Author's Note: I love Jungle Book, this takes place one year after Jungle Book 2, Shanti=10 years, Mowgli=10 years, Ranjan=5 years...Somewhat going along with the cartoon Jungle Cubs how Khan used to be friends with everyone...Don't forget to Review!

Summary: A virus has infected the jungle animals, and the JB crew has limited time to cure the wildlife, but the cure lies in Shere Khan's past and betrayal...

Disclaimer: Sadly...but no...

Hey, if you reviewers notice major spelling or word mistakes please let me know...I reread chapter two and saw that when Mowgli was sining he said "and the rhinos rub their hair..." that was stupid and I feel terrible...please let me know so I can correct these errors! Thank you!

Chapter Four

Hear What?

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The guy from the U.S. name was "Ari", and he was actually of Indian heritage, but followed his divorced father into an international veterinary medicine and technology program.

The headman and woman of the man-village refused to allow the 'wild' animals to remain in the village, so Ari stepped in...

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The next time Baloo woke up it was only for a few blurry moments, his shoulder was infected and Ari had given him the same sedative Bagheera had been knocked out with.

Baloo woke up on a cold, metal table, lying on his stomach with white lights around him and a faint hissing in front of him.

A soft hand gently stroked his neck, but whatever sweet smelling air he was inhaling made him too groggy to understand the human's words.

The hissing grew louder still as he fell into black, the person's face suddenly appeared in front of him, a jerk of recognition hit him as a needle stuck into a vein in Baloo's arm.

"Eleanor..."

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Baloo woke up fully on a thick bed of straw...with metal bars around him...he was in a cage.

Kaa was next to him, sprawled through a network of branches and rope wrapped pipes, Louie was across from him, and alleyway of hard concrete floor in between the two cages.

The orangutan didn't look good, lying limply in a hammock strung diagonally across a corner.

A sharp, wet sneeze came from a cage further down from Louie's side of the warehouse, actually it cam from a huge pen with Hathi as the occupant with Winifred and their son, it was the little elephant not feeling well either.

A deep groan answered the sneeze and a limping Shere Khan with a white cast on his injured paw and up his lower foreleg stood slowly from a dark corner of his own prison, right in between Louie and Hathi.

"Now could sssomeone tell me what'sss going on here?"

"Kaa? I thought you knew?"

"Sssorry Baloo...I jussst woke up."

"Same here...ow...where's Bagheera and the man cubs."

"Over here Baloo."

The panther sounded weak, but at least was able to move enough so Baloo could see him through the bars without moving his bandaged shoulder.

"Would one of you hooligans mind telling me what in the name of paciderms is going on here?"

"Now now Hathi settle down, if you get our son going again he'll never get any sleep."

That started an argument...

Baloo was sore, tired, and basically cranky...

Kaa was sluggish and confused...

Shere Khan was snappish..

Hathi was mad..

Winifred stressed...

"Oh will you lot just shut it already!"

"Louie?" Bagheera slowly sat up, having not been part of the argument due to a headache that was making his vision spin. "What's wrong?"

"You all! Anyone mind tellin' me why we split like a bunch a bananas?"

Baloo snorted a bit , "Whatcha talkin' 'bout Louie?"

"Like how Baloo and I were the best a' buds, Hathi wasn't tryin' to take over the jungle by a parade, Kaa liked being around everyone..."

"I remember Lou..."

The orangutan turned enough to see Hathi raise a bit higher, "Not only that but Bagheera was more fun loving-"

"I was not!"

The elephant stamped violently, "And Shere Khan wasn't intent on killing us...whatever did break that?"

Baloo actually growled, "You all know what the Hell happened, you especially Hathi! Or did you forget what you did?"

"What I did Baloo? If I remember it wasn't me who was to blame for that day..."

"Well now how do even remember? It sure wasn't me!"

"Enough!"

Louie stiffly climbed up from the hammock and onto a shelf further into the corner with the hammock.

"Now what are you two blabbin' about?"

Baloo sighed and looked away, but Hathi just sighed and looked around to everyone before turning back to Louie.

"It was Eleanor..."

Louie was silent then started laughing so hard he had to grab onto the chain link mesh of his cage to avoid falling.

"Louie that's enough" Bagheera snapped, Shere Khan growling in agreement and pacing along the dividing cage wall.

Baloo groaned as he forced himself to sit up a little, "Cut it out Lou!"

"Aw come on fellas you don't remember what happened, what was it Kaa? three years before that man-cub?"

Kaa chuckled a little as he coiled comfortably in a four branch fork, "Yess...jusst about three yearsss..."

"What? What happened?"

"Easy Baloo, I'll tell ya," Louie settled back into the hammock with soft sigh as the memories flooded his head.

"Eleanor came back to the Jungle before Baggy found Mowgli."

"SHE WHAT?"

Kaa hissed loudly in laughter as Baloo, Bagheera, and Shere Khan roared their question in unison.

"How did you two know?" Bahgeera hissed angrily, riled up like he hadn't been in several years.

"she came to see Kaa and me first, said she wanted the "less scary" friends of hers to meet someone first..."

"Louie!"

"Who had to meet the 'less scary' friends first?" Bagheera snarled earning a faint grin from Shere Khan.

"Now now...temper Bagheera..."

"Shut up Khan!"

Louie winced a little, "Elle's daughter..."

"Daughter? Since when she have a cub herself? She was barely a kid when she left!"

"Baloo will you settle down!"

Louie sighed softly, "She grew up Baloo...and then she brought her daughter to visit..."

"Well, why didn't she come to see me?"

"She couldn't...after she saw me which was after she saw Kaa..."

The snake gulped loudly and coiled tighter to remove any length of him from reach from Bagheera and Baloo.

Louie even curled into the hammock tighter as Shere Khan glanced to the ape with a bit of tension.

"Eleanor was killed..."

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Mowgli watched Shanti go 'googly eyes' as Ranjan put it over Ari as he filed paperwork in the office they were waiting in for Chandra, Messua, and Kelebek to get back from discussing what was going on with the animals.

Ari nodded to the kids as he left the office to go find something, earning a star-struck sigh from Shanti...

"Isn't he amazing..."

"Sure if hurting Baloo and Bagheera is 'amazing'..."

"Oh stop it Mowgli! You don't even know him! He is the best hunter, the best catcher, and is the finest man in all the villages of India! He shall be mi-"

Mowgli sat up a bit from leaning against a wall on the floor, "Be what Shanti?"

"Uhh...nothing!" She gasped out as she nervously fiddled the end of her braid.

"Uh huh..."

"Shanti's in LOVE with Ari..."

Mowgli just remained silent while Shanti lunged at Ranjan to tickle him, at least until Ari returned with more files to care for.

And a teenage girl closer to Ari's age followed him...her presence and joking actions as she stole Ari's files and he gently wrapped his arms around her waist and held her to his chest...was what made Shanti gasp an nearly scream.

Her lack of clothes, wearing shorts and a short tank top...and her tanned white skin...made Ranjan smirk and stifle giggles.

Mowgli reacted to the scars that crisscrossed over her legs, arms, neck, and what the boy could see of her stomach, back and shoulders...they came from something with large, sharp claws and was very strong...

She'd been attacked by an animal...a wild one...

My apologies for taking so long!

I hope you liked it!