As the sun was starting to set in the Outlands, Fuli, the hyenas and the jackals were enjoying the meat of the impalas that Janja's clan had secured earlier. Fuli had asked why the crocodiles weren't eating with them, to which Reirei had explained that they preferred to keep to themselves. As they ate their share- which was only just enough to go around, given the sheer number of them- Janja took a chance between mouthfuls to speak. "You did good today, boys!" He commended his clan, licking his lips. "This is the best we've eaten in a good few days, and things are looking up for us now!"

Fuli scoffed. "Maybe for you, but I wouldn't exactly say so for me," the cheetah retorted, gesturing to her vine bandaging with her paw. "After yesterday, I'm having to start from scratch."

"Well, if you're building on nothing, then the only way is up!" The hyenas and jackals shared a laugh at this, while Fuli just rolled her eyes, a mix of amusement and irritation on her face. "Ah, lighten up, Fuli! Besides, like I told Scar, while we were hunting earlier, we managed to get the inside scoop."

This captured everyone's attention, causing them to temporarily stop eating. "Inside information?" Reirei asked. "Regarding what?"

"Well, the little prince wasn't on patrol today, and-"

"Yeah, he never did his patrol!" Chungu butted in, much to Janja's chagrin. "It was just the hippo, the bird and the honey badger!"

"And they didn't sound too confident in Kion either!" Cheezi added. "After what he did yesterday-"

"Zip it, Furbrains!" Janja scolded, causing them to shrink back. "I'm the one telling the story here!"

"Wait. Are they saying that the others didn't agree with a Kion sending me over the cliff?" Fuli asked, her head tilted with a look of confusion on her face. "I thought they believed I slaughtered that herd, which was why I was banished."

Janja glared at his comrades for their slip up, causing them to whimper fearfully, before Janja sighed heavily and returned his focus to Fuli. "Well… there's a bit more to it than that. You see, after we saved you following your fall, we brought you back so you could… rest up, you know?"

"Uh Huh…"

"Well, after that, Kion came here by himself and was attacking us. Usually, he just tosses us around to keep up the appearance that he's the good guy and all, but this… he wanted us dead. He was drawing blood, and he was getting ready to use the Roar, only this time to kill us."

"Then how come you're still here?" Goigoi bluntly asked, irking the hyena leader, but he held his tongue.

"Because Beshte and the others stood up to Kion, and the monkey put him out cold, then they left. If that hadn't happened, we'd be dead as… well, this juicy meat we got right here."

"So… Beshte and the others realised what he was doing was wrong?"

"I guess so."

This seemed to give Fuli hope, her eyes seemingly lighting up. "Then… maybe they can help us! If they realised Kion has gone evil, then maybe they could realise that I never killed that herd, and that he needs to be taken down." Everyone else looked doubtful at the idea, causing her hope to die down. "What?"

"I don't think they were doing it because they saw the light, Fuli," Shupavu spoke up, scuttling her way through the crowd of hyenas to approach the cheetah. "They've been under Kion's influence too long for that to happen."

"But… if they stopped Kion from-"

"They didn't do it for you." Fuli flinched, surprised by the skink's harsh tone. "They did it for themselves. If Kion uses the Roar of the Elders for evil, then he loses the Roar, and his connection with the Kings of the Past. Put simply, the Lion Guard lose the powers they were given by the Mark of the Guard… the same one on your shoulder."

Fuli glanced to the shoulder that had her mark. "Then… if Kion and the others banished me, why do I still have the Mark? And what will happen to me if he does use the Roar for evil?"

"No one knows. That's why we need to take him down before he can."

She was silent for a moment, and though she had a couple of questions plaguing her mind, she ended up nodding. "You're right." A small yawn escaped her lips. "I think that I'm gonna call it a night. See you tomorrow, everyone."

They all said their goodnights as the cheetah walked away. Once she was out of earshot, Janja whipped his head towards Cheezi and Chungu. "You two Furbrains better start watching your mouths," he snarled viciously. "She figures things out, and we'll be the first ones Scar'll take it out on… so don't screw this up."

They both gulped, quietly responding, "yes, Janja," before everyone returned to eating.


Back at Pride Rock, the sun was disappearing beneath the bottom of the horizon, the sky now a mix of blues and pinks, with the moon becoming more and more visible. Kion was sat at the peak, looking down. After the past couple of days, his thoughts were swirling in his head. His family had all headed into the cave to try and get some rest, but the young prince was not ready to try and sleep, and he feared that he would not be able to if he did, so he decided to try and organise his thoughts.

"Grandfather," he spoke, though to himself rather than the sky, "I wish I could ask you for help. Honestly, I know I need to face this alone, but I don't know if I'm strong enough. Somehow, I'm supposed to make contact with Scar, and my biggest fear is that if I do, he'll use his connection to take over my mind, and make me make the same mistake he did." His face fell. "I hope I can do you proud… and I'm sorry if I can't."

"Hope I'm not interrupting anything." Kion turned and saw Ono, gently flying down and landing in front of him. "Honestly, I wasn't sure if you'd still be awake by now."

"Not really sure I'll be able to sleep, if I'm being honest," Kion admitted. "How was patrol today?"

"Good for the most part," his beak formed a frown, "though, right after we had left the impalas' grazing grounds, the hyenas attacked. They lost a few of them before we could get there."

This only made Kion feel more guilty. 'I should have been there,' he mentally scolded himself. "Sorry I wasn't there to help."

"It's not your fault, Kion. We can't always save everyone." He shook his head, before looking back at the prince. "How are you feeling, after… Well, everything?"

Kion sighed. "Uncertain, among other things… I'm ashamed at myself for letting this happen, scared that I might not see Fuli again, and that I might turn into Scar, angry that I wasn't able to do anything… but above all else, I feel lost. I kind of know what I have to do, but not how, and I don't think there's anyone that can help me."

Ono felt sorry for his friend, his voice showing how pained and confused he was by everything. "I wish I knew."

Neither said anything for a while, until Kion asked, "Ono? You and the others, Bunga and Beshte… what do you think of me?" Ono blinked his eyes open, surprised by the question. "After everything that's happened, I'm just… very conscious that you guys might not think of me in the same way as you did."

Ono took a moment to think about how to respond, his mind arguing about whether to be optimistic or realistic, before settling on honesty. "We're… worried about you, and we're not sure if or how well you'll recover from this. We're hopeful, and I do think you can, but… Kion, that's the closest we've ever seen you go to that place. If not for Beshte and Rafiki, we'd have lost you. We don't want that to happen to you."

Kion nodded, taking it in- he didn't like hearing it, but he appreciated it. "Thanks, Ono."

"Of course." He then took to the air again. "I need to head back. Just… take care, okay?"

"I will. You do the same." Ono nodded back, before taking flight and heading home. Kion, feeling tired after the conversation, yawned a little. He walked back into the cave, seeing his family resting peacefully, before finding a space by himself to lie down, close his eyes, and let his mind drift to sleep.


Kion and the Guard were slowly walking through the Outlands. It had been a couple of days since Fuli had been taken by the hyenas, and they were looking to get her back to the Pride Lands, but in order to do that, they had to find her. "Ono! Are you absolutely certain you didn't see her?" Kion asked.

"Sorry, Kion," he replied, flying overhead. "Fuli's fur would make her stand out- she wouldn't have been hard to spot."

Kion groaned. 'Where could she be?' He pondered to himself. 'We've been searching for a couple of hours now, and still nothing- no Fuli, no hyenas, no jackals…"

As he thought this, a cacophonous cackling filled the air, one the Guard knew all too well. Before they knew what was happening, the hyenas had surrounded them, with more watching on from higher ground, all with eerily eager grins on their faces.

"It's about time you came out here!" Janja taunted. "We were thinking you'd never show yourselves again!"

"Janja!" Kion called out, the cub in no mood for games. "Let Fuli go, now!"

"Well, we'd love to do that, Kion, but we can't! See, she waited for you guys to come and save her, patient as can be! Thing is, she couldn't wait that long."

There was a pause before Kion spoke again. "What do you mean, she couldn't wait?"

He sneered at the lion cub. "What do you think? You didn't really expect her to survive the fall, did you?!"

They all gasped, but while Ono, Beshte and Bunga were showing shock, Kion's face reflected pure hatred. "What did you do to her?!" When he simply began cackling again, Kion's teeth flared, as his body seemed to act on his own. He felt as his muscles began to tense, his claws digging into the rough dirt beneath his paws, while a familiar feeling began to form in the back of his throat. 'Wait… no, no, not like this!' He thought in his mind, as his body prepared to use the Roar. 'No! I can't use the Roar like this, I WON'T do it!'

But his body wouldn't respond, and despite Kion's wishes, he used the Roar of the Elders, only much more powerfully. Rather than send the hyenas flying, the force of the Roar destroyed the hyenas where they stood, turning their bodies into dust and leaving nothing behind. As the Roar settled down into nothing, Kion stood there, panting heavily, his eyes only now showing the extent of his remorse. 'No…'

"Kion…" Ono spoke. "Why did you-"

Before anyone could respond, they heard another Roar as ferocious as the one Kion had used, only this one was heading their way. They all did their best to withstand the force of the winds blowing their way, but as a Kion turned his head to look at his allies, his heart broke as they met the same fate that Janja and the hyenas had met at his paws, screaming in agony as it happened. He called out for them, hoping that they could somehow be spared, but it was all for nought. His friends were destroyed, and it was all Kion could do to hold on, but he did. The winds died down, and Kion was the only one left standing. As the gravity of the situation fell down on him, he broke down, crying uncontrollably as he dropped down to his knees. "Why?! Why couldn't I stop myself?!"

"Because you're not in control anymore," a familiarevil voice beckoned in his mind.

Kion immediately stopped crying, his eyes shooting open fearfully. "S… S-Scar…" Kion shook his head, shaking tears which were still running down her face. "No… n-no, you can't control me… I won't let you control me!"

Scar simply laughed, his joy sickening to the cub. "Silly prince… I already am!"


Kion woke up with a gasp, silently panting as he realised he was back at Pride Rock. Looking around the cave, he saw that everyone else was still asleep. He felt that his heart was still racing, so he decided to go for a walk to calm his nerves. He silently exited the cave, making way down Pride Rock, which was when his mind began to process his nightmare.

'The way that Scar controlled me,' he thought to himself. 'It was as if he was turning all of my rage into power, and using it to keep my mind and my body apart. It felt similar to that when I attacked the hyenas yesterday… and it made me feel sick to my stomach.' He came to a stop at the foot of Pride Rock, his facial expression reflecting how lost he felt about everything. 'I can't let that happen again… which means there's something I have to do.' He shut his eyes and sat down, focusing on how he felt whenever he had come in contact with Scar, and using that feeling to try and build a connection. "Great uncle Scar!" He called out. "I need to speak with you!" Kion opened his eyes, and noticed that nothing was happening, so he tried again. "Great Uncle Scar! I need to speak with you!" Even though he was louder this time, there was no change made by his call, which made his head drop. "This isn't going to work."

So, he turned around to head back up Pride Rock. As he did, though, he heard something behind him. He quickly turned again and saw a mark on the ground, which began to glow a bright, harsh red, before a rush of flames shot up from it. The fire flickered brightly, the heat of the flames blasting Kion in the face, before the flames shifted their shape, forming the former king that Kion had called out for.

"My, my, Kion!" He taunted. "This IS a surprise! How are you, my great nephew?"

"I didn't summon you for pleasantries," the cub bluntly responded, causing Scar to pout. "Where is Fuli?"

"Why, Kion, I'm hurt. I was hoping we could chat. After all, we haven't had the chance to get to know each other, what with me being in the Outlands and you being-"

"Answer my question."

Scar smirked at the lion cub's attempt at standing up to him. "Temper, temper! You should really keep that in check. You wouldn't want another outburst, would you?" Kion flinched at this, not liking to think back to what happened. "As for Fuli, I wish I could say, but there's nothing I can tell you about her, I'm afraid."

Kion scoffed, narrowing his eyes. "You mean nothing you want to tell me."

Scar chuckled. "You share my ferocity, I see."

"I share NOTHING with you."

"Well, that's where you're wrong, Kion." The prince's fur stood up at the bitter feeling he got from these words. "Now, as much as I'd love to talk more, it's getting late, and I'm sure your daddy wouldn'twant his son staying up late. But, don't worry- we'll be seeing each other again soon, I promise you that."

Before Kion could say anything else, Scar's fiery form dissipated, leaving only the burnt symbol in the ground. At least, that was all that was left physically.

'I can still feel his connection lingering,' Kion thought bitterly, feeling the anger he had towards Scar cause a shiver down his spine. 'If I'm going to stop him from taking control of me, I need to control that connection.'

As Kion returned to Pride Rock, however, Scar reformed at his cave in the Outlands, a smirk on his face. "Oh, Kion… if only it were that easy…"