With each rise and fall of the sun brought slow yet steady progress. Simba was still immobile without assistance, but the pain was thankfully lessening – requiring fewer visits from Rafiki. The routine was the same; the queen and the princess would address and solve the concerns of the pride landers, the lion guard would patrol and protect the lands while Timon and Pumbaa would keep an eye on their first adopted child. All of this was meticulously recorded in Mzingo's mental notes. Satisfied with his collection of observations, the vulture flew back to the sweltering yet tolerable terrain of the outlands.
"Hey Janja look! The buzzard's back" Cheezi announced.
"Again its vulture" he huffed as he landed among them.
"Well your parliament's gonna be callin' you lunch and pickin' the meat off your dead body if you ain't got somethin' to tell me! We're tired of waitin!" Janja snarled.
The de facto majordomo of the hyena clan paled at the thought of his avian comrades eating him; hopefully they'd pass an emergency motion to save him in the event things got ugly. "I-I assure you that your patience is about to pay off" he stuttered.
"Then spill it buzz brain!"
"Heh, buzz brain. That's funny" Chungu chuckled.
"Yes…well, based on the intel I've gathered, tomorrow would be the perfect day to carry out the attack" he proposed.
"And how do you figure that?"
"The lion guard has been together during their patrols – they haven't split up to tend to the king. The queen, princess and her entourage always leave first thing in the morning to either hunt or address the pride lander's problems. They don't return typically until late in the afternoon, depending on how many issues they have to deal with. Same with the guard" he reported.
"So who's been watchin' him all this time?"
"Timon and Pumbaa."
"Hah! Those two!? Looks like we're getting' appetizers to go with the main course" the hyena boss grinned.
"Uh…Janja? What if that warthog farts at us?" Chungu pointed out.
"Yeah, I don't want stinky food" Cheezi gagged and stuck out his tongue. The other members of his clan agreed with that notion; they may be ravenous, but they had standards.
"He won't fur brains because then Simba would be gaggin' too. But if he did, it'd make it easier for us. We'd run away until the stink clears, then pick the meat off a passed out king" he licked his chops.
"Hahhahaha! Yeah! And they'd be freaking out too much to stop us and we'd eat them too! Good thinking Janja" Cheezi praises.
"…While that is one approach, I have another one that doesn't involve setting off his gaseous behind. Every day during a certain time they leave pride rock to retrieve water from Hakuna Matata Falls. Apparently it has nutritious minerals, but I digress."
"So in other words, Simba's defenseless" and Janja's grin got even bigger.
"Almost. The king's majordomo keeps watch from the air until they return. But my parliament can handle him; we'll add another appetizer to our royal feast" he smirked.
"Alright! More food" Chungu drooled.
"I like you thinkin' Mizingo" Janja surprised him with his praise, and he actually used his name this time.
"Hahahahhaaha! Alright boys, it's about to go down! Soon we'll be eating like kings! Simba'll be our first course then the entire pride lands will be our buffet!" the clan leader declared and their ominous cackles traversed the lands – amplified by the invisible force that not only carries the clouds, but also carries voices from ones long ago.
"Just one…more…pull!" Kion grunted out as he and Fuli tugged on an ostrich's tail feathers in order to dislodge its head out of the sand. "Besthe! Now!" and the hippo puts his snout underneath the bird's belly in order to lift it.
"Twende kiboko!" With a loud **POP** sand erupted out of the hole along with the large bird's head.
"Greeat, just what a needed…a dirt bath" Fuli irritably muttered as she shook the dust off of her.
"No kidding" Ono mumbled and started preening his feathers.
"Are you alright Bajano?" Besthe asked.
"Ooh…ooo…y-yes. I'll be **coughcough** fine" the discombobulated bird replied, still hacking up the dirt caught in his throat.
"Why did you stick your head in the dirt in the first place? It's common knowledge that ostriches aren't supposed to" Ono inquired.
Kion and Fuli looked over at Bunga with questioning glances. "Hey don't look at me, I didn't say anything this time" he swore.
"No no no, it was my fault…sorry for the trouble. I was trying to get some locusts but I didn't want to scare them off by digging in their burrow. So I thought I could squeeze my head in the hole and be all silent like. …Obviously it didn't work. Glad you guys you heard me though. Thank you for your help" Bajano praised.
"Anytime Bajano, that's what we're here for" Besthe smiled.
"And I'm thankful for that. Goodbye Lion Guard" he said and went on his way.
"Bye!" they replied. "Great job everyone" Kion exalted the team.
"Nothing but larvae work" Bunga smirked. "Speaking of, I wonder if those locusts are still in there. Maybe Simba'll want some for a snack."
"That's real thoughtful of you little B" the hippo smiled.
"But maybe we can find some that aren't underground. We don't want you getting stuck in the dirt too" Ono reasoned.
"Because I am not digging you out" Fuli voiced as she licking her paws.
"Pssh! Whatever. I'm a faster digger than my uncle Timon" he boasted.
"I believe it. And speaking of Timon, hey Ono. Is Zazu on the lookout point?" asked Kion.
"Let me see" and he flew high into air; he didn't see the blue hornbill atop pride rock.
He landed on Besthe's back and reported, "Not yet Kion."
"Cool, my uncles are still there" Bunga grinned.
"Which means we finished patrol early for once" Fuli smiled, knowing full well that their leader was eager to return home and see his dad.
"Yeah, but mind taking one more look around before we head back to the lair?" he asked his scout.
"Affirmative" he saluted and soared up again. "Hmmm…let's see…nothing over there. Nothing near Big Springs. What about…huh? What's that?" he thought when he spotted a dust cloud moving towards the elands grazing ground all the way on the other side of the pride lands. He enhanced his sight to max and let out a horrified gasp. "EVERYONE! EVERYONE!" the frantic egret shouted. "Hyenas are chasing a herd of zebras towards the elands grazing ground!"
"Hevi Kabisa! We gotta move or else we'll have a major stampede on our hands! Til the pride lands end"
"Lion Guard Defend!" the rest of his crew chanted and sprinted at breakneck speeds towards the commotion.
"Hee Hee heee! They've taken the bait" a shadowy spy that was flying high in the sky smirked, and bolted to a concealing canopy near pride rock.
"GRN! HNNNGH! SEE HEAR! WHEN THE KING FINDS OUT ABOUT**Mmmpgh**" the majordomo's irate threat was silenced by a stinky claw around his beak.
"Forgive me Mzingo for executing a majority decision without the proper vote to motion" a grey vulture apologized.
"No penalty granted. Thank you Furkiza for enacting the emergency procedure" Mzingo replied before peering down at Zazu's pinned face. "Your words are overruled here hornbill. And don't worry, you'll be joining the king soon enough" he sneered. Suddenly a rustle in the leaves alerts the parliament to a presence. "Ooh! Sooner than we anticipated!" he gleefully spoke.
"Permission to rejoin the council?" the guest asked.
"All in favor?" "I!" the parliament unanimously replied. "All opposed? Motion passed, the I's have it. Enter Mwoga."
The vulture spy bowed and reported, "Mzingo, the lion guard have taken the bait."
"Excellent! Time for the dinner signal" he smiled and took off.
"Minfer?! MMMMFFH!" Zazu thrashed about, desperately trying to free himself in order to do something about the impending danger to his monarch.
"Hey! Quit squirming!" Furkiza scolded and pressed his head harder against the large tree branch they were perched on. "Simba…please hold on" he prayed as he continued to struggle against his captors. He survived a birdie boil and years of Scar's reign; he'll be damned if he let a group of uncouth vultures stop him.
"Grrr…I swear that buzzard loves testing my patience" Janja thought as he, Cheezi and Chungu were hiding in the bushes near pride rock.
"Oo! Janja look! It's an antelope! Can we get it? Can we?" Chungu asked.
"No fur brain! And keep it down! We're waitin' for the signal remember?"
"But Janja I'm hung-OWWmmph!" The boss quickly pressed his muzzle down so he wouldn't yell. "What'd I just say!?" he harshly whispered.
"But Janja look! Falling bones" Cheezi grinned and started biting on it.
"No fur brain, that's the signal!"
"Signal's taste good" he contently moaned as his tongue tasted the marrow.
"Wha-spit that out! Besides, we're gonna be eatin' something way better, remember?" he grinned.
"Oh yeah, don't wanna spoil my appetite" his subordinate agreed and spat out the remaining bone fragments.
"Now keep low and follow me" he ordered and they stealthily approached the entrance to pride rock – double checking at every turn and pausing at every sound that they heard. Now the moment had finally arrived; they were right outside the opening to the den and looking upon the biggest possible catch of their entire lives.
Janja motioned with his head for his comrades to fan out and surround the unconscious target. They got into position without so much as a tail twitch from the king. He was completely dead to the world, and soon he would be. "Heheheh…good night, your majesty."