Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the original characters in Ice Age. They all belong to Twentieth Century Fox and Blue Sky Studios, not to me. I also do not own the Lion King characters, for they are owned by Disney. All lines in bold are either from any of the Ice Age movies, any of the Lion King movies, either Brother Bear movie, or from a song that will be specified at the beginning of the applying chapter. The song in this chapter is It Will Be Me by Melissa Etheridge

Shira's P.O.V.

I wake up and find two pairs of blue eyes staring at me.

"Good morning, Mommy!" Bolt and Snowflake shout.

"Good morning, sweethearts. Where's your Daddy?" I respond.

"He went hunting for you," Snowflake answers.

"Will you two do me a favor and wake up your siblings?" I ask.

"Yes, Mommy," they reply with smiles.

Bolt noses his way through his siblings, which produces laughter from Blizzard and Rose.

"Bolt, stop it!" Blizzard begs as Bolt continues to tickle his older brother.

"I can see someone gets their ticklish side from Daddy," I laugh.

"Don't let Mommy fool you, Blizzard. Mommy's very ticklish too," Diego smiles as he walks in with a deer carcass.

"What makes you say that?" I question with a straight face.

"I remember you pleading for me to stop kissing your swollen stomach the day before the cubs were born," my mate grins.

"That was under different circumstances," I reason.

"So, you won't mind if I test that theory?" Diego deviously smiles.

"You wouldn't dare," I tell him.

"Try me," he chuckles.

"Come on, kiddos, it's time to eat," I tell the cubs as soon as all of them are awake.

The twelve of them all settle down to nurse, but Diego Jr. looks at the deer carcass hopefully.

"Daddy, can I have some deer?" he politely asks.

"We'll start you out on solid food next week, Junior. Then you can have all the deer you want," Diego promises our oldest son.

"All right!" our son cheers.

Once the cubs finish nursing, they begin to wrestle with each other and with Diego. Hunter, as usual, attacks Diego's paw, which causes my mate to laugh.

"Hunter, when you are able to walk, you will be an excellent pouncer," Diego praises.

"Thanks, Daddy!" Hunter exclaims.

Shadow and Junior are currently wrestling each other, and neither of them are giving up. Junior is growling, and Shadow is baring his small teeth slightly at his brother.

"Boys, don't be so rough," I tell them.

"It's okay, Mommy. We're just playing," Shadow assures.

"We will never hurt each other," Junior promises.

"That's good to know," I respond.

"Shira, don't worry about it. That's just what cubs do. They won't hurt each other," Diego says.

Snowflake and Blizzard are tugging on each other's ears. I see Snowflake pin her brother down against my paw.

"Nice takedown, Snowflake!" I praise.

My youngest daughter giggles before rolling off of Blizzard. Eventually, all of the cubs are tired, so they settle down for a nap.

"Mommy, can you sing us a song?" Lily asks.

"Sure, sweetheart. Just give me a minute to think of one," I answer.

Snowflake settles close to Diego's chest. Junior flops on Diego's back. Maya lies against Diego's flank, and Hunter lies between his father's paws.

"Okay, I've thought of one. This song is one my mother used to sing to me," I tell my twelve tired cubs.

I look down at each of them and then begin my song.

If you hear a voice

In the middle of the night….

Saying: "It'll be all right."

It will be me.

If you feel a hand

Guiding you along

When the path seems wrong…..

It will be me.

There is no mountain that I can't climb.

For you I'd swim through the rivers of time.

As you go your way

And I go mine

A light will shine.

And it will be me.

If there is a key that goes to your heart,

A special part…

It will be me.

If you need a friend,

Call out to the wind.

To hold you again….

It will be me.

Oh, how the world seems so unfair.

Creating a love that cannot be shared.

As you go your way

And I go mine

A light will shine.

And it will be me.

Past the ever after,

There's a place for two.

In your tears and laughter I'll be there for you.

In the sun and the moon

In the land and the sea

Look all around you.

It will be me.

There is no mountain that I can't climb.

For you I'd swim through the rivers of time.

As you go your way

And I go mine

A light will shine.

And it will be me.

It will be me.

It will be me.

By the time I am finished singing, all of the cubs either are asleep or yawning so much that their eyes droop.

"That's a nice song, Shira. You said your mother sang that to you?" Diego whispers.

"Yes, she would sing it every night before I went to sleep. I thought the cubs would like to know that I'll always be there for them," I tell my mate.

"That's a great message for them. Now they'll probably want you to sing to them before bed," Diego tells me.

"They might want you to join in," I say in an amused voice.

"We'll have to see," he laughs.

Timon's P.O.V.

"How much farther is the ocean from here? We've been walking for hours!" I complain.

"Timon, I don't mean to burst your bubble, but you've been riding on my back the whole time," Pumbaa brings to my attention.

"Meaning?" I question.

"If anyone should be able to complain, it should be me. I'm exerting the most energy," Pumbaa pants.

"Being the brains of the operation is hard work, too," I say to defend myself.

I notice sweat is beginning to roll off of Pumbaa's back. Maybe he needs to rest for a few minutes.

"Pumbaa, I think you should rest for a while," I caution.

"Timon, I'm fine. I'm just a little sweaty, that's all. Is it just me, or is it hot outside?" my warthog friend questions as he continues walking.

"Pumbaa, it's cold enough for snow to fall, which is the coolest weather we've ever experienced. The hottest day in the dry season in the Pride Lands never bothered you before. You need to rest, seriously!" I command.

"I do feel like resting, now that you mention it," my warthog friend finally admits.

I quickly hop off of Pumbaa's back before he has the chance to flop down. Almost as soon as I'm on the snow-covered ground does Pumbaa flop on his back into the snow.

"That's much better, Timon," he assures.

I fall backward into the freezing snow and begin to pump my legs up and down.

"Look, Pumbaa, I'm making snow meerkats!" I excitedly tell my pal.

"I think the correct term is snow angels, Timon," Pumbaa replies.

"Really?" I ask in a disappointed tone.

"Yes, at least that's what Diego told me when he caught me making one," he answers.

"Man, Pumbaa! I thought I was making a new activity for kids and adults alike," I sigh.

"I'm ready to go now, Timon," Pumbaa suddenly says.

We both stand up, and then I hop back on Pumbaa's back to continue our quest. Howling can be heard not too far away, and I know that it is not from Diego's adopted wolf pups. Three huge wolves jump out of nowhere and start to circle around us.

"Run, Pumbaa, move it!" I yell at the top of my lungs.

More wolves jump out of the bushes and begin to corner us. Suddenly, we hear a shriek and Rafiki jumps out of the nearest tree, his "magic stick" in hand.

"Whoa! Whoa! Time out! Who's the monkey?" the largest wolf asks as Rafiki stands menacingly with his "magic stick" held firmly in his hand.

"Hey, I copyrighted those phrases, mister!" I angrily shout.

"Oh, the little entrée has a big mouth," one of the other wolves growls.

"Then you're glad you don't have to put up with him every day," a voice says from behind me.

I spin around to find none other than Simba standing behind me with his teeth bared.

"Oh, I'm so scared of one lion," the leader sarcastically remarks.

"Well, you don't know that I'm here, obviously," another voice growls.

An orange figure steps out of the shadows and places himself between me and the wolves.

"Diego, what are you doing here?" Pumbaa asks.

"I heard Timon screaming and the howling of the wolves. I feared for the worst," Diego answers.

"Leave my friends alone!" Simba roars.

"News flash, lion, two regular carnivores can't beat twenty of the highest ranking wolves that roam these woods. Let us eat the warthog and meerkat and you two can get away unharmed," the leader threatens.

Diego turns to face Simba, an amused look plastered on his face.

"I like those odds, Simba. How about you?" the saber grins.

"I've handled more hyenas and Outlanders than that at a time. Let's kick some wolf butt!" Simba roars.

Rafiki begins twirling his stick, and Pumbaa gets in his charging position.

"No offense, but you guys are going down!" I brag.

The wolves begin to launch their attack. Five wolves are surrounding Rafiki, but the old baboon does not even flinch. He beacons the wolves closer by waving his hand towards himself. The wolf starts running, closing the gap between Rafiki and itself. Rafiki starts hitting the wolf in the head when he gets too close. The other four close in, but Rafiki is ready for them. The old baboon uses some superb fighting moves on the carnivores, all while screaming something unintelligible at the top of his lungs. His five wolves are some running into the undergrowth with their tails between their legs. I now turn my attention to Diego. He has seven wolves around him, yet he shows no fear what-so-ever. Diego slides underneath the largest wolf and slashes at his underside. The wolf yelps in pain, and his pack mates throw themselves at Diego. The orange saber fearlessly lunges himself towards the ravine, which causes four of the wolves to attack each other and the other three to skid off the edge of the ravine and die on impact.

"Timon, do you want to play Bowling for Wolves?" Pumbaa shouts over the chaos.

"Of course I would!" I yell back.

Pumbaa charges towards two wolves and bowls them over. One of them has tusk marks along his side, and I know that wound will take quite some time to heal.

"I'd say that's a new record!" I smile.

Simba is chasing the remaining six wolves into the undergrowth as the rest of us gather in the clearing.

"Is everyone okay?" Diego inquires as he walks over to us.

"I've got a scratch on my ankle, but it's not deep," Pumbaa tells our saber friend.

"You're not hurt at all," I say in awe as Diego flops down to lick between his toes.

"Why is that surprising?" Diego asks.

"In the Pride Lands, no lion or lioness has ever gotten out of a fight without at least a scratch," I tell him.

"I'm not like many other carnivores," he laughs.

Simba now runs back to us, his flanks heaving and his breaths coming in ragged gasps.

"Easy, kid. Slow down," I chuckle.

"I'm glad you guys aren't hurt," he responds.

"I'm glad I'm not hurt, too," I joke.

"Well, I hate to leave now, but I have to go back to the cave to help Shira put the cubs to sleep. Good luck on your quest, Timon and Pumbaa," Diego says.

"Thanks for your help, Diego!" Pumbaa calls as the orange saber sprints through the woods.

"I better go, too. I was in the middle of hunting, and Kopa's probably asking Nala over and over when I'm coming back," Simba smiles.

"Bye, Simba!" Pumbaa and I yell.

"What are you waiting for? Let's go!" Rafiki exclaims.

I situate myself on Pumbaa's shoulders, and pretty soon we are off. The three of us walk along the edge of the trees with Rafiki in the lead. The baboon suddenly holds up his hand.

"Stop!" he commands.

Pumbaa skids to a halt, and what I see takes my breath away. The ocean is right in front of us, shimmering in the moonlight. From my vantage point, I am reminded of the oasis we raised Simba in.

"It's beautiful," Pumbaa whispers.

"It sure is, buddy," I agree.

"There's no time for small talk. You'll lose the tide before too long," Rafiki brings to our attention.

"Simba sad you had instructions for us," I remind.

"Yes, yes. This is true. You must listen very carefully," the wise old baboon tells us.

"We're all ears," Pumbaa promises.

"To find it, you must look beyond what you see," Rafiki reveals.

No! Here we go with all of this "Look beyond what you see" stuff again.

"What the heck is that supposed to mean?" I incredulously ask.

True, I found Hakuna Matata through this madness, but I think that was just a coincidence.

"It means: Look beyond what you see," Rafiki slowly says, as if I'm dumb or something.

"Let's start looking, Timon!" Pumbaa excitedly tells me.

I hop down off of Pumbaa and try to look beyond what I see. I shudder at what my eyes land on.

"Beyond what you- Hey, how am I supposed to look beyond what I see beyond that?" I ask as I point at Pumbaa's butt, which unluckily for me, is in my face.

"Huh?" Pumbaa questions in confusion.

"Your butt, it's in my face," I calmly say.

"Oh, sorry," he apologizes.

I now can see the landscape ahead of me, and I start to look for any signs of Pride Rock. Crickets start to chirp, and I remember how Simba used to chase crickets when he was young. Pretty soon the crickets are playing a song with their wings.

"It's kind of hard to think with all this music," I comment.

"Concentrate," Rafiki commands.

I survey my surroundings again and a lightbulb goes off in my head.

"Oh, wait a second. It's coming to me," I say out loud.

"What's going on, Timon?" Pumbaa asks.

"It's either that slug I ate or I'm having an epiphany!" I cheerfully answer.

"Which way to Pride Rock, buddy?" my warthog pal inquires as he begins to untie the ship.

"We need to go straight for most of the way, and then turn right," I tell Pumbaa.

"Where did you get that information?" he wonders.

"I have no clue. Let's get going!" I shout.

The ship is soon untied, and Pumbaa and I jump on board. We look around the ship, thankful that Manny is letting us use this. The two of us instantly find a captain's cabin and we decide to sleep there. Okay, so it's not an actual cabin, but it is separate from everything else. The journey is officially beginning.