Hago violently threw Nala onto the ground in the middle of the empty clearing, causing her to cry out in pain.

"I've felt like doing that for a while now," Hago told Scar, wincing. "Hurt my back, though. I really have to get that fixed."

"So we just leave her here?" Scar presumed.

Hago nodded. "Yes. It's as simple as that." He pointed at a few large rocks near the area. "We just hide behind those rocks over there and wait for the Prince to show up. I can freeze them both with my staff, rendering them immobile, and then we can begin the… torture."

"I like the sound of that," said Scar, smiling evilly.

"You won't get away with this!" Nala shouted at them.

"Oh, shut up!" Hago snapped. "Seriously, why does everyone say the same thing? 'You won't get away with this', 'You evil fiend', 'Somebody please help me'! Always the same thing! Boring, boring, b oring!"

Nala looked down at her paw. It was bleeding because of Hago throwing her onto the ground so hard. She had a feeling that was going to be the least of her worries if Simba didn't come to her rescue soon. She had faith in him, though, and knew that if she just waited, her best friend would come for her.

"Now you stay there," Hago warned. "Or you'll be sorry."

"I have a feeling I already am," Nala muttered.

Hago heard her, and lashed out with his staff, hitting Nala square in the face and knocking her back down again. She sobbed in pain. That really hurt…

"Insolent little brat," Hago said through clenched teeth, anger burning inside of him. He turned to Scar. "Come on. The sooner we get this done, the sooner I can kill these two cubs. Slowly."

"I agree," said Scar, not sparing the sobbing Nala a second glance. "I'll feel so much better without them around."

The two walked off to hide behind the rocks nearby. Nala sobbed and cried, curling up on the ground. She wiped a few tears from her eyes, careful to avoid the painful bruise on her face Hago had left her with.

Simba, she silently urged, please come.

Simba ducked behind a tree, thinking he heard something move. He peered out from the tree, and then realised that he was only hearing himself move.

He was getting too worried. He needed to stay calm. If he was scared now, then he wondered how he would feel when pitted against Hago and whoever else he was working with.

Simba hadn't had too much time to think up a plan of action, but he figured it was pretty simple – find Nala, stop Hago and escape. Easy.

Easier said than done, that is. Hago was a maniac with powers that seemed to have no limit. He was cold, cruel, calculating, and wasn't afraid to kill. Simba was one of the few cubs – or lions for that matter – who had faced him and lived to tell the tale. Simba took that as an advantage. He'd beaten Hago before, so wasn't it logical to think that it could be done again?

Simba hoped so.

He wandered away from the tree, heading deeper and deeper into the Outlands with each step he took. It seemed to get creepier, creepier and creepier as he ventured in further. Things were getting scarier by the second, and Simba hadn't even seen one hyena yet.

Simba hopped over a few large rocks that blocked his path, and his eyes lit up and he gasped in relief when he saw her.

Nala lay in the middle of a clearing, sobbing quietly to herself. She didn't look like she was at her best, that was for certain, but she was still alive. That was good, right? Of course it was!

Simba was about to run over to her, but then he reminded himself that Hago had taken her. He could be anywhere… hiding, ready to trap Simba forever. He couldn't let Hago get to him. Nala's life depended on it. He'd have to be careful, and sneaky. It was a good thing that's what he was best at…

Simba hopped back over the rocks, and decided to circle around the area until he was on the other side of it. Maybe he could rescue Nala from behind. Hago was most likely expecting Simba to come through the front way. However, Simba had other plans…

Scar thought he saw something moving out of the corner of his eye. He quickly turned his head to see nothing. Either he was only seeing things, or something had just moved. Scar suspected the latter, because he knew Simba would be stupid enough to try and rescue Nala.

"Did you see that?" Scar asked Hago, who was busy watching Nala sob and cry with great amusement.

Hago looked at Scar. "See what?"

"Obviously not, then," Scar concluded. "I saw something move over there," he told Hago, pointing at the spot where unbeknownst to him, Simba once was. Luckily for Simba, he had left just before Scar had seen him. It was a close call, that was for sure.

"Hmm…" said Hago thoughtfully. "I suspect the Prince might have arrived to claim his prize."

"Funny. I was just thinking the same thing," agreed Scar.

The two stared at each other, and smiled evilly. "I'll take the back, you take the front," Hago told Scar.

Scar nodded. "Absolutely."

"And make sure you don't kill him. Like you said – we want to make it as painful as possible for them."

"I can't wait," Scar admitted. The excitement and anticipation was building up inside of him. He was just itching to finally inflict his revenge on Simba and Nala. He found them both extremely irritating, if not the most irritating. Revenge would be sweet.

Simba poked his head up over another rock, and could now see Nala from behind. No one else seemed to be around, but Simba was still wary.

He decided he was going to try and get to Nala. He promised himself that he would do it slowly and carefully so no one would hear him. He didn't want Hago to catch him out so soon into his rescue mission.

Simba slowly made his way across the land, careful not to cause much noise as he walked along. But the more cautious he got, the more sound seemed to get amplified. Every step he took seemed louder than the last one. He was worrying again.

After what seemed like hours, Simba finally reached Nala. She hadn't heard Simba, and she was still crying lightly, miserable.

"Nala?" Simba called, whispering in her ear.

The crying stopped immediately. Nala couldn't believe her ears. She rolled over to see Simba, who couldn't help but smile when he saw her face.

"Simba…?" she said, not believing it for a second. Was this just all in her head? Was it just a dream? She couldn't be too sure. Maybe Hago had done something to her when he whacked her in the head with his staff.

"It's me, Nala," Simba assured her. "It's really me."

After a few seconds, Nala was sure it was really her best friend standing in front of her. "Oh, Simba!" she cried, leaping to her paws and hugging him tightly. "I knew you'd come!"

Simba hugged her back. "I had a feeling you'd be around here. What other creepy place would you take someone?"

"Yeah," Nala agreed, nodding. "I still can't believe you're here. I had this… feeling… that you would come and rescue me. I don't know why, though."

"I knew I had to," Simba told her. "I said I'd always take care of you, and that's what I'm doing."

His brown eyes and her green ones met for a moment in the darkness, and both of them felt their hearts skip a beat.

"Aw… how touching," said a voice from behind them.

Simba and Nala abruptly turned to be confronted with Scar and Hago, both of whom had sinister smiles on their faces, like they had been victorious over something…

"You didn't actually think you were all alone, did you?" continued Hago.

Scar chuckled. "I wouldn't put it past them. What do you expect from a pair of unintelligent cubs?"

Simba was pretty shocked. Just what was his Uncle Scar doing here? He couldn't possibly be in on Hago with him… Could he?

"Uncle Scar?" said Simba. "What are you doing here?"

Scar couldn't help but laugh. "Oh, this is going to be delightful!" he exclaimed. He composed himself and decided to tell Simba everything. It was about time he learned the shocking truth about what Scar had been secretly plotting for such a long time...

"Huh?" Simba didn't understand.

Scar chuckled. "You really are a foolish cub. Anyone with a brain cell could have figured out what I've been doing all this time. Now Simba… just why do you think I seem so… mysterious and 'weird', as you put it?"

Simba didn't answer. He was breathing heavily, beginning to understand now.

"I've been in league with the hyenas ever since your bothersome father became King, and I've been working ever since to kill him, you, and anyone else who gets in my way! For too long I have failed in my plans, but now that I have a little bit of help it looks like I'm finally close, and I am not going to let anyone like you wreck it!"

"So you lied?" concluded Simba, feeling quite betrayed. So one of his own family who he actually trusted was really an evil villain?

"Well done," Scar replied. "I knew even someone with your intelligence could figure it out soon enough."

"So what do you want from us?" Simba asked.

"They want to kill us both, Simba," Nala informed him. "They want to kill us, and then they want to kill your dad so they can take over the Pride Lands."

"Well, isn't she the smart one?" said Hago. "Yes, we are going to kill you. But it won't be a quick death, oh, no, no, no.

That would be far too nice. We're going to make your deaths slow and agonising. You deserve it for the troubles you have put us here."

"The only people here who deserve a slow death are you two!" Simba accused, feeling courage he didn't even know he had building up from within him.

"How brave," remarked Scar sarcastically, frowning. "Not that bravery will get you anywhere now. It's far too late for that."

Scar and Hago began to advance towards the two cubs. Simba and Nala looked at each other. Simba could see the hopelessness in Nala's eyes. She thought they were dead. Deader than dead.

Simba looked at Scar and Hago. They both had menacing grins on their faces, thinking they had won.

Simba stepped bravely in front of Nala, and stared angrily at both Hago and Scar.

"Which one shall we take first?" Hago asked Scar.

"Well, I think it would be most entertaining to watch Simba see his best friend get tortured slowly to death, don't you?" answered Scar.

Hago laughed. "I like the sound of that."

And that's when Simba lost it. With an angry yell, he leapt on top of Hago and started hacking and slashing at him with all his might. Hago cried out as Simba tore into every part of his back. Hago knew his back was the weakest part of his body – it was the reason he hobbled about with the aid of his staff, and Simba was taking advantage of this.

"Scar, get him off me!" Hago ordered Scar.

Scar immediately tried to slash Simba and knock him off Hago, but Simba did a sneaky move, and jumped off of Hago, causing Scar to slash Hago instead. Hago cried out in pain.

"You little…" Hago said through clenched teeth, most parts of his body burning with pain. He hated scratches. Hated, hated, hated, hated them.

Simba bolted over to Nala and pulled her along. "Come on!" he exclaimed. "We've gotta get out of here before they get us!"

Nala quickly started running alongside Simba, trying to get away from the Outlands as fast as they could. She hoped Simba had bought them some time by injuring Hago. His back wasn't in perfect condition, and he wasn't suited to running at all.

"What are you waiting for?" screamed Hago at Scar. "Get after them!"

"Me?" Scar exclaimed. "You go catch the little brats! It's your fault they got away!"

"My fault?" Hago roared furiously. "It's your fault you couldn't see the little pipsqueak was going to attack me!"

"How dare you insult me!" Scar roared. "I'm the b oss here!"

Hago laughed at Scar's statement. "No way! I think you'll find I'm the boss around here! You'd be nothing without me! Do you hear that, Scar? Nothing!"

"We'll just see ab out that!" Scar exclaimed as he pounced at Hago. Hago jumped at Scar and they started fighting barbarically with each other on the ground.

Simba and Nala were long gone, and looked as if Scar and Hago's partnership had come to a sudden end.

"Nala!" Sarafina cried upon seeing Simba return to the den with her daughter. "You're safe!"

Sarafina cradled Nala in her paws, who laughed. "Mom! Stop it! I'm fine!"

"Thanks to me," Simba declared with a grin, pointing to himself. "I knew I could find her."

Sarafina smiled at Simba. "Thank you," she told him, meaning every word of it. She really did.

"Well done, son."

Simba turned to see his father, smiling down at him. Simba smiled back, because he knew he had done the right thing.

The one thing he didn't expect from his father was an apology. "I'm sorry we didn't listen to you, Simba. You clearly seemed to know something we didn't, and if you didn't do something then I think it might have cost Nala her life."

Simba suddenly gasped, remembering the circumstances that surrounded Nala's kidnapping. "Dad!" he exclaimed.

"There was someone helping the guy who took Nala."

"Who, Simba?" Mufasa asked, curious.

"Uncle Scar," Simba replied, a deadly serious look on his face.

Mufasa looked shocked. "Are you telling the truth, Simba?"

"Yes, Dad, I am!" Simba insisted. "Uncle Scar was in on it the whole time! He told me he's been trying to kill us for ages! He's been trying to take over the whole kingdom!"

"It's true," said Nala to Mufasa. "The two of them wanted to torture us before they killed us, and then they were gonna kill you. I don't think we would have escaped if it wasn't for Simba fighting them off."

Mufasa frowned. This was something he didn't quite expect. He knew his brother was quite a treacherous character, always preferring to hide in shadow rather than be seen, but he didn't think he was capable of such evil. Scar always seemed a little bit jealous of the fact that Mufasa was King, but apparently that jealousy was far more severe than Mufasa could have ever imagined.

"Mufasa, it's not true, is it?" Sarabi asked, overhearing the conversation.

Mufasa studied Simba and Nala's expressions, and decided they were telling the truth. They didn't have a reason to lie.

"I'm afraid it would appear so," he told his mate.

"Well, what do we do?" Simba asked. "Go… hunt him or something?"

"We'll have to catch him," Mufasa decided. "I can't see Scar making much of a move tonight. Me and the rest of the pride will go after him in the morning, and his accomplice. He won't get away."

"That was really brave of you, you know," Nala told Simba as they sat on the edge of Pride Rock, watching the sunset together. "Fighting those two off."

Simba smiled at his best friend. "Thanks, Nala," he said. "I just… didn't want them to hurt you."

Nala smiled warmly. "That was really… caring of you, Simba."

Simba smiled cockily. "Well, I am a very caring person."

Nala pinned Simba down straight away, smiling down at him. "Not a very 'good at pinning' person, though."

"I will be someday," Simba declared. "Just you wait. I haven't forgotten that bet we have."

Nala rolled her eyes. "How could I forget? Pin me in less than a month or you'll kiss me."

"Yeah," Simba said. "And if you win you'll kiss me."

Nala smiled again, and collapsed on top of him. "Yeah," she said. "I have no problems with that." She smiled dreamily. "No problems at all…"