Chapter 4: As Time Flies By...

"Excellent, lion cub... excellent indeed." Kaa said as he squeezed the coil tighter around Simba's neck. "You have come a long way as expected."

A few more years had come to pass since the incident with the bear. In that time Simba had finally grown a full, vibrant red mane and was now a young adult in lion terms. As of now, he was training once more to endure Kaa's strangling grasp as his large body was held in the air by his neck. He couldn't breath at all while he scratched at the scaly coil squeezing his throat, which Kaa felt only as a minor nuisance (even if his claws were more developed). However, he knew that years of this relentless torture had let him build up a strong tolerance for the pain and he could now easily stand it for over ten minutes at a time; that is, if he really tried. One slip up and the mighty lion would be dead within seconds.

Finally, Kaa released his hold and let Simba fall to the den's ground like a sack of coconuts, where he landed on his side. The lion gasped loudly for air as he took in precious breath while his eyes widened in fear. For a brief time he thought that his limit was about to be broken in that one instant, but not that he would admit that of course.

"Well done, my pet," hissed Kaa, half-impressed and half-coy. "That's the longest you've withstood it yet."

"Thank you, Master," said Simba, still recovering from the constriction.

"As a reward, I will let you hunt for this week's diner all on your own," said the python. "You've most definitely earned it this time."

"Great!" exclaimed Simba, leaping up excitedly. "You won't regret this."

"I'm sure I won't," said Kaa, confidently.

With that, the lion gave his master one more look before he eagerly sprang out of the den and into the sunlight outside, which was serenely streaming through the canopy of the trees. For quite some time now Simba had longed to be able to make a kill on his own and truly prove himself to his master, but every time he tried to do so Kaa would always show up and finish off his prey for him, claiming that Simba was not yet strong enough to do it by himself. Kaa would always say he only did it because he cared for him, but in reality the devious python only did it because he knew that if the lion were to slip up, he would have to go back to sneaking up on his prey by himself. Only now was he confident enough in Simba's strength and size to let him at least attempt the hunts on his own. And the way he saw it, if his pet were to prove successful in doing so, he could be able to relax for the rest of his life without ever having to hunt for himself again.

---

As Simba ventured into the jungle with teaming plant life scattering the place, he kept his wits about and his eyes, ears and nose pealed precisely as Kaa had taught him in the past. He kept at this for a long time as he went ever farther outwards, quietly walking deep into the heart of the jungle. Soon he did come across a region that lay rather close to the boundaries, where the jungle would end and the desert would begin. As oblivious as he was about this, his timing and location would soon prove to be absolutely crucial in every sense of the word.

While Simba walked forth through the low-laying plants around his paws, he did not see that a large lioness around his age was intently stalking him from the bushes close by. She cautiously stepped forth as to not make any sounds and took little notice that she was staring upon another lion. The silence was almost eerie in this time. Then when the time was right and Simba lingered directly into her line of sight, she made her move.

Maliciously roaring, the lioness leapt out to tackle him and was fully prepared to end his life right there. But Simba, who was at first caught off guard, looked to his left just quick enough so that he could see her ripping through the plants in his direction. His eyes widening in sudden shock, he dodged her the nick of time by swerving himself forth, making her fall and slide against the ground. Immediately leaping back up to her paws, Simba had not time to question the sudden attacker and realized he would have to put Kaa's skills to good use right then. Running forth at one another now, Simba roared ferociously when the two stared to fight. Simba brought her to the ground at first, but the lioness was quick and she swiped at his face with her claws, disorienting him for a moment. She took this opportunity to immediately start to bite at his neck to kill him, but Simba was fast and he used his unsheathed claws to rip at her body, forcing her away from him now. He pushed her off of him and the two stood against each other now growling relentlessly, their eyes burning with bloody malice.

But then as they were there in that brief standoff, the lioness stared deeply into Simba's eyes and unexpectedly, her expression softened somewhat. Something about his eyes seemed familiar to her, like something she had known in her past. She didn't want to let her guard down since for all she knew, this was just any other lion she'd never seen before. But deciding to take the risk out of relentless and unquenchable hope, she took a gamble.

"Simba?" she spoke, sounding rather bewildered. "Is... is that you?"

The lion was about to charge forth and attack her had she not said this. Immediately he cocked an eyebrow and his posture lightened. "What? H-how do you know my name?" asked Simba, sounding very clearly confused. "Do I know you?"

"Do you remember me? It... it's me, Nala." she replied with hope in her voice. She still wasn't completely sure if this was really him, but she still went ever on with her gamble. "I came all this way on blind faith, hoping the rumors were true. We... we need you, Simba. We have to go to Pride Rock."

But as much as he tried to, Simba didn't understand. "What's a Pride Rock?"

Nala sighed, sheathing her claws back. She looked away from him for a moment before she said looking him in the eye, "Do you remember me? We were friends as cubs back in the Pride Lands. We got into that mess with the hyenas, I used to always pin you, you'd always hate getting baths while I never minded... none of that sounds familiar to you at all?"

Simba shook his head. With her hope beginning to fail, she walked forth to Simba and came up closer to him, officially letting her guard down in terms of fighting.

"Look... I don't know if you're really him or not, but your eyes... they look exactly the way Simba's did."

"My name is Simba." He replied. "How do you know my name?"

Nala's heart soared once more when he said this. No other lion in all of Africa shared his name, so she had little to no choice but to believe that this was the same Simba she had known since childhood. Her eyes widened and she even managed to break out a weak smile.

"It has to be you."

"Look miss, if you're looking for someone, you could've just asked me." Simba said back to her. "At the very least, could you just tell me what you're doing here and who this other Simba is?"

Nala sighed. "You really don't remember, do you?" She asked in a sad way. But nonetheless, she wouldn't let her hope die just yet. "Maybe if I can explain this the right way, you'll remember."

"I doubt it, miss. W... what's your name?"

The lioness perked up, realizing she hadn't even told him her name. "My name is Nala."

Simba shook his head again, looking as though he was thinking about something. "No... doesn't sound familiar to me."

"So much for that, then." she muttered to herself. She cleared her throat. "All right, let's try something else. I tell you why I came down here, and at least try to remember anything at all, because I know you're him."

Although Simba was taken aback by these words in this unprecidented encounter as a whole, he soon came to the conclusion that this lioness no longer wanted to kill him. He figured that he could at least hear her our before doing anything.

---

Days ago...

Nala angrily stormed away from the massive citadel that was Pride Rock, breathing heavily as she did so and not even bothering to look anywhere but down the barren ground she walked upon. Just minutes before, the horrible dictator of a king that was Scar had tried to physically seduce her to become his queen and to produce him an heir, despite the fact that she was several years younger than him. He had tried nearly everything he could in order to convince the lioness to give herself to him, but the king's efforts proved futile.

Nala sighed to herself as she walked on, thinking about how sick Scar had to be in order to suggest such a thing. For a while she simply walked forth for a few minutes before she stopped to sit down, giving herself time to think about certain things while she rubbed her eyes with her paw. She sat herself down in the middle of what was once a lush grassy field, now reduced to nothing more than a desolate plain of stone with only the occasional dead tree here and there. At first she was silent and in deep thought about many things, most of them involving Scar in some way and how badly she wanted him to step down. Never before had she ever wanted so badly for a miracle to happen to not just her, but to everyone in her pride. Nala slowly looked up to the grim and cloudy sky, silently praying that there would come a way that Scar's tyranny could end and that life could be restored to the savannah. For a moment, it all seemed hopeless.

But as little as she expected, her sincere prayers had just been answered.

Her train of thought was interrupted when she heard a group of hyenas begin to talk amongst themselves nearby, making her perk up slightly. Turning her head in the direction she heard the voices, she squinted her eyes. The lioness wasn't able to pick up on any words being said, and having not been able to talk to much of anyone as of late, she grew curious. She walked forth where the voices began to get louder to the point where she could just faintly hear the conversation that had just started.

"Man, didn't Scar say that we'd never go hungry again?" A voice said.

"I don't know how much longer I can put up with this, guys." Another replied. "I mean he couldn't be doing worse if he tried, I swear!"

From here, Nala could see ahead of her a group of five hyenas gathered together in a group, sitting amongst one another. Three of them she could recognize by the voices as Shenzi, Banzai, and Ed.

"Ugh", she mumbled to herself. "Even they know how bad he is."

But then, she heard something interesting start to go down in the banter.

"But you guys know what?" Shenzi said, her tone slowly beginning to change. "I think I'd still rather be here than in that jungle a few miles down, am I right?"

The other hyenas seemed to nod in agreement, a few of them throwing out some sly, agreeing remarks about it.

"Don't tell me about it." Another said. "I've never even seen him, and he still freaks me out just by hearing about him."

"Who?" Banzai asked.

Here, Nala's curiosity began to pique. She looked around her for a second before, close by where she was, the lioness saw a large stone that was fizated in the ground, just tall enough for her to hide behind so that she wouldn't be seen by the hyenas. She didn't want them to know she was listening in on them just for the sake of curiosity, so she took no chances.

Now making an effort to keep her steps quiet, she crouched down and crawled over to the rock, never taking her eyes off of them to make sure she couldn't be spotted. She made her way over to the rock and kneeled down behind it, just barely peering over the edge to see them converse. From here, she listened intently at the words of the five hyenas.

"You know, Kaa?" The hyena said to Banzai. He perked up when he heard this.

"Oh man, don't even talk about him." He said with his voice indicating a sign of genuine fear, a tone Nala had never heard from him before. Once before she did hear about someone named Kaa who resided in a nearby jungle, who preyed upon innocent animals wherever he went. She hadn't heard much about him, but she knew that Kaa was a python and she knew about his infamous legacy, which was enough to intimidate her.

"You wanna know what I heard?" Shenzi started. "I heard that python's got himself a little stooge now. He's helping him out with the killings and all."

At the mention of this, everyone shuddered, Nala included.

"You can't be serious, Shenzi." One of the other hyenas said disbelievingly.

Shenzi shook her head. "No, I'm hearing it everywhere- he's got a lion helping him now."

"Good lord, what idiot would be stupid enough to do that?" One of them asked. "I mean as if he wasn't already bad enough!"

"I swear," Banzai said. "If that snake gets into the Pride Lands, it's gonna be one serious bloodbath."

"That's assuming we're not strangled first," Shenzi added, morbidly.

"Where would he even find a lion like that?" Another hyena asked curiously. "What lion around here has ever even gone out that way before?"

Shenzi thought for a moment before she replied, "From what I heard, the guy found him out in the desert when he was a kid. Heck, if you ask me he's only workin' for him because he owes him one."

Three of they hyenas nodded in agreement, while Banzai grew an odd look on his face. He suddenly said to Shenzi, "Hey, didn't we chase that little brat out that way once?"

Shenzi looked over to him. "What was his name again?"

Banzai replied, "I think it was something like, uh.. I don't know, Simba or something?"

That did it. Right at the mention of the name of Simba, Nala's eyes widened and she felt a freezing chill shoot down her spine. She gasped to herself, almost loud enough for the hyenas to hear.

"Yeah I think that was it." Shenzi said in an odd tone. "You don't think..."

"Nah, he's gotta be dead by now." Another hyena said. "You guys said he ran out into the desert. There's no way a little wimp like him could last more than five minutes out there."

"Not on his own." Shenzi said back. "They say that his little stooge was in the desert passed out on the ground. I don't know about you, but I'm starting to think that could've been him."

Banzai smacked his paw against the ground. "Dammit! I knew we should've killed him when we had the chance! I should've gone after him! I could've gotten him!"

Shenzi smirked. "Uh yeah, good luck gettin' through the thorns, then... ya' cactus butt."

As the hyenas around her laughed while Banzai simply groaned in annoyance, Nala's mouth was hanging open in shock there from behind the rock. She looked downwards and contemplated the words for a moment. She whispered to herself,

"Simba... he was alive..."

Initially, she didn't know how to feel or what to think. If the hyenas' words were in fact truthful, the one best friend that she had as a child could still be alive somewhere out there. At first she refused to believe it since Scar had told her long ago that Simba died in the stampede along with his father.

But as she thought, an idea came to her: What if Scar only mistook him as dead, and he was simply passed out? From there, a theory was suddenly forming in her mind. Perhaps Simba had been knocked out when Scar found him, and then maybe he awoke later on. He could've tried to get back to Pride Rock but then was chased away by the hyenas, forcing him into the desert.

That was only her idea after considering what Scar told her. Even though what was not at all what happened, it was the best guess she had. And then, another idea came to her: If he was still alive, what if she could leave the Pride Lands to find him and bring him back so he could take his rightful place as king? It was a long shot for certain, and after hearing that Kaa apparently had some kind of lion accomplice, it fit together perfectly with the idea she had about what happened. She took a deep breath.

After Scar had tried to seduce her, she was willing to try anything to get him away from the throne once and for all. And if there was any hope at all that Simba was alive, that would be the absolute best way.

And with that, she turned around and faced the direction of Pride Rock, the large stone against her back now. She gazed upon its form in the distance against the dull skies, thinking about what Scar must've been doing or saying right then about her rejection. She had no doubt that he would try again to convince her, and she feared that the next time would not be so easily resolved.

The prospect of leaving the Pride Lands to search for her long lost friend was one that came to her as she looked upon Pride Rock's depressing appearance right then. The wind began to blow when she did, ruffling her fur somewhat. Abandoning the kingdom just for the sake of someone who might not even be alive would be the biggest risk of her life, especially since the other huntresses could get suspicious about such a disappearance. If she said anything to them, they would undoubtabdly try to stop her saying it was a lost cause.

But then, a determined look grew upon her face. She didn't have time to say her good-byes to anybody. Her pride was dying, and if Scar wasn't going to do anything to fix that, Nala would've rather died herself than not even try to do anything for the others. She took a deep breath.

"I'll find him..." She said. "I'll find him and bring him back here. For my mother, for Sarabi, for the pride... and for Mufasa."

That last part she said while looking up to the sky. Then turning her attention to the south, she inhaled deeply as she stood up and tensed her whole body. She had heard once before that the jungle Kaa lived in was in that direction, so if there was any hope Simba was alive, that would be it. So acting on faith alone, Nala treaded forth to the south, stepping over all of the dry bones that now littered the place and ignoring any hyenas she passed by.

Within ten minutes, the lioness stepped out of the kingdom's borders, having been extra careful in making sure none of the other lionesses saw her. And with that, her pace quickened to that of a sprint, moving out into the desert of Africa with Pride Rock now so far away she could no longer see it. She ran forth as the sun began to set behind herm just barely allowing its light to get through the clouds that covered the Pride Lands.

And now, her paws ran across the blazing hot sands and barren terrain of the place. She was acting on faith and on faith alone, all in hopes of finding Simba alive. Even if he was under Kaa's control like the hyenas said he was, she was confident that she would be able to fight him off if she needed to.

Home was behind, the world ahead.