Well, it's finally time for the final chapter! I decided I would do this one over a period of two nights. That way, I could make sure to make it really good!
kora22: Thank you for the suggestion. I will see what I can do in that regard.
Greg M 94: Yeah, they are horrible, but in a good way.
Emerald dreamer96: Yeah, he will need to learn to fight back. And yes, being "beaten down by a girl and then scrubbed clean against his will" has definitely taken a toll on his self-esteem. Being unwillingly bathed in front of dozens of people will do that to you. As for Mheetu, you'll see…
the-mysterious-other: He definitely has the worst cousins ever. Nala and Vitani have always been rivals, so it makes sense for that to continue here. And yes, I did use your "soulless mates" line. I thought that was incredibly clever!
Yeti1995: Yeah, that bath-hating thing is definitely one of Simba's most prominent traits. Actually, one of the tie-in comics for TLK actually had Simba's bath phobia as its focus. And yes, a catfight is definitely setting on. This one will trump that pathetic two-second fight Nala and Vitani had in the movie, you'll see!
Chapter Seven: The Fight
Without another word Vitani flew at her adversary, pinning her to the ground. Nala tried to return the action, but Vitani kept her firmly trapped to the ground.
She's stronger than I am! Nala realized. This is awful! How am I supposed to defeat her?
She then smiled with a sly expression, and pressed her back legs on Vitani's chest before unsheathing her claws and sinking them into Vitani's stomach.
"AAH!" Vitani screamed as she jumped off of Nala, clutching her stomach in pain. "You're going to regret that!"
As Nala and Vitani leapt at each other again, Nuka succeeded in tackling Simba, pinning him to the ground as well.
"Ha ha ha, Simba!" Nuka cackled. "Gotcha!"
Wow, even Nuka can pin me, Simba moaned. What's my life gonna be like?
Simba snarled before lifting himself to his feet, causing Nuka to fall backwards on the ground, his little legs kicking in the air. The scraggly cub then got to his own paws before latching himself to Simba's foot and gnawing like a rat. Simba tried to shake off his cousin, but to no avail.
"OW! Nuka, get off me!" Simba unsheathed the claws on his other paw before sinking them into Nuka's back.
As the fight commenced, the other cubs watched with dread and alarm.
I hope Simba can hold his own, Chumvi pleaded. That Nuka's a determined little devil.
Nala will be okay, Kula tried to reassure herself. She can take care of herself.
That Vitani better get clobbered, Tama snarled. If Nala doesn't do it, I will.
Are Nala and Simba gonna make it out of this? Tojo worried. They seem so outmatched, especially Simba…
I sure hope Nala wins this one, Malka fretted. She doesn't deserve this.
Which one should I support? Mheetu frantically asked himself as he watched his sister and crush duke it out. On one paw, Nala's my sister and I love her. She and Mom have always taken care of me. On the other paw, Vitani's hot and compliments my wicked nature perfectly. I don't know what to think!
Simba and Nuka ferociously bit and scratched at each other, each trying to subdue the other. Nuka was much smaller and weaker than Simba, but his mouth and claws were capable of hanging on like leeches. At the moment, his mouth held Simba's shoulder in a vice-like grip, his claws piercing into Simba's right arm. The golden cub was grimacing in pain, completely unsure of what to do about his situation.
Vitani and Nala were about even at this point, with both girls covered in minor cuts and scratches, and Vitani's claws sunken deep right below Nala's shoulder as the creamy cub held Vitani's paw in a firm, unrelenting grasp. Vitani finally relinquished her grip on Nala in order to free her left paw, enabling Nala to tackle her to the ground. Just as Nala raised her paw to strike Vitani, a flash of greyish-white fur suddenly arrived at the scene.
"Calm down, girls!" Mheetu stammered as he held his paws in the air. "There's no need for you two to fight! Why don't you two try to get along instead? I'm sure we can find a mutually beneficial solution to our current situation."
Nala frowned, but Vitani smiled sinisterly.
"Not a bad idea," she chuckled. "As loathsome as you are, Nala, I could see us getting along if we had the right…connection." At this, she smiled seductively at Mheetu.
"That's exactly what I was thinking," Mheetu sighed.
"But, this isn't over yet!" Vitani shrieked. "Even if our fun little session's over, Nala, I still have a nice selection of opponents."
She scanned the line of cubs, finding them all unsuitable in some way, until her eyes finally rested on her own royal cousin. Simba stood triumphant over Nuka, who was lying unconscious on the ground.
"I know who I'm fighting next!" Vitani declared before running towards Simba and knocking him off his feet.
Simba looked at his assailant and snarled. "I hate you, Vitani," he spat. "You deserve to rot in some bottomless pit, even if Uncle Scar's your dad."
Vitani chuckled, "Oh you are so flattering, cousin. I'd love to hear more praise from you, but I think I'd rather kill you instead!"
She bared her fangs and was just about to sink them into her cousin's neck when, in a flash, Simba leapt into the air and landed on his paws. He turned to face a surprised Vitani, who widened her eyes and fled as Simba began to pursue her.
"The tables have been turned, haven't they?" Simba smirked as he chased her. "Now you'll get a taste of your own fangs!"
Vitani continued running, utterly terrified of what Simba might do. She knew how ruthless she had been, and did not regret it in the slightest. She did, however, worry that she would be treated in the same manner.
Simba finally launched himself through the air and landed on Vitani, trapping her between the ground and Simba. She looked up at him with pleading eyes.
"P-p-please don't hurt me, Simba," she whimpered. "Have mercy on your little cousin."
"Why should I?" Simba frowned. "You haven't been very merciful towards me."
"But I know you're not like that. I know you. You wouldn't hurt a fly," she smiled. "Besides, you want your pathetic little girlfriend to see how kind and gentle you are towards the female of the species, right, cousin?"
"She's not technically my girlfriend," he responded. At least, not yet…
"Ah, whatever. You're right. I'll let you go. I wanna follow Dad's example."
At that moment, Simba rose to his feet and let Vitani brush herself off. She smiled sweetly, "Thank you, cousin. Now, here's a little present for you, Daddy's Boy!"
With that, she yowled and leapt at Simba again, and the two cubs began rolling in the grass, biting and clawing as before, until they were only a few feet away from a large thornbush. Vitani suddenly jumped away from Simba and let him roll along. Simba quickly caught himself at the very edge of the thornbush.
"Wow," he panted. "That was close."
A familiar shriek sounded through the air as Vitani launched herself at Simba again, this time pinning him in the same manner as Nala would. Vitani pressed her right paw against Simba's throat, and the golden cub knew he needed to act quickly.
If she strangles me, I'm finished, he realized. Wait! I know just what I'll do!
Without further hesitation, Simba used all four of his paws to kick Vitani with all of his might. With a single push, he succeeded in throwing her into the air, and Vitani's eyes widened in terror as she catapulted straight towards the thornbush.
"NYAAAAAAH!" she screamed as she landed straight into the tangle of thorns, crashing through the barbed vines until she became trapped in the middle of the bush, entangled in the prickly branches.
Simba wiped his brow with his paw, relieved that he had finally subdued Vitani. He could feel a massive presence towering over him, and as he looked behind him, he could see the benevolent but concerned face of Mufasa.
"Dad, I-"
"It's okay, son," Mufasa explained as he put his gigantic paw on Simba's back. "I could tell as soon as I arrived that Vitani was the aggressor. And I have a witness to corroborate you."
Simba's face conveyed extreme shock as Zazu flapped his way to the ground, and as he landed, he stood eye-to-eye with Simba.
"Where were you all this time?" the confused cub asked.
"Well, young master, as soon as Vitani began her assault, I flew straight away to find your father here. It took a ridiculously long time to find him, and by the time I did, it seems quite a lot of your struggle had already happened."
Simba trotted towards the other cubs, with Zazu flapping his wings behind him, as Mufasa stood over the thornbush. With one swipe, he used his massive paw to clear a hole in the thornbush and pull the wounded and humbled Vitani out of her spiky prison. Without a word, he set her down on the ground and stared at her.
She was too injured and exhausted to register anything, but she weakly raised her head and struggled to get to her paws.
"Nuka, get here right now!" she snarled at him in a strained voice. Nuka came trotting towards her, and she continued, "It's…time…to…go…home. Help…me…walk…"
Nuka placed his sister's thorn-covered paw on his shoulder, and he walked slowly as she hobbled alongside him.
Mufasa watched them, and called out to the cubs. "Let's go home." The cubs slowly trotted after him.
As the sun began to set and the sky turned red, Scar and Zira became frantic with worry. Nuka and Vitani had not yet come back to the cave. At that instant, Nuka yelped, "Mom! Dad! Vitani's really hurt!"
Scar and Zira turned around, their eyes widening in horror as Vitani hobbled in with Nuka.
"Nuka! You're covered in bites and scratches!" Zira exclaimed. "And Vitani! You're got thorns all over you! What happened?"
Vitani choked, "I attacked Simba…and he threw me into a…thorn bush…" She wheezed before falling to the floor of the cave.
"But we humiliated Simba, just like you said!" Nuka chirped excitedly. "The other cubs are gonna start teasing him for weeks!"
Scar faintly smiled upon hearing this. "What did you do?"
Vitani smiled, "We got Simba covered in mud, and then I bathed him in the waterhole in front of all of the other cubs!"
"Ah, so that explains all the screaming I heard earlier," Scar sighed. "You did well, even in spite of this. We're going to have to lay off any further plans for a while, but it sounds like we've had one small victory. Simba's life will be hell for quite some time."
That night, in a large baobab tree, a colorful baboon was applying reddish-colored lotions all over Simba and Nala's injuries.
"Dese injuries will take time to heal," Rafiki declared, "but dis one small incident will not have serious consequences."
Simba and Nala smiled upon hearing this. She whispered in his ear, "You were really brave. In fact, I think you were braver today than you were at the graveyard."
"Thanks Nala," Simba smiled.
The two cubs then settled down to sleep, mere inches from one another. Knowing that, in spite of their injuries, they had each other. And that would never change.
Wow! That was my longest chapter yet! This was even longer than the last story's final chapter! Well, I'm a little saddened that this story's over, but I look forward to the next one. Speaking of which, I'm going to be heading to a place with no internet service over the weekend, so the next story won't appear until some time on Sunday. Until then, I leave you with this:
Next Time: After being humiliated one too many times by the other cubs, Simba decides to run off to the jungle. But the sinister Jungle Pride may see further use for their golden guest…