The circus visited Africa once again to see Alex's family and to have a bit of time off before their next tour. Nearby the water, Anni told a small crowd of cubs what happened on her journey.
"Now where to begin...It happened last year and I was a nervous wreck...the circus folks and Grandma and Grandpa will tell you…" Anni started, causing a few chuckles from the cubs.
"I...uh...Got separated from my family by going through a forest and...and I ended up in a city called The Netherlands and this evil doctor named Dr. Bont wanted my fur…"
Some of the cubs gasped.
"How awful…" one cub said.
"Did you escape him…" another asked.
"Yes I did, then I went to a house belonging to a mom and a girl named Eva...She wanted to help me go back because she hates Dr. Bont as much as I do and her doggy was killed by him and we went together…"
"Eva…" one cub asked.
"That name is so pretty…" another cub beamed.
Then Anni sighed with sadness.
"What happened to her...to Eva…" the third cub asked.
Anni looked up and just sighed in defeat.
"All I know is...She was in an ambulance the last time I saw her...Her right leg was bleeding and she told me to go to the circus and not look back...and when I turned around...she was gone...I haven't seen her since…" Then Gloria, Melman, and Marty came over, seeing Anni tell the story to a few cubs. When they saw her gloomy mood, they had a feeling of sympathy inside them.
"All I know is...It's been a year and I'll…" Tears filled Anni's eyes. "I'll never see her again...I," Anni took a deep breath to calm herself and keep from crying. "All I hope for is for her to be okay...it's only enough for me to think about…" a small tear raced down Anni's furry cheek, which she quickly wiped away.
"I'm sure she'll come back, Anni…" Melman reassured her.
"Yeah...She'll be here before you know it…" Marty added
"I hope so...I've been thinking about her a lot…" Anni looked down sadly.
When dinnertime came around, Anni didn't say a word and just picked at her food. Everyone around her was talking and didn't seem to take notice. Florrie saw this behavior in her granddaughter.
"Anni...what's the matter...what's on your mind?" Florrie asked
"Well, I uh…" then Anni took a deep breath. "I miss Eva…"
Everyone stopped and glanced at her.
"What...It's only how I feel…I just…" Anni stuttered
"Anni I know you miss her but can we please talk about this later?" Alex requested.
"But why...I'm just saying how I feel...Why is it wrong…" Anni combatted
"I just want to forget about it...Your home now and that's what matters now…"
"Alakay…" Florrie scolded her son.
"I can't forget Eva...She's my friend…" then Alex firmly pointed at her
"Annita...Humans and animals can't be friends...What's gonna happen when she comes in with animal control and then what…" he argued.
"You don't know that...She's an advocate for animals...so that means she's one of us…"
"Anni please…"
"She's been a friend to me...I told you before that she helped me get home...I just want you to understand that I miss her…"
"I get that you miss her but...I...I don't want to lose you again sweetheart…"
"You won't lose me again...All I want is to see Eva again…"
Alex sighed sadly. He had to tell her the truth one way or another.
"I know you do...but that's all in your mind...Eva only came with you maybe because of a year overdue of a reward…"
"She never wanted a reward, Dad...She hated that guy as much as I did…"
"I don't know if you can see her again…" Alex told her solemnly
His message hit Anni like a ton of bricks. Then She slowly looked down
"I need to go…" then Anni ran off from the group and stopped at the caboose and began to sniffle. She felt like Eva could understand her. Even though the human girl was her friend...it didn't replace her circus friends. All Anni could do was curl into a ball.
When Anni tried to go to bed, her father came to console her.
"Listen, honey…I know you want to see her again but maybe she won't remember you…I mean it's been a year since this happened you know…" Alex kneeled closer to try and stroke his daughter's mane. Its golden brown color was starting to come back but it still maintained the dark brown.
Then the adult lion glanced at her left ear. It was still healing from the gunshot but the hole pierced on it was permanent. Then he began to leave
"It probably won't matter…" he turned to his daughter. "I know I won't see her again…but I'll still have the memories of us…I still have her to thank for saving my life…it'll probably be a debt I might have to repay…"
"Anni...You don't have to pay her anything…" then Anni sat up to face him
"You don't get it, Do you?" then Alex jumped back a little
"What do I not get…"
"She didn't want anything...I even asked her myself and she said she didn't want anything…"
"I don't want to get into another argument…" Alex rubbed his temples. Then Anni's brothers peeked out to hear the conversation along with their mother.
"I don't want it either because I'm telling you what happened…"
"I'm sure she wanted a reward…"
"She didn't want any money...Don't act like you were there hearing it when you weren't…" Once Anni said that AJ and Gio glanced at each other, knowing that this was going to be bad
"She made you a smart mouth too…"
"No...She's my friend and friends defend each other…" then she peered to her brothers. "AJ...Gio Please tell him how She helped me…"
"Yeah, Dad it's true…" AJ told him, taking his little sister's side
"Oh no not you guys too…"
"Anni would've died if it weren't for her…" Gio added.
Then Gia stepped up between the children and her mate.
"It's true Alex…" Gia placed a paw on his shoulder. Alex was about to speak until… "Do you want to lose your daughter and you don't even know where she is…"
Alex sighed and looked at his cubs, then Anni walked in front of her brothers
"Is that what you want Daddy?" Anni asked him.
Alex sighed again and hugged all 3 of his cubs.
"I don't want to lose any of you...I love each one of you guys...I would've failed as a father if one of you guys got hurt...like you Anni…"
"That's not true…" Anni broke away from the hug
"Yes, it is...Look at your ear…" then Anni felt her injured ear and then looked at her dad.
"But this isn't your fault...and you didn't fail as a dad…" then Anni hugged him again. "You're the most amazing father I could ever have…"
Alex smiled, hearing his daughter's words and he hugged her even tighter.
"We should get some sleep...Okay…" Alex told his children and they all went to bed
The next day they stopped in a town to perform a show. The tickets were selling out fast. As the chimps were selling tickets, a woman wore a large white sunhat, a bandeau top, a maxi skirt, and her long blonde hair with black ends flowed with the wind. She bought her ticket and when along with the crowd.
"Did that girl seem familiar?" Private asked.
"Nah...Just smile and wave boys...Just smile and wave…" Skipper told the rest of the penguins.
Anni was preparing backstage and She looked into the mirror and she saw that her mane makeup matched better with the dark brown.
"Are you ready sweetie?" Alex came towards his daughter, who nodded in response. Then She followed her parents and brothers to the stage. Once it was their cue to go on, they proceeded to go on the hoops
When she went down and caught onto the hoops, she swung gracefully. Then when she and her family jumped on the nets, flipped, and grabbed onto each other's legs the next swing, they were supposed to interact with the audience. Anni was in the front because she was the smallest. She briefly opened her eyes to find herself in front of the same woman but without her hat. Anni gasped, recognizing her immediately. Then memories began to flashback into her mind as she continued her performance
After the show was done, She began to frantically search around. A few of the animals clearly saw that she was on a mission. Even Maddy and her brothers saw her rapid behavior.
"Hey hey, Anni Ann what's the big hurry…" Maddy asked the frantic cub.
"Yeah, why are you…" then Anni interrupts AJ.
"Eva...I saw her…" Anni spoke rapidly
"Wait you saw Eva…" Gio asked
"Yes…"
"What if she's not-"
"Sorry guys I'm in a really really big hurry…" then Anni shoves her brothers and friend out of the way to continue her frantic search.
Then She spotted a few clothes hanging on the rack, grabbed them, and making herself more human, using Eva's pigtail method
She wandered through the crowd trying to find Eva but so far she had no success. The female cub tried to remember what she looked like in the crowd when she performed
"Long blonde hair, and large white sunhat…" Anni thought. Then She spots her main clue object, the large white sunhat.
She beamed and began to race for it. She saw that the lady was about to leave.
"Wait?! Eva...Stop…" Anni called. It caught the attention of the penguins that the cub was calling out to someone. Skipper was about to stop it but Kowalski stopped him. He knew how much the cub missed her human friend and didn't want to separate them too soon.
Then as soon as the white-hat lady was about to leave, a bit of the crowd gasped as Anni wrapped her paws around her.
"Eva...I missed you so so much…"
"Aah...get this cub off of me…" the lady kicked the heartbroken cub away from her while the rest of the crowd scattered away. All Anni could do was stand very still. Her fears had been correct, she was never going to see her human friend again.
Tears began to fill her eyes and she began to sniffle as she was about to walk away, she heard a soft voice clearing their throat. Then she quickly turned around and saw her human friend, standing there, at least 10 feet apart from her.
Eva's hair went back to black and it was down to her elbows, held in a low side ponytail. She wore a peach-colored t-shirt and a long plaid maxi skirt and red sneakers.
Tears were already streaming down Anni's face and a smile slowly grew on her face
"Is it really you…" then Eva stretched out her arms and Anni quickly raced into her arms and sobbed.
"I missed you so much…" Then Eva hugs the small cub tighter.
"I missed you too…" then after being placed back on the ground, Anni looked at her human friend's right leg. Eva glanced that way too and she pulled up a little bit of her skirt to reveal that she has a skinny metal prosthetic leg. Anni gasped and looked at her.
"The doctor said I lost too much blood on my right leg knee down… so they had to amputate it…" then Anni ran to her again.
"I'm so sorry...This is all my fault…" Anni sobbed. Eva gently hushed her and wrapped her arms around Anni, picking her up. Then she saw that the rest of the animals, including her brothers and her parents, saw the tearful reunion. She placed Anni down and show them her false leg which they cringed at
"It's okay...it's better to lose my leg than lose my life…" then she glances at Alex and Gia. "Your daughter did you guys proud...She's amazing…"
"What-what happened after the hospital trip…"
"Well, what happened which I predicted, I was on the news and I told them about Bont, you and the rest of the animals, and how you carry me back and took me to safety.. you're a hero Anni…"
Anni looked at her with tears streaming down her face. Eva noticed and just smiled warmly, wiping the tears away.
Every circus animal had tears in their eyes. It even warmed Skipper's heart. He usually isn't the one to cry but seeing the cub being reunited with her human break drove him to tears.
"Let's get out of here before things get too mushy here…" Skipper tearfully announced.
Anni looked from Skipper to Eva. She was reluctant to leave her again, especially since She's been thinking about her for the past year.
Alex gestured for her to come with them to leave through the train. Anni was about to leave until Eva placed a hand on her shoulder
"I'll go with you...I'll say goodbye through the train…" Eva smiled at her.
Anni thought about it and looked back up at her. "But...you-you can't do that…"
"I know...But I'll go as far as I can…"
"What about your-"
"Don't worry about my leg...I'll be okay...I will be okay…"
Then Eva started to walk Anni to the circus tent, only for the cub to release her grip and face the girl again
"I can't...please come with us...I swear you won't be a nuisance...Please I…"
"Shh~ You're never without me...Next time you perform a show without fear or stand up to bullies or just being yourself...that's me…"
"How am I going to know your okay?" Anni asked. Eva didn't answer and just hugged her one more time.
"You made me get out there Anni...You made us both braver...I'm okay...We're okay
Then Anni raced to the caboose of the train and Eva was there on the edge of the deck and the two of them hugged each other one last time and Eva gave her something. It was a pink floral stretchy bracelet that spelled her name. Anni smiled and looked at her.
"To remember me by…" Eva told her. Then the train began to move and their cuffed hands were loose again as Eva began to chase after the train. Alex, Gia, Gio, and AJ came out with Anni as they watched the girl chase the train until she reached the end
"GO ANNI….GOO….YEAH….WOOHOOOOO!" Eva shouted, cheering on her animal friend as the train finally left the station.
Anni watched her friend disappear again and she turned to her family. Gia kneeled to hug her and Anni sobbed in her mother's arms as they took her inside.
Eva looked back at the place where the circus tent was and began to think about Anni as she walked towards the car that her mother was in and the two of them embraced. Her mother noticed Eva crying and wiped her tears.
"Is she going to be okay?" Eva's mother asked. Eva looked back at the same spot and then glanced back at her mother
"Anni's going to be okay...She's home now…" Eva and her mother got in their car and drove away as the day turned into night. It may be the last time they see each other ever again.
