Chapter 4: Our Teeth and Ambitions Are Bared

Simba didn't even try to hide his glare. He wanted Nala and Sarabi to feel the full force of it, to feel his pain. But they were so terrified, all they could do was sob, and when they stared at his wounds and all the blood oozing out of them, they sobbed even harder. He stared at them with furious eyes, hoping his glare would get through to them, and then he scoffed and turned away. He didn't see their faces, but he felt their sorrow. They had gone so miserable that they stopped crying.

"All right, Taku, you've got their help," he rasped. "Tell me what the plan is."

The elephant stared dully at him. "You're done."

"...What?"

"Get a clue. The only reason we brought you along was to get your bimbos to help us. Now that we've got them, we don't need you anymore. Juma, have your men take him to Site Gamma. Keep him there till his wounds heal or this thing is over, whichever comes first."

The leopard commander nodded. "Yes, Sir."

"And take his friends with you."

The leopard looked confused. "…Sir?"

"Take them out of play. We don't need them."

"Sir, we need every warm body we can get."

"They're too shell-shocked to help us. You're going to need to keep them out of play until this thing's over."

Juma glared at Taku in confusion and frustration, but he sighed and turned to his leopards. "You heard him, Kufi. Take them to Site Gamma."

Eight leopards nodded in confirmation and rose up in unison. Two trotted to Simba and flanked him; two stood around Rafiki, waiting for him to start walking; and the other four walked up to Pumbaa and the meerkats, nodding at them to move. Pumbaa got a closer look at Simba's wounds, and his face went even more horrified. Timon threw his head over his shoulder and shot the leopard a look of I am never gonna forgive you for this, but Juma didn't seem to notice.

Taku lifted his head and roared, "LET'S GO!" and the rest of the Pridelanders gathered into a herd. They trotted and lumbered all around Simba and the leopards, blocking the lionesses from view.

Simba started to turn away, but he saw Sarabi out of the corner of his eye. She swerved between two zebras and cried, "Simba, I'm sorry!"

His face twisted in fury. "If you're really sorry, you'll do what they say!"

She stood frozen in her steps, staring at him as if she'd just been slapped. With her gaze, she begged him for forgiveness, but all he gave her was a scowl. Her face started to go even more miserable, and her eyes went all teary again, but a cheetah hollered at her to move, and she broke her gaze away and followed him away.

Simba started to turn around and follow the leopards. "What's the plan?"

They slunk on as if they hadn't heard.

"You tortured me to get their help. You're going to tell me what the plan is, and you're going to tell me now."

Kufi swung to face Simba. "Let's get something straight. I don't take orders from you, and I don't answer your questions. You're going to go to Site Gamma, and you're going to thank us for watching your sorry butts. Now let's go...Your Majesty."

And the leopards resumed their march, guiding Simba and his friends through the treeline.

Simba knew he hadn't been walking long, but every step felt like an hour. His wounds kept screaming in agony and weeping blood. He tried to stay strong and muffle his grunts, but his dangling mouth left no room for doubt. Every grunt made Pumbaa and the meerkats turn to look at him, and their gaze made his wounds throb even harder.

After an hour of weaving through trees and winding along the river, the leopards led him and his entourage up the slope of a huge hill—except it wasn't a hill, but the rim of a big crater yawning in the middle of the forest. Grasses and shrubs carpeted the huge bowl, and a creek trickled down the far side, watering a pair of acacias in the center.

Simba started down the slope, but Kufi trotted alongside him and caught his attention. Simba stared blankly away, not deigning to meet his gaze.

"I'm going to say this once: We're keeping you here for your own protection. We don't want to hurt you, and we don't want to hurt your friends. So don't try to run, don't try to kill us, don't bother us with your stupid questions, and you'll be fine. But if you do anything we don't like, we're going to make what Juma did to you look like a cakewalk. You understand?"

Simba glared at him out of the corner of his eye but said nothing.

"Then make yourself at home…Your Majesty."

He gave Kufi a scoff, then hung his head and started padding down the slope.

"Well, this caps off my weekend," Max said. "First, we get to watch a king get coronated, and then we watch him get tortured. What's next?"

Timon lifted his head to the crater rim, watching the leopards spread out. "We could make a run for it."

"Forget it," Max said. "They're never gonna take their eyes off us."

"He's right," Simba said. "We've got to do what they say. All we need to do is wait until Bara's dead, and then we can get out of here."

Once they reached the center of the bowl, Pumbaa crumpled into the grass and the meerkats slid off his back. Simba sat on the bank of the stream that trickled between the trees, and he lowered himself inch by inch, trying to keep his wounds from screaming. Blades of grass prickled the cuts, making them sting in a dozen places. As he lowered himself all the way into the grass, he let out a groan of relief. He lapped at the water, and the cool water steadied his quaky limbs.

He took a big draught, then licked the droplets off his whiskers and lifted his head again. Rafiki was drinking out of the stream, forming a cup with his hands. When their eyes met, Rafiki gave him a long stare, then hobbled over to a tree before Simba could say a word.

The mandrill slumped against it and stared into nowhere, a troubled look on his face. With a sigh, he untied the gourds at the end of his staff and dropped them into the grass. He reached for a sharp rock and started scraping the top of the stick. Simba looked him in the face, trying to pull some sort of answer out of his head, but the mandrill kept carving, and Simba turned away to lick at his wounds.

A hundred wipes and a few hairballs later, he heard Rafiki's rock hit the ground. The mandrill finished carving away at his staff, the tip tapered like a giant fang.

"Do you want to know what I have done?" the mandrill said. "I have done what I should have done long ago. We saw your uncle betray our people, and we did nothing, because we were afraid. And now our own people have had to suffer. You have had to suffer."

Simba ignored the sudden throb of his wounds. "They're just trying to get their families back."

"What they did was treason. Simba, I promise you on my life: I will not let them hurt you again. And if they try, I will kill them."

Pumbaa nodded. "I'm with ya."

"Me, too," Timon said. "Kid, when you said you were gonna help them, I wanted to run. But then I saw Juma standin' over ya and cuttin' ya open. I've never seen anything like that before, and I never wanna see anything like that again." He pointed a finger up at the rim of the crater. "I don't care if they're tryin' to get their families back; they had no right to do that to ya. If they try and give ya any more grief, they're gonna answer to me."

Simba wanted to smile, but he couldn't. The hint of it fell away as quickly as it began. If the leopards heard that, they'd take it as a threat and charge into the crater. But he had to look. He had to see them for himself. He had to stare them in the eye, to betray his fear.

With a nervous breath, he lifted his head and stared at the edge of the crater.

The leopards were gone.

Simba's shoulders and legs went tense with worry. His breath was trapped in his chest. He stared out at the trees, waiting for someone to walk through the treeline, but no one moved. The air had gone quiet, and the birds stopped singing.

"Uh, Kid?" Timon murmured. "Where are the leopards?"

Simba didn't answer. He kept staring open-mouthed at the rim of the crater, his eyes darting across the jagged edge. Without warning, a cool breath of wind crossed his mouth, and a salty gust landed on his tongue.

Blood...

"They're dead," he said. "We're getting out of here. We're getting out of here now!"

The meerkats scrambled up Pumbaa's back and Simba began to charge. Over the roar in his ears, he heard Timon scream—

"SIMBA, LOOK OUT!"

A pride of lionesses streamed down the crater wall. Their faces were streaked with stripes of mud, their shoulders and chests bulged with muscle, their paws stained with blood and their claws unsheathed. Simba roared and charged at them, Pumbaa bellowed his war cry, and Rafiki lunged into the fray and aimed his tapered staff at them—

And the wall of lionesses slammed into them.

The pride tossed Simba and his friends in a deadly dance. Every swipe was blocked, every kick was dodged, every bit was countered with a bite and a blow. Simba wriggled around and caught a lioness in the throat, sending her into the ground, but another lioness ducked below him and slashed his haunch. He screamed in agony and crumpled into the grass. He was halfway onto his feet when a lioness give an incredible leap and soared into the air, coming down on him with her claws and fangs.

Pumbaa bellowed and charged underneath her. He went up on his hind legs and heaved her into the air. Simba leapt onto his hind paws and hurtled his paw into one of their throats, and he plowed into another and bit her neck. Just as Simba realized he had made a mistake, his chest exploded with pain. A lioness had slashed his wounds open, and his ears rang with his agonized roar. She stood over him and clamped her jaws around his neck—

The lioness howled in his ear, and he swung away. Rafiki jerked his spear from her chest and vaulted away as another lioness charged. Simba turned around just as two lionesses ran up at Pumbaa. The warthog bellowed in terror and howled as claws went through his side. Simba and Rafiki attacked them on the flank; Simba's jaws went into a throat, and Rafiki's spear went into a chest, and the lionesses fell.

Three lionesses leapt at Simba. He swerved between two, but they saw his move and slashed at him. Their claws tore skin and muscle, and Simba went limp as pain blinded him. Pumbaa gritted his teeth and hurled her into the air, sending her into the side of a rock.

Rafiki swung his staff across a lioness's head and shoved his spear into her throat. Another lioness dashed around him and pounced on Simba, burying her claws into his side. He screamed and tried to kick her away, and something burst against her head. Timon had thrown a gourd at her. The lioness jerked away and snarled at him, and Simba jerked at her and slashed her throat. She crumpled to the ground and breathed her last.

And all in the crater was still.

"Simba!" Madge said in a quavering voice. "Honey, are you all right?!"

He sat on his haunches and gulped for breath, but gave her a jerky nod.

"Pumbaa, buddy!" Timon gawked at the warthog's wounds. "How bad is it?!"

The warthog shook his head, trembling too hard to speak.

Max held a paw to his heaving chest and propped his arm against a rock. "No wonder Taku wanted our help. These people are good."

"Really good," Simba panted. "Guys...if you hadn't been here...I wouldn't have made it..."

He started to say "Thank you," but he stared at the scene and slumped back onto his hind paws. I can't believe we just did that.

But he stared a little longer at the scene, and he noticed something in the fur of the lionesses. There were scars all around their chests and sides, all made by the same set of claws.

Whoever did that has to be horrible, he thought. Maybe they wanted to die.

He heard his name being called, and he broke his gaze away.

A lioness lay on the ground, wincing in pain and bleeding from the chest. Rafiki stood over her and waved at Simba to come forward. "You'd better hurry," he said. "I don't know how long you have."

Simba strode up to her and stood over her, and he pushed a paw into her chest, pinning her to the grass. "You work for Bara, don't you?"

She nodded and let her face go miserable. "Please…kill me…" She let out a sob and said, "You don't know what he does!"

He stared at her, his face numb and wide. I thought I did... "You tried to kill me and my friends. Why shouldn't I let him kill you?"

"We had to," the lioness said. "Bara's father...Sakora...he would have found us...We didn't have a choice."

Simba nodded in comprehension. You either kill me and make Bara happy, or fail and let him torture you. "Tell me everything you know, and I'll make it quick."

She nodded again, a hint of relief on her face.

"How did Bara know I was alive?"

The lioness gathered all the breath she could hold. "He has a contact...who's been helping him fight the war..."

"Who's the contact?"

She shook her head. "I don't know..."

"How do you know he has a contact?"

"I heard them talking...about you..."

"How is that possible? Everyone thought I was dead."

"His contact saw you...at Site Omicron..."

"What's Site Omicron?"

"Kid, what else could it be?" Timon said. "It's our old home. And it's not like you ever got out much..."

Simba granted it with a nod, then turned back to the lioness. "Why would his contact want to kill me?"

"I don't know...but he's not the only one...who wants you dead..."

"Who else?"

She gathered her breath and grimaced in pain, and then drew in a breath. "Taku…"

Any trace of strength in Simba's stony face was destroyed. Horror widened his eyes, and his mouth went open. I knew he was no good...

"What does he want?" Simba said.

"He wants you dead...He wants your old home."

Timon's face went a deeper shade of terrified. "No wonder we came along with you. He wanted to get rid of us, too!"

The lioness gulped and writhed in pain. "There's more...Taku's going to give Bara your pride...and Bara's going to make them his slaves..."

Fury twisted Simba's face, and he huffed through his gritted teeth. "He's trying to get back at my mom!"

She confirmed it with a nod. "That's not the only thing he wants...He's trying to get their families back...He thinks he's going to rescue the women and children..." She sobbed and winced in pain. "But Bara won't let him...He's going to take your pride...and keep the women and children..."

"How do I get them back? Or do you want to keep them in your army?"

She shook her head. "Go up to Bara's pride...and tell them...Amani gave them a Code Zero...and then kill Bara."

"Give them a Code Zero and kill Bara. That's all I have to do?"

She nodded.

"If it's that simple, why didn't you kill him?"

She shook her head. "Tell them...Amani gave them a Code Zero...and kill Bara...You'll understand..." She sobbed again, and tears rolled out of her eyes. "That's all I know...I swear!"

A knot twisted his throat, and his stomach did a flip. Now I have to kill her...

But he kept standing over her. Blood kept oozing out of her wounds, and she kept whimpering and shuddering. She looked into his eyes, begging him to release her from her nightmare.

"Kid, you've gotta do it," Max said. "If she's lyin' to you, she deserves what she gets. But if he's really that bad, you're doin' her a favor."

He didn't want to believe it. How could one lion be so monstrous to his pride? Maybe their wounds were battle scars; maybe they were trophies of battles long and brutal. But he had to believe it. All the scars were made by the same set of lion claws, and the lion had to be enormous and powerful to inflict wounds like that.

I have to do it. She's suffered enough.

And he turned his head away and flung his claws across her throat.

He spun away to hide his face, and he trudged away as tears blurred his eyes. Behind him, there was a gulp, a gasp, a sigh of sweet relief…then nothing. He didn't look to see her face, but he knew she was dead.

"What do you think, Kid?" Timon said. "You think she told you everything she knew?"

He paused to catch his shaky breath and keep his bile from rising up. "We'll find out soon enough," he said softly. "Let's get out of here...and let's hope there's no one else on the way."

The meerkats scrabbled up Pumbaa's side and took their stand in his mane, and Rafiki grabbed his spear and flipped it blunt side down, turning it back into a walking stick. And step by heavy step, they followed Simba up the crater wall, giving the lionesses a final glance.

As they walked onto high ground, they saw Kufi and his leopards leopards scattered around the rim. Their faces were dull and vague, as if they didn't know what had hit them.

"You nailed it, Kid," Timon said. "If you hadn't figured it out, that would've been us."

"If we're not careful," Max said, "it is gonna be us. Simba, how are we gonna do this? We're not only goin' up against Bara; we're goin' up against Taku. He just gave up a unit of his soldiers just to have us killed. If we go back there, we're done for."

"Maybe not," Simba said. "Taku wants to give up my pride, which means there's going to be a meeting. We're going to stay out of sight and let him set it up. When it starts, we'll do what Amani said: Give Bara's pride a Code Zero, then kill him."

Max stared at him, waiting for more details. But when none came, the meerkat shrugged. "Awright, Kid...if ya really think we can do it, we're with ya. Let's get out of here and kick his butt."

Simba nodded in affirmation, and he swung left and guided his friends back into the trees.