The Lion Guard Season 5

Chapter 16: Scar's Legion

{Cheka's POV}
Pride to pride, animals and more animals. Some stupider than others, but it's all the same. Uhami has proved himself a valuable asset, and Bura has proven himself to be a valuable right hand lion, or tiger, but I worry it will end like last time. They will betray me, like my old pride did. But I also wonder if I even want to build Father a legion. Or if they'd be strong enough to please Father. I had to train my pride for years for them to be strong enough, ready to do anything I told them. Yet, they weren't strong enough to see reason. These guys, on the other hand, are too weak to understand. Some of them are, and that's what scares me. Uhami is smart enough to realize my deception, and Bura is a wild card. My old pride weren't smart enough to break out, but my son was. My son and Kopa's daughter were smart enough to realize the deception. Kopa was smart enough to realize the deception long ago, and he was smart enough to know there was no escape, yet he was dumb enough to try. This could all crumble beneath me, like it had last time. But I wonder, should I stop it from having the chance to crumble, or should I let myself fall into the abyss I should never have crawled out of.
"Here is the Serval's Den." Uhami said
"Woooah." The recruits marveled "Who are we getting here?"
"No one." I answered
"Huh?"
"The Kingdom of Servals is negligible. The servals are weak and foolhardy, like their pathetic excuse of a king."
"So we don't get to visit?"
"Why is it called the Serval's Den?"
"Cuz there are millions of dens underneath the earth, duh!"
"No, idiot. It's 'cause the entire kingdom IS a den." Bura sighed "You are all idiots."
"It is called the Serval's Den because that's what it was meant to be." Uhami explained "Before the other animals came, it was just a network of serval dens."
"You are much more patient with these idiots than I could ever be." Bura said
"I have 3 cubs," Uhami said "I know all the tricks."
"Enough." I said "Useless squabbling will not help us at all. We must continue our mission."
I sounded confident and assertive, but really it's a mess underneath. I can't help but wonder, what am I doing this for? I thought Father was a good lion who just wanted what he was owed, but I don't think he's a good lion anymore. It's about power now, total domination over the Pridelands. While we were walking, I felt a flash of pain that I can only describe with one word, Mom. Mom... I didn't realize I might still miss my mother, who I killed because she told me the truth. I miss my mom, my grandmother Telusa, my small pride. Everything, even my son. Why do I miss them? I made the decision to kill my mother, I chose to let my pride kill my grandmother, and my son betrayed me. I thought I felt no remorse, they thought I felt no remorse, but maybe I do. And that scares me more than the past replaying itself. I could regret my actions, and it would cause me to flinch. I specifically taught my son when he made a decision, he needed to stand by it. He couldn't question himself or back out, because he's the grandson of Scar. And Scar never questioned his decisions.
"So where to next, Boss?" A recruit asked
"The Nest." I said, without a second thought as I should
"The Nest?" He repeated "I don't mean to be disrespectful but what value can birds have to offer? They're just birds."
"Birds can navigate the sky," I explained "While they lack in strength, they make up for it with their ability to guide us mid fight. From above, they can see behind us and warn us before we are attacked. They are a valuable resource that we should learn to exploit."
"An interesting take on birds Master." Bura noted
"The idea has merit." Uhami said "Remember Prince Kion's Lion Guard? He had a bird on his guard and he was undefeated."
"That is true." Bura agreed "But said bird was said to be able to see better than anyone else in the Pridelands."
"And the Kingdom of Birds will have that benefit tenfold."
We all started making our way to the Nest, which thankfully was straightforward. Along the way, I caught a glimpse of my son and that only meant he was here for one thing, his mother. His mother, whom I never truly loved. I never treated her like a mate, I treated her like another addition to my pride, and it's probably the reason Nguvu turned on me. He knew what I had done, he knew for a long time, because I used it to warn him. I could take away everything he ever loved and there would be nothing he could do about it. I was on top of the world, I was the one who decided who got to live to see another day. It was fun, but it wasn't right. Anyone and everyone would want to feel like that, on top of the world, in control of everything. Everyone would want to feel like a god, but is it worth the sacrifice? I thought so, and I sacrificed everything I had for it. But Scar made me realize the truth, it wasn't really about revenge. It was about power, you don't become a god but getting revenge, you become a god by getting power. But that doesn't matter, this isn't about me. This is about Father, and the war he is planning. We made it to the Nest, and I couldn't see my son anywhere. I didn't believe we made it before his little coalition, but here we are. They must have camped the night rather than push on. I don't think Nguvu would willingly waste the night because I taught him not to. But the boy wants to act grown, he can make mistakes on his own accord. Would he listen to reason anymore? Teenagers are idiots and he'll have to learn the hard way why he should listen. We met with the king and he agreed to lend us a companion, since he doesn't know what we are going to do. That was my mistake the last time I tried, these kings are smart and can put together my intentions if I give them too much information. This one is young, and easy to manipulate. Not so young he would cling to his father's wisdom like the cheetah king, but young enough that he still has a lot to learn. Our companion is very clearly not with us because his king commands it. He is more like the right hand man who secretly has a plot to overthrow the king and become king. So when we left the Nest, I decided to tell him what I am really planning
"I have a plan to topple 4 of the 7 Kingdoms and deliver them to their rightful rulers." I told him
"Perfect," He smiled "The monarchy is useless. They refuse to do anything worthwhile for the kingdom. I'm instituting a change, be it by force or by acceptance."
"I have a deal for you," I said
"I'm listening."
"Help me with my plan, and I'll help you conquer the Nest."
"That's a very tempting offer," He said "Your clan is quite large and it is more than enough to help me, however, it seems a bit to fanciful. What's the catch?"
"You are a perceptive one," I commended "The catch is your loyalty to me, and only me."
"If that's all there is to it, you've got yourself a deal," He said
"Perfect."
"However, if your purpose of getting a bird was for an aerial advantage, you will need more than one bird."
"Yes, I am aware."
"I can gather some allies if you wish."
"That's would be excellent." I said "Before you leave, what is your name?"
"Eguru." He said "I'm an Indian peregrine falcon."
"Had a friend who was an Indian peregrine falcon." I told him "Someone killed him, ripped off his wings."
"Hawke?" Eguru asked "He was my brother, and now you're telling me someone killed him?"
"Correct."
"Well, now I have one condition for our deal."
"Go on." I decided to humor him, knowing exactly what he's going to say.
"You're going to help me find the bastard who killed my brother, and you're going to help me kill them." Eguru said
"Well you've got yourself a deal." I agreed, of course he didn't know it was me who did it. A little omission every know and again isn't ever a bad thing. But omit too much, and they catch on.