(A/N: The game concludes at the very end of this chapter...so take your time reading it. It's most likely the last time you'll ever read an action-filled Siku Choka chapter. One more concluding chapter to be posted soon)

Simba and Nala watched as the next two pieces of prey slowly approached them.

"Nala," called the Prideland king. "If we chased these around the track…how much time would we have left?"

"About two minutes," the lioness guessed. "Barely any…and I can't really run anyways, not with this leg."

"But someone's going to."

"Yes," Nala agreed, "someone is."

Sarafina and Tumaini, meanwhile, were back to discussing the game in the grandstands.

"The most amount of points you can get from down there is thirty…" Sarafina noted, "…you're going to have to run over to the prey-release point if you need to get more."

"Elvis is checking his shadow right now," Tumaini replied, "look…he's about to work it out…he's going to run."

"But who should join him?" Timon asked from beside them.

Tumaini smiled as a response.

"There's no right answer to that," she replied. "That's what makes it so exciting."

Simba, now, was also looking over at Elvis.

"Nala, we can only get thirty points from here…Elvis is forty points down, he's about to run. We can't let him have the prey-release point to himself."

"Then you're going to have to run then," the lion king's mate replied. "My leg won't let me do it."

"How many do you think will go with me?"

Nala shrugged as a response. "Guess you're going to have to find out."

Simba nodded back as a response. He knew what he needed to do…and yet he knew that what he was about to do could win or lose him the game…

…or even more.

He pushed that last thought to the back of his mind. It was time to run.

So…he ran.

Nala stayed. Her leg was too injured to run another one and a half miles.

Lenny ran. This frustrated Simba…Lenny was too many points down, he was just going to be an inconvenience.

Shairi ran. Dammit…competition, thought Simba.

Eboni stayed. Good…one less I have to worry about.

Elvis ran. No surprise…but oh, I hate him…

The crowd got up and began cheering. The final battle was set.

The zebra and the antelope passed on by Nala.

"Go for the zebra, Nala," Sarafina muttered from the audience, "you can't afford Eboni to get it."

Nala was thinking the same way her mother was. She began hunting the zebra, but both pieces of prey broke off into a run.

Not wanting to use up the time or track to hunt the antelope down, Eboni joined Nala in pursuit of the zebra.

It was too late for Eboni though, Nala had already made her move and pounced up onto the zebra's back.

However…shoving was legal with regards to zebra.

Eboni jumped up in the air and dug her claws into the zebra's rear flanks. Then she spun the creature around and threw it down to the ground, causing Nala's teeth to detach from the zebra's neck. The zebra attempted to kick at the ground, trying to get running again. It was a signal to everyone that the creature was still alive. Nala, meanwhile, was still attempting to get back up onto her feet after the fall. She whirled around in place and tried to find the zebra again. There it was…dead…in Eboni's jaws.

"NO!" exclaimed Sarafina, in denial that her daughter had just lost out on the Siku Choka. "She can't run now, she's done!"

"Shh, shh, have faith, Sarafina," Tumaini replied. "Look, Eboni slid farther on down the track than Nala did. If the runners start a chase…she's still first in ambush."

Sarafina groaned as a response, but then came up with an idea. She scanned the ground around her, looking for a stick that she could stand upright in the mud.

Sarafina found one and placed it in between her front paws, standing it as straight as possible so she could get a true reading of the shadow.

"Everything's going to have to go right," she replied. "I don't know…I fear she may have lost already."

Tumaini chuckled back.

"Hey…Sarafina…357 points…I don't care where she finishes, that's not a loss."

As the four lions running came out onto the backstretch, each of them glanced over their shoulders to see what had happened on the front. Simba moaned when he realized that Nala had lost to Eboni.

However, that's when he realized something else of note…as had Lenny.

"They missed the antelope," Lenny gasped. Lenny stopped dead in his tracks and waited on the outside of the circuit. "I'm too far behind to win with just two pieces of prey on the frontstretch," he told himself. "We're going to need all three if I want to win."

Simba, Shairi and Elvis, meanwhile, kept on running. They were glad Lenny had been the one who had stopped. Sure, they all wanted three pieces of prey on the frontstretch, but none of them could have afforded to have stopped on track and wait for it now. Lenny had just cost himself the game.

The crowd watched as the pack of three continued to run on down the backstretch, while each piece of prey slowly crept on farther around the circuit. The buffalo would be alongside Nala before the pack got anywhere near close.

"She's got to get this one," Tumaini said to her friend, "she's got to."

Sarafina shook her head hopelessly. "Even if she does, she'll end up lining up behind Eboni in ambush."

"Yeah, that's what'll happen," Tumaini agreed. "In fact, it's probably best for Eboni if she just stays put…and hopes this pack of three chases the zebra over towards her."

"Oh Aiheu," Sarafina replied. "Really I hope my daughter just gets out of this okay…but she's going to be so down if she doesn't win."

The buffalo was now passing on by Nala. Nala dug her claws down into the dirt one last time…just to remind herself of the feel of the track, and then she gave chase. This was it…if she missed this one, the game would certainly be over.

Fortunately for her, so far she had done everything right. She had gotten off to a good start, and Eboni seemed to show no interest in joining her. Nala leapt up onto the buffalo's back and wrapped her claws around it, thrusting her jaw down into the creature's neck. She sliced her way through the veins and the creature stumbled. The crowd cheered as Nala's points tally went up by ten. She was back in the game.

Now, the attention was drawn toward the pack of three, exiting the final turn right as a new antelope was released. Lenny had just killed the old one.

Zazu landed down in front of the Pridelanders.

"Eboni 376, Nala 367, Simba 359, Shairi 357…the other two are far behind," he summarized.

"And the zebra's about to pass by Eboni and Nala," Sarafina noted.

"Nala must get this one," said Tumaini.

Before Eboni and Nala would ever get a chance to fight for the zebra, however, there was the matter of this antelope that was on the circuit. Shairi and Elvis, however, expressed no interest in going after it. They could tell that the zebra was about to be killed, and so they waited at the prey-release point for that to be released, leaving Simba to go on and hunt the antelope down.

Simba took the prey down and moved up to 369 points, just seven shy of Eboni. However, he was a little bit away from the prey-release point, and so the newest antelope was destined to either be Shairi's or Elvis's.

Shairi ran out and took it down before Elvis ever got a chance, putting her up to 367, tying her with Nala for third.

Elvis crouched down, ready to make his move on the newest antelope. However, he was going to wait a second first…the zebra hunt was on.

Nala was right on the zebra's hind legs. However, she was taking her time in setting her attack up. She knew she had enough of a lead on Eboni and she knew that she couldn't let this attack fail. Finally, she made her attack and bit down on the zebra's neck.

However, as she attempted to find her footing, there was one thing that Nala had forgotten to consider…

SNAP!

The pain of Nala's leg breaking was drowned out by the frustration and despair that she felt as she felt the zebra let go. Nala collapsed down onto the ground and watched the zebra run on by into the distance. It didn't even matter much when she felt Eboni run into her…she knew that Eboni would be able to get back up onto her feet and take the zebra down unchallenged now…

Or would she?

As Nala came to rest after tumbling over on the dirt, she lifted her head up and took a look over at the point's leader. Eboni was clenching her eyes closed tightly, holding her own leg in pain. She was out of this as well.

But she's still in the lead…thought Nala.

But less than ten points ahead of…

Nala gasped. So did a bunch of the spectators. Everyone glanced over in the direction of where Simba and Shairi were standing. If either of them could get one piece of prey down in the final minute, they would win the game. If they both brought down one piece…it would be Simba's.

The last cheer began: realizing that the zebra had escaped – Elvis began to chase the antelope. There would be no new zebra at the prey-release point now.

Simba and Shairi joined in the chase, and soon, the pack caught the buffalo.

Watching Simba and Shairi go after the antelope, Elvis gave in and went for the buffalo.

However, the buffalo was still quite far ahead…the battle for the antelope would conclude first.

Shairi pounced and the crowd cheered.

SCORE!

Shairi took the antelope down – she now had 378 points, having just crossed the line as well. She was leading the Siku Choka!

She looked back behind her. The new antelope was too far away. The game would be over before it caught up with her. Shairi began to run…if both Elvis and Simba failed on this buffalo, she would want to be there for the pickings.

Nala lifted her head up to watch Simba and Elvis run on down the straight, chasing the buffalo.

Elvis has nothing to gain, Nala moaned to herself, just give the buffalo to Simba dammit!

She groaned, however. She knew that was never going to happen.

However, now that she'd had a moment to sink in the fact that she'd lost, she couldn't help but let the sides of her mouth twitch a little bit.

Simba gets the buffalo…Simba wins. If he doesn't, Shairi does. I'm alright with that…Shairi's a good girl.

Simba ran up right alongside Elvis. His heart was beating faster than normal…not just due to the fact that he was running, not just due to the fact that he was hunting a buffalo, not just due to the fact that he could be about to win the Siku Choka, but because he knew, better than anyone else, that his fate over the next sixty seconds rested entirely within Elvis' claws.

The duo exchanged glances…and Simba saw it.

The same look that Elvis had had when he had killed Guvu…the same look that he had had when he had ran on by Tonka…the same look that he had had when he had crushed Tumaini…and Juveda…the same look that he had had when he had started a fight with Simba, which had led to the stampede which had killed Bilauri. And, also, the same look that he had had when he had set up traps for Linda…and Peponi.

Simba wasn't getting off that buffalo alive, at least as far as Elvis was concerned. True, Elvis wouldn't win the game either way…but wouldn't it be something to say you got the last piece of prey of the game? Wouldn't it be something to say you were only 40 points back of the winner, rather than 50 points? Simba had too much to risk in going after this buffalo.

So…he stopped.

The crowd gasped. Simba had just stopped…he had given up on the buffalo…Shairi had just won the Siku Choka. All that they needed now, were the three roars.

With the buffalo and Elvis now far in front of them, Shairi gave up the chase as she walked up to her former teammate.

"What did you just do that for?" she asked. "You just gave up the win to me…that's not the way I wanted to win the Siku Choka."

Simba was quite stumped for words. He wasn't quite sure how to put this.

"You're right," he confessed. "I have no excuse…I care for my family more than this game…I'm no Siku Choka champion, Shairi."

ROAR!

One roar was down. Two more and the game would be over.

Shairi lowered her ears. "Simba…you were a heck of a player. I know the risk Elvis poses…but you could've done it."

"I know," Simba replied, "that's what I'm worried about."

Shairi had been looking down at the ground, but Simba's latest statement had just hit her.

"Simba…" she asked, "…what do you mean?"

ROAR!

"The zebra collapsed," Simba noted, pointing on farther around the turn. "Nala must have caught its vein. She's got 377 points now…just one behind you."

Shairi looked over at the corner. Indeed, she could tell that the zebra was down, and it was being carried off the field. Elvis was chasing the buffalo on down the final leg of the front straight…right to where the injured Nala was lying.

"I don't care about the Siku Choka enough to risk my life for the win," Simba stated. He gulped. "But she does."

At the last instant, Nala leapt up off of the ground with her three good legs. She wrapped her claws around the bottom of the buffalo's neck and bit down on it hard. Elvis made his move from above, pouncing on the buffalo and causing it to crush down onto the ground on top of Nala.

"Ooh!" the crowd exclaimed, watching Nala get pressed down between the buffalo and the ground. However, throughout the entire ordeal, Nala never, ever let go…

ROAR!