The Lion Guard Season 5

Chapter 6: The Pridelands

{Kion's POV}
I led the cubs to Janja's den, hoping I could ask Jasiri some questions. Uzuri looked terrified, and she told Saka that she'd never seen a hyena before. He told her that she had nothing to fear from these ones. I came in and 2 cubs ran up to me, jumping and running around me very quickly.
"Who are you?" I asked the cubs
"These are our pups." Janja answered
"Your pups? They're beautiful." Uzuri said
"Thank you." Jasiri said
"Kion, who's the plus one?" Janja asked
"This is Uzuri. She wanted to come with me." I said "But first, I wanted to talk about the volcano. Why is there smoke coming out of it again?"
"We really don't know Kion." Janja answered
"Mzingo isn't able to get close enough to see inside the caldera. The smoke cloud is too thick and he said it's way too hot." Jasiri explained
"The last time that volcano was pouring that much smoke was when Sc..." I trailed off. The memory of that night flashed through my mind. It was so potent, it felt like I couldn't breathe. I felt Ushari's fangs pierce through my skin and he just kept laughing
"Sisi ni Sawa Kion. We are the same, though you're made of flesh and I'm made of flame"
His word echo in my mind over and over again, I couldn't move.
"-ion? Helloooo? Kion?" I heard Jasiri say
"Kion? You there? Blink twice if you can hear me." Janja said
Suddenly, I snapped back to reality, I saw Jasiri and Janja's den and everyone was staring at me with a shared look of concern.
"Kion? You okay?" Janja asked "You was saying something, then you kinda just stared off into space, it was like you were taken to another place in space and time."
"I'm fine Janja, just reliving the past." I reassured him, but Jasiri wasn't fooled
"You were thinking about the Battle for the Pridelands, weren't you. The moment you defeated Scar and came out with a bloody scratch on your face."
"The moment I got that bloody scratch." I clarified "The things he said to me, I will never forget them."
"Dad." Saka said "We should go to the Pridelands. You said that Grandfather asked for us."
"You are right." I told him before turning to Jasiri "I'm sorry Jasiri, we have to go to the Pridelands."
"Go. We'll let you know if we see something." Jasiri said
We left Jasiri's den and walked to Pride Rock. While we walked, I couldn't stop thinking about that day, the day Scar changed my life. Everyone affected by him, the lives he took and the lives he's ruined. It was because of him that I never met my grandfather before he died. Kiara greeted me, dragging me out of my thoughts. Koda and Asha ran over and greeted me too. Well, Koda ran over, Asha walked on a slight limp. I asked where Leah was and Kiara's head hung down and her ears flattened. She said the cubs were playing by a ravine and Koda fell in. Leah and Asha tried to save him but the vine she was using broke and Leah fell into the ravine. Asha showed me her paws which were covered in scratches that looked like they were bleeding badly.
"I tried to pull them both up." Asha cried "Leah thought the vine wouldn't hold the both of them. And she let go..."
"Leah jumped in to save me." Koda added "Because I was too stupid to think that I shouldn't go to the ravine."
"Koda," Kiara looked toward her son "It wasn't your fault. You followed your friends."
"Kion." Dad walked out of the cave, having looked like he just woke up "Welcome."
"I heard about Leah." I told him
"I hoped this situation was something similar to Kopa's. Dad said "But Kiara and Kovu have been searching night and day for her. And at some point, we have to accept the truth."
Kiara's head hung lower than before, and I could imagine why. I knew I would lose my mind if I lost one of my cubs. Or anyone I loved. She didn't want to accept it. She screamed at Dad, saying she is a bad mother, she let Leah fall in that ravine. Amani looked like she didn't want to be around here. I told her and Saka to take their cousins and play with the other cubs. Uzuri followed Saka off of Pride Rock. Dad said this is a terrible situation but this wasn't the reason why he asked me to come.
"I asked you to come so we could discuss the volcano in the Outlands." Dad said
"I asked Jasiri about it." I told him "She said they have no idea what happened or why it happened."
"What do you think it could be, Kion?"
"I'm not sure." I admitted "I hope it's not what it was last time because-" I trailed off again. I looked away, and felt a sharp pain rushing through my scar. I winced at the pain, and when I opened my eyes, I was looking in a puddle. There was nothing else but a puddle on a cliff. I looked in, and saw myself when I got that scar, my eye closed and bleeding. The reflection was smiling an evil smile at me. It was saying something, I couldn't figure out what. A drop fell into the puddle, and ripples formed. The ripples turned into swirls, blurring the reflection. It was shifting into something else, but it was interrupted when Kiara called out my name. The world returned to normal, and I looked back to see everyone staring at me. They shared a look of confusion and concern, and yet stayed silent. I looked back, wondering if it could have been Scar. I looked up, hoping that Grandfather Mufasa would come and tell me what to do like he did before. I picked up where I left off "-because last time that volcano was active, we were in one of the worst wars in the Pridelands history."
"Well," Dad replied "All we can do is wait and see what happens next. I hope he's not back."