"Imba, calm down." Dalia casts a subtle glance at her winged companion and sees the dread practically written all over the bird's face.

Imba scowls before diving down to fly at Dalia's level. "Calm?" she whispers between gritted teeth. "You want me to be calm? We're visiting Lord Evilness himself, for goodness sake!"

The pair hang near the back of the group of Outsiders, Imba taking furtive peeks around the Outlands. Janja and the vultures are in the front of the group, Janja babbling on and on about an utterly pointless topic for what feels like forever. The group is collectively venturing deeper in to the Outlands, preparing to meet Scar.

"Get a hold of yourself," the lioness reprimands. "You won't be meeting him today, anyway. All you have to do is secure the perimeter with the vultures." She lowers her voice to a whisper. "Make sure you keep an eye out for the Lion Guard's messenger. And make sure the vultures don't catch you doing it."

Imba casts a glance at the vultures, and she frowns remembering their silly songs and rituals. She can practically hear Mzingo belting out the vulture's customary parliamentary anthem, All Hail the Vultures. "Actually, on second thought, I think I'd rather face Scar."

To this, Dalia can only laugh. "They're not that bad, Imba."

The eagle scowls once more. "Speak for yourself."

After a few more minutes of traveling, Mzingo looks down at Imba who is now riding on Dalia's back. "For the love of parliament, dear Imba, you are a bird. So would you kindly get off that lioness' rump and come with us?" He gestures with his wing. "We have arrived."

Imba grumbles something under her breath but takes off nevertheless. Dalia looks up and realizes that they had in fact arrived in front of a volcano. Of course, an undead lion would choose a volcano as his place of dwelling. A normal lair would be far too inconspicuous! She sighs and shakes her head in disbelief before watching Imba and the vultures fly loops around the volcano.

"Keep alert," one vulture says to Imba from the sky.

"Got it," replies Imba, still circling the volcano.

From the ground, Janja turns to the lioness behind him. "C'mon, kid. Don't keep him waiting."

So Dalia steps forward, "Lead the way."


The duo venture into the volcano, Dalia finding the heat more and more unbearable by the second. Janja leads the way, and Dalia can only hope that he doesn't lead them in the wrong path. She's not exactly looking forward to the prospect of accidentally falling into a geyser because of her potentially incompetent tour guide. Eventually, Janja makes his way to a clearing.

From what Dalia can see, there's a rocky walkway that hovers above a lake of lava. As she steps closer, she notices a symbol of a scar through an eye imprinted on to the liquid fire. Out of the corner of her eye, she spots a few multi-colored skinks skirting around the edges of the lake of lava. One small cluster of sph also stationed in the middle of Janja's path.

"Outta the way, skinks," Janja snarls. The hyena makes no attempt to step around the colorful lizards, instead threatening to barrel through them.

The skinks glare at him, but they manage to hold their tongues.

Dalia, on the other paw, leaps over the amphibians and lands on a nearby rock. "You could be a little less of a jerk, you know." She lifts a paw to wipe the sweat off her brow. "They're on our side after all."

"Yeah!" a red skink calls. "Watch where you're stepping, Janja."

Janja shrugs. "If you're clever enough to spy for Scar, you can watch out for me."

The lioness rolls her eyes and strides forward alongside her hyena companion, the two of them approaching the walkway hovering over the fiery lake. Through the smoke, she can make out a cobra slithering about on the walkway overlooking the lava.

The cobra slithers forward to meet Janja and Dalia. "You two are late," Ushari hisses. "I was about to send out the skinks to find you."

Janja narrows his eyes. "Don't go getting your scales in a knot."

"Spare me your sarcasm," the snakes snaps. "And don't keep me waiting again." He glares at Dalia. "That goes to both of you."

Dalia gives the snake a once-over and can only smirk. The creature is a fraction of her size, and despite his venomous fangs, she's fairly confident that Ushari only needs a backhanded swat to send him flying. She ignores him with another roll of the eyes and watches as Janja steps forward and glares at Ushari.

"Back off, Ushari," Janja growls, "You ain't the boss of me."

Ushari looks like he wants to say something to the hyena, but a low grumbling from deep within the earth shuts him up. Then, from within the firey lake, a plume of smoke erupts. Soon, the smoke clears to reveal the fiery ghost of Scar. And he doesn't look happy.

"You're right — I am," Scar snarls. His gaze shifts between the snake and the hyena. "And I have no time for these ridiculous arguments."

Janja looks to the ground and swallows thickly before looking back up. "Sorry, Scar. But he started it!"

Scar growls as Ushari opens his mouth to snap at Janja. "Enough! I didn't call the two of you here to listen to you argue."

"Well, what did you call us for, Scar?" Janja questions, cocking a brow.

The firey lion glances at Dalia, then back at Janja. "The two of you have the honor of carrying out my latest plan. It will bring suffering to the Pridelands and leave them weakened and begging to surrender. You two will take the rest of the hyenas into the Pridelands. Go to the rocky river bank above Hakuna Matata Falls. Wait for the cover of darkness. Then push the rocks into the river and block the water from flowing."

Janja nods. "Got it. Push rocks in river and stop the water." He looks like he's about to turn and leave Scar's presence, but then the hyena knits his brows together in confusion. "Um, how come?"

"Use your brain, why don't you?" Dalia coos with half-lidded eyes. "Tell me, Janja — aren't we in the middle of the Dry Season?"

Janja gives a nod of the head, but his lips turn down in a frown nevertheless. "Yeah, but I don't see how that has anything to do with it—" he cuts off as realization hits him. "Ohhh, I get it now."

Scar cackles malevolently. "The Pridelands are about to get very thirsty. And with thirst will come unrest, desperation, and chaos."

Ushari joins in on the laughter, and Janja chuckles softly as well. Dalia on the other paw sets her mouth into a thin line. The lioness spent quite a bit of time in Hakuna Matata Falls with Imba, and she's fairly familiar with the main river that cuts through the forest. While the river is the primary source of water to the Pridelands, it also provides water to certain areas in the Outlands. In fact, the watering hole in Janja's territory is supplied by that river.

'How can the Outlanders be this blind?' she wonders to herself. 'I mean, it doesn't take a genius to figure out that Scar doesn't actually give two mouse-tails about them.'

Of course, she doesn't voice her concern. Instead, she turns tail and looks back at Janja. "C'mon, Janja, let's go. I don't want to spend another minute in this furnace."

The pair begin to make their way out of the volcano before Scar's voice halts them. "Hold on, Daila. I would like to have a few words with you." He looks to the hyena beside her. "You are dismissed, Janja."

Janja glares at the lioness through narrowed eyes but doesn't make a protest before making his exit.

Dalia manages a straight face and starts walking back towards the ledge. "Yes, Scar?"

He grins. "Dalia, do know why I've been so very welcoming in regards to you and your friend?" Dalia shakes her head. "I recognize potential in you. When you addressed my army, I saw something in you that I don't often come across. You reminded me of a certain lioness I used to know. I believe you can be very beneficial to our cause, little lioness."

"I'm flattered," says Dalia.

Scar gives a nod of acknowledgment. "I have high expectations for you, Dalia." His voice turns icy. "Don't disappoint me."

The lioness barely conceals a shudder. In that moment, Scar sounded so much like... like him. A sudden surge of anger courses through her and something aches deep within her chest.

She manages to reply with a resigned, "I won't, Scar."

Suddenly, the red skink lets out a gasp. Immediately, everyone turns their heads to the source of the cry and finds the lizard narrowing her eyes and pointing a digit to a nearby rock. Following her line of sight, Dalia can barely make out the shape of a lizard-looking creature.

"Someone's there!" the skink cries.

"Who dares spy on me?" Scar roars.

Dalia hardly conceals a grin. So this is Kion's little spy — a chameleon. Smart. With a gasp, the amphibian breaks out into multiple colors and starts fleeing the scene.

"Stop the intruder!" shouts Ushari.

The skinks immediately take off in hot pursuit, and Dalia looks up to Scar, unsure of what to do. "What are you waiting for? After them!"

Feeling strangely embarrassed, the lioness takes after the group of fleeing lizards. She needs to isolate the chameleon and get it to safety. All the while avoiding getting caught by the skinks, Janja, or Mzingo and his parliament. Easy.

She darts out of the volcano, following the skinks, when she bumps into Janja.

The hyena turns around and glares at her. "What do you want? You already stole my thunder, what do you want now? My lunch?"

Dalia feels her fur bristle. "While lunch would be nice, I've got more important things to worry about. Like following Scar's orders to find the chameleon spying on us."

"Scar's orders, eh?" Janja echoes with malice. He knits his brows together. He let the nomad upstage him once; he's not letting it happen again. Not on his watch. "Stay here, kid. I'm getting the lizard."

And to this, the lioness can't help but grin. "Of course, Janja," she replies in a silky voice.

Janja eyes her strangely for a moment, but then he starts running. And as Dalia watches the hyena dash then disappear behind a rocky corner, a smile spreads wide across her face.

What a fool.

Janja has now made it infinitely easier for her to get the chameleon to the safety of the Pridelands. He's provided her an alibi. So when Scar questions her, demanding how she could let the lizard get away, she'll discretely pin the blame on Janja.

So after making sure Janja's out of sight, the lioness turns and runs in the opposite direction. Using her feline ears, she can detect a pattering of footsteps from across the canyon. She decides to take a short-cut. Dalia runs and ducks behind a boulder and waits to hear the pattering of footsteps draw nearer. She peeks her head around the corner for the briefest second to see Janja running amongst the skinks.

She returns to her hiding spot only to hear a skink from around the corner hissing, "Watch out, you big oafish brute!"

Dalia grins and guesses that the hyena was close to trampling the red lizard, just as he had back in the volcano.

Then, Janja's voice snaps with, "The lizard is mine. You back off!"

"I don't know why this is so hard for you to grasp, but we're on the same team!" the lizard fires back.

The, when the moment is just right, she pushes the boulder with a heave, watching it roll into the canyon and effectively block the path. From the sound of it, she knows that Janja was the first to run into the boulder, soon bumbling into the skinks he nearly crushed earlier. A series of 'ows' and 'get off me!' sound from the canyon, and Dalia can only hope that the distraction was enough to allow the chameleon to get away.

Sure enough, after a few seconds, she spots the chameleon slip away from a crack between the boulder and the canyon wall.

Dalia leaps out from where she was hiding and caught the lizard between her paws and darts back to her hiding spot. The lizard gave a small shriek but immediately calmed at the sight of the lioness, and Dalia knows that Kion must've told the lizard who to look out for.

The lioness doesn't dare speak — not with Janja and the skinks so nearby — but gives her a silent nod of the head. The gesture spoke just as loud as any verbal command. It practically screamed: run and warn Kion.

The lizard silently tips her head into a similar nod and takes off in a different direction, making sure that nobody would be able to follow her. As soon as the chameleon was out of sight, Dalia turns tail and heads in the direction from which she came. Scar's not going to be happy about the chameleon getting away, so this was Dalia's perfect opportunity to start her slow rise to the top.

And she intends to take full advantage of it.


Author's Note: Alrighty, so it's currently 1:05 in the morning. Insomnia's a real kicker. Regardless of the time, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I'm really interested in hearing your thoughts on this update, and as always criticism/reviews/suggestions are always welcomed.

Something I thought I'd mention — me, marvelomac1010, and demongirl123 have a collab account, if you will, called marvelpheonix123. There's a LG rewrite fic written by marvelomac1010 and demogirl123 currently up and running and a few other fics on the way. If you'd like, feel free to check it out.