Author's notes: Well I'm pleased to announce another chapter! Man this story is turning out to be very long. A lot longer than I'd ever have guessed when I got started. To be exact, 172 pages on Microsoft word Font Arial size 12. Not bad eh?

Well, once again I'm very grateful for the reviews. It's gratifying to know people are still interested. Please read and review and let me know what you think, I'm really beginning to enjoy where the fic is going myself now, hehehe. I'm also very interested in everyone's predictions :P

Oh, and by the way, it might seem from this chapter like I'm not fond of reptiles. The exact opposite is true: I love them. The crocodile is my favourite animal, even more so than the hyena, and I have my own pet royal python. Just so nobody accuses me of anything, hehehe.

Character list:

Simba – Adult male lion, King of the Pride Lands

Nala – Adult lioness, Queen of the Pride Lands, wife of Simba

Kiara – Adult lioness, Princess of the Pride Lands, hunting party leader

Kovu – Adult lion, Prince Regent of the Pride Lands, husband of Kiara

Vitani – Adult lioness, half-sister of Kovu

Amaryllis – Adult lioness, foster mother of Amabi, former loner, wanderer

Nadhari – Adult lioness, mother of Alyssa and Kelt

Sharhal – Adult lioness, a member of Kiara's hunting party

Aetti – Adult lioness, a member of Kiara's hunting party

Tumai – Adult male lion, competitive, aggressive, mocking

Juvi – Adult male lion, quiet, thoughtful young male

Salama – Adult male lion, old and wise but not as wise as he thinks, condescending

Lokanneoro – Adult male lion, Tenzer's father, veteran survivor, powerful

Maradi – Adult male lion, attractive and pleased with his appearance

Haya – Adult male lion, young, curious about the world

Tenzer – Half grown male lion, loner, quiet character but gentle with cubs

Ryana – Half-grown lioness, talkative and besotted with Tenzer

Amabi – Male lion cub, adopted son of Amaryllis, cheeky, inquisitive cub

Alyssa – Lioness cub, daughter of Nadhari, more reserved and careful cub

Kelt – Male lion cub, son of Nadhari, slightly insecure cub

Zazu – Adult hornbill, Simba's majordomo

Timon – Adult meerkat, Simba's friend

Pumbaa – Adult warthog, Simba's friend

Rafiki – Adult baboon- Simba's friend, shaman and advisor

Shenzi – Adult female hyena, leader of Graveyard Clan

Banzai – Adult male hyena, leader of Graveyard Clan

Ed – Adult male hyena, leader of Graveyard Clan

Ridikill – Adult male hyena, hunting pack leader, extremely aggressive and antisocial

Burudi – Adult male hyena, scarred face, Ridikill's 'lieutenant', less vicious, member of Ridikill's pack

Groco – Adult male hyena, weakling, low-ranking scout trying to improve his social standing, member of Ridikill's pack

Agiza – Adult female hyena, hunting pack leader, one of Shenzi's favoured, high-ranking

Sarkil – Adult female hyena, sarcastic huntress, member of Ridikill's hunting pack

Kapungu – Adult male hyena, fearsome hunter with a lust for blood, member of Ridikill's pack

Babaka – Adult male hyena, always hungry, member of Ridikill's pack

Shungi – Adult female hyena, rookie leader of small hunting pack

Cauron – Adult female hyena, currently heavily pregnant

Mali – Adult male leopard

Mamacala – Adult male crocodile

Kachero – Adult male rock python

Oocheva – Adult male plover bird

At Pride Rock most of the adults of the lion pride had gathered around after the commotion of Amaryllis' scrap with Vitani. Vitani herself was hidden away in her cave, tended to by Kovu and Kiara. Amaryllis hadn't returned since she ran off.

"I don't understand it", one of the lionesses was saying, "It's not like Amaryllis. She's never been violent".

"She's stressed and upset", Nala replied, "Vitani had been giving her a hard time, as far as I can tell".

"I don't blame her", Maradi the male grunted, "Amaryllis was responsible for the negotiations going so well for the hyenas last night. Good for Vitani, I say".

Simba turned and glared at the vain young male, "No, I was responsible for the negotiations going so well last night. If you're unhappy with the negotiations, direct your problems at me, not Amaryllis".

Kovu and Kiara reappeared suddenly, trotting back down the rocky path. Kovu looked around at the other lions.

"Vitani's fine", he said, "No real injuries, just some scratches. Her pride's hurt more than anything else. She wants to be left alone for a while".

"Aren't you angry, Kovu?" Salama said slowly, "Your own sister assaulted on Pride Rock because she spoke out against the biggest injustice the Pride Lands has suffered in recent years. Doesn't that leave a bad taste in your mouth?"

Simba growled under his breath. The gathering of lions was agitated and still sore about the result of the negotiations. They kept dropping not-so-subtle hints about how negatively they felt about the hyenas being allowed into the Pride Lands. It seemed to Simba as if they were working their way up towards openly verbally attacking him.

"First of all, Vitani's my half-sister", Kovu was saying to Salama, "And it's not my place to go criticizing anyone or anything right now".

"But surely…"

"I'm not in the mood to be used as a tool for you to attack King Simba with. Leave me out of this", the angry, powerful young lion snarled.

Simba nearly smiled. Kovu was dependable as usual.

"We don't need any tools", Tumai spat suddenly, and there was a wild look in his eyes, "If you want us to direct your complaints at you, 'mighty King Simba', fine. We will. We're furious that you gave the hyenas access to the Pride Lands".

Simba looked at the other lion, then sighed and said, "Fine. Continue".

Tumai hopped off his rocky perch and walked towards the King, "What you've done is doomed this pride to hard times, at best. Utter devastation, at worst. You've let a huge population of our natural enemies make their home in our hunting lands. How can you possible expect any good to come out of this?"

There was scattered murmurs of approval and nodding of heads from the assembled group. Simba recognized that they were looking for an outlet for them to vent the frustration they'd felt since the day before on, and as their King and the one who'd made the fateful decision, Simba had a responsibility to take the full force of their anger.

"The last time hyenas were allowed into the Pride Lands we all nearly starved to death", one lioness called out.

"Exactly", Tumai looked Simba in the eyes: he was uncomfortably close now, "So what you've done is let yourself be sweet-talked into allowing the hyenas to siege us on Pride Rock. Do you think hunting parties are going to be safe now? Or the cubs?"

"The hyenas will respect my rule. I told them that and they agreed to it", Simba answered.

"Yeah, and what else did you say? That the treaty was 'not a declaration of peace'? And that 'we all still have the rights to interact as rival predators'? That was it, wasn't it?"

"Yes", Simba said, "But what's wrong with that? It means we will have a healthy, natural relationship with the hyenas, as we do with the leopards and cheetahs. We won't be forced into direct co-operation with them. I thought that would please all of you".

"You fool!" Tumai hissed, and there were gasps from the crowd at hearing someone so directly insulting the King, "'Interact as rival predators'? What you've done, in effect, is give the hyenas licence to invade our lands, steal our food and kill our cubs!"

There were roars of outrage and much yammering and arguing. Simba felt like he'd taken a blow to the face. He hadn't looked on the treaty that way. He thought his pride would be pleased that they could at least drive the hyenas away when they saw them. It hadn't occurred to him it could work the opposite way, and so drastically.

The shouting and arguing rose and rose, until Nala raised her voice and called out, "Quiet! Quiet! The cubs will hear!"

The pride quickly quietened down: with a few exceptions, they had no desire to alarm the cubs.

"I think we're all overreacting", Nala said soothingly, "If there's one thing we learned last night it's that hyenas are just predators too, not monsters. They're not going to destroy the Pride Lands".

Zazu the hornbill suddenly landed with a crash in front of her, startling everyone. He was breathing hard and looked exhausted. He turned to Simba.

"Sire!" Zazu gasped, struggling to regain his breath.

"Zazu? What's wrong?" Simba asked.

"It's…it's the hyenas, sire. They attacked the wildebeest herd this morning! It was a massacre! I've just visited the site of the killing myself. According to my sources they lost fourteen herd members!"

Silence struck once again. Next to Simba, Nala shuffled awkwardly. Zazu surveyed the lions, looking back and forth between them.

"Sorry, did that come at a bad time?" he asked.

"No, on the contrary, that was brilliant timing", Tumai sneered suddenly, "Fourteen dead wildebeest within a few hours of them being allowed into the Pride Lands? That doesn't sound like the work of predators to me, but monsters".

Simba tried to defend himself, "No, listen, obviously they were going to start off by satisfying their collective hunger, but in time…"

Nobody listened. Disgusted, the lions turned away and went grumbling back to their individual caves and dens. There was no mistaking the looks in their eyes. They looked angry, betrayed and some were even mutinous.

Ridikill walked away from his unexpected meeting with Amaryllis the lioness. He began to turn south, back towards the hyena clan, but then changed his mind and went southwest, towards the river.

He stormed on alone with a scowl on his face, but when he was sure he was alone and nobody could see him, he dropped the snarl and instead looked deep in thought. He was vexed by the lioness and her almost…friendly behaviour towards him. Ridikill wasn't used to it from his own kind, let alone his worst enemies. Why was she so tolerant of him, and even forgiving? It was beyond his understanding.

What was also beyond his understanding was how it made him feel. He didn't really feel angry, despite the flare of rage he had shown to Amaryllis. That had just been to mask his confusion and stop him from looking silly and weak. But why didn't he feel angry?

He felt more…curious than anything else. He wanted to know why she was so tolerant of him despite the obvious contempt he tried to display towards her. And not the reasons that she had given him; all that about him actually being 'not evil' and all that, but why she, out of all the creatures he had met in his lifetime, had analyzed his behaviour and concluded he wasn't a bad individual. And indeed why she had felt inclined to spend time around him at all.

If Ridikill was more honest with himself, he would have admitted that he wanted to know more about her. And if he was brutally honest, he would have turned about, headed back for the waterhole and talked to her.

But Ridikill didn't have the courage to admit to these facts and so he went seeking the only other source of answers there was for him. Mamacala the crocodile.

After three hours of silent wandering, passing occasional lone herbivores or entire herds, he saw the stretch of river where he most commonly met Mamacala. He approached, passing under a low acacia tree. As he did, he nearly stepped on a giant rock python that was coiled up into a tight ball, almost invisible despite its great size thanks to the camouflage its mottled hide gave it among the fallen branches.

The python didn't move or speak or hiss when Ridikill so nearly stepped on it. It gave no indication it was alive at all, but Ridikill knew from his experience with reptiles it was. He studied the giant snake for a moment, wondering how big it really was when it uncoiled itself, then realized he had better be moving on when he concluded the python might actually be big enough to cause trouble. He trotted away without saying a word to the snake.

Kachero watched him go silently, then when the hyena had descended the slope of the river bank noiselessly slid up the acacia tree and slipped into one of the strongest boughs. From his vantage point he had a clear view of the hyena.

Ridikill usually had to wait quite some time for Mamacala to appear: after all, the two never made any arrangements to meet and the crocodile had the entire length of the river as his domain to wander. But today the hyena saw Mamacala lying on the bank before him, as still as the python he had just met. The giant crocodile lay there with his mouth open, sunning himself. His incredible length dominated the sandbar: he looked more like a fallen great tree than an animal. His eyes were closed as Ridikill approached to just outside striking range and sat down.

Without opening his eyes the crocodile rasped in his deep but scratchy voice, "Ridikill. To what do I owe this pleasure?"

"Just to my desire to see you, O Lord of the Rivers".

"We went through this routine last time we met, Ridikill. You never seek me out unless you want something. Last time you wanted to hear an old croc's war stories. What is it this time?"

"You make it sound like I never do anything for you", Ridikill leered: this kind of banter and Mamacala's meticulous way of talking had already rekindled his momentarily quashed villainous side, "Last time I also informed you of affairs in the Pride Lands".

"Ah yes. There has been big changes, has there not? Your kind is allowed in the Pride Lands"

"Word travels fast", Ridikill grunted in surprise: Mamacala usually appeared to be in the dark about such issues for quite some time. The hyena had been looking forward to telling the crocodile.

"Oh, I hear snippets of news now and then", the crocodile explained: what he didn't mention was that he had known almost immediately after the negotiations had closed thanks to his network of spies, and that in fact he had ordered his spies to spread the word throughout the Pride Lands. It was thanks to him that the news had spread so fast.

"So, you're officially a citizen of the Pride Lands now, eh?" Mamacala said, "You must be thrilled".

"Elated", the hyena sneered, "Well, at least the food's good. The clan gorged itself this morning. Quite a few kills".

The crocodile still hadn't opened his eyes once, "Well at any rate we shall see how the residence of the hyenas in the Pride Lands goes. In the meantime: what do you want then? Out with it".

"Well, if you insist", the hyena paused and licked his chops, suddenly feeling a little uneasy again, "There's um…well, this ain't an easy thing for me to talk about. But…um…"

He hesitated. What was he going to say? That he'd met a female lion who'd made him wonder about his own morals? That was a bit much to say all at once. He decided to start slowly.

"Well…I'm a bit…confused. I've met this…person…"

Mamacala might have been patient when hunting but he was not so tolerant when it came to conversation, "Yes, and?"

"Uhm…err…well…it's a different kind of person", Ridikill wasn't about to say that she was a lioness, that wouldn't look good for the self-proclaimed lion-hater, "She's a…female".

Mamacala didn't like the way this conversation was going, "And?" He was preparing to reprimand the hyena for seeking a female companion, because that was the biggest weakness a creature could have. Ridikill, who had been a loner for most of his life, was so naïve in such matters that the hyena was probably a little confused.

Ridikill stuttered on, "Err…well…there's a few things I don't understand. She's...well…different from me".

Mamacala's eyes shot open. Exactly how naïve was Ridikill?

"And I'm a little confused", the hyena said, head lowered and brow furrowed, "You see, what I don't get is…"

"Stop right there, Ridikill", the crocodile ordered, "If you're undergoing biological urges then I suggest you don't fill me in on the gory details. And if you want companionship from a female, then I insist you don't proceed down that line of thought. If you want to…pass on your genes then by all means go ahead, assuming you know how. But do not become emotionally attached, or…"

"What?! No, that's not what I'm talking about!" Ridikill was so horrified by Mamacala's own version of the 'birds and the bees' talk that he dared to interrupt, "I know all about that! That ain't what I'm talking about!"

"Oh. Praise the rains", Mamacala said, relieved, "Then what are you talking about, you annoying little creature?"

"Right, let's see how I can explain", the hyena was still a little disgusted with what Mamacala had been saying, "Okay. Well, I ran into this…well…okay, she's a lioness".

Without missing a beat Mamacala rumbled, "I thought you hated lions".

"I know, I do. But I got talking to her. And she says she doesn't think I'm…well you know…evil".

"And why did you listen to her?"

"I'm not exactly sure. I guess because she seemed kinda reasonable. Tolerant. Like, she refused to be provoked. I ain't met nobody like that before".

"I see".

Silence fell. Ridikill knew Mamacala wasn't pleased. From his perch Kachero watched intently.

At last the crocodile said, "I see what's happened here, Ridikill. And you did the right thing by seeking out my advice".

"Oh?" Ridikill was pleased; the tone of the crocodile's voice wasn't wrathful as he had feared; in fact it was almost kindly.

"Yes. You see, the lions have wisely chosen to spy on their new neighbours. An impulse borne of mistrust. This lioness you have encountered was so tolerant and accepting towards you because she has been ordered to learn more about the hyenas and their way and motives. You fell for their trick, but you were wise to doubt her and search me out".

"Oh", Ridikill said again.

"Don't fall for the lies of the lioness. She has no interest in you. She is trying to trick you. Luckily she chose the wrong hyena to try and manipulate. A lesser, weaker hyena would have trusted her more readily".

Ridikill nodded slowly, "That makes sense".

"Good. Now, is there anything else?"

"Uhm…no, mighty Mamacala".

"Then away with you. You have the herds to terrorize. Go and enjoy yourself, my faithful follower. But stay in contact. I will have need of you soon".

"Need? What could I ever do to help you, Mamacala?"

"You'll see. For now, get you gone".

Ridikill picked himself up and walked away, trotting back up the riverbank. Mamacala watched him go. When he was gone he looked up at the acacia tree at the spying Kachero, and the python shifted in acknowledgement. The crocodile turned about and slid into the river.

Mamacala was a little concerned about the latest development with Ridikill. Of course he had made up the whole 'lion spy' thing to simply make the hyena distrust his new associate. In reality the crocodile suspected Ridikill had simply met a remarkably patient and good-natured creature who was perhaps subtly trying to coax a nicer side of Ridikill out. The hyena, who had never had a kind word said to him in his life, was baffled by it and more than a little curious.

It would not do for Ridikill to strike up a friendship with anyone, lioness or otherwise, especially as Mamacala's plan grew ever nearer to execution. What was required of Ridikill would require the conscience of a murderer, a traitor and a swindler.

Mamacala had raised Ridikill to be all those things, ever since he first found Ridikill wandering alone in the night at a young age. He was Mamacala's favourite protégé. Kachero had asked him the night before why Ridikill was so highly regarded by the crocodile – the answer was simple.

Ridikill was as close to being a reptile as a mammal could be, thanks to the crocodile's tutelage in cruelty and scheming. He was without friends, he was without compassion, he was without sentimental attachments, he was without mercy. In that sense Mamacala had rid him of his mammalian emotional frailty.

But it was also for those emotions that Mamacala favoured Ridikill. Although he reprimanded him whenever he caught him letting his anger run away with him, he actually goaded it on subtly. The hyena's emotions were a curse and also a gift – a gift that was largely denied to reptiles like himself and Kachero. They felt only very shallow husks of emotions compared to what Mamacala understood mammals felt. They felt everything so much deeper.

And that was why Mamacala favoured Ridikill: because he was an inimitable experiment of the crocodile's. The crocodile had nurtured the hyena's anger and rage from a young age, offering guidance but not love to a loveless creature, steering him inevitably towards his fate: to become a near perfect blend of reptilian cruelty and mammalian passion.

Now if only Mamacala could prevent the hyena from getting cold feet at this most critical hour. That wouldn't be too difficult. Mamacala had told him to avoid the lioness, and Ridikill always did as Mamacala told him.

Ridikill wandered away, not really sure where to go. He was thinking about what Mamacala had said, about the lioness being an enemy spy. It seemed logical at first – after all, why else would someone be so tolerant of him?

But the more he thought about it he realized that that wasn't the case. After all, the lioness had first spoken to him well before 'open war' had been declared. And the questions she had asked him had been rather more personal than trying to learn about the clan's movements.

Most importantly, Ridikill just knew it wasn't that. The lioness was genuine. There was no amount of skilful acting that could account for her behaviour. No, she was genuine, Ridikill was certain of that. Or at any rate, she definitely wasn't a lion spy.

That meant that Mamacala was wrong. Mamacala was never wrong. Mamacala was always right. Except in this case he hadn't been. So what did that mean? Was he wrong about other things too?

The thoughts rolled around inside Ridikill's head. He spat ruefully. It was beginning to frustrate him. But one thing occurred to him. If the lioness wasn't a manipulative spy, then Mamacala had been rather hasty to declare that he couldn't speak to her again. If there was no danger involved, then why shouldn't he?

He mentally reproached himself for questioning Mamacala's orders, but then found himself deciding to proceed down that line of thought. He would see the lioness again and find out more about her. He would confirm or disprove Mamacala's 'spy' theory and find out why she was so patient and accepting.

It was evening when Amaryllis crept back into Pride Rock. There was nobody else around. She headed up the slope towards the den of the cubs, where she intended to see Amabi. He was probably asleep. It had suddenly occurred to Amaryllis that running away from Pride Rock without telling Amabi she was going was selfish of her.

After her chance meeting with Ridikill the hyena, she had lied about by the waterhole for about an hour, before picking herself up and wandering around aimlessly, thinking. She had had plenty of time to calm down and think over her actions. She was dreadfully sorry, and hoped Vitani would forgive her. It was difficult enough to overcome the shame.

She turned a corner in the path and nearly bumped right into Vitani. The other lioness scowled, then froze when she saw it was Amaryllis. Several other lionesses were following Vitani.

Amaryllis and Vitani stared at each other for a while, neither shifting. Then at last Vitani relaxed and said, "We're going hunting. You coming?"

Amaryllis smiled in relief. It was Vitani's attempt at a peace offering. It pained her to say, "Sorry, I can't, I need to go look after Amabi".

"Amabi's fine, I told him you probably wouldn't be back until the morning. He's asleep. Tenzer's looking after him".

"Oh, right. Thanks".

"No sweat".

Nobody moved. Eventually Vitani said, "So, you coming or what?"

Amaryllis grinned, "Yeah, I guess I am".

"Let's get going then. Come on, the males are whingeing like cubs. We could use your skills".

The lionesses went on down Pride Rock and out onto the plains. They chatted idly for a while, aware that there was no game nearby to alert. Vitani slipped away from the front of the pack and strode side-by-side with Amaryllis.

"I'm sorry", Amaryllis said: both of them knew what she was referring to.

"Don't be. I should be the one apologizing", Vitani replied, "I got carried away. I didn't mean to get too personal. I'm sorry".

"That's okay. Sorry I hurt you".

"Hurt me?" Vitani laughed, "Oh come on honey, you should know by now that the likes of you could never hurt me".

Amaryllis giggled, "Oh but of course. I suppose you were just acting then?"

"Yup, you got it. Right down to the whole-bleeding thing. I'm very good with details".

The pair laughed for a moment, glad to be friends again, then fell quiet. Amaryllis eventually spoke up.

"Do you really think I'm responsible for the whole hyena thing?"

"Eh, what? No, of course not. I was just being stupid. I felt like I needed someone to blame. Almost like a…a scapegoat".

Amaryllis blinked. That had been exactly what the hyena said. Perhaps he wasn't such a bad judge of character after all.

Vitani said, "But I was wrong to take it out on you. I'm sorry".

"It's okay. Let's just put this behind us, yeah?"

"Yeah. But I'm afraid Amabi knows about it".

"Really?" Amaryllis felt her heart sink.

"Yeah. The entire pride is in a bit of an uproar. There was a bit of a fall-out after you left".

Vitani filled her in on the details of the challenging of King Simba, and the news of the hyena massacre of the wildebeest herd.

When she was finished Amaryllis said to her, "And how do you feel about it?"

"About the hyena thing? Pretty mad, I guess. I feel like we've been let down by Simba. He's been weak-hearted. The hyenas played him like a fool. And bear in mind that I'm a member of the royal family, so it ain't easy for me to say that".

"But what if the hyenas being here turned out to not be so bad? What would you…"

"The hyenas being here can only be bad", Vitani interrupted.

"But just imagine for a second it wasn't. Imagine that hyenas weren't so bad themselves. What would you think of Simba then, for realizing that first?"

Vitani frowned as if she was trying very hard to imagine such a scenario, "I suppose I'd say he was very perceptive. Why, you think hyenas ain't so bad or something?"

"I'm not sure. I guess I'm just saying it's worth giving it a chance".

"Well, we'll see", Amaryllis could tell from Vitani's tone that she didn't agree but was biting her tongue to keep the peace, "Well, if the hyenas ate this morning we shouldn't have any trouble from them while we're hunting", Vitani went on, "You see any earlier?"

Amaryllis paused. Was she about to explain Ridikill to Vitani? Hardly. Vitani would say the hyper-aggressive hyena was just a classic example of the threat they faced. But Amaryllis suspected, from her earlier meeting, that there was another side to the hyena, one that perhaps even Ridikill didn't know existed.

So she just said, "Yeah, I saw one. But he was in the distance – I didn't get a proper look at him".

Banzai sat alone on a hillock overlooking the mooching hyena clan. Night was falling and usually the hyenas would be out in force, hunting, but after their massive meal in the morning nobody felt the need for more food. Yet. It wouldn't take long.

The dog hyena yawned and scratched behind his ear with his hind leg. He was mostly doing this out of habit rather than because of an itch – he had already noticed a big drop in the number of fleas since he had arrived in the Pride Lands. Everything seemed healthier here.

The cool night was pleasant and the hyena sat watching his followers loitering around, sleeping, quarrelling, gossiping, laughing, and playing. Everybody was in high spirits, but Banzai was secretly troubled. He knew that before long it was likely that they'd be evicted from the Pride Lands. The lion pride seemed to object so strongly to their presence there that he was pretty sure they'd kick out their own King before they consented to co-exist any longer with the hyenas.

So while he had access to the Pride Lands, he intended to live life to its fullest. Of course he had a responsibility to take care of the clan but…

It occurred to him how he had changed since the days of Scar's reign. Although he had been clan leader back then as well, these days he took his role of leader more seriously. He usually thought of the clan first, then himself. It was a pain in the butt most of the time, but he realized it was the right thing to do. After all, Scar had been an awful, careless leader, and he had been completely self-absorbed. So to Banzai's logic, the answer to being a good leader lay in the direct opposite of Scar's path.

Ed would have laughed at him and Shenzi would have called him a moron or something like that if they had heard him say these things aloud, but he had to question himself once in a while. He was determined not to screw things up for the guys he cared about. After all, he was a little older and a little wiser now.

There was something else bothering him. Shenzi. He wasn't exactly sure what it was that was bothering him, but there was definitely something. It felt a bit like the balance of power in their relationship had shifted slightly. These days Banzai found himself on the receiving end of actual goddamned compliments from Shenzi, not often but on occasion. That was unheard of until lately. And what's more, Banzai liked it. He didn't know why.

He knew one of the most popular rumours the clan liked to circulate when they were bored was that he and Shenzi were secretly mates, thus explaining why neither of them had ever taken a mate before. Of course that was just a trashy rumour. Banzai knew very well how he felt about Shenzi. She was the most cynical, rude, demanding, obnoxious, know-it-all, pain in the butt best friend he could ever wish for. That was how their relationship stood.

Or was it? Banzai was beginning to get confused by all this heavy-duty thinking. He slumped down on the soft grass and sighed deeply, then said quietly, "Oh man, why am I acting like this?"

"Because you love her", a strange, goofy voice said.

Banzai nearly leapt ten feet straight into the air. He whirled around to see Ed facing him, drooling, eyes crossed and ears twitching.

"Dude! You have totally got to stop sneaking up on people like that!" Banzai exclaimed.

Ed grinned and held his head at an angle. What the oddball had actually said suddenly hit home for Banzai and he was stunned.

"Dude…dude…ya got it all wrong, man. It's nothin' like that. I ain't…um…I wouldn't…err…"

Ed snickered. Banzai, unable to say anything more, scowled and walked off.

Far away from the Pride Lands, Rafiki ambled on, alone and silent. He was heading far west of Simba's realm. He had left no messages and said no goodbyes – he just left unannounced, as he was prone to do. He had a mission now of utmost urgency, but it was many miles or travel and untold miles of searching stretching before him. If he had known the threat posed to the Pride Lands earlier, he would have left long ago. He only hoped now it wasn't too late.

No news had reached his ears yet of how things were going in the Pride Lands, but he knew things were amiss already. Simba's authority was threatened, not from outside the Pride but from within. But neither lion nor hyena was the greatest peril for the future of the Pride Lands.

That came from a sleepless malice, an ancient mind of much cruel wisdom that was rich in the evil arts of deception, preying upon lesser minds and cunning twisting of the thoughts of others. At last, this great evil that had long lain dormant but never actually slept was moving, and though neither had met the other in long years, both Rafiki and Mamacala were very much aware of each other and their doings.

Rafiki had only one hope and it was a faint one. But all of a sudden his care-worn face creased up into warm laughter.

"Oh old Mamacala", he chuckled, "You've told your followers much of yourself, I'm sure, but I bet you never told them how you lost your toes!"