Chapter 1: A King's Duty

The sun head reached center-sky over the grassy plains of Africa.

Light spread across the tall and yellowish grass as a series of rustling disturbed what would have been peaceful vegetation.

Out of the grass came two cheetah cubs followed by a limping adult-female.

Ahead of them was a pass that went through a series of rock formations.

"Come on, mom, we're almost there!" One frantically shouted.

"I'm trying. Trying." The cheetah moaned. Neither cub could bear to look at the large gauche in their mother's side as she struggled to move.

"You can make it mom! It's just up ahead!" Both nudged her forward, desperate to keep her going.

Finally, they reached the entrance to the pass but found their path blocked.

Directly ahead of them were three adult lions. Two males and one female. All three had dark-brown fur and manes. The lions were eating a large wildebeest between them.

"No kidding." The lioness chuckled as one of the males laughed with her.

"Just you wait, Kanda. One day you'll beg for me."

"I look forward to that spectacle, Idan." The second male continued to laugh as the first glared at him. That was until Idan saw the three cheetahs. Their playful demeanors quickly changed when they saw the fright in the cubs and the wound on the mother.

"Woah, are you ok?"

"Please, our mom's hurt! We're trying to find the Tree of Life!" One of the cub's pleaded despite her fear of the lions. The three lions saw how frightened the cubs looked of them and Kanda slowly approached.

"Calm down, we're not going to hurt you. My name is Kanda, this is Idan and Gael."

"Hello."

"You're looking for the tree of life. You came to the right place, we're from the Kingdom of the Tree of Life. It's just through this pass, we can make you." Idan said.

The cubs gave more hopeful looks.

"We're close, mom!"

"Please, we must hurry, they aren't far behind."

"They?" Gael tilted his head slightly.

The ground shook from a series of hoof steps that flowed like a river.

The cubs quickly pushed their mother behind the lions as their pursuers revealed themselves. Idan, Kanda, and Gael saw an entire herd of buffalo emerge from the grass. The leader lowered his large horns and huffed in an aggressive manner.

All three lions could see the fire in his eyes.

"There they are!?" The leader huffed as he dragged his right hoof across the ground.

"Excuse me, can we help you?" Kanda asked.

"This doesn't concern you lions. Step aside." The three saw his intentions quite clearly as the buffalo looked at the frightened cheetahs.

"Well this is our home, so it kind of concerns us." Gael growled.

"My name is Gage. I am the master of this herd and that cheetah tried to hunt us!"

All thee lions raised an eyebrow as if this was meant to be some kind of earth-shaking news.

"Yeah, buddy, ever heard of the circle of life? We need to eat too." Idan growled.

"My cubs needed to eat. His herd is three times as big as any others. They eat all the other herds' grass because there are so many." The cheetah tried to growl but her pain was too much. Both cubs tried to lick her wound and comfort her.

"No one hunts from my herd. Every buffalo here belongs to me! Anyone touches my property dies!" Kanda and the others saw a certain weariness and fear in many of the buffalos towards Gage, particularly the cows.

Gael carefully looked up at a nearby tree. A white owl sat in the tree and watched the entire ordeal.

Gael gave her a nod and the owl quickly flew off.

Kanda got between the cubs and Gage.

"Well as much as I admire a brave leader for protecting his pack, your little vendetta has to end here. You've entered the Kingdom of the Tree of Life."

"And?" Gage huffed.

"And, Queen Rani has decreed that her kingdom is a place of healing. Meaning you can't come here to hurt anyone else."

Gage shook his head.

"I'm the master of my herd. I do what I want! Your Queen can be trampled for all I care!"

The cheetahs nearly passed out in fear but the lions smiled.

"I'd be careful what you say. Our King and his Guard are very devoted to protecting the Kingdom." Kanda said in an eager fashion.

Gage huffed again and lowered his horns at the lioness.

"That's it, you're going to meet my horns now too. I don't see a King anywhere!"

"How unbungalievable that you'd say that at this moment." Gage and the other buffalo heard a distinct and almost grading voice.

The cheetah and her cubs looked up with the buffalo at six new animals who stood on the rocks over them. Among them was a young adult, female cheetah with green eyes. The second was a young-adult male hippo with blue eyes. A large female eagle with purple feathers and blue eyes. An Egret bird with black eyes. A young-adult honey badger with dark-blue eyes.

In front of the other was a young adult male lion. His fur was a more yellowish-tan unlike the other lions and his mane was a deep red. The mane was almost fully grown in around his head. His eyes were a light brown with a notable scar over his left eye, though it did not reach his actual eyeball.

The lion also had a light blue marking atop his forehead.

Each of these animals bore a marking one shoulder. The marking was of a lion's head done up to appear as a tree, or perhaps the other way around.

All six had either determined or disciplined expressions. Save the honey badger, who smiled with determination.

None appeared more vehement in their resolve than the lion who bore his fangs and let out a pounding growl.

"This is the Kingdom of the Tree of Life. Whatever your qualms are with this cheetah, they end here. Unless you require healing or intend to enter with peace, turn back, now!"

The sheer presence of the lion was enough to make several buffalo back up.

"Who do you think you are talking to the master of this herd, like that! I do what I please!"

The lion narrowed his eyes and took a more aggressive stance.

"I am Kion, King consort of the Tree of Life, son of King Simba of Pride Rock! These lands are under my protection!"

"So unless you want to feel the unmatched fury of the Lion Guard. You'd best get moving." The cheetah growled with an all too confident smile.

Gage huffed.

"Lion's done scare me. I've dealt with your kind before." The manner in which Gage emphasized the word dealt made no further explanation needed as to what he meant.

The buffalo leader charged forward with his horns held down. The herd quickly followed suit and quickly petrified the cheetahs.

However, Gage did not reach his target. Kion roared as he pounced down and slammed the buffalo onto his side. Gage had not expected such immense strength from the young king. He had seen lion's with such strength but they were usually older and noticeably larger.

Kion was reasonably large for a young-adult. However, he wasn't overly bulky. His body seemed to be made up of incredibly efficient muscle that was well distributed across his body.

Kion immediately snapped his jaws and slashed his claws at the buffalos behind Gage. The terrifying display brought many to a halt but not all of them.

"Twende kiboko!" Beshte huffed as he slammed his hulking body into the buffalo on Kion's right. His immense size and large tusks quickly halted the herd's right portion as well.

"Zuka Zama!" The honey badger viciously snapped his jaws and flailed his claws into the face of the first buffalo on Kion's left. The much larger creature nearly jumped backward and caused a pile-up.

When the honey badger saw more buffalo trying to force their way forward he gave another thick smile.

"Alright, you asked for it." When he turned his back on the buffalo, a cloud of the foulest smell any of the buffalo had ever smelt now filled their senses and nearly made each one faint.

The egret carefully watched the ordeal from above with an intense focus on the cheetahs.

"We've got breakaways! Coming to the left! Two right!"

"Anga Lenga!" The eagle swooped down and raked the face of one buffalo who tried to outflank the Guard by coming left.

"Huwezi!"

The cheetah with a swiftness that the cheetah mother had never even heard of.

With two rapid strikes, the cheetah claws the inside legs of both flanking buffalo from the right and bought them into a tumble.

Kanda and the other lions watched the battle with stars in their eyes.

Kanda in particular as she gazed at Kion who fought off multiple buffalo with unmatched tenacity.

"Queen Rani is so lucky." She almost purred. Idan noticed this and gave a jealous expression.

"Are we just gonna sit here. I saw we help the King!" Idan growled.

Gael and Kanda both bore their fangs in a smile. All three let out a powerful roar and charged into the sides of the herd. Their help wasn't vital to the Guard's success but it did hasten the rate of containing the herd.

Gage tried to gore Kion with his horns but the King got under Gage's head and used his tremendous strength to hurl his foe back into the other buffalo.

"Get behind me!" Kion roared. His guard and the other lions quickly did just that while the cheetahs looked confused.

"You guys are in for a show!" The honey badger shouted full of excitement to the cheetahs.

As Kion arched his head back as if to roar, the cheetah mother felt the ground shake a little and the wind picked up.

Kion thrust his head forward and roared. In the sky above, the clouds billowed out like thunder. The cubs and mother shuttered when they almost saw elder lions appear in the clouds roar as Kion did.

A tsunami-wave of concussive force struck the heard of buffalo and sent the herd across the African plains.

All but one, Gage had been just low enough to the ground to avoid the impact of this roar. Despite how afraid he was, the herd master finally saw an opening against the cheetah mother.

With a murderous huff, he forced his way past the honey badger and younger cheetah.

Gage held his horns low as the cubs tried desperately to get their mother up to no avail. The mother attempted to force them off but they wouldn't leave her side.

Rather than the pain of his horns, the cheetahs felt the pierce of another roar.

Kion had intercepted Gage and slammed him hard into the ground.

When the cubs opened their eyes, they saw Gage's horns had been broken clean off and his body was limp.

All three were overcome with a mixture of fear and awe as they saw the Lion pant over Gage's body. The fiery aggression that had been so prominent in Kion's expression now faded into compassion.

"It's alright, he can't hurt you now."

"I, we….Thank you." The mother tried to say through her pain.

"I'm just glad you're ok."

"And we got dinner out of it." Fuli said as she looked at Gage's body with a slightly hungry expression.

"Fuli." Kion said with a more serious look.

"What?"

"Welcome to the Kingdom of the Tree of Life! You've met King Kion. We're his loyal Guard. The name's Bunga, his second in command." The honey badger said with a proud stance.

"You're his second in command? We've been doing our job too well for that to be true." Fuli said as she came up beside him.

"My uninformed friend is Fuli. As you can see, a fellow cheetah."

"Are you guys ok? There's no need to be scared anymore." Fuli gave a more compassionate look as she nudged her head against the cubs.

"Hello, I hope you guys weren't too scared. You're safe with us. The name's Beshte." The great hippo came over with a very friendly gaze.

"Sorry, we didn't spot you sooner. Our line of sight usually stays around these borders. I'm Ono, this is Anga." The egret squawked as he came down beside the eagle.

"Our mom is still hurt. We heard stories about the Tree of Life healing injuries." One of the cubs pleaded.

Kion nodded.

"You heard right. We'll take you there. Kanda, Idan, Gael, thank you for helping protect them."

"It's our pleasure, your majesty. Seeing you guys in action always lights a fire in my belly!" Gael exclaimed.

The cheetah mother tried to get up but Kion saw how difficult it was for her.

"Beshte, why don't you give her a hand."

"Can do." With Kion's help, the mother and her cubs were lifted onto Beshte's back.

The three were carried through eh pass and onto a hillside where they could see the vast kingdom before them.

A thick wetland, a large forest lake, a vibrant river, a small desert, a warm savanna, and a snowy mountain all surrounded a tree as they had never seen before.

"I, I've never seen lands like this before."

The Guard nodded.

"The Kingdom is home to many different environments and even more animals." Ono squawked.

Their path down the hills took them through the savanna portion and within sight of the desert. In the savannah, the cheetahs saw many animals they were accustomed to. Including a few more lions, all of whom had dark-brown fur like Kanda, Idan, and Gael.

In the desert, they saw strange animals with long necks and humps on their backs.

Several lions also lived in the desert portion. These lions more closely resembled Kion, but their fur was also a much closer match to the desert sand. Their stature was also slightly different.

"I've never heard of desert lions before." The mother said.

"Barbary Lions. There used to be a lot of them in the northern deserts but something happened a long time ago. Now the only ones left are the descendants of those who originally came here after losing their home." Ono said in a slightly saddened tone.

Despite this story, the cheetah and her cubs were treated to the vibrant kingdom around them.

The animals lived in a splendor land. Each environment was well maintained and the animals there kept in check.

The various creatures each gave a warm greeting to Kion and his guard while they passed.

"We should be at the tree soon but if you're going to stay here, know there are laws." Anga said.

"No trouble inside, right?" The mother asked.

Kion nodded.

"No territory disputes, no battles for dominance. This is a land of healing and Queen Rani intends to keep it that way. That also means hunting isn't allowed in certain portions of the Kingdom. While you're here, you have to respect the laws." The mother nodded and gave her children a stern look until they too nodded.

It wasn't a few moments later that the cubs were jumped by two powerful roars.

Near the base of the snowy mountain, a few large tigers and polar bears growled fiercely at each other by a half-frozen pond.

"You had your season here. It's our season to fish!" The lead tiger growled.

"Your tigers kept sneaking in during our season. We get to go longer because of it!" The bear growled back.

Many nearby animals fled in fright of what might happen next.

The mother covered her cub's eyes and looked over at Kion.

"The Guard doesn't handle internal disputes. We protect from outside threats." Bunga said calmly.

"Then who!"

Another thunderous roar quickly silenced the various growls.

A young-adult lioness charged across towards the two groups. She appeared to be Kion's age with the same fur tone as Kanda. Her eyes were a darker shade of brown and she was around Kanda's size though with more efficient muscle like Kion.

On her forehead was a light blue marking also similar to the one Kion wore.

"Quuueen, Rani." The lead tiger nervously whimpered as he and the lead polar bear backed up.

The lioness's fiery expression was almost enough to melt the snow around them.

"What's going on here?" She almost snarled.

"They won't give up the pond even though their season is over." The tiger growled.

"They kept cutting in during our season!" Rani turned her glare back to the lead tiger.

"Is this true?" He gave an evasive expression.

"I didn't, maybe a few of us did, but we shouldn't all be punished because two or three broke the rules."

"That's exactly what's going to happen!" The polar bear snarled.

The lead tiger snapped his jaws back and the two readied themselves for a mauling.

Neither would get the chance. Rani slammed the tiger onto his side with a headbutt and then pounced into the polar bear until he was on his back.

"There is no fighting here! If the tigers cut in on the bear's season, then the bears get two sessions during the tiger season. Is that acceptable?" Rani growled.

The two leaders quickly nodded and their parties dispersed.

The Cheetah's eyes widened in amazement.

"That's." Kion nodded as his face warmed with a smile.

"My Queen."

As Rani made her way out of the snow, the nearby animals thanked and gave her proper courtesy.

The cheetah felt her heart race faster when she saw Rani approach them.

Meeting a king was already nerve-racking enough, now a queen as well.

"There you are, Ullu said there was trouble near the western border." Rani's earlier aggression had vanished. In its place was a cheerful demeanor.

"All taken care of." Kion motioned towards the wounded cheetah mother as well as Gage's body that Beshte pushed along.

"I see, nicely done." Rani purred as she stroked her head against Kion's before approaching the cheetahs.

"Are you three ok?"

"Our mom is hurt." The first cub muttered.

Rani looked at the large gash in her side with slight concern.

"It's good you came here. My name is Rani, it's my duty to ensure ann wounded animals who come here are helped. This way to the tree." Rani now took the lead as the three cheetahs gazed in awe at the tree before them.

The tree was far larger than any they had ever seen. Its branches extended out like arms of a great beast and its roots burst from the ground as if they were large tentacles.

Near the base of the tree was a large opening, large enough for Beshte to enter with his passengers.

The tree interior felt warm but in a soothing way. The pathway was illuminated up by a series of green mushrooms and paintings decorating the rocks.

A young-adult mandril carefully moved her hand and staff over the various images like a scholar reading a book.

"Makini, we have another wounded animal." The mandril quickly turned with a devoted expression.

"Alright, bring her over." Beshte carefully set the cheetah's down onto the rock hill Makini came over her.

"My name's Makini, I'm one of the healers. What's your name?"

"Dacia, these are my cubs. Dahlia and Vadik."

"You can help her right?" Vadik asked with a nervous gaze.

"I can." Makini carefully took some herbs that grew around the tree interior and began to apply them on Dacia.

"You're in good hands. Feel free to stay as long as you need." Kion said.

As the day went on the King and Queen returned to their duties. By late afternoon, Kion and Rani traversed the kingdom without their Guard.

Their path took them across the savanna and near the main river. Along the way, both received friendly greetings from the various animals they passed.

"So aside from those buffalo, what other kinds of trouble was there?"

"More of the usual stuff, poachers from the south and from the north. There have been more poachers trying to get in lately, even herds who try and bum rush into the foliage and get out. But there's still no sign of Makucha or his band."

"That's concerning, but at least they aren't organized like Makucha." Kion noticed the tone of Rani's voice and gave a more confident smile.

"You sound like you miss it. Running the Guard."

The Queen narrowed her eyes at Kion but didn't lose her demeanor.

"Very perceptive, I think you could give Ono a challenge." Rani playfully ran her left paw through Kion's mane as she tried to push his head down a little.

"Of course I miss it. I sometimes miss being up at night too. But I wouldn't trade it for what I do now. I never realized how chaotic things could get inside the Kingdom. I don't know how my grandmother did it in her old age."

"Probably because she didn't have to worry about any external threats thanks to her night pride." Rani's smile widened.

"Right, that was until you trouble makers showed up." Rani giggled.

"Trouble maker? You haven't seen real trouble yet." Kion jokingly growled and pounced onto Rani. Both lions laughed as they tried to wrestle the other to the ground. Despite her best efforts, Rani was pinned again and again by Kion.

"Pinned you again." Kion said with his confident smile.

"No fair! You spend your days fighting, I'm out of practice."

"Definitely, that's why you knocked a tiger down and pinned a polar bear onto the ground earlier." Rani gave a slightly defeated look as her excuse fell apart.

Kion gave Rani a warm nuzzle before letting her up.

As the two walked past the desert, several of the Barbary lions bowed their heads.

"My Queen, my King."

Kion took a deep breath upon each greeting. His expression wasn't lost on Rani as they traversed the lands.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, it's just. I guess I'm still getting used to being a King is all." Rani laughed.

"It's been a year Kion. "

"I know but growing up I never even thought about being a king. I know I was a prince but Kiara was the heir. The only way I would have become king was if…." Kion shook his head with a frightened look.

"I don't even want to think about it. You knew from the get-go."

"Maybe but that doesn't mean you haven't proven yourself." Rani gave Kion another warm nuzzle with her eyes closed.

"I guess it's not just that. Part of it is what I thought my life would be like. I expected to run the Guard at Pride Rock and stay close to my family. It is nice having Bunga and the others here but sometimes I just think about Kiara and my parents."

Rani slowly nodded. As much as she missed her own parents and grandmother, she at least had her brother and uncle still with her. Since he had become King, Kion had only been able to see his family one other time.

Rani could have only imagined if her own parents were still alive.

"Sorry to be so down. It's been a good day so far." Kion lifted his head back up and looked out at the Kingdom while the sun began to set. Rani's warm smile returned as she saw Kion eased a bit.

The Queen also noticed that they had reached a secluded area near lake Pratbimba. More importantly, they were alone.

Rani gave a more aggressive expression. Aggressive but not angry.

"Though you have forgotten the most important thing about running the Guard."

"Huh?" Kion turned just in time to see Rani pounce into his body and pin him into the grass near the lakeside.

"Never let your own guard down." She said with a similarly eager smile before lowering her head to lick Kion's face who replied in kind.

Elsewhere, Dacia and her cubs were carefully led out of the tree by Makini. Dacia still walked with a limp but her gash was now bandaged up with leaves and herbs.

"Take it easy for a few days and if something goes wrong just come back and see me."

"Thank you, thank you very much." Dacia's cubs helped her towards the savanna portion as Makini stretched her arms with some fatigue.

The mandril looked up at the setting sun and realized it was time to head to her tree.

"I guess that's a day. Nirmala's turn." Makini walked through the wetlands and reached her tree above a pool of water. She set her staff down and tried to set against the branches when the sound of mud splatter and laughter captured Makini's senses.

She looked down to see Bunga and Binga gleefully throwing mud at each other.

Makini looked at the sky again and tilted her head slightly.

"Look out up there!" Bunga shouted.

Makini moved just in time to avoid a ball of mud as it flew by.

"Woah!" The mandril had to catch herself on the branches to avoid tumbling down.

"Sorry, Makini." Binga said with an embarrassed expression.

"It's getting late? Aren't you guys tired?"

"Yeah, but our philosophy is that you should keep going until you're completely exhausted. Then your sleep is much more effective." Bunga said.

"…..I guess it's possible. But do you mind taking your fun somewhere else? I could use some sleep."

"Sure thing. Race you there!" Binga ran ahead without warning.

"Hey! You didn't say go!" Bunga cried as he chased after her.

Makini smiled and shook her head before laying back down.

Her first year as a shaman had been interesting, to say the least. Nirmala had been an excellent teacher in the art of healing and Makini loved giving hope back to so many different animals.

Just when her eyes shut, Makini felt something else on the edge of her hand. She glanced over and noticed it was a drop of water.

The mandril looked at the sky and noticed a number of clouds moving closer to them.

"Rain? Oh well, at least It'll help me sleep better."

The moon and stars were now the sole sources of illumination in the night sky. But their light struggled to pierce many thick storm clouds over the kingdom. While much of the kingdom slept, four lions waded through the rain near the savanna portion.

The lions consisted of an adult male, a young-adult male, an adult lioness and a young-adult lioness. All four had dark-brown fur like Rani and had the same mark on their shoulders as Kion's Guard. The two males had similarly brown manes. The adult had thick brown eyes while the young-adult had blue eyes. The adult female had lighter blue eyes and a flower tucked between her right ear while the young-adult female had green eyes.

The young-adult male almost growled as he looked up at the night sky.

"Of course it rains as soon as our guard begins. Typical."

"Would you stop your bellyaching, Baliyo, it could be a lot worse." The adult male growled with a more serious expression.

Not a moment later, as the adult male walked under a tree. The water collected by its leaves became too much and it all came crashing down to soak the lion.

The younger lions broke out in uncontrollable laughter as the annoyed adult moved his wet mane out of his eyes.

"You're right uncle Surak, I guess it could be worse." Baliyo had to catch his breath to avoid passing out.

Surak almost growled at the other lion until the adult female came up beside him with a calm look.

"I'm still pretty dry. Let me help you." The lioness purred as she stroked her fur against Surak's.

After a calmed sigh Surak shook himself a little.

"Come on, let's go." The four continued their patrol across the land towards the western border.

Despite his earlier amusement at Surak's expense, Baliyo slowly regressed back into his frustration.

Both lionesses noticed this and carefully approached him.

"Baliyo, are you alright?" The adult lioness asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine, Nirmala. I'm just not looking forward to a long night in the rain is all." Baliyo said after a deep breath.

"We've done patrols in the rain before. I always thought the Night Pride was tougher than some rain." The younger lioness poked at Baliyo with a certain smile. Much to his annoyance.

"You're still the newest member of the Night Pride, Afia. You don't get to insult the Queen's brother like that."

"Oh, forgive me, your highness. I shall endeavor to be nothing but gracious and reverential towards your illustriousness."

Surak and Nirmala both chuckled at her sarcasm. Both had grown quite fond of Afia since she had joined them in Rani's place.

Baliyo stopped looking annoyed and simply sighed with his head lowered.

"Oh lighten up, will you. You're normally not this uptight."

Baliyo took another deep breath. Baliyo knew it wasn't the rain that truly bothered him, nor was it Afia's smart remarks.

Afia saw the lament in his eyes and softened her own expression.

"Baliyo something is bothering you. You can tell us." Surak and Nirmala both turned their heads and nodded.

"We're always here for you." Surak added.

Baliyo simply sighed again.

"It's been a year and I feel like I barely get to see Rani anymore. She used to be with us all the time and now she sleeps at night and works in the day."

"A Queen's duty is during the day, Baliyo. She's not doing it to get away from us."

Baliyo's eyes narrowed with frustration.

"Whenever she does get free time, she spends it all with Kion."

"Well, he is her mate. You do understand the concept of that kind of relationship right?" Afia asked with her sarcastic smile.

"So what, she doesn't have to spend all her time with him and his Guard. We're here family too and she acts like we don't exist anymore."

"That's not true, Baliyo." Nirmala tried to pat his shoulder but he jerked away.

Kaliyo almost felt himself boil up. He pictured Kion cuddled up beside his sister nice and dry in the Tree of Life.

"Well if it bothers you that much, you could always see her in the day too. Sleep is overrated anyway."

Baliyo glared at Afia and tightened his muscles. Whatever frustrations he felt would have to wait. He was on duty and couldn't be distracted.

A few minutes later, a familiar hoot penetrated through the rain and reached the lions.

"Night Pride! Someone's trying to get in through the western pass!" Ullu hooted as she flew down.

"Did they seem friendly?" Nirmala asked.

"I couldn't tell, but they were a pretty big group."

"We must investigate them regardless. Come on!" Surak roared. All four hastened their pace until they reached the western pass and emerged on the rocky hillside where Kion and his Guard faced down Gage earlier.

"This way! Just a little further!" An accented voice roared.

Baliyo looked closer and saw it was a male cheetah who sprinted nearly as fast as Fuli towards the pass. Behind him was a party of various animals. There were three Tsavo lions, a wild dog, a buffalo, and a rhino.

At first, the Night Pride got into an aggressive stance but soon saw no aggression in the approaching animals. In fact, each seemed panicked and fiercely dedicated.

"I think we lost them." The wild dog panted.

"Just through this pass, then we-" The cheetah stopped as he saw the Night Pride.

"Oh, right. Good evening, Night Pride." Surak, Nirmala and Baliyo noticed the cheetah seemed a little familiar.

"Have we met him before?" Surak asked.

"I think we have. Do we know you?!" Baliyo cried out.

"Yes, I've visited before. My name is Azaad, I guided some messengers here a year ago."

"Yes, he was friends with Fuli I think."

Afia chuckled with a sly smile.

"Friend, I'll bet that's all he is."

"What are you doing here? Who are they?" Surak asked with a courteous expression.

"I once again come as a guide. They desperately seek the Tree of Life to save their friend."

The rhino came forward and revealed another lion on his back.

The Night Pride nearly jumped when they saw the deep claw marks and lacerations across this Lion's body. He breathed slowly but his eyes were closed.

"Please, he won't survive much longer. Can you help him!?" The Buffalo huffed.

Nirmala ran down ahead of the others and placed her paw on the lion.

"He needs to be at the tree now. Ullu! Wake the King and Queen, tell them I need to do emergency healing now! Follow us quickly!" Nirmala roared. As they ran, Baliyo noticed that all of the other animals except Azaad had similar wounds across their bodies. Though none were as extensive as the lion's.

Eventually, they arrived inside the Tree of Life. For a moment Baliyo gave an almost deadpan expression as he saw Kion and Rani were cuddled up beside each other in the warm tree interior just as he pictured earlier.

Ullu nudged against the lions with her head and wings.

"Huh?" Rani yawned as she and Kion slowly opened their eyes.

"Your majesties! Sorry to wake you but there's serious trouble!"

"Are more poachers here!?" Kion quickly shook his head and got up.

"If there were we'd have dealt with them. We have a gravely injured lion who needs the tree or he'll die." Kion and Rani's eyes widened before they saw the rhino squeeze himself inside.

On his back was a lion who looked to be around Simba's age. His fur was a light shade of tan rather than gold like Kion's or brown like Rani's. His mane was also a darker-brown though not as dark as Surak's or Baliyo's.

"Hurry! Set him down here!" Nirmala sprinted to the rock where Rani's grandmother had kept herself.

The rhino carefully set his companion down while Nirmala put a few vines around him.

"Is, is he going to make it?" Rani shook as she asked.

"I don't know. These next few minutes are vital." Nirmala vigorously worked to keep the lion alive. The vines glowed like the various mushrooms around them and cauterized some of the lion's gashes.

The lion slowly opened his eyes to reveal they were brown and filled with terror. Though the terror did not seem to be for himself. It was almost strange. The lion breathed heavily and very quickly. Each of his companions watched him with agonizing expressions.

"Calm yourself. I need you to be still." Nirmala growled as she tirelessly worked.

The lion slowed his breathing but finally noticed Kion and Rani.

"It's going to be alright. Nirmala is the best healer in the world." Rani said as she came closer.

"I'm Queen Rani, this is my mate, Kion Kion."

The lion's eyes became fixated on Kion. He stared in an almost obsessive manner.

"Kion, your name is Kion?"

"Yes, son of Simba."

The lion let out a deeper exhale.

"Who are you?"

"My name is Kopa."

Author's note

Greetings, this is my second go at a Lion King story, I've made one before which was more of a retelling of Lion Guard, as stated in the description, this one immediately follows season 3 or rather a year later

Please let me know what you guys thought of the chapter, your likes, and dislikes. It helps me focus my attention to where it should be

So until next time,

Please review, comment, suggest, or ask(VIA PM)