Vitani was still by the waterhole after Kiara left and went back to the Tree of Life after their talk. Kiara was very instinctive when it came to these things, she never gave wrong advice, used emotions not logic when she made a decision and she'd never tell somebody to do something that she'd never be willing to do herself.
"Why is it so hard to make a decision regarding this? I never hesitated while making decisions in my life because I knew exactly what I wanted and I worked hard to meet my expectations, achieve my goals. So why the trepidation now?" she said frustratedly as she paced the perimeter of the waterhole.
When she was a cub she strived to be Zira's second in command, to fulfill her so called duty to help avenge Scar. When she became the leader of the Lion Guard, she wanted her team to be the best of the best. To defend the Pride Lands against the evils that lurked in the shadows, to be there to support Kiara and Kovu.
It was her ambition to climb to the top and complete her purpose in the Circle of Life. To fight and to win. That was what she wanted. So now when she wanted to be with Akida, to stand by his side, to be his partner in life and support him in the way a mate is supposed to, why the hesitation? Why the doubt?
"Give him a chance, he loves you, he wants to be with you, open your heart, let him in," Kiara's words echoed in her brain like a sandstorm in the desert. Sweeping the sand in a turbulence, gaining power with each passing second then diminishing.
Vitani's emotions were eerily similar. Powerful one minute, meek the next. "I'm not going to lie. I'm not fighting my emotions anymore. I'm going to confess my love for Akida," Vitani said resolutely. With her mind set on her aspiration, Vitani turned and ran back to the Tree of Life as fast as her legs would carry her.
"You were in love with Arsenal? The deranged, unhinged and maniacal lioness that near wiped out my entire pride?!" Kovu yelled as he faced off with Akida, his emerald green eyes furious.
"Technically Kovu I didn't wipe out your entire pride. Dad, Tasha, Zayne and Maana did the majority of damage," Arsenal corrected.
"I didn't have anything to do with the assault on your pride Kovu, you have to believe me," Akida protested. "I met Arsenal before any of this happened. She was nice then, not...monstrous like this."
"Monstrous? Akida my love that's not any way to describe the lioness who gave you her heart so long ago," Arsenal said sweetly.
"Don't call me 'your love' Arsenal! You left me when you couldn't handle my love. And what heart did you give me?" Akida asked bitterly. "You didn't give me your heart, I gave you mine! And what did you do? You broke it and threw it away like trash and abandoned me! Don't act like you always loved me, you didn't!"
"You've got that right, I never really loved you, I was just using you. We were friends Akida, but you couldn't control yourself. You had to fall in love with me," Arsenal said rolling her eyes.
"And you're proud of that," Rani stated disgustedly.
"It's the truth, love's a dead weight. I'm above such foolishness," Arsenal said with an annoyed scoff.
"I guess that's why Viktor deserted you. He must've thought that if he was in love with you he'd get ruined. So he went to be with your mother, so he'd get his sexual pleasure without commiting himself to a long term relationship," Kiara laughed.
Arsenal growled and stepped forward a few inches but Zayne put a restraining paw on her shoulder to stop her.
"Love is nothing but a festering disease. It comes when you least expects it, corrupts, and when circumstances change, it deserts you," Maana said drearily. "That's how it's always been."
"I take it you're still mateless?" Kovu smirked. "What a shame."
Maana chuckled and shook her head impassively.
"Can I see my nephew now? We came all this way to see him, at least let me hold him," Tasha walked past Zayne and tried to approach Rani but this time, Kion growled and swiped at her face, narrowly missing her eyes. Rani clutched Sadiki closer to her, fearful for her son's life.
Zayne saw the attempted assault on his mate, feeling threatened because she was pregnant with his cub, he lunged at Kion and knocked him to the ground. Kovu reacted and shoved Zayne away and all three lions engaged in a viscious fight. Arsenal followed Zayne's lead and attacked Kiara who was protecting Rani.
Akida stood paralysed as he watched what was going on, his gaze focused on Arsenal. Where had that sweet lioness he'd grown so fond of disappeared to? This lioness wasn't Arsenal, it was a replica of her. An evil replica, using her body for its own selfish means. The lioness he'd fallen in love with, she wasn't here.
Using the opportunity, Tasha manoeuvred her way around the fighting and approached Rani who had stood up and now held Sadiki in her mouth. Rani didn't notice Tasha and by the time she did, it was too late to react. Tasha pushed Rani hard on her ribs, causing her to drop Sadiki. In one fluid movement she caught Sadiki in her paws and backed away.
Startled by the abrupt movement, Sadiki began to mew loudly, attracting Kion's attention. He saw Tasha holding his son and stopped fighting Zayne. Kovu noticed this and turned around, his eyes widened in horror when he saw Tasha holding Sadiki. "Kiara stop! Stand down, Tasha has Sadiki," he shouted.
Kiara froze and looked behind her and growled at the triumphant smirk Tasha wore on her face. Arsenal and Zayne walked over to Tasha and Maana. Rani tried to take her son back but Kovu restrained her. "Don't do it Rani, you know how dangerous they are. They're ruthless enough to kill Sadiki,"
"He's so cute, look how tiny he is. I must say, you did a wonderful job Rani, he looks just like you," Tasha swooned. She laid on the grass and cradled Sadiki in her paws, making little shushing sounds to calm him down. "Shh shh shh, alright don't cry little one, don't cry. Aunty Tasha has you now, it's okay, don't cry."
"Okay you've seen him, you've held him, he's adorable, can we leave now?" Arsenal asked groaning in annoyance.
"You're not going anywhere with my son!" Rani shrieked.
"We need some kind on insurance. If Tasha doesn't give birth to a son, I need someone to succeed me," Zayne said smugly.
"You're disgusting! Give me my son Zayne or I'll forget all forms of decency and kill you right here and now!" Kion shouted.
"Kion I'm shocked, usually you're there to mediate between a conflict, not instigate it," Arsenal said surprisingly.
"Why are you doing this Arsenal," Akida's dull tone of voice caused everyone to look questioningly at him.
He raised up his head and looked at Arsenal, his silver eyes bleak.
"You were so sweet before, so kind and thoughtful and caring. What happened to you that you'd turn into this? A cold, sarcastic, cruel lioness who inflicts pain on others and feels no remorse for her victims. Why Arsenal?"
Arsenal grew silent. Her blue eyes softened for a brief moment.
"You had no right to fall in love with me Akida. We were friends, you should've lived with that, not hope for more. I had my ambitions, my objectives, my obligations. Love was not on my agenda. You gave me something that I couldn't give back."
"But why Arsenal? Why couldn't you love me? If you wanted me to, I would've turned out just like you. I would've followed you and done whatever it took for us to get together. I would've killed for you!" Akida cried out in desperation.
Silence met this outburst.
"If you wanted I would've wiped out an entire pride for you. If it meant we were going to be together, I would've done whatever it took for that to happen!" he continued.
"Akida what are you saying? You'd kill for her? Arsenal and her family murdered so many of our lion and lionesses so many months ago. She kidnapped Kiara!" Kovu shouted.
"You would've done the same for Kiara Kovu. Don't be a hypocrite!" Akida growled.
"That's different, Kiara would never hurt anyone! The only time she's ever had to hurt anyone was when Cougar and his pride invaded the Pride Lands and started a war that claimed the lives of our pride members!" Kovu said abrasively.
"Give Kion and Rani their son back and I'll come with you, fight by your side, do whatsoever you want," Akida pleaded.
"That's an intriguing offer," Tasha said thoughtfully. "But if we let Sadiki go, then we'll lose the chance off attaining an heir. Kion and I share the same father so it won't make a difference who raises the cub. Oh decisions, decisions."
"What's there to decide? Let's go back home and take Akida with us. If he and Arsenal become mates then we'll just have their son succeed the empire. Since it's a joint agreement," Maana said.
"That's a good idea. I'll go with you, just give Sadiki back. Rani and Kion will be heartbroken without their cub," Akida told Tasha.
"I may not love you Akida but you love me, this is going to be a one-sided relationship. The only good thing coming out of this will be us getting a successor," Arsenal said in a bored tone.
"Okay, let's go. Give Sadiki back and let's go home," Akida agreed.
"You're making a big mistake Akida," Kovu murmured.
"At least Kion and Rani are getting their son back, that's worth something isn't it?" Akida asked as he walked up to Arsenal, his heart thumping like a hammer in his chest.
"Kion and Rani are getting their son back and Arsenal is getting you back. Things worked out quite fine for you Akida,"
Everyone turned around and saw Vitani sitting behind them, a cold look in her violet eyes.