A/N: Enjoy, we've only got a few chapters left in part one.
Disclaimer: I own nothing. At least, nothing anybody cares about.
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Never Forget Part 1: Surfacing
Chapter 14: Looking Ahead
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"You do know you're going to have to tell him eventually right?" Yewande asked Zira when she was sure the others could not hear. The two had taken to walking off from the others in order to discus Zira's condition. "He's only going to be angry if he finds out on his own."
"I'm not worried that he'll be mad, it's just that…" The lioness trailed off, looking at the dark leader of their bizarre group. He was talking with Shenzi, most likely about where their next meal was coming from. The cheetah sighed irritably, her patients finally giving out under the stress she had recently been put under.
"I'm telling him. Scar!" She called, causing the lioness' eyes to widen in horror.
"What are you doing?" She growled lowly, not wanting to alarm the steadily approaching lion. The cheetah merely smiled before looking at the dark lion.
"What is it?" He asked when he reached them, his green eyes gazing into each of theirs in turn. Yewande attempted to nudge the larger cat forward, causing Zira to glare at her. "Zira?" The lioness shot him a nervous glance, unsure of his reaction. Her hesitation was not lost on him. "What's wrong?"
"Can…can we talk?" Zira managed to ask finally. The dark lion nodded and the two walked away from the others for privacy. Yewande watched them for a moment before trotting over to the three hyenas. The two males were in the middle of fighting over a bone Ed had found…somewhere. The cheetah shook her head and approached Shenzi.
"Yewande." She said, annoyed by her siblings' antics. She nodded in the direction Yewande had just come from. "They talking about what I think they are?" The cheetah chuckled and lay down next to the hyena.
"I'm surprised he hasn't picked up on it yet. He seems pretty smart." The two watched as the lions stood facing each other. Shenzi simply watched, hoping this would not ruin her and the other hyenas' chances of survival. If Scar decided he didn't want anything to do with them, they would lose one of their group's strongest, and smartest, members. The hyena did not like the idea of being stuck with her brother by herself again. Yewande was less concerned with the group's wellbeing, she was simply curious about Scar's reaction. She found the dark lion…interesting. The two watched as Zira began to explain to him exactly why she had followed him. The entire time she spoke the dark lion kept the same, stony mask.
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"So you see, I didn't have any choice. If you father or brother found out I would have been banished anyway so-"
"Zira." He cut her off with his gentle tone. She met his gaze, seeing concern, amusement, frustration, and just a hint of happiness. "Do you think I'm an idiot?" She backed aware in surprise.
"What?" He chuckled to himself, shaking his head sadly. He glanced at her rounded stomach with a wry expression.
"That's not exactly subtle." He said, bringing to her attention exactly how far along she was. It was at this moment that everything that had happened finally caught up with her. They were stranded in a wasteland, far from the home they had known. The only company they had was not even the same species. Two of them were complete and utter morons and now, on top of everything else they were expected to raise a cub. She felt the tears well up as panic set in. Seeing this, Scar was quick to move to her side. "Hey…come on." He nuzzled her head with his own. "I'm here now, there's nothing that can hurt you as long as I'm around." She sobbed into his black mane, nodding at his comforting words. "Nothing can hurt you or our child."
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"Mufasa?" Sarabi called out to the new king. "What is it?" He looked at her from his place atop Pride Rock. He had spent much of the day staring out over the Pridelands.
"I'm not sure. I just have this odd feeling, like something good has happened." He shook his head before walking to her side. They walked together back to the den their voices lowering the closer they got. "How is she?" He asked, stopping at the mouth of the cave. Sarabi followed his gaze to where Uru lay.
"She's growing weaker with every day." Sarafina said, leaving the old lioness' side to speak with her friends. "I don't think she'll survive much longer." Mufasa growled in sadness. He approached his mother carefully, not wanting to startle her more than he had to.
"Mother?" He ventured quietly. She merely moaned in response, the sound tearing at his heart. "I don't know if I can stand losing you as well." He lay down next to her softly. "First Taka, then father, now you? Our family's falling apart."
"Pieces…" She wheezed softly.
"What?" He fought the tears that threatened to fall.
"We're already in pieces…" She cracked one tired eye open to look at her son. "Taka is dead." She managed to whisper, tears leaking out of her eyes.
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"May I point something out my dear?" Scar asked the lioness as they walked back to the others. "You left the Pridelands because you were afraid you would be banished?"
"I was too worried about you to think clearly." She countered quickly, causing him to smile approvingly.
"That's my girl." He nodded to Shenzi and Yewande as the lions walked passed them. The two managed to break up Banzai and Ed's scuffle and follow. "Five, four, three…"
"Why are you-?"
"So what's for dinner?" Banzai asked suddenly. Scar sighed wearily.
"Like moronic clockwork." He looked at the hyena blankly. "Do you see any food?"
"No."
"Then what do you think we are having for dinner?" The lion felt his patience slipping with every moment he was forced to deal with the hyena.
"Nothing."
"Look Zira, it can learn." Yewande said, bumping the lioness with her shoulder.
"Hey! That's not-you smell that?" He interrupted himself, looking around frantically. After a moment the others joined him, albeit with more composure.
"What is that?" Yewande asked as they made their way towards the scent. They climbed up a large hill to what appeared to be another spit of green in the dust-choked landscape. "Oh, my mom told me about these. She said this was an oasis."
"A what?" The others looked at her dubiously.
"She said it was like the Pridelands, only smaller and with more plants."
"Well, to me it just looks like another waterhole." Zira remarked as they made their way around the pool of water.
"Whoa! Shenzi, Scar! Check this out!" Banzai called from the edge of the oasis.
"You find food?" His sister asked as she and the others followed his voice. They were greeted with a massive cliff over looking a massive area. Massive trees spread out in all directions, pressing in on each other densely. Below them was a large lake, in which fish could be seen swimming. They were stunned for a long moment, all of them looking for words to describe what they saw before them.
"Jungle." Scar said finally. "Ahadi spoke of things like this. He said the king needed to know of such things." He growled the last part lowly. He took a moment to collect his thoughts and quiet his temper. "I suppose we could live here for a while. "
"At least until we know where we're going." The cheetah said wryly.
"Exactly."
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A/N: Okay, I'm ending this chapter here because: A) this chapter was giving me trouble and B) the next chapter works different from this one. You'll see what I mean.