Back in the Pride Lands, things were peaceful as night cast the area in darkness, only lit by the stars and the moon. All across the land, the animals were either fast asleep or getting there, with one exception. Up on the peak of Pride Rock, the king of the Pride Lands was staring into the horizon, his face showing no signs of emotion- possibly from tiredness, but he knew that this wasn't why. He was staring so intently into the distance that he didn't hear the footsteps of the cub approaching him.
"Dad?" He heard a voice ask, turning his head to see Kiara looking at him, her eyes tired yet concerned. "What are you doing?"
He gave a soft smile to the princess, then looked back at the night sky. "I'm just looking at the stars, Kiara."
"Can I join you?" He didn't speak, simply answering her by patting his paw to the space next to him, so she walked forward until she was right beside her father and sat down. Looking up at the sky, she matched his gentle smile. "They're pretty tonight."
"They are every night. There's never been a night where sitting out here and looking at the stars didn't help me to relax."
Kiara couldn't help but agree, feeling the cool breeze flowing through her fur as the night's air filled her lungs, being released in a contented sigh. "It is pretty relaxing…" After a few moments, she turned to her father again and asked, "dad? Are you worried about Kion?"
He didn't speak for a few seconds, making Kiara think she might have said the wrong thing, until he cracked a smirk and gave a small laugh. "You have your grandmother's wisdom, Kiara. She could always tell what was bothering me or my father, even when I took the throne." He smiled as the memories came to him, but he knew he couldn't avoid the question his daughter had asked him. "Yes, Kiara. I'm concerned about your brother. I'd be lying to say I wasn't also partly concerned for the Pride Lands, given the attacks from the Outlanders since they left, but I'm more concerned about Kion and the Guard's whereabouts. The messenger that came initially claimed it would take them four days, yet that time has passed, and he's not returned yet."
"Do you think… something's happened?"
The concern in her voice was thick, making him wary as to what he said next. "If I had to guess… I would say that there was an… unforeseen circumstance that required their attention."
"Oh…"
He turned to his daughter, seeing her hang her head low, making him frown slightly. "But… I trust your brother. Kion and his Guard have been doing this for long enough, and have been friends for even longer. There is no doubt that they will look out for each other. Still, if they do not return by the time the sun sets tomorrow, I will personally have Zazu go and search for him." He then used his paw to lift her chin up so that he could look her in the eyes and give her a comforting smile. "In the meantime, we need to keep hopeful, and continue as normal. Can you do that?"
Giving a bit of a chuckle, she stepped forward to nuzzle her father. "Okay, dad."
His smile grew, the king nuzzling his daughter back. "Alright. Now, let's get some sleep."
"Can't we stay out here a little longer? I want to watch the stars some more."
"Hmm… okay. But just for a little while." He heard her give an "okay" in response, before they returned their gaze to the beauty of the night sky of the Pride Lands. And yet, despite his words of assurance, there was still a little bit of doubt in his mind. 'Kion… be safe…'
The sun rose, and with it came the start of a new day. At Dhahabu Grove, Kion was the first to wake up, having slept well enough in spite of the conversation from the previous night. The promise he had made to Kasi had been a bit of a wake up to him, but he knew not to let it get the better of him- they still had to get to the Pride Lands first, which meant at least another half a day of travel, so he needed to be ready. Once everyone else was awake, they took a drink from the Grove's Watering Hole before they took off, with Dhahabu and some of her herd giving them a farewell as they set off on their way. Fortunately for the Lion Guard, they were able to head back the same way they came, only this time without having to deal with Hofu or Makucha and his leopards. They even found themselves at the home of Abiria and his family again, and they allowed the Lion Guard and the cheetah tribe to rest there for a bit and chat, before they set off on the final journey
As they travelled, Fuli noticed that Kion was quieter than usual- sure, to the untrained eye, nothing seemed amiss, but to someone who considered the lion cub one of their best friends, it was noticeable, and this concerned her. Deciding to speak to him, she broke away from the other Guard members and advanced so that she could walk alongside him. "Hey," she greeted, getting his attention. "You okay?"
"Me? Yeah, I'm fine," he replied, giving her a smile. "What about you?"
"Yeah, I'm okay. Feels weird to be going back to the Pride Lands, though." She then gave him a smirk as she added, "but something tells me that's not why you've been quiet." Seeing him raise his eyebrow at her statement, she gave a small chuckle. "Kion, I've known you nearly my whole life, I know there's something on your mind. So, spill it- what's got you so quiet?"
He gave a small chuckle, then returned his gaze to looking forward. "I thought Ono was supposed to be the keenest of sight," he joked, getting an eye roll from the cheetah. "But, yeah, I guess I'm just… thinking about what happens when we get there."
"What do you mean?"
"Well… it's just…" He knew that she was onto him, but he couldn't tell her what he was really thinking about- he knew that it would only worry her, and with how happy he had noticed that she had been the past few days, he didn't want to ruin that for her. Instead he took a couple of seconds to think about what to tell her. "I know that Ma Tembo and Makuu and the rest of the leaders said that they would be able to look after the Pride Lands while we were gone, and I do trust them, but… I just don't want to go back only to find out that something horrible has happened."
Looking back to Fuli, he saw her give a sympathetic smile. "Kion, I know you're worried. That's part of what makes you a great leader. That said, you don't have to worry about this- if something had happened, your father would have sent Zazu or someone to get us, so that we could come back and stop whatever was happening. As much as this mission meant to me, the Pride Lands is my home still, and I don't want anything to happen to it either."
"I know you don't, and I know it probably seems like I'm being stupid."
She shook her head at this. "I don't think that at all. I think you're being concerned, and that's a good thing, because if you didn't show concern for things like this, then it just wouldn't be you."
Giving a chuckle, he found his eyes gazing into hers for a moment. "You really know what to say to cheer me up, don't you, Fuli?"
"Well, someone has to be the smartest of the group."
This brought out laughter from both cubs, which didn't go unnoticed by Kasi or Aliye. "They sure seem close, don't they?" Aliye asked, to which Kasi nodded.
"He's her best friend," the former queen of the rainforest replied. "I remember when I visited Fuli not long back, and while we talked about a lot of things, I did notice that she seemed to talk about Kion just that little bit more than anything else."
"Really?" Aliye's eyes widened in surprise, before a mischievous glint washed over them. "You don't suppose she might want to get… closer, do you?"
Kasi rolled her eyes, suppressing a laugh at her suggestion. "Ali, they're just cubs, leave them be." Of course, in the back of her mind, she couldn't help but think, 'if things work out, I am definitely going to talk to Fuli about that.'
"Everyone!" They heard Ono call out, distracting them all from their previous thoughts and conversations. "Once we get to the top of this hill, you'll be able to get a clear view of the Pride Lands!"
"Race ya there!" One of the cheetahs yelled, and before anyone knew it, they were all racing up the hill, eager to get a view of their destination. While the Lion Guard sans Fuli were a little bit behind the cheetah tribe, they all made it to the top, and despite it being their home, they all looked on in wonder at the sight before them. The sun not yet setting, the landscape looked amazing, with the land stretching out vastly, and Pride Rock standing tall above it all, majestic and proud. "Woah…"
"It feels so weird, seeing it from so far away," Beshte remarked, his ears wagging at the sight.
"Yeah, but it looks un-Bunga-lievable!" Bunga added.
"Home sweet home," Kion was next to say, a smile spreading across his lips as he turned to Fuli. "You ready to go back?"
With a nod and a smile, she told him, "you bet, Kion."
"So, Kion," they heard Kasi ask. "How long should it take us to get there?"
"Well, by the looks of it, we should enter the Pride Lands in about half an hour, but Pride Rock is on the far side, so it'll take us maybe an hour to get there. Assuming nothing gets in our way, however, it should be a simple walk to get there."
"Well, then, lead the way."
"Not so fast!" They all turned around to see Mjinga and his pack of wild dogs, all staring them down with vicious intent, a snarky grin on the leader's face. "So, this is what you left the rainforest for, huh, Kasi? Gotta say, it's a lot grander than I was expecting."
"Did you follow us all the way from Kushangaza?" Aliye challenged, her and the rest of Kasi's tribe baring their fangs at him.
"Of course! After all this time of you defending that rainforest, just to leave for no reason at all? Well, we had to see what it was you were leaving it for, so we could have it for ourselves!"
"Don't count on it!" Fuli argued. "There's not enough of you to take us on, let alone take on the people Pride Lands!"
"The Pride Lands, huh? Nice name, gotta admit. Still, it's not gonna matter who tries to stop us- we're taking over, and you can't do anything about it." Before anyone else could say anything, Kion started chuckling, confusing the wild dog leader. "What's so funny, lion cub?"
"There's something you need to know," he explained, his grin turning into a serious frown. "Last time, we were in the rainforest, which means I wasn't able to do this." Summoning his strength, the winds around them began to pick up furiously, making Mjinga look around, alert yet unaware of what was about to happen. As Kion dug his claws into the ground, he tensed his muscles, and before anyone could do anything, he unleashed the mighty Roar of the Elders, the four lions in the sky providing a mighty gale that lifted the stunned wild dogs and sending them flying, their screams dying down as they disappeared over the horizon. As the winds died down and the clouds returned to normal, Kion slowed his breathing, then turned to his team. "Hopefully, that should stop them from coming back."
"Um… what was that?!" Ukuu asked, making Kion realise that all of Kasi's tribe were staring at him in shock.
"Did you just roar them away?!" Kubwa exclaimed, the two brothers looking at each other momentarily before staring at the lion cub again.
"I guess I have some explaining to do, but we can do that while we walk."
"Kion's right," Kasi agreed. "As astonishing as that was, the Pride Lands await us, so let's not waste any time." Reluctantly agreeing, her followers turned and followed Kion, their destination now closer than ever.
Far away, the screams of wild dogs could be heard as they unceremoniously plummeted to the ground, each landing with a thud. After the initial impact wore off, they gingerly stood up. "What the hell was that?"
"How the hell did he do that?!"
"Where the hell are we?!"
"Shut up!" Mjinga snapped, silencing their questions as he shook his hind leg to deal with the pain from landing on it. "I don't care what that was, or where we are, because we are going back there, and taking over the Pride Lands."
"Are you serious?! How the hell do we do that, when one of them can literally roar us away?!"
They all jumped when they heard a voice laughing from nearby. "Perhaps we can help with that…"