Disclaimer: I don't own Lion King.
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Chapter 25: Emperor
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The odd group of hyenas and lions continued their journey south, walking side with side with herds. Having heard that near the cape the predators are scarce, the grass-eaters headed there for safety. Even in the Pride Lands under Mufasa's rule Shenzi hadn't seen that much food strolling around. Catching a stray animal was a pup's play here. They didn't even have to make a big effort to fill their stomachs.
"Wow, it's a paradise!" Banzai exclaimed, grinning like a madman. Ed agreed with him instantly, enthusiastically nodding between the spurts of his maniacal laughter. Uchao joined them, letting her delicate giggle blend with their voices in a choir that made the lions squirm.
"Their behavior is socially inappropriate." Damu commented, reminding Shenzi why she didn't like the serious one of Vunda's brothers.
"Loosen up, you stick in a mud," Shenzi said, rolling her eyes. Her attention was not on her buddies and the kid or on the lion siblings though. She had no clue why, but she got reminded of something that the lionesses from the Pride Lands were saying – that the overhunting was the reason there was nothing to eat at the end of Scar's rule. Obviously, this wasn't the case here, as all what became of the local predators was their bones littering the grasslands. However, the massive herds were mowing the vegetation like locusts. It could be a problem later on.
"Here it is!" Vunda exclaimed, pointing his paw at something.
"What?" Shenzi was confused, as she had been focusing on stuff too hard for her to understand. Vunda groaned and snatched the back of her neck. He yanked it, until she saw a tall rock pinnacle, looking a bit like a porcupine's needle, only a lot bigger.
"The boss lives here?" Shenzi asked.
"At the very top." Vunda confirmed.
"Huh." Shenzi arched her eyebrow, wondering why lions liked pointy things so much. The lion siblings led the hyenas through a very flat plain encompassing the pinnacle. If its height matched the ego of its inhabitant… Shenzi didn't even want to let her imagination go there. She narrowed her eyes, discerning scouts hanging out near the pointy rock, warily observing the visitors.
"State your name and unit!" a voice cried, barely audible.
Vunda drew a breath, before shouting back.
"Vunda and his bros! From the Ninth Scouting Division!" the lion yelled. After a moment of silence, the voice responded.
"Approach!"
Vunda nodded to his group and all seven of them trotted closer to the pinnacle. Up close, the rock formation looked even more intimidating and a lot higher than it seemed from the distance. Its surface wasn't smooth – it was infested with holes and corridors resembling a work of meercats, of they could dig in the solid rock. The ledges on the exterior walls of the pinnacle winded all the way up.
Shenzi ushered Uchao to walk closer to her, as she was not quite comfortable with snarling predators. The very bottom of the boss's seat was occupied by animals of various carnivorous species – from lions and leopards to cheetahs and even a pack of baboons. Except the monkeys, everyone looked very buffed up.
"They're the guards," Chonga whispered, noticing how Shenzi was staring at the inhabitants of the pinnacle.
A battered lion strolled in to block Vunda's path. He scrutinized the hyenas.
"Who are they?" He demanded.
"Scientists." Vunda replied. "I need to show them to boss."
"You mean the Emperor." The lion guard corrected him. "The boss calls himself the Emperor now. Anyway, you can go."
He stepped aside, making way. Vunda launched forward confidently, followed by the hyenas. Shenzi led the pack, while Ed and Banzai helped Uchao up. Chonga and Damu stayed, joining the diversity of predators in the lowest level of the pinnacle.
As Shenzi traveled up, skipping onto the ledges, she noticed that the great variety, she had seen before, was taken to an extreme level. Chimpanzees were sitting on some plans drawn in the sand together with a pair of very intellectual jackals. A cheetah was casually conversing with a stout lioness, without any signs of hostility. It looked that this Emperor-boss buy surpassed Scar a lot when it came to employing lackeys from another species.
At last, Vunda and his protégées reached almost the peak of the pinnacle. There, on a spacious ledge lay a lioness of extraordinary beauty. Even Shenzi had to admit that she was a looker, compared to other lions, who tended to be as ugly as their butts. This one had striking azure eyes, which wonderfully matched the unusual color of her pelt. She was white like the fluffy clouds flowing across the sky. Having taken notice of her, Vunda bowed deeply, almost plastering himself flat against the rock. The lioness had to some royalty then.
Mewing coming out from between her paws betrayed that she wasn't alone. Uchao squealed at the sight of two adorable cubs nestled between the lioness's paws. One was just as white as she was, while the other one looked more or less like a normal little lion.
"Your highness." Vunda addressed her. "I came to…"
"His majesty is waiting at the top." She responded, keeping her head high.
Bowing the whole time, Vunda passed her and hopped onto another ledge, leading up. The hyenas sneaked past the white lioness after the green-eyed male. Shenzi's legs buckled from the wind raging at the top of the pointy rock. That and the enormous height here enough to make her cower in fear. She searched for her new boss and she had to squint her eyes when his glow hot her, nearly making her blind.
Sitting at the edge, endangered by falling into the abyss, he basked in the blazing rays of afternoon sun. His brilliantly white pelt reflected the light, creating an impression that he was shining. When he stood up and turned to face his visitors, the hyenas inhaled sharply. This guy made Mufasa look like a shaggy beggar. Not a stain ruined the cleanness of his fur. The thick mane looked silky and outright perfect, even though it should have been ruffled by the wind. Regal was the word that applied to him the best. Shenzi shivered under the scrutiny of his blue eyes.
"Bow before Emperor Kaizari." He ordered; his voice was quiet, but the tone so commanding that Shenzi found her knees bending, as if they acted on their own accord. The boss narrowed his eyes. "What can you offer me?"
"They're from the Pride Lands," Vunda said quickly, pointing his paw at the hyenas. "They say they've been working for a king there and-"
"Enough!" The Emperor roared, making Vunda cower like a frightened cub. He turned away from his guests, gazing at the endless blue stuff on the horizon. "The Pride Lands, I've heard about them. Soon, they'll hear about me."
A satisfied smirk spread across his muzzle, as the wind played with his fair mane.
Banzai already opened his mouth, when Vunda's paw shot up to clasp his jaws shut. Hurriedly, the lion grabbed the hyenas' tails and yanked them back, dragging them toward the lower chamber.
"Hey!" Shenzi protested, but Vunda practically carried all four of them off the audience terrace, having flung them across his back.
"Are we hired or what?" Banzai craned his neck to stare at the Emperor.
"He didn't throw you out, so you're the part of the pride now," Vunda said hastily. "If he was displeased with you, trust me, you'd know."
The hyenas huffed, when Vunda unceremoniously dropped them onto the ground. Ed laughed miserably, having been stuck under his buddies, with Uchao sitting atop his head, squashing his nose with her paws.
"Excuse me." Vunda and the hyenas stiffened, as they heard the demure voice. The white lioness stared at them poignantly, waiting for them to move out of her path. Her two cubs rode on her back, clutching her pelt with their little paws. They were still very young and observed their surroundings with awe, as if every single thing was a miracle.
Vunda bowed, before he pushed at the hyena pile, pushing them onto the other side of the chamber. They yelped, being rolled onto the rocky surface. The lioness gracefully jumped onto the ledges, making her way to the terrace, where her mate and Emperor awaited.
Shenzi groaned, scrambling on her paws. She grabbed Ed's tail and yanked him up too. Banzai was about to get some help from her too, but he refused, pulling himself up.
"Ouch." He massaged his hurting rear. "The boss isn't a talkative fellow, is he?"
Vunda sat and readjusted his black mane.
"He's more a lion of action," he said.
"Yeah, if it involves staring at the horizon." Banzai muttered without a trace of respect, what made Vunda scowl. The male hyena flipped the warning grimace off though. "So, I've been wondering…"
Banzai paused, having heard a rumbling roar, followed by a lioness's piercing scream. Suddenly, a blurry shape of white rushed past the hyenas, speeding from the top of the pinnacle toward the rocky ground. Shenzi saw it only for a split moment, but she could make out paws, flailing frantically, and a pretty muzzle distorted in a grimace of terror. The prolonged shriek stopped abruptly, as the lioness splattered on the ground at the paws of the pointy.
"Oh, it was his sixth queen already." Vunda commented flippantly.
Instantly, Shenzi launched forward to cover Uchao's eyes with her paws. Protectively, she pressed the pup tightly against herself. Ed and Banzai reacted in a similar way. They yelped, flinging themselves at their female buddy and entwining her with their legs. All four hyenas were shivering like acacia leaves in the wind, having understood that they got themselves in quite a mess.
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Author's Note:
Hello my favorite readers? How did you like the chapter with hyenas? Please tell me in your lovely reviews!