A/n Hello all I'm back with another chapter ladies and gentlemen! Hope the wait wasn't to long for you but I was on vacation and couldn't update. Here's ch 9. Enjoy.

Ch 9 Drastic Times

Madra and Bindu made their escape and passed by Kion, who was having a discussion with Aalas, Ponch, and his friends. "King Kion we implore you to let us help you in you quest to take down this murderous monster," Aalas was saying.

"Implore you?" Ponch said, arching an eyebrow. "Quest? What are you some kind of snob? Talk like a normal creature."

"Well excuse me if I don't speak like a creature from the backwoods," Aalas said, glaring at the red panda.

"Are you calling me backwards?!" Ponch demanded, glaring right back at the bear.

"If the word fits," Aalas said.

"Alright that's enough!" Kion cried out, causing both males to fall silent. "If we're going to work together then we can't be arguing and putting each other down. So quit acting like children!"

"Sorry King Kion," Ponch said, lowering his eyes in shame.

"Yes I apologize for my rudeness," Aalas said.

"Yeah same here," Ponch chimed in.

"Alright then," Kion said with a sigh. "Now I have a pretty good idea whose behind these attacks."

"Yeah its Jiona!" Bunga chimed in, causing Kion to look at his honey badger friend in surprise.

"Now Bunga we don't know that for sure," Beshte chimed in.

"Oh c'mon it so obviously him," Bunga insisted. "I mean he was the one that attacked Malkia and Haraka. Not to mention he's the one that kidnapped Malkia. Who else would do such an evil thing?"

"There are plenty of evil creatures out there," Aalas piped up. "Trust me I know from experience."

"We can't assume its Jiona," Kion said. "Although its a high likelihood that it was him that did this we have no concrete proof that it was him. Plus there's rumors that he's not even around here anymore. And no one has seen him or his crew in days."

"Kion..." Bunga began. But he was interrupted by Varya's loud cry. Kion's amber eyes went wide and he raced into the Tree with Bunga and the rest of his friends right behind him, leaving a concerned Aalas and Ponch behind. When they got in the Tree they saw Varya being comforted by Rani and Nirmala while Feliks and Polina were being comforted by Malkia and Naya.

"What happened?" Kion demanded, going over to the devastated Varya.

"Its Pasha," Rani said, her voice full of sadness. "She stopped breathing."

"Yes I can't for the life of me figure out why," Nirmala said, shaking her head sadly. "She was doing so well. I just don't..." Then suddenly she gasped as she looked closer at Pasha's neck.

"What?" Kion asked. "What is it?"

"There's puncture marks on her neck," Nirmala said. "They're small but I can see the blood."

"That means someone snuck in here and killed Pasha," Rani said, her brown eyes wide in horror.

"That's not possible," Sarak said, coming onto the scene along with Baliyo. "The Tree has always been a sacred place. No one could have gotten in here without us noticing. Unless..."

"Unless what Sarak?" Rani asked.

"Unless they were very small," Sarak finished. "There are small crevasses that smaller creatures could enter through."

"But why would they do this?" Varya sobbed. "Pasha was just a cub. Who would do such a thing to such a sweet child?" Varya began to sob again and Feliks and Polina went to their mother and she pulled them close as they grieved for Pasha.

"Well this rules out Jiona," Kion said. "There's no way he'd be able to come in without someone noticing him."

"Yeah but it could be someone that was working with him," Bunga pointed out.

"Can we please not talk about this in front of the children," Binga said, nodding towards Ngavu and Haraka, who were off to the side with Malkia and Naya. All four cubs had terrified looks on their faces. Mkali and Baraka were hiding in their nest. Anga and Ono went to their children and gathered them close.

"You're right Binga," Kion said. "This isn't the place for this conversation. I'm going to inform Aalas and Ponch what happened and ask them to continue the investigation while we have a proper funeral for Pasha." With that the King exited the Tree to inform the bear and the panda the sad news. After a few minutes he returned. "They've agreed to continue the search," Kion informed the group. "Now we need to say our goodbyes to Pasha."

"Are you ready my dear for this?" Nirmala asked, looking at Varya.

"No," came Varya's soft response. "But lets get this over with." With that the group exited the Tree to say their goodbyes to Pasha.

TLKTLKTLK

Meanwhile Madra and Bindu had informed Jiona about Pasha's death. "Perfect," Jiona said with an evil grin. "They will all be distracted. This is the perfect time to strike. They'll never see it coming."

"Wait Jiona what about our deal?" Madra asked.

"What about it?" Jiona asked.

"You said if we helped you you'd let our kids live," Madra remined Jiona.

"And they will," Jiona said, rolling his eyes. "But we still have much to do."

"Hold it right there Jiona," Bindu said, getting in front of the leopard and crossing his arms. "We agreed to help you do one thing and that's what we've done. Now we're done helping you."

"You're done when I say you're done Bindu!" Jiona snarled, putting his face right in Bindu's and baring his teeth. "And you'll do as I say or you'll be very sorry! Am I perfectly clear?!"

"Y...yes," Bindu stammered, his black eyes huge. "I understand Jiona."

"Good," Jiona said. "Now lets go. We've got a meeting with our allies. Then we attack Kion and his pathetic Pride when they least expect it." With that the male leopard turned and walked away with his minions following close behind him.

"I knew we should have never gotten involved with Jiona," Madra whispered to Bindu. "He's too unhinged."

"Yeah well looks like we're stuck," Bindu whispered back. "So just shut up and do as you're told. Got it?"

"Yeah," Madra said, glaring at her mate. "I got it Bindu." With that the pair continued their walk all the while Madra was cursing the day she ever agreed to help Jiona and his crew.

TLKTLKTLK

Back at the Tree Pasha's funeral had just finished and the group had began to disperse. Rani stayed behind to talk with Varya. "Varya I am so sorry for this," the Queen was saying, her voice shaking from emotion.

"I know you are Rani," Varya whispered, not looking at Rani. "But all the sorries in the world won't bring my little girl back to me."

"I know it won't," Rani said. "And I know how devastated you must be..."

"You have no idea how I'm feeling!" Varya snarled, whipping around to face Rani. Rani blinked in surprise, startled a little by Varya's sudden change in attitude. "You didn't lose your child!" Varya growled. "I did! You got your precious daughter back. I wasn't so lucky!"

"Varya..." Rani began. But she was cut off by Varya's snarl.

"The Tree is supposed to be a safe place," the tigress continued. "But clearly its not! Otherwise my daughter would still be alive! But she's not! She's dead and its all your and Kion's fault!"

"Varya that's not fair," Rani began. "You can't blame me and Kion for this."

"If you had done what your supposed to do and caught this creature then this wouldn't be happening right now!" Varya roared. "But you failed! You failed all of us and I'll never forgive you for this!" With that Varya let out a sob and ran back to the Tree, leaving a devastated Rani behind.

A/N well folks there you have it. Chapter 9 complete. Hope you all enjoyed ch 9 and as always please review.