So here we are. Chapter 1 of the last story in this series, uploaded on Christmas day (at least it is where I am in England). I'm glad that so many people have been enjoying these and this is the one that will end the series with a bang. I tried to make something very extravagant here and it turned out quite good in the end. Anyway, chapter 1 is a bit mysterious but all will be revealed in good time, my friends. *chuckles*.

Chapter 1

It had been years since she was last in these lands, and now she was standing in the very canyon that she had supposedly died in. The ground was moist beneath her feet, an indication that the canyon had flooded at one point. That was just one of many things that had likely changed since she was last here.

"Good old home."

For the past few years she had spent her life a long way away from the Pridelands. Ever since the incident that had made everyone here believe she and the others were dead, she decided that it was best for her to leave and avoid complications. She wondered if all her old friends were still here, or if some of them were even still alive. It had been a long time after all. time to see how her old friends would react. She headed off towards the centre of the Pride lands, fast, leaving a yellow streak behind her.

Another successful day of ruling the Pride lands had gone by. The two lions knew the pride was unhappy with having them as leaders, but they didn't care. Their philosophy was that they should be in charge of everything, at all costs. Lions over all.

The dark one was accompanied by his mate just before he was about to consult his masters. The orange powder was already spread out on the rock platform.

"With all these plans in place we're guaranteed victory till the very end." She said, nuzzling up to Him, although with her it was hard to look loving at all.

"That's my field of expertise, my dear. It's how I came to be in power. Always have one more plan and you'll never fail." He replied. "Is Nuka asleep?"

"Yes. Fast asleep. We can start now."

"Great."

The dark lion then began summoning his masters. Not Mohatu, but his 'other' masters. The ones Mohatu wasn't aware of. At least not their alliances anyway.

The ghostly figure hovered above the stone with a sense of power. It had a body that was floating with multiple legs hanging from under it.

"Am I through to Muuaji command?" The dark lion asked.

"This is Muuaji command. Please state your identity." The figure answered.

The dark lion replied.

"Scar. And my mate, Zira."

"Ah yes. Scar and Zira. You'll be wanting to know if we've arranged this backup scenario for you yet. You'll be happy to hear that we have. As long as you continue to serve us the deal remains active."

"I must thank you, sir. That fool, Mohatu, thinks we're helping him in his quest to destroy his own people. But our loyalty does indeed rest on you."

"Make sure it stays there and you will be rewarded. Now we must go. There are matters to attend to."

The Muuaji figure then vanished, leaving Scar and Zira alone in the cave. How smart of them to double-double cross their two supposed allies in an attempt to destroy them both. All for their own gain. In other words, they had made sure that they would have the last say in the final battle.

That was a couple years ago now since she returned to the Pridelands. All the time she'd been back she hadn't been able to bring herself to meet with her old friends again. The only person she'd been able to meet with was a former outlander lionesses with purple eyes. Ever since the lioness had been hiding her in this den, away from the rest of the pride. But now she could hear chaos outside. Things were flying in the air and animals were running scared. Many were being killed in fact. It looked like her secret presence would soon be revealed. But what would they think of it?

A couple of things to think about here. Yes, Scar and Zira are back (albeit still in the past at this point), and who was that person at the start and end of this chapter? Maybe you can work it out but you'll find out anyway further down the line. So yeah, that's the first chapter and I hope it was a good start. Next chapter we'll be returning to the action that the previous story left off from. Chapter 2 should be up in a few days.