Here's the fourth chapter! Writer's block and struck for awhile as did studying time but thankfully I got the next update completed. Anyway, enjoy!

After their parents had left, the three pups began staring at one another again. It might've been only two minutes that just seemed longer than usual, but a second would've seemed like a week in that cave. They hadn't kept their gaze locked on each other like this since Shenzi was born. Speaking of whom, she and Banzai still refused to even glance at each other. Edward on the other hand was surveying his two companions…as they were him.

Shenzi cocked an eyebrow at the pup; she still didn't understand why Edward's eyes seemed to bulge out of their sockets, or go in two different directions. And Banzai, who just stared, couldn't figure out why Edward wasn't keeping, or couldn't keep, his abnormally long tongue in his mouth.

It was kind of awkward, what with everything and everybody being absolutely soundless in that cave. Except for the occasional drip of water from the stalactites above, or the faint sound of breathing, it was as if the place was on "mute". After about five minutes of more silence, Banzai decided to speak up.

"Well this bites elephant bones." He complained.

"Guess you'd know, huh?" Shenzi stated.

"Watch it, princess." He growled.

"Call me princess agin'." Shenzi threatened as she tried to look menacing. She and Banzai began growling at one another just as they had done before.

Edward backed away a couple steps and waited, in caution, for them to do something. For a couple of pups, Shenzi and Banzai looked pretty fearsome. But after about another minute of snarling, Shenzi just rolled her eyes and sighed.

"Ah, what's the point? Pinnin' you down and makin' you squeal 'uncle', ain't gonna get me outta here any faster." She said as she sat back down.

"Aw, what's 'a matter? Is the wittle future matwiarch scawed?" Banzai taunted. Shenzi glared at him.

"All I'm sayin' is that, in this case, fightin's not gonna solve nothin'." She replied. After a minute, Banzai backed off and sat down as well.

"…Guess not." He admitted, shifting his eyes away. There was more silence after that. Edward, deciding to get in on the action, proposed they find a way to pass the time. Of course Shenzi and Banzai couldn't understand what he was saying though; he spoke in tongues even a shaman couldn't translate.

After about another minute, Edward just gave up on starting a conversation with them. What's the point if the people you're trying to talk to can't even understand a word you're saying? Sort of like being a Spanish-speaking hyena in a Swahili/English-speaking clan. After another second or so, Shenzi got up to her paws, and started walking around the cave. She began sniffing along the floor and at the walls. Banzai and Edward were confused.

"What're you doing?" Banzai finally asked her.

"Lookin' for a way outta here." Shenzi answered with a 'duh' tone.

"Good luck." Banzai scoffed.

"Only way out of here has two grown-ups at the opening. And unless we say we know where a huge pile of meat is, they're never gonna let us-"

Banzai was suddenly cut off when Edward started laughing very excitedly. He turned around to see him eagerly pointing to the back of the cave. Banzai looked in that direction to see Shenzi digging at a small heap of small rocks and pebbles… only to uncover a hole just big enough for each of them to fit through! Banzai's jaw dropped as Shenzi looked back at them and smirked.

"Looks like I'm outta here." And without another word she was outside the cave. Banzai stared at where she had left with an open jaw, but after a second or so, snapped out of it and quickly ran out as well. Edward, seeing as how he really didn't have a choice, followed them both.

Finally free of those two males, Shenzi began to wander about the graveyard again. Perhaps she'd find a good elephant skull to explore, or a great big ribcage to climb. And the geysers were never a let down when you wanted to have a little "explosive" fun. The dust on the ground lingered close to her paws each time she took another step to explore her surroundings.

It was so big in the graveyards! Despite its immense size though, it was nearly impossible to find anything to eat, even for a pup her size. She had always heard the adult hyenas talking about a food called "meat", and the talk only increased greatly after she was weaned. And apparently there were different kinds of it too; zebra, wildebeest, impala, antelope. Maybe one day she'd get to try it.

But then without warning, a strange smell tickling her nose brought her out of her thoughts. Shenzi sniffed at the air. By the scent of it, the aroma was coming from her left. Instinct kicking in, she began running straight in that direction. What she saw when she reached the scent's strongest point made her eyes as wide as ostrich eggs.

There, mere inches in front of her, was the rotting carcass of a zebra, that couldn't have been dead longer than, at most, a week. It smelled wonderful, and seemed to bring a very satisfying promise to her hungry belly. Although she had no idea what it was she began licking her lips as she slowly walked over to it. Just as she was about to sink her small fangs into the meal, a voice suddenly caught her attention.

"Hey!" She looked over to see the male pup she had into earlier, running straight towards her.

"Whadda you think you're doing?!" He said upon reaching her. Shenzi scowled at him.

"I was gonna eat 'till you came along and started flappin' your yap! I got you out of that cave, AND let ya live after yellin' at me like an idiot; the least you could do is leave me alone."

"I saw that hunk 'a meat first! It's mine!" He shouted. Shenzi turned to the carcass lying before her.

"This is meat?" She said.

"Yeah! And you can't have it!" He replied. Her lip curled back in a snarl.

"I can, and I'm gonna!" She told him. She and Banzai started growling once again. Both had a feeling all this completely pointless arguing was about to end as they got ready to pounce at one another, until…

A familiar grumble coming straight from their bellies told them hunger would only slowly deteriorate their energy. And knowing their craving for the remains nearby was going to overpower them sooner or later, they sighed and just made their way over to the carcass, too famished to even spare each other an angry look. Once they reached the food they both eagerly dug in. Their tiny bite marks could be seen embedded in the flesh.

Shenzi couldn't believe her taste buds; this was the first time she had ever tasted meat and it was great! It was a little salty and not as sweet as she remembered milk to be, but now she could see why all the grown-ups were talking about it. Trying to figure out exactly what kind of meat it was, she took a good look at the carcass.

Although it had been rotting for quite awhile, the fur was just visible enough to see a striped pattern. A black and white striped pattern. Sadly though Shenzi hadn't seen a lot of grazing animals so she didn't know what it was. But too happy with her first taste of meat to really care, she just licked the blood from her lips and went back to eating.

Banzai himself was enjoying the carcass. Unlike the female beside him, he had tasted meat a couple times before; it was usually in small portions and almost always rotten, but he couldn't get enough of it. Also unlike her, he had seen a few grazing animals before, and could tell this used to be a zebra.

He glanced over at her and could see she was really enjoying herself; it didn't take a lot to figure out she was new at this. He himself had a very pleasant time with his first taste of meat. What hyena didn't? His first time was wildebeest. It was also his personal favorite as well, because it was chewy but not too chewy, and it tasted great whether the meat was rotten or not. Food was half the reason he wanted to be in a hunting party, hunting was the other.

Shenzi and Banzai had only taken a few bites, until they suddenly stopped eating when they heard something else other than their chewing. It sounded like tiny jaws repeatedly clamping together, and it was coming from right in front of them. Shenzi and Banzai looked up with mouthfuls of food, and were surprised to see Edward helping himself to the meat as well. Upon seeing them, he just smiled and went back to eating. The two pups just looked up and shrugged then continued devouring the mouth-watering food.

Just as their tiny stomachs were starting to feel full, a sudden rumbling interrupted their meal. The three pups stopped chewing and looked around, but everything seemed normal. After about a minute of silence, they just shrugged and continued eating. But the rumbling echoed a second time, only louder.

And then for some reason, the ground began to shake right under their feet. Banzai and Edward had confused expressions on their faces as they looked at the cracked rock floor; Banzai had a raised eyebrow and Edward's eyes were glued to the shiny red lights coming out from underneath the dirt, both still had mouthfuls of food.

Shenzi looked down at the blinding sparks of light emitting from beneath her paws. It took her about half a second to realize exactly why this animal was dead. Her eyes immediately widened.

"GET OUTTA THE WAY!!" She yelled, pushing Banzai out of the hazardous area. The male pup rolled a few feet away from the impact and smack landed against the ground. He rubbed his head as he looked up, only to see the female trying to get the other male away too. Then Banzai's nose started to feel wet (wetter than a hyena's nose should be).

"Huh?" He said when he unexpectedly saw steam in front of him. He looked down to see it coming out of the cracks in the ground where the two pups were at.

His eyes widened when he realized why she had suddenly pushed him away like that, and now more steam was rising up in the air. He looked over to see the female pulling the male by the neck scruff. Unfortunately the guy was too stupid enough to realize the danger they were both in; he kept resisting her to go back for more zebra meat.

Banzai immediately ran towards them to help. But when he was only inches away, a huge wall of hot methane gases and fire suddenly blocked his path, also nearly frying him like an egg in the process. Banzai struggled to see past the burning inferno.

When it cleared, both pups were gone.

Just before the hot gerysers burnt the two of them to a crisp, Shenzi pulled on Edward with all the strength she had…failing to notice the deep fissure behind them. Both tried to retain their balance but it went a little less successful than they hoped; both fell in, screaming all the way.

"Oof!" Shenzi felt herself smack against a hard, rock ground. Getting to her feet she could see Edward beside her and getting up as well. At least she had finally managed to get Edward away from the carcass and at the same time keep them from being a couple of hickory-smoked hyena pups.

The only problem now… was that she had no idea where they were; this was a deep cavern she had never seen before. Remembering some tips her father gave her just in case she got lost (which never happened because he never left her alone), she began to survey their surroundings, trying to find a way out.

Meanwhile, the fact of what could've happened to him had started to sink in for Edward. Now he just wanted to go back to the caretaker den, which seemed a whole lot safer than this place. He began to whimper and held onto Shenzi for dear life. She sighed.

"It's alright, it's alright. Now calm down will ya?" She told him.

But just as she had said that, an even bigger rumbling sounded all around them. Much bigger than the one they had encountered earlier. Then before either of them knew it, a circle of fiery hot red geysers spewed all around them.

Shenzi's eyes widened in fear as Edward clung onto her tighter.

It seemed forever since Banzai started running around the graveyards like a maniac as he searched for the two pups. That female had not only gotten him out of that cave but also saved his life; the least he could do is make sure she was ok. But the more he ran, the more everything looked the same. For a quick moment, he stopped to catch his breath.

Gasping for air, he looked around for any signs of the male or female pup. A frightened, nearly illegible, cry told him he was very close and he ran in its direction as fast as he could, failing to notice the large opening in the ground only feet in front of him.

When he finally saw it, his eyes quickly widened and he began skidding to a halt…until falling in headfirst.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"

Shenzi and Edward suddenly looked up when they heard a loud yell. Then out of nowhere, something landed right in front of them. It took them a few seconds to realize it was the male pup they were with mere minutes ago. Banzai groaned as he sat up and rubbed his head. Upon seeing them, he looked surprised and almost happy...until he saw the bleak expression on Shenzi's face.

"Great; now we're all gonna die." She concluded. This only caused Edward to whimper more and then start crying as well. Banzai wondered what she was talking about until he began looked around and saw the fate that was to befall them. His ears drooped back in response.

"Why didn't I listen to mom when she said 'look before ya leap'?" He asked himself.

Just then more steam shot up out of the ground, causing all three of the pups to jump back. It was growing hotter in there by the second; the pups could feel the rock floor quickly warming underneath their paws. Edward began panting for breath as Banzai turned to Shenzi.

"Ain't there a way outta this place?!" He asked her over the roaring of the flames.

"If there was, do ya really think me n' him would still be in here?!!" She replied.

She looked around for a way they could escape, although the flames were starting to blind-sight her. She winced from the intense light and shielded her eyes as she tried to make out anything at all that could save them. She inspected every inch of the place, but their situation seemed hopeless. Until…

Just behind a row of highly active geysers, was a large flat rock. She could see there was a methane vent underneath it; its lightweight allowed the steam to pass by it, and it bounced up and down from every release of methane steam.

Could it work? Maybe. …It was chance but then again it was their only chance. She turned to the two males.

"Listen up! Unless you two wanna turn inta deep-fried vulture chow, follow me!" Banzai and Edward watched as she darted off towards a row of geysers.

"Is this chick crazy?" Banzai thought to himself. Then his eyes nearly popped out of his head when he saw her jump into the blinding inferno. He immediately darted after her, Edward followed close behind. As Banzai started to call out for her, he began coughing from smoke.

"Hey!!" He then coughed. "Where are ya?!!" He coughed again. The smoke was filling the cavern fast. Wait a minute, smoke? These were just methane vents; there was no smoke around here. Unless…

Banzai looked over and his eyes widened when he saw another geyser, only this one was starting to spew out a mushy red liquid. It didn't even take Edward long to find out it was lava.

"Over here!!" Came a voice. Banzai and Edward turned to where it came from, but all they saw was a row of geysers. Then, between emissions of methane, Banzai managed to see past the blazes and his eyes widened upon seeing the female now standing on a rock.

"Jump through the flames!!" She yelled.

"Are you crazy?!!" He yelled back.

"Just do it!!"

Banzai looked back at the pup that was behind him, he just gulped in response. Then Banzai looked past the pup to see the geyser begin to let out small sparks of fire. His eyes widened even more. It was then Banzai realized they had two choices; either stay here and wait to be boiled alive, or jump through the flames and hopefully make it over there.

But those didn't seem like choices at all. However, Banzai was never one to go down without a fight, so without a second thought he darted straight towards the flaming geysers. Hearing paws hitting the ground close by he knew Edward was following him. He could feel the heat from the flames begin to lick at the tips of his fur and start to work its way to his insides as well. He looked up ahead and could see the fiery geysers mere feet away. Clenching his eyes shut he ran even faster and jumped through, Edward trailing behind.

Banzai hit the ground with a hard thump. After a minute of remaining in a clenched fetal position he slowly peeled his eyes open. Looking up he could see two pups looking at him. One was the female making sure he wasn't dead, and the other was the male who was glancing from behind her looking both scared and worried. Banzai relaxed his muscles then managed to get to his feet and look up at them. Examining their surroundings he could see they were still in the middle of a fire pit.

"Well now what?" He asked the female. At that, Shenzi was silent. She was hoping that their combined weight on the rock might cause some forceful effect to shoot them all up out of the crater. But now she could see that even with all three of them on it there was no escaping. She hung her head in defeat.

Just as she was about to tell him she didn't know, the place began rumbling once again. Only A WHOLE LOT more louder than any of the previous times. Shenzi looked down and could see the rock she and the others were standing on was shaking. The three pups held onto each other as they waited for something to happen. Then, without warning, the rock began to quake even more powerfully.

Shenzi began to grin all of a sudden; her first actual plan was about to not only work but save a few lives as well. But then to her surprise, the rock started to tip over. Shenzi's eyes widened when she saw the methane gas struggling to reach the surface now.

As the large stone began to shake with them on top even more, Shenzi looked straight ahead of herself and could see a big, boiling geyser… just her size. Her eyes widened even more as the rock nearly reached a vertical angle. Shenzi screamed as she slid down and headed straight toward the fire pit.

But then, just before she was boiled alive, she felt herself being pulled back. Shenzi shifted her eyes behind her and was surprised to see Banzai pulling her by the neck scruff, with Edward trying to help out by pulling back on him. Managing to pull her back up with them, the three pups fell back on the center of the rock. Shenzi began gasping for breath from her nearly fatal incident.

"…Thanks." She said to Banzai after a quick but silent moment.

"D-don't mention it." He replied, also still a little shaken from the near death experience. Then all of a sudden the rock they were standing on began shaking again…

The next thing the trio knew they were about 500 feet in the air, all screaming their lungs out. The ground seemed to go from microscopic to close-up as they all fell to the earth below. They smacked against the rocky land, rolling a few feet. The pups rubbed their heads from the pain as they groaned. The three all looked up at each other.

Suddenly, Edward's ears perked up. His two companions noticed this and looked around to see what he could've heard. After a second or so, they both could hear a strange noise. All three looked up and their faces were filled with complete horror when they saw the rock they had escaped on plummeting right towards them.

The pups all ran as fast as they could, ducking in cover with their paws over their heads. Fortunately the three managed to get out of the way just before the large rock collided with the earth and shattered into a thousand pieces. When it was over, the pups cautiously lifted their paws off their heads and their heads off the ground. They looked around themselves; everything was normal. Then they turned their gaze to each other. But everything got quiet again.

Deciding this was enough adventure for one day, Shenzi got up and walked in the direction of the caretaker den. Banzai wasn't quite sure, but something told him he should go after her. So he got to his feet and ran in her direction.

"Hey! Wait up!" Shenzi looked back when she heard someone calling after her. She looked behind herself to see the two males running up to her.

"What?" She said, not mad though.

"How'd you do that?" Banzai asked her.

"Do what?"

"That thing with the rock."

"Oh. …Just seemed like it'd work I guess." She shrugged. Banzai seemed very surprised and almost impressed with the female.

Edward himself was impressed at Shenzi's actions and laughed in a very happy way to reveal so. She cocked an eyebrow at him, then just looked at Banzai.

"What's this kid's name again?" She asked. Banzai thought for a minute.

"I think I heard his mom call 'im Edward one time." He replied. Shenzi looked at the strange-looking pup for another minute, as did Banzai. Edward just smiled at them with his eyes going out as far as they could in opposite directions and his tongue hanging all the way out of his mouth. The two could only stare.

"Then again who's gonna name their kid Edward?" Banzai added as he turned back to her. Shenzi stared at the pup for another minute, before looking back at Banzai.

"Know what? Ya might have somethin' there." She said as she took a few steps in Edward's direction.

"Whaddya mean?" Banzai asked. Shenzi turned back to him when she reached Edward.

"I mean, if he's gonna hang out with us, he's gonna need anothah name." She plainly stated. Banzai just gave her a skeptical look.

"No offense babe, but I really don't think 'is folks are gonna change his name just 'cause you want it changed." He stated while scratching an ear with his hind leg. Shenzi cocked an eyebrow at him.

"Well first of all, when did I say you could call me babe? And second of all, we ain't gonna change his real name, we're gonna give 'im a nickname." She told him. After which she turned back to Edward.

"That ok with you?" She asked. Of course Edward would do anything to have friends who accepted him, since whenever he tried to talk to all the other pups they just looked at him strangely before walking away, and the only other company he had was his big brother Maumbu but he wasn't exactly loving either. So he looked at Shenzi and immediately nodded his head.

"Ok let's see…well, there's a lotta things ya can do with Edward." She said as she tried to think up of a nickname.

"Like what?" Banzai humored her.

"Hmmm…Edmund, Edgar…no them won't do." She murmured to herself. Seeing her trying so hard to come up with a nickname for, who he guessed was, their new friend, Banzai decided to humor her once more.

"How 'bout Ed? It gets to the point anyway." He said. At that, Edward's eyes seemed to light up, and he immediately began to laugh in an excited tone.

"You like it?" Shenzi said. He nodded his head. Shenzi turned to Banzai, who looked very surprised. She smirked at him and turned back to the other male.

"Well then, I guess you're hereby known as…Ed." She declared. Ed smiled broadly before laughing in an extremely happy tone; never had he had friends who he could do stuff with like come up with nicknames. He began running in circles while laughing in an even more happy tone as he celebrated his new nickname and two new friends. Shenzi smirked at her work but then realized there was still another pup behind her.

She slowly turned her gaze back to him. Even though this guy was a pain in the neck at times, he seemed to mean well. After all, he did come looking for them after she and Ed fell in that pit, and even saved her life just before they escaped. Shenzi got up to her four feet and walked in his direction. At the sound of footsteps, Banzai looked up to see the female standing a few inches in front of him.

"Oh uh, I forgot. I'm Shenzi." She said, then shifted her paw forward a bit along the ground so it was closer to his. Banzai looked down at it, then stared up at her for a second.

"Name's Banzai." He replied, also moving his paw forward a bit until it touched hers. The two stared at each other's paws for awhile, then slowly brought their gaze up to each other. After a second or so, two small smiles cracked onto their faces.

Ed, who was still rejoicing over his new nickname, was happily jumping around on a bunch of loose elephant bones. He was also doing a poor job of making sure his footing was safe…maybe that was why he failed to notice that lone elephant tusk sticking out right in the middle of his path. Without warning, Ed felt himself trip and land face first on a pile of bones. Then go sliding down straight towards his two friends. Just before he smack landed on the rocky ground though, he crashed into Banzai.

This however, caused Banzai to ram face-first into Shenzi's own face; thereby connecting them both at the mouth. Ed quickly pushed himself from his friend's back, and Shenzi immediately pulled away from Banzai then made a completely disgusted face.

"Yuck! Ed, watch where you're goin'! Ya never know what gross stuff, like that, might happen!" She then set to furiously wiping at her muzzle. Ed just shrunk back and gave her an apologetic smile.

And Banzai, well…

He didn't know what just happened. He didn't even know what that was called. But for some strange reason, he liked it. His mouth began to spread into a goofy smile, and his eyes took on a dreamy appearance.

Still feverishly scrubbing at her mouth, Shenzi looked up at a pile of elephant bones, and saw something very strange that seemed to be behind it.

Meanwhile, Ed was waving his paw in front of Banzai's face; trying to catch his friend's attention. When Banzai did not react, this puzzled him more. Ed tried to speak out to him, but Banzai just sighed very dreamily, still not paying attention to him. Ed was dumbfounded.

Shenzi walked around the huge pile of elephant bones, and her eyes widened at what she saw next.

"Whoa. …Hey boys, come over here!"

Ed jerked his head at his new friend's voice, but wondered whether or not he should just leave Banzai. But when Shenzi yelled for them again, he decided to do as she told them.

Banzai let out another dreamy sigh and turned back to the beautiful voice that called for him. The goofy smile still present on his face, Banzai slowly got up, turned around and began to leisurely follow the wonderful sound.

"Whatever you say Shenzi."

When Banzai caught up to Ed he could see the male pup was looking at something. And he seemed very fascinated in whatever he was staring at. Then again, even though it was usually from a distance, Banzai had seen Ed (or Edward, as he was back then) find strong interests in things that were simple as rocks that couldn't have been nearly as dense as his head.

"It's even better from over here!!" Came the shout of a certain female. At the sound of her voice, Banzai's heart skipped a beat. Then without even realizing it he bolted off in her direction, not really caring he had left Ed coughing in a cloud of dust as he went. When he reached her, he could only stare at that interested face of hers which, for some reason, seemed cuter than it did a few minutes ago. But past that he could see she was looking at something as well. She turned to him, letting him catch a full view of her face, before saying something to him.

"Take a look at that." She said, gesturing her head over to in front of them. Banzai just did whatever it was she told him, and his eyes widened when he realized why she and Ed seemed so captivated all of a sudden.

There, in front of them, was an enormous bull elephant skull. Its tusks had to have been at least 20 feet long, and (to a pup) it seemed to be about a hundred feet tall.

"Whoa!!" Banzai exclaimed.

"I know!!" Shenzi added. By this time Ed had caught up to the two of them. Banzai ran over to the gigantic bone structure. Shenzi and Ed followed. The pups began investigating the skull inside and out.

"This thing's gotta be a gazillion years old!!" Banzai conjectured after he slid down one of the tusks. Ed cackled happily as he checked out an eye socket. Shenzi looked up at both of them as she emerged from the inside. (A/N Remind you of a certain scene?)

During their enjoyment though, the pups failed to notice the time of day it was now. It was only in the middle of their fun, that Shenzi happened to look up at the sky, and was nearly stunned to see it was near dark; the atmosphere was a mixture of gold, magenta, and purple, and the moon could be faintly seen in the lavender shadows. It took Shenzi another five seconds to realize their parents said they'd be coming to get them before dark, and her heart skipped a beat.

"Get movin' boys! Our parents are gonna be at the cave at any second!" She yelled as she started to run as fast as her four paws could carry her. Banzai and Ed suddenly realized this themselves, and now knowing they were up against the clock, both males darted off towards the cave along with her.

The trio of pups heaved for breath as they squeezed through the same hole they used to escape this same cave they were now sneaking into. If their parents had found out they'd gone off on their own none of them would be allowed to leave their dens until they were teenagers.

The sound of footsteps near the entrance made them all freeze in place for about five seconds before trying to look as though they had never left at all. Shenzi, Banzai and Ed immediately set to wiping dirt and ash from their ears and noses while trying to smooth their fur down. When their parents finally did enter, the trio put on a three-play of innocent smiles.

But then, what the pups saw next made them laugh 'till their lungs and stomachs ached.

"Shut up!!" Maumbu yelled, whose muzzle was nearly covered in thorns. Apparently there had been a little accident while the older hyenas were hunting and Maumbu ended up in an unfortunate situation.

The trio rolled over on the floor as they held onto their stomachs. Maumbu let out a deep and angry growl, but Rashid put a paw in front of him to silence his oldest son. Neema came up from behind her mate and looked at her pup.

"Time to go sweetie." She told him. Ed bade his friends goodbye then ran over to his mother.

"See ya Ed." Shenzi and Banzai said. Raziya came up from behind Ed's family and walked over to her son.

"Let's go dear." She said. Banzai glanced back at Shenzi, before reluctantly leaving with her. Shenzi just walked over to her parents, who were the last to show up, failing to notice Banzai looking back at her until he and his mother had exited the den. Ed's family followed them out.

Shenzi ran up to her parents and gently rubbed her head on both their legs. Safia and Bakari smiled at their daughter before turning around and leaving as well.

"Didja get anything momma?" Shenzi asked Safia on their way home. She and Bakari exchanged glances before Safia looked down at her daughter.

"Not today honey." She replied.

"Oh." Shenzi looked down at the ground as they continued walking. But then, a not far memory suddenly occurred to her and she looked back up at her mother.

"Momma?"

"Hmmm?"

"What kinda food has black n' white stripes on it?"

"From what I've only seen, zebra. Why?" Safia asked. Shenzi smiled to herself.

"No reason." She replied. As she and her family neared their skull, Shenzi had only one thing on her mind.

"Zebra…"

Four surprises revealed! Why Shenzi's favorite meat is zebra, how Edward turned into Ed, how the trio discovered their skull, and how Banzai started liking females earlier than usual. This was a VERY long chapter so I hope that makes up for how long it took to update it. Chapter 5 is on the way!