A/N: In this story, I will be bringing in a character from the second movie. You'll see who it is... Let's get started. Hope you enjoy this.

Chapter 1: The Plot

The Outlands were miserable. All the animals in the Pridelands knew it. It was dry, hot, and there was a lack of food. No one knew this better than the pride of lions that lived there. The Outlanders had lived there since the reign of Ahadi, who had banished them for going against his laws. They were seen as rouges and were liked by nobody. They all despised the Pridelanders, especially their leader, Zira, who was a cub when they were banished.

"Zira..." a lioness said as she walked into the den they lived in.

"What is it?" Zira said as she lied in a corner of the den.

"The hunting party failed to find any food... Again..." the lioness told her.

"I figured." Zira said, standing up and walking toward her.

"We need to do something." The lioness told her. "It's been three days since we've eaten. We'll die soon."

"Do you think I'm not aware of that!" Zira spat as she got in the lionesses face. She then calmed down and backed away from the lioness. "Luckily, I have just the idea to make sure we survive."

"You do?" the lioness asked with a curious expression. "What is it?"

"Gather the rest of the pride." Zira said. "They all need to hear it."

The lioness bowed and left the den to go get the rest of the pride. A few minutes later, she came back with the other lionesses of the pride and they all stood in front of Zira.

"I have a plan." Zira said. "One that will guarantee our survival, but I will need someone to help carry it out. It will be dangerous, but the outcome will be worth the risk. Any volunteers?" She looked at the crowd of lionesses in front of her. They were all silent, but then one lioness spoke up.

"I'll do it." The lioness named Keki answered. "What do I need to do?"

"It's actually quite simple." Zira said. "You will sneak into the Pridelands when they are all asleep. Once you get to Pride Rock, you will kidnap Mufasa's son and bring him back here."

"That's all?" Keki asked. "That's not a problem."

"Then what?" another lioness asked.

"When Mufasa sees his son is gone, he'll obviously want to find him." Zira said. "That's why Keki will make sure to leave a trail right back here. He will be forced to turn over the Pridelands to me to save his son."

"What if he just has his pride attack us after we give his son back?" a lioness asked.

"We keep the prince with us until we have control, then we banish the royal family." Zira said. "And any of those Pridelanders that try to stop us will be killed immediately." She knew her pride was strong. Certainly stronger than any of the Pridelanders. She looked back at Keki. "You leave at sundown. Don't fail us."

"I won't, my queen." Keki assured her.

Simba and his friends were down by the water hole. It had been a few days since they were allowed to leave the den again.

"I'm bored." Simba said as he rolled over onto his back. "Isn't there anything to do?"

"Not really." Nala said. "Hey, where's Sora?"

"I saw him talking to Akili." Tora said. Akili was another lioness cub that lived in the pride. She has fur that's almost pure white and hazle colored eyes.

"I wonder what she wants." Nala said.

"She told me she had a crush on him." Tora said. "Maybe-"

"As fun as it is listening to you talk about this," Simba said, "I'm going to go swim. You coming Kora and Mheetu?"

"Why not?" Mheetu said as he and Kora followed Simba.

"Anyway," Tora said, "maybe she told him how she feels."

"Well, let's ask." Nala said. "Here he comes."

"So, what did Akili want?" Tora asked.

"Oh, she just told me that she really likes me." Sora said. He lied down next to Tora.

"So... What did you say?" Nala asked. "Is she your girlfriend, or what?"

"No." Sora said.

"What?" Tora said. "Why?"

"She's nice and all," Sora said, "but I'm not sure I want a girlfriend right now."

"Well, you should think about it." Tora said. "She really does like you."

"I will." Sora said. "So, what are we doing today?"

"Not much." Nala said. "I thought being able to leave the den would give us something to do, but we're still bored."

"Oh, well..." Tora said. "I'm fine with laying in the sun all day. It's been awhile since we've been able to relax like this."

"True." Nala said. "I might as well take a nap."

"Yeah, me too." Sora said.

The three cubs shut their eyes and went to sleep, while Simba, Kora, and Mheetu were still in the water. They had no idea of the plan Zira had come up with to take the Pridelands for herself.

A/N: So what did you think of that chapter? Zira is one evil lioness, plotting to kidnap the Prince and take over the Pridelands. On a more positive note, looks like someone has an eye for Sora. He really should think about it like Tora said. Akili is a nice cub, hopefully Sora will realize he does want to be with her. That's all for now. See you for the next chapter!