Chapter 12: Requiem For a Warrior

With Simba…

Between Kiara's scream of anguish and the sight of Code Red's body falling out of sight, Simba hardly knew what to do.

What he did know, was that their last line of defence against Crossfire was now dead, and Kiara and Kion were the most in danger. "Kiara, Kion, we need to go! Now!" He shouted.

The Lion Guard, albeit just as horrified as everyone else, heeded Simba, and while some of them rushed to Kion, Fuli and Beshte ran over to Kiara, who seemed rooted in place, staring straight at Crossfire, who was now striding towards them, his Riot Cannon ready to shoot them.

Kiara resisted at first, but soon relented, tears streaming down her face.

Crossfire now was drawing ever closer, now levelling his cannon straight at Simba.

Before he could fire, though, a voice rang out:

"HEY!"

Crossfire turned to see the youngest child of Simba staring straight at him, hatred burning in his eyes.

Knowing precisely what Kion was about to do, Simba made to say something, anything to prevent Kion from doing what he was about to do.

He was too late, as Kion unleashed a loud, deafening roar that only he was capable of.

The Great Kings of the Past roared with Kion, all as one singular roar in an effort to banish the pestilence that was Crossfire from their sight and safeguard Simba and Kiara, as was Kion's duty.

When Kion opened his eyes, to his horror, Crossfire was still there.

Looking more amused than intimidated, Crossfire looked around, almost bored.

But immediately shot at Kion moments later.

Bunga and Ono immediately dragged Kion out of the line of fire, but not enough that the explosion would not affect them. The explosion sent all three flying.

Ono thankfully regained his equilibrium the fastest and took to the sky, whilst Bunga took a tumble

Kion still took the worst of it, crashing hard into a nearby tree, a sickening crack being heard

"KION!" Kiara shrieked, breaking free of Beshte and Fuli and rushing over to her brother. Picking him up by the scruff of his neck, she rushed over to Simba, now joined by the Lion Guard.

Together, they rushed off towards the Pride Lands, hearts heavy with loss.

With Crossfire…

Crossfire watched them leave, a thin smile crossing his face. The Pride Lands could wait for the time being.

He heard footsteps behind him, and before long, Shadowstreak was at his side.

"Shall I pursue them, Commander?" Shadowstreak inquired.

Crossfire shook his head. "They were not our objective." Looking to Shadowstreak, Crossfire nodded. "You have done well, Shadowstreak. With our defeat of the Autobots here, the Pride Lands are defenceless. Ripe for Zira to take and install her son in control of."

Switchblade quickly joined them. "The Autobots we were pursuing have escaped." He said.

"It no longer matters." Crossfire said. "They are alone in the mountains. They will return to Autobots Headquarters and plan their next move."

"What is our next move, Commander?" Shadowstreak inquired.

"Our next move is to wait for Lord Megatron's next directive." Crossfire said. "We have taken an area where we can build a base of operations. We must be ready to defend it."

"I will marshall the troops to begin constructing defences." Switchblade said.

"No." Crossfire said. "We need no defences other than that of the natural ones surrounding us. We can use them to our advantage. Have troops stationed at every natural defensive position we can find. Have troops also set up a communications array. I must report our victory to Lord Megatron." With this, he turned away and walked to a place he felt was secluded enough to contact his leader.

Finding such a place, Crossfire contacted the Nemesis. "Nemesis, this is Crossfire. Do you read me?"

First, there was silence. Then, a voice that made no effort to hide the evil behind it came to Crossfire's servos: "Report."

Crossfire nodded. "Lord Megatron." He said, the manner with which he said it affording his leader the due respect and reverence the Decepticon leader commanded. "The mountains are taken. the majority of the Autobots are no longer functional and the survivors are in retreat. What is your bidding?"

Megatron was silent for a number of seconds before he spoke again: "Excellent, Crossfire. As for your new orders; do what you will. With the Autobots all but eradicated, the lands they defended so fervently are yours for the taking. Establish a base for us there, or simply raze it all to the ground. It matters little to me."

"As you command, Lord Megatron." Crossfire replied, cutting the comm. With that done, his thoughts moved towards the Pride Lands. Decisions, decisions...

Pride Rock, 22:00 pm…

"What happened?!" Nala demanded the moment she saw Simba arrive, with some of the Lion Guard members clearly injured, Kion being the worst off. Kiara looked like she had spent the entire journey home crying, and Simba looked gaunt and in shock.

Simba didn't respond, looking to the members of the Lion Guard carrying Kion. "Get him inside." Simba commanded, turning to Ono. "Get Rafiki. Tell him it's urgent."

Ono nodded and took to the skies, flying towards Rafiki's tree.

Finally, Simba turned to Kiara. "Go inside honey. Me and your mother will be with you in a few moments."

Kiara nodded and walked into the den.

Looking at Nala, Simba sighed. "Things were worse than we thought." He said.

"How bad?" Nala asked.

"Crossfire and his entire force of Decepticons was there." Simba answered. "Not just Shadowstreak and a handful." Looking away, Simba said: "To cut a long story short, there was a battle. A big one, from what I heard. And the Autobots lost. So far as I know, every member of Code Red's team save for Shockshot is dead."

"And what about Code Red?" Nala asked, despite already guessing the answer.

Simba didn't reply, instead looking into the den, where Kiara's muffled sobs could be heard.

Nala's face immediately fell. "No…" She murmured.

Simba sighed. He could hear the utterances of shock and horror from the rest of the pride, who were intermingled around Pride Rock. Taking a deep breath, Simba said: "Code Red died a warrior and a hero. Let it be known that he will be honoured as one."

Nala made to say something, but instead bowed her head, choking back a sob.

Simba sighed and moved closer, rubbing his head against Nala's, letting her start crying into his shoulder. All around him and Nala, he could hear a few other starting to shed tears at the loss of Code Red. It was all he could do not to start crying himself. He was the king. He had to put on a brave face for the sake of his pride and family. A few tears fell from his face, but he did his best to contain any more.

"It almost feels like when I thought I'd lost you." Nala said, breaking away. "Back when we were cubs."

Simba nodded sadly, knowing the event Nala spoke of. "The difference is, I'm here now." He said comfortingly. "And for all our differences, Code Red was my friend too." Pausing, Simba added, "But right now, we need to be there for Kiara. As hard as his death hit the both of us, it's certainly hit her harder. We need to let her know we're here for her."

Nala sighed. "Then let's not waste any more time."

Moments later…

"Kiara?" Nala called out as she entered the den, followed closely by Simba.

"I'm over here." Came Kiara's voice.

Nala and Simba shared a look at how hoarse Kiara sounded before making their way further into the den to where Kiara was.

She looked utterly terrible. Her eyes were puffy and bloodshot from crying so much, and her cheeks were stained with the streaks of many, many tears.

She obviously noticed that Nala had been crying too, so she got up and walked over to her mother, pressing up against Nala while a fresh outpouring of tears came forth.

Nala held her daughter close, saying: "It's okay, Kiara. I'm here, now."

"So am I." Simba said, coming closer and wrapping a paw around Kiara. "You're not the only one crying over Code Red's death."

"I don't see you crying." Kiara replied.

Simba sighed. "Someone needs to look strong for the sake of the pride." Pulling Kiara a little more closer, Simba added: "But trust me when I say that I'm just as devastated as you are."

Kiara looked up, and she could see the sadness in her father's eyes. It was a sadness she knew well, as she recalled several instances in which her father had looked as such: Most of them being whenever talking about someone he'd lost.

"But the main thing is; we still have each other." Simba said, smiling slightly. "If we're fortunate, Rafiki will tend to Kion, and he'll be up and running again."

"And before you start about Code Red not being here;" Nala said. "Remember that he's never really gone." Reaching out with a paw, Nala added: "He's still here. In our hearts." At this, she pressed her paw against Kiara's chest, feeling Kiara's heart beating. "And he always will be."

Kiara wiped a tear from her eye. "Okay." She croaked. Looking to where Kion's motionless form lay, still, but barely showing signs of life, she asked: "What about Kion?"

Simba and Nala shared a look. "At the moment, we don't know." Simba said. "It's still too early to tell. All we can do right now, is wait for Rafiki and pray Kion will be alright."

Kiara nodded before she and her parents huddled together, watching Kion barely holding onto life. With Code Red's death and Kion's life hanging by a thread, they knew that their future was uncertain. All they could do now was hope for the best.

Boom.

And that is the end of 'Fire Across the Mountains'. If this were a movie, and there were end credits, I'd probably use 'The Last Stand' by Sabaton (AMAZING song, by the way) as the end credits song, since it really fits.

Regardless, I really enjoyed writing this fanfiction. It's always good to have a story where the villains win as opposed to the heroes. If the heroes win all the time, the villains no longer seem like a threat. And I hate it when villains are made to no longer look like a viable threat.

All that aside, let's look at some reviews, shall we?

Adam Carver: True. But all warriors have limits.

Daniel Mathers: "If you think this has a happy ending, you haven't been paying attention." Ramsay Bolton, Game of Thrones-Season 3, Episode 6.

Jason Chandler: Glad you enjoyed the battle. As for Code Red... He looks pretty down to me.

Jestalnaker94000: Make that three of Code Red's teammates and I think Crossfire might want to have a word with you regarding what usually happens when you get shot in the chest.

Mike Noland: Well, something epic did happen. Unless epic failures don't count. Sorry, Kion!

With all that said and done, thank you so much for taking the time to read this fanfiction. If you liked it, leave a review in the appropriate section, and if you really enjoyed it, favourite and follow this writer for more content like this. And favourite the story as well, since it's... well, you get the point.

Again, thank you all so much for reading. There is a sequel in development as we speak. And it shall hit within the first week of June.

Until then, I bid you farewell.

T-Rock14