A gentle breeze flowed through the air as the wildebeest grazed outside the aging baobab tree which held the also aging baboon, Rafiki. He looked down upon the peaceful sight of the herd and sighed. Looking now nobody would think there was anything wrong in the world at all. Yet there was, Rafiki felt deeply saddened by Simba's disappearance. He agreed with Nala in that the king was alive, it was a shamans instinct. He already thought Simba dead after the stampede which claimed Mufasa and Rafiki was never wrong twice. By now the sun was beating down on the plains so Rafiki retreated into the shade of his tree. On his way to the centre he passed the drawings of major players from notable events since Rafiki's arrival, spanning from great kings to dangerous criminals, anyone who Rafiki could sense a particularly great or dark future was worthy of being painted onto his tree and watched closely as events unfolded. Sometimes they'd need a push in the right direction and old Rafiki would be there to do it. Rafiki paused at a drawing of a dark furred and rather slim lion, Scar. It was smudged as a sign of the being in question either being dead or no longer being directly relevant to the future and after Simba's return Rafiki had been about to rub out the trio of hyenas placed beneath Scar in a position of near worship. In truth he had only added the hyenas to show how Scar commanded more control over an entirely different species than he ever did over other lions, yet he felt that the three hyenas still had a part to play in unfolding events even with Scar gone. For good or ill Rafiki couldn't say but based on the past he had reason to be worried. Rafiki walked over to his drawing of Simba and slowly reached out and stroked the picture of his friend. "Oh Mufasa." Rafiki felt the presence of the former king blowing through the wind. "Your boy is having a far more eventful life than is good for him, yes?" Rafiki cracked open one of the trees fruits and let the wind create patterns for him to interpret. "What?" He asked the wind. "More tests of his kingly strength? Has he not been through enough?" Rafiki stared at the fruit's juices. "But Mufasa, Simba is already a very strong king. Sure nobody is perfect but there isn't much to complain about." Rafiki focused his gaze back onto the fruit. "No that can't be right." He muttered as he shook the last pattern away. "It is right!" He exclaimed, putting the fruit arm's length. "You can't be serious?" He asked Mufasa but a strong gust told him the king was. Muttering to himself Rafiki moved back towards the drawings of the hyenas and began to make changes to the drawings. "I'll do my best, Mufasa but this is the craziest thing I've heard said, and old Rafiki himself says some crazy things."
Shenzi took a long sniff at the air. "Hold up." She said to her companions. The three of them stopped among the rocks. The cliff faces were no longer harsh and rock faces no longer jagged and unforgiving but there was still a lack of any green around, bones still littered the area and there were multiple routes and small caverns dotted around.
"What's wrong?" Simba asked from behind her.
"You smell that?" She asked him. Simba took another sniff.
"This whole place stinks, I can't smell anything." Simba scrunched his face up in disgust.
"You get used to it." Banzai told him. "Now you mention it, Shenzi, something stinks more than the lion."
"Hey!" Simba turned around to Banzai who sniggered in response.
"Seriously you two shut up." Shenzi growled.
"He started it." Simba told her.
"How old are you?" Shenzi rolled her eyes. Dull thuds began to ring through the valley causing all three to divert their attention to the path ahead. A large shadow crawled around the corner ahead and the footsteps grew louder. Shenzi tensed and hunched her back whilst baring her teeth and snarling. She slowly backed up towards Banzai who copied her hostility. Finally the shadow's owner stomped around the corner, it was an elephant. The elephant was a massive bull with one enormous tusk and the other had been broken off leaving it a jagged stump. Like most other creatures in the area he was covered in scratches and bite marks, one particularly large scar was on his right ear leaving it split halfway. He looked over the three beings in front of him, locking eyes with Shenzi for the briefest of moments before shifting his gaze to Simba behind her. Shenzi noticed his eyes squint slightly at Simba as he took a few steps towards them. "Can we help you?" Shenzi asked the elephant.
"Are you Simba?" The elephant asked with a deep booming voice.
"Whoever he is you don't need to bother." Shenzi snapped before Simba could answer, the lion would probably do something 'noble' and definitely do something stupid, like actually telling a gigantic dangerous elephant he was one of the most hated animals in the lands.
"I am Simba. King of the Pridelands, any problem you have should be taken up with me." The lion proudly spoke. Shenzi and Banzai groaned. The elephant held a maddened gleam in his eyes and let loose a thunderous trumpet.
"Then I think I owe you a big welcome, boy." He bellowed stomping his feet which were more like tree trunks than feet. He began to pick up speed as he moved towards them, with the clear intent of crushing them all.
"Run!" Shenzi told them as she turned tail, knocking into Banzai as she did which sent the pair crashing to the floor for the briefest of moments; however they were back on their feet in the blink of an eye. Shenzi felt a muscular tug on her hind leg and she was pulled into the air by the elephant's trunk. He snorted as he pulled her up to eye level. It only took a moment for him to dismiss the hyena and threw her to the side giving chase for Simba, his true target. Luckily the valleys and passageways were relatively small, rendering a lot of it difficult for the elephant to manoeuvre. Shenzi caught up with Banzai and Simba while the elephant was attempting to squeeze himself through a gap. The two were breathing heavily when she met up with them. "There!" Shenzi nodded at a small gap in the rock face. "If we crawl we can make it through."
"We don't know what's on the other side, if there is one." Banzai shouted. Then the elephant thundered into view, having finally managed to gain entry. "Never mind." Banzai shouted as he darted for the hole. Shenzi sprinted after him just seeing Banzai's rear end disappear into the darkness as she followed in.
Maler the baboon cackled in his chesty way. He beat his arms on the floor as he watched from the safe distance of high ground. The lion he thought was Mufasa had been abandoned by his unfaithful servants. Now it was amusing to watch the lion run from Chacha. The elephant was toying with him, no one could stand up to a creature so strong, not even the king. He let loose another cackle as Chacha's trunk knocked the lion against a large rock. The lion's eyes widened delightfully as he barely escaped being impaled on Chacha's tusk. He crawled on his belly underneath the elephant only just dodging one of his legs from crushing the lion's spine. Maler cackled again louder and began to jump up and down with glee. Again the lion began to run but there was nowhere left to go. Maler could see his route had led him down a dead end. Retribution, vengeance and ultimate victory would finally arrive. The lion had retreated into a small indent in the rock face, for what good it would do. The baboon smiled as he watched the elephant's trunk inches away from the king's face. He had attempted to make himself as flat as possible but he couldn't stay there forever as the elephant was saying.
"You'll have to move eventually." Chacha mocked with his booming voice as he began to chuckle. Even Maler admitted that Chacha chuckling sounded wrong but the excitement had built up so much in the ape that he couldn't stop laughing with joy. Every part of him tingled with pleasure at the sight in front of him. But then movement from above Chacha and his victim grasped Maler's attention. A rock, a large rock was tumbling down, knocking more to join it the further it fell. An avalanche was descending onto the elephant. Chacha trumpeted in surprise once he finally noticed the incoming boulders and turned as fast as he could, but his size prevented quick movements and it was too late for escape. He was buried by the sea of rocks with sickening crunches being heard from as far away as Maler's position. The king would live, came an irritating voice from the back of Maler's head. That little indent saved his life, the voice continued. Maler shrieked with anger and began to beat the ground with anything he could, hands, feet, nearby stones. He cast his eyes to where the avalanche had originated and saw two figures standing there. On all fours with hunched backs, their silhouette was hyena, no doubt about it. Maler watched as they too descended down to the crash site. Hmm. The ape thought to himself, withholding his anger. I never thought hyenas essential. They're crude and unspeakably plain. But maybe they've a glimmer of potential, if aligned with my vision and brain. The baboon began to walk off schemes rotating around his head.
Simba gasped as light beat back down onto his face. He'd never appreciated the feel of sunlight until now. His senses still weren't in focus and everything was distorted, surely that rockslide would have been his death. It was just luck that had prevented him being crushed at that moment. Mumbling voices began to fill his ears as he struggled to decipher what was being said.
"…all this just have him die on us." A male voice was saying.
"Shut up, I think he's moving." A female voice interrupted. Simba coughed loudly and four hyenas came into view, which quickly merged into two hyenas. "Nice nap?" Shenzi asked him.
"wh-what happened." He asked panting slightly as he began to shift some of the rocks away from him. The hyenas looked at one another, as Simba had come to realise, their bond enabled them to communicate without saying anything. It something he could only do with Timon and Pumbaa. "Rockslide. We don't know what happened." Shenzi told him.
"It's just good for you that we were still here to dig you out." Banzai sniggered.
"Yeah sorry about that, I didn't realise lions were too fat to go through the tunnel we did." Shenzi giggled. Simba shook himself all over once completely free from the rocks, sending sediment dust scattering through the wind. "You're just lucky you missed the big ones, getting in that little space there probably saved your ass."
"I don't feel lucky at the moment. " Simba said solemnly. He began to wonder how much more he could take out here.
"Finally sinking in eh?" Banzai asked him.
"Do you think I'll see Priderock again?" Simba asked them.
"Er sure. I'm not big on the whole comforting thing but you'll make it there, with our help anyway." Shenzi shrugged. That was part of the problem, Simba didn't want to know his life rested in their clutches. It wasn't so much his own safety that bothered him but if he made it back then he'd owe them even if he helped with Ed, he didn't want to owe the hyena ringleaders anything. He certainly didn't want them becoming… likable? That was the wrong word but Simba no longer saw them as evil, they were becoming more like a grey morality than Simba was more comfortable with. It would have been so much easier if they'd have been shouting at him constantly, refusing to answer questions and praising his uncle as the true king. There was now the nagging idea forming in his mind that the rockslide may not be as natural as they pretending… if he literally owed them his life now… the thought sent shivers down his spin remembering royal protocol would demand they be granted any request, such as land.
"So who's hungry?" Banzai asked looking at a large pile of rocks. An elephant's trunk was hanging rather grotesquely out from the side. A feeling of disgust began to arise in Simba's stomach, or perhaps it was literal vomit?
"You cannot be that hungry?" Simba exclaimed watching the pair move in on the corpse.
"Your highness, we are always that hungry." Shenzi told him. Simba decided not to watch the next part.
Zira watched Kovu breathe in and out on his throne. The little cub had a strict routine as part of his training. When he wasn't being trained in the art of war he would be either sleeping or eating, if she was feeling generous she may let him play with Vitani or go explore the area under the protection of another member of the pride. He was deep asleep now, Kovu was difficult to wake in this stage so she could be as loud as she wanted without fear of waking the future king. She hated to admit it but watching Kovu sleep even calmed her slightly and being calm was not the way to revenge, no. You must be completely on guard for the slightest bit of news for the moment to strike. Being calm just leads to excessive caution and missed opportunities. The soft padding sound of a walking cub came from behind, as there was only one other cub in the pride Zira knew instantly who was there. "Vitani, where's your brother?" She snarled.
"I haven't seen him since last night, mother." The freckled cub replied. Zira snarled again this time to herself.
"That fool had best be here soon or he gets no free time for the rest of the dry season." Zira spat.
"Don't you think you're being a bit harsh on him, mother? What if he got into trouble, you know what he's like." The little cub asked her.
A sudden rage filled Zira as she rounded on her daughter. "He gets what he deserves!" Vitani flinched, jumping backwards slightly. "If he's in trouble then it's the idiots fault. I don't know why you stick up for him sometimes. You questioning me is going to kill me killed some day, Vitani." Zira growled.
"Mother!" Came another voice following by loud crashes as Nuka ran into the throne room to join his family. "You'll never guess what I did!" He shouted unable to contain his glee, he began to bound around the room laughing to himself.
"Where have you been, fool?" Zira asked him.
"Were you worried about me, mother?" Nuka asked with a massive toothy grin on his face.
"Hardly, it was your turn to watch Kovu." She snarled.
"Oh, right." He stopped jumping around for a moment and shot Kovu a disdainful look. "You don't need to bother with him anymore, mother. I proved myself last night." He reared up attempting a grand pose but began scratching himself behind the ear. His grin returned reaching from ear to ear. "I killed Simba!" He shouted then giving a maddened giggle. There was pause while Zira attempted to register exactly what he'd just said.
"Did not." Was all Vitani said.
"Did too." Nuka replied, giving his sister a disproving look, which she returned with one brow raised.
"Did not."
"Did too."
"Did not."
"Did too."
"Did not."
"Did too." Zira rolled her eyes.
"Did not ."
"Did too."
"ENOUGH!" Zira roared. Kovu stirred slightly, shifting his position. Zira walked over and began to stroke him muttering "hush." While shooting daggers at her two children as if it were their fault. "Nuka," he moved forward slightly as if summoned. "If this is true, and I'm only considering it because not even you would tell such lies, then you shall be rewarded." Nuka shuddered with anticipation. "If it is not…" Zira bared her claws. Nuka shuddered with fear. "Now leave, the pair of you, before you wake our prince." She said giving Kovu another stroke.
"You shouldn't have told her that lie." Vitani said to her brother as the two left. "Now you're going to be in big really big trouble."
A/N: Ah Rafiki. Is he an ape or a mandrill. Not even the shows creators seem to have any idea. For the sake of this story he is an ape. I enjoy reading every review I can get. It brings me a little smile to see that come up on my email so please leave one if you can.
