Fuli opened her eyes. A bright, newborn sun shone in her face. She looked around. Gozi! He was nowhere in sight. She then saw him talking to a badger nearby. Bunga! She rushed over to them.

"You're funny," she head Gozi say.

"Hoo-hoo-ha! I sure am!" Bunga exclaimed and did a somersault.

"Bunga!" She exclaimed. Bunga quickly turned around. "Fuli?!" He yelled, surprised. "I thought you were dead!" Bunga ran over to her and hugged her tight. Fuli almost choked. "Can't... breath." She gasped for air.

"Where's the rest of the Guard?!" Fuli asked him, yelling. Bunga pointed. "Over there." Sure enough, the rest of the Lion Guard was on the other side of the clearing. They looked up, the shock on their faces as soon as they saw her. They ran over to her.

"Fuli! Oh my Great Kings and Queens it's you!" "Fuli?! Is this real?!" "Fuli! You're back!" "Fuli!" Came their shouts. They all hugged her a hundred times tighter than Bunga had. Fuli gasped for air. They then broke the hug.

"Fuli?! How are you alive?!" Beshte asked. "Kion told us you were dead!" Fuli knew Beshte was bewildered. "And have you seen Kion?" He added. Fuli fell silent.

"Kion is dead."

The Guard had shocked and devastated looks on their faces. "Swift's Clan killed him."

"Swift's Clan?" Bunga asked. "I'll explain..." Fuli began to explain.

"You see, after I saved Kion from the flood and you all thought I was dead, I wasn't. The cheetahs from a clan of cheetahs called Swift's Clan found me and saved me. And my father was the leader, with my mother at his side."

"Your family?" Makini asked. "But you told us that they were dead."

"That's what I had thought, but they're not. At first I thought they were nice, kind-hearted cheetahs. But I was soon proven wrong when I met Gozi." She motioned with her paw to the younger cheetah standing next to her. There was a dead silence after she introduced Gozi. Fuli knew that they were thinking of Kion, his full name was Kiongozi, but everyone used to just refer to him as Kion. It was Bunga who started the nickname. He had said 'Kiongozi? That's too long. Let's just call him Kion!' And everyone else agreed.

"Gozi told me the story about my father and mother. Before my father, Mwepesi, arrived in Swift's Clan, the clan wasn't named 'Swift's Clan.' It was named 'Cheetah's Clan,' because all opinions and voices were heard and everyone in the clan was equal. No cheetah was above another. Then, one day, my father and mother arrived in the clan with a few other cheetahs with them. They told the cheetahs in Cheetah's Clan that decisions would be made quicker and easier if a single cheetah decided it, instead of the arguing that would happen amongst making a group decision." Fuli paused to make sure the Guard were listening. Sure enough, they were staring at her, silently urging her to continue.

"The cheetahs in Cheetah's Clan were hesitant at first because they thought it was better to be equal, even though they would fight sometimes. In the end, with all the group making the decision, they turned Mwepesi's proposal down. But Mwepesi, my mother Endesha, and all of their followers, which were all very well trained at fighting and very skilled at it, instead of accepting that Cheetah's Clan refused to live under one single leader making all the decisions for them, they attacked Cheetah's Clan. They were much better trained in fighting then the cheetahs in Cheetah's Clan, so in the end they won. Mwepesi, his name meaning 'Swift,' changed the clan's name to 'Swift's Clan,' making sure to emphasize that the clan belonged to him now. He then ordered his followers to keep a very strong grip on the clan. There are laws about who can hunt, and when. There are laws about when someone can play freely in the fields, if they ever get to play at all. There are even laws about what trespassers on the territory live or die. And even the ones who didn't mean to trespass." The Guard's eyes widened.

"And if someone ever breaks one rule, or they follow all the rules but don't meet all of Mwepesi's expectations, then they get punished. Or sometimes he'll punish them for fun. It happened to Gozi many times." Fuli motioned with her paw to all of Gozi's scars. The Guard all let out a gasp of shock and horror.

"One day, when I was out teaching Gozi how to hunt for the clan, we were attacked by lions. They took us to a cave, where I found Kion again. We soon escaped and reunited with Gozi. We stayed in a den near Swift's Clan territory for a few days, until they captured us. They announced that they would kill Kion in ten days, because of the simple fact that he was a lion," Fuli told them. "I tried  to protect him. But I couldn't. He died saving me and Gozi from Swift's Clan, distracting all of them while me and Gozi ran. I heard him screaming in terror before they killed him right then and there."

"Fuli, please tell us this isn't true," Bunga told her. She shook her head solemnly. "It's true." Fuli could see that the Guard were all trying to hold back tears, and they were failing miserably. 

"I'm so so sorry. I tried to protect-" She was cut off by Anga. "You have nothing to be sorry for, Fuli," she told her. The others nodded their head in agreement.

"Guys, I know this is a little soon, but we should resume the journey to the Tree of Life. We still need to get Ono healed." The Guard -including Ono- shook their heads. Fuli could understand why - they all needed proper time to mourn for Kion.

[FLASHBACK]

Fuli ran through the vast fields of the Pride Lands. Well, she WAS running. Just a few moments ago she'd tripped on a rock and injured her paw. Fuli sighed.

"Nobody's ever gonna find me," she muttered to herself, annoyed. She'd probably be stuck here all day.

"Need help?" A teasing voice asked. She looked up and saw Kion with a smirk on his face. Fuli was embarrassed. Why him? Out of anyone in the Pride Lands it just had to be him, didn't it?

"Seriously?!" Fuli said. Kion laughed and lowered himself down. "Climb onto my back. I'll take you to your den," he told her. Fuli reluctanly agreed, and Kion carried her the whole way home. 

By the time they got to Fuli's den, it had started to rain very heavily. Fuli got off of Kion and laid down in her den.

"So, I guess I'll be heading home," Kion told her. He stared out into the raging storm outside, a nervous look on his face. Thunder suddenly boomed, catching Kion off guard. Fuli could see the fur on his neck rise. Lightning striked, luckily not setting anything on fire.

"Kion,"  Fuli began. "It's very stormy outside. You can stay here for the night, if you want." 

"Are you sure?" Kion asked her. "Of course," Fuli replied. "Besides, it's not that you'll actually enjoy getting your fur soaked while walking all they way back to Pride Rock," she added.

"O-okay, if you say so Fuli," Kion replied, the reluctance evident in his voice. He laid down at the opposite side of the den and curled up. 

Soon, the winds from the raging storm blew into the den, making both of them very cold. Kion began to shiver due to him being used to the warmth that comes with cuddling together in a pride when it gets cold. Fuli was cold too, but she was more used to enduring it.

"Kion, are you alright?" She asked him. By now she could hear the very loud chattering of his teeth.

"Y-y-yeah," he replied. "I-I'm f-f-fine." His reply wasn't convincing at all. Fuli sighed. He'd become sick if he slept the entire night in this cold. She limped over to him and laid down next to him, pressing her soft fur against his. 

"W-w-what a-are y-you d-doing?" Kion asked her, still shivering. "Keeping you from freezing to death," she replied. Kion gave her a grateful glance. "And thanks for helping me get back home," Fuli thanked him.

"Hakuna Matata, Fuli," he replied. "And thanks for... well... not letting me freeze to death," he added awkwardly. Fuli let out a good humored chuckle. 

"Hakuna Matata, Kion," she replied. They then both fell asleep soon, the stormy winds somehow lulling them to sleep.

[END OF FLASHBACK]

Fuli remembered the warmth and comfort that came with sleeping together with someone. She had experienced it many times now when she and the rest of the Guard had to cuddle together when they traveled through naturally cold places on their way to the Tree of Life. She saw the rest of the Guard already sleeping. She looked up at the sky. It was nighttime! Fuli didn't even realize how much time had passed. She laid down near the rest of the Guard.

"I hope that someday, I can move on from this," she whispered to herself, then fell asleep.