AN: WATTT IT'S ALREADY DECEMBER! Well, I planned to get this out earlier but writer's block hit me. However, I finally figured out how to close out this fanfiction so I hope you enjoy!
The long day of the Savannah was starting to come to a close and red hues began to color the Pride Lands. Walking back to Pride Rock was Tojo. His tail was dragging on the ground and his body was fatigued. While Rafiki's herbs were helping to cope with the pain of his head, it also came with a slew of other side effects, most prominently drowsiness. However, Tojo was hesitant to fall back asleep once he made it in the den. It seemed as if every time he dozed off he would be the victim of some type of bodily harm. Nevertheless, the scrawny cub had managed to pull himself up the long steps of Pride Rock.
"Come on, Tojo just a little further then you can finally relax."
"Woah, what happened to you?" A voice said in shock. Tojo pulled his heavy head up to see Chumvi and Nala standing in front of him.
Tojo paused before responding letting out a long yawn, exposing the inside of his mouth. "A couple head injuries and Rafiki's herb medicine," he responded.
"Are you okay? You look like you about to pass out," Nala asked with a concerned expression on her face. Tojo shook his head no and then stepped into the cool atmosphere of the den.
"No I'll be fine I just need to…" at that moment Tojo couldn't resist the urge to fall asleep any longer and collapsed onto the floor of the den.
"Well, there's no way he's getting back up," Chumvi bluntly stated, "I guess we should stay here just in case."
"Yeah," Nala agreed. The two looked at the tan cub's sleeping body for a while.
"Wanna draw on his muzzle?" Chumvi asked.
"Sure," Nala responded with a mischievous smirk.
The sunset continued as Kula and Simba stood at the entrance to the catacombs of the Pride Lands. The large stone cover of the entrance loomed over the two cubs with a large shadow.
"It looks even creepier up close," Kula said, "Okay how do we open it?"
"Leave that to me," Simba said. He walked over to the side of the entrance and started to push on the large cover stone. Kula joined him as well. The two continued to push the large stone from the side as slowly the rock began to inch forward exposing the dead grass that laid underneath the large stone. Eventually, the cover was pushed forward enough to make a small opening that the two could slip into. The two cubs then slipped into the darkness of the burial tunnels. As the two entered the entrance chamber a blast of cold hit their face and a horrible stench stung their noses.
"Great Kings, what is that smell," Kula cried out. The strong scent forcing her to cover her muzzle with her brown paw. The two continued to venture in the light from the outside fading slowly. Small openings in the tunnels allowed small rays to shine through lightly illuminating the tunnels.
After walking for a while in the entry tunnel began to widen out, the stone walls spreading apart gradually as the cubs continued to move forward. Eventually, the tunnel had widened out into a large cave that dipped down into a large basin. The rounded walls were lined with more cover stones each leading to the burial chambers of a family. The two cubs stepped down into the large basin.
"What is this place, Simba?" Kula asked as she stood in the darkened cave of the catacombs.
"After a lion in the pride dies, a memorial service is held for one day, then the body is taken over here so the spirit can join their ancestors. Every stone here leads to the burial chamber of a family. A special one is reserved for the royal family of the pride, I'm thinking that where we'll find the answer to this whole conspiracy," Simba explained. The two then separated from the center of the large caldera of the cave observing each side of the cave along each cover stone of the burial chambers long inscriptions were scratched on describing each member and the lineage of the family.
The ceiling of the large cave was filled with small holes, the warm orange sun pierced through the holes and vines hung from the cracks in the ceiling. Simba continued to walk along the covered entrances. His shadow cast faintly on the darkened walls. Simba stopped when he saw the paw mark on a large cover stone.
"Kula look over here!" Simba called out to the brown lioness cub, she ran over to the golden prince from the other side of the cave.
"Did you find the magical secret about how to make Chumvi finally kiss me?" Kula asked excitedly with a wide smile on her muzzle.
"No, I didn't," Simba gave her a disapproving look, "did you forget the entire reason why we came down here?"
"Oh yeah, sorry," Kula said her cheeks slightly reddening, "what did you find?" Kula asked her head tilted up.
"This cover has the paw mark on it which means it's the entrance to the royal burial chamber," Simba explained, the prince walked over to the side of the cover and started to push it to the side. The large rock grounded against the hard floor of the dark cave as the burial chamber became exposed for the first time. Dusty air blew out from the dark chamber.
"Oh Great Kings, it's that awful smell," Kula covered her nose as the smell of rotting flesh hit her nose, "do we really have to go in there."
"We came this far, Kula, sometimes you have to do really gross stuff for exploration," Simba said also covering his muzzle. The golden cub grabbed Kula's paw and they walked slowly in. The light from the main cave faded away.
"What can we even expect to find in here, Simba?" Kula complained as she was dragged in further into the royal tomb, "it's so dark in here I can't see anything." The two wandered in fully to the tomb of the past royals, Simba let go of Kula's paw and wandered around feeling for the scratches on the walls or any other tablets buried with the body. Slowly the setting sun increased its angle and the light continued to slowly creep its way across the floor of the catacombs.
"Hey Simba can I hold your paw it's too dark in here," Kula asked. The prince blushed at the request that Kula asked for. The thought of any other girl beside Nala holding his paw would definitely be awkward.
"It's not like Nala will ever have to know about it," Simba thought to himself, "Sure I guess."
"Thanks, Simba," Kula said she reached her paw around the darkened tomb. Eventually, she was able to grab onto something that felt like a paw. However, it felt cold and bony.
"Simba why is your paw really cold and sharp?" Kula asked still holding on.
"Kula you're not holding my paw," Simba stated confused by her question. Kula in return was equally confused by Simba's response.
"Okay that doesn't make sense if I'm not holding you paw than who's paw am I…," Kula started when the light from the setting sun finally had made its way into the old tomb. The brown lioness cub realized that she wasn't holding Simba's paw but the paw of an old rotting corpse.
"AHHH!" Kula screamed and she threw the paw away.
"Great Kings," Simba gasped as the light had exposed the corpse of King Ahadi for the first time in years. The once mighty Lion King had been reduced to nothing but a skeleton with bits of blackened flesh, the dark fur of his mane still attached to his skull through tiny bits of his face that still remained attached to his skull.
"Woah that is gross," Simba said shuddering at the sight of grandfather's body. Kula immediately rushed to Simba's side grabbing his body and closing her eyes shut.
"Simba can we please get this over with quickly," the brown lioness cub pleaded.
"Yeah hold on," Simba said he then took a closer look at the corpse of King Ahadi. It was then that Simba saw that within his ribcage was a small tablet with markings on it., "Look there, that has to be the next clue."
"Well, I'm not reaching for it," Kula said still latched on to the golden cub her head buried in Simba's fur and her eyes closed tightly shut. Simba gulped looking back at the body, did he really have to do this. Is stealing a tablet from the body of his grandfather really worth it.
"You know what I've come too far to stop now," Simba thought to himself. Simba held his breath and reached out with his matted paws and stuck them into the ribcage, shuffling around the bones in the process.
"Hevi Kabisa," Simba said to himself as he gagged.
"Hmmm, I don't think that's your catchphrase Simba," Kula commented.
"What are you talking about, nobody else says that in the Pride Lands," Simba responded.
"Yeah but I don't think that it suits you, maybe your son would be a better fit for it,"
Simba was left dumbfounded by Kula's statement and the two were left in silence for few minutes.
"No, more midnight zebra for you Kula," Simba said. The lion cub then grabbed the stone from the body and pulled it out through the ribs again causing a flurry of dust to dance through the musty air of the catacombs.
"Okay, I got the tablet," Simba said rushing away from the corpse as quickly as possible, Kula following. The prince held up the tablet to the fading light to get a better look at the artifact. The scratches on the small stone were exposed for the first time in years since Ahadi's passing. Observing it, Simba translated the markings in his head.
"I think I got it," Simba said out loud, "the answer to all of this is in…."
"STOP RIGHT THERE!" a voice yelled. Kula and Simba gasped they whipped around to see a mass of moles forming a wall and blocking the exit of the catacombs, "YOU ARENT GOING ANYWHERE." From the darkness emerged a single mole.
"I am Uchafu," one of the moles stood up spoke, "I'm the head of the underground system of the Pride Lands and I've spent the day following your pawsteps as you have uncovered a conspiracy that has been locked away since the great war." Kula and Simba exchanged nervous glances with each other.
"Unfortunately the cover-up that you two have been exploring is against the decrees of King Ahadi, and we can't let any lion know about what you two are about to uncover," Uchafu said he then stuck his two forefingers in his mouth and blew out a long whistle gaining the attention of the army. "Take them away." The moles then began to charge forward turning into a wave of brown fur. Simba and Kula screamed as they were swamped by the mass of the moles.
"Kula! Follow me!" Simba yelled he grabbed the brown lioness the two then kicked their way through the mass of moles in a desperate attempt to make a clear path through the tombs of the lions. The moles continued to claw and cling onto the two cubs, scratching through their fur and into their skin, even drawing blood on Simba's side. The two climbed up the path from the lower basin with the moles tailing behind them, swirling up dust and rocks. The two cubs had managed to bust through the barrier wall at the entrance of the tombs sending small moles flying. Simba and Kula continued to run through the tall grass of the planes until they were a distance from the entrance of the tombs.
"Do you think we lost them?" Kula asked breathing heavily.
"I'm pretty sure," Simba said with a laugh, "There's no way that animals with such tiny legs can ever catch up to us lions." The ground then started to shake beneath the two cubs, the earth cracked and split apart as moles began to emerge from the dirt. Simba and Kula then became surrounded again by the moles.
"You seem to forget about the underground part of our species," Uchafu said as he climbed out of one of the tunnel system, "Tie them up!" Uchafu commanded. The moles came out of the tunnels with vines. The moles launched the vines upwards over the two cubs the vines landed on the other side of the two lion cubs tying them down and restraining them to the ground.
"What are you going to do with us?!" Kula asked baring her teeth.
"Simple," Uchafu said, "a small herb will be used to render you unconscious while also erasing your memories from this entire day...although it may have some other unforeseen complications. But enough with this." Uchafu whistled again and the mole hoisted up the two cubs. Uchafu raised up a long tall stick.
"This won't hurt a bit," Uchafu smiled deviously, "It's gonna hurt a whole lot." The small mole swung down and everything went black.
"This entire trip was nothing but a bust," Malka said laying on his back staring at the ceiling of the den as the light of the day continued to slowly fade away and being replaced by the nighttime sky, "I haven't seen Simba and Kula this entire time, Nala and Chumvi wanted to torture me and Tama ignored me."
Sitting right next to Malka was Tojo, still heavily medicated by the herbs that Rafiki had given him. The tan cub was slumped against the wall of the den trying his best not to slip back into unconsciousness. His eyelids were heavy and suppressing yawns was much harder now that night time was almost here.
"Well, I'm sorry to hear that Malka…..I just don't…..know what to…...do in this…..situ-," Tojo yawned and slumped down further, "-ation… I guess that you can start flirting with her in hopes that she starts noticing you."
Malka's eye lit up when he heard Tojo's suggestion.
"Yeah! that's a great idea!" Malka exclaimed the prince shot up with a smile on his face. He then turned to see Tojo right next to him. It was then that he saw big circle was drawn around Tojo's right eye and an ex over his left eye with berry juice. In addition, mud paw marks were all over his body.
"Tojo what happened to you!" Malka said.
"I don't really know….," Tojo mumbled rubbing his heavy eyes, "one minute I'm in Rafiki's tree downing herbs and the next I passed out again in the den." Tojo lied down again and started to fall asleep again.
"You know, Tojo you don't have to take that from Nala and Chumvi. You should stand up for yourself," Malka said leaning down his head to Tojo's level.
"Well, maybe another day but right now I'm just exhausted," Tojo said and he lied back down burying his muzzle into his paws. Malka rolled his eyes and laid down next to the tan cub.
"Oh, Tojo I think you just might be the wisest of us all," Malka remarked to himself.
Inky blackness surrounded Simba's vision. He could hear small voices whispering and feet padding along wet dirt. His fur stood on end as a gust of cold wind blew over his body. Then a blurry light came into view. The golden cub squinted as his eyes slowly started to interpret the world around him.
"Oh you're awake," a voice. Simba immediately tried to get up but his arms and legs were pinned to the floor. He looked around to see that he was tied down on his back to the floor of a large cave with vines. He looked over to the side to see that Kula was right next to him also struggling to get up.
"Don't bother trying to move, it'll only make the vines tighter eventually pulling you apart," the two cubs looked to the side to see Uchafu standing with several herbs in his hand.
"Why are you doing this to us?" Kula asked tears forming in her eyes.
"Lions," Uchafu said shaking his head, "you think that your above every other animal with your high and mighty attitude, dictating the lives of others…" the mole began a monologue, something that felt completely unnecessary by the two lion cubs. While looking to the side Simba saw a small sharp pointed rock. He also noticed that the moles had forgotten to tie his tail down. Slowly Simba brushed his tail over the sharp stone pulling it closer to his restrained body.
"The war that you celebrate every year is far more complicated than a battle between prides. I've been working for the king for years waiting for the right moment to strike," Uchafu finished.
"So what you're going to get back at our pride by making us forget about this day?" Simba scoffed, "we didn't even solve the mystery yet."
Uchafu laughed the herbs still in hand, "these won't make you forget about today, you'll actually forget about your entire existence once the poison fries your brain from the inside out." the two cub's eyes widened as the small mole whistled again. From the darkness of the sides of the cave, dozens of moles appeared surrounding the two cubs. At that point Simba swiped his tail flinging the sharp rock that was under it. Simba caught the rock with his paw and slashed the vines that were restraining his arm.
"NO! STOP THEM!" Uchafu screamed. Simba with his free paw cut himself free and then used his claws to free Kula. Kula sprung up knocking over the moles that were swarming her.
The two sprinted out of the main cave and into one of the various small tunnels of the large underground cave. The light faded from the main cavern as Simba and Kula ran into the tunnel.
"Simba wait!" Kula said as she stopped running when they reached far enough into the tunnel, "we have to be smart about this even if we escape this place the moles will just find us again."
"Your right," Simba sighed, "there's gotta be a way that makes sure that they can't get back to the surface." the two pondered on the thought.
"Those two brats, the one chance where I have the king's son in my grasp and you let is slip through my grasp," Uchafu's voice could be heard through the thin dirt walls. The two cub's sharp ears picked up the moles voice. Simba dug through the dirt making a small hole, he peered into the small hole to see the moles splitting up into groups and running into the tunnels.
"We have to keep moving, their splitting up," Simba said grabbing Kula's brown paw.
"Wait, look!" Kula said Simba looked back into the small hole, "look at that at dirt pillar it must be the way the cavern stays up. If we can knock it down we could keep the moles in the dirt forever."
"Great idea, but how are we gonna knock it down?" Simba asked raising his dark eyebrow. Kula smiled and pointed to the side. The golden cub looked to where she was pointed and he saw a large rock sitting on the top of a small slope.
"Perfect," Simba said, "I have a plan. Come on!" he grabbed Kula's paw and went deeper into the tunnels.
"Come out come out wherever you are," Uchafu said as he paced back and forth between the main cavern. By this point, the sun had completely set and the bright white moon cast a soft white light through several openings, "man I hate lions," the mole continued to mutter to himself, "so pushy and hair and man are they…"
"HEY UGLY!" a voice yelled. Uchafu looked up to see Kula standing in the entrance of one of the tunnels.
"If your gonna dis on lions you might want to catch me first!" the brown lioness taunted. Uchafu whistled and a troop of moles emerged from the ground. Immediately they charged at her.
"Simba now!" Kula screamed. The mole turned around in shock to see Simba at the top of the small slope pushing the rock over. Kula dashed out of the way and the moles scattered as the bolder collided with the dirt column smashing it into a cloud of dust blinding everyone.
Kula blindly ran as chunks of dirt and rock pelted her from above. Then she ran into a furry mass. She then felt a paw pick her up. Opening her eyes a bit she saw it was Simba.
"KULA COME ON THIS THING IS COLLAPSING!" the golden lion cub pulled her up and they rushed towards the exit.
"NO DON'T LET THEM GET AWAY!" the two heard Uchafu's frantic screams become drowned out by the dirt. Just as the entirety of the cave was about become buried the two lion cubs dove out a cloud of dust being expelled out with them.
Simba and Kula landed on the grass with a thud as the cold air of the night blew over them and a small shower of dirt fell. Kula opened her right eye to see the moonlight of the savannah and the many stars above.
Simba stood up dusting himself off, "you okay Kula?"
"YAYYY! WE DID IT!" Kula cheered bear hugging Simba. She then licked him on the cheek in excitement. The action of affection caused an awkward silence between the two.
"First Nala and now Kula is giving me surprise kisses," Simba thought his cheeks flushing a bright red.
"Sorry, I got a bit excited," Kula said blushing and stepping away from the golden cub.
"It's fine," Simba said while looking at his paws, "let's just find where that last clue was hinting at."
"Wait a minute," Kula stopped the Prince, "I was thinking, this entire mystery if uncovered will ruin Tama's reputation. Do we really want that on our conscience." The brown lioness cub asked.
"Well she was bothering us maybe she deserves to be knocked down a peg," Simba pointed out.
"But does that make us better than her," Kula said. Simba sighed and a silence settled on the two.
"You know what your right," Simba agreed with the brown lioness, "giving her a reaction is what she wants. Besides, it's late." The golden cub looked at Pride Rock in the night sky. The two then made their way back home for the night.
According to tradition the last activity before the Pridelands and the Mountain Lands would separate was a great feast that lasted from the morning to evening. Of course, the cubs reacted to this with glee, especially the queen of food herself Kula. All of the cubs enjoyed themselves nevertheless. The day was coming to a close and all the cubs lying on the ground basking in the last of the sunlight before it was coming to a close.
"That was the best meal I've ever had," Kula said as she rubbed the length of her stomach, "and coming from me that's saying a lot." The other cubs agreed with her statement except for Tojo who was still under the effects of Rafiki's herbal treatment. The tan cub was knocked out for the majority of the day and when he did wake up he was very drowsy and delirious. Wich was fun to mess around with.
"Well I must say that I had a fun time as well," Tama said with a smile, "and I saved the best zebra leg for last." she took the leg and bit into its juicy side savoring the taste. Then her eyes shot open and tears began to swell up in her eyes. "AHHH HOTTTTTTTT!" Tama screamed as she ran off to the water hole desperate to get water into her burning mouth.
"Geez, what's her problem," Chumvi said picking up the zebra leg he sniffed it before realizing what was wrong with it, "hey there's black peppers rubbed all over this thing."
Simba and Kula exchanged mischievous glances with each other.
"Huh that's weird," Simba said.
"Yup, why would someone do that," Kula asked.
In the next hour, the Mountain Landers had gathered together and left the Pride Lands and into the desert of the night. Standing at the border was Simba, Nala, Chumvi, Kula, and Mufasa. Tojo had already passed out and gone into a food coma.
"Well, I guess that's the end of partying," Chumvi sighed.
"Chumvi, your such a downer," Nala said, "Malka will still visit us every so often, and the Pride Lands will still have a ton of adventures waiting for us."
"You cubs always seem to find the most absurd ways to get into trouble," Mufasa commented the four cubs turned their heads to look up to the king, "but I can't say that I wasn't the same way when I was a cub. I'm sure Sarabi has already told you of that." the five of them chuckled as they began their walk back to Pride Rock. The sun disappearing underneath the horizon and ending another adventure.
AN: And that concludes this fanfic. Again I apologize for the late publish but this was a long one. I should have the next story out soon.