~Episode twenty: Return To The Pridelands~
~Part Eight~
(AU; no Lion Guard competition; continued)
A growing light appeared above him and he hardly noticed it till it began to speak.
"What troubles you, Kion?" Mufasa asked, as his youngest grandchild turned his way.
"Grandfather,.. I've done something I can't take back.." Kion confessed, smearing the drying blood of his wound across his face in one single sweep. "And.. I'm afraid it'll change the way everyone thinks of me.. I know I'm healed, but.. somehow.. I don't feel like I have.."
"Because of what you have done." Mufasa implied.
"Yeah.." Kion confirmed, his tone lightening. "I've said some things I already regret.. and.. allowed someone else's words get to me. I know that's not who I am,.. or.. who I'm supposed to be.."
"Your heart can't take insults, even if they aren't true." Mufasa added thoughtfully. "You know you must learn not to allow yourself to be drawn in by things that hurt.. even if they aren't true.."
"I know.." Kion confirmed with a nod. "And I wanna work on that.. I'm just having a hard time of figuring out how to do that I guess."
"I believe you have plenty of ways to do that.. and they all have names, you know.." the former Lion King reminded him.
"I'm not so sure I wanna talk to them just yet.." Kion sighed hesitantly. "Not sure they'd even want to right now.."
"I think you'll find they're not as malcontented about this as you think.." Mufasa reasoned.
"Yeah but,.. how could they think any higher of me than what I've just given them?" His eyes flashed. "What if I'm not as healed as everyone thought?.." then an even deeper thought came to mind. "Could I be,..- reverting back to what I was with my scar?" He paused.
"When will it end?" He sighed after a while.
"Kion, stop." Mufasa raised his tone slightly, and it made his grandson look up at him, the tenderness of his firm tone giving him a security that kept him at ease.
"You are thinking way farther into this than is needed." His grandfather told him. "You worry far too much about a curse that is not a curse.. Remember what you have learned,.. remember who you are,.. and who you are is worthy. And don't forget to surround yourself with the ones who have always believed the best in you.. as well as make amends with them in any way you can."
"But what do I say?" Kion wondered, feeling the heaviest weight of doubt than ever. "Where do I even start?"
"I think you'll find that when faced with a challenge, you'll find the words to speak.. and the actions to back it up." Mufasa answered, making Kion try to think of any other question that might excuse what he must do.
"I guess, maybe I could try.." Kion sighed finally, though his tone wavered. Then Grandfather Mufasa nodded his satisfaction as he faded away.
xxxx
"I can't believe it.." Beshte murmured to the group.
"I don't believe it.." Ono added.
"I've never seen Kion actually lash out like that before.." Fuli reasoned lightly, a haunted look in her eyes. "To anyone other than our enemies of course."
"Well she used to be our enemy." Bunga pointed out loosely, and Fuli hushed him in hopes that Vitani didn't hear.
"Your majesty?" The lioness inquired when stepping before Simba and Nala. "I believe Kion was out of line here.. and ask that necessary action is needed. I sincerely apologize for engaging him.. and humbly request your forgiveness."
"I will pardon this out of grace for your services and allegiance." Simba nodded, as if to dismiss her. "But I must remind you that interfering with the Lion Guard's duties is absolutely unacceptable.. and not to be repeated. Kion and the Lion Guard have handled their role quite well here before they left.. And I have no doubt that they will again."
"But,.. your majesty,.. with all due respect.." Vitani began to protest. "Kion attacked me on no grounds to do so.. Last I checked, combat cannot come against two pridelanders unless something like a mashindano is called, and that, in itself, is bound by certain rules. He was well beyond his rights to come at me.. And I request that he be rightfully held to that."
"Vitani.. What exactly are you expecting them to do?" Kovu spoke up, now coming forward. "I mean,.. did you ever think that there might be a reasonable explanation for this?"
Vitani's gaze became thoughtful off of his, and it wandered away as if to ponder this a moment.
"It still doesn't excuse the fact that it happened." Vitani decided, as the Guard came alongside the King, Queen, and Princess of the Pridelands.
"Well part of this puzzle is by your own actions." Kovu countered, staring pointedly down at her. And at this, the "Lioness" Guard slowly nodded for them all to disperse, sensing this to be a personal matter needing to be worked out by those among them.
"What? Because I value the security of my new homeland, even if the ones that have returned to protect it aren't as serious about it?" Vitani answered and she knew she was being harsher than she'd originally wanted to sound.
"You know that's not what this is about.." Kovu returned without raising or gruffing up his voice. "It's about you trying to take what's not yours,.. nor has it ever been while you took it on temporarily. Kion and the Lion Guard hold the post for as long as they have it.. And you trying to insert your team to make them step aside is wrong.. And you know it." Kovu sensed a presence appear beside him and he immediately backed off. "
"Uhh-forgive me,.. Your Highness.." he said softly, looking at him with soft eyes. "I.. didn't mean to overstep."
"No need.." Simba responded. "I feel that I share your reasoning.. and will act upon them.." he paused to lift his gaze to address the entire group. "No punishment will be devised for either side of this conflict.. but I suggest we all take a step back in order to gain perspective on what just went on here today."
"We'll go talk to Kion, your majesty.." Fuli offered. "Maybe we can figure out what's going on."
Simba nodded, and they left.. dashing back across the savannah in search of their leader.
"And when he returns home.. I'll talk to him." He murmured to Nala.
"In the meantime.." Nala began coming forward toward Vitani and Kovu. "Perhaps the two of you could find a place alone to talk.. and discuss this further.."
"Of course your majesty." Kovu complied, easing his sister to move along. As they passed though, Kiara's hard glance caught Vitani's briefly, even as she strode away with her head at normal level; even lifting it as a show of her confidence in her own beliefs.
"Who does she think she is? Accusing Kion of 'not caring'.." Kiara grumbled. "It's not like she was here doing it herself.. up until Kovu and I ended the war between our two prides, they were our enemies. Kion could've and almost did sacrifice his life to defeat Scar.. and all he's gotten since then has been grief.. with his scar?.. with his identity?.. even his sanity.. she's got no right to judge him.. not after all he's been through.. and all he's done for the Pridelands. He earned his post here;.. given to him or not."
"Kiara, as Queen you'll need to learn to hold your tongue." Simba advised her gently. "But again, I share your concerns.. and understand the points you made. But we must deal with both sides of the issue.. not just one."
"So.. what are you gonna do about Kion?" Kiara asked quietly, and the hesitation in her tone was easily understandable.
"I'm going to get to the bottom of this." Simba answered, turning to gaze out at their land.
"No matter what." He finished as he found the fleeing figures of the Guard far out behind them.
xxxx
Kovu showed her around the bend from the midst of the Royal family and stood among the rocks at the base of Pride Rock.
"Why are you protecting him?" Vitani asked him forwardly. "You're supposed to back me up."
"You're my sister.." Kovu said. "But Kion is now family too.. And what you've called against him is just ridiculous. Like it or not, Kion is the true leader of the Lion Guard.. And you can't just take the roll, simply because you've had it for a while. You knew you would have to step aside when Kion and the Guard returned,.. So why didn't you? I thought you had more honor than that."
"You stand here and debate my honor?" Vitani shot back harshly. "What about a leader of a team that doesn't just get things done instead of waiting for something to happen? What about a lion who's so caught up in his own ego to let others carry on the legacy of honor just like they started all those years ago?"
"Except for its not ego.." Kovu corrected her reasonably. "Do you really expect a lion who just sacrificed his own sound mind, and maybe even his life for the peace in the Pridelands? You think he wanted to leave the Pridelands?"
"What are you talking about?" Vitani wondered, and her confusion could have bordered him on anger.
"Kion didn't leave because he wanted to, Vitani." Kovu answered, defensively. "He left because the only thing that could cure him of the venomous scar that he received fighting for the freedom of the Pridelands was far away.. And was his only hope of healing. He's no coward.. You don't know half of what he's been through.. Not even I do.. But I can at least understand that he risked everything to defeat Scar.. and now he's paying the price for it.. Everyday he's faced with it.. The story's written across his face, it's ingrained in his memory.. He can't escape the reminders of what he almost lost.. And you have no right to fault him on anything he does or doesn't do."
"I.. never thought that.."
"That's the thing.." Kovu interjected. "You've never tried to understand where he's coming from.. Or even know where he's been.. So before you start judging him by his actions.." his green eyes bore into hers. "Try and actually find out what he's been through and then decide what you want.. It doesn't make him any less a hero for willingly plunging into a battle that wasn't really his to start.. And fought to win even if it meant losing everything.. How much more noble can that be?"
Vitani's gaze had dropped and when she looked up, her eyes bore a very different level of knowledge that she couldn't quite hide.
"Believe it or not.." Kovu began again. "Even though we all came from different upbringings.. There's some things that are the same about us.."
"Us?" Vitani echoed in disbelief. "We're nothing like him.."
"More than you might think.." Kovu countered thoughtfully. "We all have had are own run-ins with a darkness of some form.. And have all chosen to push past it and do what's right.. We've all found the light in the darkness. Kion's still just working through what comes next.. If you'd actually talk to him instead of just observing him.. You'd actually understand why he's not the leader he used to be.. And that doesn't mean that he's not still a great leader.. It's that he's a different, more experienced leader. He's just got a few more scars than before. You think we had our doubts on if Simba and the Pridelanders would accept us.. Think how he must feel about having to accept himself after everything.."
Vitani let her thoughts wander with her gaze, and it began to change the tides within her, which led her to the conclusion given to her.
xxxx
Fuli landed roughly, dashing the water of a small puddle from the leap she made over a shallow ridge and resumed running with the smooth gait she was known for.
"How did this happen?" the cheetah panted aloud. And had to jump a downed tree with the others following her over it, or around it in Beshte's case.
"I can't believe we didn't see this coming." Ono sighed.. "I can't believe I didn't see it."
"It's not your fault, Ono." Fuli sighed. "I should've taken this a lot more seriously."
"Hey, come on guys.. You know what Kion would say.." Beshte spoke up brightly. "We're a team.. We all should've been paying more attention. I mean,.. we all knew he wasn't happy.. We all knew something was bothering him.. 'Guess we should've just tried to find out what it was sooner. This is all our fault, not just yours.." At this, he looked to the cheetah and egret, whose lowering gazes showed they didn't quite believe him.
"Our fault?!" Bunga gasped. "What did we do?"
"Kion's spinning out of control again and we let it happen." Fuli said. "We can't let that happen again."
"I agree, but what are we gonna do when we find Kion?" Ono asked.
"Yeah, what he said." Bunga agreed, pointing briefly up at the egret as they kept running.
"I hate to say it,.. but Ono's got a point.." Beshte admitted sadly.
"What he said too." Bunga agreed again.
"Yup.." Anga agreed, her disheartening tone falling upon everyone.
"Well doing nothing got us into this mess.." Fuli decided.. "Now let's do something to fix it."
"Yeah, but what?" Anga put in.
"Well we'll start by finding him.. then we're gonna find out what's bothering him.." Fuli decided. "Anga, any luck?.."
"Still looking.." the eagle returned, glancing down on her earnestly.
"Once we find him we have to find out what's going on." Fuli said. "There can't be any holding back now.. Not until we understand what he's not telling us."
"I think I see him." Anga finally said.
"Where is he?" Fuli wondered. They came up over the next hill, and her question was answered.
"Kion!" Fuli called, immediately leading the way down the hill at a hopping, running pace to reach him.
Kion strode away from them at a very slow pace, making it easy for them to catch up. But once they were mere feet from him, he didn't even seem to notice them.
"Kion?" Bunga addressed him softly.
What can I possibly say that would make this alright? The Lion Guard leader thought.
Fuli shook herself out of a blank daze, with the growing frustration that was hard to temper.
"Kion?!" She finally snapped.
"What?!" Kion snapped back, turning in one smooth stride to face them with a hard glance. He immediately softened up at seeing them, and after a moment's hesitation,.. groaned and turned to continue walking away.
"Hey.." Fuli pursued him quickly, her tone firm but gentle. "This isn't you.. you don't run from your problems.."
"I'm not running.." Kion answered flatly, as he left her behind to keep walking. "'Just haven't figured out what to do yet."
She took off to stand in his way once again, and his eyes finally met hers.
"I can think of one way.." she said. "And I think you know what it is."
"How could you possibly still have any respect for me, after what happened back there.." Kion returned, a tone of dejection ringing alarm bells in the back of their minds.
"Because we're friends.." The cheetah answered with an utmost certainty that caught him off guard. "Friends to the end, remember?"
His gaze lightened when he sensed a presence come around him, and when he looked his whole team had surrounded him.
His bloodstained face still stung with the mark that was left, and yet a tiny part of him considered reopening it.. and he soon pushed past them to try and leave once again.
"It doesn't matter.. no one's gonna see me the same way again.." Kion answered softly, his head hung as he walked.
"No!" Kion heard Fuli say, and he stopped to look back. Only to be blindsided by her leaping at him moments before tackling him; somehow landing with her paws pinning his shoulders to the ground. Now on his back, the adrenaline from the tumble forced him to look her in the eyes, and her glare kept his amber eyes locked on her green ones.
"I'm not giving up on you." She told him firmly.
"Neither are we." Beshte decided, coming up to them at Kion's left side.
Bunga stopped with Beshte, and Anga and Ono landed just above his right side.
Kion looked at them for a moment.. allowing the results of their words and their actions to sink in; and the closing of his eyes after a while signified his surrender.
Fuli finally stepped off of him, and when she did he opened his eyes and rolled onto his side; folding his body over so he could lift his head toward them. He looked at them with deep eyes, not a word forming to come relieve them of this awkward silence.. nor an action that would put an end to it either.
Soon action came in the form of Fuli taking up the spot at his right side, sitting down close enough for their shoulders to touch, which she additionally used to nudge him playfully; earning her a small, natural smile. Bunga touched a hand to Kion's left shoulder, which then gained his glance, even while Beshte stood beside Bunga, with Anga and Ono hopping over in front of him from the left side.
xxxx
"You shouldn't have come after me.." Kion told them as they walked together, with no real direction of which to go. "I don't feel like I can even lead this team after what I did." He finished, stopping where he was.
"Kion.. something is going on that pushed you to the extreme." Fuli told him, walking out in front of them a little so she could stop and swiveled around to face her leader. "And we're not going anywhere till we figure it out."
"We just need to find out what's really bothering you." Ono figured.
"I've been asking myself that this whole time." Kion finally admitted and no longer felt a restraint to say so. "What could we possibly figure out?"
"You know what my dad always says,.." Beshte spoke up. "Two heads are better than one.. though I guess it's more like six heads for us."
"I appreciate the effort.." Kion attempted a smile. "But somehow I think it's gonna take a lot more than thinking to fix this."
"There was nothing simple about your scar." Fuli reminded him.
"And I doubt it'll be any different with this." Ono added.
"Yup." Anga agreed.
"And besides.. where's the fun in not trying to get back to normal again." Bunga wondered in his usual overconfidence.
"Besides.. Vitani wasn't actually in the right here either." Fuli added, turning back to Kion, even coming forward in a few small paces. "She knew she shouldn't be interfering with the Lion Guard's duties once she stepped aside and she did it anyway.. You're not the only one in trouble here."
"That's the problem.." Kion sighed forwardly. "I'm not the one interfering in someone else's job,.. yet I'm the one who looks bad here."
"Only cause you didn't stick around to defend yourself.. which also isn't your fault.." Fuli began again. "You had every right to feel upset about Vitani getting in your way; and trying to put your ego above the real reason you're a great leader of the Lion Guard,.. the well-being of others in the Circle of Life."
"But I bet she now has my dad's ear.." Kion reasoned distastefully. "Before he comes at me with her demands."
"Do you really think Simba would do that to you?" Beshte countered, and his tone was a little more corrective than usual.
"Beshte's right.." Fuli agreed. "Simba would never talk down to you.. not after all you've done for the Pridelands. You've at least earned that.."
"He's still my dad.." Kion reminded them.. "And he knows and expects more of me than this. It's why I've gotten to where I am without losing control.. That,.. and a few other things." and they knew his meaning right away.
"Son of the King or not, they'd never 'come at you' with accusations." Fuli declined, "and I bet that because he's your dad, he's willing to go easier on you.."
"More than you think at least." Beshte added.
"Indeed, I'm sure it won't be that bad." Ono agreed.
"You've never run away from your duties before.. and you won't now." Fuli asserted. "We're here to help you."
"I never even thought about running away." Kion told her certainly, his firm gaze softening soon afterwards. "I guess I've just been avoiding facing it.. I'm just not sure how to handle this.. What to say, what to do?"
"Then say nothing." Fuli answered simply.
"Do nothing." Beshte added.
"Just listen.." Ono put in. "Maybe something they say might help you know what to do next." And out of this statement all three members met glances.
Kion's eyes landed troubled upon the ground, but a flash of his amber gaze and the look in them lightened a bit. And lifting a smile, he took on more of a confidence that was far more revived than a few moments earlier as they all marched for Pride Rock.
~To be continued..~
Hey guys, I FINALLY got this new chapter figured out.. also.. to clarify some things..(and yes I know it's been WEEKS since my last chapter post SOOORRRYYYY!)
One, I DO plan on doing something with Rani missing Kion.. in fact.. I wanna dedicate one whole chapter to Rani and what's all happening at the Tree of Life before the imminent return of Kion and the Guard. Though I am having difficulties finding good events to portray that struggle, so many suggestions are welcomed in hopes of inspiring this new chapter in order to breathe it to life for you guys to read.
Two,.. yes.. Fikiri and Kitendo will make an appearance.. 'just haven't found the right situation yet.. ALSO.. we'll get to see them more, closer to the very END based on circumstance.. and I think you can figure out what I'm referring to.
And three, the gap between when Kion chooses to give up the leader of the Lion Guard role.. to the coronation.. will be filled in by this story.. ;)
Thus there will be much for you to look forward to! ;) Thx!