So here it is. Chapter 4! Sorry it took a bit longer but there's a massive list of things that get in the way of writing these. Thankfully it didn't take too long and now I present the next chapter in this short story. Enjoy. And I think you'll be pleased with which guard member I chose to survive. Then again, I didn't have any choice in the matter because of my other story 'Dark Revelations'. But anyway, enjoy.

Chapter 4

Simba stood in the gentle wind blowing through the Pridelands on the ceremonial ledge outside the pride's den. Today had been a particularly easy day for him and Nala. Kiara had been out most of the day with Tiifu and Zuri and there hadn't been much activity going on. The only remotely interesting thing going on was Kion and the guard tracking down the rogue lion, but that was their job and not Simba's.

All he wanted to do now was enjoy the breeze while it lasted. He just wanted to enjoy life while it lasted, especially after the incident all those years ago. Simba sighed and gazed out into his kingdom.

A couple minutes of staring aimlessly later and Simba thought he caught sight of a small golden shape moving very fast across the savannah, towards Pride rock. He squinted his eyes for a moment to try and better make out what it was, then he realized. A small red mane gave away the thing's identity.

"Kion?"

Kion was racing home, urgently needing to talk with his parents. Something terrible had happened and he didn't know what to do. He didn't know how to react properly, he didn't know what was going on any more.

He got to the bottom of the steps leading up to the den and saw his father at the top. Immediately Kion started to call out to him while clambering up the steps rather clumsily.

"Dad! Dad!"

"What is it, Kion?" Simba asked hurriedly, seeing something was wrong.

Kion reached Simba and quickly huddled up to him, wrapping himself around his father's front legs. He was even beginning to shed some tears but tried half-heartedly to hide it.

"Dad. Something horrible has happened." The young lion whimpered.

"There, there son." Simba comforted, patting his son on the back as his leg became soggy with the tears. "What's happened? And where are the others?"

"That's the thing. They're..." Kion burst into all out crying now.

Simba looked at him, feeling so sorry it was starting to make him sad too.

"They're dead..." Kion finally managed.

"What? Dead? How?"

"They... There was this... We were in the canyon and... There was a rock fall and they weren't... They weren't fast enough..." Kion wept even more, unable to continue right now.

"You must have been lucky to escape alive. But this is a tragic thing. No more guard means the Pridelands are vulnerable." Simba said as he looked up and then down again at Kion. "I'm so sorry you've had to go through this, Kion."

Simba realized he must have sounded a little cold on the matter when he said that. But really he couldn't come up with much to say at the moment. Now the guard was wiped out there would have to be other arrangements for the protection of the Pridelands. And of course Kion was in a really bad state and would probably need a few days at least of rest and time alone.

After a short amount of time Nala came onto the scene, seeing the scene in front of her. She decided to not announce her presence and instead nudged Simba on the shoulder.

"Simba, what's happened?" She whispered, hoping Kion wouldn't hear her over his own crying.

"I'll tell you in just a minute. Wait until I've got him sorted out."

"OK."

"Kion." Simba lowered his head to talk to his son. "Kion. Kiara's inside the den. Go and tell her what's happened and she'll comfort you for a bit. Your mother and I want to discuss something important a moment."

Kion wiped his nose and eyes before answering.

"Pro... Promise you'll come and sit with me later?" He asked.

"I promise. Now go on. Kiara will understand."

Kion trailed off into the den, leaving Simba and Nala alone outside.

"Simba, what's this all about?" She asked again.

"Nala, I think you'd better sit down for this."

The dust was starting to clear, only slightly. But at least it was a relief on her throat by now. It seemed the other three hadn't been as lucky as her. The rocks had crushed them but an arch had formed from the way the rocks fell and that arch just so happened to had fallen over her. It was a miracle. The whole arch was sealed save for a small opening where day light was pouring through.

"Kion?" She tried again. But it was pointless. Kion was gone and she'd definitely seen him leaving at least ten minutes ago.

He must've assumed that they were all dead. He was heading back to Pride rock to tell everyone. But if he did that then they might never come back for her. Why would they come and rescue someone who they thought was already dead? How was she going to get out of this one?

Come on Fuli. You can think of something. She thought to herself.

After looking around in the small stone prison around her she saw very faintly in the dark that there was a narrow passage of sorts. It was a long shot but if she could fit through it then it might lead her out. Or at least back into the gorge where she could stand up properly. Fuli got ready to attempt to squeeze through the tiny looking gap. To her surprise she could fit with a bit of room to spare. She began to shimmy her way along, catching sight of a tiny pin prick of light at the end of a short tunnel.

It wasn't long before she was out and once again in the open of the gorge. Now a lot of the dust had cleared or settled, but still it impeded visibility to a certain degree. She looked around to see a scene of desolation and death all around her. Nothing but silence and the foul stench of fresh death. It was horrid.

But despite these distractions Fuli was still able to locate where the ledges leading up to the top were. It wouldn't be hard to climb them on her own, easy in fact. Once she was out of the gorge she would run all the way back to Pride rock and not stop for anything. After today all she wanted to do was curl up in the den and go to sleep amongst what was left of her friends. She also couldn't wait to see the silly grin on Kion's face when he discovered she was still alive. He would look so dumb but so cute at the same time and-

Fuli just realized something.

Silly really, but if Kion had in fact told everyone that she and the other guard members were dead, then wouldn't that effectively make her dead in the eyes of the pride? Of course she was in fact alive but could she handle the looks on all those faces when they found out the truth? What would it be like to walk into a place that thinks you're dead? Did she really belong there any more?

Why was Fuli thinking all these things? Of course she still belonged at Pride rock, what was she getting so worked up about? But for some unexplainable reason she felt as though a part of her had been taken away. But why? Nothing had caused it so what was going on?

Perhaps she was just shaken up by her close scrap with death? She just needed some time alone to think about how lucky she had been, and how unlucky her friends were. Maybe that was what was getting to her. Three of her closest friends were dead now, killed right beside her.

Whatever the reason for Fuli feeling this down all of a sudden, she was sure that a few days on her own couldn't make it any worse. She was used to being alone after all like she often used to be. So her plan was now this: Get out of the gorge and find a nice quiet place, either on the border of the Pridelands or outside of it completely, where she could rest and think things over for a bit.

Fuli began to climb, up and out of the gorge. Funny how it always seemed longer going up than it did going down when climbing things. Once at the top Fuli had to haul herself over the edge and onto solid ground once again. She saw that the sun had now sunk below the horizon as night began to creep in over the Pridelands, accompanied only by a light breeze. Right in the distance, so very far away by the looks of it, was Pride rock. Home. Or at least it... Had been...

"I'll be back. I'll see you soon Kion." Fuli muttered.

With that the cheetah turned while glancing back one last time at her home before moving into a sprint, heading for the border that separated the Pridelands from the rest of the world. She was sure she'd be coming back here in a few days. It wouldn't be easy but she would come back.

All she needed was a few days alone in an isolated place to come to terms with her loss and prepare herself for the reactions of the pride and other animals when she returned after being presumed dead. Just a few days...

Will Fuli be able to come to terms with all that's happened and will she return? Find out next time. *cue dramatic theme tune*. So yeah, there will probably only be a couple more chapters to this, it is a short story after all, and I'll try and get them done reasonably quickly.

And once again, I really must recommend you checking out my other Lion stories if you haven't already, starting with The Master Plan, then Ashes Of Paradise, Kiara's Fate and lastly but not least Dark Revelations, because this fic is really just one small side aspect of the much greater plot in those fics.

And one final note before I head off to listen to some Breaking Benjamin an d write the next chapter, please review if you have the time, guest reviews are welcome as well. Thanks. See ya next time.