Chapter 4

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Kisasi had to smile at the looks of despair and failure on each of the Lion Guard's faces. They were still looking down upon the dead body of the gazelle in the canyon. None of them said a word.

Kisasi decided to cut the silence. "Such a pity, little baby-cub," He said with a smug smile. "You and your pathetic friends came all this way to save a life, only for it to be taken away in one foul swoop."

Fuli spun around and snarled angrily at him. "You did this! This is your fault!"

Kisasi shook his head innocently. "Hey, I'm not the one who used the roar to send that gazelle to its death. Kion did that. That is on him."

Bunga turned and growled at Kisasi too. "You probably tricked Kion into using his roar. Yeah, that's it! You tricked him!"

Kisasi's smile faded a bit as he frowned down upon the Honey Badger. "I didn't need to trick him at all, you stinky-butt little mpumbavu. Kion simply lost his temper and used his roar to try and send me flying away. It's not my fault I jumped out of the way and the roar hit that gazelle. That's on him."

Beshte spoke up as he gave the Jackal a look of utter scorn. "It was an accident. It had to be. What did you say to him?!"

"I merely told Kion," Kisasi chuckled darkly. "That his father, Simba, was a coward and a swine who ran away from his responsibilities as king, all because he thought that he was the one who caused Mufasa's death. I told him that he was also a coward and that he was weak."

Ono flew up into the air, anger etched on his beak. "Kion isn't weak! And he's not a coward!" He yelled.

Kisasi smiled again as he licked his paw. "You'll see how weak he really is when Swala and her herd find out that you all failed in the Outlands." He laughed mockingly. "Talk about heartless! She won't believe what you've done, Kion! It'd serve you right if Swala and her herd never trusts you, the Lion Guard, again!"

Kion, up till that moment, had been staring down into the canyon for the longest time. His friend's voices had been drowned out by a wave of saddened guilt. But Kisasi's voice had somehow reached his ears. The ringing that fallowed was accompanied by the red-hot hate that he was beginning to feel deep down in his chest.

Kisasi was baiting him, clear and simple. He wanted him to attack. Kion realized if that's what he wanted, it was the one thing he shouldn't do.

Kisasi continued as he sat up and began to walk in a circle around the Lion Guard. "Rage is such an invigorating emotion for a lion so young, no? Sometimes you can control it, sometimes you just can't. And poor Kion lost control."

Fuli said, "What are you talking about?" Bunga and Ono looked just as confused.

Kisasi smirked. "Control of his roar was lost, little Cheetah girl," He said. "Instead of ignoring my words towards his father, Kion lost his temper and tried to get rid of me the hard way. I simply dodged out of the way and the roar hit that gazelle. We've both lost in case you've haven't noticed. I don't get a free meal and Kion and the rest of you don't get to go home happy and successful." He stopped in front them and sat down. "Such a pity."

Kion, not wanting to hear anymore, got up and walked past his friends. He growled softly as he past Kisasi, but didn't make eye contact with the Jackal.

"Come on, guys. Let's go." he said solemnly. "We'll tell Swala what happened. I'll take the blame. I'll let her know it was my fault."

The others looked at each other with uncertainty, then followed after him out of the canyon, leaving Kisasi alone.

When the others had past him and had gone on ahead, Kion paused to glare back at Kisasi. "I don't know who you are, Kisasi," He growled. "But I won't lose control of my anger or my roar again. What happened today was an... accident."

Kisasi's eyes flashed. His lips curled back, revealing his teeth in a horrible smile. "Well, you've got a bloody lie on your lips." He said. "You're a killer, Kion. Just like Scar. It's kinda funny. You two have so much in common. Hehehehehe!"

At those words Kion froze. Then he staggered, like he'd been struck. He was like that for only a few minutes until he shook his head, turned and followed after his friends.

He then heard Kisasi's voice call out behind him, "It wasn't hard for Scar to cross that line when he used his roar to kill his own guard! And it didn't stop you from killing and taking a life either! Know this; we will meet again! This is far from over!"

Kion then began to run. He ran as quickly as he could. He wanted to get out of the Outlands. He didn't want to hear Kisasi's voice anymore. Tears threatened to come out of eyes, but he held them back. He could not let his friends see him down and shaken by the words of a Jackal. He swallowed hard against the lump in his throat.

His talk with his grandfather and mother had helped a great deal last time, but now... he would have to face Swala and her herd. As much as he wanted to, he couldn't just lie. That would be wrong.

The truth was important.

Kisasi knew that his plan had gone a little south today. True Kion had used his roar to kill a life rather then save it, but the cub had failed in some way. He thought for sure that the cub would pin him on his back on the ground and then growl in his face, threatening to hurt him or worse.

But it didn't happen.

He let out a tired sigh and headed in the direction of his den.

Kion was defiant, that much he knew. He respected the Circle of Life too much. He was so forceful and fierce, unafraid to be harsh.

Kisasi's fur bristled with wicked glee. That cub would be the perfect adversary to mach wits with.

And what he had planned next for Kion and his friends would truly put them to the test. And they would not succeed.

Up above he spotted a group of vultures circling. He knew that it was probably Mzingo and his committee. They must have picked up on the scent of the freshly killed gazelle. No matter. They were welcomed to it. The gazelle was just a small prize in his plan after all.

The next idea he had would be a real cracking' good one.

It was a while before the guard had returned to the Pride Lands. Though his friends had tried their best to reassure him, Kion still was not feeling up to telling Swala the truth.

By the time they had reached the herd and told Swala what had happened, the sun was beginning to set beyond the mountains.

True to his word, Kion had taken the blame for what happened.

The gazelle leader could not believe what she had just heard. She looked down at Kion and then took a step back.

"How could you have let that happen?" She said quietly, disappointment and sadness written on her face. Just like on the faces of the rest of the herd.

The guard looked down in complete guilt. But Kion, being the leader, felt the worst of it.

"You used your roar and took the life of a member of my herd, Kion!" Swala turned her horned head away from the cub, her voice angry, sad and full of blame. "And now a mother has lost her baby, all because of you and the guard!"

Kion's ears drooped, feeling all sorts of guilt that came from Swala's words. To make it worse, her herd was giving him and the others looks of utter contempt.

"It wasn't really his fault!" Bunga spoke up. He stood between Kion and Swala. "It was that Jackal, Kisasi, who's to blame."

Swala just shook her head. "He wasn't the one who killed that young gazelle, Kion did. What good is the Lion Guard if they can't even save one gazelle from a single Jackal from the Outlands, only to have it killed by its leader?"

Kion winced.

Fuli stood by Kion's side and glared at Swala. "Kion didn't mean for it to happen! Kisasi made him mad and that caused Kion to use his roar. If you want to be angry, be angry. But he did what he had to do to try and save that gazelle."

"He didn't try hard enough!" Swala spat. "I thought that I could trust you, all of you. Instead you five have failed, and got a member of my herd killed. No matter what the Circle of Life says, you lions are all the same; murderers. And we are done with you."

With that Swala led her herd away from the Lion Guard, leaving behind a cloud of dust and didn't look back.

Kion didn't say anything after that. He just walked away from his friends, wanting to be alone.

Good-old Bunga wanted to go with him, but Beshte stopped him short. He understood that their friend needed to be alone. It was sort of what he did when his mind was troubled.

Ono, Fuli, Beshte, and Bunga watched as Kion's form got smaller and smaller through the tall grass.

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