I'm back at this fanfic deal! Man, I love writing these! Anyhow, this a sequel to two of my stories, 'Scars of Redemption, and 'One Last Try.' The events of both shall be explored further here. But if you didn't read any of them, it doesn't matter, because anything relevant shall be explained here.

If you see this: ()()()()()()()() it means the POV is changing. Don't worry, I'll say to whose POV it's changing to. Fun facts: Shenzi's name means pagan or uncouth, Banzai's name means brash, Ed's name means…. Well…. Ed, Macho's name (pronounced Maco, don't pronounce the ch sound) means vigilant or loyal, and Nafasi's name means chance. All these are in swahili.

Well, on with the fanfic! And please, do leave this humble author a review.

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Banzai's POV

Banzai and Ed were walking down the river, their eyes roving the shoreline and the rest of the beach. It was unlikely Shenzi would have strayed from the river, it would have been her guiding line to keep her on track.

"Shenzi?" Banzai called, as his voice echoed in the darkness. It was night time, the sun had just gone down about an hour ago. Banzai looked up into the stars, as they shone down onto the earth. Then, he frowned. One of the stars in the constellation that looked like a lion was shining brighter than normal. Usually you could barely make out that star, but now it shone brightly.

Meh, it didn't matter. Just another strange thing in the world he needn't care about.

Ed let out a yawn, signaling that he was a little tired.

"Buck up Ed, we're not sleeping until we find her." Said Banzai. Ed whimpered. "As your senior, you can't disobey me." Snickered Banzai. Ed let his ears droop in disagreement.

Suddenly, a sound from ahead alerted Banzai to someone approaching them

"Fahama? Is that you?" Called Banzai.

"Banzai! Banzai!" Shouted Fahama, as she ran towards them full tilt.

"Fahama, what is it? Are you being chased?" Asked Banzai, as Fahama skidded to a halt in the sand. She was breathing hard, a symptom of her exhaustion. After a few seconds of recovery, she turned to Banzai.

"No, I'm not being chased but Banzai…. I found Shenzi." She said.

"You did?! Where is she?" Exclaimed Banzai, a smile splitting his face. Oh thank goodness! Banzai had feared the worst, but now, all his fears could be put aside! She had been found!

"Further down the river, but Banzai….. Someone else found her first." Said Fahama, scowling hesitantly.

Banzai suddenly felt a thrill of fear run through him

"What do you mean?..." He asked slowly, his eyes wide.

"Well, she was in a den, and… There was blood on the floor. Her blood, I think, and there were two lions, and they were hurting her…. She was screaming, begging them to stop, but they didn't stop…. And then the male lion, an orange lion with a black mane noticed me, and so I ran, as fast as I could before he could catch me…. And now, here I am." Explained Fahama, grimacing.

"You saw that?" Asked Banzai quietly.

"Well…. Yes." Replied Fahama.

"You saw two lions hurting Shenzi?" Repeated Banzai.

"Yeah." Answered Fahama.

"Then answer me….. WHY DIDN'T YOU TRY TO RESCUE HER?!" Screamed Banzai furiously.

"Well, there were two of them… And only one of me…."

"YOU SAT THERE AND WATCHED? AND THEN, WHEN THEY NOTICE YOU, YOU RUN? ARE YOU FUCKING INSANE?!" Yelled Banzai, unable to contain himself. Ed backed up a few steps.

"There were two of them, and one was a male! I can't fight that!" Replied Fahama, a bit taken aback.

"YOU SHOULD HAVE FOUND A WAY! SHE IS YOUR MATRIARCH! YOUR DUTY IS TO PROTECT HER! MACHO WOULD HAVE FOUGHT! ED, AS STUPID AS HE IS, WOULD HAVE FOUGHT! I WOULD HAVE FOUGHT! And you…. You fucking coward.. YOU RAN!" Screamed Banzai, his eyes wide and jaw agape in anger and disbelief.

"I'm sorry! But… They would have killed me!" Retorted Fahama.

"THEN YOU WOULD HAVE DIED PROTECTING SHENZI!" Yelled Banzai, more angry than he had ever been before in his life. That Fahama had the audacity to not immediately lay her own life down for Shenzi's was beyond him. It was every clan member's duty to do so, failure to try to protect the Matriarch elicited the worst punishments.

"I'm sorry Banzai! I know I screwed it up, but I figured I had to get back to tell you about it! If I didn't, there would be no chance of a rescue!" Replied Fahama.

"Fahama…. What if they kill her? What if she dies? I can't lose her!" Screamed Banzai desperately.

"I don't think they plan on killing her." Said Fahama.

"Oh yeah? And what makes you say that? Their kindred spirits?" Demanded Banzai, his sarcasm scathing Fahama.

"Well… They looked like they were making a game of it, amusing themselves by seeing her in pain. I don't think they're going to end their game so quickly. We've probably got a few more days until she really gets in trouble." Said Fahama.

"And what are they going to do to her in those few days? Huh? She's as fucking helpless as a newborn fawn! They can do whatever they want to her!" Screamed Banzai angrily. Fahama looked extremely guilty.

"Well…. My point is we don't know how many lions there are in total. There could be an entire pride I didn't see! We need backup! We need the rest of the clan!" Said Pleaded Fahama.

"The clan is miles downriver. How….. Exactly….. ARE THEY GOING TO GET HERE IN TIME??" Yelled Banzai.

"I could run." Suggested Fahama. Banzai frowned, looking down at his paws. He shifted the sand back and forth a few times, musing over all the different possibilities. Fahama could very well be right. The three of them might not be enough, no matter how strong their resolve. If there were more lions, a party of three was screwed. The clan might very well be extremely important, if they were going to pull this off.

On the other hand, at this moment Shenzi could be under torture. Every second that went by here could be an eternity for her. Dammit, she could be dying as he thought here in the sand! He had to save her…. There was no way he could lose her.

Unfortunately, their best chance was what Fahama was suggesting.

"All right Fahama, you run. I don't care how tired you are right now, you are going to run all the way back to the clan. And when you get there, you have got fifteen minutes to rest, and to gather everyone up. Then, you get back here. If you don't stop, you'll make it back here by dawn. The sun just went down. You have the night to do it." Growled Banzai. Fahama nodded, a bit fearfully.

She turned around, and ran off into the darkness.

"You hear me? Back by dawn! Or there won't be a hyena who won't know of your cowardice!" Yelled Banzai after her. Beside him, Ed watched her go. He let out a little whimper.

"Don't worry buddy, we're going to save her." He said, with his teeth bared.

He couldn't lose Shenzi, not again.

Up above, the bright star blinked out.

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Nafasi's POV

Nafasi tried to get comfortable on the sand. If there was one thing she hated about being pregnant, it was how much the bulge changed how you could sit. The other thing was the actual birthing itself, but that wasn't going to happen yet.

Actually, it was any day now. This being her fourth pregnancy, she was pretty good about guessing how long it would be. And for this one, it was pretty soon. Very, very soon. And the best part was, the cub wasn't dead yet! She could still feel it moving around inside of her! The movements were weak, yes, but she felt it was for the better if she didn't think about that part.

Earlier, she had sent Scar to get a special herb, one that would ease pain. Hopefully, it would help Shenzi the next time she woke up. Maybe then, they would be able to hold a full conversation with her, if she wasn't so focused on how much everything hurt.

She had only only recently remembered the herb, and it was rather unfortunate they had not thought of it sooner. But they hadn't had need of it for three years, so it's existence slipped their minds.

It was also imperative that they got Shenzi up and running again, because Scar had said that a hyena had seen Shenzi while she was convulsing and bleeding. And the fact that the hyena had ran meant that clearly it thought they were hurting Shenzi, and had been afraid that they could do the same to it. And if the hyena was from Shenzi's clan, there was a good chance there would be some sort of reprisal.

A clan of hyena attacking them was one of the last things they wanted, especially with Nafasi's condition, and Scar's mortal fear of their jaws. He didn't often talk of it or show it, but a few times he had told Nafasi that that time at Pride Rock still gave him nightmares from time to time. If the hyenas attacked, Scar might just simply run.

Shenzi was sleeping again. The stars shone down in all their majestic and crystalic glory. They were rather pretty to look at, and her mother had shown her all the different constellations. There was one that looked like a lion, one shaped like a monkey, a few that looked like lakes in the sky, and a special one that looked like it was a bird, swooping up above them.

The lion constellation was also pretty. It was very proud looking, and if you used your imagination, you could see its teeth bared, fighting off some unknown predator in the skies. Maybe it was trying to bite the bird for its lunch. Nafasi wasn't an expert at the behavior of star lions.

"Hey Nafasi!" Called Scar, as he bounded out of the forest.

"Hello Scar. Did you get the herb?" Asked Nafasi.

"Yes, three leaves." Replied Scar, as he raised his paw to show three leaves speared on his claws.

"That's enough, it's all we need." Said Nafasi, nodding. Scar walked up to her.

"How is our little cub doing?" He asked proudly, grinning, as he set his other paw onto her belly.

"He's still doing fine. Well, actually it could be a she, but I'm going to bet it's a male. A male with a nice, full black mane just like yours. And just as handsome as you." Said Nafasi, smiling.

"Perhaps, but if it's a girl, it's going to be just as beautiful as it's mother." Replied Scar, as he looked over at Nafasi, a sly grin on his muzzle.

"You know it will be." Said Nafasi flirtatiously.

"Well, I'm going to give the herbs to Shenzi. Does she have to be awake for this?" Asked Scar.

"Yeah, or she won't be able to swallow the leaves. But don't ask me how cooperative she's going to be." Said Nafasi.

"Well, she's going to take them, they're good for her." Replied Scar, as he turned around and marched into the den. Nafasi turned back to looking at the stars, taking in the huge expanse above her.

How very pretty the stars all were.

"Nafasi….. Nafasi!" Called Scar suddenly, sounding distressed. Nafasi turned her head quickly, to see Scar gaping at Shenzi, who hadn't yet made a sound.

"What is it?" She asked quickly.

"There's something wrong with Shenzi!" He replied, his eyes wide. Nafasi did her best to hastily get up, and lumbered over to Scar. He was shaking Shenzi, trying to wake her up, but ineffectually. Then, Nafasi realized something that almost made her heart stop.

The usual wheezing sound of Shenzi's breath could not be heard.

Nafasi looked to Shenzi's chest, and she saw that the normal rise and fall of her chest was absent. She put her head right up next to Shenzi's ribcage, pressing her ear so that she could listen to the heart.

There was no heartbeat.

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How dare I? I mean, such a mean thing to do! Both to Shenzi and to her fans! But you needn't worry just yet, the story isn't over.

But even so…

My own audacity!

Well, leave a review if you care about Shenzi! Guest reviews work fine too.