Review Replies:

louie-fly and airezi: here you go; enjoy!

troy wong: thanks so much! ...I'm a nerd when it comes to vocabulary, but that's the way it is.

OK guys, troy wong got me thinking: I've got a few stories going on at once right now and I've got tons of homework this year. So, here's a request for a beta! If anybody's interested, my email's on my profile page!

Chapter 2 – Stormy Night

Nala was too frightened to sleep. Scar had chased them all from the cave and taken it for himself. They had never slept out in the grass before, and to Nala it was all a perilous nightmare. The soft, rustling blades now seemed to conceal some unknown horror. Hyenas chased unsuspecting zebras and antelope across the plain, yipping in unsettling, insane tones.

The pride decided to sleep together, in case the hyenas came to attack while they slept. Nala curled up beside her mother, snuggling lower as rain began to fall. She drifted off to sleep, unconsciously feeling that she had been moved under cover of foliage. She involuntarily shook the water from her light tan fur and collapsed again.

Now Nala's dreams were filled with horrific images of Simba's death. She heard him in her mind crying out to her, desperate for help… "Nala, help me! I can't hold on! Don't let me fall! NALA!" She woke in a cold sweat, whimpering piteously.

"Hey, shut up!" came a voice through the dark. She started, seeing two glowing yellow eyes. They came nearer, and Nala made out the form of a hyena. Recognizing him, she snuggled closer to her mother. Maybe he won't remember me…

Too late. He crept between the sleeping bodies with surprising agility and rolled her over.

"You, is it?"

She was too petrified to even scream. He continued, a laugh playing behind his words: "I remember you. You trespassed, with that cocky little 'future king'… Yeah, that was it."

His eyes flickered at a sudden thought. Without so much as a warning, he snapped at her, startling her to her feet. Nala shuddered – the rain chilled everything, even though it was summer. Banzai noticed this.

"Afraid to go out in the rain, are we? Afraid to get wet? Well, tough."

Snarling, he chased her out from beneath the large baobab tree.

Nala was faintly aware of the extra adrenaline fear gave her. Hearing Banzai's pounding footsteps behind her, she tried to put on speed and tripped over a protruding root. Teeth instantly clamped on her tail, dragging her viciously to her feet again. Blindly Nala raced to Pride Rock, forgetting for the moment its present occupant.

She dashed into the cave and collapsed. The darkness didn't frighten her until his voice floated out from the shadows.

"Well, I certainly wasn't expecting to have to kill it myself."

Nala leapt to her feet, and it occurred to her that he thought she was his dinner. His eyes glowed green in the infinite blackness and Nala stumbled backward. Lightning illuminated the cave as Banzai staggered in. Scar stopped dead, staring at Nala. He rounded on the hyena.

"I said dinner, not a cub!"

Banzai smirked. "Boss, don't you remember? She came with Simba a few days ago. Simba's dead, but she's still here. And we never got nothin' to eat."

Scar considered him for a moment, then looked down at Nala. The intensity of his eyes made it seem like he was looking through her, and Nala shivered. She wished Simba were here; he wouldn't let anything happen to her.

Nala stiffened as Scar flexed his claws in the dust. He ran a paw over her from head to tail as if trying to calm her fears.

She stared up at him, waiting to hear him give Banzai permission to eat her. His eyes hardened, and he said in a dark, rough tone: "She would not be a meal to you, she is too thin. Take her back to the pride and don't let them see you."

He shook his mane and stalked back into the shadows.

Banzai shot a greedy, contemptuous glance at Nala before snapping at her heels again.

Nala made to leap from the wet rock but slipped, tumbling from the ledge and falling unconscious in the grass…

Review please! And if you ever get bored with this story, feel free to check out my Phantom of the Opera fics!