Hello everyone and welcome to the re-installment of the Lion King: Rise of Simba. This was my very first story ever written a while back and it gained a lot of traction but sadly it was never finished due to issues with school, other writing, and lack of drive due to other content like the Lion Guard debunking certain theories. But with season 3 of the series ending, I can do this story right and give you all a series worth reading and that you all deserve.

To my old fans, I'm sorry that I had to take down the old story. It was a hard decision and one that kept me from doing this. The chapters are still saved but in order to reboot this I needed to start from the ground and work my way back up. To my new readers, I hope you enjoy this story and that it brightens your day and entertains you. With that being said guys, let's get started!

'

'

'

Chapter 1: Morning in the Pride Lands

'

'

'


Some of us fall by the wayside and some of us sore to the stars. Some of us sail through out troubles and some have to live with the scars

-Elton John


"Naaaaants igonyaaaaaama bagithi-baba!"

As the sun began to rise over the African Savannah, a loud singing rose up and shook the silence that once peaceful land. It trailed off as an echo into the distance, traveling far and wide. The sound's source came from the tree of the wise mandrill Rafiki, though it did not belong to him. In fact, the poor old mejuzi was still asleep, tossing and turning in his leaf bed as the voice continued on.

"Naaaaants igonyaaaaaama bagithi-baba!"

"Aiiiieeee! What dis all dat racket?!" Rafiki exclaimed as he pulled the covers off and hopped out of bed.. By now he had had enough. It was too early in the morning for this type of noise. Grabbing his staff, he hurried up to the top of the tree, ready to shut up whoever it was that was making that noise. As he got to the top, he saw an interesting sight. The one singing was a young mandrill who was half Rafiki's size and was stretched out on a nearby branch.

"Naaaaants igonyaaaaaama bagithi-babaaaaa!"

"Ay!" Rafiki shouted as he clonked the mandrill on the head with his staff, "Keep it down! You don't get to be 112 years old by missing naps!" The mandrill let out a yelp from the whack on the head, causing him to grab his top with both hands. When he turned around, he revealed that he was a sturdy young fellow with brown neck fur and a rather sheepish look on his face.

"Teacher! I didn't wake you, did I? Hehehe." He replied shyly, trying to lighten the mood a bit while rubbing his new lump on his head. Rafiki couldn't help but smile as he shook his head, as if to express his curiosity towards his apprentice.

"Marifa," Rafiki addressed him in calm tone, "what on earth do you think you are doing?" The young lad known as Marifa began to scratch the back of his head, feeling a little embarrassed.

"Sorry, Master." He said in a humble tone, "I was just practicing my ceremony announcement for when I present the heirs to the Pride Lands. How did I do?"

"How did you do?!" laughed the old monkey as he walked up to Marifa and put his hand on his shoulder, "Marifa my boy, you did great! But warn me the next time before you do that! I don't want to wake up one day to see a bunch of animals at our door step because of your singing." This earned a smile from the young mandrill as he looked up at Rafiki with pride.

Suddenly, a loud roar echoed through the sky, causing both Rafiki and Marifa to look towards the horizon. Though the land was still dark, Rafiki could just barely make out a small image of the place known as Pride Rock; where the Lion King and his pride lived. The mejuzi smiled, knowing that lions were awakening and it wouldn't be long until they would be on their way to their tree.

"We will soon be having guests," he said to his young apprentice.

"The king?" Marifa asked.

"Mmhm." Rafiki nodded before motioning back to the tree with his staff. "Come, come! We have a lot to do before the sun fully rises!" obeying his teacher, Marifa followed Rafiki back into the tree and began making preparations for their upcoming guests.

Now Marifa was not Rafiki's first apprentice. A while back, Rafiki had found Marifa, lost and alone in the Pride Lands, and decided to take him in and raise him as his own. During this time, he had learned that his first apprentice, whom he had been grooming to take after him in the Pride Lands, was called to be the royal Mejuzi of the Night Pride. Though he was happy that she had found her place of belonging, Rafiki knew that he had been the mejuzi of the Pride Lands for a long time, and knew he wasn't going to be around forever. So, he needed someone who he could pass down his wisdom and knowledge too. When he asked Marifa if he would like to be his apprentice, Marifa was simply delighted by the offer, and Rafiki was more than happy take him under his wing. As time passed, Marifa became quite wise and was skilled with all types of herbs and medicine, as well as keeping the histories of the Pride Lands. Marifa thought that he had learned every single detail of the Lion King's history, but today, he would discover a story that would surprise not only himself, but Simba's family as well.

Unlike Rafiki and Marifa, back at Pride Rock, there was one lion who was not having such a good morning.

'


'

At the royal den, a young lioness stepped out of the cave and into the sunlight. It was Kiara, daughter of Simba and the heir to the Pride Lands. Normally in the morning, she would be seen spending time with 'her soon to be mate' Kovu. This time, however, she was all alone with no one around but herself. She took a deep breath, enjoying the crisp fresh morning air and made her way towards the tip of Pride Rock.

The golden lioness gazed out at the kingdom that would one day be hers and watched as the many different animals in the kingdom began to wake up and go about their daily lives. Everyone seemed happy, yet, Kiara could not say the same about herself. Everything was as it should be. The conflict between the Outlands and the Pride Lands were over, and there was no reason for worry, yet for some reason, the young lioness found herself feeling as though something was still wrong.

Kiara sprawled herself on the tip of Pride Rock, letting her paws dangle over the edge while she just aimlessly looked out at the vast savannah. For many years Kiara remembered feeling empty, as if something was just out of place. That changed after Kovu came into her life. Whenever he was around, Kiara felt that certain piece of her life suddenly click back into place. He made her happy. She should have been happy, yet as time progressed that sinking feeling slowly returned, and it was worse than she remembered. She never told anyone in her family about it. for she didn't want them to worry about her. Never the less, Kiara wasn't entirely sure she knew exactly what she was even feeling.

Sadness? A strong longing? Regret? It was all so confusing for her to process. She had only felt this way once in the past, and it was when she had to say goodbye to someone dear to her, and though she still missed him, she found herself missing someone else. It was all so bizarre and confused her greatly.

Kiara groaned, not being able to make sense of it all. She was so lost in thought she didn't even hear the footsteps coming up behind her.

"You know," a familiar feminine voice said, "If you go any closer to that edge, you'll fall off for sure." Kiara looked back and smiled when she saw her two cub-hood friends standing behind her.

"Tiifu, Zuri." Kiara smiled when she saw her friends Tiifu and Zuri. Out of all of the lions in Pride Rock, they were two of the closest people in her life besides her parents. Both of them stood side by side, with big smiles on their faces as their pelts shown in the sun. Ever since Simba increased Kiara's royal training, she hadn't been able to spend as much time with her friends as she used to. Seeing them stand before her now, almost fully adults, made Kiara realize just how quickly time had flown by.

"It's been a while, hasn't it?" Kiara asked, giving her friends a sheepish grin.

"Girl," Zuri began as she cocked her neck as she spoke, "It's been like fo-ev-er. Where have you been?"

"Oh, you know," Kiara smiled while gesturing with her paw, "this and that, stopping wars, saving the Pride Lands, the usual."

"Sounds like something Kion would say." Zuri said, "I bet he would have been proud."

"Heh, yeah," Kiara sighed, "I'm… sure he would." Not since Nala's journey out of the Pride Lands had the pride felt so empty since Kion left. Second born son of the royal family and leader of the Lion Guard, Prince Kion was once the protector of the kingdom. Yet after a great battle in the Outlands he had been bitten by a cobra and had to make a great journey to the Tree of Life in order to recover from the experience. Since then he had not only recovered but fallen in love with the Queen of the Tree of Life. Kiara was happy for him and even journeyed to the Night Pride in order to be present for his wedding and ceremony. Despite this, Pride Rock just wasn't the same without him and his friends. Thinking about him made Kiara groaned internally. The last thing she needed was a reminder of more things that was lacking in her life.

Seeing that mentioning Kion made Kiara drop her mood a bit, Zuri shot Tiifu one of those, 'you just had to open your mouth' looks. Tiifu gritted her teeth and began to scratch the back of her neck with her paw, realizing the mistake she made.

"So… how are things going with you and Kovu?" Tiifu asked in an attempt to change the subject.

"Things have been good." Kiara replied, "We've been going out for some time, my dad just recently started teaching him about the royal duties and-"

"Has he proposed yet?" Zuri blurted out, unable to contain her curiosity.

"Zuri!" Tiifu scolded, surprised by such an abrupt statement.

"What! I can't help it!" Zuri whined in response to Tiifu, "You know I'm a sucker for romance! Just think: a prince and a princess, born in two separate worlds, somehow finding their way together. Their families rejected their love for each other, so they ran away together, only to return for their loved ones and bring peace to the land and live happily ever after! EEEEEE! I just get all giddy just thinking about it!"

Kiara just chuckled and shook her head in amusement as Zuri bounced around in excitement. Even after all this time, her friends were still like those small girly cubs she grew up with. She was glad that they were in her life.

"He hasn't proposed yet," Kiara answered, "I'm sure he's just waiting for the right time."

"Awwww," Zuri pouted in disappointment. Tiifu however nodded her head and asked: "So you're ok with that?"

"Well, yeah. It's not like there's some due date that we should be married by, plus I'm sure that him and other Outlanders are still trying to adjust to living here."

"Then why the long face?" Kiara was about to say that everything was fine, but Tiifu stopped her. "Come one Kiara, we've known each other since forever. Zuri and I can tell when something is bothering you. So, what is it?" Kiara was hesitant at first, contemplating on whether or not to share her feelings. They may be able to help her out, and they were less likely to freak out about it. Besides, what did she have to lose?

"Well…" Kiara murmured as she started to shuffle her paws a bit.

"Well?" Zuri nudged.

"Do you two remember when we were young, like, really young? Before Kion was around?" This question caused both lionesses to pause for a moment and think.

"Sort of." Zuri said.

"Bits and pieces." Tiifu followed up, "Why?"

"Was there…" Kiara slowly began, "Was there ever someone else?" Both lionesses thought hard for a moment, but they both replied in unison: "No, not really." Seeing that she wasn't getting anywhere, Kiara decided to explain.

"I don't know why, but for some reason I've been having these dreams of when I was really little, and there would always be this cub in it."

"A cub?" Zuri asked, raising and eyebrow.

"Do you know who?" Tiifu asked.

"That's just it," Kiara replied in frustration, "I don't know who he is. He always appears as a blur, but he spoke with such a soft voice. He would always be telling me not to worry or asking if I'm doing ok, but I have no idea who he is or if this is just something from my imagination."

"Weird." Was all her friends could say, "Have you thought about asking king Simba about this?"

"No way," Kiara said quickly, shaking her head furiously, "My dad would probably freak out if I told him. You know how he is with visions and dreams. Besides, if it really was something from when I was young, he would have told me about it."

"Well…" Tiifu said, "It wouldn't hurt to try. I mean, he is your dad, he might know what's going on." At this point, Kiara honestly didn't know what to think. Sure, Tiifu's words made sense, but she still wasn't entirely sure about it. She was an adult now, and though she respected her father and talked to him about pretty much everything, she didn't want to go to him every time she had a problem.

"Hello everyone," a voice behind them said, "Is everything alright?" Kiara and her friends looked back to see none other than her father, the Lion King himself, Simba, standing there with a smirk on his face. Instinctively, she and her friends panicked a bit.

"Everything's fine, Dad!" Kiara blurted out as she stood up straight.

"Everything is great your highness!" Tiifu said, following in Kiara's example.

"Meep!" Zuri squeaked; she didn't know what to do. She was always nervous when it came to talking with the king.

"So, ladies," Simba chuckled heartily, more so at how Zuri was shaking so much. She always did that when he was addressing her or her friends, "What are you all doing up so early?"

"Oh, nothing," Kiara said, going back to her cheerful attitude so that her dad wouldn't suspect anything, "Just girl talk, catching up on some stuff."

"I see." Simba said as he raised an eyebrow at his daughter. She was giving him that smile; that innocent, toothy grin that she would always give him whenever she was hiding something. "You sure nothing's wrong?"

"Oh, Simba, you can't go one day without fretting over our daughter, now can you?" A feminine voice said from behind the king, "She's a young adult now. You don't have to pry on every single conversation she has with her friends." Simba sighed as a tan cream furred lioness walked up beside him as she gazed at his amber red eyes with her aqua blue eyes.

"I know, Nala." Simba sighed at his mate and then turned back to face Kiara, "I'm sorry, princess." Kiara responded by walking up to her father and nuzzling his head with hers.

"Oh," Zuri gasped as she began to tear up at the sight of Kiara hugging her dad, "Family moments always make me get emotional."

"Everything makes you emotional." Tiifu muttered under her breath.

"What was that?" Zuri asked her friend in a threatening tone to which Tiifu stiffened and replied: "Uh, nothing!"

Just then, two other lions walked out of the den and approached the group. One was a male lion with chestnut brown fur, and deep dark brown mane, and green emerald eyes; and the other was a lioness with tan fur, a slender muzzle, blue eyes, and a small patch of long fur hanging a bit over her forehead. It was the Outlander prince, Kovu and his sister, Vitani.

"Hello everyone," Kovu greeted cheerfully while his sister just kept a frown on her face as she walked beside her brother.

"Kovu!" Kiara exclaimed excitedly before racing towards the young lion and nuzzling his head.

"Hey Kiara," Kovu smiled at the lioness, "Where were you this morning?"

"I was just hanging out with…" Kiara began to explain before she realized something, "Oh! I never got to introduce you to my friends." Kiara motioned him over to the two lionesses before introducing them. "Kovu, this is Zuri and Tiifu. Two of my best friends."

"It's a pleasure." Kovu greeted politely with a bow.

"The same to you prince Kovu." Tiifu said, mimicking Kove's polite bow.

"Any friend of Kiara's is a friend of ours." Zuri added in. Kiara was then about to say something, but before she could, Simba cut her off.

"I know you all probably have a lot to catch up on," the Lion King said, "But don't forget, Kiara, we have to be somewhere very soon." At first, Kiara looked at her father with a puzzled look, but then her eyes widened in realization.

"Oh no!" she groaned in frustration, "I'm so sorry. I completely forgot about today." On the side lines, her friends looked confused.

"What are you talking about?" Zuri asked, wonder what was going on.

"It's part of Kiara and Kovu's royal training." Simba explained, "We are just taking a little field trip to see Rafiki and Marifa. You are all more than welcome to join us."

"We would love to!" Zuri exclaimed in excitement. She just loved hanging out with the Kiara's parents, they all made her feel like she actually was part of the family. Unfortunately, Zuri's happy moment was cut short when Tiifu grabbed the skin on the nap of her neck with her paw and pulled her back besides her.

"Owe, owe, owe!" Zuri whined. It didn't hurt that bad, but it was always annoying when she did that to her, "What was that for?"

"Zuri," Tiifu scolded her as if she was her mother, "If we go out with them, then who's going to help lead the hunting party?"

"Oh," Zuri scratched the back of her neck and smiled sheepishly, realizing what Tiifu was telling her, "Right."

Out of the entire pride, Zuri, Kiara, and Tiifu lead the most hunts and were the most eager to volunteer. Using the lessons, taught to them by Queen Nala, they did very well for their first time as leaders. Now that Kiara and her family were going to Rafiki's tree for most of the day, they figured that it would be a good opportunity to take charge of the daily hunting party, again.

"Thank you for the offer, your majesty," Tiifu said politely, "but I think it would be appropriate if Zuri and I stay behind so that you all come home to a big dinner." Kiara and Nala smiled and shook their heads in amusement. They knew those two just wanted to look important and responsible in the Lion King's eyes. It wasn't something they did because they were stuck up or wanted any special attention, Tiifu and Zuri just wanted Simba's respect and trust.

"Are you sure girls?" Simba asked, "We could have one of the others-"

"Tut, Tut! Not another word, your majesty," before Simba could say another word, Tiifu walked up and put her paw over his muzzle, causing Simba the scrunch up his nose. "You all have been working so hard these last couple of weeks, you all deserve some time together as a family." Kiara, Nala, and Kovu snickered at the sight of Tiifu acting like she was some nanny who was looking after the Pride Lands. Whenever there was something that needed to be done, she would be there and would act as if she was the queen of this place. It was quite humorous to watch, but others didn't find it quite amusing.

"To think," Vitani grumbled in a low tone, "All our training and we still couldn't take down this pack of spineless sissies."

"Vitani!" Kovu responded gruffly, nudging her hard in the ribs. Luckily, no one heard her comment, but Kovu was still not pleased with what she said. Though his entire pride had now lived in the Pride Lands for months and Vitani took over as the new Lion Guard, she was still adjusting to being a Pridelander instead of an Outlander.

"Be polite," Kovu warned her, "These are all Kiara's friends."

"Kiara's friends," Vitani pointed out, "Not mine." That time, Simba and the others heard her and looked back to see Kovu's sister walking away from the group.

"Hey," Kiara called out gently to the gruff lioness, "Where are you going?"

"Somewhere other than here." Vitani responded, as she continued walking in the other direction.

"But, sis…" Kovu pleaded. This time Vitani turned and looked at them all. Her expression wasn't angry, but it definitely wasn't happy. It was more of a look someone would have when they were annoyed, and Vitani wore it well. Looking at Kovu, she gestured her head to Kiara and said in a calm tone, "Go on, I'm sure your girlfriend is a lot better company then me."

"But don't you want to come?" Kiara asked, "You know you're family too." Vitani just shook her head.

"Nah," she said as she waived her paw dismissively at everyone, "I got some issues of my own to work out, besides, the last thing I need is to be looked over by that psychotic monkey." She was about to walk away, but as she glanced back at Kiara's two glory hounds, a thought came to her mind which caused a small smile to crack on her muzzle.

"Besides," she continued, "Someone has to make sure we have something around here to eat, and these two need to be shown how to actually hunt for their food. -"

"Excuse me?!" Tiifu exclaimed in an appalled tone. Vitani's smile grew wider and her eyes narrowed on the two so called 'Leaders of the Hunting Party' who were now giving her death glares. Today may not be a total loss after all.

"I'm just saying," Vitani shrugged nonchalantly, "We have to have a few experienced hunters around here or else we all would probably starve."

"Oh no she didn't!" Zuri exclaimed as she cocked her head side to side in a sassy way.

"Oh no…" Kovu said under his breath. He knew what Vitani was doing. For some reason his sister always took pleasure in pressing everyone's buttons and then showing them up. She used to do it all the time in the Out Lands with Nuka. Now that he's gone, she just found 2 new people to harass and torment. This was not going to go well.

Simba, Nala, and Kiara on the other hand merely watched in amusement. They got to know Vitani while she stayed with them and Kovu did warn them of her personality, but also assured them that her teasing was never meant to offend. It was just her way of being, well, Vitani.

"Are you saying we can't hunt?" Tiifu growled.

"Your words, not mine." Both lionesses stomped on over to Vitani, who was enjoying everyone second of this.

"You can't talk to your superiors like that!" Tiifu said as she put her paw down.

"Yeah!" Zuri said backing her friend up, "That is insub… insuborma… insuboren? No…" Zuri, couldn't think of the word.

"Insubordination, genius." Vitani rolled her eyes, "and actually, it's the truth." Vitani teased, "and if you don't want to accept it, then let's make a deal: by the end of the day, if both of you have more kills then me, I'll take back what I said about you two not being good hunters, but if I win, I get to lead the hunting party next time." Without even thinking, both lionesses exclaimed: "You're on!" and darted down Pride Rock.

"Sorry to leave so soon, Kiara!" Tiifu called over her shoulder, "But we got to teach miss mane-less over there who the bosses are around here!"

"Yeah!" Zuri called out, "Her insuberdumating will not be tolerated!"

"Insubordination!" Vitani corrected again.

"Whatever!" Zuri called back, more annoyed than before.

"By girls!" Kiara called back to them, "Hope you do well!" As Kiara's two friends quickly ran through the savannah, Kovu looked back at his sister and noticed she kept her smile on her face.

"Do you really think you can get more food than they can before sun down?" he asked her.

"Honestly, who cares," Vitani shrugged, "I honestly got too much on my plate, managing the Lion Guard. I don't have time to show annoying cubs up anymore." Everyone laughed at her comment, but though all of this was quite funny, Simba had to address the group.

"I know we would all like to stay and chat some more," he stated, "but we should really be heading out now."

"Of course, your majesty." Vitani bowed her head to Simba on a mock attitude, "forgive me for taking up your family's time."

"Was that supposed to be Tifiu?" Kiara raised an eyebrow noticing how similar Vitani's tone and stature was when she said that.

"Maybe…" Vitani said with a sly smile. Not wanting to waste any more time, the royal family walked down Pride Rock and began making their way towards Rafiki's tree. Vitani watched them before turning back to head towards the Lion Guard's hideout. So much had changed over the years; a lioness leading the lion guard, outlanders living at Pride Rock, a princess betrothed to a prince, and a new apprentice to an old master. This was the Pride Lands now, but soon the young princess would learn that it wasn't always this way.

To be Continued...


And that was chapter 1!

I hope you all enjoyed the first new chapter!

From here on out, chapters will be posted weakly every Saturday morning. I was going to post this on Saturday instead of Friday but I have a film shoot going on and so I needed to move up the time table a bit. But from here on out expect weakly uploads of "Rise of Simba" on both here and Wattpad so you won't have to worry about a lack of content.

I hope that it was all to your liking and please leave a review to help out. It shows me that you're engaging and I want to know what you think of all this. Good or bad, agree with the reboot or not, I want to know and connect with my readers.

Until next week guys, This has been Rogue Lion signing off!

(Salutes the Readers)