"Kion, you're bleeding!"

Kion awoke with a start. It was early in the morning, and Jasiri was standing over him.

"Urgh… everything hurts," Kion moaned weakly. He looked down at himself, and realised that he was covered in his own dried blood, which had oozed out of gashes he'd inflicted on himself.

"What happened to you?" she asked.

"I… I don't know," he said. He thought back to the meeting he had with Scar's ghost last night. He wanted more than anything to believe it had been a strange dream, after he had inexplicably fallen asleep in the Outlands, but the gashes all over his body, the pain he felt and the fact that he had passed out in the Outlands all told a different story. But would Jasiri even believe him if he said anything? He pictured the words in his head… I saw the ghost of my great-uncle. He said we were the same, and then he took over my body. Kion would never have believed such a tale, had he not experienced it first hand. Lucky me.

"Come on!" Jasiri said, snapping him out of his daydream. "We have to get you out of the Outlands before Janja and his clan wake up."

"Good idea," Kion said, not sure what he was even supposed to explain to his father.

Just tell him you followed your moronic little friend Jasiri into the Outlands, but that you got into a fight with Janja and his clan that left you badly injured, came an unpleasantly familiar sneering voice in his head.

"Scar?"

Of course it's me.

"What did you do to me?" Kion ignored Jasiri's look of puzzlement. He wanted answers.

I mentioned last night that lacking a body was the downside of being a ghost, didn't I?

"But -"

Think inside your head Kion, I can now read your thoughts. Besides, we don't want Jasiri assuming you've gone off the deep end if she catches you talking to thin air, do we? She'll probably never speak to you again.

Jasiri would never do that, Kion thought.

Scar scoffed at that. Traitorous little hyena that she is, I wouldn't trust a word she says. Although, I am amazed at you, Kion. What would the spirit of my brother say if he found you befriending the very animals that led to his early death?

Kion clenched his paws into fists, furious. How dare he! Kion would never betray his grandfather's memory - or was that what he had been doing all along, by meeting Jasiri in secret despite fraternisation between lions and hyenas being banned in Pride Rock? Kion hated his great-uncle more than anything at this point.

"Kion, what's the matter with you?" Jasiri tapped his shoulder, feeling increasingly worried for the well-being of her friend. She should never have left him alone in the Outlands, and had no idea what possessed her to do so. "Come on, we have to get out of here!"

Yes, Kion, go and follow your hyena friend. I'm not going anywhere. Scar chuckled maliciously.

The two started walking back to the Pridelands, Jasiri looping one paw around Kion's shoulders for support. He was grateful for this, until she broke the awkward silence. "Seriously, what happened?"

"I'm really tired now," Kion said. It wasn't a lie, after what Scar had put him through both mentally and physically, he was exhausted. "I'll tell you after I've been to Rafiki's, he still has to check on my eye anyway."

Jasiri sighed. "Just tell me what he says, OK? I've been quite worried about you lately."

"Don't worry, I'm fine."

"You're covered in your own blood. I wouldn't call that fine."

"Don't argue with me, Jasiri!" Kion roared.

Jasiri flinched back, scared. Kion had never spoken to her like that in all the time that they had been friends.

Kion instantly realised his mistake. "Jasiri - I'm sorry - I didn't mean to shout -"

However, Jasiri was already gone.

LGLGLGLGLGLGLGLGLGLGLGLGLGLG

"Kion! Where were you?" Nala gasped as soon as Kion appeared at the summit of Pride Rock, rushing to lick the dried blood out of his fur.

"I went for a walk to clear my head, and I must have fallen asleep at some point," Kion said. Again, not a complete lie, and certainly closer to the truth than Scar's so-called 'advice' - but he couldn't just say that he had been talking to the ghost of Scar and that he might have been possessed by said ghost. Not only would Simba probably assume he was making stupid excuses, if Scar was still hanging around in his head, he might torture him for it. Last night was a good example of how somehow, Scar still had the power to inflict pain on him despite lacking a body himself.

"But you're covered in blood!" Nala insisted.

"I had a bad dream. I must have clawed and scratched myself while I slept."

Nala narrowed her eyes, and for a second Kion felt both fearful and hopeful that she would discover the truth behind those lies. But all she said was, "Well, I'm glad you're OK now. Go and have breakfast with the other cubs, and your father will take you to see Rafiki."

"OK, Mum," Kion sighed.

Nala licked Kion's mane. "Go ahead now, and don't keep your father waiting."

While Kion tore into his breakfast, Nala privately went to see Simba. "I'm worried about Kion," she said.

"Good morning to you too," he teased.

She rolled her eyes. "I'm serious! There's something bothering him. He was gone until early morning last night, and came back covered in blood. And he's been acting strangely ever since."

Simba frowned. "What could have gotten into him?"

"I'm not sure. But I have a really uneasy feeling about all this."

"I'll see if Rafiki can sort that out as well as his eye. After all, he's… been helping me out for years." Nala knew Simba was referring to after he had returned to Pride Rock, and was constantly plagued by nightmares about his father dying and Scar trying to kill him. While the trauma would never fully dissipate, Rafiki had helped Simba face old wounds he had spent years trying to ignore, and with time and the old monkey's guidance, those wounds began to feel less painful.

"Thank you, Simba." Nala purred, nuzzling him. "I knew I could count on you."