The Longest Journey

[DGFone]

Nala frowned when Mufasa came up to them. "So how do we find out if we can trust him or not?" she asked. "We can ask him all the questions we want, but how do we know if we can trust him in the end?"

One thing she knew she would do if she found out that Dan making a fool out of all of them was to make sure that he would live the rest of his life with a limb or two less. But if he was truthful, he was offering something that like he described: beyond their wildest imaginations.

"What if we ask Rafiki?" Nala finally asked. "He should know what to do." The old mandrill, while quite nuts, always knew what was going on and offered the best answers, if he could tell them with a straight face. But she was certain that for a matter such as this, Rafiki won't leave it up to them to settle and will actually answer them.

[Regulus]

"Rafiki, you say?" Rafiki yelled, sticking his head out from behind a tree. "You wish to speak to Rafiki?"

"Uh... yes," Simba replied, admiring Nala's thinking, although amazed by the convenience of the baboon's eavesdropping. "Will Dan really take us to the moon?"

The madrill chuckled slightly, before sarcastically answering Simba's question. "Atop three thousand tons of rocket fuel, where else would you be headed?"

"What do you mean... rocket fuel?" Mufasa asked.

"Come, you will see. Follow Rafiki!" He ran towards his tree; his place of meditation. There, he intended to show them a glimpse of the culmination of mankind's technology.

[DGFone]

Just as Mufasa and Simba, Nala had no idea what Rafiki had just said. But the three of them followed the mandrill either way. Sure, Rafiki hardly ever made any sense, but he knew a lot of things, and had proven himself to be trustworthy plenty of times.

One thing Nala did want to ask, though, and knew would be useless, was what Rafiki meant. She already knew what three thousand was, but was the limit of what she understood. She didn't know what, and Rafiki was certainly not going to explain now.

"So what does he want to show us?" Nala asked Simba, making sure that she was quiet enough so that Rafiki won't hear her. "Any ideas?"

[Regulus]

"I don't know," Simba whispered. "But I bet it's something weird." Meanwhile, the Madrill cracked open a baobab fruit and began drawing on his tree with an ink made from the juice.

He drew a large circle, then pointed to the edge of it. "We are here. The Pridelands is here. The Outlands is here. The Elephant Graveyard is here. The desert and oasis is all here." He then walked several meters, and drew another circle, this time much smaller. "The moon is here."

"The humans have developed a machine to go there," Rafiki continued. "Very powerful. Very sophisticated."

"If these humans are so powerful, what do they want with us?" Mufasa asked, still feeling skeptical.

"They have gone to the moon before. But only humans have gone."

"...and that's why they want us to go," Mufasa concluded.

"So, we can trust Dan?" Simba asked, his mood lightening considerably at the thought of being the first lion to walk on the moon.

Not surprisingly, Rafiki responded with an indirect answer. "What do you think?"

Mufasa, who had learned over time how to understand Rafiki, got his message. "He means yes." Simba's mind quickly became occupied with other thoughts, however, as he glanced at Nala.

[DGFone]

Nala grinned, feeling excited. "So they've been there before? How come we never heard of it?" She stared at the two drawings Rafiki made, trying to wrap around her mind into connecting the drawings to the ground and the moon in the sky above their heads.

"Wait, but how did you... learn of this?" she finally asked Rafiki. "So if it's true... then Dan is not lying..." She looked at Simba, and then Mufasa. "Who's going to go?" In this time, she completely forgot about mentioning that it might be best to talk to Dan again about this.

---

Out in the open savanna of the Pridelands, Sarabi helped carry a nice kill back to the den. As soon as it will be placed inside, she will have the entire pride assemble together to discuss this turn of events.

Walking inside the den with the hunting party, Sarabi was surprised to find it empty. Surely Mufasa and the others would have been waiting here for them? Spotting Zazu resting on a perch, Sarabi motioned for the bird to fly over to her. "Where did Mufasa go?" she asked the majordomo. "We're ready now. And find Dan while you're at it."

[Regulus]

Mufasa had already made up his mind. "Simba... if you want to go, I'm not going to get in the way."

Simba hesitated to speak his mind. "I'll go... but I... I want Nala to come with me."

"Dan only mentioned bringing along one lion for the mission," Mufasa clarified. Noticing that Rafiki had somehow disappeared, he began walking back to Pride Rock. "Regardless, we should discuss this with Sarafina, and the other lionesses."

---

"Mufasa went to talk to Simba, Madam; Nala is with them. I'm sure they'll be back soon," Zazu informed Sarabi. "I'll be back when I've found Dan." The bird flew off, and in no time at all, found Dan not too far away from Pride Rock.

[DGFone]

Nala smiled and rubbed her head against Simba's when he said that he wanted her to be with him. "I won't want to be without you. I don't care about going myself, but if it means being with you, I'll do it." This can be that grand adventure Simba kept promising her ever since they became friends, but Mufasa always somehow found a way to stop.

But there was one thing that the king was still right about: They won't be going anywhere until the rest of the pride got to decide as well, for Sarafina would never allow Nala to leave without telling her first. "I just hope that I will be able to go with you," she said softly.

---

Sarabi nodded and watched Zazu fly off. Looks like she will be the one waiting now for him instead of the other way around.

---

Dan was catching up on the news when he noticed the bird flying above him. "Ah, back already?" he commented. "Have they decided, or am I being kicked out?" He was doubtful that any conclusion was reached yet, but Zazu would not have flew out to find him for no reason.

[Regulus]

Mufasa, Simba, and Nala returned to Pride Rock to find the hunting party waiting for them, albeit somewhat impatiently. It had already been a long morning; a lunch break was much appreciated.

---

"Sarabi said she is ready," Zazu replied. "I suggest you better get going back," he continued, "no need to keep them waiting."

[DGFone]

Sarabi noticed the others walk into the den and nodded. She waited until the pride assembled before clearing her throat to signal that she wanted to talk, and everyone better listen up. "Today we got a visitor from out of the Pride Lands. A human. And he came to us with a... most peculiar of proposals." She looked at Mufasa, the king. "Care to explain in more detail?"

---

Dan grinned and got up. "Very well. Tell them that I'm on my way." As Zazu flew off, he walked quickly back to the large formation that was Pride Rock, wondering what news lay in store for him.

[Regulus]

"His name is Dan," Mufasa began. He has asked one of us to come with him on a journey to, of all places, the moon." He paused, giving a chance for the words to sink in, and saw Zazu and Dan quietly arriving in the back. "I have learned from Rafiki that the humans have been to the moon before. It is possible, with some sort of machine they have created. Simba has volunteered to represent us on their next voyage, along with Nala, if possible... provided there are no objections."

Sarafina was quite shocked to hear this, to say the least, although she remained silent. If her daughter would be going with Simba, and Mufasa approved of it, she was comfortable with the thought.