After the hyenas had seen and personally taken care of the last of Scar, Shenzi looked around the cackle of hyenas that had dined on the lion with her and her two boys. Banzai raised an eyebrow at her worried expression.

"What's wrong with you?"

She kept looking, "Where's my motha?"

Banzai and Ed exchanged looks before turning back to the worried female, "I dunno. We thought she was eatin' too."

"I'm gonna go look—"

Another female ran up behind Shenzi and was panting hard. She put a paw on Shenzi's shoulder and simply stated, "You must come, now."

They ran off back towards Pride Rock. Banzai and Ed dashed after the two females and reached a clutter of hyenas. They were around a dark grey body… that had spots… and a tail. Banzai looked ahead at Shenzi, who was pushing her way rudely through the crowd.

"Move it! I'm comin' through!"

What Shenzi saw next could have made her eyes fall from their sockets. She looked down at the ground to see the body of her mother, blood pools around her head and side. As soon as she saw, she knew that her mother was killed in the fight. Banzai came up behind Shenzi and stared at the dead body of his life-long friends' mother. He glanced at her to see tears in the corners of her yellow eyes.

"Who did this?" Shenzi demanded.

A male answered her this time, "A lioness. I was fighting with her but I was kicked off the small cliff there. When I got back, she was here… and the lioness was killed as well."

Shenzi nodded slowly, not taking her eyes off her mother. She took slow, deep breaths to keep herself from breaking down. Banzai stood close to Shenzi, almost attempting to nuzzle her. He knew if he wanted to nuzzle her, he'd have to wait until she wasn't surrounded by other hyenas.

Suddenly, one male tossed his head. All the hyenas at the scene left and walked away to where Scar's body had last been, hoping for scraps. Shenzi walked over to the body and felt the rain begin to pound on her. The female put a paw on her mothers' shoulder and pet her dead body once before turning to Banzai. Tears were spilling from her eyes and her teeth were bared in a sad expression. Before he could say a word, she broke down in front of him, her head to the ground.

"It's all my fault! Damn it! How the hell could I be so stupid and blind?" She yelled at the ground. Banzai walked up to her and rested his head over the back of her neck. She sniffed and sat for a moment, swallowing her sobs.

"Shenzi… I know it sucks."

She looked up at him and gave him a smirk, "That's a blunt way 'a puttin' it."

He smiled at her and then looked at Ed. He sat there in the rain, shivering. Banzai shook his head and then glanced back at Shenzi.

"We bettah go before the lions get all territorial on our asses," Shenzi told the two.

They walked back to the graveyard, none of them saying a word. They knew that once they got back, there was a new matriarch. A matriarch who had a spiky tuft of a mane, yellow eyes and a pretty sour attitude, and who's name was Shenzi.

Once they stepped back on graveyard lands, Shenzi let out a shaky sigh. She looked over to the middle of the graveyard to see the meeting skull: which was the largest skull in the graveyard. It was where her mother talked to the cackle when there was something important to discuss.

Ed giggled softly at Shenzi and nudged her hind leg as if to tell her, "You can do it, Shenzi."

She smiled at him and nodded once. Then, she looked at Banzai who was trying to swallow a nervous lump in his throat. She nodded at him as well and then took off to climb up the big skull. It was easy to climb, it had to be, and she made it to the top. She looked down to see the hyenas all gathering below her, staring up to see what she had to say. Banzai and Ed were behind her on the skull, as if trying to make sure she did her new duty.

Shenzi cleared her throat. The rain had let up, but only slightly. She looked up into the cloudy sky to see a bit of sun shining through. And for only a moment, she could have sworn she saw her mother's face look down upon her from the heavens. She smiled and looked back at her subjects. Suddenly, she felt a small giggle build up in her chest. She took a deep breath and let out the loudest and most meaningful giggle in her entire life loose from her lips. Every single hyena that was below her laughed back (A/N: Sound a bit familiar?) and she stopped to listen to the sound.

It was the most beautiful thing she had heard in her life.

Suddenly, she felt a presence behind her. She turned her head to see Banzai walk to her side and stand next to her. She smiled at him.

"Thank you, Banzai," she said in a new tone. It was sincere, not harsh or sarcastic at all.

"No problem…Matriarch Shenzi," he basically choked out. She smiled and shook her head at him.

Ed laughed at them and sat down on his hanches, tall and attentive. She gave him a smirk and then turned back to Banzai. He was looking down at his paws, his tail wagging a bit. He glanced back up at her and swallowed again.

"Well, spit it out!" She playfully yelled at him.

"I…uh… I r-really…"

She stared at him, as did the whole rest of the cackle. He stood up and looked Shenzi right in the eyes. She had a feeling what his next question was going to be, and she already knew what her answer was.

"Shenzi… I think I…l-love you."

She let a smirk break on her face.

"Will you…"

She nuzzled his neck hard and then looked back at him, "Yeah."

They then stood next to one another, tall and proud and watched over their subjects together. The sun finally came out of the grey clouds and Shenzi looked up at the bright sunset. She took a deep smell of the sky, which reminded her of her mother. Banzai licked her cheek and smirked at her.

"Welcome home, Shenzi."

She smiled sincerely at him, "It's good to be back, Banzai."

Ed watched as his two friends leaned against one another as they watched the sun set upon the meeting skull.

A Few Years Later

Shenzi lay inside their den. She was surrounded by five other hyenas who helped her give birth to her perfect little pup, who now rested in her forepaws. She saw Banzai trying to push his way in. Gently, she told the hyena guarding the den to let him in and he darted over to her.

"She's beautiful."

Shenzi smiled and licked the pup on the top of the head, "She has your eyes," she told him. He nuzzled their newborn pup gently and the pup giggled softly. Banzai's face grew soft and he licked his mate.

Ed came in and giggled rather noisily. Banzai nodded and helped Shenzi from the ground. They walked slowly, but surely to the meeting skull. Shenzi climbed it, with her newborn in her black mouth. The pup squealed in delight as they made it to the top. Banzai helped Shenzi hide the pup in between her front paws. The pup stayed and Banzai stood next to Shenzi. They looked down at their subjects and smiled. They both bowed on own paw and then Shenzi split her front two paws open to show them the new heir.

One hyena screamed louder than any, "What's her name?!"

Shenzi glanced at Banzai, then back to her subjects. Shenzi cleared her throat.

"This is Hidaya."

(A/N: Hidaya in Swahili means "Beautiful" or "Desire.")