The two cubs listened intently. Each thought they could hear some creature breathing, but they couldn't work out which direction the sound came from. Kiara pressed herself to the wall and retreated, only to hear a bubbling growl directly behind her.

She ran to Kovu and both scampered the other way, but a heavy footfall ahead of them brought them screeching to a halt. They clung to each other, looking wildly around.

"Where are you?" called Kiara bravely.

"Yeah! Come out and fight!" yelled Kovu, putting his paw around her. Their answer was a chuckle that started quietly and built up to a roar of humourless, wild laughter. The sound echoed off the rock and the old bones, seeming to come from all around.

"AH ha ha ha ha HAAAH hah ha ha HAAH..." The earth floor trembled.

"RUN!" screeched Kovu, and the pair made a dash for the entrance. But before they could pass under the stone pillars something sprang from the top of the gateway and blocked their path.

The large animal before them was blacker than the night itself. Light glimmered in its yellow eyes and off its teeth, which were bared and sharp. It was a cat, but no lion. The muzzle was narrower and the shape more compact. Muscles bulged on its sleek torso and broad shoulders. A long, thick tail swayed behind it like a snake about to strike.

"Good evening," it purred in a voice like midnight. "What brings such small creatures to my lair?"

"I..."

"Uh..." Kovu and Kiara trembled.

"I'm waiting. I feel this could be interesting." The big cat smiled.

"My sister dared us to spend the night in the Elephant Graveyard," Kovu said sulkily.

"Really? You have an irresponsible sister. This place is very, very dangerous."

Kiara spoke up. "What are you?" she asked boldly.

"I am the night death, the black stalker, the doom of the herds. More specifically, I am Banbe the panther. And you are?"

"Princess Kiara of Pride Rock," Kiara said, jutting her lower jaw out and looking as fierce as she could. "And my father is King Simba, head of a mighty pride."

"I am honoured, your majesty," Banbe said smoothly. "Your Highness and her loyal retainer are most welcome here." A long pink tongue moistened his teeth and black lips. "A most welcome - treat!"

As he pounced, Kiara and Kovu scattered one to each side. Black forelegs reached after them but the cubs, driven by fear, darted out of reach. They looked at each other and nodded. Making for the giant elephant skull, they each leaped through an eye-socket and crouched in the dead dome, trembling.

Banbe covered the distance in a single leap and thrust a paw through the left eyehole. The cubs flattened themselves against the back of the skull, Kiara gasping as a clawed toe parted the fur on her chest. The paw thrashed around their enclosure for a few minutes, then withdrew, and the pair could feel their shelter shaking as the panther attempted to lift it. At length he gave up and his muzzle appeared through one of the sockets.

"Ah well, it seems you have defeated me this time." He grinned at them. "Good luck with your dare. It is time for me to hunt now." The sinuous body wound past the litter of bones and into the open, and the peeking cubs saw how long and lithe the panther was. Banbe turned. "I shall return after dawn, and if you are still here, I shall kill you. Have a good night."

Kovu and Kiara looked at each other. "He was...polite," Kiara ventured. Kovu shook his head angrily. "No he wasn't, he was toying with us. I've seen King Scar give a look like that. It says, I could kill you easily but you're not worth bothering with." He bristled.

"Oh Kovu, let's go home."

"No way!" the older cub said obstinately. "We're seeing this dare through if it kills us!"

* * * * *

"Nala, have you seen Kiara?" Simba asked, pacing up and down.
"I think she's with Timon and Pumbaa, why?"
"I just had a bad feeling for a second." He shook out his mane. "Think I'll just check on them."

He had a much worse feeling when he discovered the warthog and meerkat curled up together fast asleep, with no sign of Kiara.
"TIMON! PUMBAA!" he roared. The two sprang up, screaming, and crashed into each other as they attempted to escape. Timon recovered first.
"Oh, it's you, kid. What's all the noise?"
"Where's my daughter?" growled Simba.
"She's right he- oh. Guess we fell asleep. Sorry," Pumbaa said sheepishly.
"Yeah, the little tyke, I mean Princess, really wore us out!" Timon nodded vigorously.
"She did, did she?" rumbled Simba. "Hmm."

Pumbaa and Timon looked at each other and began to back away on tiptoe.
"We'll just..."
"...go see if she's..."
"...at the waterhole!" The two fled.

Simba stood atop Pride Rock, roaring to summon his pride. The lions emerged from the sleeping-den, blinking and confused.

"Princess Kiara is lost," he announced. Someone murmured 'what, again?', but the king ignored it.

"Nala, take the lionesses and spread out to cover the Pridelands. Make sure you check the gorge. Zazu, you can travel the furthest - I want you to fly out over the desert."

"I'm not an owl, Sire," grumbled the normally obedient hornbill, who was always cranky at night.

"I don't care!" snarled Simba. "My daughter is missing! Go!"

The lionesses grouped around Nala, who began sorting them out. She was not yet as anxious as Simba, but she wanted her naughty cub found as soon as possible. When she had dispatched everyone she padded over to her mate and licked his muzzle.

"I'm sure she hasn't gone far, love. Are you going to stay here in case she comes back?"

Before answering, Simba gazed for a moment out into the darkness to the west; the direction of the Outlands.
"No; I'm going to follow a hunch of mine."
He bounded away.

A/N: Banbe is my char. You can see a pic of him at fanart.lionking.org. Everyone else belongs to Disney.