Pride Rock

Kovu thought that he was an early riser, but when he opened his eyes, he could tell that Simba and Kopa had been talking for quite a while.

"Ok," he heard Simba say. "Your other father did save your life, so he is more than welcome in the Pridelands."

Were they about to meet the albino crocodile that had saved Kopa's life as a baby? Kovu nuzzled Kiara. She muttered something incoherently as Kovu said, "Kiara, I think we are going to have another visitor today."

"What?" His mate said groggily as she woke. She quickly saw the source of Kovu's comment.

"But he will have to respect our hunting laws and submit to Makuu's authority as leader of the crocodiles here if he wants to live here permanently," Simba said to Kopa.

"Kopa's other dad is coming here?" Kiara said.

"Sounds that way," Kovu responded.

"Don't worry, Dad," Kopa said to Simba as they headed back into the cave. "He understands the Circle of Life and his place in it. I promise he'll be no trouble."

When they reentered the den, Kiara was the first to respond.

"So, we finally get to meet the crocodile who raised you," she said walking toward her brother.

Kopa chuckled and shook his head. "Sister, it's not nice to eavesdrop."

She laughed back. "It's not like we caught you in some secret. The whole family wants to meet him!"

"We?" Kopa emphasized, noting for the first time that Kovu was up as well. "I should have known that he'd object."

Kovu wanted to say something, but Simba beat him to it.

"Son, stop trying to paint your brother-in-law as some power-hungry usurper. He's been in the habbit of waking up early to join me in my morning rounds."

"Yeah," Kovu said nervously, afraid of offending Kopa in some way. For some reason Kopa could not explain, he and his brother-in-law had gotten off on the wrong paw weeks ago. He was still looking for a way to make peace with him. "I just woke up and heard you guys talking. When you mentioned your other dad was coming, I just had to tell Kiara. We all want to meet him!"

"Well," Kopa said angrily, "If you had just waited you would have heard me explain that he doesn't want many animals to know he's here."

Kovu knew not to push things any further, but Kiara said, "Is he in trouble with King Nguvu because of you?"

"In part, but it's deeper than that. He challenged Nguvu for the kingship at the last council meeting."

Kovu and Kiara gasped. Simba, who knew a little bit more about the Swamplands internal politics, simply said, "You never mentioned that your father was crocodilian royalty." The three other lions gathered around Kopa. It felt a little menacing to him, but as far as they knew they were just giving him their undivided attention.

"Yes. He's King Nguvu's uncle. He didn't like the direction Nguvu was taking the swamplands in. He's here for political asylum."

Simba lowered his head and closed his eyes weighing his options. Kiara and Kovu just looked to him, waiting for him to say something.

"I promise you he's no threat to the Pridelands. He just wants to spend his exile here. He can't go back to the Swamplands."

"I understand his wanting to keep the matter as secret as possible. If Nguvu learns we are harboring his enemy it could start a conflict between the Pridelands and Swamplands," Simba said in measured tones.

"But you can't just let Nguvu kill him!" Kopa pleaded.

"And I'm not going to!" Simba said smiling at Kopa. The younger lion looked up at his biological father, his eyes brimming with hope. "He saved you from Zira, so I'm already in his debt." Each word from Simba seemed to bring one more burst of happiness to Kopa's face.

"We'll help him, but we need to limit knowledge of his presence here to as few animals as possible. At first, only myself, Nala, Kopa, Kiara, Kovu, Zazu, Rafiki, Mwanafunzi, and the Lion Guard should know about him being here. We should also tell Kion and Rani. Absolutely no one else can know. Especially not Timon, Pumbaa, Bunga, Tiifu, or Zuri. I don't know when or if we should let Makuu know."

Kiara and Kovu nodded. Everything Simba said made sense so far.

"But I will need to know what to call him," Simba said.

Kopa arched the fur above his eyes.

"Pepo Mzungu means 'white demon.' I don't want to insult him."

Kopa looked down.

"He's actually embarrassed by his real name. Why not just let him call you, "Your Majesty," because you're the king in your lands, and you can call him "Your Highness," because he used to be a prince in his," Kopa suggested

"That's acceptable." Simba said. "Where do we meet with him?"

Kopa smiled and almost tackled Simba with a joyful pounce, burying his face in his father's mane. It startled Kiara and Kovu, but there worries quickly dissipated when Kopa kept repeating like an exited cub, "Thank you, Dad! Thank you so much!"

Kovu just smiled at Kiara. Her brother was still a cub in some ways. Maybe they could get along better if he kept that in mind.

"Son, Son," Simba gasped, "I can't breathe!"

Kopa stepped back and allowed Simba to regain his footing.

"I'm sorry. I was just so excited."

Simba smiled and playfully batted a paw across Kopa's head, messing up his mane. "It's okay, Son."

"I found him by the same river next to where I first entered the Pridelands. He's been hiding there for several days without eating."

"Is he alright?" Kiara asked.

"Of course," Kopa said. "Crocodiles can go a long time without eating."

"I like him already," Simba said. He looked in turn at his eldest son, only daughter, and son-in-law.

"After the rest of the Pride wakes up, the four of us shall go to our border with the Swamplands."

Kopa froze.

"Kopa, is something wrong?"

"Why couldn't it just be you and me?"

Kovu really felt for Kopa now. He wanted a private moment to introduce the lion who had sired him and the crocodile who had raised him.

"Why can't it just be the two of them?" Kovu whisphered to Kiara, "I can understand your brother wanting his two dads meeting to be private."

Kiara started to answer when Simba took the words, "Because Nala and I are training Kiara and Kovu to take over our duties. We'll be stepping down soon. Treating with other royals is the king's responsibility, so Kovu will need to see how this is done. Furthermore, as King-Consort, any decision he makes involving the Pridelands' security will have to be approved by Kiara, the actual Queen."

Kopa nodded but gritted his teeth, and stared and Kovu with a look which the darker lion could only read as a hurt, "So you've stolen this too…"

How could he show his brother-in-law that he wasn't his enemy?

The Nyembamba River

As the four lions approached the river, Kovu whispered to Kiara, "I just don't what it will take for your brother to trust me."

"I'm not sure there is an easy solution," Kiara said.

Kopa and Simba were in the lead, nearer to the river's edge.

"We're ready, Son," Simba said.

Kopa nodded and walked within less than a paw-span to the water. He growled low in his throat in the closest imitation of a crocodilian bellow a lion could produce.

Something large with rough white scales slowly emerged from the water's surface. Within moments it swam to the river's edge and placed one foot on land next to Kopa's paw. The albino crocodile was massive, dwarfing any of the ones Simba had seen in Pua, Makuu, or Kiburi's floats.

"Kopa, my son," the crocodile said in a hearty manner, despite signs the dry sound of advanced age in his voice.

"Dad, allow me to introduce you to King Simba of the Pridelands."

The massive albino crocodile looked to Simba and smiled.

"King Simba, your reputation precedes you. This is both an honor and a pleasure."

Simba bowed his head. "You saved my son's life. The honor is mine, Your Highness."

"Oh, please, Your Majesty. We share a son. We shouldn't be on formal terms. Call me Dhaifu."

Simba cringed at the name.

"You opposed Zira and King Nguvu and taught my son how to survive. You can't be weak."

"Nevertheless, that is the name my father gave me because of my scale color."

Simba grimaced. That story was a bit too close to home. It had been Scar's story.

Dhaifu saw Simba's grimace. "The Swamplands and Pridelands both had the misfortune of being ruled by tyrants who demanded perfection from their youngest sons. I met your uncle, Prince Taka, when I lead the River Patrol and he the Lion Guard. Nothing can excuse what he put you through, but I think I know why he ended up as he did. We were friends once."

Simba just stared at Dhaifu. For someone he had never met, this crocodile knew a lot about his family. Why had he not brought Kopa back earlier? Was he plotting something did he have more in common with Scar than a cruel name given by an abusive parent.

"Why didn't you bring my son back after you saved him from Zira?"

"I owe you my most profound apologies, Your Majesty," Dhaifu's voice was soft now and seemed to be sincere, but when he started to explain his actions, the tone quickly became defensive. "The Pridelands were in turmoil following Taka's death. He had been my friend and I could not believe he was responsible for murdering your father or attempting to murder you. But when I saw Zira attempting to kill your son, I did not know which side to trust. All I knew was that I cared about your family from the time that Taka really had been my friend and I wasn't going to let his mate kill his grandnephew."

"That explains why you helped," Simba said nodding, but the ice never left his eyes. "It doesn't explain why you didn't send him back."

"As far as I knew both sides were obsessed with vengeance. According to Zira, you exiled half the pride. I was raised by a tyrant and barely got through with my morals intact. Taka was raised by a tyrant and became one himself. I didn't want the cycle to continue with Kopa."

"It…wasn't…your…place!" Simba said, growling each syllable.

As Simba growled at Dhaifu, Kopa seemed to be on the verge of tears. Kovu wanted, no—needed to say something. But what? As he pondered, his mate showed her usual wisdom.

"Daddy, you did exile half the pride, including cubs."

There was no venom in Kiara's voice. Simba looked at her and bowed his head in shame.

"She's right. I could be a tyrant as well." He looked at Kovu, "I exiled innocent cubs to the Outlands." Kovu could read the look in Simba's eyes well enough that no words needed to pass between them. For the first time, Simba was apologizing for the exile. He had apologized for misjudging Kovu before, but never for his own action when Kovu and his siblings were cubs. He was doing that now.

"And that was all I knew of you," Dhaifu said calmly. "I never had a mate because of my condition, but I wanted to break my family's cycle of violence. I knew the same cycle existed in Taka's family. When I found the infant Kopa, I thought it was fate, that we could break both cycles." Dhaifu closed his eyes, letting a tear stream out, "But I did take him from you, and for that I apologize."

"No," Simba said. "Zira and I were both villains in that matter. You did what you thought was right. I cannot fault you. In fact," Simba shifted his gaze from Dhaifu to Kovu. "Kovu, I'm sorry for what I put you and your brother and sister through."

"I've already forgiven you, Simba," Kovu said.

"Scar inflicted a deep wound on our pride, but instead of healing it I made it worse. It was Kiara who healed it."

"Kovu helped me," Kiara said.

Kovu chuckled. "Darling, if you don't remember, I was ready for the two of us to run off and start our own pride until you talked some sense into me. You deserve the credit."

Kiara shook her head, but Simba said, "No dear, he's right."

Then something clicked. For the first time Kiara felt all her insecurities fall away. She smiled…and Kopa saw it.

"Oh, come on!" he said in exasperation. "Can't you see that he's just stroking your ego so that he can manipulate you once your queen?"

Kiara growled. "Listen, brother! No one manipulates me. Not my parents, not my mate, and not you!"

At that Kopa ran off into the distance.

"I'll get him," Kovu said.

"No," Kiara said. "I'll do it. He's my brother."

And with that she was off.

"You must forgive Kopa, Prince Kovu," Dhaifu said. "He hates you because you are Zira's son."

Kovu stared at the crocodile in confusion.

"I could definitely get that if he had known her, but they only met when he was a baby."

"But I knew her much longer than that and blamed her for much of my friend Taka's troubles, though I suppose they were equally to blame for corrupting each other."

"What do you mean?" said Simba, thinking he might finally have the answer to why his uncle chose a path of evil.

"Forbidden love of course. Zira was a first-generation member of King Ahadi's pride. The tyrant didn't want new non-royal blood mixing with either of his sons, even the one he thought so little of. He married Zira off to another lion to keep her beyond Taka's reach. That's why he wanted to be king. To have the authority to dissolve her marriage and take her for himself."

Simba let out a slow breath. Scar's heart had been poisoned long before the cobra venom ever effected his mind. His path to darkness had begun with a broken heart.

"In truth, I suppose I didn't want to blame myself for Zira's own descent into madness," Dhaifu said. "My patrol accidentally killed her first mate, opening the way for Taka to finally take her when she was pregnant with you and your sister, Kovu."

"She finally had her cubhood sweetheart at her hour of greatest need."

"I suppose that explains her fanatical devotion to him," Simba said.

"You see, your uncle committed all his evil acts to be with the lioness he loved."

Kovu looked at his own reflection in the river. Was Scar really so different than himself? Could he be capable of evil if something happened to Kiara or the cubs?

Simba looked to Kovu.

"What's troubling you, Son?" Simba had often taken to calling his son-in-law "Son" when needed encouragement.

"If something ever happened to Kiara, Mohatu, or Uru…"

"You aren't Scar," Simba said in reassuring tones.

"Taka did many evil things for the sake of the lioness he could not have." Dhaifu was silent for a moment.

"I must admit, I have also done evil, but for a different reason."

Simba stepped closer to the river's edge.

"That's in your past Dhaifu."

"Can I whisper this to you?" He asked Simba. "I need to tell someone, and it can't be Kopa."

Simba nodded and moved his head next to the crocodile's mouth.

"I must tell you," his snout was at Simba's ear, "I always knew Taka killed your father, and I helped him kill Kovu's."

Simba's eyes flared open but be before he could say anything Dhaifu bit down on his carotid artery.

Kovu heard the jaws snap and rushed to Simba's side, clawing at Dhaifu.

The crocodile lowered himself into the river, escaping with scratches. Kovu had bigger concerns now.

He looked to Simba's motionless body.

"Simba?" he said softly, shaking his father-in-law's shoulder with his paw. "Simba?" he repeated. The eyes were open but there was no life in them.

He was too shocked and grief-stricken to notice Dhaifu resurfacing.

"Kopa!" Dhaifu shouted, "He's killed your father!"

Kiara and Kopa rushed back to where Simba's body lay, both slowing the closer they got until Kiara could not move at all. Unfathomable heartache and despair were etched into Kiara's wide eyes and mouth.

"Daddy!" She forced herself to run to Simba's body despite her desire to simply shut down in the wake of what had happened.

She lay next to Simba, nuzzling his lifeless body.

Kovu said nothing, but gently nuzzled the back of Kiara's neck.

Kiara was broken out of her mourning and Kovu his consoling when Kopa shouted, "What have you done!?"

He was speaking to Kovu.

Kiara roared at Kopa before Kovu could say anything.

"My mate did not kill my father! It was your crocodile parent!"

"Don't believe her, son," Dhaifu said. "She wasn't even here. I told Simba you would make a good king if you learned to control your temper. It's what I've been training you for all your life. Simba wanted to hear more, but then Kovu…"

Kovu roared at the crocodile who fell silent and slinked further back toward the river's other bank.

Kopa roared back at Kovu.

"You killed my father, but you will not take his place as king!"

The two males stared at each other until Kiara said softly, "Kovu. Now's not the time to deal with Kopa. We have to tell the pride."

Kiara got up slowly, turned her back to her brother and began the long march back to Pride Rock. Kovu followed, just one pace behind, eying Kopa and Dhaifu to make sure no one would harm Kiara from behind.

When his green eyes locked with Kopa's blue ones, no words were needed. This isn't over.

Dhaifu smiled for a second. Soon he would no longer be remembered as a white-scaled freak of nature. He would be the Swampland's prince who took down their greatest enemy from within.

"You need to get back to Pride Rock. Kiara and Kovu will be rallying their forces," he said to Kopa.

"And I have no forces," Kopa said.

"Not of your own, but you have your brother and his Lion Guard."