"Ha! Nowhere for you to go!" Gozi exclaimed as he pounced on Fuli. He pinned her in a way that it would be really hard for her to wiggle out. They were doing battle training to teach Gozi fighting moves for the next attack from the nearby lion pride.

"Good job Gozi," Fuli told him at he got off of Fuli. She shook the dust out of her fur and got to her paws. "Now, for the next move, I'm going to try to sneak up on your blind side. You have to keep moving around so you can still see me at all times. Then, duck down to the side and roll under me. Aim your claws at my underbelly. Don't actually claw me of course because this isn't a real battle, it's battle training." Fuli then demonstrated the move, pretending she was fighting another animal.

"Okay! Got it!" Gozi and Fuli then sparred, Gozi doing the move mostly, but tripping over his paws at the last step. "Good try Gozi, but try not to trip. In a real battle the enemy won't just wait around for you to get back up," she reminded him.

"I know," he replied. Gozi then tried to hide a yawn, but Fuli saw it. They had been battle training all day, at Mwepesi's orders. "You look tired. You should go get some rest," Fuli said. The sky was now darkening, and the first stars started to appear.

"Okay, if you say so Fuli." Then Gozi went back to his den, actually the den he had to share with all of the other cubs in Swift's Clan. Fuli didn't like the fact that her father made all the cubs share the same den. It was very crowded in there at nighttime. And there was a considerably large amount of cubs in Swift's Clan. She then went to her den her father set aside for her. He and her mother originally asked for her to sleep with them at night, but after Gozi had told her of her father's treachery, she didn't want to sleep anywhere near her parents. She told them she wanted a den of her own. Her parents agreed and set aside a den for her. Slowly but surely, she felt herself drifting into sleep.

Fuli was scared. She didn't know why she was scared at the moment, but she was still scared. Fear pulsed through her veins as she saw a white furred lioness with amber eyes standing in front of her. The lioness put her paw on Fuli's heart as she began chanting something.

"Nipe nguvu yako, nguvu ya Kishindo.
Nipe nguvu ambayo inakuja nayo.
Nitie nguvu na nguvu hii.
Nipe nguvu na nguvu hii.
Nipe nguvu zote ulizonazo.
Ipe roho yangu nguvu ya Kishindo chako."

Fuli saw a bright orange glow coming from the lioness's paw. The lioness then removed her paw from Fuli's heart and put her paw on her own heart.

"Nipe hii sasa.
Nguvu hii Nguvu hii mpya Ipe roho yangu.
Nipe nguvu hii mpya, nguvu mpya.
Ipe moyo wangu.
Nitakumbatia nguvu hii kwa shukrani.
Asante Wafalme Wakuu na Malkia kwa kunipa nguvu hii."

"Yes," she snickered. "The power is mine now. Lions, take him back to the prison. Wait what? Why did they refer to me as 'him?' "We will still be able to use him as a fighter for the pride." Fuli was afraid. The lion tried to pick her back up, but before he could, Fuli tried to Roar. But it wasn't the Roar of the Elders, it came out as a squeak. Wait what? Why did I think I could use the Roar of the Elders? Fuli asked herself. The lioness laughed. "Pathetic!" Then the lion shoved her towards a cave. Fuli didn't know what was happening. Then she looked down at her paws. She was shocked. They weren't hers, they were Kion's. What?! She looked at the fur on her shoulder. The Mark of the Guard didn't look like hers, it looked like Kion's. She saw her reflection in a puddle for a split second. She saw Kion in her reflection. What?! She barely had time to stop and stare at the reflection, because the lions continued shoving her to the cave.

Fuli woke up to a paw prodding at her side. What was that?! She asked herself. She saw Gozi standing in front of her. "Fuli, wake up," he said. Fuli got to her paws and tried to shake off the nagging feeling that her dream wasn't meaningless. Apparently Gozi saw she was deep in thought.

"Fuli? Are you alright?" He asked. Fuli nodded. "Also, can I ask you something?" "Sure, Gozi," she responded.

"Who's Kion? You were muttering his name in your sleep." He asked. Fuli was shocked. "Erm, I was?" She asked, embarrassed. "Yeah," he responded. Fuli sat down and motioned him to do the same.

"Kion... was a really great friend of mine," Fuli told him. "He was actually my first friend, we were friends ever since we were very little cubs. One day, he told me and the rest of our friends that he was the new leader of the Lion Guard, a team of animals who protected the Pride Lands, the land I came from, and defended the Circle of Life. I was doubtful at first about joining the team, but I did. And I never regretted it." Fuli paused. "Then what happened?" Gozi asked. Fuli then continued.

"Then, Kion accidentally summoned an evil lion from the past named Scar in the flames of a volcano in the Outlands, a wasteland that borders the Pride Lands. He did it by using the Roar of the Elders, a power given to leaders of the Lion Guard by the Lions of the Past for many generations. The war between us and Scar and his army lasted a long time. We all grew wiser, faster, and stronger overtime. Then came the final battle. We won in defeating Scar, because Kion decided to pass judgement on Scar to the Lions of the Past. The Lions of the Past decided that Scar didn't deserve to be here anymore and banished him back to the depths of—" Fuli cut herself off, remembering she was talking to a cub. Gozi giggled at Fuli's mistake. Anyway, she continued again.

"But during the battle a cobra, Ushari, Scar's most loyal follower, bit Kion in the eye. The bite injected a dangerous amount of venom into Kion's body. Rafiki, the royal majuzi and healer to the King and Queen of the Pride Lands, told us that the cure for Kion was only at the Tree of Life, and that if he didn't get there in time he would turn evil like Scar did. But... he didn't tell us everything. Makini the mandrill, me and Kion's other friend, told me on the journey to the Tree of Life something that Rafiki told her before she, me, Kion, and our other friends Beshte the hippo, Bunga the honey badger, Ono the egret, and Anga the eagle left for the Tree of Life." Fuli paused again.

"What did Makini tell you?" Gozi asked.

"She told me... she told me that Kion wouldn't survive if he didn't make it to the Tree of Life in time. That he would die from the cobra venom. I noticed the venom's affects on him not long after we all left for the Tree of Life. He started to not think clearly, snap at others randomly, have random sharp pains in his scar that came from the cobra bite, feel nauseous, feel dizzy, not eat or sleep often... the list goes on. And one day, he fell into a ravine with a flash flood. He was injured at the time so he couldn't even try to run out of the way. I jumped in to save him and I did. I mustered up the strength to throw him to dry ground. The ground under me collapsed and I fell into the flash flood, stronger than any I've ever seen before. I blacked out and the next thing I knew I woke up here, in Swift's Clan." Fuli finished. Gozi was wide eyed.

"You sacrificed your life for him!" Gozi exclaimed in admiration. "Well, I'm here now so I don't think it really counts as 'sacrificing' my life," Fuli said.

"But still!" Gozi protested. "You risked your life for his! That's a really brave thing to do." Fuli looked down at her paws. "You'll think it's cowardly once I tell you this:" Fuli told Gozi.

"Kion is a lion. I know what you're thinking, but not all lions are bad. Just the ones that don't respect the Circle of Life." Gozi nodded in understanding. Fuli was relived that Gozi understood.

"Fuli?" Gozi asked. "Do you... do you know if Kion is still alive?" Gozi broke off, almost afraid of Fuli's answer.

"No, I do not. But I have faith," Fuli told him. Gozi looked puzzled. "I have faith in him. Nobody ever told me that Kion is still alive, but I believe in him. I believe that he will survive. I believe he will find the cure for the venom at the Tree of Life." Fuli explained. "Kion is brave, fast, strong, and keen. He always finds a way."

Gozi nodded again. Fuli thought she could hear a voice in the wind. "I will never swear any loyalty to you and your pride!" It said. Fuli was alarmed. That voice sounded familiar, though Fuli couldn't quite put her paw on it. "Did you hear that?" She asked Gozi.

"Hear what?" He replied. She then heard the voice again. "Never! And you can't make me!" It growled once more.

"What about that? Did you hear that?" Fuli asked Gozi again. Gozi shook his head. That confirmed it: Gozi did not hear that voice. The image of Gozi standing in front of her was then suddenly replaced with an image of blood. The voice she heard screamed in agony. Fuli shook her head. The blood was gone. Gozi was standing in front of her once more.

"Uh, Fuli? You okay?" He asked her. "I'm alright, thank you," she replied. "Let's go hunting," Fuli said. She and Gozi made their way to the grasslands outside of the cave to hunt. Still, Fuli couldn't shake off the feeling that the dream, voice, and blood meant something horrible.