But in the blink of an eye, everything changed!

A sudden, massive gust of wind blew across the mountain clearing. 💨

The dark gray storm clouds parted overhead like a curtain being pulled back on a stage.

The torrential downpour stopped completely in a matter of seconds.

Bright, intense afternoon sunlight broke through the canopy, illuminating the forest floor in brilliant golden light.

The team of wildlife photographers, delighted that the storm was over, packed up their heavy camera gear.

They waved goodbye to the gorillas, turned around, and began walking down the muddy trail back to their base camp.

Within thirty seconds, the human audience was completely gone. 🚪

The protective barrier of camera lenses and human witnesses had evaporated into thin air.

Kibo’s devious smirk instantly froze on his face.

The color drained from his dark skin as he felt the temperature in the clearing suddenly skyrocket.

He slowly turned his head toward the edge of the bamboo thicket.

Standing there, no longer restrained by the presence of human observers, was King Ndora. 👑

Ndora was towering on all fours, his massive silver back glistening in the fresh sunlight.

His nostrils flared with absolute, unadulterated fury.

He didn’t make a sound. He didn’t even roar.

He just stared at Kibo and Kovu with cold, calculating eyes.

Kovu, still buried in Kibo’s chest, felt Kibo’s body go completely rigid.

“K-Kibo?” Kovu squeaked softly from inside the tight embrace. 🙈

“Why did you stop hugging me back?”

“Is the storm over?”

Kibo didn’t answer. He couldn’t answer. His throat had closed up entirely.

Kovu slowly peeled his face away from Kibo’s shoulder and looked around.

He saw the sunshine hitting the grass.

He saw the empty trail where the photographers used to be.

And then, Kovu turned his head and saw King Ndora cracking his gigantic knuckles. 😳

Kovu let out a high-pitched, comical squeak that sounded like a deflating balloon.

The tight, loving hug between the two brothers instantly dissolved into sheer panic.

Kovu tried to climb up Kibo’s back to use him as a human shield.

Kibo tried to shove Kovu forward to offer him as a sacrificial peace offering.

They tangled over each other in a messy pile of limbs, rolling around in the wet grass. 🌀

Ndora took one giant, heavy step forward. The ground literally shook beneath them.

“Wait! Your Majesty!” Kibo gestured wildly with his hands, trying to communicate in frantic gorilla gestures.

“It was an honest mistake! He didn’t know they were your berries!”

“He thought they were… public berries! Community berries!”

Ndora didn’t buy it for a single microsecond.

Ndora thumped his chest once, producing a deep sound like a bass drum hitting a concrete wall.

He took another step closer, his shadow falling directly over the two terrified brothers.

Kovu covered his eyes with both hands, bracing for the inevitable ape apocalypse. 🙈

Kibo squeezed his eyes shut, wishing with all his heart that the rain would come back.

Ndora reached out one massive, leathery hand.

He didn’t grab them by the neck. He didn’t throw them into the trees.

Instead, Ndora reached down and pointed his gigantic index finger right at Kovu’s chin.

There was still a tiny smudge of bright purple berry juice stuck right under Kovu’s lower lip. 🍇

Ndora scraped the drop of juice off Kovu’s chin with his fingernail.

He brought his finger up to his own mouth, tasted the sweet juice, and let out a long, heavy sigh.

The giant Silverback looked down at the two shivering, ridiculous brothers.

He saw Kovu trembling with genuine terror, tears streaming down his small furry face.

He saw Kibo sitting there with his arms raised, ready to take a beating to shield his little brother.

Despite all Kibo’s devious tricks and smirks, Kibo really had stayed by Kovu’s side to protect him.