Alright, before I apologize for taking so long with this chapter, I have a few readers I'd like to answer to their nice reviews... :) :) :)


Jestalnaker94000: Lol, well, you'll just have to wait and find out, I wouldn't be a good writer if I gave away spoilers X3

JJChandler: Thank you so much hun, I'll try to work on the next chapter as often as I can so I can post it *crosses my heart*

I-Love-Trunks1: She is rather nasty, isn't she? But that's what makes her a good villain, though, right? :) Yeah, I really wanted them to have a close friendship, even though she knew that she'd probably be the only one who wouldn't doubt his word. Thank you so much for your review hun! *hugs*

Samguti729: I shall keep it up!*salutes* I hope I'm able to continue writing enjoyable chapters for you! :D:D:D


Holy muffins I'm so sorry that it has taken a while for me to post this chapter, it's been super crazy over here! Between my eldest cousin having a beautiful baby boy and nannying for a family with three young toddlers, it was hard enough to find a moment to sit down or work up the energy to work on this*faints*

Also, we've been a bit nervous for my grandparents, they have a house in Texas right where hurricane Harvey blew right through. Thankfully, they were here with us in Alaska when the hurricane hit, but they had to cut their visit short to check up on their home and other family that live there.

By some miracle, their house was one of the few that wasn't destroyed, but we're still pretty anxious about them being in the middle of all that*shudders*.

Again, I'm really sorry for the wait, I hope you guys enjoy the chapter! :3


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Chapter 7: A Sinister Arrangement


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Ryan didn't know how long he had been walking out here in the Pridelands, well, he ran for most of it until he could no longer keep the pace and Pride Rock was far off in the distance behind him where he simply continued to walk.

As nearly getting mauled by more than a dozen lions for something he didn't do was great motivation to keep moving...

So here he was, tracking through the sweltering Savannah were anything could decide to have him for a meal; But he had little choice in that matter as he just decided to focus on putting one foot in front of the other until he, quite literally, stumbled and slide down a slight slope to a small pond that was down in the middle of a cool, shaded area; Soaking the legs of his cargo pants in the process.

He was a little annoyed at his spill, but seeing as there was nothing else he could do about it and he was given the relief of being out from under the glare of the sun, he just decided to take a ten minuet break.

He shrugged off his hoodie, setting it to the side and unzipping the wet legs of his pants and stuffed them in his pack before he splashed handfuls of water over his face and on the back of his neck; It was another unbearably hot day, but as he stared into the the water at his rippling reflection, his mind was on other things besides his own discomfort...

Ryan was upset...and rather bitter over what had happened at Pride Rock.

He still couldn't believe that Simba would actually think that he was the one that had hurt Kiara... though, he supposed that as a human, he should have expected that he would have been looked upon as the most likely suspect if anything had gone wrong before...but it still didn't make it hurt any less.

And as bitter sweet as it was thinking back on it, he was glad that at the very least Sarabi seemed to believe he was telling the truth...

A sudden rustling and the snapping of a twig from up above him nearly made Ryan gasp out loud before he managed to clap a hand over his mouth to stifle himself; And as a low, familiar growl reached his ears, he felt his blood run could with fear...

It was a lion!

Who was it? Were they from Pride Rock? Did Simba actually send someone to track him down and finish him off?

He sat there frozen, trying to listen to the soft padding of their paws over the pounding of his heart in his ears, hoping that they didn't notice he was there; He even managed to catch a glimpse of the top of their back from the edge of the dip he sat in... But and thankfully, they just glided right past him and continued on their way without breaking their stride.

But he blinked in surprise and confusion when he suddenly heard a soft 'mew!'

Was that a cub?

Steeling his nerve, he slowly rolled himself to his hands and knees and crawled up to the top of the divot until he was just high enough to peek out to see who was there...

Sure enough, it was a lioness with cream colored fur, and although he couldn't see her face since she had her back to him, he was still able make out a very familiar dark brown strip that stretched down from the top of her head all along the middle of her back to between her shoulders.

It had to be Zira!

"Where's she off to so far from Pride Rock?" he quietly asked himself before he suddenly heard another tiny cry of a cub.

"...and who does she have with her?"

As Zira continued forward, Ryan silently watched as she ducked through the tall, golden grasses until she disappeared from sight, struggling with himself on what he was supposed to do now...

He tried to tell himself that anything to do with Simba's pride wasn't his concern anymore as it was pretty clear that he, or even his mother would never be welcome here again, that Zira must have simply come out for a long walk to get some fresh air...

And just took one of her cubs with her.

...Yeah, that wasn't at all convincing... but what could he do about it?

He shook his head and crawled back down to the pond to grab his water pack; But as he slung it back over his shoulders and climbed out of the shaded dip to leave before he got anymore surprise passerbys', he found that he couldn't bring himself to move; As he stood there, he had this nagging feeling that he needed to follow her..to find out why she was out here when she should be with her pride despite his common sense screaming at him to leave.

He wasn't wanted here, he wasn't trusted, if he followed after her there would be no Sarabi to help him again!

But as he tried to force himself to move, a strong breeze suddenly blew over the land out of nowhere, rustling the grasses and trees and caressing his hair, almost as though it was trying to push him in the other direction while he could almost hear Mufasa's plea to him once again...

...Help my family...

He closed his eyes, thinking about what the past king told him, about the strange nightmares he had...he didn't know what was going to happen or what to expect out of this, but it was obvious that he couldn't leave just yet, not when he still had some unanswered questions concerning that red eyed lioness!

So with an exasperated sigh, he turned right around with a determined expression on his face before he quickly started through the spot where Zira had disappeared.

"I am such a moron!"


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It had to be the most nerve wracking experience Ryan had ever gone through in his entire life as he continued to tail the, hopefully, unsuspecting lioness through the tall grasses of the Pridelands.

but also the most curious...and going back to his first question when he first saw her back at the pond, just what was she doing out here?

He had that inkling that it couldn't have been for anything good if she was going through so much effort to keep herself hidden from sight like this, and the occasional mewl from the cub she carried only made that suspicion grow more sound.

There were only three cubs that came to mind on who the infant she had could have been...but he highly doubted that she would have taken only one of her babies and left the other behind at Pride Rock.

So that left only one other cub...the young princess.

Though it was impossible to get a better look to be sure that it was Simbas' daughter without getting caught in the process...but just the thought alone that she may have had Kiara in her clutches was enough to make the bad feeling he had in his gut feel even worse.

So he was forced to quietly wait as he made sure to keep on her trail and off the radar; But when she suddenly stopped, he instantly froze and ducked lower into the grasses; He was worried that she might have finally caught onto him when she moved her head this way and that, her piercing eyes glaring around the land...but thankfully, it seemed she was only looking around to make sure that she was alone and suddenly dropped out of view.

Ryan heard a splashing sound soon after she disappeared and quickly moved over to the place where Zira once stood; Blinking in surprise to see himself at the bank of a wide river that stretched out across the land further than he could see both ways.

And cutting right through it was Zira and the bundle of fluff she carried until she finally climbed out onto the bank on the other side where it seemed to be even drier than the Pridelands; And only when she disappeared from sight within the grasses again did he stand up and look down at the river with concern...

He couldn't swim.

Living in the middle of a city and having absolutely no interest in fishing or any hobbies that involved water, he never saw any point in learning; but it was a choice he was now regretting...

The young man was a little worried that he would be stuck here as he watched the grasses rustle with Zira's retreating form on the other side, though as he looked closer at the river, he noticed that it was really low on the bank due to the hot weather and day without rain...maybe that meant that it wouldn't be so deep?

But as Zira got further and further ahead of him, he had no choice but to take the chance and he sat back on his haunches, allowing himself to slide down until his feet dipped into water and he forced himself to start walking.

But as he waded further in, he gasped in fear when he suddenly walked into a deeper spot in the middle until he was now standing waist deep in the river.

A little beyond his comfort level for his liking, but when he thankfully didn't sink any lower, he just worked up his nerve to keep going until he finally made it to the other side.

Ryan was a little worried at first because he thought he lost Ziras' trail, but after looking around, he managed to spot her wet paw prints, perfectly set in the dry, dusty ground; So making sure to keep low in the tall grass, he followed their trail as quietly as he could.

But with his heart pounding from the fact that he was intentionally trying to track down this dangerous individual that he knew he shouldn't mess with while the unforgiving Savannah sun bore down on his back, it was quite a struggle to keep his breathing even and low as he put one foot in front of the other.

Until a low growl rumbling in his ears made him freeze and sink to his knees, peering through the grass until he finally spotted Zira standing in the middle of a small clearing where the turf had been laid down and flattened with her back towards him.

And after a few moments of just standing there, she slowly stooped her head down and set her bundle on the ground between her paws before she straightened up; All the while, Ryan made sure that he was still well hidden while he intently watched on and waited to see what she was gonna do...

"...You can come out now." she suddenly announce with a rather bored and irritated tone.

"I can hear you panting like the dog you are!"

At that, Ryan instinctively clapped a hand over his mouth, even though he knew it was pointless if he had already been discovered; But as his mind began to race to figure out how he was going to get out of here, a rustling in the grasses before the lioness caught his attention and he waited silently until three figures with scruffy, marbled fur of black, brown and white stepped out into sight.

African dholes.

Ryan thought back to the conversation he heard between Zazu and Simba the other day...did these dholes belong to the pack that had been sighted in the Pridelands? If they were, he remembered that Simba only ordered them the be monitored as they didn't seem to be causing much trouble.

...But as Ryan watched them, even though they were all a couple sizes smaller than Zira, 'trouble' seemed to be exactly what they were here for!

"Well excuse me for being hot!" the largest of the trio stated in a low, almost graveled voice.

"This is all you brought, Buziba?" Zira sneered as she looked to the other two dholes, clearly unimpressed. "Underestimating a lion such as me like this, I must say I'm insulted!"

"As the Alpha, I expected better of you."

"Bringing the whole pack would have been suspicious!" the one now known as Buziba told her. " Gamba and Zuberi are my hunting partners, and they're my best and strongest fighters."

"I promise that they will deliver more than even you can handle!"

"For your sake, I hope your claim holds true!" Zira stated as she roughly pushed the bundle over towards Buziba, and as she pulled her paw back, Ryans' eyes widened and he fought to contain a gasp when he saw that his haunch was right...

The cub she was carrying really was Kiara!

"So...this is the hairball?" the dhole leader asked, his striking golden brown eyes looking over the little cub as she mewed and sniffed the air in confusion, no doubt wondering where she was because of all the new smells.

"Yes." the lioness affirmed. " Do this for me, and I'll be sure to leave a fresh kill for you and your pack to find every three days."

Buziba said nothing at first as he just stared down at the infant with a rather indifferent expression, but after a few moments, he moved his bright eyes up and glared at Zira with obvious suspicion.

"How do I know you'll keep your end of the deal?" he finally asked.

"Having second thoughts, are we?" Zira questioned as her ruby eyes narrowed dangerously

"Not at all, I'm just not entirely sure I can put my confidence in the word of a traitor." the dhole stated in an unwavering tone as he held his gaze with Zira. "If we follow through with this, then I'll have to live with the probable cost of my pack getting chased out and left to starve in the Outlands, just as long as Simba decides not to wipe us all out instead!"

"If you ask me, there seems to be far too much going in your favor and too much risk for us!"

But instead of getting angry at the accusation of going back on whatever kind of sinister arrangement they had made like Ryan thought she would, an insidious smile only spread across her muzzle.

"Well, I can imagine that making a deal with someone who's supposed to be ever loyal to the "king" would arise a bit of doubt, I can hardly blame you for questioning my word." She finally told as she gave an almost careless shrug of her broad shoulders while the three multi-colored dholes watched her every move ever so carefully.

"But the funny thing is... it'll cost you just as much even if you decide to walk away." Zira added as she then locked eyes with Buziba and chuckled darkly.

"You'll just have to trust me."

Buzibas' own muzzle wrinkled a bit as a low growl rumbled out of his throat...but after a moment, he just gave a dismissive snort and draped a paw over Kiaras' middle and dragged her closer to him while Zira grinned victoriously and turned to his pack mates.

"Now, lets see if what Buziba spoke of you is indeed a fact." Zira told them while both Gamba and Zuberis' ears flattened and muzzles wrinkled as they glared at her with distrustful gazes. "I advise you to give it your all in this..."

"We want to have "king" Simba thinking I put up a good attempt to rescue his sweet little girl before her...untimely demise."

Once he heard that, Ryan felt a cold numbness spread over him...she was conspiring against Simba, the reason she brought Kiara all the way out here was to kill her!

And as time seemed to slow when he looked away from Zira and the two dholes as they prepared to fight, over to where the pack leader stood with Kiara, watching as Buziba began to lower his jaws filled with sharp teeth towards the defenseless, unsuspecting infant before that numb feeling gave way to anger; And abandoning all caution and forgetting all reason, Ryan leapt to his feet and sprinted across the ground so hard and fast that a big trail of dust followed in his wake while a bellowing yell ripped out of his mouth.

"GET AWAY FROM HER!"

Buziba barely had time to jerk his head up at the unexpected shout before he let out a loud yelp from getting knocked clean off his paws, catching the attention of Zira and his pack mates who looked over just in time to see the pack leader eat dirt before they noticed a raven haired young man taking the tiny princess protectively in his arms while he sent a seething glare over to the treacherous lioness.

"I knew there was something off about you!" Ryan stated, adrenaline coursing through him as he took a few steps back when Zuberi and Gamba rushed over to their leaders side to see if he was alright.

"It was you all along, wasn't it?!" the angry boy continued, " you're the one who hurt Kiara back at Pride Rock, and then you framed me for it!"

Zira only stared at him with wide eyes, obviously shocked upon seeing Ryan there, but she didn't stay too surprised for long as an oily grin soon found itself upon her feline features.

"Well, you had the annoying habit of hanging around so closely to little Kiara..." she told him as she suddenly began to walk towards him with this false, carefree leisure.

"I had to think of something to get you out of the way."

"By using your own cubs?!" Ryan demanded, making sure to stay a good distance away from her. " Luring me away by leaving them out in this heat for who knows how long just to get at a helpless infant?"

"What kind of twisted mother are you?!"

"The kind who will provide a better future for all of her cubs by any means necessary!" Zira told him, her smile slowly faded into a snarl. "A future promised to them by the true king of the Pridelands before that glorified brute killed him and stole his throne!"

"No offense, lady, but I don't think a crazy murderer is true of anything, much less a king!" Ryan shot back.

At that, a low, threatening growl rumbled from Ziras' chest as she glared at him with a dagger like gaze.

"Since when has man been able to speak?" came Buzibas' strained question as Gamba and Zuberi helped steady him as he got back on his feet, shaking himself a bit before he sent a glowering gaze over at Ryan and then to Zira. "This wasn't part of the deal!"

" Oh yeah, Zira, the "deal"!" the boy spat. " I'd like to see you weasel yourself out of this when Simba finds out you stole Kiara and tried to kill her like this!"

"Stole her?" Zira repeated with a laugh. "After I charged in and saved our poor little princess from your vile clutches, it was Simba who granted me guardianship over his daughter, asking me to care for her as I would my own in his absence."

"And it's all thanks to you and your generous assistance for gaining his favor!"

Ryans faltered a bit upon hearing that...would that mean that it would only be his words against hers? But quickly shook away his doubt and forced himself not to loose face as he knew there would be someone he knew that would have his back!

"What about Sarabi?!" he demanded. "She wouldn't have let you just take off with her granddaughter without question, not unless you wanted to put suspicion on yourself!"

"If they found Kiara dead, you'll be the first to blame!"

"No, I suppose you would have been right with that..." Zira agreed, making Ryan feel very nervous with how cool and collected she was. " But what a pity she wasn't even there when the decision was made."

"Shortly after you were banished, she disappeared." The lioness continued as Ryan only blinked, a confused expression on his young face. "Where one can only guess was to find the young man she was so attached to like the sentimental old fool she was!"

"Sarabi's no fool, she still managed to see through your little scam and here I am!" Ryan told her confidently.

"Yes... here you are." Zira said as a smile stretched along her muzzle, making Ryans' blood run cold. "All alone and surrounded by enemies, with a secret that will easily die with you."

"Buziba, I do believe there's been a delightful little change in plans..." She suddenly added, sending the pack leader a sinister grin. "The evil man that Simba banished, came back and stole the princess in revenge...though it would be an utter shame for him to discover, even when the dholes who gallantly came to the aid of his loyal lioness, they still were unable to save her."

" How would that work in your favor?"

"I think it would work just fine, Zira." Buziba said with a callous smirk of his own. " My pack has more than one settle to score with man, anyway!"

It was at that moment that Ryan realized his mistake, he had been so scared for Kiara that he just charged right in the middle of everything without a plan of what to do next; Though as he glanced down at the grasses, dry and brittle from going days without any good rain as it crunched under her paws, an idea came to him and he turned his body slightly to the side and began moving one hand, hoping that they wouldn't take notice...

"Well, have you any last words?" Zira asked with a smug smile.

"Just a question I'd like answered..." He started, trying to stall for time as he continued to reach down to his pocket. "How bad was it?"

"How bad was what? " the lioness asked, her ruby eyes narrowing as she wondered what kind of question he could possibly want to ask of her when death was only seconds away.

"You've been plotting to kill Kiara for who knows how long, you're willing to endanger your own cubs so long as it gets you what you want," The young man started, taking a hesitant step back when he noticed that Buziba and his pack mates stepped up beside the lioness. " You're going through so much effort and trouble in order to hurt Simba and make him suffer all in Scars name even though you were never his first choice..."

"It must have stung when your 'oh so perfect' king totally passed you over for Nala to be his queen!"

The look that went over her face made Ryan instantly regret his choice of words to stall for time, even the dholes seemed a little surprised that he didn't end up with her teeth in his throat at that very moment as she was visibly restraining herself If only not to give this lowly human welp the satisfaction that he had managed to get under her fur.

"You really should have left when you had the chance, boy..." She said as she started prowling towards him with a predatory glint in her eyes. " It would have been less messy for both of us that way!"

The young man couldn't help but swallow at the lump in his throat as he held Kiara closer to him, trying hard to keep his searching hand out from their line of sight while Zira slowly padded towards him with Buziba and his pack mates along side her.

He struggled to keep a brave face.

"I...I think you'll find it won't be that easy Zira!" he bluffed, causing the lioness to let out an amused chuckle from the waver she clearly heard in his voice.

"Ha! You know as well as I that you're not fit to fight me!" she taunted. " I'm faster, I'm stronger, and with those blunt teeth and flimsy fingers, you're so helpless it's pathetic!"

"Although, despite all that, I suppose I must at least commend you on your courage for coming here."

"Courage? Are you kidding?" Ryan asked with a nervous laugh before his fingers finally closed around what he was looking for in his pocket. "I'm so scared, I feel like about about to pass out right now."

"So you came knowing you would die?" Zira asked as she tilted her head slightly to the side at his confession.

"No, because lucky for me, there's an upside to being human..." Ryan started, a slight smirk appeared on his face, waiting for them to come just a little bit closer...

"Oh really?" the lioness asked, not at all convinced. "And what would that be?"

They instantly froze in their tracks as Ryan suddenly whipped out his trusty, black zippo with the roaring lion head, flicking the top open and lighting the flame full blast before he held it up high in the air for all of them to see.

"I don't need fangs or claws to be trouble for you..."

And with that, Ryan threw his lighter down on the grass right before Ziras' paws, causing her to let out a gasp as a wall of flame made her and the dholes back up several paces when it began to erratically spread all around at a rather alarming rate.

But as they were effectively cut off from them, Ryan wasted no time running as hard and as fast as he could physically manage in the direction he came from to get Kiara and himself to safety as the land all around them was so dry, he wanted to get back to the river as soon as possible before it got too out of hand.

"NO!" Zira cried as she watched Ryans' retreating form over the flames with the princess in his grasp before she whirled around to Buziba and the other dholes. " After him you fools!"

"We can't let him get away!"

Buziba gave a loud bark before he, Gamba and Zuberi all split up to find a way around the fire while Zira took a few steps back, running at the flames before she fearlessly leapt over them with a thunderous roar.

And as she landed on the other side, she looked left and right, but with the tall grasses and smoke that began to fill the air with the growing fire, Ryan was nowhere to be spotted; And the heat she could feel at her back only added to the burning rage that grew within her for the worthless human that tried to deny her victory.

When she got her claws on him, she would be sure to have him begging for a quick and merciful end by the time she was through!


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...Yeeeeah, I'm so glad I'm not in Ryans' shoes right now -_-;

Also I'd like state right now, just in case some of you are wondering how the flip a fire started from a little lighter can spread as big and as quickly as I wrote it out to be, I have a perfectly good explanation...Disney Logic! *throws glittery sparkles in the air*

Lol, I'm sure that I have lots of errors here in this chapter that have managed to sneak past me, but I really wanted to give you guys a chapter to read before I left the house tonight. So if you happen to see any gaps, or spelling or grammar problems, be sure to point them out so I can fix it when I get back :3 :3 :3

I hope you guys still enjoyed the chapter, but I'll give you guys a little heads up now that it might be a little while before I come back to fix this up or post the next one again, at least until my family are able to breath easier when we know that all our relatives in Texas are safe after all that's going on down in the south.

Until then, take care guys!