Scar was laughing.
Kion roared with all his might, trying desperately to throw the old lion off his footing, but Scar simply blocked the onrushing gale by raising a wall of sand around him. Almost immediately the wall reformed into a sandstorm that scoured Kion as if to try and polish him like glass. He leaped to the side and began to dash in a circle around Scar, trying to use the sandstorm to move out of his line of sight.
"Good, use your youth to your advantage! If you dodge an attack instead of blocking it, it will open up an opportunity for a counter attack." Scar was lazily rising into the air upon a stone plateau that rose up from the earth, allowing him to comfortably look down on Kion without moving a single muscle.
Kion watched him reproachfully, panting to regain his breath. "How are you doing all of that without roaring?"
"How many times must I tell you, boy?" The old lion collapsed onto his side as though it was the conversation he found exhausting. "Power comes from awareness of your own self and your connection to other enlightened spirits. All of that roaring at the heavens is just… fluff."
As if to illustrate, a plume of smoke and burning embers erupted from the vent in the centre and threatened to engulf Kion. He reflexively pulled on the water trickling behind him, breaking the wellspring open and dousing himself just as the burning smoke immersed him. By the time the smoke and steam cleared, Kion was dripping head to toe and smelled like he had just escaped a forest fire.
"Nicely done." Scar was lying on his back, still lounging on the stone plateau that seemed to obey his every command. "Of course, you don't actually need water to defend against fire – you could have just created a wall of earth or used wind to blow it back into my face instead of electing to drown yourself – but hey, each to his own."
Kion glowered at Scar. Water was dripping from his mane into his eyes, but he'd be damned if he gave the old lion the satisfaction of seeing him try to shake it off. "Yeah, well… you've been doing this for ages and I only just started. I think you just enjoy pushing me around because you know I'm not as strong as you."
Scar shot him a disdainful glance. "Haven't you listened to a word I said? Power comes from enlightenment, not from practice. I know a lioness who learned how to use her powers in just a few hours, and she's one of the strongest people I've ever met." He idly batted at one of the burning embers that floated in the air above him. Somehow, it evaded his paw only to circle around his head instead. "Your father only had Rafiki to teach him for a day at most, and he still managed to split Pride Rock in two. Then again, I suppose it did help that he was possessed by a vengeful god at the time."
"Okay," said Kion, forcing himself to stay calm. "So maybe I'm not as talented as you or as beloved by the Spirit Kings as my father, and I don't learn as quickly as your lioness friend. But then maybe it would be a good idea to actually teach me something instead of just lying there and hitting me with stuff."
Scar yawned. "I told you; enlightenment comes from within. If you want to gain control of your powers, you need to learn to be honest with yourself, and come to terms with who you are and how you feel."
"Right," said Kion, "because you are such a beacon of wisdom and honesty. Granduncle, you lied to everyone around you, all your life. No offense, but you're not exactly–"
The ground vanished beneath his paws, and Kion found himself choking on sand, coughing and spluttering as he clawed his way back up to the surface.
Scar idly waved a paw at him. "None taken. Also, don't let your guard down."
How dare he attack us / destroy that foul traitor!
A burning light lit up within Kion, searing his flesh from the inside like a beast trying to claw its way free. He opened his mouth to scream but all he could hear was a violent ringing in his ears. Fire burst up in a plume while water spewed forth from the cliff and stones rose up all around them, and all of it hurled in the same direction, all at the same target. Kion could not see the result of the attack for he was lying on the ground and all he could see was sand, and all he could hear was the terrible sound of his own Roar.
Then there was a paw on his shoulder and suddenly the earth and the sky stopped moving, though the pain in his skin and the ringing in his ears remained. He looked up and saw that Scar was standing above him, showing none of his earlier calm. The right side on his face was singed, and Kion thought he could smell burning fur. He looked exactly as wretched as Kion had felt, just a moment earlier.
How ironic…
As the world darkened around him, he dimly felt himself being pulled back down into the cavern.
"It's that mark on his shoulder," Shenzi opined. "It's giving those meddlesome Spirit Kings of yours power over him."
"It's just red paint," Scar said doubtfully. It was strange to hear Scar sound uncertain, Kion thought faintly. "It shouldn't make any difference. Enlightenment comes from the spirit, not some fruit."
"Shouldn't, but does," said Shenzi. "They burned that bloody powder into his body, just like they did with your boy Simba. We should remove it before the same thing happens as back then."
"We sshould cut it out," a strange voice hissed. "Suck out the poison before it iss too late..."
"Don't be ridiculous," said Scar. "Nobody's cutting anything out of anybody. The lad just needs to gain awareness of his own spirit, that's all. Then he'll be able to tell their thoughts from his own."
Kion lifted his head, staring faintly at the surroundings he found himself in. He was in one of the smaller chamber within the same cavern as before: The hyenas' den maybe, judging by the bones that lay scattered on the floor. "Granduncle? What…"
"He's awake." Scar motioned to the others. "Leave us."
Shenzi snorted. "You heard him, boys and girls: The lions need their alone time. Let's go."
Kion blinked, and looked around again. They were indeed in one of the smaller caverns, though not one he had seen before. The footsteps of the others were fading in the distance, leaving just him and Scar. In the darkness of the cave, his eyes were reduced to green slits.
"Shenzi might be right," Scar said. He seemed to mull the words over, not quite liking the taste of them. "That mark is letting those meddlesome Kings of the Past influence your actions, and not in a good way. Lad, you must learn to control your emotions, or the consequences could be disastrous."
Kion stood up and shook his mane, trying vainly to clear the cobwebs in his head. "I thought you said that enlightenment comes from within."
"It does, but the paint of the red fruit lowers your inhibitions, and forces you to be more like your inner self which in turn increases your power." He indicated the crimson mark that Kion had received during his inauguration as Captain of the Guard. "Why did your father do that to you, anyway?"
"He said I needed to learn to master my power," Kion said. "He said that as the king's second son, the Roar would awaken within me, and so I needed to be prepared."
Scar snorted derisively. "Then he's an even bigger fool than I thought. There's nothing special about being the second child except that it gets you that mark and the training he gave you. In preparing you for your destiny, your father damned you to it." He shot an irate glance at a faint red light that seemed to be hovering around his head. "What? I know he didn't have anyone to teach him that, but that's hardly my fault: He's the one who banished me, after all. Don't lecture me, woman."
Kion gave the old lion an uncertain look. "Granduncle? Who are you talking to?"
"Nobody." He ducked his head as the red dot swooped at him. "By which I mean not a body, which is, strictly speaking, entirely accurate. Ow, quit that!"
"Granduncle, are you talking to that firefly?" That would be really impressive, if Scar had learned to talk to insects – and also really worrisome, since as far as Kion knew they were not intelligent. Of course, the old lion could also just be insane, but that was hardly reassuring.
"No, or rather, yes, in the sense that she's made of fire and can fly, but in terms of disposition I'd say she's more of a hornet – ow! Stop that." He swiped at the red dot, which instantly zipped out of reach before turning around and striking him again. "Ack! I knew marrying a primordial force of pure rage and vindictiveness was a mistake."
"Uhm."
Scar was still having a wrestling match with the firefly – and losing, somehow – when Bunga burst into the chamber. "Hey Kion! Looks like they finally found us: There's someone at the entrance who… oh hey, are you guys catching fireflies? Cool!"
"I've almost got her," said Scar, before being flipped onto his back. "Ow."
Kion almost leaped for the exit. "They're here? Is it Fuli and Ono? Are they all right?"
"I dunno," said Bunga. "I just heard that someone was here so I went to tell you." He leaped and snagged the red dot out of the air, and swallowed it in a single motion. "Huh, that wasn't so hard! Tastes a bit funny, though."
"Uh," said Scar, "we should probably leave before we find out in what exact way this is about to get messy."
A spark of divine inspiration told Kion he was probably right. "Uh, yeah. Let's."
The two of them headed to the central chamber, ignoring the disturbing sounds that were emanating from the cave they just left. They were greeting by the sight of Jasiri and Shenzi, who were hunched over a vent in the ground that spewed red fumes. She seemed to be meditating on the fumes, just like Simba had taught Kion to do back when he first told him about the Roar.
"I asked her to stay and learn our techniques, so she can be a liaison to Shenzi in the afterlife once she's gone. Their connection should be strong enough for that, I think. Well, it was Shenzi's idea after all, and she should know best."
Kion felt a stab of pity as he looked at the hunched over hyenas. For all that Jasiri acted like she took nothing seriously, she did seem to genuinely care about her matriarch. Training to take her place even as the old hyena was dying could not have been an easy decision to make, much less an easy thing to do.
"We should leave them to it," said Scar. "Come."
Kion nodded and followed him to the exit. "I hope it's not Fuli waiting for us," he said lightly. "I smell like a drowned cat, and I'm pretty sure I look like one too. I doubt she'd ever let me live it down." That managed to get a chuckle out of Scar, though it sounded a bit forced.
He took a deep breath. "Hey, granduncle. You should come back to the Pridelands with me."
"I can't. I was banished, remember? For pretty good reason, too."
"Yeah," said Kion, "about that. Look, granduncle Scar, I don't think…" He stopped, considering his words. "Listen, we both know why you were banished, and of course nobody forgot about that – don't get me wrong. I still remember how scared I was of you even as a young cub, and if I maybe thought father's stories made you seem a little cool too, well, it's not like I ever said so to mum and dad." There was a small tug on Scar's lips. "But then, there's also the way he kept saying that I should make sure not to follow in your pawprints…" He put on as deep a voice as he could manage. "Son, make sure never to become as cool and dangerous a lion as Scar. The world's not big enough for two scoundrels of that magnitude."
Scar laughed again, more heartily this time.
"Plus, I think I overheard grandma giving girl talk to Kiara, warning her about handsome, smooth talking rogues who will steal your heart only to abandon you in the end."
Scar raised an eyebrow. "Oh, she did, did she?"
"Yeah." He stopped at the exit, blinking against the sudden sunlight that was now pouring in. "Granduncle, I think they miss you. I think they really, really miss you. You should come back."
"I can't." Scar looked away, seeming somehow older than before. "After everything I did, I can't…" He shook his head. "Look, I'll think about it, all right? I'll think about it. But I'm telling you right now that if I ever see those two again, it won't go the way you think. It, ah, it wouldn't be pretty."
"It doesn't have to be," Kion said. "I just think it would be better than all this pretending, you know?" After a moment's hesitation he decided to leave it at that, and the two of them silently headed out of the cave and into the desert, where they were greeted by…
Kion blinked. "Zazu?"
The blue-feathered bird was perched on a small stone near the entrance of the cave, giving Kion a rather unimpressed look. "No need to act so shocked, young master. After all, I did say that if anything unfortunate were to happen to you, there was no sense in guessing who would be sent to fly after you." He inclined his head slightly to Scar, who was still lurking in the shadows near the entrance. "Sire."
"Zazu."
Kion looked from one to the other, staring first at the red-beaked hornbill and then at the aging lion, neither of whom seemed at all surprised to see each other.
"You knew," he said, feeling a by now familiar ire rising up in his throat. "You knew, all this time."
"Of course I knew," said Zazu, managing to sound neutral with only the slightest touch of condescension. "I am His Majesty's majordomo. It is my duty to know everything that goes on in the Pridelands – or beyond, where former kings and citizens are concerned."
"Zazu was my first student and companion," Scar explained. "He joined our endeavour before even Shenzi. He hasn't had time to teach others like she did, but in acting as a liaison towards other parties he has been extremely helpful. You could say that he is my keenest of sight, in this new ensemble of mine."
"Or alternatively," said Zazu, "you could not call me that."
"But, then, does that mean my father…" Kion shook his head in frustration, spraying water droplets in the process. "Never mind, I don't care anymore. What happened to Fuli and Ono? Where are they? Are they all right?"
"Your companions are fine," said Zazu. "I ordered young Ono to fly after Janja to try and find their hideout. Your cheetah wanted to come with me, but she was injured by a stray rock – no, she's not in any danger. I ordered her back to Pride Rock, which is where you'll find her." He beckoned Kion along. "Shall we?"
Kion glanced back to Scar, who was still sitting dispassionately in the shadow of the cave. He wanted to ask him to pass a message to the others, but Zazu had already taken off and he had to hurry to catch up. It was not as if there had been much left to say, anyway.
"Hey Zazu, wait up!" The blue-feathered bird slowed slightly, drifting on the current without moving his wings, flying low enough that Kion could look at him without craning his neck. "Zazu, my father ordered you to follow us into the Outlands to make sure we didn't get into any trouble, didn't he? Does that mean it was you who accidentally knocked down that rock at the start of the ravine?"
Zazu glanced back at him. "No. Your father instructed me to make sure I wouldn't be seen by you, and staying out of Ono's sight range proved to be… quite the task. I fear that in my attempts at subterfuge I almost missed the hyenas' attack until I heard your roar."
"I see," said Kion, though he did not say anything else. He focussed on running to keep up with Zazu, traveling through the desert at speed to get back to Pride Rock as soon as he could. In the back of his mind, a dark suspicion was forming, but for now it was nothing that could be articulated in words.
