After saying goodbye to the cheetahs at the border, the Lion Guard reluctantly resumed their patrol, heading first towards Ndefu Grove to check up on the elephants. Though they were doing their best to move forward, their mood and morale was at an understandable low point. Kion could sense that his allies were struggling to keep their minds off of what had happened, and he'd be lying if he claimed he was any different. Eventually, he knew that it had to be addressed, so he came to a sudden stop, the others stopping behind him as he gave a sigh, before turning to face them. "Alright," he finally spoke, the first time since they departed from the border. "I know what just happened was… tough. We're not going to be able to continue with patrol if we don't talk so…"

"Kion, what do you want us to say?" Bunga asked, his usual pep now absent from his voice.

"I don't know, but if we don't try and talk, then we might not be able to focus if someone's in trouble… so, if there's anything you want to say or ask, then go ahead."

Though neither Ono or Bunga said anything, Beshte looked between his friends before nervously looking at the lion cub. "Now that Fuli's gone… we don't have the full Lion Guard. Do we need to find someone else?"

Kion opened his mouth to reply, before realising he didn't have an answer. 'Can we really replace Fuli?' he pondered. 'We wouldn't have been able to face every battle and problem we have if not for Fuli… but, no one's as fast as Fuli,' his face drooped into a frown, 'and no one could mean as much to us as her.'

The hippo, noticing his friend's changing expression, regretted asking the question. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said anything."

Kion quickly shook away his thoughts, returning his attention to the hippo. "Don't be, it's a good thing you brought it up. Right now, we need to focus on patrol, but when I see my dad later, I'll ask him what we should do. For now, let's just resume with patrol and-"

"I SAW IT FIRST!"

Hearing the yell, they turned and saw the elephants up ahead, watching as two of them were butting heads. They all looked to each other and nodded, then ran (or, in Ono's case, flew) over to the herd. Seeing Ma Tembo, Kion approached her and asked, "what's going on?"

With a shake of her head and an unamused look on her face, she told the cub, "my apologies, Lion Guard. Zito and Johari are fighting over the last of today's fruit." Seeing how the Guard members' expressions dropped, she gave a small role of her eyes. "My reaction too, I'm afraid."

"Well, at least it's nothing too serious," Ono reasoned.

"Other than this," Kion then asked, "is everything okay here?"

"Yes, we're all okay, Lion Guard." As she looked at the Guard, she noticed something. "I notice that Fuli isn't with you. Is she…" Seeing the frowns appear on their faces, she frowned as well. "Oh. I'm guessing she isn't taking what's happened too well, then."

"Actually… she's decided to go with her mother."

Overhearing this, Zito's attention was diverted away from the fruit. "What?!" He stomped over to the Lion Guard. "She's just left?!"

Though he didn't like the tone Zito was taking, Kion kept his irritation hidden as best he could. "She has chosen to be with her family, and-"

"So, she's just abandoning us?! How selfish! If she was just going to leave, she should never have been part of the Guard in the first place!"

This time, Kion's anger surged through his body, and there was no holding it back. "YOU WATCH YOUR MOUTH, ZITO!" As Zito stepped back in fear, Kion's anger began rising, making him oblivious to how the winds suddenly picked up behind him and the fact his muscles were tensing. "YOU DO NOT TALK ABOUT HER LIKE THAT! NOT TO ME, OR ANYONE ELSE!"

"Kion!"

"YOU DO NOT ACT AS IF SHE IS JUST-"

"KION!"

He turned his head sharply, coming face to face with his team. "WHAT?!"

"You need to calm down, Kion!" Beshte insisted, with Ono nodding.

"You're going to use the Roar!"

Hearing the egret's words, Kion's eyes widened in shock as he became aware of the changes going on around him, and with it, he began to let go. His muscles and breathing relaxed, and the winds around him died down to a gentle breeze. In his mind, he was struggling to process what had just happened.

"Kion?" His head turned slowly towards the speaker, a concerned Ma Tembo. "Are you okay?"

"Um… yeah. My apologies, Ma Tembo, we'll… we'll let you return to what you were doing." Not giving her the chance to respond, he turned to his team and told them, "let's go, Lion Guard." Though the others tried to speak, he walked away, leaving them to wonder what had just happened.


Not far from the the Pride Lands, Kasi and her tribe were continuing on their venture through the Backlands, the cheetahs walking and talking together whilst Mjumbe flew overhead. Though the majority of the tribe had been upset with the decision made by the herd leaders, they were able to pick their mood back up and think of what lies ahead rather than what was behind them. "Where do you think we'll end up this time?" Ukuu asked his brother.

"I dunno," Kubwa replied, "but as long as we've got space to run, it's fine by me!"

The two brothers shared a chuckle, which got a smile to appear on Kasi's face as she heard it. 'They're hopeful,' she thought to herself. 'That's good. We won't be able to find anywhere as good as the Pride Lands or Kushangaza, but hopefully we can find somewhere to call home.' She looked up towards the raven whose shadow was cast upon her. "Mjumbe! Can you find anything?"

"Afraid not, ma'am!" He called back down. "There's a couple of smaller areas, but they appear to be taken, and there's something I can see in the distance, but we're not ear enough for me to be able to tell if it's taken. It'd take two, three days to get there."

"Understood. Keep me updated." Once he nodded to her, Kasi turned to Aliye. "Well, at least we'll be able to explore again, right?" Her friend didn't verbally respond, just giving a small nod, and it caused Kasi's smile to fade. "What's wrong?" Again, Aliye didn't answer with words. Instead, she gestured with her head for Kasi to look the other way, and upon doing so, the tribe leader saw her daughter's expression. It wasn't explicitly sad, which could have been expected, but was actually… rather blank. She couldn't even see any warmth in the cub's eyes, and yet there was no sadness either- it was as if all emotion was gone. "Oh…"

"I hope I'm not crossing any boundaries when I say this," Aliye finally spoke, "but… do you think this was the right choice?"

Kasi sighed, hanging her head low and shaking it. "I wish I could say I did."

"I'll be honest, I was surprised that you asked her to come with us."

"I didn't. It was Kion who asked her."

The look on Aliye's face, to put it bluntly, was shocked. "What?!"

"I know. I hadn't expected it either, but he wanted her to be happy."

"That sounds sweet… but I can't help but imagine how he'd react if he saw her now."

'You're right about that…' This thought barely lingered for a few seconds before it became the only thought on her mind, and she came to a halt. "Everyone, let's stop here."

The other cheetahs stopped and turned to face her, confused. "But, we've barely gone anywhere," one of the other cheetahs pointed out.

"I know we have, I just need to think about something for a moment. Let's just take five minutes, okay?" While the others reluctantly agreed to take a break, Kasi turned to her daughter, who looked up at her with a questioning look on her face. "Come with me for a second, Fuli."

"Okay…" The two walked a short distance away from the tribe, Kasi sitting down first with Fuli following suit. "What's up?"

"Please don't take this the wrong way… but, I think you should go back to the Pride Lands."

The cub's eyes widened, her brow furrowing. "What?" She asked, somewhat fearfully. "You don't want me to go with you?"

"That's not what I'm saying-"

"I don't understand!"

"Fuli, look at me. Breathe." Though the younger cheetah was feeling more emotional now, she took her mother's advice and began to breathe deeply, eventually settling down. "I know this is sudden of me to say, and it's not that I don't want you to come with us. You mean the absolute world to me, Mpenzi." She moved her head slightly closer before then saying, "but I don't think you're meant to come with us. You belong in the Pride Lands."

The cub shook her head. "No. I know what you're trying to say, Mama, but I thought it through before. My heart is telling me that I'm supposed to go with you."

"Are you sure? Because something tells me that you're not happy." She saw Fuli's mouth open, but when no words came out, she knew that she couldn't deny it. The second Kasi saw this, she leaned forward and nuzzled her daughter. "I'm sorry, Mpenzi. I know this isn't easy."

"I… I wish I didn't have to do this," Fuli admitted, "but I don't think I can just… watch you walk away."

"You're asking the wrong question, Fuli. Instead, ask yourself this: can you really give up everything you have back there?"

Once Kasi leaned back, Fuli's gaze drifted in the direction that they came from. Pride Rock was still in sight, but what Fuli was seeing all the more clearly were the memories that she had there. The many times that she had been on patrol with the Lion Guard. The many adventures she shared with her friends. The times they laughed, cried, argued, even hugged. Every time Bunga had made her roll her eyes, or Beshte had picked her up when she was down, or Ono had warned them of oncoming danger. Every time Kion had… well, done anything to make her smile. 'I… I don't…'

"KASI! COME QUICKLY!"

The two snapped their heads back towards their group, getting to their feet and running over. Once they pushed through the other cheetahs, they both donned angry expressions at the familiar, sneering grins of Mjinga and his pack of wild dogs.

"You again!" Kasi snarled. "What do you think you're up to now?"

"Ain't it obvious?" He laughed back. "You've just left the most prosperous lands in the whole Savannah!"

"We told you to leave the Pride Lands alone!" Fuli snapped, her and every other cheetah now baring their fangs. "We sent you away yesterday, and we'll send you away now too!"

"If only if were that simple," they heard another voice cut in, some of the cheetahs turning around to see a familiar pack of leopards surround them, linking up with the wild dogs as Makucha stepped forward.

"What are you doing, Makucha?" Fuli's Voice was lower this time, but still just as serious. "Why are you siding with them?"

"Let's just say we have two things in common: enemies and goals. We both want the Pride Lands, and we both hate you."

"And they aren't the only ones!"

Aliye looked to her right, and her eyes widened at who she saw. "Hofu?!"

The leopard's grin only grew more twisted. "I'm surprised you remember me! After all, you kicked me out of my home a long time ago, without a care in the world!"

"What makes you think this will work?" Kasi dared, having heard enough from the ambushers. "Even if you take us down, you'll have to take on the entire Pride Lands- not to mention the royal family themselves- if you think you can just stroll in and take their land for yourselves. They are stronger than you could ever be, and will not let you take their home from them."

"And that ain't even mentioning," Ukuu added, "that you couldn't beat us alone."

"And you sure won't beat us together!" Kubwa finished, the two brothers letting out a mighty growl that the rest of the tribe joined, showing that they meant business. However, all Makucha did at first was was cackle.

"I don't know if you're brave or stupid, but I've got to admire it. Just one flaw in your defence plan: we have you outnumbered and outmatched, and there's nobody else around."

Though she refused to accept the truth of what he was saying, she couldn't deny that the numbers were not in their favour. 'There has to be a way out of this,' she pondered, weighing her options. As she thought, a quick look up allowed her to see Mjumbe flying back towards the Pride Lands. 'Please hurry, my friend.'

Unfortunately for her, Hofu happened to follow her gaze. "The bird's getting away!"

Makucha gave a brief look over his shoulder to confirm this, before turning back to face the cheetahs. "No matter. That just means we get to do this the fun way: quick, but very, very painful…"