The Lion Swap: Return of the Roar

Part 9: Tonight We Strike

In the Outlands, a clan of hyenas sat inside a small den that overlooked the territory. They watched their leader, Janja, who sat on top of the highest rock in the cave.

"Janja," one of the hyenas, Cheezi, said. "I'm hungy!"

"Me too!" another hyena whose name was Chungu exclaimed.

"You two have yourselves to blame," Janja told them, anger clear on his face. "To think you were scared by the roar of a lion cub!"

"Janja, you see, it wasn't like, like a normal roar," Cheezi said, cowering in fear of his leader. "It was uh," he laughed nervously, "Super loud!"

"And the clouds!" Chungu added. "They turned into roaring lions!" Cheezi nodded his head in agreement furiously.

Janja snarled at the pair of hyenas. "Oh! So you're scared of clouds too?"

The other hyenas laughed crazily, their cackles echoing off the walls of the Outlands. But their laughter soon died away as Mzingo of the vultures flew over to them and landed at the entrance of their den. 

"Stuff it, fur brains!" barked Janja, ordering them to silence. "Seems we have a visitor to our humble humid den."

"Janja. Hyenas," the tall vulture greeted, curving his neck to gaze at them. 

"Mzingo!" called Janja, glaring down at the vulture. "What are you doing this far into the Outlands? Looking for leftovers?"

"No, but I'd be happy to eat," Mzingo said, looking around the den of hyenas, who all seemed to stare angrily at him. 

"Forget it," Janja snarled. "We don't have any. Simba's cub, Kiara, managed to cancel our lunch plans."

The hyenas laughed again, this time with crazed laughter, that made Mzingo feel repulsed. He backed away a step. 

"Then you already know about Kiara," he said, his words making the hyenas laughter die down, confusion knitted on their brows.

"Know what?" Janja growled, jumping down from his rock to face to old vulture. 

"Simba has told Kiara to assemble a new Lion Guard," Mzingo reported, looking startled that Janja did not know. 

"The Lion Guard?" Janja repeated, the hairs on the back of his neck standing up. "That's impossible. The Lion Guard died out after Scar... unless..."

The earlier words of Cheezi and Chungu came echoing back to him, making him grit his teeth in annoyance. Why had he not seen it!

"It was, ugh, super loud!"

"And the clouds! They turned into roaring lions!"

So. The Roar had returned. The Lion Guard was being assembled, made up of the best of the Pride Lands: the fiercest, fastest, strongest, bravest and keenest of sight. This was not good news for the hyenas. If the Lion Guard returned, it would be almost impossible to sneak into the Pride Lands to feast on the many animals that lived there. Janja scowled.

Of course it had to come back. Just his luck. It seemed, the whole world was against him. Sooner or later, he and his hyenas would starve to death in the Outlands, where barely any prey lived.

"J-Janja?" Mzingo stammered, regaining his attention.

"The Roar!" he muttered. "Of course!"

"Of course what?" Mzingo asked, curiousity lighting his dark, brooding features.

"Don't you know the stories? The Lion Guard was legendary," Janja said, settling back down on the ground to tell the story. "At least they were..." he snickered, "until Scar destroyed them!"

The other hyenas burst out laughing, as if it were the most hilarious thing they had ever heard. Mzingo wrinkled his beak at them.

"What?" he said, astounded at the fact. "A lion destroyed the Lion Guard?"

"Or so the story goes," Janja told him, crossing over to the other side of the cave.

"Hilarious!" Cheezi managed to say between peals of laughter.

"Yeah," Chungu agreed. "Them lions ain't too bright!"

"Stuff it, furbrains!" Janja snarled, tempted to whack the two idiot hyenas on the head. "A new Lion Guard could be very bad news for us hyenas. And all the other Outlanders."

"I gathered as much from what I overheard from Kiara," Mzingo said, as if that was helpful.

"Yes," Janja said. "The old Lion Guard protected the so-called Circle of Life. If Kiara's new Lion Guard wins the trust of the Pride Lands, we Outlanders will..." He trailed off, spotting a green bug and pounced upon it. But when he lifted his paw, it was gone. He growled in annoyance.

The other hyenas chortled at their leader, amused to see him go after a mere bug. But the Outlands were harsh on all who lived inside them, so if there was a bug (which was a rarity), they had to go after it.

"Now, Janja," Mzingo said, drawing the hyena's attention and raised an eyebrow. "What were you saying? About the Lion Guard and the Outlanders?"

Janja glared at the other hyenas, who immediately stopped laughing and cringed away. "I was saying... with a Lion Guard patrolling the Pride Lands, it will be next to impossible for us Outlanders to take whatever animals we want for food."

"Then what're we gonna do?" Cheezi asked in concern.

"Ooh, we eat each other!" Chungu suggested in glee, as if being a cannibal sounding pleasing to him.

"No!" barked Janja. "We'll strike now. Before the Lion Guard is ready. And we'll take down all the animals we can."

Mzingo hummed in agreement. "I like the sound of that," he said eagerly.

"Whole herds of animals!" Janja exclaimed and the hyenas cheered. The lead hyena jumped on top of a rock and declared, "Tonight, we Outlanders will feast. Hyenas and vultures alike! Tonight, we strike!" He opened his mouth, and began to sing.

Janja:
When you live in the Outlands
It's better to make your own rules
Ask anyone outside the Pride Lands
The Circle of Life is for fools

We go where we want when we want to

And we eat

Yes, we eat as we please
That Kiara can't give us a curfew

Mzingo:
Or tell us to stay in the trees

Hyenas:
No!
Tonight we strike!
Tonight we strike!

No one's safe so the time is rightThe Circle of Life's gonna feel our bite

Tonight we strike!
Tonight we strike!

Janja:
So before this new Guard is readyTo defend the Pride Lands from harmWe'll make them all feel unsteadyWe'll give them cause for alarmHyenas:
Yeah!
Tonight we strike!Tonight we strike!"Alright fellas," Janja said instead of singing. "Bring it in. Here's the plan..."

Janja:
While the animals are in their slumber
We'll be creeping beneath
And just like a roaring thunder
We'll wake them up with our teeth

Hyenas:
Aah!
Tonight we strike!Tonight we strike!No one's safe so the time is rightThe Circle of Life's gonna feel our biteTonight we strike!

Tonight we strike!

Tonight we strike!
Tonight we strike!

No one's safe so the time is rightThe Circle of Life's gonna feel our bite

Tonight we strike! 
Tonight we strike!

Janja and the Hyenas:
The Circle of Life's gonna feel our bite!
Tonight we strike!
Tonight we STRIKE!

Janja and the hyenas fell into hysterical laughter, as this was one of the first times they made an actually good plan.