The Pride Lands were in flames, destruction all around. Pride Landers lay on the ground as far as the eye could see, either dead, dying or heavily injured. At Pride Rock, lions lay strewn about, mixing from young to old. The only ones still standing tall were the Outlanders, with Janja, Fuli, Reirei and Kiburi standing at the front of them. Before them lay the Lion Guard, or what was left of them. Ono, Beshte and Bunga were long gone, their limp bodies all that remained, meaning only Kion was left alive. He weakly tried to get to his feet, only for Janja to stomp on them, eliciting a roar of pain from the cub.

"It's been a long time coming, Kion," Janja taunted. "You've been a thorn in our side for way too long, and it's time that we removed it."

Kion grunted, trying his best to look at the cheetah. "It's not… too late," he coughed, letting a little bit of blood dribble down his chin. "Please… Fuli…"

Fuli wasn't sure how to feel about it. There was a certain amount of fulfilment that came with claiming the Pride Lands, but now… with how they had achieved it, and especially with the way the prince looked at her… something felt wrong. 'Isn't this what you wanted, Fuli?' She asked herself. 'To get justice for what he did to you? To take back the Pride Lands?'

She never got a chance to voice these concerns, as Janja was quick to tell Kion, "it ain't too late for her, but it is for you!" Kion opened his mouth to argue, but all that came out were roars of pain as Janja bit down hard into the cub's throat. Kion struggled for a few seconds, but eventually, he stopped breathing, and when Janja let go, his head dropped limply to his paws. The last member of the Lion Guard was dead. "That's it! We've done it! The Pride Lands are ours!" He turned to the others, many of whom were cheering in victory. "Now, all we've got to do is bring Scar back, so stand back while I do this." Everyone watched as Janja used his paw to gather some of the blood from Kion's wound and used it to make a symbol on the ground. When he was finished, he stepped back and smirked. "Scar, the pathway is open! Return to the throne that is rightfully yours!"

With these words, the symbol began to glow brightly, before a torrent of flames shot up from it, swirling around as laughter filled the air. Everyone simply watched and waited as the flames flickered, until it eventually died down, revealing Scar in his true form- dark orange fur with black mane, sharp claws, creamy muzzle and green eyes, with the distinguishing scar over his left eye. After a second, he raised a paw, flexing his toes. "My, my…" he mused. "It feels good to be alive again." He then looked at his allies, and smiled the biggest smile he could muster. "My humble servants…"

"Your majesty!" They all replied, bowing before him.

"I thank you all for your loyalty to my cause." His eyes fixated on the cheetah. "Especially you, dear Fuli. Please, rise." She stood up straight. "Would you walk with me for a moment?"

She was hesitant, but replied, "yes, my King."

He led her to the peak of Pride Rock, where they could fully see the extent of the damage caused. Fuli winced at the sight, feeling regretful that things had gotten this bad. "Not a pretty sight, is it? This once great land, brought close to total ruin." He turned his head to her. "This was how things seemed towards the end of my reign."

"Did we go too far?" She asked him. "We wanted to take over the Pride Lands, but… is there anything left?"

"You needn't worry, Fuli. The Pride Lands have an almost magical way of recovering and returning to its natural beauty." Fuli sighed, relieved that her home had not been destroyed. "Though, you won't be able to see that." She blinked, wondering what he meant, but before she could ask, she felt something push her from behind, knocking her over the edge. She had the wherewithal to try and grab onto the edge, her claws just able to dig into the rock and hang on. She looked up, fearful and confused, and was met with the sight of Scar, still with that eerie smile on his face. "I'm sorry, Fuli. You've been a tremendous help, and it pains me to do this, it really does. However, in order to maintain this transformation, I have to rid this world of the Lion Guard. All of the Lion Guard." Her eyes widened as she realised what he meant. "Goodbye, Fuli!"

And just like that, he threw her off the edge, screaming as she plummeted towards the ground.

"NOOO!" She screamed, leaping to her feet. Her head darted around as she tried to realise what was going on, her heart racing a mile a minute. It took her a moment to realise that she was in her cave in the Outlands, but once she did, she started to calm down a bit. 'It was just a dream,' she rationalised, 'just a dream… but why did it feel so real?' These doubts began to confuse her. 'Scar wouldn't do that, would he? Would he and the others actually sacrifice me because I was part of the Guard?' Her thoughts went silent for a moment, before she shook her head. 'Scar has been nothing but nice to me. He and the others have looked after me since the accident, they've helped me get back to my best, and they helped me when Kion betrayed me. I'm just letting that nightmare get to me.' She took a couple of deep breaths to clear her head, before exiting the cave. 'I'd better see what Scar wants from me today.'

As she made her way through the Outlands, she thought about everything that had happened recently. It had been a few days since the accident, and she had recovered almost impossibly well. Her head wound, while it had scarred under her fur, had healed without infection, and thanks to the training Janja helped her with, she was as fit as ever. It was upsetting that her memories had yet to return, the only lasting repercussion of the fall, but she reasoned that they would return in time.

Since then, she had done her part. She hadn't been into the Pride Lands other than yo hunt for herself, as Scar had requested she stay away for the time being. 'Make them believe she hadn't survived the fall,' she remembered him telling her. She agreed, and made sure to remain unseen whenever she did go in. The rest of the time, she either trained or rested, occasionally trying to connect with the leader of the jackals, though Reirei kept saying she had to deal with her family, which Fuli accepted.

As she entered the cave where she met Scar, she saw that Janja and Reirei were already there, the former smirking at her as she approached. "And here I thought you were the fastest," he joked, prompting her to roll her eyes.

"Whatever, Janja," she retorted. "I didn't sleep well."

"I certainly hope that won't be a hindrance to you, Fuli," they heard Scar's booming voice ask, the flames taking his form.

"Of course not, Scar," she replied to the fiery lion's head. "It'll take more than that to stop me."

"That's good to hear, because you have an important role to do today. A very important role indeed."

In the Pride Lands, Kion and the rest of the Guard were on patrol. Despite his lack of sleep after attempting to contact Scar for the first time, he rejoined patrol the next day, and continued to do so since. While patrolling during the day, he and the others had ventured into the Outlands a couple of times in the evening, hoping to find any signs of their missing teammate, but had so far come up empty.

While Kion was doing his best to keep it together, the others had noticed that he wasn't the same, and were quietly worried for him. He was quieter, and although he never lost focus, they noticed how he was a bit more stubborn, especially when it came to looking for Fuli. He had even snapped at them a couple of times, though he was quick to apologise for it.

Deciding to be the first to speak, Beshte walked alongside his leader. "So, Kion… what's the plan for today?" He asked.

"Once we've been on patrol, you guys can head home," he answered, not turning his head to look at him. "I'm going to see if I can find Fuli."

"Kion… we've been trying the past two days, and we've found nothing."

"Well, I can't afford to stop until I find something. No matter how long it takes, I have to find something."

The hippo's ears folded against his head. "Kion…"

"I know you guys are worried about me. Honestly, I'm a bit worried about myself too, but the only way I can come to terms with this is if I know what happened."

"But… what if she didn't make it?" Kion stopped walking, so Beshte did the same. "What if she has… died?" Lion could tell he didn't want to even think about it, let alone say it, and he didn't blame him in the slightest for it. "What then?"

Kion sighed, looking down at his paws. "I don't want to think about that. I still think that she could be alive… but if that's the case, then… I'd like to bring her back." He looked up at Beshte, allowing him to see the pain behind his eyes. "She's done so much for the Pride Lands, it's her home. She deserves to be brought back here, so that she can be given a proper funeral. That way… we can say goodbye."

He could hear the crack in his voice at the end, and it really painted a picture to Beshte of where Kion's mind was, and if he was being honest with himself… he felt sorry for his friend. "Kion…"

"Guys?! You might want to take a look at this!" They heard Ono call out to them, interrupting their conversation.

"What is it, Ono?" Kion asked, interrupting the conversation they were having.

"It looks like the hyenas are attacking Muhimu's herd… and the jackals are helping them!"

"Hevi Kabisa!"

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Bunga yelled. "Let's stop them!"

Lion nodded. "Til the Pride Lands end!"

"LION GUARD DEFENDS!"

So, they began to chase after the Outlands' scoundrels. Reirei, looking over her shoulder, saw that the Guard was approaching, and smirked. "Looks like they took the bait!" She called out, causing Janja to match her facial expression.

"Well, in that case, let's give them something to deal with!"

Reirei nodded. "Jackals! Head after the Lion Guard, now!"

They all obeyed her command, slowing down so they could turn around, and running towards the Lion Guard, much to their surprise. "Why are they heading towards us? They know we'll kick their butts!" Bunga pointed out.

Kion, however, quickly put two and two together. "They're a diversion!" He called out to his team. "They're trying to stop us from reaching the hyenas!"

"Then what do we do?" Beshte asked.

"We're going to have to split up. Beshte, you need to hold off the jackals. Me, Bunga and Ono will go after the hyenas."

"You got it, Kion!" Beshte began summoning energy to pick up speed, heading straight for the jackals. "Twinde kiboko!"

Whilst jackals were sent flying left and right by the charging hippo, the others passed through, their eyes still set on the hyenas. Ono, however, managed to spot something else. "Hapana! The vultures are here too!"

"What?!" Kion looked, and saw that the winged scavengers were indeed headed their way. "Great… Ono, do you think you can distract them?"

"Aye, aye, Kion!"

With that, the egret flew off, leaving just the lion cub and the honey badger. "Bunga, we need to catch up to the hyenas, no matter what. If I get stopped for any reason, keep going. You hear me?" Looking to his right, he saw the honey badger nodded. "Good. We need to stop them before-" Just then, a force from his left knocked into Kion, pinning him to the ground on his side. He groaned a little from the impact, but when he opened his eyes, Bunga was looking at him in shock. "Bunga! Go after the hyenas!"

"Kion, you don't understand!"

"If they get away, we could lose the whole herd! Now, go!"

"But-"

"GO!"

Bunga huffed, conflicted by what he saw and what he was being told, but eventually nodded. "Okay."

So, the honey badger took off, leaving Kion to try and struggle under his captor. "Get off of me! Do not make me hurt you!"

He was met with laughter, which shocked him and sent chills down his spine. "Oh, Kion! That's hilarious! You couldn't hurt me if my legs were tied together!" He tilted his head to see who it was, and his eyes widened even more than they already were. "What? You surprised to see me?"

"Fuli!?"

The cheetah grinned at the cub under her paws. "The one and only."