Chapter Twelve:

A Walk Through the Desert

Shenzen smiled as he fell to the floor and smelled the soft green grass. He sighs in happiness after weeks of traveling and losing his annoying sister they finally made it to Pride Rock.

"Oh happy days" he sang and begin to close his eyes to take a nap when he heard Zacuru walking over.

"Were you about to sing" he asked

"Yeah, is there a problem with that" Shenzen asked a bit annoyed

"We've only been here for five minutes and your already embarrassing me" he said as a joke

"Ha, ha, very funny, why don't you shut up and enjoy this beautiful view of our new home" Shenzen said pointing to the land and the giant rock.

"I'll relax when my mom and Shentana comes back" he said

"Where did they go anyway"

"Weren't you listening, your mom went to visit the King to see if he would allow us to stay since only lions' been living here and all" Zacuru tried to explain but Shenzen wasn't even paying attention to him. "Aren't you listening to me"

"Huh, no, I was looking at that juicy zebra" Shenzen said licking his lips. "It's been a long time since I had a zebra"

"You don't have to tell me, the last time you tried to take down a zebra, Shenzi popped out and scared the herd and you nearly got ran over" Zacuru started to laugh

"Please, for once in your life, will you stop talking about her, she's dead and for once, I'm not miserable"

"You know what, I predict she's going to return three times as worst than before"

Shenzen chuckles "yeah, in you dreams, my friend"

Shenzen turns his head to see his mom and Nuacka returning to the clan. He smiles knowing his mom finally moved on and forgot about Shenzi ever returning home, but part of him still felt hurt because she still hasn't really been talking to him.

"Hi mom, how did it go" Zacuru asked

"It wasn't too bad, the king said it was Ok for us to stay" Nuacka said

Zacuru and part of the clan started to cheer till Shentana stopped them "On one condition" she said getting all the hyena's attention "The King and I made an agreement, we are allowed to stay but we can't go near his pride or steal their food and they'll do the same, so when we hunt don't' go near them and harm them because if we do we will be kicked out of here" She explained

"In other words, they don't trust us" Nuacka said

The clan nodded "Can we eat now" one of the hyenas asked

Shentana nodded and watched as part of her clan went off to hunt while other decided to rest and sleep.

"So mom what was the King like" Shenzen asked

"Well, he's a really big lion and he has two sons a little bit older then Zacuru but the weird part is that the oldest cub looked a lot like him yet the youngest cub had a different color fur and mane"

"You think the queen has another mate around here" Nuacka asked

"It's not that, there was something about that cub that didn't feel right, like all I felt was pure evil when you looked in his eyes" Shentana said

Shenzen shivers a bit "creepy"

"Oh, forget about him, Shentana, it's probably just in your head" Nuacka said

"You're probably right, maybe I'm just tired from the whole walking" she said

"Why don't you rest and I'll look after the clan for awhile"

Shentana went off to rest on a large rock and yawned. She laid there watching the hyenas and her son enjoying their new home but she wasn't happy (three weeks has past and she still hasn't returned) she thought (I wonder what Shenzi's doing right now, I hope she's ok)

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Day one on the search for Pride Rock:

"Stop looking at me that way" Shenzi shouted

It was the next day after Shenzi manages to get her friends and herself out of the human's world and back into the wild life and freedom. Her head was pounding and her stomach was hurting. But that's what happened when you sleep under a rock with two other hyenas with no room to move around. All she remembers was trying to sleep but she couldn't since Ed was drooling and Banzai's foot was jammed up her stomach. With the lack of sleep, pounding headache and the sun beating down on her she wasn't in a good mood and Banzai wasn't helping.

"Quit staring at me" she said again

Banzai was walking beside her, giving her an ugly stare and Shenzi knew what he wanted.

"For the thousandths time Banzai, we are not leaving Ed behind" she said

"He slowing us down" Banzai said coldly

Shenzi looked back to see Ed wondering around the desert and examining everything that moves, from the dirt to the little bugs crawling around the place.

"He just curious about the outside world" Shenzi said calmly

"That's just it, Shenzi, he's not like us, he was raised by humans, he's not going to survive the real world" Banzai said

"Oh stop, Banzai, even you couldn't survive out here by the way you looked when we first met"

Banzai growls and blushed form embarrassment so he kept his mouth shut for a while. Shenzi smirks a bit knowing she finally shut him up. She looked back again and saw Ed falling behind "Ed, hurry up, I don't want to lose you again" she shouted

Ed, who was looking at a bug, lifted his head to see them waiting for him. He smiled and ran over to catch up.

"So where are we going" Ed asked

"We're going to a place called Pride Rock" she said "that's where my clan is"

"How far is it to Pride Rock?" he asked

"I don't know" Shenzi said and had to stop to think about that "All my mom told me is to go north till we find this big pointy rock that looks like this"

The boys watched as Shenzi drew a poor drawing of the rock "that is where we're going"

"Cool, I wonder how long it will take" Banzai asked

"What about you, Banzai, do you know where your clan is" Shenzi asked

"My CLAN" He said frighten

Shenzi gave him an odd look "yeah, I'm sure you're anxiety to return to your clan"

Banzai bit his lips hard, he remembers what happened that day when he was banned but he couldn't tell her. "My clan . . . well . . . I'm not . . . that much in a hurry to return"

"You're not, how come" Ed asked

"Because I don't want to go back"

"You don't want to go back to your clan" Shenzi said and he nodded "why, that was your home"

"Um . . . let's . . . just . . . say I . . . uh . . . ran away, yeah I ran away" he lied

"Why?" Shenzi asked again "why did you ran-"

"Can we just dropped it and find your clan first" Banzai said interrupting her.

Shenzi just stood there and Ed flinched a bit from his sudden response. "Ok, I will" She said "let's keep walking the sooner we get out of this desert the better."

Hours past and there was no sigh of land anyway. Shenzi was beginning to feel the heat and she was getting very hungry. She looked around, nothing but desert for miles, she bit her lip hard and started to get worried if she stayed out here for so long she would surely die from this heat.

"Shenzi, I'm hungry" Ed whined

"You know you are Ed, we are all hungry" Shenzi said

"And I'm thirsty" he added

"I heard you, you don't have to tell me twice" Shenzi said (why does sound so familiar)

"Can we stop, I'm tire"

"Shut up, Ed" Banzai shouted as he wiped sweat off his forehead

"I'm bored, my feet hurt, and my mouth is dry" Ed continues whining

"I'm sorry, Ed, but there's nothing I can do right now since we're lost in the desert" Shenzi said

"But my tummy hurts"

"Ed, just do what I do" Banzai said interrupting him "think about something else beside your health problems"

Ed thought about it, thinking hurts him for some reasons, but he remembers this song Molly use to sing to him when they were bored or trying to annoy her older siblings.

Ed took a deep breath and began to sing "ten million cups of coffee on the wall, ten million cups of coffee, take one down, past it around, 9,999,999 cups of coffee on the wall . . . "

Banzai overheard him singing and ran up to Shenzi "I have a bad feeling about this" he said

"Nonsense, I'll give him ten minute before he tires out" Shenzi said

Banzai sigh the last thing he wanted to hear was coffee and he was sure this walk through the desert is going to be a long one.

Day Three:

Shenzi felt lucky on this day, they actually found a small puddle with a small tree in this good for nothing desert. Her head saw still pounding and her fur was soaked in her own sweat. As she guzzled down some water, enjoying to cool freshness of the shade, she noticed Banzai couldn't enjoy this blessing.

"He's been singing for three days, THREE DAYS and he's not showing any signs of quitting" Banzai said.

Shenzi begins to worry about him, she had a bad feeling that one of these days he's going to snap from all this stress.

"Banzai, drink some water, he'll stop when he reaches zero" Shenzi said calmly

"He's at number 4,892,854, Shenzi" Banzai said

"Just drink some water before you die of dehydration" Shenzi said

Day Five:

"Oh great, you know when you're going to die when vultures are following you" Banzai said but realize he was talking to himself. Ed was still singing and Shenzi was walking far ahead.

"110,358 cups of coffee on the wall, 110,358 cups of coffee, take one down, past it around, 110,357 cups of coffee on the wall" Ed continues to sing.

Banzai was literally grinding his teeth. He couldn't take Ed's singing anymore. He wanted to yell but the heat dried up his mouth and not to mention his eyes. And he could have sworn he's seeing things. He looked up ahead, Shenzi was a clam as normal.

(How can she be calm at a time like this) he thought.

He stopped when Shenzi sat down to rest and his jaw dropped when he saw her pulling out small pieces of tree leaves she used as ear plugs. "Let's stop for a few minutes." she said

"You had ear plugs this whole time while letting me suffer through Ed's singing" Banzai said "do you know how bad Ed sings when his voice is all dry up"

Shenzi just smiles "calm down, Banzai, it's too hot for your yelling and hollering"

"I will if you get rid of those ear plugs" he smirks

"So what number is he on" she asked

"Number 110,340" Banzai said

"Well, it's your fault, you told him to think about something else"

Day Seven:

Banzai literally had rad veins in his dried up eyes, his was so hungry, thirsty and was about to lose his insanity over Ed singing.

"Shenzi, if he doesn't stop singing, I'm going to crack" Banzai said

Shenzi just looked at him, she, too, was getting tired of Ed singing and the heat was getting to both of them. She tired to look on the bright side, Ed was down to 14 cups of coffee then it will all be over. Ed's singing was the last thing on her mind, she was wondering when this hell of the desert will end. Seven days and still no sigh of trees or water.

"14 cups of coffee on the wall, 14 cups of coffee, take one down, past it around, 13 cups of coffee on the wall" Ed laughed then there was silence and that's when Banzai snapped

"That's it" Banzai said turning around to face Ed, Shenzi stopped to see what he was going to do.

"You're not going to finish the song"

"I would but I forgot what came before 13" Ed said

Banzai red vein eyes grew wide and he begins to shake from anger "you sang for seven days nonstop, from ten million to 13 and YOU'RE NOT GOING TO FINISH IT" He holler right into his face.

"I was getting tire of that song anyway and I don't feel hungry anymore" Ed smiled

Banzai just stared at him, screamed and tackled him to the ground with his paws reaching out for Ed's neck. Shenzi stood there, ignoring Ed's cries for help, for only one time, she'll let Banzai beat the crap out of him. After a few punches and biting she finally went between them and broke off the fight.

"My nose is bleeding" Ed begin to cry.

"Serve you right with your damn song" Banzai shouted trying to stop the bleeding on his arm.

"Banzai, shut up" Shenzi said then place Ed's paws on his nose and lifted his head. "Calm down Ed, or you're just going to make the bleeding worse"

"It's not stopping" Ed cried even louder

"Ha, ha that what you get for getting on my nerves, a hyena raise by a human will always lose to a wild hyena" he teased

"Shenzi make him stop picking on me" Ed shouted

Shenzi's head was beginning to hurt, she was right in the middle of her friends' argument and they were yelling right in her ears. With them yelling at her to tell the other one to stop and blood from Ed's nose leaked onto her arms. Finally she had it.

"Shenzi, make him stop" Ed shouted

"Shenzi, tell him to stop crying it making my head hurt-

"SHUT UP, BOTH OF YOU" She holler to the top of her lungs.

The boys went silence and stared at her. "Can't you two go a day without fighting with each other, for god sake, you two are probably the biggest immature morons I've ever had to deal with" she said

Ed just chuckles "but we're your morons" but he stops when he realizes she wasn't joking around.

"Until we find a way out of this desert, I don't want to hear anymore singing, complaints, yelling and fighting from any of you. Face it, we're stuck together and we're sticking together whether we like it or not and don't try to argue with me BECAUSE YOU DO NOT WANT TO SEE ME ANGRY!"

Banzai and Ed shiver in fear, when they saw angry flames in her eyes, they swallowed a huge lump in their throat and nodded.

"Good, let's continue our walk" Shenzi said then started walking "ten thousand males in the world and I got stuck with the two biggest idiots who can't get along" she mutter to herself

Banzai pushed Ed out of his way and followed Shenzi. Ed noticed his nose stopped bleeding and ran to catch up. For the rest of the day, the boys walked quietly letting Shenzi blow off some steam . . .