Chapter 37:
Kito would have slept through the night, had he not noticed the nest he was sleeping in was empty. He was used to sleeping in a full nest, using his parents' body heat to keep warm. It was cold in that nest, so he forced himself up. Looking around the cave, he didn't see anyone awake. He climbed over the nest and walked outside of the cave, rubbing his eye. He walked around the side of the cave where the warthogs and Morake were sleeping, and approached Bango and Morake.
Kito tugged on one of Morake's whiskers until the cheetah cub opened an eye to look at him. "I thought cheetahs were nocturnal," he said as he released the whisker.
Morake raised his head up and rubbed his whisker. "I don't know what that means, but I sleep at night."
Bango, who was sleeping next to Morake, lifted his head up and yawned. He rubbed an eye with the back of his hoof. "What's the matter, Kito?"
"I got this bad feeling. I woke up and Mom wasn't in the nest, and I still don't know what happened to Dad," Kito said as he rubbed his paws together.
Bango turned his head to look where his parents were sleeping, noticing that Jina was gone and Pumbaa was fast asleep. "Uncle Timon should be around somewhere, since my Dad's back. But I wonder where Mom is."
"Probably getting a midnight snack or something. Why'd our Dads leave anyway? Did they go to see Uncle Simba or something?"
"Uh-uh," Morake spoke up. "They went to see Mr. Rafiki. Your dad thinks Rafiki made a mistake on the location spell, because he doesn't think Titus is in this colony."
Kito scratched his head, "That doesn't make sense."
"Yeah, we looked almost everywhere out here," Bango said before gulping. "Except one place... and as far as I'm concerned this is the only mob out here."
Kito blinked and looked at Bango. "One place?"
"Dad said it wasn't safe there. Remember he and Uncle Timon told us about all those places they were considering to live before they came to the oasis?"
"Uh-huh. There was Pride Rock, that spot by the watering hole near Pride Rock, the Elephant Graveyard, some green-lit cave with geysers and marching hyenas--"
"That's the one!" Bango interrupted.
"And he said that place wasn't safe?" Morake asked with an arched brow. "The way I heard it the hyenas ran off after Scar was overthrown. About the only 'danger' there are steaming geysers."
"That's what Mom said, but Dad didn't want to take any chances... besides, that monster thing might be hanging out in there."
"I don't know, Bango," Kito said as he scratched the top of his head. "Morake said it makes a lot of noise during the day. We've only heard it three times in the same hour today."
Morake blinked and swished his tail. "Yeah, that's true. What have the meerkats here said about that?"
"They haven't mentioned anything about it, really. Too afraid to find answers for themselves..."
"Oh, please, Kito, don't you go around saying that fortune favors the brave stuff again. Every time you try acting brave something bad happens," Bango whimpered.
"Hey, some questions you want answered can't be answered by staying in one place. If no one else is going to figure out this mystery, I'm gonna do a little spying."
Bango sarcastically arched an eyebrow and tapped his front hoof. "That's what got us in trouble in the first place, you know?"
Kito leaned forward against Bango's snout and furrowed his brow. "Yeah, and we found out Uncle Titus is alive, didn't we? Now we just have to find him and we can get home. Now, what do you say?"
"You mean I have a choice this time?"
"It's going to expire in about ten seconds."
Morake let out a loud yawn and rested his head against the outside of the cave. He began to close his eyes, but then reopened them and perked his ears. "Hold on a second."
Kito and Bango turned to Morake. "What?"
"I'm hearing something."
"Spy time," Kito grinned as he climbed on top of Morake's head and pressed his ear to the cave.
Bango shook his head and put his ear to the side. "When in Africa..."
Inside the cave Sengbe was approached by two of his spies. "Report. You don't smell of blood, so why aren't you watching that Zuri?"
"We have our limits of watching, Sengbe," the first spy said.
"What?"
"We followed her as far as Pride Rock, and then we back off," the second spy said.
"And what are you doing back here? Go back and watch for her! Sylvester is not here and I want to know what she's done with him! And what if she discovers the Nunda?"
The first spy grinned, "Why should we watch her...?"
"... When we can just as easily question her brother right now?" the second spy finished as Sengbe's third spy pushed Sudi into the isolated portion of the cave.
Sudi grunted when he was pushed and tried to pull out of the third spy's grip. "Let go! What's this all about?"
"That's Uncle Sudi's voice," Kito whispered.
"What are they gonna do with him?" Bango whispered.
"I think they're gonna interrogate him," Morake whispered.
"Ahh, well done, boys," Sengbe said as he approached Sudi. He looked him over a bit, and then snorted. "The spitting image of Shomari." He slapped the meerkat. "I hate Shomari."
Sudi growled, "Well, he wasn't that fond of you either, pal! Now what--?" He grunted when Sengbe put a paw over Sudi's throat.
"I'm asking the questions here, and I expect answers! What has your sister done with my son? And I want the truth!"
"I don't know," Sudi managed to cough out.
Sengbe tightened his grip with a curled lip. "I'll ask you again."
"Keep quiet, Kito," Morake whispered when he felt Kito tightening his grip on Morake's head fur. "If they catch us listening in--"
"I'm trying..." Kito whispered through clenched teeth.
"What has your sister done with my son?" Sengbe asked Sudi slowly.
"I have about as much control over what my sister does as you have telling Sly what to do," Sudi coughed. "So I don't know where they are."
"Sylvester has had no problem following my commands until you lot appeared. And you would not have been allowed to stay had it not rained last night."
"What's that suppose to mean?"
Sengbe tightened his grip on Sudi's neck briefly. "I'm asking the questions. Now... why did you really stay here?"
"We told you. We're trying to find Timon's brother who's out here somewhere."
"I'll ask you again--"
"And you'll get the same answer! We're trying to find Timon's brother! Zuri is very sure he's somewhere in this colony!"
"And I've told you before, no one picked up a stray pup six years ago."
That's what you think, buddy, Sudi thought to himself.
"Since we're on the subject of Timon, I'll ask a question concerning him." Sengbe extended a claw in his free paw and pointed it at Sudi's face. "You've been interrupted every time you began to say whom Timon is the son of. So... whose son is he?"
Sudi swallowed as best he could. "No."
"... What?"
"I won't tell you who his parents are," Sudi managed to say.
"Want me to break his leg, Sengbe? See if he'll tell us then?" the first spy asked as he cracked his knuckles.
"It wouldn't do you any good! If I told you whose son he is, you'd go out and kill him. I know he and I don't exactly get along, but he makes my sister happy... happier than she ever was when she was with Sly. And I won't wreck it, not matter how much it hurts or what you threaten to do with me."
Sengbe looked at Sudi for a few moments, and then released his grip from his neck. Sudi coughed for a few moments. "So... his one or both of his parents were someone I hated?"
Sudi gulped when he realized he must've said too much. "I didn't say--!"
Sengbe grinned, "You implied it. Now then, there are only two meerkats in this world I despise more than anyone else. Timon married your sister, so he wouldn't be Shomari's son. That only leaves one other..."
"You don't mean--?" the second spy began to say.
"Timon is the son of Fearless Buzz. Am I right, Sudi?" Sudi was silent as he glared at Sengbe. Sengbe grinned and patted Sudi's cheek. "I thought so. It's a pity you had to know so much." He turned to his spies. "Take him outside and make sure he doesn't talk. And then go find Zuri and make sure she doesn't stumble upon one of our little... secrets. I want her brought here, alive. After that... find the son of Fearless Buzz and bring him to me. I want the pleasure of killing the children of my both of my enemies myself."
The three spies nodded and took hold of Sudi as they drug him away with a paw over his mouth. When they reached the outside of the cave, Morake growled and pounced on all four of them, keeping them in place.
"Hey, what the--?!"
Morake leaned forward and bared his sharp, shiny teeth. "Shh. You guys gotta be real quiet for me, 'kay?"
"Why should we? We were told you're an insectivore," one of the spies scoffed.
"Doesn't mean I don't sneak in a little red meat on the side. Get it?" He grinned his sharp grin, silencing the meerkats he had pinned.
Kito rushed over and began to pull Sudi out from underneath. "Are you OK, Uncle Sudi?"
Sudi grunted as he began to pull himself out from under the cheetah cub. "Fine, considering a cheetah's sitting on me."
"Would you rather be dead?"
"Point taken," Sudi said as he pulled himself out. He stood and dusted himself off. "How did you kids--?"
"We uh, sorta listened without you knowing accidentally at first," Bango timidly said as he padded over.
"Well, I'm glad you did, otherwise I'd be playing a harp right about now." He finished dusting himself off and cleared his throat. "We've got to find Timon, Sly, and Zuri before Sengbe finds out about this."
"Why Mr. Sly?" Kito asked.
"I'll explain later."
"But where do we start looking? It's not like they all went together somewhere."
"Maybe not, but we at least know where Aunt Zuri is," Bango said as he picked Kito off of the ground and placed him on top of his head. "We're going to Pride Rock!"
Morake blinked at Bango. "Bango, what happened to you?"
"Well... fortune favors the brave, doesn't it?" Bango grinned.
"That's more like it!" Kito grinned.
"All right, all right, I'll let you two come along," Sudi said as he climbed onto Bango's back.
"Really, Uncle Sudi?"
"Well, it's only because your uncle Pumbaa sleeps so soundly it would take too much time to wake him up and fill him in." He turned to Morake. "You find place to hide those guys for the time being and tell Pumbaa about what's going on. If Timon, Sly, or Zuri come back tell them the situation."
"I can do that, Mr. Sudi," Morake saluted. With that, Bango took off running towards the Pride Lands with the two meerkats on his back.
To be continued...