~Episode twenty: Return To The Pridelands~
~Part Three~
(AU; no Lion Guard competition; continued)
As soon as his paws landed on the edge of the final rock it dropped, throwing off his timing. But not enough to lose their synced lift off, other than the height from which they jumped from.
Kion hit the ground hard on his left side, and Bunga landed a sliding stop, which he took great pleasure in. Kion was just opening his eyes when a shadow began to grow above him.
"Kion!" Ono squawked, while everyone gasped. "Look out!"
Kion's eyes fully opened to the growing darkness. And instinct threw a blast of his roar up to shatter the large stone, which would have likely done some damage if not for the burst of power that shattered it to bits.
And as soon as the dust cleared, all eyes looked to where their leader was.
The relief of coughing allowed them to relax, and then to approach. Kion hesitated a moment, after the coughing had subsided, before rolling off his shoulder with some effort, to lay upright and look around.
"Kion! Are you ok?" Beshte gasped, earning the young lion's attention right away.
"Yeah,..-" he grunted when sitting up, shaking all the dust from his golden coat. "I'll be ok."
"You sure?" Fuli asked, drawing closer.
"Ihn.. yeah." Kion confirmed, after flexing his shoulder out to loosen it up a little.
"Hoh!.. thank you!.." the serval mother said.. appearing before them where Kion could turn his gaze on her.
"Thank you for rescuing my dear sweet Vijana!" She said. "They were playing so nicely,.. I only looked away for a moment and then,.. all of a sudden.. *sigh* I'm so very sorry you had to take such a risk to save him.. but I thank you nonetheless,.. -how can I ever repay you?"
"No need." Kion smiled, straightening up. "This is what we do.. the fact that you're all safe is thanks enough."
"I understand.. but are you sure there isn't something I can do?" The serval wondered further. "After all, you and your friend did almost get crushed just now."
"We're sure.." Kion nodded more certainly. "But thank you for offering, though."
"Of course.. and thank you again." The serval smiled then ushered her kittens to follow her.
"Bunga? You ok?" Kion asked, finally rising from where he lay so that any remaining dust particles could slide off of his back.
"Yeah, I'm good." Bunga answered, strolling toward him a couple paces. "In fact,.. I'm ready to do that again."
"Let's not." Fuli advised dryly, hinting at a slight annoyance.
"Yeah,.. I don't think I could do that again.." Kion agreed with some restraint, hopping a forepaw forward to be in line with the other. "Even if I wanted to."
"You sure you're ok?" Fuli asked, arching
eyebrows furrowed over her attentive green eyes.
"Uh yeah.. just a little sore from the fall.." Kion answered lightly, holding himself rather gingerly. "I'll be ok."
"Why don't we have Rafiki make that determination?" Fuli suggested, stepping over to him and earning a compliant look.
Then looking up toward the top of the cliff.. Kion locked eyes with Vitani, who held a perceptive look, then turned and left.
"You coming?" Fuli's voice asked, yanking him back to attention.
"Huh?.. Uh yeah.. let's go.." Kion complied, beginning to follow, but not without shooting one last glance back at the ledge where both he and Vitani had once stood.
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"Hmm.. yes.." Rafiki mused, as he ran his hand down Kion's left shoulder, and then back up.
"You will be fine.." He finished stepping back again. "But that shoulder will need some rest.."
"That's it?" Bunga remarked, and if expecting more; which earned him a knock on the head.
"Yes,.." Rafiki answered dryly, giving him a stern, close-up look.
"It's ok, Bunga.." Kion said, stretching his shoulders up to stand then followed with a long body stretch to complete it. "Thanks for looking into it, Rafiki."
Rafiki nodded, and turned to leave, but stopped mid-turn to turn back.
"Don't forget, Kion.." He said. "Your return isn't quite the same as your entry into this life." And Kion blinked with an obvious confusion that seemed to catch him off guard as the old mandrill strode away.
And his odd expression remained so, even as his friends arrived to surround him. Which then caused him to break his gaze, with a more unreadable one.
xxxx
Laying down to sleep that night, it took him some time to nod off..
His eyes hadn't even been closed for very long, before..
'Looks can often be deceiving,..'
"Deceiving?.." he thought, even though it seemed like he'd spoken this.
'If viewed from the wrong perspective.'
"Why is that so.. unsettling?" his thoughts barely had to try thinking this.
'We all have our scars, Kion.."
"What?!"
'Reflect,.. upon what you've done,..'
'Do you really need the roar?'
"Leave it behind?!"
'You see a new path..'
'A good Queen needs a good King..'
'Your return won't be quite the same as your entry..'
'Don't fear taking it.'
'You look so much like your grandfather.'
With the last statement his amber eyes shot open. Then his head lifted and all these statements went swirling round his head once again.
And after a moment, his grandfather's reflection appeared right before his eyes, like the water of a lake projecting it straight back at him, without ever having to bend down to see it.
A sudden flash of someone else's face left a mark similar to his own, now mirrored by Mufasa's..
"NOO!" Kion roared, bursting forth through the image and falling forward, like he was plunging into a pit. Free falling to the sound of his own voice, to an end which swallowed him up in darkness..
xxxx
Awakening in darkness made him wonder if he was even awake.. Or even alive for that matter,.. But that fleeting thought was far in the back of his mind.
As his breaths normalized, his eyes registered movement; which turned out to be the occasional shift of the sleeping lionesses barely feet from where he and his family were sleeping. And it made him lay his head back down and close his eyes.
XXXX
Kion's yawn was hard to mask,.. but somehow he seemed to succeed. And getting away with one, almost tempted him to try for another, yet a resistance still restrained him from this act.
"Kion?" Opening his eyes again, he stopped to find Fuli staring at him.
"Ever wonder why things feel so different being back here?" Bunga asked, earning both their attention in unison, and Kion hesitated to answer.
"I don't know, Bunga.." Kion honestly shrugged. "But a lot of time has passed since we left, our journey to and from the Tree of Life took a long time.. not to mention the time we spent there."
"And it was all well worth it." Fuli put in certainly. "Right Kion?"
Kion was gonna answer, but his attention suddenly peaked elsewhere; notable by the turning of his head away from them.
"Kion?" Fuli addressed him as Anga and Ono came to land close by her. "What is it?"
His paws felt the ground uneasily, by stepping his forepaws out slightly.
"Something doesn't seem right." Kion answered. "Come on.." then taking off and veering to his right a little, the Guard fell in line with his trajectory and hurried after their leader.
xxxx
Why am I so nervous? His thoughts wondered. Or maybe it's just me?..
But then.. why does it feel soo..-
A fleeting impulse halted him to a standstill, and he hardened his gaze to scan the savannah.
Zebras grazed while the hot sun beamed down on them, which seemed to mess with his eyes a little, making him avoid a direct look at them.
The hyenas are right,.. he thought to himself. Zebra stripes really do make it hard to track their movements.
"Uuh, what's he doing?" Bunga wondered, giving Kion, who stood with his back to them, an odd look.
"Shh.." Fuli hushed beside him, maintaining a patient glance as she mildly studied Kion intently. The Guard watched in silence, all standing there merely a couple feet behind their leader, waiting to see what he would do next.
The unheard rattle of a feeling vibrated again, honing him in on something he felt compelled to follow. Stalking forward down the hill, with his head level to his shoulders, he kept his mental guard up with a hostility that would've surprised him if he were not otherwise engaged at this time.
Finally making it down to the flattest point, he practically prowled through the grass waiting for something to happen. And after searching around like this for a while he began to drop his guard enough to straighten up.
"Anything?" Fuli asked him, when coming alongside her leader.
"No.." Kion sighed, glancing down at the shadow now cast upon them. "Maybe I'm just feeling things that.. aren't there."
"Kion, your instincts have never failed you before.." Fuli assured him. "And they won't start now. If you feel like something's not right, then there is.. simple as that."
"Yeah but..-"
A crack noise suddenly drew their attention up.
"Look out!" Kion called, and the zebras all looked up toward the noise.
Stones fell near some of the zebras and they reacted in their usual way..
"Panic and run, panic and run!" They cried.
Looking down he was just in time to see some of the Zebras charging right towards them.
"Woah! Hevi Kabisa!" He cried. "Everyone, heads up!"
"Woah!" Fuli gasped, as they all split ways to let them go by.
"Fuli! Anga!" Kion called, turning to his team after watching the Zebras go; his head lifting confidently with his trademark determination. "Round up the zebras and get them outta here."
"You got it!" Fuli responded, taking off with Anga right behind her.
"Beshte, try to stabilize the wall. Bunga cover Beshte!" Kion continued.
"You got it, Kion!" Beshte smiled, padding forward, the honey badger saluting his leader before following suit.
"Ono! See if you can find a way to permanently stabilize these rocks." Kion requested, tracking the egret with his clear, amber eyes.
"On it!" Ono answered, swooping up and flapping higher toward the rock formation.
Reaching a certain point that was not that far above the stony structure, he scanned as much of the rocks as his newly restored vision could reach.
Beshte pressed in, hoping whatever effort he was making would help, and even while stones still fell; he could tell it wasn't as much.
Loose rocks crumbled and Bunga leapt across a gap from where he was on a ledge and caught it before it could hit the hippo. And it even shattered once it hit the ground.
"Wooph! Thanks, Little B." Beshte thanked him.
"No problem, Big B." Bunga grinned, then looked up.
"Oh noo!" He cried, beginning to climb back up again.
Another rock fell near Kion and he jumped back.
"Ono!" He called more urgently.
"Working on it!" Ono cried.
Suddenly the formation seemed to shift and they all looked up.
"Kion!" Ono squawked, realizing something as the tallest peak began to tip toward him.
"Beshte, Bunga, clear out!" Kion shouted. And as soon as they both retreated..
ROAR! Kion's roar split the rocks and brought in new ones, changing the shape of the formation and adding and subtracting the stones that held it in place. The ground vibrated, even as Kion's roar faded to the winds. Dust clouds began to fade and loose pebbles scattered to the ground.
Standing there staring for a moment longer seemed appropriate at the time, as a way to make sure what had happened was truly successful.
"Everyone ok?" Kion asked, glancing around for his friends.
"Phew! We're good." Beshte confirmed.
"He-he-yeah! That was fun!" Bunga cheered.
"Great work, Kion." Ono smiled, floating down to land beside his leader. "Looks like the rocks are stable once again."
"Thank goodness." A dry-toned voice said, making them all look toward it.
"If it were me, I'd let the whole thing fall." The daughter of Zira added, pacing towards them.
"Vitani?" Kion vocalized, as if surprised to see her.
"What was the point of endangering your team just to save a bunch of rocks?" Vitani went on.
"Be..cause there are animals that live in these rocks." Kion answered, as some rock hyraxes cheered for their safe haven's restoration, before scampering up into the new little crevices.
Vitani watched this for a moment, her eyes clearly demonstrating her lack of understanding.
"So?" She said, looking at Kion with her continued confusion.
"So?!" Kion quoted, only slightly disturbed by this. "These animals don't deserve to lose their homes for something we can fix."
"You almost got your teammates crushed." Vitani reminded him.
"By trying to give us time to figure something else out." Kion asserted. "No one on the Guard would do something they're not confident in. That's how it's always worked." He paused, in seeing her stoic expression hang on.
"Look," he said. "I respect the fact that you stepped up to protect the Pridelands while the Guard and I were gone. But I think I can handle leading the Lion Guard, now that I'm back and fully healed."
Vitani just stared at him for a moment, then turned and strode away. Up until now he had kept a soft expression, but when his brow furrowed he couldn't shake the feeling that came with it.
"Ok, the zebras are safe,.. how's it going here?" Fuli said, when she came to a smooth stop among them.
"Kion just told off Vitani!" Bunga replied, gleefully. "It was unbungalievable!"
"What? No, not that! I meant the rocks?" Fuli replied, shaking her head once she realized what he meant.
"Oh yeah, Kion took care of that too." The honey badger recalled loosely, waving an arm at her as he proceeded to walk away toward Kion.
"So Kion,.. what now?" he asked, coming up to stand right in front of his friend, forcing the young lion to break his gaze from Vitani to meet Bunga's.
"We can tell the zebras they can safely graze here again." He responded, turning his shoulder to the honey badger. "Then get back to our patrol." He looked up again to find Vitani watching, only for her to turn and continue away from them.
"Don't worry about her." Fuli told him, earning his glance as she came alongside him from his other side. "She's just gotta get used to the fact that you're in charge now. She'll deal with it. Just stay focused on what you need to do, not what anyone else thinks,.. Just do you."
"I for one think you made the right call saving the rock formation." Ono agreed honestly, exchanging glances with Anga; who had landed right next to him.
"Yup." The eagle added.
"See? All that matters is that you make the best decisions you can in every situation." Fuli continued. "Don't ever doubt that you know what to do.."
And yet Kion's gaze didn't quite seem convinced.
"And besides.." Fuli continued. "She's got no idea what you've been through to get here."
"I know,.. really, I do.." Kion replied. "I just need to let it go.. and I can do that.. eventually."
"Ok,.." Fuli smiled after a moment. "But if you ever need to talk about anything.. You know where to find me."
"Right by my side." Kion answered confidently.
Then with that, she turned and began leading them off across the savannah, so Kion could hurry up to fall in step with her.
xxxx
"Come on, guys!" Beshte goaded as he overtook the group to walk straight into the pond of Big Springs; settling into the cool spring of crystal clear water with ease.
"Yes! Me next!" Bunga called, sucking in a loud breath of air before jumping in. Soon, he was floating around and spitting a squirt of water out of his mouth like his own personal fountain.
Kion shook his head, while Ono and Anga flew forward to join them, only for Fuli to replace them at his side. Their smiles met for a moment, then turned to watch their friends. And as they did so, he couldn't help but recall moments like this while on their journey. And was surprised to think fondly of them. But looking down, what he saw reminded him of why they were on that journey to begin with, and he immediately turned away to make a running leap up the ledge that overlooked the big lake, facing towards the spring's mouth.
"Sure is good having you back, son." Basi commented, smiling proudly. "We really have missed you around here.." he looked around at the group.
"All of you." He emphasized.
Kion smiled, straightening up from his straddled stance on top of the ledge.
"'Course.. I guess it must be a little boring, now that Scar's gone." Basi went on thoughtfully.
"Not entirely." Kion mumbled, glancing down at the water's surface, his face beginning to harden.
"Gotta say,.." Basi went on in somewhat of a reminiscent way. "It must be a little strange not having any outlander's to defend against. And yet it's like they never left. Scar really left his mark on the Pridelands since his return.. and demise."
"In more ways than one." Kion thought aloud, his gaze lowering to his left. Then peering down once more, his face completely hardened with the rippling image of his scarred face.
xxxx
"Ahh, that sure was relaxing.." Bunga commented, as they were walking away from Big Springs.
"Heh,.. for you maybe." Fuli smirked, almost teasing the honey badger,.. not that he'd notice.
"One of these days, we should get you guys a bird's eye view of the Pridelands." Ono said, as he flew low overhead.
"Having stood on a mountain top before,.. I'm not sure that's the best idea." Kion smiled thoughtfully.
"Kion!" Anga soon came flapping back from her air patrol in more of a hurry than when she left. "There's been a landslide! Some fox pups are trapped in their den, and some rocks are blocking the way to get to them."
"Then we need to get to them right away!" Kion decided, lunging into a long stride that repeated itself across the flat ground, leading after the eagle's shadow towards the sight of their latest emergency. With one soul watching,.. and subsequently following in a much slower stride.
xxxx
Racing through the trees, they stopped short and found the cluster of loose earth and the few trees and rocks that blocked their path.
"Woah.." Fuli commented.
"Awh, that doesn't look so tough!" Bunga decided, almost scoffing as he crossed his arms confidently.
Kion glanced from his friend to the blockage and developed a determined look.
"Ok,.. Beshte, see if you can clear a path for Bunga." he decided. "Ono, you think you can maneuver in there to keep an eye on him?"
"Affirmative." The egret responded.
"Great, once Bunga and Ono are inside I'll ask Makini to.."
"Uh, Kion?.." Fuli's voice halted his train of thought.
"Makini's not here, remember?" the cheetah finished, looking him curiously in the eye.
"Right,.." Kion realized, shaking his head. "Fuli, you and I'll help Beshte clear away the debris and make sure the foxes' home is safe again."
"Ok." Fuli agreed, then everyone scattered about their duties. Beshte arrived at the spot where the trees leaned against the rocks and lifted the tree up. Bunga and Ono quickly slid through, then Beshte slid the tree down the back of his neck enough to toss it aside.
Kion and Fuli worked together to push a rock, and after a while of struggle, it finally began to move.
Bunga dug into the sea of loose ground until he found a hole, and two cowering shapes within it.
"Huh?" he peered in a little further. And the little foxes shifted further back into the den. "Hey foxies, we need to go right now! This den's no longer safe!" And the little pups continued to cower further.
"Hang on,.." The honey badger realized in the moment. Isn't there like,.. a back door or something? You know,.. another way out."
"No, because that leaves the pups vulnerable to attack.." Ono corrected. "It also makes it easier for predators or invaders to take over their den. Common knowledge really."
"Ohh,.. gotcha." Bunga thought.
"And, it's a defense mechanism that makes it easier for them to defend and get away from predators." Ono added.
"Got it! Ok,.. come on, little guys." Bunga coaxed, "we gotta get out of here,.. don't make me use my stink."
The two foxes looked at each other, then one moment later he was startled when the two pups burst on past him, nearly knocking him over.
"Yes!" He praised, surfing down the remainder of the incline from the filled-in hole.
Soon they were all climbing back out of the partially cleared barricade, with Ono floating right behind them.
"Ok, the little foxies are safe." Bunga announced.
"Great work, Bunga." Kion beamed. "Ono, how's it look in there?"
"Not good, I'm afraid." Ono sighed regrettably. "The landslide has completely covered the foxes' den, it'd be safer to find them a new home far away from here."
"Ok,.." Kion sighed. "Not the outcome we were hoping for, but at least they're safe from harm. We'll need to track down their parents so we can re-home the whole family.. For now? Let's leave this barrier here so that no other animals wander into it and get stuck."
"Affirmative." the egret called and he and Anga took to the sky together. Leaving Kion and Fuli to exchange glances.. Until Kion's eyes caught their observer, who immediately turned and left as soon as he saw her.
~To be continued..~
OHHHH MMYYY GOOOOSSSHHH, YOU GUYS! I am SSSOOOO sorry for stringing you along for so long, but here is the next chapter!
Also the Kion and Fuli moments in this chapter are NOT meant to be KionXFuli.. Completely friendship based and that's it.. Sorry to all you KionXFuli shippers! But that's how this and ALL of my stories operate..
Also a HUGE thanks to Bluewolfbat for all his insightful help in the making of this and previous/future chapters of this story! Wouldn't probably have gotten this one done tonight without him! ;D
Enjoy! And I'll see you guys next time! Hopefully one time, lol! Thx!