The Lion Guard Meets Selena Burns

by selenaburns345

A self-insert of the lion guard series. I refer to myself as Sauda during the story. Family, Friendship, Danger, Adventure, Hilarious Scenes, and even some romantic ones ensue in the following story. Rated T because I'm paranoid... Please enjoy!

12. Return of the Roar Recap

[a/n]-

Hey guys! It took soooo freaking long for me to actually finish writing through the return of the roar movie didn't it? Anyways since writing through it took so many chapters, this chapter here will be a recap of everything that has happened in the story so far. It's kind of like the recaps that I have put in the beginning of each chapter from the previous one! Also please read the note below as it pertains to the romance sublplot that I have planned for Kion and Sauda/Selena!

*NOTE*

I've changed Kion's initial age in this to what would be the equivalent to being around thirteen as a human. I started this story as a self-insert when I was thirteen myself in the beginning of my freshman year of highschool. I have since graduated and am now eighteen but I will still keep to the original age dynamic I had planned for this story! Also in between the first two seasons I plan to make another interlude chapter like I have planned for before I write in season one, episode one.

The plan if for these interlude chapters to contribute to the original plot line that I have created and am intertwining with the show's characters and plot.

---

PART I: Return of the Roar {RECAP}

Previously on The Lion Guard Meets Selena Burns:

My Computer Screen Broke:

That's when my screen went black and I could feel the wind coming in through the window in the back of the classroom. I looked around me and saw that everything had stopped moving. There was no noise, everything was still and silent. It was almost as if time had stopped. I looked back to my screen and tried to turn it on again. Nothing worked. Then something happened.

My computer's screen started to light up and change different colors as smoke started to billow from it. There was a vacuum feeling to the air and I noticed that a portal looking thing had appeared from my screen. The vacuum feeling to the air got stronger and I was pulled from my seat and my vision went black.

...

Inside of a Disney Creation:

I sat down on a rock that was next to me, wrapped my tail around myself and tried to think about all that was happening.

One: I had been in biology less than ten minutes ago and somehow I had wound up in the freaking continuation of Disney's Classic: The Lion King! Two: How did I wind up here in the first place? It's not even real, it's a fictional story based off Shakespeare's Hamlet created by Disney!

I thought about the second thing for a minute as I was almost tossed off the mother elephant's back. Was I simply dreaming? I was tossed another time and nearly fell off again. I landed on my back near the mother elephant's head. Scratch that last part, this is definitely real.

"Are you okay?" the mother elephant asked. She turned her head from the sky and looked down at me as I nodded in affirmation.

"By the way, little one...What's your name?" she asked.

I halted at the mother elephant asking me what my name was. Should I give her my actual name? Or should I give her a fake Swahili name? I looked down at my fur and then at my reflection in the water of a watering hole that we happened to be next to at the time. I was beautiful! Gone was the ordinary girl with the pale skin brown eyes, and plain, curly brown hair that was frizzy all the time and stood on end like a lion's mane. Instead in my place stood a strong, young lion cub with dark black and grey fur with blue eyes that stood out against it. I looked fierce and brave, something that I normally wouldn't appear as.

Is that really me?

"Little one?" I heard a voice call.

I tuned back into reality, or at least what was reality at the moment. "Huh?"

"I asked you what your name was little one." the mother elephant told me.

I looked back at my reflection for a moment. Hmmmm...dark...beautiful...swahili...name? I tried to remember some of the names that I had been looking at online for a Lion King fanfiction. Dark. Beautiful. Sauda. That's it! Sauda! The perfect fake name!

"M-my name's Sauda." I squeaked out, trying to fake being scared and lost.

...

What's Baobab Ball?:

"My, my who's this we have here?" he asked. "You don't look to be a pridelander, but you look well fed so you can't be the cub of a rogue."

I nervously looked around as my chest heaved up and down from my ragged breathing. I sucked in a huge breath and prepared myself to scream, in hopes of alerting one of the adult lions who could defend me, seeing as for some reason I was a cub instead of a near adult. I began to exhale, but before the sound could escape my throat, the crocodile put his clawed foot over my mouth.

"Ah, ah, ah," he warned. "We don't want you alerting any adults now do we?"

I shook my head ferociously. "Good, good. Now, I'm gonna take my paw off your mouth and when I do you will not scream, do we understand each other?"

I nodded my head slowly, my eyes still wide. He removed his paw from my mouth and I shuddered out a breath. I looked over to him as I stood back down on all four paws and gave him a cold glare. What in the actual fuck?! Why the hell..? You know, nevermind. I'm not gonna even bother asking him why he pinned me against a tree if he wasn't going to fucking eat me. At least that's what I thought he was going to do anyway.

"Now, seeing as I can't eat you due to treaties the crocodile float has with the Lion King Simba, and in doing so would cause a war between the lions and the crocodiles, I have a question for you young...?" he trailed off.

"S-sauda," I stuttered out after a few seconds.

"Okay, S-sauda..." he started. "First of all, my names Makuu the crocodile, it's nice to formally meet you."

...

There, wrestling over some sort of fruit was a golden lion cub with a small mane the color of Simba's and a grey honey badger. Wait for a honker, I knew who these cubs were! It was Kion and Bunga, they were who the mysterious scents belonged to! I peeked over the edge of the small boulder and stared at the two as they played.

The baobab fruit rolled to a stop a few feet away from them and they looked at it with wide eyes before turning back to each other. Kion leaped off of Bunga and grabbed the baobab fruit in his mouth.

Something about this moment seemed familiar...

Of course! This was the moment in the movie where my screen went off in Biology and my computer sucked me into the show in the first place. Now begged the question, why was I sent into the movie before this moment when my computer shut off and sucked me in here at this scene? I decided to make myself known at that second. I rose from my crouched stance and jumped down off the rock and onto the ground, startling Bunga who was still on the ground. Kion who still had the Baobab fruit in his mouth dropped his jaw in shock, allowing the baobab fruit to drop to the ground and roll off to the side somewhere. Bunga got up from the ground and went to stand next to Kion.

I nervously twitched my tail and eyed the two cubs across from me warily. They seemed shocked that someone had been able to sneak up on them without them noticing, let alone the fact that I was talking to them. I looked at Kion, who had a confused look on his face and then over to Bunga who's facial expression turned from startled to excited.

"Hi, I'm Bunga, and this is Kion!" He introduced himself, then pointed over to the still shocked lion cub. "Are you new to the pridelands? I haven't seen you before?"

I nodded and smiled shyly. "Y-yeah, I just got here today. Apparently, I was found passed out by the Elephant Graveyard and Akina the elephant elder found me there."

That's when Kion snapped out of his trance. "How come you were found unconscious? Do you happen to remember how you wound up in the pridelands in the first place?"

I shook my head and for the first time since I arrived here, started a sentence without stuttering. "No, all I can remember is being woken up by Akina's son, Mtoto, and then being taken to Zazu, who took me to Simba."

"Really?" Kion asked. "What did Simba say?"

"Zazu me that I was probably the daughter of some rogue clan of lions or something and was abandoned on the outskirts of the pridelands to be left to the vultures," I replied solemnly. "Then he took me to Simba who said that I was to join the pride."

Kion's eyes widened in shock. I suppose here in the pridelands, rogue lions are not often accepted into the pride of lions that ruled here. It makes sense, though, due to the events that happened with Scar's betrayal and then the betrayal of Zira and her followers. With so many lions betraying the trust of Mufasa and then Simba, who could blame the strict laws and restrictions for the members of the pride. I have also noticed that in the Disney universe, lion prides allow more than one male in the pride at the same time. Probably due to it being a Disney creation, though.

"Dad said that you could join the pride?" Kion asked, shocked and eyes wide. His tone led me to believe that he was somewhat impressed that his father had let me into the pride after knowing me for such a short period of time.

I nodded in response. "Yeah."

"That's unusual for my dad to let a rogue into the pride after such a short period of time, but I won't question the judgment of the King," Kion concluded, a smile on his face. "Besides, I'm sure your not a bad lion are you?"

I shook my head, smiling as well. "Nope, not that I know of!"

"Oh, I never got your name!" Kion exclaimed.

I gave him a friendly smile before I told them name that would make the most sense for this world. "Oh I didn't tell you already?" I asked.

Kion and Bunga both shook their heads no. "You can call me Sauda!" she told them with a grin.

"Well, now that we're all introduced..." Bunga started off, a mischevious smile on his face. "Wanna play baobab ball with us?"

...

Seeing the baobab fruit roll away, Bunga stopped the tickle torture and ran off after the fruit.

Kion crouched down and lowered himself to the ground and I copied his moves as Bunga caught the baobab fruit. Once Bunga had caught it, Kion and I pounced and landed on Bunga.

But Bunga being the small animal he was, got out from under us easily and ran after the fruit once more. He caught it and I ran past him, an excited gleam in my eye. I nodded twice as he looked at me and he understood the message I was trying to send him. Pass me the ball! The baobab fruit flew through the sky once again, traveling through the air towards me. However, I missed it as it came to me and it hit me in the head, making me topple over the cliff behind me and the fruit following me down. I screamed as I fell through the air, and there was a loud thud when my body made contact with the ground below.

"Ughh, motherfucker that hurt!" I groaned, cussing unintentionally. Well shit, there goes the no cussing in Disney movies rule!

I looked over across from me and noticed that the baobab fruit had landed somewhere other than where I was. I heard two voices shouting my name and I looked up to see Bunga and Kion peering over the edge of the cliff in worry.

"Are you alright!?" came Kion's worried voice.

"Yeah!" I shouted back up to him. "It's too bad that the fruit rolled down here with me, though, huh? Game over, I guess."

"Yeah, that's too bad!" he agreed, chuckling at my petty attempt at a joke.

"What are you guys talking about!?" Bunga asked. "We can still play!"

"No, we can't," Kion corrected him.

"Says, who?" Bunga questioned. "I'm not afraid of the Outlands!"

"Neither am I!" Kion defended himself. "It's just...my dad. He says we shouldn't..."

"Oh, please!" Bunga countered. "Simba's a big ol' scaredy cat when it comes to the outlands!"

"So uh..." I called up to them, sitting up from the ground.

My back right leg was in a little bit of pain. They looked over the edge when they heard my voice.

"How exactly am I going to get out of here?" I asked with a hopeful smile on my face.

"Oh, I think we should go get my dad!" Kion called down to me.

"Kion, didn't you just hear what I said?" Bunga asked incredulously. "We can handle this ourselves, we don't need the grownups' help!"

Bunga looked over the edge of the cliff and down at me. "I'm coming, Sauda!"

"Bunga, wait-!" Kion started.

"Oh, C'mon!" he said. "You know what my uncles always say...!"

He trailed off as he jumped down the cliff. I didn't hear Kion's response as Bunga flew through the air, but I had a pretty good idea of what the saying was. After all, there was an entire song written for it! Bunga landed on a branch halfway down the cliff and I giggled when I looked up and saw him hanging there.

"Woah! eh?" Bunga questioned, looking up at the branch that he had hooked himself onto.

Kion looked down over the edge of the cliff at Bunga. "Bunga? Heh, you look a little...stuck."

In response, Bunga just waved his hand nonchalantly. "You kidding? It's just a tree branch!"

He then did a flip off the branch, unhooking himself in the process and he fell the rest of the way down the cliff and landed right beside me. He helped me up to my feet and noticed that I was leaving most of my weight off my back leg.

"Are you okay?" he asked a frown on his face.

I nodded. "Yeah, I'm okay, but my leg hurts a little though," I told him.

He nodded and looked back up to Kion. "Kion! I'm gonna stay down here and find the baobab fruit!"

Kion looked down at us. "Okay! But what about Sauda, is she okay?"

"Yeah!" I yelled up to him. "Pretty okay, although my leg hurts a little bit!"

I reaffirmed my stance and looked back up at Kion. I noticed that he had a worried look on his face.

"You should stay down there until Bunga finds the fruit, that way both of us can help you back up the cliff, okay!?" he shouted down to me.

"Alright!" I called up to him.

I looked back at Bunga. "Let's go find the baobab fruit."

He nodded and smiled. He supported my shoulder and helped me walk next to him as we searched for the ball.

"Now, where'd that baobab fruit go?" Bunga asked curiously.

...

I was searching in a pile of rocks when I smelled something rotten and gross. I then thought to myself, what in the world could smell so bad? I then realized that I was in fact in the outlands, and there were many clans of a certain animal species that were banished here by Simba before Kion and Kiara were born. Hyenas, lots of them. I could tell from the strong smell that their den was somewhere close by, so I decided to investigate. Luckily, with my dark fur, I was able to blend in with the dark shadows that the rocky cliffs cast over the canyon. I listened carefully to the sounds on the wind and sure enough, accompanied by the horrible smell I could hear high pitched laughter coming from the east.

I crept through the shadows until I could tell that I was a good 100 yards away from the den. On my left, there was a pile of mud. Awesome! I jumped into the mud and rolled myself around in the sticky substance. It would be enough to temporarily mask my scent from the horde of hyenas awaiting me in their den ahead. All I needed to do now was make sure to keep quiet as to not alert them of my presence. I crept closer to their den opening, making sure to stay downwind and stopped until I was close enough to peek into their den through an opening in the rock without getting caught.

There were at least five hyenas that I could see from where I was, one on a rock ledge above the rest. I noticed another thing as well, they were all males. Probably outcasted from their clan by the females, no doubt. I guess hyenas in the Lion King worked the same as they did in my world, the females dominate and the males submissive. The male hyena on the rock ledge was busying himself with chewing on a leg bone from some poor dead animal that they had probably dragged down the cliff and into their den to its death. All of the other hyenas on the floor of the cave looked up at him, waiting their turn to eat.

Snarkily, the head hyena stopped chewing and spoke to the hopeful hyenas surrounding him.

"Oh! 'fraid there's no meat left for you boys," he commented, giving one last lick to the bone between his paws.

I then noticed the two hyenas that were closest to him that kind of reminded me of ed and banzai from the original Lion King movie. The smaller one even had the same eyes and messed up tongue that Ed had, perhaps Ed had a kid or something? They both sighed and the smaller one that looked like Ed whined and then looked out the cave opening. I followed his gaze and saw the baobab fruit from our game in a pile of discarded bones and rocks.

Excitedly, the small Ed spoke up. "Janja! Janja! A baobab fruit!"

He pointed to the fruit as he spoke and the bigger hyena that sat next to him looked out the cave opening and saw the fruit as well. In a scratchy voice, the bigger one spoke excitedly.

"Let's eat it!" he excitedly declared, looking back up at "Janja" the supposed leader of the male clan of hyenas. "I'm starvalated..."

He rubbed his paw over his stomach and looked down with a grimace.

Janja just scoffed. "What do you take me for, a vegetarian?"

Huh! I for sure thought he would have said herbivore instead of that but apparently, in the Lion King universe, they have some of the same terminologies as humans from my world. I noticed the blue butterfly flying past Janja's head as he continued to speak.

"I want something nice and meaty for lunch," he stated. "Something-"

He cut himself off as he then noticed the butterfly and began to snap at it, trying to eat the beautiful insect. Now personally I think all insects are necessary to the world, but that doesn't mean that I'm not terrified by them in any way shape or form! Yes, butterflies are pretty and harmless, but you can't ignore the alien faces they have and the fact that you can't ever predict where they are going. That's the thing with me, if it is smaller than my hand and can move really fast, I'm not going anywhere near it. But now, since I am a lion cub in the African savannah, I don't really have a choice other than to deal with the bothersome pests.

Suddenly the butterfly landed on Janja's head, making it look like it was a hair decoration for a little girl.

"Huh? Where'd it go?" he asked cluelessly.

I giggled under my breath, the other Hyena's cackling laughter covering my muffled laughter up nicely. Janja seemed to get frustrated at the Hyenas surrounding him.

"What, what, what!?" he demanded. "What's so funny?!"

By now, I was trying to prevent myself from bursting out into full-blown laughter and the other hyenas were by now rolling all over the ground.

"What're you laughing at!?" Janja once again demanded. "Tell me!"

He then looked out the den opening and noticed something. I looked over still giggling but shut right up when I saw what he had seen. It was Bunga, he had found the baobab fruit in the pile of rocks and bones. I knew exactly where this was headed and I didn't like it one bit. I forgot about the incident with the butterfly completely as I went back into stealth mode and crept through the shadows towards Bunga.

Bunga picked up the baobab fruit and spun it around on one claw as I came up behind him. He threw it up the air and caught it. I then crouched and readied myself to pounce. Vaulting forwards I pushed Bunga to the ground with my front paws and pinned him to the ground, the baobab fruit rolling away to the cliff edge where Kion was.

The small Ed and the bigger Banzai looking hyenas were hiding in a small crevice in the rocks behind where we currently were. I noticed them and my claws immediately unsheathed from my paws on instinct. Kion had noticed the hyenas as well because he had stood up with a worried look on his face.

"Hevi Kabisa! Bunga, Sauda heads up!" he warned us.

By now I had let Bunga up and he was tossing the baobab fruit around in the air.

"Relax, Kion!" Bunga said soothingly. "Remember, Hakuna Ma-"

Bunga was interrupted by the small Ed looking hyena growling in his face.

"-tata..." Bunga finished the catchphrase slowly and with a scared tone to his voice.

"Get outta there guys!" Kion yelled helplessly.

My claws fully unsheathed and I turned around and hissed and growled threateningly at the hyena growling at Bunga. I stepped forward and slashed the air around the Hyena making him back up. Bunga being honey badger he is glared at the hyena and bravely began to speak.

"Okay, hyena you wanna see what this honey badger's made out of?" he questioned. "I'll show you what I'm made of!"

There was a chomping sound as Bunga was picked up by the scruff by the bigger hyena who had somehow gone unnoticed by me. The hyenas started to laugh at their victory but I snarled threateningly and that shut them up quickly.

"You better let him the fuck go or neither of you is going to escape my wrath!" I calmly warned, claws unsheathed and eyes narrowed with my pupils in slits.

They looked scared until the Ed looking one kicked a rock at me in an attempt to knock me to the ground. The rock flew and hit me in the joint of my injured leg and it sent me to the ground, the hyena pouncing and pinning me to the ground. I was helpless now, hopefully, Kion had something up his metaphorical sleeves.

"Hyenas!", Kion yelled. "Put Bunga down and let Sauda go! Pick on someone your own size!"

The Ed hyena cackled.

"Kion, you want your little friends? Come and get 'em!" he ended with a growling undertone.

"Let them go!" Kion shouted. "You hyenas don't want any trouble with my dad!"

Really, Kion? That's the best you have to offer in defense? Oh well, we're in deep shit now...

"Oooh, like you'd get in trouble if you came into the Outlands!" the hyena countered. Then the two hyenas began to laugh.

"Uhh, Kion?" I asked warily from underneath the hyena.

"He's too afraid to come down here!" the bigger hyena stated.

"Yeah!" the smaller one agreed.

They then began to began to chant over and over the phrase "fraidy cat!"

I looked up at Kion and noticed that he was frowning and looking down at the ground obviously embarrassed that he wasn't able to scare the hyenas into letting us go.

The smaller hyena then interrupted the chanting. "Alright, fun's over! Janja needs his lunch!"

"Lunch?" Bunga gulped.

I snarled ferociously. "You bastards!"

"Nooo!" Kion yelled. His pupils shrank and he began to stomp as he spoke.

"Let. Him. Goooo...!" His shouts became suddenly louder into an earth-shattering roar. I looked to the skies and saw lions forming in the clouds. Huh, so that's the great roar? Cool.

The bigger hyena's jaw dropped letting Bunga free and the force of the roar made the smaller hyena fly off of me. I struggled to my feet and hobbled up the cliff as Kion ended his roar. Bunga shoved the baobab fruit into the bigger hyena's mouth before climbing up to me and helping me up to the cliff's edge. I looked up at Kion as I climbed and saw him staring down at the hyenas with a ferocious look on his face. I also saw the flash of light as the lion guard symbol appeared on his left front shoulder.

"See ya hyena!" Bunga called down to the spotted canines. "Wouldn't wanna be ya!"

Bunga and I reached the top of the cliff and I sat down in exhaustion once we stopped.

"Hevi Kabisa!" Kion said as the thundering noises slowed to a stop and the lions in the clouds disappeared. "What was that?"

"Zuka Zama!" Bunga exclaimed. "Kion, how'd you roar like that?"

"I dunno, Bunga..." Kion said somewhat sadly. "Wish I did, though."

I limped towards the two friends as they stared up at the receding clouds. Kion the turned away from the sky and then towards me, ears going back on his golden fur-covered head. His muzzle was drawn into a frown and he trudged slowly towards me. He shoved me up with his shoulder and supported me as we began to walk back to Pride Rock.

"Sauda, are you sure you're okay?" he asked warily.

I nodded and laughed lightheartedly. "Yes Kion, I'm fine!" I laughed. "Now if you don't stop stressing your mane over my leg then I'll tell your dad that you came out this far!"

He smiled in relief at my lighthearted statement before laughing as well. "Yeah well, I just don't want you to be seriously injured or anything practically just after meeting you."

"She'll be fine Kion!" Bunga sighed dramatically. "Now let's get back to Pride Rock and find some grubs for dinner because I'm starved!"

As the sun was going down in the sky, I knew that something big was about to happen for me in this universe, otherwise I wouldn't have been brought here in the first place. I didn't know what exactly, but I knew that I was determined to find out.

...

The Lion Guard:

The sun was beginning to set by the time that Kion, Bunga and I got back to Pride Rock. Simba was on the edge of the overlook as we reached the base of the rock formation. As we were about halfway up the rock ramp way, he turned around and began to head down towards us to meet us halfway. When he did reach us, he took one look at my hunched over body leaning against his son's shoulder and his eyes narrowed in suspicion at my back paw.

"She fell down off a cluster of high boulders when we were playing baobab ball," Kion came up with a cover story faster than I could even blink.

I let out a breath of relief that I hadn't realized I'd been holding. Simba nodded once and looked back over his shoulder towards the colorful faced primate holding a stick. "Rafiki, if you would come here please?"

"What is it, Simba?" the baboon asked curiously, shuffling his way down the rock face.

He nudged his way past Simba and when his eyes laid upon me for the first time, it was safe to say that he hadn't been expecting me, an unknown "lion cub" to be present, nonetheless leaning on the shoulder of the king's son. His eyes widened at first in surprise and then narrowed as he took in the color of my fur and eyes and overall appearance. "Who is this lion cub, Simba?"

"Her name is Sauda!" Kion stated brightly. When he did he had slightly moved against me and caused me to shuffle some of my weight back onto my paw. I gasped lightly at the sharp but then tried to cover it up by smiling. It didn't work.

Rafiki noticed my poor attempt at covering my pain and immediately crouched down and grabbed my paw. As he inspected it, Simba cleared his throat. "She was found on the outskirts of the Pride Lands territory by one of the mothers of the elephant herd, Akina, I think it was."

"We were playing baobab ball in the fields and I fell off of a giant cluster of rocks because I wasn't paying attention to my grounding while trying to catch Bunga's pass," I explained.

Kion laughed lightly. "See Bunga, I told you not even a giraffe could catch one of your passes!"

Bunga frowned. "Yeah yeah, hardy har har..."

Rafiki took his finger and applied slight pressure to a section of tendons in the back of my paw. I grimaced.

"Hey, watch it! That hurts, y'know!" I cried.

Rafiki only nodded in response to my little outburst of pain. "It looks like she's only strained the muscles. I advise she stay off her feet for the night and she should be just fine in the morning."

"Now, back to the matter at hand Simba!" Rafiki changed the tone of the conversation, standing up. Simba's eyes widened in silent protest. Rafiki sternly looked at Simba and raised his wooden staff towards him. That caused Simba to square up for sure. No wonder, it did look like Rafiki had wacked him pretty good upside the head in the first movie. I don't doubt in my mind that the mandrill only used the "the past is in the past" life lesson as a cover story, and actually watched Simba on the head because he was acting like an arrogant and moody numbskull teen without a sense for responsibility.

"Kion is ready," Rafiki finalized. "It is time..."

Kion looked between the red maned monarch and the mandrill, "Time for what?"

"Dad? Rafiki?", Kion questioned almost worriedly. "What's going on?"

Simba cleared his throat before adopting a more serious tone, "Son, we need to talk..."

"Oh no..." Kion whined in protest. "Dad, we already had that talk! 'Can you feel the love tonight...' Kion sang to prove his point. "I know all about that mushy stuff!"

I giggled to myself earning a stink glare from the cub beside me.

"How do you know that's what your dad wanted to talk about?" I smirked. "For all you know it could be about royal lessons or the fact you went you-know-where and he knows about it already..."

In my head I was laughing like crazy at the awkward moment between the father and son. I hadn't made it this far into the movie so everything past when I'd arrived here was unknown. I couldn't believe that Simba had told Kion about the song that played between himself and the young cub's mother.

Simba laughed awkwardly at Kion's outburst.

"I... Well..." the king stammered before clearing his throat and adopting a more serious tone. "It's not that, Kion."

Rafiki then took the opportunity to cut into the conversation from next to me.

"No, no" Rafiki immediately interrupted, wagging his fingers at both father and son. "Most definitely not that."

The mandrill walked past me and stood next to Simba before he looked down at Kion with and grin.

"We have heard your Roar!" he cheered. "Yes, yes!"

Kion looked down in though before responding.

"Yeah," he remarked. "It was, uh...kinda different today."

"Different?" Rafiki shook with laughter. "Different you say? It is more than different."

"It is the Roar of the Elders!" he exclaimed. "When you use it, the great lions of the Pride Lands' past roar with you."

Kion looked up at his father. "What?" he asked curiously. "You mean that's what happened to my roar?"

"And this 'Roar of the Elders' caused the huge surge of wind when Kion opened his mouth?" I questioned dryly.

"Yeah, lions in the sky!" Bunga stated excitedly. "I saw that!"

"I don't recall much since I was at the bottom of a gorge when it happened..." I trailed off. "All I remember was the sudden explosion of what sounded like a hundred lions roaring."

Simba sighed in slight frustration before explaining. "The Roar of the Elders is a great gift, Kion..."

"It will make you the fiercest animal in the Pride Lands," Simba proclaimed with a grin. "But..."

Kion had been watching his father in what looked to me like as sheer amazement, but the moment his words trailed off with that single dreaded word, the cub's wonder-filled expression turned worried. I could understand that Kion was probably thinking he had gained this awesome new power to help people until Simba's own worry and doubt about the situation changed that mindset in a split second. Personally I didn't want to think about the crushing pressure Kion must face a times for just being the son of the king. I couldn't even begin to imagine the added weight of being the leader of the Lion Guard was going to do to him.

"But what?" Kion's slightly worried tone broke me from my thoughts.

Simba looked at his Royal Mjuzi for help, however Rafiki was having none of Simba's protests.

"No, no, Simba," the elderly mandrill chastised. "It is you who must tell Kion about the Lion Guard!"

Here it was the moment that was going to change Kion's view of the Circle of Life from this point onwards. Said cub looked up at the king in confusion, head tilted slightly.

"The Lion Guard?" he questioned curiously. "What's that?"

...

History of the Guard:

"The Lion Guard is the team that protects the Pride Lands and defends the Circle of Life," the king started to explain. "According to tradition, the Lion Guard is made of the Pride Lands' fiercest, bravest, fastest, strongest, most cunning, and keenest of sight."

Simba had turned to what looked like a mural of pictures on one wall of the cave. There was multiple pictures of past lion guards and even painting of their achievements and adventures.

"So what happened to them?" I wondered aloud. "It looks like they haven't been in here since well, forever..."

Simba sighed in what sounded to me like remorse. "I'm afraid that's a story... without a happy ending..."

Simba motioned to the mural and in the center was a dark looking painting with a lion whom I immediately recognized in the center, Scar... Not only was the dark maned lion my all time favorite Disney villain, in my opinion Kion's late Great Uncle was also the most misunderstood. He was judged by his marred appearance that he had been given due to an injury and was immediately dubbed as evil. Not to mention his own father fucking named him "Taka", the Swahili word for trash...

Ahadi had been a cruel king in my opinion with no regard for family and a biased opinion on the Circle of Life. He'd ignored his second son and treated him as if he were well, trash. Least to say, Scar was only "Scar" because of the way he had been raised and for trying to change tradition to make life better for those who were part of the Circle of Life. As I looked upon the painting of Scar and his Lion Guard, I listened to Simba explain it's past.

"When your grandfather Mufasa was about your age, his younger brother, Scar, was leader of the Lion Guard. Scar also had the gift of the Roar," the king explained. "The Roar made Scar feel powerful. But that power went to Scar's head. He began to think that he should be king, instead of his older brother Mufasa. So Scar ordered the Lion Guard to help him take down Mufasa. When the Guard refused, Scar was furious. And then, Scar used the Roar to destroy the Lion Guard. What Scar didn't realize was that by using the Roar for evil, he would lose the power of the Roar completely..."

I had to bite my tongue to keep myself from yelling out insults in protest towards Simba. One, I knew that it would do no good since the auburn maned feline was raised on the basis that Scar was inherently evil and had been born that way. And two, I knew that stating any of my knowledge of the history of the Pride Lands that I'd gained from the movies and online would raise questions on who I really was and where I came from. I wasn't supposed to have any knowledge of this and I sure as hell wasn't going to make it look like I did. That would lead to trust problems that I did NOT need right now.

"Heyvi kabisa..." Kion gasped in shock.

"Yeah..." Bunga softly stated in agreement.

"The Roar is a very powerful gift," Rafiki chimed in. "It can be used for great good. But it can also lead to terrible evil!"

Kion looked to the mural painting of Scar. "Well, I'd never be like Scar. Ever!"

Simba smiled in what looked life relief at his son's proclamation.

"I'm glad to hear that, son," Simba stated.

"Why?" I asked indignantly.

Kion looked over to me and then back to his father. "Yeah, why?"

Simba's muzzle adorned a proud smirk.

"Because starting today, you are the leader of the new Lion Guard.

In that moment there was only one word that came to mind about what was happening right now...

Epic...

The confused and slightly bewildered expression on Kion's face made it hard for not to laugh in this moment that was supposed to be life-changing and awe-inspiring. Managing to disguise my little outburst as a ragged cough, I turned my attention back to the conversation between the father and son.

"I'm the what!?" Kion cried, eyes widening considerably.

"You heard Simba," Rafiki laughed. "The leader of the new Lion Guard!" The mandrill had started to poke the small lion in the chest as he continued. "It is you! Yes! It. Is. You!"

Kion's face continued to hold that bewildered look but now there was something mixed into it, amazement. I smiled internally, knowing that the Prince of the Pridelands' life had just been forever changed completely. He would have a duty now to protect and uphold the ideas of the Circle of Life.

"Dad?" he asked, looking up.

Simba nodded with a solemn smile. "It's true, Kion."

A smile lit his son's face before Kion sent it towards Bunga and I. "Wow... Amazing!"

I smiled widely right back, "Yeah, this is epic!"

Simba smiled at us as he continued to say, "It is. And now, as leader of the Guard, I need you to assemble the Pride Lands' bravest, fastest, strongest, slyest and keenest of sight."

I looked at the painting on the wall. I narrowed my eyes and I realized something. There were six lions on the painted wall. In the show there was only five. Then I remembered one word Simba mentioned.

"I'm sorry, what was the thing you said after the strongest?" I asked the king.

"The slyest?" he replied.

I nearly jumped out of my skin when Rafiki laugh. "Yes, the slyest member in the Lion Guard! This animal must be able to maneuver between enemy lines and conduct ambush attacks and act as a scout for nighttime missions!"

I nodded my head slightly. I didn't remember this being part of the show when I first saw the trailer.
"Oh, well that makes sense then, thanks for explaining!" I smiled at the baboon.

"Okay, Dad," Kion concluded. "Got it! Don't worry, I'm gonna make you proud!"

He trailed off as I followed him out of the cave and back outside. Bunga had stayed behind, awestruck at the information just presented to him. Simba looked down at the honey badger and smiled.

"Yes, Bunga?" he asked.

Wide eyed the young animal cried, "This is un-bunga-lievable!"

Bunga then ran off out the cave of the mouth after us and left the two adult mammals inside. Rafiki walked over to the auburn maned lion and smiled knowingly.

"You see, Simba?" he questioned. "And now Kion will choose the best lions in the Pride for the Guard."

Simba sighed solemnly as he stared at our small forms growing smaller on the horizon, one of them destined to lead the strongest group of animals in the land.

"I hope so, Rafiki," he stated. "I'm still just not sure he's ready..."

...

Wary Suspicions:

"Wow! Me!?" he exclaimed. "Leader of the Lion Guard... Protectors of the Pride Lands!" His expression changed with what he said next. "It's kinda scary..."

His ears had drooped slightly with the statement and Sauda being the person she was, playfully nudged him in the shoulder hard enough to grab his attention. Kion's head turned to her with a questioning gaze and in response his new friend smirked and then ran in front of him, crouching down rear end raised in the air. 'What is she doing?', the lion cub thought.

Sauda noticed he seemed almost seemed bewildered by her actions when he stopped and stared at her confusedly. She thought for a moment on what to do from there and then as if a proverbial lightbulb appeared over head lit up with an idea, she adopted a impish grin before letting out a low growl. Her tail flicking behind her and eyes narrowed with a gleam in them that screamed mischief to Kion, the dark furred female almost seemed to want to play-fight with him! Kion didn't seem to be able to believe what his eyes were seeing.

Sauda however continued to smirk at him until he too grinned mischievously and lowered his front half down to the ground and began to slowly circle her. Beginning to move as well so he didn't run into her, Sauda looked Kion in the eyes, mentally gauging what his next possible movements would be. Both cubs' ears twitching back in forth, tail ends dancing behind their bodies and sharp feline eyes measuring up each other's opponent, they continued their dance for what seemed like eternity.

As a wind blew through grass that towered over them and a splash was heard from the nearby watering hole, Kion's attention was diverted for a split second and when he glanced back to where his friend had been, she wasn't there. He'd barely even looked away from her and she disappeared as if she'd just been a figment of his imagination, just gone! Kion immediately stood up, senses on alert, trying to find out where'd she had gone. Sauda on the other hand had moved behind him, downwind and in a position where Kion wouldn't be able to catch onto his scent with the wind in the air. She'd maneuvered herself into the tall grass behind him, waiting for him to find her. After nearly a minute had gone by without Kion finding her, she decided to scare him. Bunching up the muscles in her powerful hind legs, Sauda raised her rear in the air slightly before she pushed off and extended her front legs out towards the male cub.

Tackling him to the ground they rolled around for a moment before Sauda took he chance when Kion was on his back and pinned him by the shoulders. Panting slightly, Kion looked up at his friend who was also panting yet smiling down at him in amusement as she pinned him. Kion froze then, not realizing how pretty Sauda actually looked until just then. Shaking his head to get rid of the random thought, he grunted under her weight as he tried to free himself from the hold.

Satisfied with the fact that the prince's mind had been pulled from the doubt surrounding his new responsibility, Sauda got off Kion and stood next to him in order to help him stand back up. Kion shook the dirt away from his mane and then looked over to his friend.

"What was that about?" Kion asked, a smile on his face.

Sauda giggled and smiled in response to his question. "Nothing, you just looked like you needed to get your mind off the load of news you just got..."

Kion stared at her like she was off her rocker for a second before chuckling at her explanation. As he got to know her more, Kion was starting to realize just who Sauda really was through the little things she did. Moments like this for example, told him that she consoled others not with words but with actions showing her affection and concern.

"Hey, Kion... Kion!" a voice was heard getting louder as it grew closer.

Sauda looked up from Kion and noticed Bunga approaching quickly, not stopping to notice anything in his way or whatever, or whomever he trampled over in his path.

"Huh?" Kion was broken from his thoughts, looking up only to see a flash of gray-blue fur flying towards him. "Ergh!" Kion grunted as he was thrown to the ground. "Bunga!"

They rolled for a moment towards the watering hole and then into the body of water.

"Ready to start assembling the Lion Guard?" said honey badger asked excitedly after surfacing. "Huh? Now? Yeah? Huh?"

Kion surfaced and spat out the water as Bunga continued to unknowingly splash him in the face. "Yes!-spit- Just stop splashing me!"

"Splashing?" Bunga questioned, ceasing his movements. "Oh, heh heh! Sorry, Kion..."

Kion simply smiled at the honey badger, "Hakuna Matata, Bunga."

Kion and Bunga had gotten out of the water and back onto the shore where they shook out their fur, getting Sauda wet in the process.

Shaking the water droplets from her face, the dark lion raised an eyebrow as she commented, "I didn't think today can get anymore weird. I mean, how did you even get anywhere near the watering hole?" She laughed. "Now c'mon you goofs, time to assemble the Lion Guard!"

Unbeknownst to the three cubs who were surrounding the shore, a sly, hunched over figure sitting up in a scraggly looking tree next to the watering hole could overhear their conversation. Then from out of the shadows of the tree branches a wrinkly head with a small cluster of feathers atop peered into the light, a curious and somewhat devious look on the face.

"Lion Guard?" The figure voiced, stepping out fully into the light, only to be revealed as a vulture. "Hmm..." the vulture voiced to himself.

Sauda who'd sat down at the water's edge to get a pebble out of her paw, looked up at the tree next to the watering hole where the vulture was sitting. When she saw the hunched figure of the vulture peer his head out of the shadows of the tree branches, her eyes narrowed. What was he up to? No doubt he was listening in on their conversation when the topic turned to the Lion Guard. Sauda kept an eye on the vulture as she walked back over to Kion and Bunga from the water's edge. No way in hell was she letting the vulture get away with hearing anything about the Lion Guard without seeing where he was going after he got the full news.

"Dad said the Lion Guard needs the Pride Lands' bravest, strongest, fastest, slyest, and keenest of sight," Kion reiterated his father's words. The auburn maned cub smirked mischievously before looking to Bunga and continuing, "So I think I'll go ask the bravest animal in the Pride Lands first..."

The small honey badger's eyes lit up at this news. "Kion, wait! Before you go asking whoever you think is the bravest, think about this..." he said vivaciously. "I might not be the biggest honey badger..." Bunga's voice took on a more serious tone as he continued. "But I know what's in my heart. And I'm not afraid of anything, or anyone!"

Sauda smiled. "It is true, he doesn't appear to be afraid of anything from what I've observed, Bunga's definitely...outgoing."

Kion nodded to her and turned back to Bunga with a smile. "I know, Bunga. That's why-"

He trailed off with the same sly smirk and mischievous tone to his voice from before.

Not noticing what Kion was up to Bunga continued with his pleas, "I'll help the Lion Guard fight hyenas. Or jackals! Or crocodiles! Or vultures!"

It was only then that Sauda heard another comment come from their friend in tree, "Vultures?"

"Or great big rock slides or wild fires or floods! I will stand with the Lion Guard!" Bunga declared. "I'll never give up! I'll, I'll..."

Before Bunga could could continue Kion interrupted him with a laugh, "Why don't you stop talking so I can ask you to join the Lion Guard?"

Sauda giggled and mentally counted down, "And 3... 2... 1..."

Bunga stopped short and stood still, his head tilting and nose curling up in confusion. "Say what?!"

Kion shook his head fondly in exasperation, "Come on, Bunga! You're the bravest animal I know! I want you to be the first to join the new Lion Guard."

The expression of confusion on Bunga's face immediately turned to uncontrollable excitement as the honey badger practically began to vibrate with pure elation. Sauda had to take a step back when the young mammal just abruptly did a backflip out of nowhere.

"Zuka Zama!" he cried out in pure exhilaration.

Sauda's attention was once again brought to watch the Vulture's actions once again when she heard him speak once again.

"Zuka Zama, indeed..." His voice trailed off in thought before he continued with a curious voice, "I wonder if Janja knows about the Lion Guard..."

It was then that he stretched his wings into the air and pushed off the branch heading out towards the Outlands. Sauda having heard the name of the hyena who was declared as the boss of the two hyenas that attacked Bunga in the Outlands earlier that day, knew one thing for certain then and there: Kion and the guard were now going to have to deal with Janja and his lackeys for a while into the future.

Bunga landed and hugged Kion, "You couldn't have made a better choice!" he exclaimed in glee. "We're gonna make a great team. I can't wait to tell Uncle Timon and Uncle Pumbaa!"

Sauda mentally agreed with the honey badger, for she herself wanted to meet her favorite duo from the Lion King franchise. Sauda followed Kion and Bunga as they began to walk again and bounced slightly with each step she took.

Deciding to pretend she was clueless she asked, "Um...who's Timon and Pumbaa? Are they honey badgers too?"

Kion opened his mouth to respond but his words didn't escape his muzzle before he was interrupted by a ear-splitting, high-pitched scream was heard from about half a mile away from them. Kion and Bunga's heads immediately turned in the direction the scream came from with worried expressions on their faces.

But Sauda knew where the shriek had originated from and even the owner of said scream and the only thing running through Sauda's head at that revelation was, "Why me...?"

...

The Singing Honey Badger:

"Lion Guard?" Kiara asked, head tilting in curiosity. "What's a Lion Guard?"

Kion's smile brightened at the prospect of getting to inform his friends and sister of his new responsibility as the King's second born. "Dad just told me about it," he informed them. "The Lion Guard is the team that protects the Pride Lands and defends the Circle of Life! The perplexed looks on their faces change into a look of slight understanding. Kion smiled brightly and stated proudly as he told them of his role in all of this, "And I'm it's new leader!"

"The guard is supposed to be made up of the pride lands fiercest, bravest, strongest, fastest, slyest, and keenest of sight," Sauda continued Kion's explanation. "The fiercest guard member is kinda pre-chosen as it's always been the second born to the current reigning king, who we all know is. From there, it's supposed to be Kion's choice on who the rest of the guard members are." A few of them, mostly Kiara though, had nodded along in comprehension as the dark furred lioness cub was explaining the rest of what the Lion Guard was about. "Although Kion just told Bunga a few minutes ago that he-," Sauda was abruptly when Bunga jumped into the conversation again.

"I'm gonna be on the Lion Guard, too!" he interrupted gleefully. "It's Un-Bunga-lievable!"

Kiara chuckled slightly at Bunga's announcement before she raised a brow and smirked. "You and Bunga?" the princess lightly scoffed incredulously. "Protecting the Pride Lands? Does Dad know about this?"

"'Dad' told me to assemble the Pride Lands' best," Kion enunciated the first word mockingly.

Bunga nodded in agreement, "And I'm the best. Just ask me!"

"Well, if you ask me, it sounds like it might be dangerous..." Pumbaa voiced his concerns promptly, trailing off at the end.

That's when Timon jumped in, ever the constant worrywart, "It's worse than that, Pumbaa. It sounds like work!"

"Yeah!" Bunga said happily. "It's both!"

"Eek..." Timon stuck his tongue out at the word. "Work!"

"Gee, Bunga. I dunno..." Pumbaa tapered off, the warthog's concerns still present.

The young honey badger trudged over and looked hopefully up into the eyes of his adopted uncles. "Uncle Pumbaa, Uncle Timon, please?!"

"Work? Danger?!" Timon cried. "Definitely not." The small meerkat seemingly wanting nothing to do with his nephew voluntarily putting himself in danger. "Have you forgotten our problem-free philosophy? It means no worries..."

"I know it's not Hakuna matata, Uncle Timon..." Bunga started solemnly. "It's, it's... Zuka Zama!"

"Zuka Zama?" Kiara questioned ignorantly.

Timon gasped sharply before he ran and got up into the princess's face. "Don't ask!" he growled seriously.

Completely ignoring Timon's prickly attitude towards the topic, Tifu, who'd mostly remained silent since I first spoke up, decided to continue the apparently forbidden topic. "What's Zuka Zama?"

Bunga, not quite being able to believe his ears started freaking out. "What's Zuka Zama?" he cried incredulously. "What's Zuka Zama?!" The honey badger smiled hugely before yelling, "I'll tell you all about Zuka Zama!"

"You had to ask!" Timon groaned woefully.

...

Beware of Hyenas:

Janja, I'm hungry!" one hyena complained in a high pitched whine.

A deeper toned voice was then heard, whining in agreement, "Me, too!"

These two voices were that of Cheezi and Chungu, Janja's closest lackeys that he preferred to call "fur-brains". They looked up at their clan leader from the bottom of the pile of small boulders.

"You two only have yourselves to blame," the leader scoffed. "To think that you were scared by the roar of a lion cub!"

"Janja, see, Kion's roar, it wasn't like, like a normal roar..." Cheezi trailed off as he struggled to explain what had happened. He furrowed his brow in thought before proceeding. "It was, uh..." he laughed nervously. "Super loud!"

"And the clouds!" Chungu added. "They turned into roaring lions!"

Janja rolled his eyes, "Oh! So you're scared of clouds, too?"

The rest of the hyena's laughed at Janja's comment but eventually, Janja opened his eyes and noticed that a certain vulture had landed on the outcrop of an opening to the den's ceiling. Janja growled to himself before yelling at his clan who were all still in hysterics.

"Stuff it, fur brains!" he shouted. "Seems we have a visitor to our humble humid den.."

Low and behold, Sauda had been right when she'd seen the vulture on the tree back in the pride lands. The scraggly looking vulture sneered slightly before greeting whom he'd come to see.

"Janja," he nodded. "Hyenas."

Janja smirked mockingly as he addressed the vulture, "Mzingo! What are you doing this far into the Outlands? Looking for leftovers?"

"No, but I'd be happy to eat-"

"Forget it. We don't have any," Janja said as he interrupted Mzingo. He glared at the ground as the hyena grumbled, "Simba's cub, Kion, managed to cancel our lunch plans."

As Janja's hyenas laughed like it was a funny joke, the vulture smirked as he said, "Then you already know about Kion."

The hyenas immediately stopped laughing. Their leader slowly looked back at Mzingo and hissed out, "Know what?"

Mzingo leaned forward and whispered like it was a secret, "Simba has told Kion to assemble a new Lion Guard."

"Lion Guard? That's impossible. The Lion Guard died out after Scar..." Janja paused as he remembered what his fur brains said.

...
"Janja, see, Kion's roar, it wasn't like, like a normal roar..." Cheezi trailed off as he struggled to explain what had happened. He furrowed his brow in thought before proceeding. "It was, uh..." he laughed nervously. "Super loud!"
"And the clouds!" Chungu added. "They turned into roaring lions!"

...

Janja's eyes widen with realization slightly before they narrowed slightly and he looked back up to the scavenger bird. "Unless..."

Mzingo's eyebrow raised at Janja's behavior. "Janja?"

Janja smiled as he said, "The Roar! Of course!"

"Of course...what?" Mzingo asked, still not getting what Janja realized.

"Don't you know the stories? The Lion Guard was legendary! The most powerful team of lions in the Pride Lands. At least they were..." He started snickering before saying, "Until Scar destroyed them!"

He started laughing so hard as the other hyenas joined him. Even some of the laughing hyenas fell on their backs as they couldn't stop laughing. Mzingo was flabbergasted at what the leader of the hyenas said. No, that's impossible. It was ridiculous!

"What? A lion destroyed the Lion Guard?" he asked in disbelief.

Janja rolled his eyes. Sometimes it's hard to take a joke. "Or so the story goes."

Cheezi laughed as he remembered the story. "Ha-ha-hilarious!"

"Yeah! Them lions ain't too bright!" Chungu agreed.

The two continued to laugh until Janja yelled at them to shut up. "Stuff it, fur brains!" Cheezi and Chungu looked ashamed as Janja continued to say, "A new Lion Guard could be very bad news for us hyenas. And all the other Outlanders."

"I gathered as much from what I overheard from Kion, who wasn't alone by the way," Mzingo said.

"What'd you mean 'not alone'?" Janja asked.

Mzingo cleared his throat. "He had a strange lioness cub with him, she looked about his age and has the most unusual colored fur I've ever seen on a lion. She's no pride-lander and I haven't ever seen her amongst Zira's pride."

"A new lion who appearing out of nowhere?" Janja thought to himself. It was normal for lone lions to visit the pride-lands, that much was true, but a cub on their own? He wanted to know who this new lion cub was and if she was a potential friend or foe...

"Yes," the canine continued with the topic of the new threat against them. "The old Lion Guard protected the so-called Circle of Life. If Kion's new Lion Guard wins the trust of the Pride Lands, we Outlanders will-" Janja stopped short however when a small movement in his peripheral vision caught his eye. Squirming on a rock nearby was a small, green caterpillar. Instead of thinking with his head and more his stomach, Janja growled and pounced on it. Mzingo and the other hyenas were then suddenly watching the clan leader foolishly slid around and attempt to catch something so small. When he'd finally gotten the insect between his paws...it squirmed it's way out of Janja's hold and flew into the hyena's nose.

While Mzingo was struck completely still in disbelief that Janja was even attempting to catch something as small as that for food, the hyena clan's subordinates were rolling around on the cave floor laughing their tails off. And when the little caterpillar had gotten its way into Janja's nose they went even crazier, especially when their leader slammed his head against a boulder while trying to get the little beast out. Eventually, however, Janja sneezed and the insect was sent flying out of his nostril.

Mzingo, who had gone from silent disbelief was not amused and cleared his throat before getting back to the subject at hand. "Now, Janja. What were you saying? About the Lion Guard and the Outlanders?"

Janja glared as he said, "I was saying... With a Lion Guard patrolling the Pride Lands, it will be next to impossible for us Outlanders to take whatever animals we want for food."

"Then what're we gonna do?" Cheezi interjected with a whining voice.

Chungu looked down at the ground thought for a moment before replying, "Ooh, we could eat each other!"

Janja growled under his breath and narrowed his eyes, "No fur-brain! We'll strike now before the Lion Guard is ready...and we'll take down all the animals we can."

The hyena clan leader's proclamation brought an evil smile to Mzingo's beak. "Mmm. I like the sound of that!"

"Whole herds of animals," Janja continued.

Cheezi and Chunga being as simple-minded as they were only replied with, "Yeah, right! Tasty!"

Jumping to a higher ledge, Janja stared down at his clan members and cried out, "Tonight, we Outlanders will feast. Hyenas and vultures alike! Tonight, we strike!"

...

A Frustrating Cheetah:

Kion didn't hesitate to respond to his hippo friend's question. "I haven't quite found someone to fill the spot for the slyest yet, but the five of us are definitely the Pride Lands' fiercest, bravest, strongest, fastest and keenest of sight," he answered. "And that's why I want you all to join the new Lion Guard. Together, we'll protect the Pride Lands and defend the Circle of Life!"

Ono let out a low whistle in awe at this news.

"Well, lick my tail and call me a meerkat!" Beshte exclaimed.

"Hey!" Bunga cried, defending Timon. "My uncle's a meerkat!"

"No offense, Bunga..." Beshte apologized. "Wait! Aren't you a honey badger?"

Bunga didn't have time to answer because at that moment Fuli decided to chip in with her point of view. "A Lion Guard? Figures," she scoffed. "Always the lions lording over the Pride Lands. I suppose Simba put you in charge of this little team, Kion?"

"Excuse me?" Sauda asked under her breath.

She was shocked at Fuli's insolence for two reasons. One, it was one thing to question Kion in front of her. But seriously, how can she stand there in front of Simba's own son and insult his father like that!? I mean, sure the lion could be a little arrogant, but the guy saved the pride lands from Scar's tyranny! And two, wasn't she supposed to Kion's friend, regardless of what she thought about the lion's father? Sauda didn't know why she was getting so upset about Fuli's questions, but she did know she definitely didn't like the fact that she was pretty much outright insulting Kion and his pride...

Sauda was brought out her little inner monologue when Bunga chimed in with, "You bet your spots he did!"

"Fuli, the Lion Guard needs you!" Kion tried to negotiate with her. "You're the Pride Lands' fastest."

"You got that right," she said with pride. "And you're supposed to be the fiercest?"

Sauda was beginning to really question whether this Fuli and she were going to get along...

"Well, he is a lion..." Beshte commented.

"And lions are fierce," Ono finished. "It's kinda common knowledge, really..."

Bunga then jumped down and landed next to Kion, Fuli and Sauda. He seemed excited for some odd reason and soon as the honey badger opened his mouth she knew was he was gonna say.

"Show 'em the Roar, Kion," he cheered. "Show 'em the Roar!"

"Yep," Sauda thought. "There it is..."

"What's Bunga talking about? The Roar?" Fuli then asked. "You think you're somethin' special just 'cause you can roar?"

In all honesty, when she had first watched the movie and tv series, Selena or now 'Sauda' had actually liked Fuli's character and feistiness. But now as she watched the cheetah interact with the others, Sauda knew they weren't gonna get along. She didn't know if being transformed into a lion caused her sense of loyalty to be elevated even higher than it had been as a human or not, but in that moment the human part of Sauda was actually really close to cussing the young cheetah out. Sauda knew that it wasn't proper to react that way, however, especially since she'd just met the cheetah and held her tongue. It still didn't stop her from thinking about it, though. She changer mind, though, when she noticed that as Fuli was talking she begun to get closer to Kion's face. The cub had begun frowning and furrowing his eyebrows and Sauda could tell that he was beginning to question himself. That was crossing the line! So, Sauda decided to finally take action...

"Alright, Fuli," she stated icily. "That's enough!"

"And just who are you?" Fuli said, turning her attention to the unknown lioness standing next to Kion.

Kion was slightly surprised that his new friend was coming to his aid like that and he then decided to return the favor. "Her name's Sauda," Kion stated, smiling as he stepped closer to said lioness. "She's new to the pride...Bunga and I were showing her around when we got caught up in some trouble with the hyenas and well something happened to my roar."

"Kion, Bunga and I went back to pride rock and Simba told us about the Lion guard," Sauda continued. "And then bada bing bada boom we gathered all you guys and here we are..."

Fuli didn't say anything in response only nodding as Bunga continued egging Kion on. "Anyways, wait 'till you hear it!" he stated elatedly. "C'mon, Kion. Show 'em the Roar!"

"Bunga," Sauda sighed. "You're putting too much pressure on him..."

"No I'm not!" he countered. "You were there Sauda! His roar was so cool!"

"So what is the deal with your roar?" Beshte asked curiously.

"Oh, you totally have to show us, Kion," Fuli smirked with a stuck-up tone.

"Seeing is believing! Though with a roar, it's more about hearing..." Ono stated.

Bunga had a smug look on his face and his paws on his hips as he looked at his friends.

"Okay, fine! I'll show you the Roar!" Kion grumbled in reluctant agreement. "Just, uh... stay behind me. I don't want anybody to get hurt."

"'Scuse me..."

"Watch it!"

"Pfft. Groundlings..."

Everyone rushed forwards behind Kion, knocking into one another in anticipation to hear this roar of Kion's they'd just heard so much about. Sauda sighed under her breath and walked up next to Kion as he prepared himself.

"You shouldn't have to do this, Kion," Sauda told him with a worried look on her face.

The young prince turned to his friend with a soft smile, "It's alright, Sauda. Let's just get it over with, yeah?"

Sauda just sighed again and then smiled at her friend before nodding confidently. "Arlright," she agreed.

"Ready?" Kion asked. All of his friends nodded enthusiastically. "Okay. This is the Roar... "

Kion took a deep breath in preparation, let out his claws, bared his teeth, and when he opened his mouth all that came out was a small squeak. "What in the Pride Lands..." Kion immediately said after.

"Huh!?" was the only thing that came out of Sauda's mouth.

"That was...different," Ono stated, obviously trying not to laugh.

Fuli laughed hysterically. "Kion! You call that a roar?" she exclaimed, chuckling.

Sauda practically growled in response to Fuli's statement. Kion standing next to her was the only reason that hadn't immediately began yelling words that none of them would likely understand...

"Didn't sound like a roar..." Beshte commented with a cautious tone.

"That wasn't the Roar!" Bunga cried in Kion's defense. "That was a squeak!"

Deciding Bunga was out matched, Sauda eventually chimed in. "Hey come on!" She protested. "Y'all were seriously putting a bunch of pressure on him, especially you Fuli!"

Fuli scoffed and rolled her eyes, " And what's that supposed to mean exactly?!"

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.

...

Crocodiles and Kings:

"I thought I told you not to come back here, little lioness." the croc stated.

Makuu looked at Sauda expectantly as he waited for her to respond to him. Sauda racked her brain trying to come up with a response for the crocodile.

Eventually, when she opened her mouth all that came out was, "I was thirsty?"

Makuu's jaw nearly dropped in disbelief at her excuse for risking her life for a drink of water! "Seriously?" he asked incredulously. "That's your excuse for risking your life again?"

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 wasupset 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.

Now as she walked along the grasslands, she pondered her position and what she was to do. On one hand she could go back to pride rock and potentially confront Simba about his words and actions towards his son about his handling of the Lion Guard member choices. Or, Sauda could try and find Kion and try to reconcile with him once more now that she'd calmed down. Surely by this point Kion had calmed down, the girl surmised. With a sigh, Sauda looked up at the afternoon sun hanging in the sky and decided that she would take the option that would have less consequences for her position as a newly inducted member of the pride.

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..."

Sauda gulped deeply once more before she mustered up what little bravado she had left at the moment and finally asked, "The Council is absolutely positive that I am the "champion" the prophecy speaks of?"

Mohatu's reflection nodded silently in affirmation.

Sauda's icy blue eyes hardened in somber acceptance and determination. "If it means that Kion and everyone will be safe from harm, then I will do whatever the Council requires of me to stop whatever evil threatens this world..."

Mohatu smiled proudly in a way that almost made Sauda feel slightly more prepared for the journey ahead of her. "Good," the king concluded. "I shall inform the council of your acceptance and I will be available to you whenever you might need me in the future..."

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...

...

The Rise of Kion's Guard:

"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!"

...

END OF RETURN OF THE ROAR