Chapter 10
Chapter 10 – Another Happy Ending
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Timon walked through the jungle oasis, watching proudly as his best friends; Simba, Nala, and Pumbaa continued celebrating with the other meerkats. Now that the pain in his foot was gone, he and Zina were officially mates, the hyenas were defeated, and Max was avenged, Timon felt great. The celebration of both the meerkats' victory over the hyenas and Timon and Zina's marriage had lasted three days so far. Before the celebration started, they held a funeral service for Max at their old home; where his body had been buried next to Buzz's body. Lakota's body (or at least, what was left of it after the lions had lunch) was buried earlier that day in the hole that had been used to trap Brutus during the battle. Unlike Buzz and Max though, Lakota's grave didn't get a headstone, nor did anyone mourn for him.
As Timon went on, he noticed Iron Joe calmly sitting on a large rock and sipping a drink from a coconut shell.
"How ya feeling?" he asked Joe.
"Much better now," Joe replied, "though my face still hurts a little. Still, I can't thank you enough for convincing us to stay. That victory was just what I needed to get over Buzz and Max's deaths. If we had gone back to the tunnels, I'd probably never have gotten my sanity back."
"Glad to have helped. Take care, Joe."
"See ya."
Timon continued on his way until he found Zina napping in a hammock with her hand over her stomach and a smile on her face. The wedding feast had left her stuffed.
'I must be the luckiest meerkat in the world.' Timon thought, as he watched her.
He glanced at Zina's feet.
"Hmmm…" he said, a smile forming on his face.
Timon snuck up close to Zina. With one finger, he tickled her toes, causing her to wake up with a shriek.
"Oh, it's you." she said, "Trying to start another tickle fight, eh?"
"Hey, you started the last one."
Swifty then appeared once again.
"Hmmm… thought I heard a scream." he said, "Everything okay over here?"
"Oh yeah. We're alright." Timon replied, "Nothing's wrong."
"Okay. Just checking."
After Swifty left, Timon once again took advantage of the distraction by tickling Zina's feet with both hands.
"Hey!" Zina cried, "Quihihihihit it, Tim-oh! Whoa!"
She then fell out of her hammock and into the water. Timon could barely hold in his laughter as Zina surfaced and made her way back to the bank.
"Wow!" he chuckled, "And I thought my feet were weak against tickling hands!"
'I can't believe he pulled that same trick on me twice!' Zina thought, as she grabbed a leaf and dried herself off. Once she was dry again, Zina tossed the leaf aside and turned back to Timon.
"Alright, Timon," she said, "you asked for it! I'm gonna get you real good this time!"
She ran up to Timon, jumped on him, and the two meerkats began tickle fighting once again. They continued rolling around, tickling each other, and laughing together; until they were both tired out.
"Okay…" Timon said, out of breath, "How 'bout we… call it a draw?"
"Sure." Zina replied, "Sounds… good to me."
Timon and Zina lay there in the grass, looking into each other's eyes as they caught their breaths. Then they reached out their arms and shared another embrace.
"Now I truly have everything I ever wanted right here." said Timon, "Respect from my fellow meerkats, a friends to hang out with, and best of all: somebody to love."
He then planted a kiss on Zina's forehead.
"I just wish Pop and Uncle Max could be here right now."
"We are here." two voices said together.
Startled, Timon and Zina sat up and turned toward the voices. Standing there were the spirits of Buzz and Max.
"Pop! Uncle Max!"
"I knew you'd beat the hyenas, Son." said Buzz, "You've truly earned your leadership title."
"You did great, Timon." added Max, "I know I've never said this to you before, but I'm proud of you."
Timon grinned.
"Well, Zina," he said, "You've already met Uncle Max. This is my father. Pop, Zina."
"A pleasure to meet you." Buzz said, shaking her hand, "Just sorry I couldn't meet you at your wedding."
"I wish we could've been there too." said Max, "Those entrees that Pumbaa fixed looked mighty tasty."
"So, Timon, do you think you'll be up to the challenge of being a father when that time comes?"
"Well, Pumbaa and I did raise Simba. How hard could it be?"
"That's what your dad said." Max replied, elbowing Buzz.
"Hey!"
"Aw, I'm just screwin' with ya, Buzz. Just like I used to when we were pups, remember? Like how I used to do this to you?"
Max put his arm around Buzz's neck and started to noogie him. Flinching in pain, Buzz responded, "Oh yeah. And then I'd follow up with this!"
Buzz grabbed Max's tail and twisted it.
"OW!" Max cried, releasing Buzz's neck and grabbing his tail, "Hey, no fair!"
Timon slapped his forehead and thought, 'Tail twist! Of course! Why didn't I ever think of that?'
"All right, you two, that's enough." said Zina.
Buzz let go of Max's tail, then pointed to Max and said, "He started it."
"Kinda makes me glad I'm an only pup." Timon muttered to Zina.
Buzz and Max started to fade.
"They're calling us back." Max said, "It's time for us to go now."
"For good?" Timon asked.
"Timon, do you think we'd ever let you out of our sight? Or out of our hearts?"
"Maybe this'll help you feel better." Buzz said, "Look up at the sky, Son. See those sparkly dots up there?"
"Oh, you mean the fireflies that got stuck up there?"
Buzz and Max snickered.
"Those 'fireflies' are all the great leaders of the past." Max replied.
"…Really?"
"Yep. And they'll always be there to watch over you. Just as we will."
"Well… gee, I… feel a little guilty now." Timon muttered.
"Don't worry, Timon." Buzz said, "I'm sure Simba understands."
Timon stood up. Then Buzz threw his arms around Timon; who returned the hug.
"Goodbye, Son."
"Goodbye, Pop."
After a few seconds, Buzz let go, allowing Max to hug Timon.
"Take care, Timon."
"I will."
Buzz and Max then took each other's hands and slowly started to rise in the air. As they got higher, they continued to fade. Timon and Zina stood there, waving to them until they disappeared completely. Timon slowly brought his hand back down and continued looking up into the air, where his father and uncle once were. Even though he'd never see them again while he was alive, he had a smile on his face. He and Zina just stood there, staring into the air. Zina turned around when she heard Pumbaa coming up behind them.
"Oh, there you guys are." he said, "I've been looking for you. You okay, Timon?"
Timon turned around and said, "Yeah, Pumbaa. Better than I've ever been in my life."
"Okay… well, we're getting ready to start the last bug volleyball game for the night and it's your turn to be the ref."
"Alright, let's go."
Timon and Zina climbed onto Pumbaa's back, and Pumbaa took them to the court.
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"So, Max, did I tell you or what?" Buzz asked.
"You sure did." Max replied, "You really were right about him all along. But Buzz, do you think he'll fare well without us there to guide him?"
"It's his future. We've done our part. The rest is up to him."
"Yeah, you're right. As long as he believes in himself and walks his own path, everything should go fine."
"Believes in himself, eh? You're starting to sound like me, Max."
"Am I now? Well, it's about time."
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THE END