Zuka Zama Part II: The Scourge of Kopa | The Lion Guard

43. A Lion's Regret

Kopa was still looking at the edge that Zira fell off of. The idea of looking over the edge crossed his mind but he stood in place, knowing that she met an end. He gave a heavy sigh, but pushed the matter out of his mind.

"Is everyone okay?", Kopa asked, turning to the party behind him.

"That was un-Bunga-lievable!", Bunga exclaimed in awe at the fight he just witnessed. "She was about to pounce on you and you just turned around and--bam! It was so cool!"

"Bunga, this isn't the time to--", Kion tried to advise the eager honey badger to at least read the air around him.

"No, it's okay", Kopa smiled a bit. He found Bunga's enthusiasm a good distraction, a moment to push the events out of his head and focus on what to do next. "I'm just glad it's all over."

"So am I. When she came you stepped forward and challenged her. And you protected us as well. Thank you, Kopa", Simba bowed his head to him.

"I-it was nothing", Kopa said, feeling very awkward once again with all eyes on him. He knew he would have to get used to it, soon an entire army of eyes with a rainbow of expressions would be on him.

A roar sounded in the distance, catching the attention of the group. Bunga scampered to the hill's edge and looked out to the raging battle.

"They're gonna tear each other apart down there! We gotta stop this now", Bunga whimpered. "I hope the rest of the Guard is alright."

"Bunga's right", Simba stated. "We have to stop the war and explain everything."

Kopa stamped his front paw. "No offense but I don't even the king himself can stop all that fighting." He watched all the conflict he started with eyes now unclouded from Scar's presence and the hate he held onto. The very sight made his stomach turn, both sides continued to snap, rip and tear at one another. Even from atop the hill he could see stray bodies laying still on the ground and stains of blood scattered among the battleground. "I was the cause of all of this....But I--we can stop this before it goes any further."

"Just leave it to us", Kion said with Bunga climbing on his back. "We'll get their attention and you two can explain everything."

"But how are you going to do it?", Kopa asked.

"We'll figure something out. We're the Lion Guard and if there's trouble were there to stop it", Bunga said confidently.

"Till the Pride Lands end..", Kion pumped himself up and race into action.

"Lion Guard defends!", Bunga yelled, holding on tight to Kion as he raced forward and jumped down to scale the hill.

"We better get moving too", Simba advised.

"Right", Kopa nodded firmly. He eyes darted quickly aside, avoiding Simba's gaze, an action that the king noticed.

"Is something wrong?", Simba asked calmly.

Kopa released the breath he didn't know he was holding onto. One part of him wanted to hold onto his feelings and cast them aside. But another part of him knew that it was best to make his feelings know. I could be even easier with just him and Simba atop the hill.

"All of this is my fault. Look at them down there. The fighting. The blood. I was prepared to fight for our freedom, but it was never supposed to be like this. And now all the lives lost...all their blood is on my paws", Kopa gulped, his voice becoming raw.

"Kopa..", Simba started. But Kopa continued.

"Even after we stop this. This is something I can never undo", Kopa continued.

"Kopa, please. War is no small matter, but you can still stop this. You can still do the right thing", Simba encouraged.

"More like cleaning up a horrible mess I made", Kopa scoffed to himself.

Simba sighed and took a few steps forward. "Kopa. You have the qualities of a leader and one of the duties of a leader is to correct one's mistakes and learn from the past. You like you've done this horrible thing and the truth is that I'm not too far off."

Kopa turned to Simba in surprise and the king continued.

"The way you feel right now is just like the guilt I carry from keeping the Outlanders banished. But now is a chance for the both of us to fix our mistakes and make things better for tomorrow. We can never take back the things we did, but can dedicate ourselves to making sure it never happens again", Simba explained. "And in a way there was a positive to all of this."

"And what's that?", Kopa asked.

"You returned to us. Kopa, I don't care about what you did in the past. The only thing I care about is reconnecting with you. I'm very proud of you", Simba finished, placing a paw on his son's shoulder.

Kopa nodded once again and composed himself. "Okay, we have to put an end to this. All of this."

Simba nodded as well and together the two lions jumped down from the hill.