The Lion Guard: The Maelewano Event.
It was a calm, bright and cheerful morning. But today it wasn't like any day. Today it was the Maelewano day, and everyone would compete in a singing contest to determinate the animal whose voice will represent the harmony in the Pride Lands. Malaika, a young lioness was practicing for the event, with her only audience being her best friend, Meno the mouse. But she feared that her voice wasn't good enough to assure her that she would win. She sung out of tune a lot.
"Oh, Meno" sighed Malaika- "At least there's somebody that likes my voice: you."
Meno jumped onto her tail, and she nuzzled him.
"Well, come on now. Let's see how everyone is doing at the practice. "-she said.
Both went to see everyone practicing for the Maelewano event.
There where Muhimu, Mtoto, Bupu, Timon and Pumbaa, Ajabu, Makini, the galagos, the aardwolves, the genets, Tiifu and Zuri, Twiga, Tamaa and obviously, Kion and The Lion Guard. Their song sounded ok, but Kion said:
"Hang on, guys. I think there's something missing in our song. Something like, one more female voice…
"Kion!" said Fuli"Please tell me you don't mean what I think you mean"
"I fear I mean it, Fuli. We need… Jasiri!"
Then, Kion and his friends went to find her in the Outlands.
Kiara was also there, practicing. And of course neither she wanted to compete alone. She remembered that Kovu wasn't considered an enemy by her father Simba anymore, so she went to find her singing companion in the Outlands, too.
Seeing everyone practicing and doing so well for the competition encouraged Malaika to keep practicing, so she started to sing. However, at the worst moment, she sung out of tune. Everyone stared at her with an awkward smile on their faces, trying not to show her their dislike for her voice. But it was useless, because she already knew what was going on. Humiliated, she ran away from the crowd.
She ran to Rafiki's house to see if he could help her or give her some advice.
"What's going on, little lioness? "said Rafiki, when he saw Malaika enter.
Rafiki, I need your help. My voice isn't good enough at singing. I sing out of tune a lot, and, how am I gonna make a perfect performance if I can't even do a good falsetto?
Rafiki chuckled a little and answered:
"Little one, all you have to do is keep practicing harder and harder."
"But the Maelewano Event is tonight! And, what If I don't have enough time to practice and get ready for it? I want to win so badly! And show everyone what I and Meno are capable of!"
"Very well." Said Rafiki "If you are so desperate for winning, there's only one thing you can do. My ancestors once had a very precious treasure, the Ocarina of Tunes. The legend says those who play it will have their voice changed into a melodious, beautiful voice. They hid it in a far and dangerous place, where only the bravest lions can venture. You must pass through the Udanganyifu Grove, the Hasira Rapids, and the Uongo Quick Sands, and after all of that, you'll find it hidden in a stump. In the bottom, the Ocarina is located.
"Wow! Don't worry Rafiki! I and Meno will get that Ocarina in no time and make it in time for the competition! Then, we'll surely win!" said Malaika, very excited.
"Well, then, may the Great Kings of the Past be with you on your way, and good luck, little one!"
Thus, Malaika and Meno set off for their adventure.
On their way, Malaika was talking to her little friend about her expectations about the powers of the Ocarina.
"Can you believe it, Meno? Do you really think it's true that with only playing the Ocarina of Tunes once, I will have a charming and attractive voice? It's not that I don't believe that story. I just want to see if it's true. It's just amazing!..."
Unfortunately, they didn't notice Ushari was listening to them!
"A magical ocarina, heh?" he thought to himself "With the power to change your voice into a "charming" voice? Scar will love to hear this."
With this said, he went back to the Outlands Volcano, where Scar emerged from the bursting lava.
"Scar, I've got news for you. Such good news." said Ushari.
"You better be right, Ushari" said Scar, menacingly "Pipe up!"
"I've just heard from a little lioness and her mouse friend something about searching a special treasure called the Ocarina of Tunes. It is said that if you play it, you will have such a charming and attractive voice."
"Hmmm… Interesting. In fact… It's fascinating!" said Scar "If that's true, when I have that ocarina, I will use my voice to tempt all animals in the Outlands, and in the Pridelands to join my side. Then I will rule everything!"
Scar then let out an evil laugh that echoed in every corner of the volcano.
"Now, Ushari. I've got a mission for you, go with Shupavu 's Group, follow them both, and retrieve the Ocarina of Tunes. And you better be right about its powers. Cause if you fail to me, you'll burn!"
Ushari gulped, shocked, and said:
"D-Don't worry, Scar, we can handle this!"
And so Ushari and his companions went after Malaika and Meno. After they left, Janja, Cheezi and Chungu showed up.
"Hey,Scar!" said Janja "What do you want us to do?"
"I have NO use for you at this moment" shouted Scar "But… maybe I do. Tonight is the Maelewano Event, and the Lion Guard will possibly participate. I want you to go and ruin their performance, and then, get rid of them!"
"No problem, Scar. Come on, furbrains! Let's have some fun!"
Meanwhile, Malaika and Meno walked a long way until arriving to the Udanganyifu Grove. Just as the name indicated, it was a forest that looked full of tree illusions and no exit to be found. When they entered, they didn't last long in getting lost. After a while, Malaika cried:
"Oh, no! Meno! What are we supposed to do now?"
"Are you looking for a guide with the most perfect sight around here?" said an unknown voice.
"Huh? Who's there? Who said that?" said Malaika, confused.
The stranger introduced himself. It was a young owl!
Hi there, girl, my name is Jicho! I have the best sight around here, and I've lived in the Udanganyifu Grove for a long time. I know it like the feathers in my wings. By the way, who are you?
"I'm Malaika, and this is my little best friend, Meno!"
"Hey, I don't get visitors since a long time" said Jicho "What are both of you doing in such a dangerous place? Any animal that enters here never fail in easily getting lost."
"We are trying to find the Ocarina of Tunes! This is one of the places we must get across to get where it is hidden!"
"Wow! A magical treasure, isn't it? Then I think I could help you out if you allow me."
Malaika turned to see Meno and said:
"Do you think we should trust him, Meno?"
Meno softly squeaked at her ear.
"Hmmm… I think you're right. There seems to be nobody else around here that can help us. And we must hurry to get the Ocarina of Tunes. We must definitely let him help us if we want to get out of this maze! Plus, he said he had a very good sight. He couldn't get lost!"
She turned to Jicho and said:
"Mr. Jicho, it's OK. You can help us!"
"Fine! Just follow my lead!"
Using his owl sight, Jicho could easily distinguish the fake trees from the real ones and guided Malaika and Meno through the forest. It took a long time, but finally they got to the exit.
"Thank you, Mr. Jicho!" said Malaika.
"You're welcome, Malaika. Let me give you a good advice: On your way to find the Ocarina of Tunes, you'll probably face lots of tricky roads and dangers. To go the right way, you must always make good use of your eyes and brain. But mainly, your heart."
"What a good advice! Thanks again for helping, Mr. Jicho! Goodbye!"
The two friends continued their adventure, and soon arrived to the Hasira Rapids. Just as the name indicated, the rapids were raging, and it looked very dangerous to travel through it.
"Ummm, we should go around, don't you think, Meno?" asked Malaika to her friend.
Meno squeaked, agreeing.
So they started walking forward at the side of the river. Meno was at her side. They walked for a while, until suddenly, the ground Meno was walking on crumbled!
"MENO!" cried Malaika, quickly jumping to grab her friend.
She managed to catch him, but the ground she was stepping on also crumbled! Both fell into the river.
They got pulled by the river at high speed, risking hitting the giant rocks in it. Suddenly, a female bat eared fox, emerged from the nearby bushes, and called for Malaika and Meno, rushing to keep up with them.
"Hey! You two! Listen to me!" she said.
"Who are you!?" cried Malaika
"There's no time to answer that! Just listen to me! Need help?"
"Of course! Obviously!"
"Ok, I'm gonna try to hear the splashes against the rocks to help you locate them on your way. Then, I'm gonna tell you which direction you must swim. Are you ready?"
"Ready! Meno, quick, hold on to me!"
The fox used her hearing skills, and immediately located a rock in the river.
"Left!" she yelled.
Malaika obeyed her and swam to the left, with Meno in her back, and they evaded the rock.
Then the fox heard water splashing against another rock.
"Right!"
Malaika and Meno swam to the right, and evaded that rock.
"Go right again and then left!"
And so, the fox kept on until Malaika and Meno arrived to the end of the river. Strangely enough, it ended with a small waterfall and a small lake. Who'd imagined such a calm finish for such a raging river?
"Wow, thank you! Your hearing is awesome. I didn't think it could help us like that! By the way, who are you? "asked Malaika.
"My name's Kusikia. And I guess you already know why I have that name."
"My name's Malaika, and this is my little friend, Meno. Nice to meet you, Kusikia."
"Hey, how did you get into the Hasira Rapids anyway?"
"I and Meno were trying to get to the hidden treasure, the Ocarina of Tunes, but in our way we tripped and fell!"
"Trying to find a treasure, eh? Quite interesting. Well what's your next destination?" asked Kusikia.
"Ummm… I think it was the Uongo Quick Sands, or something like that." answered Malaika.
"The Uongo Quick Sands? Oh, I know where they are located. Just head north and in like 2 hours you'll get there."
"2 hours? Well, in that case we better hurry!"
"By the way, let give you a hint. Dangerous things also make noises. If you hear something that means danger, animal or thing, make good use of our hearing and avoid it!"
"Thank you, Kusikia! You were such a good friend!" said Malaika, and with this said, she headed with Meno to The Uongo Quick Sands.
"You're welcome! See ya!" said Kusikia, then she thought "A friend…" like if she never had one before.
After a while, Malaika and Meno were walking until they stumbled onto some weird sandpits. The name of that place meant those quick sands were gonna be quite tricky. Some of them, normal sandpits, and some others, quick sands.
"How are we gonna tell the real quicksands from the fake ones?" asked Malaika.
Meno had an idea; he went into some bushes and grabbed a small stick.
"Great idea, Meno! We can use this stick to poke the sandpits. If it starts to get sucked in, that means its quick sand! You are a genius!
Malaika grabbed Meno with her paws and gave him a big hug.
"What could I do without you, my little genius? Let's go!"
They began checking the sandpits.
"Hmmm… Nope. Mmmm. Nope. This one is not either... Whoa! This one almost got me! Let's get away… Hmmm… This one is not… Whoo! This one is! Be careful!..."
They kept like that for a little while until they reached near the exit.
"We made it, Meno! Come on!" cheered Malaika
But in their rush to get out, they stepped in quick sand that was camouflaged under dirt!
"Oh, no! What are we gonna do?" said Malaika "It's ok, it's ok, we just mustn't move, but we will sink anyway… sniff…"
She was beginning to cry.
"It's… it's all my fault... sniff… I shouldn't have gotten us into this, Meno. And everything for that ocarina… sniff… I'm… so sorry."
"Well, well, what do we have here?" said a guereza monkey that passed by on a vine and landed on a nearby tree.
"Hey, who are you?" asked Malaika.
"Jenga is my name, building rescue ropes is my game!"
"My name's Malaika, this is Meno, and I think you already know what's going on here."
"Well, I'm here to help you, cause, you know, I was looking forward to help somebody one day. Just stand still and wait…" said Jenga and climbed up the tree disappearing between the leaves.
"Hey, wait!... Ok, just hurry up, please! Relax, Meno, everything will soon be ok." said Malaika.
Soon after a while, Malaika's legs were already sunken in the quick sand, and only Meno's head could be seen out of it.
Suddenly, a long vine came out of nowhere. Jenga had it hanging around a branch
"There ya go, girl! Now I want you to hold on as tight as you can. You and your mouse. And prepare for the blastoff!" said Jenga.
"What? Blastoff?"
"Yeah! 3… 2… 1… Here we go!" she shouted, jumping off the tree while holding the vine.
And Malaika and Meno began to get out of the quick sand… a little slowly.
"Ummm… have you been eating more than the limit, young lady? Hehe… Ohh, wait a sec…"
Then, still holding the vine, she began to pull it downwards repeatedly until the duo was completely out of the quick sand.
"Ugh, I can't get you higher! I guess you will have to swing!"
"Swing? Oh, I get it!"
So she started swinging on the vine side to side, until she got close enough to one side of the pit. Then she let go and landed safe and sound."
"Phew! Close one! Thank you so much, Jenga!"
"You're welcome, Malaika. Hey, how did you two get into this anyway?"
"We were on our way to find the Ocarina of Tunes, then we were trying to avoid those quick sand pits and tell them from the fake ones. Then we thought we reached the exit, but in our rush to get out, we missed one, and fell into it."
"Well, let me tell you something; don't rush to make decisions or get things over easily. Stop, and think before acting. Oh, and by the way, I think I've seen something that looks like an ocarina in a stump nearby."
"Really? Oh, great! Thanks for your advice, Jenga! Hope to see you again, friend!"
Thus, with all the help from Jicho, Kusikia and Jenga, and with all their courage and strength they showed during the way, Malaika and Meno made it. They had found the Ocarina of Tunes, right where Rafiki said it would be. Their quest was finally over. Malaika almost shed a tear because of joy.
Meno picked it up for her so she could play it, and that is what Malaika did. She played a short and beautiful melody, and she felt her voice changing into something magical.
Victorious, they headed back to the Pridelands, believing they were ready for the Maelewano Event. But in the middle of the way, Ushari and his group faced them! They were really annoyed that, they had to get lost in that forest for a while, get tired by going around the rapids and almost fell in every quick sand pit.
"All right, you troublesome little cub. We are here for the Ocarina of Tunes, and we're gonna have it!" Ushari yelled at her."
"Who are you guys? …You can't have the Ocarina! I and Meno worked so hard to get it, and you seem to want to do something bad with it!"
"Grrr… So be it! Get her!"
A fierce battle began. Malaika fought bravely and protected Meno from the enemy attacks. She also remembered the advice her friends gave to her throughout their adventure. She watched carefully the enemies movements, heard the upcoming attacks, and thought well before attacking. But in the end… the Ocarina was stolen from her secretly by one of Shupavu's skinks!
"Well, well, well, looks like we have won this time. C'mon, guys! Back to the Outlands Volcano!"
And so the bad guys escaped with the ocarina in their possession.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" yelled Malaika.
But it was too late. The only thing left for her to do now was return to the Pridelands, cause it was almost night, and the Maelewano Event was about to begin. She remembered that she had played the Ocarina once, and perhaps that should be enough for her to sing perfectly.
Back in the Pridelands, some animals had already participated, Kovu and Kiara performed "Love Will Find a Way", and now it was turn of The Lion Guard to perform their song along with Jasiri. Suddenly, Janja, Cheezi and Chungu confronted them, but the crew easily overcame them and eventually made their performance even more hilarious and entertaining.
Just as their performance ended, Malaika arrived and took the stage, ready to sing. Surprisnigly, her voice was amazing, beautiful and astonishing! She even performed better than the Lion Guard! Looks like the Ocarina of Tunes DID work! In the end she did won the competence and the audience too!
Afterward, Malaika went with Rafiki to thank him for helping her win.
"You were right, Rafiki! The Ocarina was magical! It changed my voice and I could win the Maelewano Event! Thank you!"
"Well, let me tell you something, Malaika." said Rafiki "That ocarina… was just a normal ocarina. It didn't really have magic powers. It was YOU, and your faith in yourself, that made you sing better."
"What? Really?" said Malaika "You mean I could sing well all this time, but I didn't believe in myself enough to do it? And this great adventure I had with Meno to get it was for nothing?"
"For nothing, you say? You've proven yourself to be brave, smart, and very kind to others. That is what made you get the faith you needed. And also…"
"You made three good friends on your way." said some familiar voices.
There were Jicho, Kusikia and Jenga, who had been watching the entire show among the audience and were quite amazed by Malaika's performance. Surprised, Malaika and Meno went to hug them and thank them for their help and advice during the adventure.
Meanwhile, in the Outlands Volcano…
"Scar!" called Ushari.
"Ushari! It'so nice to see you here. I was just about to punish these three incompetents for their failure, and I'd like you to watch." said Scar "Well, did you get the Ocarina or not?"
"Of course we did. Guys!"
Then Shupavu's Group showed Scar the Ocarina.
"Excellent. Throw it into me, now!"
"What? Scar, what are you thinking?" asked Janja.
"SHUT UP! Just watch. DO IT!"
And so did Ushari. Scar felt a magical energy running through his flame body, and he laughed maliciously.
"And now… BE PREPAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARED "
But… nothing happened. There was nobody heading to the volcano.
"Perhaps they don't like your singing" said Cheezi.
"Then Scar must learn to sing better?" said Chungu.
"Grrrrrrrrr… WHAAAAAAAAAT?! WHY IT DIDN'T WORK?!" yelled Scar, furiously.
"Sigh, perhaps it was a fake ocarina after all." said Ushari.
"NNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
Back in the Pridelands, the Lion Guard approached Malaika and Kion asked her:
"You did it quite well, Malaika. So, what are you gonna do after this? Will you keep singing?"
"You know, this adventure was quite fun and enjoyable. So… I think I, Meno and my new friends will adventure to look for even more hidden treasures and explore unknown places. We will be an awesome team of treasure hunters! And yes, I will keep singing sometimes, to cheer us up. What do you say, guys?"
"YEAAAAAAAAAAAH!" shouted her friends, and together they went off to search more adventures. The tales of Malaika, Meno and their team of treasure hunters are just beginning…
THE END