Chapter 12: Look to the Stars

Pain. That was the only thing Kovu could feel. He had fallen quite a distance, colliding with trees and branches before finally slamming into the ground hard. Once he awoke at last, it was dark. He had definitely broken something. The agonising stinging sensation coming from his side assured him of that. Struggling to climb to his feet, he exhaled heavily, sending a cloud of dust into the air. Leaves and twigs surrounded him, likely a result of his fall. Peeling apart his eyelids and surveying the scene, he spotted Yaku and Makku also. Apparently, they had not been so lucky. He nudged each of them gently but they did not wake. They were not breathing. Luck was indeed on Kovu's side this day. Had he fallen an inch or two in the other direction, he would not have survived the fall. Either that or he was tougher than he knew. Forcing himself to explore the surrounding area yielded nothing of interest. The area was densely wooded with little no life. Venturing further out towards the grassy plains told him that very small, malnourished herds of antelope lived nearby. They would serve as a source of food if he could not find his way back to the Pridelands. Doing so proved troublesome, in fact. There was no obvious way to make it back to the top of the cliff he had fallen from. Were he back up there, he could retrace his steps and return home. As it was, he was trapped. The only way to go would take him further and further from his destination. So he stayed here, for what he assumed had been two days. He hunted, he sniffed out water sources and he explored. Even attempting to follow the cliff side lead him to a dead end. Eventually, he forgot where he had fallen from and opted instead to continue his explorations. Each day stretched on and on, the immense heat of the sun bearing down upon his back. He had little to no energy to hunt at the end of the second day. His chances of ever find his way home looked bleak at this point. As the sun edged closer and closer to the distant mountains, Kovu dropped to the ground upon a small hill. He had been travelling for hours, making his way through a sort of oasis. This was where he would rest for the night. In actual fact, this was where he would likely rest for a good long while. It looked unlikely that he would ever make it home. This land was certainly liveable, filled with an abundance of life, though with more insects than he would have preferred. Truly, it seemed almost hopeless to dwell on thoughts of the Pridelands. He missed Kiara greatly. It had been far too long since he had told her how much he loved her. He missed Simba, too. His mate's father had been very accommodating of him this last year. It made Kovu genuinely upset that he would not be around to help his family against Hasira. Now that he thought about it, there was no guarantee Hasira had not attacked already. It brought a tear to his eye to think about such despair, such desolate hopelessness. How had the life of the Pridelanders come to this? To make matters worse, it seemed a storm was brewing overhead. Thick, bluish-black clouds appeared and became far less distorted than they had been moments ago. In fact, they were moving quite fast. They were taking form, actually. How curious that the shape they took on resembled a lion. It was then Kovu realised that this was no storm. No, that was a king up among the stars. That was one of the great kings of the past.

"Kovu," the voice said. The lion had a deep, commanding voice like no other. Kovu rose to his feet shakily, still refusing to believe his eyes.

"Who is that?" he asked confusedly. "Are you-?" He stopped himself then.

"I am Mufasa, Kovu. I am Simba's father. I've had my eye on you for quite some time." Simba's father! That was incredible yet unbelievable at the same time. What a thought to process. It must be something very great or disturbingly terrible to call one of the Pridelands' greatest kings to him.

"Mufasa?! How can this be?" Kovu asked, stumbling over his words. He was still in shock at the sight before him.

"You are in pain, Kovu. You have lost hope, lost your purpose. You have fallen, Kovu. But that does not mean you cannot pick yourself up again." Kovu scoffed rather disrespectfully then, unintentionally of course.

"I…I don't know what to do anymore," he admitted. "The Pridelands…they're in trouble. I can't do anything. Simba, Kiara, Nala…all of them are in danger. And I'm powerless to do anything." The clouds shook greatly as though preparing for a lightning strike.

"Of course you can, Kovu. Your family needs you, your pride. Your home needs you."

"I am...lost, Mufasa. There's no way back." Mufasa's aspect simply smiled then.

"Follow your heart, it will lead you back home, back to the family you love. Do not wallow in your despair, Kovu, or it will destroy you. Do not lose hope in your pride." A great wind blew in and swept Mufasa's aspect out of the sky as quickly as it had appeared. Words of wisdom from the wisest king of all, how could Kovu ignore him? So he did what he had been told to do; follow his heart. For a long while he remained lost, trapped in this oasis of insects and unpredictable storms. Still, he persevered, eventually catching a familiar scent, the scent of home. He followed it, moving as quickly as his legs would take him. By the time he spotted Pride Rock, it was daylight. He had never been happier to see his home. As he came closer and closer, his energy began to fail him. It seemed the past few days had finally caught up with him. As he neared Pride Rock, he began moving slower and slower.

"I wish Kovu were here," he heard Kiara say. That made him smile. He could not wait to see the look on her face when she saw him return.

"I know you do," came Simba's voice too. "I miss him also." Kovu could not help but laugh.

"Then it's a good thing…I'm not going anywhere," he wheezed as loudly as he could. The look on Kiara's face in particular warmed his heart. She didn't skip a beat as she leapt from Pride Rock, with a landing that would have broken the ankles of another lion, and rushed to meet her mate.

"Kovu!" she screamed, tears rushing from her eyes. "I thought I'd lost you…" She embraced him intimately as though she would never let him go, placing one paw around his neck. The others were not far behind. Simba and Nala were next to embrace him. Once they were done welcoming him back, Simba stared at him in disbelief.

"I can't believe it's you," he breathed. "I watched you fall, I watched you…the others? Hasira's allies?"

"Dead," Kovu said bluntly. "They didn't survive the fall." They all looked around at each other, astonished. The fact that Kovu was here was shock enough. To learn that he had survived the fall that killed two other, very capable lions was incredible.

"It's a miracle that brought you back," Nala said.

"Actually, it was your father," he replied, gesturing to Simba. "Mufasa."

"My father?" The expression on the King's face was confused yet hopeful. "What do you mean?"

"The great kings of the past?" he continued, glancing at Kiara. "I guess…let's just say I needed the help. And the greatest of the great kings gave it to me." Simba smiled, truly glad that his father had helped Kovu come home. He looked to the sky.

"He did, huh?" Rafiki would be glad indeed to hear that. The baboon had been staying in his tree for the last while. When they went to meet Hasira, they would call for him. Timon and Pumbaa, too, had been with him. To think of it almost frightened Simba. The war was upon them, all that remained was to gather their forces and march. Shuja stepped forward then, greeting Kovu with a wink.

"It's good to have you back, pal." The injured lion smiled at that. Indeed, it was good to be back. However, a rest was certainly in order. Still, he did not know if they had the time to wait. Hasira could be upon them at any moment.

"So, tell me, what of Hasira?" he asked. "When do we move?"

"You're not going anywhere!" Kiara protested, half joking.

"She's right," Simba agreed. "You need to rest. I have Zazu patrolling the skies. For today we can relax. Hasira can wait." They all retired to Pride Rock's cave for the rest of the day. Kiara did not leave Kovu's side the whole time. As night fell over the land, Simba called Shuja outside, leading him up a winding pathway to the very summit of Pride Rock. You could see everything from here, especially in the moonlight.

"My father took me up here when I young," the King began. "He showed me the whole land, told me I would rule it all one day. I was so disobedient back then, so foolish. But he never lost faith in me, never doubted I'd do the right thing when the Pridelands were in danger. I miss him sometimes."

"What do you think he'd say?" Shuja asked. "If he were here today?"

"I'd like to think he'd be proud of what I've done." Shuja had no doubt he would be. Simba was a great king, something Hasira would never be no matter how hard he tried. "How do you feel, Shuja? You've been quiet the last while." In truth, it was the impending battle that had him so quiet. They would need to face Hasira soon. The prospect was not something that pleased Shuja. He was not eager to face his old friend.

"Honestly? I'm worried more than anything. We'll likely meet Hasira sooner than later. When we do…I don't know, I suppose I just know that it will be the end. And I don't like how it's likely going to end."

"I know," Simba sympathised. "I've actually been in your situation. Nala told you about Scar, didn't she?" Shuja nodded. "That was a dark day when I took my home back. I told him to run. To run away and never return, something he had said to me in the past. But he was…too evil, too full of hatred. He forced me into a fight. If I could have let him live, I would have. His reign needed to end but he was still my family." That hit the nail on the head. "It won't be easy with Hasira, but you'll do what you need to. And I trust you, whatever decision you make." That was oddly reassuring. Shuja's journey was bitterly at an end. Hasira had come all this way to find him, to track him down. The next time they met would probably be the last. It wasn't a nice thought. Still, there was likely no other way. This was it. It was time to bring peace to the Pridelands once and for all.