Book 2: Chapter 2
Scar's Lair was burning hotter than usual, Ushari thought.
The stone beneath his scales felt too warm, so he slithered about uncomfortably as he tried to find a spot that was slightly cooler. He eventually retreated to a shadier portion of the lair and carefully watched Scar's expression for anger at his moving places. Thankfully, he found none. Scar was already too angry at another member of his army to be bothered by Ushari's slithering.
The skinks had come to him, bearing two doses of bad news.
The first: The Pridelanders were planning a siege into the Outlands to destroy Scar. The second: Janja and the hyenas had turned traitors.
Ushari couldn't say he was shocked at either news. Janja had always been fickle. Always too close to the wrong type of crowd. He scowled as his mind wandered to that annoying lioness and eagle duo who had infiltrated their army.
Ushari had always thought something was off about the two, but Scar - for reasons still unknown to Ushari - was fond of Dalia. Ushari guessed it was due to her cursed divination abilities that Scar was eager to use to his advantage. But even with her power, it had always been clear to Ushari that something was fishy about them. And Scar, in his seemingly infinite wisdom, hadn't noticed it.
He also seemed shocked at the news of Janja's betrayal. Perhaps Scar wasn't as wise as Ushari had thought...?
Ushari shook his head. Nonsense. Scar was the best thing that had happened to him, and Ushari's greatest calling in life would be to be Scar's devoted servant. A servant at Scar's side was infinitely more respectable than living in the Pridelands, only to be trampled and crushed under the foot of another.
Now, he thought with a sense of glee, it was Janja's turn to be crushed.
After Scar had discovered Janja's treachery, he ordered the skinks to summon Janja to his lair. Ushari was certain that his master would destroy the traitor in a way he wished that he could with Dalia and Imba. And Ushari would revel in the rightful punishment. After all, an army had absolutely no room for traitors. And now, the hyenas had branded themselves as such.
"What an interesting turn of events, hm, Ushari?"
Scar's voice was high and cruel as always, in a way that commanded respect. But to the surprise of Ushari, there was no anger. It was calm and steady.
Eyeing Scar warily, Ushari frowned. "News of a siege? Combined with news of treachery?" He stumbled for his words. "Interesting isn't quite the word I would use."
Scar only laughed away Ushari's concerns. "Oh, don't worry, friend," said Scar, and Ushari's heart fluttered at the sound of his master calling him a friend. "I'm always two steps ahead."
Ushari grinned at his master, believing his words with his whole heart. He heard footsteps approaching, and he knew it was Janja. Swallowing his morbid excitement, he waited for the hyena to appear in the clearing.
After a few moments, Janja's anxious face popped into the room, and he was quickly followed by the skinks.
"Janja! Just the hyena I wanted to see," said Scar silkily.
Glancing around the clearing uncomfortably, Janja glanced up at him. "You called for me?"
Scar's fiery figure nodded, a cruel smile spreading across his lips. "Oh, yes. I need you for a very important job. I need you to ready yourself for another attack on the Pridelands. I want you, Kiburi, and the jackals to carry out this mission tonight."
Janja's brows raised incredulously. "Kiburi just got his tail whipped this morning," rebuffed Janja, "Don't you want to lay low for some time and build up our defenses first?"
The smile began slipping, turning into a scowl. "I'm afraid we don't have time to lay low, Janja," he spat. Calming himself, he continued, "It seems my nephew and the Lion Guard are planning to attack the Outlands soon. And with Kion's Roar growing stronger, I fear he may be strong enough now to destroy me."
Shock coupled with devastating fear rippled through Ushari at this. His master? Destroyed?
Janja also seemed shocked at this. "Destroy you? Kion can destroy you?"
"Oh, yes. Kion would need to use his most powerful Roar, right here in the caldera," Scar looked down at the flames surrounding him, "I'm afraid the flames would utterly consume me." Ushari grew even more anxious. "I would cease to exist."
Ushari's eyes narrowed as he saw Janja's eyes light. "Really?" he asked hopefully. He caught himself quickly. "Oh..." he said in a more dejected voice, trying to cover for himself.
"Yes, really," snapped Scar. "So, tonight, it'll be time for our final fight with the Pridelands. It'll be time to say goodbye to Simba's Pride and the Lion Guard." A nefarious laughter escaped him, filling the caldera. "For this plan to work, we need your help. You and the hyenas need to distract the Lion Guard. Keep them as far away from the Lion Guard's Lair as possible."
Janja quirked a brow. "Away from the Lair?"
"Oh, yes, for this plan, the Lair will be the only place that can keep them safe."
Ushari, who had been informed of Scar's plan prior to this, was confused. Scar's plan was to set fire to Priderock, hoping to catch the Lion Guard in their lair and the rest of the Pride as well. That way, all of his opponents would finally be wiped out.
And Scar's Army would be free to rule the Pridelands however they wished.
Oh. Belatedly, he realized his master was in fact two steps ahead. Scar was counting on Janja's treachery to backfire on him. He hoped that Janja would warn the Lion Guard and get them to stay in the lair, only for Scar's forces to trap them with fire.
He grinned. His master was truly a genius. But it was a risky move. What would happen if Janja couldn't convince the Guard to stay in the Lair? Or if they end up escaping the fire anyway? Their next step will be to come straight to the caldera with the secret from Janja about how to destroy Scar.
If this plan of Scar's didn't work, Scar would be destroyed.
Ushari tried to ignore the unease bubbling up within him. His master always thought ahead. Surely, he had another backup plan.
"Safe from what?" Asked Janja, confused.
Scar waved him off. "Don't worry yourself with that part. Kiburi and the jackals will handle that. All you and your hyenas need to do is keep them away from the Lair."
Janja nodded, knowing that Scar had left no room for questions. "I guess we can do that."
Scar grinned. "Perfect," he cooed. "Now, go! Ready your hyenas for tonight. In the meanwhile, Shupavu, I need you to bring me Reirei, Kiburi, and Mzingo."
Shupavu dipped her head into an obedient nod. "Yes, Scar," she whispered, and then she was gone.
By tonight, Simba's Pride and the Lion Guard would be gone.
oOoOo
From the other side of the Pridelands, completely unbeknownst to the conversations happening in Scar's Lair, a certain lioness was cursing her divination abilities.
"Ow!"
Dalia's eyes were currently screwed so tightly shut that dots are starting to flood her vision. Her inner cheek was likely a mess of pinched skin from her teeth gnawing at it. Her paws were currently crossed over her head, a pose that she was very used to by now, in an attempt to relieve the horrible headache that she was suffering from.
She was currently sitting in Rafiki's Tree, the old mandrill fussing over her while she cried out in pain.
"Calm down!" Rafiki was urging her.
This only served to irritate her. "It hurts," she hissed.
"You need to stop fighting it! Give into the vision."
"I'm not fighting anything!"
Rafiki huffed, frustrated at his inability to soothe the lioness's headaches. Grumbling, he went off to search through his herbs to alleviate her torment. Dalia had been in Rafiki's Tree for probably the last two hours, desperately trying to find some type of relief. Rafiki, unfortunately, was not able to provide this - having already used all the methods he knew.
It had been two years since Dalia realized her powers, and for the millionth time since then, she cursed her abilities.
Her power had been nothing but a burden for the last couple of years, bringing with her terrible headaches. Not to mention, the visions themselves had become very scarce. Many times, she would feel that achingly familiar headache and never actually had a vision. It was just the headache, and then, as if her powers decided to shy away from her at the last moment, the headache would suddenly cease and no vision would come.
It was something that entirely mind-boggled Rafiki, whose expertise in terms of divination was limited.
Just as Rafiki returned with a handful of herbs in tow, Dalia could feel the pain begin to ebb away.
Exhausted, her shoulders lost their tension and she slumped down against the tree.
"Is it over?" Rafiki asked, gently rubbing the lioness' shoulders.
She nodded, too tired to answer verbally. "No vision either," she croaked.
He sucked in a sigh. "This is getting more frequent, cub," he said, making tsking noises.
Dalia nodded, resisting the urge to scowl at the cub mention. She was hardly a cub anymore, having finally grown into herself. She wasn't an adult by any means, but she certainly had outgrown cubhood. Still, she knew that Rafiki didn't mean to offend her. Besides, she had much greater things to be worried about at the current moment.
Because Rafiki was right.
The headaches were getting more frequent. What was more concerning was the fact that her visions weren't coming to her. She'd feel the oncoming headaches, and she would think that they were going to be followed by a vision. But more often than not, the visions never came. Almost as if in her attempt to ward away the headache, the vision had been scared off along with it.
"I wish I could help you more," said Rafiki.
"It's okay, Rafiki," Dalia said, sighing. "I know you're trying you're best."
And it was true. Nobody really knew much about Dalia's powers, her visions, or her headaches. The only lions she knew of that shared her divination were her mother and Queen Janna. Her mother had been gone for many years now, and Queen Janna lived miles away from where she had found her home. To put it simply, there was nobody readily available for Dalia to get advice from.
All she had was a tired Royal Mjuzi who was running out of options.
She glanced up at Rafiki.
He had aged over the years, his grey hair even greyer and his deep wrinkles ever more defined. With a sense of guilt, she wondered if his aging had anything to do with the stress that she was putting on him.
Over the years, Rafiki had become somewhat of a mentor to her. He was the only one with any type of knowledge about her powers who stepped in to help her navigate these confusing times. And for that, Dalia would always be grateful to him. But she would be lying if she said she didn't feel guilty for putting him through this. She worried that he felt obligated to help her.
Rafiki, seeming to sense the thoughts coursing through her mind, waved away her concerns.
"You best not be thinking anything foolish now, cub," He warned, wagging a gnarled finger in her face.
She laughed. "I'm not, Rafiki," she said soothingly.
He grunted and helped her to her feet. "Come on then, get up," he said firmly. "How about you go find your friends, hm? Rafiki will meditate on this."
Dalia nodded, expecting this answer. This had become routine for the pair of them. Dalia would begin having a headache, Rafiki would try to help her, it wouldn't work, the headache would go away, the vision would never come, and finally Rafiki would shoo her away and say he needed to meditate.
If the meditation did any good, Dalia wouldn't know.
Still, she arose and thanked Rafiki quietly before leaving the tree.
. . .
The sky was beginning to darken as Dalia returned to Priderock.
As she approached, she saw countless Pridelanders training with each other, sparring. And from the looks of it, they had been sparring for quite a bit. The training efforts were led by the Lion Guard to get everyone ready for the final fight. The final battle was still a few days away, with Kion wanting to lead the attack the day after the full moon, but they were training as if the attack was any second now.
The ground was nearly shaking from the force of the elephants and rhinos wrestling.
Makuu had taken somewhat of a leadership role, yelling out orders for the other animals to follow. And, to Dalia's surprise, they were following his lead.
"Dalia!"
Dalia looked up to the sound of Imba's voice. The eagle was coming down towards her from the tree where she was stationed with Anga and Ono. They were in charge of training the Pridelands birds, from the looks of it.
"How're you feeling?" Asked Imba, her brows furrowed in concern. Before Dalia got the chance to answer, Imba continued, "Did you have a vision?"
Dalia frowned. That was one of the first questions anyone would ask. She loved Imba, she couldn't help but feel annoyed at the almost eager tone of her voice. She knew Imba was hoping that Dalia would have a vision that could help them in the upcoming battle, but Dalia couldn't help but feel hurt at her lack of concern over Dalia's health.
Dalia supposed that her headaches were getting so frequent that it was getting normal to her friends. That after a certain point, they stopped caring as much. And she knew that it was normal, especially considering they had so much worse to worry about, but it still stung.
Still, Dalia chased away the annoyance and answered Imba's question.
"No," she said patiently. "Just another headache."
"Oh," said Imba, and the disappointment was evident in her voice. A second later, the concern came through. "I'm sorry, Dal," she said and threw her wings over Dalia in a hug.
Dalia appreciated the concern but was still annoyed that it came after the disappointment.
"It's alright," she said, "Rafiki helped me through it. How's everything going here?"
Imba was smiling. "It's going really smooth. Everyone is working together pretty well," the eagle said. "I think we'll be ready to attack when Kion gives us the orders to." Imba broke off, her face turning into a frown. "Oh, and by the way, Kion was asking about where you were earlier. I just told him you were with Rafiki. I guess he pieced it together."
Dalia made a face. She didn't want Kion worrying about her, especially not when they were planning the siege. "I better go find him and tell him I'm fine," said Dalia.
"Yeah," said Imba, nodding her agreement. She squinted her eyes in the direction of Priderock, searching for a certain prince. "Oh!" She said once she spotted him. "Speak of the devil - he's heading our way."
Dalia followed her friend's line of sight and saw that she was right. Kion was currently heading down from Priderock, having just spoken to his father. He looked burned as he made his way towards them, likely stressed beyond belief at what he was going to have to do tomorrow. His eyes lit up when he saw Dalia standing there.
Imba, noticing this, began to take off. "I think I'll give you guys a moment alone," she said with a wink. "And, plus, I'm going to go say 'hi' to Hadithi. I heard from Ono that he just came in."
The lioness nodded and watched as her friend left.
"You alright?" Kion asked as he neared. His face was furrowed in concern. "I heard you were at Rafiki's."
Dalia grimaced. "I'm fine now," she said. "No vision."
Kion cocked his head. "I'm more concerned with how you're feeling."
This made Dalia's spirits lift, even if it was just a little bit. While everyone else seemed more concerned over the fact that Dalia's powers were not working, and weren't helping towards the war efforts, Kion's primary concern was always over her. He was always more concerned with how she was doing. And for that, Dalia appreciated him beyond words.
She smiled gratefully at him. "I'm doing fine now. It was pretty rough, though." Kion's face was developing into a scowl, so Dalia changed the subject in an attempt to lift the mood. "How's the training efforts going?"
"It's going well," he said. Despite the fact that the training was going well, Kion didn't appear too pleased. The stress was still evident on his face, his brows knitted together. "I just... I don't know. I don't feel ready to face him."
"I don't think you'll ever feel ready," said Dalia. And it was true. Because how could someone feel like they were fully prepared for something like this? "But know that you'll have all of us at your side to help you. We'll take on Scar's Army, I know we can."
He gave her a look. "And what about Scar? How will we take on him?"
Dalia faltered. She didn't know the answer to his question. Because how could you take on a lion completely made out of flames? He was practically immortal. Unless Kion could conjure up the most powerful thunderstorm with his Roar, she couldn't see a way for him to destroy Scar. They could render him useless temporarily by defeating his followers, yes.
But some other force of evil would come and join forces with Scar, making him powerful once more.
It'd be a never-ending cycle. The only way for the siege to be truly successful tomorrow is if Kion can figure out a way to defeat Scar for good.
"I'm not sure," said Dalia honestly. "All I know is that we have to do something. I'm so tired of just waiting for an attack and getting hurt in the meantime."
Kion nodded. "I know..." He said, not sounding convinced.
Dalia pressed herself against him, tucking her head under his chin in an embrace. "I'm sorry I can't give you the answers you're looking for," she said softly. "But I can tell you that I'll be there fighting with you, until the end."
He swallowed thickly at her statement. "Thank you, Dalia." She watched as he sucked in a sigh through his teeth. "I think I heard Makini asking for you earlier." Dalia understood that he was trying to get some time to himself, so she nodded. "And in the meantime, I think there's someone I need to get some advice from. Can you tell everyone I'll meet them back in the Lair after I'm done?"
She wasn't sure who he was getting advice from, but she knew that he'd tell her when the time was right. So she wouldn't pry.
Instead, she whispered, "Of course."
And with that, she slipped away from him and watched as he began walking away from Priderock.
oOoOo
Janja was lying low to the ground in the grasses right outside the Lion Guard's Lair.
He had led his hyenas into the Pridelands as the sun was beginning to set. With the Lion Guard being so distracted leading training efforts, they hadn't noticed the intrusion. Janja wasn't sure if it could still be considered an intrusion, though, considering that Janja and his hyenas had changed sides. Today was the day that Janja would walk into the Lion Guard's Lair and tell everyone that he was on their side now.
He could imagine the distrust in their faces, the way their eyes would narrow at him. He couldn't even imagine how Dalia or Imba would react to his presence. Especially Dalia, who still bore the scar that he had given her.
And even if he convinced them that he wasn't in cahoots with Scar anymore, then he would have to also convince them to not leave the Lair.
Scar had made it very clear that in whatever attack he was planning, the Lair would be the only safe place for the Lion Guard. And now that Scar was joining their side, the first thing he'd do to earn their trust was to make sure they were safe from Scar's evil plans.
So here he was, waiting in the grass as he tried to summon up the courage to walk in.
"What's taking so long?" asked Chungu rather loudly in his ear.
Janja bit back a retort. He knew that the other hyena was right. They didn't have all day.
From where he was lying, he could see the inside of the Lion Guard's Lair through the vines. The Lion Guard, save for Kion, were all there - taking the evening off after training all day. He could hear laughter bubbling up as that little mandrill girl made a joke that Janja couldn't quite hear. Imba and her sister, Anga, were attempting to teach Ono how to swoop and stop.
The Lair was full of life. It was something that Janja never really experienced in Scar's Army.
He felt a sharp pang of regret then, as he watched what he had been missing out on for these last few years. And he had nobody else to blame but himself for that. He had been given a chance to experience this too. He was practically begged to join this group, to experience the same laughter that they were now. But his own ego and lack of foresight made him reject the opportunity.
And through the vines, he could see Dalia. She had come to the edge of the Lair and began peeking her head past the vines. She was tilting her head, her green-grey eyes scanning across the Pridelands.
Janja thought for a second that she had sensed he was there and had come out to chase him away. But instead, her eyes found someone else in the distance, and they lit with joy.
"Kion!" She called out.
Janja turned his head and saw the leader of the Lion Guard approaching, a smile present on his face as well. He suddenly felt like a creep, spying from the bushes at the two lions who clearly - as Kiburi would say - had the hots for each other. Janja had done a lot of indignifying things in his life. He was Scar's personal errand boy for the last two years. But even he had limits.
Summoning up whatever dignity he had left, he began to stand up.
"Here goes nothing," he muttered under his breath before gesturing for his boys to join him. "Er, Kion!" Janja called out.
At once, Kion and Dalia alike spun around to face him. Janja nearly rolled his eyes at how Kion had instinctually placed himself in front of the lioness, protecting her from him. The annoyance turned to remorse, however, when he saw the fear in the lioness' eyes. He remembered the words she had spat out to him the last time they talked - when he had run into her in the Outlands.
I'm afraid of you.
He had made her fear him. He made the one creature who was perhaps his only real friend fear him. That deflated his soul.
"Relax, guys," he said. "I promise, no funny business."
Behind him, Cheezi nodded his head wildly. "Yeah! No funny business!"
By now, the other members of the Guard had heard the noise and came to the entrance of the Lair.
"Janja?" exclaimed Ono's surprised voice, his eyes nearly bugging out of his head.
Imba had defensively placed her wings around Dalia, protecting her from the hyena who had hurt her. Makini was bravely standing in front of both of them and bore her staff out, which was laughable because Janja was sure that if the wind blew hard enough, the mandrill would fly away. Beshte reflectively shielded the group, ready to use his strength to protect his friends.
"What're you doing here?" asked Fuli, narrowing her eyes at him suspiciously.
"I promise," he said, "I'm just here to talk." He glanced at their suspicious faces and realized that he would need to explain himself more than that. "I mean it."
"And why should we believe you?" asked Kion, raising a brow.
Janja didn't know what to answer to that. "Uhhh..." He trailed off, trying to think of a reason. Time was running out, Scar was planning something bad that would wipe out the Guard and Simba's Pride, and he needed to get them to the safety of their Lair fast. He glanced at Dalia, maybe looking for some assistance. She didn't provide any, giving him a hard look and an almost unreadable expression.
"I swear," he said, remembering something that Dalia had once told him. "I swear on the... the fire lilies."
Once, when Dalia and Janja had been talking during a lazy afternoon in Kilio Valley, she had told him about her home. About their rituals and practices. She told him that an oath taken on the fire lilies was the strongest one that someone could take. It was one you could never break. She was named for the flowers, so she especially took the oath seriously.
The group gave him confused glances, obviously oblivious to the relevance of a fire lily.
But Dalia's eyes had softened. She understood.
And for that, Janja felt a little hope.
"Yeah, and that is supposed to convince us how, exactly?" asked Bunga, snorting. The others started to laugh with the honey badger.
Dalia, though, separated herself from her friends and took a step closer to Janja. She was silent for a moment, scrutinizing Janja's expression for any trace of dishonesty. After a moment, she looked away. "I think we should hear him out," she said. "I know everyone has different reasons not to trust him, but I know him the best out of any of you. I think he's being honest."
A few quiet murmurs sounded before Imba spoke up. "If Dalia thinks it's a good idea, then so do I," she said.
The others looked confused but didn't object. Kion also agreed. "Alright, what do you have to say, Janja?"
And so Janja began. "I'm on your side now. And I know, I know, I've given you no reason to believe me. But I've been realizing that I've had it wrong all along. And I don't think it's too late to start helping you guys out." There were suspicious looks from across the group, so he continued. "I'm really sorry for everything I've done to hurt the Pridelands. I was angry and I lashed out in the worst way. None of you deserved it. And I really hope you all can one day forgive me."
He turned to Dalia. "I'm really sorry for what I did to you. I'm sorry to you too, Imba, for making you find her like that." Their gazes were still hard but had softened a little bit. "There's a lot that I have to apologize for, and I know there's not a lot of time. Can we talk inside your Lair?"
Kion looked baffled. "What?"
Janja nodded, scrambling to find a reason to give. "It's chilly out here... I think it'd be more cozy inside the cave."
Fuli let out an exasperated sigh. "Cozy?"
Beshte glanced at Kion. "I think we should listen to him, Kion. It can't hurt."
"No, way," said Bunga, raising a fist. "We're not letting them get in our lair and get their grimy paws on everything!"
Kion gave Janja a hard look. "Janja, whatever you have to say, you can say to us, you can say here."
Janja didn't know what to do at this point. He needed to convince them to go in, but he didn't know how. If he just said, Oh guys, Scar's planning this big attack and the only safe place is your Lair, would they even believe him? Or, even if they did believe him, Janja was sure that they wouldn't retreat. They'd come out, ready to attack.
And from the sounds of Scar's plan, it didn't seem like an attack that they could fight against. It seemed like something they could only hide from and wait it out.
With a grunt, he moved past the group and shoved his way into the Lair. "If I'm going to talk, I'm going to be comfy while doing so," he said, pushing his way in. His hyenas followed him.
Imba made an attempt to block his entrance, but he simply slipped under her wing.
The group had no choice but to follow him in. They entered the cave, slipping past him so that his back was towards the opening of the Lair. Their distrust of him and his hyenas was evident, but Janja could live with that for now. Because, ultimately, he had managed to convince them to go back inside - even if he wasn't being the most honest about it.
Despite his success, he didn't feel enthused. He felt extremely out of place among the rest of them as they were still eyeing him and his hyenas warily.
"Janja," said Kion in a slow voice, breaking the silence, "If I find out that you're lying about all this..."
Janja, despite himself, laughed. "I promise, Kion. After a while, I just realized I wanted more in life than pushing everyone around and being miserable all the time."
"It's about time," said Imba harshly. "You couldn't have figured that out before you slashed Dalia's throat?"
"Okay, guys, that's a bit of an exaggeration. It was just a nick-"
"A nick?!" screeched Makini, looking indignant.
"Okay, okay, maybe it wasn't just a nick, but it was an accident!"
"An accident?" echoed Ono, raising a dubious eyebrow at him.
Kion interjected. "How about we hear from Dalia what she thinks about all this."
For once, Janja agreed with Kion. He turned to Dalia, who was standing a few feet away from the group, looking apprehensive of him. She was silent for several moments, her face twisted in a mixture of undiscernible emotions. There was anger on her face, of course, but there was also curiosity. And, if you looked for it hard enough, there was a very slight look of relief.
"Dal...?" Janja asked carefully.
Imba let out an indignant sound. "How dare you call her that," she said, sneering. "As if you've been a good friend to her."
"I know I haven't been the best friend to her-"
"-You haven't been a friend at all," Dalia said with a humorless laugh. She went quiet for a few more moments, her silence stretching out in the air between them. "I don't know what to tell you, Janja," she finally spoke, looking defeated. "I'm glad that you finally figured everything out... but I don't know why it took so long. You've done so much hurt to everyone here in the last two years. What happened at Mzimu Grove..." her voice broke off. "That was so horrific, and I don't think I can forgive you for that."
Janja nodded. "You don't have to. You have every right to be angry with me."
She scoffed. "Angry is an understatement. There's no excuse for your actions. Maybe before what happened in Kilio Valley that night, you had an excuse. You didn't have anybody other than Scar to influence you, and he convinced you that following him was the greatest thing you could ever do," she said, with a roll of her eyes. "But after that, you had Jasiri. You had me. You finally had a friend telling you to change your mind and respect the Circle of Life."
"I know, and I'm so sorry for taking so long to figure out the right path. But the point is I've figured it out now."
A flash of anger crossed her expression. "And you couldn't have figured that out, oh, I don't know, two years ago? When I was practically begging you to?" Her voice carried a venomous sting that Janja hadn't heard from her. "Oh, right," she added sarcastically, after taking a glance at his expression, "I'm supposed to forgive you for everything now because you made a special promise and said sorry. Right?"
"Uhh..." Janja's voice trailed off.
He didn't know what to say. He knew she had no reason to forgive him, but he had still hoped that she would. He would come here, say some nice words, and set everything right between them. Fix everything that he had broken. But when he looked at her expression and heard the malice that was laced in her voice, he knew that forgiveness wouldn't be as easy as he thought.
Before he could figure out how to respond to her, she scoffed and turned away.
"Just forget it, Janja," she said, her voice lacking emotion. "I'm glad you finally made the right decision. But remember, while everyone was waiting for you to make your grand decision, we had to suffer because of it."
Luckily, Janja was saved from this awkward situation by a sudden burst from Cheezi.
"Ooh," cooed Cheezi.
Janja turned and watched as Cheezi became mesmerized by the Lion Guard's Lair. Janja had to admit that the place was pretty nice. Had their own pool and paintings plastered on the walls of the cave. There were a few empty nests too adoring the sides of the wall, where he presumed the winged members of the Guard resided. Much better than burnt-out Kilio Valley.
Cheezi was not the only hyena mesmerized by the Lair, and the others joined him. Chungu accidentally knocked over a carefully organized set of paints in his adoration, to which Makini let out a cry.
"You guys are messing everything up!" She cried, running over to them.
The others were partial to the young mandrill, considering her somewhat of the baby of the group, so they jumped to her defense. "Quit touching the paints!" Bunga yelled, running over to move them away. In the process, he slipped and bumped into Cheezi, and the two of them crushed some funky-looking herbs that were organized.
"Hey!" cried Makini. "Stop!"
"Fellas..." warned Janja, sensing the chaos that was unfolding. "Maybe stay away from the monkey's stuff..." Now, Janja truly hadn't meant for that to be an insult. But when Makini whirled around with frustrated tears in her eyes, he knew that she had.
"I'm a mandrill!"
"Yeah!" echoed Imba, "She's a mandrill!" Bunga lifted a fist in agreement before whirling back around to shove Chungu away.
"Bunga..." Kion gave a similar warning to the honey-badger as Janja had given to his hyenas just a few moments prior.
In the midst of the chaos, they hadn't noticed what was going on outside the Lair. Unbeknownst to all of them, outside the Lair, the jackals and the crocs were setting out dry wood all around Priderock. And when the vultures flew over, dropping flaming sticks of fire as they came, nobody had noticed a single thing. Nobody except for Dalia.
"Do you guys smell smoke?" She asked, her eyes narrowing.
They turned to look at the entrance of the Lair and saw the fire beginning to creep its way towards them. The next few seconds were a blur of panic. Makini let out a cry, and his hyenas began to whimper.
"Hapana!" cried Ono.
"You lured us in here!" accused Dalia, spitting with anger. "This is what you meant by cozy, huh, Janja?"
Janja felt the pit deepening in his stomach. This is exactly what he didn't want to happen. They were just starting to trust him, and now they were convinced that he'd double-crossed them! "No!" Janja argued, feeling frustrated. "I promise... Scar told me to keep you guys away from the Lair. He told me that the only place that'd be safe from his attack would be the Lair."
Bunga snorted. "Are you sure he didn't say it the other way around?" He began waving madly at his ear. "Maybe you just had too much gunk in your ears to hear properly?"
This baffled Janja to no end. "What? Yes, I'm sure!" Janja was vehement. "We hyenas have been double-crossed!"
"How can you be double-crossed if you were the one to double-cross Scar?" argued Fuli.
Janja sighed, groaning. "Okay, then we were double-double-crossed!"
"Enough!" shouted Kion.
"We need to get out of here!" added Dalia.
And at once, all the arguments had stopped and they were quickly heading towards the exit of the Lair. Janja happened to be the closest to the exit, so he just so happened to be the first to jump through the exit. Coincidentally, as soon as he made his way past the vines guarding the Lair, a flaming branch fell from a nearby tree.
It fell over the entrance of the Lair, completely blocking any entrances or exits.
With dawning horror, Janja realized that his hyenas, along with the Guard, were all trapped in the fiery prison.
"Janja!" Cheezi cried out. "Don't leave us here, Janja!" Pleas from his other hyenas joined Cheezi's, begging him not to abandon them.
Janja felt his heart shatter at his hyenas' pleadings. "Don't worry, guys!" He called into the Lair. "I'm going to go get help!"
And he turned and began running away, towards a familiar place. A place where he knew there was someone who was willing to help. As he left, he could hear grumbling from the Lion Guard - accusing him of setting them up and then running away after trapping them in the Lair. He couldn't blame them. It wasn't something that Janja from before wouldn't have done.
But he was a new hyena now.
He wasn't fleeing to protect his own hide - he was running to find the only creature in the world that would help him and everyone trapped in the Lair right now.
Jasiri.