The baboon chattered as it was dragged in. It had long given up crying for help, for no one had heard it scream. The minute it was dragged into the cave it felt a dampness in the air, and a wet smack accompanied it as it was thrown against a wall. Before it could say anything, a thick mucus spewed from nowhere, vomiting upon its body. The baboon chattered in panic, but as soon as the regurgitation was finished, it found itself unable to move.
Now that it was done, the baboon gazed upon its captor fully and could see it in its full horrifying glory. Suddenly a chattering came from next to it, and it noticed a monkey wrapped up in the same substance.
"Now," The monster rasped as it raised the razor tip of its tail, "Which one do I keep?"
The monster stared down at the simian pair in contemplation, moving its head slightly each way before coming to a halt at the baboon.
"You'll do," It said, and then with a slash of its tail, it sliced the neck of the monkey!
The smaller simian gurgled and cried as it felt its life-blood leaving it before it lifelessly collapsed, the goop it was covered in coated red.
The baboon whimpered as it spoke up, "W-W-What do you want with me?"
A deep snarling hiss emerged, spittle spurting from the creature's mouth, "Much," It said, and then what followed was the most excruciating experience the baboon had ever undergone.
XXX
The trek to the Outlands was thankfully uneventful. No run-ins with the Pride Land's new "guest". Queen Kiara and King Kovu were protected by the Lion Guard, and they would make certain no harm would come to their monarchs. Eventually, they made it to the edge where their presence was made known.
A flurry of feathers flapped down as a blue and black vulture landed with wings spread out.
"Halt, whoever goes through here will have to answer to-" The vulture's eyes widened as he noticed who was standing before him, "Oh, Queen Kiara, forgive me, I didn't know it was you."
"I don't know how you couldn't, I mean she is the queen and all," Shabaha replied defensively.
The vulture, tapped his talons, fluffing his feathers with embarrassment, "Ah yes...well with things in the Pride Lands as they are, one cannot be too careful."
"It's alright Mzingo. We need to speak to Queen Jasiri right away," Kiara requested.
"Ah yes, well the Prime Minister has many duties to attend to, and well-" Mzingo then noticed Kovu glaring at him. It wasn't a threatening glare, but clearly, one that showed there was no time to waste, "Hmm well normally I would put this to a vote with the rest of the parliament, but seeing as one royal seeks an audience with another, we can progress this to an urgent matter."
Flapping his wings and ascending into the air, Mzingo called back, "Come along now!"
The royals of the Pride Lands and their guard followed the vulture majordomo through the rocky terrain of the Outlands. All those present looked about the grounds with familiarity. Kovu, his sister, and the rest of the Guard remembered the time they lived in the Outlands, right before Kion used the Roar to evict them. Kiara on the other hand remembered the times she was lured here, well, once she was lured, tricked rather, while the other time she was kidnapped. It felt strange for all present parties of the lion persuasion to be back here, but they simply had business there, nothing more.
Mzingo led them to their destination, putting their thoughts on hold. They could see the signs of spotted gray coats around the area, a merger of two clans. And there at the center was Queen Jasiri.
"Prime Minister! I bring you Queen Kiara, her consort, and the Lion Guard for an audience!" Mzingo declared, bowing his head and spreading his wings.
Jasiri nodded, "Thank you Mzingo."
With his duty done, the vulture scurried out of the way and allowed his monarch to greet the new arrivals.
"Kiara, Kovu, to what do I owe the pleasure?" Jasiri asked, but she held no smile, and instead found only worried brows, "Let me guess? That thing is still causing trouble?"
"I'm afraid so," Kiara answered.
Jasiri let out a sigh. Janja stood next to her, protectively placing his paw upon her shoulder.
"I was afraid you were going to say that. After Reirei's pack returned with their tails between their legs, I kept the rest of the Outlanders away from the Pride Lands for their safety."
"Then you must know why we've come?" Kiara asked.
Jasiri's face wrinkled in hesitation. Just like Kiara, she was new at being a queen herself. The responsibility of ruling a kingdom had been thrust upon her, instead of being born into it like Kiara. She also felt the calm that had occurred with the passing of Scar, and even more so after Zira's death. Then this monster fell from the sky and began its reign of terror. For the time being, it had kept its wrath upon the Pride Lands; other than that brief incident involving its "birth", it had avoided the Outland animals, save for the ones that provoked it, Reirei and her pack being an example.
"You need our help," Jasiri's answer was brief.
"Yes, with the Outland's support, I'm sure we can stop this thing!" Kiara urgently spoke.
A soft chuckle escaped Janja, "Eh, no offense your highness, but you didn't see the beating Reirei and her family got."
"Actually, they didn't look that hurt Janja," Cheezi interrupted.
"I know but what do you call it? That emotional thing animals have?" Janja asked.
Both Cheezi and his equally dim partner Chungu scratched their heads.
"I think you mean pride," Jasiri finished.
The jackal's pride being hurt sounded fairly accurate. Reirei was a creature who prided herself on her intelligence and wit. To be outdone on both accounts was too much for her to bear. That and the aspect of strength in numbers. As dysfunctional as Reirei and Goigoi's marriage was, it was quite evident Reirei had the utmost faith in her children. To see them hurt, beaten, and in one case dead, the jackal was nearing the edge of being a shell of her former self. But knowing Reirei, she could recover.
"Pride or not we need to unite our forces!" Kiara pleaded with urgent eyes, "You know very well that thing won't stop at the Pridelands, it will come here eventually!" Kiara's voice rose with each syllable, and her eyes sprouted in size.
Jasiri's brow wrinkled, but quickly tightened, "All right."
Kiara's head cocked back, "Excuse me?"
"Yeah, excuse me?" Janja mimed.
"Queen Kiara is right, this monster will eventually come here, and seeing as the monster fell into our kingdom, we have a duty to help those it has affected."
"Hey, it wasn't like we knew it was going to come here!" Janja's voice rose with a sudden snap.
A quick but firm look from Jasiri silenced him, but the look quickly switched to a softened glance. Janja took one look at his queen's expression and his body, which had risen in an aggressive stance, had fallen then and there.
"You know I'm with you all the way Jasiri," Janja concurred.
Kiara grinned at her fellow monarch. A deal had been set, and with it, a light of hope had been flung. It was tiny, but even in the darkest of times, the tiniest light could provide the brightest hope.
"This is all well and good but we need some kind of plan," Kovu reminded.
Determination was all well and good, but without a plan to initiate, they were fish out of water. Each one of them was metaphorically scratching their heads, their faces uncertain as they tried to come up with a plan. None more certain than Vitani. Her mind thought back to all the past stories she had heard, tales of past battles, all fought by the previous Lion Guard. Her face then lit up as one story came to mind.
"The volcano,"
Everyone looked to Vitani, "Come again?" Kiara asked.
"The volcano, we lure it to the volcano here in the Outlands, and then we push it into the lava," Vitani declared.
Everyone looked at Vitani, their faces still lost in uncertainty, "That's it?" Just push it into a volcano?" Shabaha asked.
For a brief moment, Vitani felt a pit open up in her chest. Confident as she was, even she was starting to wonder if her idea was feasible.
"Love it!" Shabaha suddenly declared, her face twisting in a manic smile.
Vitani cocked her head back at the unpredictable display of emotion. Then again, unpredictable was Shabaha's middle name. As for her last name? Shabaha claimed it was "Rebecca".
"Woah woah, now I don't want to be the negative one here, but I don't think that plan's going to work," Janja suddenly stated.
Shabaha's face fell into a childish pout, "Why not?!"
"Kion's roar dried it out, back when he beat Scar," Janja reminded.
Everyone knew the story of how Kion banished Scar's spirit back to whence it came. Using the Roar of the Elders, he allowed the great lions of the past to pass judgment on the former tyrant of the Pride Lands, and they had called forth a rain shower to wash away his evil. As if to symbolically prove it, the lava had hardened leaving no trace behind. With that in mind, Vitani's plan seemed to have ended before it could begin.
"If the Roar made the volcano dormant, maybe it can make it active again," Vitani wasn't one to be defeated so easily.
"Vitani, you haven't been using the Roar for that long," Kovu skeptically replied.
"I can do this!" Vitani insisted, "It's true I have a lot to learn about using the Roar, but if Kion can do it so can I!"
If there was one thing about Vitani that was certainly clear, it was her confidence and determination. Vitani never gave up, even when things were at their bleakest, she would never back down, whether it battling with a foe, or facing impossible odds. Both applied to the situation at hand.
"You want to lure that monster into the Outlands!?" Jasiri spoke aghast in horror.
"Only to lure it to the volcano," Vitani assured.
Jasiri's face tensed and her eyes darted slightly to the left. The very thought wrestled with her. This wasn't just the Pride Lands at stake, but her kingdom was put in jeopardy as well, for this action would be bringing the devil to her doorstep.
"Queen Jasiri, I know you and I haven't always seen eye to eye, but if we pull this off, it will protect everyone," Vitani stated, "You know full well this thing won't just stop at the Pridelands, it will come here, then maybe the Backlands, and who knows where else."
Jasiri couldn't deny that the creature had been spreading its influence throughout the Pride Lands. It was relentless, it wouldn't be deterred, not if they sat around cowering.
"Fine, I don't like it, but you raise a point," Jasiri sighed.
"Alright, so it's decided, We'll lure the monster here, Vitani will use the Roar to bring the volcano back to life, and then we just...push it in," Kiara stated,
The plan was simple, but it was all they had.
"Okay...now we just need to find where its lair is, then bring it here," Vitani's words fell as she finished her sentence.
As simple as their plan was, there were still holes to fill.
"I think I might know who can help, but ya ain't going to like it," Janja suddenly piped up.
Everyone looked to the former villainous Outlander, their faces curious by the sheer fact he had an idea. When Janja was a villain, at most he seemed more akin to an uneducated thug. It would seem time and a new demeanor had changed
him.
"What do you have in mind Janja?" Jasiri asked.
"Those creepy little skinks have a way of sneaking around, I heard they're the ones who helped Reirei organize her little "attack"," Janja's voice held a slight hesitance to it.
The skinks weren't exactly the most trusted animals in the Outlands or even the Pride Lands for that matter.
"Are you sure we want to resort to using "their" help? They were Scar's eyes and ears during the war with the Pride Lands?" Kasi suddenly asked.
The skinks were indeed Scar's spies, always reporting any findings that could have been useful to their master. After Jasiri took over the Outlands, the skinks seemed to have vanished from public view. Though judging from the fact that Reirei enlisted their help, they hadn't left the Outlands.
"We probably don't have much of a choice Kasi," Vitani relented.
"Even if we did find it, we need to lure it here," Imara chimed in.
"For that, we'd probably need an army," Tazama added.
Vitani's eyes intensified, and her mind raced with thoughts, "Then that's what we'll do."
Shabaha tilted her head, "Huh?"
"I heard during the war with Scar, Kion gathered the Pridelanders together to fight against him," Vitani said, the light in her eyes growing ever brighter.
"She's right, my brother pulled it off once, and we can do it again!" Kiara spoke up confidently.
There was nothing else to say. The plan was set, and they knew what they had to do. The first step? They needed to find the skinks. Second step? Gather an army and form a battle plan. And lastly, pulling it off.