Kiara opened her mouth to shout, but her words were overcome by the tremendous roar of her brother as he launched himself, full force at her mate, who was knocked to the ground with a grunt. Over their snarls, she could faintly hear a terrific shriek, which she soon realized to be her own.

She knew he was fighting for his life, and Chaka made this perfectly clear as he struggled against Kovu. He searched for the black-maned lion's throat and dug his claws into Kovu's belly, where it became painted in crimson as blood welled to the surface. They rolled over and over, churning up earth and smudging it with red. The small, leaf package of Tswane's herbs Kovu had been carrying with him exploded and disintegrated. Their roars deafened Kiara, who stood there, dumbfounded, for only a second before she leaped in to try driving them apart, but they sent her rolling backwards with a blow to her side and with scratches on her forelegs and face. Their blood stained her fur.

"Stop this! Stoppit!"

The lionesses in the pride had not been far behind Chaka, but in the time it took them to pull Kovu and Chaka away from each other, their murderous glares centered in faces caked in blood, there had been damage done. One of Chaka's eyes was firmly closed, and horrifyingly Kovu was missing the last half of his tail. Kiara charged up to Chaka, fuming.

"What is the meaning of this?" she shouted in his face. She moved to strike him, but he dodged away. "How dare you!"

"Kiara, he killed our father!" Chaka snarled.

"What?" Kiara gasped. She then leveled him in her gaze. "Why would you say such a thing?"

Nala was there in a second. Giving her daughter a significant look with her troubled eyes, Nala nudged a reluctant Kiara a few steps away from Chaka. "Kiara, let me explain," she said, breathless.

"Mom? What is it? What's Chaka talking about? Why..." She couldn't stop shaking her head.

Kiara sensed that her mother was about to say something terrible before she even spoke. "Kiara... Rafiki came to us with Zazu and told us that Kovu is responsible for your father's death. Zazu was there with them when it happened, and when Rafiki found him, Zazu told him everything," she said, her voice quavering at the end.

"Zazu? I want to talk to that bird," Kiara demanded.

Nala shook her head. "No, I'm sorry. He was barely alive when Rafiki brought him to-"

"Rafiki then!"

Nala shook her head again. "No, maybe Kovu is the one you should talk to, Kiara..." The older lioness shot an unreadable look at her son-in-law, who flinched.

When she turned to look at Kovu, she noticed that several lionesses had moved to make sure that Chaka was alright, but none had gone to help their king. Vitani even stood closer to Chaka's side than her brother's. He was standing there alone, his head and eyes now directed to his bloody paws. He didn't look up when Kiara trotted over to him. It felt as if she were in a dream, the edges of her vision fuzzy. She didn't want to ask, but she had to. I have to hear it from his mouth. Have to hear it...

"Kovu? What are they talking about?" she asked him, her wide-eyed gaze bewildered. "Is any of this true? Tell me that Zazu is lying, please..."

Kovu gave an involuntary shudder, but he had nothing to say.

"Kovu,answerme," Kiara demanded. "Did you..." I can't even bring myself to say those words.

Finally, the dark-maned lion looked up. "No, I didn't kill Simba," he said, his voice firm. "But—"

"Liar!" Chaka snarled. "Don't excuse the witness that was there!"

"That stupid bird knew nothing!" Kovu roared. "I didn't kill Simba!"

Kiara's face heated up and her eyes misted. "But why would they say such things?" she asked Kovu. Her voice cracked at the end. "You... you've been acting so strange lat-"

"What possessed you to bring him to your mother? You knew she would slaughter him, unless that was your intention," Chaka sneered. With one paw, he raked his claws over the dirt, leaving behind four, jagged trails of blood, his itching to get at Kovu obvious.

"Zira?" Kiara squeaked. "Why—"

"She was begging to be forgiven, and I wanted to prove myself to him," Kovu shouted back. A new desperation heightened the level of his voice, making it a bit shrill. His green eyes were panicked. "I never thought she'd kill him. He was like a father to me. They were fighting an-and I tried to break them apart but couldn't. I was going to kill he-"

Chaka scoffed, his lip curling to show his fangs. His accusing glare burned into Kovu's mind as he snarled, "We would see scars if you cared for him as much as you say you did. You would have died alongside of him instead of hiding this from your family... Could have easily brought her back to Pride Rock if what you tell us had any merit. Only the guilty hide their mistakes and decide to burying the evidence like you did!"

In an instant, there was a rise of agreeing shouts coming from the pride. Kovu took this in, his face openly astonished and furious as the hairs along his spine and hips stood on end. He flattened his ears against his skull, his eyes wide with escalating panic.

"I wanted to protect you!" Kovu's eyes darted around the group before they landed on Kiara.

"All you cared about was taking the throne from my father," Chaka went on. "With him dead because of your stupidity, you knew that your position would be jeopardized. That's all you cared about. Your family means nothing to you!"

"He doesn't deserve to be king!"

"Turn Kovu out!"

"Traitor! Rogue!"

"He betrayed us, just like Zira!"

"He's no better than Scar!"

"Scar at least admitted to what he di-"

Kovu roared. "Silence!" he shouted. "I'm not Scar!"

"Then what are you, Kovu?"

Kovu flinched and looked down at his mate.

Kiara growled softly. She stood a hair's breadth away from him now. "Why did you do it then? Just tell me."

Kovu was clearly taken aback. His voice was husky as he began to speak. "Kiara I didn't mean... I-I'm so sor-"

"No! I need to know, Kovu. Tell me! Why? Stop apologizing!"

Kovu ground his teeth, but again he fell silent.

"Well? She's waiting," Chaka taunted.

"Kovu... please," Kiara whispered pleadingly. "I just want the truth."

Kovu narrowed his eyes, his entire expression darkening. "Fine," he snapped. "You want the truth? If your father hadn't had such an issue with trust and forgiveness, then none of this would have happened. I couldn't feel any more terrible that he had to die, but his death had nothing to do with the throne. And not only is it myfault he's dead, but it's Chaka's, too!"

"You're crazy!" Chaka snarled. He took a step forward, but Nala was there to block him with the firm reminder of her foreleg across his chest. He hardly acknowledged it, straining forward as if he were tugging at a leash.

Kovu was nodding. "Zira wanted to tell Simba that she wanted to beg forgiveness for what had happened to you. If you had come back here sooner, Simba wouldn't have agreed to meet with her and wouldn't be dead! She wouldn't have tricked us!"

"You're not serious? Do you hear yourself?" Chaka bared his teeth, his deep, guttural growl raising the hairs on the back of Kiara's neck. "For some reason I fail to see how my father trusted such a deceiver as you in the first place!"

"You wanted the truth, and didn't I give it to you?"

"Kovu..."

"What could be expected from someone like you is what you've given us! You've been hiding this side of you for so long that you've lost control!"

"Kov-"

"Toss him out!"

"No, kill him!"

A deadly, bitter grin alighted on Chaka's grisly jaw. "Pleasure'd be all mine," he snarled. He shoved an anxious Nala out of the way, and was starting to creep back towards Kovu.

"No!"

Though she wouldn't stand a chance against the big lion if he decided to harm her, Kiara lunged for Chaka, striking him across the face with her paw. She didn't use her claws, but he yelped and snarled in surprise. He immediately took a step back, shaking his head furiously. With his one good eye, he glared at the honey-furred lioness.

"You will not harm him, Chaka!" Kiara shouted. Her ears were pinned against her head and her tail lashed out behind her. "I won't let you harm him!"

He glared her down. "Then what do you expect I do about him, huh? Don't expect that I'll spare his life for what he's done to our father," Chaka retorted. He stood with his head lowered, intimidating her.

Steady, girl...

Kiara swallowed. She glanced over her shoulder at Kovu. His face was such a jumble of emotions, but the clear one she could pick out was anger. She turned back to Chaka. In as calm a voice as she could muster, she spoke.

"I won't let you harm him because... because I'm sending him away from the Pride Lands."

"Kiara!"

Barely could she make herself look at him again. Anger had been replaced by shock. "I... I'm sorry, Kovu," she told him. "I think it would be better for everyone if you left the Pride Lands."

"But I won't... I-I can't!"

"It's only for a little while," she said, trying to assure him like she would their children. "It's for the good of the pride."

"Kiara-"

"Are you deaf? Leave!" Chaka seemed fully aware that only Kiara stood between himself and Kovu. "You don't deserve to call this your home."

Kovu's lip twitched and he growled loudly. He was looking at Kiara when he said, "I told myself I was crazy to think that you'd turn on me, but I guess I was wrong."

Kiara narrowed her eyes. "Kovu, that's not what I want-"

He began pawing restlessly at the ground. "You don't know what you just did, Kiara," Kovu snarled, cutting her off. He turned his back to her and the rest of the pride. "I hope you're happy..."

"Kovu, wait!"

She tried to run after her mate, but several lionesses barred her way, something that was reminiscent of a past she thought she had left behind. It had become her reality again, much to her displeasure, and this time she was only half certain she wanted to chase after Kovu though she knew she had to. She glared at the lionesses. "I'm your queen, not some foolish princess. Let me through!" she growled.

"Kiara, he's gone."

Nala placed a gentle paw on her daughter's shoulder, but it was shrugged off.

"I can talk to him," Kiara argued.

The look in her mother's eyes infuriated her so... but only because something deep down told her that her mother was right in more than one way. Nala should have been angry, but instead there was deep sorrow where fury should be.

"I'm sorry, Kiara... I'm so sorry."

"No, mother... I'm sorry..."

Kiara's breath hitched in her constricted throat.

"I can hardly believe it..." she whispered. Overwhelming panic then set in over her. "Wha... what am I going to tell the cubs?"

"Please don't tell me you're going to try coddling them," Chaka snarked from behind, causing Kiara to bristle. She remained silent as he went on. "Asuma and Natin were already in the cave when we received the news. Tanga must know by now."

"Yes, but they won't know if he's alive or dead," Nala pointed out with a glare over her shoulder at her son. She shook her head disapprovingly. "You may be in this pride, but you haven't been around long enough to know what's best for a mother and her cubs- your sister and your niece and your nephew to be exact. This has little to do with you, and I suggest you watch your mouth and calm down. What authority do you think you hold?"

Kiara would have found herself smiling at the look on Chaka's aghast face if she hadn't been searching the horizon for Kovu. Remembering himself, Chaka shut his gaping mouth and rolled his shoulders. He glared down at the ground for a moment before he started to groom his face, flinching when his paw touched his wounded eye.

Kiara sighed heavily. "It won't be easy either way. If the cubs know, then they also know how upset the pride is. It would almost be easier to tell them the truth."

"But do you want to?" Nala asked gently.

Kiara shook her head after a brief pause of contemplation. "No, I don't. This is much worse than telling them that their daddy was raised to be a killer. I don't want them to know that he really might be one."

"Where did Vitani go?"

Kiara looked up with all the other lionesses. The pale-furred, lanky lioness was nowhere to be seen.

"That's odd," Nala murmured. "She was here a moment ago."

"Do you think she went after Kovu?" Kiara asked, uncertain. Wasn't she with Kovu when they brought the news back of Daddy's death?

Nala was growing restless. "For her sake, I hope not. But for now, we should go find the cubs. This pride can't afford to be in chaos for long."

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"They're coming back. I can just see them now. Maybe a few more minutes. I think they're running."

"Oh." Asuma stretched his neck and turned to Natin, who had been on the lookout for their pride once they returned. They were sitting together, alone except for the younger cubs in the pride, inside of Pride Rock where the young lion's voice echoed loudly and startled Tanga. Asuma thought he'd never seen his sister so calm as she was now.

All five cubs perked up when they heard the arrival of panting.

"Natin, you need to come with me."

"Why, Mother?" Natin exclaimed, his voice cracking in surprise. He was thrown onto his back by Vitani's quick appearance. "What's going on?"

"Yeah, what happened? Where is everyone?" Asuma asked as he moved closer to his cousin and aunt.

With the look she shot him, he thought she would have never seen him before in her life. "Oh," she stumbled. "Everyone will be along soon enough. I need to talk to Natin for a moment. Come on, Son."

Vitani wasn't giving Natin much of a choice, and before he could take a breath to argue, she was out of sight. She called his name.

"Do you think...?"

Natin's blue eyes were wide. "I'm not sure," he replied as he shook his head. He glanced behind Asuma once to Tanga, then, lowering his voice he whispered, "I'm not so sure that I'm coming back."

"Are you sure?"

"Natin! Now!"

Natin cringed. "No, I don't think so."

Asuma followed Natin as far as the edge before the steps down from Pride Rock, and soon Tanga joined him. They watched as Vitani set the quick pace, which struck Asuma as alarming. What in the world happened out there? Why is she running away? Where are they going to go now?

It was even more interesting to watch when several of the other lionesses intercepted Vitani and Natin's path and stopped them. One of them was their mother.

"Would you think that I was a baby if I said that I was scared?" Tanga whispered, jolting Asuma away from his racing thoughts.

The young prince shook his head. "Don't worry, I'm scared, too, Tanga."

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"Natin, move fast-"

"Wh-where do you think... you're going, Vitani?" Kiara asked the thin lioness through gasping breaths. "Natin? Wh-where a-are you taking... him?"

"Please move aside, I need to find him."

"What do you want me to do, Kiara?" the lioness at the young queen's side snarled. She was not a lioness from Zira's broken war-torn pride, and she eyed Kovu's sister with suspicion. The rest of the pride moved to surround Vitani.

Kiara took one hard look at Vitani, searching her face for something she could go on. With the shake of her head, she said, "I want you to just listen... and take Natin back to the den."

"No!" Vitani snarled. She crouched over her son, who yelped when his mother's weight was pressed upon him. "He's coming with me!"

At this point, Kiara was dismayed and fighting to keep her temper with the frustrating mother. "Vitani, you can't just take him!" she reasoned. "He's an..."

She sighed and trailed off at mid-sentence.

"Kiara?" the same lioness persisted.

"I want you to stand by, but give us some space," Kiara finally told them. "I want to talk with her, please."

Several of the lionesses shrugged, while Kiara caught a few others flashing Vitani a look of sympathy before they began to widen the circle they made. They went far enough away to still be of help, but were just out of earshot. Kiara turned to Vitani.

"Kiara, you can't stop me," Vitani spoke. She lifted her chin stubbornly.

The ocher-eyed Kiara nodded. "I suppose I can't," she said. "But I want to know why you're leaving. You have done nothing wrong. Are you leaving to find Kovu? And with Natin at your side? One of the pride's heirs to the throne? He'd be in danger!"

"He's also my son, so don't you think that I of all mothers could protect him?" Vitani snapped. Her face then softened a bit. "Besides... I can't leave him behind."

Kiara sighed, exasperated. "But why are you leaving?"

She wasn't even sure if Vitani had heard her. Finally, she said, "If you let me go find Kovu, with Natin, I'll make sure I fulfill my responsibility as his mother and to my pride, don't worry, if I don't return soon. I'll send him back when he's ready." She then sighed. "Kiara, you must know something about me."

"What?"

The lioness' gaze did not waver when she said, dropping her voice, "I knew the whole time that Kovu was lying about Simba. He asked me to help him hide it, and I promised I wouldn't speak a word."

Kiara pricked her ears. Her toes went cold but her face grew uncomfortably warm. "W-what?" she stammered. "Vitani... how could you?"

"Mother, what are you talking about? What happened to Kovu?" Natin suddenly interrupted. Both lionesses turned their attention to him, his presence painfully felt.

"I will meet you by the watering hole," Vitani told her son. She glanced once at Kiara, but wasn't stopped. It was known by both lionesses that Vitani would find one way or another to be with Natin. "Go."

"But-"

"I'll explain later," Vitani urged. "Go, Natin."

The young lion glared at his elders with suspicion for a moment, but did as he was told and left them. Vitani was the first to speak.

"How much do you think it would have cost the pride if I had ratted my own brother out?"

"Cost the pride? You mean that you were looking out for yourselves." Kiara could hardly believe the harsh words that were coming from her mouth, but she knew those were her true feelings.

Vitani shook her head adamantly. "No. I would have told you in an instant if the circumstances would have been any different, trust me," she insisted, her eyes narrowed. "How dare you say something like that, Kiara?"

"Then explain it to me," Kiara replied coolly. She struggled to keep herself from shaking, her expression unnaturally stiff.

Vitani sighed. "I'm just as puzzled as you. Kovu was stupid to bring Simba to Zira, but from what I understand he did it because he wanted to win Simba's trust back. You may not have known this, but your father's faith in Kovu was wavering- but it was all in his head! Simba was having nightmares, and they were about Kovu. Kovu went much too far to get what he wanted. He came to me, pleading, that I help him. He said we couldn't tell you for the sake of the pride. He didn't want to leave it unprotected against a new male who would upset the balance and kill the cubs. He also didn't want to lose his family. He knew he'd be turned out."

Kiara's eyes squinted. "But I would have tried to understand. It was just a mistake, wasn't it?"

"Believe what you want, but Chaka did have a point- he could have done more to save your father."

Kiara bit her lip. "Is that what you think, Vitani? You're his sister."

Vitani didn't even blink when she said, "I was a fool to believe the things that I was told."

Then I must find out the real truth, what's really in his heart."Do you think you can find him?"

"If you're thinking about talking this out, I think that would be very foolish of you," Vitani warned. "He's angry, for one, and it would be very stupid to bring him back to the Pride Lands, especially since you were the one who sent him away."

"He's my mate, I should talk to him. I want to know," Kiara insisted. "It won't do any good if he's out there, and it was only supposed to be temporary. He just didn't understand."

"Kovu is much more dangerous than you have ever let yourself believe," Vitani said. Her tone was laced with that of a half-scoff. "Asuma knows more than you, and he knows nothing."

"Vitani, what are you talking about?"

"Kovu, I believe, was so wrapped up in himself that he thought that Asuma would give him up. He was no better than Simba! Those dreams your boy is having meant a lot more to Kovu than to anyone else. The night Asuma was lost was the night of Simba's murder. My brother never told me that Asuma had been there when he was with Simba, Natin did, but after Asuma got lost on Kovu's watch the second time, I have my suspicions."

Kiara was silent for a moment. "You want me to let myself believe that he would hurt our cubs, don't you," she remarked quietly.

A warmth seemed to creep into Vitani's callous, calculating, blue eyes. "Yes, but only because I don't want you to get more hurt than you already are. I'm only reporting what I know and believe. Don't you think that's more important than hurting you? Part of the reason why I fell into helping him was because he threatened to harm me."

"No... I suppose you don't want to." Kiara flicked at a rock with her paw. She glanced over at the expectant members of their pride. They were waiting to see what they would do, to see if she was going to allow Vitani to leave alive like she did Kovu. But they don't know what I know.

"Go."

Vitani perked her ears, as if maybe she had misheard.

Kiara found it hard to not smile. With a nod, she repeated, "Go. Find Kovu and find a way to bring him home."

The tawny-furred lioness dipped her head to her queen. "I wish you luck, Kiara. I'll do my best. For the sake of the pride."

"Let the Great Spirit help you. And watch out for Chaka."

Vitani, who had turned away, paused mid-step and glanced over her lean shoulder. "I'll need more than the Great Spirit's help."

Kiara could already hear the disapproving yammering that was going on behind her as the rest of the pride watched Vitani leave without question. She turned to them, frowning.

"She's gone to talk to Kovu!" she explained, shouting over their arguing. "He'll be a danger to the pride if she doesn't! Don't you see?"

"How can we trust her? He's her brother!" one of the elder lionesses shouted. "One of them!"

Several of the lionesses formerly from Zira's pride bristled and shot dirty looks at the lioness who had spoken. "What do you mean by 'one of them'?" one challenged her. The others nodded their heads.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to sound unclear."

"After what happened, you-"

"Stop this, what do you think that you're doing?" Kiara exclaimed, her voice shrill with panic. What is wrong with you? "Stop, whatever you're doing. Can't you see that you're making things worse for yourselves? You should feel ashamed for saying such things just because you're angry with someone who isn't even here!"

It both surprised and relieved her that they all fell silent, lowering their heads. The Outsider lionesses were still glaring at the elder lioness, but at least they had stopped arguing for now.

"Kiara."

The lioness looked up at the sound of her name and her mother's voice. Nala was gesturing with the nod of her head to a pair of wide-eyed cubs. Tanga was hiding behind her brother, who's mouth was agape.

"Mother... whose blood is on your face? And where is Chaka?" Asuma asked.

"Why was he so angry?" Tanga piped in. "Asuma and Natin wouldn't tell me a thing!"

They had told Chaka to clean himself up at the watering hole especially for this moment, but in her haste to get to Pride Rock, Kiara had completely over looked her own appearance. She was uncertain what to tell them and what to leave out if she could, for clearly, Asuma had purposefully decided on his own to keep what Zazu had told everyone else away from her ears. She thought it was rather admirable.

But nowit all depends upon what I want you to know, Asuma.

"Why don't we go for a walk, huh?" Kiara told them softly, forcing a meek smile. She glanced once at the rest of the pride, daring them to speak up. They held their silence.

"Are Natin and Vitani coming back?" her daughter asked, looking up at her. She led her children away so that they could talk, undisturbed. "Where did they go in such a hurry? And where's Daddy?"

"Walk with me," she told them. I'll answer your questions soon enough...

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How dare they? How could they?

Kovu was running, his body numb to his thirst, exhaustion, his intertwined emotions. He'd run all the way into the night, and now it was nearing midday again. I'll just run until... I'll just keep running. I'll get as far away from them as I can. They betrayed me and turned me out. How could they? What kind of a family is that? What about our children? What was Kiara thinking? No doubt Chaka's already poisoned them all against me, and Kiara's going to do nothing to stop him, and neither will Vitani.

His eyesight blurred, and within a heartbeat he felt the hard earth embrace his jaw, which was still encrusted with the mingled blood of Chaka and his own. Somewhere beyond his incoherent senses, he could hear a bird squawk loudly, perhaps at the presentation of a dying meal.

What's the point of getting up...he thought miserably as the dust cleared. He couldn't feel his limbs anymore, and his paws were far more raw than they had ever been in his life, even with all the training he'd been through with Zira. All along his spine he could feel the increasing phantom pain that came from the missing section in his tail, which at the end had been shredded by Chaka's teeth.

He let out a cough of laughter. I should have stayed and fought. It was cowardly to run like I did, and now I have half a tail to show for that cowardice. At least I took Chaka's eye with it, so that's not so bad, right?

A slight breeze played with his mane. The scene around him surely was peaceful, and he'd run so far that he was starting to get back into nicer, more savvy land. He'd thought he'd seen a few zebra along the way, too. If that dumb majordomo hadn't shown up, or if you hadn't turned me out, we could have made it here in a matter or a day or two. The pride would have liked it here... Instead, he knew they now wanted him dead. They were right... I am no better than Scar.

Bits of dirt were getting in his watery eyes, and he closed them against the high and bright sunlight that was scorching his dark pelt. There was a moment or two when a weak, thin cloud would pass over a corner of the sun, but it was little relief, though before he fainted, it felt as if a bigger cloud had finally brought him some much-needed relief.

I'm as good as buzzard food out here... and nobody deserves that more than me…

Hope this is to your satisfaction after such a long wait (sorry about that)! This is either the second-to-next, or the last chapter in the first part, I haven't decided yet. Sorry it's taken 20 chapters previous to get this far. The story kind of ran away with with itself I guess. :)

Happy Holidays!