Chapter 6: The Night Pride
Author's note: When you see (XXX) the recommended soundtrack is Asphalt and Ablution from Halo ODST
Kion felt his breath grow heavier from a mixture of fatigue, restlessness, and the cold. Despite this, he forced himself to press on, even into night. The Lion Guard traversed this cold tundra for three long days, pressing on harder than before as Makini informed them the Tree of Life drew near.
The ocean of stars and silver moon with softer gleam lit their path through the fields of snow. While Kion showed no signs of wariness, his companions struggled to keep up, and panted.
"Kion, can we please take a breather!" Bunga muttered.
"Come on, we're almost there!" Kion growled, the Prince's anticipation mixing with the renewed burning sensation in his eyes.
"Kion, my legs are wobbling!" Beshte groaned as he struggled to keep pace.
The lion growled in frustration and bore his fangs.
"Fine! We'll keep our families waiting!" Kion growled, laying down in the snow as the others almost collapsed. Despite having an opportunity to catch their breath, the others received little comfort, especially as they saw Kion's deteriorating condition.
He'd been on edge far more than usual over the last few days, and even the tuliza wasn't helping as much.
Kion stared out at their path ahead with a deep longing and heard a familiar hissing in his ears.
"They're holding you back, none of them underssstand your pain."
Makini slowly approached Kion and opened her gourd.
"Here, have some tuliz-"
"I don't want any tuliza!" Kion snapped, knocking it from her hand.
"I want this scar healed and I want to see my family again!" Kion roared, shaking the area slightly as the wind picked up. The Prince held his scarred eye and struggled to stay upright as the burning pain raged like an uncontrollable fire.
Makini backed up and trembled.
"He's getting worse, I've never seen him this short-tempered before." Beshte muttered with growing concern.
"You don't think the venom is starting to take hold do you?" Anga asked as she similarly looked towards Kion.
"No way, Kion's just anxious about getting home to his family and getting Ono his sight back." Bunga tried to assure them.
Fuli and Azaad, however, continued to watch their leader carefully.
"This isn't him." Fuli sighed with deep pain in her eyes.
"I haven't known Kion as long as you, but from what I have seen, he's more than the rage that's consuming him. This venom inside him-"
"It's not just the venom, Azaad. It's being apart from his family, they think he's dead,and every moment he's here is a moment he puts them through more agony. For the longest time I wouldn't have understood what that felt like, but after years with the Guard, I finally do. If Kion and the others thought I was dead, and I'd become separated from them." Fuli couldn't finish but felt Azaad comfort her with a nuzzle.
"I suppose that is the bond of a family."
After an hour of rest, the Lion Guard resumed their trek across the snowy terrain until at last they saw it, the entrance to a passageway flanked by rocky cliff sides.
"This is it! The entrance to the Tree of life!" Makini cried in jubilation.
"It is, we finally made it!?" Ono squawked.
"Yes! Just through this pass and we're there!"
Kion almost felt his body tremble as the weight of the venom and journey slowly began to fade. Soon Ono would have his eyesight restored, the burden of his scar lifted, and he'd get to see his family again.
"Well done, Plantagenet." All the hope and elation vanished from Kion instantly when he heard that terrible voice. The Prince felt every muscle in his body stiffen and he struggled to turn around.
"No way!" Bunga almost yelped, the others, save Azaad, similarly gasping when they saw none other than Hasira staring down at them from one of the cliff sides, a malevolent smile on his face.
"You!" Kion snarled.
"Yes, I live, no thanks to you and your wretched roar, Plantagenet!" The Fisadi lion snarled back with equal contempt.
"Is this?" Azaad started.
"Yes, the Lion from the volcano." Fuli growled, quickly getting into a fighting stance.
"What are you even doing here, Hasira!?" Beshte huffed.
"You barbarians killed my master, scattered his army, and destroyed all of our glorious plans for the future. Everything I ever worked for gone in an instant! But I survived, just like my family had for generations, and in doing so, I discovered a new opportunity." Hasira turned his eyes onto the past with unsettling despire.
"The Tree of Life is said to only be a legend, a myth. But you fools have led me right to it, and now I'll create a new legacy for the Fisadi. I shall make myself the King of this land and carve out a dynasty that will dwarf that of the Plantagenets! But first, I'm going to end your wretched life, and then when I'm going and have control of the Tree, I'll return to Pride Rock and kill your sister, bringing an end to your bloodline!"
Kion's body filled with a fiery inferno that nearly melted the snow around him.
"I'll give you one chance, Hasari. Run away and never return."
The Fisadi lion's smile returned.
"You think I came alone."
"Revenge is sweet, but not as sweet as tamaa. Luckily, I'm about to get both!" Fuli and Azaad quickly turned to see none other than Makucha and his band of leopards slowly forming up around Hasari.
"Don't tell me you're still afraid of ghosts!" Anga blinked as Chuluun appeared beside Makucha, her fangs bared.
"I look forward to thissss meal." Beshte's mouth dropped, for he saw Ora and his komodo dragons finish off Hasira's new army.
"I believe you've met my new lieutenants. Tear them limb from limb."
"With pleassssure!" Ora hissed.
"Attack!" Kion roared with thunderous rage.
Harisa raced down the cliffside and leaped forward at the same time Kion did, resulting in a brutal clash.
"Twende kiboko!" Beshte huffed while bashing two of ora's dragons back. Ora himself tried to flank the hippo, only for Azaad to race in and knock him onto his side.
"Too slow, lizard!" Azaad laughed racing off before Ora could snap his jaws towards him.
"Just wait until I catch youuuuu!" Ora yelped when Beshte snapped his massive jaws around him and hurled the dragon into the closest cliffside.
Fuli and Chuulun both exchanged a series of fierce growls, bites, and claw attacks, with neither able to land a decisive blow.
"Ha! You can't attack what you can't see, cheetah!" Chuulun laughed, rolling in the snow and nearly vanishing.
"Ha! I can do that too!" Fuli sped about, moving so fast that Chuulun struggled to see her.
"Huh? Where did she? Uhhhg." Chuulun got dizzy trying to keep up with the cheetah, and in doing so, made enough pawprints for Fuli to know where she was.
"Huwezi!" Fuli roared, charging in and slamming the snow leopard onto her back.
"Zuka Zama!"
"Anga Lenga!"
Makini had climbed up a nearby tree with Ono in her arms to avoid any danger. However, Ono felt particularly guilty, especially as he heard Azaad, Bunga, and Anga go up against Makucha's band.
The male cheetah and leopard clashed while Bunga and Anga dealt with Makucha's minions.
"Oh, if I only had my sight I could help!"
"They've got this, Ono, we just need to stay safe." Makini assured him. However, unknown to both parties, someone else watched the battle unfolding with concern.
"Whooo! This is bad, I need to tell the Night Pride!"
Kion and Hasira's tenacious melee continued, with both lions going at each other in an unrestrained fury. The Prince endured several punishing blows and bites from Hasira, but also managed to return everything he received.
The adolescent lions both snarled after each strike, but showed no signs of slowing down. The fire of rage in Kion's eyes was surpassed by the red haze of pure hatred in Hasira's gaze.
"You want to see your precious family again, don't you, filthy Plantagenet! But you won't, ever! Now you understand just a fraction of what I've endured, what we Fisadi have endured for generations, and when I'm done with you, your precious sister will be next-"
"Graawww!" Kion exploded into a metaphorical ball of fire, overpowering Hasira's blow and sending his foe into a stumble with a counterblow.
"I've come too far to be stopped by the likes of you!" Kion snarled, his demeanor becoming that of a feral predator. His friends and enemies alike hardly recognized the Prince as he unleashed a merciless fury of claw blows and bites into Hasira, who struggled to keep up until finally, Kion snapped his jaws around the second Lion's neck and dragged him across the snow like a ragdoll.
Finally, Kion hurled Hasira into a rock, earning a sharp yelp of pain from the Fisadi lion. Kion lowered himself into a pouncing stance when something else caught all their attention.
"Hey! Leave him alone!" Kion looked up further into the pass and saw another adolescent lion racing towards him. The lion was like none Kion had ever seen before, rather than golden or tannish, his fur was dark-brown with a matching mane that grew only into a tuft over his head, clearly not fully grown yet.
The male looked slightly younger than Kion, but not by much, and possessed a cocky demeanor of youth. But above all of this, Kion was most distracted by a familiar mark on his right shoulder that looked eerily similar to his own mark of the Lion Guard. However, this Lion's mark more closely resembled that of a tree.
The Lion had caught Kion off-guard and pounced into him, slamming the Prince onto his back.
"I've got him! Go, get to safety!" The new lion growled with a passionate, if not reckless voice.
"Another lion!" Anga muttered in confusion.
Hasira groaned in pain as he slowly got up. For a brief moment, he considered trying to rush the pass, but his injuries filled him with immense pain, and three more figures emerged from the pass.
As such, he fell back, his army quickly following suit.
"Alright, we did it!" Bunga shouted triumphantly.
"Bunga." Fuli said, narrowing her eyes as she emphasized the new lion, whom Kion now viciously kicked off him.
"Oh, right."
"Baliyo get back here! Don't try to face the intruders alone, we've been through this!"
Fuli and the others looked back to see three more lions with the same markings and fur-color standing before them. Two were adults, a male with a fully-grown mane, a female with a flower behind one of her ears, and an adolescent female, perhaps Kion's age.
She possessed a fierce and commanding demeanor, taking the leading position in front of her companions. Her voice carried much the same, but it also felt oddly tender and caring too.
All three of the Night lions looked down at the Lion Guard, and Kion in particular.
"Wait! Hold on, let's all calm down, we-" Beshte started.
"Evil doers will not enter the Tree of Life!" Baliyo roared as he sprung back up and charged at Kion. The Prince snarled at the adolescent Night Lion just as fiercely as he had Hasari and with terrifying strength, he blocked Baliyo's strike and hurled him backwards with a body-slam.
"Night Pride, defend the pass!" The young female roared, charging down first without an ounce of fear.
"Great." Fuli growled.
"Hey don't look at me, Mr. hairdo over here started it!" Bunga countered, almost expecting Fuli to look at him. For a brief moment, Fuli felt slightly embarrassed as she nearly did just that. However, the cheetah looked back just in time and avoided the female lion's pounce with moments to spare. However, the lioness quickly pivoted and slammed Fuli onto her side with an iron headbutt. Fuli grunted and felt the wind get knocked out of her, this lioness was strong.
The lioness opened her jaws but heard something approaching and looked up at Anga.
"Anga Lenga!" The eagle came within inches of slashing the lioness, who ducked and weaved. Yet this gave Fuli time to get back up and fight back.
"Twende kiboko!" Beshte huffed, narrowly missing the adult lioness with his charge.
"Nirmala, behind you!" The adult male snarled while trying in vain to land a blow on Azaad.
Nirmala turned just in time to see Bunga leap forward and latch onto her face.
"Hey there, sorry to do this, you look like you're probably nice."
"Oh, thank you." She said back in a surprisingly warm voice that nearly made Bunga reconsider himself. Still, he remembered his duty and unleashed the full scourge of his stench.
"Again, sorry, but I-" Bunga winced when he saw the adult lioness shake it off, and emphasize her flower.
"Huh?"
The lioness's tender expression vanished completely into that of a tenacious hunter as she snapped her jaws around Bunga and hurled him into the snow.
Despite this, Bunga sprung right back up and cracked his neck.
"Not bad, but I'm a honey badger and I don't care!" Bunga's carefree expression similarly transformed into that of a feral beast and with a loud snarl, he leaped right back towards Nirmala's face, claws held out.
Beshte saw Bunga and Nirmala's fierce melee and considered joining his companion, but soon noticed Azaad grunt as the male adult lion hurled him backward.
"I'm coming, Azaad!" The hippo huffed.
Meanwhile, Kion almost flipped Baliyo onto his back with another crushing paw-strike.
"Is, 'huff' that all you got, golden-fur." Baliyo panted, starting to tremble slightly from the pain.
Kion's feral tenacity only got worse, the fire dancing across the portions of mane around his head.
"Get out of my way!" Kion charged forward and managed to sink his fangs deep into Baliyo's back, causing the Night Lion to howl in pain.
The adolescent female had just slammed Anga into Fuli when she heard this and turned with a horrified expression as she saw Kion literally dragging Baliyo across the snow.
"Baliyo!" She screamed in a raw horror that only came from love.
Kion's companions too trembled in fear when they saw the fury in his attack.
"Kion, ease up man!" Beshte shouted.
Kion couldn't hear the others, and finished his attack by hurling Baliyo onto the ground in front of him.
"No one will stand in my way!" The wind began to pick up and dark clouds formed over them, making the Lion Guard freeze in terror.
"What is that!?" Nirmala almost gasped.
"Huh? What's going on!?" Baliyo muttered, pure fear creeping into his eyes as he saw Kion arch his head back.
"Kion, no!" Fuli screamed, but it was too late. The heads of feral lions appeared in the clouds and roared with Kion, sending a thunderous typhoon through the air that picked up Baliyo and sent him flying back from where he came from.
The adult male and female Night Lions went still, unable to comprehend what they just saw. The adolescent female, however, snarled and charged right for Kion despite his display of power. Kion began panting heavily and got blindsided as the adolescent female slammed him onto his back and bore her mighty fangs inches from his now terrified face.
The Prince's battle kept him so fixated on the opponent before him that he hadn't even realized there were other Night Lions. The female over him was fierce, terrifying, and yet in the corner of his mind, another observation lingered in Kion's mind. She looked, beautiful.
"Woah! Easy! Let's all just take it easy!" Makini shouted, racing down from the tree with Ono.
"Who are you!?" The Night Lioness demanded.
Kion was so overcome by fatigue that he almost couldn't think straight and struggled to find his words.
"I won't ask you again!?" She snarled.
"Kion! His name is Kion!" Bunga shouted. He and the others tried to intervene, but Nirmala and the male lion quickly blocked their path.
"Who are all of you then!?" The male growled.
"We're his companions! The Lion Guard!" Fuli shouted. Nirmala and her companion looked shocked and upon closer inspection, noticed the markings on their shoulders.
"Those symbols, could they be a Guard?"
"I don't know what else it could mean, Surak." Nirmala said, turning back to their leader.
"Who, who are you?" Kion finally managed to speak.
"I am Rani, princess of the Tree of Life, and leader of the Night Pride, Guardians against all those who would defile my Kingdom and the Tree itself! That's why you've come here, like so many others you wish to plunder the Tree of Life!"
"What?! No! I swear, we came here to seek healing!" Kion emphasized his scar and for a brief moment, Rani's expression seemed to soften slightly.
"Scar." Nirmala looked back and took a closer look, that was until Rani shook her head and growled again.
"No! It's a trick! You're not the first outsider to try something like this!"
"We mean your Kingdom no harm! We're Guardians too!" Kion pleaded.
"Really, I've never seen anyone attack someone like you attacked my brother, and that roar!"
"Well technically your brother attacked Kion first." Bunga said, readying himself to face Fuli's glare. However, to his surprise, the cheetah similarly hardened her expression and faced down Rani.
"He's right, we were attacked by Hasira and his band first, your brother blindsided Kion, he was just protecting himself!"
"Fuli-" Kion started.
"That just proves it, they're no Guard!" Rani grabbed Kion by his scruff of mane and threw him into Bunga.
"Leave this place, now! Return, and face the consequences!" Surak backed up Rani with a fierce snarl, but Nirmala looked less certain.
"Bring it on, we're not afraid of you!" Bunga growled. Fuli similarly got into a fighting stance but Makini raced in front of them.
"No! This is wrong! Please, my name is Makini, I've been to the Tree of Life before, we come in peace, I promise you! Kion is-" Makini looked back, but Kion was gone.
"Kion!" The Guard cried.
"Where is he!?"
Rani looked around but also couldn't find him.
"Hmp, good riddance." She growled before returning through the pass.
Rani entered the Kingdom and passed a few frightened animals.
"It's alright, the intruders are gone." Rani assured them, her ferocity vanishing into a soothing tenderness that eased the various animals back to sleep.
Eventually Rani, Surak, and Nirmala saw more Night Lions ahead of them with three Rani's age coming forward.
"Princess Rani, Night Pride, are you guys ok, what happened out there!?" The female asked.
"We're fine, Kanda. Just some more intruders trying to plunder the Kingdom."
"Hmp, I assume you sent them packing." One of the males asked with a grin.
"Don't we always, Gael." Surak said with a slight smile.
"But they know where the Tree is, you think they'll come back?"
"Trust me, Idan, I don't care to ever see them again." Rani growled.
"Hey, where's Baliyo?" Idan asked, noticing his absence.
"Ahh, yes, where did the dashing Prince Baliyo get off too?" Rani narrowed her eyes and gave a very wary expression.
"Great." Rani groaned. Nearby, Baliyo stumbled to his feet as an adolescent Night lioness his age stood over him with a mischievous expression.
"I'm ok." Baliyo insisted, even as the lioness moved around him.
"Really, cause I remember the brave warrior Baliyo screaming as he flew through the air and landed like a rock! What happened? Were these intruders elephants!"
"That's enough Afia!" Rani growled, pushing the other lioness away as she gave her brother a nuzzle.
"You're not hurt are you?"
"I'll be fine, a night in the Tree is all I need."
"Are you sure? That roar sent you flying."
"I'm fine, Rani, really."
"Yes, he is!" Afia giggled, crouching down and then pouncing onto Baliyo.
"The Tree of Life's enemies tremble before it's valiant defender!" Afia laughed while Baliyo blushed slightly with an incredibly embarrassed look.
"Get off me!"
"Make me!" Afia said, moving her mouth inches from Baliyo's, only making his face redder.
"I said enough!" Rani growled louder, knocking Afia off her brother.
"Come on, we need to inform the Queen what happened." Rani said as she helped Baliyo up.
The Night Pride approached a massive tree growing beside a large pond, where four lions and two wolves stood guard. Two of the lions were Night Lions, while the other two weren't. The wolves too were larger than even timber wolves.
All six bowed their heads and cleared a path for Rani and her Guard as they entered the Tree interior. Once inside, Rani's expression softened even more as she approached an elderly lioness resting on a stone slab. The lioness appeared far older than what a normal lion could achieve naturally, and possessed a blue marking atop her head.
"Grandmother." Rani spoke gently, hoping she hadn't woken the Queen. Slowly, her aged eyes opened and she raised her head with a tender smile.
"Rani, is everything ok?"
"Yes, grandmother, sorry to disturb you."
"You could never disturb me, Rani. I always have time for my family."
"Mother." Surak said, approaching the elderly lioness and nuzzling her.
"I could feel a tremor near the northwestern border."
"Yes, grandmother. There were intruders, but we dealt with them."
"They carried the marks of a Guard, Queen Janna.." Nirmala said in a cautious tone. This caught Janna's attention and she turned to Nirmala with great interest.
"Really?"
"It had to be a trick, grandmother." Rani assured her, but the Queen wasn't convinced.
"Did they cause the tremor?"
"Yes, grandma, their leader was a scarred lion. He had a roar that literally made me fly through the air, it almost looked like the clouds were roaring with him!" Baliyo barely restrained himself from shouting.
Queen Janna's eyes went wide and Rani felt slightly afraid when she saw her grandmother convulse.
"Grandma!"
"The Roar of the Elders!"
"The Roar of the Elders! Mother, are you sure?" Surak's voice and expression filled with awe while Nirmala's did the same.
"It must be!"
"Roar of the Elders?" Rani asked while she and Baliyo gave confused expressions.
"Yes, it's time you two learned the Tale of the Two Brothers, and the Roar of the Elders."
Nirmala smiled and nodded before moving some of the glowing vines away to reveal a wall decorated with various paintings of lions.
"The Tale of the Two Brothers goes back generations." Nirmala moved her paw over several of the paintings, causing them to glow and begin moving.
"During the reign of the first King and Queen of the Tree of Life, the King and Queen created a team of Guardians to protect the Tree of Life known as the Night Pride." The wall now showed a Night Lion and Lioness with four others protecting the Tree from a dark figure surrounded by shadows.
"The Night Pride fought against a dark necromancer known as Jehanamu, who possessed the power to corrupt his followers with unnatural strength and raise the dead as servants." Rani and Baliyo gasped as they saw the figure do just that.
"Jehanamu wanted the Tree's lifeforce to become all powerful, and for years the Night Pride battled him, but could only ever hold him at bay. That was until one night, two young lions came to the tree, two brothers."
Rani caught her breath as she saw two more lions appear, lions with golden-fur and red manes, just like Kion.
"Hey they kind of look like-" Baliyo started.
"The two lions were named Geoffry and Askari. Geoffy begged the King and Queen to save his brother, who was dying of a terminal illness. That very night, the King and Queen brought Askari into the Tree of Life, and it's power brought him back from the brink of death. In gratitude, Geoffry and Askari swore to help the Night Pride defeat Jehanamu, and as the necromancer returned, Askari discovered an awakening inside him."
"An awakening?" Rani asked, noticing a golden aura forming around his painting.
"As the Tree's power healed Askari, he teetered on the edge of this world and the next. Askari claimed that he had a dream where he stood in the heavens, surrounded by countless great Kings and Guardians throughout the ages, all of whom desired to see Jehanamu's evil defeated. When the great battle began, Askari challenged Jehanamu and drew upon the power of these passed lions."
Rani and Baliyo felt their mouths drop as they saw clouds form over Askari before transforming into the heads of lions.
"With these lions behind him, Askari roared, and banished Jehanamu's darkness from the Tree of Life, sending the necromancy away, never to be seen again. The Roar of the Elders. Geoffry and Askari left the Tree of Life, eventually founding their own Kingdom in a land known as Pride Rock, with Geoffry as the King and Askari the Kingdom's guardian. Since then, the Roar has been passed down to the younger child of each ruling King and Queen, this lion and lioness being charged with defending their home with Askari's roar. The legend also says that one day, the Roar would return to the Tree of Life, and transform the Kingdom into something greater than it ever was before!"
"Woah! So that Lion-" Baliyo started.
"No! It can't be, that lion was evil! You should've seen what he did to Baliyo."
Janna, however, shook her head.
"The Roar cannot exist inside an evil heart, Rani. If this is the Roar of the Elders, then it has finally returned." The Queen placed a paw on her granddaughter's shoulder and gave her a consoling look.
"Rani, I want you to find this lion and bring him to me."
Rani grit her fangs and braced herself as she tried desperately to resist the temptation to protest.
"...Yes, grandmother."
Taking a deep breath, Rani turned and left with the rest of the Night Pride following.
"I want everyone on alert, we're not taking any chances with this Kion." Rani growled.
"Ooohh! Who's Kion!" Rani almost cracked her jaws as she heard Afia's voice. The adolescent lioness was waiting outside the tree for them.
"Someone the Queen wants to see, so we're going to bring him in. It could be dangerous though." Baliyo said while standing up tall, only to make Afia giggle.
"Well then, I better come along, make sure Baliyo doesn't get scared."
"I'm not scared!"
"Really, you're not afraid he won't use that roar on you again!" Baliyo went silent.
(XXX)
Elsewhere, Kion slowly strode across the snowy tundra, his head held low as the crushing weight of despair and sorrow bore down on the Prince. He didn't make a sound while passing trees and rocks before eventually reaching a pond.
There Kion stared at the freezing water and saw his reflection, the scar cutting across his left eye. The young lion caught his breath as the reflection transformed and he saw himself in the feral state that consumed him earlier.
"Look into the water, thisss issss who you are now." Kion struggled to breath as shame and guilt tore through him deeper than any claw or fang. He saw what he did to Baliyo, what he did to Hasira, the avalanche, and soon pictured himself going berserk on his friends, his family.
Kion saw the reflections of his father, mother, and sister only for each to slowly fade until he could no longer see them.
"They're gone, you're alone now, all alone. That'ssss what you are."
Tears filled Kion's eyes and he broke down, collapsing into the snow, going numb to the world around him, Ushari's hissing only growing louder.
"Kion, listen to me, you are not what you see before you. Remember who you are." A deep and wise voice broke through Ushari's. Slowly, the young Prince looked up at the sky to see a series of clouds gathered over him.
Kion continued to sobb, but could see that these clouds weren't dark. In fact, they almost seemed to illuminate the sky in a heavenly light. Then, a figure emerged from the clouds and stared down at him, one Kion had seen before.
"I don't know who I am anymore." Kion choked on his tears.
"I hear his voice in my head, it's not even his words anymore. When the rage comes, the voices become one, my voice, my actions. I don't deserve the Roar anymore, grandfather, I don't deserve my friends, to go home."
"Remember who you are, Kion. You are the Prince of Pride Rock, the Leader of the Lion Guard, and a Guardian of Life."
"You are darknessss, you are rage, you are evil!"
"Remember."
"You are mine!"
"Remember."
Kion grit his fangs and saw the reflection of Ushari in the water alongside Scar.
"I'm not like you, and I never will be! I am Kion! Son of Simba, leader of the Lion Guard, and Guardian of Life!" Arching his head back, Kion unleashed the roar, uncorrupted this time and banished the reflections.
"Kion!" The Prince caught his breath and looked up, the clouds slowly moving away, but the figure's presence remained.
"Kion, there you are!" Bunga, Fuli and the others surrounded their leader and embraced him.
"Guys, I-"
"I don't want to hear it!" Bunga growled with a sternness Kion never imagined from him.
The honey badger grabbed Kion by the head and pulled him down to eye level.
"We came all this way, and I'm not just talking about the last few weeks, I'm talking about since before we even became the Lion Guard! If you think we're just going to let you give up, you're sadly mistaken!"
"Bunga's right, you made a mistake, we've all made them, but your family is waiting for you! Night Pride or not, you and Ono are getting healed, and that's the end of it!" Fuli growled.
"We're in this together, Kion, all of us. Not just you." Beshte huffed.
"You've gone through too much to call it quits, we all have!" Anga squawked.
"I made a promise to heal you, and I will!" Makini proclaimed.
"We're one team Kion, one family. All of us." Ono finished, earning a loving smile from Kion who wiped the last tear from his eyes.
"Then what are we just standing around for, till the Pride Lands end!"
"The Lion Guard will defend!"
Kion led the way back to the pass and took a deep breath as he stared at the entrance.
"Let's do this." Almost as if to answer him, Kion saw Rani with the Night Pride and another night lioness. The Prince and Princess's eyes met, Rani's fierce and vigilant and Kion's humble.
Fuli remained in a defensive stance, but Kion motioned for her and the others to stand down before slowly approaching. Rani did the same, but didn't relax herself.
"You came back." She growled.
Kion lowered his head in a submissive manner.
"I'm sorry, for everything. I understand if you refuse us entry, but please just listen to what I have to say."
"Go on." Rani said cautiously.
"We came here to seek healing, not just for my scar, but for my friend. He's lost his sight."
Rani's expression changed sharply and she turned to Ono as Makini came forward and placed him before her.
"Hello, your highness." Ono said, bowing his head.
"Your eyes." Rani muttered. Nirmala raced forward and took a closer look.
"Oh my! What on earth happened to you!?"
"It's a long story."
"Not really, I fell into a volcano and he saved me!" Bunga cried.
The Night Pride's mouths dropped in disbelief and Rani looked at Kion's friends with a new perception. However, she hardened her expression again when returning to Kion.
"And what if I still don't want you in my Kingdom."
Kion brought his head back up to Rani's, but not in an intimidating fashion. Instead, he spoke with pure dedication.
"Then at least take my friend."
Rani slowly exhaled, finally easing her stance.
"Come with us." Nirmala placed Ono onto her back and smiled towards Rani.
"This way."
"Alright!" Bunga cried while Fuli exhaled in relief.
However, as Kion stepped forward Rani's hostility instantly returned and she bore into him with her expression.
"I've got my eye on you, Kion. One wrong move, and I'll tear you to pieces!" She growled.
Fuli was tempted to say something, but to everyone's great surprise, Kion merely smiled back with sheer confidence and even revealed his fangs.
"You can try." He didn't growl or even speak aggressively, but the impact was profound. Rani certainly wasn't expecting it, and gave a somewhat dumbstruck expression, her face turning slightly red.
Surak shook his head while Baliyo growled towards Kion, only stopping when he heard Afia barely contain her laughter.
"I like him already." She giggled, earning a sigh from Baliyo.
Fuli similarly snickered alongside Azaad, Anga, and Makini.
"Ttthis way." Rani said, regaining her composure as she led them through the pass as the sun began to rise over the horizon.
As it did, Kion and the others gazed in awe at the land which lay before them.
"Welcome, to the Tree of Life."