The Lion Guard: The Northern Crocodile

Chapter 35

"Uh...that was...um..." Kion stuttered, trying to figure out what to say, since he and the rest of the guard, plus Makuu and Talib, were completely stumped.

"Yeah, I know, it's confusing and hard to believe," Kiburi said. "Don't worry, I don't understand any of it, either."

"Well, all facts aside, I finally know why you've been so jumpy recently," Makuu replied. "Must have been strange having someone inside of your head for a while."

"Yeah, it was."

{And speaking of strange, why are you all of a sudden being nice to me?}

"So...what are we supposed to do now?" Bunga asked. "The problem's been taken care of, but there's still the body."

The animals looked over to where Nneka's body laid and where Masika was trying to comfort her brother. Even with his sister by his side, Zaire showed no signs of calming down anytime soon.

{By the stars, Nneka, I hope you knew what you were doing, because it looks like Zaire is going to need all the help he can get.}

"I don't know," Kion admitted, then turned to look at Kiburi and Makuu. "What do you guys think?"

Kiburi and Makuu were surprised by the fact that Kion was asking for their advice.

"I'd say let them handle it," Makuu responded after some consideration.

"Same here," Kiburi agreed.

The lion guard seemed apprehensive at first, but thankfully listened to the crocodiles and didn't bother to try and deal with the situation themselves.

"Hey, Kiburi, I don't mean to bother you or anything, but I've got a question," Beshte stammered, as if asking Kiburi a question was a feat in its own.

"What is it, Beshte?" Kiburi asked.

"This might seem out of nowhere, but where's the rest of Nneka's float?"

That's when the alarm sounded off in the heads of both Kiburi and Makuu.

"Oh, no," Kiburi and Makuu replied simultaneously.

The guard exchanged their own unsettled looks before pressing the crocodiles for answers.

"That...doesn't sound good in the slightest," Fuli stated.

"It isn't," Makuu said.

"The float knows about the deal, but they didn't know what it would involve," Kiburi added.

"Granted, none of us did, but..." Makuu continued.

"How the hell are we supposed to explain this to them?" Kiburi finished.

"I have no idea, but I think one of you is going to need to come up with a good explanation for them, since I'm pretty sure they'll listen better to you guys rather than us," Kion explained.

"First we need to find the float," Ono pointed out. "Where are they, anyway?"

"They're hopefully back at the clearing, with the cave, assuming they decided to stay put," Kiburi answered, not even reassured by his own words.

"Yeah...I suggest we check on that, just in case," Kion replied. "Ono?"

"Affirmative, Kion!"

Ono obeyed his leader and flew up into the sky and began scanning the distant areas. Talib immediately joined the egret, pointing him in the direction of where the cave and the clearing with the crocodiles should be. With a nod from Ono, Talib rejoined the other animals.