A/N: This chapter didn't feel right until I added the line at the end for Asuma. It was a struggle to get here, but here you are! I haven't had a chapter this short since the mid-point of the story. Enjoy my patient readers! :)

They have my son.

The heat of six other anxious lions and the pressing, looming fate they were sprinting towards threatened to overwhelm Kovu. The night air stunk of anger and dust, and low, frustrated snarls sounded in the distance. Kovu's shivering muscles burned under his fur with fear, and he panted heavily through his gritted teeth. The snarls and growls eventually waned to a menacing rumble that flared up Kovu's smoldering hatred for the lionesses.

They have my son.

Simultaneously, everyone's brisk pace tapered to a crawl and then to an immediate crouch. They all could have easily been lurking at the edge of a herd, waiting to strike. But they couldn't strike these dumb beasts like they were the prey. Everyone looked at each other for a moment, waiting for someone to invent an order and give it. Then, Kenyi spoke to Chaka briefly about finding something for Asuma's wounds, before he crept away from the group to work alone. Bron settled onto Muna's shoulder.

There was a strangled sob and Kiara choked out, "My son…"

Kovu's jaw trembled with dread. He turned and saw that Suki and Tanga were at Kiara's side, comforting her. He was grateful her friend and their daughter were there to do what he couldn't anymore.

"Heathens," Muna muttered. Her lips curled back. She glared at the horde that had settled down around the tree Bron had described. Muna turned to Chaka, who was staring off in that direction. She scoffed, "Now I see how a Pridelander could single-handedly tear through a pack of scavengers. You grow up with them, you pick up a thing or two."

Chaka folded his ears down and lowered his head slightly. "Gruesome, aren't they?"

"They are." Suki looked at Chaka, and also at Kovu. "You can be twisted and bent, but the truth won't change: you're not them." She swallowed hard and glanced back at Chaka before she turned her head to rub her cheek against Kiara's shivering shoulder.

The once-lost prince hardly looked convinced by Suki's kind encouragement. Kovu thought, It's going to take a long time before Chaka takes that to heart, Suki...

Chaka merely cleared his throat. "...Well, right now, we can't change what we're up against. Asuma's surrounded. They'll attack if or once we show ourselves."

"Will negotiation be an option?" Muna asked neutrally.

"Not sure... I mean- No." Chaka flexed his front paws and glanced at Kovu. "Like I said, they'll attack. I'd have to do the talking, and we've got nothing we could offer them in exchange for Asuma. Who knows if they remember me."

Muna glanced at Kovu. "We have noth-ing?"

Chaka shook his head and looked away.

Muna pursed her mouth for a moment before she smirked and said, "On to the next plan then."

Kovu blinked.

Unbelievable…

Had that response really come from Chaka? The ground beneath Kovu felt more solid than it had in a long time, and yet when he felt weightless he dug his claws in. Menaced for so long by the big lion, he never would've guessed that Chaka would choose to not give him up to Fola and her revenge-seeking pridesisters. Perhaps Chaka had changed more than he thought. But at the same time…

I think Muna was only testing Chaka, but... I'm the offering they'd want. I am why they went after Asuma.

Kiara sniffed. "We can't wait for them to leave for food. There's too many of them."

Suki asked, "Do they have a weakness? Are they afraid of anything?"

"Dun l'k like they're 'fraid of an'thin'," Bron scoffed.

Kovu spoke up, "They're superstitious." He looked at Chaka. "When they found Natin, they wouldn't go near him."

Chaka rolled his eye. "If only we'd brought Natin then."

Tanga's ears lifted. "We need to get them away from that tree," she said. "I can lead them away. I'm quick and-"

"No!" Kiara snapped to attention. "I'm not about to lose you, too."

"Mother, he's dying!" Tanga's voice shook. "I'm quick enou-"

"Tanga," Kovu broke in. "Listen to your mother, she's right. This is a life or death matter for everyone."

"...But-"

Muna was shaking her head. "Those lionesses would go into a frenzy. One mistake and you're finished."

Tanga lowered her ears and stared back at Muna fiercely. "Well, we can't fight them."

"No, we can't. We need enough time to get Asuma away," Muna continued. "Tanga, we'd have to save you and your brother."

"Then I don't know what we're gonna do! We're sitting here arguing, and Asuma's dying!"

"Could Bron help? What if we make them think Natin is haunting the tree?"

"Suki, with his accent?"

"Wh't accent?"

"I'll do it."

Nobody heard Kovu at first, but then Kiara blinked and looked at him.

"Wh-what? What did you say?"

All eyes were on Kovu. He repeated, "I'll do it."

Suki lowered her ears when she murmured confusedly, "Scare them...?"

Kovu sighed and glanced down at his paws. He looked up again when he said, "No... I'll lead them away from the tree. They'll chase me."

There was a hesitation before Tanga cried, "You don't have to!"

"I'm the one they want." Kovu looked at Chaka and then at everyone else. "You all see it. Where was I gonna go anyway? I gave up my home."

Tanga started to sit up, but Kiara and Suki quickly pushed her down."You can't just give up your life!"

"Tanga, calm down."

"But, Mother, he just got it back..."

Shutting out his daughter's pleading, Kovu quickly checked the direction of the breeze, measured the distance he had to travel, and squinted into the dark at the rogue lionesses to see what they were up to. They had calmed down. He knew what had to be done. He had to be the lure.

Anxiety rippled off his family as they struggled to keep Tanga calm. There was a prickling sensation behind Kovu's eyes as he started to sit up.

"They've got resources, Tanga! Food. Water."

"What if we split into groups? They won't know who to chase."

"We're not strong enough! Kovu is doing what he thinks is best."

"But… but…"

Kovu heaved a breath. Tanga's distressed face was damp. Kiara comforted her and held her down with Suki's help. If Tanga got a hold of him, she would never let him go, though she already had held onto him for too long.

She'll fight to bring Asuma back from the dark place he's in, and she'll have the wisdom to lead the pride through whatever the Council sees coming.

The arguing had ceased. Tanga was staring into space. When Kovu cleared his throat, everyone looked up.

"I'm ready…" When they remained silent, he added, "I'll stay ahead of them for as long as I can. I'll do everything I can... Get Asuma out of here. Don't linger."

Then only Muna and Suki would look him in the eye.

"Understand?" Kovu heard the slight tremor in his voice. The last thing he wanted was for them to jeopardize their lives by waiting for him. "Under-"

"Understood," Chaka replied, turning his head to look at Kovu. He then lifted his chin and said with a nod, "Good luck."

"Thanks." Kovu nodded and stared at their faces before he turned from the group. Suki and Tanga wished him luck, and Kiara said something that sounded like, "I love you," which made Kovu pick up his pace. He headed to the river.

Maybe I don't deserve a happy ending but they do. I have to do this. Someone like me doesn't deserve to live happily, and even if I outrun these lionesses, I can't go home. There's no place for me. Maybe the only thing I can appreciate is pain because I've lived with it so long, and I can't appreciate anything else? If Suki only knew half of what I had to go through and what I've done, she wouldn't have included me when she said Chaka wasn't like the lionesses. I've always become what I had to be to survive… but at least now someone else will benefit.

Nothing could make this situation better. Nothing I've run through my head ends in our favor. I keep getting an end with mass chaos and murder. That's it. Everyone here would give their life for Asuma, but they don't all have to. There's no chance I'd be able to protect them all.

If he'd been able to, Chaka would have started to pace.

In a perfect world, I'd be able to walk up to them, tell them what I wanted, and bring Asuma back with me. Nobody would lose their life.

They were monsters, and he cringed when he could not stop recalling how brutal his pride had been, even to its youngest members during training. Several times, he had seen other cubs go to training, but then he had learned that they had been buried in the valley's graveyard. In the part set aside for warriors-in-training who had disgraced their trainers and parents with their physical weakness.

"You just let him go…"

Chaka pressed his ears into his mane and turned to Tanga, who had her face turned away from everyone. He said, "We didn't let him go. He chose this."

Muna perked up suddenly. "Are we so sure that he's not on their side? Wasn't it his plan to use the lionesses to get back at you?"

Kiara made a noise that sounded both like a snarl and a sniff. She forced out in a sob, "He's changed-how could you say that, Muna?"

A cold stab of suspicion twisted Chaka's heart and moved it away from what he had been feeling-relief, gratitude, and pity. What had made him trust Kovu so fully?

Did I let my defenses down this completely? Were Tojo and Tswane wrong about Kovu? Did that demon trick them, too? Did I let Kovu lure my family out into the middle of nowhere? Is this a trick?

What was just as stunning as the possible betrayal they were now risking was that the thought of such a thing hadn't even crossed Chaka's mind.

A paw touched Chaka's foreleg. He jerked away and snarled.

"Chaka? Chaka, don't listen to Muna." Suki had been the one to touch him. "She was just joking." Suki then glared hard at the frowning lioness. "Why are you causing trouble?"

"You'd rather be surprised?" Muna snapped back.

"No, but-"

"I just saw things that way for a moment. Kovu hasn't acted like a monster, but..."

"Kovu is doing a noble thing."

Chaka gritted his teeth. He remained outwardly calm while Suki argued and rested her paw on his, but frustration was building in his chest. This time, the taste of anger on his tongue made him nauseous. His anger was poisoned by a sense of impending betrayal.

"Bron, I want you to follow Kovu," Chaka ordered, his voice icy. "Follow him… Until the end."

"Y'sir…"

The bird took flight and Suki put both paws on his foreleg. Staring down, she frowned.

Tanga began, "Chaka, Father isn't a traitor now-"

"Just get ready to run," Chaka snapped. "We were never in control of what happens tonight."

Grass brushed Kovu's stomach and legs while he kept low and made a wide arc towards the river. When a few of the lionesses snarled in the dark he tightened his already tense jaw.

This had to be done, and he hoped Asuma would be fine. He knew the lionesses would chase him, and they wouldn't leave him until he was dead. He had to run far.

Once he got to the riverbank, he stopped to glance over his shoulder. He could make out the outlines of the savage lionesses under the moonlight. The pale light shined off their glinting eyes, making it seem as if he were only watching harmless fireflies. He carefully slunk down the bank and jogged along the river's edge, coming closer to the lionesses. Mud filled in the spaces between his toes. He didn't want them to know he was there until the last possible moment… As he moved, his thoughts crept back in time.

"Kovu, faster!"

Tears of pain ran down his face. His throat burned with every precious gasp of air. His body was on fire. He barely heard the sound of Vitani's panting over his own when she tromped heavily past him. They were doing Zira's bidding, running around their den to train, and Vitani had already overlapped him twice.

"C'mon, Kovu, you haveta keep running!" When he stopped running, she turned around, moved behind him, and started to push him forward. Luckily, they were out of their mother's sight.

"Can't! Wh-why does she haveta make us do this?"

"Because of Simba, Kovu," Vitani replied. "Everything she does is because of him. You know that. You can't fail because Simba outran you."

"I can't run anymore…"

"If you don't run, you'll be in more pain than if you did."

"E-easy for you to say. Your fur's lighter th-than mine."

Vitani continued to shove him forward until he started to jog on his own again. "Everything is going to be easier for me. You're the chosen one. Now just run..."

Kovu stopped moving along the river and heaved a breath before filling his lungs with air. He was shaking all over. He peeked over the bank.

This is it...

Resolutely, he stepped up onto the riverbank and waited for a moment to see if anyone would see him standing there. He roared three times before they were all standing at attention, looking his way. Their backs were turned to where the rescue party was waiting in the night.

"Hey idiots!" he shouted, his voice resonant over the land. "You want me?" he growled. "Then come get me...!"

Asuma opened his eyes. His head felt light and he wondered if the sun was rising on yet another horrendous, punishing day.

How have I lasted so long?

He was so out of it that he could barely register the completeness of his agony. The last thing he recalled was Fola and her fall to the ground. Had she really intended to end his misery?

With my luck, the fall probably killed her…

He gazed down through the jumble of branches and leaves. Below him, the lionesses were standing alert, looking at something in the river's direction. They were snarling and muttering aggressively to one another.

"What…? Is that-?"

"He couldn't be so stupid-"

"...Come get me!" someone shouted from a distance.

Who's yelling…?

All Asuma seemed to do was blink and the lionesses vanished, but he could still hear them snarling. Their angry growling grew fainter as they moved into the distance.

He blinked again, and he heard a loud, collective panting over the ringing in his ears.

Blink.

Asuma then heard Tanga cry, "Asuma! Asuma!"

But I'm mistaken… Tanga is miles from here… Safe...

A group of lions also calling his name skidded to a stop at the base of the tree. He looked at their faces, concentrating hard and trying to keep his eyes in focus, and he could have sworn they were his family-

No! That's impossible! There's no way they'd be able to find me! I'm hallucinating now… and… and-and why am I on the ground? How'd I get on the ground? Aren't I still up in that tree?

"How do we get him down?"

"Just start climbing. It won't be easy to pull him down."

Asuma blinked again while he struggled to grasp what was happening. Catching rain with his paws would have been easier, he thought. He watched Tanga and Chaka begin to climb the tree.

"Asuma, I came back for you," he heard someone exclaim, and when his eyes focused, Asuma realized that Tanga had spoken.

"I know what you did, and you were brave," she continued.

No, no, the lionesses... why are you here? Save yourself... Yourselves…

Asuma's eyes widened as the action caught up to him, enveloping him in shocked awareness. He looked to his side and realized he was standing with his mother, Suki, and a lioness he didn't recognize. Their heads were turned up, and they were focused on Chaka and Tanga. His mother's ears were flat against her head and fat tears streaked her cheeks. She swallowed hard and her chin was trembling.

"Try to nudge him off, Tanga," Chaka was saying. "Go around the tree trunk. There you go. Here, I'll get his arm onto my shoulder."

"Asuma? Asuma…?"

Up in the tree, Chaka struggled. Tanga was helping, slowly nudging a limp body-his body-from the branch he'd spent too many days on. They were trying to lower him from the tree, that much he could tell. Chaka adjusted his grip on the tree. The motion jarred Asuma's lifeless body.

"Easy..."

"I'm moving as fast as I can. I-whoa, watch it. I can't balance him."

"Asuma," Tanga was saying, "we'll get you down. We have someone who can look over your wounds." Her voice cracked.

Asuma tore his eyes from the tree and looked in the direction the lioness horde had gone. The lionesses... why did they run away? Did my family chase them away? None of you are really here. This… All this isn't happening. I must be dreaming again. They'll come back to check... and this rescue mission will have been for nothing. You came too late to save me.

"I'm dead," he said out loud.

Nobody responded. They continued on working and crying.

"I'm dead. You've wasted your time."

Behind him, a peaceful voice rumbled, "Asuma, come with me."

Asuma turned his head and saw a large-jawed lion that reminded him of Simba. A warm aura of what he could only describe as unconditional affection radiated off the big, red-maned lion. The cool heart in Asuma's chest clenched at first, but then he relaxed and let himself be comforted by the lion's presence. It was almost too easy how fast it happened. Asuma then looked at his family to see if they were seeing the lion, too, but they were oblivious to anything besides the desperate struggle in front of them. This lion was there to collect him. Asuma turned back to the lion and murmured, "I want to make sure they get away from here safely, Mufasa."

It could only be him… It feels like it should be him.

"You wouldn't be able to warn them even if the danger returns." The lion lifted his chin. "Regardless, your father is leading the lionesses away from here."

The night seemed to peel back more quickly now, and light was filling everything in. Asuma narrowed his eyes skeptically. "Leading them away?"

"Yes, Asuma. He will sacrifice his life so that your family might have a chance to save you."

"Wait-when did he stop breathing?"

"No! Asuma! Breathe! You can't die! No!"

Asuma spun sharply around at the grief-stricken cry, but he could no longer clearly see his family. All he saw was a misty, bright, white wall and their frantic silhouettes. The acacia tree no longer looked like anything earthly, and somehow its whole form looked flat, wispy, and fragile like it was made from white, dead leaves. The form of another lion appeared and joined the group.

"Kenyi, do something! He's not breathing!"

"I-I don't know what to do!"

Asuma took a step forward, but stopped when a paw touched his shoulder.

"Come with me, Asuma," Mufasa said calmly.

A muffled cry pierced through the now heavy white mist. "No! Don't die!"

Asuma squinted at the wall of mist, "Kovu said the Council wanted me to be king. This is rather unfortunate then."

"No, not unfortunate."

Asuma looked over his shoulder at Mufasa. "So it's fortunate? Are you going to tell me that it's not my time?"

His great-grandfather gave him a wry half-smile. "That is not my place. I am only your escort to the Council."

Asuma swallowed and looked down at the ground.

"I didn't think I would come back from this..." he confided in a strained voice not much above a whisper, though his voice grew stronger. "Will they make me go back? I can't come back from this. They can't force me to go back. I'm no leader, and I'm not going to put myself in a position to fail again. There are others who are stronger than me who won't give in to what I did!"

The warmth of Mufasa's paw left his shoulder. "Asuma, I must show you something, before we go."

Slowly, Asuma turned and looked up, an eyebrow cocked. "What?"

Mufasa turned halfway and looked away. Asuma followed the big lion's gaze, and his eyes widened when live images began to play for him. They were blurred by the bright mist at first, but soon they began to sharpen. He thought he recognized them as memories.

Quietly, Asuma asked, "What is this? Is this my life? A review?"

"Yes." Mufasa nodded.

Asuma gave a soft snort. "What's worth seeing that I don't already know I regret? I can't waste your time."

"Oh, I have time enough," Mufasa replied. "And I see a life that would be worth my time if I had to keep track of it."

Before Asuma could argue further, he motioned with his nose for Asuma to look. In quick succession, Asuma saw himself being comforted by his father, groomed by his mother, and played with by his sister and Natin. By the end of each piece, his younger self was smiling big and happy. But just as rapidly as those scenes played out, he soon saw himself rushing to help Tanga and Natin after the fateful hunt… saw himself experiencing his first intuitive dream… saw himself blubbering when Simba had been found dead… and saw himself dragging Tanga away from the den with Natin's help in an effort to spare her when Kovu had been pegged as a cold murderer.

At that point, Fola might as well have clawed his throat open.

He forced himself to continue watching when he saw himself plotting with and exploiting Natin to destroy Kovu, cursing Natin for wanting mercy, cursing Tanga for protecting a murderer, cursing the old lion to die in the hole… Asuma stood there feeling the hatred he'd felt for everyone who had started out as a friend and protector, but who had later turned into the enemy through one mean or another. But he also felt the guilt and misery he had inflicted upon himself when he'd passively inflicted on others his malicious bitterness, agonized deficiencies, and detrimental agenda. Various scenes played before him where he understood that Chaka was pleading with Kiara to tell the whole truth to him and his sister, and more scenes played where Natin struggled to bring himself to kill Kovu while he slept. Asuma had to turn away when he saw Natin arguing with Tanga about what to do about Kovu, and when Tanga scolded him when they were alone after Natin's death.

"I've seen enough," Asuma told Mufasa, and at once the images faded away. He closed his eyes. "I know what I am."

"And what is that?"

"A monster. I turned myself into one."

"My brother was a monster."

"You say my life was one worth living, but then you bring up Scar."

"I'm not comparing you to him. What I'm trying to say is Scar never would have given his life for another creature. Scar only took. He never gave."

"But I wanted to take. I wanted to take my father's life."

"Yes, you wanted to-"

"I took the life of the lion who was helpless and stuck in that hole. I could've shown him mercy. I didn't. I couldn't."

"Do you feel guilty about what you have done?"

Asuma looked down. "I... don't know."

Mufasa pursed his lips, silent. He then turned and started to walk away. "Come with me, Asuma. The Council is waiting."

Asuma stood there, looking at his paws. He glanced in the direction his family had been, but there was no trace of them. No sight, no sound. Nothing he could perceive.

"Come, Asuma," Mufasa called once more, and this time Asuma followed. "This life for you is gone."

And what becomes of me in the next one?

A/N: 3 more chapters to go. :)