Zira's eyes widened as she realized that she wouldn't get the chance to avenge Scar. Her claws straining to hold on to the rock; to no avail, as she kept slipping. She would never, could never accept help from one of them. She struggled to pull herself up on her own, but she knew that she couldn't succeed. She would fall into the river, and she would die. There was no other truth, no other possibility. With one last look at the princess, Zira lost her grip, and plummeted towards the churning waters below.
"I've failed you, Scar. Forgive me," she gasped just before she hit the water.
The river pulled her along, tossing her around. Something solid would hit her now and then, knocking the breath out of her. Making her end more certain. She knew it was futile to fight, but she kept trying to get back to the surface; trying to get out of the river. She flailed her paws wildly, struggling to hold her breath. It was a long battle, but finally, the battered and beaten lioness broke the surface of the water.
Gasping for air, Zira looked around for an escape. Up ahead there was a shore she thought she could reach. Desperate to escape, desperate to get revenge, she began making her way towards the bank. Her fore paws sank into sand and mud, her claws searching for purchase. She kicked with her hind legs, scratching at pebbles. Victory! At last, she managed to pull her soaked, aching body from the river and stagger away from the treacherous waters.
For a moment, she just stared at the rushing river, unable to believe that she'd survived. Then her eyes narrowed and she glared in the direction she'd come from- in the direction of Pride Rock. First Simba had killed Scar. Then he'd turned Kovu against her, and Kovu had killed Nuka by doing nothing. To add insult to injury, he had turned Vitani on her, and even the rest of her pride. He had taken everything from her, and she would not rest until he had paid for what he'd done.
She turned and lurched away through the savanna, hatred burning within her. Despite her determination, she was weak, and she didn't get very far before she collapsed, unconscious, to the earth.
Chukiza followed the sounds of the river, thirsty after days without water. He leaned over the rapids, very cautiously getting a drink as quickly as he could. As he was rising back up, he noticed a lioness sprawled not too far away. He approached her, feeling like he should investigate.
She was soaking wet, and he figured she must have fallen into the river from somewhere and washed up here. Well, she wasn't his father, but Chukiza was alone, and he was sure just about anyone would do. He'd passed a grassier place not long ago, so he grabbed the downed lioness by the nape of her neck and dragged her to the softer area. Then he sat down to wait for her to come to.
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It was over. There was no way Zira could have survived that fall and the rushing waters. Relief was all Nala could feel. For a minute there, she'd thought she would lose her daughter. She nuzzled Simba affectionately and turned to look around at the remnants of Zira's pride. They had been fighting mere moments ago, but she had forgiven them all. They had seen the error of their ways.
Some of them looked shellshocked. Others looked fine. Some looked sad. They probably hated that Zira was dead. Nala herself wished it could've ended better, but she didn't think she'd lose any sleep over the crazy lioness.
"Simba, we did it. We won," she murmured.
Nearby, Vitani wasn't sure if she'd made the right choice. She'd been unable to turn on her brother, and she had really hurt her mother by doing so. She'd abandoned her, after she'd already lost Nuka and Kovu, and now, Zira was dead. Had any of this been worth it? What was the point in avenging Scar if they lost everything in the process?
She wished they had never tried to ambush Simba. Sure she still had Kovu, but she wished they could still be back in the outlands with her mother and Nuka. It was too late for regrets now, it was too late to change her mind. She had sided with the Pridelanders, her mother's mortal enemies. Zira had been so upset, she'd even said she'd kill Vitani, too.
The lioness's gaze moved over to the edge of the cliff where her mother's life had ended. This was the beginning of a new chapter in her life, and she had no choice but to make the best of it.