The next morning came early for Kovu as the young adult lion was pacing around the promontory of Pride Rock. "Okay... I have to tell her today. Oh... where do I start? 'Kiara... Zira had a plot, and I was part of it, but I don't wanna be, because... it's because I love you," he then sighed at what he told himself. "Oh, she'll never believe me, but I gotta try."

"Talking to yourself... That's never a good sign." A voice suddenly said to him.

"Dah!" Kovu yelped before looking to see that it was Phil and Lil's cousin. "Oh, it's just you... Uh... What's your name again?"

"Gabi? I'm Aunt Betty's niece." Gabi reminded him once she was shown again, almost like she had been forgotten about during this adventure.

"Right... Gabi..." Kovu said with a nod before he sighed. "I just have a lot on my mind right now."

"Yeah, I do too, I have this feeling." Gabi replied.

"You do?" Kovu asked, slightly concerned.

"Yeah... I'm not sure what it is, but I feel like something big might happen eventually." Gabi explained.

Kovu just had a weary and nervous look on his face in response to that.

"Do you feel it too?" Gabi asked him.

"Yeah, actually, I do..." Kovu admitted and nodded. "Look, I kinda wanna be alone right now, so if you'll excuse me..."

"Uh, okay, sure..." Gabi said to Kovu. "I'll get out of your way."

"Thanks... Nothing personal, I swear, I just have a lot going on right now." Kovu replied.

"Well, all right then..." Gabi said as she then got out of Kovu's way as she wandered through the den of Pride Rock.

Kovu sighed to himself as he soon came into the cavern where Kiara and Simba were now waking up. "Kiara... I need to talk to you." he then started to say.

"Kiara... I don't want you talking with him," Simba said sternly at first before softening up right away. "I want to talk with him."

Kiara's face brightened at that as Simba winked at her. Gabi looked a bit happy as she stayed behind with Kiara.

"Mike and Lil wanted to come along, I hope that's okay." Simba then said.

"That sounds wonderful, especially with how I hung out with Mike and Lil for hunting and last night." Kiara agreed.

"Let's not say too much to your father about that, Kiki." Mike advised with a chuckle.

"Mike..." Kiara replied bashfully.

"Just sayin'... Your parents felt the love one night too after reuniting when they got older." Mike whispered.

"Mike!" Kiara cried out, sounding even more bashful to that.

"Sorry, sorry..." Mike replied as she stepped away. "See ya later, okay, Kiki?" she then added to The Lion Princess.

"See ya later, Mike." Kiara nodded at that.

Mike nodded as she then left with Simba and Kovu before seeing Phil and Lil. Lil was smiling while Phil crossed his arms with a firm scowl on his face as though to warn Mike about something.

"Hey... You still sore about the early morning hunting call or something?" Mike asked Phil, seeing the brunette boy's facial expression.

"Nah... I just wanna make sure you take very good care of my little sister." Phil replied firmly.

"Phil, I'm older than you, remember?" Lil reminded her twin brother.

"How do we know that's true?" Phil scoffed.

"Because Mom told us on our birthday one year, remember?" Lil rolled her eyes. "Besides, you know Mike wouldn't do anything bad to me or anyone else she really likes or cares about."

"How about that time she fell in love with Otto Rocket and broke Eddy Sampson's heart in Cartoon Network City?" Phil then asked with a scoff.

"First of all, that was long before I knew you guys, secondly, I realized that I had different tastes in relationships by middle school, and thirdly, I love Lil with all of my heart and nothing will ever change that and I would never ever hurt her and I'm sure you wouldn't hurt Courtney Gripling either," Mike retorted and reminded Phil. "Just chill out, you're supposed to be on vacation, remember?" she then added.

"Well, all right... I'll see ya then..." Phil shrugged. "I guess I'll hang around Timon and Pumbaa. I like those guys, they remind me a lot of myself."

"Yeah... Always being gassy and eating bugs like when we were babies." Lil smirked.

"Hey!" Phil glared as Mike and Lil chuckled at that.

"See ya, Phil," Mike said as she and Lil walked after Simba and Kovu. "Tell Timon and Pumbaa I said 'Hey'."

Phil grumbled slightly before he walked off as Mike, Lil, Simba, and Kovu began to walk away together.

Later in the day, the four went to the nearly burnt section of the Pridelands as Simba had educated Kovu and Lil more about Scar as Mike understood since she knew him while the other two did not.

"Scar couldn't let go of his hate... and in the end, it destroyed him." Simba soon said to Kovu.

"I've... never heard the story of Scar that way." Kovu remarked.

"Yeah. He truly was a killer." Lil added once she learned more about Scar as well.

"Fire is a killer and not just the hyenas... Wherever they ended up after Scar was defeated." Mike soon said.

"Mike is absolutely right," Simba agreed. "Sometimes, what's left behind can grow better than the generation before..." he then added as he put his paw down and rose up some dust to show a young plant there as he, Kovu, Mike, and Lil leaned down together, head to head. "...If given the chance." he then concluded.

"Very wise... You get that from Rafiki?" Mike asked Simba.

"Maybe?" Simba chuckled innocently.

"Rafiki could be an excellent fortune cookie writer." Mike then told Lil.

"Sure, as long as the fortune cookies aren't for Filburt Turtle." Lil nodded and chuckled.

"Say, whatever happened to Filburt, Rocko, and Heffer anyway?" Mike then asked Lil.

"Oh... Well... They..." Lil started to say.

"Wait..." Mike suddenly said as she sniffed the air. "I smell something."

"Is it friendly or dangerous, Mike?" Simba asked cautiously.

"Definitely dangerous and sinister..." Mike replied as she continued to sniff the air. "...Also a different scent that seems dangerous too, but I haven't smelled it before."

Lil soon sniffed along with Mike. "I think I recognize that scent too, but I'm not sure from where." she then said as she picked up the other scent that her girlfriend didn't recognize.

"Do you smell it? That smell. The kind of smelly smell. The smelly smell that smells? ...Smelly," Mike then said before her and Lil's eyes widened. "Outlanders..." she then said silently.

"What?" Kovu asked.

"OUTLANDERS!" Mike and Lil then said out loud together.

An evil chuckle was soon heard from the dust surrounding them. Kovu gasped as he realizes what was happening. Many dark lionesses appeared from the clouds of dust, surrounding them. The lionesses' eyes glowed a bright, sinister yellow.

"No... oh, no... no..." Kovu whispered to himself in horror.

"Why, Simba..." Zira smirked as she came out from the shadows as her lionesses joined her.

"Zira." Simba scowled at the dark lioness.

"What are you doing out here, and... so alone?" Zira taunted as her lionesses encircled Simba, Kovu, Mike, and Lil. "Well done, Kovu... just like we always planned."

"You." Simba glared at Kovu then.

"No! I didn't have anything to do with this!" Kovu cried out and panicked.

"But... That can't be right... He sounded so trustworthy last night..." Mike frowned.

"And you... There's a special surprise just for you, my dear~" Zira smirked at Lil in particular.

"Zira? What could you possibly want with me?" Lil retorted as bravely as she could.

"Oh, not much, just some extreme justice!" Zira smirked darkly. "Prepare to meet your doom, you filthy mongrel! I've got a new ally now! Meet the most dangerous threat to life on this planet who will go after you and then your family!"

"Hello there, Lillian DeVille~" Siri greeted as she came out and approached Lil suddenly.

"A leopard?" Lil asked, slightly confused.

"But the only leopards who live around here are in the forest." Simba remarked.

"You could say I'm new in town, but I've come for this particular wolf~" Siri smirked as she approached Lil and circled her. "I've been wanting you for a long time now, especially back when you were just a helpless puppy before your wolf DNA was shown."

"What are you talking about?" Lil demanded.

"You better stay away from Lil DeVille if you know what's good for you." Mike added sternly.

"My, my, you mongrels always did have the worst temper problem~" Zira chuckled darkly. "Don't they, Siri?"

"They most certainly do, Zira~" Siri grinned darkly and agreed with the dark lioness before facing Mike and Lil. "You see, back when this little wolf lady was a helpless infant, she ended up on my territory... Back in the rainforest with her own pack... One other member was part wolf just like her, but the others were not..."

"Phil... And our friends, Tommy, Angelica, Kimi, Susie, Chuckie, and Dil..." Lil memorized, even though she was a baby, she always knew that she was always friends with them ever since they were all babies. "We were on the rainforest?" she then asked.

"Yes, you had a peanut-sized brain at the time, but you were traveling with that big-nosed nuisance Nigel Thornberry..." Siri said to Lil. "You were almost mine until that feral boy got in the way and saved you all and I failed miserably."

"Feral boy?" Mike asked. "She must be talking about Donnie, right?"

"That sounds right..." Lil nodded before glaring at Siri. "Well, you failed once, so you'll fail again."

"We'll just see about that as I had a very strong craving for you and your brother and everyone else in your family, but I won't fail this time." Siri smirked darkly and glowered at Lil.

"Hmph... If you couldn't wrangle a gaggle of babies, then you're really up for a challenge against teenagers this time around." Lil retorted and smirked back at the clouded leopard.

"We'll just see about that..." Siri retorted as she sheathed out her claws.

"Attack!" Zira soon commanded her lionesses.

"NO!" Kovu cried out at that.

The lionesses soon attacked. Simba was fighting off several at once while Mike decided to help out where she could. Kovu then tried to help Mike and Simba, but was battered off by a lioness and fell to the side, hitting his head on a rock. Lil also tried to come in and help Mike and Simba only to get pounced on by Siri suddenly. Simba was then thrown to the bottom of a ravine with lionesses sliding down the slope towards him.

"Yes! We've got him!" Zira cheered for her pride.

Vitani and the other lionesses attacked again, forcing Simba to flee down the canyon.

"Remember your training! As a unit!" Zira told her pride.

Simba was trapped; he tried to climb up the walls of the canyon, using the piled-up logs to gain purchase. Vitani soon tackled Mike and headbutted her suddenly on the ledge. Mike groaned and looked like she was in a bit of pain.

"Simba!" Kovu soon called out from the ledge while Siri kept fighting and attacking Lil.

"Mike!" Lil cried out.

Siri grinned as her claws sheathed out and she soon lunged out at Lil, pinning her down and suddenly swiped her paws down to mark the brunette girl and then kill her on the spot. Lil grunted before she kicked Siri off of her as strongly as she could and soon rolled away and tried to escape while thinking of what to do now.

"Get him! Kovu! Get him! Do it now!" Zira then urged him.

Nuka suddenly jumped from the crowd. "I'll do it for you, Mother!" he called out while laughing and bounding up the logs. "Mother,are you watching?" he then asked. "I'm doing it for you... and I'm doing it for me!" he then added softly to himself before chasing Simba up a slope with several broken logs strewn across it.

Lil soon grabbed Mike and carried her in her arms.

"Lil... I don't feel so good..." Mike groaned as she wearily looked up at her girlfriend.

"Don't worry, Mike... We're a little weak right now, I'm not sure why though." Lil soothed her girlfriend.

Siri snarled and soon ran right toward Mike and Lil. Lil looked around and soon saw the slope and began to climb up it and moved Mike over her shoulders. Mike groaned a bit as she hugged Lil over her shoulders as she looked very pale and sickly right now. Just as Simba reached the top, Nuka grabbed his ankle.

"This is my moment of glory!" Nuka laughed eagerly.

The log on which Nuka had his rear paw breaks, causing Nuka to lose his grip on Simba's ankle and began to fall. Simba reached the top before helping Mike and Lil up with him as they were both on the ground together. However, once thy made it there, a pile of logs rolled down the slope with Nuka among them; they all landed in a heap at the bottom of the ravine. Nuka was lying trapped under a large log. He soon looked up to the top of the slope to see one final log rapidly falling in his direction. He grimaced, terrified, as the log hit him. Kovu then rushed down to help free Nuka, but he was swatted aside by Zira, who pulled enough logs aside to see Nuka's face.

"Nuka..." Zira frowned, concerned for her eldest.

Nuka gasped for air and coughed. "I'm sorry, Mother... I tried..." he then spoke weakly to her.

"Shh..." Zira shushed him and tried to comfort him.

"Well... I finally got your attention, didn't I...?" Nuka then asked as Zira smiled tenderly and cradled her face in his paw. "Didn't I... I love you..." he then said before he closed his eyes one last time and that seemed to be the end of him.

"Nuka..." Vitani frowned as she soon saw what happened along with Kisasi.

"Stupid idiot." Kisasi muttered.

"This isn't over, Lillian DeVille... I will get you and your brother if it's the last thing I do!" Siri soon roared out as Lil tried to stand up and helped Mike back up as her girlfriend looked like she was horribly injured right now.

Soon, in the middle of the Pridelands, Lil carried Mike all the way back to Pride Rock as Simba walked wearily back there and Betty, Freddie, Gabi, and Phil also were.

"Father..." Kiara called once she saw Simba in the distance until she realized he was hurt. "Father! Zazu, get help!" she then cried out and ordered the hornbill.

"Oh, yes! Help... at once! Of course!" Zazu replied before flying off.

"Whoa... Lil... What happened?" Phil asked his twin sister.

"I don't know, Mike just got hurt while we were ambushed." Lil explained.

"Let me see if I can help," Freddie told his niece. "I've been through things like this before. Gabi, you help too."

"Yes, sir." Gabi nodded in response.

Simba was walking in great pain until Kiara, Timon, and Pumbaa reached him.

"Father...?" Kiara asked out of concern.

"Simba! Talk to me!" Timon called to the current Lion King. "What happened?"

"Kovu... Ambush..." Simba coughed, having a very hard time talking as he breathed painfully before collapsing on his side and groaning in pain.

"No..." Kiara frowned at that.

Timon then grabbed Simba's tail and hugged it as Pumbaa hoisted Simba on his back and they started to drag him back to Pride Rock. Gabi and Freddie soon both moved Mike over to the van while Betty put her hand on Lil's shoulder and Phil even looked grave and concerned for the tomboy who was his sister's girlfriend.

"It's all right, buddy... we're here for you." Timon soothed The Lion King.

Later at the Outlands, the lionesses were gathered in a memorial to Nuka.

"Scar... Great Lion King we've all come to know, love, and respect, watch over Nuka wherever you both are right now," Kisasi soon spoke. "Lil DeVille and Mike Mazinsky will also pay and give Siri the Clouded Leopard the revenge and lifestyle she deserves as she becomes an honorary member of our pride until her conquest is complete."

"Thank you for that, Kisasi," Zira remarked. "You've made me very proud."

"You are very welcome, my Lady Zira," Kisasi replied as he bowed down to her loyally. "I will follow you to the ends of the world."

Zira smiled at that before she noticed Kovu coming by and she glowered at him dangerously. "YOU!" she then sneered at him before swatting Kovu across the face with outstretched claws.}

"AUGH!" Kovu cried out, looking away in pain until he turned his head, glaring at Zira.

Zira instantly recoiled at the sight, shocked; Kovu now had a scar over his left eye just like Scar's until she recovered quickly. "What have you done?" she then demanded menacingly.

"I-I-I didn't mean to... it-it-it wasn't my fault, I..." Kovu stammered nervously until he spoke forcefully. "I did nothing!"

"Exactly! And in doing so, you betrayed your pride... betrayed Scar!" Kisasi retorted as he stood close beside Zira.

"I want nothing more to do with him!" Kovu shouted.

"You cannot escape it!" Zira retorted. "Nuka is dead because of you!"

"No." Kovu frowned.

"You've killed your own brother!" Kisasi snarled.

"NOOO!" Kovu roared as he turned and ran out from among the pride, many of whom were growling and snarling at his departure.

"Shall I go after him, Lady Zira?" Kisasi offered as he looked ready to go if he had to.

"Let him go. Simba has hurt me for the last time... now he's corrupted Kovu!" Zira said, stopping her best spy in The Outlands.

"Letting him go? That sounds beneath you, Lady Zira," Kisasi remarked, sounding unimpressed. "Also what of Siri who wants her ultimate revenge against the DeVille wolf twins?"

"Listen to me... All of you," Zira retorted, speaking to him and now also addressing her pride. "Simba is injured and weak. Now is the time to attack! We will take his entire kingdom... by force!" she then commanded them all.

The Outsiders all snarled and roared in reply.

Mike grunted as she was tossing and turning slightly. From a distance, she could see a dark tunnel with a bright light at the end as a black-haired woman and a redheaded man were shown on the other side of the tunnel, almost looking like they were beckoning to her. She could also see her life playing out such as being born to these people and suddenly, she found herself trapped in a shoe store with a different looking couple, feeling like a miserable child who was pleading to leave the department store while trapped in an ankle deep shoe collection and wanting to go home while claiming that she had been waiting patiently for six hours. She was hungry, she was tired, she missed her cartoons.

She then found herself interested in a foreign exchange program, being told by one Sister Mary Magdalene telling her that it would be a learning experience and ended up on a desert island that would cost her the friendship of her old friends Max and Melissa who left her for another girl named Janine who liked to play squash, but she decided that Lu and Og were better friends anyway. There was also eventually meeting Ed, Edd, and Eddy who became her best friends forever, especially with Eddy's crush on her, then there was meeting Otto Rocket and probably being in love with him instead until Mike decided that she liked other girls and decided to change her whole look which made her quite a heartthrob in Cartoon Network School. Eventually, all of those images faded and she heard echoing voices that sounded more recent calling to her.

"Mike... Mike... Hello? Hello!"

Mike groaned and her eyes slowly opened as she looked up to see Betty and Freddie standing over her. "Betty? Uncle Freddie?" she then murmured at her girlfriend's mother and uncle.

"Aw, thank goodness, Mike! Ya nearly gave me a heart attack!" Betty said to the tomboy as she grabbed her chest. "It's crazy enough I get hot flashes while working at The Java Lava, ya gotta scare your possible future mother-in-law?"

"What happened?" Mike asked wearily. "What's going on? How long have I been out?"

"A couple of hours, but I found some medicine to help heal ya," Freddie told Mike. "You gave us quite a scare. I tried to call someone back home just in case and ended up on the phone with some kid named Antonio."

"Yeah... Antonio... Benito's grandson..." Mike memorized and nodded. "When we visited Mexico and met El Dorado from The Super Friends... They both study medicine and I nearly lost my own life force when we ended up going on the road to El Dorado because... Spanky almost cursed us all," she then explained wearily. "He's dating Clara now."

"El Dorado? Super Friends?" Betty commented and chuckled. "Sounds like you've led quite a life, Mike Mazinsky."

"Tell me about it... I didn't think I was gonna make it, my life flash before my eyes." Mike said as she tried to sit up.

"You're still gonna need some rest, but we're just glad you're back with us," Freddie told Mike. "Phil and Lil were worried sick too."

"Heh... Tell them I'm sorry about that..." Mike chuckled weakly.

"We'll help you outside, but just try to take it easy for a little while... I'm just surprised you and Lil couldn't fully hold your own out there against Zira's pride." Betty suggested.

"Yeah... I don't know what happened either... Thank you so much for helping me though." Mike said to them softly.

"No problem, Mike," Betty smiled. "You're part of the family after all."

Mike smiled back at that as Betty and Freddie soon helped her back up to her feet and escorted her outside of the van. When they made it outside, Phil and Gabi were sitting together while Lil was pacing until they all heard the van doors open which caused Lil to stop walking around in a circle.

"Mike's gonna be just fine, she just needs to take it easy for a little while." Betty soon told them.

The three young teenagers all sighed in relief at that news.

"Hey, guys, what's up?" Mike asked.

"We were gonna go back to Pride Rock to check on Simba, but Lil wanted to wait to see if you were gonna be okay or not." Gabi explained.

"Yeah, she was crying for a while." Phil added.

"I was not crying," Lil glared in defense before she turned away. "...Well, maybe a little bit... But you'd cry too if your girlfriend's life was in danger."

"I just can't believe you didn't use wolf strength or anything like that to help out." Phil remarked.

"Yeah... I don't know what happened there... It's like we just couldn't channel our inner wolves somehow... It was weird." Mike frowned.

"We'll worry about that later, kids," Freddie advised them. "We better go to Pride Rock and check on Simba."

"Thanks, Freddie... He's an old friend of mine after all." Mike nodded.

Meanwhile, in Pride Rock, Simba was soon waking up and found that he was surrounded by friends and family and luckily didn't die from the pain and horror he was forced to go through from Zira and the Outlanders.

"Daddy... it can't be true." Kiara sadly spoke to her father.

Down to the valley, all of the animals were gathered around until they saw a certain someone coming by the Pridelands.

"It's Kovu. What's he doing here?" A cheetah spoke up.

"That's Kovu." A giraffe added.

"Look at that scar... I can't believe he's here. That's Kovu?" The animals all spoke together.

"Kovu!" Kiara smiled as she was about to go to him only for Simba to snarl and jump forward, cutting her off.

Kovu then approached down the narrow aisle between the congregated animals.

"I never trusted him... It's the Outsider... it's that little troublemaker..." The animals whispered to each other.

"Why I oughtta... let me at 'im! Let me at 'im!" Timon glared before he looked at Pumbaa, giving his warthog friend his tail. "Here; hold me back."

"Okay!" Pumbaa replied as he held Timon's tail.

"Let me at 'im! Let me at 'im!" Timon glared and yelled out as he was about to run toward Kovu only to be held back by his tail.

"Okay!" Pumbaa then said, letting go of Timon's tail suddenly.

Timon then fell forward before glaring back at Pumbaa slightly. "I think you're missing the basic point here." he then told his best friend.

"Uh..." Pumbaa paused, looking and sounding confused.

Soon, Mike and the DeVille family made it over to the Pridelands just as Kovu kept going toward Pride Rock.

"Kovu? What's he doing here?" Mike wondered.

"He doesn't belong here." Betty huffed.

"Just look at that scar on his face." Freddie added.

"Just like Scar..." Mike muttered and frowned wearily.

"Why have you come back?" Simba glared at Kovu.

"Simba... I had nothing to do with-" Kovu tried to explain.

"You don't belong here." Simba interrupted sternly.

"Please... I ask your forgiveness." Kovu begged.

"Daddy, please... listen to him!" Kiara added as she pleaded with her father.

"Silence!" Simba snarled at Kiara before he looked back at Kovu again. "When you first came here, you asked for judgment..." he then started to say.

"Give him what he deserves!" The animals jeered.

"...And I pass it now." Simba then continued.

"Kick him out! That's right! Judgment day is here!" The animals jeered.

"EXILE!" Simba soon roared to Kovu.

"NO!" Kiara and Mike cried out together.

"Mike, he attacked you and Simba." Phil reminded the tomboy.

"No... I just... No..." Mike frowned as she didn't want to think of Kovu as a bad guy after she took the time to get to know him.

"Exile him! Exile! Exile!" The animals continued to jeer.

"No! ...Kovu!" Kiara cried out and frowned.

And just like that, Kovu was driven from Pride Rock at horn point as the animals highlighted his painful experience.

"Born in grief, Raised in hate, Helpless to defy his fate, Let him run, Let him live, But do not forget what we cannot forgive, And he is not one of us, He has never been one of us, He is not part of us, Not our kind~" The Pridelanders sang as Kovu was hounded from them and he looked in the pool to see his reflection changed into Scar, causing him to run away even more. "Someone once lied to us, Now we're not so blind, For we knew he would do what he's done, And we know that he'll never be one of us~"

Kovu soon wandered into the desert as Kiara was weeping and Simba was turning away. Rafiki was even watching Kovu leave from a distance while Betty, Freddie, Gabi, and Phil looked firm as well, but Mike and Lil didn't seem to react the same way as they were in emotional pain just like Kiara right now.

"Man, Mike... What are we gonna do now?" Lil frowned.

"I don't know, Lil... I don't know..." Mike frowned back. "Zira is getting too dangerous and out of hand... Maybe we should just go home."