Chapter 30: Epilogue

Thank you everyone for taking this journey with me. When I had first begun this story, I had never imagine I'd go beyond one chapter, much less thirty and over one-hundred thousand words in my exploration of one of the most sinister, interesting villains in Disney's history and how her reformation would turn out. Thank you everyone for reading my story, the support and encouragement I am so grateful for.

Enjoy the chapter!

The last thing she had sensed before the inevitable numbness of death was the gentle, warm touch being pressed against her muzzle. It wasn't the best way she wanted to go, there had been so much more she had wanted to say, but she had felt more then completed and peaceful when letting her spirit go.

However, upon realizing she had died, her first awareness to her surroundings was that her body did not feel as heavy or broken as before, and secondly she felt rather wet.

Her eyes snapped open, only to shut tightly again as she realized half of her face and body was submerged in water.

With a snort to rid the fluid from her nostrils, she rolled up onto her stomach, and shook her head to clear off the excess moisture. Hoover, it was then she noticed that her body obeyed her command with little effort.

Her head spun over her shoulder. To her amazement, not a single scar showed, her back curved naturally, and her previously paralyzed leg now had the sensation of being asleep. Almost in disbelief, she pulled it out and shook it.

Out of nowhere, a chuckle escaped her throat as the drops were flung off the appendage. She tried her other limbs and her tail, they all moved as if they had never known injury or tiredness before.

Suddenly, a thought appeared in her brain, her laughter died in her throat and she slowly stood up. Closing her eyes, she waited a few moments as the water dripped off her pelt for the water to still a bit. holding her breath, she dipped her head down and opened her eyes.

Her breath came out in a shocked gasp. One of her paws flung up to her face, and her mirror reflection did the same. Her toes prodded against her fur, seeking out the scratches and scars that marred her face, but only could find smooth, immaculate fur. She then rose it up to her ears and gave an experimental tug. Her mirror self did the same and she realized that she no longer had any of the scars, broken bones, or her signature ripped ears anywhere.

"I-I'm healed?"

Her voice, though still carried the familiar rasp, came out smoothly and clearly, no longer hindered by the dry throat and need to cough every second. In fact, she felt perfectly fine, nothing hurt, ached, or felt raw, but an uneasy feeling on confusion rose upon her hackles.

She then thought to look around her surroundings. She was clearly standing in a pool of water that was surrounded by familiar stone walls. A jolt of fear rose in her heart, remembering how menacing and dark they had been in the night terror. Was that it? A shiver ran down her back. Was this just another dream? Had she died and now was to spend all eternity in this silent, empty figment of her mind?

Her ear suddenly twitched as they picked up at footsteps and her head swung around almost painfully. But not as painfully as the light that suddenly glared right into her eyes, temporarily forcing her close them in order to preserve her vision. Still, through her squinting eyelids, some blurry figure was approaching. Within a few seconds, her eyes adjusted, the light dimmed a bit, and the figure made himself known.

"Hey mother. Thanks for listening to me for once."

Smooth, long, full mane. Immaculate, clean, light auburn fur. Fit, healthy, lean body. A warm look on his face, reflecting in his eyes and a smile turned towards her.

Nuka.

She was silent, just taking in of what he could've been in life, but had instead found it here. It was official, she was dead, but a spark of hope welled within her. She remembered what his apparition form had said to her last time, and his reply gave her relief that she did in fact complete every part of her mission.

He strode down right towards the pool's edge and extended his paw towards her's, a welcoming smile on his face. "C'mon mother. It's time. You've earned your rest and your peace and in doing so helped me gain mine. It's time to go now."

Hesitantly, she held back a second more, before tentatively reaching out and grasping his paw. It felt real and solid as she grasped when he yanked he rout of the pool. The rest of the water fell off her in seconds and she was as dry as he was.

"What do we do now? She asked, only realizing that her words a second later were, in fact, lame. He snickered as to agree with her thoughts.

"We go now to see everyone mother. The past is behind us, you've gotten to the end of the Circle of Life, now you and I can join the others of the Great Kings and Queens of the Past," he explained. Her confused expression still remained, so he leaned in close and gently rubbed his cheek against hers. She froze, but then welcomed and returned the gesture of affection.

"I still don't understand what you mean," she confessed.

"I didn't either at first," he said, pulling away, the warm look returning. "It took me a while, but I eventually did, and so will you. Now c'mon mother, everyone's waiting for us and I'd really like to meet my grandparents."

He began trotting towards the light, pausing only to gesture with his head to follow. She lingered a moment longer, but a spark of realization appeared within her and she called out to him.

"Hold on son. I'd like to make a request first, if that's alright with you."

His brows furrowed in confusion, and he walked back and looked expectantly at her. "What is it mother?"

She swallowed, hesitating a moment more before smiling. "Could you maybe call me 'mom' from now on?"

His eyebrows sprung up in surprise, then softened with a shudder and tears began to sparkle in the corner of his eyes.

"I can't tell you how happy that would make me."

She lunged for him, embracing him in perhaps a bit more drastic and strong hold then necessary, but he was all too happy to return it. Tears of joy sprung out of their eyes as mother and son hugged tightly, reunited and reconciled at long last.

As soon as they broke away, they charged right into the light. Zira could feel her entire body and spirit become lighter and lighter, sparkling with forgotten and unknown joy and excitement. She could hear all the voices of family and friends past and could feel their love and happiness as they all embraced before leading her on further and further into the light.

She had finally let go of all her hatred.

She had finally achieved peace.

She was home.

Back on earth, in the Pridelands, night had fallen, arrangements had been made for the newcomers, and Zira's body had finally been put to rest within the dirt, completing her final journey in the Circle of Life. Prayers and words of comfort had been spoken around and finally, as the stars came out to illuminate the sky, peace had begun to return to them. The current pride here had invited the newcomers to stay within close proximity of Pride Rock, more specifically in the grove that surrounded the back of the great stone monument.

Grateful and exhausted, the pride took right on after the funeral towards making themselves comfy and were asleep within minutes of arriving. All, again, but for one lion.

Zaki, in his incredibly ability towards sneaking away from his pride, made his way towards the forward platform of Pride Rock and had planted his tail down right on the edge, head tilted up and staring right at the stars. Within minutes, and although the main pride had also gone to sleep, he was accompanied by two other night owls who made themselves comfortable laying down right beside him and staring up towards the heavens.

"I know my auntie wasn't the best lion, but since she was a queen and she's changed does that mean she gets her own place up there?," the cub asked from between his cousin's bodies.

Vitani sighed, but made the effort to give her best answer. "I'm not entirely sure. Our mother was a lot of things in life and she never really believed in the Great Kings of the Past or the Circle of Life," she explained. "That being said, maybe there's a spot up there that she can occupy."

"I think Kiara said that the Great Queens of the Past and the other lions of the past help make up the evening sky itself. The Queens take up much of the darker areas like there," Kovu said, pointing at an exceptionally bright star, Mohatu's he guessed. "And they make them stand out more brightly."

"And the rest of us get the other parts of the sky, since they helped make up the pride when they were alive and help contribute towards making the night sky visible and beautiful for all to see." Heads turned as a fourth members tiptoed up and made her way besides the two while adjusting Zaki so that he was sitting in her forelegs.

The cub sighed. "That sounds really nice. I bet when you all go up there, you'll make the sky even more beautiful then it already is," he said hopefully. Kovu smiled and patted the tuft on his head.

"Well the Great Kings of the Past and the rest of the night sky lions aren't just exclusive for us Pridelanders. You'll probably be a big bright star as well."

He nodded, a small smile crawling up his face as his eyes remained fixated on the night sky.

"I really hope so. I want to be a big and bright enough light in the sky so that when animals see me they get a feeling of hope and guidance, just like how auntie Zira gave me and my pride."

"That's very beautiful Zaki," Kiara replied, though there was a sad smile mirroring everyone else's.

"You know she told me quite a bit about you all when she was with us," he quickly added. "She said you all were amazing and that she was really proud of you all and that she really missed you."

He was silent for a moment, then titled his head back up towards the stars. "And I'm going to miss her a lot as well."

"We all are Zaki, we all are," Vitani sighed, laying her head into her paws, but keeping her eyes fixated above.

"I can't say for certain when she is now, but wherever she is, I have a feeling that she's happy," Kovu finished.

And with that, no more words were spoken that night. And as a cool, evening breeze blew across the savanna, bringing with it tranquility and a sense of completion for the day, the four of them felt both take root within them, and retired for the night.

As Zaki made his way around the great stone structure and was about to head into the forested grove where his pride lay asleep, he stole one last glance at the starry night sky. He sighed, then smiled towards them.

"Thank you auntie for everything. Hope you'll still be able to guide us."

The end.

Thank you for completing this journey with me. To be honest, when I first wrote this story, I'd never thought it be more then one chapter, and then when I had already put in some chapters and forgot about it for a year it was honestly a surprise to me that I continued with it. But here we are, thank you to everyone who stayed with me on this trip, thank you again tuherrus on deviantart for the fantastic fan-artwork, and to Disney for giving us such an interesting franchise with interesting characters.

For those who are wondering, yes, I am still going to be making stories after this. I have one in the works which will be debuting next year in January, so stay tuned for it. Thank you all for such an awesome decade and hope this new year brings more awesome works and projects. Hope to see ya'll then.

Signing off, sincerely, v.t.7