[A/N]-
Heya a lot has happened so far, hasn't it? Anyways in this chapter, we see what Sauda does in response to the stampede event. Eeesh Simba can't get a break from those pesky stampedes, can he? In the first movie it was his dad who got caught in one, the second movie HE got caught in one, and even in the show, Simba is being affected by stampedes when his kids get involved with one. Dang can't catch a break can you Simba?
Any ways have fun reading the next part of the Sauda's adventures with the Lion Guard as we finish up the last part of the prequel movie and move into the actual epsidoes in the next chapter!
Previously on The Lion Guard:
"Don't cry, Selena!" Sauda mumbled to herself as she fled from Kion and the others. "DON'T FUCKING CRY!"
It didn't matter how much Sauda yelled at herself as she ran, for tears started to slip down the former human's furred face and onto the ground as she rushed through the African Savannah grasses. Sauda eventually slowed to a walk as she continued to cry, despite continuing to yell at herself as she did so. Sniffling as she continued walking, Sauda finally looked up at her surroundings as she began to finally calm down a bit.
Scanning the area within her eye-line, Sauda noticed that some of the trees looked slightly familiar to her. To get a better look at the area the lioness decided to hop up onto a boulder that was at the base of a tree. When she reached the top of the boulder, Sauda got a better view of where she was since she hadn't been able to see everything from below the top of the grass. There was a watering hole not too far away from where she was and when she noticed it she finally recognized where she was in the pride lands. She was near the crocodiles' watering hole!
Sauda remembered what had happened earlier that morning when she'd unexpectedly been thrown into the universe of Disney's Lion King. She'd been accepted into the pride by Simba and then was told to go find Kion, and then some stuff happened to lead to this moment...But, Sauda remembered something else as well from when she had been searching for Kion.
She had walked past this very watering hole and had had an encounter with a very intimidation crocodile who'd introduced himself as Makuu. Sauda remembered what his character was like from the second episode of the show and was slightly surprised by the fact that he'd let her go so easily after trespassing onto the crocodile land earlier that day.
...
"Boo!" a smooth masculine voice sounded behind her ear.
Nearly yelping out loud, her screech was silenced by a scaly foot pressed against her mouth. Sauda opened her eyes and turned her head to the right, only to let out another muffled scream of a surprise when she discovered whom the scaly appendage belonged to. Directly standing next to her with a single claw over his mouth, silently telling her to be quiet, was Makuu the crocodile. Sauda's breathing slowed as she slightly calmed down from being startled by the lizard but when Makuu finally took his paw off her mouth, she began to whisper certain names at him for scaring the crap out of her.
"Quiet, little lioness!" Makuu whisper yelled at her. He looked around the watering hole at his fellow crocodiles before motioning her to follow him. "Follow me."
Sauda quietly followed the intimidating animal back into the shrubbery and through the grass into a small clearing where there were a log and a few large rocks. Once they were in the middle of the clearing and away from the other crocodiles, Makuu turned to Sauda with a deep frown on his face.
"I thought I told you not to come back here, little lioness." the croc stated.
...
Sauda shrugged and smiled sheepishly in response to Makuu's questions. "To be honest, I came back here unintentionally and when I saw the watering hole I just gravitated over here for some odd reason that I can't explain..."
Makuu watched as Sauda's shoulders sagged and her gaze returned to the ground when she stopped talking. The little cub was upset over something and it was most likely naggin' the shit out her. Makuu audibly groaned before doing something he just knew, later on, he'd regret doing: he asked what was nagging at her...
"Alright little lioness," Makuu sighed reluctantly. "What's naggin' at ya?"
"Huh?" Sauda asked, obviously confused. "What do you mean?"
Makuu groaned some more. "What's naggin' ya up there-," the croc elaborated, pausing to poke at the lioness's head directly above her eyes. "- so much that yer actin' so pouty and sad for, huh?!"
Sauda was speechless for once in her lifetime. Even as a human back in her world she'd never been so shocked at someone that she'd struck as silent for this long. Yes, Makuu had let her live earlier that day even though she'd been trespassing and once more when she came back a second time just five minutes ago. But the intimidating, arrogant, and broody crocodile just didn't strike Sauda as someone that would care about the feelings or safety of others if it didn't directly impact him. Sauda had been in her thoughts longer than she expected because she was brought back to reality by a leathery feeling fist knocking on her forehead.
"Huh!?" she said, shaking her head and blinking rapidly.
Makuu frowned at her and grumbled. "I asked ya a question, little lioness!"
"W-what did you ask me?" Sauda slightly stuttered, suddenly reminded of her fear of the crocodile.
"Arghh!" Makuu groaned. "I asked ya what's bothering ya!"
Blinking again, Sauda finally registered his question and answered this time, albeit with a lot of hesitance...
"Well, it has to do with a bunch of different stuff if I'm being completely truthful," Sauda began, casting her eyes down to the dirt again. That's when suddenly instead of staring down at the ground, the lioness was staring up at the sky and laying on the ground with a pain in her back...
"OW!" Sauda screeched loudly. "Are you kidding me! What the hell was that for!?"
Makuu had whipped his tail and swept her feet out from under her, causing her to flip over and fall onto her back. Sauda turned her head as she laid there and then started to glare at Makuu only to immediately stop noticing his own. "That was for lookin' down at the ground when I'm talkin' to ya!" Makuu grumbled. Sauda felt there was also another reason for the lizard flipping her with his tail that he wasn't going to say out loud but she didn't question it as she stood back up and then padded over to the log to sit down on top of it.
When the little trespasser just sighed and looked down to the ground once more after moving to seat herself on the log, Makuu groaned in annoyance. He couldn't believe that he was actually about to do this...
"Alright enough whining, little lioness," he voiced sharply. "I'm not sure what's going on inside that little noggin' of your but listen to this: whatever is happening, as long as you take things one step at a time it'll be alright in the end..."
Sauda was stricken silent at what the animal before her had just told her. The lizard was continuously surprising her with the things he said to her. And although the lioness knew that Makuu meant well even with his unorthodox methods of going about it. However, though the crocodile seemed to be worried about her mental state, Sauda couldn't help but be a bit threatened emotionally and psychologically.
"Why do you even care?" she asked numbly, with an icy undertone to her voice.
Makuu hadn't been anticipated this odd little trespassing lioness cub to react in the way that she had. The brooding reptile's eyes widened ever so scarcely and a smirk bit formed on his maw as he thought to himself, "Well this little kitty cat DOES have some fire in her after all." If the little trespassing wasn't any fascinating before, she certainly was now! In the long run, it was slightly unfortunate for her too. After all, when something or someone caught Makuu's interest they usually didn't escape him whether it be prey or just the odd animal with a unique character about them.
Sauda slightly shuddered when she witnessed the look of surprise on Makuu's face slowly transformed into a smirk that told her what she'd just done was gonna haunt her for a while. Either way, Sauda was once again not quite prepared for what came out of the reptile's mouth next.
"You're unique," he stated as if it explained everything. "And I like to keep unique animals close at hand in case of a rainy day later on..."
His answer to her question only puzzled her even more as she became increasingly more curious and intrigued with the broody crocodile herself.
"Whatever," Sauda grunted, averting her eyes from the smirking animal beside her.
The lioness's response only furthered Makuu's amusement with her.
"Why don't you go on back to the pride and think about what I said," he said. "Do we have a deal, little lioness?"
Sauda knew she was going to regret this later on but there was just something about the crocodile that made her want to cling to him like a rock to keep her from going practically insane...
"Yeah, whatever..." she murmured.
...
A dry wind blew over the grasses surrounding Sauda as she trudged along the natural pathways that cut their way through the savanna grasses, her mind running rampant with worrisome thoughts about her situation. First she'd been thrown headfirst into a show, turned into a freaking lion, made a part of Simba's pride, and now was being swept up into the drama and danger that the prospect of the Lion Guard came with. Simba was being somewhat of a vindictive bastard to Kion for choosing his friends to join the lion guard, purely off of the basis that they weren't lions. In an attempt to comfort her new friend, Sauda had been yelled at and attacked in response by an angry preteen cub with an ancient super powered yelling voice. So, Sauda had run off and came into contact once more with an unusual acquaintance, Makuu the Crocodile.
...
Sauda raised her muzzle to the air and inhaled long and deep, searching the winds for her Kion's scent among the African grasses. He couldn't have gone far from where they had last been together when Simba had yelled and the prince had acted out violently against her unintentionally. Eventually Sauda caught the male cub's scent on the wind west of where she was after climbing up and into a small tree that stood next to a cluster of large rocks that she had used to get into the tree. Jumping down from her perch, Sauda followed the scent through the tall African Savannah grasses. As she walked past a small stream that wound through the grass stalks, the female lion cub hurtled to a stop hen she heard a voice whisper through the air.
"Sauda...," it whispered.
The young female's ears twitched and turned as she tried to locate and determine the owner of the voice. However, even as Sauda turned around and looked all around here still she could not locate the owner of the voice.
"Sauda...," the voice whispered once more, this time notably stronger than before and was clearly male.
It sounded closed than before and Sauda just happened to look down to her left before she screeched out, "BY MUFASA'S GREAT MANE WHAT IN THE HELL IS THAT!?"
Looking up at her from the water seemed to be the reflection of a ghostly apparition of a large, tan colored adult male lion with golden eyes and a long flowing mane that looked eerily similar to Kion's grandfather. The lion simply raised an eyebrow in response to her expletive outburst mentioning the deceased king of the pridelands. As Sauda attempted to catch her breath from being startled so much, she glanced back down at the lion in the water and her gazed fixated into an annoyed glare as she quit hyperventilating.
"What the fuck man!?" the female questioned. "What'd you go an do that for!?"
The lion simply smirked at her use of language and chuckled lightly in response.
"My name is Mohatu," he finally responded. "I am one of the Great Kings of the Past."
Sauda stared down at him and met his gaze. "Alright, well what does that have to do with me?"
Mohatu gave the cub another smirk and retorted back with, "Oh it has everything to do with you Selena..."
At the mention of her human name, the former human tensed and her eyes widened considerably. Gazing down at the dead lion king, Sauda inhaled sharply before gulping slowly and asking quietly, "Where'd you hear that name?" Mohatu's slight self-satisfied look dropped from his reflection's face after the dimensional traveler spoke. Sighing wearily, the dead king brought a paw up to his reflection's forehead and wiped his brow line before answering the cub's question.
"It's a long story but unfortunately the council of the Great Kings decided to bring you to our world to fulfill a long ancient prophecy that has been slowly been in procession ever since the lion prince, Taka, turned to the dark and destroyed his own lion guard," Mohatu explained.
Sauda's brow furrowed in confusion. "Who was Taka?" she asked.
The dead king's voice turned dark and somber when he elaborated. "You may know him as Scar..."
The traveler's blue eyes were now the size of dinner plates. "Holy fucking monkey turds..." she gasped. "You can't be shitting me right now!?"
"Alas, this is not a joking matter and that is the unfortunate truth," Mohatu said gravely. "In short you are the final key to the prophecy and in order for it to be fulfilled, the council had to seek out a "champion" you could call it from another world to save the kingdom from the coming evil."
Sauda, who did not know how to process all of this new information flooding through her brain, fell to her hindquarters in shock. In her silence, Mohatu continued, "To keep the balance between the light and the dark, it is paramount that you keep close to the new leader of the Lion Guard, lest he fall the the same evil that the young Taka did so long ago and it result in the reign of catastrophic reign of evil and terror taking root in this world..."
...
His reflection began fading and Sauda panicked slightly. "Hey, hold on!" she cried out. "What am I supposed to do now Mohatu!"
"Trust in your heart to guide you..." his called, sounding ever increasingly distant.
The young female cub's heart pounded as she cried out, "Wait don't go!"
"I will always be with you shall you need me..." Mohatu's voice trailed off.
"Just look for me in the water...!"
That was the last thing Sauda heard Mohatu say before his reflection had completely disappeared from the steady flow of the stream's water. Sauda sighed softly and sat back down along the water's edge and contemplated what she had just learned about why she had been brought to this world. However, Sauda's solemn thoughts of the distant but slightly near future and her role in it's salvation and protection was interrupted when from across the pridelands, nearly a mile away, a shrill scream accompanied by the sound of thundering hooves.
A stampede...
[Part V]- The Rise of Kion's Guard
A stampede...
"Why out of fucking things to happen right now did it have to be a goddamn stampede?!" Sauda grumbled to herself, not quite caring if it was aloud or not.
The female lion cub rushed along the natural pathways of the Savannah towards the source of the danger. Honestly, why the fuck did it have to be a damn stampede of all thing!? Groaning out her frustrations as she ran, she looked up into the sky when a shadow passed overhead in the form of a bird, only to see Ono flying in the direction of the stampede as well. Smirking to herself, Sauda kept her eyes on the young egret as he soared through the air and quickly, yet silently followed him to his destination which was no doubt where Kion and the other were.
When Ono arrived on the scene of the stampede, Sauda's suspicions that everyone would be there came true. At the top of a hill that overlooked the area where the stampede was stood not only Kion, but Beshte, Bunga, & Fuli as well. Ono landed onto Beshte's back and Sauda decided instead of announcing her presence so soon that she would hang back in the shadows until she was absolutely needed by the others.
Ono's eyes narrowed onto the vulture soaring through the air over where the stampede was happening. "Mzingo's telling the hyenas which one to target next," he stated. "Smart, in a devious sort of way."
Beshte became confused then, his brow scrunching in the middle of his forehead. "I don't get it," he began. "They've already scored a couple gazelles. That should be plenty for all of them."
"Yeah," Fuli chimed in. "Why are they still attacking?"
"Why else do you think?" Sauda though to herself. "Just to kill..."
Sauda's attention was then completely diverted from Fuli when she saw whom she was standing next to, Kion... He still looked the same, obviously, but there was something different about his eyes and the way that his posture had changed from when the female cub had last seen him. His eyes were more determined and focused then before and his posture was much more confident and mature seeming. How could have Kion changed so much in not even three hours of her being away from him? Then she looked more closely at the lion prince, she noticed something, a mark. It was shaped like a lion's head a mane and was on his left front shoulder. That explained a lot on why Kion seemed different than before, he'd talked with Mufasa about the Lion Guard by this point! Sauda didn't think much on it anymore when the focus of her attention began speaking.
Kion solemnly stated, "Janja and his clan will keep going until the whole herd is dead..."
Ono's eyes widened at the prince's statement. "What?"
"No..." Beshte protested sadly.
Kion then seemed to notice that something was different about the group standing with him. One of his friends was missing from the group, the newest addition to his friends who had somehow become so close to him in one day and without her there it seemed like there was piece of the puzzle missing, incomplete. Kion then recalled what had happened a few hours prior to that moment and looked down sadly.
Flashback Begins:
Sauda didn't have time to respond as a voice from above them called out, "I've found him, Your Highness! Kion is over here!"
Looking up to the sky, the lioness discovered who the voice belonged to. It was Zazu, the king's majordomo, and he'd brought company with him as well.
"See, Dad?" Kiara's voice sounded. "What did I tell you?"
"Tattletale," Sauda murmured under her breath.
"Thank you, Kiara," Simba said. "You and Tiifu go ahead and track the gazelle. I need to talk with Kion. Alone."
There was a tone to the king's voice that Sauda particularly not like in that moment.
"Yes, Dad," Kiara said innocently, smirking behind her father's back as she turned and bounded away with her friend.
"Thank you, princess," Simba said before turning back to his son.
"Dad! Am I glad to see you!" Kion started, excited to see his father. "I'm not sure why, but when I tried to..."
Kion was then cut off when Simba interrupted him with narrow eyes. "Kion, Kiara tells me you've asked Bunga to join the Lion Guard..." The king then looked up and stared at said honey badger with what almost looked like disdain.
"Hey..." Bunga greeted sheepishly.
"Is this true?" Simba asked when he turned back to Kion.
"Well, yeah," Kion said, before smiling. "I was just talking to all my friends about it..."
Simba then practically glared at his own son, "Your friends?!". The adult then narrowed his eyes continued with a frown, "Kion, I asked you to assemble the new Lion Guard. Instead you're just playing with your friends?!" "Simba-"
"Not now Sauda," interrupted Simba.
Kion squared his shoulders somewhat and then lowered his stance in defiance, "I'm not playing, Dad! My friends are the new Lion Guard" He turned his head as he continued. "Fuli is the fastest. Beshte is the strongest. Ono is the keenest of sight. And the bravest, it's Bunga," he concluded with a smile.
"And where is the slyest?" asked the King of Pride Rock.
Kion rubbed his head as he replied, "I... actually I haven't figured that one out yet. But I know I will find the slyest guard member soon!"
"Kion, the Lion Guard has always been made of lions," Simba stated angrily. "Do you really think a Lion Guard with only one lion can protect the Pride Lands?!"
"Excuse me Simba..." Sauda tried to interject. "I mean, your highness..."
Simba turned his head sharply in Sauda's direction when she tried to stand up for her friend and the gleam in his eye was enough for the lioness to shut her trap and step down. Sauda was honestly shocked by how harsh Simba was being with Kion at that moment. It didn't make sense to her. Kion had heard her and smiled softly before looking back up at his angry father wearily.
The lion cub's ears flattened slightly before he spoke up, "Well, actually..."
"Son, listen," the king started. "The Lion Guard isn't a game you play with your friends. It's real. The Circle of Life, and your life,will depend on who's on your team. Please, Kion. There are plenty of good lions for the Guard. I need you to take your new responsibility seriously. Just as seriously as Kiara takes hers..."
Without another word, Simba left the distraught cub and his friends. Kion felt heartbroken and tried to hold back the tears beginning to form in his eyes. "But I do take it seriously..." Kion said under his breath, gaze pointed at the ground.
Sauda had known that this part was coming, but it seemed a whole lot more serious now and she got the odd urge to console Kion.
"Kion..." she started softly with a worried tone. "Are you ok?"
Without looking up, Kion murmured, "Leave me alone Sauda."
"Look Kion, I'm sure everything will be-" Sauda began again, raising a paw to put it on his shoulder.
Kion's head snapped up and he slapped the lioness's paw away, accidentally hitting the former human in the face and knocking her to the ground. "I SAID LEAVE ME ALONE!"
Sauda's eyes widened substantially as she sat up and she quickly backed away from the angry lion cub. The others, including Fuli, all let out a sharp gasp at what had just happened, shocked at the fact that Kion yelled at one of his friends. Said lion cub cut off his yell, panting with anger before stopping when he'd suddenly realized what he had just done. The former human lifted her paw to her cheek and then raised her head and forced herself not to show her emotions. Simply looking at Kion after she stood from the ground she turned tail and ran off into the African Savannah. Everyone looked on with worry as Sauda ran away. Even Fuli looked slightly worried for the strange colored lioness. Kion also watched on as his new friend fled from the scene.
The young prince then just sighed with melancholy when his friends looked back to him expectantly.
"Please, I... I need to be by myself right now." he pleaded to them quietly.
He then turned tail and ran away from his friends, not daring to look back.
"Kion..." Bunga said sadly.
"Lil' B, I think Kion needs some time to himself," Beshte stated, nudging Bunga to follow him.
The rest of the group left, and a solemn atmosphere began taking over the pride lands.
Flashback Ends.
"Has anyone seen Sauda?" Kion finally asked, looking up from the ground with a vulnerable hope in his eyes.
His friends looked at him sadly, and glanced away from the young prince to look at each other before returning their gazes to their him. "No one has seen her since she ran off earlier," Ono answered eventually. "She looked like she was very upset about what happened between you guys..."
As Ono's voice trailed off, Kion sighed and looked down at the ground once more. "I thought that was the case," he stated simply.
Sauda was then stricken with shock when who but Fuli came to her defense and consoled Kion! "It'll be alright, Kion," the cheetah stated. "Sauda might've just been taking a walk and got lost on her way home. She is new to the pride lands after all..."
Dumbfounded at what the young cheetah had just done, nevertheless for someone whom Sauda assumed that Fuli didn't particularly like, the female cub silently watched on as they turned back towards the stampede problem in front of them.
"We'll find her later then," Kion concluded.
"Don't the hyenas understand the Circle of Life, though?" Fuli asked Kion.
The prince shook his head in response, "They don't care about the Circle of Life. They're not hunting for food. They want to throw the Pride Lands into chaos. And it's up to the Lion Guard to stop them!"
He turned his back on the stampede to look his friends in the eye, with a triumphant smile upon his face.
"The Lion Guard?" Fuli asked almost incredulously.
"You mean us?" Ono used his right wing to motion to them all.
"What about what Simba said?" Beshte questioned.
"So what if we're not all lions?" Kion countered. "All that should matter is that I know we're the Pride Lands' fiercest, bravest, fastest, strongest, and keenest of sight!"
"That's true," Beshte agreed.
"Of course, we are," Fuli smiled.
"I guess?" Ono agreed hesitantly before his expression became confused. "But wait, we don't have all the members for a complete Lion Guard, though?"
They all looked to Kion for an explanation. "I know," he answered. "But we will find the slyest member after we defeat Janja and his clan. of hyenas!"
Bunga was quick to cheerfully agree with Kion's proclamation. "Yeah!" he cheered enthusiastically. "Let's go get those stinkin' hyenas!"
Sauda giggled to herself quietly from her spot in the bushes at the young honey badger's antics. Kion chucked lightly as well, yet he also stopped Bunga from running off with a paw to the young badger's shoulder. "Hold it, Bunga," he started. "This isn't a game."
He turned to all of them before continuing, "We need a plan to take on the hyenas. And I think I have one."
He then smirked and raised an eyebrow for his next question. "That is...if the rest of you are ready to join the Lion Guard?"
The young cub didn't have to wait for their responses.
"I'm in," Fuli agreed.
"Ditto," Ono agreed.
"Lay it on us, Kion," Beshte stated.
"Bunga..." Kion stood in front of the Honey Badger. Letting out a roar he raised his paw to Bunga's left shoulder.
"You are the bravest!" he declared. There was a small shimmer of light when Kion removed his paw from the badger's shoulder and the same symbol that was on the lion cub's shoulder appeared on his friend's grayish-blue fur.
Kion then turned to the young cheetah, "Fuli."
Letting out another roar he continued down the line until each of them had been assigned their respective guard position with Fuli being the fastest, Ono being the keenest of sight, and Beshte being the strongest.
When he was finished giving them each their marks he stepped back and looked them all up and down before continuing his speech. "We are the Lion Guard," he said. "And here's what we're going to do-"
Kion cut his sentence short when Sauda suddenly stepped out from her hiding spot in the bushes behind the rest of his friends. Sauda had decided it was probably time for her to make herself known and slowly stepped out from her hiding spot in the bushes. Walking up she was just a few feet from the group, she cleared her throat before speaking.
Fuli spoke up when she noticed Kion staring at something behind them, "Kion what's-"
Walking up she was just a few feet from the group, she cleared her throat before cutting Full's sentence short when she spoke.
"Hey, guys?" her voice being a little shaky from being so nervous.
The rest of the group turned around to see the owner of the voice had been Sauda and Fuli's face of concern immediately turned into one of annoyance at the sight of the newcomer. Kion stepped forwards, his alight with relief and hope at the sight of Sauda.
"Sauda?" Kion asked. "What are you doing here? I assumed you might have not wanted to be around me after I-"
Kion trailed off when Sauda smiled and shook her head, "No, you're alright Kion."
"I came here because I saw Ono flying over here and wanted to help," the dark furred lioness answered.
"How can you help?" Ono spoke up.
"You!?" Fuli scoffed harshly. "Helping?"
Sauda growled lightly under her breath at the cheetah's comment about her but shrugged it off and responded to Ono's question. "I know that I am both new to the pridelands and am not a member of the Lion Guard, but I have never sympathized with the likes of bullies and have always stood in defense for those who have needed it..." Sauda stated, looking them all in the eye.
"Let me help you guys, just this once..." Sauda trailed off, looking at the young lion prince. "Please Kion, Trust me!"
Kion looked like he was having an internal conflict with himself before he looked Sauda directly in the eye and nodded an affirmative to her plea. "Alright, you can help..."
Kion then walked forwards until he was face to face with her and continued quietly, "Sauda, about what happened earlier..."
Sauda cut him off when she wrapped a paw around her friend's neck and tackled him in a hug, causing the young lion's eyes to widen and to gasp aloud. Sauda nuzzled her face into fur of the male cub's neck before whispering, "it's okay, Kion."
Pulling away from him, Sauda looked Kion in the eye before continuing. "We can talk about it later, yeah?" she asked. "So what's the big plan to defeat Janja and his clan of flea-ridden friends?"
With Kiara...
Kiara sighed. "What's taking Tiifu so long?" she asked herself. "Dad needs to stop this!"
As she clung to the rock, the princess' thoughts stopped short when at the top of the hill a group of animals appeared. It was Kion and his friends!
"What?" Kiara cried.
"Till the Pride Lands' end, Lion Guard defend!" Kion shouted.
A shimmerign light emitted from Kion's shoulder and the Lion Guard charged down the hill towards the stampede. However, Sauda, was not with them in the charge. According to the plan, the dark colored lion was to stalk around to the other side of the skirmish and sneak attack any stray hyenas that came her way to make sure that no hyena perpetrators got away.
"Zuka Zama!" Bunga shouted, leaping into the fray towards the back of one of the hyenas chasing the impalas.
"What about..." Mzingo began shouting only to screech when Ono interrupted his flight path and cut him off.
"Looking for something, feather neck?" Ono asked mockingly. Mzingo fell from the sky and landed in a ground shrub not far from where Sauda was stalking the outer edges of the perimeter.
"Ooooh," Mzingo wailed dizzily.
"Huwezi!" Fuli exclaimed as she ran towards three of the hyenas chasing a lone impala. Rushing in front of them, the young cheetah called out, "Nowhere to run that I can't run faster!"
Running slightly ahead Fuli turned and skidded to a stop in front of the three hyenas, causing them to shout out in frustration with the spotted feline. Growling, Fuli smirked in the hyenas' direction, "See what I mean?"
Fuli then proceeded to trap the hyenas in the middle of the field where their leader was standing. However when one of the hyenas diverged from the path that Fuli was steering them in, Sauda made her move and sprinted forwards from her stalking position and tackled the runaway from the side and effectively pinned him to the ground. Fuli continued steering the other two into the middle of the field where Janja currently stood.
"That's right! Keep going!" Kion cried out as they contained the hyenas.
"Comin' thru!" Bunga called still on one of the hyena's backs. They landed in a heap as Bunga jumped off the hyena's back and onto the ground.
As soon as the hyenas had fallen into a pule, Kion called out, "And, Beshte! Now!"
The young hippo made his was through the crowd of impalas who had stopped stampeding. "Outta the way!" he cried out. "Twende Kiboko!"
The strongest member of the Lion Guard then practically plowed through the group of hyenas. A loud crash was heard as Janja and his hyenas were sent sprawling across the field from the force of Beshte's throw. However, Janja himself hadn't been affected by Beshte's force too much and when Kion's back was turned made his way to attack the lion prince from behind.
"Got ya' now, lion cub..." Janja muttered darkly, an evil smirk across his muzzle.
Sauda noticed Janja stalking Kion and as soon as the hyena leader pounced, the lioness tackled him in midair, sending both of them tumbling onto the ground.
"Ow!" Janja cried as he attempted to sit up from Sauda's tackle. "What the-"
The male hyena was cut off as Sauda spoke. "Surprise! Betcha didn't see that coming did ya'?"
Sauda wore a slightly vindictive smirk on her face as she looked down at the hyena leader beneath her.
"Wait a zonkin' minute," Janja's eyes widened in realization. "You're not part of the pridelands' lion pride!"
"Doesn't matter," Sauda smirked. "What matters is that I'm distracting you!"
"Huh?" Janja questioned. "What'd you-" His question was cut short when Beshte came and headbutted him away.
Sauda stood up from the ground then and shook out her dark colored fur. Kion walked over to her and smiled at her. "Thanks for that," he said. "I didn't see him and would have gotten pummeled had you not tackled him to the ground."
The young lioness smiled in response to Kion's statement and smirked. "Pretty good aren't I?" she asked quite cockily.
Kion chuckled and shook his head at her inflated ego. Sauda's expression turned sincere then and she became serious. "Really though, Kion, it wasn't really a big deal," Sauda reasoned. "I would always jump in front of danger for you..."
Kion's eyes widened slightly at his friend's declaration and seeing this Sauda's face heated up, thankfully covered by her dark fur. Stammering, Sauda began stuttering out protests at what she had just told the prince of the pridelands.
Kion laughed heartily and smiled at his friend's embarrassment, which he found to be slightly adorable in that moment.
Far up back on the hill top, four figures arrived onto the scene as The Lion Guard turned back to the Hyenas who were all just beginning to sit up from being thrashed around. It was Rafiki, Simba, Nala, and Tifu, who'd just returned from retrieving the king.
"Simba, Nala, look!" Rafiki pointed out.
Down at the bottom of the hill, Kion and the rest of his friends had the hyenas on the run.
"Kion's Lion Guard!" Rafiki laughed, bringing his hands up in the air. "They have Janja and the hyenas on the run!"
"That's our boy!" Nala smiled.
"But the herd! It's charging right towards Kiara!" Tifu motioned to the impalas that had continued to stampede instead of stopping.
"Oh no!" Nala gasped.
"Kiara!" Simba cried out, stepping forwards.
And the stampeding impalas were indeed headed for the injured princess who was still stranded on the bolder in the middle of the Savannah field. As the herd charged towards her, they diverged around the rock she was hugging onto for dear life.
"Agh! Help!" Kiara cried out.
Ono who was soaring through the air above the area locked his eyes upon the stranded princess and called down to his leader, "Kion! Kiara's hurt!"
"We need to help her now before she gets trampled on!" Sauda yelled to the others.
"Okay. We need to get to her fast," Kion stated to the group as they all huddled around him.
"I'm the fastest there is," Fuli commented. "But what do I do once I'm there?!"
"Just get me close!" Bunga intervened. "I'll take it from there!"
"Bunga?" Kion asked, unsure on what his friend meant.
"Don't worry, Kion," the honey badger assured his friend. "This time, yours truly has a plan!"
"Okay," Kion agreed. "Hurry!"
"Ono, fly overhead and tell them what direction to go in!" Sauda called out.
"Affirmative Sauda," the young egret said, opening his wings and taking flight. "This way!"
"Zuka Zamaaaaaa!" Bunga cried out as he rode upon Fuli's back towards the stampede.
"Kiara's trapped behind that rock," Ono called down to his friends.
"Uhh, I can't get any closer," Fuli yelled from the middle of the herd.
"Then this is where I get off!" Bunga cried. He then jumped off of Fuli's back and across a few impalas. "Hang on, Kiara! Whoo! Ha ha!"
However, as Bunga jumped towards another impala, the fur on the back of his neck got caught on it's horns. "Aaah!" Bunga yelled. Smiling, the young honey badger simply swung himself off of the impala's horn and using his momentum landed onto the rock next to Kiara. "Zuka Zamaaaaaa!"
"Bunga?" the injured princess asked incredulously. "Have you lost your mind?"
"Never had one, Kiara!" Bunga smirked. "Now, if you don't mind. Scram ya, goofy gazelles! Take this!"
The badger then lifted his tail and pointed his "deadly weapon" towards the oncoming herd before letting one rip, right into the impalas' faces.
A large hissing noise came from the badger's backside and a disgruntled look came upon the impalas' faces and they split from the scene. Bunga then stood up on the rock and wiped his claw across his nose. "Uncle Pumbaa taught me that one!" he stated quite proudly.
Kiara coughed and covered her nose before speaking. "Thanks, Bunga," she smiled. "You might be stinky, but you sure are brave."
"Kion!" Ono called, landing back onto the ground in front of the others. "Bunga and Fuli did it! Kiara's safe!"
"Great!" Kion smiled. "Have them regroup with us at the edge of the field. It's time to give Janja and his hyenas something to remember!"
The prince then turned to Sauda and smiled with a happy gleam to his eyes. "All of us," he ended, gazing directly into her icy blue eyes.
"Really?" the young lioness asked, hope evident in her voice.
"Of course!" Kion exclaimed. "You helped us defeat Janja and his hyenas! You're definitely part of this."
"Oh yeah!" Bunga chimed in.
"I agree with Kion," Beshte commented.
"Affirmative!" Ono nodded.
"I have to admit," Fuli stated, stepping forwards, "you did good Sauda."
Sauda smiled happily, grateful to have finally been accepted by Kion's friends. "Thanks guys!" she said. "Now let's get those hyenas!"
"Mom! Dad!" Kiara cried, limping alongside her friend as she made her way over to her parents.
"Kiara!" Simba said, relieved. He greeted his daughter with a head rub.
"You're safe," Nala stated, also greeting her daughter in the same manner.
"I might not be if it weren't for Kion and his friends," Kiara stated, pulling away from her parent's embrace. "I guess he knew what he was doing when he picked them."
"He did, didn't he?" Simba told himself.
"Look! Look!" Rafiki interrupted them, pointing down at Kion and his friends.
"Well, if it isn't Kion the lion cub!" Janja called out. "You and your friends better leave now, before you get hurt..."
His voice trailed off in a dangerous tone as he glared at Sauda and the guard.
Sauda snapped her teeth together, stepped in front of Kion, and growled lowly at the hyena leader's implications of harm on her and her friends. "Looks to me like you're the one who is hurt," she retorted condescendingly.
"We're the Lion Guard, Janja," Kion responded, stepping forwards in front of Sauda. "We defend the Circle of Life. You and your kind are not welcome in the Pride Lands. Ever!"
Kion crouched lowly and before her eyes, Kion's pupils contracted and he let out a magnificent, earth shaking roar like he had earlier that morning when they had met for the first time and Bunga was about to get eaten by the hyenas. Lions appeared in the clouds and roared along with him.
"Zuka Zama!" Bunga exclaimed triumphantly. "Now that's the Roar!"
"See, believe him now?" Sauda asked, more to Fuli than any of the others.
"Ok, I'll give it to you," Fuli said respectfully. "Kion does have a big roar."
Janja and the other hyenas look gobsmacked at what had just happened and stared up at the small lion cub who'd just produced such a massive sound.
"Did you hear that?" Rafiki cried out.
"Kion," Nala said.
"Whoa," Tifu stated in amazement.
All of the hyenas but Janja immediately turned tail and ran back to their territory in the Outlands. Janja being the only remaining hyena turned towards the new Lion Guard leader and glared dangerously.
"You win today, Kion," he admitted gravely. "Next time won't be so easy. And I'll get that lioness... if it's the last thing I'll do!"
Sauda growled menacingly in response once more to Janja's threat before glaring at the hyena leader's back as he retreated back into the Outlands.
"See, Simba?" Rafiki asked, putting a hand on the king's shoulder. "You see? He is ready! It is time!"
"Simba?" Nala looked at her husband questioningly.
"Yes. Kion is ready," Simba finally agreed. "It is time. Time for the Lion Guard!"
[a/n]-
There ya go! The end of Return of the Roar.
I plan on writing a short interlude chapter set between the end of the movie and the first episode of the show.