The Lion Queen 1½

Dig a tunnel

The sun rises, turning the sky from black to red. Nants ingonyama bagithi baba. Sithi uhm ingonyama. Ingonyama." Various animals, including a rhino, several topi, and a colony of meerkats, lift their heads in the direction of the sun. Nants ingonyama bagithi baba. "What's on the menu? It could be ceviche." Timon sung. "I gotta tell you, Timon. That song always gets me right here." Pumbaa said. "Yeah, Pumbaa? Well, enough of that." Timon is holding a remote, which he clicks. The movie starts to rapidly fast forward. Timon and Pumbaa are sitting in a theater. "Uh, Timon... What are you doin'?" Pumbaa asked. "I'm fast-forwarding to the part where we come in." Timon said. "But you can't go out of order!" Pumbaa said. Timon clicks the remote. The movie starts playing at the scene in which (Y/n), Timon, and Pumbaa cross a log. "Au contraire, my porcine pal." Timon waggles the remote. "I've got the remote!" He said. "But everyone's gonna get confused!" Pumbaa grabs a remote. "We gotta go back to the beginning of the story." Pumbaa lifts and clicks his remote. The movie starts to rewind. Timon stands. "We're not in the beginning of the story!" Timon clicks his remote. The movie pauses on a frame of Rafiki holding up (Y/n). The movie starts to fast forward. "Yes, we were! The whole time." Pumbaa clicks his remote. The movie pauses on a frame of Timon standing with his mouth open. "Ah! " he movie starts to rewind slower. "Yeah, but they don't know that." Timon said. Timon clicks his remote. The movie pauses on a frame of (Y/n) pinning Simba. The movie starts to rewind. "Then why don't we tell them our story?" Pumbaa asked. 

Pumbaa clicks his remote. The movie pauses on a frame of the hyena trio cackling. Timon and Pumbaa leap into the air and scream. Timon and Pumbaa hide on the floor. They emerge slowly. "Hey! I've got an idea. Why don't we tell 'em our story?" Timon asked. Pumbaa nods emphatically." "Oh! I like the sound of that." He said. Timon holds his chin thoughtfully. "A little backstage tour. Take 'em behind the scenes for a revealing and intimate look at the story within the story!" He said. "'Cause what they don't know is how we really were there, even though they didn't know we were there, y'know?" Pumbaa asked. "Couldn't have said it better myself!" Timon clicks his remote. The movie starts to rewind. "So, does this mean we're going back to the beginning?" Pumbaa asked. Timon clicks the remote. The movie plays the opening "Circle of Life" chant, but continues to rewind. "Oh, no, Pumbaa. No." Timon gestures dramatically. "We're going way back...to before the beginning."

Timon lifts his hands dramatically. "Pride Rock." Pumbaa said. The angle changes to a view of Pride Rock from above. "So majestic." Timon said. The angle changes to a view of Pride Rock from below the promontory. "So powerful." The angle changes to a view of Pride Rock from its left side. "So...bizarrely named." Timon clicks his remote, and the movie pauses. He faces Pumbaa. "Pumbaa, how can a rock be proud? It's a rock!" He said. "Well, I think it's because a "pride" is what they call a group of lions." Pumbaa said. "Oh, sure, the lions get Pride Rock. And what about us meerkats?" Timon jerks a thumb at himself. "Where I come from, we didn't have nothin' to be proud of. Why..." he clears his throat. "When I was a young meerkat.. " Timon lifts his arms into the air. "When he was a young meerkat!" The force of Pumbaa's voice blows Timon out of his seat. "Very nice." Timon said sarcastically. "Thanks!" Pumbaa said. Timon climbs back into his seat. "But maybe it'd be safer if I just show 'em where I came from." Timon said. "Oh, boy! Do we get to see where you grew up?" Pumbaa asked with excitement. Timon slumps his shoulders. "Yeah, Pumbaa, but it ain't pretty." 

Timon sullenly lifts the remote and clicks it. The movie resumes. Timon's voice is heard over the footage. "Please remain seated while the camera is in motion." Timon said. The camera pans out rapidly from Pride Rock, passing multiple animals and locations, including the Elephant Graveyard, Rafiki's tree, and the gorge. It stops in an empty barren field. "Here we are." A tumbleweed blows by. "From Pride Rock to the pit of shame. We're so low on the food chain, we're underground!" Timon said. "But you don't have to take my word for it. I'll just let my fellow meerkats do the talking." A meerkat emerges from a hole in the ground. "What was that?" Several meerkats emerge from holes in the ground. "What was what?" Several meerkats emerge from holes in the ground. "What was that?" Several meerkats emerge from holes in the ground. "What was that?" More and more meerkats emerge. "Where? What? Where? Where? What was that? Shhh!" The meerkats look left, then right. Still more meerkats stand on nearby rocks as sentries. "Quick, before the hyena come." "Clear!" The meerkats duck back underground and start digging tunnels.