Nakala

Chapter 25

"What's this all about?" The two leopards stood at Zira's attention after being called for an urgent matter.

Zira smiled at the two before her and finally spoke. "I have been given a sign to move forward in my plans."

The two leopards looked at one another and back to the lioness. "That's not much to go on..," the second one said in an unsure and hushed tone.

"Just do as I say!" the lioness snarled, earning the attention of the shrinking leopards. She cleared her throat and stood straight once again. "Now. Mapigano. Badili. You two are to go to the hyena territory. Find the lion and this time show him no mercy."

"You mean?" Badili gave a hopeful smile.

"If you do manage to defeat him, leave him alive. We'll need to keep the Roar alive," Zira sneered and waved them off with her paw. "Now go!"

Mapigano and Badili wasted no time turning tail and racing off towards the hyenas as fast as their legs could carry them. Their speed was both in part of wanting to be as fast away from the wicked lioness and itching to pick a real fight.

Back at the hyena's mountain, inside the den of Janja and Nakala both were fast asleep. Janja's sleep was peaceful and dreamless. Nakala instead mumbled in his slumber and his heart was thumping against his chest.

Nakala opened his eyes to find himself back in the Pride Lands. He along with Janja, Cheezi and Chungu were facing off against the Lion Guard. Nakala prepared himself to fight, seeing his foes closing on them. He blinked in surprise as in an instant he was surrounded on all sides. He looked around and only saw the faces of the Lion Guard members. He couldn't find the hyenas and every turn he made he was met by faces of Fuli, Beshte and Ono. As quickly as he spun around he was met with them and only them. And each of their faces had wide wicked grins spread upon them, as if they were enjoying the lion's torment. Nakala growled and swat his paw at them, but made no contact. He stared in confusion and growled again. He sprung at Fuli and passed right through her.

The lion yowled as he started to plummet down a pit of darkness. He closed his eyes and to his relief his paw caught something to hold onto. He opened his eyes and looked down to see the barren cracked rock of the gorge miles below him. His right paw hung tight to a branch lodged into the side of a cliff. Nakala reached up with his left paw and grabbed hold of the branch. His legs dangled uselessly with nothing to latch onto. Feeling the strength in his upper body waning, Nakala desperately looked for something else to aid him. The edge of the cliff was in sight, but too high to reach on his own.

"H-Help!" Nakala yowled, feeling his claws slipping from the bark. His ears flicked from the sound of footsteps above him. Nakala looked up at his savior only for his hopeful smile to quickly drop and his blood to go cold. The stern face of Simba glaring down at him. The dangling hope that his father would reach a paw down to him, but the older lion simply continued to look right through his son. Nakala felt his right paw lose it's grip and drop limp to his side, too numb to feel.

"Please...." Nakala's plea fell on deaf ears as he heard a loud crack. His gaze quickly shot up to his father before he started to plummet. The lion watched helplessly as the image of Simba staring at him grew smaller and smaller. He looked down to see the ground rapidly approaching him.

Nakala leapt to his feet, panting and sweating. He looked around him only to be met with dull, cold stone. He was about to panic again until the gentle sound of Janja's breathing calmed him down. He looked at the sleepy hyena and took a deep breath.

It was all just a dream, Nakala reassured himself.

He knew after what he just experienced, there was no way he was going to just fall asleep so easily. So he did what he usually did when he couldn't sleep.