This is the one we've all been waiting for: The day the trio actually meet! Thanks for all the reviews I've gotten; glad to see people reading and enjoying my story so far.

Also, in this chapter, I know the names they call each other do seem kinda immature, but remember; these are pups we're talking about.

Anyway, here's the third chapter!

Two large eyes began to form on Shenzi's face; did her parents just say what she thought they said? All this time whenever she left home her father had to come with her. But now she had a chance to go unaccompanied? Safia looked down at her daughter when she noticed the surprised expression.

"I can go out all by myself?" Shenzi asked.

"For today; aftah this you can't go out alone no more until you're fifteen. Understood?" She asked. Shenzi immediately jumped to her feet and nodded her head as a huge grin spread on her face.

"Yeah! Thanks momma!" And without another word the couple saw their daughter scamper away through the graveyard. Safia glanced over and saw the very worried expression on her mate's face.

"She'll be fine. And she knows to be back bahfore dark. Come on inside." She said as she turned around to go into their skull. Bakari stared at his daughter until she was out of sight, then reluctantly followed his mate in.

Maumbu angrily muttered under his breath as he and Edward made their way past a mountain of bones. It seemed no matter what he always had to cancel whatever plans he had with his friends because of his "special" little brother.

"Why do I always get stuck watchin' the little…whatever the heck he is? I mean there's tons more ways ta make sure Edward here's all taken care of: …like that really cute female hyena that lives across from us could watch him, or some old female who doesn't have any pups. Plus there's plenty of empty ribcages I'm sure he could fit in.

All these possible, and nearly completely safe, ideas and yet I still get stuck with 'special' little Edward." He finished thinking as the two neared the large elephant skull. Which was the only thing separating them from the geyser valley, where no doubt his friends would be having a literal "blast" without him. In fact, he could hear them laughing from all the fun and growled under his breath.

As for Edward, he was being wary the whole time they were walking; he liked spending time with his brother, he really did…it's just that he'd like it more if he wasn't so mean to him at times. Whenever Edward would give Maumbu a brotherly nuzzle, if their parents weren't around he'd fling him right off. It wasn't enough to hurt him but enough to let him know to leave his older brother alone.

Still miserable as always, Maumbu continued walking in the straight-to-nowhere direction with little Edward.

"This day couldn't get any worse." He mentally concluded.

Then Maumbu saw the border separating the graveyards from the Pridelands; a place that was forbidden to hyenas. Nothing to do now except turn around and go back home, without so much as telling his group of friends "Hello." Just when Maumbu was about to turn around to leave, he noticed that to their left, there was an elephant spine declining in the angle of a slide. It was heading in the opposite direction of the Pridelands and all the hazards the graveyard had to offer were nowhere near it. And no one was watching them at all…

Was this a sign? He didn't know. But Maumbu looked down at his brother with a falsely affectionate smile on his face.

"Hey Edward, wanna play a game?" He asked, leaning down a little to his baby brother.

Very happy at the fact that his older brother was not only talking to him without any insults involved, but also wanting to play a game with him, Edward nodded. Maumbu smirked.

"Good. See that elephant spine up ahead?" He asked as he turned Edward around to look at the spine. His younger brother nodded again.

"First one down gets the first bone mom and dad find!" He shouted as he pretended to run.

Edward laughed and ran as fast as he could, failing to notice his brother smirk again then leave to join his friends. Edward immediately jumped on the spine and went sliding down, laughing with delight the whole way.

Banzai pounced on some imaginary prey as he made his way into a large field of elephant tusks. Of all the spots in the graveyard this was the one he didn't get to come to often and took every chance he got to check it out more. There were so many new places to investigate, so many holes and cracks leading to anywhere; it was your average graveyard pup's paradise (and it'd be perfect too if it had a decent amount of food).

Maybe after a bit of exploring he'd try to pretend to hunt again. When he grew up he wanted to be in a hunting party. Maybe even a party leader! To do so though he would have to prove himself to the matriarch…or her no doubt spoiled little princess of a pup. It didn't matter though, either way he was going to be a high-ranking alpha male.

Meanwhile…

Shenzi ran as fast as she could, not really having an idea of where she was going but it wasn't important at the moment. Even if it was just for today she was finally free to roam off on her own; no more dads, no more limits, no more planned routes. She must've walked through the graveyard numerous times with her father but she had never seen it like this.

The mist that strangely appeared out of nowhere fascinated her as she continued to work her way into the boney network. There were huge skulls, massive tusks, and enormous ribcages far as the eye could see. Shenzi had to hold back a squeal of delight as she began to run faster. But before she knew it, she had stopped in her tracks; this was a part of the graveyard she had never seen before.

But that only intrigued her more; bones, dens and caverns in various shapes and sizes. So many places, so little time.

Shenzi took a step forward, a wide smile on her face. But as she was doing so, she failed to notice she was breaking a small bone in two…

Banzai was enjoying himself with a good practice attack; he'd jump on some imaginary prey with his claws out and pretend to dig into the carcass. It was great but just when it was starting to get on the peak of excitement, a strange noise interrupted his fun. It seemed to have come from in front of him, and yet above him as well.

This confused the five year-old pup and he looked around himself, but nothing was there. He listened for awhile, but the sound did not repeat. Banzai just shrugged and went back to getting ready to pounce. But just when he was about to leap he heard a different noise behind him; tiny bones cracking. Something wasn't right here. And Banzai rapidly sensed that he wasn't alone anymore.

Was it a rat? Normally, for adult hyenas, rats were a valuable source of food. But to a pup, it could mean certain danger, perhaps death. And his mother had warned him about rats; they were quick, had sharp claws and teeth, and could fit into almost anything. And almost all the time when a pup encountered a rat alone, unless the pup's parents arrived in time, the rat would be the one who ate. Banzai bared his teeth and got ready to pounce as he waited for something to happen.

Then out of nowhere, the same noise that had first caught his attention sounded again. Only this time it was louder. Banzai's eyes suddenly widened when he saw a pup come flying out from that direction and land in a nearby pile of bones.

"What the-?!" He started to say until the noise of splintering bones sounded again, re-catching his attention.

Now fed up with all the disturbances, Banzai turned to where it was coming from and tried to growl as fiercely as he could. But then he suddenly heard a crackling noise. He looked down and saw a lot of small bones rolling past his four feet.

He looked back to see something that looked like a pup with a hollow skull wedged on its head, crawling out of the cluttered mess. Banzai cocked an eyebrow at it, then turned back to the sound, but except for the bone pile slowly collapsing, all was silent. By this time the pup was starting to whimper. Banzai looked back and sighed at the pitiful sight.

Deciding the little nuisance of a noise could wait, Banzai walked over to the poor guy, and yanked on the skull. It came off with its head with a "pop!" The pup's eyes rolled around before it shook its head and brought them back into focus. He rubbed his head from where the skull had been putting pressure on it. He looked up and saw Banzai a few inches in front of him. But upon seeing him, he jumped back; a bit frightened as Edward had never seen another hyena pup before.

Suddenly, the two heard a noise and looked over to see another hyena pup emerge from behind a pile of bones, not seeming to recognize their presence. She had a wide grin on her face for some reason. Banzai was only more puzzled at the site.

"Now what?" He wondered to himself.

While Banzai was too busy trying to figure out who this newcomer was, he failed to notice the pup he first encountered, begin to look about his surroundings; as if searching for someone. His expression grew more and more frightened when he realized the somebody he was looking for wasn't there.

Fearing the worst, the pup began to whimper and call out in a strange language. This snapped Banzai out of it and he looked back to him, the pup had also caught the second pup's attention as well.

"What's his problem?" Shenzi wondered to herself.

Edward continued to call out for his older brother; even though his family wasn't exactly experts on the way he "talked", they could still recognize his voice. But no matter how much he whined, Maumbu didn't show up. Tears began to form in Edward's eyes and his voice became slightly hoarse as he neared the verge of crying.

He was too scared to notice the two pups behind him looking at him like he was clinically insane. Edward kept trying to call Maumbu; in his own "terms" he said something along the lines of "Maumbu, I'm scared! I wanna go home!"

To Banzai, he seemed completely crazy. But for some reason Shenzi felt as though she should take pity on this pup, so she took a step towards him. By accident, she stepped on Banzai's paw and he let out a howl of pain. He immediately turned to her.

"Watch where you're goin'!" He snapped. Shenzi's lip curled back in an angry frown.

"Maybe you should try helpin' out once in awhile, instead of staring like some moron!" She shot back.

"What? Him? I can't figure out what the heck he's doin'!" Banzai retorted. Shenzi let out a tiny growl. Banzai scoffed.

"Ooh, real impressive." He said in a tone dripping with sarcasm.

"But since I'm nice, I'll show ya what a better growl sounds like." Then he too started snarling at her.

Despite Edward being crouched on the ground and crying out of panic with his head hidden in his paws, he managed to hear something behind him. Ignoring the tears descending his face he slowly looked back to see two pups letting out poor excuses for growls, but to him they were both equally impressive. After a minute or so of staring at them, Edward noticed something very strange; those two looked very familiar for some reason. He couldn't have seen them before…could he?

His parents had always told him never to talk to strangers, but…

He took a step forward.

"Who're you anyways?! And what're you doin' here?! This is where I go for fun!" Banzai snapped at the female pup.

"Don't look like that no more." She smirked.

"And to answer your first question; I'm the next matriarch." Banzai cocked an eyebrow at her after hearing what she said, then smirked himself.

"Oh, so I guess I get ta meet the clan's princess herself."

"Who you callin' princess, barkbreath?!"

"You, princess!!"

Suddenly the two were interrupted by a small whining sound. They looked over and saw the same pup they encountered earlier, only he had ceased crying. He shot them both a shy smile. But after a moment, the two just turned back to each other.

"You're just another spoiled, female brat!"

" 'Least I'm not a stupid, male idiot!"

Something told Edward he should just let them blow off steam. And, either though neither of them knew it, to Shenzi and Banzai, this felt…normal. The fighting continued for about another five minutes, until some familiar voices called out for them.

"Maumbu! Edward!" Came a female's voice.

"Banzai!" Came another female's voice.

"Shenzi!" Came one more voice, this time male.

At his mother's voice, Edward completely cheered up and turned in the direction of where it came from, his tail wagging from delight. Shenzi and Banzai also jerked their heads at the sound of their parents' voices. After a few seconds, both gave each other one last glare before walking off in the direction of their homes. Edward happily followed his mother's voice away.

Shenzi pushed some rib bones out of her way as she began grumbling to herself.

"If this is what goin' out alone is like, then I think I can wait 'till I'm 15."

Maumbu arrived back home to see both his parents sitting in front of the entrance. At first he was completely oblivious as to why they seemed to be waiting right outside their skull, but then he was puzzled when they looked down at his feet, then turned to each other with confused expressions on their faces.

"Where's Edward?" They asked him. This only perplexed their oldest son more, until he suddenly realized what they were talking about.

"…Oh."

"Oh?! Maumbu where is he?!!" Both his parents demanded. Maumbu cringed back and laughed nervously.

"Well…ya see…funny story-" But then all three hyenas heard familiar laughing echoing straight in their direction. And without warning Edward came running towards his family's home.

"My baby!" Neema shouted as she ran past her first-born son and embraced her second tightly. Rashid was happy that his youngest son was alright but turned to his oldest with a look filled with both disappointment and slight anger.

"We'll talk about this later." Rashid told him with a stern tone. Maumbu hung his head and nodded. Rashid turned back to his mate.

"Are we ready?" He asked. She nodded. Both Edward and Maumbu were confused at their parents' behavior.

"Ready for what?" The oldest brother asked.

"We're going out with some other hyenas to look for food." His mother explained.

"And as a start to your punishment for failing to keep an eye on your brother, you'll be joining us." Rashid added.

"And while we're away, which shouldn't be long, you'll be staying in a caretaker den with some other pups your age." Neema told her youngest son.

"So, we go look for food while Edward spends the day at doggy daycare." Maumbu concluded.

"And your grounding sentence starts of…now." Rashid said.

"Whaddya mean I gotta stay in some babysitting den while you go out n' look for food?" Banzai asked his mother as they walked out of their den.

"It won't take long, and I'll be back before dark." Raziya told her son.

"I'm not a baby." Banzai said with an annoyed tone.

"I know, and if I can't find anything I'll come right back." And with that, they headed towards the caretaker den.

"Here we are." Shenzi heard her father say. She looked up to see a small, wide-mouthed cave with two hyenas standing at the entrance. It seemed kind of dark, cold and wet inside. And the insects crawling over every bone, rock and long-dead plant didn't help its appearance either.

"I'm supposed to stay here?" She asked.

"Them's the brakes, honey." Safia replied. Shenzi blew a bang away that was hanging in front of her eye.

"Aw well; could be worse." She thought as she and her parents walked in its direction.

As they neared the entrance, Shenzi began to recall her earlier encounter with the two male pups; one of them seemed 'ok' by her terms, but maybe a little bit of a wimp. On the other hand, that second male was a pain! It seemed all he knew how to do was yell and bicker. She'd probably never see him again, but if she did it'd be that last time he'd have all his teeth. As she tried to figure out who the pups were (so she could get back at one of them later on), her mother's voice snapped her out of her thoughts.

"Alrighty, you just stay here with them while we go out for 'while." Shenzi looked over to her right and was surprised to see the same pup she met earlier! He looked very different (or was it, "weird") when he wasn't bawling his eyes out. But why was his tongue all the way out of his mouth, and why were his eyes so funny looking? In front of Shenzi there was a tall, female hyena's leg. She saw her lift it up to reveal no one other than…

Shenzi and Banzai gasped.

"No! Way!" They said, turning away from each other.

"Banzai what's wrong?" Raziya asked.

"I'm not stayin' here with her!" Her son yelled.

"And I'm not stayin' here with him either!" Shenzi yelled back.

"Shenzi Marie Predatora Veldetta Jacquelina Hyena, what has gotten into you? I know I didn't raise you to behave like that." Safia said to her daughter. Seeing that she had displeased her mother, Shenzi looked at the ground, ashamed. Banzai and Edward on the other hand, started snickering.

"Marie?" Banzai said under his breath. Both males just went back to laughing at her again. Shenzi heard them but made no attempt to shut them up, for she didn't want to make her mother even more upset.

"Sorry momma." She said, looking up at her mother with apologetic eyes. Safia's expression softened but she did not back down an inch.

"Let's hope that attitude gets a bit bettah when your father and I get back." After Safia spoke, Shenzi's father gave her a little nuzzle before turning around and walking towards the exit of the cave.

"I'll see you soon Banzai." Raziya told her son. She gave him a lick on the nose, but Banzai immediately set to wiping it away with both his small paws. Raziya just smiled lovingly at him.

"Be good now Edward." Neema said to her youngest pup, then she too gave him a lick on the nose, only he didn't wipe it away.

"See ya soon kiddo." Rashid told him as he playfully nudged his son with his paw. Maumbu just turned around without saying a word to his baby brother, then exited the cave along with the five adult hyenas.

After their parents had left, the three pups stared at each other for a minute.

"This is gonna be longer than I thought." Shenzi and Banzai concluded in their minds.

The next chapter will have quite a few surprises in it. But you'll have to wait for the next update! Anyway, reviews please!