Chapter 3: The disastrous party
Simba, Haki and Kyto headed into the Pride lands, chasing the three strangers. They were undoubtedly hyenas, but they didn't look like the ones lion cubs were used to seeing. Finally, the strangers reached a hill from which they could see the terrain of the Mbali fields. In them, a large herd of wildebeest was grazing peacefully. The boys hid on some nearby rocks.
"Hehehe," one of the hyenas laughed, "Look how many delicious morsels there are."
"Yes," the other laughed, "There is no such thing in the distance. "Those kings we have are too soft to allow us to have this banquet."
"It's fortunate that they are not in the distance, but we have to hurry before the lion guard arrives," the other finished.
"I know who they are!" Kyto whispered, "That's Tabaqui over there; the other, Ganya; the third is Mwongo. "They are not trustworthy: they are three hooligans who are stealing food in the distance."
"Have you come here to hunt?" Haki asked, after they hid behind a rock, "We should call the lion guard."
"Won't you be the future leader of the guard?" Simba questioned, "Come on, we can handle them."
"Can you little creatures?" he growled a voice behind them.
Looking at them over the rock, three heads peeked out and the three hyenas looked at them with hostility and laughter. The cubs were paralyzed when they saw that they were trapped, as the hyenas divided up and began to surround them in a circle.
"Hey, I know you," said one (the one who was Tabaqui) to Kyto, "You're Jasiri and Janja's cub."
"Leave him alone," Simba told them, "You have no right to come to the Pride lands."
"Oh!" said the one who was Ganya, "And with a pair of lion cubs! "Child, you should look for your friends better: lions and hyenas should not be friends."
"Simba and Haki are my friends!" Kyto shouted at them.
"Simba... Simba..." said the last one, named Mwongo, "That name sounds familiar..."
"Well, of course it sounds familiar, idiot!" Tabaqui shouted at him, "He is the descendant of the king! And the other is the son of the lion's guard leader!"
"Well then..." said Ganya, "Let's see if the rumor that he is the spitting image of King Simba is true..."
The hyenas were beginning to approach. Simba and Haki were looking for a way to escape.
"Simba, there is some dust to your right," Haki whispered to him.
"Only enough for one," he replied, "That Mwongo seems like the fool of the pack. But we have to run towards the Mwabli fields"
"Better than staying where we are…" Kyto suggested.
"Good. One… two… three!" Simba shouted as he threw dirt in Mwongo's face.
The hyena could not react in time and the dust blinded its vision, a moment that the three cubs took advantage of to escape into the open field. The other two hyenas ran after them, leaving their companion to clean himself up. Upon reaching the edge of the hill, the three boys climbed onto a rock, without imagining what would happen next:
The rock was not stable, because as soon as the three of them were on it, it moved and fell off the slope, like a snow board on a hill. The three cubs screamed as they could not control it and found themselves darting towards the wildebeest herd. Before reaching solid ground, a rock intervened on the one they were sliding on and the three found themselves flying towards the herd. Fortunately, they had fallen on the animals, but to his misfortune, Simba fell while he had his claws out.
As you can imagine, this caused a chain reaction: the first wildebeest went crazy with pain so much that he pushed and stabbed another one with his horn and he did the same again. In a second, the entire herd had gone crazy and was running up the hill again. The hyenas, who were going for the cubs, came face to face with a stampede and, in less than the blink of an eye, the wildebeest had been crushed by them. Luckily for them, they were still alive.
Meanwhile, Simba Haki and Kyto were on top of these animals like a rider with a raging bull, holding on with all their strength. Looking ahead, Haki exclaimed:
"Oh no! We're returning to Mizimu Grove!"
(Meanwhile, on the outskirts of the Grove...)
Amira paced back and forth, fearing the worst.
"They should have come back" she said, "I hope..."
Just then, the ground started shaking.
"What's going on?" Masika asked.
"Oh no!" Salma exclaimed, pointing ahead, where the stampede was coming from, "Look!"
"They're Simba, Haki and Kyto! Riding on… wildebeests?"
"We must alert the others!"
(Inside...)
Everything was ready for the special Kupatana celebration song (organized this time by Ono). However, before we could begin, waves of movement began to be felt. All the animals felt scared.
"What's going on?!" some asked.
"Dad! Mom!" Amira shouted returning along with Salma and Masika, "A stampede is coming!"
"Lion Guard...!" Koda shouted.
"...defending!" completed the rest of the guard, and they all headed out to stop the disaster.
"Everyone stay safe!" Dan ordered, "Ono, take them to the densest part of the grove."
"Yes, your majesty!" Ono responded.
"Amira, where are Simba, Haki and Kyto?" Shany asked her daughter.
"They're on the wildebeest!" answered the cub.
"What?!" Dan exclaimed, feeling his heart sink, "I'm going for them! Shany, get the girls somewhere safe!"
Without waiting for any objection, Dan leaped in the direction where the lion's guard had gone. He didn't have much trouble catching up with them: the wildebeest stampede was already beginning to penetrate the grove. Seeking cover, the lion jumped into the branches to avoid the attacks.
"Dan!" his brother shouted at him from another branch.
"Koda, our cubs are on a pair of wildebeest" Dan explained.
"Yes, Akira saw them, that's why I couldn't use the roar. We have to get them out of there first. Mako and Jabari are trying to stop them with a log, but they won't last long..."
"Guys! This way!" Lea, who was walking between branches with great speed, shouted to them, "There they are!"
The wildebeests continued to arrive, and among them the cubs were still holding on with difficulty.
"You go get Simba," Koda told Dan, "We'll go get Haki and Kyto."
"Good plan," his brother responded, "Now!"
The three lions jumped from branch to branch; then, when they were close enough, they all jumped towards the stampede, perched for a second on the wildebeest's backs, grabbed the cubs, and jumped back to the branches.
"Dad!" Simba exclaimed when he noticed that his father had saved him.
The next second, Koda and Haki arrived at his side.
"Take care of Haki," Koda told him, "I'm going to stop this with my roar."
"Okay," he responded. Then, he turned to the cubs, "Simba, Haki, put me on my back. Kyto, you can go on Lea's"
The cubs obeyed and Dan and Lea (carrying Kyto) took them out of harm's way. For his part, Koda went as far forward as he could, to where Mako, Jabari and Akira were resisting the entire herd of wildebeests with a fairly thick log.
"Here I go!" Koda ordered them, "Step aside!"
The other lions moved away and Koda roared with the mighty roar of the ancestors, just as the wildebeests broke through the barrier. With the power of the roar, not even the strong stampede could continue and slowed its movement until they were knocked down. The idea was not to send them flying, but to calm them down.
However, the Kupatana celebration venue had been damaged and the king sadly watched as a day of peace and union had turned into a disaster.
