The Akili Files
By Phil Johnson

	“The Lion King”, “The Lion King II, Simba’s Pride”, Simba, Nala, 
Kiara and all other characters and ideas within those movies are 
property of Disney corp. Any character quotations and dialogue taken 
from the movies are also property of Disney. This work is not an attempt 
to claim ownership or challenge the ownership by Disney corp. of those 
characters, ideas and movies.
	“The Akili Files”, Akili, Sanira, Nyamaza, Siri, Peke, Penda, and 
all other characters and ideas created in this work, as well al the work 
itself, are property of Philip Johnson.
	“The Akili Files” are distributed free of charge. They were 
written for entertainment and consideration only, not profit.
	Any similarity of any character within this work and any person, 
dead or alive, is purely coincidental, with the exception of characters 
used that were introduced in either “The Lion King” or “The Lion King 
II, Simba’s Pride”. Any similarity to those characters are, obviously, 
intentional and done with as much skill as the author’s talent would 
allow.

Part 1

Chapter 1

	Simba felt content. The presentation of Kiara this morning had 
happened flawlessly, and the Pride Lands looked beautiful. They had 
recovered from the drought since the rains returned after Scar’s death.
	Simba felt an involuntary growl emanate from his throat. Scar. 
Just the thought of that name brought back all his feelings of hatred 
for his accursed uncle .Simba told himself he would never forgive Scar 
for what he had done. Done to his father, and to himself.
	“Good morning, Sire!” came a call from above, causing Simba to 
smile and forget his train of thought. Zazu was never late for his 
morning report, even when there was no real news in the entire Pride 
Lands. But Zazu did sometimes bring important news, so Simba sat down 
and waited for the hornbill. “Good morning, Zazu.”
	“Sire, I  regret my morning report will have to wait,” said Zazu 
as he perched in front of Simba on a small tree, raised above the 
surrounding grass. “Something more important has come up.”
	“Really, Zazu, what could be more important than your morning 
report?” asked Simba. Behind the light joke was a small sense of 
urgency. Anything that could stop Zazu’s routine had to be important.
	“Someone has asked to meet you. He has been of help to me in the 
past and was a close friend of your fathers before he died.” Zazu 
stopped when he saw a wave of pain hit Simba’s face and knew he 
shouldn’t have mentioned Mufasa’s death. ”Anyway, he asked me to tell 
you that he wanted to meet with you today.”
	“Really? Who is he?”
	“I’m sorry Simba, but I’m not allowed to tell you.”
	Simba couldn’t help but chuckle. “Not allowed? How can you not be 
allowed to answer a direct question from your king?”
	Suddenly from somewhere to his left a strong, calm voice spoke. 
“Do not be concerned with Zazu, Simba. He agreed to keep my identity 
secret long before you were born.”
	Simba spun to his left, caught off guard by the voice. “Who are 
you?”
	This time it was from his right that the voice spoke. ”Before I 
answer, you too must promise to not reveal my existence. If you don’t, I 
must leave now.”
	Simba turned toward the voice again, but could see nothing but the 
grass. He was feeling a little annoyed, but also curious, so he decided 
to play along. “Very well, I agree.”
	Directly in front of him, a few paces away, a lion rose from the 
grass. He stood half a head above Simba and stared at him with piercing 
blue eyes. Not a hair in his pure black mane was out of place, and, even 
through the grass, Simba could see thick muscles concealed by coconut 
brown skin. When Simba looked at him, this creature seemed to radiate 
strength, intelligence, and power.
	“Your promise was made half-heartedly, but it will do. My name is 
Akili.”
	Simba couldn’t help but feel he had heard this voice before, but 
he recognized neither the lion nor his name. “Greetings Akili. I am 
Simba, king of the Pride Lands. Zazu tells me you were a friend of my 
father.”
	“Yes, I heard, though friend is barely accurate. I was also a 
close advisor, and I would like to extend the same services to you.” 
Akili calmly walked forward and sat before Simba.
	Simba decided to see if he could break this creature’s calm 
composure. “I have Zazu for information about the Pride Lands and my own 
intelligence to solve any problems within them. Why should I need you 
around?”
	Akili turned to Zazu. “Zazu, would you mind leaving for few 
minutes? What I’m about to discuss may be a little personal for Simba.”
	Simba decided to play along a bit further. He turned to Zazu and 
nodded. Zazu seemed annoyed, but he flew a distance away and perched in 
a tree. “All right, we’re alone.”
	Akili sighed and glanced at Zazu. “Zazu is a good, reliable source 
of information, but he is limited by his status as majordomo. People 
often don’t know I’m around so speak freely around me, while they stop 
talking when Zazu flies by. Often I can learn things quicker than him, 
and I can keep a better eye on what neighboring prides and other 
predators are up to. Besides, there is something else I have noticed I 
can help you with that no one else has identified.” At this point Akili 
walked right up to Simba and looked directly down into his eyes.
	“Something is killing you Simba. Something is eating away at you 
from inside and, unless you deal with it, it will kill you.”
	“And what would that be?” asked Simba, feeling more than a bit 
uncomfortable.
	“Your anger. Your rage. Your hatred that you are trying to contain 
and hide. I have seen other lions in the same situation as you, and I 
know you can’t survive this way.”
	Simba took a step back, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath. 
He knew the anger Akili was talking about, his hatred for Scar, but... 
“I don’t need your help,” he said. “I can deal with it myself.”
	“Funny. That’s the same thing Taka said.”
	Simba looked up at him. “Who?”
	“Sorry, you never knew him by his real name. You know him as Scar”
	“You were friends with Scar?”
	“I could always understand Taka like no other lion in the Pride 
Lands. I talked with him and tried to warn Mufasa of how dangerous Taka 
was, but Mufasa could never believe Taka was capable of murder. He 
always saw Taka as the cub he and Sarabi played with when they were 
young. He couldn’t accept, and therefor couldn’t deal with, what Taka 
had become.”
	“You didn’t answer my question.”
	“True, I didn’t, which means you will get your answer when I am 
ready.” He stood there looking at Simba for a few seconds before 
continuing. “I must know if you will accept my services or not, Simba. 
If not, I need to leave and find another king to advise. Do you want my 
help?”
	Simba thought for a moment. It was true that Zazu couldn’t find 
out everything, and he couldn’t easily observe other prides. Akili was 
obviously experienced and observant, since he had detected Simba’s anger 
when most of the pride had forgotten it. “Yes, I would like your 
services,” he said. Then he added, “but what do you want in return? You 
don’t seem like the sort of lion to volunteer his time.”
	“Indeed not. There is something I want.” Akili turned away and 
lowered his head. “I told you I could understand Taka like no one else. 
That is because I too am a kings brother, from another pride. I grew up 
in my brothers shadow as Taka did. But when my brother became king, he 
exiled me because I was a threat. One lioness, Sanira, ran away and 
joined me in exile, and we have been together ever since.” Akili turned 
around and looked at Simba again. “When I worked for your father, he 
allowed my wife and I to live in the Pride Lands and to hunt from the 
pride’s herds. I ask the same from you.”
	Simba again had to stop and think. Why would Akili, after 
correctly describing Simba’s own hatred for Scar, describe how alike he 
and Scar were? But his price wasn’t unreasonable, and after Scar’s 
followers, the Outsiders now, were banished, the herds needed a few more 
predators to keep them in check. “all right. you can live in the Pride 
Lands.”
	“Thank you. I see our little blue friend is headed back, so you 
will see me again when I have some news for you.” Akili stepped back and 
bowed slightly to Simba.
	Simba looked over his shoulder to see Zazu flying back. “Well,” 
Zazu said, “I see he’s finished for now. What did he say?”
	“Well...” Simba wasn’t sure what to tell Zazu and he glanced back 
at Akili. But Akili was nowhere to be seen. “Where...” Simba muttered as 
he looked left and right. “Where did he...”
	“You get used to it eventually, Sire. He’s always doing that,” 
Zazu said, knowing without asking what had puzzled his king so suddenly. 
“So what did you talk about?”
	Simba decided he was grateful Zazu hadn’t been there to hear about 
Simba’s anger, and not much of the rest seemed it would be important to 
the hornbill. “It’s personal,” he responded, and was rewarded with an 
annoyed stare from Zazu.

Chapter 2

	Akili watched Kiara as she left Pride Rock, chasing a butterfly. 
“Oh, to be that young and carefree again,” he thought. He moved down the 
ramp from Pride Rock’s peak to be closer to Simba. Time would be of the 
essence today.
	“Danger could be lurking behind every rock,” Simba told Timon and 
Pumbaa as they left, and Akili inwardly shook his head. Timon and Pumbaa 
were no baby-sitters, but nothing would convince Simba of that.
	Simba tried to watch Kiara as she bounded away, but eventually 
lost her in the grass. He knew how dangerous the Pride Lands could be, 
but containing his daughter was impossible. “Well,” he thought, “at 
least Timon and Pumbaa are following her.”
	“Simba,” Akili whispered behind him, so the lionesses in the cave 
wouldn’t hear.
	The voice was barely audible, but Simba recognized it at once . He 
turned to see Akili walking down the path on Pride Rock to the ground. 
Simba followed the dark lion until they were under the Promitory of 
Pride Rock. “Well Akili, what news do you bring today?” Simba asked.
	Akili turned and looked at him with his usual smile. During their 
meetings over the last 2 moons, this was when he usually gave his full 
report. What prides were planning what, which predators were poaching on 
the Pride’s herds. But today he had something else planned.
	“All the neighboring prides are respecting your borders with the 
usual amount of jealousy. The cheetahs you attacked yesterday have 
returned to their homelands, and no other creatures are poaching at this 
time. And the Outsiders are still living in those hollow hills I told 
you about and are finding enough food to live.”
	“Is that all? You usually wait to give a report until you have 
something vital.” Simba responded. Indeed, in the time they had known 
each other Akili had only given a dozen reports. It wasn’t like Akili to 
waste his time like this.
	“I didn’t come to give you information, or I would have had more 
to give you,” Akili retorted. “Today I thought I’d tell you some more 
about myself, and my services for you.
	“In the time between my exile and when I found the Pride Lands, I 
found ways to spy on others and stay unnoticed in general. One of these 
ways was predicting what certain creatures would most likely do, say, or 
react. The more I studied the creature, the better my predictions.”
	“Oh, come on, Akili. You actually expect me to believe that?” 
Simba said, barely containing a laugh. Rafiki could sometimes do odd 
thinks like that, but a lion?
	“I thought you’d need a demonstration, so I have one ready. Come 
with me, Simba.” Akili turned and started running toward the Outlands, 
while Simba quickly tried to catch up. Simba was amazed that, even 
though he must be running at full speed, Akili made no noise while 
running. “How does he do that?” Simba wondered.
	Akili heard Kiara a little ways ahead and to the left, so he 
angled slightly right. Not for the first time, he was silently grateful 
the members of his old pride had better hearing than most lions. Simba 
shouldn’t have heard Kiara yet, nor vice versa. If his plans for today 
were to go properly, Kiara and Simba shouldn’t meet each other. Not yet.
	Simba saw Akili shift to the side, and followed in suit. Soon they 
came to a stop near a large stream, full with alligators. Akili turned 
to Simba.
	“Today you will meet someone. Someone you haven’t seen in weeks. 
They are going to make offer you something, a pound of flesh. You will 
reject their offer, though it may be tempting.”
	Simba was confused. If this was supposed to be a real prediction, 
it was a little farfetched. Why would someone he hadn’t seen in weeks 
offer him a meal, and even if they did, why would he reject it? It made 
no sense. “And how did you come to this prediction?”
	“If I’m right, meet me here tomorrow when the sun is at it’s peak. 
I’ll tell you then.” Akili could hear Kiara laughing as she approached, 
and so needed to get Simba to hide. “As for now, how about a spying 
lesson?”
	Simba’s interest immediately peaked, for he wondered how Akili was 
able to spy so effectively. “Good idea, how do we start?” he asked.
	“First, lie low to the ground, as if you were hunting. From now 
on, not talking, only whispering.” As he sank below the grass he saw 
Kiara approach, but she hadn’t seen either of them.
	“Follow me. Step slowly, and with your entire foot hitting and 
leaving the ground at once,” Akili whispered. Then he slowly walked 
toward the stream, and toward a small clearing in the grass. To Simba’s 
amazement, his own steps made no sound when he walked this way. However, 
he still wondered how Akili could run silently as well.
	Akili stopped near the edge of the clearing, but far enough away 
that he was hardly noticeable through the grass. He motioned with his 
paw for Simba to come up along side him. He heard a commotion starting a 
little ways upstream, and know time was almost up. “Now we lie and wait. 
Kiara should be along soon. Try to keep her from seeing you.” He was 
speaking so softly Simba wouldn’t have understood him if he hadn’t been 
speaking in Simba’s ear. “When I say so, leap out and roar. The 
lionesses are hunting nearby and will come to your aid.”
	Simba was about to ask why he would need the rest of the pride, 
but just then a lion jumped out of the stream. He was brown, small, and 
had a very early tuft of black hair that would grow into his mane. At 
first Simba thought it was probably Akili’s, but then he remembered he 
was right next to the Outlands. “Akili wouldn’t keep his cubs this close 
to those back-stabbers,” Simba thought. “No, this cub must be one of 
Scar’s.”
	Next Kiara jumped out of the stream. Simba wondered what she was 
doing in there, and why was she with an Outsider? The two cubs looked 
over the edge back into the stream. Simba couldn’t make out what they 
said, however, because Akili chose that moment to interrupt with another 
whisper. “Don’t move until Kovu growls.” Simba turned to ask who Kovu 
was, but Akili was gone. Slowly, he turned back and prepared to pounce.

Chapter 3

	Zira climbed down from on top of her anthill-like home. She had 
just finished singing, one of the few things that still brought her 
pleasure. One of the others was plotting Simba’s downfall. 
	“Wait, where is the sun?” she thought frantically, as her thought 
of Simba caused her to remember her appointment. “Oh no, it’s already 
set.” Suddenly she broke out into a run back toward the Pride Lands.
	A few minutes later, short of breath, she returned to the stream 
that marked her border. And there, waiting with an annoyed look on his 
face, was Nyamaza. “You’re late. What, did you decide singing was more 
important than me?” the dark lion asked.
	Zira didn’t even try to respond, having learned the futility of 
trying to argue with this lion. Instead, she let loose her anger over 
what had happened just hours ago.
	“Where was I? Where were YOU today. First Kovu runs off on his own 
away from Nuka, then he nearly gets eaten by alligators, and then Simba 
shows up and nearly rips him apart! Nyamaza, you said...”
	“Zira, what are you complaining about? I had the situation under 
control.”
	“Control? How could you, when you weren’t there?”
	“Let’s take your complaints one at a time. First Kovu runs off on 
his own. Do you think I would have told you to have Nuka watch him if I 
didn’t know where he was going to be anyway?
	“Then you complain he ran into trouble with alligators. My, wasn’t 
it convenient that Kiara showed up just before he went into the stream. 
And isn’t it convenient that they happened to help each other and 
protect each other from the alligators.
	“And then Simba showed up. My, it’s a good thing you were hiding 
nearby so you could protect Kovu. by the way, what were you doing hiding 
there anyway?”
	Zira looked away in aggravation. “You told me to wait there.”
	“Exactly. I told you to wait there. I knew Simba would show up, so 
I had you ready to protect Kovu. And I knew Kovu would go into the 
stream, so I arranged for him to have a little playmate to help him 
escape. I had the situation under control.”
	Zira looked back at him. She probably would have been amazed by 
Nyamaza’s explanation, but she was used to this sort of thing by now. 
“Look, maybe Scar was comfortable with you doing things like this during 
his reign, but I like to know what is going on.”
	Nyamaza acted like he hadn’t even heard her. “Did you notice 
Kiara’s reaction toward Kovu today? Quite interesting, don’t you think.”
	Zira had learned over the years that whenever Nyamaza said 
interesting, he meant important. “Yes I noticed, and I came up with a 
little plan to use it.”
	“Let me guess. Once Kovu grows strong enough to kill Simba, have 
Kovu use Kiara to get close enough to Simba to kill him when his back is 
turned? Is that your grand new plan?”
	“Basically, yes.”
	Nyamaza lightly chuckled. “That has been my plan for weeks. I used 
today to test my prediction of Kiara’s feelings, as well as introduce 
Kovu to Simba, in all his snarling glory.
	“There are still two flaws with the plan.” At this Zira paid 
closer attention, for she had never before heard Nyamaza admit to a flaw 
in anything he planned. “Kovu will need to be allowed to stay in the 
Pride Lands before Kiara will feel strongly enough toward him for Simba 
to drop his guard. Also, Kovu will need to learn how to hide his anger 
from Simba so that it won’t give away our plan. And since I am the most 
expert lion in hiding, I will train him in what he needs to know.”
	Zira could hardly believe her ears. For weeks she had asked 
Nyamaza to help her in raising Kovu, but he had always refused. She 
wasn’t sure whether to thank him or to hit him for the stress he had 
been causing her. “I will tell him to meet you tomorrow.”
	“NO. Kovu must not know that you’ve met me. It could lead to him 
seeing me as a father figure instead of Taka, and he must see Taka as 
his father in order for this plan to work.”
	“Nyamaza, he already knows Scar wasn’t his father.”
	“Whoever actually mated with you is unimportant. What is important 
is that he looks up to Taka as his role model, as the lion he wants to 
become. From now on Kovu may keep saying he wants to go off alone to 
think. Let him, and DON’T follow him. Either he’s meeting with me, or he 
is going off alone to think.”
	“All right. I’ll let him go.”
	“Oh, and from now on, don’t have Nuka watch Kovu. He’s growing up 
with all of Scar’s emotions, but none of Taka’s intelligence to direct 
them. There is a balance inside him now, keeping him from attacking 
Kovu, but that balance is weak. From now on you need to check with me 
before carrying out ANY major plan. If you don’t, that balance could 
collapse, with at least one of your sons probably dying as a result.”
	Zira paused a moment for thought. Yes, she could see how Nuka felt 
toward Kovu, and she could remember watching Scar acting much the same 
way when he thought no one was looking. “And if Nyamaza feels I could 
easily upset the balance, I probably can,” she thought grudgingly. “All 
right, I’ll check with you before doing anything.”
	“Anything IMPORTANT, Zira. You don’t need to check with me before 
you eat, sleep, or do anything else usual. I don’t appreciate my time 
being wasted.”
	She saw Nyamaza turn to leave and decided to once more ask her 
unanswered question. “Nyamaza, when the hyenas left Scar and I found 
him, you two were talking. With his dying breath he told me to make Kovu 
his heir instead of Nuka. What did you say to him?”
	Nyamaza continued to stand with his back to her, but he finally 
answered her question. “I told him that if he made Kovu his heir, I 
would guarantee Kovu would grow up thinking of him as a father, and that 
he would be king upon Simba’s death. I told him I would make no such 
guarantee for Nuka. He decided to change heirs and let me insure Kovu’s 
kingship.” With that turned around and looked over Zira’s shoulder. “Oh, 
hello Simba.”
	Zira immediately turned, growling and teeth bared. But Simba was 
not there, and neither was Nyamaza when she turned back around. He had 
fooled her into looking away, and disappeared when he did. “DON’T DO 
THAT!” she called out, and she imagined she could hear Nyamaza laughing 
at her from where ever it was he went.

Chapter 4

	Simba arrived by the stream a good while before the sun would 
reach its peak, hoping to be able to sneak up on Akili for once. He 
didn’t know when he’d get another chance, since Akili had actually never 
scheduled a meeting before. “OK, stay calm, Simba,” he told himself. 
“Don’t let your breathing give you away.” Simba figured Akili would be 
hiding somewhere near the clearing he had lead Simba to yesterday, so he 
approached that area as quietly as he could, remembering what he had 
learned the day before.
	After he found the clearing and searched around it, however, there 
was no sign of Akili. “Hmmm, must be on his way.” Simba figured he’d 
just have to wait quietly and hope to he could hear Akili’s approach.
	Suddenly Simba felt himself pinned to the ground as Akili jumped 
across him, landing across his back. “Good try, Simba. But if you want 
to sneak up on me, you’re going to need to come up with your own tricks. 
I know my own too well.”
	“All right, all right. Now let me up. I can’t breath with you on 
top of me.” Simba felt the pressure on his back lessen as Akili stood 
and walked around in front of him. “Now, what did you want to talk 
about?” Simba first stood, but then he sat when he saw Akili do so.
	“Actually, I figured you’d want to talk after what happened 
yesterday.”
	“Yeah, I guess I do,” Simba replied, as yesterday’s events, both 
during and after their conversation, replayed themselves in his mind. 
“So how did you know about Zira and Kovu?”
	“I’ve been watching them for a long time, and I simply predicted 
their actions. I know what tricks of speech Zira likes to use, and I’ve 
learned how Kovu will act under pressure. Predicting what would happen 
yesterday was simple.”
	“Simple! Kiara could have been killed, and you didn’t even bother 
to tell me she was in trouble?”
	“Simba, was anyone actually hurt?”
	“Well, no, but...”
	“Then what are you complaining about?”
	“Well, at least you could have told me Zira was around.”
	“Simba, I knew Zira was in the area and would be immediately 
attracted my your roar, but I didn’t know exactly where she was. If I 
had told you she was around, you would have gone off looking for her, 
and then she might have found the cubs before you did. One of the things 
I decide before I tell you something is whether my telling you will 
actually hurt the situation.”
	“I thought your job was to keep me informed.”
	“I do keep you informed, but sometimes things work out better if 
you don’t know what I know.”
	“Example?”
	Akili shook his head and sighed. “You never take anything on faith 
alone. That’s a good attribute in a king, but it can be real bothersome 
at times. All right, an example.
	“I’m sure you remember those pesky little hyenas that your uncle 
was so fond of. The ones that haven’t been seen since you fought them 
off at Pride Rock.”
	“What, were they on the Pride Lands yesterday too?”
	“No, it was actually about a week ago now. I found a scouting 
party they had sent to see if the Pride lands were worth trying to 
retake.”
	Simba was finding it hard to believe his ears. Those mangy 
poachers had come back to the Pride Lands, and Akili hadn’t even told 
him? What sort of advisor was he? “So what did you do? Just let them 
wander onto MY lands without telling me? I could handle a scouting party 
without even needing any of the lionesses for support.”
	“Yes, you could have handled them. You could have driven them off, 
maybe even killed a few of them. But they would have been back, sooner 
or later. Maybe moons, maybe a few years, but they would have been back. 
The way I handled them, they won’t be back. Not for a long, LONG time.”
	“What did you do?”
	Again Akili sighed and shook his head. “I had been hoping to ease 
you into this, but I see now that is impossible. All right. 
	“Where do you think I was during your exile? You know I worked for 
your father before then, and I am working for you now. But where do you 
think I was then?”
	Simba thought for a minute, then answered, “You probably followed 
the herds away with your wife while the drought and hyenas killed 
everything here.”
	“No. I stayed here. I did my best to help Taka learn how to be a 
king, since he didn’t have any real training. I also was his emissary to 
the hyenas, since he had the pride to keep his paws full. I did my best 
to keep the hyenas under control, but still kept myself hidden from the 
lionesses.”
	“Really. You are impressive, but I can’t imagine any hyena 
following orders from you.”
	“Neither could they at first. I would tell them not to hunt when 
they didn’t need the food, but they still did. I would tell them to 
leave the lionesses alone, but they still pestered them. That was until 
the Zebra Incident.
	“A few weeks into the drought food was becoming scarce, and Taka 
told me to tell the hyenas that no unnecessary hunting was to be done. 
What food still remained within the Pride Lands had to be preserved 
until the rains returned. It was one of the smartest orders he ever gave 
that I hadn’t first suggested to him. I diligently told the hyenas.
	“Their response to my face was obedience, but I knew many would 
still hunt just for the thrill. So, like I have had to do for you, I 
prepared an example.
	“One joyous evening the lionesses made a large kill. Six 
wildebeest, enough to fill everyone’s stomach. However, a small herd of 
4 zebra had wandered within sight of Pride Rock. I told the hyenas 
‘There is a small zebra herd near Pride Rock. Do not attack them.’
	“The next day, the zebra were dead. It only took until that night 
to discover which hyenas were involved. In the end, six hyenas had 
wasted about 2 days worth of food by killing it when we didn’t need it. 
I decided I was tired of receiving no respect from the hyenas, and so I 
set out to earn it.
	“Two days after the herd died, one of the hyenas involved 
disappeared. He hadn’t told anyone where he was leaving, and there was 
no blood to indicate a fight. He simply disappeared. No one really gave 
it much thought, and life continued on as normal.
	“When another of the hyenas involved disappeared the same way two 
days later, there was much the same reaction. But when the third one 
disappeared again two days later, most of the hyenas were starting to 
see the pattern. Whenever any of them asked me about them, which many 
did because they knew of both my knowledge and my silence, I simply said 
it was interesting. When one asked if I didn’t care that my comrades 
were disappearing, I simply pointed out that they had never cared for 
me, so I didn’t care for them.
	“Two days later the fourth disappeared. By now most of the hyenas 
felt I was responsible, since only I had the motive to kill the hyenas 
and the power and silence needed to do it without anyone noticing. You 
can imagine that more than a few stories started springing up as to how 
I killed them, not many of which comforted the surviving poachers.
	“Again two days later another hyena disappeared, and with him, I 
also disappeared. No one, not even Taka knew where I was, though just 
about everyone was looking at first. But soon I was no longer the center 
of attention. It was Peke, the surviving poacher.
	“All that day, and for the next week, Peke didn’t eat and didn’t 
sleep. He was constantly looking around wildly, trying to see my 
sneaking up on him. He was terrified to be alone, and terrified to be 
surrounded so that he couldn’t see if I was coming. Some of the 
lionesses thought that he had gone mad, since they knew nothing of the 
other missing hyenas. But the other hyenas knew he wasn’t mad, he was 
terrified. They saw his every moment being filled with fear, and some 
even thought of killing him so to end his terror. But they never got a 
chance.” Akili stopped for a moment while he took a deep in and released 
a deep breath. Simba implored him to continue.
	“Three weeks to the day after the Zebra Incident, Peke 
disappeared. No one was surprised that morning, but they were that 
night. For when the sun set that day, they heard Peke’s voice carried on 
the wind, calling out a single name. ‘Amri!’ That was what I had the 
hyenas call me so the lionesses wouldn’t catch on that the same lion the 
hyenas talked about was the same lion Taka sometimes muttered about in 
his sleep. The entire pack ran in the direction of the voice, hoping to 
find their fellow hyena.
	“When they did find him, he was barely recognizable. He had been 
torn into five pieces, and those pieces had almost no skin left on them. 
Most of the assembly quickly turned away, but some of the less hyena-
blood shy noticed that his teeth were covered in blood, even though his 
teeth were uphill from his neck. Whoever had killed him had at least one 
very bad bite.
	“When they returned to Pride Rock, they found me waiting. All kept 
their distance, but some with very good sight quickly whispered to the 
others that I had a deep bite in my side. My only words to them that 
night were ‘There is a small wildebeest herd near the water hole. do not 
attack them.’ I then left to find a private place to sleep and recover.”
	Simba simply stood in shock for a moment. “Well, were the 
wildebeest killed that night?”
	Akili waited a moment before answering. “Ever since the Zebra 
Incident, all the hyenas live with a great deal of fear toward me. The 
wildebeest were still alive the next day, and no hyena since has ever 
disobeyed me. Whenever they even think of doing so they remember what I 
reduced Peke to before I killed him. And those who aren’t stopped by 
that memory remember what I reduced Peke to when I killed him.
	“You want to know how I handled the hyena scouting party? I simply 
walked up to them, and said I didn’t want to see them or any of their 
pack set foot on the Pride Lands ever again. If you had attacked them, 
your strength would be what they reported to their leaders, and strength 
can be overcome with numbers. What I sent them back with was pure fear 
and terror. And against those, numbers mean almost nothing.”
	Simba simply stood and stared. Never before had he heard any 
creature describe such terror being used as a weapon to hold enemies at 
bay. It unnerved him to hear it from someone he had come to respect and 
consider a friend. “I see why you wanted to ease me into this. I almost 
can’t believe it’s true.”
	Akili smiled and said, “Don’t concern yourself. I didn’t enjoy 
doing to Peke what I did, but I had to if I was to ever control the 
hyenas. Anyway, I can somewhat prove that it’s true very quickly.” He 
sank to the ground with eyes closed, while Simba waited to see what he 
was doing. in a few minutes Akili rose and looked to the south. “There 
is a herd to the south that should do nicely. Follow me, and move as 
quietly as you did this morning. You need to stay hidden if you want to 
see what I am to show you.” He then started slowly walking south, in 
plain view to anyone who looked his way. Simba, however, stayed below 
the grass and moved almost silently.

Chapter 5

	Akili slowly walked toward the Ngu’ban zebra herd while Simba 
followed beneath the grass. Akili himself was impressed at how quietly 
Simba was moving, though he had expected little less. The king was 
already a good stalker, and the new way to walk he had learned only 
improved this quality. The somewhat awkward movement of the paws, 
straight up and straight down, prevented rocks and sticks from being 
knocked over by accident, and slowed down the walker enough to allow the 
surrounding grass to move around him without snapping.
	Simba was about to ask Akili why they were approaching a zebra 
herd when Akili answered the unspoken question. “You see, Simba,” he 
whispered, “during your father’s reign I revealed myself to most of the 
major herds. There really was no way to hide my presence from them, 
since I was hunting from them whenever I was hungry, and doing so didn’t 
hurt my hunting, since they couldn’t tell I was coming any more than you 
can. I even helped them out occasionally by telling them when poachers 
were in the area. Before the Zebra Incident, this was also a way I tried 
to control the hyena’s hunting. The herds came to learn that if they saw 
me approaching, it meant one of two things. But quiet now, they mustn’t 
notice you’re here.” The zebra’s were still a ways off, but Akili sat 
down. “Pay attention, but say nothing. Hello Ngu’ban!” The last he 
shouted loud enough for the distant herd to hear.
	As Simba watched, the entire herd stopped grazing and looked at 
the sitting lion. Then, to his amazement, they walked toward Akili, 
though they stopped just within easy talking range. Then a zebra Simba 
recognized as Undaka, the leader of this particular herd, approached 
until he was roughly between the herd and the lion. “Hello Linda, how do 
you approach today?” asked the zebra, with only a hint of apprehension 
in his voice.
	“Be at ease, old friend. Today I approach as a friend, not a 
hunter,” responded Akili, to the visual relief of the herd. “I saw some 
leopards a little ways to the north, and I thought you’d like to know. 
If you go about an hours trot to the south, they shouldn’t bother you.”
	“Thank you Linda.” said Undaka as he turned back toward his herd. 
When he reached them, the Ngu’ban started walking off to the south, 
which happened to take them past Akili and Simba. When the last of the 
zebra were passing, however, an old female stopped for a few seconds by 
Akili. “Thank you, Linda. You’ve really been a great help to us over the 
years, you know.” she said.
	“I guess I have, But the Ngu’ban have been a great help to me as 
well over the years as well”
	The zebra looked puzzled for a moment, then said with a knowing 
smile, “Yes, I guess we have.” She then left, and quickly caught up with 
her herd mates. Soon they had gone over a small ridge and were out of 
sight, So Simba sat up and looked at Akili.
	“Linda? They call you Linda?” Simba asked with combined humor and 
confusion. “Zazu calls you Akili, the hyena call you Amri, and now 
Linda? How many names do you have?”
	“Far more than you’d guess. It’s only the Ngu’ban that calls me 
Linda. After all, I don’t want the herds talking about me behind my back 
anymore than I wanted the hyenas to talk to Taka about me. With everyone 
knowing me by different names, no one can betray that they know about me 
by accident. It’s a kind of back up to the promise you made when we 
met.”
	Simba thought about it for a minute, and he figured that it made 
sense. However, another question then surfaced in his mind. “What did 
you mean, ‘I approach as a friend, not a hunter?’”
	“In my old pride, I was taught many ways to fight and defend 
myself against other lions. One attack is called The Snapper. It 
involves your opponent lying on his side, with you standing above him. 
You hold his shoulder with one paw, and use the other to snap his head 
around. It kills instantly, and painlessly.” Akili glanced over his 
shoulder in the direction of the zebra. “I usually hunt like any other 
lion, but occasionally I will approach them as I did today. I pick out 
my prey, and tell them of my decision. I give them time to say goodbye 
to their family and friends, and when they are done, I give them a 
painless death.”
	For the second time that day, Simba looked at his advisor aghast. 
“How can you do that to them? It would be cruel to tell them...”
	Akili interrupted him. “Simba, if you were going to die today, 
would you want to know beforehand so you could say goodbye to Nala and 
Kiara?”
	Simba thought for a moment as he thought about his family. After a 
while he said, “Yes, I would want to have a chance to say goodbye.”
	“That’s how most of the herds think.” Akili looked up at the sun 
and then back at Simba. “You should probably go. It’s getting into the 
afternoon, and you have a day’s worth of duties to catch up on.” He 
watched as Simba looked at the sun, quickly hiding when Simba’s back was 
turned. Simba looked back and, finding his friend missing, turned back 
toward Pride Rock.
	Akili sat where he hid, thinking about the day’s events. The story 
of the Zebra incident resurfaced in his mind, including all the details 
he hadn’t told Simba. He closed his eyes to help the memory be unaltered 
by the surrounding savanna.
	When the part about Peke replayed itself in Akili’s mind, he 
inwardly shuddered. He had never intended to let Peke live as long as he 
did, knowing the suffering he was going through. But Peke’s refusal to 
sleep meant Akili couldn’t kill him in his sleep as he had done to the 
other poachers. The others never saw him coming, and he used The Snapper 
to kill them without pain. Eventually Akili found Peke as he tried to 
sneak away from the Pride Lands. He then presented himself and offered 
Peke a painless death, which he accepted. But before Akili could kill 
Peke, Peke took a bite out of Akili’s side.
	Suddenly Akili couldn’t control himself. “I offer this poacher an 
easy death, and he dares to attack ME!” Akili thought. All the sympathy 
he had for Peke turned into anger as his vision turned red with rage. He 
looked down at Peke, snarled, and began tearing him apart. Peke cried 
out, but Akili couldn’t stop himself or his attack. He only withdrew 
when he heard the other hyenas approaching, and then he started running 
back to Pride Rock. His vision cleared as the run worked his fury out of 
his system. When he reached his destination he cleaned his wound as he 
waited for the hyena pack to return.
	Akili opened his eyes and, almost as a reflex, looked at his chest 
just below his mane. Yes, the scar of that day was still on his body, as 
it would be on his heart until the day he died.

Chapter 6

	Kovu slowly approached his target, ignoring all other 
distractions. Siri’s tail slowly swayed back and forth as he rested in 
the sun, apparently oblivious to his impending attack. When Kovu got 
within only a few steps of Siri, he knew he’d be noticed if he continued 
walking. Instead, he shifted his weight to his back legs and pounced.
	Siri didn’t appreciate the sudden impact on his side or Kovu 
beginning to nibble on his ear and neck, but Kovu made special 
exceptions for himself. “And just what do you think you’re doing, you 
little rascal?”
	“You said I should be practicing stalking and pouncing every day. 
I decided you made yourself an easy target.” Kovu walked up to Siri, who 
was now sitting on his forelegs, and rubbed his side against Siri’s leg. 
“You don’t mind, do you?” he asked.
	“I don’t mind. I just didn’t expect to get woken up that way.” 
Siri looked down at Kovu and saw he was troubled under his happy 
exterior. “So how have you been? I haven’t seen you in a few days.”
	Kovu looked up at his teacher and could feel a slight emptiness 
inside himself. “Oh, I’ve been fine. How have you been?”
	“Kovu, all I ask is that you never lie to me. All I want is to 
help you and be a good friend. How can I be your friend if I can’t trust 
you?” Siri could see Kovu felt ashamed of himself. He knew how deeply 
Kovu truly loved him and didn’t want their friendship to end. “Is it 
family problems? How are things going with your mother and sister?”
	“Vitani’s still herself, hanging on mom’s every word and always 
ready to practice fighting. Mom’s been talking about Simba all the time 
since I met him and Kiara moon ago, but I don’t mind that. Before she 
just always talked about Scar and how I needed to train to be king 
anyway. I don’t know what’s wrong.”
	“Well, when did you start feeling different?”
	Kovu thought for a while, and then responded, “I guess about the 
same time, when I met Kiara and Simba and everyone.”
	“How did you like Kiara? It must have been interesting to meet 
someone your age that wasn’t Vitani?”
	“I don’t know. We only got to introduce ourselves before mom and 
Simba showed up. I wish I knew more about her.”
	“Well, let’s see what we can figure out about her. Describe what 
happened.”
	“OK. First Nuka was watching me, but I decided to get away from 
him for a second. When he went into one of his scratching fits, I hid 
behind a tree and waited for him to leave looking for me. When he was 
gone I went exploring. After a while Wham!” Kovu jumped to the right, 
landing on his side. “Suddenly, a lion cub fell off a log and knocked me 
over. I did just like mom had said, growling and making her back off. 
Kiara started walking backward and I followed,” Kovu got back up and 
stalked and invisible cub, hair standing up on his back. “She started 
jumping around and tried to growl back. Mom never said what to do after 
growling, so I asked her what she was doing. ‘What are you doing?’” Kovu 
said, reenacting how his face twisted when he had questioned Kiara.
	“Kovu, you don’t need to quote the entire conversation. Just say 
what happened.”
	“Sorry” Kovu said sheepishly. “She started talking about her 
father and how he said not to turn your back on strangers, so I told her 
how independent I am. I guess I wasn’t paying much attention, because 
somehow we ended up in the creek. All of a sudden, SNAP! A crocodile 
tries to bite Kiara, but I call out a warning beforehand so he misses. 
We spend the next couple minutes trying to escape,” Kovu starting 
reliving and describing how they had escaped. He summer salted when he 
described falling off a crocodile’s back, and climbed up a dead tree he 
was standing next to when he described climbing out of the stream. 
“After we were out and caught our breath, I noticed we were in the Pride 
Lands. We introduced ourselves to each other. She asked me if I knew how 
to ‘play,’ I think. I had no idea what she was talking about, but before 
I could say so she started practice fighting , you know, jumping around 
growling, so I guess that’s what she meant. I started growling when 
Simba and mom showed up and started talking. Kiara seemed scared of mom 
and surprised by her dad being so angry. I guess that’s just about it.”
	“OK, let’s see what we can figure out. She must not get into a lot 
of fights, or she would have immediately started growling back when you 
met. Since she was surprised be her father being mad, she must not 
normally do much to make him mad. And she must have gotten to like you 
since she didn’t run off as soon as she was back in the Pride Lands. Do 
you like her?”
	“I guess so. She seemed nice.” Kovu waited a second before 
speaking again. “Siri, why do mom and Simba hate each other so much? 
They could barely keep themselves from killing each other when they met. 
Do you know?”
	Siri laid himself down on his side. He sighed deeply before saying 
anything. “It all has to do with what happened a few years ago. Taka was 
the king’s brother, and therefore next in line to be king of the Pride.”
	Kovu interrupted. “Is that how he got to be king? Then why do we 
live out here instead of in the Pride Lands?”
	“I’m getting to that. The king had a son, Simba, who became next 
in line. Now Taka would never be king, which he had always planned on 
becoming. When Mufasa, the king, died, Simba should have become king, 
but Scar wanted to become king instead. To do that, Simba would first 
have to die. Scar decided to make Simba run away instead, sparing his 
life while still achieving his goal. Later Simba came back and wanted to 
replace Scar. They fought, and Scar ended up dead. Zira blamed Simba for 
Taka’s death, and tried to kill him so you would replace him as king, 
being the only male available. She failed and was exiled. Many of the 
lionesses felt she was going through normal grief and so should be 
forgiven, and some thought that since Scar had tricked Simba into 
leaving, Simba had given up his right to the throne, and so you should 
be king. Both still feel that they have been betrayed by the other, and 
hate each other for it.”
	Kovu sat in silence for a while, shocked by what he had heard. His 
mother had never told him anything about this. “Well, how did Scar 
convince Simba to leave, and why do you call Scar ‘Scar’ sometimes, and 
other times call him Taka?”
	“Scar convinced Simba he had caused his fathers death, even though 
Simba had almost nothing to do with it. He told Simba to run away to 
hide from what he had done, and Simba left. As to why I usually call 
Mufasa’s brother Taka, it’s a reminder to myself of the Taka I met when 
I first came to the Pride Lands. He was brilliant, enthusiastic cub, 
half my age at two years old. He and his brother got along wonderfully, 
and everything seemed so perfect here. Taka and Mufasa were the real 
reason I stayed here instead of finding another pride to take over. I 
had a secret friendship with each them like I do with you. Those were a 
few wonderful years.
	“But things started to change after Mufasa became king. The Pride 
used to respect Taka for his intelligence and charm, but after Mufasa 
became king, they started commenting on how much stronger Mufasa was and 
how he was more handsome. It was all behind his back of course, but 
eventually he started hearing things and rumors spread. The Pride as a 
whole started ignoring him, while his brother had the attention of the 
entire Pride.
	“All of this affected Taka. The jealousy he started feeling made 
the love he had for his brother start weakening, and his relationships 
with the lionesses started going downhill too. He began feeling that the 
entire Pride didn’t want him around, but tolerated him because he was 
the king’s brother. Eventually he started hunting and killing prey for 
himself, just to spend as little time with the Pride as possible.
	“Soon I was the only friend he had left, and many times that 
friendship became strained. Occasionally he would act like his old self, 
but normally he was just depressed and angry at the Pride, himself, and 
especially Mufasa for the loneliness he was feeling. If I hadn’t seen 
the change take place over a few moons myself, I would have thought Taka 
was a completely different lion, a lion called Scar. When I say the name 
Scar, I’m talking about the lion Taka became, and when I say Taka, I’m 
talking about the lion he used to be.”
	Siri look at the sun, which was approaching the horizon. “I need 
to leave soon, but two more questions before I go. Do you really want to 
be king?”
	Kovu was a little confused by the question, but answered right 
away. “Yes, of course I do. Why?”
	“That was going to be my next question.”
	Kovu thought for a few minutes, then said, “Well, I guess because 
mom wants it so bad. I’d hate to let her down.”
	“OK, I just wanted to make sure you knew. Remember, success isn’t 
what you should strive for, it’s happiness. Scar was successful in 
becoming king, but it didn’t make him happy, so it was all pointless.”
	“Isn’t that a little cubish, just trying to be happy? Mom always 
said I shouldn’t act like a cub anymore.”
	A quick growl escaped from Siri’s mouth. “Your mother doesn’t know 
or remember what it means to be a child. No matter how old you are, 
don’t let yourself grow up and stop being childish. Do what will make 
you happy, always. For now that is pleasing your mother. Don’t be 
surprised if that changes.” Siri took another look at the sun. “I guess 
I need to go.” He started walking back toward the Pride Lands.
	Kovu sat for a second, then ran after Siri. “One quick question. 
Siri, did you ever grow up?”
	Siri stopped in his tracks and looked back at Kovu. “Yes, I have 
grown up. I had to about four years ago.”
	“Wasn’t that about the time Scar became king?”
	Siri sighed and turned back away. “Yes, right about that time.”

Chapter 7

	“Well Mufasa, the plan is going according to schedule,” said 
Akili, apparently to nothing. “Both cubs liked each other quickly and 
the parents aren’t suspicious. Hopefully, this time we’ll actually 
succeed.”
	He paused as a series of wind gusts passed through his mane. This 
was the only way Mufasa and he could communicate, since dead Kings of 
the Past like Mufasa couldn’t directly talk to anyone other than shaman 
like Rafiki, princes, or kings.
	“Yes I know we have to get the Pride back together, but I’m tired 
of trying to make up for your mistakes.” Akili slowly started pacing 
back and forth. “Anyone could have told what was going to happen, but 
you insisted on ignoring the situation. First I warned you, and you 
ignored me. Then I tried to stop Scar, but he was to far gone to listen. 
Then I tried to get your mother to tell you, but you wouldn’t believe 
her! Then after Scar tried to kill Simba in the elephant graveyard, you 
wouldn’t believe me that he was involved! If you had listened to me 
once, we could have avoided all this!” He let himself drop to his side, 
as if he didn’t have the energy to stand.
	“I’m tired, Mufasa. I’m tired of hiding and having no friends. I’m 
tired of running back and forth between Pride Rock and the Outlands all 
day to keep on top of the situation. I’m tired of only seeing my wife 
once every few days, since she has to keep a watch on the surrounding 
prides and predators, since I don’t have time anymore. Most of all, I’m 
tired of talking to myself while you listen in and occasionally throw in 
a few words. I’m tired of this entire situation.” At this he got back up 
and started walking away. “Maybe I should just leave and join another 
pride with less problems.”
	At that a long series of breezes passed by. “Simba lived in the 
jungle for four years, Mufasa.  I think he can handle the Pride lands by 
himself. You don’t need to worry about Kiara either. She should have no 
problem finding a good husband.”
	A few quick blasts, and then nothing. “What about Kovu? He’ll 
be...” and then Akili stopped, both moving and talking. “Kovu. Have I 
kept Zira from hardening your heart, just to have Simba rip it out?” 
Akili whispered to himself. He looked up and said, “All right Mufasa, 
you win. But I’m only doing this because Kovu needs me, not to help your 
wounded conscience for breaking up the Pride. This is the last try. Good 
night.”
	Three more wind gusts, meaning good night, crossed the plains, and 
then all was still.

Chapter 8

	“Simba, we need to talk,” came Akili’s voice from over his 
shoulder. Simba turned to see his friend approaching, surrounded with an 
air of concern. “I think I’ve put this off long enough, and it’s time we 
started.”
	“Put what off?” asked Simba. He couldn’t think of anything his 
friend could be talking about. His last couple reports had said 
everything was going fine. “What’s the matter?”
	“The day we met, I told you I noticed what was eating you from 
within, and promised to help you deal with it. It’s time I made good on 
that promise.”
	Simba quickly recalled the meeting, particularly the part that 
Akili was now referring to. “You mean my feelings toward Scar? I’m not 
that angry anymore, really.”
	“Really, you’re not?” Akili walked over to Simba and sat down. He 
could tell this was going to talk as long as expected. “You’re not that 
angry at him anymore?”
	Simba followed Akili’s example, sitting then finally laying on his 
side. “No, I’m not. I barely think about him anymore.”
	“Ignoring a problem isn’t the same as it going away. Have you 
forgiven him for what he did?”
	“Forgiven him!” Simba cried quickly while leaping to his paws. For 
the first time during one of his meetings with Akili, he considered 
leaving. Then he regained his composure. “How can I forgive him for 
killing my father and nearly killing the entire Pride lands as well?”
	“Well, that sure is a strong reaction for you not hating him 
anymore. Come now, Simba, sit back down. You’ve already learned running 
from your problems doesn’t help.”
	The reference to his cubhood mistake quickly calmed Simba down. He 
once again sat, but could feel an angry force within himself that 
refused to go away.
	“That’s better. Now how do you feel.”
	Simba sat for a second, angry for how he was feeling, yet 
determined not to leave. “I’m angry. I’m angry at Scar for killing my 
father.”
	“Is that all?” asked Akili, obviously expecting more. “Just angry 
at Scar? Not at Nala, or Sarabi, or anyone else?”
	Once again Simba considered leaving. “Why would I be angry at 
them?”
	“You’re not angry at yourself for being fooled? You’re not angry 
at yourself for running away? Aren’t you angry at yourself for letting 
Scar take your place as king?” Akili stared directly into Simba’s eyes, 
causing the king to stare back for a second, then turn away on the verge 
of tears.
	“OK, OK. But why shouldn’t I be angry? I left, and if I hadn’t 
everything would have been better. If I hadn’t listened to Scar, the 
hyena’s wouldn’t have invaded. If I hadn’t gone into the gorge...” here 
Simba did break down to tears.
	Akili walked over to Simba and placed his paw on his shoulder. 
“Your father would still be alive. Simba, if you’re looking to place 
blame based on without looking at actions, the blame is Mufasa’s, not 
yours.”
	“What? What do you mean?” The king turned to his advisor, eyes red 
from crying. “What do you mean it was his fault?”
	“Well, if you had never been born, you wouldn’t have been in the 
gorge to save. And you have to admit, he is very much to blame for you 
being born.
	“But I guess that means Sarabi’s to blame too. Oh, and don’t 
forget your grandparents, either. Simba, if you start letting things 
other than actions attribute blame, your entire family history is 
responsible for Mufasa dying in that gorge.”
	“Then who is to blame?”
	“Let’s just find that out, shall we? First of all, how did Mufasa 
die?”
	Simba turned away again, trying to stop himself from reliving the 
aftermath of the stampede. “You know how,” he said softly.
	Akili got up and walked around Simba, showing he wouldn’t be 
ignored. “Simba, I already know who’s fault it was that Mufasa died. I’m 
not the one who need answer. If you want to find out too, you need to 
answer these questions for yourself. Again, how did Mufasa die?”
	Simba felt tears forming in his eyes again, but he was determined 
to stay. “I went into the gorge. The wildebeest herd stampeded down the 
walls and came toward me. Dad came down and tried to get me out of the 
stampede. After saving me, he jumped and tried to hold onto the wall. 
Scar threw him back into the stampede, and the wildebeest trampled him. 
There, happy now.”
	“I’m not doing this because I enjoy torturing you, Simba. I’m 
doing it because you need it. Now, let’s start at the end and work back 
to find out who was responsible. What actually killed him?”
	“I told you, the wildebeest trampled him.”
	“So, first of all, the wildebeest are the actual killers, right?”
	“I guess, but they weren’t trying to kill him.”
	“And they were already stampeding when Mufasa fell in among them. 
OK, since they’re not responsible lets go back another step.”
	“Why don’t you just get to the point?” demanded Simba. He was 
getting tired of waiting for this to get over so his emotions would 
settle down.
	“We’re almost done, for today anyway. Now, why did Mufasa fall 
into the stampede?”
	As calmly as possible. Simba said “he fell because Scar threw him 
off the wall.”
	“And why was he high enough for Scar to reach him?”
	“Because he was trying to get away from the stampede.”
	“Wouldn’t he have been fine if he had just held on?”
	Simba paused. He could tell what the answer was, but it just 
didn’t seem right. “I suppose, yes.”
	“So even though he went in and saved you, he could have come away 
alive?”
	“I guess.”
	“So that means you’re not at all at fault at all, doesn’t it. He 
didn’t die because of you.”
	Finally seeing where the questions had been leading, he almost 
sighed “I guess not. Scar was to blame.”
	“Plus Mufasa deserves just a little blame himself. He was the one 
who decided to climb up the cliff so Scar could help him get out. Didn’t 
he?”
	“I guess so.”
	Akili got up, preparing to leave. “Think it over. And while you’re 
at it, ask yourself why did Scar throw Mufasa back. Just think about 
what happened, and try to figure out why Scar did it.”
	Akili turned and left, not bothering to sneak away. Simba was to 
lost in thought to notice. “It’s a start,” he told himself. “I hope he’s 
ready by the time the cub’s are grown.”

End Part 1

Two and a half years later

Chapter 9

	Simba slowly paced back and forth along the Promitory. Kiara had 
just left for her first hunt, an important event of any lioness’s life. 
From today on, she was an adult in the eyes of the Pride.
	Though proud and happy for his daughter, Simba couldn’t help but 
feel a sense of dread. Sarabi, his mother, had died last year during a 
group hunt. While chasing an antelope, she stuck her paw into a gopher 
hole. Her body kept moving, and her leg...
	“No!” Simba thought quickly. “That was a random chance. There’s 
now way that will happen to Kiara!” Eyes glistening with the memory of 
his mother, Simba walked up to the tip of Pride Rock to get away from 
the Pride. This should be a happy day, and Simba wasn’t going to spoil 
it for Nala and the others.
	“Besides,” he thought, “I sent Timon and Pumbaa with her. She’ll 
be fine.” Yet a small doubting voice echoed in his mind. Simba had met 
with Akili that morning, and his advisor had said something 
unintentionally. After telling Akili about his worries about Kiara’s 
hunt, he had said, “Don’t worry about it. She’s a grown lioness now.” 
Then he whispered something under his breath, not meaning for Simba to 
hear it. “Besides, you’re going to lose her in the fire anyway.”
	Simba quickly caught the whisper, but Akili denied saying it. 
“You’re letting your worries make you start hearing things. Come on, 
today’s going to be a great day.”
	Great indeed. How could he enjoy today after hearing something 
like that? “I must have imagined it,” he thought. “I’d better go down, 
the others might notice if I’m gone too long.”
	Zazu and Nala had noticed, but the rest of the lionesses were 
still congratulating Nala, telling about their own first hunts. Simba 
avoided the crowd, walking up the Promitory. He searched the horizon for 
Kiara, but she was no where to be seen. Zazu watched his king’s pacing, 
and flew up and landed beside him. “Don’t worry Simba. She’ll be fine. 
What could happen?”
	Simba turned to his majordomo, intending to tell him EXACTLY what 
could happen, when his eyes caught something on the horizon. Smoke, and 
just a hint of fire.
	“No....No....Kiara!” he cried. He leaped down to the path from the 
Promitory to the ground. Immediately he started calling out orders. 
“Zazu, fly ahead. Find her!” Then to the standing, growling lionesses, 
“Come on, let’s go. Now!”
	All the happiness and exhilaration that had filled the pride 
moments before were gone. Simba poured all his strength into getting to 
Kiara as quickly as possible, and the lionesses desperately tried to 
keep up. Simba could hear Akili’s voice repeating in his mind, over and 
over. “You’re going to lose her in the fire, you’re going to lose her in 
the fire...”
	When he crested a hill, Simba saw the fire itself. The entire 
world seemed to be ablaze. Beyond a river below, which prevented the 
fire’s advance, nothing could be seen but fire and smoke. In panic Simba 
looked back and forth, hoping to see his daughter.
	Zazu’s flew up to him, calling “Simba, look. There, by the river.”  
Then Simba scanned the river with his eyes, and he saw Kiara lying 
motionless with a dark lion standing over her. If Simba didn’t know his 
friend as well as he did, he might have mistaken the lion for Akili in 
his anger. “Get away from her,” he said to himself, as he ran down to 
his child, growling as he went.
	When he reached Kiara, she was already standing and in a defensive 
position. “If the fire didn’t get her, neither will you!” Simba silently 
called out to the intruder. Instead he called out “Kiara!” and jumped 
between them snarling at in dark lion, forcing him to back off startled.
	Nala arrived moments later. “Kiara, you’re all right.” she said, 
as she started nuzzling her daughter. Kiara nuzzled her back for an 
instant, then shifted her attention to her father. “Father, how could 
you break you promise?”
	Without taking his eyes off the intruder, Simba replied, “It’s a 
good thing I did. I almost lost you.” Then looking at her, “No more 
hunts for you. Not ever.”
	“But I was doing just fine,” she retorted. “Even before Kovu...” 
Simba interrupted her before she could finish. “Kovu?” Then Simba and 
Kovu started growling at each other, expecting the other to begin a 
battle.
	“Simba?” Nala said, astonished by her husband’s actions. He 
stopped growling, but continued snarling at Scar’s heir. Then he stopped 
snarling and turned when the voice of Rafiki, the Pride’s shaman, came 
from over his shoulder.
	“Hey! You! How dare you save the king’s daughter?” The mandrill 
leaned forward on his staff to emphasize the irony in his voice.
	Simba turned back to Kovu questioningly. “You saved  her? Why?”
	“I humbly ask to join your pride,” Kovu said, holding his head 
high to look as impressive as possible.
	“No! You were banished with the other Outsiders.” Simba said with 
teeth bared while advancing, forcing Kovu to back off.
	“I have left the Outsiders, I am a rogue. Judge me now for who I 
am,” Kovu paused, taking a deep breath as if to prepare a verbal attack. 
“Or am I to be blamed for a crime I didn’t commit.”
	Simba started pacing before Kovu, considering. He couldn’t believe 
Kovu would dare bring up Scar’s blaming Simba for Mufasa’s death, but it 
made a valid point. Nala added her weight saying “Simba, you owe him 
your daughter’s life.” 
	Zazu replied, “Hmmm, Yes Sire, clearly we are in his debt. And 
royal protocol demands that all debts be paid, though in this case you 
might want to make an exception.” The last thought caused Simba to smile 
for an instant. He turned to see Kovu looking at him worried, then Kovu 
noticed he was being watched and straightened his face.
	Coming to a decision, Simba said “My father’s law will prevail. 
For now, I reserve judgment. We’ll see who you really are.” He turned 
and led them all in silence back to Pride Rock, with Zazu adding a final 
comment of “Hmmm, riffraff.”

Chapter 10

	Sanira laid down by her kill, waiting for her husband to arrive. 
She could hardly sit still, but she wanted to surprise him with the good 
news.
	Hearing someone approach, she slowly got up and turned. Even from 
behind, she recognized the lion as the one she was waiting for. “What’s 
he dragging?” she wondered. “Didn’t he remember today was my day to 
hunt?”
	Dropping his burden, the dark lion turned to his wife. “Hey 
Sanira. Have a good day?” That was all he got in before Sanira pounced 
on him, pinning him to the ground.
	“Today was my day to hunt. What, did you think I couldn’t bring 
down enough for both of us to eat?” She could only hold her mock frown 
for a second, then she smiled and nuzzled him.
	He nuzzled her back, saying, “You could bring down a buck elephant 
without trying, but after today, I just had to hunt.”
	Stepping back to let him up, Sanira asked, “Oh, bad day?”
	Now it was the male’s turn to fake sadness, but he couldn’t hold a 
strait face either. “No, GREAT day.” Then he glanced over at her kill. A 
wildebeest, her favorite. “Looks like you had a good day too.”
	Grinning widely, she replied “I guess you could say that. 
Ujabari’s wife had her cubs today. Two lionesses and one lion.”
	“That’s great! I’ll have to visit my new nieces and nephew in a 
few days.” “I can’t believe Ujabari’s a father,” he thought. “He’ll make 
a great dad.”
	“Well, I told you my news, now it’s your turn. I guess today went 
as expected.” Sanira said inquisitively.
	The lion giggled a bit before answering. “Oh, much, MUCH better 
than expected. Not only did Kovu’s fire rescue work, but the entire 
pride accepted him, especially Kiara. Mufasa had Rafiki come in at just 
the right time to catch Simba off guard so He had to accept him. Zira 
thinks her plan is still working, and tomorrow Kovu will be teaching 
Kiara how to hunt. They’ll spend most of the day together, then tomorrow 
night I’ll talk with Kovu, and with Simba the next day. I may have these 
two together in less than a week!”
	“How did Simba react?”
	The lion gave a sigh, then said, “I had hoped for better, but 
expected worse. Kovu’s sleeping just outside the Pride’s cave, but I was 
afraid Simba would force him to sleep in the cave behind Pride Rock 
where Taka used to sleep.”
	“You sure he’ll be ready in a week? Simba has gone through a lot.”
	“I know, that’s why I’ve spent the last two years helping him work 
through it. I think he’s ready to let go.”
He looked down at the carcasses on either side of them. “We’d better 
start eating these or the jackals and buzzards are going to eat them for 
us.”
	Sanira started on the wildebeest while her husband started on the 
zebra he had brought. After several minutes, Sanira looked up and , 
licking the blood from her paw, asked “So Akili, did anything else 
happen today?” She started giggling even before her husbands head looked 
up.
	“Sanira, please. No one is around. You can use my real name.” 
	“Oh no, I can’t,” she replied between giggles. “Remember, you’re 
not allowed to use your real name if you’re outside our pride’s 
territory.” She collapsed back into giggles. “Besides, you were the one 
who came up with the idea of having a dozen different names in the first 
place.”
	The lion knew his wife was just teasing him, so he decided to act 
the same way. “Oh, since when have you been Ms. stick to the rules? 
You’re not allowed to be married to me, remember? That’s why we had to 
fake your death before I left our pride.”
	“Oh yes, that’s right. I guess I have to leave then.” Sanira took 
one last bite, licked her maw, and started walking away.
	“Oh no, you don’t.” The lion got up and started chasing her, then 
pounced when he was right behind her. Sanira jumped to the side, 
avoiding being caught.
	“If you wanna keep me, ya gotta catch me!” she called as she took 
off across the grass.
	Her husband took off after her, laughing and thinking, “There are 
times I wonder why I married her. It’s times like these I remember.”
	Both lions ran as fast as they could, and the gap between them 
slowly shortened. By now both were laughing and enjoying the evening. 
Suddenly Sanira stopped and ducked, causing her husband to trip over her 
and end up flat on his back. She walked over to him, flicked his nose 
with the tuft of her tail, and ran a little ways away.
	“Oh, so it’s tag now, is it?” he said as he got back up. “Well I’m 
game if you are.” He ran toward her and, before she could turn and run, 
jumped over her and flicked her side with is tail.
	He took off toward the water hole with his wife right behind. His 
full stomach complained at this sudden exercise, but he was having too 
much fun to care.
	Reaching the water hole, he jumped in calling, “Water race.” 
Sanira jumped in right after him, and both swam around the lake as fast 
as they could. Eventually Sanira tagged her husband, and both crawled 
out exhausted.
	“OK” the lion said, pausing to catch his breath. “You won. What’s 
your prize?”
	Sanira looked around, also trying to catch her breath, and fixed 
her eyes on Pride Rock’s silhouette against the moon. “I want to live 
there,” she said, indicating the mountain.
	Her husband looked at Pride Rock, and looked back at her. “For 
you, I’d live in the elephant graveyard.” he said, and both laid on 
their backs, letting the warm night air dry their fur.

Chapter 11

	Kovu awoke to a slight tugging at his ear. “Shhh, we don’t want to 
wake the others.” Getting up, Kovu yawned and followed Siri up the path 
beside Pride rock. Upon reaching the peak both sat in silence for a 
moment.
	The moon above gave the entire Pride Lands a calming blue glow. 
Below the lions elephants and antelope could be seen near the water 
hole, giraffes having midnight snacks on some trees, and the parting 
grass revealed a predator, probably a cheetah. “So, how do you like it 
here in the Pride Lands?” Siri asked.
	Kovu looked at his mentor, now not much bigger than himself, and 
said, “It’s great. It’s so beautiful, and there’s so much prey, and 
today Kiara and I...” Kovu stopped himself, not wanting to seem silly.
	“Kiara and you what?” Siri asked, a pleasant grin on his face.
	Embarrassed, Kovu replied, “I think she called it fun. I started 
off teaching her how to hunt, which she really can’t. Then we ran into 
some of her friends and...” He trailed off again, smirking. “Then we 
just started doing a lot of stupid stuff for no reason. First we roared 
at some birds, then we started running around scaring them some more. We 
had to turn around and nearly got trampled by a bunch of rhinos. Next 
Kiara taught me this thing called tag, and...” again he trailed off 
embarrassed. “I guess we didn’t get much done.”
	“Kovu, are you embarrassed? what do you think you did that was so 
wrong?” Siri asked while ruffling Kovu’s mane with his paw.
	“Well, I don’t know. I guess I should be concentrating on Simba 
and everything, but I really enjoyed goofing off today. I know I’m 
supposed to get Kiara to like me, but...” Once again he trailed off 
smiling, “I guess I’m getting to like her too.”
	“Kovu, what are your intentions?”
	The younger lion was a little more than surprised at the question. 
“What do you mean, my intentions?”
	“I’ve always told you to do your best to be as happy as possible, 
and that your feelings might change over time. What are your intentions 
toward Simba and Kiara.”
	Kovu thought for a while, then looked back up. “Promise not to be 
mad?”
	Siri smiled down at his student. “Kovu, the only thing you could 
do to make me mad would be to lie. It’s OK, you can tell me.”
	“OK, I know you and mom and everybody is kinda counting on me 
killing Simba and taking over the pride and everything, but if I do that 
Kiara would never speak to me again. I’m really getting to like her, and 
Simba’s really not a bad guy. He’s just been through a lot because of 
Scar. I’m not sure what I want to do.”
	“And now’s when I’m supposed to get mad and throw you over the 
edge, right? Kovu, I want you to be happy. I helped you train to fight 
Simba when you thought that was what would make you happy. If staying 
with Kiara will make you more happy, do so with my blessing. It’s up to 
you.” Looking at the position of the moon, Siri said, “I guess I should 
let you get back to sleep. Let’s go back down.”
	Both lions turned and walked the path, with Siri in the lead. Upon 
reaching the Promitory, however, Siri practically ran into Nala. “Oh, 
hello Kovu,” she started, not recognizing him in the dark shadow. “I 
just wanted to apologize for Simba for...” She stopped, realizing her 
mistake. “Oh, sorry Mjima. For a second I thought you were...” She 
stopped again when she saw Kovu standing behind her old friend. She 
looked back and forth between them a few times, seeing something she 
hadn’t before. “OK, what’s going on here?”
	Siri looked back at Kovu, then at Nala. “Ahh, darn it. I didn’t 
want this to come out yet.” He sighed and said, “Nala, you had something 
you were going to say to Kovu?” He moved to the side so the other two 
could face one another.
	“Well, I guess I just wanted to apologize for how Simba’s acting. 
If it were up to me and the others you’d be sleeping in the cave with 
us, but Simba’s...”
	Kovu cut her off. “Nala, I know what Simba’s gone through, so I 
understand how he’s acting. You don’t need to apologize.” Then turning 
back to Siri, “OK, Siri, like Nala asked, what is going on here?”
	Siri looked at Kovu and replied, “I told you I’d support you in 
whatever decision you made. This,” he paused, motioning to Nala, “is 
called playing both sides of the game. Good night, Kovu, I’ll see you 
again soon. Nala, come with me.”
	Kovu would have protested, but Siri had already turned. Nala 
looked at him and said, “Good night, Kovu.” She then turned and followed 
Siri down to the ground. “All right Mjima, or Siri, or whatever. What’s 
this all about?” She asked when they stopped walking.
	Siri turned around, and with an awkward look on his face, asked, 
“Don’t tell any of the other lionesses about this, especially don’t tell 
Simba. How much do you want to know?”
	“Everything!”
	Siri sighed and shook his head. “OK, here goes. I guess it all 
started ten years ago, before Mufasa even became king or Taka got his 
scar. Though I was 4 and they were just cubs, I became friends with both 
of them, and I.....”

Chapter 12

	Simba sat and waited for Akili, meanwhile gazing up at the stars. 
He smiled as he started making pictures out of the stars, a game he used 
to play with his father, then shared with his daughter. “It’s a 
beautiful night,” he thought.
	“Well Simba, good to meet with you again.” Simba didn’t bother 
turning, so Akili walked and sat in front of him. “What, not even a 
hello?”
	“Akili, why did you say I was going to lose Kiara in the fire? I 
was scared out of my mind when I was running to find her!”
	Akili kept a straight face for a few moments, then started lightly 
giggling. “Well, it got you there on time, didn’t it?” He stopped 
giggling, but a warm smile stayed on his face. “Come on, do you want my 
report or not?”
	“All right, go ahead.” Simba tried to stay annoyed at his advisor, 
but Akili’s good mood was infectious. “How are the Pride Lands?”
	“A few new herds are moving in from the southeast, so hunting in 
that area will probably be fruitful for a few weeks. The cheetahs to the 
north are stepping up their hunting, but it’s nothing to worry about. 
They have several cubs reaching maturity, so it’s to be expected. In 
fact, paying them a visit to show your acceptance of their adult status 
might be a good idea.”
	“I’ll keep that in mind,” Simba said, thinking of Kiara’s new 
adulthood. Of course the cheetahs would like some congratulations.
	“The Ganduga and Zerhani prides to the east are recovering after a 
brief territory battle, so they shouldn’t be a problem for a moon or 
two.” With his smile widening, Akili added, “Speaking of other prides, 
what’s this I’m hearing about Kovu coming and joining this one?”
	“He hasn’t joined yet,” Simba responded quickly. “He pulled Kiara 
out of the fire, so I have to let him stay while I decide whether or not 
to let him join. I don’t want to, but I can’t find any good reason not 
to. I’m not going to just do what I want , I need to do what’s right. 
Akili,” at this Simba stared deeply at his advisor, needing his help 
badly, “what should I do?”
	“Well, first I want to congratulate you and say good job.”
	Simba was taken back by this. “Congratulate me on what, not being 
able to make a decision? That’s not something a king should be 
congratulated for.”
	Akili giggled a little more before responding. “No, I’m 
congratulating you on finally acting like a king. The Simba I met three 
years ago wouldn’t have given Kovu a second chance, or even a first one. 
I think you’re finally letting go.
	“As for what should you do, I think you already know that. Come 
on, Kiara and Kovu are just a little ways away. If you climb on top of 
that hill over there you’ll be able to see them clearly. Go up there and 
think about it.”
	While Simba walked up the hill, Akili ran back to Pride Rock. He 
saw Nala walking toward Simba while on his way. “That’ll help a little 
too,” he said to himself.
	Upon reaching Pride Rock, Akili immediately climbed up the path to 
the Promitory and slipped by the Pride’s den. After looking around, he 
crawled behind a few large rocks near the cave’s entrance. From here he 
could hear anything said above a whisper anywhere on Pride Rock, except 
on the peak, and it was nearly impossible for anyone to see him without 
crawling into the same place.
	It seemed a short while when Akili heard Simba’s heavy footprints 
enter the cave. They were slow and even. “He’s still thinking it over. 
Good,” Akili thought. Then the close rocks holding in his body heat and 
the peacefulness of the evening became too much for him, and he caught a 
quick nap.
	Minutes later, Akili was woken up by Kiara and Kovu chanting, 
“upendi, upendi, upendi.” “Well, they’re in a good mood,” he thought. He 
shifted his position so he could see them between the rocks. They were 
nuzzling.
	First both said goodnight. They both turned to the cave for a 
second, then looked at the nearby rock where Kovu was sleeping. Finally 
they separated, with Kovu wearing an expression that called out, “if 
this is how it has to be, so be it.”
	“Good choice,” Akili thought, then noticed Simba had walked to the 
cave entrance. Simba looked first at Kovu, then back into the cave at 
Kiara. Smiling, he approached the younger lion.
	“Oh, please let this be it,” Akili thought, slowly shifting his 
position again to see what was about to happen.
	Kovu by now was resting with his chin on the ground, a little 
sadness and loneliness expressed through his eyes. Noticing he was being 
watched, he looked up at Simba, not sure what to expect.
	Simba looked around a bit, then said, “it’s a little cold tonight, 
huh?.” Then, while smiling and turning, “come on in.” Kovu got up and 
started following him, a smile on his own face.
	“Come on, make it in without fighting. Come on, come on...” Akili 
wasn’t sure whether to be excited or nervous, but either way he could 
hardly keep still. “You guys can do it.”
	After both lions entered the cave, Akili waited a bit and looked 
in. Simba and Nala were sleeping on a small ledge above the rest of the 
pride, and off to the right, Kovu had his right forepaw draped over 
Kiara’s shoulders.
	“YESSSS,” Akili’s mind was screaming, yet he had to remain silent. 
Akili practically flew over the grass as he ran to tell Sanira. “And 
Zira still has no clue,” he thought to himself.
	In his excitement he failed to see Vitani running back toward the 
Outlands, having left her lookout of Pride Rock after seeing Kovu let 
into the cave.

Chapter 13

	Akili followed Simba and Kovu as they talked the next day. Both 
seemed to be doing well, and Simba was finally getting to see Kovu as 
the individual he was. “The only thing that would make today more 
perfect if those rain clouds would go away,” Akili thought
	Then a small breeze bought him a smell he couldn’t fail to 
recognize. “What’s Zira doing here?” he wondered, then he picked up on 
some other scents. “Vitani, Nuka, the entire Outlands Pride is here. 
Why?” he thought, as he hid behind some rocks to avoid being seen.
	Now Simba and Kovu were standing talking, back in the plains that 
two days ago were burning. “Sometimes what’s left behind can grow better 
than the generation before...” Simba used his paw to brush away some 
ash, revealing a small green plant. “If given the chance.” He would have 
said more, but an evil chuckle broke the silence first.
	From his hiding place, Akili watched as eleven smiling lionesses 
and one lion slowly surrounded Simba and Kovu. “Why Simba...” Zira said 
once coming into view.
	“Zira...” Simba looked back, getting into a defensive position.
	Zira looked back and continued advancing. “What are you doing out 
here and... so....ALONE....” Finally she stopped when the circle of 
lions around the two was tight. Looking to her younger son, she said, 
“Well done, Kovu. Just as we always planned.”
	“You!” Simba said, turning to Kovu with teeth bared.
	“No! I didn’t have anything to do with this!” Kovu looked around 
to try to find something, anything to help prove his innocence.
	“Yeah, come on Simba. Can’t you see Zira’s setting him up?” Akili 
wanted to get down there and help, but something inside him told him to 
wait and watch.
	“Attack!” Zira cried, and suddenly the entire pride started 
attacking with teeth and claws, while Simba tried to hold them off.
	“No!!” Kovu cried, and joined the fray, trying to help protect 
Simba. He was able to knock a few lionesses away before Vitani noticed 
him. While braced against Simba, she gave him a hard kick, throwing him 
back and hitting his head on a rock.
	“That’s enough,” Akili thought, as he sprang from his hiding spot. 
By the time he reached the battle, however, Simba had fallen down into a 
dry river bed, with Zira’s pride right behind.
	“Remember your training...As a unit.” Zira called, as the pride 
chased Simba down the riverbed. He was stopped by a large pile of rocks 
and stones that were blocking the water’s advance. After a quick look 
back, be clumsily started climbing the pile.
	By now Kovu was back up and standing at the river’s edge. “Simba!” 
he cried, while looking for some way to help him out.
	Below Zira noticed her son and called, “get him Kovu, get him! Do 
it, now!” Kovu ran to the side and out of sight, obviously not intending 
to hurt Simba.
	Nuka saw this and thought it would be a great chance to replace 
Kovu as the next king. “I’ll do it, for you mother!” he called out as he 
began climbing the logs.
	“Mother, are you watching?” He said while momentarily looking back 
“I’m doing it for you...” and then he added in a whisper, “and I’m doing 
it for me.”
	Finally reaching Simba, who was just peach away from escaping, he 
said to Simba, “this is my moment of Glory.” Then the log he was using 
for support collapsed, and he fell back down the riverbed, with the log 
ending up on to of him. Finally, Simba managed to get out, but he 
knocked a few logs in doing so, one of which well directly onto Nuka.
	Kovu reappeared at the edge in time to see his brothers fate, and 
immediately he jumped down and started trying to get his brother out. He 
was stopped by Zira, who knocked him out of the way so she could dig out 
Nuka.
	Looking down from above, Akili couldn’t tell what was said, but it 
was obvious what had happened. “Well, I guess that solves the problem of 
what do about Nuka,” he said softly.
	After a lionesses sat in silence for a while to say their final 
goodbye to Nuka, Zira looked over to his brother. “YOU!” she cried, 
running over and hitting him in the face with claws unsheathed, 
intending to draw blood. “He was Scar’s only child!” she thought.
	Kovu turned his face to the side, calling out in pain, and looking 
back in anger. When he looked back, however, it was shock that showed on 
his mothers face, not anger. He now had a long pink scar directly over 
his left eye.
	“Now that I didn’t expect.” Akili thought. He recalled telling 
Zira that her sons would die if she acted without him. He never expected 
that to come true. Then he left for the Pride lands, thinking “Kovu will 
be fine. I’d better go check and make sure Simba’s not too badly hurt.”
	Approaching Pride Rock, Akili noticed all the animals had come 
together in an assembly, just like at Kiara’s presentation. “What’s this 
about?” he wondered, and he slipped around the crowd up to near Pride 
Rock so he could hear what was being said. It took so much time that he 
got into position just as Kovu was walking through the crown.

Chapter 14

	Kovu slowly walked through the crowd, hounded by whispers about 
his new scar. It seemed as though every animal somehow expected it, and 
wasn’t surprised at all. Eventually he made his was to a large clear 
circle beside and below the Promitory.
	Looking down at him, Simba called out, “Why have you come back?”
	“Simba, I had nothing to do with...” Kovu started, but Simba 
didn’t let him finish.
	“You don’t belong here.”
	Afraid, Kovu looked up and pleaded, “Please, I ask your 
forgiveness.”
	“Yes, Simba. Don’t let your emotions control you.” Akili started 
slightly sweating. What was going to happen now?
	Behind her father, Kiara said, “Daddy, please, listen to him...”
	This time it was his daughter Simba interrupted. “Silence! When 
you first came here you asked for judgment, and I pass it now.” Simba 
waited a moment before passing his ruling. 
	“No Simba, don’t do this. Please don’t do this...” kept repeating 
itself in Akili’s mind.
	“EXILE!” came the judgment from Simba, with a quick retort from 
Kiara. Kovu’s mouth just dropped open as he realized what this meant. He 
had left and betrayed his old pride, he couldn’t return to them. He had 
planned on staying with Kiara in this pride, but now was exiled. “What 
do I do now?” he asked himself.
	As for Akili, his body fell to the ground as his legs gave out 
underneath him. He could feel his mind trying to replay a memory, but he 
fought it with all his might. “Please don’t make me live through that 
again...” he thought, then the memory overpowered him as his eyes 
closed.

	Akili walked back to his home, a pleasant smile on his face. Today 
he and his brother Ujabari, were to be “banished,” but really it was 
just a loving send off. They would both be welcome back anytime to visit 
or, if necessary, hunt. Even after taking over other prides, often males 
would come back every few years on their birthday or some other special 
time.
	But Akili had a good reason to be happy. Unknown to the rest of 
the pride, last night was his and Sanira’s wedding night. It had to be 
kept secret, because Sanira was the hunt mistress and not allowed to 
marry within the pride. She especially couldn’t marry Akili, who was 
about to leave and couldn’t take her with him.
	However, the young couple had come up with a clever little 
solution for that. Akili was to tell the pride he had found her dead, 
apparently because of a battle with someone. They had found a dead 
lioness a few days ago near the border, so last night they scratched it 
beyond recognition and would use that as Sanira’s corpse. After Akili 
left, the two would meet back up and journey into the world together.
	A little after sunrise, Akili reached Ushindi Kilima, or Victory 
Hill in his pride’s ancient language. It was rarely used for common 
speech, but often in names. Akili had chosen his own alias, Akili, from 
that language, where it meant ability, cleverness, discretion, or to 
trick someone in a good way. He smiled when he thought of the last 
meaning. “I suppose I am tricking the pride into letting me have a 
wife,” he thought, then suppressed his giggles to be properly somber 
when he delivered his “bad news.”
	He didn’t have to long to prepare, the entire pride was awake and 
apparently waiting for something. Seeing him approach, his brother, the 
king, Mamlaka approached, stopping just outside reaching distance. “It’s 
Akili now, right? Where were you last night? I woke up in the middle of 
the night and couldn’t get back to sleep, thinking of you and Ujabari, 
but you were nowhere to be found. Where were you?”
	Akili cleared his throat, trying to look sad. “I couldn’t sleep 
either. I went out walking and looking for Sanira, since I noticed she 
was gone. A little while ago I was on my way back when I...found her.” 
The last he added with his head hung.
	“Then where is she now? Why didn’t she come back with you.” 
Mamlaka approached closer, and Akili started feeling a little nervous. 
“Where is she, Akili?”
	“She’s...dead.” Akili kept his head down to continue to appear 
distraught. “When I found her, she was recognizable only by her smell. I 
think she was attacked.”
	“Take me to her.” That was all Mamlaka said.
	It was a slow and silent procession that followed Akili to a small 
clearing. The scent of blood was noticeable even before the body came 
into sight, and a grisly sight it was. The face was ripped beyond 
recognition, and most of the rest of the body had open wounds. A deep 
slash had opened the chest from throat to groin “Sanira did a little 
finishing up, I see,” thought Akili.
	Most of the lionesses turned away, but Mamlaka studied the body 
carefully, every scratch and drop. Finally he turned around and started 
studying Akili with his eyes using equal thoroughness. “All right, 
Akili, I have just one more question for you. WHY?”
	Akili stood in total confusion for an instant. “Why what?” he 
asked.
	“Oh, come on, as if it isn’t obvious enough. Look at the wounds on 
her. Those weren’t caused by any cheetah or panther. She’s torn open, 
but not ONE BITE was taken out of her. This wasn’t done by someone 
trying to hunt her. It had to have been done by a lion.
	“Also, there was no battle. I would have heard. Some of these 
wounds are still bleeding. If there had been a battle this close to 
home, the entire pride would have heard it. She must have known her 
attacker, or not seen them coming.
	“Next, who could have approached her without her knowing? The only 
lions more expert at stealth than her are you and Ujabari, and I can 
personally vouch for his whereabouts all night. Besides, you forgot to 
clean your paws.”
	Akili looked down at his paws, noticing the red stains. “Darn it. 
How could I have forgotten something so simple?” he thought. “They must 
have gotten stained when I found her here,” he said in defense.
	Mamlaka simply stared for a second before beginning to circle his 
brother. “Perhaps, but I’ve seen the way you’ve been looking at her the 
last few days. You weren’t looking at her with the same ‘I’ll miss you’ 
look you’ve been giving everyone else. It was a sly, almost hungry, 
look. What, did you come to her last night and she rejected you, and you 
took out your anger on her? Or did she say she would be glad you were 
gone? WHY DID YOU DO IT?”
	“Mamlaka, I had nothing to do with this... I just found her...” 
Akili, now genuinely frightened, started slowly backing up.
	“Well then, who else could have done it? No one in our pride, they 
were all accounted for last night. No other species could have caused 
those wounds, and no one but someone she trusted could have gotten close 
enough to her to kill her without a fight.”
	Akili just kept backing up, not sure what to do. He had never 
planned on something like this. What was Mamlaka going to do?
	“All right, don’t answer. I don’t need it to make my decision. 
Akili, today you were to be banished. You will not be banished today, or 
ever.”
	Akili stopped backing up, once again confused. what was going on 
here?
	“Instead, I’ve decided to do something else, fitting of your 
crime.” Mamlaka paused to glance at “Sanira’s” body, then with a full 
voice yelled, “EXILE!”
	“But... but... no one has been exiled in generations!” Akili 
stammered. Exile was much worse than banishment. To the pride, today was 
the day of his death. No one would acknowledge his presence when he was 
off the pride’s territory, even if he was screaming to them from within 
reaching distance. If he ever crossed the border back into the pride’s 
territory, he would be hunted down and killed.
	“I have decided. It begins now.” The lionesses and Mamlaka formed 
a semicircle around Akili, the open end pointing toward the border. 
Akili slowly turned and started walking, with the semicircle walking 
with him.
	Not daring to stop walking, Akili turned his head to his left. 
There was his sister. “Sis, please, say something to him.” But she 
remained silent. Then turning to his right, he saw his mother. “Mom, 
stop this. You know I didn’t do it.” His mother kept both eyes straight 
ahead and said nothing, even though a tear formed in her eye.
	Once they reached the border, a small stream. Akili sighed and 
walked across. He turned to see all the lionesses returning home, while 
his brother remained just on the other side. “I don’t care about whether 
you step across the border or not,” Mamlaka said. “If I so much as smell 
you in the wind I’ll tear you up like you did her.” With that he also 
turned and walked away, leaving Akili alone to cry over the loss of his 
family.

	Akili reopened his eyes, just in time to see Kovu glancing back 
over his shoulder while on top of a hill. A small tear had formed in one 
of his eyes. After only a brief pause he turned back around and walked 
out of sight.
	Then Akili looked up to Pride Rock, and he saw Simba standing at 
the Promitory’s edge. “How DARE he do that to my Kovu!” Akili thought. 
The world slowly became red in his eyes and, for only the second time in 
his life, Akili snarled.

Chapter 15

	After the assembly broke up, Simba remained on the Promitory. 
Kiara had run crying back into the cave, but she would get over Kovu in 
time. Turning to follow her, Simba noticed Akili laying in his side a 
small distance away. He was sitting perfectly still staring straight at 
Simba. “He must want to talk,” Simba thought, and walked over to meet 
his friend.
	Once he was within reach, Akili finally spoke. “Stop. Don’t you 
move a muscle or say a thing.” He spoke clearly and slowly. “Well, I 
knew you were coming to terms with Scar, but I never thought you’d 
become him.”
	Simba was shocked. “What do you...” Suddenly Akili hit Simba 
across the face with his claws retracted, knocking him to the ground. 
	“I TOLD YOU TO BE SILENT!” he yelled. “It’s taking all my 
willpower to not kill you right now.” He started pacing back and forth 
in front of Simba, who remained on his back. Looking into Akili’s eyes, 
Simba didn’t see the normal calm glow of friendship. He saw the redness 
of burning rage, and he was afraid for his own life.
	Akili started shaking as he paced. “Oh yes, excellent job. Punish 
Kovu for doing something any idiot could see was impossible. Setting up 
the ambush? How could he have done that? He wanted to talk to Kiara 
today, not you. That was YOUR idea. Maybe he set up the location in 
advance. Oh yeah, YOU were the one deciding where to go. Now tell me 
Simba, just how is he responsible?”
	Simba thought for a moment, afraid to speak. However, even if he 
had wanted to Akili didn’t give him the chance. “You want to deal with 
blame? Fine lets do that. You wanted to know who was responsible for 
Mufasa’s death? ME, that’s who! Not you, not Scar. ME!”
	“Wha...” was all Simba could get out. Akili jumped over him, 
continuing with his teeth just inches from Simba’s throat.
	“Why do you think I even bother Simba? Do you really think I need 
your approval to live in the Pride Lands? You’ve never even seen my 
wife, and you’ve never seen me hunt. We could live here quite happily 
without you. In fact, why didn’t I just kill you three years ago and 
take over this pride?
	“Because of your father. When you were born, your father charged 
me with your safety, and I agreed. I became responsible for making sure 
you grew up, became strong, and became king of this pride.
	Akili backed up and started pacing again, much to Simba’s relief. 
“Well, there was just one little problem. Scar had become so outcast by 
the pride all he could think about anymore was becoming king. You just 
so happened to be in the way, so he’d have to get rid of you. I tried to 
warn Mufasa, but he was to stupid to listed. I tried again and again. I 
even got Scar to trick you into going into the elephant graveyard so 
your father would finally understand I was telling the truth.
	“Oh yes, I knew all about the graveyard. How do you think your 
father showed up at just the right time at just the right place. The 
hyenas were told by Scar to shoot Zazu off in the geyser, and that was 
my signal to get Mufasa into position.
	“The only problem was your father STILL didn’t believe me. I knew 
the only way I could protect you was to get you away from the Pride 
Lands, and you’d only leave once Mufasa was dead. I knew Scar would try 
to get both of you on the next attempt, so in order to save you I had to 
help him plan out every detail. The gorge, the stampede, even the 
hyena’s chasing you afterward. I planned each and every step.
	“Oh, but it doesn’t end there. Didn’t you find my voice a little 
familiar when we first met? You should have. After you collapsed in the 
desert, I picked you up and carried you to where two leopards who owed 
me a favor were to ‘find you.’ Before I left I whispered into your ear 
‘Be strong, little one.’ Timon and Pumbaa just happened to show up at 
the right time and place to find you.”
	Simba could remember the whisper. The world had seemed vague and 
distorted, but he could now remember being carried in someone’s mouth.
	“Let’s see where we go next. You already know about me controlling 
the hyenas to keep the Pride Lands in decent condition until you came 
back. Yes, lets talk about when you did come back. My, for living with a 
meerkat and a warthog you seemed extremely good at fighting. Hmm, maybe 
that’s because somebody named Ujabari just so happened to walk into your 
life and offer to train you. Hmm, I wonder who’s brother he might happen 
to be? I took care of his pride for two moons while he trained you.
	“But we were talking about when you came back, weren’t we. Hmm, 
it’s really nice that Nala just so happened to go across a desert to 
find help. My, what are the chances of her choosing to go in just the 
right direction to find you. Next time you see her, ask her about Mjima.
	“And then you came back, because I sent Nala to get you, and you 
fought Scar, using the training I arranged for you to get, to avenge 
your fathers death, which I just so happened to plan. At the bottom of 
it I caused Scar’s death too, because the reason he was in his situation 
was because I had planned on you killing him when you came back.
	“And after I arrange the deaths of my two best friends to save 
your life, what do you do. Take the future of the pride, which I’ve been 
trying to preserve for the last six years, and throw it away. Simba, you 
want to know what I meant by you losing Kiara in the fire? Well guess 
what, you did. Before the fire she was yours because you were her 
father. Now she’s Kovu’s. And you just exiled him, and with him the 
prides future. Oh yes, excellent job.”
	Akili walked just out of reach and stood facing away from Simba. 
He could feel the anger leaving him, and his senses returning. “There 
still may be a chance,” he said, not turning. “But it’s entirely Kiara 
and Kovu’s decision. I know how Kiara will decide, but I don’t know 
about Kovu after what you just did to him.”  He sighed then continued. 
“If this doesn’t work, you’ll never see me again. I’ll just leave, I 
have to much of this pride’s blood on my paws anyway.” Slowly he started 
walking away.
	Simba finally got up and risked asking a final question. “What 
about if it does work?” Akili showed no sign of even hearing him.

Chapter 16

	Sanira smiled as she looked down at the pride from an overlooking 
cliff. The encounter between Simba and her husband had frightened her, 
yet she had felt sure things would turn out all right, and they had. A 
battle between Simba’s and Zira’s prides had formed while she watched, 
but Kiara and Kovu had jumped between the parents and forced a peaceful 
ending. Vitani had helped greatly by being the first lioness to switch 
to Simba’s pride. She was soon followed by the others, and due to a 
brief scuttle with Kiara, Zira had fallen into a raging river and been 
washed out of sight. Now the reunified pride started walking back to 
Pride Rock.
	“I’m glad Kovu made the right choice. I was afraid after Simba 
exiled him he’d decide to just leave. Kiara probably would have gone 
with him, and the prides would have simply killed each other.” Akili 
stood behind his wife to make certain he wasn’t seen. “After six years 
it’s finally almost over.”
	Perplexed, Sanira turned to him. “Almost?” she asked. “What’s 
left.”
	Akili looked downstream and gave a large, mournful sigh. “Just a 
little loose end to tie up.”
	“She can’t do any harm. Let her be.” Sanira nuzzled her husband to 
try to cheer him up. “What more could she do?”
	“Come back, with another pride. There are plenty that would jump 
at the opportunity to take over the Pride Lands.” He smiled down at her. 
“Like I need to tell you.
	“The problem is her hate. The only way for it to die is for her to 
let go, and that’s something she’ll never do. The only other option...” 
Akili walked off downstream, and this time Sanira didn’t try to stop 
him.

	Zira turned as best she could to see Nyamaza approaching. She 
couldn’t see him very well, since he was approaching from behind and she 
couldn’t move most her body. “Well,” she said weakly, “I guess we 
failed.”
	“What’s this we business? I think I did exactly what I set out to 
do.” Nyamaza laid down in front of her to make her not have to strain as 
much to talk.
	“What do you mean? Simba’s still alive!”
	“I never said anything about trying to kill Simba. As I recall, I 
only made two promises while here in the Pride Lands. The first was to 
Mufasa, and that was to protect Simba while he grew up and became king. 
The other I made to Taka, and that was that I would make Kovu king after 
Simba.”
	“Well he’s not king, is he!” Zira was having a little more trouble 
talking, but was to proud to show it.
	“Simba won’t live forever, He’ll die in some stampede or hunting 
accident or just get sick or something eventually, and just who would 
his heir happen to be now?”
	Zira looked away as best she could while saying, “Kovu, the 
traitor.”
	“Hmmm, father figure throws brother into stampede, the son 
peacefully becomes king of the Pride Lands while earning the respect of 
all around him. Yeah, I see your point, things are getting worse, aren’t 
they?”
	Zira looked away, still furious. She had trusted this lion with 
her cub’s life, and he repays her by plotting against her?
	Nyamaza got up and walked to stand directly over Zira’s head. “I 
had hoped to make you understand, but I guess you never will. What I did 
was out of love for Taka and Kovu, not to try to hurt you.” He sighed 
before continuing. “I told Sanira I was coming here because I was afraid 
you would return and mess everything up again, but I knew that wasn’t 
necessary. I saw those logs hit you, there was no way you’d be a threat. 
I came here... so you wouldn’t have to suffer. I wanted you to die 
knowing Kovu, Vitani, and everyone would be fine.”
	“Well thanks you for small favors. If you don’t mind, I have some 
dying to do.” She put her head down and closed her eyes. She kept them 
closed while she felt a paw hold her shoulder and another slipped under 
her muzzle.
	After one quick motion, she never felt anything again.

End Part 2

Epilogue

	A moon later, Akili stood at the edge of the gorge where Mufasa 
died. Simba and Kovu were talking below, unaware of their watcher.
	“Why don’t you go down there?”
	Akili was stunned for a moment, then regained his composure. “So 
why are you talking to me now? I’m still not king.”
	Mufasa’s voice returned. “Maybe not by title, but you have been 
the driving force behind one pride for six years and another for three. 
Let’s call this an honorary title. But you still didn’t answer my 
question, and this time I won’t accept no answer as an answer.”
	Akili sighed, letting the fear within him find words. “Mufasa, the 
last time I saw your son I nearly killed him. I don’t want to put him 
into that position again.”
	“The last time you saw your son, you promised to be back soon.”
	Akili sighed again, remembering. “I suppose I did.”

	“And this is the tree I grabbed onto to try to get above the 
herd.” Simba stopped and looked at his companion. “You know, I haven’t 
been down here since then. Even in the four years since I returned, I 
never came back down.”
	“Well, why did you come down here now?” Kovu was truly glad he 
had, it gave the descriptions Siri had told him a new level of reality. 
It was almost as though the tale had been to horrible to believe.
	“I guess I just needed to talk to someone about it, and the lion 
I’d usually go to...” he paused, about to choke up. “I think I’ve lost 
one of my best friends.”
	Kovu put his paw on Simba’s shoulder to comfort him. “I know how 
you feel. There’s someone close to me that I haven’t seen in a moon. I 
don’t know what, but somehow I made him not come back.”
	Simba looked up with eyes red from tears. “This friend, was he a 
dark lion, a little bigger than me?” Kovu said nothing, but his reaction 
said exactly what Simba feared. “I think I caused us both to lose him.”
	Suddenly from somewhere to his left a strong, calm voice spoke. “I 
wouldn’t say lose, I’d say misplace.”