A/N: This chapter is gonna be a little more grisly and emotional than usual. There are going to be depictions of violence in this story going forward (not in every chapter), which is one of the reasons I rated this fic T, and not anything lower. I personally enjoy writing/reading that kind of stuff, but I know some people feel queasy about it, so I thought I should just mention it here. If it doesn't bother you, read on!

Book 1: Chapter 22

"Did you recognize anybody in your vision?"

"No." The lioness let out an impatient exhale. "As I've already told you, it was just a bunch of fire and smoke. That was it."

Dalia was currently sitting at the top of Rafiki's Tree, seated directly across from the wisened, old mandrill. She had arrived just a few moments prior to this, following Nala's bizarre orders. Dalia wasn't sure how to explain to Rafiki her hallucination without making it sound weird. But Rafiki didn't seem too surprised when Dalia explained what had happened.

It was almost as if he had been expecting Dalia to come to speak with him, he just didn't know when.

As Dalia had described her hallucination to Rafiki, she noticed how his eyes hardened and the deep lines on his face deepened. One thing that had struck her as odd (and still was striking her as odd), was the fact that he kept calling it a "vision" rather than a hallucination.

"Why do you keep calling it a vision?" she finally asked. "I told you all that happened was that I blacked out."

Rafiki, if he heard her, chose to ignore Dalia, for he only continued to stroke his wispy white beard. "Has this happened to you in the past?" he questioned.

"Kind of. Not quite like this, though. One time, I was trapped in a hot tunnel and I had a hallucination of my..." she trailed off, clenching her jaw. She didn't want to talk about her mother. Certainly not in front of some crazed-looking monkey who has done nothing but further confuse her.

Rafiki, though, looked at her very intensely. "Of your what? What did you see the last time?" he asked in a strong voice.

"My mother," responded Dalia, biting at the inside of her cheeks. "I saw my mother."

Rafiki's expression shifted from intense to a sad type of curiosity. The kind of curiosity you have when someone tells you someone died, and your first question is how? "I see," he noted, his voice soft. "Dalia, may I ask what happened to your mother? Why did you show up alone in the Pridelands? It's not typical for young lionesses to be traveling alone."

Dalia's heart hurt like someone had kicked her right in the forehead. Anytime someone mentioned her mother, or she saw something that reminded her of her mother, it was like reopening that old wound all over again. The only way she could cope with the loss of the most important lioness in her life was by pretending it never happened. She never mentioned her mother, rarely thought of her, and couldn't bear even the thought of explaining to someone else what happened to her.

Maybe someday she'd be strong enough to be able to, but that day was not today.

"I don't want to talk too much about it," she murmured, turning her gaze away from him. "But if you're that curious, all you really need to know is that she's gone."

Rafiki placed a hand over her back in a surprisingly gentle manner. "I am very sorry, my dear," he said, his voice very genuine - like he was genuinely hurt by the news.

"Right. Thanks," Dalia replied briskly, trying to change the topic. "So can you tell me what's going on with Queen Nala? And you too, for that matter. Why do the two of you look so frightened regarding me blacking out?"

Rafiki stared at her hard for a few moments, tapping his chin in contemplation. "I do not wish to burden you with that now," said Rafiki, "For all I know, it could be nothing. In that case, there's no point in worrying you."

"I don't think you get to make that decision for me-"

Rafiki cut her off by suddenly standing up. "Sorry, but I am afraid there's no more time for chatting; I have to start preparing for Makini's Mpando Mpaya. We may talk more afterward."

Before waiting for her to respond, he began shoving Dalia out of her tree. "Hold on!" she protested as Rafiki began pushing her towards the edge. "Just tell me whatever it is you're thinking-"

"Goodbye!" he replied.

And with that, he shoved Dalia towards the edge of the Tree, and she slid down one of the folds of the tree and onto the grass that surrounded the base of the tree. Slightly disoriented, she sat there - right at the base of Rafiki's Tree - and thought over the downright bizarre sequence of events. She was confused, a little bit sleepy, and really tired of Rafiki and Nala (two of the last creatures Dalia would've expected to be part of this situation) keeping secrets from her.

Sighing, she slowly began to stand up and started making her way to Mzimu Grove - where she expected she would find the "Mpando Mpaya Planning Committee" rehearsing for the big event. Whatever was going on with herself, Rafiki, and Nala would have to wait until after Makini's ceremony.

Janja was pleased.

He was curled up behind one of the burned trees in Kilio Valley, and he was slowly drifting off to sleep. There was nobody around to disturb him from taking his very much well-earned afternoon nap.

He had stayed up late last night following one of Scar's orders and barely got a blink of sleep when he returned back to camp. As it turned out, Reirei's newest brat thought the early hours of the morning were the perfect time to cry non-stop. And then, when the kid finally stopped screaming his lungs out, Mzingo had woken Janja up, telling him to go hunting with Goigoi (which was another headache in and of itself).

After going hunting with someone who made it about one hundred times more complicated than it needed to be, he was finally able to sneak away and nap.

He was just about to fall asleep when he was suddenly kicked harshly in the ribs - causing him to yelp. His eyes were wide open now, and he had jumped immediately into a defensive position, ready to claw at his attacker. As it turned out, his attacker wasn't actually an attacker - just a mean-spirited jackal mother who loved nothing more than making Janja's life more difficult than it already was.

"You knew I was awake," he growled out, very much annoyed with her. Her stupid kid was the reason for his exhaustion, anyway. "Didn't have to kick me."

"I didn't?" Reirei asked innocently. "Sorry, I thought you were a heavy sleeper."

Janja exhaled sharply, too tired to do anything to her. "What do you want?" snapped Janja.

"Mzingo told me to wake you up," replied Reirei, "For reasons unknown to me, Scar wants you to lead the attack on Mzimu Grove tonight."

Janja furrowed his brows. "What attack on Mzimu Grove?"

Reirei rolled her eyes, "Do you seriously not pay any attention, like, ever?" she asked snarkily.

"Sorry, Reirei," Janja said in an overly sweet voice, "It's just a little hard to pay attention when you live with a noisy, rat-brained pup who takes after his mother in regards to his impeccable talent in annoying everyone around him."

Reirei narrowed her eyes. "Don't try and act smart, Janja. It doesn't suit you." She rolled her eyes once more, exhaling sharply. "Either way, there's some Mpando Mpaya - or something like that - happening tonight at Mzimu Grove. I don't see what the big deal is, personally. Some monkey plants a tree. Big deal. Either way, Scar wants you to lead the ground attack. Scare everyone, maybe take out a few of the weaklings. And while we do that, Mzingo and the vultures are gonna drop fire on the place."

"Again with the fire?" asked Janja. "How're we gonna rule the Pridelands after all this is over if Scar burns everything to the ground."

An angry look crossed Reirei's face, her expression twisting with malice. "Don't tell me you're turning traitor like Dalia and Imba," she growled, glaring daggers at him, "Scar's Army has no place for traitors."

"I'm not a traitor," stressed Janja, "I just wanna think about things logically-"

"Well, don't you let Scar hear whatever you just told me," warned Reirei. "Or else you probably won't stick around long enough to repeat it."

Reirei's warning took effect, and Janja gulped uncomfortably. "Alright, alright," he said. "Just forget what I said."

"Yeah, well you better forget it too," said Reirei. She began turning away from him, walking back towards where Mzingo and the others were talking about the upcoming attack. "Just make sure you're ready to lead the attack today. We'll be heading out shortly."

By the time Dalia arrived in Mzimu Grove, she spotted the entire planning committee already there.

The Lion Guard stood by the back of the grove, probably discussing security measures amongst themselves, while Makini, Imba, Timon, and Pumbaa were standing beside a large rock at the center of the Grove. As Dalia neared the rock, it seemed like Makini was looking a little bit frustrated with Timon and Pumbaa.

"... and the truth is, I don't really want to have an afterparty," Makini was telling Timon, "I like the idea of having song and dance at the ceremony, but I don't want anything after that. I just want to have the ceremony with all my friends by my side."

Pumbaa looked affronted. "But... that's so traditional."

Timon nodded. "And traditional doesn't exactly, uh, suit ya, darling."

"Well maybe I like traditional," Makini argued. "And what do you mean, it doesn't suit me?"

Imba cleared her throat. "Ahem," she said, stepping him, "Before things get too heated, might I remind everyone that it should be Makini's decision?"

Dalia walked into the clearing where they were gathered. "I agree."

Makini looked surprised at the sound of Dalia's voice, turning around sharply to see her. "Ooh, Dalia, you're back!" she said, bounding forward. She laid her hand flat against the lioness' forehead. "You seem alright now," she said thoughtfully, "What did Rafiki say when you visited him?"

Dalia was about to tell her the truth - about the hallucination, and how Rafiki was reluctant to tell her anything - but decided against it after remembering what Nala had told her. "Uh, nothing much. Just told me to," she paused, thinking of a believable lie, "take a nap."

Makini raised a brow dubiously. "All he told you was to take a nap?" she repeated, sounding doubtful.

Imba shrugged from where she was perched. "Sounds likely," she said, "Rafiki's always saying crazy things. Remember that time he told Bunga that he was the wisest in the Pridelands?" When Imba was met by Dalia's stare of disbelief, she nodded her head in agreement. "I know, Dal. Like I said, he's crazy."

From where he was standing, Timon crossed his thin arms over his chest and raised a brow. "Mind explaining to me why you think Rafiki's so 'crazy' for saying that our Bunga is the Prideland's wisest?" he asked pointedly.

"Yeah!" Pumbaa added, looking cross, "Our nephew Bunga is wiser than ol' Kongwe!"

"I'm sorry, nephew?"

"Yeah," said Timon, shrugging an arm around Pumbaa, "Me and Pumbaa have been raising that lil stinker since he could first waddle."

Dalia blinked twice. "So you two raised a lion to be the next King of the Pridelands, and now you're fathering a honey-badger?" Both Timon and Pumbaa nodded, both also smiling very proudly. "So Bunga is technically the King's brother?" Once again, both Timon and Pumbaa nodded. "So, in other words, if something were to happen to Kion and Kiara, Bunga would be the next in line for the throne?"

The question seemed to take the two by surprise. "Eh, never really thought of it that way," Timon admitted.

"But I guess so," answered Pumbaa.

The thought of Bunga taking the throne made Dalia's head spin. She stared at the two for a few moments before shaking her head. "The Pridelands get stranger and stranger the more time I spend here," she finally said, only half-joking.

"You say it like the Prideland's being unique is a bad thing," said Timon, looking flabbergasted. "I think being traditional is boring," he said with a pointed look at Makini. "Which is exactly why you should let me and Pumbaa throw you an afterparty."

Makini groaned. "Not this again," she said, sighing. "Look, guys, I appreciate you guys supporting me, but all I want is a simple ceremony."

Timon looked like he was going to give his but it's traditional! lecture again, but thankfully Imba cut in. "Let's think about it this way, Timon. It seems like you're making a tradition out of not being traditional. Am I right?"

"Darn tooting!"

"So, in that case, it would be not traditional to go the traditional route, right?" argued Imba. Timon reluctantly nodded. "Which means - you should have no problems with Makini choosing to be untraditional by following the tradition of not having an after-party."

Dalia only understood about every other word that Imba had said, but Timon and Pumba seemed to have caught on.

Timon tapped his chin thoughtfully for a few minutes before exhaling sharply. "Oh, alright," he agreed. "No afterparty it is." He held up a stern finger, wagging it in Makini's direction. "But we are still having the song and dance at your ceremony - no ifs, ands, or buts about it."

Makini smiled widely, looking relieved. "Thanks for understanding."

It was perfect timing too because the other Pridelanders that Dalia, Makini, and Imba had invited earlier today began arriving in Mzimu Grove for Makini's Mpando Mpaya. Timon and Pumbaa separated from the group to go greet the Pridelanders currently pouring in, leaving the three girls alone.

Once they were alone, Makini glanced back at Dalia. "You sure you're okay?" she asked, her Royal Mjuzi instinct kicking in. Dalia guessed she was still dubious of Dalia's lie regarding Rafiki's advice.

"I'm fine," stressed Dalia, trying to sound sincere. "I'm just a little tired. That's all, okay? For now, let's just worry about you." She gently nudged her with her shoulder. "You excited about your ceremony?"

Makini nodded eagerly. "Being a Royal Mjuzi has been my destiny since… well, forever," explained the mandrill.

"Destiny?" repeated Imba, giving her a quizzical glance, "What do you mean by that?"

Makini gave her a blank look. "Well," she said, sounding a little unsure, "It just means that this is what I am meant to be. The great voices of the past told Rafiki that I would be the next Royal Mjuzi. So, it has to be my destiny."

Makini's answer didn't sit quite right with Dalia. She wasn't the biggest believer in "destiny" or "fate", but she did believe that whatever those concepts were, they weren't set in stone. They could be changed, and erased, and rewritten. Still, despite her discomfort, she didn't comment on it. It was Makini's special night, and who was Dalia to ruin it by criticizing her beliefs?

Zuri, Tiifu, and Kiara made their way into the clearing. Kiara went to speak with her brother, who was currently speaking with Basi about backup plans should things go south, and Tiifu and Zuri were walking over to where Imba, Dalia, and Makini stood.

"Congrats, Makini," said Zuri as she approached, sounding genuine. "Tiifu and I, the future Queen's Royal Advisors, are looking forward to working with you more in the future. After all, by the time you become an official Royal Mjuzi, you'll probably be serving Kiara."

Tiifu nodded her agreement, smiling happily. Looking over at Dalia and Imba, she gave a friendly wave. "Hi, girls."

"'Sup," said Imba.

"Hi, Tiifu," Dalia replied before glancing at Zuri. "Zuri," she said politely.

Zuri dipped her head in a polite greeting. With another round of polite smiles from both of them, the two girls dispersed back into the crowd – no doubt in search of Kiara.

From the corner of her eye, Dalia spotted Rafiki entering Mzimu Grove. She was considering confronting him now to ask him what was going on but changed her mind when Makini made a bee-line straight towards him. Apparently, the younger mandrill had something urgent to discuss with her mentor.

"I'll be right back!" Makini called over her shoulder, sprinting over to where her mentor stood.

Dalia watched as she began chatting animatedly to her mentor (probably regarding the upcoming ceremony), and sighed. She guessed she really would have to wait until after the ceremony to speak with him.

From beside Dalia, Imba's eyes suddenly went wide. "Oh – my – gosh," she breathed, her eyes fixed on a point in the distance Dalia couldn't quite see, "Is that-? Is that Hadithi?"

"Hadi-who?"

"C'mon, Dal. He's only like the biggest hero in the Pridelands," she said. Dalia squinted in the direction Imba was staring, gobsmacked, and she eventually made the figure of a large, broad-chested eagle with a coat comprised of cream and dark brown. Imba squealed. "I'm gonna go talk to him," she said, grinning broadly. "It's been so long since we've spoken."

And with that, Imba took off in the direction of the incoming Hadithi.

For a few seconds, Dalia was just standing there – in the middle of the clearing – alone and not sure what to do. But then, thankfully, she saw members of Jasiri's Clan beginning to enter Mzimu Grove. With disdain, she also noticed Pridelanders giving the hyenas dirty glances and inching away from them. Jasiri's Clan, though, seemed to take the treatment in stride – not letting it faze them.

They began dispersing into the crowd, speaking to whoever was willing to speak with them and simply ignoring the others. Jasiri, Madoa, and Tombie were the last ones to arrive. Tombie's eyes instantly lit up when he spotted Dalia, and he began walking towards her.

"Dal!" he called out, and Dalia felt her lips quirking up into a smile at the sight of him. "Did ya finally take a bath?" he teased, referencing her soot-stained fur from the fire a few weeks ago. Thankfully, the soot stains had completely faded by now, her real coat color returning fully.

"You're one to talk," she said, snorting. "Remember when Torora took it open herself to teach you how to clean yourself because you smelled so bad, it was becoming a safety hazard?"

Tombie laughed. "Can you blame me? It's not like my ma' ever taught me before she gave me the boot," he pointed out, only half-joking.

It isn't uncommon for the matriarchs of a hyena clan to abandon male cubs in favor of stronger female ones. Dalia never asked the specifics (it was a sore subject), but she figured that's what happened with Tombie. How else could a hyena pup that young be wandering around in the Sand Dunes? If Torora hadn't found him and invited him to join the Wazi, Dalia wasn't sure what would've happened to him.

The lionesses of the Wazi Pride – particularly Nyla and Torora – really took Tombie in and helped raise him.

"Fair enough," Dalia said, dissenting. "In your defense, though, Asra was much worse in that regard. Remember when the three of us would play, she would always be the one to return home the dirtiest? Her mother always had her work cut out for her with Asra."

Tombia gave an amused snort. "Sometimes I wonder how Asra's doing now - whether or not she's still the weird, dirt-loving kid," Tombie said. "I mean, I think about all of them – Torora, Tariq, Mida, and all the others – but I think a lot about Asra in particular. "

Dalia nodded, thinking of their former friend. "I know," she said, sighing, "Hopefully, she's doing okay."

Dalia often wondered what happened to the former friends she had made in the Wazi pride. After the split, Dalia had absolutely zero contact with any of her former pride mates. This "zero-contact list" also included one of her dearest playmates, Asra.

Asra had been the incredibly clumsy daughter of Torora and Tariq. Despite growing up the daughter of the two founders of the Wazi, Asra had never been conceited. Nor did she hold the same sense of entitlement Dalia sometimes sensed minorly in Kiara and Kion. When Dalia played with Tombie and Asra, there was never any social difference between the three – despite their different lineages.

Asra was the daughter of two outcasts turned rulers. Dalia never knew her father, but her mother had been a Queen. And Tombie was a runty, oddly colored hyena that had been most likely abandoned by his mother. And despite their vastly different lineages, they still managed to get along well enough with each other. Dalia glanced back over to the crowd of creatures waiting for the ceremony to begin, and she saw a stubborn rhinoceros refuse to look Jasiri in the eye.

She sighed.

If three cubs could learn to get along despite their differences, why was it so hard for adults?

Tombie seemed to follow her train of thought because he gently nudged her. "Hey," he said, snapping her out of it, "Don't worry about it too much. Some animals will always have their prejudices."

"But it's unfair," she protested, "You and the Hyena Resistance have probably helped save the Pridelands dozens of times over, but they—" she gestured to a group of gazelles emphatically distancing themselves from the hyenas, "—treat you like you all were Scar's best friends."

Tombie shrugged. "I don't let it bother me," he said simply. "Sure, there are some rude creatures," he said. "But there's also a lot of open-minded ones." He gestured to Basi, who was currently throwing his head back in a laugh, deep in conversation with Jasiri.

Dalia nodded vaguely, finding some solace in that fact.

After a few more minutes of chatting with Tombie, a hush fell over the crowd, and Rafiki and Simba took the stage, signaling that the ceremony was about to begin.

"I'm gonna go find Madoa," whispered Tombie. Dalia nodded to signal she had heard him, and he was slinking away into the crowd in search of her.

Just as he had left, Rafiki began raising his arms.

"Welcome, everyone!" he said, "Today is the Mpando Mpaya for Makini." He gestured to Makini, who was standing a little ways away, with a tree sapling in her hand. "As you all know, every tree in Mzimu Grove has been planted by a Royal Mjuzi whilst they are in training."

"And today," added Simba, stepping forward. He gave a warm – although a little obviously practiced – smile to Makini. "Makini will be planting her tree in the Grove, furthering the Circle of Life. Before that, though, to celebrate this special occasion, I have invited two very dear friends of mine to perform a song." He looked backstage. "And, so, without further ado: please welcome, Timon and Pumbaa!"

A loud whoop! went through the air, and Timon and Pumbaa stepped out and onto the stage.

"Thank you, thank you very much," said Pumbaa to those who were still cheering.

Timon cleared his throat, placing a hand over his chest in a heartfelt gesture. "I would just like to take a moment to thank everyone for coming," said Timon, gesturing to the crowd. "As you all know, today we're celebrating something very important."

Pumbaa nodded fervently. "Yes! Today is the first Mpando Mpaya in many, many years!"

"So, please, folks – let's sound alive," said Timon, cupping his hands at the sides of his face to magnify his voice, "And let's give it up for Ma-ki-ni!"

Makini grinned madly as the crowd began cheering for her. The elephants trumpeted their horns, the crocodiles slapped their tails to the ground, and the herd creatures stomped their hooves against the grass in their cheer. In the midst of the cheering, somehow, Kion had managed to slip away from the crowd to stand beside Dalia.

"Boo!" he whispered in her ear, standing just behind her. His voice was barely audible over the cheering, which somehow made it spookier for Dalia.

She gave a little jump, jerking her head around. When she saw that it was just him, she narrowed her eyes and gave him a playful nudge. "You're lucky I still tolerate you," she said, teasing.

Kion considered her, tilting his head. "You're a very easy lioness to startle, Dalia," he said, like pointing out a fact. Then, he gave a smug grin. "Which makes it all the more amusing for me," he added.

Dalia snorted. "You seem to be in a better mood," she said, over the noise of the cheering. "You're a lot less… serious than you normally are." He gave her a concerned look, so Dalia quickly added, "I like it."

He tried shrugging nonchalantly, but Dalia could tell that he was pleased with her comment. "Celebrations cheer everybody up," he said, trying to sound casual.

"Alright, alright," Timon said, drawing the two lions' attention back to the stage. He was waving his hands in a calming motion to appease the crowd, "So I'm sure you all are wondering, Gee Timon and Pumbaa, what could you possibly have planned for the biggest event of the year?"

"Well," said Pumbaa, "The answer to your question, Timon, is… LUAU!"

With that declaration, another round of applause went through the crowd. Dalia glanced at the Pridelanders and was surprised to see them genuinely looking forward to whatever a 'luau' was. She realized then that this event was exactly what everyone needed. Everyone was under high stress from the events of the past few weeks, so it was natural that they craved a moment to wind down.

And while she shared that craving, she was still not exactly "caught up" on Pridelander's lingo. "Kion, what's a luau?"

"You'll see," he replied, gesturing towards the duo on stage.

Dalia looked back up and realized that they had donned floral necklaces and grass skirts. With a small clearing of the throat, Timon and Pumbaa began singing out a catchy (albeit somewhat cheesy, in Dalia's opinion) tune that had everyone nodding their heads and singing along.

"This is actually, well, pretty good," said Dalia begrudgingly.

Kion laughed. "Why do you sound so surprised? You didn't think Timon and Pumbaa could pull it off?"

"They're insane, Kion," exasperated Dalia, looking incredulous. "You have to understand that, don't you?"

He shrugged. "I don't think they're any more insane than, say, Rafiki."

She huffed. "Oh." She looked slightly annoyed at the mention of the mandrill. "He's another can of worms altogether."

"You're upset with Rafiki?"

Dalia bit her tongue, forcing herself not to tell him about what had happened between herself, Rafiki, and Nala. That would be inappropriate to tell him, Dalia was sure. After all, Rafiki was his family friend and Nala was his mother. The last thing she wanted to do was badmouth them in front of him.

"No," she said instead, "I mean, you know how he is. Always running off without explaining things fully."

Kion seemed to take this explanation for the full truth. "Very true," he agreed.

And then they were quiet, dancing and quietly humming along to the tune of the song that was being sung. After several moments, Kion turned his head to look at Dalia. "I like spending time with you, Dalia," he said.

Dalia smiled. She was happier than she had been in a while. There was something to be said about parties, she supposed. Sure, they were loud and a little bit obnoxious, but there was something about the combination of music playing, the mild heat beating down on them, and the sun setting in the background that was very soothing and pleasurable to her. And, of course, being with her friends made the situation even better.

So, when she replied with, "I like spending time with you too. I'm really happy." – there hadn't been a trace of deception in her words.

Little did she know that her happiness would be very short-lived.

The aggravatingly catchy tune of the performance vibrated through the air - even where Janja stood, crouched behind shrubbery. He, along with most of Scar's Army, were hiding from view, waiting for Mzingo's signal. The plan was, that Janja and the rest of the ground-bound attackers would disrupt the ceremony - causing chaos. And while this happened, Mzingo and the vultures would drop fire over Mzimu Grove.

To be honest, there was a lot that could go wrong. Janja wasn't sure if Mzingo and the vultures' aim would be accurate. Sure, he may not like the Pridelanders, but nobody deserved to burn alive. The thought made him slightly queasy.

Reirei seemed to notice his unease for she narrowed her eyes. "What's wrong with you?" she hissed. "Ya look like you've seen a ghost."

Janja shook his head. "Nothin'."

The jackal eyed him suspiciously but didn't further comment on it. From overhead, Janja caught sight of the vultures circling once, then twice, then a final time before swooping to the ground. That was the signal. Janja sucked a deep breath in, trying to calm his nerves.

"Let's go," he said roughly, and then he was slinking forward towards Mzimu Grove, a horrible sense of foreboding filling him.

Dalia was enjoying herself, swaying the rhythm of the song - when she felt it. Perhaps it was just a gut feeling, but something was suddenly very wrong. She could feel the shift in the air - as if something horrible was about to happen. The feeling of foreboding was growing, threatening to suffocate her, and she was having a hard time catching her breath.

Kion seemed to pick up on this. "Hey." He turned to her, looking suddenly concerned. "You alright?"

She nodded. "Just feel a little, uh, light-headed," she said. "I think I'm just going to step away and get some fresh air, okay?"

He tipped his head into a nod. "Alright. Let me know if anything's wrong."

"Alright," she said, and then she was making her way to the edge of the clearing - away from the congestion where she could breathe easier.

As she was calming her nerves, a series of loud screams suddenly disrupted the song. Dalia turned her head and found that the party had in fact been interrupted. By Scar's Army, Janja leading them forward.

"Hey," he said, his voice cold and drawling, "How come we didn't get the invite?"

His two goons laughed madly, and Reirei drew out her claws. "Hope we're not interrupting anything," she giggled.

"Now!" shouted Kiburi.

Immediately, Scar's Army took offense, chasing after innocents. Everyone began fleeing and screaming in fear, and Kion was trying to get everyone to remain calm and fight back as he trained them to do, but it wasn't 100% working. Sure, there were many Pridelanders (along with most of Jasiri's Clan) who organized themselves and began retaliating, but the vast majority were in panic.

"Everyone!" Kion shouted, "Remain calm! Calmly find the safest and closest exit." He scanned the clearing, spotting his Guard. "Lion Guard, with me!"

They dispersed into the crowd, in combat with Scar's Army, and the violence and chaos only seemed to exponentially increase. Dalia was suddenly barreled into, and she drew her claws out, expecting a fight. Instead, she discovered that her assailant wasn't actually an assailant at all. It was just panicked-looking Tiifu, who was bearing a deep gash on the side of her face, blood dripping down her cheek.

"Tiifu!" Dalia shrieked, startled. "Your face!"

"Huh?" Tiifu only then seemed to notice the cut, and she screamed shrilly in shock. "Ah!" She rubbed her paw against her cheek, staring at the blood in disbelief.

"What happened?"

Tiifu began crying then, but her cries were drowned out by the noise of chaos abounding amongst them. "I-I don't know," cried Tiifu, her lip wobbling. "We started running, and then we lost Kiara, and then me and Zuri ran into Kiburi - and then I guess that's when this happened," she babbled, glancing at her cheek. "Then we got separated, and I can't find anyone!"

Dalia was breathing hard, the air suddenly much harder to inhale. "It's okay. Calm down. I'll help you find them," she promised.

Tiifu nodded, putting on a brave face, and the two dashed back into the thick of Mzimu Grove. She could hear Imba's harsh screeching but couldn't quite locate the eagle.

"Zuri!" Tiifu called out, "Kiara!"

Dalia was a little worried that Tiifu's loud calls would attract members of Scar's Army. But thankfully, the Outlanders seemed too preoccupied to bother chasing after them now. Finally, Dalia spotted Zuri on the other side of the Grove, hiding crouched behind a large tree. Still, Kiara was nowhere in sight.

"There's Zuri," said Dalia, breathless.

Tiifu let out a breath of relief, and the two began sprinting faster toward Zuri. Perhaps Dalia could find an opening for Zuri and Tiifu to escape from, and then she could return to help Kion fight off the rest of them.

Just as they were nearing Zuri, who was shaking in fear from where she was hidden, a flash of orange and deep red hurtled to the ground. Dalia had to jump to avoid whatever it was, shoving Tiifu back in the process. There was a dull ache in her head from where she struck it, and when she tilted her head up to see what it had been, she realized it had been a branch lit on fire.

Her blood ran cold. Fire - just like her hallucination.

"Fire," Tiifu croaked.

From somewhere across the clearing - a place that Dalia couldn't quite pinpoint - Kion's booming voice rang out. "Elephants! Follow me!"

She guessed he would order them to run to a nearby watering hole and fill up their trunks with as much water they could handle, then return to put out the fire.

Zuri seemed to realize that the location they were in was highly volatile, and hiding would do her no good, for she moved out of her spot and began racing towards them. All around them, the fire began dropping from the sky, and the screaming increased. Flames were licking the grass and trees and more were raining down by the second. Tiifu and Dalia began running towards Zuri as well, hoping to meet somewhere in the middle.

After meeting with Zuri, Dalia would have to figure out how to get them out of Mzimu Grove, and then she'd go back and find Makini and Kiara. She'd find Kiara for Tiifu's sake as she had already promised, and she'd find Makini on the principle that she was her friend. She knew her other friends would be fine. Kion and Tombie were strong, and Imba was an eagle and she could fly to avoid both the flames and foes. Makini was neither of those things, and Dalia worried for her.

It was terrifying, running blindly without knowing where the next flaming branch would drop. If they were lucky, they could avoid the flames.

They were not lucky.

As Tiifu and Dalia were just a few feet away from Zuri, another flaming branch dropped - right over them. They didn't even have time to move or predict where it would land. Dalia ducked to the ground and heard a dull thunk that told her the branch had hit something. Almost immediately, the worst screams Dalia had ever heard filled the air.

"Oh my God! Zuri!" screamed Tiifu.

Groggily, Dalia lifted her head from the ground and glanced at the sound of the commotion. Her stomach gave a great lurch at what she saw.

Zuri was on fire.

It was horrifying; it was like there was a fiery halo surrounding her frame. It seemed like the branch had struck her left hind leg, and the flames were slowly but steadily creeping up her spine. She was screaming loudly, and Tiifu had run over to try to get out of the flames with her paws. As soon as the initial shock ebbed, Dalia did the same - running over to where Zuri was.

"Roll!" Dalia yelled, still running, "Roll on the ground!"

She began twisting her body against the ground. While she writhed on the floor, Dalia and Tiifu began madly patting her coat to put out the embers. It seemed, that for every spot that the girls managed to put out, the embers would spread. Soon, the fire had burned through spots of Zuri's fur and started attacking her actual flesh. This elicited screams of pain anew from the lioness.

Zuri was sobbing. "Put it out! Put it out!" she shrieked.

At this point, Zuri's screaming drew the attention of other Pridelanders. A loud noise of shock ripped through the air, and Dalia turned around the see a terrified Kiara, accompanied by Fuli, sprinting towards them. Kiara was crying, and Fuli cursed under her breath before joining Tiifu and Dalia in putting out the fire. For a horrifying minute, which felt like hours, the four girls went to work putting out the flames as quickly as they could.

Finally, Tiifu patted out the last of the flames. Zuri had stopped screaming at this point, her eyes half-lidded. Tiifu and Kiara tended to her, fretting over her, and trying to figure out how to get her out of the Grove.

Now that the fire was out, and Dalia had a better look at the damage it had inflicted, she felt like vomiting. From where the fire had licked up her leg to the base of her spine, her flesh was bright red and irritated, blisters already forming. But, as Dalia had suspected, Zuri's left hindleg and taken the brunt of the attack - dark black, charred areas covering most of the surface.

A wave of nausea swept over her, and she couldn't stop herself from dry-heaving.

From beside her, Fuli was bent over, struggling to catch her breath. She cursed again.

"I'm gonna go get help," she told Dalia. And to her surprise, she noticed that Fuli was blanched in the face, her body shaking slightly. She had never seen the cheetah so deeply unnerved. "You stay here," she continued, before gesturing to where Zuri lay, shivering, "You two are friends, right?" They both knew that Zuri and Dalia were at best acquaintances and definitely not "friends", but Dalia nodded anyway. Today wasn't a day to argue the semantics. Today, everyone who wasn't an enemy was a friend. "Okay, then you stay with her."

"I will. Fuli, please look out for Makini and make sure she's safe," Dalia pleaded.

She nodded and with that, Fuli began sprinting off, zig-zagging to avoid the patches of flames. By now, the branches of flames had stopped falling from the sky. Dalia assumed that meant the vultures had decided to stop actively dropping flames, deciding that it'd be better to just sit back and relax as the fire that they had caused continued to destroy everything in its path.

Dalia turned to Zuri, and immediately felt like retching all over again. Despite the fact that the two were never particularly close, and have been known to get into spats with each other, she would have never wished this upon her. She wouldn't wish this upon anyone! Zuri's injury was the most horrific thing she had seen in a long while; there were even certain places where Dalia spotted (in horror) bone peeking out amongst the charred flesh.

Kiara's brow was furrowed, and Tiifu was encouraging Zuri to keep her eyes open.

"How is she?" Dalia asked cautiously.

Kiara's eyes flashed. "How do you think she is?" she snapped, her tone biting. She must've realized how harsh she came across, for the princess' face immediately softened after saying that. "I'm sorry," she immediately said, backpedaling.

"It's okay. It was a dumb question, and everyone's angry," Dalia assured. "It's not your fault."

The princess' eyes welled up with hot, stinging tears. "I'm beyond angry, Dalia," she hissed in a quiet but lethal voice. She seemed to be shaking with anger. "Look what they did to her!" she seethed, her eyes narrowing. "Kion's been talking about forgiving Scar's Army after the war is over with, as long as they redeem themselves. And I used to agree with him. But now, I don't care what happens - or who decides to switch sides - I'm never forgiving anyone who was involved in this."

Had it been even one hour before this, Dalia would've argued with her. Everyone has the potential to change and become better, she would've said. She would be arguing in defense of a certain hyena, who she was convinced was just confused and needed guidance. Now, though, as she looked at the suffering around her, she felt nothing but hatred and anger spewing inside her.

She once felt pity towards the Outlanders of Scar's Army. The vultures were annoying, sure, but they weren't necessarily cruel unless goaded. Kiburi favored strength and cruelty, but his main conflict was with Makuu - not the Circle of Life. Reirei disrespected the Circle of Life because she felt disrespected by lions, who refused to do anything about the limited space in the Outlands - the cause of the feud between jackal clans. And everyone knew the social discrimination that faced the hyenas.

Those feelings of pity, though, were now replaced with a burning sense of anger and vengeance. Particularly towards Janja, who was the worst of all the Outlanders due to his infuriating wishy-washiness.

Dalia vowed to herself that the next to she saw Janja - the horrible traitor - she'd rip him to pieces.

Suddenly, in the middle of the clearing, a huge pillar of flame erupted in the middle of the Grove. The flames were made up of bright colors - orange, red, green, blue - and were swirling together madly, just like she had seen in her hallucination. An uncomfortable feeling settled in her gut as the flames began taking shape into a horribly infamous figure.

A cruel and all-too-familiar voice began laughing maniacally, echoing through the clearing. Gasps of disbelief filled the air.

"How could this be?" one voice cried out.

"Is that...?"

"Scar," said Simba, stepping out. He had a long gash near his ribs, but other than that, he seemed to be fine.

By now, all the Outlanders and many of the Pridelanders had fled in fear of the fire, and their absence made the smokey atmosphere a strange and unnerving sort of quiet. There were only a few still left in the Grove from what Dalia could see through the smoke. Basi and his pod, Jasiri's Clan, the crocodiles, the lions, and all the members of the Lion Guard except for Ono and Kion - who Dalia guessed were still leading the elephants back to the Grove with water to put out the fire.

There were a few straggling herd creatures too, but not a whole lot. Everyone who was still remaining looked, in some way, injured. She was relieved to see that Makini and Imba were still alive and well, though Makini was walking with a limp and Imba was lacking a noticeable amount of feathers.

Scar's firey face twisted maliciously. "That's right, Simba," he snarled, "Never thought you'd see me again, did you?" He laughed again. "But my army has been busy, wouldn't you agree? First, we took Kilio Valley, then we wrecked Big Springs, and now... now your precious Mzimo Grove is up in flames."

Simba's face was angry, but not shocked. "What do you want Scar?"

"Revenge," he growled out, "I want revenge on you, Simba. I want revenge on all your spineless supporters. And I especially want revenge on the traitors." His bright red eyes flickered over to Dalia, and a shiver of fear ran up her spine. "Yes," he laughed out in her direction, "that includes you, my little divinator."

"Divinator? What's he talking about?" Kiara asked her.

Dalia shook her head, confused. "I-I don't know," she said, truthfully.

Before she could understand what was happening, Scar's evil laugh boomed through the clearing once again, before a large bloom of fire overtook him - his form disappearing into the flame. The aftermath of his sudden appearance left the Pridelanders murmuring fearfully among themselves.

As if on cue, Kion and Ono had just burst into the clearing with the herd of elephants behind them. Kion looked exhausted and it looked like Ono had fought off some vultures. It dawned on Dalia then that Kion and Ono had been protecting the elephants, knowing that Scar's Army would attack them first to prevent them from bringing water back to the Grove. Smart move on Kion's part.

Immediately, the elephants rushed forward, shooting loads upon loads of water until the fire. The first round of water provided some relief to the fire, and the elephants quickly began retreating to load up for the second round. Weary, Kion looked around the Grove, his face falling at the destruction. As the smoke began clearing, his gaze fixed on Zuri, who was still crumpled on the ground, and he looked horrified.

More creatures began crowding around Zuri at this point. Out of all the injuries, Zuri's was undeniably the worst. Tiifu was crying mournfully, and Kiara was shaking with anger.

Seconds later, Fuli returned with Rafiki in tow.

Fear coursed through her. "Where's Makini?"

"I know, I know," she replied quickly, "I'm going now to find her."

Rafiki immediately lost the silliness that Dalia had seen in him, his face growing grave and serious. "My dear," he said gently, stroking Zuri's face, "Are you able to move your leg at all?"

Zuri's eyes were glazed over with pain, and she groaned indiscernibly. If she was trying to move her leg, nobody could've known, for it remained completely stiff.

"I see," he whispered, looking more worried. He began moving his hand gently over the worst areas of the burn. "Can you feel where my hand is?" Zuri slightly shook her head, her eyes still half-lidded. He moved it up higher, where the burn was bad but not horrible. "How about now?" Zuri whimpered in response, her face contorting even tighter with pain.

"What does that mean?" demanded Kiara, her tone snappish, "Why couldn't she feel you when-"

"Kiara," said Rafiki in a gentle, but stern voice. He was reminding her that her friend's injury was no fault of his own, and perhaps because of their shared history, Kiara actually backed off, dipping her head in a slight apology. "I will need Beshte's help to get her back to the Lair," he said to Fuli, "And if you see Makini, please tell her to begin inspecting wounds and order them from injuries of most importance to injuries of least importance. Give her my permission to treat injuries she deems as minor."

Fuli dipped her head into a nod before sprinting off.

Rafiki turned to Dalia. "No time for questions," he said as if reading her mind. She really wanted to demand an answer regarding him, Nala, and her stupid hallucination. To her growing dismay, the more she thought about it, the more she realized that the events of that night had almost perfectly matched her hallucination. "Everyone needs to start evacuating. Kiara, Tiifu, Dalia-" he pointed at the three, "-tell everyone you see to get out of here, now. If the fire hasn't hurt them yet, the smoke certainly shall."

Dalia and Kiara nodded (Kiara with some reluctance), but Tiifu began crying harder. "I don't wanna leave her," she cried.

"I understand," said Rafiki, "but you must do this."

His words were spoken with such a firm sense of finality, that Tiifu eventually nodded. The three lionesses began exiting the Grove. By now, the fire was nearly completely out but there was still smoke. There were a few straggling creatures - dazed and disoriented - and they directed them to immediately evacuate. Most of the creatures, though, had already left and began crowding around Priderock.

By the time the last of the creatures were out of Mzimu Grove, Rafiki, Beshte, Fuli, and Zuri (who was on Beshte's back) had just exited as well. Beshte made a bee-line towards the Lair, cutting through the crowd of Pridelanders stationed outside Priderock. Tiifu and Kiara saw this and immediately dashed after them, leaving Dalia alone. She guessed Makini would be inspecting everyone's injuries, but she wasn't sure where Imba was.

She hadn't seen Imba since just before Scar began speaking, but she knew that the eagle would be fine. So, she began inching closer to Priderock, trying to spot the one lioness Dalia needed to speak to. Immediately. Now that Dalia was closer to Priderock, she could hear the discussion at hand.

King Simba was standing at a crest, speaking to the Pridelanders. Beside him, Kion stood, looking defeated.

"I am glad to see you all have survived through the attack," Simba said, addressing his subjects in a regal tone, "As many of you know, Scar has returned. I am unsure how, and perhaps we will never be sure how, but the truth remains - he was returned. And, regrettably, I had asked the Lion Guard to keep this a secret from you all."

Several gasps of outcry echoed, and Ma Tembo began defending the King while the herds began letting their grievances be heard.

In the midst of all this, though, Dalia heard a familiar voice call out her name.

"Dal!"

She turned to find an exhausted but healthy-looking Tombie sprinting towards her. "Tombie!" she cried in relief.

"You okay?" he asked as he neared, his green eyes flickering as he inspected her for injuries.

"I'm fine, I'm fine," insisted Dalia, "What about you? Your Clan?"

He nodded emphatically. "We're all okay, thankfully," he said, sighing in relief, "Madoa... she got a small burn across her back, but she's okay. I told her to go home and take it easy, but knowing her, I doubt she will be. They're back in the Outlands now, chasing back Scar's Army. I had to stay behind to make sure you were alright. I heard that there was a lioness who got very badly burned, and I nearly had a heart attack."

"No, that was Zuri," she explained. "Kiara's friend. She got hit by a branch." Her eyes began watering, and she blinked back the tears. She would not cry now. Not in front of everyone. "It happened right in front of me," she continued, her voice slightly breaking.

"That's horrible," Tombie said, shaking his head. "They're heartless. All of them."

Dalia agreed with her whole heart. And as much as she wanted to stay with Tombie, she knew that his Clan needed him more. "You should probably head back and check on Madoa," she said, tired. Besides, there was something she needed to do. "She's probably needing you more than me right now."

"I know, I just wanted to check up on you first since I was worried that what happened to your friend happened to you," he said. He began backstepping, "But you're right, I should probably start heading back now. Goodnight, Dal."

"It won't be much of a good night, but I appreciate the sentiment," Dalia replied, and Tombie grinned crookedly before disappearing into the night.

Now that he was gone, Dalia began scanning the area around her. Conversations of potentially a mass migration out of the Pridelands began filtering through the air, but Dalia had paid no attention to it. She was concerned wholly with finding a particular lioness... After a few minutes, she spotted her just outside the Lion Guard's Lair, probably taking peeks at Zuri who was in there with Rafiki.

Dalia immediately made a bee-line towards the lioness, her gut sinking. Queen Nala definitely knew something, and it bothered her that someone else knew something about Dalia that she herself didn't know.

When she neared her, she announced her presence by speaking. "We need to talk," Dalia said, her voice shaky. Nala turned, looking startled. Her face was pale and she looked even paler when Dalia showed her head. "You know something," she snapped, "You and the monkey were acting strange - you knew the fire was going to happen."

"I didn't know for certain about the fire," argued Nala weakly,

"But you were reasonably certain, and you didn't do anything to stop it! How could you just let this happen?"

Nala looked angry. "Child, if you only knew how much mercy I've spared on you already..." she trailed off, calming herself. In a subdued voice, she continued, "I'm doing everything in my power to be as kind to you as possible."

"Mercy?" cried Dalia, "You've done nothing but confuse me!" A crazed look crossed her eyes. "Rafiki called my hallucination a vision, and then the exact same things I saw in my 'vision' happened! And then, Scar called me a divinator! Something weird is going on, and you and Rafiki both know what it is, and you're keeping it from me. How messed up is that? You two know something about me that I myself do not know!"

Nala looked uncomfortable at the mention of 'divinator.' "I know," she said quietly, "But please realize I only kept the information from you in hopes to be kind to you, Dalia. I've had my suspicions of what you are for a long time now, but I wasn't sure until what happened tonight. There was no reason for me to burden you if there wasn't complete certainty that it was true. Of course, I hadn't expected your first vision to be something so horrible or true for that matter."

Dalia was confused. "What're you talking about?"

The Queen looked at her tiredly. "Rafiki and I have reason to believe that you, and your mother before you, have been gifted the ability to foretell certain aspects of the future. You are a divinator, Dalia."

There it was. The same word Scar had called her earlier. "And what does that mean?" she blurted, and it hadn't even registered that Nala had referenced her mother in her statement.

Nala looked at Dalia sadly.

"It means that you are a curse. To all of us."

A/N: I'm really, really excited to write this story from here till the end, because it's going to get increasingly more intense, and I LOVE writing/reading that kind of stuff. As always, please let me know what ya'll think!