Animal Kingdom

Another world, another time... in a place where animals of all time are together. Many strange things happen in the Animal Kingdom. But none so strange as the story of a small girl named Hannah.

Chapter One

In the land of Kilimanjaro, it began when a silverback gorilla named Robert was climbing up a tree and settled down on a branch. But his peace and quiet was broken by an unfamiliar sound. He heard the sound of a baby crying. Robert followed the sound and found out it came from a cave. He followed it and noticed that a basket was shaking. Robert approached cautiously. The basket suddenly toppled over, spilling... an infant human, a two-legged creature that's forbidden in the Animal Kingdom.

Robert stared in surprise. The baby rolled on her back, smiling sweetly at the ape. Robert carefully walked round the baby and looked round the cave. There's no one around. He began walking back inside, but the baby began to whimper. Her crying rose to a bawl, bringing Robert to a stop. The child cried quietly for some time... until the gorilla gently came back to her. The baby brightened and touched his hand while looking at him with balling eyes.

The ape smiled slightly, charmed. But Robert knew she needed nourishment, and soon. The nearest man village was only days away and without a mother's care, she would soon perish. But something gave him an idea.

Not too far away, Robert hid up in the trees to see Lara, a lioness he knew, that was aching for a cub. He was carrying the baby in the basket. As Lara went into her cave, this was the moment Robert sneaked down and put the basket by the entrance. He hid by the bushes and waited for them to come back out. But... nothing has happened. The baby was lying silent. So to give off attention, he pushed the basket to make her cry and jumped fast up to the trees.

Finally, the lioness heard the noise and came over to see the baby in the basket.

"What's all the commotion?" asked Lara. She finally discovered the basket at her doorstep. She took a peek into it to see the baby girl and smiled, seeing how adorable the man-cub was. "Why... it's a... Adorable."

Then she was interrupted when the other lionesses, alarmed from the cry, came over to her.

"Are you all right?" asked a lioness.

"I'm fine, no, really, honestly, it's just that I have a little...visitor."

The lionesses looked into the basket and they all gasped in surprise to see the man-cub in the Kingdom.

A lioness said "Well, isn't that, um, well it's so..."

"Why, it's just so, so..." said the second lioness.

Then a lioness cub, Caitlin, came over to see the man-cub and said "Yeah, it's freaky-looking, okay that's what it is."

"Caitlin!"

"Well it is! I mean, what the heck is it, anyway?"

Lara giggled "She's a baby, silly."

Robert looked down, seeing Lara had no problem with the man-cub. But he wasn't so sure about Simba, the pride leader.

Simba, also alarmed from the cry, barged through the crowding pride. He approached Lara and noticed the man-cub in the basket. "What is this doing so deep in the jungle?" he asked.

"Simba," said Lara, "you're not gonna get rid of her, are you?"

"Lara- we can't ignore the laws of the Kingdom.

"I know that, but... she needs me."

Believing Lara has lost her focus, Simba said "But it, it-Lara, look at it! It's a human being. I'm sorry, you have to leave it alone."

"Leave her alone? But she'll die!"

"If the jungle wants her dead-"

"I want her!"

"Lara, I cannot let you put our family in danger."

"Does she look dangerous to you?"

Simba looked again at the man-cub to think about her. The baby raised her hands to touch his snout. The pride leader was feeling touched about this child and decided to let her stay. He said "Okay. You may keep her. But someday, she'll have to be with her own kind."

"I promise to look after her, Simba." she said.

"So um, whatcha gonna call it?" asked Caitlin to Lara.

"I'm going to call HER Hannah."

"Hannah? Okay, she's your cub."

"All right little lady," said Caitlin's mother, "come on, it's way past your bath time."

While the pride moved on to do their own businesses, Lara carried the basket with the baby inside and she went back to her lair.

Twelve times the rains have come and gone. The man-cub, who the lions called Hannah, was now twelve years old wearing a halter-neck dress fashioned from a leopard's hide and shorts underneath. She was chasing after a herd of antelope in the grassland. She had a handful of other lionesses hunting the herd. Hannah saw a ramp-like rock on her way. She ran on it and jumped onto an incoming antelope. However, the process wasn't pretty. She slipped and fell while the antelope got away from her clutches.

Hannah regained her bearings and Caitlin, now a fully-grown lioness, ran to her. "Hannah." she said in a panic. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah." Hannah replied. "I'm alright, Caitlin... but I lost my lunch."

Caitlin helped Hannah back on her feet and said "Try to think twice before doing something foolish, kid. If you can't learn to hunt like everyone else, you'll be starving to death. Now, let's head back. Your mom's waiting for you."

"I know."

"Attention!" Caitlin called. Then all the lionesses in her party gathered to hear her. But one lioness had a dead antelope in her mouth. "We've had enough. The hunt's over for today. Tomorrow, the hunt restarts. So be prepared. Oh, and Hannah sweetie- try not to spread your wings again, 'kay? Thank you."

They travelled through the jungle and reached the ravine where Simba and his pride lived. Caitlin maintained herself with her own family while Hannah was heading to Lara. Hannah sat down by the cave, disappointed about what happened during the hunt.

"What seems to be the problem, Hannah?" asked Lara.

"Well," she said, "I didn't catch anything today... Again. I suck at hunting."

Lara wanted to cheer her up. So she came a bit closer and put her front paw on her head. "There, there. Don't feel so bad about something you've tried. I had a hard time when I was your age. You just need to get some practice and you'll get the hang of it."

Then Hannah's lion brother, Fuzzy, came over with joy and said "Hey, Hannah. You wanna play?"

"I don't feel like playing, Fuzzy."

"C'mon, you're my sister. You have to play with me. Let's go chase some mice."

"Not now, Fuzzy." Lara denied. "You're sister's not feeling well today. And it's time for her bath."

Hannah tried (too late) to escape; Lara grabbed her by the dress and pulled her back to her paws. She proceeded to give the struggling man-cub a tongue bath.

"Mom!" she said "...Mom. You're messing up my hair." Hannah looked at her smiling mother before she started fixing up her messed up hair. "Okay, okay, I'm clean. Can I get some privacy here for a moment?"

Lara escorted Fuzzy to someplace in the ravine where she can play with him. Hannah was now alone, until Robert climbed down from the nearby tree.

"I saw your hunt today." he said. "That jump wasn't too bad, but maybe you try aiming at the antelope's antlers instead of the neck."

"I wanted to," she said, "but they were pointing at me."

"Chin up, child. You should at least listen to your mother. She knows better than I do. Plus, everyone makes mistakes."

"But it's the sixth time I've lost my catch this month. I'm the lousiest lion in the world."

"Well, I suppose you're the lousiest so far."

"Hannah!" Lara's voice called. "Hannah! Come have your supper!"

"Coming, mom." Hannah stood up and came over for supper with the pride.

Robert knew the pride had been living peacefully with Hannah living among them. But he knew someday... she'll have to be with her own kind.

Chapter Two

One day, during the dry season when the river faded its water, all the animals in the Kingdom have gathered on Peace Island. A place where it grew the Tree of Life, a 145 foot tall, 50 foot wide Baobab tree. All the animals in Kilimanjaro would cross the logs and come to drink the water that thrived at the tree's roots as part of the Water Truce, a timeout called during a drought that enabled all animals to gather at a water hole without fear of being eaten by larger, more predatory animals.

Hannah followed the lion pride where she saw how incredible it was with all the animals gathering without fear of anyone. There were addax, black rhinos, blue wildebeests, bongos, bontebok, cheetahs, common elands, dama gazelles, gerenuks, Grant's zebras, greater flamingos, greater kudus, helmeted guinea fowls, hippos, impalas, mandrills, Nile crocodiles, northern pintails, nyalas, okapis, ostriches, pink-backed pelicans, reticulated giraffes, sable antelopes, saddle-billed storks, scimitar-horned oryx, springboks, warthogs, waterbucks, white rhinos, yellow-backed duikers, and yellow-billed storks. But she's mostly astounded by the sight of the Tree of Life. Robert was at the Water Truce too.

"What is that, mom?" she asked.

Lara replied "That's the Tree of Life. A very special place in Kijimanjaro. It's where we come to drink its water whenever we have to."

Hannah travelled the gathering with Fuzzy, and all the other animals were looking at her so strangely. She was looking a little nervous because of that.

"Is that a man-cub?" asked white rhino.

"I thought they're forbidden here." wondered a flamingo.

Just then, a heard of African elephants came along for some water too. But then one elephant in the middle of the line was blocked by a fallen tree. He took a moment of silence, then screamed "I'm lost! Help! We'll be stuck here forever!" The way he screamed caused the rest of the herd in a panic.

But a saddle-billed stork flew to them and said "Do not panic. Do not panic! It was only a dead tree. Now, stay calm, and walk over the tree."

"O-Over the tree?" stammered the elephant. "I-I don't... think we can do that."

"Oh, nonsense. This is nothing compared to the rock of '93." The stork led the elephants to walk over the fallen tree. Soon enough they were reunited with their herd.

"Oh, thank you." said the elephant no longer petrified.

But then, the stork picked up the scent of something. He flew up to a hillside to find what he was scencing. Then, after taking one look under the sun, he saw something incoming that made him gasp.

"Jiminy Cricket." he said. "He's here."

Meanwhile, Hannah had herself an old turtle's empty shell. She took one scoop from the water and drank out of it. But Simba said "Hannah... what did I say about using dead turtle shells?"

Hannah felt disappointed and said while she dropped the water back to the pond "It's not the lion way."

"Exactly. To be a fine lion, you must learn the lion ways."

Curious, Fuzzy asked Simba "What about me? Am I gonna be a fine lion? Look at me roar." He produced a nice medium yowl.

"In some prides, the runt gets eaten."

But then the saddle-billed stork barged through many animals and said "Excuse me, pardon me. Pardon me, excuse me. Coming through. Sorry. Coming through." He went to Simba to tell him the news. "Simba, there's something I need to tell you."

"Not now. I'm having a talk with-"

Then a shadow crossed his face. An enormous shadow covered the pond. Everyone on the island saw the shadow and they were alarmed because they knew who's coming over.

"He's here." said Simba. "Hannah, get behind me."

Hannah hid behind Simba on a rock. The animals looked up and saw a large, European dragon with a scare and a swollen eye on the right side of his face. It had black scales, and was lizard-like in appearance. It also had a yellow eye, bronze horns and similarly coloured spikes that protrude from its long tail. It had a flock of vultures by its side. The dragon came out of the sun, beating its huge wings to slow its descent. His wings, backlit by the sun, seem to glow from within. The animals cried in alarm and scattered as the dreaded beast alighted in their midst. It folded its wings and stood calmly amid the paralyzed animals.

Robert whispered "Drago."

The vultures that landed by "Drago" were behaving like they're his guard dogs. Drago walked to the watering hole and lowered his head to take a drink of water. All the animals were starting to feel afraid with the dragon beside them.

One vulture with molting feathers came over and said "Hey boss, is it alright if-"

But Drago said "Be patient. The leader goes first-" Just then, he picked the scent of something... unusual. He walked around the watering hole as the vultures began to drink some water and the animals were getting out of his way. "Well, isn't this a surprise? We all come to drink the Water Truce, but I just noticed there's a strange odour today. What is it? This scent that I'm on. It smells like a... man-cub."

Caitlin thought of Drago's figuring out the pride's little secret. She said to cover Hannah "Doesn't that sound bogus?"

"What?"

"Humans live outside the Animal Kingdom and-"

"Excuse me." Drago came over to stare at Caitlin dead in the eye. "Are you saying I'm stupid? Do I look stupid... to you? Let's just think about the logic, shall we? Think about it for a second. If humans live outside, would I be smelling it right here, to your level, looking for it?" Caitlin didn't say a word to the dragon. "Why am I even talking to you? You're not the pride leader."

"She's only the leader to a hunting group." said one of the lionesses.

"Oh, I see." said Drago. "But... when was the last time you had-" Just then, he heard splashing coming from behind him. He turned to find a baby elephant drinking from the watering hole. Angered, Drago charged with a mighty roar to back the infant away. "It's not your turn!"

Hannah couldn't stand that dragon's attitude. Taking her chances, she stepped forth and exclaimed "Live him alone!"

Drago turned tail and finally saw the man-cub he smelled. With a smirk on his face, he calmly said to her "So you're the man-cub. Come here for some water?"

"Yes."

"Well, get lost. This is OUR water."

But Simba said "Hannah belongs to my pride, Drago."

Drago looked at Simba, and he couldn't believe they're keeping this human. He looked away from Hannah and said to Simba "Hannah? You named it. Big mistake... naming a human. Once you named something, you start getting attached to it."

"She's only a child."

"Doesn't my face remind you what a grown man can do?"

Then Twitch, the vulture with the molting feathers, said "Cause the humans carry guns in their paws. Hey, like the one that nearly shot you, you 'member? Oh, you shoulda seen it. This pistol bullet went halfway through his skull, and Drago's kickin' and screamin' in agony. And I'm scared. I'm not goin' anywhere near..." But then he saw Drago, so indignant, coming towards him. "Aw, come on. It's a great story."

Drago grabbed hold of Twitch before pinning him to the wall. He whispered "I swear, if I hadn't promised my mother on her deathbed that I would go easy on you, I would strangle you silly."

"And believe me, nobody knows the story more than I do."

"Shut up! I don't want to hear another word out of you on this island. Do you understand me?" But Twitch didn't reply back to him. "I said, do you understand me?"

"But how can I answer? You said I couldn't say another word."

Drago let go of Twitch to continue his conversation with the lions. "Anyway, it seems to me that you lions have forgotten the law. So let me be a reminder. A man-cub becomes man, and man is forbidden!"

"What do you know about the law?" scorned Lara. "You hunt for pleasure and you kill for sport. You did it all because you think you have the right to conquer us all. The man-cub is mine. So go back to your boneyard, you scared beast!"

Drago gave off a menacing snarl with rage, but Simba interjected "Enough! Drago, you have no intention to tell us what to do. The dragon knows who rules Kilimanjaro. And I don't think he'd want to destroy the honour of Peace Island."

Drago was still growling. But he took a moment to recompose himself and said "Very well. But let me warn you. In a few days, the rains will come. When the dry season is over, when the river rises, Peace Island won't be of concern to us and thus... the truce will end." He turned to face Hannah with a scowl. "And you, man-cub. The next time we meet, you won't feel so lucky in your future." Then Drago called at his vultures "Let's ride!"

The vultures spread their wings and took off. When they did, Drago took flight and flew away from the island with the vultures. The other animals were now drinking Water Truce, but the lions looked concerned for Hannah's life.

"Hannah." aided Lara. "Were you scared?"

"No." she replied. "Well... just a little."

Robert came over to Hannah's side. He deeply sighed "There's one in everybody's life, Hannah... Two in mine, actually. And they always like to ruin special occasions."

"What's gonna happen now, Robert?"

Then Simba interrupted "Don't worry. We'll find a solution. Now let's try to have some water."

Still concerned, the lions have decided to drink some water.

Afterwards, there were two days of rain and the dry season was over. The lions were having a meeting in the ravivne's cavern. This meeting was to change the man-cub's entire future. Robert was eavesdropping in the meeting.

"For nearly twelve years," said Simba, "the man-cub's life with the pride has been peaceful. And now, Drago knows about our little secret. I'm afraid he will be coming back to kill the girl and all who try to protect him."

"Much as I hate to agree with that scale belly," said Caitlin, "I have to admit that he's right. We did break the law."

"Now, do we all agree on what must be done?" asked Simba. Most of the lionesses nodded to agree with his terms. "Now it is my unpleasant duty to tell the girl's mother. Lara! Come over here, please."

Lara, who was standing by the cavern's wall, came over and asked "Yes, Simba?"

"The meeting has reached a decision." replied Simba. "Hannah can no longer stay with the pride. She must leave at once."

"Leave?"

"I am sorry, Lara. There is no other way."

"No!" Lara protested. "I won't allow this. Man-cub or not, she's my daughter!"

"We knew this day would come."

"We are the only family she's ever known!"

"Lara!" Simba interjected. "We don't have a choice. Even the strength of the pride is no match for the dragon."

"But Hannah cannot survive alone in the jungle."

So Robert stood up to the meeting and said "Simba, maybe I can be of help. I know a man village where she'll be safe. I'm the one who brought her to you, and now I will take her back to her own kind."

"If you take her to the man village, she'll never come back." Lara said. "Robert, I can't let her go."

"She'll be fine." said Robert. "Hannah and I will take many walks across the Kingdom and won't stop until it's all done."

"Robert," said Simba, "you realize that if Drago finds the man-cub, you will be put to death along with her."

"I understand."

Simba took some time to think and agreed with the gorilla. "So be it. Now there's no time to lose. Good luck."

Robert took off out of the cavern and ventured to get Hannah.

In Lara's cave, Hannah was lying down with her back against the wall, until Robert dropped in.

"Hannah," he said, "time to get moving."

"What is it?" Hannah asked.

"Simba told me I have to take you to the man-village before Drago hunts you down."

"But... I don't wanna go there. I don't know man."

"I know, but you will. Come on, Hannah. Let's be off."

"Hannah." Lara came over to the man-cub with a sad look on her face. "Listen to me. You must go with Robert to the man village."

"But why?"

"A mother's number one job is to make sure her children survive to adulthood. That's why you must go there before it's too late."

"But mom," Hannah protested, "I wanna stay in the jungle. It's my home."

"I know, but you can't. You're a human being. You're not a lion, you're not even four-legged." Lara can see in Hannah's eyes that she still doesn't want to leave the Kingdom. But she said "And listen. No matter where you are, you'll always be my daughter. Now go. For everyone's good."

Having a tearful moment, Hannah hugged Lara for the last time. She rubbed her head up against Lara; she nudged her ahead and stayed behind. Robert was leading the way to escort Hannah out of the ravine. Lara watched with sadness as her man-cub was leaving for good.

Chapter Three

Nearly at sunrise, Robert and Hannah were hiking back to Peace Island for some reason. Hannah didn't know where she was going until she saw the Tree of Life again.

"Why are we here?" she asked.

"To show you something before we go any further." replied Robert.

Robert motioned Hannah to climb on his back. When she did, Robert climbed the tree and reached to the very top. There they saw the entire Kingdom from many miles around.

"Look, Hannah." said Robert. "Everything you see, covered in trees, is the Animal Kingdom."

"Wow." awed Hannah. "It's beautiful."

"To a human, a kingdom requires a monarch to rule them all. But here, we need neither king nor queen, but trust in one another."

"I never thought it's this big." Hannah looked around and found no man village anywhere. "But where's the man village?"

"That's beyond our borders. Now come. The sooner we go there the better."

Afterwards, Robert was escorting Hannah across the grasslands of Kilimanjaro where elephants and antelope were grazing peacefully.

"Everything you see exits together," said Robert, "in a delicate balance. When living in this kingdom, we need to understand that balance, and respect all the creatures- from the crawling ant to the stampeding elephant."

"But, Robert," said Hannah, "don't lions eat the elephant?"

"Yes, Hannah, but let me explain. Like everyone else, when lions die, their bodies become the grass. And the elephants eat the grass. That's what makes it the circle of life."

However, Hannah was curious about something. She asked Robert "So... about Drago. What's his problem?"

"Good question. He hates humans. And he's not going to allow you to grow up to become an adult - just another stranger with a gun."

"Uhh, we'll just explain to him that I'd never do a thing like that."

"Nonsense! No one explains anything to Drago!"

"Well, maybe so. But I'm not afraid. And besides I-"

"Now that's enough." Robert gave the man-cub a stern look to keep her quiet. "I want no arguments today."

Stalking them on top of a tree, the molting vulture, Twitch, was listening to everything they said. It took off to someplace else.

All the way in a rocky landscape, almost all of the coloring was in gray. Most of the plants and trees appeared to be dead. A place where the vultures who worked for Drago lived. One vulture was skiing in a tar pit while one was sitting on a rock.

"Whoo-hoo!" cheered the skiing vulture. "Look at me! I'm barefootin'! Whoo-hoo! You gotta try this, man!"

The vulture on the rock told a passing vulture "Yo, bugito, dos ratas, pronto!"

Meanwhile, some other vultures were sitting on a dead tree... bored.

One vulture yawned and told the vulture at his right side "Hey, Snaps, what we gonna do?"

"I don't know. What you wanna do?"

Then a hyperactive vulture said "I got it! Let's flap over to the east side of the jungle! They've always got a bit of action, a bit of a swinging scene, all right?"

"Ah, come off it!" said Snaps. "Things are right dead all over."

"You mean you wish they were!"

All the vultures, except for Snaps, were laughing. He said "Very funny. No wonder we're dangling at the bottom of the food chain.

A vulture with drool dangling from his mouth named Drool said "Man, I hate dangling."

"Shyeah? You know, if it weren't for those lions, we'd be flyin' the joint."

"Man, I can't stand lions."

"So pushy."

"Hairy."

"Stinky."

"And they are all..."

Then Snaps and Drool said in unison "UuuugLY!" They laughed hysterically, but they saw Twitch flying passed them.

In a creepy-looking cave, Drago was laying out by the lava picking his teeth with a bone. A yellow canary was in a cage made of some animal's ribcage, singing.

The canary sang "Nobody knows the trouble I've seen. Nobody knows but Jesus."

"Oh come now, do lighten up." said Drago. He tossed the bone at Canary and it clattered against the cage. "Sing men a song that gives me a little... kick on the inside."

The canary thought for a moment and sang "It's a small world after all..."

Then Drago interrupted, almost shouting "No! No. Anything but that!"

Then Twitch emerged in the cave. "Hey, boss." he said. "Scout report. I saw the man-cub with a gorilla. They're on their way to the man village."

They're- what?" growled Drago. "As if having a man-cub here is bad enough... Where are they now?"

Back with Hannah, she and Robert were still hiking across the jungle. But the man-cub was looking more disappointed by the minute.

"It's really not fair." she said. "I can't make a choice of my own. I wanna stay in the jungle."

"Ha." chuckled Robert. "Without the proper way to survive, you wouldn't last through the night."

But then, Robert stopped Hannah with his arm. They were looking at a dark, overgrown path.

"What is it?" Hannah asked.

Robert replied "This is Dinoland."

"Dinosaurs?"

"Yes. That land is no place for a human. It's much too dangerous. We're gonna have to take you around the land."

Robert was about to lead her around the land, but he picked the scent of another animal. He looked up and saw Drago flying towards them. He blasted a 50 foot stream of fire from his mouth, but Hannah and Robert were able to get out of the way. Drago landed to devour the man-cub,but Robert fought him.

"Hannah," said Robert, "change of plans. Go to Dinoland. I'll meet you there."

"But Robert!"

"GO!"

Taking her chances, Hannah ventured to Dinoland. Drago was able to kock Robert away with his tail, but when he tried to get Hannah, it was too late. The trees were too thick for him to fly through. He roared with angry defeat.

Back in the rocky landscape, Twitch was having a conversation with Snaps and Drool about Drago's hunt for Hannah.

"...all that trouble to help kill a man-cub," said Drool, "he might've been eatin' his own fire."

"Ooh, don't even say that!" said Twitch. "You know somethin'? You're makin' a lot of sense. I mean, why take the chance? You should tell Drago."

Then Snaps said "Good idea. But, you know, it's really not our place. I mean... you're his closest friend. That makes you, like... the vice president of the gang."

"Wow! It kinda does, doesn't it? Okay, I'll tell 'im. I should talk to you guys more often."

With Twitch gone, Snaps told Drool "What if Drago doesn't like it?"

"Then the genius will get roasted and not us."

Twitch flew out to find Drago, but he saw him landed by a tar pit, disappointed. However, Twitch landed beside him on a rock and said "You okay, boss?"

"I'm not in the mood, Twitch." said Drago with attitude.

"That's fine. Then I won't tell ya my idea."

"Good!"

"Okay, okay. I'll tell ya anyway. I've been thinkin'- which is somethin' I do, bein' vice president and all. This is a thought, and it was mine: Why kill the man-cub here in the Kingdom? I mean, you don't even eat man."

Then Drago sneered at the vulture quickly and angrily said. "What?!" His breath blew Twitch up against the rock by the pit.

Twitch said "You're right. I didn't think it was such a good idea myself. Actually, it wasn't even my idea. It was Drool and Snaps'! They talked fancy to me. I got confused!"

Drago didn't take his frustration at Twitch. He took some to think and went on to Snaps and Drool sitting at the dead tree. The dragon laid down by the tree, peacefully. All the vultures were looking at the scene.

"I'd suppose you boys think the man-cub's death won't solve anything." he said.

"Well," said Snaps, "we'd just like to know if you've seen her today."

"Hmmm. Not too long ago, I saw her reaching Dinoland."

Drool said "If she makes it to some man village, we can forget about her. It's just one man-cub." He made a mocking scared sound that made all the vultures laugh.

Drago stood up and said "You're right. Just one man-cub. No doubt she might meet somebody... once she gets there. So... for the moment, let's pretend this rock is a human." He picked up a rock and threw it at Drool's chest. "Did that hurt?"

"No." said Drool.

"Well, about two more?" Drago threw two more rocks at Snaps and nothing happened.

"You're embarrassing yourself, boss." said Snaps while the vultures were laughing.

"Well, how about... THIS!"

Suddenly, Drago swung his tail at the nearby wall, causing a rock slide at Drool and Snaps, killing them both. The vultures, ceasing to laugh, were shocked to see what Drago just did. They eyed him for his speech.

"Have I got your attention?" said Drago. "You let one man live to tell the tale and they all might hear it! The humans prowl the Earth like ravenous wolves; consuming everything in their path! And if they make it this far, our ways of life will never be the same! It's not just about vengeance. It's about keeping those freaks outside. That's why she must be dead! Does anybody else have complaints?"

The vultures took a moment being dumbstruck, then they said in unison "...nope."

"Good." said Drago calming down. "Now search everywhere. Search the land, the waters and the sky."

Before the vultures could leave, Twitch asked "Question: What if we get hungry?"

"TODAY!" Drago roared making the vultures leave in a panic. "Rats with wings."

Chapter Four

Back with Hannah, all alone in the Kingdom, she was floating along in a swamp trying to find dry land. Then, she found dry land and climbed out of the water. She looked around and found no animal anywhere. Not even a dinosaur.

"Dinoland, Robert says." she said. "And I found nothing. Maybe they're all-"

Then she heard a rumbling noise. Emerging to the swamp, she encountered a small Stegosaurus herd nearby; a pair bond, a subadult and an infant.

"Wow." Hannah was really surprised to see them up close. "Stegosaurs."

Curious, Hannah approached the herd to see their infant. Crawling up to the grazing infant, she allowed the infant to see her before touching it's head and snout, which it allowed. However, the adult Stegosaurus in the herd noticed Hannah too close to the infant and charged. Dodging the adult's sweeping thagomized tails, she took shelter in a hollow log where she narrowly avoided impalement. The Stegosaurus adults, apparently appeased that the man-cub was no longer a threat, quickly left the area with the infant in tow.

She got out and said "Okay. No wonder this place is too dangerous for a human." Taking extreme caution, she ventured across the forest in search of Robert, but no luck on finding her. "Hey, Robert! Where are you?! Robert! I'm on dry land here! Robert where are-"

All of a sudden, she slid down a hill without looking where she walked. She ended up on a rocky floor where she hurt her bottom.

"Ow, my bum."

Then she heard more, only this time it was coming from the trees. But before she found out, saliva fell on the branch which caused the man-cub to look up where a hungry Carnotaur eventually awakened. Hannah started running out of the forest, screaming, which caused attention to many of the herbivorous dinosaurs in a grassland. As she started running, the Carnotaur soon burst out of the trees and started chasing all the dinosaurs. But it had its attention on Hannah. The horned beast was about to eat her, but an Apatosaurus swung a tail and slapped the Carnotaur away.

Hannah stopped to see the Carnotaur running away for some reason. Then she looked up to find the green Apatosaurus looking at her.

"Well now, ha-ha! A man-cub." said the Apatosaurus before sniffing Hannah. "Hmm... Hey, what a funny little bit of a-" Then, Hannah slapped him on the nose. "Ow!"

"Go away!" she demanded with attitude.

However, the Apatosaurus didn't complain. He said "Dude. Now I've seen everything. Say where'd you come from?"

"No place. Just leave me alone."

"No-place? No-place? Never heard of such a place."

"That's not what I meant. I mean it's none of your business."

"That's pretty tough talk, little twig."

"I'm big enough." Hannah started hitting the Apatosaur in the leg repeatedly but he didn't almost notice that.

"Tsk-tsk-tsk. Shameful." he said. He gently pushed Hannah away so he could explain a few things to her. "Listen, kid. You obviously need help. And that's why Aiden here is going to teach how to fight like a dino. Now let's get this show on the road. Grrr."

The Apatosaurus, who mentioned himself to be Aiden, started to dance around and Hannah too, mimicking Aiden's moves. With Aiden swinging his tail, Hannah was only using his arms as substitutes for tails.

"Alright, that's it." said Aiden. "Get real with the beat here. Dance and swing. Now give me a big dinosaur roar. Scare me to pieces."

Hannah said "Roar!"

Aiden didn't look surprised; he was a little disappointed. "Is that all ya got?"

"Sorry," said Hannah, "I was raised by lions."

"Figures... I'm talking like a real roar." Aiden made a roar which rocked the jungle to the bottom.

Hannah tried to roar again. "Roar!" Then again. "ROAR!"

"A big one, right from your toes." said Aiden.

Then she did it again. "ROAR!" Later, she asked "How's that?"

"Ha-ha-ha, ya, you're getting it, kid." Aiden continued sparring Hannah. She took some swings at Aiden's nose but missed. "Weave about, now look for an opening. Come on, that's it. Ha-ha-ha! She's a dandy!" Aiden playfully slapped Hannah which sent her rolling around and left knocked out on the ground. "You okay, little twig?"

Hannah at this time already came to and sat on the ground, shaking her head. She walked to Aiden, though kind of unsteadily, and said "I'm alright. That didn't hurt a bit. I'm a lot tougher than some people think."

"Alright. You up for round two? Cause it's go time."

They continued sparring for fights, but this time, with Aiden lowering his head, Hannah managed to hit him on the lower jaw.

"Oh, no!" he said playfully falling down. "You got me!"

The Apatosaurus was playing dead, but Hannah wasn't easily fooled. She asked "Aiden? You're not dead." Then Aiden surprised her with a boo, causing her to collapse. He got up and tickled her deliberately with his tongue. "Hey! Stop that! That's tickling! Aiden, stop! I give up, okay?! I give up!"

Aiden finally stopped and said with a smile "Hey, ha-ha. You know something? You're all right, kid. What do they call you?"

"Hannah."

"Alright, Hannah." Aiden picked her up with his teeth and put her on his back. "Now, lay it on me. What are you doing here all alone? If you're raised by lions, why go so far from their land?"

With Aiden paying attention and walking at the same time, Hannah replied "I have to go to the man village and I can't go back."

"Ahh. You're an outcast! That's great, so am I. What'cha do, kid?"

"It's not what I did. It's what I'm going to be. And I'm being chased by some dragon."

Aiden was thinking of a way to say something as he kept venturing through the woods. With an idea, he something walking and said "Well, is there anything I can do?"

"Not unless you can change me into an animal." So depressed, Hannah sat down with her legs tucked in her arms. She sighed "My life sucks. I'm a man-cub and I can't live in the Kingdom 'cause it's forbidden."

Aiden, concerned for Hannah, looked around while thinking of a solution. Then he found one. He said "Did anyone ever tell you about their story? Man used to live here in the Animal Kingdom."

That came to a surprise to Hannah. She never knew humans used to live with the animals. She asked "Really?"

"Yeah." said Aiden, beginning to tell the story. "Nobody knows where they came from, but humans lived among us. After many centuries, they started to become so brainy and they made weapons out of sticks and stones. First it was just spears, then bows and arrows... but one day, man made guns."

Then Hannah noticed when Aiden said the word "gun". She said "Guns? A vulture once said that. But... what is it?"

Aiden replied "Think of it as... a stick that breathes fire, spits pebbles and it roars like thunder. The guns were the real, killing machines. And that's why man was forbidden in the Animal Kingdom. But here's what I'm trying to say. Some animals think humans are all bad cause they did bad things. When bad things happen, and you can't do anything about it, right?"

"Right."

"Wrong! When the world turns from good to bad, you turn it from bad to good."

Then something grabbed his attention. He looked up and saw a leaf that looks like a star.

Curious, Hannah asked "What is that?"

"A treestar." Aiden replied. "They're really tasty. Hey, can ya climb a tree?"

"Sure."

Aiden raised his head to the nearest tree branch so Hannah can climb up his neck and reach the branch. She climbed up high to the top, but she nearly slipped off. Luckily, she was able to grab hold of a strong branch.

"You're doing great, sis." said Aiden.

Hannah reached up and got the treestar finally. She climbed down the tree and landed back on Aiden's back. "A treestar?" she asked.

"Oh, yeah." Aiden said. "It's awesome. And it'll help you grow strong."

Chapter Five

Then they heard something coming from the bushes. Aiden got ready for battle, but then Robert appeared and said "Still eating those blasphemous leaves, Aiden?"

"Robert!" cried Hannah with joy.

"Blasphemous?" said Aiden.

Hannah slid down Aiden's tail so he could hug her gorilla friend, pleased to see him alive. "I'm so glad you're here."

"That fight didn't hurt me a bit." said Robert. "And I see you've made friends with Aiden."

"Yep." Aiden said before eating his treestar. "We were sparring together, Robbie, and she became a senior, dinosaur fighter."

"Well, playtime's over. Hannah's going back to the man village right now."

"Man village? They'll ruin her! They'll make a man out of her. Not by genders or anything."

Hannah came over to Aiden's leg and said "Oh, Aiden, I want to stay here with you!"

"Certainly you do. You can be my little sister."

"Oh?" asked Robert, feeling a little surprised. "And how do you suppose she can survive out here?"

Aiden was thinking Robert's telling a joke. He said "Whaddya mean "how do I suppose"? She's with me, Robbie. And I'll teach her all I know."

"Hannah may be willing to risk her life, but I'm not. She's a man-cub and we both know humans are forbidden in the Kingdom."

Hannah asked with an upset tone of voice "If that's true, then why didn't you let me die in the first place?"

Robert didn't the way she talked to him. He didn't get angry at her. He replied "Because I'm not like Drago; you were too young and innocent to suffer horrible deaths. I took you to Rala because you needed a mother's care until you're ready to go back to your own kind."

Hannah was still disappointed because she can't live in the Kingdom which she wanted to. But Aiden, wanting her to stay too, got an idea.

"Give us a moment." he said. He stooped his head down to shove Hannah out of Robert's sight. Aiden whispered to Hannah "Listen. I think... you should give it a shot."

"I thought you're on my sight."

"I am, but here's the plan. We can go see the man village, but you don't have to go there. We can just go see it and see what you think. If you like it, then you can enter it. If not, we can pretend you are. And when Robert lives, we make a break for it. Ya dig?"

Hannah was starting to like Aiden's plan. So she came to Robert, pretending to be sad, and said "Okay. I'm ready to go."

"Good." smiled Robert. "Come on, now. Let's be off."

"Uh, wait. Can Aiden come with us?"

Robert looked at Aiden for a moment and said "As long as we all cooperate... it's alright with me."

"Alright!" cheered Hannah.

"Next stop," said Aiden, "the man village!"

And so, the trio was on their way to the man village. With Aiden walking, Hannah and Robert mounted him like he's their carriage. They travelled through the forest and grassland of Dinoland from the afternoon until dusk. At dawn, they were in a large clearing. Soon they stopped for a quick lunch at midday.

While Hannah and Robert were eating some fruits, Aiden was stuffing his face with treestars.

"Are you full yet?" asked Hannah.

"Nope." Aiden replied before he made a belch. "It's basically an Apatosaurus' resume: We migrate, we eat, we sleep. That's our lot in life. It's not a lot, but it's our life."

"Oh, lord." moaned Robert in sotto. "Of all the thick-headed, halfwits..."

Then Aiden said while pulling Robert by the leg "Come on, Robbie, go with the flow!"

"I'm going out to get some more bananas. And don't do anything stupid while I'm gone."

Robert climbed up and swung the trees to find some bananas. With him gone, Hannah playfully threw a fruit at Aiden. He turned to her, but saw her pretending like nothing happened. So he threw a fruit at her back.

"Gotcha!" he smiled.

So the two of them were having a fruit fight like they were snowballs. Was enjoying her time with Aiden very much. Then she dropped an orange she was about to throw. She followed it until she fell down another cliff and ended up in some kind of boneyard. She found herself surrounded by a pack of velociraptors. One raptor laughed then snarled. They just looked at her, thinking she looked tasty.

Then the pack leader with crooked teeth showed up and said "Howdy. What are you up to, man-cub?"

"Nothing." she said. "I just dropped my orange and I'm... on my way."

"Don't be silly. We'd love you to stick around for lunch."

"Um...I didn't bring anything to eat."

"That's not gonna be a problem!"

The pack leader was licking his lips, and Hannah just realized that they're going to eat her. So she ran from the boneyard while the raptors chased after her.

Meanwhile, Aiden was searching for Hannah in a playful mood. He said "Ready or not, here I come! I'm getting warmer. Any second now. Fee fi fo..."

But Robert, up in a tree branch with some bananas in his hands, said "What are you doing?!"

Aiden layed off his playful act and replied "Um, I was, uh... looking for Hannah."

"You lost her?!"

"No, no, she was just..." Then Hannah ran to Aiden and embraced herself to his leg. "Here she is."

"Aiden." she said. "There are raptors coming. Lots of them."

Raptors, eh? Can ya play dead?"

Immediately, Aiden had Hannah halfway in his mouth. The raptors arrived, believing the Apatosaurus' eating her.

"Oh, c'mon!" complained a raptor. "The longneck beat us to it!"

"Wait a minute." The pack leader came over to sniff her. After sniffing the awful smell, he turned back and left with the pack. "She's dead alright."

"D'oh. Big ones have all the fun."

With the raptors gone, Robert said "That is highly irregular. An Apatosaurus eating a man-cub. And spit her out, will you? You don't know where she's been."

Aiden spat Hannah out, merely covered in slobber. She said "That was gross. For a minute there, I thought you were gonna eat me."

"I don't eat junk food."

"Hey!"

"We don't have time for playing, you two." Robert interrupted. "We're nearly out of Dinoland. Let's get going."

They continued their journey out of Dinoland. But up high, a vulture was stalking them from up high in the trees. He took off to someplace else.

Afterwards, Drago and his vultures were in another part of the Kingdom and they're informed about the man-cub and her friends.

"That can't be right." said Drago. "Apatosaurs never travel alone."

"Well, this one is." said the vulture who stalked them. "And he's helping them to reach the man village."

Twitch was getting excited and cackling for some reason. He said "Oh, man. Just hearing 'Apatosaurus' makes me craving. Cause if we're going to hunt the kid down, we might feast on that dinosaur to celebrate."

But Drago said "No one touches the dinosaur until I get that man-cub."

"First," said Twitch in sotto, "I'll slice its hindquarters into sections. I'll have the white meat on right and the dark meat on the left..."

Then one vulture at his side said "Hey, knock it off! I'm starving!"

"Next, the shoulders. Occasionally tough, but extremely juicy."

"I told you to knock it off!"

"Save your energy!" Drago demanded. "Dinosaurs don't go down easily. There's only one way to do it. First, you have to force it into a corner. Cut off its retreat. And when you boys have it trapped, I'll go for the throat."

The vultures ducked their heads with fear. Then Twitch asked Drago "So... where to?"

"If they're leaving Dinoland from the east, I predict they'll be reaching the slopes of Everist. Alert the others. We're flying to Maharaja." All the vultures took off, but Drago grabbed hold of Twitch's tail for an important matter. "And Twitch. I ask you as my best friend. If you get a chance to find the man-cub, bring her to me... Alive and unspoiled. If I'm going to enjoy my revenge, I want it to be fresh."

"Absolutely, boss. Consider it done."