A/N: Sorry about the wait, I've been busy the last few days and getting home late. Are you all still wondering about that lioness? Good. That's exactly what I want. Keep wondering, I like hearing your theories on what she's doing, but now let's visit Nala, shall we? Oh, and if you noticed my new profile picture, that is, in fact, Sora. It was drawn by WordFighter, a very talented artist. Just look how cool it is!

Greg M 94: It should tell you something about how bad Mako is, since he beat Angani and always won... Not friendly at all.

yeti1995: How often is it that you see an adolescent for a villain? It makes her a little different from other villains.

Chapter Two: Corrupted Mind

She hadn't been the same in the few days since her father had kidnapped her. Nala was keeping to herself, away from her friends and family. It was starting to worry everybody, especially her mother. The most anybody had been able to get out of her was something about killing somebody. They needed more out of her if they were going to help. They wanted the old Nala back.

As Simba walked over to her, he noticed she had the same depressed look that she had been wearing for days. He knew he had to be careful with her, seeing that she clearly wasn't in a good mental state.

"Nala?" Simba asked as he approached. "Are you feeling any better? We just want to help you."

Nala didn't look at him. She just stared down at the floor of the den. She knew that everyone thought she was crazy, which she wasn't. They had no idea how she felt. She had taken the lives of two innocent cubs, they didn't know how traumatizing that was.

"I killed them..." she muttered quietly.

That's all they had been able to get out of her, so, that wasn't much help to Simba.

"Who?" He asked. "Who did you kill?"

For the first time, Nala looked up into Simba's eyes. He could see the pain and sadness in her. "Cubs... He forced me to do it..." Simba saw a tear fall from her eye.

"Why?" Simba asked.

"He wanted me to be like him." Nala told him, "He was evil... Cold and heartless. He threatened all of you if I didn't listen, what was I supposed to do?"

"It's not your fault." Simba said, putting a comforting paw on her, "You didn't have a choice."

"They begged me not to kill them, but I didn't anyway..." She said, reliving the experience in her head. "I'll never be able to forgive myself."

"Sure you will," He assured her, "It will just take time."

"No," Nala choked, clearly becoming more upset, "I won't. Killing them wasn't the worst part. When he forced me to kill the second cub, the way I felt was unbelievable. I wanted to kill him. I enjoyed it... It was only after I was done that I realized what I had done."

She looked up into Simba's eyes.

"I'm a murderer..." She sobbed. "I don't deserve to live."

"Yes, you do." Simba said, pulling her up, "It's not your fault, your father-"

"Don't ever call him my father!"" Nala growled, ripping herself away from Simba.

"I'm sorry," He apologized. "Buko just got to you, we had no idea how evil he was. You are nothing like him."

"Yes I am!" Nala yelled. "I'm a killer, just like he wanted me to be!"

"No, you aren't," Simba told her, "You know that, Buko influenced you, threatened you."

Nala didn't say anything, she just broke down and cried again. Simba could tell that it wasn't going to be easy for her to get over this. Buko had really affected her. Her mind was very unstable right now.

Simba figured she could use some space for now. She didn't seem to be in any mood to talk to anyone, so, he left her. There was nothing he could do right now, if she wasn't interested.

As Simba walked outside the den, he ran into Mkali, who had a worried expression on her face.

"Simba, have you seen Angani anywhere?" She asked. "I haven't seen her all morning and I'm starting to get worried about her."

"No, I haven't seen her," Simba answered. "You haven't seen her at all? Not even when you woke up?"

"No," Mkali replied. "I just hope she hasn't gotten herself into trouble."

"I'm sure she's fine," Simba said. "We all know that she's able to take care of herself. Nobody would dare to mess with her..."

"What am I going to do?" Angani asked herself as she walked through an open field. She had crossed the border of the Pride Lands hours ago, and it was still a long walk ahead of her.

The walk wasn't her concern right now, her mind was on that lioness, and what was going to happen when she confronted Mako. Mostly the latter topic. If Mako was anything like he was before, she could be in trouble, but she was stonger now... Maybe she'd be able to defend herself. She still wasn't feeling too confident, but she had to do this. The nightmares had to stop...

"I won't let him hurt me again..." Angani said, not really believing herself. "I can't let him."

She wasn't even entirely sure what she had to do. She was going to arrive, and then what? Fight him? She wasn't even sure that she would be able to. For all she knew, that lioness could have just been lying to get her to do something stupid, but at the same time, she was willing to try anything to make the nightmares stop. Nothing could be worse than reliving the pain over and over again... That's where she was wrong.

A/N: Nala isn't in great shape is she? Hopefully, she'll be able to get back to normal. I don't know about you, but I don't like seeing her like that... Or do I? I might be that evil.