Chapter IX

Kovu nibbled on the leftover meat from the night before, savoring every drop of its still moist flesh that touched his tongue. Once again, he'd slept in late into the afternoon, leaving Kiara anxious to spend the remainder of the day with him. This time, hopefully, without incident. She and Kovu were outside of Pride Rock's den, only a few feet away from the tip of its ledge. He chomped at the thick bones intensely, which made his teeth feel good from the sensation of the enamel crunching in his mouth. It wasn't long before Kiara was becoming too feverish to contain herself any further.

"Are you almost finished, Kovu?" She asked eagerly. "You've been chewing that bone forever now."

"What?" Kovu retorted. "It feels good for my teeth."

Kiara rolled her eyes. She was pacing in circles, trying to think of anything that could convince Kovu to come and play with her again. "Come on, Kovu, please?" She asked. Kovu licked his teeth, trying to get a stray chunk of bone out in between two of them. "Just a few more minutes."

Kiara's patience was running dangerously thin by now. She was trying hard to consider a way to get Kovu's attention away from the bone, preferably without upsetting him. Then, with a devious smile, Kiara realized what she could do.

"Oh Kovu", she started. "I know a game we could play right now."

Kovu didn't take much notice. "What is it?" He asked casually, finally getting the tiny chunks out from his teeth now. But before he even knew it, Kiara swooped in and grabbed the end of the cracked bone with her mouth, prying it away from the former Outsider. Kovu gasped a bit. "Hey!" He shouted. "That's mine!"

"Want it? You'll have to come get it now!" Kiara teased.

"That's it!"

Without hesitation, Kovu jumped up and started chasing Kiara all over the ledge of Pride Rock, hearing her laugh hysterically the whole way through. "Think you're fast, huh?" Kovu said. He jumped all over the place, trying to catch Kiara until by sheer luck, he snapped down on the bone's edge with his jaws. He and Kiara now gripped it with their mouths, staring each other down hard. Kiara grinned.

"You bet I think I'm fast!" Kiara said to him through bared teeth. "Faster than you!"

Kovu growled, and with that, the two cubs were engaged in a particularly tense battle of tug-of-war with the bone. They both yanked at it with all their might, trying their hardest to claim it as their own. Kiara was hardly even anxious anymore, she was only glad that she was finally getting to have some fun with her new friend now. This time, outside of the den too. Kovu had to admit, Kiara was stronger than she looked. She was really biting the bone with all her might. But he pressed onward, determined not to let himself be beat by a mere princess. So he pulled and jerked at the bone in every direction with all of his strength, which pulled Kiara's head forth with each tug. Soon, Kiara felt her teeth slipping, and the chunk of white before her was beginning to crack and splinter. Kiara knew it was going to snap, so reluctantly, she let go of the bone and let Kovu have it. But because of how hard Kovu had been trying to pry it from her, he wasn't expecting it to be released so suddenly. So his own force caused him to fall backwards and made the bone to go flying in the other direction. Kovu barely had time to rub his sore cheeks before he heard something bonk from behind.

"Ow! Hey!" They heard a voice cry out. The two cubs looked over and saw none other than Simba, who was rubbing the side of his head with his paw. "What do you think you're doing?!"

Kiara couldn't help but give off a guilty smile, a look that Simba knew all too well; Both from his daughter and from himself at her age. Wasn't one bump on the head enough already?, he thought to himself.

"Sorry daddy…" She said uncertainly. "Kovu and I were playing, and I accidentally-"

"It's all right", Simba interrupted. "I saw. Just be careful, all right?"

Kiara nodded. "Good. Because I've got a surprise for you two."

Kovu's ears rose up a bit. "A surprise?" He said. "What kind?"

"Well", Simba started, "Since you're still learning your way around the Pride Lands, I want to show you one of the places you can go if you're ever in the mood to relax or have fun. If you'd like, that is."

Kovu smiled and walked a bit closer to Simba. "Sure! Where is it?"

"Just follow me."

The king nodded, and soon he began to lead Kovu down the stony ramp of Pride Rock. "You're coming too, Kiara." He said back to her. Obeying her father, Kiara simply ran forth to catch up with them both, looking excited as could be. They soon reached the ground, and Simba led them through the grass out to the west. Kiara and Kovu treaded side by side.

"Any idea where we're going?" Kovu asked her. She shrugged. "Beats me."

As they went out into the savannah, Kovu still couldn't stop looking around and observing the various animal herds grazing in the grass around him. He still wasn't used to seeing so many diverse and thriving animals in one space before; It felt almost alien to him. The giraffes gracefully ate from the tips of the trees, the elephants trudged along through their herds and territories, the zebras were feeding upon the turf, and the trails of birds above were eying the ground closely, waiting to spot their next meal. It was still a place to behold for a young newcomer like Kovu.

While the cub became so invested in observing the Pride Lands, he had failed to keep track of where he was walking ahead of himself. It wasn't long before he trailed off, and with a thump, accidentally bumped into the side of something furry. "Agh!" He muttered as he retreated back, rubbing the space on his head where he hit. Upon looking up to investigate, Kovu gazed up and saw it was the front leg of a zebra he'd knocked into; A female from the looks of it. She took notice.

"Oh! I'm sorry! Are you okay?" She asked concernedly, lifting her hoof up and kneeling down a little. Kovu stroked his head. "Yeah, I'm okay, sorry." He replied.

"I didn't mean to hurt you, I didn't see you there! Sorry, I… kind of have this habit of being careless with where I wander off to."

"Really, miss, it's fine." said Kovu assuringly. "I'm not hurt. I didn't look where I was going either."

The zebra sighed. "Good, I'm glad."

Kovu was about to return to his own business until the zebra stopped him again. "Say, you're that new cub from the Outlands, aren't you?" She asked him with curiosity. Kovu looked back and replied, "Uh, yeah."

Giving the cub an expression of certain sympathy, the zebra kneeled down again, this time going lower so she could get closer to eye level with him. "Wow. I heard about what happened a few days ago. I want to say I'm sorry you had to go through that, kid. No one your age should have to live out in those filthy lands."

"Well… thank you." Kovu said back, not sounding terribly confident.

"I think you'll be safe here. Personally, you're a cute kid."

Kovu couldn't help but blush a bit. "Heheh… thanks. Uh, listen, I need to go, Simba's taking me someplace with Kiara."

The zebra stood back up. "Oh! No, it's okay, go ahead, I didn't mean to keep you waiting here. Have fun!" She said earnestly.

"Thank you miss!" Kovu said back as he started running. He could still see Simba and Kiara up ahead, so he knew he would catch up just fine. But then as he began to pick up his pace, he heard the zebra shout to him, "Oh wait, Kovu! One more thing! Tell Nadra I said I'm glad she finally has someone like you again!"

She then ran off, presumably to join with the rest of her herd. Kovu didn't have much time to think about it, but the zebra's comment puzzled him. Someone like me? He thought to himself. What's that supposed to mean?

Several minutes later, Simba, Kiara and Kovu came across a patch of scattered trees, where bushes and plants all lined in an erratic shape. In the center of them was what looked a large pond of water, with fish dotting it from beneath. Kovu surveyed the space around the water until he saw a sizable, reddish-grey colored rock, where Nala and Nadra which sunbathing on top of. Both of the lionesses looked half asleep, just admiring the fish beneath them as they almost seemed to glide around calmly and silently. Nadra was lazily waving her paw against the delicate surface, liking the sensation of the cool water on her tips. Kiara smiled.

"Oh, this is the water hole!" She claimed, making sure Kovu heard her. "I think you'll like playing here!"

Kovu frowned. "So… we came here to drink water?"

"Huh? No, we can play in it!" Kiara replied cheerfully. "Don't you know you can play in-"

She stopped herself in mid sentence. "Oh, wait… you don't. Sorry."

"I don't get it." Kovu said, walking up to the narrow shore of the water hole. "You guys play in water? How does that work? Water's just for drinking."

"Not always", Simba replied to him. "You can certainly play or have some fun in the water if you know what you want to do. I used to do it all the time when I was your age."

The former outsider gave the king an odd look. "He's right, you know." he heard a voice say from ahead. He recognized it as Nala. "Simba's the best swimmer I know. Just step in and see how it feels. It won't hurt you."

Deciding to trust the queen, Kovu carefully inched his right paw into the small lake and test how it felt to him. Simba sat down and observed him, seeing the cub draw his paw back suddenly. "Ah! It's cold!" he voiced. "How could you play here?"

"Like this!"

Wanting to encourage and excite him, Kiara went ahead and ran into the water, as she often liked to do in her downtime. She made sure to go in close enough to Kovu that the water would splash him. He took a step back and shivered, trying to shake some of his fur dry in annoyance. Kiara laughed. "Well?" She teased. "Don't you wanna get back at me for that?"

The cub's first instinct was to either get angry or become defensive at a challenge such as hers. It was just what he knew. But upon hearing the tone in the princess's voice, plus knowing that this 'challenge' was hardly a serious one, something inside of him began to rise up. Something not of fear or wrath, but of excitement and exhilaration. For a change, he felt as though someone daring him was out of pure affection as opposed to simple malice. Despite his every instinct, Kovu felt a smile curl up on his mouth, he growled, and tightened himself up. Maybe it was time to really give this 'fun' thing a try.

"Oh, you asked for it, princess!"

Without a word, Kovu leapt forth into the water, braving the cold of it and chasing after his friend within it. Kiara laughed some more, swimming her way through the deeper portions of the water hole to evade him now. Kovu beamed with delight as he pursued her, this time with wholly playful intent. From the shore, Simba smiled as he watched the two cubs finally begin to swim and frisk around together. Never taking his eyes off of them, he walked along the edge of the water, through the bushes and plants and came up beside Nala and Nadra. "Wonderful thing, isn't it?" Nadra spoke at length. "He looks so happy. Thanks for taking him for me, Simba."

The king nodded. "My pleasure. He needs to learn his way around anyway."

Just then, they heard a voice call to them behind, coming from up above. "Good morning, sire!" it said. Simba turned around and looked behind him, only to see Zazu flying downwards towards him. He nodded. "Good morning Zazu." Simba replied. "Is the morning report ready?"

"Quite so", Zazu said back. He landed on the rock that Nadra and Nala were on, and he took a bit to catch his breath from the flying. "May I ask what you're all doing at the water hole today, Simba?"

"Oh, it's nothing, really. I took Kovu here to play, just to let him have some fun. He has to start to learn his way around too. We're just here to keep him company." Simba explained to the majordomo. Zazu couldn't help but narrow his eyes as he glanced at Kovu and Kiara chasing each other in the water. "I see…"

"So what's the report?" asked Nala, which snapped Zazu out of his semi-glare. "Oh, of course, the report! Well, let's see here… the zebras and the gazelle are having another territory dispute by the northern river, which I believe is over a food supply debate."

"Every time…" Simba sighed, rolling his eyes.

"There's also been a recent outbroken swarm of bees bothering the elephants again. But other than that, everything seems to be in order, sire." Zazu finished.

"Do you have any updates with the Outsiders?", Simba asked promptly. "Have they been spotted anywhere recently?"

"Not that I've seen, Simba. No intruders have been reported either, not even hyenas. Although, I have been seeing fires and smoke rising from their borders at night lately."

Simba raised an eyebrow. "Fires? What could that mean?" Zazu shrugged. "I couldn't say. Rumors believe that they could be performing some sort of ritual or a ceremony. Possibly involving the new cub's absence. But I wouldn't trust rumors."

"Maybe they're trying to strengthen their borders?", Nala cut in. "Perhaps they're trying to make sure no one else can escape like Kovu did."

"Seems unlikely, madam." Zazu said, shaking his head. "Knowing those savages, they'd be far more worried about invading the Pride Lands than anything to help their own security."

"It doesn't necessarily have to involve Kovu", Simba suggested. "It might be unrelated. Maybe the hyenas are bothering them again, and they're trying to keep them out. We can't assume anything."

"Well whatever it is, it doesn't sound good." Nadra replied to him. "I don't want them coming anywhere near Kovu again. For all we know, it could be a warning for something."

Simba thought for a moment. "I agree, Nadra. Whatever the fires mean, we need to be on guard. The Outsiders are only going to get more unpredictable now, so we can't take any chances."

"What exactly are you suggesting, Simba?" Zazu asked him. Simba replied, "We don't know for sure, but if they really are strengthening their borders like Nala said, we should keep a closer eye on ours too, Zazu. They might do anything to get Kovu back, and we need to anticipate it, and do everything we can to protect him, Kiara, and ourselves."

"I'm with Simba here." Nadra said, standing up now. "I'll personally watch them myself if I have to."

"Are you sure you'd be up to that?" Nala asked her. "I've been on border patrol before, it's not easy being the first line of defense." Nadra nodded. "I'm sure, Nala. Whenever I'm not looking after Kovu, I can watch the bounds to make sure he never has to see another Outsider again."

"Very kind of you, Nadra." Zazu said earnestly. "I can only watch so much of the kingdom at one time myself. And heaven knows I can't fight any Outsider who intrudes."

Nadra couldn't help but chuckle at that. Simba gestured. "In any case, we have to do our best to be prepared for whatever they might try next." He said. "Thank you for volunteering, Nadra."

"My pleasure." She replied. Zazu stretched out his wings a bit. "I'll be sure to watch the edges of the kingdom promptly, sire. If I see or hear of any filthy Outsiders here, you shall be the first to know. Anything to keep those savages away from us, right?"

"Yeah…" Simba said softly, looking uncertain as could be. He wanted to speak up, given his tumult of new, more mixed feelings on the Outsiders, but he didn't want this discussion to fully overshadow Kovu's happy moment right then. He cleared his throat. "Well, yes, thank you, Zazu. Check back with me at sunset."

"With pleasure, sire." Zazu said, nodding and flying back off to the rest of his royal duties. As Simba watched him glide off, Nala gave him a funny look. "Simba? Are you all right?" She asked. He came back to reality immediately. "Wha- oh! Yes, I'm all right, Nala."

"You sounded uncomfortable there. Is something wrong?" She asked concernedly. Simba shook his head. "I promise, it's fine. I'm just… restless, that's all. It's been hard sleeping lately."

Both Nala and Nadra gave him a strongly skeptical look. Simba knew he wasn't fooling either of them for a second, it was any Pride Land lioness's instinct to tell when something was troubling someone. Nala especially. Regardless, they decided to dismiss it for now and not let themselves wander from the reason they were there. The three of them continued to watch onward, watching Kiara tackle Kovu in the water and growl with her all too familiar fiery childhood energy. It went on for minutes on end as the cubs waggishly grappled against one another. Nala smiled as she looked up to her king. "So when are they coming, Simba?" She asked him. Simba shrugged. "They should've been here by-"

"YEEEAAAAAHHHHHH RIDE IT, WARTHOG!"

"… now."

Loudly and abruptly, Timon and Pumbaa plowed through a nearby bush at full speed, ran on top of another large rock and leapt into the the air, striking the water hole hard and sending a sizable wave rushing in all directions. Kovu and Kiara were both taken completely off guard, and they were sent flying through the water. They washed up onto the small shore of it. Despite the rapidness of it, it was a joyous and exhilarating sensation for them, and both cubs were laughing hysterically once they managed to stand back up.

"Oh hey guys!" Kiara said cheerfully. "Do it again, again!"

Pumbaa smiled. "You like that, eh?"

"Yeah!" Kovu said now. "Go again!"

It was here when Simba decided to step in, sounding conceited as could be. "Heh, that was nothing, Kovu." Simba laughed. "You want to see a real wave come out of there? Let an old pro show you how it's done."

The king stood up, stretched himself out for a bit, and dashed over to a savannah tree next to him. Nala rolled her eyes. "Simba, please, not again…" She said, half jokingly and half seriously. Simba winked at her. "Just trying to show our guest what his king can do."

With that, Simba unsheathed his claws and climbed upwards onto the tree, carefully scaling its sides and reaching the leaves on top in no time. The lion's weight was causing it to bend slightly, which alarmed Timon and Pumbaa somewhat. The meerkat gulped. "Uh… Simba? I don't know if-"

Completely ignoring him and preparing himself, Simba jumped from the treetop and flew through the air before him, spreading all four of his legs and paws out as wide as he could in an attempt to outdo Timon and Pumbaa's last wave. Simba couldn't stop laughing; He felt like a cub all over again, reliving the days when Mufasa would do this same trick for him. The instant Simba hit the water, Kovu winced from the enormous splash he created. Much of it drenched Nadra and Nala on their sunbathing rock, and the two cubs were thrust against their king's wave better than they'd hoped. Kovu felt his body experience a surge of energy and adrenaline being thrown so hard against the cool water, and for once, the feeling was positive. He felt so alive. Laughing and hacking up water from his throat at the same time, he and Kiara soon landed on the water hole's shore again, this time going far enough to be pushed outside of its boundaries. Neither one of them had looked so happy in days.

"That was amazing, daddy!" Kiara cheered in between breaths and coughs. From behind the bushes, Simba couldn't help but smile smugly. "I try, princess."

Simba's smugness didn't last, however. Beneath him, he felt numerous, frantic air bubbles popping up, and a large weight was pushing upwards against him. Soon Pumbaa emerged with Timon not far behind, forcing Simba onto his back from being pushed away. Getting themselves above the surface, the meerkat and the warthog gasped and gagged for air.

"What the heck was that, Simba?!" Timon protested. "Ya' landed right on top of us!"

"Sorry…" Simba replied weakly. Pumbaa coughed up more water out of himself. "I thought I was gonna drown, Timon!"

"Well, I guess now we're even, Pumbaa." He heard Kiara say as she came back and stepped into the water hole again. She gazed upon him with a sense of pride in herself. Kovu followed as he strolled back into the water with her.

"Uh… Sorry I landed on you guys." Simba said apologetically, but concurrently with a sense of humor. "I didn't look where I was going."

"Ehh, hakuna matata, Simba." Timon replied, drying himself off while standing on Pumbaa's back now. Kovu raised an eyebrow. "Hakuna ma-what-ah? Huh?" He said to himself, nearly going cross-eyed thinking about it. Timon looked down to him.

"Oh yeah! Pumbaa, we've still gotta tell him!" He started, leaping off into the water now. He came up to Kovu and put his hand on his shoulder. "I said Hakuna matata, Kovu. It's our motto."

"It means no worries!" Pumbaa added enthusiastically. "We taught it to Simba when he was your age!"

"Really?" The cub asked his king. Simba smiled and closed his eyes nostalgically. "Guilty as charged."

"So… what's it about then?" He asked. Timon smirked. "Oh, it's just the kind of thing a kid like you could use now that you're with us. It means you can have your own carefree life without worrying about a thing, you look after yourself, and just relax all day long if ya' want."

Kovu's eyes went innocently wide. "Really? I can do that here?" He asked, looking up to Nala and Nadra now. Nala chuckled. "Well, a little bit." She answered for him. "It's not quite that simple, Kovu, but for a cub like you, he's right. There's not a lot you have to worry about just yet."

"And I'll be the one to make sure you don't have any worries." Nadra added. "I promise."

The former Outsider smiled. "No worries…" He said to himself. "Now you're getting it, kid!" Timon replied happily. "Live your life for today, the way you want it right now, and don't let anybody tell ya' otherwise."

"Thanks, Timon." He said. "That really helped."

"Ah, Hakuna matata, Kovu."

There was a brief pause before Kiara, still in the water with them, seized her opportunity by sneaking up and swooping in on them, splashing a heavy amount of water straight into Kovu's face. He gagged at it for a second before giving the princess an impish look. "Hey, no fair!" He protested playfully. Kiara shrugged. "You gonna let me get away with that, Kovu?"

The former Outsider growled. "You don't know who you're messing with, princess!"

He immediately began to chase her through the water once more, swimming after her with all his might. Simba watched gleefully, and then he got an idea. Seeing his daughter swim with Kovu the way she was was making him feel like he wanted to join in with her, so to speak. So he swam over to the two lionesses on their sunbathing rock and looked up. "Come on in Nala, don't just lay there all day!" He said exuberantly. "Give Kovu a good time, will you?"

The queen merely grinned. "I think I've already had enough water splashed on me for one day, Simba."

The lion frowned. He didn't know what it was, but something about sunbathing always did make the lionesses never want to do anything else for the time being. Nala especially. But then, he got a mischievous idea. Making sure to stay as quiet as possible, Simba heaved his upper body onto the edge of the rock, grabbed onto his mate's upper sides and dragged her into the water with no warning. Nala yelped, and then nearly screamed once she felt herself enveloped by the deep, freezing water. (Freezing to her, at least.) She got back up for air immediately, and Simba couldn't stop himself from bursting out laughing in a frenzy. The glare that she gave him was one to behold.

"Simba!" Nala yelled. "I thought you were more mature than that!"

"Come on, Nala, I'm just trying to have some fun since Kovu's here!" Her king replied in between breaths. "Live a little! Just imagine that we're cubs again, it's been so long since we swam together." He then brought his muzzle right up to her ear and whispered teasingly, "Unless you think you're not up to pinning me anymore, hm?"

That was all the motivation Nala needed.

"Nadra… stand back. Let me show you how a queen handles his king."

She immediately jumped right at Simba, trying her best to pounce him in the water while he continuously dodged her. It wasn't long before she began to warm up to Simba's unusual liveliness, seeing it as refreshing compared to his normal, overbearing self. Nala thought she might as well take advantage of it while it lasted. "What's the matter?" Simba taunted. "Losing your touch with this, are we?"

"Well it's not fair!" Nala replied, intentionally sounding whiny. "We're in the water, it's harder!"

Simba couldn't tell if she was mocking him or not, but in any case, he pressed on. The two of them almost felt like cubs all over again, reliving the lost days of when life was simpler, more innocent and safer for them. Kovu was caught slightly off guard by his king and queen's behavior, but he couldn't help but smile and watch. It was almost inspiring for him to see some adults like them still be able to act like cubs at heart, something he never thought possible beforehand. So this is what fun is?, he thought to himself. He nodded. I like it.

But the cub's brief thoughts were cut short by an unexpected jolt from behind. He felt a splash, and then sensed wet paws gripping onto him from the sides. Kovu gasped in surprise. But then he grew a sense of excitement when he heard the voice that this was coming from. "Gotcha, Kovu!"

"Gah! Mom!" He shouted. While Kovu wasn't looking, Nadra had quietly snuck into the water with the others, swam up to Kovu and grabbed onto him in a facetious way. She then lifted him up by his scruff with her mouth, watched him scrabble and twitch his arms and legs around, and then gently tossed him up onto her head. "Having fun, Kovu?" She asked him earnestly. Kovu laughed. "Yeah! Thanks for coming in, mom!"

She nodded. "My pleasure. Now what do you say we go show that princess who's boss, eh? You and I can do it together."

"Yeah! Let's do it!" Kovu said mischievously, and on cue, Nadra swam after Kiara with Kovu sliding down and standing on her back now. Being an adult and able to stand in the water, it was much easier for her to catch up to the princess. Kiara hadn't expected it, so she jumped when she saw them coming at her. "Now, Kovu!" Nadra shouted. Springing up, Kovu jumped down and pounced onto Kiara, creating another splash and dragging her under the water with him. Bubbles flew everywhere beneath the surface. Once they came back up for air, Kiara swatted at Kovu, trying to hold back her chortles. "Hey, no fair!"

Kovu simply smiled smugly. "No one said there had to be rules, princess."

Kiara just snarled lightly and pounced at him, and from there, the two cubs continued their friendly romp in the water hole together. Kovu had never felt or experienced anything like this before in his life. Not only was Kiara finally playing with him a bit like Vitani would, but she was doing it solely for fun too. Not for competition, show of strength or judgement like before; Just for the sake of a light heart, and nothing more. Even his own king and queen were showing what he'd been missing out on all this time. Kovu felt rush after rush of energy, excitement and joy run through his body. The feeling of the cool water surrounded by moist grass, clear skies and nothing but friendly, loving friends and family was the greatest feeling in the world for him.

For what felt like one of the first times in his life, Kovu knew what happiness was.

Author's note: Guess what everyone, I'm not dead! Yet! :D

I want to preface by saying I sincerely apologize for the long spaces between updates on this story, but there's a lot of factors involved in it. My personal life, my schoolwork, other projects taking over my time (notably my work for my DeviantArt page), and it's also just been hard to find much inspiration for making this as good as it can really be. It's even been stressful at times. But nonetheless, I hope you enjoyed this chapter well enough. I wanted it to be more light-hearted than the others and give everyone's (especially Kovu's) emotional states a break, so I just wrote a sample of what his early days in the Pride Lands would be like. Think of it like a breather in between the more serious moments of it all. It's also meant to contrast with the darker scenes in the Outlands, and to really show the differences between the two prides' day-to-day life as of now.

One other note I have is that it's come to my attention that this story has become the #1 most favorited Lion King fanfic on this entire website. I can't even put into words how fantastic that is, nor can I thank everyone who's favorited so far enough for helping it reach this point. It's given me whole new motivation and determination to update faster and get this story finished for all of you, and the audience for this story has grown beyond my wildest possible guesses at this point. I thank you all for staying with me this far and being patient about updates, and I can absolutely promise that I'm going to get through to the end sooner or later.