DarkEcoOttsel: Chapter 2's here! Thank you for reviewing! This chappie contains a HUGE surprise that many of you fans may like. Enjoy!

Untainted Souls 3: Back to the Outlands

By: DarkEcoOttsel

Chapter Two

Later that night, the rain had stopped and it had cleared up, just as Banzai said. And that night, Shenzi and Banzai went out for a romantic evening, just as Shenzi said.

"Man, that was great!" Banzai laughed, ignoring the mud dripping down his body.

"Yeah! We should have mud fights more often!" Shenzi snickered, trying to get the mud out of her bangs. "Ugh...I need to wash off before these harden into horns. That would be pretty cool, but it's not me."

"Heh. Hey, there's a pond." Banzai pointed to a large pond just ahead. They quickly washed off and got out of the cold water.

"Look at the sky," Shenzi said, staring up at the cloudless sky. "Have you ever seen anything so beautiful?"

"Yeah," Banzai said, coming up beside her and looking at her. "And I'm standing with her right now."

Shenzi looked back at him and smiled. "Shucks, I'm blushing. You know, Banzai, you can be real romantic when you're not complaining about food or covered in mud."

"Really. Well, how romantic can you be?"

Shenzi smirked and nuzzled Banzai. She whispered in his ear, "I'd show you, but this fic has to stay rated PG." (A/N: That came outta no where.)

"Oh." Banzai smiled widely. "Well, uh, wanna go for a walk?"

"Sure, I'm game," Shenzi agreed.

Together they walked around in the tall grass, just admiring the scenery. The grasslands and hills stood before the huge eastern mountains.

Fireflies burst forth from the grass as the two hyenas ran through it. Banzai laughed happily as he lied back against the cool grass, staring at the fireflies as they drifted around them. Shenzi sat down beside him.

"Doesn't it remind you of home?" Banzai asked quietly.

"Home? You mean the mountains?" Shenzi shrugged as she fell back onto her back as well.

"No, I meant the Outlands." Banzai turned his head to look at her. "Remember how many fireflies would float around? It looked like it was raining stars."

"Yeah." Shenzi smiled a little. "Too bad we can't go back."

"Wha—why not?" Banzai asked her. "I mean, it's been half a year."

"We just can't, okay?" Shenzi rolled over, facing away from him.

"I you ask me, you're scared," Banzai muttered, looking back up at the sky.

"What?" Shenzi quickly rolled over to face him. "Scared? Me?"

"You act tough, but I know otherwise." Banzai turned his head and stared at her.

"Oh, really?" Shenzi snorted.

"Yeah. We've been friends forever and I know when you're scared."

"Feh."

"Shenzi, it's okay to be scared sometimes." Banzai rolled over to face her. "I love you and we shouldn't keep secrets from each other."

"I know...I love you, too," Shenzi said quietly. She looked at him and sighed. "Alright, if you gotta know...I am scared. I'm scared to go back to the Outlands."

"Why?" Banzai asked softly.

"I-it's just that once we go back, I'll have to rule over the Outlands and everyone else."

Banzai could hear the uncertainty in her voice. He said, "Well, you seem to have no trouble taking charge of everyone. Everyone respects you as alpha female."

"Yeah, but there's still the matter of Zira," Shenzi stated. "What if she's still in the Outlands?"

"If she's still there, we'll kick her ass." Banzai smiled.

Shenzi looked tired and thoughtful at the same time.

"You know me and Ed will be there for ya," Banzai said with a small grin.

Shenzi smiled as well as she snuggled closer to Banzai. The two fell asleep under the stars that night and couldn't help but dream of a better future.

&&&

The next day, Shenzi and Banzai called a meeting. Actually, since the rest of the clan was sleeping, it was just with Ed and Pyro.

"What?! You mean we might be able to go home?!" Pyro exclaimed. She had been very little when Scar took over, but she still remembered the Outlands vividly.

"Shut it!" Shenzi whispered. "We're not sure yet."

"What do ya mean?" Ed asked.

"Well, there are different choices," Banzai said. "And hazards. We'll have to go through the Pride Lands to get home if we choose to go back to the Outlands."

"What are our other choices?" Pyro asked in a quieter tone.

"Yeah," Ed said.

"Okay, it's like this: no matter what we do, we can't go in the Pride Lands," Banzai replied.

"Why?" Pyro asked.

"Hell-o! The lions hate us!" Banzai stated. "If we set one paw on their land, they'd kill us."

"Oh."

"Anyway, from what I hear, no one wants to stay here," Banzai continued.

"Yeah," Pyro agreed. "Everyone hates the sucky weather and the rocks. We wanna be anywhere but here."

"Right, so do I." Banzai nodded. "So here's what we could do: we could always go back to the Outlands, but we dunno if Zira's still around."

"Ooh, that could be trouble." Pyro winced. She brightened and said, "Well, what about moving farther east? Y'know, past the mountains?"

"That's a good idea." Banzai smiled and nodded.

"How about goin' west?" Ed suggested.

"We'd have to go through the Pride Lands." Pyro shook her head.

"We could always go around." Banzai pointed out.

"It would take much longer," Pyro said with a sigh.

"We'd have to go around to get back to the Outlands anyway," Banzai stated.

"Well, ask Shenzi," Ed told them. "She's alpha."

Everyone turned to Shenzi.

"Well, what do ya think, Shenzi?" Banzai asked her.

Shenzi, who had zoned out for most of the conversation, blinked and said absentmindedly:

"I think I'm pregnant."