Danso stomped through the tunnels with a look on his face that would have slain any hyena that merely chanced a passing glance at him. It was a week after the attack on the colony. He and Timon had done a fairly good job of avoiding one another for the most part. He and his friends seemed to have given each other the cold shoulder treatment as well, much to Danso's dismay. Their innocuous desire to get away from the colony's restraints had directly led to the death of a good meerkat, and it had hit them all fairly hard. Hopefully, they would learn their lesson. More to the point, Danso hoped Timon had learned his lesson. After their conflict following the attack, Danso didn't know what his son had been thinking, since they had only managed three or four words to each other each day. It was bothersome, but Danso had tried to distance himself as well, despite Meeca's placations for the two to sit down and talk things over. Timon, despite his by now well known outburst, still wasn't the best at being a meerkat, and he needed to learn one of these days. He was going to be halfway to maturity in a few months. Danso had waved it off, but now he knew that it could be prolonged. Daren had finally gotten around to telling him something… something extremely important. And infuriating.

So Danso had gone off in a rage, to find the one meerkat that he knew was responsible… and also the only meerkat he knew he could beat to a pulp without feeling bad the next morning.

"MOSI!" he shouted, livid with fury. His handsome rival turned about with a scowl, instantly recognizing the voice that hailed him. Several other meerkats were nearby and heard the shout, some watching the two contestants close in on each other. They backed up several steps.

"What is it now?" he sneered. Before he could blink, though, Danso had grabbed him by the collar and thrown him down another tunnel, where there were no witnesses.

"One week ago, you sick creature! Your sons and their little…" he took the time to pause and spit on the ground here, "gang attacked my child! My child! Did you know?"

"If I did, I would certainly do something about it, and so would Tima," replied Mosi calmly, in reference to his mate. He stood up slowly, dusting himself off with dignity. "And I wouldn't judge all of them like that. I know Nyack wouldn't do something like that." Despite his calm exterior, he knew he couldn't resist a jab at his old enemy. And even if Gamba had taken a swing or two… well, what problem was that of his, if it was Danso's son?

"And if little Timon can't handle himself even when it comes to rivals, he'd better get with the times soon," he said with a smirk. "It'd be a shame if something happened with nobody actually capable of defending themselves weren't around. Danso was shaking visibly, trying to calm himself. His pupils began to dilate.

"I told you, Mosi… I told you!" he repeated, breathless as he labored to get air through his chest that had tightened considerably. "I won't have you… or your children… attacking my son in any way! I've heard enough horror stories. If you don't straighten up those boys of yours, Shombay will be notified!" He jabbed a claw in Mosi's direction, only realizing a little later how hollow and forceless his threat sounded. That definitely could have been better. Mosi tsk'ed and crossed his arms.

"You've got me trembling in my fur, Danso," he remarked with bland sarcasm. "I know Shombay cares less for that rat of yours than even the rest of the colony. Ever considered the possibility he's broken? I overheard him barking at you back when Tinder and Bali… passed away."

"NO!" shouted Danso, looking rather desperate when his son's credibility was attacked. "He's still learning… he's hardly four months old. They'll warm up to him…"

"Well, somehow I highly doubt that," said Mosi sharply, enjoying that he had Danso squirming now in the space of a few seconds. He pressed his advantage.

"Two major incidents involving the collapse of huge swaths of tunnel, and countless smaller ones. Little Timmy doesn't have a place here… the diggers cringe when they see him!" Convinced of his superior position, he took a few dangerous steps forward, unaware of just how far he was pushing.

"Survival of the fittest, Danso. That's how we live, isn't it? What you teach your son? Have you looked Tinder and Bali's families in the eye, yet? I bet they'd all agree…" He lowered his voice to a snarling whisper. "It was your child that should have taken their place!"

Danso suddenly shouted something, his words warped with a feral rage in him. He leaped forward, tackling Mosi to the ground. They landed with a painful thud. In an instant, Danso began pounding on Mosi's unprotected head. Mosi was completely taken aback, but soon regained his composure, grabbing Danso's paws and pushing upward in a mighty display of strength. Danso rolled away, and the two crouched, glaring, their faces mere inches apart, before hurling themselves at each other once more. In moments the two were scrabbling all over the tunnel floor, clawing and punching and kicking savagely at each other as they yelled meerkat obscenities at the top of their lungs. For years they had loathed and despised one another. For years they had tried to one-up each other, humiliate each other, simply be better than each other.

And now, they were finally venting it.

Oji, Shakina's mate, who had been in the crowd that gathered to watch the confrontation, suddenly leaped forward when things turned violent and tried to pry the two apart. He was no match for them, however, and was sent flying back with a shove from Mosi. The rest of the onlookers surged forward, now galvanized into action, but they were interrupted when another meerkat plowed forward and grabbed both Danso and Mosi by the scruffs of their necks.

With a mighty heave, Shombay threw them away from each other and into the walls opposite one another. Danso tried to go forward again, but was backhanded by the stronger meerkat. Mosi also wanted to renew the assault, but Shombay grabbed him about the neck and tossed him easily back once more. Finally, the two combatants rested on the floor, both bloodied and scratched in many places as they stared from across the dirt floor.

Danso nursed his throat where Mosi had attempted to choke him, and Mosi himself sported two black eyes. Both of them had many smaller bruises beginning to develop. Shombay looked down at them both, disgusted. He wasn't aware of the entire background between them, but he knew enough that this wasn't the end, and it would only get worse if they didn't end it somehow.

"All right, you two!" he barked loudly, switching his gaze back and forth between them. Everyone, even Mosi and Danso, flinched at his voice. "If this is how you want to play it out… then I won't stand in your way! Our annual wrestling tourney is coming up soon. You'll both have a special place reserved so you can beat each other to pulps as much as you like. It'll be a clean fight! Not this back tunnel scuffling. And then let that be the end of it!"

There was a few moments silence. Danso and Mosi both stood up, and then nodded quietly. Shombay nodded firmly in return.

"Very well. Until then… I don't want to see either of you so much as looking at each other. Or I'll consign you both to scout duty for the rest of your existence!" He turned to the others.

"Get them back to their nests." Oji stepped forward to assist Danso, while a few others helped Mosi clamber to his feet. They both spared one passing glare at each other before turning away.

Oji sighed as he looked Danso over while they were walking away from the confrontation. Danso had to lean heavily on Oji; his lower right paw felt rather twisted.

"Why do you two have to keep this up day after day?" asked Oji despairingly of his friend. "I know, there's been bad blood between you two for some time… but can't you just let things go? For Timon's sake?"

Danso stared at the ground as he limped along.

"You don't understand, Oji… I am doing this for his sake. I'm… I just want to see him grow up strong. A good meerkat. Unlike I was. I'm not going to see him put down by this. Mosi and his spawn aren't ever going to taunt him again after I'm through with Mosi at the tourney. Timon is turning out just like I was when I was young. Fortunately I grew out of it. He will too… once I get those thugs off his back."

Oji sighed once more. "What about what he said to you back when the attack happened?"

"Those are just ideas, Oji. I'll see to it they're put out. Nothing will keep my son from living the good life. I almost ruined my own, making the mistakes he does… I won't see him repeat that."

Never again.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Mom?"

"Yes, dear?"

"What can you tell me about Fearless Buzz?"

Meeca almost started when she heard that name, pausing from trying to pat down Timon's headfur. They had been sitting quietly in the nest, Timon allowing his mother for the moment to amuse herself with vainly attempting to make Timon look presentable. With a slight smile, she restarted her grooming.

"Well, it's been a long, long time since anyone's said that name," she said, pausing and letting her arms drop to her sides.

"Why? Wasn't he real?" asked Timon to fill the gap settling back into his mother's lap.

"Oh, of course he was real," replied Meeca with a smile as placed her arms around her son.

"He was as real as you and I, but he lived a long, long time ago."

"Then why do we still sing about him?" asked Timon. He had never really understood the character, but he was familiar with the story. The first few parts, at least.

"Because he was the bravest meerkat that ever lived. The only one to ever set foot outside and try to fight back…"

"Fight back against what?" persisted Timon, his eyes wide. Despite how many times he had heard the song, he had never had the story told personally to him before. Meeca shrugged in reply.

"Nobody really knows. Against the hyenas, against his own circumstances, against the Circle of Life, Nature's Way… but fight he did. Why? Nobody remembers. All we know is he wasn't afraid. And that's why he's Fearless Buzz."

"Did he really fight a whole pack of hyenas?" asked Timon, his voice full of infantile curiosity and wonder again, asking in the sort of voice that only children speak in, just to make absolutely sure that the hero really was brave, that the day really was saved.

"Oh yes, honey! A whole pack. He only managed to beat one of them black and blue though. After that… well…" Meeca and Timon's faces fell in unison.

"Oh… right…" finished Timon quietly, voice almost a mutter. "Meerkat brave, he was a meerkat snack. Dig," he added with poison in his tone.

"That's all we ever do… dig. Dig so we can hide, and hide so we can dig. And I'm not even good at that." Meeca sighed and tightened her hold on him.

"Timon… Tinder and Bali were brave meerkats. But you can't let it disturb you so much… they'll be remembered, just like everyone else."

"Everyone else got to go serve the Great Kings in their nests!" said Timon, surprising her mother with his conviction.

"Tinder and Bali got to do it helping the others, not saving themselves. They should have their own songs… I'd sing it. They saved me. Just like Buzz tried to save everyone else. But he only ever did it by himself… nobody came up to help Tinder and Bali either." Meeca lightly kissed the top of Timon's head, then went back to fussing over his headfur.

"I know, Timmy, I know. But it's over now. You know, your father was the only one to come up and save you and Dinari. If it weren't for him, you probably wouldn't have gotten three more whisker lengths." Timon cast his gaze down.

"I know… but not even he wanted to talk to me. But if he can be that brave, why doesn't he try to make things better for us?" Meeca's voice suddenly got stern.

"Timon! Your father's done many things for us, and he recently saved your life. Be a little grateful for what we have now, hmm?"

Timon sighed. "I'm sorry, momma. But… doesn't it make sense that this wouldn't happen if we all just went where the hyenas couldn't catch us?"

"We already live where they can't get us, which is right here, and where you're staying if your father has anything to say about it."

"Yeah, fat lot of good that did us last week…" muttered Timon before he could stop himself. Meeca sighed, unable to let her temper spike, and shook her head.

"Oh, what am I going to do with you, Timon? If Danso ever heard you talking like this…"

"He'd be quite sour about it," said Danso as he appeared at the front of the nest, dry blood caked into his fur and a few of his accomplices standing by to help him walk. Meeca gasped and stood up immediately.

"Danso! What happened to you?" she said, rushing over to him and looking all over him. Danso allowed his wife to minister to his injuries, most of which were superficial.

"Mosi and I had a… disagreement," he said calmly. Meeca sighed while Timon looked on in shock. He had never seen his father in such a state before.

"Are ya hurt, dad?"

"Not much, kit. Not as much as I'm going to hurt Mosi when we face each other at the tourney…" Meeca stood back, mouth agape.

"You're actually going to fight him in the wrestling tourney? Danso, that's for showing off and getting prestige, not settling vendettas!You're both too old for that silly competition."

"Shombay said he would set it up for us. And it isn't silly. If I remember correctly, that's where I caught your eye…" Meeca only hmmphed and crossed her arms.

"That's beside the point… To think, a meerkat like you getting involved in fights…" Danso seemed flustered at the stern tone in his mate's voice.

"Wha-… Meeca, I-! Mosi was…" he stopped short. He didn't want to upset his family with the horrid remarks his rival had made. Instead he sighed and relegated himself to whatever his mate would dish out.

"You go sit down there and keep quiet! We'll talk about it later." She turned to get a full story from Oji, who was standing near the entrance. Danso went to sit next to Timon, who was staring wide-eyed.

"Dad?" he asked quietly. Danso smiled and shook his head.

"I'm fine, Timon. Nobody got the jump on me."

"Why'd you fight Mosi, Dad?" Danso paused, and sighed heavily, putting his paw around his son's shoulders.

"Because Daren told me what Mosi's son tried to do to you." Timon's face fell, ears drooping considerably.

"I'm the only one weak enough to pick on, that's why. Even Dinari gets to have Trip look after him!" He refused to meet his father's gaze, instead staring stonily at the ground. "You were right Dad… I'm just prey… even for other meerkats…"

Danso frowned, and looked up at the others. "Can you give us a few moments alone?" Meeca seemed to protest a moment, but then bit back what she was about to say and nodded, shepherding the others away. When he was certain nobody could hear, Danso looked down at his son.

"Timon, you aren't a weakling. And the last thing you are is another link in the food chain," he began, but Timon interrupted, looking up at Danso, tears beginning to well up in the corners of his eyes.

"If I'm not, then I wouldn't need other people to stand up for me! To give their lives for me… I should be something more than this…" He looked away again, but his father cupped his chin in his paw and forced him to match gazes.

"You're still young, Timon," Danso began carefully. "But you've got strength of a different kind… I can see it in you. It'll manifest eventually."

"Mansi-… what now?"

"Manifest," repeated Danso with a smile. "It means you've yet to show what you can really do… when you're older, I know you'll make us all proud."

"I just wish I could do something to be proud of now…if I could, I would teach Mosi and his whole family a lesson!" Danso shook his head carefully.

"Watch it, pup. You've got spit, I can see that, but I'm not about to let you fight a battle that isn't yours."

"Isn't mine?" repeated Timon incredulously. "I'm the one that keeps taking the falls here, Dad!" Danso looked back at his son with a warning in his eyes.

"You aren't the only one fighting, Timon, as you can plainly see," he said sullenly. "I'm trying to look out for your best interest…"

"What will happen after that? When I'm nice and cushy in the colony's good graces again? Everyone knows I'm just a tunnel klutz…" Timon drew his knees to his chest and placed his chin upon them, curling up into a ball. Danso wrapped both of his arms about his son.

"Timon…" he began, but couldn't go on. He could see his son didn't fit now, but… wouldn't that pass? It had for him, and his son would be no different… they just had to give it time.

"What'd ya say, Dad?" asked Timon. Danso realized he had spoken that last sentence aloud.

"I said we need to give it more time," he replied. "You'll see, Timon… things will get better. For the both of us." There was silence in the small nest. Father and son clung to each other, finding a small bit of comfort. The wedge between them, driven in since perhaps from the moment Timon was born, was bridged, if only for the moment.

"Max said he was having a class in case we ever got placed into sentry duty tomorrow…" said Timon, but the hope wasn't particularly palpable in his voice. Danso tried to sound supportive.

"It's as good a chance as any…"

Excellent follow-up, Einstein…