***Chapter 12***

***Another Deal***

Akido stared at the lifeless body of his beloved mate that lay before him on the stone slab. He just couldn't wrap his mind around the fact that she was dead. Tears streamed silently down his cheeks and dripped to the cold stone floor.

"I'm sorry son." Kovu said quietly, stepping forward to Akido's side. "She loved you so much."

"No." Akido shook his head. "No, it can't be like this. This isn't right."

Kiara came up from behind as well. "This is life. We can't control it." She said solemnly .

"Grandpa…" Akido whispered.

Kovu frowned. "What?"

"Grandpa can help!" Akido whirled around to look at his parents. "He always helps."

A deep voice from the entrance made Akido look. "No, Akido. I can't this time."

Kovu and Kiara gasped at the golden lion that entered the cave. Simba came to stand over Adira's body as Akido stared. "What do you mean not this time? I need her grandpa, as much as everyone needed me back!"

Simba sighed and shook his head. "I'm sorry. But the world is not as perfect as you would like to believe."

Kovu and Kiara were still staring at the dead king. "Daddy?" Kiara squeaked.

Simba smiled sadly. "Yes Kiara. It's good to see you both." He nodded to the couple, but did not move towards them. Instead, he watched Akido return to Adira's side.

He leaned into her ear and whispered so only she could have heard. "Please, Adira. Wait for me." He cried into her cheek, wishing she was still with him. There was nothing he could do, and it tore him up inside to accept that fact.

It didn't seem like really the time to ask, but Akido desperately wanted to think about something else. "How are you here grandpa?" he asked.

Simba frowned. "I've always come to see you."

"Yea, but never with my parents around." He looked back at Adira, She looked so peaceful. Asleep in the dark abyss of the afterlife. Fresh tears started to fall as he became aware of Simba's answer.

"Well… I can show myself to whoever I want. I'm a king."

Akido blinked. "That never gave you a free pass before. What happened to only slight appearances during emergencies?"

Simba looked around the cave, as if searching for the answer. He looked to Kovu and Kiara, who were staring at the golden lion hesitantly. Something was definitely off. This wasn't the normal Simba. "We change the rules to how we want." He replied arrogantly.

"What about retaliation from Shetani?" Something was wrong. The kings weren't this arrogant, especially not Simba.

Simba sighed and stared somewhat angrily at Akido. "Akido, you just need to understand that I am your grandfather, and that there are things outside of your knowledge that you shouldn't interfere with!"

Akido stared, stunned into silence by his grandfather's outburst. He stared deep into Simba's eyes. Akido blinked. They were black. Not just a normal black either, but a shade so dark that it seemed to suck all light from the surrounding space. He shook his head. "No… I don't know who you are, but you are not my grandfather."

The golden lion's dark eyes narrowed at his supposed grandson. "I told you that you shouldn't have interfered!" he hissed dangerously.

Akido took a step back. He had no idea what was going on, and from the looks on his parents' faces, neither did they. All he knew was that the lion that stood before him was not his grandfather.

The supposed Simba growled angrily as he began to change. His short golden fur lengthened and darkened to a shiny black and his bright red mane took on a similar hue. His paws grew to twice their original size, with claws extended and ready to kill. By the time the transformation was complete, the black lion stood far taller than Nuru ever had, with eyes that were far blacker than the murderous king's.

When Akido had looked into Nuru's eyes, he had only seen a slight fraction of the blackness that he now saw. "Shetani." He whispered in a mixture of fear, awe, and anger. This was the real creature that caused his family so much pain. Shetani killed Adira. "What do you want?"

The black lion growled at the lion and smiled evilly. "You ruined everything! No one crosses me and lives!"

Akido stared at the monster with growing hatred and diminishing fear. "You destroyed my life!"

"Clearly, not enough."

Akido roared in anger and leapt at the Devil. He crashed into the beast, and began to strike slash with all his might. He drew deep lines in Shetani's side and rolled to the side to avoid his retaliatory swipe. Akido stared at his accomplishment. He had just wounded the devil. His victory was short lived, however, as Shetani just smiled. The gashes that he had just been inflicted healed and disappeared from his long black fur.

"You fool," The black lion hissed. "You cannot hurt me, only I can hurt you."

Akido backed against Adira's body as Shetani advanced, he looked down at his fallen love. "Maybe I'll see you sooner than we thought I would." He whispered to her.

He hadn't meant for anyone else to hear, but apparently the beast had heard. "Oh no, Akido," he smiled cruelly. "When I kill you, you won't go to the afterlife like you did last time. You will go with me to hell. You will never see Adira or any of your friends or family again. You will suffer eternally at my hand."

Akido stared in complete and utter horror. He hadn't really feared dying except for the pain he associated with it, he actually almost wished for it's perfect world, especially with Adira waiting for him. But this… this was a fate far worse than the most agonizing and gruesome death. He would never see his love again. She would wait and wait, and he would never arrive. He stared at Adira's body. A tear fell from his eye and fell to the floor at the thought of never seeing her again. It destroyed him.

"Akido, no!" cried his mother as she leapt at Shetani. A sharp blow caught her in midair and sent her crashing to the ground. Kovu roared and moved to attack as well, despite his crippled leg.

"Dad, No!" Akido cried. "Don't do it." Kovu looked at his son with pure sorrow. He knew that the younger lion was right; there was no use in fighting the beast. Instead of lunging at Shetani, Kovu limped to Kiara and helped her up.

Shetani chuckled at their attempt. "You cannot stop me. There is nothing you can do to avoid your fate."

A loud roar from behind the monstrous lion made them all look. "Maybe they cannot do anything, Shetani, but I can!" Simba entered the cave and took up a fighting stance against the devil.

The black lion snarled and lunged at the great king. "You Kings are all alike, all equally weak!" he yelled furiously.

The two opposing forces clashed violently. Simba was significantly smaller than Shetani, but it was clear that there was more to this fight than simple body weight. They wove around each other's strikes at an astonishing speed; neither could land a hit on the other. Akido, Kovu, and Kiara stared in amazement at the duel of opposites that raged before them. Simba became a fury of strikes, slashes, and dodges against Shetani's brutal attacks.

Shetani roared in rage and frustration as Simba's claws finally raked across the black lion's chest. This time, the wound did not heal. He stared down at his ripped chest, momentarily shocked and stunned at the wound. Realizing the advantage, Simba leapt at the demon and pinned the larger lion to the ground.

Shetani stared in amazement at the turn of events. He was silent for a while, trying to figure out how he had been beaten. "Fine. He finally spat at the great golden king. "You have your victory. But I will be back." With that, the evil lion faded into the air and Simba's paws fell to the stone floor with a loud thud. He looked to Akido, who simply stared in astonishment.

"Grandpa?" he asked hesitantly. "It really is you?" One look into his clear amber eyes was all Akido needed for proof. He ran to embrace his deceased grandfather. "Thank you… Again." He whispered into his mane. Kovu and Kiara ran to him as well. The reunited family was together again for the first time in years.

SImba smiled and held his grandson close. "You have done exceptionally well Akido. We are all extremely proud of you."

Akido shook his head, remembering his painful failure. "I wasn't strong enough. I couldn't save her."

Simba sighed. "In the same way that you could not hurt Shetani, there was no way you could have saved Adira. She chose to die for you."

The younger lion turned away from his family and walked over to his love. He nuzzled her limp muzzle a final time before closing his eyes. He rested his head on her side, listening to the gentle pulse of her slowly beating heart. Akido blinked. Dead lions don't have a pulse. He pressed deeper into her chest to be sure that he wasn't just imagining it. It was definitely there, albeit faint. He looked to her face, afraid to be hopeful, but more afraid to live without her.

"Adira?" he whispered quietly.

Her eyes opened slightly and a slight smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. Akido stared in utter amazement. "It was beautiful." She whispered.

"I thought you were dead!"

"I was." She replied faintly, smiling at his confusion.

"How?"

"They said my body really wasn't in that bad of shape, and they decided to give me a second chance… on one condition though."

"What condition?"

"My job is to make sure you do a good job as king."

Akido grinned and licked the cheek of his returned mate. It was as if he was dreaming; he turned to face his grandfather and stunned parents to repeat his question. "How? I thought you couldn't do stuff like that."

Simba smiled. "We gave allowed you to return because Shetani interfered too harshly into your world. We decided that since he tried to take you to hell, we needed something to balance it out and it seemed appropriate to make Adira a similar deal. Though it was up to her to either accept or decline the offer.

Adira snorted quietly and then winced. Her wounds were still quite bad.

"Hey, take it easy." Akido whispered into her ear.

She just smiled. "I would never decline to stay with you, Akido."

"Thank you." He answered as he nuzzled her nose. "I'm so glad you're back."

"Me too."

Akido still had a few more questions for his grandfather. "I thought you said I wouldn't have to fight Shetani, that he wouldn't interfere like that."

Simba raised his eyebrows. "We didn't think he would, Shetani has never actually attacked a living lion like that before. You really made him angry, Akido."

Adira chuckled despite her injuries. "I'm just glad you're all okay."

"Says the lioness who just came back from the dead." Akido countered before nuzzling her cheek again. "I'm never letting you out of my sight again." he whispered into her ear.

She laughed at her mate and pulled him into a loving lick.

A broad grin spread across his face as he looked to his family. Adira was alive, wounded, but alive. Nuru was dead and the leopards were gone. They were all alright. Everything was alright. It was over.

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The formerly dreaded golden sun broke through the horizon and flooded the savannah with brilliant light. Akido stared over his kingdom with thankful eyes from the peak of Priderock before turning to his mate who stood by his side. Adira had also healed well from Nuru's attack. Faint scars still showed through her fur; daily reminders of the struggle for freedom of tyranny. She stared at Akido with loving eyes.

"Well, your highness, what do you plan on doing after your ceremony?" she asked playfully.

Akido smiled. "I'm not King yet, but I figured the first thing I did should be of extreme importance." He stared solemnly out at the savannah. "There seems to be a lot of loose sand on the lip of Priderock; someone could slip and fall."

Adira laughed and pushed him to the ground, pinning him to the floor.

Akido leaned up and licked her muzzle. "Seriously, though. I need to rebuild our reputation in the kingdom, let the animals know that we are not like Nuru was."

She nodded and licked him back before allowing him to stand. "Well we should probably get going. It would be bad for the new king to be late for his own crowning."

Akido nodded and followed his mate down the path to where everyone was waiting. He watched happily as her somewhat enlarged stomach swayed slightly with his heir inside. He was going to be a father; it both excited him, and scared him to death. His parents had been very supportive; they promised to help him with anything he needed help with, be it parenthood, or Kingship. Akido was embarrassed to admit it, but he was far more nervous about parenthood.

The couple arrived at the lip of the great rock. He embraced his family. Kiara and Nala were both crying from happiness, and Kovu stood tall with pride. It had taken a while, but he had finally come to terms with his son's identity as Akido. No longer did he torment himself with remorse and shame; he was far too proud of his returned son.

Akido looked off the edge of the stone lip. All the herds and packs of the Pridelands had assembled at the base of Priderock, awaiting the arrival of their new king. He began the ascent to the King's perch at the tip of the great stone, becoming increasingly aware of the responsibilities he was assuming. He walked the same steps that his father had. That his grandfather and his great grandfather had taken so many years ago. He looked up into the blindingly bright sky to see Simba smiling down at him from the heavens.

A friendly gust of wind caught his mane as he approached the edge. Akido closed his eyes and savored the feeling before looking across the savannah. The animals began to bow in groups. First the cheetahs, led by Hatola and Tana. Akido smiled at their loyalty; none of this would have been possible without them. Other groups soon followed; the rhinos, the elephants, the zebras. Each paid their respects and showed their loyalty to their returned prince and new king.

Akido smiled at the new era that had begun. He let loose a thundering roar that echoed across the Pridelands reaching every ear for miles. The pride behind him echoed his roar, as did the sky. A sharp crash of thunder pealed from the bright clouds. Akido roared again. It was his turn now.

***Author's Note***

This is indeed the true end. Thank you all for reading and sticking through all the bitter parts for the final conclusion. I had a great time writing this, and I hope you enjoyed it.

Now, being that the story is finished, I'd like to propose a few questions to you. What was your favorite part of the story, least favorite part, and anything that I did wrong? I'm still pretty new to this, so I really want to know from my readers what I'm doing right as well as what I'm doing wrong. Feel free to extend this question to cover "Nala's Brother" as well.

It has been great as always, and I hope to start another story shortly, but I'm still working on the plot line, so it might be a while. Please take the time to answer my questions, it takes little time and you don't even need an account to do so. Thank you for your support and farewell for now.

-Ben