Chapter 16: Discovery

Kuju laughed, "Well, Alex. It seems you've brought us a little gift!" He began approaching, licking his lips as he went.

Julien yelled, "Mr. Alex, do something!"

Malik cackled, "Look, your lunch knows you by name!"

"Hey!" Alex roared, "Back off!"

Kuju stopped and looked at Alex, "How dare you speak to a king in such a manner!"

"In case you're forgetting, I'm a king as well," Alex refused to back down.

Malik contended, "Why can't you just share a meal? You're too high and mighty for that?"

"No," Alex explained, "This is not a meal."
Kuju wrinkled his nose, "... play toy?"

"No!" Alex shouted, "This is Julien. He's my friend!"

Kuju just stood in awe at the comment. Malik started laughing violently. Tenji looked intrigued by the statement. Kuju turned is head to the side, and walked up towards Alex. "Is this true?"

"Yes," Alex nodded, "And if you don't like it, well that's too bad."

"Surely, this is a joke. Right, Elsa?" Kuju tried to gain support.

Elsa stood next to Alex, "No, sir. This meerkat-"

"Lemur," Julien corrected.

"This- thing- is part of Alex's pride," Elsa told the flabbergasted king.

Malik shifted, "Oh, so you have a pride, now?"

Alex straightened his posture, "Yes, I do... sort of..."

Kuju took a few steps back, "Where are these other lions, and why do they let that thing into your pride?"

"Well, uh," Alex felt that this meeting wasn't going well, "They're not 'lions' per se."

Kuju chuckled under his breathe, "Your a twisted little cruller aren't you?"

Tenji took a stand and walked towards Alex calmly. "Where are they? If the lionesses return and they're unguarded..."

"Oh my god, you're right!" Panicked, Alex quickly ran back over the rock.

Kuju made sure Alex was out of ear shot, "Tana!"

"Yes, your majesty," she sighed.

"You were with him. What exactly does Alex's pride consist of?" he snarled.

Tana counted on her fingers, "A zebra, a giraffe, a hippo, and the meerkat thing."

"Oh lord," Kuju rubbed his sinuses.

"Can we eat them?" Malik asked, his whiskers lifting.

"Normally I would say yes," Kuju held up a paw, "But no. This Alex fellow may be our only chance to strike back at the people, and we don't want to upset him."

Tenji sighed. His opinion clearly meant nothing to the stubborn king. The people were the people and there was nothing they could do about it. Besides, what could fighting possibly accomplish?

"Elsa, go prepare the grounds for the lionesses' return," Kuju ordered.

Elsa scoffed, "Do it yourself. I've got something to do." With this, she turned around and also left over the rock avoiding the thorny bushes on either side of it.

Kuju was shocked, "Why you disrespectful little-"

"Hey," Kindra wouldn't listen to her best friend being insulted, "Why can't you do something for yourself?"

"Are you forgetting who's king around here?" Kuju hissed.

Tana snapped back, "Then start acting like one!" The two lionesses headed off towards the hot springs.

Malik comforted the king, "Lionesses. Go figure."

Elsa appeared over the rock, but decided to stay low and listen to the zoosters' conversation.

Marty still was looking at Alex, "So how did it go?"

Alex shrugged, "Honestly, I have no clue. It was good, but bad. And, well..."

"Details?" Melman lowered his neck.

Alex rubbed the back of his head, "Well, I went down, and King Kuju sorta just kept asking me questions about the people."

Gloria put a hand on her hip, "That's weird."

"I know," Alex nodded, "Things started looking up until fuzz-bucket here decided to get some fresh air."

"You try breathing through a foot of fur!" Julien defended.

Melman's curiosity grew, "So, then what happened?"

"Well, I told them about you guys, but then this other lion told me that the other lionesses should be coming back soon so I ran up to make sure you guys were safe."

Marty questioned, "So are they going to eat us, or not?"

"None of them are going to get through me-"

"I mean, are they cool with us," Marty specified.

Alex shrugged making Julien lose his balance, "I dunno-"

"I do," Elsa spoke up from the top of the rock.

Marty jumped. "Oh! Didn't see you there."

"They're not going to eat you. Besides, if they even so much as try Alex will stop them," Elsa hopped down from the rock with grace.

"I guess it's safe then..." Marty took a deep breath and climbed atop the six foot tall rock.

"Hold up!" Alex grabbed his tail. "Let me go first. Who knows what's on the other side." Alex jumped on top of the rock as well being careful not to make Julien fall. Gingerly, he descended to the other side. King Kuju was still waiting by the stream. "Ok, Marty," Alex signalled. Marty soon followed. Then Elsa, Melman, and Gloria all went as well.

"Alex," Elsa didn't want to deal with Kuju again, "I'm going to be by the hot springs. Come down if you need me. Ok?"

"Right," Alex nodded as she veered to the left. The four zoosters made their way down the hill meeting up with the king. Kuju still felt annoyed from the confrontation with the lionesses.

"Well, King Kuju," Alex pointed out, "These are my friends. Gloria, Melman, Marty, and Julien."

"Fascinating," Kuju yawned, "I'd love to stay and chat, but someone has to prepare for the feast."

Marty took a step back, "Feast?"

Kuju shook his head, "Not you." he turned around, "Malik, are you coming?"

"Yes your majesty!" the lion obeyed. Together, the two walked towards the cliff. Malik gave a grim look at Marty before catching up to his master.

Marty looked at Alex, "Did you get a chance to ask them about it?"

Alex's ears fell. Slowly, he shook his head.

"It's alright. We'll ask 'em later," he patted his friend on the back. Alex's stomach growled.

Melman asked his friend, "So Alex, what do you plan on eating?"

Alex smiled and looked at the stream watching various fish pass by, "Nothing that I haven't eaten before."

Gloria sat on the ground, "You know, if it weren't crawling with lions, this place would be paradise."

Julien cleared his throat, "I beg to differ. Madagascar was all that and a bag of chips."

"Do me a favor," Gloria asked the lemur, "Don't say that again."

Marty noticed Alex was still looking blankly into the stream, clearly in deep thought. He put his arm over the pensive lion's shoulder. "Hey, Al. What you thinking about?"

Alex looked at his friend, "I wonder what the penguins are doing..."

Meanwhile the penguins waddled across the dry savanna in mid afternoon. Rico struggled to stay standing. Kowalski dragged his feet kicking up a massive cloud of dust behind him. Private was trying not to think about how bad his legs were hurting. Skipper, in the head of the group, struggled to keep the groups speed at a decent pace, but the climate began taking control drawing them all to a crawl. Suddenly, Skipper stopped and held a flipper to the side arresting the other three members.

"Whatis itSkipper?" Private asked between pants.

"Look at the horizon," he pointed in front of them.

Kowalski looked but saw nothing, "Sir, I'm afraid I don't see the point-"

"Look," Skipper interrupted, "Part of those sandy hill things is the wrong color..."

Private held a flipper over his brow to block the sun's blinding rays. "Skipper, your right!" he exclaimed, "That spot there is more of a tan than a yellow. You see it, Kowalski?"

"...I do," he pointed, "Right there."

Rico jumped up and down in joy, but suddenly stopped realizing that this information held no comfort.

"Boys, do you know what this means?" Skipper asked rhetorically.

Kowalski tapped his temple, "Um... that tan sand... is rarer than yellow sand?"

"No!" Skipper shook his head. He sighed, "It means I think we have a lead on our hands. Move out!"