Dark clouds seemed to follow the group as they travelled. A steady downpour of rain pushed down on them, seeping into their fur and turning the earth around them into a swamp. With each step the going got harder, the mud dragging on their paws as if it were trying to physically hold them back.

Bunga gazed at the clouds as if to gauge his enemy. "Hey uh, just to be sure: Ushari can't actually flood the whole Pridelands, can he?"

Kion shook his head. "No, the Roar can't create something from nothing. He's probably calling rain clouds here from the mountains, or else he's evaporating water from some other source, but he can't drown us while we're on the high ground. At this point he's most likely just trying to drain our morale."

"Well," said Kiara, whose normally pristine fur was soaked in mud, "it's definitely doing that."

Beshti just kept slogging through the mud with heavy steps, and said nothing.

Before them, their destination loomed on the horizon. There were two pieces of terrain that marked the border to the Outlands: The first was the shallow river, which they had crossed during their expedition to hunt down Janja. The second was a hill leading up to a steep cliff, atop which rested a huge, flat rock. This area had been creatively named Flatridge Rock, and it was there that all the animals had gathered.

They kept going until they reached the herd, only to realize that the situation was much more chaotic than it had originally appeared. A wall of bleating, snarls and grunts greeted them as animals vied to get under the hill's few sparse trees to find some shelter from the relentless rain. The predators had naturally found their way to the choicest spots and were now fighting off competition, growling at anyone who came too close. Meanwhile the herd animals were running around in a panic, caught between wanting to flee the rising water and trying to get away from the predators in their midst.

"This is madness," said Kion, stepping out of the way of a panicked zebra who ran headlong past them, only for it to turn right back around and nearly trample them a second time. "I told them to regroup here so we could fight the enemy – not so that they could all fight amongst themselves!"

"They're just scared," Kiara said as she wormed her way between the legs of a giraffe. "It's one thing if you're a lion like us, but these animals have no idea what's going on: Only moments ago they were deadly enemies, and now they're suddenly told to group together. They're just trying to make the best of things."

"This one isn't," said Bunga. He kicked at an antelope that lay bleeding in the mud: Kion had to blink twice before he spotted the cheetah that held it in a death-grip, for its brown fur left it almost indistinguishable from the dirt around it.

"Hey, stop that!" He pounced towards the cheetah, who flattened his ears and growled at him. He was half tempted to use his roar to scare it off when Beshti suddenly charged toward it, sending mud spraying in every direction and causing the big cat to jump away with a panicked yelp. "Ah… thanks Beshti."

Beshti grunted in reply.

"These animals need a guiding hand," Kiara decided. She moved around the dead antelope with a wide birth, and clambered on top of the great flat rock for which the ridge was named to address the huffing and growling herd. "Animals of the Pridelands, hear me! I am your queen, Kiara. Everyone, please listen!"

"That's not gonna work," said Bunga. He shot a meaningful look towards Kion.

Kion nodded, and focussed inwards. Ever since he had banished Ahadi he had lost the god's favour, but he could still draw upon his own strength. Scar had impressed that much on him, when he told Kion of the time when he lost his own power by using it against Mufasa and subsequently thought it lost forever.

When Kion opened his mouth and roared, it might not have been as strong as he remembered, but to the animals around him it must have been terrifying. Even the clouds parted briefly as the winds blew them away, allowing a ray of sunlight to shine through and bask Kiara in a faint light as she posed upon her rock.

"Thank you," she said, looking rather awed herself. She turned back to the animals gathered around her, which now looked to her in confusion and fright. "People of the Pridelands, listen to me! I am Princess Kiara, and for as long as my mother and father are away it is my duty to see you all safe. I know you're all scared and confused, but right now it's important that we all get along and don't fight with each other."

"Princess Kiara? What's going on?" It was one of the giraffes that had spoken up, her brown eyes wild with fright. "Who are we fighting? Why are we fighting? Where are King Simba and Queen Nala?"

"The king and queen are in the Outlands, searching for the enemy," Kiara assured her. "Listen, do you see my brother Kion over there? He's Captain of the Lion Guard, and he's here to defend us from Ushari and his-"

One of the rhino's snorted loudly. "Prince Kion? He's still a cub! How's he going to lead us?"

"I am also the wielder of the Elder Roar," said Kion, stepping forward and causing the Rhino to flinch. "In case you forgot." Which would have been an impressive feat, considering he had used it five seconds ago, though he would not have put it past these herbivores.

Not that it really used the power of the elders, anymore. At this point, it was just the Roar.

"Listen," Kiara said again. "Please. Everyone who cannot fight should stay in the back and take care of each other. Everyone else, please report to my brother and help him out if it comes to a fight!"

"I don't understand," the giraffe wailed again. "Who are we fighting? Why are we fighting? Why isn't King Simba here to protect us?"

"I just told you," said Kiara, already exasperated. "The King and Queen are in the Outlands, looking for-"

There was a flash of thunder above them, and as they looked up they saw that the storm clouds were growing darker by the second. They seemed to twist and coil together like a living thing, until finally…

"It's a snake," Kion breathed. "Ushari."

"Really?" Bunga scratched his head. "Looks kinda like a mongoose to me. Wait, are we talking about the same cloud?"

The shape solidified, and in that moment the sun peered out from behind it, outlining the snake-like cloud with a terrible golden radiance. The crowd gasped as they squinted against the sudden light. There was a voice then, sibilant and seductive, one that Kion knew came not from above but from within his own head.

"Pridelanders, hear me! Your leaders have abandoned you. Your king and queen are away in the Outlands, wasting their time frolicking in the sand while your home is under attack. Only I, Ushari of the King Cobras, can protect you."

"What was that?" One of the elephants looked around in confusion. "Did I just hear someone?"

"I'm not sure," the elephant matriarch said, swishing her trunk back and forth in agitation. "I think… I think the enemy is trying to talk to us."

The snake in the clouds shimmered and twisted, contorting as though it were dancing in the air. "I give you this one chance to live: Swear allegiance to me, and I will grant you power similar to mine. Retreat to your homes, and I will spare you. Face me, and be destroyed."

Bunga cleaned his ear out with a finger. "Okay, I'm definitely hearing someone talk, but I can't make out a word they're saying. Probably just as well though, 'cause I somehow doubt they're all that interesting."

"It's Ushari," Kion said, frowning. "But it doesn't make any sense. How's he speaking to all of us at once? I could understand why he'd have a connection to me since we fought on the same team, but even that's a stretch." He looked around at the crowd of confused animals. "Then again, it isn't working, not exactly…"

"You may wish to cling on to the comforting ways of old, but those days are history. Forget about your king and queen: You owe them no allegiance! For years, they have forced you to live under their paw, promising you safety in exchange for your freedom. Now, you see their true nature…"

"Huh," said Bunga. "So that means… wait, what does that mean?"

"I don't know," said Kion, "except that he's got his hands on some kind of power that's somehow tied to everyone in the Pridelands, and he doesn't really seem to know how to control it." He looked around the area, trying to find something that would help him make sense of the puzzle. "Plus, how does he keep using his powers from such a distance? First with the vultures and the crocodiles, and now…"

He reached inwards, trying to form a connection to the ethereal snake above him. There was not much to go on, for they had not known each other long, but the part of Ushari that Kion did know he understood very well indeed. That mounting frustration with the unreasonableness of the world, like a steady current that could erode even the tallest mountain down to nothing over time…

His eyes snapped open as he sensed the connection form. "There," he said, "beneath that rock!"

"Got it!" Bunga leaped for the stone and lifted it up, pulling a bright red skink out from underneath.

"Shupavu," Kion said, recognizing the skink as the leader of Ushari's spies during their mission in the Outlands. "So that's how Ushari is doing it – he's been projecting his power through his lieutenants all along." He stepped closer, but the squirming skink seemed undaunted by his gaze. "Why, Shupavu? I get why someone like Mzingo would betray us, but you never seemed to believe in Ushari's mission. Why risk the fate of your species over some fool dream like resurrecting a long-dead kingdom?"

"Because sometimes it takes a fool to believe in the impossible, so that the rest of us might be foolish enough to believe in him." The skink coiled upwards and snapped at Bunga's paw, but there was no chance of her ever getting through the honey badger's thick skin. "It takes more than just food to live, my prince."

"So I've been told," Kion said. "But once your master burns down half the Pridelands and floods the rest, you guys are gonna have a tough time surviving on hopes and dreams alone."

The skink's black eyes gleamed dangerously in the dim light. "Better to risk everything than to live a life that's not worth living at all. We'll see how your army fares against our hopes and dreams, Prince Kion."

The skink twisted in the air, and suddenly she was falling to the ground, only her tail still wriggling as it dangled from Bunga's claws. Kion moved to catch her, but she darted away and vanished into a crack in the ground before they could react. Above them, the storm clouds slowly parted, letting in new light.

"Sorry Kion," Bunga said sheepishly. "Guess I forgot lizards can do that."

"They're called skinks," Kion said wearily. "And don't worry about it. She and the others are just Ushari's minions – he can't have trained them more than a few days at most. It's the snake himself we really have to worry about." Though even as he said that, he remembered Scar's words, about how it was not training but knowledge of one's own desires that made you truly strong…

"That's a relief," said Beshti. They both jumped as they realized the young hippo was still standing behind them. How can something that big be so easy to forget about? Beshti gave them a concerned look. "Kion, what do you think she meant about our army faring against their hopes and dreams?"

"I suspect we're about to find out," Kion sighed. Birds were fluttering in the air, crying out in alarm, but there was no need to ask what they were saying: At the foot of the hill, he could already see that dozens of crawling shapes were starting to make their way upwards. "I'm sorry Beshti. We should have stayed and fought alongside your father. From the looks of it, we'll be fighting either way."

"It's okay, Kion. He's not dead, I'm sure of it. I… I have to believe that he'll be all right."

There were gasps of surprise and shock rising up from the gathered throng as they spotted the moving shapes below, and Kiara struggled to make herself heard above the crowd. "Everyone! Everyone, we're under attack. If you can't fight, stay back while Kion and the others take on the enemy. The rest of you, get ready to defend the Pridelands!" She leaped off her rock and pushed her way past the panicking animals towards them. "Kion, what's going on? Who's attacking us this time?"

"Looks like it's those crocodiles again," said Bunga, squinting. "And the vultures. And… jackals?"

"The whole shebang, in other words." Kion sighed. "I guess this is the price we pay for thinking we can just tell anyone we don't like to stay out of the country. Or maybe this proves we were right all along – I don't even know anymore." He turned to face his sister. "Kiara, stay back and try to stop the herds from panicking. We'll handle this."

She gave him an obstinate look. "Kion, I'm not an idiot. I've seen what the Roar can do: The only reason Ushari is attacking us right now is because he's after you! You're the one that should be staying back."

"Princess Kiara is right," said Beshti. "Kion, you two should head to the Outlands and find the King and Queen. Me and Bunga will hold off the enemy for as long as we can."

A faint smile crept onto Kion's face despite the situation. "Thanks guys, but I don't think so. At a certain point, once things get bad enough, caution becomes reckless: If we lose this battle then we're doomed anyway, so we might as well all fight together. Besides, the same is true for them – Ushari thinks he has the advantage because we're all separated, but if we manage to take out his lieutenants then he has no more way of projecting his power from a distance. He'd have no choice but to face us in person."

"All right," said Bunga, slamming his fist against his palm, "sounds like we've got ourselves a plan!"

"Hold on," said Kion. "If we charge down the hill we'll get stuck in the water, and then those crocodiles will have the advantage like before." Below, the crawling shapes were pushing up against the hill, but although the water rose unnaturally high it would take them no further. Not a chance: I don't care how strong you are, Ushari, there is no way you can get the river to reach up to Flatridge Rock.

But that, of course, meant they were at a stand-of. So what now? What's your play, Ushari?

"We need to organize into rapid-response units," he decided. "Beshti, take the Rhino's and instruct them to charge down the hill on my command. Kiara, explain the situation to the elephants and cheetahs and prepare them to do the same – and see if you can get some birds to scout out the enemy for us."

"You got it," said Beshti. Both he and Kiara ran off, shouting orders and trying to make themselves heard over the increasingly agitated crowd. They had all spotted the encroaching enemy by now, and the zebras especially had seemed to lose all semblance of reason in the face of death, as more than a few were hurling themselves down the ridge's edge that led to the Outlands in their desperation to get away.

Bunga was grinning at him, his eyes just as wide and excited as when they played together as children, though there was an unnerving edge to it that Kion had not seen before. There was something incredibly off about seeing such palpable bloodlust paired with those childish, buck-toothed features.

"So, what about me, Kion? What will I be doing?"

"You're with me," he said. "We need some way to take out Ushari's lieutenants if they start using the Roar against us, and Kiara's right that I can't afford to risk my own life. So you're going to guard me, and if it comes to it, I'll be sending you as my assassin."

The light in Bunga's eyes doubled in intensity. "Sweet."