Vitani’s Guard

Weeks of rejoicing in the clear weather had lifted everyone's spirits. Taking advantage of the right weather, talks of Kiara and Kovu's official crowning as king and queen had made its way through the Pridelands. Dear friends and family were invited, including Kiara's brother, Kion, and his queen, Rani, who had not yet seen the Pridelands for herself.

The last few weeks consisted of rehearsals that both the royals and the Guard had to practice. However, in these same weeks, sudden, mysterious disappearances had taken place. It was recently found out that said disappearances had been drownings, as the unfortunate victims would be found risen to the surface of bodies of water.

The incidents made Simba and Nala wonder if maybe the ceremony once again had to be postponed, but their son and his friends were already on their way. Vitani and her Guard promised to investigate the situation with caution.

____

Today was the big day, the day of Kiara and Kovu's official coronation. It wasn't common for a predecessor to step down and watch their successor rise. For generations, it was tradition for the old monarch to pass away in order for their child to succeed the title. Simba wanted to see Kiara rule so he could someday join the Kings of the Past knowing that the kingdom was in good paws.

Simba believed Kiara was ready. Kiara, herself, however, was a nervous wreck. She didn't tell anyone except Kovu, who knew the feelings of the pressure of filling a role very well.

Meanwhile, Vitani and her Lion Guard flanked Pride Rock. They proudly watched as Kovu and Kiara walked up the ledge upon being called over by Makini, who had also made her return to the Pridelands.

During the ceremonial march, the Guard chatted amongst themselves in hushed voices. The clearing of the weather reminded them of the strange monsoon that had taken place for nearly a month, and a conversation came up where nightmares they'd all seem to simultaneuously have had come to a stop the minute the monsoon ended. Nightmares that all had to do with their youth in the Outlands.

Vitani felt correct in her theory that these dreams would occur every time it rained. She considered Tiifu's theory that the dreams had been trauma-related due to the scent and sound of rain. Lately, there was also the addition of these drowning incidents.

Did the stress of these investigations play into these nightmares, too? No matter what, It all seemed to involve water...

No... That's too superstitious. That's jumping to conclusions... But, was superstition so out of the ordinary for one who possessed the Roar of the Elders? 

"Lion Guard!"

The five lions in question looked to the sky. It was Anga.

She perched to their level, standing at Vitani's shoulder. The Fiercest lent an ear. Anga had told them she caught sight of a violent drowning incident near Misingi Falls.

Not another one...

The Lion Guard left Pride Rock on yet another detective mission, hoping they could maybe save this latest victim.

____

"We should split up to shorten the investigation. We don't want to be gone too long before their official crowning." whispered Vitani.

The Guard obeyed the order, deeming it a sound idea. They all went their separate ways to inspect each area of Misingi Falls that they were assigned to. Vitani walked towards the grove that was on the way to the namesake waterfall, lost in the fond memories of falling in love with Tiifu in that very place. She hadn't noticed the mist rising from the ground. Mist that made her disappearance undetectable to the rest of the Guard.

Meanwhile, the sky seemed to grow dark unusually sooner than it normally would. It had been getting oddly dark for the past hour, now. Vitani gazed up at the sky, hoping it not to be any more rainclouds. It felt as if the sun was being blocked by something, but Vitani couldn't truly check without risking blinding herself. Overall, the phenomenon could not be more eerily-timed...

A noise from above scared Vitani out of her wits. She gasped as she jolted. She looked towards the source of the sound to find that it had only been an eagle owl, which flew away from its perch just then. It was confused by the sudden darkness of the sky, thinking it to already be evening.

Vitani chuckled to herself in relief and from the comedic timing for a mere owl to be there. She sighed after catching her breath, inspecting her surroundings to find that she'd wandered rather far from the group, unbeknownst to her, and apparently the rest.

All of a sudden, an all-surrounding, enticing hum rang through Vitani's ears. In order to get a better listen, Vitani followed the sound, not realizing she was, in fact, being involuntarily pulled towards the source of the song.

The song echoing in the mist sounded familiar... nostalgic... comforting... a lullaby Vitani once knew, one sung to her and her brothers in anticipation of victory and a new home. Though, it was unusually slow in tempo, with a somewhat unnerving, demented tone.

No matter... It made her feel like a child again...

She had to find the voice, it was calling to her. She continued to mindlessly make her way through the grove, stepping carefully through bushes as her head remained perfectly still, staring straight ahead.

She felt desire... desire that was being... deliberately preyed upon...

The owner of the voice was elated at the creature she caught this time. She was going to spare this one...

"Yes, come to your mother..." it crooned. She had her now...

The Fiercest found herself slowly stepping into the pool at the base of the waterfall. The splash of her paws and the cold, wet sensation up her legs had snapped her out of her trance. She frantically looked around at her surroundings, not sure how she ended up at Misingi Falls. Her bewilderment was cut short when she saw a glowing form emerge from the waterfall. A familiar face eagerly grinned down at her.

"It's been too long, my dear..."

Vitani was shocked, to say the least. The water had taken the form of her deceased mother. She knew that smile, that singsong voice, that petname she'd sometimes call her. It was her, it really was her...

"I... I couldn't agree more..." Vitani finally responded, choking up a bit as she smiled.

She quickly caught herself, wiping away tears that were just beginning to form in her eyes. She knew her mother would comment on her crying. It was unprofessional, immature, dramatic, she would say.

"Hah, sorry..." the daughter sniffled.

"Now, now," Zira's apparition purred, "it's alright. I'm here, now, and that's what matters."

Vitani spent a good while reeling from what was happening. She still wasn't sure if it was a dream, hallucination, something. She had seen ghosts, before, possessing the divine Roar of the Elders. She knew very well that it was possible. She felt her paws dig into the muddy ground under the rushing water, her mother's bellowing voice rattling her chest. The sensation was absolutely real, as far as she knew.

"You've really bulked up," Zira remarked, "and I see a certain marking on your shoulder. That's new..."

Vitani expected that, she'd always been prepared to hear her mother comment on her physical attributes. She did gain quite a bit of muscle mass in her upper body, making her resemble her mother all the more.

"Oh, Mother. You have no idea... So much has happened since you've been gone. I'm a leader, now. I'm in charge of the new Lion Guard, and we've been keeping Kovu and our pridesisters safe like you'd always hoped we would. You'll be proud to hear this, Kovu and Kiara, they're about to b -- "

"King and Queen of the Pridelands?" Zira's tone and face were unreadable, either intrigued or unimpressed. Possibly both.

"Y-Yes..." Vitani's soldier-like stance dropped as her head craned closer, "How did you know that...?"

"How else? It's like you said before, my dear; I have been watching you from the clouds." her voice barely contained a slight hint of a grudge, "I've been watching all of you. All. This. Time. I was there to watch you become corrupted by the Pridelander since you left me to die in favor of them..."

Vitani's mind flashed back to all of the rainstorms that took place since her mother's death, from the weeks-long monsoon to the occasional thunderstorms scattered throughout the past year. It all made sense. The strange dreams everyone seemed to have at a time, the faint whispers in the raindrops that Vitani could swear was the voice of her own mother's, her scent, the flashbacks... It had all played a part in something that the Lions of the Past were trying to tell the Roar-wielder for some time.

"But... shouldn't you have been with the Lions of the Past all this time if you lived in the clouds?"

"I did, until you conjured a Dark Roar and sacrificed one of your precious subjects to turn me into this vengeful spirit."

"S-Sacrifice?" Vitani's eyes grew wide, "What are you talking about?"

"Does this look familiar?

Suddenly, something was being pulled out of the water under Zira's hydrokinetic control. A large, greenish-gray form was plopped down in front of Vitani, as if she were being presented a kill from a hunt. Vitani grew sick to her stomach.

It had been the bloated, rotting corpse of Ngurumo. He was barely recognizable, yet there wasn't a single scratch on him. It seemed as if his cadaver was protected from the predators that lived below.

"Take a good, long look, my child..." Zira deadpanned, seeming to disregard her daughter's visible distress.

"You're... you're a monster..." Vitani muttered, petrified.

"You made me, Vitani. You let your temper slip when you unleashed your Roar. I'm a monster -- BECAUSE OF YOU!"

"No..." Vitani grew hot. She felt herself shaking as her heart began to pound.

"Yes..." purred Zira, "Help me, Vitani. Help me, and I won't appear this way again..."

Fear overcame Vitani. It wasn't like her to disobey her mother, but she could not stay here. She frantically trotted out of the water, and turned for the grove.

"DON'T LEAVE ME! I AM WHAT YOU MADE ME!" Zira's voice echoed through the trees, not seeming to grow any quieter the further Vitani bolted through the confusing maze.

Vitani ran for her life. Twigs snapped and bushes flattened as the lioness brushed through them. She could still her her mother, and felt like she was right behind her if she were to ever dare to look back.

Just before the drop down the hill, Vitani hadn't noticed a large branch hanging about, near eye-level. She smacked her temple against it. It had only been the beginning of misfortune, as she made a painful tumble down to the hill's base. She landed on her back, out cold.

Zira lost track of where Vitani had ran shortly into the chase. She stared on hatefully, feeling once again betrayed by her only daughter.

She idly sifted the water that surrounded her, letting it softly rise and fall. Her hydrokinesis growing more powerful the more she stewed. Until...

The blood that dripped from the branch that Vitani cut herself on began to move as well. Zira watched the droplets defy gravity like the water did. A low chuckle escaped her throat. A plan had been forming.

She learned more and more of new ways to start total chaos with anyone she's ever known.

Everyone who ever wronged her will now pay...
____

"Vitani? You okay?" said a muffled voice.

The lioness on the ground blinked away her double-vision. The twelve -- no, eight? Four grayish forms became clearer. It was her Lion Guard, staring down at her with concern.

"Uhhh..." Vitani moaned, squeezing her eyes shut from the pain on her temple becoming exasperated by the bright yellow sunset.

"That was quite a tumble, dude." said Shabaha.

"Hnngg... how long was I out...?" Vitani slurred.

"Couple of hours." Imara replied.

Vitani shot up, becoming more alert.

"The ceremony! I-Is it too late?!"

"The ceremony... kinda didn't happen..." Kasi cringed awkwardly.

Vitani stood up, "What?"

"Kiara panicked. Bad." Imara answered, "Ran back into the cave. When we got back to Pride Rock, everyone was checking on her."

"When it started getting late, we noticed you were gone. We had Tazama locate you while we ran back home real quick. She stayed by you until we came back." Kasi said.

"C'mon, Vitani..." Shabaha let her leader put her weight on her shoulder, "Gonna wanna get that thing patched up. I mean, might give Tiifu a panic attack on top of Kiara's, but... it's... y'know..."

Shabaha's voice trailed off. Vitani absentmindedly nodded just before glancing back. She looked into the grove, gazing at the glow of the falls deep within.

Did her interaction with her mother even happen, or was it all just a bad dream? She couldn't bring it up, now. Not with a gash on her head. No one would believe her...