(Lee's POV)

Mufasa glared down at me with eyes that could slice through steel. I felt like I was a zebra about to be pounced on. Slowly sitting up in my bed, I racked my brain to think up an excuse only to be abruptly silenced by the lion's booming voice.

"You did it again. How many times is that now?"

I chuckled nervously, "It was only for an hour."

"And your mother found you on the floor of your room, bleeding from your nose and mouth."

My eyes widened with shock. I could only imagine what it was like for my mom to walk in on me like that. Looking like I was on some drug. Things had gotten so much better since we were together again. Now I find out I traumatized my mom for trying to help Nala.

I sighed, "Nala needed to see me. She was at the end of her rope."

Mufasa's features softened slightly as he made his way over to me. Every step he took almost echoed even though the floor was made of marble. When he got right next to me, he placed his front paw on my leg. Even with the intense lifting I was doing, Mufasa's paw easily covered my thigh.

"Bless your kind heart grandson, but do you know why people on earth rarely see deceased loved ones in dreams? It's because it takes that much out of them that they can't be doing it over and over again like you do. Not only were you bleeding heavily, but you were also unconscious for two days."

I almost choked on air, "Two-two days? Are you serious?"

He nodded.

"Oh, God." Called a voice from the door.

My mom grabbed me and pulled me into a hug. Her shacky breathing came out between sobs as she stroked my long hair. Between the sobs, she was giving me one hell of a scolding. She seldom does that because my dad yelled a little too much for everyone.

"You are going to take it easy on going into people's dreams. No more for at least a month. The next time you do that, you let me know. Do you understand me?"

"Yes, Mom," I assured her.

She pulled away from me and put her hand on my cheek. Bags on bags were under her eyes; her charcoal-colored hair was tied up in a bun. She could have come from a double shift at the ER for all I knew.

"I'm sorry, Mom."

She kissed my forehead, "I know you want to help them but, you need to pace yourself. If you're not careful, you're going to burn out."

I nodded, "I'll take it easy for a while."

"Good, now stay there while I get you breakfast. You're not leaving this bed until I know you're okay."

I found, "Mom, I have a lot of training to catch up on."

"Young man, you just woke up from a two-day coma."

"Well then, I certainly got plenty of sleep."

Her eyes widened in shock, "LEE!"

"Okay, okay fine, I'll stay in bed."

With an exhausted sigh, Mom got up from my bed to make my breakfast. Minutes later, the scent of bacon and eggs filled the air. Mufasa stood next to me again.

"I was at the arena last time you were there. From what I saw, you're not that far behind Sean. And the first time you crossed swords with him, you were outmatched."

I rolled my eyes, "Thanks for the confidence boost gramps, your faith in me is heartwarming."

He chuckled, "Well, you would be at Sean's level by now if Linda and you didn't take so many 'breaks' in the armory."

I blushed, "Point taken."

Mufasa chuckled again before making his way to the door. His body was almost too wide to fit through it. The auburn-colored main that covered his head shined in the sunlight that peaked through the door. Just before he stepped through, he turned back to speak to me one more time.

"For what it's worth, you got lucky with her. And she got even luckier with you. "

Small footsteps could be heard in the kitchen before Jenny burst into my room with Kopa in her arms. They jumped on my bed and landed on my stomach. Not having the time to brace myself, the full force caused me to exhale against my will. They both thought the sound I made gasping for air was hilarious. I grabbed Jenny by the waist and tickled her and Kopa mercilessly. Mom came in when their laughter could almost shake the whole building.

"Alright you two, give your brother some space to eat. I want everything from this plate gone by the time I get back." She warned me.

That wasn't so difficult considering I hadn't eaten in two days and

Jenny loved bacon and eggs as much as me. Afterward, the three of us lay in my bed, watching a movie on my flat screen. Jenny and I both loved movies but Kopa was awestruck. Understandable, considering they didn't have tv back in the Pride Lands.

"Is Mom mad at you?" Jenny asked.

"Yeah, I can't blame her though. From what I understand, I looked like a horror movie victim when she found me."

Kopa put his paw on my chest, "Did you see my mom the last time you used what Grandpa Mufasa taught you?"

"Yeah, she was so happy to hear how well you're doing."

I caught a glimpse of Jenny's face at the mention of Nala. Her face looked neutral, but there was a look in her eyes. It was a look that I haven't seen from her before. That's why it was hard to identify it. What was it? Anger, resentment, jealousy? Before I could ask her, what was wrong, Kopa spoke up again.

"Do you think they'll all be okay without you to protect them?"

I patted his head, "Don't worry little bro. Even though there are still poachers out there, Jason and Sam got it covered."

"Do you honestly trust those two?"

"Sam has a wife and an unborn baby. They have no reason to turn against the people who are sheltering them."

"And Jason?" Kopa asked.

"Yeah, he's... solid. He gave me his word. Call it a hunch."

We continued lying in bed, getting through the entire "Star Wars" saga before three in the afternoon. Kopa was curled up like a regular house cat, his back slowly rising and falling with each breath. Jenny had my arm pinned down and facing away from me. Quietly, I wedged my arm out from under her and scooted off my bed. With the same level of stealth, I tip-toed to the door and peeked my head out. Mom was currently snoring on the leather couch. Even though she and Jenny had their own home at the end of the road; she must be staying to make sure I don't go to the arena.

I was out the window in a fresh set of clothes two minutes later. Call me crazy, but I had to get in some much-needed overtime to make up for all the training I missed. If I ever hoped to be at the level, I could impress Randel to get into the knights, being second best wasn't an option. Especially if Sean still outranks me.

Luckily it didn't take long for me to get to the arena. Barely a patch of ground wasn't covered by groups of people sparring. Randel, Sean, and Logan were in sparring with three opponents each. They effortlessly tossed all their attackers around. Every block and perry was swiftly followed by a calculated strike. As much as I hate the guy, I had to admit Sean was leagues above me in sword-fighting prowess. Honestly, if I didn't know who it was already; I'd probably guess it was Sean who was the leader of the "Angel Knights" for how similarly he and Randel fought.

By the time they were done, everyone except the three of them were sprawled out on the ground gasping for air. Sean was the first to notice me; a smirk instantly appeared on his face as his eyes burned with immeasurable hatred. No doubt still reeling from that one time I beat him in a fair fight. It didn't matter how many others he could toss around or that he could beat me any day if I had his weapon of choice. He's going to be carrying that loss until he becomes a knight and makes sure I don't become one.

All three of them made their way over to me. Their shirts were drenched in sweat with hair that was completely mangled. Randel had grown a full beard that was the same color as his hair. Logan smiled at me. His little brother may be a tool, but Logan and I were pretty tight. Whenever Randel wasn't around, he would be the one to instruct me. It was like having a fairly chill drill instructor. Despite his tough exterior, Logan wasn't overly harsh. But that doesn't mean he'd let me slack off.

"Glad to see you're feeling better, Lee," Randel said when he finally reached me.

"Speak for yourself," Sean stated bitterly.

"Shut up," Logan demanded as he cuffed him upside the noggin.

I chuckled, "What's the matter Sean, getting nervous that I'm able to train again. That I might knock you off your pedestal before long?"

He scoffed as he stomped away from me. Making sure to aggressively bump into me with one last grunt. As he made his way out of the arena, anyone who was in his path scattered to get out of the way. Logan placed his hand on my shoulder with a chuckle.

"Trust me, he did miss you. Lately, you're the only one that isn't afraid to get down with him."

"And how many times has he won every time we practice against each other?" I asked rhetorically.

"Lee, you are getting better. Just keep at it and you'll have a good chance of becoming a knight at the trial next month." Randel assured me.

I nodded before going to retrieve my training sword. Several of the other guys greeted me and asked how I was doing. Being one of the few guys here who can give Sean a run for his money won me a lot of street cred here. That and the fact that Sarabi and Jenny talk about me none stop when they come here.

"Remember, Keep your eyes on his chest. That way, you can anticipate where his next strike is going to be." Randel told me.

Logan stood over me with a sympathetic frown. Taking a shaky breath, I got back on my feet after being knocked to the ground for the millionth time in the past two hours. This is absolutely nothing new. Shacking off the dirt, I stood ready for the next attack. This time I was ready. Obeying Randel's advice, I kept my eyes on his chest to anticipate his next attack.

He tried to bring his sword down on my head. I managed to block the first two strikes; then he got creative. Right after pulling back to swing down with his right hand, Logan switched his hands in less than three seconds. Not expecting it, I wasn't able to change positions in time. The sword struck me across my right eye. My vision got blurry as my feet fell out from under me again.

It took me a minute to get my bearings and realize Randel was standing over me this time. He sighed in disapproval as he reached out his hand. Shaking the dirt out of my hair, I jumped to my feet so as not to look weak. My teacher sympathetically placed his hand on my shoulder before telling me to hit the showers.

"I can keep going," I promised him.

He nodded, "I know, just not today. Go home, be with your family."

Realizing it would be both pointless and stupid to argue with the man who had my future in his hands, I nodded and begrudgingly made my way to the showers. The hot water that drenched my body was like finding an ice-cold drink in the middle of the desert. After scrubbing myself free of dirt and sweat and being sure not to scrub hard on my latest training injury, I exited the shower wrapped in a white towel.

No matter how good Sean was with a sword; he would never be able to beat me in a straight-up fistfight. Taking full advantage of the workout machine in my room, I spent every night adding pounds of muscle to my frame. Whatever little fat I had on my body before was completely gone by now. My chest popped out without even trying, and every abdomen on my body was clear as day. Jenny jokingly remarked one time that my biceps were the size of bowling balls.

A whistle brought my attention to the door. Spartacus stood leaning in the entrance with a first aid kit in his hand. Despite him turning me down whenever I asked him to train me; he would occasionally come by to check on how I was progressing. He even came to dinner at my house once. I couldn't help but notice he and my mom stealing glances at each other the whole evening.

"Damn kid, with a physique like that, you could give Hercules a run for his money."

I blushed sheepishly, "Thank you."

He made his way over to me and started dressing my head wound. This was going to be a fun thing to explain to Mom when I got home. Not that I had any chance of getting away with this in the first place. She will already be up by the time I got back. When you've been in a marriage with someone like my dad, you had to train yourself to be a light sleeper. She won't be that hard on me now that I have a fresh battle wound.

"I heard from Mufasa you were up and about again. He also told me your mom said you were told not to leave your bed," he stated with a smirk and a cocked eyebrow.

"Please don't start; I had to get some training in if I'm ever going to become a knight."

"Well, you got the heart of one already Lee. Not that it's going to matter when your mom gets ahold of you." Spartacus stated with a chuckle.

"There you are." called an all too familiar voice.

Linda stood behind us, arms crossed with a glare that could cut deeper than any blade. The steel blue orbs that usually looked at me with passion and love now threatened to scorch me alive. I would not want to be out at the arena when she had a bow and a quiver full of arrows. Even Spartacus looked at me like I was a dead man already.

When she strode over to me, I instinctively flinched in anticipation. Instead of slapping me for not coming to see her before coming to train; she gently placed her hand on my cheek with a sigh. Linda kissed my cheek and forehead, the part that wasn't coved in blood and bandages. Spartacus took that as a sign to give us some space. Before he could get out of earshot, I called out to him.

"Are you going to tell my mom where I am?"

He looked back at me with a sly grin, "This is a large arena. Who's to say I didn't find you, say, in about half an hour at the entrance?"

The man left us alone. I looked back at Linda. Her raven-black hair was tied in a ponytail, and beads of sweat were dabbed all across her face. She may as well have just stepped out of a modeling shoot as far as I was concerned. Placing my hand on hers, I slowly leaned into her. Her finger pressing against my lips stopped me.

"I came by your house as soon as I heard you were better. After spending hours sitting with you while you were unconscious; it was going to be so nice to look into your gorgeous eyes again. So, imagine my surprise when I get to your house and realize, you're not there. And I know I didn't miss you trying to get to me."

I sighed, "I'm sorry, I should have come to see you before now. I just wanted to get extra training in. But that's no excuse."

Despite my rather pathetic attempt at an apology, Linda leaned up and kissed me straight on the lips. No matter how many times this happens, it still sends goosebumps on my skin and volts of electricity up my spine. Smiling in between the kissing, I pulled away for a moment; tucking a strand of loose hair behind her ear.

"So does that mean I'm forgiven?"

She nodded, smiling mischievously, "Now," She began, "We have twenty-five minutes left before you have to meet Spartacus to take you back to 'Lock Down,' so we should probably make the best of it."

Afterward, we walked out hand in hand. Getting several whistles and catcalls from almost every guy that saw us. It was all good fun. If anything, I liked that we got so much attention. It was a good way to throw most of the guys off Linda's trail. And of course, it worked just as well to keep all the girls away from me. Not that I got that much attention from the opposite sex.

Sean came walking towards us right as we were about to walk out. His usual crap-eating grin plastered on his face. The same look he gave every time he knocked me down or shoved me when my back was turned. Clenching my fist, I was ready to clock him if he dared say anything vulgar to Linda. Her firm but gentle hand squeezed mine in a warning. Just as we walked right passed him, he leaned in to whisper in my ear.

"See you tomorrow, be ready to get knocked down."

I had to speed walk out of there to avoid turning around and socking him in the face. Spartacus was waiting for me at the entrance just like he said. After kissing Linda one last time, we started to walk back to my house. As we were making our way there, we stopped at a place that I hadn't seen in a while.

Off in the distance, untold numbers of "new arrivals" floated unconsciously to the open space just outside the city. From humans to every kind of animal you could think of. Complete crowds of others patiently waited for their loved ones to re-awaken and see them again. Some of them must have spent decades apart from each other. Shrieks, roars, and other sounds of joy could be heard probably from my house. As I watched the joyous reunions before me, a sudden question popped into my head. If this is the way we all came in, isn't there a way to...

"Lee...LEE!" Spartacus shouted.

"Wh-What?" I asked, startled.

He looked back at me, puzzled, "You, ok?"

I looked back at the space that was always full of new people and animals. The smallest sliver of hope peaked in my head.

"Yeah, I'm good," I said as I turned and walked back home.

(Jason's POV)

With an exhausted huff, I pulled myself onto the safety of Rafiki's home. The enormous tree he resided in was so far away from Pride Rock I had to take my motorcycle to get there and back before sundown. Whatever it is must be urgent because no one just comes to Rafiki's tree unless they are seriously injured. It's not that he doesn't enjoy the company of others, it's just he always comes to his patients.

The old mandrill stood in the center of the room. Something about him looked... off. His face which is usually full of happiness and life now just looked sad and lost. I cleared my throat awkwardly before speaking to him.

"Zazu told me you needed to see me?"

Rafiki cleared his throat too, "Yes young warrior. Rafiki wanted to ask you, how are your patrols going?"

I shrugged, "Fine, I suppose. The hyenas don't give us nearly as much trouble as when I started protecting you guys. But I think at first when they heard Lee was gone, they thought they could take full advantage. Sam and I taught them otherwise. As for poacher attacks, they have become less and less frequent. We've only had three sightings in a month. And none of them led to battles. Sam thinks they're just doing reconnaissance to find out where are the ones we rescued."

"That isn't the only reason, and Rafiki knows why" he stated.

"Why?"

Rafiki nodded, "Rafiki knows the poachers are moving most of their forces to move against the lionesses of the Outlands. Some have remained here to find the lions that you and Prince Lee rescued. Why the rest of them haven't already gone after the outsiders is a mystery."

I was a bit taken aback by Rafiki's statement. From what Sarafina and Nala tell me, those lionesses followed the tyrant Scar when he ruled the Pride Lands. So maybe they aren't blameless about how things went down back then, still, I felt... bad. I saw the torture chambers those vile poachers put lions through when Lee and I saved Kion, Kiara, Shuja, and his family. No one deserves to endure that.

"Should I go in to try and stop them?" I asked the old mandrill.

Rafiki shook his head," Even with Sam at your side, you would never make it back. All of your other successes have been ambushes on smaller groups. And if by some blessing you did make it back it would be the last thing you would do in the Pride Lands. King Simba would never stand for someone helping the ones who followed Scar."

"So... What do we do?"

Rafiki asked me to give him my backpack I usually kept full of food and water. Zazu told me to make sure it was empty before leaving. I saw Rafiki turn away from me and fill my bag with something I couldn't see. When he turned back toward me, what he had put in my bag nearly made me almost fall over. It was a brown lion cub with a tuff of black hair on the top of his head. The same color also occupied the end of his tail. Every single one of his ribs could be seen through his fur. Uncountable numbers of cuts where either covered with leaves or some kind of ointment all over his body.

"This is a cub from the Outlands. His name is Kovu; Rafiki found him yesterday right on the border of the Pride Lands. While Rafiki was tending his wounds, he said humans were close to finding the other lions."

"If he's from the Outlands, why was he so close to the Pride Lands?"

"Rafiki does not know. But he thinks you can convince King Simba to let him stay in the Pride Lands. When he sees the state of this poor cub, he won't turn him away. Hopefully, some time with an Outsider in his pride may change King Simba's mind about helping the rest of them."

"Why do I have to convince him?" I asked, "King Simba hates me enough as it is for what happened to Lee. If I show up at Pride Rock with this cub, he may very well exile both of us. Don't you think he'd listen to you better?"

The Mandril sighed, "Rafiki wishes he could help you, but he is going to be leaving for a few days, a week at most. He is going to visiting another kingdom far away from here to meet his new apprentice. Lee would have been the first choice, but..."

I nodded, "Okay, well travel safe to... wherever it is you're going. Let's just hope nobody gets sick while you're away."

"It is called 'The Tree of Life'. It is like a sanctuary for wounded creatures. If any place could have saved Prince Lee, it would have been there. Sadly, the poison was too advanced for him to make it in time."

"I'll do my best to convince Simba. If he still won't listen... well let's hope it doesn't come to that." I told him.

As I made my way back to Pride Rock with the new cub in my backpack, I couldn't begin to think of what to say to Simba. How do you convince someone who hates you to take in another creature they don't like? Maybe the wounds on this cub will help soften Simba's recently stone-cold heart.

A/N: HEY GUYS! sorry it took so long to get back to you guys. I feel bad for making you guys wait so long, but hey, at least it wasn't a five year gap this time. Almost a full year, sure, but not five. I'm going to be getting to the next chapter soon. Reviews are always welcome, see you guys later!