Disclaimer: I don't own Lion King.

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Chapter 4: Exodus

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The rain washed the gigantic bones; making the Elephant Graveyard look even grimmer. The dark clouds shrouded the sky, and the gloomy light caused it to resemble a place cut out straight from the worst of nightmares. Three spotted hyenas wandered between the remains of the giants, completely soaked.

"Gee, I hate rain," Shenzi said, trying to pry her longish bangs off her eyes.

"I hate being hungry." Banzai added. Then, both looked at Ed, waiting for his opinion. Their buddy was oddly silent. He just stared at them vacantly and shrugged. When he felt their persistent gazed lingering on him, he let out a single snort, which sounded humorlessly.

"Even Ed agrees it sucks." Shenzi stated.

Disheartened by their failed hunt and with their empty bellies rumbling like crazy, the trio dragged themselves to the cave, where all the hyenas resided. Spastic laughter was heard from afar, betraying that nearly the whole pack was there. Shenzi and Banzai exchanged surprised glances.

"Shouldn't they be hunting?" Banzai asked. Ed tilted his head, expressing that he was equally baffled. Shenzi narrowed her eyes. Something was not right. Her pal was right – all hyenas were supposed to be out, trying to snatch some carrion, not lazing around at home.

"Come on, guys!" Shenzi picked up the pace and darted toward the lair, followed by her friends.

The spacious cave was illuminated by the eerie greenish glow coming from the fire geysers. The shadows of hyenas danced on its walls, intensifying the spooky effect. Shenzi left her pals behind, driven by a bad hunch. She stopped abruptly, when she saw that the lair was swarming with the members of the pack. Why wasn't she told of the gathering? After all, she was the one to call the shots – it didn't make sense.

Shenzi narrowed her eyes, glaring at the crowd. In the center, stood Kicheko, a distant cousin of her mother's sister's nephew. The other hyenas howled affirmatively, as if enthusiastically agreeing to something. Finally, Banzai and Ed caught up to Shenzi. They bumped into her rear, sending her tumbling inside. She rolled over the bones, that littered the floor. The noise drew everyone's attention to their trio, betraying their presence. All eyes suddenly turned to them.

"Shenzi!" Kicheko exclaimed, giving her an obviously fake giggle. She glanced at Banzai and Ed, raising her eyebrow. For a moment, she looked, as if she was considering to greet them as well, but the maniacal spurt of laughter from Ed made her change her mind. She went back to focusing her attention on Shenzi. "It's great that you showed."

Shenzi growled at her, crouching closer.

"What's the meaning of this?" she exclaimed, waving her paw at the crowd assembled in the cave. "Why has no one told us that there's a gathering today?"

Kicheko sighed heavily, averting her gaze.

"We've decided that we're leaving the Elephant Graveyard." She dodged Shenzi's question. "There's no food here anyway, and we don't want to stick around when the lions get their act together and come to punish us for that coup thingy."

"Sounds smart." Shenzi reluctantly agreed. She opened her mouth to berate Kicheko for making such an important decision without her and her buddies, but Banzai's fiery temper kicked in.

"You were supposed to-" He yelled, but Shenzi smacked him with her paw, silencing him. As the sound of his head being whacked echoed across the cave, Ed let out a hysterical giggle.

"What are you laughing at, Ed?" Banzai growled and hit his amused buddy, tuning his laughter down.

Kicheko cleared her throat, demanding their attention.

"We'll be leaving today. In a moment, actually," Kicheko said. There was certain uneasiness in her voice, but Shenzi couldn't quite put her claw on why it was there. Ed must have noticed it too, because he was silent, what was unusual for him.

"Fine." Banzai rolled his eyes. "Let's get going."

He turned, ready to leave the cave, when he felt dozens of condescending glares piercing his back. Kicheko and the rest of their big pack were tense, as though they were readying to tell something important. The hyenas glanced at each other, clearly trying to shift the responsibility on each other. Finally, a call from the crowd could be heard.

"Kicheko, tell them!" Shenzi didn't quite remember the name of the hyena, who shouted that.

"Yeah, someone has to!" Another voice joined.

Shenzi set her glare on Kicheko, who was shifting the bones underneath her paws, stalling. A forced smile spread on her muzzle. It was somewhat apologetic.

"Tell us what?" Banzai spat.

Kicheko drew a deep breath.

"We've also decided that you three aren't going along," she said quickly and sighed with relief when she managed to recite the entire sentence. The deafening affirmative howl of almost a hundred hyenas backed her up.

"What?" Shenzi coughed out, startled. "You can't throw us out of the pack, we're the leaders!"

"You were." Kicheko corrected her. She pushed her chest forward and straightened her hunched back, so that she would appear bigger and more confident. "The pack will be better off without you."

Ed let out a brief, humorless giggle, his blank gaze traveling between Shenzi and Banzai.

"You ingrates!" Banzai shouted, using an expression he had picked up from Scar. "Shenzi, me and Ed did far more good for the pack than anyone else did!"

"Good?" Kicheko growled. "Thanks to your help, we starved even worse than when Mufasa was around! Besides, now that Simba's back, he'll be out for revenge on us, because you had us support your buddy Scar!"

"Scar wasn't our buddy!" Shenzi protested fiercely, but Kicheko snorted.

"Oh, Scar's okay, he's a pal." She quoted Shenzi's words. "And where has he gotten us? Nothing's gotten better. Now we have to leave our home!"

"It's your fault!" A voice from the crowd shouted.

"Scar's friends!" Another hyena threw an accusation.

Banzai snarled. Ed was dead serious, glaring at the members of their pack.

"You can't shift the blame for Scar's actions on us," Shenzi said firmly, but Kicheko was quick to counterattack.

"You vouched for him, Shenzi. You were the one who said that Scar wouldn't ever turn his back on us. Besides, the four of you were such a great friends, so inseparable ever since you were pups." Poison was seeping from Kicheko's voice.

"That was long ago," Banzai muttered.

"Even if it was," Kicheko said. "The famine and our need to flee now are pretty much your doing."

Shenzi stepped forward, shoving Banzai aside. She leaned forward, threatheningly eying Kitcheko.

"It wasn't us! It was Scar who messed everything up. It was his fault!" she exclaimed.

"Now you sound just like him," Kicheko whispered.

Then, it hit Shenzi. She did almost quote Scar. A seed of doubt plowed its roots into her mind – maybe Kicheko and the others were right? Had they not befriended that moody lion cub, the things would have turned out differently, maybe for the better. The longer she thought about it, the more grim her conclusion became. Maybe had she followed Simba into the thorns and killed him then, her pack wouldn't have been in grave danger right now. No matter how she looked at it, Shenzi, Banzai and Ed played a major part in screwing things up for the hyenas.

"It is our fault." Shenzi admitted; her voice barely audible.

Banzai furrowed his brows, thinking intensely. It was a miracle that steam didn't erupt from his ears. Edd hid his tongue, looking much more serious than ever. The time has come for them to pay for the mistakes, they had made.

Shenzi and her pals stood motionless, as their pack began their journey. The hyenas were walking by trio without looking at them, purposely averting their gaze. Kicheko opened her mouth, as though she wanted to say something, but she clenched her jaws, hanging her head. There was nothing else to say. She ran past Shenzi and her pals, heading to lead the huge pack out of the Elephant Graveyard. The familiar cave was becoming emptier, until only the bones of the dead animals stayed.

The trio looked after their former companions. A long column winded among the skeletons of the elephants, marching away. Shenzi felt exactly like the day her parents had been eaten – abandoned, lonely. A hyena should never live without her pack.

"We don't need them," Banzai exclaimed, snorting. He glanced at nostalgic Shenzi, then at silent Ed. Huffing, he flung his front legs around their necks and brought all of them closer together. Their heads clashed together. "As long as we have each other, we'll be fine."

Shenzi smiled faintly and tried to wriggle out of Banzai's grasp, but he was holding her and Ed firmly. She sighed, feeling him ruffle her mane.

"We'll stick together, like we always did." Shenzi stated and almost immediately felt much better. She let out a giggle. Ed started laughing shyly, and Banzai joined him. Before they knew it, their howling laughter was echoing across the big empty cave. With their cackle filling it, it suddenly made a slightly less desolate impression.

Once cheered up, the hyenas fell silence again. It was, as if they had a whole new life ahead of them and they were at a loss what to do with it.

"So, Shenzi, what's the plan?" Banzai asked.

"No idea." Shenzi scratched her nose. "Staying here isn't an option though. What do you think, Ed?"

In response, Ed broke in desperate laughter. Fear and madness in his eyes indicated that he shared her opinion.

"Right," Banzai said. "Ed's right. I don't want to wait here for Simba to remember that we helped to kill his dad."

The three hyenas nodded energetically. Shenzi shuddered. A mere mention of old Mufasa sent shivers down her spine, even after all those years. She stared at her companions, and they offered her their blank, clueless gazes in return.

"I wish there was some sign that would point us in the right direction," Shenzi whispered.

Her pals crouched, holding their breaths. They seemed to wait for some supernatural instructions. Shenzi raised her eyebrow. Were they serious? She was just joking. It wasn't, as if some spooky ghost of a hyena leader would make its appearance and tell them what to do! She was about to inform them of it, when a faint wail resounded in the cave.

Banzai shrieked from terror and clutched Ed, using him like a living shield. Ed looked around, confused and chuckled quietly, gathering courage. Shenzi stepped closer to them, spooked by the mysterious sound. Suddenly, the noise appeared again. It was louder this time though – prolonged and high-pitched, it was just like a mournful cry of a condemned soul.

"It's Scar," Banzai whispered. "He came back to haunt us."

As the wail intensified, Shenzi shrieked, clinging onto Banzai, like her life depended on it. Both were shivering uncontrollably, petrified.

"D-don't be stupid. G-ghosts d-don't exist." She stuttered, trembling even more.

Suddenly, Ed abandoned them, darting forward. He headed deeper into the cave, instead of getting the heck out of there.

"Ed, don't leave us!" Banzai called after him desperately. He glanced at Shenzi, who was scared out of her wits, and then at Ed. The laughing hyena seemed to be much less frightened than his female pal. "Wait for me!"

Shenzi cursed under her breath, when Banzai ditched her to stick closer to Ed. Naturally, he didn't want to be alone with Scar's ghost roaming around, so she sprinted after her friends.

"Slow down, Ed!" She yelled, struggling to catch up.

Suddenly, it occurred to her that he might have lead them in a wrong direction – the creepy sounds were getting louder. Perhaps he was even more retarded that he lead on? Shenzi's legs were buckling, but she followed Ed nonetheless.

Determined, the least talkative of the trio ventured to the far end of the cave and started digging, shifting white bones aside until he revealed a little, gray shape. Shenzi and Banzai leaned over, intrigued. They flinched, when the dark thing moved and it turned out that it had been the source of wailing all along. Another mournful cry erupted, as the little hairball tumbled closer to Ed, snuggling into his fur.

"A pup," Shenzi said with wonder, crouching closer to survey the adorable little baby girl.

Barely days old, it squealed loudly, pleading for attention and care. A deeply buried motherly instinct flared within Shenzi's heart, aimed at the pup. The sudden desire to cuddle, sway and smooch was overwhelming, kind of like hunger or fleas.

"I think it was Kutoka's kid." Banzai reached to pat little one on the head.

"Who's Kutoka?" Shenzi shrugged. It was hard to remember all the guys and gals that used to squat in the Elephant Graveyard.

"You know, that pretty babe who didn't want to date me." Banzai sighed with longing.

"You need to be a little more specific. You've just described all the female hyenas from our pack," Shenzi said, causing Ed to have another one of his laughing seizures.

"Very funny." Banzai sounded humorless, unlike Ed, who was rolling on the ground from uncontrolled laughter. "Anyway, I think the kid's mom didn't make it from the Pride Rock."

"Oh." Shenzi sighed. That was sad. She reached out to ruffle the pup's little dark tuft. The little hyena looked at her with big, puppy eyes. "Don't worry, kiddo. We'll take care of you!"

"Sure." Banzai nodded with conviction; a wide smile spread on his muzzle. He bent to pinch the pup's cheeks. The little hyena recoiled, bumping into Ed, who giggled encouragingly. Shenzi put her paw protectively on her back.

"Just laugh and everything will be peachy." Shenzi shared the hyena secret. As if to emphasize her words, Ed lead the laughing choir, letting his batshit crazy chuckle echo in the abandoned cave. Shenzi and Banzai squeezed the pup in a hug too, and started laughing as well. The pup sat, confused, staring at them, as if they were crocodiles with feathers. Finally, a small smile flourished on her muzzle and her shy, high-pitched giggle joined the symphony of howling laughter.

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Author Note:

You know, I've always loved the hyenas in Lion King, much more than Timon and Pumba. I couldn't resist putting them into the fanfic, they're such a jolly team. And how did you like the hyenas chapter? Do you wish to read more about them in the future or would you prefer to stick solely to the lions? Please share your opinion in the comments!

Tell me, which POV you liked the most: Scar's, the hyenas' or Nuka's.