After the Roar

by John Jude Farragut PhD

CHAPTER 15: With the herbivores conspiring against him and a blond meerkat starting wars, Simba's world has been shaken to its core. But as night falls and Sakora marches onto the battlefield, Simba gets paid a visit by a hostile visitor, and his entire world is flipped upside down—and that's just the beginning of what transpires on this endless night.

15. Endless Night, Part I

Chapter 15: Endless Night, Part I

Brushing the dirt out of his arms and running his paws through his headfur, Uncle Max waddled out of a tunnel and said to Simba, "Our work here is done, Kid. Your mom's buried, and the traps are set."

"Where are the other traps?"

"East, northeast, and southeast. Just stay away from the bushes and the treeline, and you'll be fine."

Simba nodded in affirmation. "Are you ready to look for Johnny?"

"Timon and Madge are puttin' the finishing touches on our little raft. We're gonna go down the underground river; I don't care how far it goes."

"Remember, you've gotta take Johnny alive. That's what this whole thing's about. If we can't get him to confess, this land is going to be at war forever."

"We're gonna take 'im, awright," Max said solemnly,"but he's not comin' back alive."

"Why not?"

"This is Johnny we're talkin' about. He broke his own arm, cut off his own toe, and walked into a nest of scorpions of his own free will. Trust me: He's gonna die before you ever get 'im to talk."

"Charming guy," Timon said darkly as he and Madge knelt over their raft. "Y'know, there's somethin' I don't understand, Uncle Max: If he was really that bad, why did ya let 'im stick around?"

"He wasn't all bad, Timmy," Madge said as she tied three branches tight with a vine. "He was one of our best diggers, and he knew how to fight better than anyone back home."

"So why did he go wrong?"

"I dunno, sweetie. Sometimes people just do. They don't have a reason, and they don't have an excuse."

"Like my dad with Uncle Max?"

There was a long pause, and Uncle Max let out a reluctant sigh. "Look, there's somethin' ya oughta know about your dad," he said with a pained tone. "I know I made him out to be a monster, but he was really a good guy. He was the best digger we ever had. And him and Johnny were a dream team fightin' off hyenas and scarin' away snakes."

"That's why I married him, Timmy," Madge added. "Nicey-nice doesn't scare away a hyena."

Turning to Uncle Max, Timon let out a knowing sigh and wagged his head ruefully. "No wonder ya hated me for goin' off on my own," he said gently. "It wasn't because I found a better home. It was because I left you behind."

Max nodded sadly and let out a mournful breath. "The hardest thing I ever had to go through was watchin' you leave. We lived in a pretty nice place, but after Johnny sold us out, we were on the run for months. Then you came along, and you had your dad's wisecracks and spunk. I was hopin' you were gonna be the champion we needed, fightin' off hyenas and scarin' away snakes. But you struck out for better pastures, which was somethin' none of us ever had the guts to do. And look at what ya did! You made friends with a lion king and a pig. I'd say it all turned out pretty well."

"If we don't get through this, it's not gonna matter," Timon muttered. "I'm just sorry I got ya all into this."

"You didn't, honey," Madge said. "We came out here on our own. We thought you were chasing metaphors, and we got to be heroes."

"And you know what, sonny boy?" Max added. "We are gonna get through this. Friends and family stick together 'til the end. Besides, you've got somethin' to live for, right? You're still gonna take us to our new home, and after that, you're gonna be servin' Simba, your friend and king."

With a delighted chuckle, Timon smiled back in gratitude and clapped Max on the shoulder, then pointed a finger at the leaf raft and said, "Let's get outta here and finish this thing. We're gonna bring a psycho meerkat to justice."

"Not yet, sonny boy. Johnny runs like a clock: He works until it's pitch black, and then he punches out for the day. We'll have a better chance of catchin' him when he's not movin' around."

"No, we need to go now," Timon said. "We've gotta catch 'im in the act. You and Ma are the only ones who knows what he sounds like, you'll know him when you hear 'im."

Max raised an eyebrow in apparent disbelief, then smiled and chuckled. "You also got your dad's brains," he said with a mix of envy and admiration. "Awright, sonny boy, you've won me over. We're gettin' outta here. We're gonna get Johnny back here and give him the spanking of a lifetime—"

Pumbaa's eyes went wide without warning, and he sprang onto all spindly fours. "Uh, guys?" he rumbled. "We've got company."

Simba, Zazu, Rafiki, and the carnivores turned to the east at once.

In the purple twilight, a blond lion marched through the grasses, a hundred lionesses flanking him on either side. They were distant and blurry, but the lion's face was cruel and haughty—a type of cruel and haughty that looked very familiar, indeed. They had seen it on Bara's face, and it was unforgettable and unmistakable.

"Sakora," Simba muttered. "Shenzi, is that him?"

"Yeah, that's him. And he's got the whole army out."

Simba's face went pale and wide. "That's his pride?"

"Yep. He goes into a country, kills all the leaders and their cubs, and the girls marry 'im."

Nala's face twisted in disgust. "Simba, we can't negotiate with him. We have to go in and pick him off."

"No. We can't."

"If we cut off the head, the body dies."

"We don't know who's loyal to him."

"It doesn't matter! As soon as he's dead, we'll take over the pride."

"What if we can't?"

"If we don't go in now, we'll never have another chance."

Sarafina laid a paw on her shoulder and wagged her head solemnly. "Nala, we can't..."

"Yes, we can, Mom! This has to stop, and it has to stop now!"

She wagged her head again. "Even if it did, it won't make up for what we did. We let Scar take over the Pride Lands, and we did nothing. And Simba's right: We don't know who we can trust. We have to let him lead—"

"Simba, they're moving!" Pumbaa said.

Everyone swung to the east again, and gasps and murmurs filled the air. Sakora and his pride burst into a charge, racing across the savannah like a mighty wave.

"This is it!" Simba said. "Timon, Madge, Max—get outta here!"

Timon gave him a salute, and he and the meerkats dove through the grasses with their raft in paw.

"Zazu, find Taku! Get him back here now!"

The hornbill gave a hasty bow before leaping into the air and fading into the night.

Simba went up onto all fours and roared to the carnivores, "BATTLE STATIONS!"

The carnivores gathered into their groups and flanked Simba left and right, legs flexing and shoulders bulging and teeth baring. Ahead of them, Sakora and his pride charged into the trees, tromping through the grasses and shaking the shrubs. The pride the crossed the treeline and Sakora opened his mouth to roar and Simba braced himself for the crashing of lion into lion.

Sakora let out a roar and started to leap at Simba, and the ground gave way below him.

A quarter-mile of land fell inward with a roar, swallowing up Sakora and a hundred lionesses and two burly lions in its mouth. A second later came crashes and snaps of breaking branches, and horrid howls of agony filled the air as the lions, huge vines and thorns sticking out of their sides. Blood oozed down the dimly lit fur and faces were wide with terror and pain.

"DON'T JUST STAND THERE!" Sakora roared to his pride. "GO AROUND!"

"Sakora, listen to me!" Simba said at the top of his voice. "We don't want war!"

And the mighty blond lion swiveled to Simba and bore his fangs. "Look who it is," he growled. "It's the reprobate who killed my son."

"Sakora, don't do this. l know about Dark Horizon. My friends are bringing him in—"

"I don't believe you," the blond lion said. "And even if I did, the truth wouldn't save you. I'm Sakora, God on Earth and Emperor of the World. It is my duty to punish my enemies."

"Now we know where Bara got it from," Nala muttered.

"Besides, Simba, you tried to kill my queen yesterday. If you don't think I'll avenge her, you're a fool."

"Your queen?" Simba muttered. "Who is she?"

And just as he said that, he knew. He knew who Sakora's bride was, and he could feel every bruise from his fight with her throb in unison. And his wounds screamed in horror as the lioness stepped out of the crowd and padded beside the blond lion. Her face was angular and thin, and a hole was punched in the edge of her ear. With one look at Simba, her blocky muzzle lit up with evil glee, and a smile crooked and twisted up her muzzle. "Why, hello, my dear nephew."

All the wind went out of Simba's lungs as he uttered one word: "Zira…"

"Oh, yes," she crooned. "And did you really think you had heard the last of me?"

"He should have killed you," Nala said. "He told you to leave, and you attacked him."

"Dear Nala, you're as cruel and pitiless as your boyfriend. All I wanted was to raise my children in a happy home, and your Simba was about to kill me."

"That's a lie! He told you to take your pride and get out—"

"ENOUGH!" Sakora roared. "I am the Emperor of the World and God on Earth. I don't waste my time with endless chatter. My darling Zira, don't waste your energy on this little wench. Save your fury for the battle to come, and help me give Simba his due."

Zira feigned a sniffle and a sobby smile. "Yes, my Lord." She gave a weepy look to her new husband, then gave Simba a smug smile and padded away.

"Unbelievable," Simba muttered. "How's she working for him?"

"Who else?" Nala replied. "Johnny must have roped her into it, just like he's done with everyone else out here."

Simba turned back to Sakora and said, "Don't believe her. She's not loyal to you. She's going to stab you in the back when this is over!"

"ENOUGH!" Sakora roared. "I have every right to relieve you of your head. Bara was my crown jewel, the heir to the Everlasting Throne. When I get my paws on you, I will take you back to my realm and make you suffer. When I have had my fill of your agony, then you will lose your head."

"No, he won't," Nala said. "We are going to bring you down, even if we have to die."

"My dear Nala, that's not what I was told. You were willing to let Simba die to protect your Pride Lands."

"...What?"

"Oh, yes. But don't you remember? You swore an oath to protect the Pride Lands at all costs."

Simba's face went wide with shock. "Nala, what is he talking about?"

She shook her head blankly and stared at Simba in bewilderment. "I don't know," she whispered. "I don't!"

"Ah, what a typical female," Sakora purred. "Shallow intellect and short memory. But it's nothing that can't be cured. Perhaps our dear visitor will remind you of what you have forgotten."

Right on cue, a loud sound filled the air, rustling and hissing like a gale through leafy trees. Tawny light beamed and sparkled all around them and turned the purple twilight gold, and the light and magic rolled up together into a roaring shining monolith of power and glory. And standing before them with yellow fur and red mane and golden eyes glowing like a full moon, was a lion.

"You," Nala said breathlessly. "You...You're real..."

The mighty apparition lowered his head in a nod. "I warned you not to defy me, Nala."

"Who is he?" Simba hissed.

"I...I saw him...in my dreams...but I thought—"

"Wait a minute," Simba said. "That's why you didn't want to help me kill Bara...because the Great Kings were threatening to kill us."

She gave a jerky nod and said, "Simba, I'm so sorry!"

"You were being wise," said the shining lion. "You knew the laws of the Pride Lands, and you tried to make your boyfriend listen to reason. For that, you will be rewarded."

Simba's face twisted in anger as he swung to the apparition. "Why is she taking orders from you?"

"Apparently, you don't see the family resemblance," said the lion. "Do you want me to spell my name out for you? Or would you prefer that I called you 'Grandson'?"

All the carnivores turned to Simba at once with their faces wide with alarm, and Simba's mouth dangled out of his face.

"...Ahadi?" he said with a gasp. "You're supposed to be dead..."

"Didn't your father teach you anything?" said the apparition. "The Great Kings never die. Our bodies may be destroyed, but we live on."

"Then what are you doing here?" Simba said. "You're working with our enemies!"

"I don't have a choice," Ahadi said. "You killed your uncle, and you're killing your neighbors."

"Your son killed his brother. Bara was turning my people into soldiers!"

"I know what Taka did. I know what Bara was doing. And I had the situation in hand until you came back and killed your uncle."

"I had to!" Simba replied. "My father told me to come back. He told me I was the king, to remember who I was!"

But without warning, the ghostly lion threw back its shimmering head and laughed, sending tremors through the earth. "Your father told you that?" he rumbled. "Oh, Simba, you don't even know. I was the face in the clouds. I was the one who told you to go home."

And with a mighty roar, he leapt off the ground and burst into a pile of purple and blue cloud, and out of his ethereal mouth came a sonorous voice: "You have forgotten who you are, and so you have forgotten me..."

Both Simba and Rafiki stared at the nimbic ghost with eyes and mouths hanging wide. "Rafiki, why didn't you tell me?!"

"I didn't know, Simba! I promise you!"

As Ahadi returned to his leonine form and resumed his cold smile, he turned to Rafiki and said, "It was a very convincing imitation. Just the thing I need to persuade Simba to face his uncle and fail in the attempt."

Simba kept staring at Ahadi in horror, wondering if his mouth could fall any further from his head. "You sent me home just to have me killed?"

"I had to teach your girlfriend a lesson: No one disobeys the laws of the Pride Lands."

"She had to. The Pride Lands were dying!"

"No, my dear grandson, they didn't die," Ahadi snarled. "I killed them myself."

"...You what?!"

"Taka was going to pay for murdering his brother, but Nala didn't want to wait. She wanted him dead. I let the river dry up and the Pride Lands die, and I told her I would restore them if she stopped resisting me. But she didn't. She ran off to look for help, and she found you."

"Then why haven't you restored them? What are you waiting for?"

"Your pride is loyal to you. If they keep following you, they will die here tonight. I tried to keep them in line by having your uncle kill you in front of their eyes; if that happened, they would have obeyed me forever."

Simba nodded in grim comprehension. "That's why you're here," he said grimly. "You can't wear me down, so you're here to kill me."

"Wrong," said Ahadi. "I'm here to make you an offer. You can face Sakora and his army, and pay the penalty for your crimes—or you can come with us, and you can rebuild the Pride Lands."

"We're not going anywhere with you," Nala replied. "You've been threatening and manipulating us since we were born. You destroyed the Pride Lands just to keep us in line, and this is what we did it for? A bunch of laws that got your son killed?"

"Don't be hasty," Ahadi replied. "You saw what happened to Simba. That's what Sakora will do to you when he gets his paws on you."

"Wait a minute," Simba said nervously to Ahadi. "Who's us?"

But he didn't have long to find out. The black night grew orange and gold around them and the grass went greenish bronze. A noise filled the sky as if the moon and the stars were roaring in unison. Clouds and shimmers of golden light filled the land around Ahadi, and they gathered themselves into a thousand beams that shone up from the ground. Standing on both sides of Ahadi were hundreds upon hundreds of lions with golden fur and brownish manes and eyes that glowed like ivory moons, and all were standing tall and strong and ready to march.

"These," said the old lion, "are the Great Kings of the Past. These are the ancient lions who believe in the ancient laws. Because of those laws, there has not been a murder for twenty generations. Yes, my son murdered his brother—a single casualty. But how many more have died out here in the name of Simba and his reckless laws? Twelve leopards and cheetahs from your army. And how many have died because of the wicked in these lands? Thousands upon thousands. That's what we're trying to save you from, but as long as Simba's running around and killing of his own free will, he will become as wicked as the monsters he hates. But it doesn't have to be this way. Come with us to the Pride Lands, and we will rebuild the land that we gave you."

"This is absurd!" Sakora roared, reminding everyone he was still there. "Get out of the way and let me kill him."

"Silence, Sakora," said Ahadi dully.

"SIMBA MURDERED MY SON!" the blond lion hollered. "HOW DARE YOU LET HIM LIVE—"

Without warning, Ahadi swung around and hurled a boulder-sized paw across Sakora's face. There was a mighty thud, and the blond lion went limp and collapsed into the grass. No one in his pride made a sound or a twitch as Ahadi turned back to Simba and the Pridelanders.

"You ask why I don't kill him?" he said. "Because I'm not a murderer. I don't repay evil with evil."

"Maybe you should," Simba said. "You know how many people have died because of these people? Thousands. If we let it go on, it's gonna take over the Pride Lands."

"It won't happen, Simba. We've kept these monsters out of the Pride Lands for centuries."

"You kept them out? This wouldn't be happening if you'd brought them to justice!"

"To show you what happens when people disobey the law. How can you know what's right if you don't know what's wrong?"

Simba stood there in stunned silence, his mouth gaping for words to say. "Maybe if you spelled it out for us like a great king would!"

"That's what the law is for," Ahadi said. "That's what has guided our people for generations. But everyone's fighting a war between good and evil, and it's a war that happens in the heart. That war will go on forever unless people see good and evil with their own eyes, and they won't see it unless someone shows them. That's what we've done. That's what I'm trying to do. All of you can be part of that," Ahadi said. "I implore you to give up this fight and follow us back to the Pride Lands. We can put Simba's legacy behind us. We can make the Pride Lands better than they were before. We can cleanse the land of Simba's bloodshed, and we can start anew. Let's bring Taku and the herbivores home, and let's rebuild our kingdom."

No one made a move. They stared at Simba for a moment, then at Ahadi, then at one another in bafflement.

"Guys, don't listen to him!" Simba said. "You know what Sakora's like! He's been killing people for years and no one's done anything about it. How long's it gonna be until it comes to the Pride Lands? How long's it gonna be until he kills us?!"

The leopard commander Chui gave Simba a cold glare. "We never heard of Sakora until we came out here. And Sakora wouldn't have a bounty on our heads if it wasn't for you. All the bloodshed in the world is because of people like them—and you're acting like them."

"Chui, please!"

"It's over, Simba," he muttered coldly. "I don't care if you're the son of Mufasa; you're not our king." With a huff and a twitch of his tail, he padded away toward Ahadi, and one by one, the leopards and cheetahs broke away and padded after him.

"Nala?" Simba said with a quaky voice.

The lioness blinked her teary eyes and wagged her head. "Simba, I tried to tell you...we follow the laws or people die—"

"You didn't tell me you were seeing this guy in your sleep!"

"I couldn't have told you. You would've thought I was crazy, just like you think I am now."

"Nala, wait a minute!"

"Ahadi's right," she said weepily. "No matter what happened to your father, the laws work. And you can't go up against the bullies of the world like this. Let's just go with Ahadi and fix the Pride Lands."

"Yeah! Go with the same lion who tried to have us all killed? Bow before the guy who let Johnny run around the world? No! He's let people torture and murder each other just to teach us a lesson. If he was a Great King, he wouldn't have let it happen. We've gotta stand up to this guy, no matter who he is. If we don't, who will?"

But Nala didn't answer him. She looked into his face to find any trace of common sense, but she found none. With a weepy grimace, she swung away and padded toward Ahadi, and the rest of the pride broke away and followed her. Even Pumbaa and Rafiki gave Simba a solemn gaze before turning away and following the pride.

"Wait a minute," Shenzi said nervously. "What's gonna happen to us? Are we goin' to the Pride Lands or not?"

"Forget about the Pride Lands," a lioness said. "Who's going to stand up for Simba? Bara made us his slaves, and we'd still be his slaves if Simba hadn't killed him."

"Forget about Simba, what about us?" the leopard chief added. "Who's going to stand up for us?"

Ahadi turned to them and gave them a cold smile. "Why don't you ask the Great Killer of the Pride Lands? Why don't you bow before the Royal Assassin and tell him to protect you?"

"He can't protect us from Sakora! There's no way he can stand up to 200 lions."

"Vaziri's right," Tehani added. "We're outnumbered and overpowered. If we don't have your help, he's going to torture us into submission."

"That's your problem, woman," Ahadi growled. "Your ancestors disobeyed our sacred ways. Far as I'm concerned, Sakora and his family can do what they want with you." Over the gasps and cries of the carnivores, Ahadi swung to Simba and said, "I don't want to sentence you to that fate. Come with us and do what we ask. I'll make you ten times the king your father would have been. All you have to do is obey us."

"No!" Simba said with power in his voice. "I'm not going back with you. Fix the Pride Lands if you want; you're just making them ripe for the killing. I'm not gonna be a part of that. I'm gonna do the job you should've done...and I'll be ten times the king you ever were."

All the Pridelanders stared agog at him. The leopards and cheetahs stared at him with a look of You are even more insane than you look, and the pride was looking weepier and weepier with every word he said.

On the other side of the cave-in, Sakora was starting to stir. He gave a half-conscious groan and tumbled onto his belly, and his sons stood over him and muttered promises of killing Ahadi. But then Ahadi turned to them, and with a look of finality, Ahadi smiled at Sakora and issued a thunderous decree:

"Kill Simba."

Any hint of pain or fatigue in the blond lion's eyes was gone. He smiled gleefully and started to brandish a clawed paw. "AND NOW, SIMBA," he bellowed, "YOU DIE!"

But the sky lit up and roared again, and it was brighter and greater and louder than before. And like a hundred hundred comets falling out of the sky, golden plumes of light fell out of the sky behind Simba, tossing shadows that faded in and shrank before Simba's eyes. All around him were hundreds and hundreds of Great Kings, and the one who landed beside him was the Greatest King of all.

"No, Father," said the King. "You're not letting him die tonight, and you're not taking his people, either."

Simba couldn't believe what he saw. It was too wonderful to imagine. But he knew. Oh, he knew. His eyes weren't deceiving him, and his ears weren't teasing him. And with a face that couldn't decide whether to smile or weep, a single word went past his lips: "Father..."

The regal lion nodded.

"You said you'd always be here for me..."

"I couldn't have," said Mufasa sadly. "But now I can. I'm here for you, son, and you and I going to end this war and heal the Pride Lands...tonight."

To be continued...