The Lion Guard: Dawn of a New Guard is a story by PrinceBalto.
The logo for this story.
Premise[]
Kion's time as leader of the Lion Guard has come to an end. Now, it is time for his brave and sweet-natured niece Lilia, the daughter of Kovu and Kiara, to take the role. Getting her mark of the Guard, the lioness then gathers a new band of animals to protect the Circle of Life: There is Asha the serval, Lilia's adoptive cousin and the Purest of Heart, Revan, her brave cousin through her aunt Vitani and the Bravest, M'bogo, a male Cape buffalo and the Strongest, Obi, a male leopard and the fastest, and Akuchi, a female Harrier hawk and the Keenest of Sight. Newly appointed, the new Lion Guard must now deal with new trouble: a beautiful, sneaky and devious Bat-eared fox vixen named Lerato who schemes to make her kind a dominant force in the Pridelands, even if it means crossing both the king and the Lion Guard. This is my follow-up to The Lion Guard: The Legend Begins Anew, which ended with Kion and Fuli's marriage and adoption of Asha. This means Kion, Fuli and the other members of Kion's Guard are now grown, of course.
Chapter 1- New Guard, New Ruler[]
A new day had dawned over the Pridelands. Today was a day unlike any other. On this day, there was to be a transfer of power. No, not Simba passing his throne to Kiara, not yet, but rather the appointing of a new Lion Guard leader. Kion, what with his position as tetrarch of the Pridelands, as well as familial responsibilities to his beloved mate Fuli and adoptive serval daughter Asha, had opted to step down recently, with his parents' permission. The new leader of the Lion Guard would be Kion's niece, Lilia, the daughter of Kiara and Kovu. In searching for the next leader, Rafiki had informed them that Mufasa and the other great kings and queens had selected Lilia for this role. That day, a large group gathered around Pride Rock. Standing front and center were Kion and Lilia. Kion smiled at her, then looked at the group, which included Jasiri, Honey, Beshte and Ono.
"Everyone, as a cub, I was given the responsibility of leading the Lion Guard. I then appointed my Guard: Fuli, my beautiful, adoring mate and the Fastest, Jasiri, the Purest of Heart, Beshte, the strongest, Honey, the Bravest and Ono, the Keenest of Sight. Now, the sun has set on my time as leader. With the approval of King Simba and Queen Nala, I hereby bequeath my role to my niece Lilia. Lilia, you have been chosen. Are you ready?" he said, turning to her at the end.
Lilia nodded excitedly.
"Yes, Uncle Kion. I won't let you down," she stated.
Simba and Nala, now elderly, both watched from the group. They could still remember the day that Kion became leader. To the delight of all, Kion placed his paw on the shoulder of Lilia's right front leg.
"On this day, I give you my title and the Roar of the Elders. When it comes time for you to choose your Guard, you will do to them what I am about to do to you," he said.
When Kion removed his paw, the Mark of the Guard appeared. A cheer rose up from the others. A minute later, Lilia stood in front of everyone so that nothing would happen to them. She then let loose with the Roar of the Elders, the great lions and lionesses of the past appearing in the clouds and roaring with her. Lilia then turned. Her parents stepped forward, parental pride in their eyes.
"We're proud of you, Lilia. Remember, do not let yourself become like Scar," Kovu stated.
Lilia nuzzled him.
"Don't worry, Dad. I won't," she replied.
Just then, Lilia's brother, Anakin, the future king of the Pridelands, smiled.
"So, sis, who will you pick to be on your Guard?" he asked.
Lilia took a long, hard thought. She had been informed that she would have to do this once she had her position. However, she knew two animals in attendance that were perfect. She bounded over to Asha, who was sitting with Fuli. She smiled at her serval cousin and placed her paw on her left front shoulder.
"Asha, you have shown yourself worthy. As of now, you are my Guard's Purest of Heart," she said.
When Lilia removed her paw, Asha's Mark of the Guard appeared. She smiled excitedly.
"Thanks, Lilia," she said.
Lilia turned and headed over to where her aunt, Vitani, sat with her mate, Hakara, and their three cubs, sons Revan and Carth and daughter Mira. She looked at Revan. The male cub took after Vitani in appearance, having her golden fur and blue eyes. His mane tuft was brown. He was a very brave young lion, often acting as if he were an adult lion instead of the cub that he really was. She put her paw on his right front shoulder.
"Revan, you have shown yourself worthy. As of now, you are my Guard's Bravest," she said.
The Mark of the Guard appeared when Lilia removed her paw from her cousin's shoulder. Revan gave a playfully cocky look and smile at Vitani, who reached out and ruffled her son's mane tuft with her right paw.
"Well done, son," she said.
The others came to congratulate the first members of the new Lion Guard. Fuli smiled at Kion, the memory of him, when she was merely his girlfriend, giving her the rank of the Fastest.
"My, how time has flown," she said, giving the handsome lion a playfully flirtatious look.
Kion smiled. He loved that look in Fuli's magnificent green eyes. Just gazing into them had always made him feel happy. He remembered so many events in their past: their battles against Janja, her telling him how she stayed at his side after his near-death experience after meeting Scar....oh, so many memories. He glanced at Asha.
"Can you believe our daughter is a member of the new Lion Guard?" he asked.
Fuli gave a nod.
"Yes, handsome, I can," she replied.
A short time later, under the watchful gaze of Kiara and Kovu, Lilia, Asha and Revan set out to find the Guard's new Fastest, Strongest, and Keenest of Sight. Lilia was more excited than she had ever been.
"Til the Pridelands end, Lion Guard defend!" she exclaimed.
Meanwhile, something small walked and poked its head from the grass. It was the head of a Bat-eared fox vixen. She smiled proudly, eager to take in this new realm.
"Ah, so this is Simba's realm," she said.
She looked around, her nose taking in the smells, her large ears swiveling back and forth, capturing all the sounds of the Pridelands. Her name was Lerato, and she was beautiful, but also sneaky and devious. She had an aim: to make her kind a dominant force in the Pridelands. Because of their size, her kind wouldn't be seen as much of a challenge at first. However, she decided that she would start the easy way: go to Simba and say that she had traveled a long distance and needed a new territory. She thought about it more.
"Perfect," she thought to herself.
Meanwhile, Lilia's search was going quite well. Before long, she had found the remaining members of her Guard. The new Strongest was a young male Cape buffalo named M'bogo. He was very pleased to use his strength to defend the Pridelands. Next was the new Keenest of Sight, Akuchi, a female Harrier hawk. Being part of something like this gave her a thrill. Finally, they recruited the new Fastest, a male black leopard named Obi. All young and ready to do their parts, Lilia marked them with their Marks of the Guard.
"Now, you are part of a wondrous group. Go home and get some rest. We meet at sunrise tomorrow for our first patrol. Til the Pridelands end..." she began.
The others smiled.
"...Lion Guard defend!" they exclaimed, including Asha and Revan.
And so, a new Lion Guard was born. They met the next day, and their patrol was a success. However, it wasn't all good news, as, a few days later, Simba fell gravely ill. The elderly lion knew that his time had come. He called everyone to his side. Nala was heartbroken to see her mate like this. Zara felt this way too. The elderly leopardess, in the final days of her own life, was barely keeping her emotions in regarding the state that her nephew was in. She had raised him since he was a cub, and now he was about to join his parents among the great kings and queens of the past.
"Simba..." she said.
Jasiri looked at her mother with a comforting glance. Also present were Jasiri's mate, a male hyena named Abioye, and their daughter Wema and her brother Tunu, both small cubs. Jasiri could see the sadness on the cub's faces. They didn't know Simba well, but they could tell that something unhappy was going on. Jasiri gathered her cubs to her.
"There, there, little ones. This is the way of the Circle of Life. When the sun sets on the life of one king or queen, a new one comes to take their place," she said reassuringly.
At the same moment, Simba looked at Kiara and Kion. It hurt him to have them see him like this. All their lives, they had only known the mighty and all-powerful Lion King. Now, he prepared himself.
"Kiara, in moments, you will be queen and Kovu will be your king. Do what you know to be right. Kion, you are, of course, Tetrarch of the Pridelands. Aid your sister and make sure that she is equipped to rule," he said.
Simba then turned to Nala, sadly talking for a moment about how they fell in love all that time ago. Nala nuzzled him.
"Goodbye, my love," she said.
And with that, Simba breathed his last and died. As soon as Makini, the granddaughter and apprentice of Rafiki, proclaimed that he was definitely dead, a great cry rose up from the Pride, the majority of which was Nala. Her cries pierced the air and could be heard for a fairly far distance. Shortly after that, Makini declared Kiara the queen of the Pridelands. Up in the sky, a bright new star twinkled as night fell. It was Simba, looking down from the realm of the great kings and queens. Kiara also grieved, as did Kion. In the Lair of the Guard, Kion laid on one of the rocks. Fuli approached him.
"Are you feeling all right, my love?" she asked.
Kion sighed sadly.
"Now I understand how my dad felt when my grandfather died," he stated.
Fuli placed a paw on his shoulder, covering the area where his mark of the Guard had once been. Her eyes beamed with nothing but compassion and love for her mate.
"I know that he is looking down at you from the stars in pride, Kion," she said sweetly.
Asha also sensed her father's sadness and went over to him.
"Will you be ok, Daddy?" she asked.
Kion looked up, trying to put on a strong act for his daughter.
"I will be all right, Asha," He said.
The serval's ears went back, not knowing what to say. Eventually, all were asleep, not knowing what was about to happen.
Chapter 2-- Trouble[]
[Coming soon]