Two Brothers Under the Sun
Chapter – VI
I Wanna Be Like You
The mornings were usually quiet in the area around Zulu Falls. At this time of day, one was only likely to find the rhinos and the hippos lounging in the lagoon and wallowing in the muddy shores in peaceful silence, while the elephants would be marching across the jungle in the early patrols. The movement would pick up as noon approached, and last until twilight. But today, the herd, by the colonel's orders, hadn't left yet. Why's that?
"Point 50: do NOT slam your superior officer while in a blind panic." Col. Hathi, stone stern, lectured his herd as he marched in front of them.
He decided now would be a good time to re-drill a class on Discipline 101... again.
"Point 51: do NOT go amuck on populated areas." The elephants, standing in single file, lowered their heads in embarrassment.
"Point 52—and this is the most important point:" he gestured with his trunk for them to carry on.
The entire herd, including Tantor at the end of the file, sighed: "There are NO piranhas in Africa!"
Hathi nodded. "Very well. Company... marching stations!" As the herd assumed position to depart the colonel made his way to the Council Rock, Tantor imitated his walk as he followed behind. Now standing on top of the summit of the hill, the colonel overlooked the jungle below and turned to the calf. "Now, son. If you wanna be a good Warden like me, you must learn the sounds of the jungle."
Tantor eyed his father curiously. "Like what, Pop? ...Sir!"
The colonel responded by showing off his ears and flapping them. "You must use your ears. With them, you are able to hear at great distances. So, you can tell when and where there is a commotion." He made way for his son to walk to the edge. "Come here and tell me what you hear."
Tantor stood at the tip of Council Rock and harnessed all his willpower so he wouldn't look down. He raised and directed his ears towards the jungle. They picked up a chriping noise. Realizing what it was, he smiled relieved. "Songbirds."
His father nodded. "Now, this way." He pointed his trunk northwards.
Tantor aimed his ear in the same direction and heard... "Barks?"
Hathi raised an eyebrow at that before raising his ear to catch the sound. He hummed, then turned to his son. "Sounds like an alert."
"Alert?" the calf asked, suddenly a bit disturbed. "How do you know?"
"You see, son: we have a secret language with each animal of the jungle for long-distance communication." The colonel explained as he listened further. "Now let's see, what are the gorillas up to? Hum. Two barks... one root beat... Kreegah bundolo!" Hathi widened his eyes in alarm.
"Wha- what does it mean?" Tantor asked, frightened and recoiling after hearing his father raise his voice.
Col. Hathi focused on the jungle below, more specifically the North Bank, narrowing his eyes.
"Danger."
###
Nothing could be seen on the broad reach of the bog. The mesh of branches overhead obscured the wetlands, while the reeds and grasses blocked any light from reflecting in its waters. Without warning and without making a sound, Sabor emerged from the murky depths and squirted out of the water, without leaving so much as a ripple to mark her departure. Once she crossed the river, the leopard examined the swamp upstream and down, her eyes gliding over every inch of the grassy surface. She walked along the banks, then came to a sudden stop. She wasn't alone.
"Hista." She growled when she heard the hissing of a snake and turned her sights to the massive red python slithering down from a tree.
"SSSabor." The python hissed as he extended his head towards the leopard. "I bring wordsss from the Khan. He growsss tired of waiting."
She scowled. "I know where the Man-Cub is; he's right within the grasp of my claws."
"Really? I heard he wasss heading downriver, right by the bear'sss place."
She scoffed. "If that big lout values his life, he will stay out of my way."
The python nodded at that. "Perhaps." He conceded but continued. "But I don't think we can sssay the sssame about the Bandar-log."
The huntress perked her ears at that. "The orangutan?" her eyes narrowed further. "What of him?"
"He hasss the boy." He said before turning in the monkey tribe's direction. "According to Mzingo, he must be in their ruins by now."
Realizing the python was just waiting for the chance to rub it in that his info-gathering exceeded her own, Sabor hardened her scowl. After that, she snorted and said: "So, I take that's why you're here?"
"Yesss." He moved closer to look at her right in the eye. "You can have the Man-Cub, but the king isss mine."
She growled for a bit but conceded. "Very well. How many did you bring?"
Hista grinned sinisterly. "For sssuch awaited moment?" he glanced up to the tree. Sabor did the same.
One by one, the pythons revealed their faces from behind the foliage. More than one could count at first glance. Backlit by the few rays of light from the morning sun, with their shadows casting down from the treetop. Faces inscrutable like wolves looking down on fallen cattle.
The leopard looked on amazed before she matched Hista's own smile. The latter's, in turn, grew conceited.
"At least... half the Nessst."
###
The last thing Tarzan remembered after walking away was feeling hands on his legs and arms—hard, strong, little hands—and then a swash of branches in his face, and then he was staring down through the swaying boughs as Simba cried out to Baloo and Bagheera bounded up the trunk after the both of them. The Bandar-log howled with triumph and scuffled away to the other side of a rapid stream, where Bagheera dared not follow. Then, they continued their flight.
The cubs' escort would rush them up a tree till the thinnest topmost branches crackled and bent under them, and then with a cough and a whoop would fling themselves into the air outward and downward, and bring up, hanging by their hands or their feet to the lower limbs of the next tree. Sick and giddy as Tarzan was, he could not help enjoying the wild rush. Sometimes the younglings would see for miles and miles across the still green jungle, like a soaring bird, and then the branches and leaves would lash them across the face, and they would be almost down to earth again. Only now they noticed that the vegetation around them was getting thinner and thinner.
They were now passing by trees of stone with no branches, some of them toppled in pieces, as the green canopy gradually dispersed ahead, although the undergrowth wasn't less thick. Partially cracked rocks protruding from the hillside lead to an outcrop with a hole big enough for a bear to enter on two legs. From there, a clearing heap of shrubs opened up the way to some weird-looking, erected rocky peaks of different highs, eroded into strange shapes and figures.
A scat song could be heard as one approached the 'peaks.'
"Ding ding lo-la diddly-o zing boing"
The inside of the ruin was just as damaged as it appeared from the outside. The main entrance led to a hall with underbrush growing between the crevices and surrounded by walls and columns with varying degrees of damage. Deeper within the structure was a room, its roof long had since fallen in, exposing it to the branches of the surrounding trees. On the opposite end of the room, lounging comfortably in a finely carved stone throne was a singing orangutan.
"Sca-be-do, hoo-be-do, zee-bo do-zeb, diddly-doo dee-hoy."
The dozens of little monkeys surrounding him moved at the rhythm of his scatting. One was fanning him with a large leaf while a few others were 'drumming' the rubble. The orangutan blew off a banana that he took from a metal jar full of fruits on the side of his throne and wore the peel like a crown.
"I wanna be a man-man one or-rang-a-tang tang."
He was rubbing his belly when the familiar sound of laughter grabbed his attention, prompting him to look up from his throne, excited.
"Ha, ha, we got him, King Louie!" One of the baboons announced and pointed to the man-cub struggling to get off his companion's grip.
"There he is. The man, we got him, we got him!" his brother said as they formed a chain of monkeys to bring Tarzan down from the crumbling wall to their king.
"Ha, ha, ha, So you're the Man-Cub?" King Louie asked Tarzan as his subjects held him up by the legs in the air like a circus trapeze and he took a good look at his face. "Crazy!"
The 'man-cub' scowled at his statement. "I'm an Ape!" he declared out loud.
The orangutan chuckled at that as he took hold of the boy by the loincloth. "Well, you're not that far off," he grabbed and shook the youngling's hand. "...cousin."
That just earned him a confused expression from the little 'ape'.
The king laughed some more before saying: "Sorry about whisking you here without an invitation." He extended a hand to the fruit jar. "The Bandar-log never had the best manners." He put him on the armchair and offered some fruitage. "Banana or papaya?"
Tarzan still looked on doubtful. "What kind of ape are you?" the animal in front of him was too big for a monkey but too small and orange for a gorilla.
"Oh right! Where're my manners?" he exclaimed in pretend surprise before jumping off the throne. "I'm Louie! Bop-boo do-bay doo-boo-do." he grinned, drumming his arms on the ground as he scated before supporting himself on one arm while using his free limbs to gesture to the surrounding monkeys. "King of the Bandar-log!"
Realizing he was talking to someone important in the jungle hierarchy, the man-cub quickly came down from the armchair and bowed at him from the ground. Bagheera had taught him to always show respect for the leaders of the Bukuvu.
The bemusement didn't leave the king's face. "Now, there's no need for that, cuz." He came to the youngling's side and nonchalantly put a hand around his shoulders. "You're my guest. Besides, we're all primates here."
"Hey! Let go of me!"
The cry roused the pair, making them look up to see three baboons in the ruined wall, one of them dangling a lion cub by the tail.
"Do you think Ma is going to like a leopard blanket?" Fred asked.
"Beats me. This one doesn't even have rosettes." Jed said as he looked at the cub in his brother's grip.
"That ain't no leopard, banana brain." Ned exclaimed and snatched Simba, the latter still protesting, from his triplet. "Must be some type of golden panther or something."
"I'm a lion!"
The cub's assertion got King Louie's attention. He noticed the man-cub was about to step in, so he blocked the path with his arm and moved towards the baboon trio after giving a reassuring look to the boy.
"Okay, who's gonna skin him?" Ned, on the other hand, shrugged off the declaration.
"BOYS!"
Ned, Jed, and Fred turned to their king and shouted back in unison: "WHAT?!"
"DROP HIM!"
"OKAY!"
'THUMP'
Tarzan ran to him. "Simba, are you okay?" he asked the lion cub, who had fallen in a fern.
"Yeah, I'm fine." He grumbled as he got off the plant. The lion cub threw one last glare at the baboons. "What's this all about?" he turned his scowl to the orangutan. "Why did you kidnap us?"
But the king just waved his hands in an affable manner. "Cool it, boy. Unwind yourself. Do-doot doot-doot do dee, doo-doo dee-doo-doo-doo. But you're right," he moved back to sit on his throne. "There is lots to talk about." He turned to Tarzan and clasped hands. "Now, tell me cuz, is there a mean leopard hunting you down?"
The man-cub widened his eyes at the question before a downcast look reclaimed his face like a few moments ago. "How do you know that?" he managed to ask.
"I have ears. My ears have ears." Louie explained vaguely, then he smiled at Tarzan. "And I think I have the solution to your problem."
That made Tarzan's head uplift with his eyes fully opened. "You have?" he asked astounded.
"Yes, but I need help, from the both of you." The great ape jumped closer to the duo. "So here is my offer: an alliance."
The Man-Cub interlocked eyes with his lion friend, both of them doubtful about what the king was offering.
"You... mean you want us to work together?" Simba questioned with a lifted eyebrow.
"That's right." He went back to the jar and got a banana "Don't worry, I'll take care of most of the heavy lifting, supplying us with food and warriors." As he savored the fruit, he gestured to the massive number of monkeys in the ruins and branches. He glanced back at them with a widening grin. "I just need you to do a little something for me, but if all works out..." the more he talked, the more obstinate his smile grew.
"We'll beat Shere Khan."
Simba seemed curious... but Tarzan looked discouraged.
"I can't."
All eyes turned to the Man-Cub.
"Huh?" King Louie raised one of his eyebrows.
The youngling saddened again. "I'm sorry, Your Majesty, but... well, look at me: I'm not big, I don't have claws or horns, I can't even fly like a bird or swing in the trees like you." He sighed. "If the tiger crosses the river he will devour me for sure." he turned his back to them and crouched down. "There's nothing I can do to help you."
Simba mirrored his expression, believing he now understood why the man-cub had been so depressed. Timon explained to him in greater detail last night about the great tiger—even bigger than a lion!— who ruled as king in this jungle and had a vicious army of leopards under him. The meerkat and the others made it very clear to the lion cub that he should never cross the great river, for he may become the tiger's next dinner. But apparently, the tiger wanted his friend dead.
And he thought hyenas were scary.
The Bandar-log king was looking on intrigued, scratching his chin. He hummed even as he gradually moved to the man-cub's side. His eyes turning sympathetic. "Oh, you don't know what you are, do you?"
The man-cub raised his head to look puzzled at the orangutan; once he did so, the great ape gestured for him to follow as he made his way to what looked like a long, tall, flat rock made of piled up square stones, at least, that's what it resembled for the two younglings. Tarzan watched as the king started pulling out the weeds and plants growing along the rock. Glancing at Simba, he saw a confused expression similar to his own. Now, both cubs were curious, so they approached. As they got closer, they noticed the strange carvings in the rock that seemed to make an image.
When Louie stepped aside for them to look, one carving got Tarzan's attention.
A bipedal, seemingly furless creature with weird-looking skin layers below the neck and a single hair tuff on the head.
His eyes bugled. "I-is that...?"
The king nodded. "Men, yes." He now flashed a knowing smile. "And there is more."
He gave the order for the monkeys to uproot the plants growing in the rocks around them. More carved images were revealed, some of men, some of small abstract shapes lined up in mysterious patterns, some of familiar and unfamiliar creatures. Some of Louie's subjects brought perfectly rounded rubbles in the shape of human heads and limbs, while others brought weird objects of wood and stone.
Finally, the boys had a proper tour of the place. It was almost a heap of ruins, yet to them, it seemed very amazing and grand. The stone trail led up to the ruined gate where the last splinters of wood hung to the worn, rusted hinges. Trees had grown into and out of the walls and wild creepers hung out of the cavities of the peaks. From the higher levels, they could see the surrounding 'hills,' looking like empty honeycombs filled with blackness.
"Whoa." The cubs said in unison as they gazed at the abandoned temples from one of the windows.
"Everything you see here was made by your kind, cousin."
Tarzan turned to Louie. "Did men really make all this?"
"Yes, and much more." He explained. "You see, there was a time when a great tribe of men lived here in the jungle."
"But, if their tribe was so great, why are they all gone?" asked the man-cub.
The orangutan's expression grimaced. "Shere Khan destroyed them."
When he was sure he got their attention, he started his tale, slowly waving his arm for dramatic effect. "Long ago, before I reigned, before the tiger reigned, before even the elephant reigned, there was men."
The cubs stayed silent as they listened close.
"They were not denizens of the jungle, for they only mucked around their dens, only followed their laws, and only spoke their own language." He continued. "So, they were outcasted, forbidden to mingle with the Jungle-People, and no predator was allowed to hunt their kind or the animals they kept in their wooden dens. No one dared to piss them off, lest they summon the wrath of the Red Flower."
"Fire?" asked the lion cub, knowing nothing of the ways of men.
Louie nodded. "Yes, all of men's power comes from their ability to summon and control fire." He clenched one of his hands into a fist. "And that is the only thing that Shere Khan is afraid of."
Simba looked aghast. He had witnessed a wildfire in the savanna years ago, it destroyed an entire area of grassland. There was really a creature out there who could actually control such power?
Tarzan raised a brow at that. "But if they could do that, how did they lose to him?"
The ape king grimaced once again. "Because they brought him here."
Both cubs now looked aghast.
He raised his finger and bopped his head. "The Ways of Men are mysterious. Despite their meager size, they are able to change entire landscapes. Turning part of the jungle into a stone forest, raising peaks in the lowlands, and making dirt trails into flat rock paths." He went on, not even trying to hide his excitement just from telling them about that. "They even created floating dens to cross the Great Waters."
Simba noticed the shock still present on the man-cub's face but couldn't tell why anymore. "What does that have to do with anything?" he inquired.
Not once the monarch lowered his finger. "There are lands beyond these waters. Faraway lands, with creatures strange to this jungle. Such as men... tigers... and me."
The perplexed younglings just kept quiet to let him tell the story.
"The men would fill their floating dens with other denizens from those lands and bring them to Bukuvu, where they would spend the rest of their lives in smaller man-made homes inside the bigger ones." Louie shook his head. "Some of the reasons for that made more sense than others." He changed back to the first topic. "Decades ago, they were finally challenged. A tiger, raised in their own dens, united his fellow felines, led them against the tribe, vanquished men from the jungle, reclaimed their dens for himself and his kin, and would shake the Bukuvu to its core..." His tone wasn't loud but his voice grew in intensity by the minute.
In the end, he came face-to-face with the still bewildered cubs, staring at their bulged eyes with his own, and said: "Forever will this jungle remember his name... Shere Khan." He whispered the last part.
'CLANG' 'CLANG' 'CLANG' 'CLANG'
The younglings frantically turned their heads to where the unknown sound was coming, gasped at a frightening sight, and darted behind the king.
Louie merely groaned at the shivering form of a creature with a large, wooden headpiece, disfigured lower teeth, and an excessive amount of white-colored fur.
"Come on, you three. Get outta there!"
Ned lowered the headpiece to reveal his terrified face. "No one here but us guinea fowls!"
Fred, who was holding his Brothers like some sort of baboon tower, moved the ivory mane to reveal a similar expression. "Yeah! Chi-chi-chi!" he imitated the bird's sound before hiding back.
Their king groaned exasperatedly again. He turned to the hiding cubs. "You okay there?"
They nodded.
He did the same. "Good." He clasped his hands and smiled. "So, to make a long story short: I managed to claim these ruins for my subjects in the aftermath, but I don't know how to make more dens like these nor how to use the ones I already have like the first owners." He told them as they walked down the tower. "So I figured, if you help me learn the secrets of this place, we can use them to humble Old Stripes." He stopped at the tower's entrance, Tarzan and Simba heard the rest of the Bandar-log playing a tune nearby before the monkey king turned to them. "What do you say, cuz?"
Slowly, it all clicked for Tarzan. There was a way for him to survive in the jungle, to protect the ones he cared about, and possibly raise in the ranks of the Troop.
And gain their respect.
"Y-you really think I can do that?" he managed to ask as he felt relief overtake him.
Still smiling, King Louie put a hand on his and asserted. "I know you can, I have seen it."
The Man-Cub smiled at his 'cousin.'
"But then, what do you want me for?" was heard from behind.
They glanced at Simba, who had been quiet since the orangutan started telling his story.
And said ape was smiling at him now.
He made his way closer to him, looking intrigued. "You know, kid? It's not every day we get a visit from your kind."
The last two words echoed in the lion cub's mind and he slowly raised an eyebrow. "W-wait, you know what I am?" since he got here, only Timon and Pumbaa were able to tell, and Simba had seen their kind back home. Not even Baloo knew at first.
King Louie nodded. "I like to think of myself as an ape of culture." He told them as he sat on a piece of rubble and leaned on a tree behind it. "Every time a herd shows up on this side of the Dirisha, I go visit them in the plains, ask things, offer some grub and clean them up of parasites if they are interested. You can learn lots of stuff from their stories, even of neighbors you never knew you even had." He started narrating once again with waving arms. "The Lion. King of the Savanna. They rule the great grass immensity that is called the "Pride Lands." He focused on Simba. "You're pretty far from home, kid. How are things back there?"
It was Simba's turn to look crestfallen.
"Not good, huh?"
"...No." he shook his head.
The orangutan sighed and tsked. "Well, sorry to tell you this... but the tiger doesn't like competition." He nodded his head. "Once he finds out you're here, he will put you on the hit list for sure."
Simba just lowered his head, it was hard to tell whether it was from fear of the tiger or something else.
Tarzan looked concerned at him.
That was when Louie surprised the cubs by grabbing them both.
"But don't worry your two little heads over that mean old tiger." He locked the younglings with his forearms. "I'm telling you, if we work together, we can dethrone him and rule this jungle." He let go and got in front of them, an eager expression on his face. "Let's make a deal. I'll lay it on the line for ya:"
He started singing and dancing to the tune of a beat. "A bop-bop do-do do-be-do. Now I am the king of the swingers, oooh. The jungle V.I.P."
He held himself in a branch far from the ground with his long arms and gestured with the fingers of his feet. "I've reached the top and had to stop and that's what's botherin' me." He moved toward Tarzan.
"I wanna be a man, man-cub." He held the boy by the chin and searched for lice on his hair. "And stroll right into town." he let go of the boy and went back to dancing on the floor. "And be just like the other men, I'm tired of monkeyin' around."
"Ohh, oobie-do," He jumped to his subjects, who were singing and providing a beat to their liege.
"Bop-do-wee." the monkeys scated.
"I wanna be like you-hu-hu." King Louie pointed to the man-cub with both hands.
"Hum dee oobee-do-ba." The Bandar-log beat the logs and rocks.
"I wanna walk like you."
"Tee." Simba smirked at the monkeys' antics. Then glanced at the servant monkey who fanned the king. He was standing in a stone armchair and still holding the leaf fan.
"Talk like you, to-o-oo!" The monkey came down with his frong.
"Wee be-dee be-dee do." He bopped his head as he moved rhythmically toward the monarch, shaking the fan in the process.
"You see it's tru-u-ue," King Louie sang, drummed, and spun.
"Shoo-ba dee-do."
"Someone like me," Flunkey hit the fan on the orangutan's head.
"Shoo-be do-bee do-bee." the King shooed him away.
"Can learn to be like someone like you!" He imitated the sound of a horn by whistling with his clasped hands as he paraded.
Flunkey joined in.
Louie stopped playing and threw a frow in his direction. "Wha...?"
The capped langur whistled to himself with one hand while carrying the fan with the other. The 'Jungle V.I.P' tried to shoo him away again. The feisty Bandar-log just retired to a column and went back to whistling. The "King of the Swingers" groaned voicelessly as he covered his ears. He tried to catch the disobedient monkey, but the latter just jumped to another column.
Flunkey 'played' the fan like a guitar and whistled at a higher tone. Louie tried to catch him again but was hit when the langur swung the frong. Flunkey whistled and danced in place with closed eyes, unaware that the orangutan had grabbed the leaf.
'THUMP'
He was smothered by the fan, courtesy of his king.
Louie threw the frong away and started dancing in place. "Roo-baka-tee-gah, roo-baka-tee-gee." he punched the air twice before moving his arms like a skipping rope and jumping over them repeatedly. "Zoo-baka too-baka too-baka too-baka too-baka. Too-bee pau-wagau to-pah."
His fellow monkeys applauded, and so did the cubs. The catchy tune having got to them.
Tarzan saw King Louie jump to him. "Well, cuz? Shall we discuss the subject of payment?"
He and Simba blinked at that. "But we have no-"
Louie cut the man-cub. "Like I said, I need you to help me learn the secrets of men." He came closer to his 'cousin', used his hand to open up his ear as much as possible, and leaned over to listen. "Now, lay the secret on me of man's red fire."
"But I don't know how to make fire." He said honestly.
Louie didn't believe him. "Now, don't try to kid me, man-cub." He dragged the cub with his stretched arm. "I made a deal with you. What I desire is man's red fire to make my dream come true." he sang/told him.
The monarch jumped atop his throne and held on to it with one arm. "Now give me the secret, man-cub. Come on, clue me what to do." he bopped and drummed on the seat. "Give me the power of man's red flower, so I can be like you."
After a long and exhausting run, the group finally reached the vicinity of the Ancient Ruins.
Baloo wheezed and fell to the ground, Terk was on his back. "Here we are." He said between pants.
"You okay there, uncle?" she asked him as she got off his back.
He groaned. "Yeah. Just give me a moment to catch my breath."
Timon rode Pumbaa beside him. "Are you sure the kids are in there?"
"Oh, I have no doubts." Bagheera responded before he prepared to approach the rowdy tower through the underbrush. "Follow me."
Baloo was immediately back on his feet and moved in front of the panther. "No, no. I know those guys. We don't have to do it like that."
His fellow mentor looked dumbfounded. "You can't be serious. I won't stay still while Tarzan is alone with those undesirable, scatterbrain-"
A long-tailed macaque passed by them. "Coming through." He suddenly stopped and smiled at the bear "Hey, Baloo. Good to see you back again." Then left.
Bagheera raised a perplexed eyebrow.
Baloo just shrugged. "We are neighbors."
"We have neighbors? We should go say hello." Pumbaa said.
"Noisy neighbors." Timon sighed at the noise coming from inside. "There goes the property values."
"Oh, don't worry Timon," Baloo reassured the meerkat as he led them toward the front gate. "King Louie and his gang are old buddies and they're real swingers."
The meerkat looked at him weirdly. "Well, duh. They are monkeys."
The bear chuckled. "Oh, you will see what I mean."
They walked into the plaza. The place was filled to the brim with monkeys. So many that it surprised the ones that were there for the first time. Some were in the branches and some in the rubble. All were either singing, clapping, drumming, whistling, dancing, or swinging. The newcomers were greeted by the sight of an orangutan leading a line of monkeys, whistling and clapping with their hands whilst Tarzan and Simba were swaying at the end of the line.
"Hey, King Louie! Blow some of that sweet stuff my way!" Baloo called out jovially.
The music stopped... then Louie blew a tune, prompting his subjects to continue the music as their line scattered.
The cubs smiled when they saw the group. "Hey, guys!"
The orangutan smiled and turned to his new visitors. "Well, look here! Big Baloo is back and brought his crew! Swing on down here, with your friends too."
He and the bear hi-five.
"Lay some skin on me, Your Majesty, yeah!" Baloo introduced him to the others. "Guys, this is the greatest ape on this side of Bukuvu."
"A king?!" Pumbaa exclaimed in surprise. Then, he bowed before the ape. "Your Majesty, I gravel before your feet."
"It's not 'gravel', it's 'grovel." Timon corrected him.
"And now, don't do that." King Louie kept smiling and gestured to the area around them. "Welcome to my home sweet ruin." He turned to the panther but didn't meet his eye. "Hello, Bagheera. How you're doing?"
The leopard glared half-heartedly. "Been better." He simply responded.
"Oh, don't even tell me." the king nodded as he waved his hand dismissively. He turned to Baloo. "So, would you guys like to stick around? We got fruits, grubs, and... grubs."
"Um..." the warthog had water in his mouth. "Grubs."
"Now, wait a second!" Timon interjected, turning to the orangutan. "Look, uh, Your Majesty. This is a lovely place you have here." He commented to stall time as he considered his next words, warily eyeing the army of monkeys hanging by the top ledges.
"Why, thank you, my fellow..." Louie checked the meerkat over, not recognizing his kind. "Mongoose?"
"...Hah, close enough." The meerkat gave him that before continuing: "But I think you have something that belongs to us, two to be exact."
"Oh, sure. You can have the kids." He moved closer to the center of the Yard. "As soon as we finish doing business, that is."
"What do you want with my cousin?" Terk questioned.
"Nothing much, little lady. Just a small favor." He said as he grabbed more fruits from the jar.
Bagheera made a face. He had some ideas of what the monarch wanted and none of them brought peace to his mind.
Baloo, on the other hand...
"...Ummm, yeah, well, man, what a beat!" was mesmerized by the monkeys' jazzy party.
It seemed to have the same effect on Pumbaa. "What is that music?" he asked as he listened to the rhythm of the Bandar-log.
The king laughed. "Well, my swine fellow, let me elucidate ya."
"If you're an ape or a monkey," He jumped off the throne and danced towards them as he sang another verse.
"A chimp or a macaque," He gestured to his subjects, now dancing in pairs, including the two younglings. "You got that crazy body language."
"Ooh, I wanna move like that." Baloo walked in, much to Bagheera's chagrin. Terk, always eager for fun, followed the bear while Pumbaa pleaded to Timon with his eyes, after o few moments the meerkat sighed and gave in, hiding a small smile. Bagheera looked on disapproving.
"De-zop-ba-ronie." Baloo scatted and mimicked the dancing monkeys. "Hap-da-dee-ba-lat da-dat-dat-non." Terk was at his side and tried to mimic him.
Timon and Pumbaa shuffled along the Yard, enjoying the upbeat tone of the song. "Hey, a-baby-dot-doo. Zaba-doo-doo-day-doo-bop."
The younglings rotated with their partners, although Simba had difficulty standing on his hind legs. "Doo-boo-doo-day, ze-bonz Za-bop-bop-bobby."
King Louie came to the bear's side. "Za-bah-doo-dee!"
"Well, a-ree-bah-naza." Baloo 'responded' the ape's scatting as they danced next to each other
"He-beh-do-beh-doy." The orangutan scated.
"Well, a-lah-bah-zini." They formed a scat duet.
"Wadahlabat-boodalabat." The duo started dancing together.
"Seebahlalat-dodie." They shook their bottoms with their forearms lowered and their arms extended.
"Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh." Terk pulled her cousin and danced with him.
"Well, a-ha ha ha há." Simba joined them in a do-si-do.
"Rrrrahr-rrrahr!" Louie mock growled.
"Gettin' mad, baby!" Baloo replied, finally using actual words.
Bagheera sighed incensed. "Of all the silly gibberish." He never comprehended the Bandar-log's incessant tendency to make up words from the ones they heard in the jungle.
"Hall-owallo-a-la la." The pair held hands and spun around.
"Mahata alottado." Timon and Pumbaa bounced with the baboon triplets in a small rampart.
"Hodolata-deetle-do." the langurs whistled
"Do-zootle-dot-dot-dot-dot-dot." the macaques clapped.
"Gingle do doot do do do doot." the gibbons swung.
"Zeep-i-doo-da hab a daah." the baboons drummed.
Louie clang to Baloo. "You hoo hoo!"
The monkeys made a chorus. "Oop-dee-wee."
Their king reprised his verse. "I wanna be like you-u-u!"
"Hop-dee-doo-bee-do-bow." Bagheera tried to get to Tarzan.
"I wanna walk like you!" Louie beat him to it; Baloo had launched him across the plaza.
"Te." The king put the man-cub above his shoulder.
"Talk like you," The bear joined the orangutan's singing.
"Te."
"To-o-oo!"
"Wee-bee-dee-bee-dee-boo." By now, everyone was singing and dancing, except Bagheera.
"You'll see it's tru-u-ue!"
"Shoo-be-dee-doo!"
"Someone like me-e-e."
"Scooby-doo-bee-doo-bee!"
Flunkey sang the next verse. "Can learn to be like someone Like me!"
"Take me home, daddy!" Baloo cried out.
"Can learn to be like someone Like you!"
"One more time!" Called out King Louie with a man-cub bopping at the beat.
"Yeah! Can learn to be like someone like me-e!"
A/N: Sorry, this one is late. See you at the Siege of Monkey City.