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"Mice again?" Nuka snorted as the young cub entered the cave, his mouth full of mice.

Another week had gone by, and Nuka was healing quite nicely. He could stand up now with not to much pain, and he could even move around. His back leg still hurt some, causing him to limp slightly, but other than that he was almost as good as new. However he dare not leave the cave perminantly. At least, not yet. He wanted to be completely healed before he left. However, now a new danger faced him: hunger. While the mice were good snacks, as a young adult lion, he needed much more than a couple of mice and the occational meerkat to survive in the long run.

Kivuli frowned and spat out the mice, grumbling, "Well what do you expect me to bring you? An antelope? In case you haven't noticed, I'm not exactly the right size to bring down an antelope all by myself."

"Well do you expect me to be able to live on mice and meerkat for the rest of my life? In case you haven't noticed, I'm not a termite like you are!" Nuka shot back. "Besides, kid, how do you expect to grow up living only on mice? It's fine for you now, but once you get bigger like me, it won't be enough."

"Then what do you want me to do about it? I can't just magically grow in size." the cub pointed out, plopping down onto his rump.

"Hmmm..." Nuka tapped his chin with a claw, pondering. Kivuli was right in that there was no way he could take down something big like a zebra or an antelope by himself. He was too small and inexperianced. Nuka himself might be able to, but it would be difficult to do without the help of a pride. Not only that, but Nuka would have to leave the safety of the cave to hunt. He couldn't forget that the two of them were still in the Pride Lands. But as he thought about it, he saw there was no other choice. He had to risk the two of them getting caught by Simba and his pride if he wanted a meal. And getting a meal meant going deeper into the Pride Lands. "Alright, kid, follow me."

The young lion stood up and made his way out of the cave. The young cub followed behind with a curious expression on his face. Nuka paused for a moment, sniffing the air. He glanced up at the sky, looking for any annoying majordomos that might be making their rounds. Looking around, he didn't see any dangers, like other lions, near by, nor did he smell them. With that knowledge he then broke into a brisk walk, heading deeper and deeper into the Pride Lands.

"H-Hey! Wait! Nuka, where are you going? What are you doing?" Kivuli gasped, having to break into a jog to keep up with the older lion. However Nuka didn't answer him. As they continued onwards Nuka could feel his confidence growing. It wasn't as if this was his first time hunting in the Pride Lands. Sure, he wasn't usually as bold as to go for the big prey like zebra or gazelle, but what could possibly go wrong? Simba was a wimp as far as he was concerned, and Kovu was as dumb as a pile of rocks. Compared to Kovu, he was the oldest, the strongest, and the smartest....Nuka cackled to himself as he continued his march towards the Pride Lands with young Kivuli hot on his heels.

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Kivuli followed behind the reddish brown lion as he lead them deeper and deeper into the Pride Lands. Off in the distance, the cub could make out Pride Rock. Kivuli wondered just how big the large stone was. It had to be huge, consitering it could be seen even from the cave, which lied on the edge of the Pride Lands. Suddenly Nuka stopped in front of Kivuli, causing the cub to bump into his leg. Kivuli fell back on his rump with a grunt. Nuka gave an annoyed glare at the cub for a moment before looking back out into the distance. He was obviously looking for something, but what Kivuli had no idea.

"What are we doing here this deep in the Pride Lands Nuka? It's dangerous here for rogues like us! Do you want to get us killed?" the cub hissed with a frown on his face.

"Pssssh! We won't get killed! Their King's to much of a wimp. As for what we're doing here, we're looking for food, that's what." Nuka answered.

"Food?"

"Yeah, like....Oh! Like that herd of zebra over there!" Nuka pointed excitedly towards a herd of zebra, who were grazing near by the two. The older lion crouched down and began stalking slowly towards them, a vicious grin on his face, while Kivuli followed hesitantly behind. Kivuli was well aware of the dangers of being in another pride's territory. Most prides were very protective of their territory as well as the herds that lived within them, consitering that they were their source of food. Kivuli himself had seen his father kill a couple of rogues who had been poaching in his lands. He shuttered at the memory of their mangled corpses. He did not want to end up like they did.

"Nuka, I don't think this is a good idea." Kivuli murmured worriedly, staying close to the older lion's haunches. Nuka stopped a couple feet away from the zebra herd and look back at Kivuli with a frown on his face.

"Look kid," Nuka began, sneering, "I don't know about you, but like I said before, I can't live on mice and meerkats all the time. We need to eat bigger prey than that, otherwise we'll end up starving to death. And the only way for us to do that is to hunt in the Pride Lands. So unless you have a better idea, I suggest you shut up and help me catch us a zebra."

"And what can I do? I'm just a cub! I can barely catch a meerkat!" the cub snorted.

"See that zebra over there? The one with the limp?" Nuka asked quietly, pointing towards the herd. Kivuli looked up, looking towards where Nuka was pointing. It took him a moment, but he soon saw which zebra Nuka was talking about. It was an older zebra, and it had some scars on it's left hind leg, which it was holding up slightly off the ground. Obviously some lionesses had failed in catching it in the past, but had still managed to perminantly damage it's leg in the botched hunt. "If you can separate that zebra from the rest of the herd, I should be able to take it down by myself. All you need to do is scare the herd into scattering."

"And how do I do that, exactly?" Kivuli asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Hmmm...." Nuka looked around, tapping his chin with a claw. "Ah ha!" He grabbed a small hollowed out log and handed it to Kivuli. "Roar into that. It should amplify your voice and make an echo. That should scare 'em."

Kivuli looked down at the log, then back up at the zebra herd. He frowned slightly as he thought about what Nuka had said. It was true that they couldn't just live on mice and meerkats forever. Nuka was a young adult lion, who needed more nutriance than what the small prey gave them, and Kivuli himself was getting bigger everyday. It wouldn't be long before he, too, would need to eat bigger prey. The cub glanced back towards Pride Rock for a moment, then looked up at Nuka.

"Are you sure we won't get caught?"

"Get caught? Of course we won't get caught! I used to hunt in the Pride Lands all the time, and not once did I ever get caught!" Nuka grinned, placing a paw on the young cub's head and ruffling his fur. "Kid, as long as you stick with me, you won't ever have to worry about getting caught, and we'll soon be dining on zebra and gazelle before you know it!"

"Well...If you say so." Kivuli murmured, still looking unconvinced.

"Good!" Nuka beamed, clapping his paws together. "Then let's get hunting! Remember: You scare the herd, and I'll take out the limping zebra when they make a run for it! Got it?"

"Got it!"

"Now you stay hidden here, okay? When I'm in position, let out the biggest roar you got!" With that Nuka slipped away from Kivuli and into the tall grass. The young cub waited, watching for the older lion to get in his proper place. Once he spotted Nuka a little ways down wind from the herd, he took a deep breath, put his mouth near the entrance of the hollowed out log, and let out the scariest roar he could.

ROAR!!!!!!!!!

Kivuli was surprised to see that Nuka was right. Alone his roar would have sounded like a pitiful squeak. But thank to the hollowed log, his voice sounded a lot louder and deeper, making him sound almost like a full grown lion. And like Nuka predicted, the herd quickly scattered in fright. The cub watched excitedly as Nuka leapt out of the grass and quickly latched himself onto the back of the limping zebra. Surprised by the sudden weight on it's back, and unable to accomodate the sudden weight gain, the zebra's legs gave out from under it. Nuka wasted no time in locking his jaws around the frightened creature's neck. As soon as the dust cleared, Kivuli dashed out from his hiding spot to see Nuka standing triumphantly over the dead zebra.

"Wow! I can't believe that worked!" the cub exclaimed, eyes round in awe.

"Of course it worked." Nuka said, looking smug. "It was my idea after all. If we just keep this up, we'll be eating like kings everyday!"

And Kivuli found that Nuka was right. For the next couple of days the two were able to bring down bigger prey and eat their fill. Neither of them went to bed hungry, and there was usually enough left over in the morning so they only really had to hunt once a day. Life was going great for them. However, even the good life has to come to an end sometime.....

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"We can't take it any more!"

"Our children aren't safe!"

"They don't follow the rules!"

"Get rid of them!"

"They even hunt at the watering hole! We're supposed to be safe there!"

"Your the King! Do something about it!"

Simba couldn't believe all the complaints he was getting. In just a couple of days everything had gone down hill. The zebras were furious, the gazelle were on edge, the antelope were constantly spooked...It was a complete mess. Obviously there were some rogues hunting in the Pride Lands. How they managed to avoid the lionesses, Zazu, Kovu, and himself escaped Simba, but clearly he needed to up his and Kovu's patrols around the boarders of their lands. For now, though, he needed to calm down the herds and find out exactly where these rogue lions were hiding out.

"Calm down, my subjects! I've heard your complaints, and at this time I am currently working to rectify the problem. By the end of the day you won't have to worry about these rogues anymore." Simba called out to them. However the herds didn't quiet down. They continued to yell out their complaints and fears, and nothing Simba could say or do could calm them.

"How could a couple of rogues scare them so much?" Kovu asked in wonder. The young lion was sitting next to Simba with a quizzical look on his face.

Simba didn't answer him as he spotted Zazu flying down towards them. The majordomo fluttered down to the ground, landing in front of the two lions. He bowed down before Simba.

"Sire, I have spotted where the rogue lions are currently residing." the hornbill reported. "They're residing in the cave near the Gorge. I spotted a day old gazelle carcass in front of the cave that was mostly eatten."

"Did you see the rogues there?" the King asked.

"No sire. However, they could have been resting inside the cave. I did not wish to land and find out, in fear of them spotting me."

"That's alright Zazu. You did good." Simba replied with a smile. "Now we know where to search. Kovu," the golden lion turned his gaze to the chocolate brown lion beside him, "gather the lionesses. Let's head out to that cave and see if we can't find our problem lions there."

"Got'cha!" Kovu spun around and ran back to pride rock to do as his king and father-in-law commanded. Simba sighed and sat back on his haunches. Now all he could do was wait for Kovu to come back with reinforcements.

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Meanwhile, a little ways off, Nuka was strolling along, looking for something easy for him to catch. The young lion left Kivuli back at the cave and decided to go find the pair of them something small to snack on before they went hunting again. He couldn't believe how easy hunting had been lately. Before, back when he lived in the Out Lands with his mother and their pride, it was much harder to hunt in the Pride Lands, due to Simba and his lionesses constantly patroling the boarders. But now, with the war over and his mother gone, it seems the King and his pride had grown complacent. Which worked out fine for Nuka.

"Heh. Stupid Simba. You shouldn't let your guard down just because Mother's no longer around! Hehehehe!" the lion cackled to himself. But suddenly Nuka heard voices a head of him. He quickly snapped his mouth shut and slipped down into a crouch, using the long grass around him to hide. He snuck up a little closer and saw in the distance none other than the Lion King himself, sitting all by his lonesome. Nuka gasped. He couldn't believe it! Simba? Away from Pride Rock? Alone? Why, it couldn't have been more perfect if Nuka had planned it himself!

Now I can avenge Mother and take the throne for myself! This is perfect! Nuka thought to himself. A nasty grin made it's way across his face as he slowly began to slide fowards towards the King, however he stopped when he heard another voice.

"I brought them Simba!" came the voice of Kovu. Moments later the young lion burst out from the grass, followed by Queen Nala, Princess Kiara, Vitani, and a couple of other lionesses. Nuka recognized a couple of the lionesses from his own pride. A snarl escaped his lips. Leave it to Kovu to ruin his chances at revenge. Again! So wrapped up in his thoughts he was that he almost missed what the Lion King said.

"Alright. Let's head out to that cave and get rid of those rogues. I don't want to kill them, but if they refuse to leave, then we might not have much of a choice."

"Don't worry Simba," Vitani growled, "we'll make them leave."

Wait. Cave? Why were they heading out to the cave? What rogues? What are they....? Suddenly realization hit Nuka like a ton of bricks. The cave. Kivuli. Kivuli. As soon as he processed just how much danger he and the cub were in, Nuka bolted off back towards the cave without a second thought, not caring if he had been spotted or not in his haste. He didn't know why, but he just had to get back to the cave and save Kivuli. He just had too. Simba probably wouldn't do much to him, but Kovu or Vitani, who'd been trained to kill, might just harm the cub without thinking. And Nuka couldn't let that happen.

So Nuka ran like he never ran before. He ignored the angry snarls and roars behind him (it was obvious Simba and his pride had seen him run off) and focused only on getting back to Kivuli on time. Keep running. Don't stop. Don't look back. Keep your eyes foward. Keep going.

Nuka prayed that Kivuli was still at the cave, and that the little termite didn't wander off. And soon his prayers were answered. Just as he hoped Kivuli was back at the den, resting out in the sun. The young cub looked up at Nuka and smiled, not noticing the look of panic in the other lions eyes. He began to stand up at greet the other lion, however Kivuli's greeting was cut off when Nuka scooped the boy up into his jaws without slowing his pace down any.

"N-Nuka! What are you doing!? Put me down! Where are you taking me?" the cub cried out, shocked by his new friend's behavior. However, the angry roars behind them soon answered the cub's questions. Nuka didn't bother to answer the cub, not that he really could, anyways, what with Kivuli in his mouth. He continued to run for his life, ignoring the long grass slapping him in the face. He had no idea where he was going, but anywhere that was away from the angry pride behind them was good enough for them.

"Nuka, hurry! They're gaining on us!" the cub in his jaws sceeched in fear. Nuka stole a quick glance over his shoulder and saw with horror that Kivuli was right. Simba and his pride were gaining on them. Fast. Nuka knew that at this rate it wouldn't be long before they caught up to them. The reddish brown lion heard Kivuli cry out in alarm again. He looked back in front of him to see what the problem was this time. He suddenly skidded to a halt, barely stopping himself from falling over the edge. In front of them was the Gorge, which was now full of water from the river. The river waters raged in front of them, viciously licking the walls of the great Gorge.

"What do we do now!?" Kivuli asked, terror glittering in his aqua eyes. Nuka glanced behind him and saw that Simba and his pride were nearly upon them. He looked around in a panic, looking for some sort of escape route. He soon found that there was only one way out. And that was down, right into the river.

"Kid, I hope you can swim." Nuka muttered, shuttering slightly at the river below. Kivuli had told him earlier that this was where his mother had died, although the cub didn't know that Zira was his mother. He looked back towards the angry lions behind him one more time, then, tightening his grip on the lion cub and taking a deep breath, Nuka sprang foward, leaping down into the raging river below.

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Chapter three is finally out! Woohoo! And it only took me, what, half a year to get it out? Oh well, better late than never. Here is where the real adventure begins, as we now leave the Pride Lands and head out into the unknown! Will our young heros survive? Or will the Gorge take two more victims? Find out next time, on Dragon Ball Z! Er, I mean, TLK: The Forgotten Heirs!

Base: [link]
Base (c)
Nuka's "movie" colors (c)
TLK (c) Disney

Description
"Mice again?" Nuka snorted as the young cub entered the cave, his mouth full of mice.

Another week had gone by, and Nuka was healing quite nicely. He could stand up now with not to much pain, and he could even move around. His back leg still hurt some, causing him to limp slightly, but other than that he was almost as good as new. However he dare not leave the cave perminantly. At least, not yet. He wanted to be completely healed before he left. However, now a new danger faced him: hunger. While the mice were good snacks, as a young adult lion, he needed much more than a couple of mice and the occational meerkat to survive in the long run.

Kivuli frowned and spat out the mice, grumbling, "Well what do you expect me to bring you? An antelope? In case you haven't noticed, I'm not exactly the right size to bring down an antelope all by myself."

"Well do you expect me to be able to live on mice and meerkat for the rest of my life? In case you haven't noticed, I'm not a termite like you are!" Nuka shot back. "Besides, kid, how do you expect to grow up living only on mice? It's fine for you now, but once you get bigger like me, it won't be enough."

"Then what do you want me to do about it? I can't just magically grow in size." the cub pointed out, plopping down onto his rump.

"Hmmm..." Nuka tapped his chin with a claw, pondering. Kivuli was right in that there was no way he could take down something big like a zebra or an antelope by himself. He was too small and inexperianced. Nuka himself might be able to, but it would be difficult to do without the help of a pride. Not only that, but Nuka would have to leave the safety of the cave to hunt. He couldn't forget that the two of them were still in the Pride Lands. But as he thought about it, he saw there was no other choice. He had to risk the two of them getting caught by Simba and his pride if he wanted a meal. And getting a meal meant going deeper into the Pride Lands. "Alright, kid, follow me."

The young lion stood up and made his way out of the cave. The young cub followed behind with a curious expression on his face. Nuka paused for a moment, sniffing the air. He glanced up at the sky, looking for any annoying majordomos that might be making their rounds. Looking around, he didn't see any dangers, like other lions, near by, nor did he smell them. With that knowledge he then broke into a brisk walk, heading deeper and deeper into the Pride Lands.

"H-Hey! Wait! Nuka, where are you going? What are you doing?" Kivuli gasped, having to break into a jog to keep up with the older lion. However Nuka didn't answer him. As they continued onwards Nuka could feel his confidence growing. It wasn't as if this was his first time hunting in the Pride Lands. Sure, he wasn't usually as bold as to go for the big prey like zebra or gazelle, but what could possibly go wrong? Simba was a wimp as far as he was concerned, and Kovu was as dumb as a pile of rocks. Compared to Kovu, he was the oldest, the strongest, and the smartest....Nuka cackled to himself as he continued his march towards the Pride Lands with young Kivuli hot on his heels.

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Kivuli followed behind the reddish brown lion as he lead them deeper and deeper into the Pride Lands. Off in the distance, the cub could make out Pride Rock. Kivuli wondered just how big the large stone was. It had to be huge, consitering it could be seen even from the cave, which lied on the edge of the Pride Lands. Suddenly Nuka stopped in front of Kivuli, causing the cub to bump into his leg. Kivuli fell back on his rump with a grunt. Nuka gave an annoyed glare at the cub for a moment before looking back out into the distance. He was obviously looking for something, but what Kivuli had no idea.

"What are we doing here this deep in the Pride Lands Nuka? It's dangerous here for rogues like us! Do you want to get us killed?" the cub hissed with a frown on his face.

"Pssssh! We won't get killed! Their King's to much of a wimp. As for what we're doing here, we're looking for food, that's what." Nuka answered.

"Food?"

"Yeah, like....Oh! Like that herd of zebra over there!" Nuka pointed excitedly towards a herd of zebra, who were grazing near by the two. The older lion crouched down and began stalking slowly towards them, a vicious grin on his face, while Kivuli followed hesitantly behind. Kivuli was well aware of the dangers of being in another pride's territory. Most prides were very protective of their territory as well as the herds that lived within them, consitering that they were their source of food. Kivuli himself had seen his father kill a couple of rogues who had been poaching in his lands. He shuttered at the memory of their mangled corpses. He did not want to end up like they did.

"Nuka, I don't think this is a good idea." Kivuli murmured worriedly, staying close to the older lion's haunches. Nuka stopped a couple feet away from the zebra herd and look back at Kivuli with a frown on his face.

"Look kid," Nuka began, sneering, "I don't know about you, but like I said before, I can't live on mice and meerkats all the time. We need to eat bigger prey than that, otherwise we'll end up starving to death. And the only way for us to do that is to hunt in the Pride Lands. So unless you have a better idea, I suggest you shut up and help me catch us a zebra."

"And what can I do? I'm just a cub! I can barely catch a meerkat!" the cub snorted.

"See that zebra over there? The one with the limp?" Nuka asked quietly, pointing towards the herd. Kivuli looked up, looking towards where Nuka was pointing. It took him a moment, but he soon saw which zebra Nuka was talking about. It was an older zebra, and it had some scars on it's left hind leg, which it was holding up slightly off the ground. Obviously some lionesses had failed in catching it in the past, but had still managed to perminantly damage it's leg in the botched hunt. "If you can separate that zebra from the rest of the herd, I should be able to take it down by myself. All you need to do is scare the herd into scattering."

"And how do I do that, exactly?" Kivuli asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Hmmm...." Nuka looked around, tapping his chin with a claw. "Ah ha!" He grabbed a small hollowed out log and handed it to Kivuli. "Roar into that. It should amplify your voice and make an echo. That should scare 'em."

Kivuli looked down at the log, then back up at the zebra herd. He frowned slightly as he thought about what Nuka had said. It was true that they couldn't just live on mice and meerkats forever. Nuka was a young adult lion, who needed more nutriance than what the small prey gave them, and Kivuli himself was getting bigger everyday. It wouldn't be long before he, too, would need to eat bigger prey. The cub glanced back towards Pride Rock for a moment, then looked up at Nuka.

"Are you sure we won't get caught?"

"Get caught? Of course we won't get caught! I used to hunt in the Pride Lands all the time, and not once did I ever get caught!" Nuka grinned, placing a paw on the young cub's head and ruffling his fur. "Kid, as long as you stick with me, you won't ever have to worry about getting caught, and we'll soon be dining on zebra and gazelle before you know it!"

"Well...If you say so." Kivuli murmured, still looking unconvinced.

"Good!" Nuka beamed, clapping his paws together. "Then let's get hunting! Remember: You scare the herd, and I'll take out the limping zebra when they make a run for it! Got it?"

"Got it!"

"Now you stay hidden here, okay? When I'm in position, let out the biggest roar you got!" With that Nuka slipped away from Kivuli and into the tall grass. The young cub waited, watching for the older lion to get in his proper place. Once he spotted Nuka a little ways down wind from the herd, he took a deep breath, put his mouth near the entrance of the hollowed out log, and let out the scariest roar he could.

ROAR!!!!!!!!!

Kivuli was surprised to see that Nuka was right. Alone his roar would have sounded like a pitiful squeak. But thank to the hollowed log, his voice sounded a lot louder and deeper, making him sound almost like a full grown lion. And like Nuka predicted, the herd quickly scattered in fright. The cub watched excitedly as Nuka leapt out of the grass and quickly latched himself onto the back of the limping zebra. Surprised by the sudden weight on it's back, and unable to accomodate the sudden weight gain, the zebra's legs gave out from under it. Nuka wasted no time in locking his jaws around the frightened creature's neck. As soon as the dust cleared, Kivuli dashed out from his hiding spot to see Nuka standing triumphantly over the dead zebra.

"Wow! I can't believe that worked!" the cub exclaimed, eyes round in awe.

"Of course it worked." Nuka said, looking smug. "It was my idea after all. If we just keep this up, we'll be eating like kings everyday!"

And Kivuli found that Nuka was right. For the next couple of days the two were able to bring down bigger prey and eat their fill. Neither of them went to bed hungry, and there was usually enough left over in the morning so they only really had to hunt once a day. Life was going great for them. However, even the good life has to come to an end sometime.....

-----------------------------------------------------------------

"We can't take it any more!"

"Our children aren't safe!"

"They don't follow the rules!"

"Get rid of them!"

"They even hunt at the watering hole! We're supposed to be safe there!"

"Your the King! Do something about it!"

Simba couldn't believe all the complaints he was getting. In just a couple of days everything had gone down hill. The zebras were furious, the gazelle were on edge, the antelope were constantly spooked...It was a complete mess. Obviously there were some rogues hunting in the Pride Lands. How they managed to avoid the lionesses, Zazu, Kovu, and himself escaped Simba, but clearly he needed to up his and Kovu's patrols around the boarders of their lands. For now, though, he needed to calm down the herds and find out exactly where these rogue lions were hiding out.

"Calm down, my subjects! I've heard your complaints, and at this time I am currently working to rectify the problem. By the end of the day you won't have to worry about these rogues anymore." Simba called out to them. However the herds didn't quiet down. They continued to yell out their complaints and fears, and nothing Simba could say or do could calm them.

"How could a couple of rogues scare them so much?" Kovu asked in wonder. The young lion was sitting next to Simba with a quizzical look on his face.

Simba didn't answer him as he spotted Zazu flying down towards them. The majordomo fluttered down to the ground, landing in front of the two lions. He bowed down before Simba.

"Sire, I have spotted where the rogue lions are currently residing." the hornbill reported. "They're residing in the cave near the Gorge. I spotted a day old gazelle carcass in front of the cave that was mostly eatten."

"Did you see the rogues there?" the King asked.

"No sire. However, they could have been resting inside the cave. I did not wish to land and find out, in fear of them spotting me."

"That's alright Zazu. You did good." Simba replied with a smile. "Now we know where to search. Kovu," the golden lion turned his gaze to the chocolate brown lion beside him, "gather the lionesses. Let's head out to that cave and see if we can't find our problem lions there."

"Got'cha!" Kovu spun around and ran back to pride rock to do as his king and father-in-law commanded. Simba sighed and sat back on his haunches. Now all he could do was wait for Kovu to come back with reinforcements.

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Meanwhile, a little ways off, Nuka was strolling along, looking for something easy for him to catch. The young lion left Kivuli back at the cave and decided to go find the pair of them something small to snack on before they went hunting again. He couldn't believe how easy hunting had been lately. Before, back when he lived in the Out Lands with his mother and their pride, it was much harder to hunt in the Pride Lands, due to Simba and his lionesses constantly patroling the boarders. But now, with the war over and his mother gone, it seems the King and his pride had grown complacent. Which worked out fine for Nuka.

"Heh. Stupid Simba. You shouldn't let your guard down just because Mother's no longer around! Hehehehe!" the lion cackled to himself. But suddenly Nuka heard voices a head of him. He quickly snapped his mouth shut and slipped down into a crouch, using the long grass around him to hide. He snuck up a little closer and saw in the distance none other than the Lion King himself, sitting all by his lonesome. Nuka gasped. He couldn't believe it! Simba? Away from Pride Rock? Alone? Why, it couldn't have been more perfect if Nuka had planned it himself!

Now I can avenge Mother and take the throne for myself! This is perfect! Nuka thought to himself. A nasty grin made it's way across his face as he slowly began to slide fowards towards the King, however he stopped when he heard another voice.

"I brought them Simba!" came the voice of Kovu. Moments later the young lion burst out from the grass, followed by Queen Nala, Princess Kiara, Vitani, and a couple of other lionesses. Nuka recognized a couple of the lionesses from his own pride. A snarl escaped his lips. Leave it to Kovu to ruin his chances at revenge. Again! So wrapped up in his thoughts he was that he almost missed what the Lion King said.

"Alright. Let's head out to that cave and get rid of those rogues. I don't want to kill them, but if they refuse to leave, then we might not have much of a choice."

"Don't worry Simba," Vitani growled, "we'll make them leave."

Wait. Cave? Why were they heading out to the cave? What rogues? What are they....? Suddenly realization hit Nuka like a ton of bricks. The cave. Kivuli. Kivuli. As soon as he processed just how much danger he and the cub were in, Nuka bolted off back towards the cave without a second thought, not caring if he had been spotted or not in his haste. He didn't know why, but he just had to get back to the cave and save Kivuli. He just had too. Simba probably wouldn't do much to him, but Kovu or Vitani, who'd been trained to kill, might just harm the cub without thinking. And Nuka couldn't let that happen.

So Nuka ran like he never ran before. He ignored the angry snarls and roars behind him (it was obvious Simba and his pride had seen him run off) and focused only on getting back to Kivuli on time. Keep running. Don't stop. Don't look back. Keep your eyes foward. Keep going.

Nuka prayed that Kivuli was still at the cave, and that the little termite didn't wander off. And soon his prayers were answered. Just as he hoped Kivuli was back at the den, resting out in the sun. The young cub looked up at Nuka and smiled, not noticing the look of panic in the other lions eyes. He began to stand up at greet the other lion, however Kivuli's greeting was cut off when Nuka scooped the boy up into his jaws without slowing his pace down any.

"N-Nuka! What are you doing!? Put me down! Where are you taking me?" the cub cried out, shocked by his new friend's behavior. However, the angry roars behind them soon answered the cub's questions. Nuka didn't bother to answer the cub, not that he really could, anyways, what with Kivuli in his mouth. He continued to run for his life, ignoring the long grass slapping him in the face. He had no idea where he was going, but anywhere that was away from the angry pride behind them was good enough for them.

"Nuka, hurry! They're gaining on us!" the cub in his jaws sceeched in fear. Nuka stole a quick glance over his shoulder and saw with horror that Kivuli was right. Simba and his pride were gaining on them. Fast. Nuka knew that at this rate it wouldn't be long before they caught up to them. The reddish brown lion heard Kivuli cry out in alarm again. He looked back in front of him to see what the problem was this time. He suddenly skidded to a halt, barely stopping himself from falling over the edge. In front of them was the Gorge, which was now full of water from the river. The river waters raged in front of them, viciously licking the walls of the great Gorge.

"What do we do now!?" Kivuli asked, terror glittering in his aqua eyes. Nuka glanced behind him and saw that Simba and his pride were nearly upon them. He looked around in a panic, looking for some sort of escape route. He soon found that there was only one way out. And that was down, right into the river.

"Kid, I hope you can swim." Nuka muttered, shuttering slightly at the river below. Kivuli had told him earlier that this was where his mother had died, although the cub didn't know that Zira was his mother. He looked back towards the angry lions behind him one more time, then, tightening his grip on the lion cub and taking a deep breath, Nuka sprang foward, leaping down into the raging river below.

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Chapter three is finally out! Woohoo! And it only took me, what, half a year to get it out? Oh well, better late than never. Here is where the real adventure begins, as we now leave the Pride Lands and head out into the unknown! Will our young heros survive? Or will the Gorge take two more victims? Find out next time, on Dragon Ball Z! Er, I mean, TLK: The Forgotten Heirs!

Base: [link]
Base (c)
Nuka's "movie" colors (c)
TLK (c) Disney