"I think badness is pretty much guaranteed at this point."

Kion felt a distinct sense of déjà vu as he found himself standing once more at the sandy riverbank that marked the border to the Outlands, though this time their goal was entirely different. The mood was different too, as could be seen on each of the four faces accompanying Kion, each so much less familiar than the companions he had before.

Well, except Bunga, of course. Bunga just looked like Bunga.

"Don't you guys have any of your own troops to send?" Jasiri looked more amused than worried. "You know, like actual lions?" She smirked. "Or is Kion the only one willing to fight his own battles?"

"This is a secret operation," Zazu said before Kion could rise to the bait. "While I assure you that queen Nala's huntresses are perfectly up to the task of dealing with some mangy hyenas, Miss Jasiri, we cannot risk the secret of our existence getting out prematurely."

Jasiri's eyebrows rose. "Miss Jasiri, the mangy hyena. I like that."

Bunga grinned. "Don't worry, Zaz! My lips are sealed. Scar threatened me and my family with painful deaths twice over, just to make sure."

"Yes, well, you may add in another threat from me, just to make sure." Zazu turned to Kion. "That goes for you too, young master – minus the death threat, that is. You might have convinced your father to join us as Captain of the Guard, but I am still the one leading this expedition. Is that understood?"

"Yes sir," said Kion, still feeling somewhat bitter about the majordomo going behind his back. It was probably for the best that Ono was not here, for that same reason. Fuli would certainly have tried to go with them as well despite her injury, had she known. Such were the benefits of secrecy, he supposed.

"Good," said Zazu. "Then let's begin. Ushari?"

The red snake hissed in agreement, and slithered towards the creepy-looking skinks that had gathered before him. "Go," he said. "Scout out the path ahead, and warn us in case of any ambush."

The lead of the brightly coloured skinks flicked out her tongue, tasting the air. "This had better be worth it, Ushari. My skinks aren't known to do their work for free."

"It is for the betterment of both our species," Ushari hissed. "Stop thinking in the short term and consider the situation: By doing this thing, we reptiles shall finally prove our worth to the Pridelands."

"Hm, if you say so." The skinks scuttled away, disappearing in five different directions with surprising speed.

Jasiri stared after them. "You have some mighty strange friends there, Ushari."

"Ushari has contacts with all the reptiles in the Pridelands," said Zazu. "You could say he's the spymaster in our group. In any case, I will also be scouting the area from above, just to make certain."

Bunga waved at him as he flew off. "Okay, mister flappiest of flight!"

"Do not call me that!"

Kion and the others set off, crossing the river that separated their borders and moving at a calm but steady pace. It did not take long for the wet sand on his paws to dry up under the blazing sun.

He let out a long sigh. "Well Bunga, you finally got that punitive action you asked for. I never would have thought that we'd actually be doing this, one day…"

Bunga gave him a blank look. "Punitive what now? I thought we were just gonna kick some hyena tail."

"No, a punitive action means – that's what you originally suggested we…" he stopped. "Bunga, we're here because of the wildebeests Janja and his gang killed during our patrol, and because they attacked us – don't you remember?" He stopped himself, seeing Bunga's blank expression. "Never mind, I don't care anymore. It's too early in the morning for a conversation this stupid."

"Suits me," said Bunga, grinning once more. "Bravery needs no reason!"

Kion ignored him, and picked up speed to join the others.

"Hey uh, Jasiri," he said. "I was a bit surprised to see you here today. Are you going to be okay?"

She rolled her eyes. "Don't you fret your head about me, highness. I might not have as much training with the Roar as you, but I can handle myself. Besides, you guys would get totally lost in the Outlands without me. You know – like that time when you thought you were going back to your friends and you were actually moving in the opposite direction and it turned out I was right all along." She smirked.

"Yeah, uh, that's not what I meant. Look, Jasiri, you've had enough training to know that enlightenment is all about being honest with your feelings. I mean, Scar said so about a hundred times while I was there. So, are you really going to be okay with us fighting Janja and… doing what needs to be done?"

She gave him a long look, and snorted. "Janja's an idiot. Shenzi was going to make me and him the new leaders of the Outlands, but he left just because he couldn't handle the fact that I'm bigger and stronger and everyone liked me better than him. Since then, he's been killing all the prey animals and leaving them to rot just to spite us, even attacked my friends and family…" She looked away. "I don't feel anything for him anymore except pity."

Kion rather doubted that, but he decided not to press the issue. "So how does that work, anyway? Are hyenas always led by females?"

"Pretty much. Males are weak, cowardly creatures whose natural role is to be led by others." She held up a paw, seeing his expression. "I'm not talking about you. With lions it's the other way around, isn't it? So you're basically like a female hyena from where I'm standing, if a bit of a masculine one."

"Uh."

"Not that masculine, just a little bit," she assured him. "Like how you're not very big and muscled and you like to talk instead of just beating people up. But look, I'm sure you're female where it counts."

"Oookay," he said. He took a deep breath, and turned his hopes to his third companion. "So hey, Ushari. I don't know much about you. What made you decide to become one of Scar's students?"

"I already told you once," he hissed. "It is to secure equality for my kind. In my homeland, crocodiles were once considered holy, snakes were held to be sacred and we cobras ruled them all as kings. Alas, our kingdom has fallen, and now we must slither through the dust, forced to live off whatever scraps your blessed Kings allow us." He stopped, remembering himself. "Meaning no offence, my prince."

"But you're allowed in the Pridelands just like everyone else," said Kion. "I'm not saying you're wrong, I'm just trying to understand."

"Yes, we're allowed to be here," Ushari said, "just as you allow us to eat enough to survive. But what if tomorrow you choose otherwise? What if the king trips over a snake one day, and decides in his wroth that we all ought to move to the Outlands where we'd be safely out of the way?"

"My father wouldn't do that though," said Kion. "Everyone always says he's a fair ruler."

"Of course they say that; they'd be fools to say otherwise! But let us say that you are right: Through a stroke of purest fortune, the king is as fair and just as any animal could ask for. Imagine yourself in my situation – imagine living in the knowledge that your life could be declared forfeit at any moment, with no need for a reason or excuse. You and all your kind could be damned and no one would dare voice any objection. Would this situation be tolerable to you?" His black eyes gleamed as he studied Kion, his tongue flicking in and out as he tasted the air. "You require more than just food to live, my prince."

"Right," said Kion, an odd sense of apprehension falling over him – or perhaps that was just the shadow of the mountains that loomed up around them. "Your lizard friends didn't seem to think so, though."

"They're called skinks," Ushari said, "and they're just having difficulty taking a broader perspective. After all these years of living in servitude, they have forgotten about…" He swayed his body in what Kion guessed was the snake equivalent of shaking his head. "No matter. They will see, in time."

"Right," Kion said again, more slowly this time. He was not at all convinced that this strange snake was being entirely honest with himself, either. In fact, looking at his companions, it rather seemed to him that enlightenment required a deep capacity for self-delusion – which, considering his own abilities, was a rather worrisome thought. He did not feel delusional, but that hardly proved anything, and he had been called out on his opinions by others in the past.

Then again, Fuli would probably tell him to stop being stupid, and she had no divine talent at all.

"So, Zazu," he said, craning his neck to address the last of his companions and the last of his hopes for a sane conversation. "What made you decide to learn enlightenment?"

Zazu kept flying up above them, drifting on the current with only the occasional flap of his wings. "Dying last."

Kion maintained his gaze. "Dying… last."

"Yes, it's an old childhood dream of mine: Ever since I was a little fledgling, I was told by my mother that my role in life was to serve my betters. I remember thinking that if I was to serve regardless, I would at least work for the most powerful animal in the Pridelands. That's why I sought out your grandfather, Mufasa, and begged him to let me be his servant even before he was king. And I would have contented myself with that, if not for your granduncle."

"Scar," Kion said, realizing. "You were there when he took over, and you stayed with him even after it became clear that he killed my grandfather." He was not sure how he felt about that. Then again, even Simba had come to forgive him for that eventually, and they were all working together now regardless.

"Yes. Your granduncle showed me how the act of gaining enlightenment allows one to live on as a spirit after death. I had always lived with the knowledge that I could never be a the top of the foodchain, but then I found myself thinking that if I could just outlive all the predators then that was almost the same thing. And so my new goal became to straddle the corpse of the earth after all mortal life whisks out, and eat it."

Ushari flicked his tongue, the only sound to fill the silence that followed. "Zazu… that's mad."

"And impossible," said Jasiri. "Zazu, you can't eat the world, you're not even a carrion bird."

"Oh, we're all carrion eaters in our own way," Zazu said amusedly. "Death pays for life just as life pays for death: That's what the Circle of Life is all about."

Kion resisted the urge to slowly retreat to a safe distance. I don't care if imaginary Fuli thinks I'm being stupid, he thought to himself. I definitely need to start worrying if I'm just as crazy as these people.

They travelled in uncomfortable silence after that – except for Bunga of course, who had never stopped talking and did not seem to notice the change in mood – until at last the looming mountains rose up before them. The stony area looked just as bleak and desolate as the ravine where Jasiri lived, though Kion suspected there would be no lush oasis with playing children at the end of this particular road.

"There they are," said Ushari. Kion almost jumped as he realized the skinks were surrounding them once more. "My scouts inform me that the hyenas are inside the cave next to the volcano."

Bunga's eyes gleamed excitedly. "Janja has a secret lair inside of a volcano?"

"Not inside it," Ushari hissed. "Next to it. Learn to listen, you insufferable irritant."

"Nah, I heard you; I just interpreted it in a more fun way. It's a little something I call enhanced reality."

"It's called being a delusional, dim-witted dullard, you boisterous buffoon!"

Kion ignored them. He gazed into the mouth of the cavern, which drank up sunlight like a tar pit. "It's dangerous to use the Roar inside a cave like that, especially so close to a sleeping volcano," he said, remembering his incident with Scar. "I don't like it."

"You are not required to like it," said Zazu. "Both Ono and Ushari have confirmed that this is the enemy hideout, and so this is where we need to be. Nevertheless, I agree with your tactical assessment." He swooped down and landed in front of the skinks. "Shupavu, are all of Janja's hyenas accounted for?"

The lead of the brightly-coloured skinks flicked its purple tongue out. "Don't question the abilities of my skinks, birdbrain. There are nine hyenas resting in the central chamber – no more, no less."

"We could camp outside if you fear an ambush," Ushari said, turning away from Bunga. "We could lay in wait – prepare an ambush of our own for when they come out."

Jasiri rolled her eyes. "And then they catch one glimpse of us and leave through the back exit. Come on guys, are you seriously afraid of Janja? I could probably take them all out myself, even without my new abilities."

"Little Miss Bloodlust has a point," Ushari said. "We are five enlightenment animals with mastery over the elements. Together we possess a greater power than any the Pridelands has ever seen before. If we are not capable of rising up to this challenge, then what have all our studies been for?"

Zazu took one more look at the foreboding entrance, and sighed. "I suppose it would not do to come back to Lord Scar with empty talons – he has most likely already devised several of what he imagines to be terribly clever witticisms to mock us for just such an eventuality. Very well then; but let it be stated for the record that we are acting against my better judgment."

The five of them headed towards the black cave entrance, walking slowly, ever so careful not to make a sound. The five skinks stayed hidden amongst the rocks behind them. I never agreed to this, Kion thought to himself. But then, he was not the leader. He was not required to agree.

His paws trembled ever so slightly as he stepped into the cave. He wondered if he could actually go through with this – if he could actually kill Janja. The image of dead wildebeests flashed before his eyes, and his stomach churned in response.

Use the Roar from a distance. Limit our power but make sure to destroy them before they can react. That was the plan, even if Zazu had not said it out loud. The advice of Fuli and his mother came back to him once again, echoing in his head: "You sneak up on them from behind. You pounce and kill them before they have a chance to scream. And whatever you do, you don't let them talk."

As his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he could make out nine figures resting in the centre of the cave. After a second, he realized in shock that Janja was looking right at them. He did not seem surprised.

"So, the Lion Guard finally comes for me, huh? Guess it was only a matter of time." The young hyena squinted. "Wait, you guys are not the same as before. Kion? Who the hell are you hanging out with?"

It was not an ambush. It was not a trap. They were just going to slaughter these defenceless hyenas while they were resting in their own home. Kion's stomach heaved. This was wrong. This was all wrong.

"On my command," said Zazu, raising a wing. "Ready…"

"Jasiri?" Janja stood up, fear finally creeping into his voice. All around him his comrades were waking up, alarmed. "What the hell are you doing here? What's going on?"

Jasiri said nothing.

"Now," said Zazu. He slashed his wing downwards, and the world trembled. The cave groaned as stalactites cracked and rained down like broken fangs, impaling the earth. At the same time an unnatural wind crashed into them from behind, hurling Kion headlong into a wall that had not been there moments before.

He looked up, dazed, strange shapes moving in front of his pained eyes. In the entrance of the cave, which now seemed larger than before, two blurry outlines entered, and the walls of the cavern rang with their mocking, hysterical laughter. In their centre was a third figure who was not laughing at all.

"Sorry," said Shenzi, "but I can't let you kill my son."