A/N: Thanks to everyone for the reviews! I don't reply to each of them, but I appreciate every one of them. BbK2442, I won't tell you what's going to happen, but it's fun to see you speculate each chapter :P T0PH4T, I love your analyses! You make me think about my own story in a way I hadn't before.

Keep 'em coming, everyone!

The first thing Kion awoke to was the sensation of coarse hair pushing against his face. They were long thick strands, like the mane of a large animal, and their obstruction of his nostrils made breathing difficult. The second thing he noticed was that the ground bounded underneath him.

He blinked awake, and found himself lying on the back of a dark lion, his head resting on its pitch-black mane. He knew of only one Lion with a black mane, and he knew of only one male lion aside from his father regardless. That did not leave many possibilities.

"Granduncle," he breathed. The throbbing pain in his neck flared with every bounding leap. "Where… where are we going?"

His rescuer slowed down, mercifully, but did not stop. "The Pridelands," he said. "You're hurt, and I don't dare take you back to my own lair after what happened." There was worry in his voice – fear, almost, though that could not be right.

Kion pushed himself up, his neck screaming in protest as he did so. He had been draped over Scar's back like a slab of meat, which was appropriate, as he felt just as raw. As he turned to look behind him, he saw what had the old lion in such a panic: There was a plume of smoke rising up from the mountains, and burning red liquid poured down in rivulets. The lava's fierce glow was almost blinding beneath the black cloud that cast the already bleak land in an even deeper shadow.

"The volcano," he breathed. "Did – did I do that?"

"Who knows? There was not exactly much time for Jasiri to explain things after I found you." There was definitely fear in his voice now, and Kion did not think it was just the volcano that unnerved him, either. "Kion, how much do you remember? Can you tell me what happened?"

Kion thought back, his vision darkening with the effort. The afterimage of the sweltering lava danced in front of his eyes. "Shenzi," he said. "She… she killed him. Granduncle, she killed Zazu. I couldn't… I couldn't do anything to stop her. I didn't do anything until it was too late."

Scar said nothing for a while, thinking or perhaps just focusing his eyes on the path ahead. "Zazu gained enlightenment," he said at last. "His spirit will live on – we should be able to talk to him later, when we have some time." His voice shifted in tone. "Kion, do you remember what happened to the others?"

His granduncle was calling him by his name, Kion realized. He was not sure what that indicated, if anything. "I don't know," he said. "Shenzi said they were still fighting, but I didn't get to see it. I think… I think I beat her and Janja with the Roar, but then Jasiri stopped me." He hesitated. "Is she the one who told you to come help us? Where is she now?"

"I asked her to look for the others," said Scar, "though with the volcano erupting I imagine that's no longer possible." There was another moment of silence in which Kion wished he could see Scar's expression, but his thick black mane blocked all vision. "I came to you when I sensed that something was wrong through our connection – Jasiri said that you were radiating starlight. Do you really not remember any of that?"

Radiating starlight. There was something about those words that was profoundly worrying, but Kion was having a hard time remembering what it was. The wound on his neck must have cost him more blood than he thought. He had barely even noticed receiving it, at the time.

Janja…

"No matter," said Scar. "We need to get you to safety and have that injury looked at – everything else is secondary right now." There was a sudden splashing sound, and Kion realized that they were crossing the river that marked their border. The spray of water droplets in his face was oddly comforting.

"Scar." The familiar voice shook Kion awake. "Where did – is he…"

"There's no time, he has lost a lot of blood already." Kion felt himself falling as Scar tilted his back, and he collapsed onto the moist grass. As he looked up, he saw half a dozen lionesses staring down at him.

His vision was darkening again, fading in and out. Mother?

"I will need Muti," said Scar. "Anything you can gather that will stem the flow of blood, or prevent infection."

"My hunting party will take care of it." The lead lioness nodded towards the others, and they instantly scattered and ran off. "Don't you have anything in those gourds of yours that can help?"

"I do, but there's no such thing as a universal cure. Every injury is different." Kion felt something moist being dabbed onto his neck. It hurt, but the pressure was also comforting in a way. "The Kings of the Past never did care to heal the injured – just as they are more keen to cause draughts than to avert them. The helpfulness of their divine intervention never seemed a primary concern of our dear ancestors."

"Scar, what happened? Simba told me that you might be here – but why? What were you doing in the Outlands? What was my son doing in the Outlands, and why on earth was he with you?"

It was silent for a second. "He does not tell you much, does he?"

"Scar…"

"I sensed your son was in danger, and so I came to help. Though if you want to blame me for this, I assure you you'll still have ample reason once you know all the facts. I imagine Simba did not inform Sarabi that I would be here, at least?"

"No, thank goodness."

"That's one less headache, then." He sighed. "Suffice to say for now that your husband sent an expedition to fight the rogue hyenas in the Outlands – he told you that much, I assume?" A nod. "Your son insisted on coming along, as I understand it. You can blame his fool parentage for filling his head with delusions of heroism."

"I'll make sure to bear that in mind." She shook her head. "You know, the one moment you think the world makes sense, and then the other…" She sighed. "Will he be all right, at least?"

"I think so. Janja missed the boy's jugular, but the fangs still went deep. Ah, there are your companions." There was a slight tremor in the earth as the lionesses returned, who for once made no effort to pass unnoticed. A moment later, Kion felt a pressure on his neck, as something was bound against it. There was another dull throb, but whatever cool ointment Scar had applied had dampened the pain.

"You know," she said as Scar worked, "this is the reason why the Pridelands have always had a royal Mjuzi."

The old lion shrugged. "If Simba was going to miss me that badly, he shouldn't have sent me away."

"Scar, you murdered his father. Don't you have any sense of guilt or shame?"

"I do, but I express it differently," he said. "You see, I very cleverly craft a mask of cynicism in order to avoid having to confront my emotions. I find that my training has, if anything, made me even more expert at that."

"You're incorrigible," she sighed. "Still exactly the same as I remember..."

Scar seemed to smile, though Kion's muddied vision made it hard to tell. "You know, I always did appreciate that in you. You were never as gullible as Simba, but neither were you judgmental like my brother. Fair little Nala, observant as ever… I don't think I ever did get you to fall for my tricks."

She snorted. "Nor will I fall for you now if that's what you're thinking, you old lecher."

"Hey, I'm old, and it gets lonely in the Outlands. Give me a break."

Kion pushed himself up. "Mum? Are you two… flirting?"

"Oh, you're awake," Nala said hastily. "How are you feeling?"

"I was already awake," he protested, glaring at his granduncle, who sat there implacably. "And I don't have a fool parentage, and heroism isn't stupid!"

"And he's back," said Scar. "Lovely. I should have kept him unconscious and bought us a few more moments of peace."

"Don't be horrible," she said. She moved close as if to lick Kion's neck, but hesitated and licked his forehead instead. "Kion, does your neck still hurt? Do you need any more Muti?"

"I'm fine, mum." He really did feel better. As he got up, he realized that the other lionesses were still there, waiting at a polite distance, pretending not to listen in on their conversation.

"Ah," said Nala, following his gaze. "Yes, I suppose we should head back to Pride Rock. If you feel ready."

"I'm fine," he started saying again, but a second later he was being carried on his mother's back. None of the others bothered pointing out that the queen did not have to do that herself.

"Oh good," said Scar, his bones popping as he stretched. "I felt like my poor spine was going snap in two under all that weight. What do you feed that bloody kid? Minced rocks?"

"He's underfed, in fact," she said coldly. "I feel like I've been neglecting my duties as a mother. At least Fuli is having a good influence on him on that count."

"Hm, Fuli you say…" Scar grinned as he hurried to keep up. "He did mention that name to me once or twice. Do tell me more about this… Fuli."

Kion gazed longingly at the ground as it passed beneath him. Perhaps if he jumped off right as they went by the ravine, it would take a while before they found his body again.

Thankfully, his mother did not rise to the bait and said nothing else. After a while of running at a swift pace – his mother's back proving to be far softer and steadier than Scar's – Pride Rock rose up before them. From the front. And yet it was still day. Another beautiful theory ruined.

"There," said Nala, pausing to catch her breath. "I think I see Simba at the entrance. He and I have a lot to discuss."

Scar snickered. "Serves him right for forcing me to live in that forsaken wasteland, and then using me to clean up his mess. You know what they say: Karma is a b-"

"SCAR!"

An old lioness came bounding down the entryway and launched herself towards Scar with an expression of purest fury. He had all of one second to mouth an expletive before she pounced on him and tackled him to the ground. "You dare show yourself here after what you did? You dare?"

"Sarabi," he breathed. "I didn't-"

"You murdered my husband! You murdered my husband and then you tried to seduce me. You played me for a fool, thinking you could take Mufasa's place and raise Simba as your own – and all the while you and your hyenas are laughing hysterically behind my back!"

"I wasn't-"

"You killed my mjuzi! You pounced Rafiki in the back because he revealed to everyone what kind of lion you really were, right after I defended you by pouring out my feelings in front of my own pride! I should have listened to him; I should have let him do with you whatever he wished, instead of trusting you like the fool I was!"

"That's not-"

"You fought my own son! You fought my son in a duel at the peak of Pride Rock that split my home in two! You filled his head with fantastic visions, and tricked him into forgiving you with that silver tongue of yours!"

"But that was-"

"And then you cast the same spell on me," she spat, taking a step back in revulsion. "Manipulated me with your magic, twisting my heart and forcing me to fall in love with you – and then you left me without undoing your glamour! And now after all this time, you dare show your face here again?"

"I'm sorry."

She let out a scream of primal rage, and then she pounced on Scar, throwing him back and rolling along with him until they reached the edge of a nearby ridge, where they tumbled down into the shrubbery below. After a while, only muffled screaming could still be heard.

"Uh," said Kion.

"He'll be fine," Nala said lightly. "Now, as for you, Simba…"

The king shrank back, evidently having hoped that he would go unnoticed. "You're not going to pounce on me like Sarabi did, are you?"

"No," she sighed, though she sounded like she would have quite liked to. "Just… tell me what's going on." She motioned towards her lionesses, who reluctantly stalked off – some of them still giggling at the sight of Sarabi mauling Scar down below. Some females just never stopped being girls no matter how old they got, it seemed to Kion – though he decided to keep that particular thought to himself.

"I've uh, been keeping in touch with Scar," his father said, coughing nervously.

"So I've noticed."

"I didn't tell you, because, ah, I didn't want you to have to lie to Sarabi and the others, and uh, it seemed better to me if she didn't know."

"How very wise."

Simba glanced towards Kion. "Is our son…"

"He's lost a lot of blood," she said, permitting the change of subject. "Janja bit him, but it could have been worse. Simba, why was our son in the Outlands in the first place, fighting alongside the likes of Scar of all people?"

"It was a punitive action," said Kion, who did not like being ignored. "Mum, remember how Janja attacked us and killed those wildebeests? We decided he needed to be dealt with, and Scar – well, he has this group of students in the Outlands who he taught to use the Roar. It's all a bit complicated. Anyway, dad asked this group to deal with Janja, and I decided to come along with them, just in case."

Simba gave him a grateful look. "That's right. I didn't want Kion to come along at first, but then we received a vision from Mufasa. I uh… think I mentioned that part to you."

Queen Nala nodded slowly. "I see. And, did the fact that I would never have approved of our son going to the Outlands alone with these strangers have anything to do with the fact that you didn't tell me this?"

"Ah…"

"Let's finish this discussion inside," she said, motioning the increasingly desperate looking lion king along. "Kion, stay with the others, and don't move away from where I can see you."

Kion sighed, and laid down in the grass, ignoring the dull throbbing ache in his neck. He hated feeling helpless, and he hated being treated like a child, though he honestly could not blame his mother for it. In the distance, one of the other lionesses approached him cautiously, as though she knew that what she was doing was wrong. It was Madita, he thought, the mother of Kiara's two future advisors.

"Pardon me, my prince," she said, hesitating. "We were just wondering if you could tell us a bit about what happened. Why was that volcano erupting? Why is Scar back in the Pridelands? And how did those mangy hyenas manage to get close enough to bite you, when you were protected by the Spirit Kings?"

He sighed again, letting his head fall against the grass so that the strands brushed up against his nostrils, the same as when he was being carried by Scar. "I forgot to sneak up on them from behind," he said. "I didn't pounce and kill them before they had a chance to scream. And worst of all, I made the mistake of letting them talk."