In the elephant graveyard, Nala was following Mufasa despite his warnings. She had her two new friends with her, Timon and Pumbaa. If things would have gone differently, they would have met Simba instead of her.
"Nala…are you sure this is wise? What if we get caught?", Timon asked.
"I know you are afraid…but don't worry. I'm gonna protect you", Nala smiled back.
Pumbaa was the last and got scared of every single crack he heard. Luckily he didn't have a heart attack.
"Animals like me aren't usually spending time in a place like this…"
"Shh Pumbaa! How many times I have to tell you? BE QUIET!", Timon turned his head.
Nala chuckled a little. Ever since Simba passed away…she had no one to spend time with. Maybe it was a sign from her friend.
Thank you, Simba…please guard us.
Approaching the main entrance, Nala shivered. Okay, this was really a suicide…but since Mufasa was there, she had to go.
"Right…follow me. And stay close."
Trio ran inside, without realizing that Shenzi was watching them from the darkness. Grinning, she disappeared from the scene.
Meanwhile, Mufasa was already following the hyena group who dragged the innocent zebra with them. He felt so much hatred of how someone would torture his subservience like this. In his kingdom, everyone was respected as themselves.
"Oh please…please no…" zebra begged as she was dropped to the ground. Banzai, Ed, and others stared at her, grinning.
"What's your name meatball?"
"I'm…I'm Eshe…"
"Well nice to meet you Achoo. As long as you have time to live…", Banzai made others laugh.
"Please, you surely do not want to eat me. I'm so skinny and bad tasting…", Eshe tried.
"Hah hah hah, do you really think that we caught you for no reason? No way, you are next on our dinner list."
Eshe trembled even more. She retreated to the corner as hyenas approached her. Mufasa gasped in his hiding place.
"Now…time to say goodbye. See you in the next…", Banzai started, when roaring stopped him.
"Leave her alone!"
Gulping, hyenas turned to look. And when they saw furious Mufasa, their mouths dropped.
"Your…your majesty!", Eshe gasped.
"It's alright dear…you're safe now", Mufasa comforted.
"No…sir! Look behind you!"
Mufasa looked confused and looked over his shoulder. And soon he realized that he was circled by hyenas.
"Well well, isn't that the great king himself. Did you miss us?", Shenzi appeared from the darkness.
"What are you playing? How dare you hurt innocent animals and my friends!", Mufasa gritted his teeth.
"Friends? I don't know what you're talking about hairball", Shenzi laughed.
"Don't lie, some animals saw you following Rafiki during his trip. Why did you hurt him?"
"Oh, he…well. Can you prove that we attacked him?", Shenzi mocked.
"Well…", Mufasa muttered.
"See? Don't judge because of your stupid thoughts. And besides…shouldn't you be preparing for the funeral? I heard that your brat passed away…too bad. He was such an annoying kid…"
When Mufasa heard that, something snapped in his head. Curiously, he started approaching Shenzi.
"DON'T YOU EVER DARE MOCK MY SON!"
"Dead son", Shenzi grinned. "Bad luck kingy, bad luck."
Mufasa was fuming with anger that didn't notice how Nala and others appeared to the entrance.
"Oh my god…so many hyenas! This is not good", Timon muttered.
"And Mufasa is in the center of them…oh no!", Nala panicked.
"So now…since you couldn't keep your big nose away from our lands, I will send you to your son. Think of it as a reward for torturing us. Move!", Shenzi commanded.
Eshe gasped as hyenas approached her. Mufasa went in front of her, gritting his teeth.
"Who could have thought that the king of the Pridelands suffers a bitter end? Well, great Mufasa himself!", Shenzi laughed.
"I can't look!", Pumbaa closed his eyes. Timon and Nala looked horrified.
"Oh, no…they will kill them! What can we do?"
Nala didn't answer…she was too focused on what was happening.
"And now…time to say goodbye. Say hello to your brat from us!", Shenzi yelled.
Nala bit her lip. She couldn't let this happen…
"NO, STOP!", she suddenly began to run. Timon yelled after her, but she didn't listen.
Everyone turned their surprised faces as Nala ran towards them. But suddenly, Banzai grabbed her.
"Well well, look who's here. You got out last time…but now, it's the opposite!"
"Let her go!", Mufasa yelled. But hyenas just laughed.
"Oh my…what a situation! Well, since I respect you so much, I will give you a choice. Will you save yourself…or her?", Shenzi looked down at horrified Nala.
Mufasa bit his lip…he gazed at Nala, Eshe, and Shenzi. And deep inside…was lost.
Oh god…what I'm gonna do?
TBC...
