I don't own any canon characters.
"What's taking him so long," Vitani asked, more for voicing her irritation than getting answer, "surely he's got him by now." She glanced at the storm clouds, and wondered if the rain or the Pridelanders would get to them first.
"Patience, Vitani," Zira said, "Kovu will not fail, this time." A this she shot Nuka a fierce glare, causing him to flinch, and look away.
There was a commotion in the grass at the edge of the clearing, and one of the lionesses who'd been acting as scouts came over to Zira. "They're coming," she reported, "all of them."
"Then Kovu didn't manage to separate Simba off," Zira asked, mildly annoyed at the news.
"Er, no," the scout replied, wondering how to phrase the next part of the report, "and there's more."
"How much more," Zira asked.
"Kovu's with them," the scout replied, then wished she hadn't.
"He's what," Zira hissed, advancing on the scout, "what do you mean, he's with them?"
"Kovu is walking alongside Simba," the scout replied, cringing slightly, "talking to him." Zira rumbled angrily, and turned away from the scout, who then made an effort to distance herself from the angry queen.
"So Kovu has betrayed us after all," Zira said, "well, he will be punished for it."
"I told you he would," Vitani said, "I..." She was cut short, when Zira let out a low roar, specifically at her, causing her to back away. As soon as the queen was distracted for a moment, she made her way over to Nuka, and said, "I told you he'd do this."
"So the termite's betrayed us," Nuka grumbled, "some king he turned out to be."
"Yeah," Vitani said, then glanced around, "but we outnumber them, even with Kovu on their side." Not that that was as big an advantage as it first seemed, she thought, not when Simba was larger than any lioness, and the only lion they could be sure of now was Nuka.
And why had Kovu betrayed them, Vitani found herself wondering. Sure, he'd always been more caring than most of the others, which was especially hard to keep up with Zira's ruthless routine, but that shouldn't have been nearly enough...
"They're here," said one of the sentries. Startled out of her though, Vitani took her place at Zira's flank, as did Nuka, the other side of their mother. The rest of the Outlanders likewise lined up, and just in time, as the Pridelanders emerged from the grass.
Kovu surveyed the Outlanders, then turned to Zira, and said, "you don't seem surprised to see me."
"I'm not," Zira replied coldly, "but I want to know this, why have you betrayed me, betrayed us?"
"Betrayed you," Kovu asked, apparently affronted, "I think not."
"Then how do you explain siding with the enemy," Zira asked, the last few words, almost a growl.
"The enemy," Kovu asked, appearing confused, before brightening up, "how do I know they're the enemy?"
Zira spluttered for a moment, before replying, "what have I always taught you about the Pridelanders?"
"You taught me a lot about the Pridelanders," Kovu replied, "but I've recently started to question some of it."
"What," Zira asked in a hiss, "why?"
"A few reasons," Kovu replied, "they treated me a lot better than you ever did."
"I treated you the way I did because I loved you," Zira said, "if they treated you any better it was because they were trying to corrupt you."
"Really," Kovu asked, "well, given that they treated me a lot better than you ever did, even before Simba trusted me, I'm not so sure you loved me any more than you loved the thought of revenge."
"Why, you..." Zira started to say, then cut it off. Getting herself under control, she asked coldly, "so you'd side with a murderer?"
"A murderer," Kovu asked, "I don't know what you're talking about."
"Don't play games with me Kovu," Zira warned.
"I'm not playing games," Kovu replied.
"They why are you going against us," Zira asked, "why are you betraying us."
"I'm not betraying you," Kovu replied, "or at least, no more than you've ever betrayed me."
"I..." Zira was struck speechless for a moment, "I've never betrayed you."
"You always told me Simba killed Scar," Kovu said in reply, "before, I always believed you, now, I'm not so sure."
"He killed him," Zira said, her voice rising, "he is a murderer." It was apparently just coincidence, but at this point, it started to rain lightly, then gradually got harder.
"Strange," Kovu said, "he told me it was the hyenas that killed Scar."
"The hyenas finished him off," Zira said, "but it was Simba who struck the killing blow." Though the admission hadn't been big to her, several of her lionesses were somewhat more tentative because of it.
"And another thing," Kovu said, "you never explained to me how Scar became a king."
"What do you mean, how he became king," Zira asked, perplexed, "he was a king."
"So you don't know how Scar became a king then," Kovu asked.
"I do," Zira replied, obviously confused, "his older brother was king, but got killed in a stampede." She then shifter her gaze to Simba, and it hardened, "as you were, supposedly."
"Yes, Mufasa was killed in a stampede," Kovu said, "but his death wasn't an accident."
"I think you'll find it was," Zira said, "the fool tried to climb a section that was too steep for him."
"As may be," Kovu replied, "but it wasn't an accident, not when Scar actually admitted it, admitted to murdering his own brother."
Both Prides were silent for several moments, Then Zira said, "No, Scar would never do such a thing."
"He did," Kovu replied, "he admitted in front of every lioness present, which, I might add, includes several of the lionesses who followed you into exile."
Zira looked stunned at what Kovu had just told her. Silence fell over the prides, being broken only by soft breathing, the patter of the rain, and the rumble as the gorge slowly became a raging torrent. Slowly, her expression faded into hatred. She turned to Simba and hissed, "what have you said to him, what lies have you told him?"
"I don't tell lies, Zira," Simba replied.
"You know something else," Kovu asked, "I'm not sure you're any better than Scar was, especially the way you treat Vitani and Nuk..."
Nuka had been listening to all of this, his anger rising. Scar, as far as he could remember, had been a wonderful father, and here was this upstart, accusing him of being a murderer. Worse, he was accusing Zira, his mother of being as bad. Unable to take it any longer, he shouted, "you're dead, termite," and charged.