Not much to say except... here's part two!

Chapter 9:

Still 4 years ago...

Uncle Max was leading Timon over to one of the sentry lookout points. "All right, Timon, I want you to take this seriously. To be a sentry you need to be focused." He grimaced as Timon was glancing around the area. He whacked Timon over the head.

"Ow! Hey!" Timon complained as he rubbed his head.

"You do know what it means to be focused, don't you? As in, listen to what I'm saying?"

Timon sighed and rolled his eyes, "Yes, Uncle Max."

"Good. This will be your station," Max gestured to the rock and tree sentry point.

"... Couldn't I be stationed somewhere else?" Timon frowned.

"All the other stations have been stationed. If you stay focused, you'll forget about your father being buried here." He cleared his throat. "You remember the sentry training, don't you?"

"Well, from what you decided to teach me, yes." Timon scurried to the top of the rock. "Scratch, sniff, flinch, wasn't it?" Timon shook his head and started mumbling it to himself. "No, no, wait, there was a scurry in there somewhere... Scurry, flinch, scratch? Maybe it's scratch, sniff, scurry. No, that doesn't sound right... I know there's a flinch in there somewhere..."

Max slapped a paw over his eyes. "Get down from there. I show you how it's done. And pay attention this time!" Timon jumped down from the rock and leaned his weight against the tree. He watched as Uncle Max demonstrated the correct moments. "Scurry, sniff, FLINCH! Scurry, sniff, FLINCH! Scurry, sniff, FLINCH!" Timon rolled his eyes, unimpressed. "Good." He turned back to Timon and approached him. "Now... what do we do if we see a hyena?"

"Scream 'Mommy?'"

"That's right, mister! Because the world out there is fraught with danger." He shook Timon by the arms. "FRAUGHT I TELL YOU!"

Timon mumbled to himself, "Oh, boy. It's the Fraught Fest."

"Even all bloodthirsty hyenas are waiting to rip us limb from limb!" Max ranted.

Timon clapped and said sarcastically, "Bra-vo, Uncle Max! Way to sell it to the cheap seats."

Max took hold of his great-nephew's wrists, getting right into his face. "Applaud now, sonny boy." He added in a quiet, severe tone, "But try clapping when you don't have any hands." He noticed Timon's shocked expression, seeing he proved his point. He turned and left, hearing Timon gulp.

As he walked away he heard Timon saying the order to himself, "Scurry, sniff, flinch..."

He smiled, satisfied. Maybe Timon would actually do this right. He walked down the hill to the broken tunnel, walking past Timon's mother.

"What's with the smile, Max?" she asked.

"Believe it or not, Panya, your boy actually listened to my instructions. Sentry duty may be the best thing for him after all. And we can finally work on the tunnels without worrying about him breaking them!"

Ma frowned. "You don't have to lay it on so thick."

"I just think it's pride."

"Whatever. I'm getting back to work." Ma dropped down into a nearby tunnel.

"Yeah, you do that." Max looked up at the sky, noticing the sudden change in color. "Hmm... be alert, men! There may be a change in weather soon!" Max heard some mumbled replies, and then he went around surveying the work progress. He felt confident. Repairs were underway, Timon wasn't a part of it, and he actually listened to his uncle's instructions. Max smiled again, proud things were going his way... including Timon rolling down the hill and right into him.

"Ow! OK..." Timon began, starting to climb off of Max.

Max shoved Timon off, rather abruptly. "This is no time for horseplay, Timon. You're suppose to be up there looking out for..." He looked up from where Timon came, seeing three hyenas approaching them, snickering. His eyes widened and his became frozen with fear. "HYENAS!" The other meerkats popped up from the duties in terror, than began running around in a mad dash for cover.

Ma was down below with a few other meerkats when they heard the shout. "Hyenas are up there?!" Ma asked.

"Why didn't we get an alert from the sentry?" Pete asked, looking up at a nearby tunnel opening.

"The sentry?" Ma softly gasped. "Oh, no..." She got directly under the opening, seeing a meerkat standing there, covering his head. She recognized the stripes on his back, reached up, and grabbed him. She started pulling, feeling the meerkat straining to stay where he was. She pulled him down headfirst. Timon landed on his rear. "Get in here! What are you, a meshugginah?"

Timon nervously laughed. "Thanks, Ma."

"Timon, weren't you on sentry duty?" Pete asked, tapping his foot.

"Well--"

"Never mind that now, Pete. We're suppose to meet in the central meeting tunnel when something like this happens to make sure everyone's accounted for!" Ma said as she dragged Timon down a tunnel with her. When they arrived it looked like the whole colony was there. Ma went over roll call for the next two minutes. "Stumpy? Flinchy? Swifty?"

"Here!"

"Here!"

"Here!"

Ma put a paw on her forehead and let out a relieved sigh. "Oh, what a relief. Everybody's..." Something in her mind suddenly clicked, and she gasped. "Where's Uncle Max?"

Several meerkats ran out of the central meeting tunnel to watch from a tunnel exit. Timon slapped a paw over his eyes. "Oh, man, I really messed up this time. This is the worst!" he said to himself.

"Max said you actually listened to him. I thought you were focused," Ma said.

"I did listen to him, and I was focused... until I suddenly heard marimbas playing in my head and broke into song," Timon mumbled as his tapped his fingertips together.

Ma slapped a paw over her forehead. "You broke into song? On sentry duty? Oy, Timon... I thought I told you to take this seriously." Timon bowed his head, and then lifted it up when he heard some meerkats shouting.

"Max! Run for your life!"

"Play dead!"

"¡Andale!"

"Almost there!"

"You've got it, Max!" The ceiling shook slightly as a pounce as heard and the meerkats were heard groaning. Some munching was also heard.

"Uncle Max..." Timon softly said. He shook his bowed head as Ma put her paws on his shoulders. "No, not again..."

The other meerkats bowed their heads, including the meerkats arriving back from watching Max try to escape. Suddenly, Max dropped from the ceiling with a shout, grabbing everyone's attention. The fur from his tail was bitten off. Timon let out a relieved sigh as Ma walked over towards Max.

"Max! Is he all right?" a few meerkats asked.

Max lifted his head up, and a finger. A few meerkats leaned over to him to hear what he was about to say. "I flinched... when I should've scurried." He collapsed again. A few meerkats sat Max upright, one fanning his paw in front of his face.

Timon rubbed the back of his neck briefly, then decided to break the silence. "I uh... I guess I owe everyone an apology." He tapped his fingertips together nervously as he stood before a crowd of angry meerkats. "All right, so I made a teensy mistake. Like we all haven't broken into song on sentry duty before. Ha ha ha... come on. Let me have a show of hands." He watched as the meerkats standing near him walked away and over to Max's side. "OK..." He decided to try a different approach, trying to ignore the severe stares he was receiving. "Maybe it's a little too soon, but I'm sure we're all gonna laugh about this someday. Trust me."

Max, who was back on his feet, had his arms folded in front of his chest. He sneered at Timon and said in a quiet, severe tone, "I did trust you." Ma, who was standing behind some of the taller meerkats, softly winced at that.

Timon frowned. He tried to think of another reason to go easy on him. "But..." He couldn't find one. He just watched as the meerkats quietly walked out of the tunnel, except for Ma. He turned away from her, sighed, and walked out in another direction.

Ma was about to stop him, but stopped herself, thinking she needed to leave him alone for a bit. She went off in the direction the other meerkats went. She grabbed Uncle Max by the shoulder. "Max, did you have to be so hard on him?"

"Someone has to do it! Look what his goofing off did to me!" Max growled as he held his furless tail.

"He's right, Panya. We got lucky today, but we might not be so lucky if Timon keeps daydreaming about this better life he keeps raving about," Pete said.

"He'll learn--"

"You can't keep defending him," Max said, poking her in the shoulder.

Ma clasped her paws together, a determined look on her face. "I just know there's a place in this colony for him. We just have to try harder to--"

"Panya!" Pete snapped, surprising her a bit. He sighed and put a paw on her shoulder. "Look, I know he's all you've got left after all that's happened, and you just want to keep him safe. But he's not a pup anymore. You need to treat him like an adult."

"We've tried just about every job and nothing works. Timon will never find a place in this colony," Max said as he and Pete turned and walked away. Ma watched after them, and sighed. She decided Timon has had enough time to himself and went to find him.

...

Timon climbed up onto the rock he was stationed at earlier. He stood up and did the sentry movements. "Scurry, sniff, flinch." He paused, and did it again. "Scurry, sniff, flinch." He looked around and then he sat down, sighing deeply. He looked down at his father's grave and sighed again. "That does it. I can't stay here and let you watch me mess up more and more everyday. Besides, I can't look for that perfect life by staying here. But... you did tell me to look after Ma..." He sighed again. "But you also told me to look for that perfect life. I guess Pete and all the others can look after her. Now... what am I gonna tell her?" He sat there silent for a few moments, and then he heard footsteps.

"Aw, sweetie..." Ma said as she approached him.

"... I'm never gonna fit in here. Nobody... even likes me."

"Sure they do, honey. Sure they do!"

"Besides you, Ma."

"Uh, besides me?" Ma mumbled to herself. "Um, there's, uh..."

Timon went to get up. "I have to find my place... but it isn't here."

Ma pulled him back down to sit and then began to play with his hair. "Yes it is. We just haven't found it yet, but we will. Oh, here's an idea. You could run a--"

Timon got up and pawed her paws away. "Enough with the hair already." He looked out towards the open grasslands. "My place is out there, Ma. Oh, I may not know exactly where, or how far, but I gotta go!"

"No, wait, wait, wait. I know. If we just--"

Timon bluntly interrupted her. "Ma."

Ma stood there, looking at her son. He was all she had left, after Buzz died. He obviously was tired to trying to fit in here and failing. He was different compared to the others. She sighed. "Well, I hope you find what you're looking for, honey." Timon turned, smiled, and then walked over to hug her. She returned the hug. "Oh. Oh, I love you."

"I love ya, Ma."

They stayed that way for a few moments, Ma hugging him tighter. He eventually dropped his arms, when his mother's hugging was covering his mouth and nose. "Timmy... my Timmy..."

"Mom... choking... not breathing." He received a kiss on the cheek and managed to come up to breathe. "And people wonder why I have issues." He felt his mother finally releasing him. As Ma took his paws into her own, Timon gave her a reassuring smile. "I'll be OK!"

"Oh, I know you will!" She added in a soft, sad voice, "You will." She looked down at their paws, and slowly let go. She watched as Timon gave her another smile, turned, and began to walk away. This is for the best, she thought. "Be careful!"

Timon turned back to her. "I will!" He continued to walk.

"Don't talk to strangers!"

"I know, Ma!"

"Remember, wash behind your ears!"

Timon stopped and turned back to her, a bit impatient. "Ma, I'm not a kid anymore!" He turned and walked further.

"Never go swimming without a buddy!"

"Got it!"

"Send us a message!"

"... What?!"

"I said, send us a message!"

"WHAT?!"

Ma impatiently stamped her foot. "I said, send us a--!"

"Good-bye, Ma!"

Ma sighed, and then coughed at screaming after him. She watched as her son became a little speck against the setting sun. She nodded to herself. "This is for the best. I just hope this isn't the last time I see you, Timmy."

Present...

"Aww, that was so sweet," Zuri said.

"Did you really think you would ever see me again, Ma?" Timon asked.

"Honestly? Well, I really, really hoped," Ma said.

"And I really, really hoped we wouldn't," Uncle Max said as he gathered the straws together.

"But it all worked out in the end, right? Timon found me, we found this place, and we're all living together," Pumbaa said.

"Yeah, I guess... OK, time for the next memory!"

To be continued...