The Lion Guard stood there, gazing out over the horizon. Other than them and Rafiki's apprentice, Makini, everyone was now asleep. The sun had set long ago, and with it, another day had ended, only for the Guard, it had been their toughest day yet. What had started as a celebration had turned into a race against the clock, with King Simba's life hanging in the balance. They had to push further and fight harder than ever before in order to find the cure for the king's ailment, and just when they had it, they were faced with an impossible sight- the former king, the tyrannous Scar, back from the dead. While he may not have had the same form, there was no doubting that it was him, and because of him, they had all come closer to death than ever before. It was only with the strength Kion was granted by the kings of the past that they were able to escape, and return to Pride Rock in time.

'But we were almost too late,' Kion thought to himself, looking at his team. "Guys," Kion finally spoke up, ending the sound of nothing but the cool night air passing through their furs, "thank you so much."

"For what, Kion?" Makini asked, tilting her head slightly.

"For today. Without you guys… I don't think my dad would have made it. Any longer, and we'd have been too late, and if it had been just me… I never would have made it back in time."

"Kion, don't say that," Fuli told him, looking him in the eye with a frown. "You played just as much of a part in saving him as we did."

"Yeah, Kion," Beshte added, "we worked together to do this. If you weren't our leader, we might not have made it out of the volcano alive."

"He's right," Ono spike up in agreement. "Thanks to you and the Roar, Scar's plan failed."

Kion frowned at the mention of his 'deceased' great uncle. The image of him flashed across his vision, a faint echo of his laughter in his mind. "Just like it did when you helped me return," he remembered him saying. Jerking, he shook his head, squinting to get rid of the image, before he felt a tap on his image. He looked to see Bunga, giving him a smirk. "Relax, Kion," he told the lion cub, exhuming confidence. "If Simba can beat him, then we definitely can."

Looking at the rest of the Lion Guard, he saw that they all shared his sentiments, causing him to smile. "Thanks, guys. I'm glad you're with me, like you were today."

"Think nothing of it, Kion," Fuli told him. "He's your family, and you're like family to us, which makes him family to us."

His smile grew. "You're right, Fuli. And you guys really ARE family to me. There's no one else I'd rather have by my side." He gave a slight yawn. "It's getting late. You should all go and get some rest. Usiku mwema, guys."

"Usiku mwema, Kion!" They all responded, before heading on their way.

"Oh," Bunga added, having only taken a few steps, "I almost forgot. Is it cool if me, Timon and Pumbaa sleep in the lair tonight? It's too late for us to head back to Hakuna Matata Falls, and I said they could stay there, so…"

Kion chuckled. "It's fine, Bunga. Besides, they'll probably want to know if anything changes with my dad."

"Okay, cool. See you tomorrow, Kion!"

Kion shook his head, chuckling as the honey badger left. Looking to his side, he saw that Fuli hadn't yet left, and that she had a look of concern in her eyes. "Fuli?"

"Are you okay, Kion?" She finally asked. "You seemed a little… off then. I saw that look in your eye again."

"I-it's nothing, Fuli. It's just…" He let out a heavy sigh, his eyes staring at his feet. "It's been a rough day."

She nodded. "I can imagine. Do you want to talk about it?"

"A little, but I'm rather tired. I think I just need some rest. Besides," he looked towards the cave where his parents and sister currently were, "I'll feel better when I know my dad's okay."

"I understand. Just know that you can come find me if you need anything."

He smiled. "Asante, Fuli."

She took a couple of steps towards him and gave him a light nuzzle. "Goodnight, Kion," she told him, before making her own way home.

Kion took one last glance to the night sky, seeing the moon up high and all the stars that were out. 'Thank you, grandfather, great kings of the past,' he thought. 'You gave me the strength to save my dad today, and for that, I owe you.' He then walked into the cave, where he saw his family asleep. Kiara was nestled in her mother's paws, smiling peacefully, while Nala rested her head on her daughter's back, a similar smile on her face. He then saw his father and frowned. While he knew that Rafiki and Makini had been able to administer the cure, he could tell that his dad was still affected by the sting, and probably would be for the rest of the night. 'He'll get past this,' Kion kept thinking as he approached his family. 'He's fought through worse, he WILL get through this.' He nuzzled his dad's mane a couple of times, before laying down next to him, his head lowering onto his paws as his eyes slowly begin to shut and he drifted away into sleep.

The sunlight filtered into the cave, falling on the sleeping cub's eyes. Twitching them for a couple of seconds, Kion allowed himself to awake, his eyes hazily opening to adjust to the light. He let out a sleepy yawn, before stretching his back. He looked around the cave and realised that the only other lion in there was his father. 'Did mom take Kiara hunting?' He pondered. 'I thought she was still in training.' Pushing that thought to aside, he stood up and began to stretch his legs, then paced his way over to his father. "Dad?" He asked. "Are you awake?" He received no response straight away, so he gave him a little nudge. "Dad? It's me, Kion." Again, no response. In fact, it was almost as if he didn't feel Kion try and nudge him. This worried Kion, and when he noticed how still his body was, this worried him even more. 'N-no… he can't be, we… we saved him.' Kion nudged his body with his head again, a little more forcefully this time. "Dad, it-it's morning, you need to wake up now." The more he tried, the more worried he grew, until he placed his head against his father's side...

And he stopped still, his eyes widening and tears welling. He couldn't hear anything- no signs of a pulse, no breaths going in or out, nothing. "N… no… we- we saved him. I'm sure we did." He started to nudge his father once more, much more desperately. "Dad, please!" He begged. "You have to wake up! PLEASE!" When he received no response, his tears grew, streaming down his face. "Please… dad…" He lowered down to the ground, resting his head in his father's mane, and began to sob. "No…"

His sobs were the only sound in that cave for a good few minutes, his tears soaking Simba's now lifeless fur. No one came into the cave, no one passed by, no one heard his sorrow- he was all alone.

Or, at least, that's what he thought, and what he would soon wish he had been.

Suddenly, Simba's body grew hot. Kion felt it, instantly removing his head from it and backing away as he saw the late king's body begin to ignite. The cub's tear-ridden eyes showed nothing but sadness and fear as the fire consumed his father, nothing but ashes remaining. However, this was not what scared the poor cub. No, it was what emerged from the flames- the evil cackle that accompanied the form the flames took. Scar.

"My, my, my, Kion!" He boasted. "What HAVE you done?"

Despite his fear, Kion grew angry. "S-S-Scar…" he snarled. "Y-you… you monster!"

The fiery form of his great uncle tutted at Kion. "Oh, Kion, you don't realise, do you? Did you really think that you could save daddy from certain doom?" He cackled once more. "I may not be alive in the way I once was… yet… but I'm not stupid! I was never going to let you defeat me!"

Kion had heard enough already. Digging his claws into the ground and tensing up, his anger consumed him as he unleashed the mighty Roar of the Elders, tearing through the flames and eventually striking the cave wall, causing a little bit of rock to fall down. "Oh, come now, Kion," he still heard Scar speak, "did you think that would defeat me?" Instantly, Scar reformed in flames. "I had that Roar before you were even conceived! You're not WORTHY of it! Not yet, anyway."

"If being worthy of it means being like you, then I will never be 'worthy' of it. But we both know that isn't what it means. It means to be-"

"Oh, spare me the speech!" He rolled his eyes at the cub. "I've heard it so many times before! The Circle of Life must be protected, good will always prevail, evil can never win – ALL MEANINGLESS!" He roared, causing Kion to take a couple of steps back. This brought a wicked smile to his face. "But, don't worry, Kion. You shall not fall at my paws today." Kion heard footsteps, and instantly knew what was happening, so he gulped. "Them, on the other hand, is a different story."

All Kion heard was Scar's evil, boisterous laugh as hyenas, crocodiles, jackals and vultures started to filter into the cave, the sky behind them now a deep blood red. Kion, knowing he was trapped, had to resort to the Roar once more. He unleashed it directly at them, but they simply faded to ash, and more took their place. As waves and waves of Scar's army filtered in, Kion fought desperately to send them away, using Roar after Roar after Roar to remove them from the equation. The more he defeated, the more that appeared. He was forcing them back with all of his strength, fighting an endless battle against a seemingly infinite army. The more he fought back, the more his energy was sapped away. He could feel his resolve fading, but he refused to give up.

In the end, though, it was inevitable. The numbers were too strong, and he was only one cub- he couldn't hold out any longer. As one last Roar escaped him, he felt two sets of teeth grab him- Janja pinning his right leg down, and Reirei pinning his left. As Kiburi and Mzingo held down his other legs, Scar's cackles filled his ears once more. Kion struggled with all of his might to get free, but their grip was too strong. And worst of all, as he looked dead ahead, his eyes widened even more than he though possible with fear. The crowd of hyenas, jackals, crocodiles and vultures parted, with only one creature in the middle- the scorpion. The same one that had poisoned his father, and caused his demise, was slowly crawling towards the leader of the Lion Guard. Kion's struggle increased, becoming more frantic, but this was still to no avail, and it wasn't long before the scorpion was right in front of him, climbing up his face so that the cub's eyes met his.

"Goodnight, Prince Kion," was all he said, before he lifted his tail, preparing to strike, and…

"NOOOOOOOOOO!" Kion screamed, leaping to his feet. He checked his paws, and saw that he was no longer held down. There was no scorpion on him. Looking outside the cave, he saw that the moon was still up high. 'It was a nightmare,' he thought, realising what had happened. 'Another stupid nightmare…' Once again, he could sense how heavy his breathing was; how teary his eyes were; how panicked he had become. 'When will they end? Why can't they just end?!' His tears were growing heavier as he began to sob.

"Kion?" He turned around as he heard his mother speak to him, both her, Kiara and even Simba now wide awake, although Simba's eyes were less open. "Are you alright?"

Kion was still too panicked from the nightmare to answer her. "Was it another nightmare?" Kiara asked. He simply nodded. While the two may not have always seen eye to eye, she still cared about her little brother. She walked up to him and tried to give him a hug, but he stepped back from her. She looked at him with concern. "Kion, it's okay. The nightmare's over, it wasn't real. You don't need to worry anymore."

"… no it isn't." He said, in a low voice. "It's not okay." He then started to walk away, towards the cave exit, but he stopped halfway there. "… I'm sorry I woke you all up."

With that, he left the cave, leaving Kiara to look at her mother with sadness. "Did I say something wrong?"

Nala shook her head, equally sad. "No, my dear, you didn't. Kion knows how much you care… but, this… this is something different. Something I don't think any of us fully comprehend, especially Kion." Neither of them knew what to say after that. After a moment of silence, Nala was going to suggest that Kiara should go back to sleep, but before she could, she heard Simba groan, and frowned at him when he tried to stand up. "Simba?" She asked. "What are you doing?"

"I need to check on him," he groaned, finally getting to his feet.

"Simba, you need to rest. You won't regain your strength this quickly. I can speak to Kion."

"It's fine, Nala," he insisted. "This is something I need to do. I never checked up on him before, so it's important that I do now."

"But, Simba-"

"Nala… he saved my life today. What kind of father would I be if I didn't make sure he was okay, after something like this?"

She knew that he was going to wear himself out if he went out there… but she also knew that there was no convincing him to stay inside. Letting out a sigh, she nodded. "Okay. I understand. But, please," she began to nuzzle with him, "do not over exert your self."

"I won't."

She moved to a side and he began to slowly walk, first towards Kiara. As she looked up at him, he smiled. "You did the right thing by asking if he was okay," he told her. She smiled while he planted a kiss on her head. "Get some sleep. I'll be back soon." He then looked towards his wife. "Both of you."

She gave a light laugh, but nodded to him. Giving a nod back, he turned around and walked out of the cave. Feeling the cool night air flow through his fur, he took in a deep breath. As he exhaled, he looked towards the peak of Pride Rock, where he saw Kion, looking up to the sky.

"Grandfather Mufasa?" He could hear his son ask as he approached him. "Are you there?" After a moment of silence, Kion sighed. "I guess even kings of the past need sleep."

"I wouldn't be too surprised," Simba said, prompting Kion to turn around. As he did, the king could see his son's still teary eyes. "My father never was someone who liked to be woken up."

"D-dad?" He asked, his voice barely more than a whisper. "What are you doing out here? You need to rest up."

"I know I do, Kion, but I was… AM… worried about you. It looks like your nightmare really got to you."

"Dad, it's nothing, really. I just needed a little-"

"Kion." His voice was serious, yet caring- fatherly, even. "Please. Just talk to me. I care so much about you. I want to help."

Kion didn't speak straight away, his eyes glancing down to his front paws. "I don't know if you can help me. I don't know if ANYONE can."

It hurt Simba to hear this, mainly because he knew this was true. A sad sigh escaped his lips as he took a couple of steps further towards Kion. "You might be right- I might not be able to help you." He gently placed his paw under Kion's chin and lifted it, so the two were looking eye to eye. "But I can only know for sure if you tell me."

Kion hesitated, gulping as the nightmare re-entered his mind. "You… didn't make it. S-S-Scar… laughing. Hyenas, jackals, crocodiles, vultures were… everywhere. They trapped me, and then… then the… scorpion…"

He didn't need to say more, as the tears running down his face once more told Simba all he needed to know. He leaned forward and began to nuzzle his son. "I'm sorry you had to experience that," Simba spoke softly, in an attempt to soothe the cub's sadness. "I cannot fully imagine what you saw or felt. But it's okay. You saved me, I'm not going anywhere. It's all over, and the nightmare was just that- a nightmare. It's over."

"It's not over, though." Simba looked at his son curiously as he slipped away from the larger lion. Kion was debating whether or not to tell his father the truth, especially since he was still recovering, but he decided it was better to do so now. 'He needs to know the truth.' "Dad, you need to know something about what happened today."

"What is it, Kion?"

"When we got the ash and tried to return, we were stopped. The jackals, hyenas, crocodiles and vultures had us cornered, and we almost- THEY almost…" He gulped, trying to get his words out. "We were right by the lava, and if I hadn't used the Roar, we would have… gone in."

Simba was in shock at this- because he had been sick, his son had almost died. 'No… I don't believe it…' "Kion-"

"There's more." Simba watched as Kion took a deep yet shaky breath, before continuing. "They weren't just working together, they were working FOR someone…" Kion hesitated again. "Dad... they were working for…" He sniffed a couple of times to stop himself from crying too heavily. "They were working for… Scar."

At the mention of that name, Simba's eyes widened. "S… Scar?! As in, your great uncle?!" Kion nodded. "B-but… how can this be?"

"I don't know… but I think it might be my fault." Simba tilted his head in confusion, still trying to process everything. "He said something about my Roar bringing him back. I don't want to believe him, but… if it's true…"

Simba couldn't hold himself back any longer, and stepped forward, pulling Kion towards his chest. He wrapped his paws around him and rested his head on top of him, allowing Kion to cry into his fur. Tears formed in his eyes too, and he had no intention in holding them back while he felt his son's shaking in his embrace.

"Kion…" His voice was now a whisper. "I'm so… I am so, so sorry… I have failed you."

"What do you mean?" Kion asked, though it was muffled by his father's mane.

"I should have been more aware today. Had I not allowed the scorpion to sting me, you would never have had to see that, and perhaps you wouldn't be dealing with these nightmares if I had been more understanding. Not only that, but you wouldn't have risked your life today."

"You've done nothing wrong, dad. You have been so good as a dad to me and Kiara. I'm the one who failed you. Because of my Roar, Scar is back. Even if I didn't go to the volcano today, he would still be back! If it wasn't for me, then-"

"Then the Pride Lands would be worse off, and I would not be here. I owe my life to you and your Guard, Kion. You and Kiara are the best things to ever happen to me, and I could not be more proud of you."

Kion smiled for the first time that night. "Thanks, dad." They stayed in this embrace for a good minute or so, a father holding his son close and caring for him with all his heart. "You should get some rest."

"And so should you, Kion." He yawned loudly. "Let's return to the cave."

Simba let go of his son, allowing Kion to look up at him. "Can I sleep next to you? Just for tonight?"

Simba smiled down to his son. "I would be more than happy for you to do so. Head on inside and wait for me, I will be just a moment."

"Okay, dad."

Simba smiled as his son went inside, glad that he was able to offer some comfort to him. However, his smile did not last long. 'This is troubling… while I am concerned about Scar's return, I hate to see the effect this is having on Kion. Despite being the leader of the Lion Guard, he is still a cub and my son. I wish I knew how I could help him, because I am worried that the nightmares will get worse for him. As he grows older, he will have to face many truths about life. I can't stop that from happening.' All I can really do is guide him on the right path.' He glanced up to the stars. 'Father, if you can hear me, please help me. Make sure that I can do what I can to help Kion. I love my son dearly, and want nothing more than to protect him from such pain. I know that may be an impossible task, but I still want to try.'

Letting out a yawn, Simba decided to call it a night. As he gingerly re-entered the cave, he saw that Kion had fallen asleep, causing the king to chuckle. He quietly and carefully walked towards his son, making sure not to over exert himself. Eventually, he reached Kion and lay down gently next to him, then stretched his front paw over his son to pull him towards him. Simba held Kion close to his body and gently nuzzled the back of his head, before he too fell asleep. For the remainder of the night, he would hold his son close to him, almost afraid to let him go.

Once Simba had fallen asleep, Kion half-woke and looked up at his father, before smiling, nestling his head in the king's mane, before he too succumbed to sleep for the night.

THE END