The Lion King III:

The Lost Prince

Chapter 9

Kopa stabbed the side of the cliff with his claws and felt them scrape several inches before he came to a stop, his forelimbs trembling with the effort of keeping himself from falling into the gorge. He glanced over his shoulder and noticed two things: first, there were sharp jagged rocks about forty feet below him; and second, Scar had caught himself in a similar fashion and was slowly clawing his way up to where Kopa hung.

"You have got to be kidding me," Kopa muttered as he began to struggle back up to the cliff, which was ten feet above him.

Scar's breathing came out as snakelike hisses as he violently pulled himself towards Kopa, moving quicker than the younger lion by sheer hatred. Kopa was near the top of the cliff when he felt Scar dig his nails into his back leg. Kopa's front paws lost their traction and he began to plummet backwards when he felt someone grasp his front paw with their claws.

"I got you!" Kovu shouted, gripping Kopa's paw and straining against the weight of both Kopa and Scar, who began to climb up Kopa's back.

"Get off me!" Kopa roared.

"What?" Kovu scoffed.

"Not you!" Kopa snapped.

"Oh, right."

"Come with me, Kopa," Scar laughed. "You and me – the Lost Princes – we'll go to hell together!"

Kopa and Kovu shared a look and Kopa winked, to which Kovu nodded. Sucking in a ragged breath, Kovu yanked hard on Kopa's paw and brought him up half a foot before releasing his paw, using his newly freed claws to slice through Scar's good eye. The monster let out a bloodcurdling roar of pain and pressed his front paws to his bloodied eye socket, inadvertently releasing Kopa and tumbling backwards.

Kopa felt himself falling once more and let out a startled gasp, Kovu just barely missing his paw a second time. As Kovu grasped Kopa's forelimb, he watched his stepfather plummet fifty feet to the jagged rocks below.

"Mufasa!" Scar screeched just before he hit the earth.

Kopa glanced over his shoulder and winced at the grotesque sight below him. He looked back up at Kovu and mumbled, "thanks."

Kovu nodded. "Anytime."

Kopa glanced around and sighed. "So, are you going to pull me up or what?"

Kovu sucked in an indignant breath. "You are really heavy, you know that?"

"Bite me!"

Kovu let out a long painful groan as he dragged Kopa up and over the edge, the golden male using his free paws to claw his way up. He slid over the edge of the cliff and the two young lions slumped side by side on the grass in exhaustion, the lionesses surrounding them in concern. They rolled onto their backs and stared up at the five females examining them.

"You know," Kopa sighed, "this family has a lot of bad luck when it comes to cliffs. You'd think we'd learn by now to avoid them."

Kovu nodded. "Good idea."

Kopa glanced at the claw marks on his paw where Kovu had grasped him.

"Sorry," Kovu sighed.

"No big deal," Kopa replied. He glanced at Kovu and frowned. "This doesn't mean we're friends, you know."

"Of course not," Kovu agreed, "Dick."

"Bitch."

The two males started laughing and the lionesses let out a unanimous sigh of relief.

Kovu and Kopa pulled themselves to their feet and gazed over the edge of the cliff to where Scar lay.

"Is he really dead?" Tama asked.

"Yes," Kovu said solemnly.

"Are we absolutely sure about that?" Kopa insisted in a sardonic voice. "I mean, the last time…"

"Unless it's possible for someone to survive with half their brains smeared on the ground, I'm fairly confident in my assessment."

Kopa glanced at the five lionesses with them. "Don't suppose any of you lovely ladies would be interested in going down there and checking."

"Real chivalrous of you, Chaka," Kovu chuckled.

The other male gave Kovu a roguish grin. "It's Kopa."

Boga stepped forward and threw a stone down at Scar's body. A soft thud could be heard from where they stood. "Yep, he's dead," she confirmed.

"Boga!" Sabini gasped.

"What?"

"It's the king," Kula informed them.

The group turned about and saw Simba, Rafiki, and Kiara approaching. Rafiki had his hand on the king's shoulder and Kiara bounded ahead of them.

"Kopa!" the princess called happily.

"Uh oh," Kopa mumbled.

"What's wrong?" Kovu asked.

"I think I have a broken rib and Kiara's about to give me a hug."

Kiara threw herself at her brother and knocked him backwards. Kopa felt a spasm of pain shoot through his side and yelped in agony. "Ow – why?" he cried out angrily.

Simba paused and watched his children's embrace. "I can't believe he's alive," he told his advisor.

"Go to him, Your Highness," Rafiki said.

"Sorry, sorry, sorry," Kiara said quickly, backing away from her brother as he struggled to his feet.

"It's fine – doesn't even hurt anymore," Kopa responded unconvincingly.

"Maybe Rafiki should take a look at you," Kovu suggested.

"Hell no," Kopa scoffed. "That nutcase would just whack me in the gut with his stick."

"Kopa?" Simba called.

The prince turned to his father, who smiled expectantly. Kopa didn't move for a moment until Kiara gave him a soft nudge.

"Go on," Kiara whispered.

Kopa glanced at his sister and gulped before slowly walking towards the king. Kiara moved close to Kovu and they shared an affectionate nuzzle.

Simba watched his son's cautious approach and softly wept tears of joy. The prince came to a stop before his father.

"I – I got lost," Kopa mumbled, blinking repeatedly to clear his eyes. "I'm sorry…"

"You're home now," Simba purred, pulling Kopa against him and nuzzling him warmly. "That's all that matters."

As Kopa pressed his cheek into Simba's soft red mane, his tears finally broke free and his shoulders shook gently against his father's chest. "Home…"

The kingdom was gathered at Pride Rock once more. Kopa stood on the throne beside Simba and Nala as the elephants released their elated trumpets, the zebras and antelopes neighed joyfully, and the monkeys hooped and hollered ecstatically. Kopa roared first, quickly followed by his parents and then the rest of his pride. Rafiki sat on a rock several yards away and merely nodded, sharing a private wink with the sky.

Simba, Nala, and Kopa returned to the base of Pride Rock, where Kovu, Kiara, Mheetu, Timon, Pumbaa, Zazu, and Vitani waited. At their approach, Vitani hurried away, catching Kopa's notice.

"Hi, uh – your name's Vitani, right?" Kopa greeted.

The lioness glanced at him but hurried on.

"Uh huh," Kopa muttered, turning to Kovu. "I don't think your sister likes me very much."

"I'm sure it's nothing," Kovu replied. "She probably just has something to do."

"Don't you worry, Kid," Timon said, giving Kopa a wink. "Me and Pumbaa will teach you everything you need to know about the ladies…"

"That's right," Pumbaa agreed. "Me and Timon know all about – uh… Hey, Timon, what do we know about girlfriends, again?"

"Girlfriend?" Kopa yelped. "Wow, wait, no, that's not what I was getting at!" He glanced nervously at Kovu.

"Sire," Zazu whispered to Simba, "we should address the matter of Kopa's betrothal, shouldn't we?"

"Not right now, Zazu," Nala replied, making sure Kopa didn't notice their discussion. "Kopa's been through quite enough. Give him time to readjust."

Kopa cleared his throat, turning to Mheetu in the hopes of changing the subject. "So, Uncle Mheetu, is it?" he said, grinning roguishly.

The white lion smiled as Nala took her place beside her younger brother. "What did I say before? It's a small world."

"And getting smaller every day," Simba agreed, giving his brother-in-law a fond smirk.

"Honestly," Mheetu continued, nuzzling Nala's cheek. "I still can't believe it. My big sister is Queen of Pride Rock? How did that happen? When did that happen?"

"It's a long story," Nala replied.

"Well, we have plenty of time for it now, don't we?"

Two aged lionesses approached. One was Simba's mother Sarabi and the other was Sarafina, mother of Nala and Mheetu.

"My darling ones," Sarafina sighed, approaching Nala and Mheetu and nuzzling them tenderly. The queen and her brother lovingly embraced their mother.

Sarabi approached Kopa and Kiara, smiling fondly at each of them in turn. "Kopa, we should never have lost hope," she told her grandson, rubbing her cheek against his. She turned to Kiara. "And you, our dear girl – I know in my heart that, wherever he is, Mufasa is looking proudly on you this day."

Kiara blinked back her tears. "Thank you, Grandmother."

"Hey, Kopa, I need to talk to you," Kovu said.

Kopa glanced at Kiara's husband and nodded. "Uh, sure. What's up?"

Kovu led the prince away from the group, Kiara following.

"Look at them," Simba whispered to Nala. "Our children – together again. It's a miracle."

"Yes," Nala replied affectionately.

"Nothing will ever separate us again," Simba declared. "This family has undergone enough pain and sorrow – and we're powerful for it. You, me, our two beautiful children…"

"Three," Nala corrected.

Simba stared at Nala uncomprehendingly.

Nala smiled warmly, her face more radiant than usual. "We have another cub on the way," she explained.

Slowly, a silly grin spread across Simba's face.

Kopa, Kiara, and Kovu stopped at a relatively private location near the back of Pride Rock. Kovu looked a little uncomfortable, which in turn made Kopa nervous.

"So," Kovu mumbled, "how are you doing?"

Kopa cocked an eyebrow. "Uh, good, I guess."

"How are your memories?" Kiara specified for Kovu.

Kopa shrugged. "Still sketchy. I remember Mom and Dad – and I can even recall when Kiara was born." He grinned at his sister. "You were really puny, Squirt."

Kiara batted Kopa's nose playfully. "Shut up," she laughed.

"Other than that – still pretty much a blank. I get some flashes every now and then. I guess I'll just have to wait for the rest to come back."

Kovu nodded and took a deep breath. "I've been doing a lot of thinking," he began.

Kopa glanced between Kovu and Kiara. "That's never a good way to start a conversation," he muttered.

"Growing up, I was indoctrinated with so much rage – and hate…"

Kopa shrugged. "You seem to have a handle on it."

"I don't have it under control," Kovu asserted. "Not completely, anyway. The other night, when we faced Scar – I felt all that evil my mother infused me with rise up. I didn't want to kill Scar to protect my family. I wanted to kill him because – because I hated him."

Kopa shrugged again. "Yeah, I hated the jackass too."

"But you weren't controlled by your hate. You kept your cool. In the short time I've known you, I've never once seen you lose control – and we've been through some pretty messed up stuff in the last few days." Kovu paused and closed his eyes. "If it wasn't for what you said – about a king focusing on the needs of his pride over his own…" Kovu looked at Kiara and she gave him a comforting smile.

Kopa sighed. "Is this kingdom always so melodramatic?"

"I can never erase the darkness Zira instilled in me," Kovu explained to the both of them. "That's why I've relinquished my right to the throne."

"Wow, you did what?" Kopa scoffed. "What about Kiara?"

"I already know about it," Kiara replied. "Truth be told, being queen has never really interested me."

"What hell is wrong with you two?" Kopa snapped. "You can't just turn your backs on your responsibility like this! Who's going to rule the kingdom after Dad if you won't?"

Kovu and Kiara shared a brief glance before looking back at Kopa.

It took Kopa a moment to figure it out. "Wait a second – no – hell no! You can't drop a bombshell on me like that. I just got back, for crying out loud!"

"We've already spoken with Father," Kiara continued, "and he's accepted our decision. It's you, Kopa. You're the future king."

Kopa stared at Kovu and Kiara blankly. "Oh crap."

The Lion King III:

The Lost Prince

Proposed OC and Semi-Canon Voice Cast

Boga - Kat Dennings

Kidonda - Johnny Depp

Kopa/Chaka - Topher Grace

Kula - Lucy Lawless

Mheetu - Keith David

Sabini - Julia Roberts

Tama - Jennifer Garner

Timira - Anne Hathaway

A Note from the Writer

That concludes the first of the three books I have planned for my Lion King fan fiction. The second part will be titled The Lion King IV: The Rogue Pride, followed by The Lion King V: Man Comes to the Pride Lands.

Before we part ways, I thought you'd all like to know a little bit about my inspirations for this fan fiction and some behind-the-scenes info. Keep in mind, I got some of this information off of the Internet and it's possible not all this info is 100% accurate.

First of all, I really dislike the "Zira killed Kopa" theory that a lot of other Lion King fan fiction writers prefer. I'm not saying my theory is more valid, I just prefer my idea. I went with the theory that everyone in the Pride Lands thought Zira killed Kopa but he actually survived. This led to the question of why Kopa hadn't come home. The amnesia plot device helped to answer that question, though I admit it is a little unoriginal, as amnesia is used in hundreds of different movies, television shows, and soap operas. I think the 1997 film Anastasia is the biggest inspiration for my interpretation of Kopa's story.

I've incorporated several characters originally introduced in The Lion King comics and The Lion King: Six New Adventures, such as Leo, Tama, Kula, etc., etc. and I plan on introducing more in the next book of my fan fiction. I'd love to hear what you all think about my interpretation of these supporting book characters so far.

Chaka and Shani: According to some promotional material in an Australian magazine for The Lion King II: Simba's Pride, Simba's daughter went by several different names in the early drafts of the script before the producers finally settled on Kiara. These names included Shani (or Shari), Chaka, and Aisha. According to one online source I found by Akril, there were plans for Simba and Nala to have two cubs, originally named Chaka ("Thicket" or "Bush") and Shani ("Adventure" or "Curiosity"). The son, Chaka, was supposedly dropped from the script to compress the story and the daughter, Shani, was renamed because the name Shani was confused with the Swahili word Shari, which translates as "Evil." The subsequent name, Aisha, was later dropped supposedly because it's the name of the Yellow Power Ranger, Aisha Campbell. Finally, the character was renamed Kiara. I didn't do anything with the name Aisha because I was already familiar with it, and so it didn't really catch my interest, but I really liked the name Shani, due to its meaning and how it really fits Kiara's personality. So I recycled Shani as a pet name Kovu uses for Kiara. As for Chaka, I needed a name to give Kopa because of his amnesia and Chaka was just a readily available choice.

Timira: There is also an online rumor that, as part of the Chaka storyline that was supposedly part of the original Lion King II script, Chaka was betrothed to a lioness named Timira or Kirijah. I favored the name Timira because it has two possible meanings ("Inferno" in Hindu and "Darkness" in Sanskrit) and Kirijah doesn't seem to have any meaning – at least none that I could find.

Mheetu: Several examples of early concept art for The Lion King, originally titled King of the Jungle, show Nala (originally named Nadra ("Special" in Swahili)) with a younger brother, who was named Mheetu according to The Lion King Laserdisc. His name has no meaning in Swahili and is just a play on the phrase "Me too." It appears he was dropped from the script roughly the same time that the movie's title was changed from King of the Jungle to The Lion King. Mheetu was probably dropped for pacing but I've seen Mheetu being revived in a lot of fan art and I wanted to do my own interpretation of him.

As a side note, I plan on recycling the name Nadra in connection to Nala at some point in future continuations of my Lion King fan fiction. You'll have to wait and see how.

Nala's Father: So, yeah, no one knows who Nala and Mheetu's father is, though there are plenty of theories going around online. Some propose Mufasa and Scar as possible candidates - gross! For my fan fiction, I chose Leo, a funny and somewhat arrogant lion introduced in The Lion King: Six New Adventures. I'm sure you all understand why I refused to make Mufasa or Scar Nala's father.

Scar's Return: Okay, I admit that I totally ripped this idea off of an online video I saw where clips from The Lion King II were used to make a fake commercial for a third Lion King movie in which Scar comes back. Unfortunately, it seems this video was removed. Before I saw this video, I was just going to make Kidonda my main villain for this fan fiction.

Rafiki's Species: Is it possible to hybridize baboons and mandrills - like when you make a mule from mating a horse and donkey?

Swahili Translations of my Original Character's Names:

Kidonda – "Wound," "Sore," and/or "Ulcer"

Tembo (mentioned but not featured) – "Elephant"

Hope you found this info interesting. Please leave feedback and feel free to ask questions in your reviews if you'd like. Asante sana!