The Lake of Reflection
It had been two weeks since Rani was crowned Queen of the Tree of Life, and Makucha, Chullan, Ora and Mama Binterong had struck back and were once again trying to take over the Tree of Life. The Night Pride arrived at the scene, and Mama noticed that they all looked awfully tired. "We should have them beaten in no time," she thought smugly. Just then, the well-rested Lion Guard arrived as well. They ran towards Makucha's army, but Rani's long dress slowed her down a bit, meaning that she had to lift it up. "You okay, Rani?" Bunga asked. "Maybe you should take it easy,". "Maybe you should try running in a dress sometime, mate," the Queen retorted.
Rani had slept in the royal chambers for the first time the previous night. Unfortunately, she had woken up exhausted and with cramps in her stomach, so she was in a bad mood. This mood got worse when her orders for the Night Pride clashed with Kion's orders for the Lion Guard. Before she even realised it, the Queen snapped, saying "Kion, I'm in charge, remember?". Ashamed of himself, Kion put his hand to where his scar was "I'm sorry; what can the Guard and I do to help?" he asked. "Could you please take care of Ora while Anga and Ono sort out Mama Binterong?" Rani inquired. "I think so," Kion replied.
Under Rani's leadership, the Lion Guard and the Night Pride beat Makucha's army, who promptly fled. After the battle, Kion went up to Rani. "I want to apologise again for what happened," he explained. "Well, I'm sure you meant well, Kion, and the Lion Guard definitely helped," Rani nodded. "But next time, please follow my instructions; I'm the leader of this group, after all,". Fuli was not pleased to hear this at all. "Whoa! Are you saying that Kion isn't a leader?" she demanded. "Well, I'm sure Kion has potential to be a good leader -" the Queen began, her hormones getting to her again, before Fuli interrupted her. "For your information, Kion is a great leader,".
However, Kion wasn't entirely sure. "I don't know, Fuli," he stated. "I became the Leader of the Lion Guard when I got the Roar, but now I can't control it because of my scar. So, I'm not sure if I am a good leader at all," He then turned to Rani. "Rani, if you don't mind; I have a proposition. Maybe the Lion Guard could patrol during the day while the threat of Makucha and his followers lingers,". The Queen considered this. "Then the Night Pride could go back to patrolling only at Night," she thought before addressing her friend. "That's not a bad idea, Kion," she said, giving a yawn. "I think the Night Pride needs to get some rest now. I particularly seem to be more tired and cranky than usual; something might be coming,".
"Kion," Nirmala stepped forward. "If it suits you, it's time for your next healing session; come with me to the Lake of Reflection,". "Thanks, Nirmala," Kion nodded politely. "Fuli, you're in charge of the Guard while I'm gone,". He then left with Nirmala. Unbeknownst to anyone, someone had climbed up a tree and eavesdropped on the entire conversation. Can you guess who that someone was?
That's right; Mama Binterong.
With this knowledge, she went to report the news to her friends. Before the Night Pride left the scene, Fuli pulled Rani to one side. "Rani, Kion doesn't seem to be getting better," she questioned. "Well, Queen Janna did say that his healing would take time,". Rani retorted. "No, he's worse than when he got here; he's totally lost his confidence," Fuli continued. "Madam, I suggest that you have a little bit of faith in Nirmala," Rani stated. "My grandmother made her the Tree of Life's healer for a reason,". But as Rani started to walk away, she told herself "Fuli may very well have a point,".
When Rani entered the royal chambers, she collapsed onto her bed, exasperated with herself. "What is wrong with me?" she questioned. "I made myself look bad in front of Kion; why did I snap at him like that?". At that moment, Rani's cramps got even worse, and she felt something in between her legs. "That might very well have something to do with it," she frowned, wincing in pain. With that, she hopped of the bed, grabbed a tampon and went into her bathroom. When she got out, she decided that, although she needed rest, she wanted to go to the Lake of Reflection and set things right with Kion.
Meanwhile, Mama Binterong was telling Makucha, Chullan and Ora about what she had heard at the mountain pass. "I have some news that I'm sure you'll find very interesting. The Lion Guard only patrols in the day, while the Night Pride only patrol at night," she said. "Not only that, but Kion has next to no faith in himself; he's afraid to lead the Lion Guard because he can't control the Roar with that scar on his eye," she reported before sniggering. "This next part is rich. Queen Rani keeps snapping at other people; she's so cranky that she could make Ricky Gervais frown,". "That bad, huh?" Ora questioned. "I didn't even think Ricky Gervais was that funny," Makucha shrugged.
"That's not the point!" Mama shouted. "If you want to talk about stand up comedy, go home and sit down on the couch!" she paused. "Now, bottom line is that Kion has lost his confidence, and Rani has lost her temper,". "Well, that makes a change," Chullan chuckled. "Usually, Kion's the confident one while Rani is extremely patient and understanding,". "Exactly," Mama nodded. "Which is why I've concocted a new plan to take over the Tree of Life. We'll stage an attack at sunset when the Lion Guard is tired and before the Night Pride has a chance to take over. Who's with me?". "Let's do it!" the other three declared before all four villains laughed sadistically.
At the Lake of Reflection, Nirmala looked into the water and said to Kion "Now, sir. Please look into the water and tell me what you see," Kion looked into the water and sighed "Nothing but my scar; it makes me look just like Scar..I can't wait until it's gone,". "Kion," Nirmala explained. "Your scar does not define who you are; it's only skin deep. There's much more inside of you; you just have to look within yourself,". "Look inside myself?" Kion questioned. "But how?" "Trust me, sir," Nirmala assured him. "You'd be surprised by what a little reflection can do,". She then gave a yawn. "Well, if you don't mind, I'm going to get some rest," she said. "Best of luck, Kion,". Dhe then left to take a nap.
After a minute, Rani arrived. She saw Kion in the distance, looking down at the water. She couldn't help but smile at the sight of him, but her smile became a frown upon realising the possibility that he might be cross with her. "Please forgive me " she uttered to herself as she walked over. "Hi, Rani," Kion declared upon noticing her. "You okay?". "Eh, I have a few cramps," Rani admitted. "But that's no excuse for me losing my cool when we were fighting Makucha's army; I'm so sorry, Kion," "It's alright," he responded, smiling at her. His smile always made Rani feel like she was special, but she frowned, not because of Kion, but because of herself.
"It's not, though; is it?" Rani stated, overcome by guilt. " True; I wasn't myself this morning, but it's not just that. I mean, when you first came to the Tree of Life, I was horrible to you, and I know that we've moved on from that, but a part of me will never stop berating myself for the way I treated you,". Seeing his friend beating herself up like this hurt Kion immensely, and he put a comforting arm around Rani. "Rani, it's in the past," he said. "I forgave you ages ago, but you need to forgive yourself as well. If you don't, then it amounts to a form of mental torment. As you told me the day of Queen Janna's funeral, we all have our scars, and we all have days where we just... don't act like ourselves. I know I've had days like that,". Kion thought back to the times where the venom in his scar resulted in him snapping at his friends.
Rani knew what Kion meant by that last statement. About nine weeks ago, Nirmala had told her that she and Kion were a lot more similar than either of them would care to realise. At the time, Rani had scoffed at the notion that she was anything like him. By this point, however, she had realised that they had quite a lot in common. "You're right, Kion," she said. "Thank you so much,". She gave him a huge hug, which Kion happily returned. "Don't thank me," he stated. "Thank yourself, Rani; I know you've only been Queen for two weeks, but you've already done such an amazing job,". Rani blushed slightly at his compliment as they smiled at each other. The Queen then looked down into the water. "So, this is your therapy, then?" she asked.
"Yeah," Kion replied. "What does it involve exactly?" Rani inquired. "Well, I need to look inside myself," he stated. "In that case, I shall summon the Tree of Life's finest surgeon; then you can look inside yourself," the Queen joked, her English mannerisms showing through. Kion laughed at Rani's wit. "Good one," he giggled. Then he noticed how tired his friend looked. "Perhaps you should go and get some rest," Kion suggested. "After all, the Night Pride begins their patrol in a while,". Knowing that she had done what she had set out to do, apologise to Kion, Rani agreed. With one final farewell, she left the scene.
On her way back to the palace, the Queen bumped into the Lion Guard, who were on patrol. "Hi, there," she said. "Hi, Your Majesty!" Bunga said pleasantly. "Fuli, could I speak to you please?" Rani asked as she pulled the Lion Guard's fastest to one side. "I think you might have been right about Kion; he doesn't seem to be that confident in himself at all,". "Yeah, I thought so," Fuli mused. "Do you think you and the rest of the Lion Guard could do something to help him,". Fuli thought for a minute; then she lit up. "I know just the thing," she declared. "Wonderful!" Rani exclaimed "Thanks, madam,". As she left them, Rani told herself "I hope they can help Kion,".
Back at the Lake of Reflection, Kion was still trying to "look inside himself", but all he could think about was his scar. Just then, the rest of the Lion Guard arrived. "Hey, guys," Kion said. "Aren't you meant to be on patrol?". "We are," Fuli replied. "But we're here to deal with an emergenc; you,". "Listen, Kion," Beshte explained. "We know that you doubt yourself, but we don't; we've got complete faith in you,". "You were a great leader, even before you got the Roar," Anga stated. "Wait a minute," Bunga interrupted. "How do you know, Anga? We met you after Kion got the Roar,". "I know," Anga nodded. "But I remember seeing you around the Pridelands a lot,". "Anga remembers," Fuli stepped in. "And you need to remember to; remember what makes you you,".
Fuli: We've come this far together; the last steps up to you. We've known you forever, but you need to know you too.
Fuli + Anga: You ooh ooh! Remember what makes you you. Recall what is real and true; that's all you need to do! Remember what makes you you.
Anga came up to Kion and smiled at him. "I remember a time when we were all much younger," she declared.
Years ago, before Kion knew about the Lion Guard or the Roar, Anga was drawing a picture. She was watching Kion and Bunga, who were playing football (a.k.a: soccer) when Fuli ran up to them. "Kion! Bunga!" she exclaimed. "A bunch of bullies have stolen a baby!". "That's not good," Beshte mused. "We have to get King Simba,". "There's no time for that," Kion insisted. "We have to stop the bullies before they escape to the Outlands with the baby. Everyone, follow me!".
With that, Kion led his friends to face Janja and his crew for the first time. A curious Anga put down her arts supplies and followed them, making sure to keep her distance. Kion eventually spotted a younger Janja with a baby in his arms. The prince glared at the evil chil, who simply laughed. "What's so funny?" Kion questioned. "Well, I know something you don't know!" Janja grinned as two more boys around the same age as him stepped out from behind a large rock. "There's three of us,".
"Oh yeah?" Fuli said as she, Beshte and Bunga arrived. "Well, there's four of us!". "Which is more; three or four?" the cross-eyed boy with his tongue sticking out asked his friend next to him. "Surrender that baby, you bully!" Kion demanded. "Hey, he's got a name, boy!" Cheezi retorted. "It's Janja,". "Yeah, and I'm Cheezi!" Chungu declared. "No! You're name is Chungu; I'm Cheezi!" Cheezi insisted. "I don't care who you are!" Kion growled. "Hand over the baby this instant!". "I don't think so!" Janja hissed. "Come on, furbrains. We're going to sell this baby and make a fortune!". (This is the first time Janja called his minions "furbrains", but it certainly wouldn't be the last!)
"Fuli! Beshte!" Kion ordered. "Go after Cheezi and Chungu. Bunga! Rescue the baby! Leave that Janja to me!". Under Kion's leadership, the group of friends were able to save the baby and drive Janja and his minions out of the Pridelands... for the time being anyway. As Bunga looked down at the baby, he cooed and uttered "Hapana" for the first time. "Nice," Anga whispered to herself as she went back to continue with her art.
Anga: You see it's always been there; those special qualities. Believe what's inside of you, and you'll do the rest with ease.
Fuli + Anga: You ooh ooh! Remember what makes you you. Recall what is real and true; that's all you need to do! Remember what makes you you.
Kion gazed into the lake and realized that Nirmala had been right earlier; his scar didn't define him. "I remember that day," he acknowledged with a smile. All the others nodded in agreement, apart from Ono, who had no memory of that day (for obvious reasons =D). "We sure showed Janja and his crew," Bunga grinned. "And you showed us how to be a team, Kion," Fuli stated. "The Roar may have made you leader of the Lion Guard, but it's not what made you a leader,". "You've always been one, Anga pointed out.
Before Kion had a chance to respond, Ullu flew over and hooted. "Lion Guard! Makucha, Chullan, Ora and Mama Binterong have staged another attack,". Kion looked back at his friends. Having regained his confidence, he unleashed the sword that Queen Janna had given him from its scabbard and waved it in the air. "Lion Guard, follow me!" he commanded. The group happily did so. Unfortunately, when they came to face the predators, they realised that they had already cleared the mountain pass. "Here comes the Lion Guard," Mama Binterong noted with a smirk. "And they look tired,". "So we'll beat them now," Makucha announced. "Before the Night Pride get here,". The villains started off quite well, with Ora biting an exhausted Beshte's leg.
A/N: On a side note, when this episode was first released, Ora was shown with Beshte's blood in his mouth after biting him. It was then edited to make it look like Ora had saliva in his mouth to make the fight less violent for its pre-school audience.
"Here come the Night Pride," Anga noted as she saw Baliyo, Surak and Nirmala, but no Rani, arrive. "At least, most of the Night Pride,". In the distance, Rani was trying to catch up with the rest of the Night Pride; her cramps meant that she couldn't walk very fast. She saw Kion give orders to Baliyo, Surak and Nirmala, and thought "Wow; Kion is a wonderful leader,". Seeing him command both guards in such a way instilled a new feeling in the Queen; it wasn't admiration; it wasn't pride; it wasn't happiness. It was an overwhelmingly pleasant feeling that was completely foreign to her; she wasn't sure what it was.
Under Kion's leadership, the Lion Guard and the Night Pride beat Makucha's army. "It's over!" Kion informed Makucha. "For now anyway," Makucha snarled as he and his followers fled. As soon as they were gone, Rani arrived, smiling at Kion. "Well, it looks as though I've missed all the action,". she stated. "But you clearly managed without me; you're a great leader, Kion,". "Thanks," Kion smiled. "But I had forgotten it; I guess I just needed a bit of reflection,". "So, if you're back to your old self, does that mean you're ready to use the Roar again?". Bunga asked. "I don't know about the Roar; guess I'll need to reflect on that as well,". After that, he left the scene.
A few minutes later, Rani saw Kion sitting on the grass looking at the night sky. Smiling, she sat next to him, much to his delight. "It's a lovely evening, isn't it?" Kion grinned. "Indeed," Rani uttered, taking his hand into her own as they intertwined. "You know, your leadership skills are incredible," she said. "Don't you mean "unbungalievable"?". he chuckled. Rani laughed at this. Kion smiled, silently admiring how beautiful Rani was when she was relaxed and happy. "I think we both had a reflection today," Rani noted. "You reflected on the fact that your scar doesn't make you who you are, and I reflected on the fact that I shouldn't take my cramps out on other people, especially..." she paused, moving closer to Kion "those I care about, and, mark my words, it's not going to happen again,".
Kion beamed. "We have a lot in common, don't we, Rani?". "We most certainly do, Kion," Rani grinned. "And, pray tell, do you feel any better after today?" "You know what?" Kion mused. "For the first time since before I got my scar, I feel like my old self,". "Well, I can see a bit of colour return to your face," she pointed out. Before Kion could respond, Rani heard Baliyo calling her name. "Well, I best be off then," she sighed. "Sleep well, Kion," "Best of luck on patrol, Rani," Kion declared. "Not that you need it, of course,". The two smiled at each other before Rani left to start her patrol.
The next morning, Kion went to speak to Mufasa. He decided that, just as his scar didn't define him, neither did the Roar; he felt he didn't need it. However, Mufasa informed him that he couldn't return the Roar to him since he was never a leader in the Lion Guard. Instead, Kion would have to seek out Askari, the leader of the first ever Lion Guard. So, Kion went to a cliff near a pile of rocks and summoned Askari. The young man explained to the ghost of Askari that he had no need for the Roar. The leader of the original Lion Guard was impressed by Kion's humility and told Kion that because he was willing to let the Roar go, he was ready to master it.
Meanwhile, at the royal palace, Rani entered the royal chambers, tired after a night of patrolling. As she climbed into bed, she suddenly knew the feeling she felt when she watched Kion lead the Night Pride and the Lion Guard and defeat Makucha and his army. She had fallen in love with him. A gigantic smile formed on her face upon realising that she had found true love, and, for the first time in thirteen years, she slept well.
To be continued...