Chapter 49:
"Wow, Pumbaa's a great fighter," Yasmin said as she peeked around the rock.
"And that's when you call him a pig," Timon said.
"Well, at least we're safe up here."
Timon looked to the side where he saw movement and dryly said, "I'm not so sure about that, Yasmin." The meerkats looked and gasped as Bintaka walked towards them.
"Oh, dear."
Bintaka growled, baring his teeth, including the one broken from the rock earlier. Suddenly he grunted and was splattered with a piece of over-ripe fruit. "What the-?" As he looked around the meerkats made their escape. Bango pulled back on the sling shot loaded with a second piece of fruit and fired. He missed Bintaka and hit the spot on the ground.
"Not your best shot, Bango," Kito said.
"Oh, I don't know..." Bango innocently said. Bintaka went to go after the meerkats, but slipped on the fruit juice and fell off the ledge. "I'd say I was right on target."
"Very nice," Morake said.
Zuri tried to help Sudi lift the ribcage to help him escape, but it was too heavy for both of them. "What's this made of, lead?" Zuri grunted.
"When Pumbaa cools down he'll help," Sudi grunted. The meerkats that were pulling off the geysers trick dropped down from their hiding spots, down a vine, and rushed over to help lift the cage. With their help they managed to lift it enough for Sudi to crawl out. "Thanks. I hope you guys have an exit plan."
"Yeah... it's called 'Run For the Skylight,'" a meerkat said as they ran towards the vine they climbed. They skid to a halt when Jumbe appeared in front of them.
"Going somewhere?" he innocently asked as he pulled the vine down, breaking it from the rock it was attached to.
"Uh... no. We were... just waiting for the light show," Zuri nervously smiled.
"What light show?" Jumbe growled.
Zuri pointed to geyser about to erupt, and Jumbe's backside was standing right in front of it. It erupted, and Jumbe's backside was burnt. He howled and ran to put it out. "That light show."
Timon and Yasmin were still up on the ledge. They lowered some extra vine that was in a nearby coconut shell half and lowered it down to the meerkats. "Hurry, climb up!" Yasmin shouted. The meerkats lined up and climbed up the vine. Zuri was the last one on top.
Timon helped her up. "Are you all right? He didn't draw blood, did he?" Timon asked as he turned Zuri around to check the damage. "You know you complain when you bleed."
"That's you."
"Oh, yeah. But you're OK, right?"
"I'm fine, Timon. Really. Are you all right?" Zuri motioned to the cast on his right foot.
"Just a broken toe." He turned towards the ground and spoke into the shell. "Pumbaa! Stop knocking those hyenas' heads into the wall and let's get out of here!"
Pumbaa trotted over to the vine and tilted his head to the side. "I can't climb that."
"Why not?"
"You've got opposable thumbs, and I don't," Pumbaa displayed his thumb less hooves. "Oh, don't worry; I'll just use the rock slide!" He ran towards the boulder pile, but skid to a halt when Bintaka and Jumbe blocked his path. "Hello..."
The two hyenas growled and walked towards him, but jumped when a large white bird suddenly flapped right in front of them and took to the top of the cave. That gave Pumbaa a head-start in the chase. Sly dropped down from the bird's back and onto the high ledge. And then bird flew outside of the cave. He dusted himself off and said, "That's the last time I'm flying coach. I hate airline food. Nothing but ticks." He noticed he landed on the same ledge as Kito, Bango, and Morake.
"Mr. Sly!" Kito said.
"What are you kids doing here?" Sly asked as he walked over.
"Helping," Bango pointed to the slingshot and the ammo they were using, which was mostly rocks and over-ripe fruit. "So far we broke Bintaka's teeth before he could hurt Ms. Zuri, called my Dad a pig, and made Bintaka slip and fall off the ledge."
"And what's your plan for this one?" Sly motioned to Pumbaa running around the cave with Jumbe and Bintaka behind him.
"Uh..." the three looked and rubbed their chins.
"Thought so." Sly looked at the surroundings, and then down below. In front of them was a large pointed rock attached to the ceiling. Directly below that was a large geyser. "Convenient," he grinned. He walked over to the slingshot and gathered a few rocks. "Mind if I borrow this?"
"What are you gonna do?" Kito asked.
"Buy them some time."
On the lower ledge, Timon went back to their previous hiding spot and went over to the fires. He looked over the side to see where the hyenas were running, judging his timing. He used his cane to push the shell to the edge of the ledge and then pushed it over the side, shouting, "Fire down below!"
The shell landed on Jumbe's nose. He yelped and tried to put the fire out, abandoning his chase of Pumbaa. Bintaka tripped Pumbaa, causing him to tumble forward and stopping by the large geyser. He shook his head to clear it and looked at Bintaka, who was growling and baring his fangs. He felt some pebbles falling on his head, followed by larger rocks. He growled and looked upwards.
Sly continued to pummel the rock with smaller rocks, chipping away the support. "This is taking longer than I thought would!" he said as he loaded and released.
"Hurry! He's got Mr. Pumbaa cornered!" Morake said.
"I'm doing the best I can, cub! Distract him or something!"
"Guess it's time to make a pest of myself again," Kito said as he retied the vine around his waist. "Cannonball!" He dropped down right on top of Bintaka's head, pushing his feet down hard as the vine recoiled and brought him back up.
Bintaka growled and looked around. "Who did that!" He then got smacked with a piece of fruit.
"Predator tag, predator tag!" Bango shouted, wagging his tail. He ducked down before the hyena saw him.
"You're gonna have to do better than that, kids," Sly said as he continued to use rocks to chip away the larger rock.
Bintaka growled and wiped the fruit off the back of his head. "I'm not taking anymore distractions." He turned to Pumbaa, who was beginning to stand. "You're pork chops!" He began to lunged for Pumbaa, only to have Morake jump onto his back and bite down on the back of his neck. He howled and tried to pull him off.
Pumbaa stood and looked to see who rescued him. "Morake?"
"Run, Uncle Pumbaa, while Morake has him distracted!" Kito shouted from the ledge.
Pumbaa quickly nodded and then ran towards the rocks. He climbed on top of them to the ledge and ran to catch up to the meerkats. When Pumbaa was safely on the ledge, Morake let go and ran towards the rocks. Bintaka was about to follow, but was once more distracted by Kito's kicking him in the head and disappearing trick. This gave Morake his chance to escape. The meerkats made it to the skylight and were beginning to climb out. Pumbaa and Morake ran up to them.
"Is that everyone?" Timon asked as Zuri began to exit.
"Nope!" Morake said.
"Morake, what are you-?" Timon began, and then stopped himself. "What do you mean, 'nope?'"
"Kito, Bango, and Mr. Sly are still in there," the cheetah said meekly.
"What!" Timon and Zuri shouted. Morake pointed downward, to where they saw Kito using the vine as a bungee cord, kicking Bintaka in the head, and returning to the top. They then looked to the higher ledge and saw Bango was throwing fruit at Bintaka while Sly was still chipping away the larger rock.
"So that's what been going on," Zuri said with a blink. "Timon, we have a very clever son."
"Yup. And he is so grounded," Timon said with a dry expression. Zuri mimicked his expression and nodded.
Kito's vine suddenly lost bounce and he dangled in front of Bintaka's nose. Kito blinked and looked at the vine. "What is there, a thirty bounce warranty on this thing?" He nervously smiled as Bintaka sneered at him.
"Ahh, the little runt from the other night. That termite mound won't save you this time," Bintaka growled and then took a snap at him, but noticed he bit air. He looked up and noticed Sly was pulling the vine and bringing Kito up. Jumbe jumped up and bit the vine, dropping Kito to the ground and causing Sly to fall backwards. Kito scrambled to his feet and dashed over to the rocks. He squeezed into a crack small enough for him to fit into. Bintaka and Jumbe growled and tried to get in after him.
"Kito! Pumbaa, Zuri, get out of here! I have to save him!" Timon dropped down from a nearby vine the other meerkats' used earlier.
"Timon! No!" Zuri shouted and reached out for him as Pumbaa pushed her outside. Morake helped him squeeze through the hole and followed.
Timon ran as best as he could with a cast on his right first and hurried over to the hyenas. This trick never gets old... Timon thought to himself as he quickly bit into Bintaka's back leg. The hyena yelped and tried to get him off. Jumbe took his attention off Kito to help Bintaka.
Bango dropped down to the lower ledge and called to the rock pile. "Kito! Hurry, while they're occupied!" Kito poked his head out of the little space and pulled himself out. He climbed up the pile and met with Bango, who lifted him up and ran towards the skylight.
Sly continued to chip away at the larger rock, until he ran out of rocks. "Great. Now what'll I use? Fruit?" He heard growling below him, so he took a look. Bintaka managed to kick Timon off his back leg. Timon went flying, landed, and rolled.
Timon sat up and spat out the hyena hair and blood. "You don't clean there, do you?" Timon asked as he began to stand. He yelped when he realized his cast cracked and his toes were exposed. "I put too much pressure on that foot..." He looked around. "Where's my cane?"
"Aww, what's the matter, Great Timon? Did you hurt yourself?" Bintaka asked in a taunting tone as he approached him. "I won't eat you right away... I can only hurt you while you're still alive!" He made a lunge for Timon, only to miss. Sly had tied the vine around his ankles and grabbed Timon in the nick of time.
Timon exhaled and helped Sly climb to the top. "Great timing, Sly," Timon said.
"You just can't stay down, even when you're hurt, can you?" Sly asked.
"Not when it concerns my kid."
Bintaka barked, "Come back here!"
"Yeah, right! Like if you yap at us, we'll come right down and ask you to eat us!" Sly scoffed as they made it to the top.
"Pitiful!" Timon followed. He turned to Sly. "So where have you been?"
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you... but I have something that you might-" Sly went to his vine belt to grab the doll, but found it wasn't there. "Yike! Where'd it go?" He looked around, and then down at the ground. Timon looked as well. Down on the ground was Sly's meerkat pup doll. The hyenas were sniffing at it. Sly sighed and rubbed his forehead. "Perfect..."
"I didn't know you played with dolls," Timon said with an amused expression.
"Now's not the time, Timon! We gotta get it back!" Sly made sure the tie was secured, and then dropped back down.
Timon waited, and noticed the vine beginning to break. "Yipe! Sly!" He grabbed the end of the vine just as it broke. The jerk from Sly's bounce pulled Timon down. Both meerkats landed on Jumbe's back. They both rubbed their backsides. "You couldn't check the vine for rips and tears before you made the jump?" Timon asked with a furrowed brow.
Sly furrowed his brow and growled as he untied the vine from one of his ankles. "Shut up. Remind me to check the warranty on that thing." He tied the doll to his belt. They both gulped when they heard the hyenas growling. They both nervously smiled as they faced them. A geyser erupted nearby, shaking the ceiling as it did. The four of them noticed some pebbles falling from above, and all took a look. The rock that Sly was chipping away at began to crack. Sly grimaced, "Oh, sure. Now it gives away."
"Get out of the way!" Timon shouted as he pulled Sly off of Jumbe's back. Sly helped Timon run from the geyser they were standing next to as the rock broke from the ceiling and landed right into the large geyser.
Jumbe and Bintaka looked at the geyser, and noticed cracks forming around the base. From the cracks emitted a red glow. "The pressure's building up! It's gonna explode!" Bintaka shouted as he ran from it. Jumbe began to run, but was too slow and was caught in the extreme part of the explosion. Timon and Sly fell forward from the force and slammed against the wall. Both were knocked out. Bintaka was also knocked forward, but not out cold. He shook his head and noticed the two meerkats. He growled and walked towards them. "You're mine..." He then yelped and reared back when he felt something on top of his head, biting his ear and scratching his head.
Timon and Sly rubbed their heads, being awoken by the yelp. "What's he yelling about now?" Timon asked.
Sly looked and gasped. "Pop!"
Sengbe was riding on top of Bintaka's head, biting and scratching it. "Keep away from my son!" Bintaka jerked his head forward, forcing the meerkat off. He growled, picked the meerkat up in his mouth, and tossed him into the air.
Timon and Sly winced. "We gotta do something!" Sly said.
"Yeah, but what?" Timon shrugged, and then noticed he was still holding the vine. And that same vine was still attached to one of Sly's ankles. Sly noticed as well, and they both looked at each other. "You thinking what I'm thinking?"
"Read my mind, bro." Sly removed the vine from his ankle. "You sure you can handle it?"
Timon looked at the cracks spreading and widening, revealing lava below. "Our lives are depending on it. I think I can manage." He got up and ran with Sly towards Bintaka, who was too busy with Sengbe to notice. They both ran around and through Bintaka's legs, intertwining the vine with them. They nodded to each other and pulled the vine, tightening and pulled Bintaka's legs together. Bintaka yelped and fell down, dropping Sengbe.
Sly ran over to Sengbe and put one of his arms around his shoulders, supporting him. Sengbe winced. "Hang on, Pop. We'll get you out of here!"
Timon noticed the cracks widening and gulped. "Uh, Sly, just what did you have in mind when you planned this?"
Sly noticed the cracks and backed away with Timon, keeping hold of Sengbe. "I was hoping to seal the caves off, or at least buy us some time while we escaped... but I was hoping we'd be long gone by this time!"
They both stopped when they felt heat against their backs. They turned and saw a yawning crevice filled with lava and formed. They were cornered on a jutted rock. "I can't believe how lucky we are!" Timon said. "I hope you have a back-up plan!"
Sly looked at his feet, trying to think. He noticed the vine Jumbe had pulled earlier, and then looked up at the rock that it was attached to. He then looked along the ledge that was under the skylight. "Depends. Can you lasso?" He reached over and picked it up.
Timon bent over and grabbed one end of the vine, starting to create a ring. "If I have enough height." He looked towards Bintaka and gulped. "Oy..." Sly looked and gulped. Bintaka had chewed the vines from his legs and charged towards the three meerkats. "Keep a strong hold on Sengbe and that vine, Sly."
"What are you planning?" Sly asked.
"I'm planning to live. Do you trust me?"
Sly was silent for a moment. "... I trust you."
"Good. On my signal, jump off the side of this rock." Bintaka came closer. "Wait for it..." Sly bit his lower lip and tightened his grip on both Sengbe and the vine. "Wait for it..." Bintaka grinned and then took a leap towards the meerkats. "Now!" On the signal, the two of them jumped off opposite sides of the jutted rock while holding their end of the vine and Sengbe. The vine kept them from falling into the crevice. Bintaka landed, and the force of his landing caused the rock to crack and break. Timon and Sly scrambled up the vine with Sengbe as the rock fell into the crevice, followed by Bintaka, who howled as he fell. The brothers both looked down when they made it back to mostly solid ground.
"That... was... insane! You could've killed us!" Sly said, and then smiled. "Good trick."
"Heh. Thanks." Timon suddenly frowned. "But that vine was our last hope. How are we gonna get out of here before the really big explosion hits?"
Sly looked towards the skylight. "I might have one more trick... I just hope he's still around." Sly put two fingers in his mouth and whistled sharply. With a caw the large white bird that Sly rode flew into the cave through the skylight. "When he flies overhead grab the vine hanging off him!"
"Got it!" Timon waited until the bird was low enough to grab the vine that was hanging off it. "Hang on!" Timon grabbed the vine and Sly took a tight hold of Timon and Sengbe as the bird flew towards the exit, carrying them with it.
Outside...
Outside of the cave, the colony and the pride were watching and listening to the eruptions inside. They heard an explosion inside, so they covered their heads in case anything went flying. They heard a bird screech from the inside and saw it tumble down the side, with its tail feathers ablaze. Right after that lava was seen coming out of the skylight.
"Timon... Sly..." Pumbaa gasped. Jina closed her eyes and turned away from the sight.
"No..." Zuri ran forward towards the cave. "Timon! Sly!" She heard no reply. "Please, no..." She dropped to her knees and put a paw over her eyes.
Simba sighed and looked away from the cave. "No one could survive that..." Nala walked up next to him and leaned against him, as if to offer him support. Kiara leaned against Kovu, sniffling. Bango and Morake sniffled, leaning their weight against each other. The pride and colony bowed their heads.
Kito walked up next to Zuri. "Mom...?"
"I should have been honest with him... I should have told him about Sly... Then maybe..." Zuri said, not bothering to look up.
"No, Mom... it's my fault," Kito said as he knelt down to Zuri. He pulled the paw away from his mother's eyes to make her look at him. "I'm the one who lead everyone out here. If I hadn't done that, we'd still be safe. It's my fault, Mom..." His eyes filled with tears, and then he found himself pulled into Zuri's arms, trying to add comfort. "It's my fault..."
Sudi walked over to his sister and nephew. He was about to put his paw on her shoulder as he looked towards the cave, but stopped himself. He squinted. "What the...?"
"What?" Zuri asked, not bothering to look.
Sudi's eyes widened, and then he shouted, "Everyone! Look!" He pointed. Everyone looked where he was pointing and gasped. Zuri slowly raised her eyes and widened them.
Slowly walking towards them were three singed meerkats. One was in the middle, supporting the weight of the other two. The one in the middle coughed smoke and said, "That's the last time I'm flying that airline."
The one on the right coughed smoke and nodded, "Yeah. I ordered regular, but I got extra crispy."
Kito looked and gasped. "Dad! Mr. Sly!" He pulled himself out of Zuri's arms and ran over towards them.
Timon noticed Kito running towards him and smiled. "Kito..." He released himself from Sly's support and dropped to his knees to meet Kito's open arms. He pulled him close as the pup hugged him. "You made it out. Do you have any idea how worried I was?"
"I'm so sorry, Dad. I caused all this trouble."
"I won't argue with you there." He heard Kito gulp. He held the pup out and ruffled his hair a bit. "But I'll admit, you did good bringing us here and sneaking in to help us. I didn't know what to do when that hyena had your Mom in his fangs, and if you hadn't done what you did, she wouldn't still be here." Kito sniffled, smiled, and nodded. "Now if you don't mind..." Timon closed his eyes and fell back.
"Dad?" He leaned over him and heard him snore. He nervously smiled. "Must be tired, huh?"
"Sly!" Yasmin ran over to Sly, but slowed down when she saw Sengbe. "Sengbe..." Zuri ran over to them, helping Sengbe to lie down. "These injuries..."
"It's bad," Zuri nodded.
"Sylvester..." Sengbe said, and then coughed.
Sly knelt down to him and took hold of his paw. "I'm here, Pop."
"I was only going to tell Yasmin that Khairi had died and that we must find you and wed the two of you. I had no intention of going in that cave... until I heard from the cheetah that you were still inside it with hyenas." He smirked slightly. "You were always so stubborn, always wanting to go your own way. After what happened to your siblings, I wanted you to live to a ripe old age, so I always followed you or had someone follow you to make sure you were all right. But last night no one was watching you and you disappeared. When I heard you were in there with hyenas... well..." He coughed and smiled weakly. "At least I can die happy, knowing my son outlives me."
Sly swallowed. "Don't say that. Youre going to make it. You'll be bugging me, giving me advice-"
"I've lived long enough, Sly." Sly gasped, shocked that Sengbe called him by his nickname rather than his full name, like he normally would do. "You've been old enough to make decisions by yourself, but I was too blind to notice. You may choose if you wish to marry, or where you want to go. I won't make those decisions for you anymore simply for my best interests."
"Sengbe..." Yasmin began.
"I'm sorry, Yasmin, but I won't be able to be your advisor now. I hope you can understand."
She nodded. "I think I can handle it on my own. A flower has to blossom sometime." She looked at Zuri and grinned. Zuri smiled and nodded.
"There's something I have to tell you," Sly said, getting Sengbe's attention.
"What is it, Sly?" Sengbe asked.
"I..." Sly sighed, trying to find the right wording. After all, how do you tell someone that he is not your birth father?
"Yes?"
"I..." He exhaled, and then weakly smiled. "I never got the chance to thank you... for being there for me. You'll always be my father."
"And you'll always be my son." He winced and exhaled. "Take care of yourself."
"... Pop? Pop?" Silence. Sly sighed and gently dropped his father's paw. Zuri and Yasmin bowed their heads as Sly bent over, lifted his father up enough, and hugged him.
To be continued...