Nothing much to report, except that there's gonna be a different song in this chapter. You'll just have to wait and see which song it is. I hope you enjoy this chapter.

Characters

Heroes:

The Lion Guard: Kion, Timothy, Lucy, Samuel, Fuli, Bunga, Beshte, Ono, Anga, Makini

Unknown: Cassandra

Villains:

Unknown: Morgana

The Backlands: Makucha

The Bamboo Forest: Chuluun

Dragon Island: Ora

...

The Lion Guard, so far, have made some progress as they continue getting closer to the Tree of Life. After Flamingo Beach and meeting Azaad, the Lion Guard have made it to a forest with lots of trees, rivers and ponds. As the Lion Guard walked through the forest, Kion, Timothy, Lucy, Fuli and Makini were ahead while Samuel, Bunga, Beshte, Ono, Anga and Cassandra were behind while talking to a Tapir. While walking and talking with the Tapir, Beshte laughed as Anga flew up ahead to the rest of the Guard.

"Looks like Beshte's made another friend." Anga said to Kion. "Everywhere we go." Kion said with a smile while Timothy chuckled. "Beshte sure does love making new friends." Timothy added after chuckling while looking back at him as he was speaking to the Tapir. "So Tenuk, there a lot of good plants to eat in this forest?" Beshte asked as he mentioned the Tapir's name. "Ah, the best. Fruits, berries, leaves. You name it." Tenuk replied to Beshte with a smile.

"How are the bugs?" Bunga asked Tenuk while Samuel and Cassandra looked at each other with smirks then chuckled a bit. "Uh, couldn't tell ya." Tenuk replied as he started walking faster. "Tapirs don't eat bugs. Common knowledge, really." Ono said to Bunga. "You don't know what you're missing." Bunga said to Tenuk, who stopped in front of Beshte and his friends. "Gonna be in these parts long? I'd love to introduce you to my friends." Tenuk said as he looked to his left and spotted his two friends, who are a Monkey and a Mongoose drinking water at a nearby river.

"Hey, guys, say hi to my new friend, Beshte." Tenuk called out to his two friends. "Hi, Beshte!" The Monkey and Mongoose said at the same time to Beshte. "Poa!" Beshte said with a smile. "Wow! Animals in this forest sure are friendly." Samuel said to Tenuk with a smile. "Yeah. And you're welcome to stay here as long as you like." Tenuk said to Sameul. "Thank you so much, and that's very sweet of you, Tenuk. But, we're just passing through." Lucy said as Kion and his friends were now closer to Beshte and his friends. "That's right. We're on a long and dangerous journey, so we can't stay long." Timothy added.

"Okay. Well, if there's anything you need while you're here, just let me know. And I mean, anything." Tenuk said to the Lion Guard. "Oh, we can always use more Tuliza." Makini replied to Tenuk, who looked back at Makini with a terrified expression. "T-T-Tuliza! I take it back! Go away! Leave me alone!" Tenuk said in a panicky tone as he ran away and jumped into a nearby bush. "Was it something I said?" Makini asked with a confused expression. "Good gracious! What's going on?" The Mongoose asked the Lion Guard. "What did you do to Tenuk?" The Monkey asked.

"Nothing. We didn't mean to scare him. Honest." Beshte replied "Uh, Tenuk looked more than scared. He looked... terrified." Cassandra said to Beshte. "Yeah. I guess, he just doesn't like Tuliza." Makini added with a shrug. "Tuliza!" Both the Monkey and Mongoose shouted with terrified expressions then ran away while screaming. "Wee-ird" Anga said, earning a nod of agreement from Cassandra. "What's going on around here?" Kion asked with a confused expression. "Yeah. Everybody's running away from Makini whenever she says Tuliza." Bunga said, which caused a nearby bird to squawk. "Ah, Tuliza! Ahhh!" The bird squawked then flapped away in fear.

"I don't think it's about  Makini." Beshte said to the Guard while a nearby bush was rustling lightly. "I think Beshte's right. I think this has something to do with the Tuliza." Lucy said to the Guard. "Maybe they're scared of Tuliza?" Fuli asked. "For some reason, I doubt they're scared of a flower." Samuel replied. "Well, they're sure scared of something." Fuli said. However, as the Guard were talking, Timothy had a sudden sting in his head which caused him to look to his left for some reason. Lucy noticed Timothy was looking at his left as she approached him. "Hey, Timothy, are you okay?" Lucy asked Timothy.

"Yeah, I'm okay." Timothy replied to Lucy while still looking at his left. "Then, what's gotcha?" Bunga asked with a confused expression while Timothy looked back at the Guard. "I think we're being watched." Timothy replied, which instantly caused the nearby bushes to rustle lightly again. "How can you tell?" Ono asked Timothy. "I have like a sixth sense in my head. One of my powers. It can detect animals at a far distance. Once it detects it, it'll give my head a little bit of a sting to get my attention. However, since my powers are a bit... tacky lately, it only detects animals at a short distance." Timothy replied to Ono.

"Like as far as that bush over there?" Makini asked while pointing at the bush. "Yes. Exactly." Timothy replied. "These powers were given to me so that I may use them well and wisely." Timothy added. "Um, Timothy, I understand that you got your powers by the, um... uh... " Fuli was trying to say. "Energy Sword?" Timothy asked Fuli. "Yes. But, uh, how did you find that Sword in the first place?" Fuli asked.

"Huh. I hadn't told this story in a long time." Timothy replied with a chuckle as he looked at the Guard as he began to tell them that story. "Well, a long time ago, when I was just a youngling, well younger than I am now, there was a battle on my home Chima near a very special place called the Forever Rock. I was told to activate an object called Fire Chi, which I did. However, as I did, something went wrong which caused an explosion, which caused a sinkhole, a sinkhole that I fell into. After I fell in, I realized that it wasn't a sinkhole, but a hollowed out room underneath the Forever Rock! As I was getting up, I saw something which shocked me greatly. It was the Energy Sword, resting on it's stone or pedestal."

"Ooh! Ooh! Did you grab it and pulled it out?" Bunga asked while interrupting the story. "No. I just left the room." Timothy replied as he continued his story. "After I left, the Sword has been calling my name in whispers, which irritated me for a long time. However, it wasn't the Voice that me, Samuel, and Kion hear. Those were just mine and Samuel's parents' voices from the Sword. Anyway, after Chima was saved again, there was an event that each of the eight tribes of Chima had to visit. It was the monthly race, which turned out to be a battle. It was just me and one other fighter, until I ruined it when the Energy Sword appeared out of nowhere in my hands."

"How many creatures have you faced?" Cassandra asked. "Ooh. I hope none of them got hurt." Beshte said with a sad expression. "I faced a couple of my friends, and they didn't get hurt." Timothy replied, then had a sad expression as well while grasping the bracelet on his right wrist. "Eris was one of them." Timothy added. The Lion Guard looked at each other with sad expressions then looked back at Timothy. "If you don't mind us asking, what was Eris like?" Kion asked Timothy, who chuckled a bit. "I honestly wish you'd met her." Timothy replied. "She was smart, brave, fast. She was basically all of the Lion Guard combined." Timothy added while describing Eris.

"Of course, besides my Lion brother, Laval, Eris was one of my best friends whom I really considered as my big sister." Timothy added in a sad tone as a sad guitar song played in the trees around the Guard which caused Timothy to sing.

(The song I chose is called "Big Sister Best Friend Forever," which is a change from the song "Big Brother Best Friend Forever" from My Little Pony. Friendship is Magic.) 

Timothy: When I was just a youngling
I thought it was a bling
To see how many other animals I could meet.

I had my family

Didn't know that I would ever need
Other creatures, to make my life complete.

But there was an Eagle, whom I cared for
I always knew she would be there for me.

My big sister, best friend forever
Like two peas in a pod, we did everything together.

One day, she taught me how to fly (Chorus: Best friend forever)
Never thought that I'd comply.

I miss her more than I realize
It seems...

Chorus: Your big sister, best friend forever
Like two peas in a pod, you did everything together.

Timothy: And now, I hate to say, that now she's gone
And still, I wish that I was wrong.

She was my big sister, best friend forever
And now we'll never do anything together.

Timothy ended the sorrowful song with a tear falling from his left eye and hitting the ground while still grasping the bracelet on his right wrist.

After Timothy was done singing, Lucy went up to him and comforted him with a hug, which he returned. The Lion Guard didn't know what to do as they just stood there and watched Timothy, except for Cassandra as she also approached him with a sad expression. "I... kinda know how you feel." Cassandra said to Timothy, which caused him and Lucy to break their hug and look at Cassandra.

"When I betrayed my sister, Rapunzel... that was one of the worst feelings I ever had. And, I'm pretty sure she really missed me when I was gone. Of course, we worked things out in the end, but not a day goes by that I don't miss her each day that I'm away from her kingdom." Cassandra added in a sad tone. Timothy and Lucy looked at each other with smiles then looked at Cassandra as Timothy placed his right hand on her right shoulder. "Thank you, Cassandra." Timothy thanked, which caused Cassandra to smile back at him and Lucy.

"Now, shall we continue?" Timothy asked while Kion nodded as he and the Lion Guard continued walking through the forest.

...

While still walking, the Lion Guard were walking pass a Civet eating some berries on a bush, which gave Bunga an idea as he saw the Civet. "Oh, guys, guys, guys, guys, watch this." Bunga whispered to the Guard as he tip-toed up to the Civet which caused Samuel to facepalm himself. "This is gonna be swell." Samuel said sarcastically as Bunga was right behind the Civet who was still eating the berries. "Tuliza!" Bunga shouted from behind the Civet, which caused him jump in the air with a terrified yell.

"Did I surprise him!" Bunga said to the Guard as the Civet landed on the ground then started rolling down a hill. "Uh-oh." Bunga said to himself as the Civet kept rolling down the hill and landed in a river while whimpering which caught the Lion Guard's attention. "Oh, no. He fell into a river." Beshte said with a worried expression. "Bunga." Fuli said to Bunga with a glare. "Anga, do you think you can pull that Civet out of there?" Timothy asked Anga. "Yep." Anga replied as she flew after the Civet.

"Help!" The Civet cried out while trying to swim, but went underwater. "Anga Lenga!" Anga shouted as she went down to the river, grabbed the Civet in her talons and pulled him out of the river and into the sky, which terrified him as he looked down. "Let me go! Help! Help!" The Civet screamed while crying. "You're welcome." Anga said sarcastically while rolling her eyes while still flying the Civet to safety. "Please, let me go!" The Civet cried as Anga dropped him on dry ground, next to the Lion Guard. "There." Anga said, giving the Civet what he asked for.

"Sorry about that." Bunga apologized to the Civet. "About what, Bunga?" Lucy asked Bunga with a stern expression. "Okay, okay. I'm sorry for scaring you into the fast, moving river." Bunga apologized again. "Much better." Lucy said. "So, little Civet, why is everyone here so afraid of Tuliza?" Beshte asked the Civet, who's eyes shrank with fear. "Tuliza!" The Civet shouted then ran away while screaming in fear. "Like I said, 'Wee-ird.'" Anga said again. "Nothing makes sense here. Every animal we meet is afraid of a flower. Why's that?" Timothy asked.

"Maybe they're all allergic to Tuliza, like how Humans are to them." Samuel suggested. "No. Tuliza only calms down animals who eats them. As far as I know, Tuliza is only poisonous to Humans." Cassandra said. "Then why does Tuliza scare them so much?" Timothy asked himself again. "I don't know." Kion replied then looked back at Bunga. "And no more joking around, okay, Bunga? We don't have time for jokes. We gotta keep moving." Kion said as he and the Guard kept moving.

As they kept walking, Timothy felt the same stinging feeling in his head from earlier which caused him to look at some nearby bushes, which Kion noticed. "Timothy... " Kion was about to say until he and Timothy rubbed their scars again, which Fuli and Lucy noticed. "Makini." Lucy said to Makini, who knew what she meant. "Oh, right." Makini went to a log and placed down her staff while getting some Tuliza petals out of the gourd. "Here, Kion and Timothy, have some Tuliza." Makini said to Kion and Timothy as she approached them.

"We don't have much, but you can have a little." Makini said while handing Kion the Tuliza. "Okay." Kion said as he ate the Tuliza petals from Makini's hand, which calmed him and Timothy down. "Better?" Makini asked both Kion and Timothy. "Yeah." Kion replied. "Much better. Thanks, Makini." Timothy thanked Makini, then had another stinging feeling in his head which caused him to grunt and look at the bushes again, which the Guard noticed.

"Tim, what's wrong?" Lucy asked Timothy, who looked back at her. "I'm getting that same feeling again." Timothy replied as he continued looking at the bushes. "Like we're being watched?" Ono asked Timothy. "Yeah. Except it's much stronger. Like we're being watched by more than one creature." Timothy replied. "Well, maybe the feeling will go away once we move on." Kion suggested as Timothy looked back at Kion. "Yeah, maybe you're right." Timothy agreed as he and the Guard continued moving forward.

That was until Fuli noticed that Makini's staff wasn't on her. "Uh, Makini. Forget something?" Fuli asked Makini, who stopped with a confused expression. "No, I don't think so. I... " Makini was about to reply, until she realized what she forgot with a gasp. "My staff! Thanks, Fuli." Makini thanked Fuli then went back to the long she laid her staff on. But when she got to the log, her staff was not there. "I was sure I put it on this log. Where could it be?" Makini asked herself as she tried looking around for her staff. As Makini kept looking for her staff, the Lion Guard went to her.

"Now, Makini. Are you sure this is the same log you put your staff on?" Cassandra asked Makini. "Yes. It was right here." Makini replied while pointing at the spot she placed it. "Guys, look, tracks." Anga pointed out as she saw some tracks next to the log. "Porcupine tracks." Fuli said while examining the tracks and following them. "The tracks end here." Fuli said while stopping at tracks' end then sniffed them air. "And I can't smell anything but Bunga." Fuli said while looking at Bunga. "You're welcome." Bunga said to Fuli. "Uh, I don't think Fuli was thanking you, Bunga." Samuel said to Bunga, who shrugged his shoulders.

"Guys, if these Porcupine tracks are here and Makini's staff isn't. Then that leaves me to believe that a Porcupine stole Makini's staff." Timothy said to the Guard. "Timothy, you really think some Porcupine stole Makini's staff?" Beshte asked Timothy. "Only one way to find out. Anga." Timothy replied then called Anga while looking at her. "On it." Anga replied as she flew up into the air to spot out Makini's staff.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, Kion and Timothy. My staff had the rest of our Tuliza. And nobody here will help us find Tuliza." Makini said to Kion and Timothy with a sad expression. "It's okay, Maki... " Kion was about to reassure Makini. "But what if you two need some more?" Makini interrupted, then had another thought that made go wide eyed. "And my staff makes the moja kwa moja paintings come to life, too." Makini added while getting a little panicky.

"Makini, it's okay. It wasn't your... " Timothy was about to reassure Makini. "But I think the only place I can find a new bakora staff is in the Pride Lands." Makini interrupted then gasped. "We'll never find the Tree of Life now." Makini said doubtfully with a sad expression. "Makini, shwari." Beshte said to Makini. "Oh, yeah. Thanks, Beshte." Makini thanked Beshte then got into a meditation pose with a sigh. "Shwari." Makini said while relaxing herself.

After that, Anga returned as she landed next to the Lion Guard. "What'd I miss?" Anga asked while looking at Kion. "Nothing much." Kion replied. "Anyway, have you spotted the staff thieves?" Timothy asked Anga. "Nope. Too many trees and plants to see much of anything from the sky." Anga replied. "Timothy, any ideas?" Kion asked Timothy. "Hmm. Well, all I know is that these staff thieves couldn't have done this on their own." Timothy replied while thinking. "Like they're working for somebody?" Cassandra asked Timothy. "Yes. But that's all I got." Timothy replied.

"What do you think, Fuli?" Kion asked Fuli. "Uh, well, we do need Makini's staff to find our way to the Tree of Life." Fuli replied to Kion. "We could ask the animals who live here. Maybe they know who took it." Beshte suggested. "You mean, the animals that run away every time we try to talk to them?" Samuel asked Beshte. "Only if we mention Tuliza. They might help us find the missing staff." Beshte replied. "Good idea, Beshte. Let's go ask around." Kion said as he and the Guard started walking around the forest, to talk to some of the animals in the forest.

...

As the Lion Guard continued walking around in the forest, to try to talk to some animals about the Makini's staff, Anga spotted one of them as she flew above the Guard. "Maybe this guy can help us." Anga said to the Guard as they approached the animals, which was the Monkey from earlier. "Hey, there, Mr. Gibbon." Beshte said, saying the Monkey's name. "Oh, uh, hello, again." Mr. Gibbon replied to Beshte with an unsure expression. "My friend Makini lost her staff. Maybe you've seen it?" Beshte asked Mr. Gibbon.

"A staff? What's that?" Mr. Gibbon asked Beshte with a confused expression. "It's a stick, with a couple of gourds hanging on it." Beshte replied. "Uh, why would somebody hang gourds on a stick?" Mr. Gibbon asked Beshte with an even more confused expression. "That's where we keep our... " Bunga was about to reply, until he mouth got covered by Samuel's hand as Bunga let out a muffled sound. Timothy looked at Samuel with a smile and mouthed him a thank you then looked back at Mr. Gibbon. "The gourds are for putting some types of plant leaves or petals into them." Timothy replied to Mr. Gibbon.

"Huh. Hmm. Nope, I don't believe I've seen this staff with some gourds hanging on it." Mr. Gibbon replied, then had a thought in his mind that caused him quirked his eyebrow. "But, why are you looking for this staff?" Mr. Gibbon asked. "It's been stolen. And we really need it on our long journey." Makini replied with a sad expression. Mr. Gibbon had another thought in his mind while putting his fingers on his chin then looked at them with a worried expression. "These gourds hanging from the staff, by any chance, did they have any... Tuliza petals?" Mr. Gibbon asked them while whispering.

"Yes, they did!" Timothy replied a little surprised that Mr. Gibbon said the word. Mr. Gibbon then let out a shocking gasp as he looked towards both his left then right then back at the Guard. "Follow me." Mr. Gibbon whispered the Guard as he started walking away. The Lion Guard all looked at each other with confused expressions, but shrugged it off as they began following Mr. Gibbon. As the Guard followed Mr. Gibbon, he suddenly jumped out in front of them with a terrified expression.

"Look to your right, and your left! Because this whole forest is full of her spies! Even some of the trees are on her side!" Mr. Gibbon said to the Guard with fear as he continued leading the Guard through the forest. "Could he be talking about the Porcupines?" Kion asked the Guard. "Could be. If not, then I don't know what he's talking about." Ono replied as the Lion Guard continued following Mr. Gibbon until they made it to a cave.

As the Guard went inside the cave, they see Mr. Gibbon kinda hiding in a dark corner. "So, Mr. Gibbon, do you know who took Makini's staff?" Lucy asked Mr. Gibbon. "Yes, I do." Mr. Gibbon replied. "Then, why didn't you tell us outside this cave?" Kion asked Mr. Gibbon. "'Cause this is the only place I know that her Porcupines aren't listening. I don't want her to know I'm helping you." Mr. Gibbon replied. "'Her?' Her, who?" Makini asked Mr. Gibbon. "Mama Binturong." Mr. Gibbon replied with a soft voice.

"Mama been there what?" Bunga asked with a confused expression. "Mama Binturong. She controls all the... Tuliza in this forest." Mr. Gibbon replied while whispering. "So that's why everyone's scared when we mention Tuliza." Ono said with a smile. "And, by the sounds of it, this Mama Binturong sounds like a bad one for sure." Samuel added. "Yes. Everyone's scared of Mama Binturong." Mr. Gibbon said while agreeing with Ono and Samuel. "She's so mean, nobody even wants to say Tuliza, in case it makes her mad. She's very mean when she's mad." Mr. Gibbon added.

"And what does she do if she catches anyone with Tuliza?" Cassandra asked Mr. Gibbon. "She sends her Porcupines after them, and brings them back to her." Mr. Gibbon replied. "That explains the Porcupine tracks." Fuli said to the Guard. "And why they took my staff! There was still Tuliza in the gourd." Makini added. "And especially why my senses acted up before. I think my sense was warning me about the Porcupines." Timothy added while looking at the Guard.

"So, how do we find this Mama Binturong?" Kion asked Mr. Gibbon. "Her hideout is deep in the Black Rock Forest. But, uh, you'll never reach it." Mr. Gibbon replied to the Guard. "Is there a reason why?" Timothy asked Mr. Gibbon with a confused expression. "The Black Rock Forest is almost impossible to get through, and the Black Rocks are unbreakable. Only Mama and her Porcupines can get through it safely." Mr. Gibbon replied. "Well, we're the Lion Guard. We can do anything." Fuli said to Mr. Gibbon with a scoff.

...

After talking to Mr. Gibbon, the Lion Guard made it to the Black Rock Forest, which really surprised them.

"You were saying, Fuli." Lucy said to Fuli with a smirk. "Okay, maybe not anything." Fuli said back to Lucy. While looking at the Black Rocks, Samuel noticed that Cassandra was starring at them with complete fear in her eyes. "Th-This... c-can't... H-How is... Imp-Impossible... " Cassandra stuttered. "Hey, Cass, are you okay? It almost looked like these Black Rocks got you spooked." Samuel said to Cassandra. "Yeah, no, I'll be fine." Cassandra replied with a shaky voice.

"What do you think, Kion?" Fuli asked Kion. "I think we have to get through these." Kion replied as he tried going in between the Black Rocks, but it ended up with him getting a small cut on his right shoulder as he stepped back. "Careful, these Black Rocks are sharp." Kion warned the Guard as he looked at his cut on his shoulder. "Maybe Beshte can get through. Hippos have very thick skin. Common knowledge, really." Ono said with a smile as Beshte walked forward until he stopped in front of the Rocks with a scoff.

"I'd be lucky if I could get a toe between those rocks." Beshte said as Ono walked forward until he was on top of Beshte's snout to look at the Black Rocks. "Hapana, they are close together. I don't know if I would fit." Ono said with a surprised expression. Timothy examined the Black Rocks then looked at his brother. "Samuel, got an extra sword on you?" Timothy asked with a smirk. "You know it." Samuel replied as he pulled out one of his extra swords out of it's scabbard and handed it to Timothy.

As Timothy grabbed the sword from Samuel, he held it in a swinging position while glaring at the Black Rocks. Cassandra instantly knew what Timothy was gonna do as she grew a worried expression. "Wait!" Cassandra shouted, but it was too late as Timothy swung the sword at the Black Rocks. However, when he did, the blade of the sword broke into pieces while the Black Rock was still intact, which surprised Timothy. "Huh, Mr. Gibbon was right. They are unbreakable!" Timothy said surprised.

"Anga, maybe you can get through from above?" Kion asked Anga. "I'll see." Anga replied as she flew up and above the Black Rocks. As she tried to lower herself in between the cracks, one of her wings got poked by one of the sharp tips of the Rocks. "Nope. Not gonna fit." Anga said to herself as she flew around above the Black Rock Forest, then spotted a pile of Tuliza petals, which surprised her. "Tuliza. Lots of Tuliza." Anga said as she flew back to the Guard and landing right beside them.

"I can't get through the rocks. But, I'm pretty sure I found Mama Binturong's hideout." Anga reported to the Guard. "That'd be good news if anybody could get to it." Kion said. "Alright, so we need someone who's not bothered by unbreakable sharp Black Rocks or Porcupine quills, and can get to Makini's staff and carry it back here." Timothy said while thinking then had a thought which made him smile as he looked past the Guard. "Lucky for us, there's one that can do that." Timothy said with a smile while pointing at him.

The Lion Guard looked and saw that Timothy was pointing at Bunga, who was scratching his back against one of the Black Rocks. "Oh, that feels good. Oh, yeah, that's the spot." Bunga said with a smile as he kept scratching his back against the Black Rock. "You think he can handle it?" Fuli asked with a confused expression. "Of course, he can. Right, Bunga?" Kion replied while asking Bunga, who continued rubbing his back on the Black Rock.

"Uh-huh. Of course, I can do it. Uh, do what?" Bunga asked as he stopped rubbing his back, which made Fuli sigh as she approached him. "Go through the Black Rock Forest to Mama Binturong's hideout, and get Makini's staff back, all by yourself." Fuli replied which excited Bunga. "Yes! You're right! I could totally do it." Bunga said excitingly. "Not alone, you're not. I'm coming with you." Cassandra said, which surprised everyone. "Cass, are you sure?" Samuel asked Cassandra. "Yes. I know what I'm doing." Cassandra replied with a serious expression.

"Well then, I'm going with you." Samuel said, which surprised Timothy. "You sure, Samuel?" Timothy asked Samuel. "Don't worry, Timothy. We'll be fine." Samuel reassured Timothy as he, Cassandra and Bunga were ready to head inside the Black Rock Forest. "Alright, Anga. Show us the way." Bunga said to Anga, who pointed straight through the Black Rocks. "Straight through there. You'll see Mama's hideout when you get close. There's lots of Tuliza." Anga replied

 "Go straight, look for Tuliza. Got it! Zuka Zama!" Bunga shouted as he ran into the Forest while Samuel and Cassandra followed him inside. "Good luck, Bunga." Makini said to Bunga waving her hand at him. "Stay safe, Sam." Timothy said to himself.

...

In the Black Rock Forest, Bunga, Samuel and Cassandra were carefully getting through the spaces between the Rocks while trying to find Mama Binturong's hideout. While trying to find her hideout, they saw a fork in their path. "Oh, no." Samuel said with worry while looking at one direction then the next. "Which way do we go?" Bunga asked Samuel and Cassandra, until they heard his echo from the Black Rocks. "Don't ask me." Bunga replied to his own echo. "Uh, Bunga, that's your voice." Cassandra said to Bunga.

"It is?" Bunga asked Cassandra, which caused another echo as Bunga heard then smiled. "Hey, you're right, Cass. That is my voice." Bunga said with a smile as his echo was heard again. "Zuka Zama!" Bunga shouted while testing the echo, which was heard again. "Bunga, shh." Samuel whispered to Bunga while covering his mouth, as Samuel's echo was heard which caused him to have a bored expression. "Okay." Bunga whispered back to Samuel as his echo was heard again.

"Focus. We need to figure out which path to take." Cassandra said to both Bunga and Samuel. "What if we split up?" Samuel suggested to Cassandra. "Hmm. Alright." Cassandra agreed with Samuel. "Great. Alright, you two take the right path, I'll take the left path." Bunga said as he started running down the left path. Samuel and Cassandra were about to chase after Bunga, but decided to go down the right path, hoping that it'll lead them to Bunga.

Speaking of Bunga, he kept on getting pass the Black Rocks until he spotted a huge pile of Tuliza petals below him. "A-ha. Tuliza. That's got to be Mama's hideout." Bunga whispered to himself then looked down and saw how high he was as he sighed. "That's a long way down." Bunga said to himself a bit disappointed at first, until he grew a smile.  "This is gonna be fun! Zuka Zama!" Bunga shouted as he jumped jumped and dived down. While falling, Bunga hit some of the Black Rocks, but managed to get to the ground without getting hurt with a laugh.

"Perfect landing." Bunga said to himself then stood in a defensive position. "Alright Porky-orcupines, let's do this!" Bunga said angrily at the Porcupines, but then realized that there was no creature in sight which confused Bunga. "Huh? Where is everybody? Hello, I'm here. Anybody home?" Bunga called out, trying to see if he was alone until he stopped and looked at the huge pile of Tuliza petals, as well as Makini's staff which was on top of the pile in front of him with a triumphant smile. "Hey-hey! Look at that. This is gonna be easier than I thought." Bunga said as he was approaching the Tuliza pile.

""Welcome, Mr. Bunga. We've been expecting you." an elderly, female voice said which stardled Bunga as he stopped and looked around to see if he could find the source of that voice. "Uh? Who said that?" Bunga asked while looking around. "I did." that voice replied as the source of that voice revealed herself on top of the Tuliza pile, who turned out to be a Binturong which Bunga smiled at as he laughed. "You're Mama Binturong." Bunga said to the Binturong. "That's right." Mama Binturong said with an evil smile.

"Hey, wait, how'd you know my name?" Bunga asked Mama Binturong with a glare. "It's been echoing all over the Black Rock Forest." Mama Binturong replied with an unamused expression. "Oh, yep." Bunga said with embarrassment. "All right, Mama, just give me that staff back. Or, we'll have trouble." Bunga warned Mama Binturong with a glare. "I have a better idea. Why don't you go back where you came from, and I keep the staff." Mama Binturong said back to Bunga while picking up the staff with her tail. "Why would I do that?" Bunga asked Mama Binturong while still glaring at her.

"Because around here, everyone does what Mama says." Mama Binturong replied to Bunga with an evil expression. "Well, I'm not from around here! So we can do this the easy, or we can do it the hard way." Bunga said to Mama Binturong as he was almost ready to fight her. "I choose the hard way. Or the sharp way. Porcupines!" Mama Binturong called out as five Porcupines appeared from the darkness and surrounding Bunga. "Go on, boys, you know what to do." Mama Binturong said to the Porcupines as they faced their sharp quills at Bunga.

"What is this?" Bunga asked. "Oh, expect you'll see my point, Mr. Bunga." Mama Binturong replied as the Porcupines extended their quills and started walking backwards towards Bunga. "Hah! You expect me to be scared of this, Mama?" Bunga asked Mama Binturong with a determined expression. "No, Mr. Bunga, I expect you to be poked!" Mama Binturong replied then laughed maniacally as two Porcupines stuck their quills on Bunga, who chuckled after that. "That tickles. Zuka Zama!" Bunga shouted as he jumped out of the Porcupines' attack and landed with a laugh as the Porcupines poked themselves.

After the Porcupines recovered, they started charging at Bunga while growling as Bunga was getting ready to fight the Porcupines. "Zuka Zama!" Bunga shouted as he charged at the Porcupines back. Bunga and the Porcupines collided with each other with a loud thud which caused Mama Binturong to cringe a bit in fear. After that, Mama Binturong saw that Bunga had defeated her Porcupines as they were laying on the ground while groaning. "You're gonna need more that Porcupines to beat me! Now, hand over that staff!" Bunga demanded at Mama Binturong.

"Come and get it." Mama Binturong to Bunga with an evil glare. "All right, you asked for it." Bunga said as he started climbing the Tuliza pile. While climbing, he slipped back down to the ground, but continued climbing until he made it to the top. "Made it! Whoo!" Bunga said triumphantly, then started panting. "Just give me a second." Bunga said to Mama Binturong. "I don't think so." Mama Binturong replied while whacking Bunga back down to the ground with Makini's staff.

"Oh, no you don't. I'm here to get my friend's staff... and I'm not... leaving... without it. Now, give me that staff!" Bunga said to Mama Binturong angrily as he tried grabbing the staff. "Never!" Mama Binturong replied while moving the staff away which caused Bunga to crash into the Tuliza. Bunga attempted to try again as Mama Binturong tripped Bunga with the staff as he crashed into the Tuliza again. "Okay, fine. If you're not gonna give me the staff, I'm gonna eat all your Tuliza." Bunga warned Mama Binturong while grabbing two handfuls of Tuliza petals.

"Don't you dare touch my beautiful Tuliza!" Mama Binturong angrily as she tried to swing Makini's staff at Bunga again, but as she did Bunga dodged her swing and started munching on the Tuliza he had in his hands, which caused Mama Binturong to growl and scream in anger as Bunga swallowed the Tuliza. "Ugh, this is gross. I don't know how Kion does it. And I don't even know how Timothy handles this." Bunga said with a confused expression.

"No! Get your filthy paws off my Tuliza!" Mama Binturong shouted while baring her teeth as Bunga ate some more Tuliza which caused Mama Binturong to swing that staff again at Bunga. But this time, Bunga grabbed hold of the staff with a laugh and he tried to pull the staff away from Mama Binturong, who was pulling it back. Mama Binturong and Bunga glared at each other as they continued trying to take the staff from each other. Then, they both lost grip as the staff flew into the sky and Bunga was launched back down to the ground while Mama Binturong was laughing evilly at the top of the Tuliza pile.

"Silly Honey Badger, did you really think you could get away with eating my Tuliza?" Mama Binturong asked Bunga, who got back up on his feet while looking at her. "Silly Binturong, missing something?" Bunga asked Mama Binturong as he pulled Makini's staff from out of the pile and waving it for her to see it. "Oh! You might have the staff, but you're not going anywhere." Mama Binturong said as her Porcupines recovered from their attack with Bunga and surrounded him with their sharp quills facing him, which he noticed.

"Pfft! You guys, again?" Bunga asked the Porcupines while pointing the staff at them. "You see, Mr. Bunga, there's no way out." Mama Binturong said with an evil laugh. "THAT'S WHAT YOU THINK!" a male voice shouted which confused Mama Binturong and Bunga, until they saw two shadows jumping off one of the Black Rocks and as they landed, they revealed themselves to be Samuel and Cassandra as they glared at Mama Binturong. "Sam, Cass, you're here!" Bunga said surprised to see them. "Wait, how did you two find me?" Bunga asked them as he faced the Porcupines.

"We heard some echoes in the Black Rock Forest. We followed them and they led us to you." Cassandra replied as she and Samuel faced the Porcupines as well. "And, Bunga, I think now would be the time for you to use your secret weapon." Samuel said to Bunga, who gave him a smile then faced Mama Binturong with a determined smile as Samuel and Cassandra took cover. "Hey, Mama, you want your Tuliza? Well, you can have it." Bunga said as he faced his rear end at the Tuliza pile then breaks wind as his gas cloud hit Mama Binturong and her Porcupines as they started coughing. However, as the gas cloud hit the Tuliza petals, they started changing into a different color, as if they were being withered away.

"Think I'll take some Tuliza to go." Bunga said as he refilled the gourd on the staff with Tuliza petals. "You lose, Mama Binturong." Bunga said to Mama Binturong as he left the area with Samuel and Cassandra. "So, how was I?" Bunga asked Samuel and Cassandra. "I don't think they enjoyed it, but we sure did." Cassandra replied sarcastically. "Yeah, you could say that was Un-Bunga-lievable." Samuel added as he and his two friends were finding their way back to the Lion Guard.

...

Back with the Lion Guard, they were waiting for Bunga, Samuel and Cassandra to return with Makini's staff. While waiting, Timothy looked at a medium sized Black Rock poking out of the ground right next to him. As Timothy was looking at the Rock, he had a confused expression. "There's something strange about these Rocks." Timothy said, which caused the Guard to look at him. "Something... familiar." Timothy added as he placed his right hand on the Rock. As he did, the Black Rock he touched instantly glowed light blue, as well as the other Black Rocks.

This alerted the Guard, but Timothy still had his hand on the Black Rock and then his eyes glowed white while hearing some voices and seeing some visions in his mind.

(Timothy's P.O.V.)

"DIE!" I heard a distorted female voice shout. "I banish you!" I heard an elder man shout. Then, I had a vision of myself when I was younger, destroying the Energy Sword. After I did that, a piece of the Sword's magic flew into the heavens. When it did, a huge explosion happened and then a glow of yellow and light blue fell onto my planet from that explosion and it landed on the ground. After it did that, Black Rocks with golden spirals spiraling down started growing out of the ground.

After I saw that, my vision changed into what looked like a monster, or a demon with horns and it had a yellow stone on it's right and and a light blue stone on it's left hand and it was growing Golden Rocks everywhere. Then, my vision changed into what looked like a giant, rocky pillar poking out of the ground with markings on it and on the ground around it. Then, someone came out of the pillar and whom I saw scared me greatly. The person who came out of the pillar was my aunt, Morgana!

I was scared, yet angry when I saw Morgana as I glared at her with a very deep glare. "You! WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE, YOU MURDERER!?" I asked her angrily. "Now, now. There's no need for such harsh names. And there's definitely no need for violence." Morgana replied to me, which only angered me more. "Violence? VIOLENCE! SAYS THE WOMEN WHO KILLED MY SISTER!" I shouted at her with such anger with my glare getting deeper. "That was circumstantial." Morgana said, which caused me to let out a growl as I was thinking about attacking my aunt by firing some magic blasts at her. However, as I reached out my hand, nothing happened, which reminded me that my magic was still no use at the moment.

"Really? You really think that attacking me was gonna work?" Morgana asked me sarcastically as I let the thought of attacking my aunt go but still glared at her. "Look, what do you want, Morgana?" I asked her. "Oh, a couple of things, really. But I came here to deliver you a message." Morgana replied turning her back on me. "What message?" I asked her, which caused her to get up in my face. "That there is nowhere you can go that I won't find you. In two short weeks, Timothy, we will face each other and I WILL kill you... but not in a way you'll expect." Morgana said to me.

"What do you mean?" I asked while baring my teeth at her as Morgana let out an evil chuckle. "Oh, you will see soon enough." Morgana replied then started laughing maniacally then disappeared into the rocky pillar. I paid close attention to the pillar and it was the same exact pillar I made an ice sculpture of back at Flamingo Beach! I also noticed that the pillar had the Mark of Evil at the base of it and it was glowing dark yellow. I then heard the Voice calling out to me, which caused me to wake back up into reality.

As Timothy's eyes turned back into their normal color and stopped glowing, he let go of the Black Rock, which caused all of the other Black Rocks to stop glowing light blue. Timothy was breathing heavily after what he just saw until Lucy approached him. "Timothy?" Lucy called which caused Timothy to look back at Lucy. "What happened?" Lucy asked worryingly at Timothy. "... Morgana." Timothy replied angrily, which surprised the Guard. "Morgana! How?" Beshte asked confused.

"I not entirely certain, but I have a feeling that it has something to do with that shrine we saw back at Flamingo Beach." Timothy replied. "You mean that ice sculpture you created?" Anga asked Timothy, who nodded in response. "Lucy, how far are we from getting to the Tree of Life?" Timothy asked Lucy, who pulled out her map and looked at it. "Not far, but we still have quite a few landmarks left." Lucy replied to Timothy. "Okay. Something tells me that we're either gonna face this shrine on our way to the Tree of Life, or it's going to be over there for us." Timothy said to the Guard with narrowed eyes.

"What if Morgana is over there?" Kion asked, which caused Timothy to look at the ground angrily. "If that murderer is at the Tree of Life, then I'm going make her pay." Timothy replied with a growl and a deep glare while clenching his hands into fists. Lucy did her best to calm Timothy down, which she did as he slowly calmed down. After that the Guard continued waiting for their friends to return, until Bunga peeked his head out from above them.

"Somebody lose a staff?" Bunga asked while waving the staff out for everyone to see. "You got it! Yay!" Makini said excitingly after gasping. Bunga, Samuel and Cassandra then jumped to the ground as Bunga gave Makini her staff back, and she popped the lid off the gourd to see that it was refilled with Tuliza petals. "And you filled it with Tuliza." Makini added. "That's right!" Bunga replied while putting his hands behind his head. However, Makini gave the petals a whiff and recoiled as she smelled something fowl. "Ew." Makini whispered as she popped the lid back onto the gourd then gave Bunga a nervous smile.

"Great job, you three." Kion said to Bunga, Samuel and Cassandra, then walked passed them. "Now, let's go find that next moja kwa moja stone." Kion added as he and the rest of the Guard continued on their journey. "You'll never guess how I got away." Bunga said to Fuli with a smile. "You used your stink, right?" Fuli asked Bunga after chuckling a bit. "You know my secret weapon?!" Bunga asked Fuli surprisingly. "Bunga, your 'secret weapon' isn't really much of a secret." Samuel said with a smile, which caused everyone to laugh as they continued walking.

But what they didn't know was that a small Black Rock with a golden spiral, spiraling down poked up and out of the ground while glowing light blue as it grew out of the ground. It then stopped glowing at it stopped growing. After that, a dark yellow magic ball was seen floating around, while following the Lion Guard, as well as leading four familiar enemies right to them!

Next time on The Golden Guardian Adventures: Journey to the Tree of Life: After getting Makini's staff back from the treacherous Mama Binturong, the Lion Guard continued their dangerous journey to the Tree of Life, which they are getting close now. However, Timothy does know that he'll be facing his aunt, Morgana again pretty soon. But what really confuses Timothy was the way Morgana said to him. Will Timothy defeat Morgana again with the help from the Lion Guard? What did Morgana mean when she was talking to Timothy? Found out in the next installment of The Golden Guardian Adventures: Journey to the Tree of Life.

Yep, two more chapters left to go until this story is done. However, I would actually like for you to guess what will happen next. I mean, if you seen Season three of the Lion Guard, then you probably know what's going to happen, but what do you think is going to happen in the future chapters if this and the next story? I'll leave that up to you, and I hope you enjoyed this story.

'Till the Pride Lands End...