A Change of Plans [PRIVATE: AC & The Whistlerify]

[AustralianChaos]

"No..." Tanga felt all the fight leaving him. All he could do was stare at Marini, giving a whispered, "I'm sorry," to her, before waiting for Shenzi to end it.

But as he waited, he spotted movement behind Banzai and Marini, and suddenly realised that everything was going to be okay. His fight returning to him in full force, Tanga turned and, knowing Banzai would be too preoccupied to worry about Marini soon, he growled and leapt at Shenzi, his claws unsheathing as he went straight for her muzzle, his blue eyes crackling with a fierce, defiant rage.

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As Sarabi finally reached the waterhole, she ploughed straight towards the three hyenas, nodding to Sarafina to indicated that she was free to kill the hyenas if she had to.

Releasing an enraged, furious roar, Sarabi lunged at Banzai, who was still pinning Marini down, tackling him ferociously, managing to shove her claws into one of his shoulders as the two of them tumbled off Marini and into the mud surrounding the waterhole.

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Nala heard Sarabi's roar, and tried to pick up the pace. "Come on, Simba, we have to hurry!" But their smaller bodies did not give them the speed Sarabi and Sarafina had, leaving Nala feeling helpless as she realised that they could still be too late.

[TheWhistlerify]

Marini closed her eyes, she couldn't look. All of a sudden she heard Sarabi's roar and felt Banzai's weight being lifted off of her. Opening her eyes slowly she noticed Sarabi fighting with Banzai. Tanga was still facing the two others, she wanted to try and help when Sarafina busted in, sending Ed flying straight into the water and pinning Shenzi. She got up and walked to Tanga, wanting to make sure he was okay

Simba ran after Nala, hearing the roar he tried to run faster, but he couldn't run any faster.

[AustralianChaos]

Tanga had given Shenzi a nasty shove, but before either of them could really fight, Sarafina broke in, shoving him aside as she took on Shenzi. Backing away as the two adults took over the situation, he moved straight to Marini's side, pulling her into a tight hug. "Marini! Are you okay?" he blurted, his panic and adrenaline rush making his mouth move a million miles an hour. "Are you hurt? I'm so sorry, Rini...there was nothing I could do! I'm so sorry!"

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Sarabi grappled with Banzai in the mud for a brief period, before finally getting the upper hand on the hyena, pinning him into the mud, keeping one paw on his wounded shoulder. "Why are you here?!" she demanded, her voice laced with fury. "Why are you threatening the cubs!"

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Nala ran beside Simba as they finally reached the scene of the fight, to find it pretty much over already. Ed was struggling to swim back to shore after being flung into the lake, Sarabi had Banzai have buried in a pool of mud, the queen a rather scary sight with her fur covered in mud and a fierce snarl on her face, and Sarafina had Shenzi pinned in the grass. She noticed Tanga and Marini sitting together off to the side, Tanga clinging onto Marini for dear life as he babbled rapidly in her ear.

Nala initially considered going over to them, but she then noticed Ed get out of the waterhole, sending a sly look towards the distracted adults. she nudged Simba, before pointing to Ed, a growl resonating from the back of her throat as she unsheathed her own claws and bounded after the deranged hyena.

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As Scar closed in on the battlefield, he could see that his hyenas were well and truly beaten, and that, with Simba and Nala adding themselves to the equation, that the balance had turned badly in the Pridelander's favour.

He forced himself to hide his smile as he approached the scene, knowing that his next move would most likely cause a massive distraction, as he ran up to Tanga and Marini, who were holding each other tightly, and threw them both to the ground. "Traitors!" he snarled, pinning the two under a paw each as he gave a quick look up towards the hyenas, a signal ordering them to run as soon as the rest of the lions were distracted. "I should have known you two were up to something!"

[TheWhistlerify]

Marini tried to force a fake smile to her muzzle, but she couldn't. "I'm fine." she said, still quite shocked by everything that just happend.

Simba beared his teeth and un-sheathed his claws, running alongside Nala towards Ed who was making his way back to the shore.

Sarafina noticed what was Scar doing. "Scar, what are you doing?" she asked completely confused, not noticing she let go of her hold of Shenzi

[AustralianChaos]

Sarabi looked up at Scar's furious snarl, shocked to fin him yelling at the two cubs instead of the hyenas. She paid the price of loosening her grip on Banzai's shoulder when the hyena lashed out, boting the paw pinning him down. With a yelp, she jerked back involuntarily, letting go of him and allowing the three hyenas to regroup.

Deciding that Scar's odd actions had to wait, she turned to the three hyenas, snarling at them. "Leave...now! Unless you you want to end up as food for the vultures!"

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Nala stopped, forgetting about Ed entirely as she saw Scar throw her two friends to the ground and declare them traitors. "Scar...what are you doing?" she asked, confused.

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Tanga squirmed under Scar's paw, gasping for air as it pressed down tighter. "Scar, what are you talking abou..." his question was cut of as scar's claws dug into his chest, forcing him to keep silent. He looked up into Scar's eyes, before looking at Marini, his face making his thoughts plain for her to see.

They were in very big trouble now.

[TheWhistlerify]

Marini looked at Tanga and then up at Scar, completely confused.

Shenzi took the oppertunity Scar gave them and flew with her two brothers through the tall grass.

Simba walked a few hesitant steps towards Scar and his friends "Uncle Scar, what exactly are you doing?" he asked completely confused

[AustralianChaos]

Scar looked up at the others, knowing that his backup plan would work now. He took a few moments to allow the hyenas to make their escape. "I'm glad you intervened when you did, Sarabi...Sarafina. I don't think I would have been here in time."

"I was just wandering the Pridelands on my routine patrol, when I noticed these two meeting up at the waterhole. As I watched, those three hyenas came and met with them. These two have been conspiring against the Pridelands!"

Scar looked up, doing an unmatchable job of hiding the triumphant smirk from his face. As acting king, he had the power to do whatever he liked to these cubs for their improvised 'treason'...but it was always better if he had the support of the rest of the pride...Sarabi in particular.

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Tanga's jaw dropped as Scar laid down the accusations. "What?!" he shouted. "No! We weren't...!" he protests were cut off as Scar shoved his paw roughly into his throat, causing his words to turn into a choking gasp. "Silence, traitor!" Scar snarled at him.

He gave Marini a hopeless look, praying Sarabi and the others would be able to convince Scar of their innocence...Tanga knew that he and Marini were as good as dead if they couldn't.

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Sarabi looked from the two cubs beneath Scar's paws to the acting king himself, struggling to connect the dots. "Scar, are you certain? They're just cubs! What reason could they possibly have for wanting to start a hyena invasion of the pride?"

[TheWhistlerify]

Simba couldn't believe this. "You're wrong!" he said, "The hyenas attacked them, we saw!" he said pointing at himself and Nala. He then looked at his mother, "Tell him!" he said, not wanting Scar to do anything to his friends.

"Scar it's true, my and Sarabi came and the hyenas were about to kill them." Sarafina said, "and they're cubs, why would they possibly want to do such a thing?"

[AustralianChaos]

Scar latched onto Sarafina's question. "Well, think about it...these two have been orphans for their entire lives. Jealous of everyone else around them...particularly Tanga," he added, gesturing to the cub's undersized body for emphasis. "I had them removed from the den because I suspected that they might be trying to corrupt the pride...but I can see that leaving them without a watch was a mistake."

"And knowing the hyenas, they probably attacked them because they did not like the deal they were being offered, and wanted to ensure that we never got wind of the takeover they were planning. Think about it...it all makes sense!"

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Sarabi stared open-mouthed at Scar...but she didn't speak. What Scar was saying could not possibly be true...could it? His arguments were making a fair bit of sense...hyena presence inside the Pridelands had increased in the month since Mufasa's death...but could Tanga and Marini possibly be the cause? Could the two cubs possibly be planning an overthrow of their pride?

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Nala was also struggling to believe what she was hearing. Just this morning, she had been teasing her friends over their respective crushes on one-another...and now here they both were, being accused of treason!

Unlike Sarabi, however, Nala knew that Tanga and Marini would never, ever say or do anything against the Pridelands...Tanga was too shy and kind, and Marini was too gentle. Nala gave Simba a pleading expression, begging him to stop Scar...if the acting king somehow managed to convince Sarabi and Sarafina that his lies were true, then Tanga and Marini were almost certainly going to be executed...or at the very least, exiled forever!

[TheWhistlerify]

"Sure, they'll overthrow the pridelands and then what?" Simba asked, a little angry, "they have no place to go, no familly and they can't even hunt yet! I don't think they plan on living with hyenas." he then looked at his mother with a helpless expression. He might be the prince but what could he do to stop Scar for doing something to his friends. If anyone could prevent Scar from doing such a thing it was his mother