Chapter 10:

Into the Line of Fire

Kion opened his eyes as light filtered into Rafiki's tree. He spotted Mkini rummaging through some herbs and watched as she ground some up into powder and then added something that resembled sap to it. She grabbed her stick her and made her way over to him. She smiled as she saw that he was awake. She dug her hand into the mixing bowl and slathered it into Kion's fur. He winced as it stung the wounds on his shoulder blades but he tried to hide it from the young apprentice, not wanting her to think she'd hurt him. He tried to speak but his throat was sore and there was deep ache in his chest that made him feel as if he'd strained himself after a hard training session with the guard.

"Mkini" he whispered. "Where're the others? They were hurt worse than me, they should be in here."

Something changed in Mkini's expression, and her soft smile fell. "Your sister is fine."

"And Beshte?"

Mkini shook her head in defeat.

Kion felt his blood chill, "No" he gasped. He began to stand and Mkini's eyes widened. "Your not well enough to leave yet" she said quickly as she chased after him.

"Why am I here?" Kion demanded as he spun towards her. "Why aren't you taking care of Beshte?" His voice ached as he spoke and he had to keep from coughing as his temper flared.

"His wounds were beyond what either I or Rafiki could do" she replied.

"Where is he?" Kion snapped as he moved towards her. "He's not gone! He can't be!"

"Kion."

The young lion turned around as Rafiki entered the tree. "You have to let this anger go" he said.

"I need to find Kiburi" Kion stated. "He's going to pay for what he did!"

"Do not go down this path young prince" Rafiki warned. "There will be no coming back from it."

"I don't care" Kion snarled. "Do you expect me to just let him get away with what he did?"

"And how do you expect to kill him?" Rafiki questioned. "The roar is gone Kion."

Kion froze, all anger vanished from him. "What?"

"You don't have the mark anymore" Rafiki explained. "The guard is over."

"No" Kion said as he shook his head in disbelief. "It can't be… who's going to protect the pridelands?"

"For now that will revert back to the king" Rafiki replied. "The next leader of the lion guard won't come until Kiara has a cub of her own." But that was years away. Kion and his sister were only about a year and a half old. She wouldn't be ready for cubs until she was at least 3.

Kion sat back down, his head hung forward and his ears fell flat. "This is all my fault" he mumbled. "I wasn't strong enough to save him."

Mkini made her way towards her friend and pulled him close. Kion let his head fall against her shoulders, a tear slowly dripped down his face and Rafiki watched the two of them.

"What do I do now?" Kion asked after a moment. "Without the guard...what am I?"

"You're still the fiercest Kion" Mkini spoke first. "You can still take care of the pridelands, you can still be a prince the way Simba raised you."

"Protect those who cannot protect themselves" Rafiki added. "Be a brother to Kiara, a son your parents can be proud of. Prove to them you don't need the guard to do what's right."

Kion smiled a little, "Thank you" he said. He began to make his way down the tree and Mkini followed after him. "Where are you going?" she asked.

"To see Bunga" he replied. "I'm sure he could use a friend right now."

Kion watched from the tip of priderock, watched as the fire spread into the outlands. It was dry season, and plain fires were common. He thought back to the day he lost Ono, the day his life began to fall apart. Even back then he had been a terrible leader. And now he was the washed up former leader of the lion guard. He laid there with his head between his paws and his eyes tired. Without the guard he was alone, and without his roar he felt empty. Bunga had changed the most since Beshte's death. The two of them had always shared a closer bond than the rest of the lion guard. Bunga spent most days in his burrow now and only surfaced when he was hungry. As Kion laid there, his eyes widened in fear. The burrow. Bunga. The fire would suffocate him. He was in danger.

No! I'm not losing anyone else!

Kion jumped to his paws and raced away from pride rock, headed towards the fire. The smoke was thick and heavy around him and every step he took landed on charred ground. Embers burned bright in the air and stung his fur as he headed deeper. He went from one burrow to then next, but it was almost impossible to sniff out Bunga amongst the smoke.

"Bunga!" Kion shouted. "Bunga!" He eyes began to sting, and the longer he spent in the flames the more light headed he was becoming. He ignored the burning in his lungs as he continued to dig at the entrance of every burrow.

"Help!"

Kion turned towards the sound and followed it, it wasn't until he came to a burrow engulfed in flames that he spotted Bunga inside. He didn't care what it cost him, he would save his friend. He pushed his paws through the flames, wincing in pain as it scorched them. He dug down and reached into the burrow opening.

"Grab on!" Kion shouted.

He felt Bunga grip onto his paws and Kion yanked him out. He placed the small creature on his back and Bunga gripped onto the short mane as he raced back towards home. Every step was agonizing but Kion pushed on. When he finally made it to the safety of pride rock he collapsed on his side. Kiara, Simba and Nala raced to his side.

"Zazu! Fetch Rafiki!" Nala shouted. "Hurry!"

Zazu zipped through the sky and came back with Rafiki and Mkini in tow. Kiara laid beside her brother, her head resting on his mane. He had passed out.

"Mkini take Bunga back to the tree" Rafiki ordered. "I have to see to Kion." She nodded and picked Bunga up as she raced off. Rafiki scratched at the fur on his chin and began to cover Kion's paws with a stick poultice he had made. He shook his head as he did so.

"These burns are deep Simba" he spoke. "They may not heal the way we'd like them to."

"What does that mean?" Nala demanded. "Your herbs have always worked Rafiki, why can't they work for my son?"

"The herbs are strong my queen" Rafiki replied. "But the burns travel deep, I can ease the pain for now, but this will likely impair the prince for the rest of his life."

"No" Nala said as she shook her head. "My son has been through enough!"

"Calm down Nala" Simba said. "Our son is a lot stronger than we give him credit for, he can endure this."

"He shouldn't have to!" Kiara said as she jumped to her mother's defense. "Where were you dad?" she demanded. "You should have been the one to save Bunga! Not him! The safety of the pridelands is not his responsibility anymore!"

"Kiara…"

She shook her head and stormed off, headed into the den. Nala sat beside her son, pushing her paw through his young mane. "Simba, you have to step up. Our son doesn't have the guard anymore. He can't protect everyone on his own."

"I know" Simba replied. "I just don't want him to think we've lost faith in him."

She licked his cheek softly. "He knows we believe in him, but he also needs to know that the weight of the pridelands is not his alone. He's not the future king Simba."

"I'm sorry" Simba stated. "I should have made sure everyone was evacuated before I left the plains."

"When he wakes up he'll need you" Nala said. "He's going to need your support." Simba nodded as Nala went to find Kiara. He sat beside his son and sighed as he looked at the faded lion guard mark on his shoulder. It had scarred over now and was as washed up as Kion himself. Losing the mark had changed him. Simba couldn't help but feel disappointed in his son. He'd wanted it for his son for so long, and now it was faded, as if it had never existed at all. It was as if it existed now only as a cruel reminder for all that the cub had lost.

"First Scar, and now my own son" he mumbled. He looked up at the sky. "Father" he whispered softly. "Please don't abandon him, tell me what to do." But as rain began to pour down around them Simba couldn't shake the feeling that something was on the horizon. That when his son awoke, he'd be in pain, and that pain would only add to the emptiness the cub already felt inside.

Please review if you enjoyed this chapter! I know it was a little more depressing than my usual chapters but I got an idea and had to follow through!