Chapter 3: Hakuna Matata
Mickey led Ariel to the gates leading to Disney Town, helping her walk along the way. Once they got there, they stopped.
"Well Ariel, I have to go now."
"Go?" she asked. "Where are you going?"
"I have to look for more heroes to join us," he told her. "Don't worry, you'll be much safer here. Go to the castle, and tell them that I sent you."
"Okay," she said. "Maybe once all of this is over, then I can explore the other worlds. Good luck!"
She opened the large, creaky gates, stepped inside, and closed them behind her. She smiled and waved to her, and started to walk. She did look surprised to see all of these animals walking and talking like Mickey.
Mickey read the map, and decided to go to the Pride Lands next. He began to walk through the trees, staying on the path. That was when he heard some bushes rustle behind him, and a twig snap. He turned around.
"You guys sure aren't doing a good job at hiding."
Donald Duck and Goofy emerged from their hiding places.
"Donald! Goofy!" he shouted. "What are you guys doing here?"
"We couldn't leave you out here, Mickey," Donald told him. "It's dangerous."
"You're our pal!" Goofy added.
"Also, neither of us knows how to run a kingdom."
Mickey looked at his two friends, secretly relieved that they were here. Donald had a sword and magical shield that could deflect anything and not leave a scratch, while Goofy had a crossbow with an endless supply of arrows.
Well armed and full of dedication, Mickey was more than willing to let them come. "Well then, let's go!"
The three set off for the Pride Lands together.
They were soon in a jungle.
The trees were so tall, you couldn't even see the sky. They were thick, too. Bushes, branches, and leaves among other things were everywhere.
They soon found where the jungle ended; beyond the trees was just tall grass and open sky.
That was when they heard singing.
"In the jungle, the mighty jungle, the lion sleeps tonight . . ."
A blue bug landed on a fallen log nearby, and out popped a warthog from the trees. However, unlike Mickey and his friends, he didn't wear any clothes and walked on all fours. His eyes were centered on the bug as he slowly walked towards it.
"Excuse us," said Mickey.
The warthog jumped up. "Who said that?"
This made the bug fly away. "No, oh no, come back!" he called after it.
"Oh, sorry for making you, uh, lose your lunch," Mickey apologized. "But where exactly are we?"
"You're uh, well, you're right there," he said, indicating where they were standing.
"He means what this place is," Donald told him.
"Oh," he realized. "Well, uh, this is a jungle. I mean, I guess you could say it's"—
Suddenly, a huge lioness with tan fur leaped out from the grass and tackled the warthog.
Mickey fired a beam of magic at her, knocking her off. The warthog scurried away.
"TIMON!" he screamed "RUN!"
Still shaken by Mickey's magic and just not used to seeing animals like Mickey, Donald, and Goofy, she chased after the poor animal.
"Come on!" Mickey shouted to his friends.
Donald and Goofy followed him as fast as they could, but their speed was no match for a full-grown lion. However, they did manage to find her chasing him around a really big tree, with a meerkat now sitting atop the warthog.
He dived underneath one of the roots of the tree that stood up from the ground; however he immediately got stuck, knocking the meerkat off.
"SHE'S GONNA EAT ME!" the trapped animal cried.
His friend looked over at the three. "Well, don't just stand there! You're bigger than us! Help!"
Mickey fired another beam of magic at the predator, knocking her into the tree. She got up, wearing an expression of fear and confusion both at the same time. She charged at Mickey, and he did it a third time. However, she ducked this one and pinned him down to the ground, knocking his hat off.
Donald began swinging his sword with his eyes held shut, and Goofy shot his crossbow doing the same thing. However, both were missing every time.
Using one paw to hold Mickey down she raised the other into the air and released her claws. Before she even had time to strike, something as big as her was slammed against her side and off of Mickey.
Once he got up, grabbed his hat, and helped his friends, he realized that this thing that had saved him was another lion, this one a male.
He was really big, slightly bigger than her. He had golden fur, with a long, wavy, red mane. He also had red at the tip of his tail.
He looked incredibly strong, with an incredibly intimidating roar. However, she was able to fight back.
As the two went at each other, Timon watched in awe. "Fight her! Scratch her! Bite her, big guy!"
And he leaned in to the warthog, still trapped. "See, Pumbaa? I told you he'd come in handy."
Mickey wasn't about to let his hero fight alone. And neither were Donald and Goofy. The three charged at the two battling lions and were able to get her down to the ground. Simba went to pin her down, but she quickly leaped up and did the same to him.
"Nala?" asked Simba, which was what made the three stop fighting.
Nala looked confused, as one would. Seeing how this lion knew her, she released him and climbed off.
"Who are you?" she asked demandingly.
"It's me, Simba."
"Simba?"
Her whole face lit up, and the two began cheering and laughing and looking at each other, leaving the other five in confusion. They could barely tell what they were saying to each other.
"Hey, what's going on here?" asked Timon.
The two ignored him, continuing on with what they were doing. Timon climbed off of the tree and stomped over.
"HEY! What's going on here!?"
"Oh, Timon," Simba started. "This is Nala. She's my best friend! Nala, this is Timon and Pumbaa."
Pumbaa was able to finally let himself free as Simba looked at Mickey, Donald, and Goofy.
"And who are you guys?"
"Well, I'm Mickey," he began. "And these are my friends Donald and Goofy. We've come here to look for heroes."
"Heroes?" Nala repeated.
"Yep," Mickey answered. "Simba, I think you're a great candidate. So, what do you say? Wanna come?"
"Oh, wow," he thought, in shock. "Thanks. I'd love to. I've got nothing better to do."
"Simba, you can't go," Nala said to him.
He turned to look at her, confused. "Why not?"
"Because we need you at Pride Rock."
He sighed. "No you don't. No one needs me."
"No one needs you for what?" asked Timon trying to involve himself in the conversation.
"Simba is the king of the Pride Lands," she told them all.
Everyone gasped. "Gorsh," thought Goofy. "That sure is a mighty secret! Wouldn't want that going in the wrong hands, heeyuh-ee!"
"Your Majesty," Pumbaa began, walking over to Simba and kneeling down before him. "I gravel at your feet." He began to kiss Simba's paw, but Simba quickly pulled it back.
"It's not 'gravel,' it's 'grovel,'" Timon exclaimed, annoyed. "Now sit down before you hurt yourself."
"We need you now," Nala insisted.
"Nala, I'm not the king!" Simba said, a bit more annoyed. "Scar is."
Nala shook her head. "Scar let the hyenas take over the Pride Lands."
Simba gasped, but no one else had a clue of what they were saying. "Now there's no food, if you don't come, everyone will die."
"I'm confused," Donald interrupted them. "Is he a king or not? Is she still bad or not? And what are you talking about?"
"When I was a cub," Simba began. "My father was the king of the Pride Lands, and he was . . ."
Simba paused, but Mickey could see in his face that there was more to this.
"He was killed, and I ran away and found these two."
"Well, technically, we found him," Timon added.
"My uncle, Scar, he took over," Simba finished. "But apparently he's not doing a good job."
"Then we have to stop him," Mickey exclaimed. "I'd love to help!"
"Me too!" added Goofy.
"Scar sounds pretty scary," Donald worried, his legs shaking. "I mean, couldn't we just find another kingdom to run?"
"No," Nala told him. "We have to stop Scar."
"Well then," Timon started. "Let's go already. The sooner we leave, the sooner we can come back for some good ol' grubs!"
The seven climbed to the top of a very dusty and barren hill. In fact, that's how you could describe what the Pride Lands looked like now.
All of the water holes were empty, just awkward holes. The trees were dead and had no leaves in them. No more grass was here anymore, not even dead grass.
The sky was dark and as grey as the ground. Dark clouds filled it, so they still couldn't see the sky. It seemed as if a storm was coming. The wind was picking up too.
"We're fighting your uncle for this?" asked Timon.
"Yes, Timon," Simba answered him. "This is my kingdom."
"Well Simba, if you like it, then we're with you to the end," he answered.
Once they were getting closer, they hid behind a rock, watching the scene unfold.
There were no lions to be seen, only grey and hungry-looking hyenas. There were also some skeletons.
Skeletons were not a good sign.
Chernabog had already sent some of his minions here.
Simba looked at Nala and began to whisper. "You rally up the lionesses. I'll find Scar."
He looked at Mickey, Donald, and Goofy. "I'll need you three to come with me. I don't know what to expect from him, so I'll need backup."
"What about us?" Pumbaa asked.
"Live bait."
"Good idea," Timon agreed. "Hey!"
"Timon," he began. "You and Pumbaa have to create a diversion."
"What do you want me to do?" Timon cried, a little bit too loudly. "Dress in drag and do the hula?"
That's what he ended up doing.
As Mickey, Donald, and Goofy followed Simba up the hill and to the sleeping cave, he tried to hold in his laughter as to what Timon and Pumbaa were doing.
Timon was wearing a grass skirt and lea, behind him Pumbaa sat with an apple in his mouth. Timon was singing to all of the hyenas, who were slowly crawling towards them, drooling.
Nala had also left the scene, to look for the others. She disappeared in the opposite direction they were going.
Once the four reached the top of Pride Rock was where the found Scar.
Scar was a very sinister looking lion. He had dark, brown fur with a black mane as long as Simba's, as well as a black tip at the end of his tail.
He had a scratch over his left yellow eye, ironically referring to his name.
Despite sitting with a hunch, he immediately sat up in fear when he saw Simba.
"Mufasa?" he asked. "No, you're dead."
"Mufasa was my father," Simba told him.
"Mufasa was your—Simba!" When he said Simba's name, he relaxed and got his hunch back, as if Simba wasn't a threat to him.
"How nice—and shocking—it is to see you! And I see you've met some friends along the way."
Scar stared at the three behind Simba, until he eyed Mickey's hat.
"That is a very interesting hat, my boy," he continued. "Please, come closer."
Mickey took a couple steps forward, but not very close to Scar. Scar stood up which made Mickey take a few nervous steps back.
"Don't be afraid," he assured him. "I'm not going to bite—yet. I just know that that hat is worn by the powerful Yen Sid. Is it really his?"
"I'm not telling you anything!" Mickey shouted at him.
"Well then," he said, looking away.
Out of nowhere, he leapt into the air and pounced on Mickey, knocking his hat away. As it rolled over the ledge, Donald dived down and grabbed it, with Goofy doing the same to grab Donald.
Simba slashed at Scar's side, making him jump off of Mickey and allowing some drops of blood to drip on his stomach.
That was when a bolt of lightning struck down to the ground, leaving behind a massive fire beneath Donald Duck.
"Aaaaahhhhh!" he screamed, still hanging over the ledge, only being held from his leg by Goofy.
"Don't worry, Donald," Goofy shouted down to him. "I won't drop you! I won't let you down! Gorsh, get it? Down? Heeyuh-ee!"
"Goofy!" Donald shouted up to him. "Pull me up!"
"Oh right," Goofy shouted back. "Gotcha."
Defenceless, Mickey couldn't help Simba fight Scar. As the two duelled their long-awaited duel, Mickey ran over to help Goofy pull up his friend. They successfully did, and Donald handed the hat to Mickey, who placed it rightfully back atop his head.
That was when all of Chernabog's minions began to climb up the hill.
Mickey quickly looked over at the two duelling lions, then back at the monsters. "We have to fight them back!"
Donald and Goofy followed their friend halfway down the hill and began to help him fight the beasts. Despite not being very strong, there was more than last time.
But Mickey had his friends' help this time.
Below them, lions and hyenas were clashing and slashing at each other next to the gigantic roaring fire.
Suddenly, they heard a battle cry.
"YAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!"
Hyenas were flung into the air, similar to that of a bowling ball hitting it's pins. Once this thing was in the open, they could catch a glimpse through the monsters that it was Timon and Pumbaa.
Timon was riding Pumbaa, with one hand grabbing Pumbaa's neck and the other flailing around in the air, and they charged their way through the rest of the skeletons. Mickey, Donald, and Goofy followed them up the hill, where Simba was hanging over the edge with his paws gripping the rock. Scar sunk his claws into Simba's paws, and he let out a massive roar.
Scar leaned in to whisper in Simba's ear, and the five leaned in to hear as well.
"I killed Mufasa."
They couldn't move. They didn't know what to say.
With a sudden burst of speed and power, Simba leapt up from where he was hanging and pinned Scar to the ground, wrapping both his paws around his uncle's neck.
"Murderer!" he angrily screamed.
"Simba, please, I didn't, or I mean, I couldn't"—
Simba pushed down harder on Scar's neck.
"Please," he went on. "I'm family, Simba. You wouldn't kill you old uncle, would you?"
The five watched what Simba would do. Shockingly, he got off of Scar, allowing him to stand up and catch his breath.
"No Scar," he growled. "I'm not like you."
"Oh, thank you, Simba," said Scar. "How can I ever repay you? Please, I'll do anything."
"Run Scar," Simba replied coldly. "And never return."
Scar took a few steps away towards the others, eyeing some hot dust on the ground.
"Yes, of course, Your MAJESTY!"
When he said the word "majesty," he threw it all into Simba's eyes. In his enemy's weakened state, Scar jumped as high as he possibly could into the sky, paws stretched out and claws ready.
"Simba!" Mickey cried.
Mickey darted in front of Simba and lifted his hands into the air. Once Scar's stomach came in contact with Mickey's hands, a bolt of electricity was sent into Scar, flinging him backwards over the two. Everyone watched, even Simba, as Scar plummeted into the fire below, never to be seen again.
At the bottom of the hill sat three hyenas.
"Uh, I think we should get out of here, Shenzi," worried a male one.
"I agree, Banzai," worried a female one.
"Ed?"
They looked over at the third hyena, whose eyes were crossed and his tongue stuck out. He nodded, and the three scurried away, followed by the other remaining hyenas. Luckily, there weren't that many.
Once they left was when it began to rain. The rain put out the fire below. It shrunk and shrunk until it was gone, and the lions all looked up from the ground. Simba stared up into the sky and roared as loud as he could. All of the lions, including Nala, replied the same way.
"Mickey. Donald. Goofy," Simba said to them later that day. "Thank you for helping. I now have my kingdom back, and we'll turn this place around soon!"
"Just happy to help," Mickey replied. "Now listen, we need your help. Your uncle Scar wasn't lying when he said that this hat belonged to Yen Sid."
"Wow," both Timon and Pumbaa said breathlessly.
"Interesting," thought Nala.
"What do you say?"
"I mean, I just got my kingdom back," Simba thought with a smile. "But I guess I could go with you. Nala, promise me you'll take care of them?"
"I promise, Simba," she answered. "Now go."
He licked Nala's cheek, said good-bye to Timon and Pumbaa, and followed the three back to Disney Town.
"Failed again, I see."
Chernabog was angrily sitting atop Bald Mountain, his wings spread out.
He was thinking about his list of options. It was only two that were defeated. Hopefully that number wouldn't increase.
"If only I had more power, then I'd be able to know where they're going. And now he's got two more with him now."
"My Lord," said one of his minions below.
He looked down at him. "What is it?"
"I am deeply sorry for failing you."
"You should be," he said. He raised one fist as high as he could in the air, and smashed it down on all of his minions standing there. The others watching ran away.
"GRRRAAAAHHHHH!"
