*Chapter 20: Returning to the Pride Lands*

Morning arrived in the jungle, Timon and Pumbaa were both asleep, with the meerkat curled up on top of warthog as Pumbaa was lying on his back. The two would both snore as Pumbaa would mumble every now and then. Dreaming about grubs. As the two continued to sleep peacefully, Nala and Nia quietly approached the two as the lioness carefully nudged Timon with her paw.

"Hey... Hey, wake up." She whispered. Timon opened his eyes to see a close-up view of the lioness' head with the hyena standing next to her. Timon scream very loudly, waking Pumbaa up as the warthog joined in on the alarmed and frightened screams.

"Whoa! Whoa! It's okay! It's us!" Nala said, trying to calm down the duo.

"Calm down! You'll wake the whole jungle up!" Nia said.

"Don't ever do that again! Carnivores! Oy!" Timon said with a groan of dismay.

"Didn't mean to scare you guys." Nia said to him.

"Have you guys seen Simba?" Nala asked.

"I thought he was with you." Timon replied. "Maybe Ajani has seen him."

"I haven't." Ajani's voice said. Everyone turned to see him and Zuri approach them. "We can't find him anywhere."

"Haven't seen him since last night." Nala said.

"He's gotta be around here somewhere." Zuri spoke. Suddenly, the gang heard a mysterious laugh. They looked up and saw Rafiki sitting up in a tree above them.

"Rafiki?" Ajani asked in shock. "What're you doing here?"

"You won't find him here!" Rafiki responded. "Ha! Ha! The king...has returned." He announced.

"You mean...?" Ajani started to say, and he formed a smile.

"I can't believe it... He's gone back." Nala began to say in realization and amazement.

"Gone back? What do you mean?" Timon asked in shock. But Rafiki is gone. "Hey! What's going on here? Who's the monkey?!"

"Simba's going back to challenge Scar." Nala answered.

"Who?" Timon asked in confusion.

"Scar." Ajani replied.

"Who's got a scar?" Pumbaa asked, tilting his head.

"No! No! No! It's his uncle." Nala corrected the warthog.

"The monkey's his uncle?" Timon asked.

"No!" Both Nia and Ajani responded in frustration.

"Simba's gone back to challenge Scar, to take his place as king." Nala explained.

"Ohhh..." Both Timon and Pumbaa responded, finally understanding. Ajani and Zuri looked at each other and nodded. It is time to go back to the Pride Lands. Simba is heading there, but he can't fight Scar and the hyenas alone.

"What are we waiting for? Let's head back home!" Nia spoke. The group ran through the jungle to leave. Ajani is ready for this.

'We're coming, Simba!' He thought to himself. 'We're taking our home back!'

Running at a high speed, Simba journeyed through the hot desert to return to the Pride Lands and set things right once and for all. Once they arrived, Simba slowly crossed the desolated land. There are skeletons all over, no sight of life anywhere. No water, no grass, nothing. Walking up onto a cliff and reaching the edge of it, the lion looked on in horror to see the Pride Lands with a lifeless look and the landscape appearing all dark and gray. Knowing the destruction that Scar has done to his home, Simba's look of horror slowly turned into a look of rage. His thoughts were soon interrupted as Nala suddenly called out to him. But she is not alone. Ajani and Zuri are with her. Simba was surprised to see them.

"Simba! Wait up!" The lioness caught up with Simba and stood next to him as Ajani and Zuri looked at the land in silent. Ajani was shocked to see his home so lifeless.

"Scar...what have you done?" Ajani whispered. He turned back to Zuri who nodded at him. She knew the Pride Lands looked like this when she first arrived. She never saw what it looked like before. As soon as things are settled, the Pride Lands will be back to the way it was before. Zuri will see the beauty of its nature and life.

"It's awful, isn't it?" Nala asked Simba.

"I didn't want to believe you." Simba said. Ajani stood by the lion's side.

"Simba, what made you come back?" Nala asked. Ajani looked down at the lion, wanting to know as well.

"I finally got some sense knocked into me. And I've got the bump to prove it." Simba explained. "Besides, this is my Kingdom. If I don't fight for it, who will?"

"I will." Nala said as she came close to him.

"So will we." Ajani said as he held Zuri's hand. "We are going to unite the animals and humans as one."

"It's gonna be dangerous." Simba warned his friends.

"Danger? Ha! I laugh in the face of danger. Ha! Ha! Ha!" Nala jokingly said, quoting Simba when he was a cub. Ajani smirked in response. But they all hear two voices behind them.

"Heh. I remember him saying that." Nia spoke as she approached them.

"I see nothing funny about this." Timon said while Pumbaa is behind him.

"Timon? Pumbaa? What are you doing here?" Simba asked in surprise.

"At your service, my liege." Pumbaa answered as he bowed to the lion.

"Uh... We're gonna fight your uncle...for this?" Timon asked in a grimaced tone as he stared at the view of the Pride Rock.

"Yes, Timon. This is our home." Simba answered as he looked up at Ajani. The man smiled at him.

"We're gonna fight for it and bring it back to life." Ajani added.

"Talk about your fixer upper. Well, boys! If it's important to you, we're with you to the end." Timon said as he made a bow to Simba and Ajani. Smiling appreciatively at the meerkat, Simba and Ajani look out towards the Pride Lands alongside their friends and the human tribe with courage and determination.

XX

As the whole group made it into Pride Rock, Simba, Nala, Ajani, Zuri, Nia, Timon and Pumbaa came towards the edge. From behind a log, they all observed the hordes of hyenas that were nearby.

"Hyenas... I hate hyenas." Timon said. Nia turned to him with a glare, offended by his comment. Timon took notice of this. "Uh...no offense!"

"Yeah." Nia whispered. "Watch it next time."

"There's so many of them." Zuri spoke.

"So, what's your plan for getting past those guys?" Timon asked Simba.

"Live bait." Simba responded.

"Good idea... Hey!" Timon said, suddenly realizing what the lion meant.

"Come on, Timon! You guys have to create a diversion." Simba said.

"What do you want me to do? Dress in drag and do the hula?!" Timon asked incredulously. Ajani then formed a smirk as he turned to the meerkat. "What're you looking at me for?" Timon asked.
Suddenly, the hyenas looked up and over their shoulders to see Timon dressed in a hula outfit. Dancing to a Hawaiian War Chant, the meerkat stood on top of Pumbaa as the warthog was set up like a roasted pig with an apple in his mouth while Timon sang.

"Luau!
If you're hungry for a hunk of fat and juicy meat,
Eat my buddy Pumbaa here,
Because he is a treat.
Come on down and dine,
On this tasty swine,
All you have to do is get in line!"

Timon continued to sing and dance along with Pumbaa as Simba, Nala, and Nia along with the humans snuck past the hyenas, while the hyenas began to close in on the two.

"Are ya achin'...

"Yup, yup, yup."

"For some bacon?"

"Yup, yup, yup."

"He's a big pig!"

"Yup, yup."

"You can be a big pig too! Oy!"

Finally finishing up their song, the two screamed and ran away in fear while the hyenas began to chase after them.
The rest of the group managed to sneak past them and further towards Pride Rock. Stopping by the edge, Simba instructed to Nala.

"Nala, you find my mother and rally the lionesses." He said. Nala nodded at him. "Ajani and I will look for Scar."

"Zuri, you and Nia stay together. Not sure how the lionesses will feel if they see you." Ajani said to the teen. Before Zuri could respond, a hiss is heard behind them. They group turned to see Iris slithering up to them. "Iris!" Ajani almost cried out, but Iris's tail went over to her lips.

"Hush. The horde will hear you." Iris whispered. "Sssso happy to see you all alive. Right now, the reunion mussst wait. I am here to help you." Ajani nodded. "I will sssstay with Zuri and Nia to protect them. You and Simba go confront Ssscar." Iris says as she slithered towards Zuri and Nia.

"Be careful." Simba told his friends.

"You too." Nia spoke. Nala went off to go find Sarabi and the lionesses while Simba and Ajani set off to go confront Scar. As the two made their way up Pride Rock, they heard Scar shout.

"SARABI!" And the two stopped and gasped in alarm as the lioness' name echoed all throughout the Pride Lands. The lion and the man watched as Sarabi ascended Pride Rock, with some hyenas snapping at her. Simba is bearing a look of sorrow and Ajani is bearing a look of fear as they watched their mother figure go to confront Scar.

"Yes, Scar?" Sarabi asked with a glare.

"Where is your hunting party? They're not doing their job." Scar asked, pacing back and forth.

"Scar, there is no food. The herds have moved on." Sarabi replied calmly.

"No! You're just not looking hard enough." Scar replied in denial.

"It's over. There is nothing left. We have only one choice. We must leave Pride Rock." Sarabi explained.

"We're not going anywhere."

"Then you have sentenced us to death!"

"Then so be it!" Scar snapped.

"You can't do that!" Sarabi said in disgust and shock.

"I'm the king! I can do whatever I want!" Scar replied stubbornly as he turned away from her.

"If you were half the king Mufasa was, you would nev-" Sarabi began to say angrily as she referred to her deceased mate, but Scar angrily snapped as he hit Sarabi across the face, knocking her down to the ground. Ajani gasped in shock.

"I'm ten times the king Mufasa was!" Enraged to see his mother being hit, Simba growled loudly as he appeared on the ledge with Ajani who glared at the dark lion. Scar looked up in horror. Simba and Ajani came down from the ledge.

"Mufasa? The human? No. You're dead." Scar said, thinking Simba is Mufasa. Ignoring the dark lion, Simba and Ajani came towards Sarabi. Ajani placed his hand on the lioness's side as Simba nudged her head. Sarabi looked up at Simba.

"Mufasa?"

"No... It's me." Simba said, shaking his head.

"And me. Ajani." The man said. Sarabi got a good look at them.

"Simba? Ajani? You're alive?" She asked, smiling a little. "But how can that be?"

"It doesn't matter. We're home." Simba replied while nuzzling against his mother's cheek. Ajani then looked up at Scar with a glare. The dark lion was surprised by this. The sons of the Pride Lands are alive and have returned.