The Tickle Plant

When the meerkats, two tiny hyenas, and Pumbaa moved into the Oasis after Simba became King, they were all completely unaware of something deep in the forest.

It was a Tickle Plant; as its title implies, if somebody passes by it, the plant will restrict the victim, such as hold their arms up, and tickle them until either they're manually rescued, or until they pass out from too much laughter. None of the gang ever passed by it, luckily. But soon, somebody was going to. A certain crabbypants who needed to laugh more anyway.

Max was wandering around in the Oasis by himself, unaware of the torture he was about to receive. He just decided to be alone; He loved Vitawny, but he just needed a little alone time. Luckily, she understood, and respected that. He smiled as she came in his mind; For a hyena, she was quite cute, and pretty. Especially her eyes. He'd stare into them all day if he could; they were like sapphires in the sun whenever she was happy, excited, amused, etc. And whenever she blinked or slept, she'd flutter her eyelashes like butterfly wings.

Something feathery brushing his hip snapped him out of his thoughts, as he jumped and let out a yelp. It jump-scared him, and it tickled quite a bit. Yes, the grumpy Max Berkowitz is very ticklish. His sides and hips are where he's the most ticklish. He intended on keeping that a secret, but his dumb nephew Timon recently exploited it.

"Timon?" He said to see if it was him who just did that, but there was no answer. Deciding to just ignore it, he cautiously continued his stroll, Vitawny re-entering his mind. But when he felt something brush on his tummy, he accidentally let out a loud, high-pitched giggle before he slapped a hand over his mouth in embarrassment, and covered his tummy with his other arm. 'Oh, I hope no one heard that,' He thought, as his cheeks flushed red, and he continued walking. But soon it was going to get worse for him. Much worse.

Before he walked too far, he felt two vines wrap tightly around his ankles, effectively stopping him dead in his tracks. "Whoa! What the-?!" He exclaimed in surprise as he almost fell on his face. "Hey! Let go of me!" He tried to kick them off, but he couldn't move his legs at all. When he was about to reach down to untie the vines from his ankles, two more vines slowly wrapped around his wrists, and suddenly pulled his arms up at either side of his head. "Let go of me!" He yelled as he tried to pull his arms down, but to no avail. Having his arms almost straight up like that against his will, so his sides and armpits were completely exposed and unprotected made him feel very uneasy.

Determined to break free, Max tried even harder to pull his arms and legs out of the vines, but was unsuccessful. He eventually gave up with a huff of frustration. "Help!" He yelled out, hoping somebody would hear him, as he wiggled and squirmed around. "Help! I'm in a predicament! Some plant's got me! Help! Somebody help me!" But nobody came to help him. Then the torment began.

A plant limb that looked like a hand came up to him, and started stroking his pudgy tummy with its "fingers." Max flinched, and held in his already hysterical laughter with his cheeks puffed out. His tummy wasn't his most ticklish spot, but its sensitivity level was quite close to that. After a few seconds, he cracked. "Geehehehehehehehehehe!" He snorted before he burst into fits of giggles, as he squirmed around. "Pleheheheahase d-don't tickle! I'm v-very ticklish! Aaahahahahahahahahahaha!" He begged as another hand tickled his ribs. When the first hand dug into his tummy, and the second lightly scratched his ribs, he started squirming around some more, and trying to get out of the bonds, but to no avail. He only hoped that it would leave his sides and hips alone; He'd lose his mind if they tickled him there!

Max yelped, and laughed harder when two feather-like leaves brushed his armpits. When another leaf tickled his neck, he tried to shrug his shoulders up, but his arms being held up prevented that. He started getting tears in his eyes when the leaf brushed one side of his neck, and another "hand" tickled the other, by tracing a circle on his sensitive skin. "P-please stohohohohohop!" Max begged, as his arms and legs were trembling from the tickling, "This tickles a lohohohot! Aaaahahahahahahahahaha! Hehehehehelp! Somebody help mehehehehehehe!" He yelled out through his laughter, hoping somebody would hear him, and come to his rescue.

When another leaf brushed Max's belly, the two "hands" lightly stroked in between his ribs, and another hand tickled up and down his back, his tears fell down his cheeks. His mouth was wide open, baring his tongue and teeth as loud, hysterical, incessant laughter and begging erupted out from the tickling almost all over his little upper body.

"Stohohohop! Stohohop! Stohohohohop! Pleheheheahahahase! This tickles so muhuhuhuhuch! Aaahahahahahahahahaha!" Yet his laughter increased when another hand tickled his collar bone with one finger. But it was about to get worse. A lot worse.

The plant had just realized that it was missing a spot on the meerkat's ticklish body; Two spots. And they weren't his feet, or his legs. It stopped tickling a trembling Max so he could breath, but the hands and leaves hovered around him at the spots they tickled to make sure he didn't try to escape. "A-are you l-letting me go?" Max asked it quietly, while panting. But their staying still told him otherwise. "HE-E-E-ELP!" He shouted, hoping somebody would hear him, "HELP ME! HE-GYAAAY!" He yelled out when two new hands poked his sides. "Oh God, p-please not there!" He felt pathetic, begging like that, but he didn't care; He was desperate. "Ple-AAAH! Aaaahahahahahahahaha!" Max laughed hard and squirmed around as the hands were lightly stroking his quivering sides and hips with their index fingers. He was almost on the verge of shrieking from those strokes alone; That's how ticklish his sides and hips are!

When the hands start using all their fingers, and they go from stroking to tickling, he laughed even harder. "Gyaaaahahahahahahahahaha!" He shouted with laughter, tears falling again, as the hands went up and down his trembling sides, attacking all the sensitive spots, "Hehehehehelp! Hehehehehehelp mehehehehehehe!" Then without warning, the intense tickling on his belly, ribs, armpits, collar bone, neck, and back abruptly started again all at once, so he was tickled all over his little upper body. "Gyaaaaahahahahahahahahaha!" He laughed harder, as he was on the verge of shrieking, and his arms, legs, and sides were trembling like he was in a blizzard without any coverage.

Little did he know, it was going to only get worse. After a few minutes, the torturous tickling stopped, as Max was panting and still trembling, and the hands and leaves hovered around him once again. But the hand at his right side moved down to his waist and the very bottom of his tummy, to his surprise.

Then what looked like the base of the plant slithered up to him on some vines. It looked like a Piranha Plant's head, but it was green instead of red, and it had a long tongue. Max gasped in shock when it stopped to his right. "P-please don't eat me!" He begged, even though it was about half his size. But it didn't try to eat him; instead, its tongue practically rolled out of its mouth, and it started licking his hip and side! "GYAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Max screamed with laughter, throwing his head back and widening his eyes as the tickling everywhere else started all at once again. And the hand formerly at his right side started lightly tickling his waist, and the very bottom of his tummy. "OHOHOHOHO GOHOHOHOHOD NOHOHOHOHOT THAHAHAHAHAHAT! PLEASE NOT THAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAT! OH GOD, IT TICKLES SO BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAD! MAKE IT STOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOP! AAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Tears were gushing out of his eyes, soaking his cheeks, as his arms, legs, and hyper-ticklish sides were shaking even worse than before, if that was possible.

Plus, he was starting to feel light-headed. When two new hands lightly tickled right where his fur turned paler, which was just as ticklish as his sides, going up and down with their index fingers, he went even more ballistic, if that was even possible. He was currently half laughing, because of the torturous tickles, and half crying, fearing that the plant would mercilessly tickle him all over for the rest of his life. Or until he died from lack of oxygen. Whichever came first, he hoped it would come fast, so the horrible torture would stop.

On another note, the light-headed feeling grew stronger and stronger… until it became too much for him, and he abruptly passed out. Even though he was unconscious, the plant didn't let up; it kept licking and tickling his tiny body. Truthfully, it was enjoying how smooth and soft, not to mention tasty, his fur was.

Meanwhile, Timon was hunting for bugs, but for the first time, Shenzi was absent. She wasn't feeling very well, so he was letting her rest, while he was getting some bugs for her. When he kissed her forehead before leaving her alone to sleep, she felt quite warm, like she had a fever. He wanted to kiss her tiny, soft lips as well, but she didn't let him; she didn't want him getting sick because of her. He settled with petting her hair until she fell asleep. He rubbed her cheek, and kissed her forehead again, before starting his hunt.

After a while of not finding anything, Timon stopped upon hearing something; it was shrieks of laughter. Curious, he searched for the source, and he found it, or him, while ducked down in a bush. To his surprise, Max was there, his arms were held almost straight up against his will, and he was being horribly tickled by some kind of plant. It was even licking him! Then after a few seconds of that, Max abruptly fainted, his head hanging down. A shocked Timon widened his eyes, as he came out of hiding, while the plant did not stop tickling the poor older meerkat.

Without a word or second thought, Timon quietly marched up, and started untying his uncle's wrists. But he abruptly stopped when two of the hands tickled his armpits, where he was the most ticklish. "Hehehehehehey! Hahahahahahahahaha!" He laughed, "St-stop thahahahahahat!" After untying Max's wrists while ignoring the tickles, Timon bit down hard on one of the plant's "arms"; Now scared and in pain, it backed off, and quickly slithered away. When he saw Max start to fall forward, Timon lunged forward and caught him, so Max's head landed face-down on his chest under his neck; he wrapped his arms around him, before he decided to take him to a less secluded area.

He took Max to the nests where they slept, and laid him on his back, with his arms on his chest and stomach, before he decided to try to wake him up. "Uncle Max?" He said to see if that would work, but to no avail. "Uncle Max?" He shook him by his shoulders carefully, but he was still out cold. Timon was tempted to try tickling Max, but he figured that he had more than enough of that, so he refrained. "Uncle Max!" He exclaimed, but received no answer. "UNCLE MAX!" He yelled, and to his surprise, Max jolted awake, making Timon jump back.

"GYAAAY!" Max yelled out as he abruptly sat up, and covered himself with his arms and legs the best he could. "Oh Go-God, what just happened?"

"Some plant was tickling you, even though you were unconscious, but I was able to save you," Timon explained.

"Ohhh," Max drew out, "I remember now. Oh man, that was the worst thing I've ever experienced in my life!"

"I bet," Timon cringed in sympathy, "It looked awful. Heck, that plant was tasting you!"

"Don't remind me," Max mumbled, "Ugh. Well, thanks for saving me, Timon."

"No problem," The younger meerkat smiled, "I couldn't just leave you there in that plant's arms, branches, stems, whatever," He chuckled.

"So uh," Max decided to change the subject, as he rubbed his sides, where the ticklish feelings still lingered, "How's Shenzi doing?"

"She was feeling warm before I found you," Timon told him, "I was hunting for bugs to give to her when I found you. I actually have to go check on her; Want to see her?"

"Okay," Max shrugged, "Sure." The boys stood up, and walked up to the younger hyena's nest. Luckily for Timon, he actually found some good bugs along the way, and Max helped him carry them.

When they arrived at the nest, Shenzi was just barely awake. "Hey cutie," Timon smiled at her, as he kissed her temple, "How're you feeling?" He stroked her hair lovingly.

"Eh," Shenzi shrugged weakly, her voice sounding scratchy as he slowly drew his hand away, "Still not my greatest," She coughed a couple times in her arm before flopping back down, "Oy."

"Hey kiddo," Max smiled at her, "We brought some bugs for you."

"Oh, thanks guys," She smiled weakly, before carefully eating one.

"Well, I've gotta go," Max told them, "I just had a horrible experience, so I need a nap. Feel better, kid," He told Shenzi as he kissed her cheek in a fatherly way, so her smile grew, and she let out some quiet giggles.

"Okay I'll try, enjoy your nap, Max," She said as he slowly stood up, and walked to another nest, the one he shared with Vitawny. "What was the horrible experience he had?" She asked Timon.

"He was tickled by a plant to the point of passing out," He explained, "And it wasn't just tickling him, it was tasting him!"

"Oh," Shenzi's eyes widened a bit, "Man, that sounds awful."

"It looked like it was," Timon nodded in agreement, "I didn't even find him until he was out. So uh… you want to be alone for a bit? So you can rest?"

"Um… N-no thanks," Shenzi shook her head, "Can you stay with me?"

"Of course I will," He smiled lovingly at her, as he stroked her cheek with his fingertips. Shenzi's smile grew, and she would've blushed if she wasn't already from her fever. "If you need anything, just tell me, 'kay?"

"I will," Shenzi nodded, "For now, I just want to sleep a bit." She rested her head in front of Timon's shoulder, and drifted off into a somewhat non-peaceful sleep. He carefully wrapped his arms around her little body, and held her close to him, so her head was on his chest. He sighed quietly in her hair, as he rubbed her back and head.

"I wish I could take your place," Timon whispered before he kissed her head in between her ears, "Then you wouldn't suffer anymore." He rested his head in between her ears, getting a little tired himself, but the sound of quiet footsteps on the nest woke him up a bit more. When he gazed up, he saw it was his mother, Nina. "Oh, hi Ma," He said quietly.

"Hi honey," She smiled, "How's Shenzi doing?"

"Eh," Timon shrugged carefully, "Not so great. She's just sleeping right now."

"Oh," Nina's green eyes filled with sympathy, as she felt the hyena's forehead under her bangs. "She does feel warm still, but not as much as before. At least she's getting better."

"Yeah," Timon nodded, but he sighed sadly, which captured Nina's attention, as Shenzi groaned a bit.

"What's wrong, Timmy?"

"I…" He hesitated, "I just wish I could take her place. That way, she wouldn't suffer."

"Oh Timon," Nina laid a hand on his shoulder, "That's sweet of you, but she'll be fine, I promise. She just has a cold. She'll pull through; She's Shenzi," She smiled, as Timon chuckled a bit. "Well, it's getting kind of late; I'm going to turn in for the night. 'Night Shenzi," She patted her shoulder, "'Night Timmy," She kissed his cheek, as he smiled widely in amusement.

"G'night Ma," He smiled as she walked to the nest she slept in. When she was gone, Timon lifted his head up a bit, and gazed down at his girlfriend, who seemed to be moving around, and groaning a bit again from discomfort in her sleep. "I hope you feel better soon," He whispered as he rubbed her back and head again, "Good night, sweetheart." He kissed her soft bangs before laying his head in between her ears, and drifting off to sleep.

Meanwhile, Max flopped in the nest in exhaustion in next to his girlfriend Vitawny. "Hi," She smiled, "Where were you? I hadn't seen you all day. I was getting worried."

"Somehow, this plant restricted me, and… tickled me," Max shuddered at the mere memory of the agonizing, yet painless torture, "Everywhere. Oh God, it tickled so bad! It didn't stop until I… passed out; Oy."

"Oh," Vitawny's large blue eyes widened, "Man, that sounds terrible."

"Trust me Vit, it was. I just hope that plant never finds me."

"If it does, I'll protect you," Vitawny told him, "I promise."

"Thanks," Max smiled gratefully, "You're the best." He kissed her forehead, as she smiled and blushed.

"I know," She joked, as she giggled.

"Ohh, getting arrogant, are we?" Max teased her, before a yawn escaped his lips, "You're lucky I'm exhausted, missy."

"Yep," She smirked, "Good night, Max." She leaned forward, and rubbed her little nose on his.

"G'night cutie," He smiled as he kissed her cheek, making her smile grow, as she fell asleep with her head on his chest, so they were in pretty much the same position as the younger couple.

The End... for now.

(A/N: I hope you liked it! I think the ending turned out really cute, especially the Timzi part. X3 Nothing belongs to me, except Vitawny and the plant.)