Kari: Since people continued to give Timon, Pumbaa, and Zuri treats, I have to assure the readers that they enjoyed them. And... well...
Timon, Pumbaa, Zuri: ::Are cheering and eating the 300 pounds of grubs they received from Neosun.::
Timon: ::Scoops up a good handful of grubs and drops 'em on top of his brownie from Mina.:: I gotta tell ya, Kari, you keep writing, and we keep getting treats!
Zuri: ::Drinks the milk she got from Mina.:: Yeah, it's great!
Pumbaa: ::Pouts.:: Easy for you guys to say... I haven't been in a chapter since Chapter 2. ::Sob.::
Kari: Oh, all right, Pumbaa... I'll write this chapter to star you and leave Timon and Zuri out until the next chapter.
Timon & Zuri: But we're the stars!
Kari: Hey, I gotta show everyone Pumbaa, Ma, and Max are still in this story.
Timon: Fine...
Zuri: As long as you share that big cookie from Jedi with Timon and me.
Kari: ::Rolls eyes.:: OK, fine. But the 6-pack, carrot cake, and Oreos are mine! I'm amazed you still have room with all those grubs... ::Picks 'em out of her hair and out of her shirt.:: I wonder how Meredith handled this...
Pumbaa: Grubs, grubs, grubs, grubs, grubs! GRUBS!
Kari: Oh yeah... to Wishkres, I don't live near Altoona. I was using a rhyming dictionary and I couldn't find a lot that sounded right together. Originally was gonna use that "Altoona Frittata" line in Son of Fearless Buzz, but I ended up changing the storyline a bit. Tell ya what, I'll list some trivia up at the end of the chapter since you guys are so great... On with the fic!

Chapter 5:

Pumbaa nervously paced around in a circle. Timon had not come back yet, and he was starting to worry. He was running out of excuses to give Timon's mother about where her son was. Plus, the guilt of lying was starting to eat him up inside.

"I don't know how much longer I can keep covering for Timon. He wasn't suppose to be gone this long. Maybe he's making progress... or maybe he was eaten." Pumbaa stopped to whimper for a moment and sped his pacing up.

"Pumbaa!"

Surprised, Pumbaa turned and covered his head. "I don't know where Timon is! Please stop asking!" Pete walked over and cocked his head at Pumbaa. "Oh, hi, Pete."

"Did I... catch you at a bad time?"

"Uh... no. Why do you ask?" Pumbaa asked innocently.

"... Nevermind. You've got a visitor."

"A visitor? Who?"

"Some snobby hornbill."

"Snobby hornbill? Oh, it must be Zazu!" Pumbaa started to pad off in the direction Pete came from. Zazu was perched on a low branch, waiting for Pumbaa. When he finally came, Zazu flapped over to him.

"Greetings, Pumbaa. I bring news from the Pride Lands," Zazu bowed. He then pulled Pumbaa down to his level. "I have a message for you from Timon."

"You don't say..." Pumbaa looked around to make sure no one was around... he looked up as well, since the meerkats have been known to climb trees or recline in hammocks. When he was sure they were alone, he said in a low voice, "OK, start talking, bird. When's Timon coming back?"

Zazu dusted his feathers off and then cleared his throat. "First of all, I think you should be grateful I flew all this way to give you this update. I was all but anxious to go, but it was a favor Timon asked of King Simba to send someone to give a message to you, and I would get here the fastest."

"Thank you, Mr. Zazu. The message, please?"

"Timon is staying in the Pride Lands a while longer, so he requests that you continue to cover for him."

"WHAT?!" Pumbaa grabbed Zazu by the front of his feathers and shook him. "I can't continue living this lie! I don't have any more excuses to give Timon's mother about--!" He noticed Zazu making a quiet motion with his feathers. Zazu pointed behind Pumbaa. Pumbaa looked and gulped. Timon's mother, Uncle Max, and Pete were standing there with their arms folded in front of their chests. He nervously chuckled and smiled. "When did you guys get here?"

"When you started screaming," Pete said.

"Would you mind explaining what that outburst was about?" Uncle Max asked.

"Uh..."

"Pumbaa..." the three meerkats said in unison. Ma stepped up to Pumbaa, whose back was still facing her.

"I can't. Timon told me not to--" He yelped and fell forward, releasing Zazu from his grip. Ma was twisting Pumbaa's back leg hard. "Ow-oh-oh-ohh! Let go! Let go!"

"Say it, Pumbaa! Where is Timon? And don't tell me he's still in the latrine!"

Pumbaa pounded his front hoof on the ground, unable to bear the pain any longer. "Uncle! Uncle! He went back to the Pride Lands to get to know a meerkat girl named Zuri!" Ma dropped Pumbaa's leg, relieving Pumbaa of the pain.

"A girl?" Ma walked around to meet Pumbaa's face, and then held onto his tusks. "My baby is meeting a girl? Without me?!"

"Yes..."

"And you let him go alone?!"

"I sorta, kinda encouraged him to go alone," Pumbaa mumbled under his breath. Ma stepped onto Pumbaa's snout and looked straight at him.

"You... encouraged him?"

"Aww, c'mon, Mrs. Ma. She's part of another meerkat colony and Timon couldn't get her out of his head. I encouraged him to go so he wouldn't act mopey around here again. I was expecting him back by now, but then Zazu said he'd be staying longer."

Ma got off Pumbaa's snout and started pacing. "He's staying longer? He just got back and he's staying over there longer?! What's he doing over there?!"

"If he's staying longer, maybe he's making good progress with this girl," Pete said, tapping his chin.

"Oh-ho, no. He's not making any kind of progress unless I personally approve of her!" Ma turned to Zazu, who was dusting himself off again. Ma grabbed onto him. "OK, Polly, start talking! What do you know about this Zuri?"

"Very little, I swear! Your son hasn't even told Simba about her!" Zazu nervously said.

"He hasn't even told Simba?" Pumbaa blinked, surprised.

"It's apparent we're not going to learn anything about her here," Ma said as she pouted her lips a bit, looking like she's cooled down a bit. "You know, Pumbaa, I haven't been to the Pride Lands for a while..."

"Oh, Mrs. Ma, you don't mean--!"

Ma released Zazu from her grip, who then flew a few feet away from her. "I do. I'm going to the Pride Lands, and you're going to take me." She climbed onto Pumbaa's back and pulled on his ears. "Move it."

"Hey, wait a minute here! You're not going anywhere without me this time!" Uncle Max said as he walked up to Pumbaa.

"We're not?" Pumbaa asked.

"No! I'd like to see this meerkat who's gotten Timon so interested!" Pumbaa knelt down to let Uncle Max climb onto his face and onto his back. "That pup falling in love at first sight? Never heard of such a thing."

"I'll stay here... you know, to keep the others from worrying too much," Pete said.

"Thanks, Pete," Pumbaa said as he started to trot away from the oasis. Zazu took to the sky, following. While on the way, Pumbaa kept shaking his head, thinking, Timon's gonna kill me when we get there...

To be continued...

And for you, faithful readers, a small bit of trivia (or deleted scenes, whichever you wanna call it) from my first fic Son of Fearless Buzz. The first chapter started out about the same, except Pumbaa didn't know Buzz was Timon's father. The second chapter, however, Timon had reached his tunnels overnight alone and sadly sang the Ballad of Fearless Buzz to himself while looking at the memorial in the tunnels (like in the DVD deleted scene, not on the rock like in my fic). Ma came down, trying to console him with the "Altoona Frittata" line... didn't work. He asked her to leave him alone, and she did. She met Pumbaa on top, and finally revealed Buzz was her husband and Timon's father and began to tell one of their stories... from then I changed it to a more realistic thing where it took more than a day to reach the old tunnels, Timon was accompanied by Pumbaa and Ma (and later Simba), and Ma would tell stories on the way there. I think it worked better that way, don't you? - Until the next chapter, later!