Hey guys! Before I get right into this episode, I wanna point out, that the way the writers handled this final episode.. was kind of a disappointment for a few reasons.
Am I saying it ruins the whole season? Absolutely not!
I believe this was the best season of the show yet, and I loved what they did with it.
Do I believe that the end result shouldn't have happened, of course not!
All I'm pointing out here is that how they got to that end result was unnecessary and shouldn't have happened that way(in my opinion of course).
And when I say this, it isn't a demotion to Vitani and her lion(ess) guard.. I for one am extremely proud of how she stepped up and turned her life around for the better with this. And how.. her lion guard.. demonstrates that same comradery amongst one another was great! And how they still attested their personal attributes together in order to succeed as a team.
Not only that.. but they are exceptional at what they do, that fight with Kion's Lion Guard shows that they have an effective way of defending the Pridelands. As Kion mentions in the episode I believe.. the Pridelands are in capable hands without them.. because of Vitani and her Lioness Guard, I should say,.. and that they wouldn't have to worry about them not having a good defense when Kion and the Guard leave to go back to the Tree of Life.
My problem with the episode came.. with the decision they made on how to do all that. That being said.. this episode structure will look a little different than all the previous ones.. Instead of doing just snippets in addition to what's already there,.. I will be doing AU versions of the parts I wasn't satisfied with.. Granted, that means some of the events will look different.. but the overall concept throughout the episode will stay relatively the same.
I'll still keep with the similar pattern in order to keep the parts of the episode that were good, the same.. but the rest will be alternated to a more believable and, in my opinion, more satisfying journey to the end that we all saw. And I will also include scenes throughout that we didn't necessarily see on screen to the best of my abilities like before.. only with the new plot changes I'll have made.
So... without further adieu.. here is my alternate Return to the Pridelands.
~Episode twenty: Return To The Pridelands~
~Part One~
(Kovu and Kiara on Pride Rock)
"Kovu?" The young lion's eyes diverted from the distant edge of the Pridelands to turn back and find his beloved coming up to join him. "What's wrong?"
"Haoh.. Vitani's off to the edge of the Pridelands.." Kovu sighed. "Said something about Tazama catching sight of a group of outlanders approaching."
"Outlanders? Huh.. I haven't heard anything from Jasiri in a while.." She recalled now. "You think something's wrong?"
"I don't know.. that's just it.." Kovu mused, as if pondering something profusely. "Vitani said Tazama mentioned something about.. a lion leading a group of various animals,.. uh.. hyenas, cheetahs,.. a couple birds,.. and I think.. a hippo?"
"A lion? Leading those kinds of animals?" Kiara repeated curiously.
"Yeah.. 'said they looked like an army ready to attack.." Her mate continued. "'Guess they went to go stop 'em."
"Wait.. various animals.." she said again, more thoughtfully. "Led by a lion?.." And then it clicked.
"Oh no!" She gasped. "We gotta stop them!"
"What? Why?" Kovu wondered, as Kiara doubled back for the stone steps.
"Those animals aren't a threat!" Kiara called. "We need to stop them!.. Now!" As she finished this, she'd just hopped off the top step of their iconic rock home as her parents emerged from the cave entrance just above it.
"Kiara?! Where are you going in such a hurry?" Simba gasped.
"No time to explain, Dad!" Kiara called as Kovu plunged after her. "I promise I'll explain when I get back!"
And the king and queen of Pride Rock took a curious look at one another before staring off after them once more.
XXXX
(during the fight; Vitani's POV)
Something seems familiar about these guys.. What is it? She tackled the golden stranger and he growled at her with a hard amber glare; the scar across his left eye almost fooling her against the lingering thought of remembrance poking around her head.
"Anga Lenga!" She looked up and had to duck as sharp beaks dove at her from both sides, one after the other. And wasn't prepared for the strange lion to come barreling at her, knocking her back off her feet.
"Ok, I've had enough." They said over her.
Why does that voice sound so familiar?! Her mind screamed.
"Everyone! Get behind me!" And suddenly with the growing rumble in the distance, and the animals gathering up behind him. She picked out the select four amongst him and the thought finally clicked.
"Kion?" She breathed finally.
"Wait, stop!" cried another voice with more distress, making them all look up.
"Kiara?" Kion addressed his sister, his heart leaping at the sight of her.
XXXX
(heading to Pride Rock)
"It's great to see you again." Kion told his sister as they walked alongside one another, Kovu and Vitani on Kiara's other side.
"You too, Kion." Kiara smiled at her brother. "Mom and Dad have really missed you!.. We all have.."
"You're so much bigger now.." She noted with a smirk, after a decent moment of silence. "Looks like you've done some growing since you left for the Tree of Life."
"In more ways than one." Kion grinned. "I've learned a lot from our adventures beyond the Pridelands.. But.. I'm glad to finally be home again."
"Things have been a little.. strange without you and your friends.." she mentioned lightly. "Ya know?"
"Heh! I bet it was." The young leader grinned, stopping to face her. Nuzzling heads, the two siblings properly welcomed one another, while those around them smiled.
"So? How's your scar?" Kiara asked sensitively. "Does it.. still bother you?"
"Looking at it, maybe." Kion answered, smirking. "But.. I'll get used to it."
"That's not what I meant." Kiara snickered. "But at least you seem ok. Guess that means you're feeling better, and.. Rafiki was right to send you out there."
"That,.. and a whole lot more." Kion confirmed. "But,.. I guess I'm not the only one to see a lot of change happen around me." He continued as they resumed walking.
"You could say that." His sister sighed, catching Kovu's knowing glance. "So how'd you know about Zira? 'Jasiri the one who came to get you?"
"Yeah.. actually she did." Kion confirmed.
"She and Janja told us, she was planning to attack the Pridelands." Fuli spoke up, lengthening her stride quickly to fall in step with them.
"And we came right away." Kion shrugged.
"Well,.. I'm glad you did." Kiara smiled. "Mom and Dad will be so happy to see you!" And at that moment, they stopped at the top of a hill and Kion's face lit up at seeing that surreal and infinitely memorable rock that inclined him to take off down the hill to reach it as fast as his legs could carry him; leaving those behind him to catch up.
XXXX
(AU; no Lion Guard competition; after explanation of Zira's demise)
"We really did miss a lot.." Kion realized, watching his sister exchange glances with her beloved.
"You did." Nala agreed. "And we've missed you.. all of you."
"And we're so glad to finally have you back.." Simba went on. "To continue the work you started,.. where you belong."
"Right." Kion smiled. "Back where we belong."
Kovu caught his sister's glance from afar, though, and felt he must call attention to something only they knew.
"Your majesty.." He spoke up lightly, stepping toward Simba. "What about Vitani?" He almost mumbled, turning his gaze to her subtly for the King to follow; and his gaze made Vitani emerge from behind the rocks.
"Vitani,.." Simba began gently. "I sincerely thank you for your service,.. By stepping in to protect the Pridelands when you joined our pride; and while Kion and the Lion Guard were still gone. But as they still hold the mantle of the Lion Guard on their shoulders, it is their duty to protect the Pridelands.. And as such,.. Kion and the true Lion Guard will be taking over,.. once again."
"Of course, your majesty, but-"
"I know.." Simba caught on immediately. "As we agreed.. You and your team may handle the duties of the Lion Guard for one last day. And then tomorrow.. The real Lion Guard will return to duty."
"Besides.. I'm sure you could use a day to rest after such a long journey." Nala hinted, to her son and the group around him. "And get,.. Re-acquainted.." And at that moment, with the raising of her gaze, the members of the Guard turned and looked to see what it was she saw. And were almost shocked with what it was.
"Bunga! You're back!" Pumbaa cried, as he, Timon and Basi came running up towards them.
"Uncle Timon! Uncle Pumbaa!" Bunga exclaimed racing forward.
"Dad!" Beshte called, following suit; both running into the welcoming embraces of their parents or, in Bunga's case, caregivers.
"It always does feel good returning to Pridelands.." Rafiki mentioned proudly.
"Eh, Simba?" He added, knocking his Bakora over Simba's head with a grin.
"Yes, Rafiki.." The king answered dryly, placing a paw on his head.
XXXX
(during musical number; as seen in the show)
Ahh,.. back home again. Anga's thoughts sighed. And it seems not much has changed.. The land's still beautiful.. The sky's still clear.. Everything's right in the Pridelands.. As it should be!.. Nothing could make this day get any better!
But then, the something that suddenly appeared in front of her did.
"Greetings, young Anga." Hadithi smiled, making her heart sing. "You have returned from your quest, I see,.. and quite a lot you must have to share."
xxxx
"Bunga! You picked the perfect day to come home.." Timon reeled. "Because today's.." he put a hand down on a leaf over a rock, Pumbaa by his side.
"Utamu day!" They both shouted together, as Timon tossed the leaf off the pile of purple grubs, with that showman's flare, acting in unison with the warthog.
"Unbungalivable!" The honey badger breathed. Racing up to them, he happened to get there at just the right moment to scoop one up and toss into his mouth at the same time as his uncles for a united crunch.
"Hah!" They sighed.
"Glad I didn't miss this!" Bunga mentioned, sitting up to grab another and hold it up to look at. He then continued to eat, as they all settled down for the first 'family dinner' they'd had in some time. That is.. until Pumbaa sucked everything in,.. including Timon, for Bunga to rescue once again; and share a hearty laugh as a result.
xxxx
"Kulinda? Hello!" Ono called, circling down to her nest.
"Ono?" The hamerkop vocalized, peeking out of her nest for a moment. Then she spotted him as he came flapping to the ground in front of her nest.
"Ono!..uh.. ohohoh..Oh!.." Kulinda marveled, flapping down to him in a flutter as Ona floated down with her. And landing on the ground together,.. the three automatically greeted one another with the traditional family dance. All amazed that Ono happened to remember it extremely well, ending it with a group hug.
"Oh, Ono! We've missed you so much!" Kulinda mentioned.
"Me too." Ono beamed. "So great to have my sight back, though. And even though it'll never be as keen as it used to be,.. I'm glad I can see clear enough to know what's around me."
"Oh that's so good to hear, Ono!" Kulinda smiled. "Did you wanna stick around for dinner? We were just about to eat. We would be honored to have you join us, for old time sake!"
"I suppose we can do that." Ono thought for a moment. "Ok, let's do it."
"Wonderful!" The Hamerkop praised gleefully. "Come along then! Let's get to it!" And they all flew off together.
xxxx
"I've missed you so much, son." Basi was saying as they walked.
"Thanks, Dad." Beshte grinned. "I missed you too." Stopping short because of a sudden rise of sound, they found the welcoming committee of thumping crocs tails, and bellowing hippos.
"Looks like we're not the only ones missing you here." Basi supposed.
"Beshte!" The little voice he once knew, and would always remember, called his name; yet sounding a bit bigger. And when he looked, the small elephant he'd left behind,.. was now much bigger in size as he came stomping up to him with the rest of his herd.
"Mtoto!" Beshte gasped, as he left his dad to meet the elephant, reaching him for a nuzzling hug.
"Boy, you've grown!" The hippo marveled, noting how he was almost the same size as he was.
"I know,.. isn't it, poa!" The elephant beamed proudly.
"It sure is, Mtoto!" Beshte agreed.
"Welcome home, Beshte." Ma Tembo bowed her head to him in greeting. "It's been a long time."
"Thank you, Ma Tembo." Beshte smiled. "It really has been."
xxxx
"So this is the land from which you came." Azaad mentioned, as they stretched their legs across the antelope's grazing grounds.
"*sigh* Yep!" Fuli sighed in her relief of being home. "And I couldn't be happier to be back. And this is just the beginning.."
"Now try to keep up!" She called as she ran on faster, urging him to follow suit until they'd run the Pridelands through to the edge of a rock formation as the sun was setting.
"You have a wondrous place to call home here, Fuli." Azaad commented as they gazed over the fading light of the Pridelands' sun. "Azaad is happy to have come on this journey to see it with you."
"Thanks." Fuli smiled. "I'm glad you were able to help us get home, I really missed you after we split up back in the dry cliffs. I'm glad we got to see each other again."
"I agree,.. Fuli.." Azaad nodded, bowing his head. "And I hope we can continue to explore this world together.. if you like."
"Yeah.. that would be.. nice!" Fuli smiled, after a moment's thought.
"Oo! Oo! Fuli!" Cried some voices, which she took only a second to recognize, until they fell upon her back and down around the two of them. Leaping and calling with chatter of excitement.
"Hah.. baboons." Fuli sighed, finding their intrusion not quite as annoying as she once would have; while Azaad gazed around at them with uncertainty and confusion, as little hands tugged at his ears and her tail.
"More friends of yours?" Azaad wondered a bit flatly.
"You could say that." Fuli grinned, knowingly at the memories that came trickling back.
xxxx
"Kion? You coming?" Kiara asked, as the royal family returned to the highest level of the Pridelands rock castle; after hunting as a family for the afternoon.
Kion had peeled off to the left from his family, while they were headed toward the cave on their right.
And when his sister addressed him, stopping just at the top of the stone steps with her family beside her side; Kion also froze with his back to them toward the pinnacle of the rock's majestic structure.
"Yeah.." he wavered, turning around again. "But I think there's one more thing we should do today.. together." And the exchange of smiles between the king and queen, and the confusion between Kovu and Kiara, was all he needed to continue.
Turning back around to head towards the edge of Pride Rock, the remaining royals of the Pridelands followed till they stood not far from where he did at the very edge gazing up to the heavens.
"Grandfather Mufasa?" Kion addressed the former king of the Pridelands. And from the clouds of the night sky, came the face of the one he desired to see.
"Yes, Kion.. I'm here." Mufasa answered him, making an observation near immediately. "And I see you have made a decision."
"Yes, grandfather.." Kion smiled. "I.. think I realized where I needed to be.. and.. when Jasiri came to warn us about Zira.."
"You made the difficult decision to leave your training behind.." Mufasa interjected on his grandson's trailed sentence. "And decided to come home to where you knew you belonged.. I'm so proud of you."
"Thank you." Kion smiled. "And.. I thought I should talk to you because.. well.. there's some others who'd really like to see you again." And as he said this, the royal family began to come closer with smiles going up to him in elated greeting of their long lost family member.
"Simba,.. my son." Mufasa smiled.
"Father." Simba nodded.
"Your family has grown quite a bit over the years." The old lion king mentioned. "Both by relation.. and by choice." He finished hinting at the royal siblings and then the former Outsiders respectively.
"But now.. I sense that you are all tired from the events of this auspicious day." Mufasa began again. "Go now,.. rest. For tomorrow.. is a new and long-awaited day.."
"Yes,.. thank you, grandfather." Kion smiled once again. And with one final nod between Kion and the former king, Mufasa left them in a fading shift into the clouds. And even as footsteps faded behind him,.. he thought he'd take one more look when he suddenly spotted something else he had to stare at.
"Kion?.. You coming?"
"Huh?.." the young Lion Guard leader vocalized, turning to his sister behind him when snapping out of his focused state.
"Uh, yeah.." he continued his answer, by turning her way completely. "Right behind you." And when she and Kovu kept walking, he had to steal one more glance over his shoulder, before forcing himself to walk away and into the comforting darkness of the cave he hadn't entered in some time.
xxxx
"So you think the Lair has changed much since we left?" Beshte wondered, as they climbed the steps together to reach the opening below the main cave of Pride Rock.
"Oo! I wonder if those grubs I hid are still there."
"Doubt it." Fuli decided, thinking this for both statements,.. though no one would ever know. "After all.. it didn't change that much since we became the Lion Guard. Why would it change since we left."
"Because someone else has been in here.." Kion mentioned, almost a little distasteful as they stopped inside the entryway of the Lair; frowning at the sight within it.
Vitani, laying upon the very place Kion had once been, spread more than a few feelings of despair, as the five lionesses looked up at their presence.
"Kion,.. Lion Guard.." Vitani addressed them when rising to her feet; though her tone of voice wasn't all that welcoming.
"What are you doing in here, Vitani?" Kion sighed dryly. "My dad said we were taking over from now on. Remember?"
"I remember what he said." Vitani answered, hopping down from the rocky perch in two, diagonal leaps. "We were just enjoying one last moment in the Lair before handing our duties over to you and your friends."
"Your duties?" Kion echoed. "What makes you think it's your duty to protect the Pridelands?"
"Well I'm the sister of the future king,.." Vitani emphasized. "What was I supposed to do, while you weren't here to do it?" Kion seethed at this and took a step forward, barely growling at the rising anger beginning to surface from the unsettling implication.
"Uh,.. Kion.." Fuli spoke up, coming alongside him.
"Maybe let's just.. let them leave so we can have a moment of peace together, in our Lair; for the first time since we left?" She reasoned. "You know,.. just us?"
Kion softened his gaze then turned to Vitani and her team.
"Yeah,.. ok.." Kion answered dryly, stepping aside, for Vitani to stroll past them with her fellow lionesses behind her. One of them dashed a bit of dirt at him and he stepped back in disgust of the act; frowning after them.
"Kion? You ok?" Beshte wondered, observing his leader's disgust.
"I'm fine, Beshte." Kion answered lightly, turning to him slowly.
"Kion,.. don't let those guys get to you.." Fuli told him, earning his disturbed gaze. "You're healed now, remember? Time to let that anger go." Kion released a deep breath.
"You're right.." he nodded, closing his eyes once again. "No anger.."
"Now.. let's take a break while we-"
"Lion Guard! Lion Guard!"
"Ugh,.. Laini? Already?!" Bunga complained, recognizing the voice before the owner of it even entered.
"We're definitely back in the Pridelands now." Kion smirked, shooting a knowing grin over to Fuli.
Suddenly the familiarity of paws grabbed him, as the small panicked creature clung to the side of his face; which was still deja vu even despite the time that had passed since it last happened.
"Help!.. Help!" Laini cried hysterically, then freezing to look at Kion, who she still clung to, she noticed something.
"My, you must have grown!" She said, studying him more closely. "This didn't feel quite so strange before."
"Heh, well.. we have been gone for a while." Kion reasoned. "Now.. why don't you tell us what the problem is? So we can help you fix it."
"Oh right.." she nodded thoughtfully.
"Help!" She wailed dramatically once again, falling over the young lion's nose desperately. "A big scary creature wants to eat us!"
"What kind of scary creature?" Ono wondered, unsure that even he believed this.
"Hey, could it be a real zimwi this time?" Bunga wondered.
"Ugh, not that again!" Fuli groaned.
"It's definitely something big!.. and mean BIG.." Laini reeled. "So big, in fact.. that it knocked us out of our trees!"
"Help us! Help us!" The other galagos begged.
"*sigh* ok." Kion sighed. "Let's go find this, 'big scary beast'." And as Kion led the way out of the Lair, Laini crawled over Kion's head to assume a comfortable grip on the back of his neck to peer out over the young lion's head to see their path back to home..
~to be continued..~
Hey guys! It's me again,.. and BOY has this been a tough episode to work through! As I said, this is more of an AU than a snippet chapter.. though there ARE some in here.. the Lion Guard competition, as I mentioned, will NOT be included in this chapter at all.. and as you may have noticed.. this "chapter" will be split. Though I'm not sure how many it will be.
There was a LOT more here than I anticipated, so there you go! Some extra chapters to finish out this long awaited series finale.
I hope you have enjoyed his journey as much as I have.. and thank you to all who have commented and shared your thoughts! Also there are plans for some Fikiri and Kitendo moments somewhere later on so be on the lookout for that as well!
Now!.. with that said.. enjoy! and I'll see you next time! Thx!