Love Beyond Reasons

A/N: Here's Part Two!

Chapter 10

Udugu is Found Again

Part Two

The two cubs had managed to get out of the sharp thorn bushes and were now scouring the area for any sign of their mother. They had split up to try and cover more ground. But soon, their efforts were proving to be futile.

"Mom?" Kiara called out. "Mom!" But there was still no answer. "No sign of Mom on my side. Have you found anything?"

But now, there was no answer from her other family member. "Kion?" She called out worriedly. She really hoped that her brother didn't disappear on her, too.

Luckily, to her relief, Kion popped out of a bush, shaking his fur free of leaves. "Nothing over here." He answered.

Kiara sighed. "How could she just disappear?" She asked before trying once more to call out to their mother. "Mom!"

"We'll find her." Kion assured his sister. "We just have to keep looking. Try your side again."

"I tried my side." Kiara answered with a slightly annoyed tone as she got closer to her brother, making him back away slightly. "If she was there, I'd have seen her."

Kion slightly huffed. "I know, I just... I can't find her either." He admitted. "If we knew where this Udugu place was, maybe we could meet her there."

Just then, an idea came to Kiara's mind. "Or we could track her." She suggested.

She quickly started sniffing the air. After a couple of seconds, she got something. "Got her!" She exclaimed as she came to a small trail through the bushes. "She went this way. Come on!"

Both the cubs ran along the trail until Kiara stopped to see the scent went next. Kion searched the brush for any other possible clues.

Just then, he spotted something leading out of the brush. "Kiara, look! Paw prints."

They were indeed, paw prints. Lion tracks. Kion did a quick study of them. "They look fresh. We must be getting close." He said.

"Come on." Kiara said as she ran ahead, following the tracks, with Kion right behind her.

Soon, they came to a tall, steep cliff. Kiara sniffed the air, but then she was puzzled. "What? They just stop right here?" She asked, her and Kion looking up at the cliff.

"Heyvi kabisa!" Kion exclaimed. "Where did Mom go?" He then started to pace the ground, following the prints until they ended right at the cliff. "This can't be right." He said. "Mom couldn't just disappear."

"I don't get it." Kiara piped up, looking back at where they followed the tracks. "We followed her trail. How can it just end?"

Just then, Kion looked up and saw something. "Maybe it doesn't." He suggested. "There's a ledge and a trail."

Indeed there was, just a few feet above the cubs. "I bet Mom jumped up there." Kion suggested as his sister came up beside him.

"Then we will too." Kiara said.

"Ready? One, two, three!" Kion counted. Both cubs jumped as high as they could, but they couldn't reach the ledge, and they both slid down to the ground.

"Not even close." Kiara huffed with frustration.

"If Mom could get up there, we can too." Kion said determinedly.

"Mom's twice our size, Kion." Kiara pointed out. "How can we keep tracking her if we can't jump up?"

Kion thought about that for a few seconds before he had an idea. "I've got it!" He exclaimed. "I'll give you a boost, then you can keep tracking her."

"But what about you?" Kiara asked.

"One of us has to boost the other," Kion told her, "and the truth is... You're the better tracker." He admitted.

His sister smiled at him. "I won't argue that." She said. "Though you're the one who saw the tracks and figured out Mom jumped."

Then, she felt like there was something else she needed to tell Kion. She knew that he had been hurting ever since she started taking her royal duties seriously, and now that he had duties of his own with the Lion Guard, she hardly ever saw him. To be honest, she missed seeing him. When he came back from the Outlands a couple months ago, that was the first honest conversation they had in a long while.

"And Kion?" She got his attention. "I'll admit, I was... a little jealous of you."

"Jealous?" Kion asked, as if he didn't believe it. "Of me?"

"Well, it's just... You are an amazing leader, you're the fiercest animal in the Pride Lands, and you get along with pretty much almost every other animal." Kiara said. "You're the star student of almost everything whenever we would practice with Mom and Dad. Sometimes, I think that maybe you'll be a better ruler than me."

Kion's eyes were wide as he blinked a couple of times, trying to process this information. But then, he smiled kindly at her. "I may be the leader of the Lion Guard, but I do know this." He said. "Being king is not for me. You were born for that role, Kiara, as queen. All I ever wanted was to know my place in the Circle of Life, and now, I have it. And I couldn't be happier."

Kiara smiled. "Yeah." She said. "And also, the reason why I stopped having fun with you was because... I wanted to protect you."

"Protect me?" Kion asked. But then, he realized why. "Oh." He raised a paw to gently feel the scar on his face.

"I felt like it was my fault that you got hurt." Kiara continued. "So I guess I thought that leaving you out would keep you safe."

Kion playfully scoffed. "Have you met me?" He asked rhetorically. "I face dangerous situations almost every day. Even when we were little. Besides, even though it was your crazy idea of sneaking out to the Outlands, me getting my scar wasn't your fault. I just think of it as a case of bad luck at that moment."

Kiara slightly giggled. "Well, I'm grateful that it was just a scar, and not anything worse."

"Me, too." Kion said with a chuckle. "Even back then, and now, we make a good team. And that's how we'll find Mom, by working together."

In a matter of seconds, Kiara was standing on Kion's shoulders, while he was bracing himself against the cliff. "Now up you go." He said.

Kiara struggled to reach at least the edge of the ledge. But it was only within inches of her paw, and she almost lost balance. "Whoa!" She exclaimed as Kion quickly steadied himself under her weight.

"I gotcha!" He assured her. "Hang on."

Kiara tried again, and this time, she was almost within reach. "Just a little closer." She said.

Kion pushed his shoulders up as far as he could. "How's that?"

"I think I'm gonna make it." Kiara said, straining to reach. She made one last push, and gripped the ledge with her claws. "Yes!"

She then quickly pulled herself up as Kion headed back to the ground. "We did it!" Kion cheered.

Once Kiara had climbed onto the ledge, she gasped. "I don't believe it." She said.

"Kiara, what's going on?" Kion called up to her.

Just then, a familiar face appeared over the ledge. "Hello down there." Nala smiled down at her son.

Kion chuckled with relief. "Mom!" He exclaimed happily. Nala jumped down from the ledge, and Kion happily nuzzled his mother's neck. In return, she playfully ruffled his mane.

"Mom, why did you disappear?" Kion asked. "I thought you were gonna show us the way to Udugu."

"Actually, I think you've already found Udugu." Nala said.

"We have?" Kiara asked, still on the ledge.

"Is it that big rock?" Kion added.

"No, Kion." Nala said gently, and then she called up to her daughter. "Come on down, Kiara, and I'll explain."

"Uh, okay." Kiara replied. Then she jumped down from the ledge and stood next to her brother.

"You see, kids, Udugu isn't a place." Nala explained. "Udugu is another word for kinship. It's the special bond between siblings. You found Udugu when you decided to work together to look for me."

"We did?" Kion asked.

"Yes." Nala confirmed. "And I'm very proud of you."

Both siblings smiled at each other. "And Kiara," Nala added, turning to her oldest cub. "You added a new meaning to it when you decided to be honest with your brother. You thought that by ignoring him, you would protect him."

Kiara looked down at her paws when her mother said that. "But now you know that mistakes happen." Nala continued, making her daughter look back up at her. "What matters now is that Kion is all right after that incident long ago, and that you still care about him, despite initial fears of what others had said about him when he got that scar. But the best way to show that is by being there for him, not pushing him away."

Kiara smiled gratefully as Kion placed a paw on her shoulder. "And I'll be there for you when you need me." He said. "Always. This scar on my face means nothing to me. It's only skin deep, and you know that I'll never turn against you."

"Thanks, Kion." Kiara said to her brother.

**************************

About an hour later, the three of them returned to Pride Rock, where Simba was waiting for his family on the peak. "So, everyone, how was your journey?" He asked them. "Did you find Udugu?" He looked at his two cubs.

"We found it." Kion answered. "But it's not really a place."

"It's about us working together as brother and sister." Kiara added, smiling at him. "As a team." Simba looked down at them with pride in his eyes.

"How did things go with the Guard?" Kion asked his father with a sly little smirk on his face. He did have some doubts about him leading his team while he was away for the day.

"Well, in a way, the Guard helped me find Udugu, too." Simba answered, remembering his unique experience with the Lion Guard. It was certainly something he'll never forget.

"It's an important lesson." Nala added, looking down at her cubs.

"It is, especially for you two." Simba said.

The cubs' jaws dropped when their father said that. He then led them and their mother to the edge of the peak of Pride Rock. "As future Queen of the Pride Lands and leader of the Lion Guard," Simba said, looking at each one of his cubs, "someday you will be responsible for all of this."

What the cubs saw next was one of the most amazing sights they ever saw in their lives. Their home. Animals in herds peacefully walking throughout the giant savanna, the many species birds flying above them and through the sky, and the many beautiful lakes and trees scattered across the land. No matter how many times the cubs would see this in their lifetimes, it would always take their breath away. But now that they've found Udugu, this wondrous sight now has a deeper meaning to it. It won't just be a responsibility for just one of them, but for the both of them. With Kiara as future Queen, and with Kion by her side as leader of the Lion Guard, the Pride Lands will be both of their responsibility one day.

"So hold on to what you learned today." Nala said to her cubs. "Then you'll always have Udugu."

Both Kion and Kiara smiled at their parents, and then at each other. Then, the royal family turned their gazes to their home, their kingdom. This land was their responsibility, and as long as the Princess and Prince of Pride Rock have Udugu in each other, the future of this beautiful land will be in good hands one day. Or paws, in this matter.

A/N: Now, after this chapter, we'll finally get into the events of the Lion King 2.

And while I was writing the scene between Kiara and Kion, I was listening to this song. Don't laugh, but yes, it is a Magic Tree House musical. I grew up reading this series, and this song shows that this brother and sister duo do need each other, because they are a team despite their differences.

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

Until then, I'll see y'all! Please leave a comment about what you think.

Got to fly! ;)