Despite it's sketchy name, many animals used Cobra Cliffs to be an environment for drinking water. It was made up of several chain waterfalls, dropping a few hundred feet, where water gathered into the pool below. It was noted for being a visual treat above anything else. Long garlands of vine draped the rocky walls, with bits of white lily and other extravagant tropical flowers popping up. The water gushing down created a hazy mist... and usually a hidden rainbow streak. At the bottom, zebras and elephants stood in the pool, lazily roaming in the water, refreshing themselves. Flamingoes and other birds waded the area. At the top of one of the waterfalls, four meerkats wriggled their way up to the peak.

"…Whoa! Gnarly view, dudes!" one meerkat exclaimed. "I can, like, see my colony's burrow from here!"

Jo cautiously made her way up a few rocks. She vaguely remembered this guy's name as Brad. Clay had invited him and Bud- another one of his pals- on their cliff-diving shindig.

The dynamic duo… they never left each other.

Jo exhaled in relief, brushing herself off. Bud was the last of the group to come up. The wind breezed through his unkempt hair hanging over his eyes. Bud took his final climbs up to the top, making his way over to Brad's side.

Brad then turned around to face his friends.

"Dude!" he exclaimed. "My colony will be the first to hear about how I made it out alive off Cobra Cliffs!"

Bud's eyes grew huge.

"Dude… sweet!" he tittered beside him.

"Dude… I KNOW!"

"-Can you two, like, not use the word 'dude' for the next two minutes?" Jo then piped up from behind them and displayed two fingers.

The two meerkats then went silent and stared coldly at Jo. The only noise at the moment was the waterfall rushing over the ledge.

Jo shrunk inside a little. She lowered her fingers.

"…Just a suggestion…" she smiled meekly.

Bud and Brad then raised their chins high, then turned back towards the roaring waterfall.

Just then, a rustling sound emitted from the bushes behind Jo. She turned to investigate over her shoulder.

Nothing was there.

She turned back around and thought nothing of it.

Brad looked out to the horizon before them.

"Whoa!" Brad exclaimed, looking down. "There's, like… sharp rocks at the bottom!"

Bud and Brad stared downward... and their faces lit up simultaneously.

"…Awesome!" they both chorused.

Jo looked to the sky and shook her head hopelessly as the two meerkats rooted and hollered together.

Clay examined this. He then spoke up beside her.

"…Are your parents actually cool with this?" he said.

Jo turned to him. Her green eyes sort of went downward.

"Oh… yeah…" she said. "They're cool with it."

Clay knitted a brow. Then shrugged it off.

"Okay."

Jo tried giving him a smile of reassurance, then turned back to the two meerkats Brad and Bud. They were just too enthralled in how high up they were all dangerously perched.

"Dude…" Bud hung his head far over the waterfall landing. He swung his bangs to the side. "Why do you think the rocks are there?"

Brad then spun around happily.

"-Maybe someone put them there to break our fall!"

Bud's face lit up.

"-Like a safety device? !"

Both of Jo's eyebrows rocketed upward… gaping at them in awe. Bud then peered over the ledge of the waterfall, beaming eagerly.

"That is so thoughtful!" he said.

Brad then threw his arms up.

"DUDE! I LOVE THIS PLACE!"

At this point, Jo couldn't resist changing her gawk from the two meerkats, to Clay standing next to her. His arms were folded… and he stood nonchalantly. He returned her glance.

"…Welcome to Clay's world," he told her with a big smile.

Jo slowly shook her head at Clay… smiling uselessly.

"…You're friends with idiots," she told him.

Clay just stared ahead… and shrugged with his arms folded.

"…Yeah. What are you gonna do…?"

At this, Jo flashed a secret grin. At the edge of the waterfall, Bud and Brad stirred up conversation again.

"Dude…" Brad started. "I call dibs on jumping off first!"

Bud sighed… then made his way over to Brad's side, and gave him a hard pat on the shoulder. Bud bowed his head like a friend giving a solemn speech.

"…Bro… if anything happens…" he said. "…If you don't come out alive after this… I just want you to know… I am a friend… that thinks it's funny when friends get hurt."

Almost right after Bud had said this, Jo indistinctively heard a noise from the side.

She and everyone turned. It wasn't the bushes again… it was a second group of meerkats coming up onto the cliff they were all standing on. There were about five of them. And all appeared to be a little darker and grayer in color.

The apparent leader of the group stood directly in front of the waterfall precipice like he was about to jump.

He then looked like he had just noticed Jo and Clay's gang.

"Oh," the meerkat said. He straightened himself out, eyeing their group. "Were you guys about to use this spot?"

Jo and Clay briefly exchanged glances. The lead meerkat looked curious.

Clay returned his glance back to him.

"Yeah…" he answered simply.

The lead meerkat then dropped his eyes down and tapped his chin. He looked back at them to speak.

"Well… um… we're using this spot now. So, um… you can go home now."

Jo's face contorted into bitter confusion. The lead meerkat then positioned himself again to dive off the rushing waterfall.

"Hey, man!" Brad then said, water sloshing as he took a few steps over to him. The lead meerkat froze and glanced over.

"That's totally bogus," Brad said. "We were here first."

"…And now you're going home," the meerkat stressed to them. He stood up straighter and gave them a feigned, happy wave.

"So ta-ta!"

Jo blinked. Her paw went to her chest.

"-Excuse me…?" she inquired.

A meerkat head then poked up from the group.

"…You're excused…!" he piped out… waving good-bye. A few surrounding friends of his giggled.

Jo dropped her paw. Clearly… these guys' parents hadn't taught them better.

She took and step forward and shrugged.

"…Why can't we just share this spot?" she suggested to the opposing group.

The lead meerkat now looked like he was getting annoyed. He gave up on his diving pose and turned to face Jo.

"…Because then it'd be too crowded," he snapped curtly. "…And we don't have any more room for any more losers on this cliff. So leave."

Jo moved her mouth. This wasn't going anywhere. She glanced over her shoulder at Bud and Brad… who both shrugged indifferently.

Maybe they should just go home.

But at that moment, Clay had already taken a few paces forward.

"…You know…" he began loudly, wading through water. The opposing group of meerkats turned their heads… with some attention.

"…I wouldn't be hating on her…" he told them. "She's with us…"

The lead meerkat stared, uninterested.

"So?" he said absentmindedly.

Clay continued… timidly glancing over to Jo… who just watched him.

"…So… her old man's best pals with the king. That lion can hunt you down and give you what's coming to you…"

The lead meerkat threw his head back.

"Oh, now I'm scared," he said. "Help, help, the big bad kitty's coming to get me."

A few more members of his meerkat alliance gave way to snickers and giggling.

"No, I'm serious, dude…" Clay pressed on. He thumbed at Jo behind him. "…Her dad even raised the king since he was a cub…!"

And then… a single meerkat from the opposing group tilted her head in Jo's direction, and threw on a fake sympathetic voice.

"…Aawwwww!" she said. The surrounding meerkats then let loose unconfined laughter.

Jo visibly shrunk in a little… wringing her wrist. Clay's face dropped a little… only then realizing the mistake he had just made in even mentioning something that personal.

Jo pulled in her lips and secretly turned her back on them towards Clay.

"Clay…" she said. "What're you doing, bringing my dad into this…?"

Clay looked like he didn't know what to say at the moment. He just stood there and shrugged… hoping it would've helped.

"-I think it's adorable!" a meerkat called out.

This wasn't worth it. Jo rolled her green eyes.

"Er… come on." She turned to Bud and Brad. "Let's just go…" she said to him.

"-That's right!" a female meerkat called out. "…Daddy's wittle girl says it's time to go home!"

Some more laughter from the meerkats.

"Yo, stop hatin' on Jo, bro," Bud told him, pointing a finger at him.

"'Jo…?'" the lead meerkat repeated. "Are you kidding me? …Jo's a boy's name!"

His horde of meerkat buddies wouldn't stop giggling. It was getting harder for Jo to just stay confined in this one spot. Jo really just wanted to go home.

The lead meerkat composed himself and crossed his arms. "But…" he began. "…You're parents know you better than I do."

"Oohhhh!" the group beside him chorused, which was followed by a fit of guffawing.

A flicker of anger then suddenly sparked Jo to speak up. She opened her mouth and leaned in.

"…And obviously yours didn't teach you how to treat others…" she snapped back.

The lead meerkat whirled his head in Jo's direction, quite angrily.

"…Your parents can shove it!"

Jo blinked.

"Look, dude! What's your problem?" Brad suddenly intervened. "All we wanted to do today was just jump off a few cliffs. Why do you have to be a jerk about it?"

The group behind the lead meerkat then got quiet… waiting for their leader to say something. He then softened his face, and placed a paw over his heart in mock affection.

"Oh, I am sorry…" he said. "…You said you guys wanted to jump off a few cliffs?"

"-Yeah, man!"

"-Ohhh… okay, then…"

The meerkat then turned silently towards Clay… and gave him a single, hard shove backwards to the edge of the some, one-hundred foot waterfall they were all standing on.

Jo gasped with horror with Bud and Brad.

"HEY!" she yelped. She leapt at the meerkat.

The group behind the lead meerkat then jabbed their fists into the air and yelled. As Clay flung backwards, Jo grabbed his forearm and yanked him away from the perch. As she pulled him away, Clay flew forwards and landed on his stomach in the small stream. Jo went with him.

All of the sudden, everyone heard a loud crowd screaming below the waterfall for some reason.

There was a loud, carnivorous snarl. A flash of glimmering black shot across Jo's peripheral vision. Then all of the opposing meerkats started screaming.

Jo managed to get a glimpse of the lead meerkat's face lying in the stream… which was a gaping mix of terror and dread.

He was gawking over Jo's shoulder.

Then every single one of his buddies- male and female- shrieked and bolted the other way, hurdling over rocks, and retreating back down the cliff from whence they came.

"AAGUGHHH! MOMMY!" a voice wailed out.

Jo smirked.

"Yeah, you better run!" she called back to them.

Bud and Brad were also yelling.

"-JO…!" Clay practically screamed out. "LOOK OUT!"

A savage roar ripped through the air, and Jo spun her body around to look. And then… a black, four-legged creature pounced right at the girl meerkat.

Out of instinct, she instantly got up and sprang out of the way just in time, unclear about what it was. The creature snarled and spat wildly, splattering water everywhere in it's path. It turned around on it's paws to once again face Jo.

Jo stood up and finally saw the animal. She froze entirely.

A black panther. A black panther was eyeing her and her friend hungrily, stalking low to the ground, preparing to make it's next move.

The animal maliciously crept closer… back hunched, and glowing eyes focused on the meerkats. It's lean muscles gleamed through it's black, silky pelt.

It had no pupils.

The panther then sprang forward again like elastic, claws extracted in front of itself. The four adolescents yelped and scrambled out of the way. The panther charged right past them all and was headed for Clay... its random target.

He was making a run for it, but tripped over a small rock in the river that sent him face first into the water. He gasped and spun his body around.

The panther was making a ferocious run towards him, and Clay cried out and shielded himself with his elbow.

All the sudden, a large rock then sailed through the air and smacked the wild cat in the face.

"HEY STUPID CAT!"

The panther shook it off angrily, and shot its eyes over to the thrower.

Jo stood there in the water, now a little unsure about what to do. She backed up, watching the large carnivore. The panther watched her… and bared its teeth into a fierce smirk.

Now she was in trouble.

Out of ideas, Jo then flailed her arms and ran off in the opposite direction. The panther took off behind her and snarled barbarically.

Clay sat up in horror, watching his friend run down the ledge of the cliff in a panic.

Brad and Bud watched nearby.

"RUN, DUDETTE!" Brad screamed after her. "RUN FOR YOUR LIFE!"

Jo was hurdling over several boulders in order to climb down off the cliff. But the wild panther managed to jump onto a large rock behind her, prepared for an aerial pounce. Now it was mad.

The large crowd below Cobra Cliffs ran in a panic- elephants trumpeted, Thomson's gazelles went ballistic, and flustered birds flapped each and every direction… one blue one in particular flew frantically out of the premises, and straight for the Pride Lands.

But Jo had unfortunately reached the end of the cliff upon the rushing waterfall, and she skidded to a halt, waving her arms around to regain balance. The gleaming surface of a pool of water stared back at her… a good hundred feet below.

Jo quickly glanced around… for anything else to make a jump for.

There were a few lower stacks of rock scattered nearby the waterfall… all of them steadily descending like stepping stones.

She heard a loud shrieking snarl, and Jo whirled around to look. The panther had already leapt off its rock- flying right for her.

Jo immediately took a running jump off her cliff- and landed hard onto a rock platform nearby. The panther almost went flying sideways off the cliff at missing its target, and it scrambled its claws around in midair for something, anything to grab onto.

Its paws caught onto the steep end of the ledge- and its claws screeched along the rock wall in an attempt to stop falling.

Jo huffed, and began to stand up carefully on her platform, turning around in the process to keep an eye on the cat. Water from the gushing waterfall sprayed up into a hissing mist, turning the surrounding area a white haze.

The panther did not look happy. It was struggling to climb back up the rocky ledge, growling and snorting all the while. It was prepping itself up to pounce for Jo once more.

Jo had to think quickly again… if she ever got out of this alive, she was never going fall-diving again. She spotted another nearby rock platform through the misty fog.

It was a risky jump… but at this point, anything went.

Jo gathered all the strength she had and ran straight off her claimed rock tower, onto the next platform with a smack!

Rock-hopping. It was working, at least…

The panther was quickly catching on, and made a giant leap for Jo's previous rock tower as well, but barely made it across and clumsily landed on its stomach on the platform, scratching and clawing at loose rock, which went tumbling down into the water pool below.

Jo jumped again, to a mossy log wedged in between two cliffs nearby. But she realized to her misfortune, there was nothing else in her proximity to leap onto to stall time. And she was trapped.

Jo turned around. The panther obviously realized this, and was grinning a Cheshire cat grin. A low, soft growl rumbled from within its throat… eyeing Jo ravenously. It then sprang onto the second rock tower Jo was previously on. This was not good.

The big cat was only one jump away from getting onto the decaying log Jo was balancing on. Jo backed away slowly, taking one step at a time along the log.

She then glanced down.

The pool of water below glittered like diamonds in the high sun. It sure looked inviting compared to the razor-sharp teeth of a fully-grown black panther.

Only a maniac would do what she was thinking about doing…

Another growl shook Jo out of her thoughts. She snapped her head back up. The panther was crouching low on the rock platform… kneading the surface, about to pounce at her.

Unknowingly, Brad, Bud, and Clay were all tensely watching the scene from above atop the waterfall.

Jo shot her wide eyes down below.

All those sharp rocks mentioned before at the bottom…

She then looked back up again at the panther.

This is what they came here for…

The ferocious feline then flashed its fangs and roared- spit flying everywhere- and sprang off the rock stack, and extracted its claws for meerkat flesh.

Jo dove off the log. And she disappeared into the mist.

There was a tremendous crackling sound, and the black panther had managed to snap the entire molding log in half, suddenly sending itself-and the broken log- plummeting down, down into the crystal blue pool one-hundred feet below.

Jo hit the water in the pool like a rock, and was briefly sent underwater. She found the surface and the meerkat child gasped for air. There were a few last-second screams at the edge of the pool, and giraffes and cape buffalo bolted the other way, just in time to avoid the huge log- and savage panther- plunging down into the water.

Jo yelped and shot underneath the water again to avoid getting hit.

SPLASH!

A huge tidal wave then came over the pool, water sloshing towards land and overflowing the bank. Large ripples crashed to land, until the entire pool gently calmed down into a still nothing.

Wading through the pool, Jo panted hard, her whole body dripping wet. She trudged onward, turning back to investigate behind her.

The two pieces of mossy log then bobbed up to the surface… with no panther in sight.

There suddenly came a pitter-pattering of paws nearby. Jo turned.

"JO! JOHARI!"

Clay, Bud, and Brad all came rushing towards her, leaping and sliding down a few final rocks on the cliff before making it safely to the ground.

Jo then sighed to herself… inwardly grimacing. She stood there in the pool, sopping wet and simply waited until all three boys made it over to her. They were all smiling and waving their arms around.

"-Jo, Jo! That was incredible!"

"-You totally rock, man!"

"-What a jump!"

All three boys then pranced into the pool, kicking up water and practically swarmed her. Brad, then ran over to Jo and faced her. He fell to his knees before her with a sploosh… grabbing her wrist in the process.

Jo yelped and bent forward.

"…You just totally earned my eternal respect, dude!" Brad declared.

Jo scoffed, and angrily swiped her hand back. Brad frowned.

Then… a bubbling sound came about from behind the teenagers.

All the meerkats turned around.

A ferocious black face then surfaced the water, giving out a ruthless snarl. All four meerkats then knitted their brows together in horror- and screamed in unison.

The panther's lean, black coat was soaked, and it gleamed in the sun. It charged right for the four adolescents without thinking.

Now it was wet, angry panther.

It pounced.

Brad and Bud threw their arms around each other, but before anything else horrifying could happen- another fierce roar shred through the air.

Everyone gawked up.

A large, red-brown blur leapt right over everyone's heads. It tackled the black wild cat with bared teeth- colliding straight into it. The panther screeched as it was sent backwards, splashing back into the pool, and nailed to the pool floor with a BOOM. White water flew upward, soaking both wild animals.

Clay, Jo, Bud and Brad watched curiously. A young lion struggled to keep the panther underwater… but it was squirming and wiggling fiercely under his hold.

A lion… with a black mane… and scar over his left eye.

Kovu.

Jo's mouth dropped a little.

Uh-oh. Somebody saw what happened… and had informed the Pride Lands.

The savage panther then batted at Kovu's face, and he stepped off the cat, yelling in pain. The panther surfaced and shrieked back at Kovu… only to instantly turn around and prod away from the area… obviously having enough for one day.

Kovu grunted and staggered forward, shaking off the blow. He watched the panther's tail flick into a bunch of hibiscus shrubs… and disappear like it was never even here.

Kovu exhaled… clearly exhausted.

The group of meerkats were left speechless. They watched the bushes where the beastly cat had just left them… and then gawked up at the lion who had just saved them all.

Kovu was beginning to breathe a little easier, and he just stood there with his legs apart, and firmly planted in the pool of water… glaring straight ahead. His mane was drizzling with water.

He then noticed it had just gotten very quiet. Kovu paused his breathing. Then looked over to all four meerkats down by his side.

They all just stared. Kovu stared back.

And then he shot up an irritated a brow… like he was waiting for them to say something.

A distant rumble of thunder came through the clouds. Clay, Bud and Brad all then simultaneously widened their eyes... suddenly getting an idea.

"Oh, gee, would you look at the time?" Clay then shouted out, pretending to look at some invisible watch on his wrist. "I should, uh… get going now!"

The meerkat then whirled around and began to take off in the other direction… presumably home. Bud and Brad quickly followed behind him.

"-Yeah, uh…" Bud started. "…My mom's probably super worried about me!"

"-And I have to feed my pet weasels!" Brad shot back, running after Clay and Bud. They all scampered out of the vicinity… leaving Jo and Kovu all by themselves.

The sun had gone someplace. It wasn't as bright as it had been this afternoon.

Jo glanced up at the sky… all out of ideas.

She then tried on a cheesy smile and glanced up at Kovu.

"Well, it's been an exciting day, Kovu, but Brad might need my help in holding down those weasels, SO BYE!"

"-Hold it."

Just as Jo was about to turn the other way, Kovu gently laid his paw down over her tail to prevent her from going anywhere. Jo winced.

Oh, grievances. Why couldn't he just keep this all a secret?

The meerkat girl then cautiously turned around to look back up at him. Kovu didn't look very amused. He moved his mouth… visibly pondering over this.

"…I think I better take you home," he told her solemnly.

Jo frantically shook her head. She clasped her paws together.

"Kovu, please," she said desperately. "My parents cannot find out about any of this! Please…? They'll never let me do anything ever again…"

"Too late," Kovu said matter-of-factly. Jo's face melted… into stomach-turning dread.

"Wha…?" she began to utter. "Who… when? How?"

Just then, a fluttering of wings came about above Jo's head.

"-Quite a fortunate thing I saw what happened!" a royal, nasally voice said. Jo spun around.

Of course. The bird-brain hornbill.

Zazu perched himself on the branch of a tree hanging overhead, looking quite alarmed and irritated.

"…Miss Johari, just what on earth did you think you were doing?" he asked her. Jo narrowly stared at him… gawking at him. Then looked back at Kovu.

He casually rolled his eyes upward… gathering his next words.

"…A, uh… little birdy told them," he told her coolly.

Oh perfect.

Jo groaned and rolled her own eyes… she hunched over, and pouted.

Another small rumble of thunder sounded from out of the sky… reminding them all that the fun was over.

Kovu sighed… almost sympathizing with Jo. In fact, he had gotten into trouble with his own mother several times before.

Kovu then looked down at her.

"Come on," he said. "Gotta face the music sometime or later…"


At some point in every teenager's life, there is always that dreaded, dead-kid-walking feeling in the pit of the stomach after a wrongdoing.

That was exactly what was churning in Jo's.

She, Kovu, and Zazu had just about re-entered the Pride Lands when it began to gently drizzle rain. Kovu led the way back to Pride Rock, and they all spotted a few familiar faces waiting for them in the distance at the foot of it: Simba… Pumbaa… and Timon and Kheeva, of course. Apparently, they all had caught sight of them as well. Pumbaa's face lit up.

"Hey, look!" he announced happily. "There they are!"

Jo rolled her eyes.

"UUUGGH…!"

Kheeva clasped her paws to her mouth and gasped. She didn't look mad like Jo had anticipated. But more scared. She could've been crying for all Jo knew, but it was too hard to tell in the light, sprinkling rain.

Simba eyed his best friend's daughter from a distance… and came to realize that maybe it would be best if they just left.

As Jo trudged forward, she saw the lion king bend down to his warthog friend and murmur a few syllables. Pumbaa nodded.

Simba and Pumbaa then got up to leave… making their way back up to the warm, dry den of Pride Rock. Kheeva let her arms drop from her mouth and opened her arms wide to Jo. When her daughter was close enough, she came up to her and grabbed her into a long embrace.

Timon, however… stood off to the side, letting the two hug. He fiddled with his fingers… showing his teeth worriedly.

Kheeva then parted from Jo.

"Don't ever do anything like that again!" she commanded, her eyes a little wet. "You had us scared to death!"

She then hugged her once more, stifling a sob. Now Jo felt bad.

No… not bad. Horrible.

"I…" Jo softly started. Her words were muffled by her mom's fur. "I'm sorry, mum."

Kheeva sighed. She was okay… which was all she really cared about.

Kovu then came strolling up behind Jo, with Zazu fluttering by his side. Kheeva looked up from her daughter when she heard them approaching.

"…Oh, thank you, Kovu!" she said… almost disregarding everything that had ever happened in between her and Kovu in the past.

Saada, and all.

"Where was she…?" Kheeva asked.

"…We found her with some of her friends, Kheevs," Kovu then informed her. "Good thing Zazu was there to tell us. They almost got killed today."

Jo rolled her eyes… still in her mom's arms.

Yeah. Real good thing. He couldn't thank that hornbill enough.

Said hornbill then decided to land on the ground by Kovu's feet. Zazu opened his tangerine beak to speak.

"…And just who's bright idea was this, anyhow?" he inquired poshly.

An ominous roll of thunder emitted from the clouds. As Kheeva still held Jo… she slowly began to remember just how this stupid situation came to happen in the first place.

She clenched her jaw.

Kheeva suddenly let Johari go, and turned around angrily at the culprit.

Timon stood there… watching everybody watching him. He then tried to smile meekly.

"Heh-heh…" he tittered, trying to crack at least the tiniest smile from old Kheevs. But she wasn't smiling in the least. She wore a look that said it all: "I told you so."

Timon's tense expression softened… into dread.

Now he was in for it.