(A/N: hey, everyone. I'm probably going to sound like a broken record, but sorry that this chapter took so long. With everything that's happening, both for me personally and for the world in general, my mood has been low, and so my creativity has been low as well. I do still love writing, but… well, everyone has their low times. At this time, I can't say for certain that I'll be punctual with uploads. All I can say is, thank you to those who still read this story. I greatly appreciate it.
Thank you for reading, and enjoy!)
As the sun finally rose over the Pride Lands, poking through the entrance to the Lair of the Guard and landing on the face of the adult cheetah, she finally began to stir. As her eyes steadily opened up, wincing a little at the sunlight on her face before a small yawn escaped her mouth. 'No chance for a lie in, I see,' she thought to herself. As she felt movement against her, she looked down and saw that Fuli was also beginning to stir. "Good morning, Mpenzi."
As the cub woke up and yawned, a frown formed on her face as she registered what her mother said. "It's morning already?" She acknowledged in a melancholy tone.
"I'm afraid so." The groan Fuli gave told her volumes about how she felt. "I know, Fuli. I wish we had more time, but… well, things haven't turned out like that." She saw her daughter nod, giving a sniffle as she tried to hold back tears. "Please don't cry, Fuli."
"I'm not crying. I got all those… stupid tears out last night."
Her heart breaking at hearing and seeing this, Kasi lowered her head to kiss the young cheetah on her forehead. "I'm so sorry, Fuli. I should have done more to make this work."
"It's not your fault, Mama. I know that." She lowered her head to wipe away some of the tears with her paw. "And I know that there's nothing I can do to change this. I just… wish I knew what to do now."
"I do too, Mpenzi."
The two were silent for a few seconds, that silence ended by the clearing of a throat which they both turned and saw came from Kion. "I, uh, hope I'm not interrupting anything," he excused as he approached.
"Not at all, Kion," Kasi replied as she and Fuli stood up. "I guess that it's time for us to leave, then."
"Not quite. The rest of the Guard aren't here yet, and we won't be going until they get here."
"Well, then, why are you here now?" Fuli asked, noticing that his voice was… almost quieter than she knew.
"Well… I wanted to talk to you about something before… well, everything happens." The two cheetahs looked to each other, curious about what the lion cub could be about to say, but didn't say anything and returned their attention to him so he could speak. "First of all… I can't even begin to say how sorry I am for you both. You don't deserve for this to happen, and I wish it wasn't happening."
Fuli gave the slightest hint of a smile. "Kion, it's not your fault," she reminded him.
"I know, but…"
"Kion," Kasi firmly but kindly told him. "You are a kind young cub, but you don't need to take this to heart. This is not your fault."
"Thank you… but, that's not what I was trying to say." He then looked to Fuli. "Last night, I was thinking about everything that's happening, and… well, I want to ask you something."
"What is it?"
"Well… I know how much happier you've seemed now that you and your mother have had the chance to be together again, so… would you be willing to go with her?"
Kion blinked, surprised by what his grandfather had asked him. "What… what do you mean?"
"If Fuli's mother and her tribe cannot be part of the Pride Lands, then the only way for them to be together is for her to go with them," Mufasa explained. "If you want her to be happy, and you think that her being with her mother will make that happen, then you would have to let her go. Are you prepared to do that?"
"So… you're asking me to leave with them?"
He quickly shook his head after hearing the somewhat hurt tone in her voice. "Not at all, I'm not asking you to leave. I just…" He let out a heavy sigh, his head dropping slightly as his gaze drifted to the ground. "I'd be lying if I said I wanted you to leave. You mean a lot to me, and to everyone else, Fuli, so it would be hard for me to imagine you not being around. At the same time, I want you to be happy. If being a family again makes you happy, then I don't want to stand in the way of that, so… I'm giving you the choice. If you want to go with them, then you can."
"Hold on a second," Kasi interjected. "Kion, I appreciate what you're suggesting here, but I think you need to consider the extents of this."
He shook his head. "I weighed this up a lot last night, and I know that what I'm suggesting… well, it would be a lot." Once again, he found his gazing drifting back to the younger cheetah. "But the more I thought about it, the more I realised that I would feel incredibly guilty if I didn't let you have that choice." Though she gave a small smile, he could tell that she was still unsure what to make of this. "I'm sorry for just dropping this on you, Fuli. I just… knew I had to say something before it was too late."
"It's not that, Kion," she assured him. "I do appreciate what you're saying. I just… I wish I had more time to think about this."
"If you want, I could leave so you and your mom can talk for a while before the Guard gets here."
"You mean it?" He quickly nodded, making her smile perk up a little. "Thanks, Kion."
"No problem, Fuli. I'll be outside, so come out when you're ready, okay?" After both cheetahs nodded to him, the Lion Guard leader left the lair, giving a heavy sigh once he was sat down. "Well… it's up to her now. Whatever she decides."
"Hey, Kion!" He heard Bunga call, looking up to see him approaching, with Beshte and Ono right alongside him.
"Hey, guys."
"Where's Fuli and Kasi?"
"Yeah, we went to the rest of the tribe first, and Aliye told us that they spent the night here," Beshte explained.
"They're still in the lair," Kion told them. "They, uh, needed to talk about some stuff before… well, you know."
They all nodded, sharing the same somewhat upset expression. "This, uh… this isn't going to be easy," Ono acknowledged, to which Kion shook his head. "I don't know how Fuli's going to take this."
'You really don't,' the young prince thought to himself. He was going to say something, but he heard movement behind him, and a quick turn around told him that it was Fuli and Kasi.
"Hey, everyone," the younger cheetah greeted.
"Hey, Fuli," Beshte greeted back, giving the best smile he could in light of the situation.
"So, I know what we're all thinking," Ono spoke next, "so…"
"Before we go, there's something I need to tell you guys." After taking a deep breath, Fuli looked at her friends and told them, "I've… I've decided that… I'm going to go with my mother and everyone else."
The reactions that Beshte, Ono and Bunga gave were- as could be expected- a mixture of shock and sadness to the sudden news. Even Kion, who knew that there was the possibility she would choose to do this, hearing her say it out loud… it felt like a weight had crashed down on his heart.
"W-what?" Bunga squeaked out, the usually peppy and optimistic honey badger looking sadder than his friends had ever seen him, and for good reason.
"I'm sorry, guys," she apologised, her face looking somewhat guilty. "It wasn't an easy decision, but… well, I think I need to be with her."
"But, are you really okay with this?" Ono asked. "Think of what you're leaving behind."
"I know, Ono, and I wish things weren't like this… but I had to choose, and… well, this is what I chose." She looked down, feeling like tears were starting to brim in her eyes. "I'm sorry… please don't be mad at me."
Kion hated hearing her say that- the idea that he or any of them could be mad at her was heartbreaking to the cub- so he stepped forward. "Fuli, we aren't mad at you," he assured her, the cheetah looking up to see his sad smile. "We're upset, of course. We're really going to miss you, but we respect your decision, one hundred percent."
While Fuli instantly believed Kion, she had to look to the others and ask them, "really?"
"He's right, Fuli," Beshte answered. "You're our teammate, and one of our best friends. If this is what you want, then we want you to be happy."
Though neither Ono or Bunga answered as well, they did nod in agreement with what the hippo said, even if Bunga was reluctant to. Even if it wasn't huge, it did bring a smile to Fuli's face. "Thanks, guys. I know all this is… so sudden. Even though I'm going away, I hope this won't be the last time we see each other. I'll try and visit when I can."
"Totally! Maybe, when you and the other cheetahs have found somewhere, we can visit you!" Bunga said, not optimistically but hopefully.
"Yeah, maybe."
"I hate to interrupt," Kasi spoke, "but I believe our time is running out."
"Right," Kion agreed, though it was clear in his tone that he regretted doing so. "If dad finds out, he'll probably have something to say about it." He took a deep breath, knowing that he wouldn't like what was to come next, before steeling his expression. "Lion Guard… let's go."
So, they set off, first meeting up with the cheetah tribe so they could be updated on the situation, and while they were shocked by Fuli's decision, only Aliye questioned if Fuli was certain in her decision. Though she was clearly not happy about her choice, the cub stuck by it. Once everyone was ready, they headed towards the border between the Pride Lands and the Backlands, which was where the tribe had agreed to embark through in their search for a new home.
As they reached the border, Kasi stopped, leading to everyone else stopping, with the cheetahs standing alongside her and facing the Lion Guard. "Before we part ways," she announced, "there are a few things I'd like to say. First of all, it has been a pleasure to get to know you, Lion Guard. These past few days have been wonderful, and we thank you for escorting us here from Kushangaza."
"It's been our pleasure, Kasi," Kion responded on his team's behalf, with the others nodding along. "It's been… a memorable adventure for us."
"I'm glad we made it that way. Now, while our current path is not fully clear, I promise to send Mjumbe to deliver a message to you, once we've found somewhere to call our home." She turned to the raven and asked, "is that okay with you?"
"Not a problem, ma'am!" he replied with a salute of his wing. "You know this, an ally of yours is an ally of mine."
The cheetah tribe leader gave a bit of a chuckle at this. "I'm aware." She then returned her attention to the Lion Guard. "Until we meet again, I wish you well."
"May the kings of the past watch over you."
She nodded at the lion's words, before looking to her daughter. "I imagine you'll want to say goodbye, so… take your time."
Fuli nodded, then walked up to her friends, starting with Ono. "Ono… you've helped to keep me sane over the time we've known each other. You've been the voice of reason so many times, and we'd all be lost without you. I know you'll keep these guys on the right path, and I hope to see you again."
"Me too, Fuli," the egret told her back. "I've known you and the others my whole life… and to suddenly find out I won't be seeing you every day anymore is… a huge change that I can only try and adapt to. Thank you for being a friend all this time."
"Come here, Ono." She stepped forward and allowed the egret to hug her with his wings, giving him a soft nuzzle as they embraced for a few seconds. When they eventually backed away, Fuli then walked up to the hippo that was doing his best to maintain his smile. "Out of all the animals in the Pride Lands, no one has quite as big a heart as you, Beshte. You're always able to look past the negative side of people and see that good side. The kings know you've been able to do that with me, even when I couldn't myself. For that, I'm so very thankful, and I'm glad to have been your friend."
"I could always see that side of you, Fuli," he replied, giving a little flap of his ears. "You're really great, and we couldn't have done half the things we have without you. More than that, I couldn't imagine not having you as a friend, and I really hope we get to see each other again."
"Me too, big guy." Like with Ono, she stepped forward and the two shared a brief yet tender embrace, a gesture that Fuli rarely gave and might never get to give to the hippo again, so he didn't say anything- instead, he enjoyed it while it lasted. She stepped back after a few seconds and turned to the honey badger. "Bunga-"
Before she could get her second word out, she was rushed forward on by Bunga, who wrapped his arms around her. "I don't want you to go," he told her, his voice croaking slightly from the tears. "I know I've annoyed you a lot since you've known me, but… you've been a really great friend, Fuli. I'm gonna miss you."
Fuli felt her tears beginning to well up as she returned the embrace. "I'm gonna miss you too, Bunga, and I wish I didn't have to go. I promise I'll come and visit someday… just promise me you won't change, okay?"
"Wouldn't know how."
The two shared a brief, sad yet happy chuckle at the joke. Once Bunga let go of her, Fuli turned to Kion, and she knew that the dam was going to break. "So…"
"So…" He gave a small gulp, feeling like his dam was breaking as well. "This is… kwa heri, huh?"
She shook her head. "This isn't goodbye, Kion. More like… see you later." She could feel the tears starting to stream from her eyes to her cheeks, then down to her chin, and knew that she had to speak quick before she was unable to. "There are… so many things I want to say to you, Kion. I never thought I would be saying this to you, as if… it was final… but I have to say this before I lose my chance." She didn't even realise that she had already stepped towards him. "You mean… s-so much to me, Kion. If there was any other way, I would never want to leave you…"
"I know, Fuli." His voice was also beginning to croak, his tears also running down his face, which was now mere millimetres away from the cheetah's. "I wish there was any way, any way whatsoever, that I could stay with you… but I know that's not how things have worked out. My heart is trying to make me tell you… a-a million things at once… but the one thing it's saying, louder than everything else… is don't go. Please."
The two felines, now fully sobbing, embraced at last, nuzzling like it was the last time they ever would, and they certainly thought it was. "I'm sorry," she cried. "I wish I didn't have to, but I do."
"No, I'm sorry. It's selfish of me to say that."
"Don't be silly, Kion. If anything, it reminds me why you mean so much to me: you make me feel special, like no one else."
"That's because you ARE special."
"No, Kion. YOU are special."
The two held their embrace for another thirty seconds or so, their tears refusing to run out, until Fuli made the move and stepped back. Giving a small sniffle, she looked to her mother and said, "okay. I think I'm… ready."
Though she didn't fully believe her, Kasi gave a nod, then turned to the Lion Guard. "Well, this is it. Refu mno, Lion Guard."
Kion nodded, blinking away more tears and replying, "refu mno, everyone."
And after one last glance between him and Fuli, they parted ways.
