One sentence. That was all it took, and as it fell thick in the air, that one sentence made Fuli feel like her whole world was crashing down. Her heart seemed to catch in her throat, her breathing feeling heavier and the only thing she heard in the new silence. She had known that this was a possibility, and up until the actual verdict, she had thought she would be ready for it should it come true.

Hearing it in that moment… there was no way she could have been prepared for it.

"Wh-what?" She choked out, resisting the urge to burst into tears right then and there.

"We apologise for having reached this decision," Ma Tembo told the cub, her eyes showing sympathy, "but it was a majority choice."

"I see," Simba acknowledged, giving a small frown. "In that case-"

"No, hold on!" Fuli burst out, her emotions starting to come out. "I don't understand! Why did you vote against it?!"

"Fuli."

She ignored the king's warning, stepping forward. "If you're going to send them away, then can you at least tell us why?"

"I'm afraid not," the elder elephant answered with a shake of her head. "We decided that it was best not to discuss our reasoning, as many of us already made decisions with our herds on how we would vote. I truly am sorry, Fuli, but there's nothing more we can say on this."

"Then, why can't you tell us now?! There's nothing stopping you from saying so now!"

"Fuli, that's enough!" Simba forcefully interrupted. "You are out of line. Now, stand down."

"No! If this is how this is going to happen, then we should at least know why!"

"Fuli!" The young cheetah turned in surprise, the speaker being Kasi, who was bearing a melancholy expression. "That's enough, Mpenzi." She stepped forward, hating the look of disbelief her daughter gave her. "It's okay."

"H-how can you say that? You can't tell me you're okay with this."

"I know, Mpenzi, I know… but there's nothing we can do. They've made their decision. We have to respect it." Though the mother could tell and understand that her daughter was upset, she couldn't fully comprehend the extent of which she was taking this- how her heart was racing, how were head felt like it was pounding, how heavy she was breathing- and as she tried to comfort her, the cub suddenly took off sprinting, pushing through the herd leaders to get away. "FULI!"

The mother cheetah took off after her. "Kasi, wait!" Kion called, before taking off as well.

"Kion! Come back!" Simba called after his son, but when he didn't come back, he let out a heavy sigh. "Well, this went well."

"Don't beat yourself up about it," Nala told her mate. "This was always going to be an emotional affair for them. Let them talk things out."

"I guess you're right."

The sound of a throat being cleared made the royal couple turn to the cheetah tribe, seeing that Aliye had stepped forward. "I know things are a little tense now," she spoke with some uncertainty, "but what happens now? Do we just… leave?"

Simba shook his head. "It's late, so it would be wrong to ask you to leave just now, especially with… what happened. Return to where you've been resting, and in the morning, I will ask the Lion Guard to escort you to the border." He then turned to the remaining members of the Guard. "Are you okay with that?"

Beshte nodded, telling the king, "we can handle that."

"Thank you." Simba then turned to the cheetahs once more. "In the meantime, enjoy your last night in the Pride Lands, and… my apologies that things didn't turn out better. May the kings of the past watch over you in your next journey." He then turned to face the herd leaders. "Thank you all for coming this evening. This meeting is adjourned, so you may head back to your herds."

The herd leaders wasted no time in doing so, with a muttering of "about time" being heard from Bupu, but after a few steps, Muhimu stopped and let out a sigh before walking over to the Lion Guard.

"Ono," she said to the egret, "if you don't mind, could you pass a message on to Kion and Fuli? She was right about what she said. She deserves to know the truth."


It wasn't too long after she got away from Pride Rock that Fuli realised the tears were streaming down her face, flickering past as she ran through the Pride Lands, one destination in mind. She ran as fast as she could, knowing that there was a fair distance between it and the home of the royal family, but she knew that she had to get there. At her speed, it took her a few minutes, but she eventually slowed to a halt upon reaching her destination. Flat Ridge Rock overlooked the Outlands, the now starry sky failing to light up the caverns below. Nothing could be heard from the practically deserted area.

And that was what Fuli had been hoping for. After taking a couple of shaky, heavy breaths, she took a deep breath before screaming at the top of her lungs, the pain in her voice audible from anywhere near the young cheetah as she stared at the night's sky, fangs bared as she angrily and tearily glared at the stars themselves. "Is this how things are supposed to work out?!" She yelled. "You dangle it in front of me, get my hopes up, then rip it away?! IS THIS SOME KIND OF SICK JOKE TO YOU?!" She paused as she panted heavily, not expecting any form of response from the kings of the past, and after a moment, the anger drained out of her, leaving only her misery. Her fierce scowl drooped into the most sullen frown she had ever given in her life, a couple of sniffles escaping her as she sat down and stared at her pours, the tears almost completely obscuring her vision. "Why did it have to happen like this… why did it have to happen at all…"

She stayed there in near silence for a good few moments, the only sounds she made being occasional sniffles and sobs. Her gaze didn't shift as she cried, meaning that she didn't see her mother or her best friend approaching. They were able to hear the crying noises once they were close enough, and it broke their hearts, the mother especially. One look to Kion told him exactly what she was going to say, so he nodded and stepped back a bit, while Kasi approached her child.

"Fuli," she spoke softly, but loud enough for the younger cheetah to hear her and turn around.

"Mama," Fuli said back, before ducking her head. "I'm sorry for running off like that. I-I know I shouldn't have, but-"

"Shh…" The adult cheetah closed the distance between them and pulled her daughter towards her, allowing her to press her head against her chest. "It's okay, Mpenzi."

"But, it's not okay. Why did this have to happen?"

"I wish I had an answer for you, Fuli. I wish I could tell you I knew why they voted the way they did, and that I knew how to fix this… but I can't."

Fuli let out a small sniffle. "I know, Mama. It just… it sucks."

"I know, Mpenzi."

A short distance away, Kion watched on. He was far enough away that he wasn't able to hear what was being said, out of respect, but he couldn't help but watch, and even in spite of the lack of light, he could tell that neither were happy about what was happening. He sighed to himself, hating that the situation had come to this. As his mind began playing over what had happened, he heard the flapping of wings, not knowing that both Fuli and Kasi could hear it too. Turning around, he was just about able to see that Ono was flying towards them, descending once he was low enough. "Ono? What's going on?"

"Sorry to interrupt," he said, looking at Fuli and Kasi as they walked over. "The rest of the herd leaders have all gone back to their herds… but Muhimu asked me to bring you a message."

"What kind of message?" Fuli asked.

"She said that, you were right. That you deserved to know the truth, and while she didn't say why they voted how they did, she said that eight of the herd leaders voted in favour of your tribe joining the Pride Lands, but the eleven that voted against it overruled that."

"Really?" The egret nodded, making Fuli hum as she thought about what that meant. "Well… I'm guessing she didn't say who voted which way, so I guess we can't just go to he ones that voted and ask them to change their vote."

"I'm afraid not. I'm… I'm sorry this happened, Fuli."

She shook her head, giving a sliver of a smile to her friend. "It's not your fault, Ono. Thank you for telling me."

He nodded. "Well… if there's nothing I can do, then I better be going. I'll, uh… I'll see you in the morning."

They all returned the gesture before the egret flew off, leaving the three felines alone. "So… what now?" Fuli asked, looking up to her mother.

"Well, we need to get some sleep before tomorrow," she reminded her daughter. "Let's head back to the other."

"Actually," Kion interrupted, "I know it's not exactly my place, but if you want, you two could spend the night in the lair. After all, if this is the last chance, then I'd imagine you'd want to have some time, just the two of you."

Kasi smiled, telling the lion cub, "that's very thoughtful of you, Kion. However, I still need to let my herd know that we're okay."

"I can do that."

"Kion, why are you doing this?" Fuli asked, tilting her head inquisitively.

"Well… I can't imagine how tough this is for you. I just… I wish there was something I could do to help. This is the next best thing I could think of."

The cheetah cub couldn't help but smile, which in turn made both her mother and her friend smile too. "That's sweet of you, Kion. Thank you." She then looked to her mother and asked, "can we, Mama?"

Kasi nodded. "If it's what you want, Mpenzi, then of course. It's getting late, so let's go."


So, after walking with Fuli and Kasi all the way to the lair, Kion said goodnight to the pair before heading off in search of their tribe. It didn't take him long, since they had made their resting ground near to Pride Rock, and when he did find them, he saw that most of them were fast asleep. The only one still awake was Aliye, who quickly caught sight of the lion cub and made her way over to him. "Kion?" She said, her voice showing that she was growing tired. "Where are Fuli and Kasi? Are they alright?"

"They're fine," he explained. "I suggested that they should stay in the lair for the night, since this'll be the last chance they can, just the two of them."

Aliye gave a sigh as she nodded. "I know Kasi, and though she'll keep a straight face, this is breaking her heart. I can't even imagine to think how unfair Fuli is finding all of this."

"I know what you mean. She was… well, her reaction was understandable. Hopefully, she can move past this in time… but I know she needs to hurt before she can heal."

"You're absolutely right." She let out a small yawn. "Well, since I know they're safe, I'll turn in for the night. Before you go, Kion, I just want to ask you something."

He tilted his head slightly. "What is it?"

"If Fuli is going to get through this, she'll need someone to stand by her side through it all… and I think that might be you. Be there for her when she needs it, okay?"

He nodded. "In a heartbeat."

A small smile appeared on her face. "Thank you. I'll see you in the morning."

"You too, Aliye."

So, whilst Aliye turned in for the night, Kion began the trek back towards Pride Rock, but about halfway there, he stopped in his tracks and sighed. The thoughts swimming around his head weren't going to let him sleep, and he only knew of one way to deal with them. So, he turned to the left and walked for a while until he reached the Watering Hole, the night sky shimmering in the water's surface. Walking up to the water's edge, he sat down with a sigh, looked up to the sky, and called out. "Grandfather Mufasa?"

He watched as the stars themselves began to trace an image in the sky, one that Kion recognised to be his long deceased grandfather, Mufasa, the former king and his spiritual guardian and confidant. "Kion," he greeted in a somewhat happy voice before it showed his concern. "You seem conflicted."

"That's because I am, grandfather. Fuli's mother and her tribe have to leave tomorrow, and there's a chance that she might never see them again. I know her heart is broken over this, and I wish I could change things… but I know that's not possible. I just wish there was some way that I could make her happy."

The great king of the past said nothing whilst Kion spoke, taking in everything from the words he said to the tone in which he said them. "It's clear to me that you care a great deal for Fuli, and want her to be happy and with her family."

"Yes. She means a lot to me, and it hurts seeing her so… so upset. I would do anything to help make her happy again."

"… even if that meant letting her go?"