"Now Simba. Do you remember what I told you?"
"Of course. Don't let your guard down but keep your mind open. I can do this!"
Simba was escorting Rafiki to the portal. The mandrill wasn't very sure about leaving Simba alone, but he had no choice. They needed more time since they were seen by the royal family.
"And make sure not to do anything reckless. I can't save you all the time. You have to take care of yourself", Rafiki warned.
"I remember. Now go, before somebody sees you!", Simba pointed.
"Good luck my prince. I'll be back as soon as I can", Rafiki smiled and headed through the portal which disappeared.
Simba sighed. Suddenly he remembered that he should have commanded Rafiki to pay greetings to his family. But then…they would wonder where he was.
It's better I don't cause any more worry.
Yesterday was a very special day for Simba. He met his grandmother for the first time and Uru was very sweet and kind. No wonder why Sarabi liked her.
Simba sighed and walked out of the cave. Sitting at the entrance, the young cub thought about all what had happened. This was the greatest, scariest and weirdest adventure so far.
This is nothing that I went through with Timon and Pumbaa…
Simba wondered how his friends were doing back in the past. He had not seen his Hakuna Matata friends after he fell down from Pride Rock. He also wondered, what happened to his adult form.
What will happen then, when this all is over? Will I remember Scar's plans? Or am I gonna forget them?
There were no answers to his questions. Feeling tired, Simba decided to take a nap. He would spend an afternoon with a teenage Mufasa and an idea sounded so exciting.
"I can't wait to see Dad as younger…he must be cool…", Simba muttered while falling asleep.
*Orginal timeline*
Rafiki landed through the portal back on his tree. He gazed around and seemed to be pleased.
"Good, so time hasn't changed. That gives me some…"
Rafiki gathered his potions together. Then, he realized that he needed some water.
Better go to the river then.
Heading towards the river, the shaman felt that something wasn't right. He couldn't explain what it was, but something felt out of the ordinary.
When Rafiki reached the river, he heard screaming. Lifting his gaze up, he saw animals running in panic.
"What is going on…?"
"HELP!"
Hearing that voice made the mandrill straighten his position. He could recognize that voice anywhere. Only one person who he knew, sounded like that.
Gazing towards the water, Rafiki spotted how Mufasa headed straight towards him. Almost not believing his eyes, the shaman started running, following the exhausted and wet king.
"Mufasa! Hold on!"
As Mufasa saw Rafiki, his gaze turned relieved. But he was too tired to keep himself above the water.
"Rafiki! Please, help me!"
Rafiki ran faster. He gasped as he saw alligators and hippos, swimming fast towards the king. Spotting a group of rocks, he ran to them and jumped into the river.
"Mufasa, try to swim towards me!", Rafiki yelled.
Exhausted, Mufasa tried to swim to his friend. But the water was moving too fast.
"I can't reach you! It's too fast!"
Rafiki turned his head around. Noticing that he had only one change, he gathered all his strength and jumped onto the hippo's back which swam past him. Commanding it to obey, he made the animal swim towards Mufasa. Leaning his hand, he was able to grab Mufasa by his mane.
"I caught you! Now hold on!"
Mufasa nodded and leaned himself against the hippo. When they were finally back on the beach, Mufasa dropped himself to the ground, breathing heavily.
"Thank you, my friend…you saved me…"
"No need to thank me. But what on earth were you doing out there? What is going on?", Rafiki asked.
Mufasa took a deep breath. He told what happened and how he landed into the river while having a stroll with Scar. Rafiki listened and what he heard, concerned him seriously.
This is really bad…luckily young Simba does not know about this.
"Did you see my brother anywhere?", Mufasa asked. He really hoped that Scar managed to get out of the fire.
"No, I'm afraid…didn't he try to help you?", Rafiki asked.
"I can't really remember…but what he could have done against those animals? Luckily he didn't get trampled."
Rafiki listened to the king quietly. He didn't dare mock Scar in front of him.
"Let's hope he managed to get out of the way. And that nothing happened to you."
Mufasa smiled a little. Then, he gazed down.
"Rafiki…there is something you should know. It's…", he closed his eyes.
"Yes? You can tell me Mufasa", Rafiki smiled.
"Well…", the king began. "It's Simba…you see…he is dead. A crocodile attacked him and Scar…", Mufasa closed his eyes.
Rafiki listened with a heavy heart. Seeing Mufasa like this was so horrible.
"I know that this sounds maybe impossible…but may I ask you something?", Mufasa gazed at his friend.
"Anything", Rafiki smiled.
"Well…", Mufasa said. "Would you help me and try to find Simba's body?"
TBC...