The Lion Guard: A Sudden Inferno

Author's Note: This fanfic was updated on October 30th, 2024, nine years after publication.
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It was a quiet night in the Pridelands. A thunderstorm had started at sundown, and was expected to last throughout the night. In his tree, Zazu was settled down in his nest, looking forward to a night of rest after his busy day. 
"Goodness, I do hope this storm ends soon. It'd be terrible if something happened to my tree tonight." Zazu mused.
At that moment, a bolt of lightning suddenly struck, igniting the tree. Zazu gave a startled shout of surprise as flames surrounded him. 
"Mouse-dung! Perhaps I should've kept my beak shut." he lamented.
His eyes grew wide as he gazed around him at the burning branches.
"I'm sure Simba will know what to do. I must go to Pride Rock." he fretted.
He immediately spread his wings, taking off in the direction of Pride Rock.
When he reached Pride Rock, he slowed his frantic pace, not wanting to disturb the pride.
Entering the den, Zazu saw Simba settled down in his nest. 
As Zazu approached, Simba's eyes suddenly opened, and he looked around, his eyes narrowing with confusion as his gaze rested on Zazu, noticing the anxiety in the hornbill's own gaze. 
"Zazu? It's past moonhigh. Why are you here so late? Is something wrong?" Simba questioned confusedly, keeping his voice lowered so he wouldn't disturb the rest of the pride.
"Simba, my tree is on fire! A bolt of lightning from the storm struck it!" Zazu whispered frantically.
At Zazu's words, Simba stood up, an expression of horror and concern replacing the confusion in his eyes.
"Don't worry, Zazu. We won't let your tree be lost. Go and get the elephants. I'll wake the pride and evacuate them. I'll bring a patrol to your tree to help as soon as we can." Simba told him.
Zazu nodded.
"Thank you, Simba." he said gratefully, spreading his wings and flying off.
Simba turned to wake Nala up, gently nudging her cheek with his muzzle.
"Wake up, my love. There's an emergency. We need to get the pride to the safe cave." he told her. 
At his words, Nala's eyes opened, and she glanced up at him.
"What is it, Simba? What's wrong?" she asked worriedly.
"Zazu's tree is on fire. He needs our help to put it out." Simba explained.
Nala's eyes widened with shock and concern at his words. She stood up, quickly moving to where Kovu, Kiara, and Kion were sleeping. Simba moved to wake up the rest of the pride, explaining the situation to each one.
Nala bent down, gently nudging Kiara's cheek.
"Wake up, darling. We need to leave." she said.
"What's wrong, Mom?" Kiara questioned, glancing up at her mother.
"There's a fire at Zazu's tree, we need to get to the safe cave in case it spreads." Nala said.
Kiara immediately got to her paws, a look of concern in her eyes.
"I'll wake up Kion, Mom." she said.
By this point, the rest of the pride had woken up and was assembled at the entrance to the den. Kovu had also woken up, and was conversing quietly with Simba, who had joined them. Timon and Pumbaa had come from their cave to join the pride as well, having been awoken and informed of the situation.
Kiara bent down to gently nuzzle Kion's cheek.
"Wake up, Kion. We have to leave." Kiara said.
"Why? What's wrong?" Kion asked confusedly as his eyes opened, his brown gaze struggling to focus on his older sister. Kiara bent down to grasp his scruff. 
"There's a fire at Zazu's tree, my darling. We need to evacuate Pride Rock in case it spreads." Nala explained.
"Is Zazu okay?" Kion asked, a note of exhaustion in his tone as he comprehended his mother's words.
"Yes, son. Zazu's fine." Simba assured him. 
"We'd better get moving." Kovu pointed out.
The pride, along with Timon and Pumbaa, headed out of the den. Simba led them towards the Meadow. Once they'd reached the Meadow, they gathered outside the safe cave. 
"Okay, everyone. I'm taking a patrol to help Zazu, everyone else will stay here with Nala until it's safe to return home. Kovu's coming with me. I want Tojo, Malka, and Kora to stay and protect the pride. Does anyone else want to come with Kovu and I?" Simba said.
Chumvi and Mega exchanged a glance.
"We'll come with you, Simba." Mega said.
Afua stepped forward to stand beside Tojo, Babu close beside him.
"Babu and I will stay with the ones who are protecting the pride." Afua said. 
"Thank you, all of you." Simba said gratefully.
Kiara set Kion down, moving closer to nuzzle Kovu affectionately. 
"Stay safe, my love." Kiara said. 
"I will, I promise. We'll be home soon." Kovu assured her.
Beside them, Simba nuzzled Nala's cheek, his eyes shining with affection as he met her gaze.
"Be careful." Nala told him.
"Thank you, my love. Keep our pride and children safe." Simba told her.
He bent down to nuzzle Kion, who'd come over to his parents during their conversation.
"Listen to your mother, son." he told him.
"Will you come back soon?" Kion asked anxiously.
"We'll come back soon." Simba assured him.
Concurrently, Zazu had reached Kilio Valley, waking up Matembo to explain his situation.
"Of course we'll come help, Zazu." Matembo said, once she'd heard of Zazu's predicament.
"Thank you, I shall be in your debt for this kindness." Zazu said thankfully.
"That's not necessary." Matembo said amusedly, chuckling softly.
She assembled her herd, leading the way towards Zazu's Tree. Once they arrived, they saw that the fire had escalated, consuming the tree.
"My tree! We must save it!" Zazu shouted frantically.
"Don't worry, Zazu. We won't let your home be lost." Matembo assured him.
She glanced at the members of her herd, who were standing with their trunks raised, ready to spray water upon the flames.
At that moment, Simba, Kovu, Chumvi and Mega suddenly rushed up to them. As he took in the situation, Simba cleared his throat, ready to give instructions to the gathered animals.
"My patrol will dig fire breaks, to keep the fire from spreading. The elephants will spray water from their trunks onto the flames. It's still raining, so that should help as well." he said.
"Of course, King Simba." Matembo said.
Chumvi and Mega immediately began digging trenches in the dirt, so the fire would have a breakpoint. Simba joined Kovu, the two of them also beginning to dig trenches. At a nod from Matembo, her herd began spraying water upon the flames, slowly extinguishing them. Zazu fluttered anxiously between the two groups, frantic to do his part to help save his tree.
After several heartbeats, the fire subsided, the remaining flames extinguishing due to the efforts of the elephants and Simba's patrol.
"Thank the stars, my tree is saved!" Zazu exclaimed, a note of relief in his tone.
"Well done, everyone. Is anyone hurt?" Simba questioned.
"My herd is unharmed." Matembo reported, after consulting with the rest of her herd.
"We're okay too." Mega confirmed, nodding towards Chumvi and Kovu.
"Thank you, everyone. I shall be forever grateful for the help you've given in saving my tree." Zazu said gratefully.
"Of course, Zazu. Your tree won't be damaged badly, I'm certain it will recover." Simba replied.
"Yes, I'm certain as well." Zazu said.
"You're welcome to take shelter in Kilio Valley tonight, Zazu." Matembo offered.
"Thank you, that's very generous of you." Zazu said.
Kovu came up to stand beside Simba, Chumvi and Mega following beside him.
"We should get back to the Meadow. The pride will be worried about us." Kovu said.
"Yes, you're right." Simba agreed.
He glanced at Zazu. 
"If you need anything else, you know where to find me." he told him.
"Thank you, Simba." Zazu replied.
Simba led his patrol towards the Meadow. When they arrived, Nala and Kiara immediately hurried up to them, their eyes wide with concern.
"What happened? Are you all okay?" Nala asked.
"Did you save Zazu's tree?" Kiara questioned.
"Yes, we're all okay. Zazu's tree is safe. It won't be damaged badly." Simba assured them.
"Let's wait until tomorrow to go back to Pride Rock." Kovu suggested.
Simba nodded.
They headed inside the cave, settling down in nests. Before he closed his eyes, Simba noticed that Kion had fallen asleep once again, curled in Vitani's paws.
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