Hey guys, it's me. I'm sorry again for the late post I ended up hitting a little snag while working on the chapter. To start out, I wasn't liking what I was writing and I had to again scrap like, 85% of it. Which left me, on the rare chances I had a quiet, chore/errand free moment to myself, spending an absurd amount of time just staring at the keyboard and struggling to figure out what the heck I need to do in order to get this chapter going.
By the time I finally did have a plan and started to beef it out near the end of July, something came up and my parents needed my help, so I went over to their house for a while. I thought I could pick it back up and finish as soon as I came back, but it just didn't turn out that way…make sure your laptop charging cables are nowhere near furniture that may end up severing/turning them into fire hazards.
You'd think I would have learned this very simple lesson since it's already happened to me before...twice. -_-;
But enough about that, I know you're all just here to read ;) So let me take the time to thank those who were so generous to leave a review for the previous chapter…
Guest: Welp, you'll have to read to find out for sure X3.
Guest: Hmmm, indeed. Those are all excellent points.
Parcival Wolf12: Holy muffins, that's so sweet of you to say hun, thank you! X3 well, I just figured that would be how it is. If animals could tell stories, I'm sure there would be a big number of them that would paint humanity in a pretty bad light. I'm really glad to hear that you enjoy the story, and I'll for sure be finishing it, it might just take a little bit XP.
And thank you so much for that, I'm trying to be.
Guest: I know, I'm so so SO sorry! DX
Daniel Clausen: Thank you so much, it makes me so happy to hear when someone enjoys a story :D :D :D
And I'm also glad to hear that you enjoy Ryan's character, as well. I tried hard to make him a good character, and it was a little challenging. But I'm pretty happy with him, and I like to think I did an okay job. :3
I'll try and get the next chapter up here pretty soon, and thank you again, hun!
Guest: While those are all excellent suggestions, I'm not sure about doing a reboot. At the most, I may go back and make touch ups to it once this is completed.
Guest: Well, thank you for your reimagining of the last chapter, although I am very sorry to see that you don't seem particularly impressed with it, or with Ryan himself. I know not everyone would have, but I apologize all the same that he didn't meet any expectations you had when you took time out of your day to read the story.
erica. phoenix16: You're welcome hun, and thank you so much for reading it X3
Guest: Oh my gosh, I love that movie, and really enjoyed that song! :D :D :D Now I can't get the image of Simba and Ryan singing it together, lol XD XD XD
Guest: Don't worry, I fully intend to finish the story :) :) :)
Guest: It takes me some time to post new chapters, but I'm gonna keep going until this story is done. I have no intentions of dropping it since I've gotten this far with it.
As for meeting more Lion Guard characters, they unfortunately won't make it into the story solely on the reason that I don't want to make it too overwhelming for me. But I have gone back to make a very small mention of other herds arriving to make their animal army a bit bigger, but there won't be any more specific mentions.
Guest: I sure am :) I'm trying to keep on it, and I'm so glad to hear that you're enjoying the story! :D
jujp: Thank you so much, I'm so happy to hear that you're enjoying it :D :D :D And no worries there, however long it may take, I plan to have all my stories completed and this one is first and foremost in line until it's finished.
Steelcode: Hey there hun, it's great to see you too X3 Sorry it took me so long. It was a tough end last year, and while 2021 hasn't been particularly stellar so far, I have things that I'm hopeful for. And thank you, I'm certain that she's watching of us as well, along with all of our loved ones that we've had to say goodbye to.
Ah-ah-ah, I'm not sayin' nuthin'! You'll just have to read and find out. And holy muffins, it's seriously just two letters off from that, lol XD XD XD
Thank you for your review hun, I'll try and have the next chapter up sooner.
Paul Crew: Thank you so much, and oh yes, she was the sweetest little lady and an absolute firecracker X) And thanks, I'm really glad you enjoyed the chapter! Lol, well, while it probably won't be as epic as a bunch of dinosaurs, there will defiantly be a "storm" rolling in for them!
Jh0nnyBR123: Thank you so much for your condolences, you're very sweet :) And I'm certainly gonna keep up with this story, I'm glad to hear that you enjoy it. Also, don't worry about your English hun, it looks pretty good to me.
Just A Visitor: Thank you so much for your review. Sometimes it'll take me a bit to get back to it depending on what's happening, but no matter how long it takes, I'll trying my hardest to keep working on these stories.
That means so much to hear you say that this story is among your favorites, you have no idea how amazing that it to me. It makes me feel so good to know that I've been doing an okay job keeping the characters I borrow as true as I can. And I bet you'd make a beautiful story, hun! It can be hard, but it feels so very rewarding!
Also, thank you for your condolences. We still miss her, but we know in our hearts that she's finally at rest and free from pain
BlackRaptor1: Lol, if there was ever a great song for what's to come, that one's definitely within the top five of the best! XD And now that they all stand united, let's hope it'll be enough to shut the poachers down for good!
00RaiserGundam: Thank you, that really means a lot. She was one of the toughest women I knew, I can only hope that I'll have half the strength and tenacity she did.
Hmm, I'm gonna have to look up Megas: XLR to see if I recognize it, but it sounds really familiar. And thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed the last chapter, I hope you like this one just as much!
I-Love-Trunks1: Thank you so much for your review! It's great to hear that you enjoyed the previous chapter, and I'll try to best to get more chapters up soon!
bored411: And I'm excited to have it posted for you to read now! I really hope you enjoy it, and thank you so much for that! It's been rough this year to say the least, but I'll do my best.
MillieBelle: Thank you hun, I appreciate it. It's hard, but that's just how life can get at times, but I won't forget to remember how lucky I was to have someone so special as a member of my family.
TheBigBrotherWTPD: Thanks a bunch for your review, I'm really glad to hear that you enjoyed the chapter! I know it didn't have a lot of action, but hopefully this chapter will make up for it :D:D:D.
Well, I appreciate the use of darker elements to stories, I don't think I have it in me to actually write out a hands-on kill scene(even if the antagonist most assuredly deserves it). Not that it isn't a great idea for a delightfully darker story, I just don't thing I can do it myself.
Jason Chandler: Lol, no worries hun, and she was a total boss! She sure surprised all of us, the nurses especially. They didn't think this tiny little lady in her late 90's could recover, but ho boy, she sure proved them wrong XD
Jestalnaker94000: Thank you, and she was. She was both loving and a fighter who did things her own way. I'm sure she is too, thank you so much again :)
That's good to hear, I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter :D:D:D Lol, that made me laugh, the Hulk unfortunately won't be able to make it, but I'm sure the smashing of property that is to come will make him proud XD XD XD
Thanks so much for sticking with me! I hope you enjoy :D :D :D
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Chapter 20: Rolling Storm
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The night was dark and quiet, save for the crickets chirping somewhere within the jungle and the crackling of wood that was still burning in the large fire pit that sat in the middle of the poacher's campsite and the loud snores that resonated from the tent that sheltered the three men.
Blissfully unaware of the fact, that hidden within the darkness was an army that was ready to strike.
Ryan parted the leaves of the brush around them, glaring at the firelight that was off in the distance for just a moment before he withdrew his hands and turned back to the animals.
"Okay guys, recap; I'll go in first with the lions, wild dogs and the baboons to free Nala, Timon and Pumbaa and Imani's pups." Ryan began, going over a brief summarization of plan. "Then after the baboons help get the firearms far away from here, the lions will give the first signal to get the hippos, crocs, zebras and the other herds to come in. Once we got them good and scared and I have Kiara out of the way, I'll whistle for the rhinos and elephants."
"Understood." Aminifu affirmed. "We will all wait here until you call."
The young man nodded looking to the groups that were going in with him once before he quietly led them through the jungle brush as he wanted to keep some distance from the camp to make as little noise as possible. Which ended up being a good idea as, Makuu had been right, baboons were not all that quiet and Big Baboon was quite the complainer as he followed them over and around obstacles when there was a perfectly easier and faster way to go.
But he was talking about the clearing in the middle of the camp, which was obviously a no-go and they promptly told him so. Once they made it to the warehouse and crept up to the back entrance, Ryan had the group stop before he turned around to give them instructions.
"I'll go in first." Ryan whispered. "Hang back just for a bit; If things are still quiet in there, then Simba can come in next and then Imani."
When he saw them nod their heads in understanding, Ryan slowly started towards the entrance.
Everything was very quiet, save for someone giving Big Baboon a sharp "Shh!" when he attempted to complain about being the only leader who didn't receive the okay to go inside; And when Ryan slowly pulled away a section of the door flap to peek inside, he slipped inside he saw that the room was still and dark, save from the dim glow of a few of lanterns that where spread throughout the warehouse.
"It's all my fault…" he heard a voice say, it was Nala.
As he let his eyes adjust to the darkness, he spotted the cage the poachers kept her in and saw her lying down and began to lightly tiptoe over to her. He was also surprised to see Timon and Pumbaa in the cage too, as he got closer.
"C'mon, you know that's not true." The meerkat told her gently as he patted a small paw upon her larger one. "Those poachers are the ones responsible here."
"But if I had just gone with him!" her voice cracking miserably. "He'd still be here if I had just gone…"
"You stayed for Kiara, Nala, Ryan knew why ya couldn't leave." Pumbaa assured. "He wouldn't want ya blamin' yourself."
"Well, yeah." Ryan said, making the three of them to jumped and whip their heads around to look at him in shock. "Considering I'm not even dead yet."
It took only took half a second for it to fully click, and when it did, Nala jumped up and reached her paws through the bars to wrap them around Ryans' head faster than one could blink. The young man didn't even realize what was happening until he found his face smooshed hard against the iron bars.
"You're alive!" Nala cried in genuine joy and relief as she rubbed her head against the cage where Ryan's was, trying her best to express how truly elated she was to see her friend again. "When we heard them use their thunder, when we never saw you again, I thought you were gone!"
"N-Nawa, tha hursh meh fash!" Ryan struggled to say before she finally released him and he had to take a second to rub the ache out of his jaw.
"It was close, but I had some help." The young man said, rubbing the ache out of his jaw. "But before anything else, let's focus on getting you guys out of this cage first."
"I think they put the keys over there somewhere, on that thing." Pumbaa told him, nodding towards the worktable that was near the door.
Ryan immediately stood up and began pushing through cluttered tabletop to find the key; And while he busied himself with his search, Simba entered, his worried expression brightening with a smile upon seeing his best friends and his beloved queen.
"Nala!" Simba exclaimed in relief as he hurried towards the cage, pressing his forehead against the iron bars as cream furred lioness did the same. "Did they hurt you?"
"No, I'm fine, just a little cramped." Nala assured.
"Those bozos threw us in here thinking she'd eat us." Timon stated as he let out a laugh. "Shoulda seen the looks on their faces when things didn't turn out like they thought."
"Nope, haven't had to worry about that since the time we first met." Pumbaa added with a big smile. "When she wouldn't let 'em take us out, they just gave up and left to settle in for the night."
Nala gave a soft hmm as she stepped back from cage to properly look him in the eye as she still had something very important to share with him.
"I'm so happy to see you, Simba." She began. "I know it might not be the best time right now, but I need to tell you-"
But her sentence suddenly died down when, over Simbas' shoulder, she noticed the tarp move from something walking in. And right when Ryan finally found the ring of keys that unlocked the cages, Nala gave a gasp when it fell away to reveal Imani standing there.
"Painted dogs?!" she snarled, the fur along her back and neck standing on end.
Imani stood silently, even when Gamba and Zuberi flew in to check on their alpha upon hearing threatening growls the moment she entered; Who were then followed by a few lionesses who also came to check in on things while Ryan quickly waved his hands back and forth as he stepped into Nala's line of sight.
"Nala, wait! Imani's a friend!" He hurriedly said before things could escalate and motioning for everyone to quiet down.
"Friend?! They're leader tried to kill Kiara!" Nala stated in angry disbelief.
"Well, she's…okay, I get why it's a shock, but it's a long story and we don't have a lot of time for explanations." The raven-haired teen said understanding her very valid concern as he walked over and began shifting through the keys to find the right one. "But you should know that the wild dogs are the reason I'm still around. They're not here to hurt us and I would be forever grateful if there were no fights!"
As soon as Ryan finally found the right one and unlocked the cage, Timon and Pumbaa were eager to step out to freedom. But the queen of the Pridelands was still very hesitant and wary as her teal-colored glare remained on the wild dogs until Simba stepped up to the cage.
"I don't like it either, but if nothing else, we owe it to them for saving Ryans' life." He explained to her. "They'll only stay until Imani recovers her young ones."
At that, Nala allowed herself to relax, though only slightly as an expression of recognition flashed over her face and she looked up to Ryan while she finally walked out of her iron prison.
"Those two pups?" She asked.
"Yeah, Akachi and Akuchi." Ryan was only then that he came to the realization that the cage they were being kept in was nowhere in sight. "Where are they?"
"The poachers moved them earlier this morning." Nala said. "After you disappeared, they said something about sending them away so they could make some…cash?"
Ryan felt his heart fall…they had been sold off already? Did they actually get worried enough to make a speedy transaction when Buziba helped him run away?
"D-did they leave the campsite with them?" he asked, his throat feeling dry as he tried not to think about what would happen to Imani if she didn't find her family.
Nala shook her head, a rather regretful frown on her face.
"I'm not sure, they brought them through there where I couldn't see." she said, gesturing towards the towering halls of crates and cages. "I could hear this strange, loud noise, like rock pounding on wood and then nothing; it's been quiet ever since."
Ryan gave a heavy sigh, somberly running his fingers through his raven hair as he turned to face to Imani. But to his surprise, he only saw Gamba and Zuberi standing there by themselves. They didn't speak to him, but they did gesture with their noses to the same direction Nala had shown him.
The young man took in a breath before he reached over and took a dimly burning kerosene lantern that had been sitting on the edge of the table; And after he brightened the flame, he started walking through the halls of crates and traps with everyone else following behind him in silence.
There was a rather tense feeling in the air, but thankfully, he soon spotted Imani. But he got another feeling of worry as the she-dog stood as still as a statue as she peered into to darkness before her.
"Imani?" Ryan asked softly as he walked closer and his nose suddenly wrinkled when a terrible, but somewhat familiar smell wafted over him. And when she didn't answer, he slowly raised lantern a bit higher. And as the area was bathed in the soft orange light, realization finally hit him when he discovered that she had been looking at a rack of animal furs.
The same one he had stumbled upon after he found out that Tilly and her group were poachers.
It was pretty dark at that time, and he never got a better look at them upon his initial discovery; But now, his heart dropped as he recognized the familiar mottled patterns of white, brown and black. Even Simba and Nala seemed at a loss for words as they stared at this awful sight before them.
"How can man treat us like this when all we want is to be left alone to live?" Imani finally asked. He could hear a slight waver in her voice as she tried to keep herself from breaking down. "My Adhama, my brothers and sisters, every poor creature that has ever had the misfortune to suffer such barbaric cruelty…what have we done to warrant such evil?"
"You did nothing." Ryan answered. "All of this is just because of a few scumy people doing anything they can to satisfy their own greed."
She already knew that to be the truth without the young man having to tell her, but it did nothing to bring Imani comfort because it was so unfair. So unjust. And as she bowed her head in despair, Ryan felt a renewed sense of anger for the poachers.
"We'll stop them, Imani." He firmly assured. "They're not gonna hurt anybody else ever again."
Even through her hurt, Ryan's steadfast conviction was enough to draw the slightest hint of a grateful smile from her.
"I'll hold you to that promise, Ryan." Imani told him softly.
"Mom?" a muffled voice suddenly asked in a soft, hesitant voice. "Mom, Is that you?"
Imani's eyes widened and she lifted her head to looked around the dim, cluttered warehouse.
"Akachi?" she asked hesitantly.
"Mama!" another young voice shouted in excitement.
"Akuchi!" Imani exclaimed trotting forward and sniffing the air and ground to pick up their scent, which unfortunate, she was unable to detect due to the strong smell of man and the odor from the furs. "Children, where are you?!"
A furious scratching reached their ears along with excited chirps and whimpers as Ryan held up the lantern and looked around until he spotted a single wooden crate that had multiple holes drilled into the top of it and he quickly ran over to it.
"Over there!" he called to the others as set down the lantern and tried to open the lid. But of course, it had been nailed shut.
"Back up, give me some room!" Ryan said, giving the wild dogs a chance to back away a couple paces before he drove the long end of the crowbar under the lid.
It took a bit of effort, and even though prying the nails from out of the wood was quite loud, Ryan simply hoped that they were just far enough away from the tents and kept going with the drive to reunite Imani with her family. All the while, Zuberi, Gamba and even Imani herself could hardly stand still with anticipation.
And with one more swift jerk of the crowbar, they froze as they watched him push the lid off the crate and reach inside and pulled out two ecstatic pups with their tails wagging so hard, their small bodies were wiggling with them.
"Mom!" the twins cried.
"Taa zangu, you're alright!" Imani exclaimed, her own tail starts to wag as tears of joy appearing in her eyes. And when Ryan quickly sat them down, they ran at their mother, jumping over her with nips and kisses that she happily allowed as she lowered her head more for them. "When they took you, I believed the worst; Oh my heart could burst with happiness!"
Everyone respectfully stood in silence, allowing a mother and her children to just be with each other, until Akachi was the first to pull away as she remembered something important.
"Mom, you have to help!" she said urgently. "It's uncle!"
At the mention of Buziba, the joyful reunion became somber as Imani lifted her head back up, her smile fading with sorrow.
"I…I know, my dears." Imani began. "He's joined you father and grandparents, I'm so sorry…"
"No, he was still here!" Akuchi spoke up. "When they locked us up in there, we could hear his voice, he said that you and Ryan would be coming soon to save us!"
"Nala, did you see them bring Buziba back here at all?" Ryan asked.
"No, but I did hear them talking about a painted dog last night; However, I'm sorry to say I wasn't in the best state to pay close attention." Nala confessed regretfully. "But from what I can recall, it didn't sound good."
Ryan looked back over to the crate that the pups were put in, seeing that it had been set down pretty close to the vinyl walls of the warehouse. If Buziba was still alive and close enough to talk to them...
"Come on, let's check it out!" he stated, hurrying back towards the rear exit they came in from.
The other lioness, wild dogs and baboons who had been waiting for them to return watched in confusion when they all finally came back outside only to briskly walk around to the other side of the building.
Ryan didn't want to waste any time with explanation as he heard a collective series of confused whispering when they followed, he just wanted to keep going until he felt he was coming up on just the right spot. But he did end up halting mid-stride when he noticed something odd about the grass. It was pretty overgrown in this area, but there was this one spot were they were flat, like something fairly heavy had been laying here before getting dragged away.
He could also see drops of blood on the green blades.
"Ryan?" Imani asked. "What do you see?"
He didn't answer her as he looked ahead and followed the path of bent grass with his eyes until he spotted something by the warehouse where he picked up the pace and held the lantern up to get a better look. Sure enough, it was Buziba, laying down on his side with his nose and feet turned towards the warehouse.
It...didn't look like he was breathing.
"Uncle?" Akuchi started, trying to walk over to him, but stopped with Imani placed a paw around his chest and shook her head; That was all they needed to make their eyes welled up with tears while they're little noses sniffling with grief as they pressed against themselves against their mother.
"Oh dry it up, already." A graveled voice said irritably.
Surprised, their heads lifted back up to see Buziba turning head with a bit of effort to look at them, a rather cranky expression on his face; After realizing that Buziba was alive, big and happy smiles appeared on the on Akachi and Akuchi's faces. And with joyful laugh, they bounded away from Imani and pounced upon their uncles' ribs, which made him jerk and let out an involuntary yelp.
"Easy!" He snapped. "I'm not dead, but I'm in no shape for rough housing!"
The lycaon pups quickly slid off to the ground, but they didn't leave his side as they walked around to nuzzle and roll bout his head, neck and face to further express their joy. Ryan gave him a quick once over, and sure enough the fur on his right hind leg was matted in clumps from dried blood that had seeped out from a nasty bullet wound that was in the middle of his right hind leg.
"The female shot me in a place where she thought her pet would recover from." Buziba told him when he noticed Ryan staring. "After a while, she just decided it wasn't worth the effort and left me here back here."
He tried to sit up, but it seemed like it hurt too much to move as he laid back down. Taking in a few deep breaths before he weakly lifted his head to look at Imani once the pain subsided.
"Imani, you shouldn't linger." He said. "Just take your kids and leave me here."
"Surely you don't expect me to do that." The she dog stated with a scoff upon his ridiculous request.
"I can't run!" Buziba insisted in exasperation. "And even if by some chance I survive this, I'll be lame and unfit to be a leader; just leave me, it's what I deserve."
"What you deserve is to be home with us!" Imani argued, which made Buziba growl in irritation.
"Don't be stupid!" He scolded. "Think of the pack-"
"I am thinking of the pack!" Imani snapped in a raised voice. "And I will not lose any more of us to man!"
She walked over and forcefully nosed her head under Buziba's side, ignoring him when he let out an agonized grunt as she continued to push him over. Only stopping once he was laying on his stomach where she stood over him with her honey brown eyes glaring into his gray ones with demanding expectancy.
"I am not the only one who would prefer you lame and with us than not have you at all!" she firmly added. "Now on your feet, you have rested long enough!"
Buziba only looked up at Imani like he wanted to argue with her more, but it was clear that he was too exhausted to attempt it. So he simply did as his fellow alpha demanded and pushed himself to stand on shaky legs; Ryan couldn't help but wince at how painful it looked, and the injured wild dog wobbled at first, but then he was steadied after Imani placed herself next to him for support.
"Ha...nice to see you back to your pushy self, sister." Buziba stated with a tired chuckle, to which Imani returned with a small smile before she looked over her shoulder to the others.
"Gamba, Zuberi, I'm entrusting you with the safety of Buziba and my pups." She told them,
"Yes, Imani." They responded as they quickly came over and stood on either side of Buziba to give him better support before they began to urge him away to the jungle.
"Wait." Buziba suddenly said, having them stop before they got any further as he turned his bright gaze towards the king and queen.
He hesitated at first, an expression of shame appearing on his face before he bowed his head and began to speak.
"Simba, you have every right to hate me, so I won't bother asking for forgiveness," The lycaon started. "When Zira came to me with that deal, all that was on my mind was a chance to save my niece and nephew; My own hatred and pain made it easier to ignore the fact that I knew it wrong, because then I could simply put the blame on man for all that they've done to us."
Ryan suddenly felt something poking at his arm and saw that Big Baboon was trying to get his attention. But he shooed his fingers away as he didn't want to do anything to break a possible reconcile between the wild dogs and the lions.
"The grief I put you through, that lies solely with me." Buziba continued. "And as hard as it is to admit, I'm grateful that stubborn kid stuck his nose in and stopped me from doing something that would have forever shadowed all that I mattered to me…with all that I am, I'm truly sorry."
Simba said nothing at first, just staring down at the wild dog who almost took his daughter away from him. But as his amber gaze drifted towards Akachi and Akuchi, who both stood closely to their uncles' legs, he let out a long sigh.
"Your actions can never be forgotten, Buziba. Despite your role in Ryans' escape, you still attacked my daughter." He stated firmly, but his stony expression still managed to soften as he looked back to the two small pups. "Even still, I cannot stand here and proclaim that there isn't a thing I wouldn't do so long as it meant the survival of my family."
"Um, Ryan, Oo-oo!" Big Baboon whispered, grabbing the teens wrist this time and shaking it a little. But Ryan shushed him.
"You are not completely forgiven," the king of the Pridelands added, "But you may at the very least consider the honor of your pack redeemed."
"Ryan!" Big Baboon said louder, making everyone jump slightly at the volume when they were supposed to be quiet.
"What?!" the young man asked in hushed exasperation.
"Oo-ahh! Is he supposed to be there?" Big Baboon asked, pointing in the direction behind him.
Ryan raised a brow in confusion as he wondered who he could have been talking about. Thinking that someone from one of the herds broke away from the others to check up on them, he followed the baboon leaders' finger and immediately froze.
Because standing across the way on a man-made foot path that he recalled led down to the showers and designated restroom, was Bill. His scruffy blonde hair sticking up in all directions, his eyes as wide as saucers, jaw hung open and holding a roll of toilet paper in his right hand.
"You have got to be kidding…" Ryan stated in deadpan tone.
Freeing Nala, reuniting Imani with Akachi and Akuchi and then the discovery of Buziba surviving; They had been too preoccupied with it all that they hadn't gotten around to confiscate all the guns that were in the warehouse yet.
Of all the times for nature to make its call.
When Bill finally broke out of his dumbfounded stupor and his eyes met with Ryans', His already pasty face somehow managed to go a shade paler as he turned heel and ran back towards his tent and shrieking like the devil himself was on his heels.
"Stop him!" Simba ordered, a pair of lionesses broke away from the others to chase after the scrawny man.
"Too late, screaming like that is sure to wake up anything!" Ryan stated. "We gotta speed things up and hope for the best!"
As Big Baboon and his troop quickly ran inside the warehouse to grab everything that resembled a gun, Simba inhaled and let out a loud roar with the other lionesses joining in. If the poachers weren't awake from Bills' shrill screaming, then a chorus of roaring lions certainly did the trick as Ryan could hear the voices of Liam and Roy tiredly demanding what was going on.
They soon got their answer when Bill ran into their shelter and had two lionesses bursting in on them immediately after.
Once the screams of terror from three voices mixed in with vicious growls and snarls met his ears, Ryan bent over and hoisted Buziba up on his shoulders and ignored the wild dog as he let out whine when his injured leg twinged at the unexpected jostling.
And as he ran off into the jungle with Simba, Nala, Imani and the other wild dogs following after him the lionesses that were in the tent soon ran out to regroup with their pride sisters. One of them was holding the strap of Roy's favorite rifle in her teeth and the other biting down tightly on a belt that had a holstered handgun strapped to it; It was also still looped through a pair of pants that Liam was often seen wearing.
Almost immediately after they left, a rather disheveled looking Liam, Roy and Bill came stumbling outside; All three of them clawed and their cloths looking ragged from the scuffle they had as they struggled to get their bearings.
But it wasn't long before they noticed something was wrong…
Items around their camp began to rattle and shake, they could hear a cacophony of different creature voices and the stomping of countless feet got closer and closer like a rolling storm until a legion of animals burst through the trees. Causing two of the three men shrieked in terror before they all broke off from each other in different directions to avoid getting swept up in the stampede.
Zebras, antelope, impalas, buffalo, giraffes, and hippos, all of the herds were causing a proper uproar as they stamped their feet to kick up clouds of dust that filled the entire camp like smoke from a fire; Doing everything in their power to knock over anything they could and terrorizing the men as they seemed to take turns chasing them around.
After watching the chaos from the stillness of the dark jungle for a few satisfying seconds, Ryan knelt back down and gently put Buziba on the ground.
"Sorry, I didn't think you'd get out of the way fast enough." Ryan apologized.
"Watch it." Buziba warned, but he still managed a smirk. "Just because I can't run doesn't mean I can't bite."
As Gamba and Zuberi moved to stand on either side of their alpha, that was when Ryan noticed Bill running out of the dusty haze as fast as he could and make a break for the warehouse. But as he often had to stop to avoid getting trampled by a passing wildebeest or gazelle, it gave the baboons the time they needed to run into the trees with armfuls of weaponry.
By the time Bill eventually turned the corner, all he saw was Big Baboon flash a smile at him and held up a long rifle he had over his bushy head with a victorious hoot before he too disappeared from sight.
Bill's mouth was gaped open as he wondered if he really just saw a monkey run off with one of their rifles. And when he finally ran inside, there was a few moments of silence before he let out a loud shout of "They got our guns!"
That was when Big Baboon and his troop, as well as Thurston who was at the lead with some members of his herd, rushed back inside where a great commotion of yells, screeches and brays and all sorts of things crashing around erupted from the warehouse.
"Take them the long way, avoid open pathways and let Buziba rest as he needs." Imani instructed, after she has finished giving her pups a parting nuzzle before Gamba and Zuberi had them follow after them into the night.
"Alright, I have to get to Tilly's tent." Ryan said to Simba. "Hopefully she ran off to save herself and left Kiara behind. Once I have her, then we can really do some damaged to this place!"
"Before that, I want Nala to get out of here first. I want her far away by the time we call in the elephants and rhinos." Simba said, making her look at Simba in surprise. but she wasn't able to get a word in before Imani spoke up.
"I can lead your queen out of this place myself." she said. "The rest of my pack will stay and help in whatever way they can!"
Simba didn't answer her at first, while he no longer saw the wild dogs as an enemy, it was obvious that he wasn't sure if he could trust them with the life of his mate.
"We are running out of time!" She insisted. "You helped me save my family, so allow me to return the favor!"
"...Nala, I want you to follow Imani back to her den." Simba instructed, relenting to Imani's assistance. "Take Timon, Pumbaa and another lioness in case the poachers try to stop you."
"What about Kiara?!" Nala finally protested. "I can't go without her!"
"I don't want to hear any arguments!" Simba stated firmly. "I thought I had lost you once before, and I need to know that you're safe!"
Nala frowned angrily, looking absolutely incredulous. He couldn't expect her just leave without their daughter, not when there had to be something she could do to help get her back!
"Your Highness…" Imani gently began, getting Nalas' attention. "I sympathize with you, but we must leave before we lose this chance to slip away."
Nala still didn't want to go, her eyes pleading with Simba not to ask this of her. But Simba gave her a sincere smile as he rested his head upon his neck in a comforting embrace.
"I'll come back." Simba told her assumingly. "And I'll come back with our daughter."
That seemed to finally convince her and she begrudgingly accepted his request and she nuzzled against his red mane.
"You better..." Nala sternly began. "You both need to be here to welcome our new cub!"
Simba's eyes widened, staring at Nala in shock when she stepped away from him, keeping her teal gaze fixed on her mate as she slowly backed up before she finally looked away to Imani.
The she-dog gave her a short nod, then turned back to her pack and letting out a series of chirps and whoops, of which Ryan had know idea what they were supposed to mean, but he didn't have to as they all broke off into smaller groups and took off in all directions to help where it was needed. Afterwards, Imani and Nala ran off into the darkness of the Oasis while Simba went to join his subjects.
That left Ryan to make his way through to Tilly's tent; It was pretty dusty, but he could make out just enough to weave away when a cluster of animals got too close, and he passed by Basi and another hippo who were having a great time bumping Roy back and forth to each other like he was a human ping-pong ball. This was actually going better then he could have hoped.
"Don't give them a chance to fight back!" Ryan called over the commotion. "Wreck anything you can!"
He finally spotted the outline of Tilly's tent, but as he moved to head over to it, he didn't get any further when something suddenly hit him on the side of his face, hard enough to send him to the ground and make him see stars.
When he could finally see straight, he looked up to see none other than Liam Warden. His hulking figure standing over him while his icy eyes leered down at him with rage.
Although...it was kind of hard to really feel as intimidated by him when his usual big and scary tough guy image was significantly lessened due to the fact that he was barefoot and wearing nothing but a faded navy tank that had a picture of red and blue shield with a big white star in the middle right on the front of it and a pair black boxer shorts that was covered with stamps of a big green fist, which he knew belonged to a very familiar marvel hero, as well as the word SMASH!
Ryan never would have imagined that this mean, trigger happy meat head even had any interests that didn't involve guns or lifting weights, much less any geeky ones. The sight alone would have made Ryan bust out laughing if wasn't obvious that Liam was out for blood.
"Well look who's back to the land of the livin'." Liam exclaimed before he swung an arm and backhanded him with a clenched fist. Hitting Ryan so hard that he felt the inside of his cheek spilt on his own teeth as he was sent to the ground again. "You just plum full of surprises, gettin' dog piled by a buncha dirty mutts and comin' out with hardly a scratch!"
Shaking his head clear, Ryan glared at Liam before he pushed himself up and charged at him, wrapping his arms around the older mans' thick midsection in an attempt to push him over. But to his dismay, Liam barley even stumbled.
"Boy, if you thought if you could knock over a former heavy weight wrestlin' champ with a piss-poor tackle like that, then you're stupider then I thought" Liam chortled before Ryan felt arms wrap around his own middle before the effortlessly pull him off and hurled him across the ground as though he were a human frisbee. "Shoulda aimed a little lower and got a leg up to throw off the balance."
Ryan rolled himself over on his back, dizzy from the unexpected flight when he suddenly felt an iron grip grab him by the front of his white tank and his eyes focused to find Liam kneeling over him with the most hateful expression he had ever seen on another person.
"I don't know how you survived, and I don't rightly care; But let me tell you, there ain't nobody I can recall who's been a bigger thorn in my side!" He didn't even seem to notice as Ryan tried to pry his shirt out of his hand. "And there have been plenty of idjits I've had to wrangle long before you were even a thought!"
"What's it gonna take ta keep you dead?!"
He pulled back a tightly clenched fist, fully prepared to give Ryan the worst beating of his life before a low hiss made him freeze. And he slowly turned his head to see a large float of green crocodiles staring at him.
There was a silent pause between them, save for the commotion that was going on all around; Ryan could see that beads of sweat were starting to appear on Liams brow as his wide blue eyes were locked on the huge reptiles who seemed to stare at him hungrily.
"You sure you don't just want us to eat 'im?" Makuu asked Ryan.
Ryan just looked stared at them for a second before he and Liam met eyes with each other. Blue ones filled with fear and confusion while hazel just looked on in silent contemplation before he eventually sent a smile over to the float of crocs.
"If you can catch him, he's all yours." Ryan finally said.
"Sounds fair to me." Pua stated, sharing a rather sinister crocodile grin with Makuu.
"C'mon boys!" the younger croc said loudly before they began to slither towards Liam at an alarming speed and effectively made the full-grown man let out a very unbecoming scream as he dropped Ryan from his grasp and sprinted off with toothy jaws snapping at his heels.
Ryan lay very still until the last crocodile as gone passed him, then he sat up and smiled as he watched as they chased him out of camp. His smile grew wider when he saw that Bill was still getting chased around by the baboons as they pelted him with a barrage of overly rip fruit that they had somehow gotten a hold of; And while he had managed to escape from the hippos, Roy was struggling to pull his large girth higher up into a tree as a group that consisted of both wild dogs and lions stood beneath him.
Some of them would even take turns to jump up and gnashed their teeth at his dangling feet, though it was clear that they were just messing with terrified man and the sight of it was enough to make Ryan let out a short laugh.
Finally deciding he had waited long enough, he got up and faced Tilly's tent with renewed determination. The sooner he had Kiara, the sooner they could get out of here; Once he made it to the tent, he threw open the hanging door flaps and looked inside to see a dark, empty space.
Sure enough, he could see the sheets on Tillys' bed thrown back from a hasty retreat when things started to go down.
He went in, leaving the door open so he had a little extra lighting, and began his search. Looking under furniture, in drawers, any place he could see that would be big enough to fit a little lion cub. When he saw no sign of her in the sitting area, he moved over to the space that had Tilly's bed, first looking under it and the around.
There was something at the head of the bed, which he thought was a sheet covered nightstand that was piled high with extra linens and clothing and made to push it out of the way, but he paused when his hand made a hollowed thud! against it; He made quick work of sweeping off everything that was on top of it and pulled off the sheet to see that it was one of those plastic enclosed dog kennels.
"Kiara?" he whispered, moving to kneel before it and look inside. But it was too dark in there, the most he could make out inside of it was deep scratch marks at the bottom that was directly behind the steel wire door which had been warped in places from something biting at it.
This must have been where Tilly kept Buziba when she was "training" him, and not wasting another second, Ryan quickly opened the door and reached in to feel around for a small, fuzzy bundle. But the moment he realized that the kennel was completely empty, a soft orange glow suddenly illuminated the darkness behind him which made him turn around to see Tilly stepping out from behind her privacy screen, holding a lantern in one hand and a sleeping Kiara in the other.
"You didn't really think I'd up'n leave our little darlin' all by her lonesome, did'ja?" Tilly asked she craned her neck and placed a little kiss atop Kiaras' head. "It's dangerous out there."
"Give her to me!" Ryan demanded, standing up and squaring his shoulders. But she gave a giggle as though he had made a joke.
"Now why would I do that?" Tilly asked tauntingly. "I run a business, Ryan, I need to hold on to her now that all my other more expensive merchandise is surely gone; all by your generous assistance, I presume."
"Give her to me, Tilly!" Ryan repeated, louder this time. "Now!"
At that, Tilly slowly lost her smile and her lips pursed into a very thin frown. Her blue eyes almost seemed to glow dangerously in the lamp light as they stared each other down. The tense silence seemed to go on forever, but eventually, she was the first to break eye contact as she held Kiara out to him, making her stir at the jostling movement and let out a sleepy and confused sigh as her little pink nose sniffed the air to find out what was going on.
Ryan hesitated for only a moment before he slowly started towards her, but the very second the young man took his eyes off Tilly to look down at the lion cub when she started making excited sounds upon recognizing his scent, she made a jerking motion and threw her lantern up in the air; Drawing Ryan's eye while, simultaneously reaching behind her to pull out a small Smith and Wesson revolver and took aim.
Ryan shuddered when he heard the loud BANG! of the handgun firing and time seemed to slow when he saw the lantern, filled with a very flammable liquid, shatter into pieces and turn into a fireball that was heading straight for him.
He felt his mind blank and his feet felt like they were rooted where they stood; Thankfully, his arms seemed to have a mind of their own as they shot up to shield his face just in time. But it wasn't much of a victory as a howl ripped from his throat upon feeling a searing pain over his unprotected hands and forearms.
What happened next was all a blur to Ryan, the second he realized that he had gotten burned, his elementary school days when he and his classmates were drilled in 'stop, drop, roll' if they were ever to catch fire was the only thing that flashed through his mind; When he finally became aware of himself again, he was out of breath and face first on the ground. Dirt coated the inside of his nose and mouth just as much as it did on his body from having rolled back and forth for who knows how many times and he couldn't hold back a groan of agony as he pushed himself up to his knees and looked down angry red marks that were blistering over both of his hands and most of his left arm.
He could feel them dotted along his neck and chest too, but his hands defiantly got the worst of it as he was hardly able to even twitch his fingers without wanting to tear up in the process. But as he sat there trying to his best to endure it, his attention was brought away from his hands when he realized he could hear Tilly laughing at him.
"Oh, that sure tickled me pink, you dropped faster than a sack full of bricks." Tilly stated when she finally calmed down enough to speak. "And it serves you right for bein' a colossal pain in my ass!"
"Wow, language." Ryan managed to jab despite his burns throbbing horribly and his voice feeling raspy and sore. "And here I thought you were supposed to be a lady..."
"Oops." Tilly started in mock sheepishness before the cold expression fell over her face and she leveled her gun on him. "I guess you just bring out the worst in me."
A roar made Tilly stop and turn around to look out the open door to her tent, where she and Ryan both saw Simba standing across the way through the frame of it. She was rather shocked to see him so soon, but it was an opportunity she was more than willing to grab.
"Hellooo handsome." She cooed in a singsong voice as an excited smile appeared on her face.
Ryan watched as she started to move the gun away from him, his eyes widening at he realized she was gonna try and shoot Simba instead; His hands still hurt bad, and while he didn't know what all he could do with them, he still forced himself to his feet and ran at her; Lowering his head before he barreled his shoulder into her in the hip and hooked his forearms around on of her knees and effectively threw off Tillys' center of gravity.
Swooping her off her feet with the momentum he got from the charge, making a mental note thanking Liam for this little tip, he whisked the surprised woman out of the tent before he ended up tripping over his feet and fell over.
Tilly got the wind knocked out of her as she fell on her back with a force that ended up making both her hat and her revolver fly away from her. She was stunned for a moment, but she shook herself out of it as Ryan pulled the cub from her hands; Sneering up at the young man, she lifted a leg and hit him hard in the left side of his chest, making him fall back with a grunt of pain.
Once she had room, Tilly rolled over to her hands and knees and put her hat back on her head before she spotted her gun just a few feet ahead of her. Smiling, she crawled over and made a reach for it, until a golden furred paw landing heavily upon it made her looked up to see herself almost nose to nose with a huge, angry looking lion.
"Well, ain't you a big boy…" she stated, hiding how nervous she truly felt.
A growl rumbled from deep within the lion's chest, black claws extending around her revolver before he quickly drug it across the ground and sent it flying away where she watched it get kicked around by other animals until it eventually vanished from sight.
But she didn't have a chance to lament over it as her attention was immediately brought back to him when he let out a snarl and began stalking towards her.
Tilly backed away, her skin starting to bead with sweat as she struggled to figure out what to do; When he suddenly let out heart stopping roar, Tilly curled into a protective ball, covering the back of her neck with her hands, and tucking in tightly to protect her vitals.
However, when she felt nothing happen, she peeked up to find that he padded past her and was heading straight for Ryan at the young man sat up with the mewing infant cradled in his less injured arm.
Tilly felt a sense of relief as the lion most likely saw him as a threat to his cub, but instead of attacking him like she thought he would, she was left speechless to see him showing no sign of aggression while he took a moment to soothe his distressed cub.
When she was quieted, he sniffed at the burns on Ryans' hands only once before he whipped back to look her with an intense, accusing gaze; His teeth bared, and claws extended like he wanted nothing more than to rip her to ribbons. But he wouldn't attack her, and he even seemed to relax when the teen gingerly laid his right arm over his back.
"I told you I wouldn't let you get your way anymore." Ryan said. "None of us will."
Tilly didn't know how to respond to that at first, staring at how this wild animal protectively stood beside him like he had been trained. Was he the reason all these beasts were tearing up her things? There was no way he was responsible for all this…was he?
"You think you've won?!" Tilly demanded, standing to her feet. "I don't know how you managed to pull this off, and sure it'll be a hassle to start over, but at least now I know it's worth the effort. This jungle is as good as a gold mine! I'll be back with more traps, more guns and bigger, dumber dimwits who're just itchin' for the opportunity to shoot things and make easy money doin' it!"
"Then we'll have to make sure you don't have a way to make that happen..." Ryan stated before he held up something that glinted in the little light there was. Reveling it to be the very same whistle she had used on Buziba.
Her perfectly trimmed eyebrows furrowing in confusion, Tilly reached into her jacket pocket where she usually kept it. But it really was no longer there.
"You should get out of the way." Ryan suggested, smiling at her before he brought the whistle to his lips and blew on it.
Upon hearing the long, piercing sound, the animals suddenly halted and added to Tilly's bewilderment as it seemed like they had been waiting for it. And after a brief stillness, they quickly scattered in different directions and cleared out completely; Even the lion knelt down so Ryan could climb atop his back and they ran past her, leaving the dark-haired woman to herself in the shambles of her camp.
The dust slowly thinned without the animals stomping around, and right as she began to wonder what on earth was going on, a thunderous growl that shook her to the very core rumbled from the darkness. Her eyes wide and alert, she could hear grunts, trees snapping and falling over while heavy feet were pounding upon the earth like an ominous drum; Steadily getting closer and closer until finally, a wave of rhinoceros and elephants came storming in.
Two huge rhinos broke free from the rest, running at full speed and managing to hit the jeep so hard that it flipped it right off its tires. Then more ran up, impaling their horns through steel and glass as though they were made of paper and the pushing across the ground until they almost bent it in half as they rammed it into a tree; They even took out the men's tent in the process, and a couple of elephants practically steam rolled over her own tent as well, making her yell out in anger as the expensive items inside of it were trampled and flattened.
A loud trumpeting made Tilly look over to see the biggest bull elephant she had ever seen charging at her. As shocked as she was, she still managed to tuck and roll out of the way; And thankfully, he kept on going…until she saw that he was heading for the warehouse that was filled with her furs, equipment and all the food they had stored away.
The bull skidded to a halt right before it and let out was sounded like a growl, then with a swing of his great head, he reared up on his back legs and slammed his huge feet down upon it; Caving it in and using his long tusks to puncture and tear through the vinyl effortlessly before he was joined in by another elephant and some rhinos.
The animals before made quite a mess before, but these behemoths were obviously out to pulverize everything that was still standing upright; And feeling that it would be in her best interests to get herself off the ground, Tilly ran for a tree and scaled up the trunk with very little strain until she had herself perched up on a branch.
Out of danger for the moment, Tilly scanned her eyes over the ground until she finally spotted the golden lion, standing clear of rampaging beasts with the infuriating little punk who had caused her so much grief; Whom she now knew, without a shadow of a doubt, was responsible for everything that transpired here tonight. Another trumpeting brought her venomous glare away from the teen and watched as a cow elephant that was missing a tusk came up to them, using her strong trunk to sweep both Ryan and the cub up in a snug grip before she flipped a u-turn and ran through the trees with the male lion following closely behind her.
She wouldn't let them get away with this. And luckily for her, despite the heavy blow to her assets, she still had one last card up her sleeve.
Tilly peered left and right until she finally spotted what she was looking for, and once she had an opening, she climbed out of the tree and quickly darted towards a small grove of banana trees that had been growing just outside the parameter of her campsite where she had something rather large sitting there and hidden away under a camouflage tarp.
"This rodeo's far from over, you little brat!" the woman hissed angrily as she clenched fistfuls of the stiff fabric and flung it away.
...
...
And that's where this chapter comes to an end. Keep an eye out for the next one guys, because I may get it posted within the week. It was originally gonna be part of this chapter, but it was getting a bit long, so I thought it would be better to cut it in half.
Still gotta beef it out a bit, but I'm pretty sure that I'll be able to get it posted a lot sooner(knock on wood).
Also, to those who may be wondering what Imani called Akachi and Akuchi, taa zangu, is meant to mean 'my lights'. At least I hope that's what it means. I use google translate any time I want to incorporate a different language, but I think we all know how accurate that thing truly is. ^^;
I hope that I have everything written okay. I've been pretty excited to get this done and posted, and even though I've feel like I've read through this thing like ten times trying to make sure that there's no errors or gaps in the story, there's always something that ends up slipping through. So if any of you happen to come upon grammar issues or if something doesn't make sense to read, please let me know so I can fix it right away!
Thank you guys so so, so, SO much for reading!