"What's going on?" Baliyo asked once he saw the other animals. "Why are they all here?"
"It's Grandmother Janna." Rani said knowingly.
"Something's wrong?" Baliyo then asked softly.
"It seems her time has come." Nirmala said softly.
"Oh..." Kion said lowly as he understood what was happening. "Rani, Baliyo-"
"No! I don't wanna go in!" Baliyo cried as he backed away from his family.
"Baliyo, Queen Janna has asked to see you," Surak reminded him. "You must go to her."
"We'll be with you the whole time." Nirmala added.
"Rani? Orum?" Baliyo asked as he faced his sister and big brother figure.
"Surak and Nirmala are right, we need to go in." Rani said as she and Kopa walked over to Baliyo.
"You can do this." Kopa smiled.
"Night Pride together?" Baliyo asked hopefully.
"Of course!" Kopa smiled. "Night Pride together and forever."
And so, the lions walked off with Kion trailing behind them as all of the animals were gathered outside the Tree of Life, even Binga was there. Inside, Janna looked very sick and close to death as the young mandrill kept her company.
"Some water, Queen Janna?" Makini offered to the elderly lioness before letting her take a drink.
"Thank you, Makini." Janna smiled softly after she took the drink.
"Hello? Grandmother?" Rani spoke up as she and the others came in.
"Rani. Princess. Is that you?" Janna asked as she looked forward.
"Yes, Grandmother. It's me," Rani said to her. "The whole Night Pride is here.
"Hi, Grandmother." Baliyo greeted softly.
"Hello, Queen Janna." Nirmala added.
"Mother." Surak nodded his head.
"Hello, there," Kopa added before looking at the young mandrill. "How is she?"
Makini simply shook her head in silence as it didn't look good.
"And is Kion with you as well?" Janna asked as she didn't see the Prideland lion at first.
"Yes, Queen Janna. I'm here." Kion nodded as he soon came out in front of the elderly lioness to see her before she opened her eyes to see him.
"I am glad to have seen the Roar return to the Tree of Life." Janna said softly to him as her breath trembled.
"Me too." Kion smiled softly.
'So my dream last night was telling me Janna's time was coming.' Kopa thought to himself softly.
"I would've liked to see your healing completed, but at least I know you're here. I hope you find peace," Janna said to Kion before she put her paw on his shoulder as The Mark of the Night Pride appeared briefly. "And perhaps choose to stay."
"Thank you, Your Majesty, for everything." Kion said as he bowed his head.
"Baliyo?" Janna then called.
"I'm here." Baliyo replied softly.
"Stay strong, sweet Baliyo," Janna smiled. "Your sister will need your strength, give it to her."
Baliyo sniffled a bit before nodding. "Yes, Grandmother."
"Orum... You've been a great member of this pride and I really love that we got to spend time with you and I got to know you," Janna smiled softly at Kopa. "You are very great in your own way, strength or no strength."
Kopa nodded as he smiled softly back.
"Nirmala." Janna said softly.
Nirmala soon walked up to Janna.
"We are so fortunate that you joined us all those years ago." Janna smiled softly at Nirmala.
"Thank you, Your Majesty." Nirmala smiled back, trying to stay strong and felt excited.
"The healing powers of the Tree of Life belong to you now," Janna then assigned her. "Continue helping all who are hurting."
"Of course, I promise." Nirmala vowed.
"And Surak, my son." Janna soon called to the adult male lion.
"Mother." Surak replied as he soon approached her as they shared a quick nuzzle together.
"Rani will lean on you for wisdom," Janna told him. "Give it, but let her find her own way as well."
"I will." Surak nodded.
"Rani, it is time." Janna soon said to her granddaughter.
"I'm not ready." Rani replied, trying to fight back some incoming tears.
"You are." Janna assured her granddaughter.
"But I still have so much to learn." Rani replied, still trying to fight back her tears.
"Rani, you have everything you need to be queen, and you won't be alone," Janna smiled softly. "The Night Pride will stand beside you. And Makini, your Royal Mjuzi, will help guide you."
Makini smiled happily from that.
"I'll do my best." Rani smiled sadly as tears ended up coming anyway.
"I know you will," Janna smiled back. "And Orum, you're still a member of this family, no matter what anyone else might think."
"Thank you." Kopa said to her as he nuzzled her one last time.
Janna soon slowly closed her eyes and that was that.
Rani was the first to cry as she broke down into tears along with the rest of her family. "Goodbye, Grandmother." The young lioness said as she nuzzled her grandmother for the last time and walked off to a corner as she broke down crying.
Kopa sniffled a bit before he decided to stand beside Rani to help comfort her. Kion looked over as Kopa comforted Rani as he was like her own big brother and where after what happened Rani needed the comfort.
"It's okay." Kopa said softly.
"I know..." Rani sniffled. "It's just... So hard."
"I know." Kopa nodded as he stayed close beside her.
"I'm so sorry, Rani." Kion said as he came to comfort the young lioness as well.
"Thank you, Kion." Rani's voice cracked as she cried some more while even Kion began to cry, even if he didn't know Janna as well as or as long as the Night Pride did.
After a little while, Rani and the others soon came walking out of the den only to stop a few feet away from Binga and the other animals with her.
"Someone has to tell them." Rani said softly.
"Do you want me?" Kopa offered.
"No, I should do it," Rani decided before Makini came beside her. "Huh?"
"It's okay, Rani," Makini reassured. "This is the duty of your Royal Mjuzi. My duty."
"Thank you, Makini." Rani smiled softly.
"Yes, thank you." Kopa added.
Makini smiled back before taking a deep breath in and out. "Shwari," she said to relax herself before calling out to the other animals. "Animals of the Tree of Life, Queen Janna has completed her journey in the Circle of Life." she then proclaimed.
The other animals gasped at that news.
"No." Binga said softly.
"I can't believe it." Pinguino added softly.
A baby mountain goat was soon heard bleating sadly before nuzzling up to its mother.
"It's okay... Shh." The mountain goat mother soothed her baby.
"As is tradition, we will gather at the Willows to say goodbye to Queen Janna," Makini soon continued. "The coronation ceremony, to make Rani the new queen of the Tree of Life, will happen at sunset."
The other animals could only look sad as it was a slow, depressing day in the jungle that day.
Several animals gathered around and birds left flowers as a sign of love and respect for the late Queen Janna.
Kion soon noticed that Rani was all on her own and he decided to go and talk to her. "Are you okay?"
"I will be," Rani sighed softly as she still had tears in her eyes. "I'll miss having her here. I guess I thought I'd have more time to learn from her. My grandmother was so wise. She always knew the right thing to do, the right animals to welcome to the Tree of Life. In fact," she then added with a light chuckle. "she hadn't insisted, I never would've let you in."
Kion and Rani then shared a brief smile together before Rani frowned again suddenly.
"...What if I can't be a good queen?" Rani asked lowly.
"When I first got the Roar, I didn't think I could be leader of the Lion Guard." Kion advised.
"Really?" Rani asked, surprised.
"Yeah, but then I found the strength I needed inside me," Kion smiled. "You will too. My Grandfather Mufasa helped me learn that." he then added before he suddenly began to look a little sad himself.
"Do you still talk to your grandfather?" Rani asked him.
"Not since I got this," Kion said as he referred to the scar over his left eye. "It makes me look like Scar the evil lion who betrayed the Lion Guard and-"
Kopa walked over a bit and soon stopped himself once he saw Kion and Rani talking to each other.
"Yes. My grandmother told me the story of what Scar did to Mufasa." Rani stopped Kion with a nod.
"Then you understand why I can't face my grandfather, not until my scar is healed." Kion then said softly as she knew.
"We all have our scars, Kion," Rani replied before she showed a scar on her right foreleg. "Sisi Ni Sawa. It's something my grandmother says. It means-"
"We're the same." Kion said knowingly.
"Yes. She reminded me of that when I wasn't sure if we should welcome you to the Tree of Life," Rani then said with a smile. "I'm glad she did."
"I'm glad she did, too." Kion then smiled back.
"She always said exactly what I needed to hear. And talking to her always made me feel better," Rani smiled softly to Kion. "You know you might feel better if you talked to your grandfather."
"Yeah, I might," Kion replied. "Thanks, Rani. Queen Janna isn't the only one to know just what to say. You're a lot like her." he then said.
"Oh?" Rani chuckled softly before she decided to walk away on her own. "Well, I-I hope to be."
"That was really nice to go and talk to her like you did." Kopa said to Kion.
"Oh, uh, thanks," Kion smiled softly. "I thought it would be nice for her."
"So, ready to talk to Grandfather Mufasa?" Kopa asked him.
"Yeah, I am." Kion smiled before walking off with him to speak with Mufasa.
"It'll be good for you," Kopa smiled back. "I just know it."
Kion beamed as he walked off.
"I'm really going to miss her." Baliyo said softly.
"We all will, but Queen Janna will always be a part of us." Surak advised.
"And we can honor her by sharing our memories of her." Nirmala added.
"I wouldn't have my sight back without Queen Janna." Ono recollected as he stood by.
"She was a great leader." Fuli added.
"And she made us feel welcome when we first got to the Tree of Life." Behste memorized.
"Yeah." Bunga added with a frown.
"She was loved by everyone." Anga then concluded.
"She was, wasn't she?" Baliyo sniffled.
"Yes, she was." Surak said softly.
"I feel lucky that I was able to know her too." Kopa said as he came from behind.
The Night Pride then looked back at him.
"Without her or The Tree of Life, I don't know what I would do." Kopa then said.
"She was very fond of you as well like you were always with us from the start." Nirmala smiled.
"Like you were a second grandson to her." Surak smiled at Kopa.
"And she was like a second grandmother to me." Kopa smiled back.
"I'm sure that means a lot to you and to her." Surak then said.
"Surak, you have no idea." Kopa replied.
Nirmala soon went to walk around to get ready for something.
"Nirmala?" Fuli spoke up to the lioness. "What do we do now?"
"Now we prepare for the new queen's coronation." Nirmala informed with a smile.
"I hope that she'll feel ready." Kopa said to himself.
The others soon began to follow Nirmala to get the ceremony started, that was until Bunga heard Varya.
"Cubs! Cubs! Where are you?!" Varya called out for her three tiger cubs.
"Hmm..." The young honey badger paused as he got an idea before looking at his hippo friend. "Big B? I'll catch up with you guys later."
"Okay. See ya." Behste smiled as he walked off with the others.
Bunga soon dashed off to go and see the mother tiger. "Varya? You okay?" he then asked.
"Bunga. My cubs," Varya frowned worriedly. "I looked away for one minute and they ran off."
"I'll help you find them." Bunga promised.
"Thank you." Varya smiled in relief.
"Hakuna Matata!" Bunga smiled as he looked out in the field of tall grass. "You know back in the Pridelands, they called me Babysitter Bung-" Before he could finish his sentence, he was tackled by Varya's three tiger cubs. "Found them." he then muffled.
"Oh! There you are." Varya looked relieved to see her cubs.
Bunga grunted before he sat up and got them off of him. "Anything else I can help ya with? " he then asked the mother tiger with a small smile.
"Actually, yes," Varya smiled back. "I still need to find out if my cubs and I can stay here. Can you take me to the Queen?"
"...The Queen?" Bunga asked, a bit uneasily due to recent events. "I'll take you to Rani. She'll know what to do."
Varya smiled softly at that.
"Race ya!" One tiger cub told the others before they ran off together.
"Don't worry. I'll help catch 'em." Bunga told her before running off after the tiger cubs.
Rani was seen walking into the Night Pride den as she walked up to where he Grandmother had died. "It won't be the same without you, Grandmother Janna." she then sighed to herself as she put her paw on the rock.
The sound of soft humming was soon heard.
Rani narrowed her eyes and she decided to follow the sound and confront it. "Who's there?"
"Rani. Hi." Makini smiled as she soon appeared through the other side of the cave.
"Makini?" Rani asked, surprised to see the young female baboon.
"Oh! I'm so glad you're here," Makini smiled. "I have something to show you."
"...Okay." Rani shrugged as she felt she had no other choice.
"Come on. Right over here!" Makini smiled before showing Rani what was a rock wall that had many pictures of animals all over it like a mural.
"Whoa! What is all this?" Rani asked once she saw the mural.
"They're the stories of The Tree of Life's past," Makini said before showing some drawings. "And these are Queen Janna's stories."
"Really?" Rani asked with a smile.
"Yep. I've been working on them since the moment we got here," Makini smiled back as she showed one place on the cave wall. "See? This one is from the day we arrived."
The tree's image soon glowed and there were images of The Lion Guard coming to visit The Tree of Life.
"It was a lot of work, but worth it," Makini continued with a smile. "Queen Janna wanted you to have all of her wisdom. Whenever you needed it. And here it is."
"Thank you, Makini." Rani sounded touched.
"It was my honor." Makini smiled.
"I guess Queen Janna was right," Rani smiled back. "I really do have everything I need to be Queen."
The two of them soon heard muffled growls.
"What's that?" Makini asked.
"I dunno. Come on!" Rani told Makini as she made her way to see what was growling only for her to see Varya's cubs coming in giggling as they had fun coming in and ending up in front of Rani. "Hello again." she then smiled at the tiger cubs.
"Hi." The middle tiger cub smiled back.
"Hey, cubs!" Bunga called out as he ran into the three tiger cubs. "Wait up. Hey, Rani. Makini," he then smiled bashfully at the girls. "Sorry the cubs got ahead of me."
"It's okay, Bunga." Rani reassured.
"Boy, you three are just bursting with energy, huh?" Kopa chuckled as he arrived with Varya.
"Bunga! Cubs!" Varya smiled in relief. "There you are."
"Hello, Varya. " Rani greeted the mother tiger.
"Oh! I'm sorry if my cubs barged in on you," Varya said once she saw the young lioness. "They're just excited to know if we can stay here. I know it's been a hard day for you, but you said earlier it was up to the Queen and now you're the Queen."
"Uh... Yes, of course, you are welcome to stay here at the Tree of Life." Rani smiled.
"Oh, thank you," Varya smiled back before looking curious. "So what do we do next?
"Yes," Rani grinned nervously as she looked like she was lost on what to do next unlike her grandmother. "Well, as Queen, the first thing I need to do for newcomers is... Uh... Hmm..." she then paused thoughtfully.
"I should've known this would happen." Kopa sighed to himself, feeling bad for Rani.
"Rani?" Makini called as she gestured to the end of the cave.
"Right!" Rani then said as she looked back at the tiger family. "I might not be sure what to do, but I know how to find out."