? Did predators find their way here?" asked Max.

"No it's not that. It might not even be something to be worried about, but at least twenty meerkats went missing last night" said Twitch.

"Missing? What do you mean by missing exactly?" inquired Max.

"I mean there's no trace of them. We all just figured they had gone off somewhere but they never returned. And now their families are getting really worried about them and they're afraid that something unspeakably horrible happened to them" said Twitch.

Max rubbed his chin as he thought of the possibilities before coming to a conclusion. But he was hoping with all his heart he was wrong. "Did they vanish before or after those lions from last night came around?"

"A little after, when those lions went off to hunt for lizards and birds" said Twitch before coming to the same conclusion. "Wait, you don't think that they hunted the meerkats do you?"

"Not Tamina's partner but maybe that other one. It is a possibility since birds and lizards are difficult to find even here though so he might've resorted to a meerkat dinner"

"But it's against Simba's law for lions to eat any colony members from the Oasis! We even told them that. So why would they?"

"I don't know but this would mean that the lion has no restraint and a bit of blood lust. He might even be a danger to the Pride Lands"

"Then we have to go warn them"

"I know and we will"

"But it might be dangerous if we bring numerous meerkats. I'll go alone!"

"No, Twitch I can't let you do that. Ever since coming here your twitch has vanished, you've become healthier and livelier. I can't have a youngster like you risking your life for a mistake I did" said Max, walking over to the border.

"A mistake, what do you mean?" asked Twitch bringing Max to stop in his tracks.

Max paused and thought about what his answer would be. And that was when he found it. He turned back around and looked Twitch in the eye. "…I let that lion accompany my niece to the Pridelands. That's where Timon is…And I plan on protecting my family" said Max.

Twitch nodded and smiled. "I understand. I guess I can't stop you then…Say hi to your nephew for me"

Max nodded and began digging. He dug with a new resolve and this time he wasn't digging out of natural instinct. He had a new drive; he was going to protect his family, even if it killed him.

-X-

The den was eerily quiet and it was something Kopa wasn't used to it. He liked sleeping under the stars and not in a cave. He looked around to find Hasani fast asleep and Tamina as well. He sighed and thought back to only hours earlier when he had step foot onto Pride Rock.

-X-

After talking to the king about whatever, the lioness that guided them to Pride Rock ran back down to meet them. Her expression was unreadable and she seemed very stiff.

"The king is ready to see you" said the lioness.

She led them to the grand kopje that was Pride Rock. And very soon, the three strangers to the Pridelands stood before the royal family and a couple other lions from the Pride Lands. All of them seemed to have different reactions upon seeing them. They were all probably surprised to see a lion that looked so similar to a cub they once knew.

Kopa searched the faces of each of the lions and noted how many of them looked familiar to them, although he couldn't match a name for each face. When his eyes landed on the king, he was greatly surprised. It was the same lion from his dream.

"Welcome weary travelers. I hope you all had a safe trip here. Please, make yourself at home. I am King Simba of the Pride Lands" greeted the king with a soft smile. His smile didn't reach his eyes though for Kopa could see them shine with sadness.

"It is a true honor to be in your presence your majesty. I have heard many stories about you from my pride in the north" bowed Hasani.

"Yes King Kanu is one of my closest friends. The same goes for king Malka of the Western pride. He's told me stories of the hero meerkat, Tamina. It is a pleasure to meet you" said Simba turning his attention to Tamina.

"Malka's talked about me huh, I mean, thank you, your majesty" bowed Tamina.

"As for you Kopa, Vitani's told me your story and I must say that it does seem to match another cub's story from this pride. It is most likely you are from here but unfortunately, until we have truly confirmed that you are who you say you are, we will not tell you who your real family is. Nonetheless, I am happy to meet you" said Simba."This is my daughter, princess Kiara. Her mate, and prince of the Pride Lands, Kovu. My mate, queen Nala is resting at the moment. She…isn't feeling well"

Both Kovu and Kiara bowed respectively. Kovu's expression was completely neutral while Kiara seemed a little sad. Kopa wondered if it was possible that she was not happy to be Kovu's mate. But he was soon proven wrong when he saw how those two were beside each other the entire time during dinner. He, Hasani, and Tamina were given a separate den from the main one to sleep in. Apparently they were to stay to see if Kopa could remember anything else from being here. Night came quickly and soon he could hear the crickets chirping. It was going to be a long night.

-X-

Simba…He was so familiar and he was sure he showed up a lot in his buried memories. It might've just been because he was a king and he looked up to him. But there was another possibility…Kopa shook his head to clear it of those thoughts. It was completely ridiculous anyway. Him, a prince? That'll be good for a laugh.

But there was no way to deny the similar features seen between Simba and Kopa. He was sure Hasani and Tamina saw it too, they just didn't say anything about it. And besides, if he was the king's son then they would've said something right? It didn't make sense to keep this a secret. Unless they didn't want him to be king and wanted the lion Kovu to rule. It sounded preposterous considering the kind nature Simba had displayed but it also made sense somehow.

Suddenly a new thought pushed its way into his head. The one that attacked him might've been one of his parents. Maybe they saw him unfit to be king and waited until the queen was pregnant with Kiara to kill him. And now that they've found out he was alive, they're just trying to find another way to send him to his death.

Kopa shuddered and once again he had to shake those thoughts out of his system. It was all he could do to not replace the image of King Simba with this other image of a scarred maniac, tyrant of a king, who oddly resembled Kovu. He sighed and stood up. He was tired but he was also restless. He decided to explore the Pride Lands a little more. As a matter of fact, he knew exactly where to start. He quietly stepped over Tamina's sleeping form and made it outside. Once he was out in the fresh air, he walked towards his destination, hopefully he remembered where it was.

There was a place he had to see with his own eyes. And the best view was the one at night. Hopefully it'll bring back some old memories too. It was the place from his dreams…

-X-

Kovu stepped out of the main den and walked to the edge of Pride Rock. He watched the stars to see if he could see or hear the Great Kings of the Past. One thing for sure, he wanted to see if Rafiki had been right and Taka was really up there.

He noticed a shadowy figure below making its way towards some unknown location. It was either Kopa or that Hasani character; all he knew was that it was a male lion. He sighed deeply and closed his eyes. He sat down and laid his head in his paws. It was dark and quiet but he just couldn't sleep.

"If you plan on staying awake all night then how are you going to stay awake when we watch the sunrise tomorrow?" asked a gentle voice from behind him.

"Simba, I didn't hear you" said Kovu getting up to face his father-in-law.

"Unlike Kiara, I can be silent when I want to. Speaking of silence, don't tell her I said that" smiled Simba.

Kovu chuckled softly. "Well what are you doing up this late? If you're so worried about staying awake during the sunrise then why are you up?"

"Even a king can be restless sometimes. It's been a busy day…A lots happened…And so, I have a lot to think about"

"I see…So you're awake because you're thinking about Kopa?"

"What else?" said Simba before looking down with a saddened expression. "I thought I had lost him and now, here he is just a few caves away from me and I can't even talk to him…It took everything in me not jump and nuzzle him today. I didn't believe he was alive…But when I saw him…I knew it was him"

"…Then why didn't you tell him? Vitani only wanted to ensure that he was truly Kopa…And you just said yourself that it was definitely him"

"It's not that easy…Like Vitani said finding out my son is alive…It would mean revoking you of your next in line title…I'm not sure I could take that away from you, not from all the hard work you put in to get you where you are now"

"But I'm not even sure if I'm worthy enough to become king. It's a lot of responsibility…And we don't even know what kind of king I'd become. What if I'm like Scar, the power goes to my head and the lands die. But I refuse to move us and we all end up dying"

"Kovu…That would never happen…If it did then you can trust Kiara and your heir to knock some sense into you! That's what Nala and Kiara did whenever I strayed from the right path" smiled Simba.

"I see…" Kovu chuckled. He looked back up into the sky. "But Scar is still a part of me…I didn't even know who my real father was…"

Simba sighed. "I did…His name was Neo and he was one of the bravest and strongest lions alive. He was also very kind…And Scar is a part of all of us. He's left his mark on us and there's nothing we can do about it except accept it. We can cover that mark by becoming more and more like the lion we want to be. Not the lion the mark wants us to be"

"Thanks but…I'm still a bit unsure of myself…"

"Kovu…Do you know what I see whenever I look at you?"

"No…What?"

"I see Neo and Taka. The kind of king Taka would've wanted to become and not Scar. Scar is a part of you…But it's Taka that has made his mark on you. And Neo, his strength and bravery is reflected in you. I know you will be a great king…And a great father…"

"You know that it's true right?" said Kiara, coming out of the den.

"Kiara? You're getting better at sneaking up on me" smiled Kovu.

"Only because you're there to teach me" Kiara smiled back as she nuzzled him affectionately. "All of us believe in you Kovu…Why can't you do the same?"

"I guess it's just hard…"

"Well it really isn't…You've already proven yourself the moment you jumped in front of your own family in order to protect us. That's how I know that you understand what it means to be a great king. Forget about that prophecy and just believe in yourself. We're part of your family now…And we'll never let you stray from the right path" said Kiara.

Kovu embraced Kiara tightly and looked at both his mate and father-in-law. "Thank you…For everything. For believing in me and…being my family"

"Anything for you" said Kiara softly with a loving smile.

"Now why don't we go back inside? It's a little chilly tonight" smiled Simba.

It was a beautiful night and if one looked carefully. You could see a black maned lion with green eyes looking down from the sky with a smile.

-X-

Yup, this longer chapter was to make up for the shorter chapter. I hoped you enjoy this heartfelt chapter. Of course Kopa's part was a little bit depressing…But other than that I think it turned out pretty good. Am I updating too fast? Do you think this should really be rated T? What did you think of this chapter? Don't forget to leave a review! I'll be waiting. By the way…It snowed!