DarkEcoOttsel: Woo, chapter four's here! BeeKay84, there is a reason why Shenzi just says 'she'. See if you can figure out why. Ehehe.... This'll probably be the last time I update for a while cause I'm going on vacation! Don't worry, I'll be back with more chapters! TTFN!

Untainted Souls 3: Back to the Outlands

By: DarkEcoOttsel

Chapter Four

A day passed quickly and news of the hyena's movement reached Pride Rock.

Zazu swooped down and landed in front of Kovu and Simba, who were by the waterhole.

"Good morning, sires." the hornbill bowed.

"Morning, Zazu," Kovu said.

"Anything new?" Simba asked him.

"Yes, actually," Zazu answered, looking rather serious. "Hyenas."

"What?!" Simba exclaimed, now becoming very serious.

"Hyenas?!" Kovu stood up, also becoming serious.

"Yes," Zazu continued. "They're moving back to the Outlands, or so I hear."

"Are they in the Pride Lands?" Simba growled.

"No, they're steering clear of the Pride Lands," Zazu stated. "Should I go rally the lionesses?"

After a long pause, Simba replied, "No. If they're not in the Pride Lands, there's no reason to prosecute—"

"But, Simba, what about all the things they did to you as a cub?" Kovu asked. "From what I hear about 'em, they're murderers!"

"What I was going to say was there's no reason to prosecute yet," Simba said darkly. "Zazu, I want you to keep an eye on them and alert me immediately if they do anything suspicious."

"As you wish, sire," Zazu said.

"Oh, and don't tell anyone else about this," Simba told him as he flew off.

Kovu turned to Simba and asked, "Why aren't we gonna tell anyone?"

"I don't want anyone to worry," Simba stated. "And knowing Kiara, she'd wanna go after them herself."

The two chuckled and continued drinking, unaware of the pare of eyes watching them.

Kiara pouted. She was going to join her father and husband when she stumbled upon their conversation with Zazu. She was kind of mad that she had been made fun of, but she ignored that and quickly ran back to Pride Rock, nearly colliding with Nala.

"Mom!" Kiara gasped.

"Kiara, what's the rush?" Nala asked with a smile. "What's wrong?"

"I heard dad and Kovu talking," Kiara said. "Mom, you can keep a secret, right?"

"What's wrong?" Nala became concerned.

"Hyenas," Kiara stated. "Mom, promise you won't tell anyone."

"Hyenas?" Nala murmured, her eyes widening. "Oh, dear..."

"Mom!"

"Yes, dear, I promise," Nala said quickly. "Where are they?"

"They're heading back to the Outlands."

"Are they in the Pride Lands?"

"No."

"Okay, uh, thanks, Kiara," Nala said. "I need to think alone."

Kiara nodded and left to rejoin her father and Kovu, leaving Nala alone to think.

Hyenas? Nala thought. So they've finally come back. I wonder if (what were their names?) Banzai, Shenzi and Ed are still alive. God, I hope they're smart enough to stay out of the Pride Lands. I hope...

&&&

That night there was another terrible storm that caught the hyenas off guard. They were stuck in an open field with no shelter.

"Shenzi, we should really stop and wait out the storm!" Banzai shouted to her as the wind roared around them.

"You wanna get home or what?" Shenzi shouted back.

"We've walked all day." Ed came up on the other side of Shenzi; his fur drenched. "We need sleep."

"Ed's right, we need to keep our strength up," Banzai said. He blinked and said, "Did I just say, 'Ed's right'? Woah!"

"Well, where do you suppose we should go?" Shenzi snapped irritably. "If you see any dry places in this open field, please don't hesitate to tell me!"

"There!" Ed pointed to a large tree that was just visible a few feet away.

Shenzi turned and was about to alert her clan, but they had already seen the tree and had run ahead. Shenzi, Banzai and Ed ran up and discovered that there were dry spots under the tree— the ground shielded from the rain courtesy of the tree's huge branches. Most of the hyenas had already settled down. Ed quickly settled down and went right to sleep and Banzai and Shenzi snuggled down together.

"Hey, Shenzi?"

"Hmm?"

"What if we can't fix the Outlands? I mean, what if they're going to be dead forever?"

"We can fix them."

"How can you be so sure?" Banzai raised his head up to look at his mate.

"Well," Shenzi took a breath. "I...I believe that if a land is ruled by evil, the land becomes evil itself. Vise versa for good."

"But, if that's true, wouldn't the Outlands stay evil since we've been evil for most of our lives?"

"Oho! That is where you are wrong!"

Shenzi and Banzai yiped and backed up against the tree as Rafiki landed in front of them.

"H-hey." Banzai relaxed a bit. "I know you. You're that monkey that kicked butt at Pride Rock."

"Yeah," Shenzi said, recognizing Rafiki as well. "You used some freaky kung-fu moves on our clan and knocked half of them senseless."

"Do not dwell on the past, but the future," Rafiki said with a smile.

Shenzi gasped and stuttered, "M-my father told me that in a dream. How'd you...?"

"I know many things," Rafiki stated. "I know how long this storm will last, I know that the Pride Lands are less than a mile from here, I know your parents—"

"You knew our parents?" Banzai gasped.

"Nope. I know your parents."

"Uh, I hate to burst your bubble, monkey, but our parents are dead," Shenzi said quietly.

"Scar killed 'em a while ago," Banzai added.

"No..."

"Yeah, right in front of us, too," Banzai argued.

"They're alive!" Rafiki exclaimed. "And I can show them to you!"

"Wha—where are they?" Shenzi asked, very excited.

Rafiki took his two hands and touched the two hyenas on their foreheads with his fingers.

"They live in you," Rafiki said quietly. He took their paws and placed them on top of one another.

Banzai and Shenzi simultaneously blinked slowly. Suddenly, while their eyes were shut, a vision flashed through their minds. They gasped and opened their eyes. They turned to the monkey, but he had vanished.