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The Lion Guard looked up to the sky as the sight of a black shadow beat against the clouds. They tracked the figure as it slowly descended toward them, and eventually, the bird they had been expecting finally landed as he came face-to-face with his foes. “So,” Mzingo started, “if I heard Ono right, you five wanted to speak to me?” The Guard nodded as the vulture smirked and temporarily closed his eyes, showing a hint of intended disrespect. “To what do I owe this displeasure,” he cockily responded. The scavenger could barely get that sentence out as Bunga tackled him. The Bravest proceeded to pin Mzingo to the ground despite his struggles to get up and escape. The honey badger’s physical build was no match for his enemy’s wings. A sense of panic enveloped Mzingo as some pleas escaped his beak, he getting genuinely worried as the kids approached him. “No, please,” Mzingo squawked. “We’re supposed to negotiate!!!” “We are,” Fuli spoke up. “We’re negotiating why we should let you go back home.” The Outlander gulped as he was left confused. “How could you do such a thing,” Ono yelled. “Wh…what?” “Do you guys even have souls,” Beshte angrily seethed (for some of his friends were among the slaughtered). “I…I don’t follow,” Mzingo stuttered. “STOP PLAYING F*CKING GAMES,” Kion furiously roared. His friends were temporarily startled by the cub’s use of such language, knowing he was often able to keep his composure. “What are you referring to,” Mzingo yelled back. “I don’t know what you’re talking about!” “There’s no way you don’t know,” Fuli quickly returned, “you were a part of it!” “A part of what,” Mzingo yelled in pain. “The massacres in Mizimu Grove and Mbali Fields,” Kion barked. “M…Ma…‘Massacres,’” Mzingo clarified confused. “Don’t lie to us,” Kion yelled. He had now joined Bunga in pinning Mzingo down, getting in his enemy’s face teeth-bared. “We didn’t massacre anyone,” Mzingo shouted. “I swear!” The Guard’s anger temporarily halted as such a revelation came out of the helpless scavenger. His fear seemed sincere, and a combative answer in a tense situation like so would have required a lot of confidence and honesty to have been true. “You have a minute to explain,” Kion ordered. “Could you start by letting me up,” Mzingo exhaustedly replied. Kion and Bunga looked at each other and nodded, and they both got off of the vulture. Mzingo collected his breaths quickly, and then returned to meet the Guard’s stern glares. Fuli stood behind him to ensure he didn’t fly away, for if he did, the spring in her legs would have been enough to ground him again. “I can’t explain what I don’t know,” Mzingo stated. “What massacres happened in Mizimu Grove and Mbali Fields?” “Oryxes and gazelles,” Fuli quickly said. “Completely mutilated last night and this morning.” The bird’s eyes widened. “We didn’t do that,” Mzingo stated. “How do we know you’re telling the truth,” Beshte interrogated. Mzingo sighed and then turned to the Fiercest. “Kion,” he started, “do you remember our battle in Urembo Meadows a couple of days ago?” “Yes,” Kion responded. “When you used your Roar to send us back to the Outlands,” Mzingo recalled, “you injured a lot of us cause you sent the majority of the hyenas and jackals into a cliff wall.” “Really,” the lion surprisingly asked. “Why else do you think we haven’t attacked since,” the vulture reasoned. “Scar will have my neck for this, but to prove our innocence, we probably won’t be able to fight for two weeks at least.” Kion’s eyes grew as he looked back toward his friends. Everyone on the team had looks of disbelief etched onto their faces. That evidence was enough for Kion. “Get out of the Pride Lands,” Kion stressfully ordered. “We don’t need you anymore.” “You’re not even going to offer an apology,” Mzingo gasped. “Would you rather an apology or I tell Scar what you told us about the Army,” Kion clapped back. The vulture gulped, and without another word, he scurried back to the Outlands, leaving the Guard in complete confusion. Ushari slithered to a part of the Outlands that no one knew much about- it was a small cavern that only the smallest skinks could find, and being a decent contortionist himself, he fit into the hole with ease, which to be fair, led to a much roomier cave. There, he met Kukosa, whom was gritting his lips and rubbing his legs together as impatience rose prior to the snake’s arrival. “Ah, you’ve made it,” the spider greeted. “You said you wanted to see me.” “I am utterly amazed,” Ushari complimented. “Your work at Mizimu Grove and Mbali Fields was…” “Unfinished,” Kukosa interrupted. “We deserve no sense of respect for what we accomplished.” “What are you talking about,” Ushari laughed. “You killed more animals than we had ever managed in a matter of hours- that is a feat Scar is most proud of, nonetheless he would be proud of the true damage to each creature!” “But that was not our goal,” Kukosa angrily yelled almost sadistically, startling Ushari. “That was not our goal,” he repeated. “Our goal is to destroy the Pride Lands in any way possible,” Ushari reasoned. “That’s what you did.” “That is your goal, not ours,” Kukosa returned. “We had much grander intentions, far grander and far smarter than any of your little attacks, if you even wish to call them that!” “How dare you speak of Scar’s Army that way…” “How dare you deny the truth,” Kukosa fired back. “You wish to believe ‘close battles’ are enough? No, you need successes- COMPLETE successes that ensure you can truly compete as a prime candidate. As of now, all you have accomplished is being a thorn in the Guard’s side- why be a thorn when you can be a claw, a barb, or best, a blade of fire.” The reason set in for Ushari as Kukosa calmed himself. “We planned on luring the Lion Guard to the sight and then murdering them there,” the crab spider explained. “We thought that they would split up if we acted in the night on one slaughter and during their waking hours the other, and we were right. But we were too brutal- we created an ocean of blood in each area so large that once we tried to set foot on the relatively short grass that so happened to be slightly valleyed, it drowned all of my sons, daughters, nieces, and nephews that were stupid enough to test it. If we wouldn’t have been able to spin and connect webs, we’d have not been saved and our secret would have been uncovered. We hid in the trees and upon rocks and watched on, helplessly.” Ushari was mesmerized by the spider’s tactical abilities, but he was still taken aback by how he saw the failed killing of five animals a disgrace. “I am not one to doubt your abilities and thought,” the cobra hissed, “but I came to say that you did a fine job and to keep it up. Would you be willing to see Scar some time today?” “Of course not,” the crab spider barked. “I couldn’t possibly face such an evil without accomplishing our goal!” “Kukosa,” Ushari pleaded, “it will take time to kill the Lion Guard- they are very strong and powerful animals that are very skilled. Besides, I have informed Scar of what you have done, and he wants to meet you urgently.” “Tell him that I cannot see him,” Kukosa said as he began to exit the hole. “Tell him that I will once the Guard has been defeated.” “Did you not hear what I just said,” the serpent asked. “Every word,” Kukosa answered, “and I assure you that you are wrong- they aren’t as skilled as you may believe, and I’m going to show both you and Scar exactly how.” In an instance, the crab spider camouflaged himself and left the residence, leaving Ushari dumbfounded. The Protectors of the Pride Lands brainstormed aloud as the sun started to set on Chakula Plains. They were still trying to figure out whom could have been responsible for the deaths of all those animals. “Maybe it was a pack of rogue lions,” Beshte blurted out. “Great,” Kion sarcastically complimented. “Another threat for us to deal with.” “It’s not a bad idea,” Fuli admitted. “That may be our best guess so far,” Kion stated. “If the Army really wasn’t responsible, what could’ve possibly caused all of that?” “Well, what do we do now,” Ono asked. “Just walk away from this and pray it doesn’t happen again?” “We can’t just ‘walk away,’” Kion quickly answered. “Everyone think- is there any details from earlier that anyone can recall?” “I mean, I was bit by a spider when we were over there,” Bunga admitted. Fuli and Ono’s eyes shot open and stared at the Bravest. “Anything useful,” Kion rudely shot down. “Hang on,” Fuli interrupted. “Bunga, go on.” Kion tried to stop things. “Fuli, we don’t…” “Trust me,” the cheetah ordered. Kion held his words as pleaded. “I mean, yeah,” Bunga admitted. “Beshte and I were looking things over, and suddenly, I felt fangs digging into my skin, and I looked, saw a huge, thick, palm-sized spider on my arm, and squashed it- I don’t know how venomous it was, but I’m immune to it so I didn’t tell anyone.” “What did the spider look like,” Ono asked, getting in on the conversation. “It was a lot of colors,” Bunga recalled. “Hard to tell- Ono, you had a word for it- byo- byoluckinence?” “Bioluminescent,” the egret clarified. “Yeah, that,” Bunga confirmed. “It must have been a crab spider,” Ono concluded. “Sure matches the description.” “Fuli, why is this important,” Kion impatiently asked. “Because when we were leaving Mizimu Grove,” Fuli answered, “there were big bioluminescent spiders drowned in all of the blood. They were all over the place- you and I ended up stepping on more than a couple.” “Really,” Kion asked, getting a subtle nod from Fuli. “It all happened so fast I must not have remembered dragging them off.” “So what are you suggesting,” Beshte asked. "That some spiders killed two whole herds of animals?” “Ono,” Fuli called, “how many crab spiders live together?” “A lot,” Ono stressed. “Well into the ten thousands.” Everyone’s eyes widened as the egret possibly revealed a clue. “Do you think,” Kion started, “that the crab spiders…” “Yes,” Fuli interrupted. “I think they could be working with Scar, but if they are, they must be among his new recruits.” “I thought we stopped them from recruiting,” Bunga pouted. “No,” Fuli said. “Remember, we couldn’t get everyone out of the Outlands, but we got almost everyone. This could be one of Scar’s late additions, and by the looks of it, his best one.” “But why would Mzingo not know anything about the massacres if they were working together,” Beshte asked. “Maybe he didn’t,” Kion thought. “If the Army’s injured, healthy forces could have attacked- if there was no communication to the Army about the murder, then they would have literally had nothing to do with it.” “Doesn’t the Army work as a team,” Bunga asked. “Calling them a team is like calling a baobab a hyrax,” Fuli joked, getting a much needed laugh from the group. “They could work in branches,” Kion considered aloud. “Okay, so we all agree that the spiders are responsible,” Fuli clarified. A series of “Yes”s filled the air. “Okay,” Kion concluded. “Fuli, Bunga, let’s head back to your home away from home.” This prompted some confusion amongst the duo. “What do you mean,” they both asked in unison. “You know where I’m talking about,” Kion grinned. “Let’s go back to the Outlands.” END PART 3. THE FINALE WILL RELEASE IN 48 HOURS.