Hello all, and I'd like to welcome you to the fourth chapter of my story. I'd like to give a quick shout out to everybody who reviewed the last chapter! Y'all are all awesome, and it is your reviews, follows, and favorites that keep me writing!

For all who are uncomfortable with the swearing in this story, it is simply the nature of the characters involved. I apologize for any offense. PLEASE DO NOT FORGET TO REVIEW!

Well, I think that I have done enough blabbing, so without any further ado, here is the chapter!

DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING!

A slightly older Steele let the soft breeze of the Pridelands blow through his golden fur. His sapphire blue eyes glimmered with awe as the bright orange sun rose over the Savannah.

The former felon sighed. It had been two moths since his rebirth, and so far, his new life was more annoying than the last. His "parents" and "grandparents" were constantly doting over him, watching his every move like a vampire stalking its victim.

As soon as Steele was old enough to tell them how he felt, he did so accordingly. Needless to say, their surprise at his massive amount of intelligence was quite evident. As the executed human pondered these events, he noticed a presence behind him and sighed softly.

"Good morning…M-Mother."

The cub grimaced at his own words. He had been trying to keep his true identity a secret, and he felt the strange pause might arouse some degree of suspicion. Luckily for him, Kiara did not seem to notice. She walked up to the prince and nuzzled him gently.

"Good morning Unio. You're up quite early today!"

Steele shrugged and responded in a monotone voice. "I'm almost always awake at around this hour. The African sunrise is…most exemplary to say the least. "

Kiara laughed softly. Motherhood had changed her quite a bit, and quickly too. No longer was she a naïve, ditzy cub, but a strong lioness, kind, feisty, and wise.

"I agree with you on that, my son. Have you seen your father today?"

Steele rolled his sapphire blue eyes. "He went on patrol about an hour ago, as he usually does."

Kiara sighed softly. "Well, I better go find my wayward husband." She rubbed her paw on her son's little head. "And YOU stay out of trouble."

Kiara walked away to find Kovu, leaving Steele to only growl in annoyance. Trouble? Him? No. He had been nothing but an angel since his rebirth. Besides punching Rafiki of course. Steele smiled. He still enjoyed reflecting on that moment.

The thought of his grandfather came into mind, causing the prince to sigh. He had been taught the motto Hakuna Matata, pioneered by the late Timon and Pumbaa, but it never caught on with Steele. He had a much better motto to live under, which he began to whisper to himself.

"My motto is simpler. What is mine is mine, and what is thine is mine. No better slogan than that."

Steele chuckled, and slowly pranced down Pride Rock into the Savannah below. Massive palm trees, beautiful creeks, and tall grasses surrounded the young former human. Even in his first life, Steele had always had a massive appreciation for the astute beauty of nature.

Steele closed his eyes as he continued to trot, smelling the sweet air around him. Suddenly, the crown prince crashed into a medium-sized ball of fur, and quickly opened his eyes.

A grey dog, probably with some wolf in him, sat on the ground groaning, rubbing his head with one paw. He snarled at Steele, anger evident in his voice. "What the hell, man? Watch where you are going next time, dumbass!"

Steele recognized the canine's voice. Memories suddenly began to flood into his head.

It was the very first day of second grade, and little Matthew Steele was terrified about starting school once again. His family had just moved from Mesa, Arizona to downtown Honolulu, Hawaii. The boy did not know anybody, and was literally shivering with nervousness as he stepped in to the classroom.

The boy quickly rushed to the first open seat, and there was another boy next to him, slightly larger, with black hair, light brown skin, and light brown eyes. The boy leaned over to a still-shivering Matthew.

"What's your name?"

Young Matthew sighed. "Matthew Steele."

"I'm Justin Wawanaka."

Ten years later…

"You ready Justin?"

The brown-eyed man smiled before slipping on his ski mask. "Hell yeah I am! We're going to be rich!"

Steele laughed darkly, before slipping on his own mask. "It's only one bank, Justin. Five more, and then we can call ourselves wealthy."

Justin also chuckled darkly. "I like the way you think Steele. Let's go!"

The two men hopped out of their truck and dashed into the bank. Needless to say, the teller was quite surprised to see two thieves both holding machine guns demanding all of his money. Justin snarled.

"We can do this the easy way or the hard way, Mr. Teller. I'm warning you though, the hard way involves people turning into Swiss cheese."

The teller shivered in fright before running over to the safe. He took all of the money from inside, and handed it to Steele and Justin. Steele grinned at the man.

"Thank you for your cooperation. Have a wonderful day!"

-TLK-

"Steele, you have to get out of here now!"

The blue-eyed man gasped in horror. "Justin, if I go, you're going to get yourself killed!"

"You're my best friend Steele, better me than you. Take the loot and just go!"

"But Justin-"

"MATTHEW STEELE, I TOLD YOU TO RUN DAMN IT!"

Steele finally relented, and he began to sprint away from the scene. Not long after, he heard three distinct noises.

BLAM! BLAM! BLAM!

-TLK-

"Justin? Is that you?"

The wolfdog continued to growl angrily. "How the hell do you know who I am?"

The executed felon grinned. "It's me, Steele."

Justin's eyes widened in shock. "Steele? But how?"

"I got caught. Sentenced to death. Let me just say, the electric chair isn't fun." The young lion then chuckled darkly. "Seems that we both share a similar predicament."

Justin grinned. "Indeed we do. Was your purgatory black and hopeless?"

"Indeed. One second, I'm getting electrocuted, the next, I'm the crown prince of the Pridelands."

The other ex-human chuckled. "Sounds similar to me. One second, I got a bullet going through my chamb, the next, I'm the son of a male dog and a female wolf."

Steele nodded in understanding. "Let's take some time to catch up. I think we both have much to discuss."

Well, Steele's partner in crime is having the same issues as Steele himself. Thank you all very much for reading this chapter, and as mentioned previously, PLEASE DO NOT FORGET TO KINDLY LEAVE ME A REVIEW! I will try to have the next chapter up whenever I can. Until then, take care, and thanks again for reading!

-Tex-