Dan woke up. It was already morning and the sun was just rising. They had fallen asleep near the great wall, now all they had to do was go around it. Looking around, he realized that he wasn't the only one awake.
"Ono?" he asked to him, "Do you also have a habit of waking up early?"
"Yes, I used to do it every morning…" he replied, "I liked being the first of the guard to wake up. Sometimes, I had to substitute Zazu as the one who gave the report "
"And did you like it?"
"Yes, although my duty was with the lion guard. Although now my sight is not as efficient as before..."
"Oh, I'm sorry"
Ono looked at the young lion. Despite not having his perfect eyesight as before, he saw a lion king in the future.
"Hey, have you already thought about what you're going to do when you're king?" he asked.
Dan felt uncomfortable with that question again. While he was proud to receive such an honor, he still doubted how to do it: he didn't feel like he could do it.
"Ono, I need to tell you something..." he said. And he proceeded to tell his whole story. The egret listened carefully without questioning or saying anything out of the ordinary.
"Wow" he said once Dan told all his story, "I never would have guessed it. I mean, I know a wide variety of animal species, but a human turned into a lion, well, it's the first time I've seen one"
"Well, more accurate is to say that before it was..."
"Oh yeah… it's also weird to hear about a transformation. I have seen the changes of the butterflies, the chameleons, but you… you are special"
"Yes, and on top of that my grandfather Simba wanted me to become the lion king. Now that I think about it, you've been with uncle Kion for quite some time… what do you think I should do?"
"Well, I am not a sage. But Kion stayed by Rani's side because he felt that, together with her, they could do great things for the tree of life. You have Shany too, don't you? "
"Well, she is… fantastic"
"Hahaha, the same that Kion thought about Rani"
There was a minute of silence. While Ono was still the most skillful, he was also quite kind. In addition, he has long missed Pridelands and saw a promising future in that young lion.
"I' m going to propose something to you: if you become king and she is your queen, I will become your royal advisor"
"But won't they need you at the tree of life?"
"Maybe, but I don't have the same eyesight as before. Anga will take care of that. On the other hand, Pridelands are a very native home and I want to see them again every day"
"What are you two talking about?" Bunga said while eating a beetle near them.
"Bunga! You scared me"
"Getting up early is the tradition of the guard" he replied while chewing, "Besides, you already know the saying: whoever wakes up early, catches the worm"
And saying that, he grabbed a kind of worm that was passing through the ground and swallowed it.
(An hour later...)
Once everyone was awake, Bunga, Rahisi and Rafiki (he was somewhat tired as it was understandable that he was a little old), mounted on Mako, Koda and Dan again, to run again in the direction of the distance.
Not long afterwards, the group was reaching a hill behind which they could see the nearby Outlands and the Pride Rock in the distance. The strange thing was that the day should be sunny, but it was cloudy.
"It's strange, the stars predicted a sunny day" Rahisi commented as he looked up at the sky.
Ono, just as surprised, took flight.
"O no..." he yelled to himself.
The others did not know the meaning of those words until they finished climbing the hill.
It was normal to say those words: the Outlands seemed more part of the volcanic terrain which was somewhat separated from the other places of it; the Rocky plateau, the Ancient cave of Zira, the cave of Reirei… all had signs of burns and traces of charcoal.
The Pride Rock could also be seen in the distance... it looked completely normal.
"Oh no!" Janja exclaimed, "The watering hole!"
Without wasting time, the hyena ran in the direction of Jasiri's watering hole. The others followed him, looking around at the traces of destruction that had occurred. They just hoped there were survivors.
"Ono, can you go ahead of the Pride Rock and see if you can find help?" Dan suggested, "Maybe they can explain the situation better to us"
"Don't worry, I'll take care of it" answered Ono and flew in the direction of the Pride Rock while the others followed Janja.
Finally, they came to the place where there was a small watering, mainly surrounded by a rock wall and some rock pillars.
"Oh…" Janja told himself, "At least this place is fine. But where is…?"
"Janja?" asked a voice, and a hyena peeked out from behind one of the stone pillars, "Is that you?"
"Madoa! Good thing you're fine! Where's your sister?"
"Vitani's guard took the pack and my sister to a waterhole in Pridelands to keep them safe while they sorted out this mess. I come here from time to time to see if someone has been left behind. And where is Kion? What about the lion guard?"
"Well ... that's the funny thing... you see ..."
"Do not worry, we are more than enough" declared Bunga, "No one will harm Pridelands or Outlands in the presence of us..."
"My uncle Kion couldn't come," Koda interjected, "But he sent us to help solve this mess. I can use the roar "
"Oh ... well, if Kion sent you, then I trust his judgment..."
Just then, a sound of footsteps made them alert. But, when they stopped, from the edge of a rock that was a wall between the trough and Pridelands, a group of lions appeared next to Ono.
"Aunt Vitani!" Dan and Koda yelled.
"Dan! Koda!" the lioness replied happily as she, along with her guard, lowered the rock.
Once everyone was gathered, they proceeded to speak.
"How I missed you!" said Vitani, "Too much has happened. And Dan… I'm glad to see that you're okay"
"Yes, I went through various things..." answered he.
"I really want to hear them" interrupted Vitani, "But now is not the time to talk: Nala and Kiara are in grave danger"
"What!?" yelled the young lions.
"What happened?" Rafiki asked.
(A few hours ago...)
It was dawn on Pridelands. But several of the animals had not been able to sleep the day before: elephants, giraffes, gazelles and several others were terrified because not long ago the big springs almost completely burned down. If not for Vitani's guard, there would have been more serious damage.
Meanwhile, Kiara was pacing the top of the rock, worried not only about the state of Pridelands and the remoteness: but also, about the lack of news about Dan and Koda.
"Calm down Kiara" Kovu tried to calm her, "They will both return: Koda has the roar and Rafiki can help them if they are injured. Everything will be fine. For now, we must put our responsibilities to the rest of Pridelands"
"I guess you're right..." Kiara said with a yawn, "Oh, I could hardly sleep. I still can't believe the big springs almost caught fire, how has Vitani done?"
"He has managed to bring the animals from the spring and some of the outlanders to a watering hole. They will be safe there. But an almost morning job like that will need a break later... "
Just then, Zuri came out of the cave, somewhat scared:
"Kiara, something's wrong with your mother!"
Both kings got scared and hurried to the cave. There, Queen Nala slept, but it was not a normal rest: you could notice a kind of pain on her face.
"Mom!" Kiara yelled, "What's wrong with you?"
The queen tried to answer, but couldn't seem to wake up. Just then, Kiara felt an incredible pain in her tail, at the same time that she felt faint.
"Kiara!" shouted Kovu as he saw her fall. The next second, the sound of a rock crushing something was heard.
"I got it!" Zuri yelled, "But what…? Oh no... Kovu, look at this"
Kovu saw the rock that Zuri had dislodged to crush something: it was a black scorpion.
"A scorpion..." Kovu muttered, "Oh no... and Rafiki isn't even here ..."
(Now...)
"It was Sumu" explained Ono, "I recognize the damage it causes"
"Damn, and I thought he was gone forever after I chased him ..." Bunga complained, "We need the antidote"
"Yes, but the antidote to that is..." Rafiki said as he looked at the volcano, "Volcano's ash"
"We have tried to enter," Imara explained, "But I have not been able to see any possible entrance. In addition, the old one is surrounded by some lava"
Hearing that, Lea and Mako looked at each other.
"We know of a secret entrance," Lea said, "Our father found it by chance once when we were cubs and showed it to us. The path it's at the opposite side to the old entry at the back of the volcano"
"Well then ..." Vitani began, but just then, a new fire started. Ono, even though he didn't have his great eyesight from before, realized that it was the Mbali fields.
"Fire in the Mbali fields!" scream.
"Damn, we can't take too long..." Vitani told herself.
Koda, who knew what to do, said:
"Aunt Vitani, you and your guard go and fight the fire. We will go for the ash"
"But boy" Janja stopped him, "It would be having to face Scar directly..."
"I know, but if we don't, my grandmother and my mother will die"
"Koda, you don't have a lot of experience" Vitani said.
"Yes, I know. But the roar is with me" he said as he remembered that he had Askari's soul. Also, he remembered what his Uncle Kion told him, "Besides, I know what must be done"
Dan knew (from Mufasa) that Koda was not to face Scar alone.
"I will accompany you" he said to his brother's surprise, "Our grandfather taught me that we are stronger if we are united. You are my brother and we are one"
A sound of frightened animals warned the lion guard to rush to the Mbali fields. With no other options, Vitani told them:
"Okay, we'll take care of the fire"
"I have to go to the Pride Rock to temporarily treat Nala and Kiara" Rafiki said.
"I am going with you, master Rafiki" Rahisi asked.
"No Rahisi. You have to help them to bring the ashes into the pumpkin of your crosier. I'll be waiting for you, do you understand?"
The apprentice understood and nodded. Then, Rafiki turned to the fastest one.
"Kasi, can you take me?"
"Of course" replied she.
"Shany, go back to Pridelands ..." Dan asked. But this one refused:
"Dan, I already lost you once, I don't want it to happen again. This time, let's both go"
Dan sighed as he said:
"Okay, but promise me you will trust what I will do..."
"I'll go too," proposed Ono.
"No Ono" Bunga told him, "You have severely damaged your eyesight once by the gases from the volcano. But don't worry, I'll go with them"
"Okay, but don't fall again, Bunga" the egret reminded him.
Shany understood and then they all parted: Kasi led Rafiki to the Pride Rock, Vitani led his lionesses in the direction of the Mbali fields, Janja and Madoa returned with Jasiri; and Dan, Koda, Shany, Jabari, Akira, Lea, Mako and Rahisi is headed and rum for a different way to the volcano.
Author Notes: Looks like it's time for the final battle.
Do you think the group will have the strength to defeat Scar and take some ash? Or will the evil villain have a "surprise" for one of them?