Simba was not just excited, he was ecstatic. “An elephant WHAT?! Whoaaa!” A look of total mischief fell over his face and he looked eagerly towards the dark area across the grassland.
Taka moaned. “Oh dear, I’ve said too much! Well, I suppose you’d have found out sooner or later, you being SOOOO clever and all.” His grin twisted as he drew Simba to him. “Oh just do me one favor,” he added softly. “Promise me you’ll never visit that DREADful place.”
Simba was silent for a moment, then smiled innocently. “No problem.”
The grin on Taka’s face was genuine. Taka could read his eyes like a book; the little snotnose was certain to visit the graveyard at the first opportunity!
“There’s a good lad. You run along now and have fun.” He brushed Simba away and watched him trot off. “And remember...”
Simba stopped and looked at him curiously.
“...it’s out little secret.”
The cub grinned and sped off. Taka watched him go, the smile on his face curdling into something else entirely. He rose and stretched, claws extending to their full length, looking dark and smooth, then relaxed, watching as they sank back partway and stopped, the tips still showing, gleaming razor sharp in the afternoon light. Nodding, he shook himself briskly and set off down the side of the rocks.
He had a little visit to make.
CHAPTER 35: THE OTHER LION
Mufasa paced slowly along the edge of the Pride Lands, sniffing warily at the air. The sky had begun to darken from blue to crimson orange in the west, and the moon was wakening to its full glory. But Mufasa paid scant notice to the beautiful sight, his mind fixed on the sinister tumble of rock and bone that lay some distance away.
The graveyard had a certain fascinating quality to it, and he felt the same lure that young Simba did to plumb its mysteries. It was a hotbed of smoke and mists which arose from the ground in huge shadowy gasps that choked off breath and made eyes water. He wondered why the elephants would find such a dismal place to go meet Aiheu.
Besides, there were also the hyenas to consider....
His hackles rose at the thought of them. He had followed Zazu’s directions and intercepted a group of the miserable creatures a little ways inside his territory. At the sight of his approach, they had hesitated momentarily, as if considering, but the enraged bellow that had broken from his throat decided them, scattering them in panic and sending them fleeing back to their own homeland. Mufasa had let them go, allowing them to warn the others that The King was on guard.
He had plenty of ground to cover before he could go home. So after leaving a few signs of his passing, he tore himself away from the realm of the dead and padded off silently.
He had not gone far when a strange scent made him freeze in his tracks. He looked down and in the dim light saw what looked like lion tracks. He sniffed carefully.
A strange lion!
Another male had dared intrude on the Pride Lands! The tracks led out of the savanna and towards the graveyard. His cubs had been in danger--his home had been violated! Growling with rage, Mufasa turned and lumbered rapidly over the ground, eyes never leaving the trail in front of him. He reached the invisible boundary of the Clan, balked for a minute, then plunged ahead. Hyenas were one thing; lions another. Such an act dared not go unpunished.
He wended his way among the bones and ash, flicking his paws disgustedly as he stepped through a puddle of vile muck too wide to leap. Gods, what a miserable hellhole!
“Sire! Sire!”
Mufasa skidded to a halt as Zazu shot past and nearly submerged himself in the stinking morass that the lion had just traversed. The hornbill sighed in relief as Mufasa looked on, astounded. “What in the world are--”
“Sire! You have to hurry! Simba’s in trouble!”
Mufasa’s jaw snapped shut and he stared at Zazu. “What?”
“Quickly! Follow me! Oh, this is awful!” Zazu rose, dripping, and flapped away towards a twisted rock formation several lengths away. Mufasa padded after him, noting that the pawprints of the lion led that way also. And mixed in with them were--
His eyes widened in alarm as he saw the twin sets of tiny pawprints, clearly leonine, scattered among the bigger ones.
“No!”
His ears pricked up as he heard a distant shriek of terror. “Nala!” Galvanized, he leapt ahead, following the trail of prints around a corner, through a narrow stone gap, and finally into a cave. He blinked as he saw Simba and Nala, huddled under an old ribcage festooned with dried skin. The object of their fears were the three hyenas that now stood with their backs to Mufasa as they closed slowly on the cubs. One he recognized as Roh’mach Shenzi, and a silent snarl spread his lips apart in a deadly grimace.
Ahead, Simba growled roughly, the small sound echoing in the confined area.
“What? That was it?” Shenzi giggled and bent close. “You can do better than that. Come on, big boy.” She bared her teeth and bent towards the terrified cubs, preparing to rip out his throat, when the room was filled with a fierce roar. Something powerful struck the side of her head, sending her and her brothers sprawling. Looking up, she saw Mufasa, cuffing her brothers aside effortlessly, his roar drilling through her head and paralyzing her with fear. Another swipe of Mufasa’s paw landed her brothers beside her, and his huge head loomed over her, eyes glowing with a killing rage.
“Oh please don't hurt us!!”
“Uncle, Uncle,” Banzai cried in desperation.
Simba and Nala stood transfixed, limbs shaking in the fatigue of terror as the king berated the hyenas and sent them bolting in blind panic. Simba writhed in shame as he recalled his own puny roar. He ambled forward slowly, looking up at Mufasa with great reluctance. “Dad, I--”
He shrank away as Mufasa glanced at him, eyes blazing furiously. “You deliberately disobeyed me!”
“Dad, I--”
“Let’s go home.” He turned to go, glancing around. “I want to leave before we run into the other....”
The king fell silent as he stared back at the way they had come. The ground was marked by the prints of the two cubs, his own, and the tracks of the three terrified hyenas. But where the deep pawprints of the intruding lion had been, there was now only smoothly packed earth, marked only by time and the winds.
CHAPTER 36: THE ELEPHANT GRAVEYARD
Taka shook his head slowly and rubbed his temple with a forepaw, trying to massage away the headache that had formed there. “I’m surrounded by idiots.”
He looked down his nose at Fabana’s brood feasting on the zebra haunch he had tossed to them. How did they stand it in this hellhole? There they lay, stuffing themselves happily, wonderfully oblivious to how much more their lives could be, if only....
He shifted and angrily swatted a stone away, listening to the sharp CRACK as it ricocheted off the granite columns around him. If only.... His whole existence seemed to be made of if’s. IF he had been picked to be king instead of Muffy...IF Sarabi had not spurned his affections...IF that hairball had not been born.... His anger rose to the surface and he glared hotly at Shenzi. “Pfahh. Some Roh’mach! Two defenseless cubs! And you let them get away.”
“Defenseless?!” Banzai indicated his torn rump. “I’d hate to see them when they’re ready for a fight!”
“He’s right.” Shenzi returned Taka’s glare. “It wasn’t exactly like they was alone, Scar.”
“Yeah! What were we supposed to do?!” Banzai chewed and swallowed a huge chunk of flesh, belching horribly. “Kill Mufasa?” The three hyenas laughed.
Taka’s eyes flared as his mind began working, coming to life with terrifying speed. A huge grin spread across his face as he leered over the stone ledge at the hyenas, who grew suddenly silent at his gaze.
“Precisely.”
Taka stood and stretched, luxuriating in the feeling. He bounded from his perch to land quietly in front of Shenzi. Banzai and Ed scrambled away madly, and Shenzi could only stare, spellbound, at the apparition before her. Taka met her
gaze, his eyes burning with an inner light, matching the phosphorescent green hue of the methane pits around them, each fueled by its own inner decay. Steam hissed from a nearby thermal vent in a white exclamation of heat, and she bit her tongue to keep from shrieking.
Taka saw the fear on her face and drew close. “Calm, my dear,” he purred. “You have nothing to fear from me. Through me your people will find salvation.”
Shenzi’s trembling stilled, her eyes widening. Had not Roh’kash herself said, “I will send you a sign. From thine enemy will come deliverance; your greatest fear shall be your greatest hope.” Shenzi had despaired of ever seeing the sign in her lifetime. Now she fell before Taka, her eyes misting. “Roh’kash ne nabu! Praise God!”
Taka bent and kissed her forehead. “Rise, Shenzi. Rise before your new king. For I swear to you: by the sunset tomorrow, I will release you from this torment.”
“How?”
“It will not be easy. I will need your help.”
“Of course!” But the Roh’mach’s ears perked up at that. “Messiah or no, he still needs us,” she realized. The thought turned in her mind slowly, a dark and tantalizing morsel that made her grin. Perhaps this was another sign from Roh’kash Herself. The Mother of All would not lead her children out of despair only to lick the paws of a lion, even such a one as Taka. Oh, no. Something greater beckoned, and Shenzi saw a vision of herself at the tip of Pride Rock, much as Gur’mekh had before her. She could feel the wind caress her as she looked out over the green savanna, pups playing at her heels, with all the kingdom bowing before her in homage. She smiled, genuinely this time, and nodded to Taka.
“Whatever assistance you need, you have but to ask.”
The lion grinned again, and turned to look at the assembled host of hyenas who had silently gathered behind him. He scanned their ranks, only half noticing, his thoughts centered on the spire of Rock that lay across the plain.
“It appears the great Mufasa is willing to risk life and limb to save his son, even to the extent of coming into the graveyard alone. Did you note this, Banzai?”
“Yeah, boss.”
“Did you note it most carefully? Did you really?” Taka peered at him interested, a dangerous gleam in his eyes. “And what conclusion did you draw?”
Banzai swallowed. “Uhh, he wasn’t worried about himself? Just Simba?”
“Brilliant! I shall make you a warlord in my new army.” Taka laughed, a strangely empty sound. The lion looked around at the desolation, the age old kingdom of bone and stone that the hyenas had existed in for years, and spat. He lifted his head and stared again at the finger of rock where his brother lay sleeping without a care in the world. Taka’s claws extended slowly and raked across the stone at the thought of Mufasa snuggled close to Sarabi, sharing her warmth, or even greater comforts....
He gritted his teeth and willed the vision away. It went easily enough; it had tormented him many times over the past few months, and it waited with infinite patience, knowing it would have its chance again.
Taka looked up at the crescent moon overhead. “The time has come to break free from the mud and climb to the heights. The curse that has harmed me all my days must and shall be dispelled. I am through RE-acting. It is time to ACT. And you, my brother, had best be prepared.”
CHAPTER 37: THE GORGE
“...but know, thou noble youth,
The serpent that did sting thy father’s life
Now wears his crown.”
--SHAKESPEARE: HAMLET: ACT I, SCENE V
It was the end of the world. Or close enough not to make a difference, anyway.
The thought raced through Simba’s fear maddened mind as he sprinted down the length of the gorge, his short legs flailing madly as he fought to keep ahead of the maelstrom behind him. The ground shook under his feet, sand spraying into his eyes as the leading edge of the wildebeest stampede began to pass by him on either side. Sharp hooves dug into the ground inches from his face, and he flinched away, scrambling madly to keep from being trampled. He glanced up at the bleating wildebeests and stumbled, paws flailing as he fought to keep his balance. He regained his footing and continued, tides of air rushing in and out of his lungs as he strained to keep ahead of the onrushing herd.
Ahead a dark shape hove into view; a twisted and gnarled remnant of a small tree, withered and half dead. Simba lunged for it, scrabbling up the old wood to the top. The one remaining limb swayed and creaked dangerously as he made his way onto it, tail flicking from side to side rapidly in an effort to stay balanced. One foot slipped, and his haunches slid out from under him. His front claws scored deep wounds into the old wood as he felt himself sliding over the side.
“Oh gods,” he thought, “I’m gonna FALL--”
His claws finally caught, and he laboriously hauled himself atop the limb, clutching it with fearful strength as he saw the wildebeest flowing past him like some insane river, their bleats and bellows of panic punctuating the constant thunder of their hooves.
High above, Zazu passed over the edge of the gorge wall and dipped his wings, plummeting into the crevasse as he scanned the ground rapidly. Squinting through the dusty haze, he saw the cub perched on an old limb and flew to him, fighting to keep his altitude in the roiling air.
“Zazu, help me!”
“Your father is on the way!” Zazu shouted. “Hold on!”
“Hurrrrry!” Simba screeched, as he slipped again, feeling the limb creak again under his weight.
Zazu shot away towards an overhanging ledge where Mufasa and Taka were sliding down the slope, paws scuffing in the dirt for purchase. Ascending, he flew to Mufasa’s side and pointed with one wing. “There! There, on that tree!”
Mufasa looked and felt his blood freeze up. Sweet Aiheu... ”Hold on, Simba!” he bellowed.
A passing wildebeest bumped the tree, shaking it with a loud CRACK! that all of them heard. Simba screamed in sheer blind panic as he felt the tree shift again, and saw splinters poking out from a break in the wood. Closing his eyes, he began to rapidly recite the prayer his mother had taught him when he was still nursing at her side:
God bless us all, from king to cub
All members of my pride
The kings above will show their love
And take me to their side
My star will shine with Aiheu's grace
Amid the midnight sky
There to stand and guard the land
Forever when I --
His voice stuck on the last word, his head shaking in mute negation as tears began to run down his cheeks. “Oh God, I don't want to die!”
Mufasa stared for a second, then clenched his jaw and leapt from the perch on the ledge, flinging himself into the stampede below. Taka and Zazu watched disbelievingly as they saw him weaving in and out between the panicked creatures with infinite grace. Zazu watched in horror, Taka in absolute glee.
“He’s going to get himself killed,” they thought simultaneously.
It was a dance of survival as Mufasa swerved among the jostling bodies armed with hooves, horns, and unstoppable speed.
Swept along in its irresistible crushing tide, Mufasa struggled to find Simba in the dust.
Next to him, a hapless gnu stumbled. Quickly she was overwhelmed and fatally battered, her dying shriek piercing Mufasa like a thorn. "No time to be afraid," he thought. "I must find him!"
Looming ahead was a branch. Dangling over certain death was a hysterical cub. "Simba!"
Zazu flapped about, near insane with panic. “Oh, Scar, this is awful! What are we going to do? What are we going to do?” He looked at Mufasa again, missing the look of annoyance that swept Taka’s features. The hornbill straightened as Taka raised a forepaw. “I’ll go back for help!! That’s what I’ll do, I’ll go back fo--”
Sudden dark descended as Taka backhanded the bird, sending him smashing into the rock wall with an audible crunch. Taka glanced at him, wondering if he had killed the idiot, when he saw the slow rise and fall of Zazu’s ch
est. Unconscious, then. He raised a paw to finish the job when he was distracted by a cry from below.
Mufasa grunted in pain as he was slammed backward, sprawling in the dirt. Raising his head, he gaped in horror as a wildebeest collided with the old tree, breaking it with a final rotten crack. Simba was flung up and away, screaming as he tumbled through the air, legs flailing desperately as he saw the ground rushing up at him--
--to be replaced by Mufasa’s jaws. The lion leapt through the air, catching Simba gently and bearing him off towards the side of the gorge. He dodged a cow, and sidestepped another--
--his rear foot slipped. A bull came rushing from the dust, ramming him with terrible force, eliciting a roar of pain as he felt the horns tear his side. Simba was flung unceremoniously away and landed amongst a sea of pounding hooves. Afraid to move, he sidestepped desperately, watching the bull as it passed overhead, feeling the thrumming under his feet. A warm grip surrounded him, and he felt Mufasa’s breath upon him again as he was swept up in his father’s jaws.
Mufasa ran through the deadly flood, the rumbling shaking him to the core, and the smell of sweat, fear, and dust pouring in with each gasp.
"Help me! Please, God, help me!"
He looked for a ledge, however small. Working his way to the edge, he considered trying to ride it out, but he was grazed by horns. One more inch and he would have been gored!
Finally he saw a place. He leaped, sat his child down, and grabbed for purchase.
He was rudely ripped away as a group of wildebeest crashed into him, bearing him off into the dust.
“DAD!” Simba screamed, horrified. He searched the ground desperately, his eyes continually drawn by the passing wildebeest. Nothing. And nothing. And still nothing. Oh gods, where was he?!
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