Kion and Rani were still together as a couple and they were having a little walk. The male cub was certainly thinking about that little song she sang to him. Something sweet and soothing for his soul. Being more romantic in their interactions, they both oversaw the large, white Rwenzori mountains that towards over the lands and touched the sky.
The two smiled and looked at each other, and they both knew who lived on those very mountains. "Maybe we can pay Sokwe, Majinuni and Hafifu a visit?" Rani asked him
"You read my mind, Rani." Kion replied boldly. "They helped us in dealing away with defeating Inuwa."
"True. So true." Carefully, the two went up the mountain to meet the gorilla family once more. At last, they both found the two brothers playing snowball fights and Sokwe looking overhead at the valley below Rwenzori.
"I'm gonna get ya for that, bro!" Majinuni playfully shouted at his twin sibling.
"Oh ho, I wouldn't like to see you try, buddy!" Hafifu retorted while laughing. As their little snowball fight continued going on, the two noticed Kion and Rani walking over towards them.
In a far distance, Zazu was shivering in the cold weather, and a few icicles were dangling from his beak, and he turned blue in color. Ono the egret can easily see that poor Zazu was freezing cold in the snowy weather. "Just hang in there, Zazu." said Ono. "Do it for the king."
"I'm trying. But... t-this unbearable cold is g-g-g-getting to my feathers." the poor hornbill began shivering in the cold with his teeth chattering as if he was having a seizure (although he might have a seizure from the cold if he sticks around a little longer). "I wish I was like one of those mountain gorillas so I wouldn't be cold in this weather."
Ono looked annoyed and he said: "Alright alright, come here, and we'll try to keep each other warm in the snow." Zazu, having no more time to lose, had no problem sitting close to Ono so that his wing feathers, so he would be less cold than he was before, a little much to Ono's annoyance. Going back to Kion, Rani, and their gorilla friends, these three royal apes were more than happy to see these two lions on their mountain.
"Kion, Rani. You came to visit us?" said Hafifu
"Yeah. I need a place to feel more calm after the fight with Inuwa." the cub admitted. "I've... never felt so afraid and it was so crazy how I have dealt with a scary villain like Inuwa. Not to mention that Ramses, and a couple of my greatest enemies joined forces with him."
"But hey, you got your grandparents and other dead kings and queens to help you out and kill Inuwa." Majinuni added.
"We're sorry you went through all that." Hafifu added.
"No, it's okay." Kion said. "I'm feeling way better now. Mostly because of the hot spring before."
Both gorilla brothers chuckled. "Good." they said in unison.
"Glad you could stop by, Kion." said Sokwe, coming over to greet the two lions himself. "I hope you are feeling more at ease after... you know."
"I am." said Kion. "I'm hanging out with my girlfriend here."
"Ooooooh, some one's in love!" the gorilla brothers teased them.
"Oh, pay no heed to my sons," Sokwe smirked, "Those two are certainly a pair of jokers."
"Yeah, we're just messing with ya kiddo." Majinuni said. He patted Kion's back with his beefy hand, and hafifu did the same with Rani's back, making them both emit a mild laugh.
Meanwhile, in the Outlands
Ramses the deranged lion had never looked so angry in his entire life. He was just as angry when he was first expelled from the Night Pride by Rani's father a long time ago. With Inuwa, he was so close to unrightfully reclaim the Night Pride for himself.
Alas, Mufasa and the other deceased kings of the Pride Lands had to intervene by helping Kion kill Inuwa. As of now; he was pacing to and fro in complete shame.
"Raaaaaaarggh!" Ramses roared at the sky. "WE WERE SO CLOSE!" He began breathing heavily in frustration. The other members of the Lion's Bane were also pretty angry with how their own dreams of getting whatever they wanted were foiled as well. They really thought that with Inuwa helping them all out, they could achieve their goals.
Tuma and Draak were suffering the same thing as Ramses was: losing their hope of trying to be rulers of their own tribes, or former tribes since they were both exiled from their old homes.
"So close." Ramses tried to calm himself down some more, "we all tripped at the finish line. We almost had what we wanted. But those dead rulers had to crush our own dreams."
"We could have had whatever we wanted." said Makucha. "I could have tasted a gigantic eland or a Buffalo without any problems, but no. That had to be taken away from me."
"And the Lion Guard would have been out of our lives for good." Moishi added, sweeping some rocks away with her wings. "Now we might never get the chance."
"And I had longed to eat whatever I could get my teeth on." Said Harif, "anything yummy and juicy for my taste buds. Now those pesky kids and all those goody-goodies will never leave us alone.
"Guess I might as well kiss my dream of being a gorilla leader goodbye."
"Same for ruling over a hippo pod."
Everyone was silent in a humiliating defeat. Indeed, they were close to reaching their goals. But it wss a good thing that the heroes stopped this evil group of animals from achieving what they wanted. Overwise, many animals would have been dead. "Perhaps we were overlooking our desires." Ramses said. "The next time something like this happens again, I will have the heads of any aninal u can kill."
"Ditto for me." Makucha said. "But... I think we just need to take a breather from all this. Maybe come up with a new plan. No use coming up with ideas steaming."
"That's true." Tuma said. "I just feel like breaking Sokwe's neck right now."
Taking a deep breath in himself, Ramses was still rather peeved about all that had happened recently, and his dreams crushed some more. Regardless, he said: "perhaps you are right. We do need a breather. Perhaps some water."
They all went their separate ways for a little while to cool off from their defeat. Some time in the future, the next meeting between the Lion Guard and the Lion's Bane will really get ugly.
