Love Beyond Reasons

A/N: Now this is where things will divert a bit, but not big enough still. Well, hopefully this whole thing of basically following the entire movie, word for word, will end soon, so that things will get more interesting.

So let's get on with Chapter 3. Roll it!

Chapter 3

Kiara Meets Kovu

The two young cubs continued on their short little trek towards the Outlands. Kiara was getting more excited as the canyonlands got closer. Kion, even though he was nervous, was starting to get a little more curious about the lands around him. Soon, they came to a border, which was divided by a large log that served as a bridge across a river.

"Are you sure we can't turn back now?" Kion asked.

"No way, little brother." Kiara said, and she jumped on the log to cross it. Kion rolled his eyes and followed her.

When they got near the end of the log, Kiara tripped over the edge, and since Kion was a little too close to her, he was also knocked off the log and both cubs tumbled into the Outlands. The eldest cub managed to stop by unintentionally knocking down somebody, but Kion wasn't so lucky, and he turned to roll deeper into the Outlands in another direction, unbeknownst to his sister.

Kiara shook herself out of her dizziness, but then jumped back onto her paws when there was a fierce yet childish growl right next to her. She had bumped into another lion cub, who seemed like he was about a month older than her. He had dark auburn fur, a brown mane tuft on his head and tail, and even on his joints, a black nose, and piercing green eyes. He also had patches of light brown on his belly and paws.

"Who are you, Pride Lander?" He asked Kiara, growling.

He started to get closer to her, but she backed away until she tried to jump away, still facing him. The cub still tried to intimidate her, so she moved to a different spot. The two continued this a couple more times before the cub stopped growling.

"What are you doing?" He asked her, a brow raised.

Kiara narrowed her eyes at him fiercely. "Our father says to never turn your back on an Outsider." She said defensively.

"'Our?'' The cub repeated, seeing no one else around but the female Pride Lander cub in front of him.

"Me and my-" Kiara turned to the side to expect Kion there beside her, but then froze when she saw that he wasn't. She frantically scanned the area around her, but there was no sign of her brother. "Kion?" She called out. "Kion!"

"Who's he?" The cub asked.

"My little brother." Kiara explained, still looking around. "Where did he go? He's the one who sticks to our father's rules, and yet he's the one who gets lost in the Outlands?"

"Oh, then maybe you should follow his example." The cub teased her. "Always doing what Daddy says."

"No way!" Kiara retorted back.

"That'd be priceless. Daddy's little girl!" He chuckled, making Kiara grimace deeper.

The cub then walked onto another log that was on the river. "An Outsider doesn't need anyone." He boasted. "I take care of myself."

"Really?" Kiara asked, impressed as she joined him on the log. "Cool!"

The cub turned to give her a smug look, but it then turned into a look of fear and screamed when he saw something behind Kiara. She turned to see and screamed as well when they realized that they were sitting on a hungry crocodile, who was about to snap its jaws on her. She quickly jumped out of the way before it did so.

"Run!" She yelled. The two cubs immediately jumped onto a large rock sticking out of the water. But the crocodile was following them.

"This way!" Kiara shouted as they jumped again, out of the croc's jaws. The two cubs leaped across stones until they stopped to rest on another log.

The male cub laughed breathlessly. "That was a close one." He said.

Kiara chuckled. "Yeah." She said.

But then, the log under them started to slowly rise above the water. It was another crocodile! And this time, there was an entire float of them! Both of the cubs screamed as they once more began jumping to evade the many jaws.

Kiara managed to latch onto a branch that was sticking out of the water, but the other cub was still running for his life. "Hey! What about me?" She called to him.

"I'll distract them!" The cub answered, jumping across the backs of the crocodiles. "Run!"

The cub tried to divert the crocodiles' attention as he evaded their snapping jaws, but then, one of the crocs gave him the slip and he fell into the water. The cub began treading water to try and keep himself afloat, but there was no way he could swim fast enough to avoid the crocodiles.

Kiara was swiping her claws at a crocodile who was trying to get closer to her and keep it at bay, but then, all of the crocs saw that the other cub was in the water, with little chance of escape. They then all started to swim towards him.

"Look out!" Kiara warned him.

The cub frighteningly swam towards another branch that was also protruding out of the water, but a croc was closing in on him. The crocodilian opened its jaws wide, and the cub braced himself to be eaten.

But then, Kiara jumped onto the croc, forcing its jaws closed. "Move it!" She said to him.

Both of the cubs jumped onto the branch and learned that it led back onto land and above the river. They quickly bounded on it, dodging croc jaws as they did. The cub managed to jump back onto land, and Kiara quickly followed suit as a crocodile snapped its jaws on the branch she was just on, breaking it into pieces.

Both cubs panted for breath, knowing that they were safe now. Cautiously, both of them looked down towards the river and saw that the crocs were fruitlessly piling up, trying to follow them, but to no avail.

"I did it." Kiara whispered breathlessly, realizing what she just did. "I did it!" She stuck her tongue out at the crocodiles, making the cub next to her smirk.

[There should be a GIF or video here. Update the app now to see it.]

Both cubs laughed as they moved away from the bank of the river. "Whoa, man!" Kiara exclaimed excitedly as she began to retell their little adventure. "Did you see the size of those teeth? They were going-"

As Kiara was animatedly retelling, with the cub watching her amused, they didn't notice that a lioness was watching them from the grass. She had pale cream fur, sinister amber eyes, and a darker stripe going down her head and back. She even had a notch in her right ear.

"We make such a good team." Kiara said. "And you... you were really brave."

The cub was a little surprised that she had said that nice thing to him. But then, he smiled genuinely at her. "Yeah." He agreed. "You were pretty brave too. My name's Kovu."

Kiara giggled slightly. "I'm Kiara." She introduced herself with a coy grin, and leaning a little closer to Kovu, who backed away nervously and flustered. From her hiding spot, the lioness growled lowly when Kiara said her name.

But then, Kiara turned rigid. "Oh, no! Kion!" She remembered that her brother wasn't with her, and she looked from side to side, hoping that he was somewhere in sight. "I gotta find him! Make sure he isn't hurt!"

"Whoa, okay." Kovu reassured her before she continued panicking. He had to admit, he admired Kiara's protectiveness over her brother. She seemed to care about him a lot. "I'll help you look. This is my home turf after all, so I know it like the back of my paw. He couldn't have gotten very far."

"Really? Thank you!" Kiara said happily.

"Sure. What does your brother look like?" Kovu asked.

"He looks a lot like my father." Kiara explained. "Yellow fur and a tiny red mane."

"Okay, then." Kovu said. "Let's go."

But before the two could even take a step, Simba jumped in, shielding his daughter, and roared loudly. Then, the lioness that was hiding in the grass quickly confronted him, protecting Kovu, and roared back at him. The two adult lions growled at each other, protecting one of the cubs.

"Zira." Simba growled.

"Simba." She returned the resent.

Just then, three more lionesses from the Pride Lands appeared, including Nala, whose eyes were quickly scanning the area upon realizing that only one of her cubs were present. Timon and Pumbaa were present as well.

"Nala." Zira said curtly.

"Zira." Nala answered with the same hateful glare.

"Timon. Pumbaa." The meerkat said, gesturing to himself and his friend. "Great. Now that we all know each other... GET OUT OF OUR PRIDE LANDS!"

"Your Pride Lands?" Zira snarled, making Timon hide behind Pumbaa. "These lands belong to Scar."

"I banished you from the Pride Lands." Simba said. "Now, you and your young cub, get out." Both Kiara and Kovu shrank back at the King's words.

"Oh. Haven't you met my son, Kovu?" Zira asked. "He was hand-chosen by Scar to follow in his paw prints and become King." She explained, making Simba growl and the cub in question shudder in fright.

Timon just snickered. "That's not a king. That's a fuzzy maraca."

But Zira ignored the meerkat's little quip. "Kovu was the last born before you exiled us to the Outlands." She said. "Where we have little food, less water." She added that last part dramatically.

"You know the penalty for returning to the Pride Lands." Simba said, ignoring Zira's over exaggeration.

"But the child does not!" Zira argued back at him. "However, if you need your pound of flesh, here." She pushed Kovu closer to Simba. The poor cub was quivering visibly.

Simba looked at Zira with bewilderment, and she just smirked at him. Simba then narrowed his eyes at the malicious lioness. "Take him and get out." He said, turning around. "We're finished here." He then went over to Kiara and picked her up by the scruff.

"Oh no, Simba." Zira said, getting his attention back. "We have barely begun." She stared sinisterly down at Kiara and chuckled, making the cub flinch. She then turned around and picked up Kovu by his midsection.

As both prides left the scene, the cubs didn't remove their eyes from each other. "Bye." Kiara whispered to him.

"Bye." Kovu answered back quietly. The two didn't stop staring at each other until they and their tribes were out of each other's sight.

Once the Pride Landers were over the hill and out of ear shot, Simba handed Kiara over to Nala, who took her daughter carefully. "Kiara, where's Kion?" The King asked his daughter.

"I-I don't know." Kiara admitted. "He was right behind me, I swear!" Tears were coming to her eyes, worried about her brother.

Simba looked down for a second, and then back up, not wanting to fear the worst. "Split up." He quietly ordered to the others. "Find my son." Everyone nodded in obedience as they each took a different path along the border in search of the little prince.

A/N: Next chapter is completely original, and I think it's pretty awesome. I hope you guys think so too. Until then, I'll see y'all! Please leave a comment about what you think. They are highly appreciated.

Got to fly! ;)