Kion paced back and forth restlessly, tail whipping side to side across the ground, stirring up dust. His claws clicked against the ground, and his lips pulled back slightly over his teeth, just briefly. Not out of anger as much as impatience. His shoulders tugged him forward, his paws moving blindly over the ground as he continued to pace, throwing occasional glances out into the Pridelands. The former soldiers and slaves stood by, a few of them resting, and one of them was going around tending to whatever wounds they needed fixed. Kion honestly wished he'd been there during the battle. He knew he could fight, he'd learned from the best. And he had the Roar of the Elders. He could have done something.

"You saw Heath?"

"I did." Kito piped up, and a few of the other rebels murmured agreement. Kion growled and tossed his head to the side, looking back across the Pridelands. His parents, who sat a few feet away from the others, exchanged glances, obviously confused.

"Kion, hold on," Kila spoke up, shaking her head. "Just explain what's going on, for those who are kinda left outta the loop here?"

"I'll explain everything when the Guard gets here." Kion assured, working his claws into the ground briefly before sheathing them again. "Anyone else you recognized?"

"Just the soldiers loyal to Lucifer." Sam murmured, then frowned and perked his ears. "Atazi was there, I think."

Kion stopped pacing and turned to look at him, eyes widening slightly. "Atazi?" He'd seen the lioness with Lucifer before, and he knew she was one of his wives, one of the ones that actually cared for the evil King. Kion tried to steer clear of her most of the time. She was basically a female Lucifer, just as fearsome. While Kion wasn't scared of her, he had no doubt in any of her fighting abilities, nor did he doubt she could be the one behind this all. She certainly had motive.

"I think so."

Simba's ears folded back at the mention of his cousin, looking helplessly confused. "Kion, what's going on?" He demanded. The golden cub spared him a glance, and Simba didn't recognize who he saw in those amber eyes. They were hard and cold, calculating. He wasn't the cub Simba knew anymore. His eyes seemed to glitter with a maturity far beyond his age; It almost made Simba feel sick, for some reason. That wasn't a look a cub Kion's age should ever have.

"Like I said, I'll-" Kion's ears swiveled around and his head turned, spotting Bunga and the others before anyone else. A sigh of relief escaped the cub's lips.

"We came here as fast as we could!" Fuli zipped up to him, skidding to a stop beside the golden cub and sending dust flying up everywhere. Beshte wasn't too far behind, Ono perched on his back, and Bunga went around to Kion's other side.

"So, uh… Explanation now, huh?" Bunga looked up at Kion, his eyes wide. Kion closed his own eyes for a second before nodding, turning away.

"Okay." Kion flicked his tail for the rest of the Guard to join his family, and they reluctantly left his side, taking seats next to the Royal Family in silence. Once everyone was settled, Kion looked toward his friends - That is, his desert friends. Kito gave a reassuring smile, while Sam and Claire just nodded. So, Kion gritted his teeth, took a deep breath, and faced his family.

"You guys already know I disappeared for all that time. What you don't know is why, or where. I was in the desert. I ran into two tigers one day on my way to visit Chaka. Since I couldn't fight them off then, they easily overpowered me and took me to a camp." Kion's eyes darkened slightly, causing even tough Kila to shudder, not knowing what was coming next but knowing she wouldn't like it.

"This camp was filled with many other animals. Lions, tigers, leopards, cheetahs, you name it, all there. Most of them, mainly lions and cheetahs, were enslaved." Kion raised his tail to keep them silent, seeing the slightly outraged expressions on his parent's faces, and horrified ones on his friends and siblings. "There were also soldiers. Mainly tigers and leopards. The soldiers fought and captured more slaves - Slaves were used sometimes as bargaining chips, traded for territory, to hunt, build, and for the soldiers… And King's own pleasures."

"What?!" Even Kion couldn't silence Nala, who looked beyond horrified, lifting a paw to her mouth to stop any other sound from coming out. Kion hesitated a bit before continuing.

"This group was called the Sabers. They were run by the saber-tooth tiger who called himself a King - Lucifer." Kion's ears twitched, and folded back slightly, eyes narrowing. "Lucifer cared only for himself, only for what he could do. Everybody feared him, slaves and soldiers alike. Well," at this, his gaze strayed toward Sam, Kito and Claire. "Almost everybody. While I was there-"

"WAIT!" Bunga spoke up then, and Kion's head swiveled toward him in surprise. "You were there?!" He shrieked, just now catching on.

Kion closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them again, nodding. "...While I was there, I met them," he gestured toward his desert friends. "Sam, Kito and Claire. Samuel and Kito were both against the way Lucifer ran the Kingdom - Claire took a bit of convincing." He smirked at her for a second, and Claire rolled her eyes. Kion cleared his throat and continued.

"But we all agreed he needed to stop. So, we began planning, and training, all the while doing everything we were supposed to. We had to keep up appearances - If Lucifer was convinced someone wasn't loyal, he either broke them or killed them. And since all previous attempts at breaking us failed in the past, I believe he would have gone with the latter.

"We got as many slaves on our side as possible, and a few soldiers that were willing to help. Until eventually, we had enough on our side to launch an attack. That's just what we did. And, in the end," Kion looked toward Sam. "Sammy here managed to put a stop to Lucifer once and for all."

"Wow." Fuli mumbled, looking confused. "So, then… What's the problem?"

"The problem is," Kito stepped forward then, and everyone turned their attention to the leopard. "There were still several soldiers loyal to Lucifer, including his kids. Just lastnight, we were attacked. I guess one of them must have banded the Sabers together once more, and gotten allies in the process."

"They're not going to stop until every last one of us is dead or enslaved." Sam stated coldly, narrowing his eyes toward the desert. Kion nodded his agreement, narrowing his eyes slightly.

"And Atazi's the daughter of Zira and Scar. She knows exactly who I am. Who's son I am." Kion lifted his head to look over at his father. "She loved Lucifer. I don't know why, but she did. I wouldn't put it past her to attack here."

Simba stared at him for a long moment before nodding slightly, narrowing his eyes. "So what do we do?"

"We need help." Kion gritted his teeth. "Lots of help. We need allies. And you've got ties to other Kingdoms. Strong, big Kingdoms. They don't know how to fight like Sabers, but," his eyes narrowed. "They can be taught."

"So can we." Fuli piped up, narrowing her eyes. Kila nodded firmly in agreement, glaring at Kion when he began to protest.

"Save it. This is our fight now. It became our fight the moment those filthy tigers put their paws on you."

"I second that." Nala stated, narrowing her eyes, and Simba huffed softly in agreement. Bunga just crossed his arms and nodded, as if he had any idea what was going on.

Kion folded his ears back, knowing full well he wasn't going to be able to talk them out of this. "You know you're voluntarily training for war, right?"

"So're you," Kila shot back, raising her eyebrows. "Let's do this."

"Fine." Kion mumbled grudgingly, closing his eyes for a moment. "I guess it's better for you to be prepared, anyway. Still, though.." He opened his eyes again. "It won't be enough."

"Well, like you said, son," Simba rumbled, a small smile appearing on his face as he looked at his cub, who raised his eyebrows. "I've got ties to other Kingdoms. If it's allies we need, I'm sure they wouldn't mind giving us some assistance."

"Good…" Kion sighed, letting his shoulders drop slightly in relief. "Thank you." He murmured sincerely, smiling slightly.

Simba shook his head, his own smile fading. "You don't have to thank me, son."

"Right." Kion held his gaze for a moment before straightening up once more. It was then that Claire spoke up, her tail flicking lazily.

"We need spies on the inside." She ignored the looks she got from Kion and Sam and continued. "I mean, come on. It would be pretty useful. Someone could smuggle information. It'd be nice to know where they're located, their plans of attack, and most importantly, who exactly is siding with them."

Kion hesitated slightly. The words made sense, but he didn't like the idea. If someone got caught, it could have bad consequences. "Well…"

"I can." Kila offered, stepping forward.

"No." Kion growled without even looking at her, his eyes going cold. However, Kila scoffed, obviously not giving in that easily.

"Look, Kion. I get it, you're super protective, but think of it this way. If you send one of them in, they'd get killed immediately. Simply because from what you've told me, those guys are far from stupid. And they're not going to accept someone who's turned against them previously. As for me," she narrowed her eyes. "They don't know me. For all they know, I'm the next Scar of the family. I could be evil. They don't know, but I bet they'd be willing to find out. Teach me as many battle moves as you want, and send me in."

Kion narrowed his eyes and turned to her. "Kila, you look exactly like me. It doesn't take much to know you're my twin. Like you said, they're far from stupid. They'll put the pieces together. You'll be slaughtered on the spot, or enslaved, and I'm not having it." He lashed his tail.

"What about me?" Kopa spoke up, albeit hesitantly. He didn't like what he'd heard about the Sabers, but he was willing to do whatever it took to put a stop to them.

"Kid," Kion looked over at him, his gaze seeming to soften. "You're almost the spitting image of Dad. And don't even," he told Kiara when she started to speak. "You are easily recognizable. Look," He narrowed his eyes. "I don't like the idea of a spy on the inside anyway. I don't want to send any innocents in there. And I'd rather avoid sending my family in, too. And you guys," he looked over at the Guard. "None of you, either. The marks." He shrugged the shoulder with the Lion Guard mark, narrowing his eyes. "They'd know."

"She had a point, though." Kito spoke up, nodding to Kila briefly. "They'll recognize any of us as the traitors who turned on their precious King."

"I know." Kion sighed, narrowing his eyes thoughtfully. That's when Kiara suddenly perked up, her ears flicking forward.

"Hey, I have an idea!"

Kion turned to her, eyeing his sister through wary amber eyes. "...What?"

"Kovu." Kiara said excitedly, ignoring a small scoff from Simba. Kion's eyebrows raised curiously, and Kiara continued quickly. "Kovu's Atazi's brother, right?"

"Wow, you really do pay attention when I speak."

Kiara gave him an annoyed look before continuing. "And if she's really behind all of this, I bet she wouldn't think twice about letting him in. They are family, after all." Kion's tail flicked. He and Kovu had their differences, but Kovu was an innocent, and Kion had to think of his safety. He had to admit his sister had a valid point. Atazi wouldn't harm her brother, would she?

"I suppose…" Kion trailed off, shaking his head. "If you could get him to agree."

Kiara grinned, sitting back and perking her ears. "I could." She said smugly, tilting her head and smirking at her brother. Kion rolled his eyes at her briefly before glancing toward Sam.

"So, we've got… A little bit of a plan, at least."

"It's a start." Sam grinned at him, then went serious once more. "And we'd better get started right away."

"Training time?" Kopa piped up, ears perking slightly. Kion nodded, giving his brother a warm smile, albeit a hesitant one.

"I guess so, KoKo." Kion took a deep breath, gaze trailing over his family and friends briefly. "Let's get to it, then."