"Almost back to one hundred percent," I huffed as Leone and I slowed from our run. "Unfortunately, that one hundred percent isn't quite what we were when we entered the pridelands, but, I'll take it." Leone grunted in frustration. He hated feeling almost as weak as we were. The regression of power was ridiculous. He was almost a legendary Bey. To be brought down so low wounded his pride.

I rubbed his shoulder and agreed. We had worked so hard to get past our last limits. It felt like we were back to square one.

As we stepped up to the den, I spotted Simba and Nala playing with Kiara to our left. My smile saddened a bit.

"It's not going to be easy, but if we don't leave now, it'll only make it harder to." Leone agreed. I stepped into the den and gathered up my stuff.

Slinging my bag over my shoulder, I stepped back into the African sun. Kiara was the first to spot us. Her ears shot up, only for her eyes to shift to the bag on my back. Her eyes nearly popped out of her head and she cried out in horror.

"NO!" Simba and Nala panicked at her cry, thinking something was wrong. The cub bolted towards me. I knelt down and caught her in my arms, letting out a small 'oof' at her weight hit my stomach. "You can't leave! You can't!" She yelled into my shirt. I sighed and hugged her. The king and queen trotted over.

"It's time, isn't it?" Nala asked. I nodded as I stroked Kiara's back. The queen dipped her head to me. "It was an honor to have you here." I smiled.

"It is an honor to be a member of this pride." I looked to both of the Highnesses. "Thank you. For everything. I owe you both my life."

"You have more than made up for it," Simba said with a smile. His tail moved in a wide sweeping motion. "You protected us from a threat we may not have been able to face. For that, the pride owes you." I smiled as I rocked back on my heels. Kiara smooshed further into my stomach, hoping that if she didn't let go, I couldn't leave.

"Let's just call it even, shall we?" They both smiled. I looked down to the princess of the pride. "Kiara…"

"No!" Came her immediate protest. My smile saddened, holding her under her front legs and lifting her up. Her ears were flat against her head as she glowered at me.

"Kiara, he can't stay forever," Simba said.

"Why not?" She grumbled, not breaking eye contact. I made sure she was looking at me before speaking.

"Because I have a family as well. I have parents, and a brother. I can't just abandon them." She looked like she understood that part. But still, she wasn't happy. I brought her close, hugging her again. "This isn't goodbye forever, I'll come see you again."

"Promise…?" My mind went back to what Mufasa had said.

"I promise."

"…Okay…" She still wasn't happy.

"I'll be okay, Kiara. I have Leone to watch over me." She nodded reluctantly before hopping out of my lap and squishing between her mother's legs. I stood up, stretching a little. Leone hopped up and I snatched him out of the air.

"I'll walk you to the border," Simba offered. I nodded. I said my final goodbyes to the pride, including Biza and Uzuri. The latter of whom felt guilty about getting me shot and had been avoiding me until I confronted her about it and told her that I didn't hold it against her. Her relief had been immediate. Most of the pride thanked me for taking care of the poachers. Only a few were still uncomfortable enough to only offer a nod.

Simba and I headed out. We walked in amicable silence for a while, simply enjoying the day.

I didn't see Azizi's herd. When I asked about it, Simba said he was still on the other side of Pride Rock. I asked him to pass along my thanks for the warning about the poachers.

Simba slowed to a stop at the invisible border. I stepped over it before turning to him. We both stared for a moment before I sucked in a breath.

"I'll be back in about 10 seasons."

"I wasn't expecting you to put a number on it?" He tipped his head a little. I ran my hand through my hair, the sun catching my bad eye briefly in its light.

"Let's just say there is a certain former king who is rather insistent I come back."

"Father?" He asked, his eyes widening. I nodded.

"The one and only." His eyes fell to the dirt, his brow creasing.

"…Something is going to happen at that point. That is why he asked you to come back." I sucked in a breath through my teeth. He wasn't going to like this…

"Actually. He wanted me to stay." Simba gawked at me.

"But, your family!" I patted the air.

"He got yelled at." I looked off to the side. "Probably shouldn't have done that, looking back on it…"

"He wanted you to stay, after everything you just went through?" His brow was creasing more, his eyes betraying how hurt he was for me.

"Simba, it's okay. He's just…he worries. He feels guilty because he wasn't there to watch you become the king you are today. To protect you. I was the next best thing." I ended that thought with a shrug. "Did he overstep a little? Yeah. But it's because he cares about you. All of you."

"Still, asking you to stay for that long is selfish."

"Take this to heart, Simba," I knelt in front of him, bringing us to eye level, "That just because something seems selfish, doesn't mean there aren't underlying good reasons." I held out a hand. He looked down at it before clasping it with his massive paw.

"Take care of yourself, James."

"I try to. The world tends to throw twists and turns that even I can't expect." I stood up. "Go, be with your pride. Be the king your father wanted you to be." He nodded and I turned and walked away.

After a minute, Simba let out a roar in farewell. I turned back and raised Leone into the air, our combined power curling high above us.

Stuffing my hands into my pockets, I ducked my head a little. From behind the lock of hair swaying in front of my face, a single tear fell to the dry savanna ground.

««{{}}»»

"Mom?! Dad?! I'm home!" I closed the door behind me as I kicked off my shoes.

"James!" Ryan rammed into me, throwing his arms around me in a short hug. "You were gone longer than normal. Are you okay?"

"Perfectly fine. Just, tired." I set my bag down and stripped off my coat.

"WHAT HAPPENED?!" I jumped, not expecting the shout. He grabbed my arm, looking over the scars. I had honestly forgotten about them, and didn't even consider wearing long sleeves.

'Was hoping to avoid that for a while…'

"I uh, encountered some wild dogs." He stepped back and looked me over. Even though I was healed, I wasn't winning any awards for good appearance.

"…Mom's going to kill you." I slumped forward, knowing he was right.

««{{}}»»

I stepped into the B-Pit. It looked exactly the same as it had when I first came in years ago. The digital tone that alerted at the door brought an old friend upstairs. "James! You're back!" The teen girl jogged over, her eyes shining at seeing me.

"Hey, Madoka, it's good to see you!"

"How was training? Is Leone in good shape?" I smiled and pulled him out. His Fusion Wheel gleamed. He liked Madoka, and not just because she made sure he was in tip-top shape. Even though her scientific mind had a hard time grasping the concept of Bey Spirits sometimes, she was more than kind to them.

And it was because of that care that I feared her more than every Blader in the world combined. I'd go toe-to-toe with Nemesis again before I intentionally angered Madoka.

She plucked Leone from my hand, looking him over with a critical eye.

"Well, it is certainly in better shape than it was last time." I spluttered at that.

"Hey! I take good care of Leone!"

"Better than most Bladers, that's true. But that just means my standards have gone up." She began heading downstairs. I followed, hot on her tail, trying to defend myself while fighting back disbelief.

"Well now hang on! Because I actually put time and care into my Bey, I'm being punished?!"

"If you want to call it that. Alright!" She dropped into her chair and rolled over to her equipment. I huffed and leaned against the desk, watching her go to work. "Let's see what your damage is, Leone." She placed him in a scanner and looked over the data that came in.

I went silent as she worked, knowing distractions could lead to mistakes or missed damage. I thought back to my time with the pride. If there was another threat, I needed something that could work against animals. Sure, Specter's Glare and Psychedelic Scene could disable anything within range, but we needed more moves.

How could we use the power Leone had to stop the pride from being hurt?

'Hmm…Leone…?' He winked into awareness. 'Do you think we could bring back Royal Flame Hurricane?' He was quiet for a minute. With the different Fusion Wheel, it could be more difficult. But, still possible. I nodded to myself. I figured as much. We just hadn't tried it since he became Phantom Leone.

'Imagine Simba's face when he sees it.' Leone was amused at the thought. While the pride had become used to Leone producing fire, it was normally for a split second while his Spirit formed or while we attacked. To see a whirling purple column of fire was a completely different matter.

««{{}}»»

"James!" I winced when crashing echoed throughout the building. Gingka Hagane nearly killed himself coming downstairs. "You're back!" I smiled at the young red head.

"Yup. It's been a while."

"How was your training? Did you get stronger?!"

"Actually, not really." His fiery eyes snuffed out.

"What? But why not?"

"Some things came up. I was stuck in one spot for a while. Once things got figured out, I headed right back here."

"So you're not any stronger than before…?" He full on pouted at me, looking like I took his toy away. I shrugged, holding my hands up.

"I'm probably not even back to where I was before I left."

"And why exactly did you get weaker?" I paled when Madoka's voice came from behind me.

"…D'uh…"

"Jaaaames!"

"Okay, but it wasn't my fault!" I flinched away when she turned her chair towards me.

"Explain! What happened?!"

"Okay, okay! Just don't bite my head off!" My hands were up to stop any bull rushes from her. Gingka had wisely sidled to the side. "Can we sit? It's…" I sighed. "Not only is it a long story, it's complicated and confusing." Her anger toned down and she gestured to the furniture.

««{{}}»»

Gingka and Madoka stared for a long time. Even after everything we had seen, there was shock written all over their faces.

"James, that's…"

"Believe me, I'm still wondering if it was all a dream." They looked at each other, as if wondering if they heard the same story.

"Sounds like it shouldn't have been an issue." Looking up, I internally sighed at seeing Kyoya leaning against the stair railing. "Bunch of lions? Fang Leone would have sent them packing."

"Ever faced off against poachers?" I asked with a head tilt. He smirked, a feral look in his eyes.

"Nobody can challenge the king of beasts."

"Ever been shot before?" That stopped him, his grin fading a little. My unmoving gaze made it fade even more. Having left that little tidbit out of the story, Gingka and Madoka gasped.

"S-s-shot?!" Madoka paled. I pulled up my shirt, showing the graze on my side. It had faded so it wasn't an ugly red, but it was still a visible mark. Kyoya's expression fell to a full frown.

"This was the result of letting my guard down." I put my shirt back down. "If it hadn't been for Leone, I would have died." Silence filled the room. The last time someone had faced death, it had been Ryuga. And as far as anyone could tell, he had actually died. When he and I were traveling with Kenta after he came back, he had opened up to me while the younger Blader was asleep. The Dragon Emperor could hardly guess how he truly "resurrected" even having gone through the experience personally.

"Hmph. It was your own fault for letting your guard down," Kyoya spat. Madoka shot to her feet, ready to rip into him. My hand being held up was her only brake.

"No. He's right. It was my fault."

"James…" I shook my head.

"If I had kept the Phantom Zone up, it wouldn't have happened." Gingka looked up from a deeper thought.

"You shouldn't hold yourself responsible. It was those poachers that did it."

"Still, I had prevented it until that moment. The poacher may have pulled the trigger, but I gave him the opening."

"Well, now that that's settled, how about a battle?" Kyoya held up a fist.

"I am in no position to battle," Came my simple reply, not even giving him a glance.

"What? You're turning down a challenge?"

"If you want to grab Phantom Leone, be my guest." I gestured over to Madoka's desk, where my Bey sat patiently in the scanner. He had been brought to awareness when Fang Leone had entered the room. Kyoya glanced at Madoka, who leveled a look at him. He scoffed, not taking her silent dare.

"If you're not up to the challenge, then you're not worth my time. I'm out of here." He spun around and walked back up the stairs.

"Hmph! He's so rude!" Madoka said, puffing out her cheeks. I waved her off.

"Hot heads do what hot heads will. It's no different than when I first got Leone." Leone shot me the equivalent of a flat look.

"Oh yeah, what was that about…" She turned to me. I flinched before she even finished her sentence.

Outside, Kyoya stuffed his hands in his pockets. "Tch. What a wimp." He nearly jumped when a thunderous noise came from inside the building.

"WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL US YOU GOT SHOT! YOU HAD NO RIGHT TO KEEP THAT FROM US! WHAT HAPPENED TO BEING YOUR FRIENDS?!" Kyoya turned away, a small smirk playing across his lips.

"Well, maybe not such a wimp if he's willing to make her mad."