Chapter One: Terror of the Dark
Ever since the nightmare, darkness seemed to have lost its appeal to Simba. That cursed nightmare that had plagued Simba for weeks and weeks ever since Hago's death. It was gone now, but the memory still lingered, like a sickening taste in his mouth.
If anyone asked Simba before he first had the nightmare what he thought of the dark, he would have replied that it was great! It was thrilling, exciting, adventurous! Anything could happen in the dark! It was the total opposite of day, where everything in sight was visible and nothing could surprise you. However, when day was absorbed by the night, the world seemed to change. When it was night, things weren't visible, and all too many things could surprise, shock, and even frighten you. The darkness was very unique in that sense. Anything was possible.
However, Simba didn't exactly see all that much excitement in the darkness of the night anymore. Not since the nightmare. Not since Hago showed him what all the bad people got when they died. If you were cruel – if you were evil, then you would be subject to an eternity of darkness once you passed on. No Heaven, no Great Beyond and no afterlife. Just darkness. That was all you deserved if you were an evil person.
The mere thought of being subjected to such a thing when you died frightened Simba. Actually, it terrified him. He certainly knew that he didn't want to go into the darkness. Not ever. He couldn't be a bad person. He wouldn't be a bad person. He was good! After the nightmare, Simba knew he would never be tempted into doing something the least bit evil. He wasn't going to let that happen.
Unfortunately, the dark still frightened Simba, no matter what he thought and knew. He was at his most nervous right now, lying in the middle of a grassy field, with Nala snuggled up right next to him, looking up at the stars in the massive blanket of darkness that most people knew as space.
He just wanted to go back to the den and sleep. He really did. That darkness made him feel so anxious. It was as if it was coming to get him. It was as if Hago was teasing him at every possible moment, wanting him to suffer every day of his life. In death, that was all Simba's worst enemy could do. Make him suffer.
"Simba, what's wrong?" Nala asked, concerned, noticing the uneasy expression on his face. Something was clearly troubling the poor guy. Nala knew that he had a very pure heart, and there wasn't the tiniest speck of evil inside of him. He worried about everyone and everything, and Nala really admired that. She just felt sorry for him that he worried all of the time. He never seemed to be able to rest.
Simba sighed. "Oh... it's nothing. It's just that... I'm kinda scared of the dark," he admitted, causing Nala to raise an eyebrow in response.
"Since when?" Nala exclaimed, surprised. Simba never seemed to express a fear of the dark. At least, not a fear she herself knew of. She knew quite a few of Simba's fears – spiders, exile, fruit – but she didn't think he feared the dark. She and Simba had spent many a night watching the stars, but not once had Simba ever expressed uneasiness about such a thing. It was just one of their little things they liked to do together.
"I don't know, it's just that... nightmare," Simba replied, turning to her and staring into her teal eyes. "I can't get it out of my head. I keep seeing that darkness over and over. It won't stop."
"Simba, I thought you didn't have that nightmare anymore?" said Nala, narrowing her eyes at him. "The last time I checked, you stopped having it ever since that time when we lost three days of our lives. Three days of our lives which were so fun that we overloaded our brains so we couldn't remember."
"Yeah, I did stop having it," Simba agreed. "But that still doesn't stop me remembering it. It's so bad that I can't stop thinking about it!" He groaned loudly, hitting the ground angrily with a paw. "What is wrong with me? It's all that Hago's fault! Why couldn't he just die and leave me alone?"
Sighing sadly, Simba rested his head gently on Nala's chest. She stroked the tuft on top of his head softly. "Come on,
Simba. There's nothing wrong with you. You're just... worrying too much, that's all."
"I know, I can't help it!" Simba exclaimed in an agreeing tone. "It's just that everywhere I look there's always something I
have to worry about! Maybe it's just because I'm a bad person," he said, frowning.
"It's just because you're a good person," Nala explained, smiling at him. "You are the most generous, kind, caring, thoughtful, loving person I've ever met. There's nothing bad about you, Simba. I love you."
Simba looked up, stared into Nala's eyes, and their muzzles slowly met for a kiss. Simba felt his heart warm up by what Nala had told him, and for the first time in what felt like for ever, he realised that he truly was a good person.
When they broke away from the kiss, Simba was grinning at Nala. "Just where do you learn how to say things like that?" he asked, amazed. Nala really had a way with words. In just a matter of seconds, she'd cheered Simba up – in the dark, no less. Simba would have figured such a thing was impossible. Not for Nala, though.
Nala shrugged and giggled. "What can I say? My Mom liked to talk a lot. Some of her skills rubbed off on me."
Simba chuckled as he lay back down on the ground, looking up at the twinkling stars in the sky. "At least... there's a little bit of light in the sky."
"What do you mean?" Nala asked as she lay beside him.
"Well, there's the stars and the moon," Simba replied, pointing to each of them with a claw. "I'm trying to look on the bright side. Not the... dark side," he said with a little laugh.
They lay there in silence, looking up at the stars, the only sound being that of the crickets chirping.
Nala rolled over and looked at Pride Rock in the distance. "It's probably getting late," she told Simba. "We'd better get back before our parents kill us."
Simba nodded in agreement, and got to his paws. "Yeah, you're right." He opened his mouth wide and yawned. "I'm tired anyway, and if I stay out here too long then the dark is gonna make me go crazy."
Nala got up, and together they began walking back towards Pride Rock. "Since we're still on the subject of looking on the bright side, we haven't had to fight any bad guys today."
Simba narrowed his eyes, and nodded. "Oh, yeah. I almost forgot. It's actually been pretty quiet lately."
"Have you noticed that we do most of the pride protecting?" Nala asked. "I mean, your Dad should be the one who fights off the bad guys. Instead, it's always us who has to do it! That's kinda weird if you think about it."
"Yeah, but Zazu has him running around doing a lot of boring things. In fact they're so boring that just saying them makes me fall asleep for a whole day," he joked, smiling.
"Well, at least we won't have to fight any bad guys until tomorrow," Nala said. "For once we can get a good night's sleep."
"Yeah," Simba agreed, nodding. "That'll make a change."
Unfortunately, Simba and Nala were wrong, because they were going to have quite an eventful night indeed...
Chapter Two: The Cave of Horrors
"Ah, I love the night!" Tama exclaimed, grinning evilly. "The uncertainty, the mystery... the horrifying evil!" She let out an evil laugh, causing Tojo to narrow his eyes from behind her.
"Now I'm confused," he said, scratching his head. "Did we come all the way out to this cave just so you could say a few evil things?"
Tama and Tojo were in the deserted Outlands, standing outside the opening to a cave. Tojo didn't particularly know why they were there, but he figured that it was for some kind of evil purpose.
With Tama, that's what it was always like. She was always doing something evil – which was strange because Tojo knew that she really was a good person on the inside. She just didn't believe it. Not anymore.
Tama had recently told Tojo the story of how she became the evil person she was. It was because of an incident in which her father had relentlessly beat her until she was unconscious. Tama had been scarred by the incident, but she didn't ever reveal it. Not until she told Tojo. Tama had become evil because she didn't ever want to go through anything like that ever again. She wasn't ever going to be good again. She promised herself that. It was a promise she was going to stick to.
"Tojo, we've come here for a very special purpose," Tama informed him. "A very evil purpose."
"Now how did I figure that one out?" Tojo remarked, rolling his eyes. Tama could be really predictable sometimes. A lot of the time, actually. "And just what is this real purpose, Tama?"
"Well, Tojo, I'll tell you. According to stories spread around by resourceful animals of the Pride Lands, this is the cave where you'll find a magical genie who can make all your dreams come true," Tama explained, smiling.
Tojo's face fell. "A magical genie? Just who are these 'resourceful animals of the Pride Lands'?" he asked, doubting that there was a smidgen of truth to this outlandish assumption. Tama's dragged me all the way out here just to hunt for a genie that doesn't even exist? Tojo thought. Come on, I have better things to do with my life than follow her around all the time! Wait... I don't, actually. Yeah, but you get the point.
"Um..." Tama looked rather nervous after Tojo asked who her 'resourceful animals' were. "Well, it was a few cubs by the water hole, but I'm sure they're telling the truth! Why would they make it up?"
"Oh, I don't know, maybe because they want to trick you so you'll fall down some deep, dark pit and never be seen again?" Tojo guessed, grinning at her.
"Don't be stupid, Tojo! They happen to be very useful people. I might consider giving them Sundays off when I become the Queen around here. Once I've married Simba, of course." Tama took a few steps towards the cave opening, and looked it over. "Everything seems in order. Let's go inside."
"What?" Tojo exclaimed, his eyes widening. "We are not going in there!" he declared defiantly, pointing to the cave opening with a claw.
"Why not?" she asked in a teasing tone, getting closer to Tojo. "Is little Tojo scared of the dark cave?" she teased, pinching his cheek.
"No. I'm just being..." Tojo's eyes darted left and right. "Cautious. Who knows what could be down there? There could be monsters and creatures and all sorts of things that you can't even imagine!"
"Relax, Tojo. All that's down there is a magical genie, and I'll use my three wishes to get everything I've ever wanted!" Tama laughed evilly, her voice echoing into the night.
"What exactly are these three wishes?" Tojo asked, narrowing his eyes at her. If he knew Tama, then her wishes would be very evil and greedy ones.
"Well, first I'd wish for Simba to fall madly in love with me, then I'd wish for Nala to go throw herself off a cliff, and then I'd wish for... something that I can't exactly think of right now. Maybe I'll let you have the last wish."
"Genies can't kill people, Tama," Tojo informed her.
Tama turned around to face Tojo, an evil grin on her face and a sinister glint in her eyes. "You'd be surprised what you can live through."
Tojo gulped nervously. "Just make sure I'm not part of one of your wishes, then."
"Oh, I wouldn't dream of it, Tojo. You deserve a reward after all you've done for me," she told Tojo, prompting him to look rather surprised.
"What, really?" he said, quite stunned. "I thought you were against giving me any sort of reward."
"Tojo, stop thinking back to the past," she said, shaking her head. "That's all behind us now. We're equals – partners, if you will. We split everything right down the middle – sixty-forty."
Tojo narrowed his eyes in response. "Sixty-forty isn't—"
"Now, we need to get inside this cave," Tama interrupted, taking a few careful steps into the cave. She was still visible in the pale moonlight, which provided the only illumination in the night. She turned around to look at Tojo, who was rooted firmly to his original spot. "Are you coming?"
"Nope," Tojo replied, shaking his head. "I refuse to go into any kind of scary, dark cave."
"Oh, so you are scared of the cave," Tama teased, a tight smile on his face. "Fair enough, then. I'll just leave you out here all on your own, while I go in all by myself."
"Okay," Tojo agreed, smiling at her. "You go right ahead and find your genie."
Tama turned around and took a few steps more into the cave. "It'd be a shame if you got eaten by some hungry hyenas without me to help you, wouldn't it?"
"There aren't any hyenas in the Outlands anymore, Tama," Tojo told her, still fixed to his spot. "I'm not moving. Nothing out here is going to try and kill me."
Tama gritted her teeth. "You'd be surprised what you can live through," she muttered. She turned back to Tojo, grinning. "Okay! See you in a while!" Tama waved goodbye and continued into the cave, where she was quickly swallowed up by the darkness.
Tojo waved back. "Bye," he said quietly, looking around the Outlands, suddenly feeling rather lonely. He strode over to a large rock and hopped on top of it, resting his head on his paws as he lay down on his stomach. "Well... this is fun," he said, suddenly regretting that he hadn't gone with Tama into the cave.
Oh, well, I'm sure it won't be long until she gets back, he thought hopefully. She'll only be gone an hour or so. He sighed.
So all I can do is... wait... here... alone...
Tojo listened to the crickets chirping in the night, and it wasn't long before his eyes slowly shut, and he fell asleep, snoring lightly.
"It sure is dark around here," Tama said to herself, as she walked deeper and deeper into the cave, wondering just how long the cave went on for. Surely her magical treasure couldn't be too far away! She wanted that genie! She wanted to make all of her dreams come true! She wanted that power!
Tama was taken by surprise when her face got caught in something sticky. "Hey!" she exclaimed, pulling at whatever she had got caught in.
It was just come cobwebs, which she quickly brushed aside. "Stupid spiders! Don't they know some people come exploring down here so they can take control of a mighty kingdom?"
Tama took a few more steps forward, when she heard a loud high-pitched shriek, which echoed throughout the cave.
She stopped dead, looking around in the blackness to see if she could make out where the sound had come from. Staring ahead, Tama could make out a thin beam of light shining down in the distance, illuminating a small part of the cave.
Tama lightly ran towards the beam of light, wondering if the shriek had come from there. Just what the heck is making that racket? Tama asked angrily. I'm trying to do evil deeds around here!
Stopping just a few feet before the beam of light, Tama looked upwards to see how this small part of the cave was being illuminated. There was a tiny little hole in the cave ceiling, and the moonlight had shone down on it, creating the small beam of light.
Tama heard the shriek again, only this time it was much, much louder. What the...? she exclaimed, looking past the beam of light to see just where this shriek was emanating from.
Looking up at a part of the cave ceiling, Tama could make out a small figure hanging upside down from it. Taking a step closer, Tama gasped when she realised what the figure was.
It was a bat. A black bat, hanging upside down from the cave ceiling. Tama could feel her heart pounding in her chest, which was surprising to her because she always told herself that she feared nothing, considering she was an evil mastermind.
The bat shrieked again, even louder this time. Tama jumped back in fright, fearing that the creature was about to lunge at her.
Even though she didn't really want to, Tama couldn't help but take a few more steps closer to the bat. It was as if it was calling to her. Almost hypnotically...
Tama was so close to the bat that she was directly underneath it, staring up at the thing with curiosity. One bat? she thought. You'd think there'd be hundreds of them in a cave like this. I wonder why there's just—
Suddenly, the bat dropped down with a high-pitched shriek, landing on Tama's head. She screamed and fell to the ground, landing hard on her side. She cried out in pain, as the bat shrieked again.
Before Tama had any time to recover, the bat lunged at her neck and bit down hard into it with its fangs. Tama opened her mouth to cry out, but she couldn't make a noise. Her voice became all choked up as the bat's fangs dug deep into her neck.
The bat released its fangs from Tama's neck, and with one final cry it fell to the ground, instantly dead.
Putting a paw to her neck, Tama could feel a tiny wound. She held her paw up in front of her face and could see blood, and a good bit of it, too.
And then... Tama began to feel different. She cried out as a sudden pain in her neck struck her, causing her to collapse to the ground again. The pain began to intensify by the second, until it became so bad that Tama couldn't even move.
Tama then stood right up, and screamed at the top of her voice as she felt something beginning to change in her mouth.
Her mouth opened as wide as it possible could, and two long, sharp fangs began to slide out, glinting in the moonlight. She continued to scream as her eyes turned from their usual orange to a crimson red.
Then, the screaming suddenly stopped, and Tama collapsed to the ground, gasping heavily.
Seconds passed before the gasping ceased, and Tama slowly rose up, grinning evilly, baring her new fangs, her crimson eyes shining with pure evil. As she grinned, she could only think of one thing.
Blood, she thought. I need blood.
Chapter Three: Tama Gets a Makeover
Tojo awoke with a gasp, jumping to his paws, breathing heavily from the dream he'd just had. "Man, just what was that about?" he asked himself, putting a paw to his forehead. "I never knew Tama could be such a good kisser..." Tojo stuck his tongue out. "Yuck!"
Looking around, Tojo quickly noticed that Tama still hadn't returned from her journey into the cave. I hope she hasn't gotten herself trapped in there, he thought worriedly, hopping off the rock he was on and heading towards the cave entrance. He stared hard into the darkness, but couldn't see anything.
Great, he thought sarcastically, rolling his eyes. She's probably crying out for me to help her right now. I knew she shouldn't have gone in there. It's far too dangerous. And all for a stupid genie some cubs made up... He sighed, before taking a few steps into the cave. The things I do for love...
Before Tojo could take another step forward, he saw a pair of two red dots emerging from the darkness of the cave. It took him a few seconds to realise that the red dots were eyes – which belonged to Tama.
What the...? Tojo exclaimed in his mind, as Tama came towards him. She looked... different. She now had long fangs that protruded from her mouth, and blood red eyes. Okay, just what is going on?
"Hello, Tojo," Tama sweetly greeted him, grinning. All Tojo could seem to notice were those long fangs...
"Um... hey, Tama," Tojo said, still staring at the fangs. "Did you, uh... do something with your fur?" he asked, suddenly feeling rather nervous. This was beginning to freak him out...
"No," Tama replied. "But I did get a... makeover. A very special makeover. I feel like... a completely different person."
"You look like a completely different person," Tojo commented. "Jeez, what did they put in that cave? Not a genie, I presume?"
Tama smiled and shook her head. "I'm afraid not. I found something a lot better. Or should I say... someone."
"What do you mean?" Tojo asked suspiciously, narrowing his eyes. "Who did you meet down there?"
"You could say he just... dropped out of the sky," she replied, walking past Tojo and out of the cave, taking a deep breath of fresh air. "Ah... it feels so good to be outside. Better than that dark, musty cave." She turned around to face Tojo. "Now, Tojo, what have you been doing while I've been away? Not running around, I hope?"
"What?" Tojo chuckled. "No way! I'm not the exercising type. I, um, I had a nap, yeah. In fact, I only just woke up."
A sinister grin spread across Tama's face. "Good," she said, pleased. "I prefer people when they're relaxed."
Tojo smiled awkwardly. "Um... okay. But, um... would you mind tell me just why you have fangs and red eyes?"
Tama shook her head. "Tojo, it doesn't matter. The only thing that matters is that you trust me. Do you trust me, Tojo?"
"Uh... I guess," he replied. "Why, exactly? You're acting kind of... weird."
She giggled. "Oh... it's nothing."
Tojo raised an eyebrow, trying to figure out just why Tama was acting so strange. She went into the cave, and an hour later she came out with huge fangs and blood red eyes. How the heck did that happen? She looked like some kind of... monster. Tojo knew somewhere he'd heard about people like this, but he just couldn't remember what their name was. What were they called? Tojo asked himself, straining to remember what kind of creature Tama looked like, or had actually become.
Tama stared at Tojo. He looks so... delicious, she thought to herself, licking her muzzle and smiling evilly as she prepared to suck Tojo's blood. She just couldn't help herself. She had to have him! She was going to bite into that juicy little neck and suck as much blood as she could! And she knew just the way to do it...
Ever since that bat had bitten her, all Tama wanted was blood. Lots and lots of blood. She wanted it badly – actually, no... she needed it badly! If she didn't have blood, then she would wither and die! After she had feasted on poor little Tojo, she was going to suck the blood of all the rest of the pathetic individuals of the Pride Lands, and then she was going to make sure that vampires walked the Earth once more!
"Oh, Tojo!" she called sweetly, motioning for him to come closer. "Would you mind joining me over here?"
"What for?" Tojo asked, walking over to Tama and sitting down right in front of her.
"I just want to have..." She whispered in his ear. "An intimate moment with you," she said alluringly, causing Tojo's eyes to widen in surprise.
He chuckled nervously. "Really? T-Tama, I-I must say this is quite u-unexpected," he stammered, wondering if Tama was going to confess some romantic feelings she'd had for him, or something like that. It certainly wasn't impossible. Just... a bit unlikely.
"I've wanted this for such a long time, Tojo," she revealed. "But... there is just one more thing I'd like you to do, before we can have some... fun."
Tojo's eyes widened, as he felt his heart beginning to beat faster and faster. "Um... what is it that you want me to do?"
"Just... look into my eyes," she instructed, putting her paw under Tojo's chin and pushing his head up, making him automatically stare into her eyes.
I've got him now, Tama thought excitedly. There's no way he'll be able to escape having the blood sucked right out of him! Bye-bye, hunger!
Tojo gazed into Tama's eyes, and lost himself in their redness. She's so... beautiful, he thought, entranced by how wonderful she suddenly appeared to him. It's like she's hypnotising me. But how could someone so beautiful do something so cruel to a kind guy like me?
Tama grinned evilly, looking down at the mesmerised Tojo. "Ah, you are a sweet little boy, Tojo. I'm sure you taste quite sweet, too."
Tojo giggled in response, his brain fried so much that he didn't even bother to think about what Tama had said. "Thanks, Tama," he said, his eyes half-closed, smitten with her.
Tama put the side of her head against the side of Tojo's, baring her fangs, ready to bite down into his neck. "You're welcome, Tojo. I almost feel sorry for what I'm about to do to you." She giggled. "Almost."
"Me, too," Tojo agreed, a wide smile on his face, his brain not even processing anything that Tama has said that time. His mind had gone totally blank.
A wide grin spread across Tama's face, as she bit down hard on Tojo's neck, and proceeded to suck his blood, enjoying every little drop that she slurped up. It tasted so good...
Tojo laughed softly as Tama drunk his blood. "Tama, that tickles," he said, unaware of the sinister intentions Tama had. He was unaware of the fact that, as soon as Tama stopped feasting on him, he would meet the very same fate that she herself had.
"Oh..." Tama moaned as she continued to suck Tojo's blood from his neck. "You taste so yummy, Tojo. I always prefer the cute ones. The blood is a lot purer – and I just love pure blood..."
Eventually, Tama released her fangs from Tojo's neck, and he collapsed to the ground instantly, unconscious.
Tama smiled and took a few steps back, knowing that she wouldn't have long to wait before she had a new servant to assist her in putting her plan into action. The plan that would involve a lot of changes in the Pride Lands, and eventually a lot of changes in the world.
All she had to do was wait.
Chapter Four: Facing Your Fears
"Hey, Simba, I've just had an idea," said Nala, stopping and turning to Simba excitedly as they slowly walked back towards Pride Rock.
"All right, what is it?" Simba asked, curious. Nala quite often had a lot of ideas, but usually she preferred to tell Simba them during the day. Unless of course, this particular idea somehow involved the night. That's just stupid, Simba thought, quickly dismissing the idea. Why would Nala think of an idea that involved the night? She knows how I'm scared of the dark. He chuckled in his mind. You're such an idiot, Simba.
"What if we don't go back to Pride Rock?" Nala exclaimed, sounding rather enthusiastic about this idea – the idea which Simba quickly widened his eyes at upon hearing it. Just what was she talking about? Now all of a sudden she didn't want to go back to the den? Simba had a feeling this night was going to be far from eventful...
"What are you talking about, Nala?" Simba said, confused. "We need to sleep, you know. It's what keeps us... you know, alive." He chuckled. "What are we gonna do, stay out here all night and not go to sleep at all?
Nala grinned and nodded. "Uh-huh," she responded. "I think it's a great idea! Don't you?"
Simba's face fell. "Not really," he replied. "Considering at this point in my life I think that darkness is one of the most terrifying things that I've ever seen!" he exclaimed, hopping over to Nala's side and tapping the top of her head lightly with his paw. "Hello! Earth to Nala! Have you forgotten that or something?"
Nala rolled her eyes and smiled. "No, Simba, I haven't forgotten. In fact, your fear is why I want to try this idea out," she revealed, prompting Simba to suddenly look a little bit interested.
"What do you mean?" he asked, narrowing his eyes at her. "You're saying that staying out in the dark all night is going to help me?"
"Well... not exactly," Nala answered, straining to think of the right words to use. "Kind of. What I'm trying to say is that you need to face this fear, otherwise you'll just end up being scared of the dark your whole life. Now how's that going to work out when you're the King, and you have to defend the pride against evil predators who only strike in the middle of the night?"
"I protect the pride enough already," Simba muttered, looking down at the ground. "So, you want to stay out here all night?"
Nala nodded. "That's right. We're going to stay out here, and not go to sleep! That way you'll realise that the dark is nothing to be scared of."
"Easy for you to say," he said, looking up at the sky, an uneasy look on his face. He sighed. "I don't know, Nala. What if this doesn't work out? What if it makes me even more afraid of the dark than I already am now? What if I go insane, and lose the power of speech? What if my brain melts, or I lose me eyes, or even worse..." Simba gasped, horrified. "My tuft! I can't lose that!"
Nala laughed. "Simba, cool it. None of your body parts are going to fall out or fall off. You trust me, right?"
"Of course," Simba answered honestly.
"Yeah, well, if you trust me, then believe me when I say it'll all be fine," Nala told him, smiling as she put a paw around his shoulder. "Besides, I'll be with you. If it all gets too much then we can just go back to the den, right?"
Simba grinned. "Good." He took a few steps forward, and then turned around. "Yep, it's all got too much. We'd better get going." Simba hurried back in the direction of Pride Rock, only for Nala to grab him by the tail, sending him to the ground.
Nala let go of Simba's tail and helped him to his paws. "Come on, Simba. You can't just give up that fast! Give it a chance."
Simba looked around the darkened surroundings of the Pride Lands, and sighed. "Okay, Nala," he agreed, smiling. "I'll do it for you."
She smiled back. "Great! It means a lot to me, Simba. I don't want to see you stressed out like this. I want you to be the happy little cub I always have and always will know. Okay?"
Simba's smile widened. "Okay."
"Ow..." Tojo groaned as he awoke, rubbing a weird ache he had in his neck. "What happened to me?" he asked aloud as he got to his paws, struggling to remember how he'd fallen asleep again. But every time he thought back, everything was like a blur. He felt so dizzy, too. Just thinking was hard for him right now.
"Ah, you're finally awake," said Tama.
Tojo looked up at Tama, and saw her lying on her back on a large rock – the rock that he had originally fallen asleep on when Tama decided to venture into the cave to look for her 'magical genie'.
Oh, yeah, that was right, Tojo thought, suddenly remembering what had happened. I woke up, and Tama came out of the cave, with fangs and red eyes! Tojo stopped dead, his eyes widening. Oh, no! Tama has fangs and red eyes!
"Tama, are you back to normal?" Tojo asked. "Please tell me that you having fangs and red eyes was just a dream!"
Tama's fangs and red eyes suddenly seemed all the more visible to Tojo as soon as he asked that. "Oh, I'm afraid not,
Tojo. You haven't been dreaming. In fact, I think you'll find you have quite the same gift as I do."
"Huh?" Tojo exclaimed, confused. "What are you talking about, Tama?" he asked, putting a paw to his chin.
That was when he felt the fangs that protruded from his mouth. Looking down, Tojo could seem them very clearly in the moonlight. Long, sharp fangs. Fangs that could tear someone's throat apart with a simple slash.
Tojo gasped. "What the...?" he exclaimed, horrified. "Tama! What have you done to me?" he cried, turning to her.
"How'd you figure out it was me?" Tama asked, hopping to her paws.
"Well, the fangs kind of give it away!" he shouted. "Who else is it gonna be? I didn't do this to myself!"
"Not to mention the red eyes," Tama added, staring into Tojo's new crimson-coloured eyes. "They were better than those old blue ones, don't you think so? They make you look a lot... eviller."
"I don't believe it!" Tojo groaned. "Why did you do this to me, Tama? What are you going to gain from turning me into a... a... Just what the heck do you even call this, anyway?"
"The correct term is 'vampire'," Tama informed him.
"A vampire?" Tojo squealed. "You turned me into a vampire? Tama, change me back right now!" he ordered. "If you don't, then you can kiss your partnership goodbye!"
"Hmm..." Tama narrowed her eyes, putting a paw to her chin. "It seems that I haven't made you a very obedient vampire. I should have held on to that juicy neck of yours for a little bit longer... I'll keep it in mind for the next time I suck someone's blood – which will be very soon."
"What are you talking about?" Tojo asked. "Are you trying to say that you wanted to turn me into some kind of slave vampire for your own evil purposes?"
Tama nodded. "You're very good at this, aren't you, Tojo? I didn't suck enough of your blood to make you completely obedient to your leader – and your leader is me, by the way. You still retain your free will, which is a shame."
"Right, okay, so you wanted to make me a vampire why exactly?" said Tojo, narrowing his eyes at her.
"Because I've been given a very special gift, Tojo. A gift that I'm going to use to spread the Curse of the Vampire once more!"
"I lost you at 'Curse of the Vampire'," Tojo told her. "Would you kindly explain to me what the Curse of the Vampire is, exactly?"
Tama sighed. "All right, all right, I'll tell you the story. But don't be surprised if the story is so terrifying that it kills you."
"Aren't vampires supposed to be immortal?"
"You'd be surprised what you can live through."
Chapter Five: Curse of the Vampire
"Tojo, the Curse of the Vampire is... well, as you might imagine, a curse," Tama explained. "It's a curse that has existed for thousands and thousands of years."
"Thousands of years?" Tojo exclaimed, his eyes widening. "How come I've never heard of this before? I'm supposed to know everything!"
"Oh, no one's had the curse for a long time," Tama informed him. "When I went into that cave, I got bitten by a bat. I imagine that the bat was the only animal in the world that still carried the curse. When it bit me, it transferred its powers to me, killing the bat in the process." Tama bared her fangs. "And the rest is history."
Tojo sighed. "Great. So how come you didn't die when you bit me?"
"Because that bat was old," Tama told him. "Vampires aren't truly immortal, Tojo. It had probably been dying a slow and painful death for years. When I arrived, it jumped at the chance – quite literally – to bite me. It wanted to end its misery. But since I'm much bigger and stronger than a scrawny old bat, I can do a lot more with the curse. That's why I bit you."
"And you turned me into a vampire, too," Tojo concluded, frowning. "So every time you suck someone's blood, you turn them into a vampire?"
Tama nodded, an evil smile on her face. "That's correct, Tojo. All I have to do is bite into their necks, and they become like me. Well, not exactly like me. Every person I bite will be instantly in my power. That is, if I suck enough of their blood.
Unfortunately, I miscalculated in your case..."
"Something I'm thankful for," Tojo muttered under his breath. "So I get to keep my free will?"
Tama nodded. "You'll be the only person with free will. By the end of the night, this whole pride will bow down before me. I'll have an entire pride of vampires!" Tama laughed evilly.
"An entire pride of vampires?" Tojo squealed, eyes widening in shock. "You can't do that, Tama! It's just... evil!"
A cruel grin spread across Tama's face. "Exactly," she said, chilling Tojo's blood as she said it. Why was it that Tama seemed even scarier when she was a vampire? "I'm going to give everyone the curse! Everyone will become like me! I'm going to spread the Curse of the Vampire throughout the world!"
"And there's no one to stop you," Tojo realised, horrified. "Unless, of course... vampires have weaknesses."
Tama shot Tojo an angry look. "I'd like to say that vampires don't have weaknesses, but unfortunately I can't."
A sly look crossed Tojo's face. "Oh... really? And what exactly are these weaknesses, Tama?" he asked sneakily.
Tama sighed. "Oh, it's quite embarrassing, actually. You see, in order to sustain this curse I need to turn at least thirteen people into vampires before the sun rises. I hate weaknesses. They make me feel so..."
"Weak?" Tojo suggested.
Tama nodded. "Good answer. Anyway, we need to put my plan into action."
"We?" said Tojo, raising an eyebrow. "Tama, I'm not having any part in this evil scheme."
"Oh, really? Well, Tojo, if you don't then I'm afraid I'll have to rip your head off and hang it from a tree," Tama told him threateningly.
"I don't think vampires can kill other vampires," Tojo retorted.
Tama rolled her eyes and frowned. "Well, Tojo – oh, I'm getting tired of saying this – you'd be surprised what you can live through."
"Look, Tama, you can't seriously expect me to help you turn everyone into a vampire," Tojo told her firmly. "I won't do it."
"Oh, you're not going to help me turn everyone into a vampire," Tama informed him. "Only the lead vampire can transform others. I just want you to be my... assistant. My lookout."
"I'm not doing it," Tojo declared, turning around and going to leave, before Tama jumped in front of him, grabbing him by the throat.
"Listen, buster, I've listened to enough of your babbling and I can safely say I've had enough!" she shouted. "Now you are going to help me with my evil plan, or I will personally see to it that you experience a fate worse than a fate worse than death."
"Don't you mean a fate worse than death?" Tojo choked.
Tama grinned sinisterly. "No."
"How many hours is it until morning?" Simba asked, hanging upside down from a tree branch, swinging back and forth. Strangely, he wasn't feeling tired at all. The dark had a mysterious way of keeping him awake. All he felt right now was boredom, and lots of it.
Nala shrugged, as she lay on her back on a large rock. "I don't know. A few hours?" she suggested, causing Simba's face to fall.
"Great," he said flatly. "So we're stuck out here with nothing to do all night. I don't see how this is going to help me face my fear."
"I think it has already," Nala told him, to Simba's surprise. "You haven't complained about the dark for an hour now."
"Yeah, but—" Simba stopped mid-sentence, feeling quite stunned. "Oh. I haven't complained about the dark?" He scratched his head. "That's actually pretty good, I guess. I'm feeling better already!"
"You see?" Nala grinned, happy that Simba was making some progress. "What did I tell ya? Nothing to be scared of."
"Yeah!" Simba nodded, then lost his balance on the branch he was hanging from and fell to the floor with a thump!
"Ow..."
Nala rushed over to Simba's side, helping him to his paws. "Simba, are you okay?" she asked, concerned.
"It depends on how you look at it," Simba replied dizzily. "My head is really hurting, but now I can see five of you," he said with a bashful grin.
Nala giggled. "I didn't know you could be funny and sweet at the same time," she told him. "But I suggest that you don't try hanging upside down from trees for a long while."
Simba nodded. "Yeah," he muttered, collapsing onto the ground. "Maybe I should just... lay here for the whole night."
"As long as you don't fall asleep," said Nala. "Remember, we have to stay awake the whole night."
"Oh, don't worry about that. That dark is keeping me up anyway. It'd be more likely for me to fall asleep in the day than the night," Simba informed her.
"Hopefully we can change that by tomorrow morning," Nala said, hopeful that Simba would overcome his fear of the dark. He was well on his way already, and Nala figured that, as long as nothing went wrong, Simba would no longer be afraid of the dark.
Unfortunately for Nala, she had no idea of the horrors which awaited her and Simba...
Tama chuckled evilly as she stood in the entrance to the den, staring at all of the sleeping lions. They had no idea what was about to happen to them...
"Here we are, Tojo," she said to him, gesturing with her paw to the sleeping pride. "I'm sure we'll find thirteen people to turn into vampires here."
"I'm counting ten," Tojo told her, taking a step into the den. "You got the King, the Queen and eight lionesses." He nodded. "Definitely ten. Unless, of course you count the cubs."
"Not good enough," Tama replied. "It needs to be adults. Or very strong, mindful cubs like yourself. On the bright side, I still have ten lions to transform. If I do that then it brings the total up to eleven. That means I'd only have to find two more..." A grin crossed Tama's face. "Like Simba and Nala."
"I thought you hated Nala?" said Tojo, confused. "I thought you would be the last person to say that Nala was strong and mindful."
"You have to admit the girl has... intelligence," Tama admitted. "And the mere thought of having her under my control makes me excited already! No one will be able to stop me!" Tama sighed happily. "I love it when I win."
Chapter Six: Two to Go
"I can't say I've ever bitten a King before," Tama said as she stood just in front of King Mufasa, who was sleeping next to his mate, Sarabi. "I guess I can now, though," she said with an evil chuckle.
"I'm still against this, Tama," Tojo told her. "It's still not too late to turn back and forget all about this evil plan."
Tama laughed. "Don't be so stupid, Tojo. This is necessary for the Curse of the Vampire to be sustained. I'm not going to give up when I have everything I need right here in front of me!"
"This isn't going to end well," Tojo said, shaking his head as he looked down at the ground.
Tama opened her mouth, and used her sharp fangs to bite down on the King's neck as hard as she could, sucking his blood. "Hmm..." she said thoughtfully, slurping Mufasa's blood up. "Not as sweet as yours, Tojo, but still tasty."
"I think I'm gonna be sick," Tojo muttered, looking away from Tama. This wasn't something he personally wanted to witness. Tama becoming a vampire was weird enough already – he didn't need to watch her sucking blood to get freaked out.
For the next minute, all Tojo could hear was the sound of Tama greedily sucking King Mufasa's blood. "Are you quite finished yet?" Tojo asked, turning around to look at Tama.
Tama removed her fangs from Mufasa's neck, and Tojo almost puked when he saw that her muzzle was covered in blood. She slowly slurped it all up, enjoying the taste. "Mmm... now that was good," Tama said, before turning her attention to Sarabi. "I wonder how lionesses taste?"
"I can't believe I'm actually hearing this," Tojo said to himself. "Seriously, I can't. How sick can you be, Tama?" "What can I say? I'm a bad girl," she said, before plunging her fangs into Queen Sarabi's neck.
"Ninety-eight... ninety-nine... one hundred!" Nala exclaimed, opening her eyes and turning away from the tree. "You might as well show yourself now, Simba. You can't beat me at this game!"
Nala walked along the edge of the water hole, looking around for any sign of Simba. Since they were so bored, they had decided to have a game of hide-and-seek. Simba of course made Nala 'it', because he loved to hide so he could try and scare her by jumping out from his hiding place suddenly.
"You're not going to scare me this time, Simba," Nala declared aloud. "Reveal yourself now and I might show you some mercy." The punishment for being found was usually five minutes of tickling, and Nala loved torturing Simba like that.
Nala spotted a tree in the distance, and recognised it instantly as the old tree where she and Simba had first met each other. She knew she would always look back on that spot with fond memories – and she also knew that was the spot Simba would most likely choose as his hiding place. Of course Simba would take the sentimental approach.
"I know where you are, Simba," Nala called as she made her way towards the tree. "I'm coming to—"
Suddenly, something rose up from the water hole and grabbed Nala's hind legs! She screamed as the figure pulled her into the water hole with a huge splash!
Nala thought she was going to die there and then, until she heard her attacker laugh. It was only when she got a closer look that she realised it was Simba who had pulled her into the water hole.
"Simba!" Nala cried, frowning. "You scared me to death!"
Simba laughed harder. "You should have seen the look on your face!" he snickered. "I've don't think I've ever seen you look so surprised!"
"Here's a surprise!" Nala retorted, grabbing Simba's head and dunking him under the water.
She let go of him and Simba resurfaced, still laughing through gasps of breath. "You were right! You can have fun in the dark!" he exclaimed, grinning. "I think I'm getting used to this night thing after all."
"At least we're getting somewhere," said Nala, looking up at the darkened sky. It would only be little more than an hour until it was morning. It looked as if Simba was going to overcome his fear after all!
That is, if nothing bad happened until morning arrived...
"What did I tell you?" Tama exclaimed, backing away as she looked at her newly transformed slaves.
The whole pride had now been turned into vampires. All ten of them, save for the cubs, who were sleeping, none the wiser to what was going on. Tama knew they were too stupid...
The pride stood to attention, blank expressions on their faces, awaiting orders from their leader. They now sported long fangs and red eyes, just like Tama and Tojo. Tama's plan was coming together, and all she needed now was two more people to bite...
"So... what do we make them do?" Tojo asked, looking the pride over.
"We send them after Simba and Nala, of course!" Tama replied, grinning eagerly. "And then they will bring them to me, where I can suck their blood and turn them into my slaves."
"You're going to make Simba your slave?" Tojo said, narrowing his eyes at her. "Then in that case, who is going to marry you? Can I marry you?"
Tama gagged in response. "That's disgusting, Tojo!" she exclaimed, sticking her tongue out. "That's about as disgusting as... as..."
"Sucking people's blood and turning them into vampires?" Tojo suggested flatly.
"Yeah! I mean, no! I mean... Oh, just shut that big mouth of yours, before I shut it for you!" Tama ordered, nearly grabbing Tojo by the throat again but deciding not to.
"Okay, okay!" Tojo agreed, holding his paws up in the air. "Just don't hurt me!"
Tama smiled. "Good." She turned to her new slaves, an evil grin on her face. "Attention, my new servants! I have a new task for you! I want you to find those two cubs, Simba and Nala, and bring them to me – alive – so I can suck their blood and make them all like you!"
"Yes, Tama," the pride obeyed, speaking in unison. "We obey."
"Good!" Tama exclaimed. "Now, go! Go! Go! We only have an hour before sunrise! I have to turn them both into vampires before then or the curse will be gone for ever!"
The pride nodded and filed out of the den, Tama's orders firmly implanted in their heads. They were going to find Simba and Nala, and drag them back here to Tama. They weren't going to fail their master, because they knew the ramifications would be severe.
"I do love a good enslaved pride," Tama said. "Don't you, Tojo?"
"I can't say I do," Tojo replied. "It's far too evil for my liking."
"One day you'll understand the benefits of evil, Tojo," she told him. "One day."
"And maybe one day you'll find that being good isn't so... bad."
Tama scoffed. "Yeah, right! That's about as likely as me falling in love with you!"
Chapter Seven: The Family of Blood
"How long left now?" Simba asked, as he floated on his back in the water hole. "It's gotta be close to morning, right?"
Nala looked up at the sky. It was still pretty dark, but not as dark as it was before. "Not long now," she replied. "Less than an hour?" she guessed. "Do you think you've overcome your fear of the dark, then?"
"Hmm..." Simba narrowed his eyes in thought. "Maybe. Probably. I don't know, what do you think?"
"I think you have," Nala told him. "If you were still scared of the dark then would you have gone into the water hole to scare me?"
Simba smiled. "I guess you're right. Maybe I'm not so scared of the dark anymore. I've finally overcome my fear, and can go back to being good old me!" he exclaimed with a grin. "And since I've gone back to the real me, I think I should do something very brave and daring."
"What, look up at the sky for more than five seconds without screaming your head off?" Nala suggested playfully.
"No. Let's see which one of us can hold our breath underwater longer," he replied, an mischievous glint in his eyes.
"Oh, come on, Simba," said Nala, rolling her eyes. "The last time we did something like that you almost ended up drowning."
"I won't this time," he assured her. "I promise. And if something goes wrong then you can just dive in and save me, okay?"
Nala sighed. "Fine." This isn't going to end well, she thought to herself. Whenever Simba decided to do something crazy – which happened a lot of the time – it almost always ended in tears for the two of them, and half the time it wasn't even Nala's idea!
"Okay, I'll go first," Simba told her, taking several deep breaths. "You count how long I stay under for, and then when I come up I'll do the same for you. Got it?"
Nala nodded. "Okay. Don't forget to scream if you start drowning."
Simba narrowed his eyes. "Wait... how am I supposed to scream if I'm—"
"That's the joke, Simba," Nala explained. "Now start holding your breath and I'll time you."
"Okay. Here I go," Simba said, before taking one final deep breath and holding it in, before he disappeared under the water.
Nala tried to see if Simba was visible underwater, but he wasn't. All she could see were ripples in the water. He'd better not hurt himself, she thought, before she started counting up in her head. One... two... three... four... Turning her head away from the water, Nala looked in the direction of Pride Rock.
That was when she saw the figures.
They were advancing towards the water hole, ten of them in all. Dark, sinister figures that Nala couldn't make out in the darkness. What are they...? Nala wondered, staring hard at the approaching monsters. Well, Nala assumed they were monsters. No one who walked like that was friendly, that was for sure...
Then the figures got even closer, all of them standing at the edge of the water hole, and Nala was finally able to see what they looked like, thanks to them being illuminated by the moonlight.
That was when she recognised who they were.
And that was when Nala screamed.
Simba emerged from the water, taking in a big gulp of air. "Whoa!" he exclaimed. "I was under there a really long time, huh, Nala?"
Simba looked around the water hole, and quickly discovered that Nala was nowhere to be seen. "Nala?" Simba looked all around, but couldn't see her anywhere. "Nala? Where are you?"
"Simba! Help me!" a voice cried from in the distance. Turning his head in the direction of the voice, Simba found that it was coming from Pride Rock.
That was Nala, Simba realised, a horrified expression on his face. Which means she's in trouble! I've gotta save her!
Simba scrambled over to the edge of the water hole and pulled himself up to dry land. He then started running, ignoring the aching pain in his chest he'd received from holding his breath for so long.
Don't worry, Nala. I'm coming.
"Simba! Help me!" Nala cried as loud as she possibly could, before she was thrown into the den violently by her own mother, who for some reason now had blood red eyes and long, sharp fangs. Nala had no idea what was going on, but she really wanted to find out.
"Ah, shut up!" a female voice snapped. "Can't you do anything by yourself? Do you always need Simba to rescue you?"
Nala looked up at the person who was speaking, and discovered that it was Tama. "Tama?" Nala cried, as thing got even more confusing for her. Like the rest of the pride, Tama also had fangs and red eyes. Just what was going on?
Tama smiled evilly. "That's right, Nala. It's me!" Tama pointed to her fangs with a claw. "Like the new look? It makes me feel very... bloodthirsty."
"You're behind this?" Nala exclaimed, her eyes widening in surprise. To Nala's knowledge, Tama had never done anything evil before. Nala just thought she was kind of... quiet, and preferred to hang around with her friend, Tojo – similar to Nala with Simba. She didn't think Tama was capable of anything like this.
"It shouldn't surprise you, Nala," Tama replied. "After all, I... Wait, I erased your memory, didn't I?" She laughed. "You wouldn't remember the little hypnosis incident we had a few weeks back. Ever wondered where those three days of your life went? That was me."
"And now you've..." Nala looked back at the pride, and then at Tama. "Just what have you done to them?" she asked.
"Oh, I've turned them into vampires, of course. Which is what I will do to you, in just a few moments. Then all I have to do is find Simba, and then the Curse of the Vampire will thrive once more!" Tama cackled evilly at the top of her voice, and it echoed throughout the cave.
"You're insane!" Nala cried. "Just what do you think you're going to accomplish from turning the whole pride into... whatever you call them."
"Vampires," said Tama, rolling her eyes. "And I'm doing this so my vampire brethren can rule the Earth once more, and create ten million years of darkness!"
"I'll never join you," Nala declared defiantly. "You might as well kill me. You're not gonna be able to change my mind."
Tama chuckled sinisterly, taking a step closer towards Nala. "Nala," she said sweetly, pulling Nala to her paws and caressing her cheek softly, "I'm afraid you're wrong. I can make you change your mind, and all it takes is one little bite." With that, Tama embedded her fangs in Nala's neck, and began to suck her blood, enjoying every single drop.
No! No! Nala cried in her mind, as she felt herself getting weaker and weaker. No... No... Yes... Yes... Yes! I can feel it! The power! It feels so good! I will help my master, Tama, and will make sure that the Curse of the Vampire lives on... for ever!
Tama let go of Nala's neck, and stood back to see Nala with blood red eyes and sharp fangs. She had been turned into a vampire.
"What are you going to do now, Nala?" Tama asked, resisting the urge to laugh triumphantly.
"I'm going to find Simba, and make him like us," Nala replied.
"Good," said Tama, turning her head in Tojo's direction. Her eyes widened in surprise when she saw that Tojo was asleep in the corner of the den. "Tojo!"
Tojo shot up, wide awake. "What is it?"
"You fell asleep!" Tama exclaimed, pointing at him.
"Huh? Oh, I didn't fall asleep – I was just resting my eyes, that's all," Tojo told her, getting to his paws and walking over to her. "So, have you spread your evil curse yet?"
"No. Not yet. But I'm going to change that, because we're going on a little trip," Tama said, walking out of the den.
"A trip? Where?" Tojo asked.
"To find Simba, of course. I need to make him a vampire before the sun rises, or the Curse of the Vampire will cease to be!" Tama looked at Nala, and a sinister smile crossed her face. "Nala, come with me. I'm sure you're as eager as I am to find your boyfriend."
"Yes, master," Nala obeyed, bowing her head and following Tama out of the den.
"Hey, what about everyone else?" Tojo asked, joining Tama by her side and looking back into the den.
Tama put a paw to her chin and looked at the remainder of her slaves. "Well... as for you guys," she said to the rest of them. "Um... yeah, you can just stay there."
"Yes, master," the pride said, bowing their heads.
Tama shuddered. "Ooh, I love it when they call me that. It makes me feel powerful... and I adore power."
Simba rushed as fast as he could towards Pride Rock, desperate to rescue Nala from whoever had kidnapped her. I've gotta go faster, he told himself. Nala's probably being horribly tortured right now!
"Nala! Don't worry! I'm coming!" he shouted.
To Simba's surprise, he got a reply. "There's no need for that now, Simba. I'm never going to need you ever again."
Simba stopped dead in his tracks, and slowly turned around to face one of the most horrifying sights he'd ever laid eyes on.
Nala was there, but she looked so... ghastly. She had long, sharp, menacing fang, and crimson eyes that seemed to scream, "I'm going to kill you!" She had a cruel smile on her face – and this was what told Simba that there was something seriously wrong with her. It wasn't the fangs or the eyes... it was the smile. It was cruel. Evil. And evil was something that Nala most certainly wasn't.
"Nala," Simba spoke softly, taking a step towards her. "What's happened to you?" he asked sympathetically. "What's wrong with you?"
"Nothing is wrong with me," Nala responded, still using that cruel smile. "Everything's perfect. I've never felt better."
"Really?" Simba said, raising an eyebrow. "And how do you explain the red eyes and fangs?"
"That's why I feel so good, Simba," Nala told him. "It's a gift I've been generously given by my master, Tama."
"Tama?" Simba exclaimed. "How the heck did she manage to do that? Has that new look made you lose your mind as well?"
Nala chuckled. "You are a stupid person, Simba. But I can change that. I can make you a better person. I can remove all of your emotions, leaving only hate. Just let my master give you the same gift she gave to me. Join the Family of Blood." This night has taken a sudden turn for the worse, Simba thought flatly, before he heard a noise from behind him.
Turning around, Simba saw Tama standing right in front of him, a menacing grin on her face. "Why, hello there, Simba.
You look good enough to eat."
"Uh... okay," Simba said, backing away slowly, his eyes wide. "I don't exactly get what that means."
"It means that I'm going to suck your blood," Tama explained. "And make you just like me, which is something I've been planning to do for such a long time."
"Since when were you evil?" Simba asked Tama, not remembering that she had hypnotised him into falling in love with her not so long ago. However, that plan failed, so Tama had to erase both his and Nala's memories, making them forget all about the whole thing.
"Oh, since for ever!" Tama exclaimed, advancing towards Simba.
"Tama, I think I should warn you now that you have about five minutes before the sunrise!" Tojo told her. He was standing a few feet away from the commotion, watching it and hoping that morning would arrive quicker. He didn't exactly want to be a vampire for all of eternity, and secretly wanted Simba to escape from Tama's clutches, making sure that the Curse of the Vampire was no more.
"Yes, thank you, Tojo," Tama said, rolling her eyes. "Do you think I can't see what time of day it is? You've cost me twenty seconds already!"
Which is what I was planning, Tojo thought, a little smile forming on his face. Come on, Simba. Just run away! Otherwise we'll all be vampires for ever!
Simba looked up at the sky, and could see that the sky wasn't really that dark anymore. Which could only mean that the sun was starting to rise. Well, I survived the night, Simba thought with a little chuckle. Doesn't look like I'm gonna survive the day, though.
"Come on, Simba," said Nala, joining Tama by her side. "It only hurts for a minute. You'll feel much better afterwards. We can live together as vampires for ever!"
"Just give in," Tama urged, taking another step closer. "Give in, Simba. You can't win. You're outnumbered. There's three of us and only one of you."
"I'd just like to point out that I'm not taking any part in this," said Tojo.
"Okay, so there's two of us and one of you." Tama grinned, baring her menacing fangs. "All it takes is one little bite, and you'll be a vampire before you know it."
Simba backed away even more. "Well, I've love to, but I've... gotta go!" With that, Simba raced off in the opposite direction, desperate to get away from Tama as fast as he could.
"Go, Simba, go!" Tojo called, grinning as he watched Simba escape.
"What?" Tama snarled, shooting an angry look at Tojo.
"Uh, I mean, no, Simba, no!"
Tama rolled her eyes, and started sprinting after Simba. I'll get him, she assured herself. Simba can never escape me! No matter where he goes, no matter what he does, I'll find him!
"Would you like some help with finding Simba, master?" Nala offered, running alongside her.
Tama smiled. "Yes, Nala, I would. Simba will never be able to resist you, as much as I hate to admit it. Remind me when we get back to make him fall in love with me."
"Yes, master."
Panting heavily, Simba skidded to a halt in the middle of a field with tall grass, unable to go any further. He was too tired to do anything.
Turning around, Simba could see two approaching figures, which he immediately recognised as Nala and Tama. They're coming for me, he realised, horrified. They're going to make me like them, and there's nothing I can do about it, he thought sadly.
Simba ducked low, trying to avoid being seen by them. He then started to quickly think of the remaining options he had.
Well, I could always just let them turn me into one of them, he thought. But that's just a quitter's way of doing things – and
I'm not a quitter. I'll have to go down fighting, like the brave Prince I am! I'll never stop fighting until I've taken my last breath!
By the time Nala and Tama arrived in the field, Simba was cowering and trembling in fear behind a large rock.
Oh, no, they're here! he thought worriedly, nibbling on his claws with his teeth. I'm gonna become a vampire! I don't wanna become a vampire! Somebody help me!
"Got ya!" Tama exclaimed, jumping on top of the rock Simba was hiding behind. "There's no escaping me now, Simba.
You might as well give yourself up."
Simba backed away, trying his best to look brave. "I'm not gonna let you do this to me, so you can forget about it!"
"If you won't give yourself up willingly, then I'm going to have to bite you by force," Tama told him threateningly, leaping from the rock and at Simba, colliding with him and sending them both tumbling across the ground.
Simba found himself pinned by Tama, and his eyes widened in horror as she lowered her head, baring her frightening fangs, ready to bite into his neck and turn him into a vampire. Tama would have her thirteenth victim, and the Curse of the Vampire would thrive once more!
Simba squirmed and struggled, trying to get away from Tama, but she had a tight grip on him, preventing him from escaping. There was nothing he could do.
Tama's fangs got closer and closer to his neck. Simba wriggled his neck away as much as he could, but all he was doing was delaying the inevitable.
With one swift movement, Tama dug her teeth into Simba's neck, and began to slurp up all the blood she could. Oh, he tastes so good, she thought. He'll make a very good vampire. And I'm sure he'll make a very good mate when we need to have little vampire cubs.
Simba could feel himself getting weaker and weaker as Tama greedily drank his blood, and the last thing he saw before he closed his eyes was the sunlight...
The sunlight? Simba's eyes snapped open, and he couldn't help but grin when he saw the sunlight shining down on him and Tama. It was morning!
Tama continued to suck Simba's blood, when she felt the sunlight shining down on her. Immediately, she jumped away from Simba, hissing at the pain it caused her. "No!" she shrieked, shielding her face with her paws. "The light!" She screamed at the top of her voice. "Oh, it burns! It burns so much!"
Simba rubbed the spot on his neck where Tama had bitten him as he got to his paws, watching with fascination as Tama screamed and screamed. The sunlight was hurting her so much... It didn't surprise Simba that she wanted to suck his blood before then! Now the sun could hurt her!
Simba looked at Nala, and saw that she was having the same reaction, writhing about on the ground in agony, moaning in pain. The sunlight was hurting her, too.
Rushing over to Nala's side, Simba cradled Nala gently in his paws, trying to make her feel as comfortable as he possibly could, despite all the pain she was going through. "Don't worry, Nala, it'll all be okay," he assured her.
"But it... But it burns so much..." she gasped, closing her eyes as tight as she could, not wanting to open them ever again. The sunlight burned so much...
"Don't think about it, Nala," Simba told her. "It'll be over in a second. I promise."
Tama continued to scream as she stood right up, even thought she didn't want to. She was being forced by some unknown force. Tama's eyes then snapped open, and her mouth opened as wide as it possibly could. Her fangs began to retract back into her mouth, disappearing completely. Her eyes changed from a crimson red to their original orange colour. She then collapsed to the ground, breathing heavily. She was a vampire no more.
Nala had the same reaction, as she stood up and her mouth opened wide. Her fangs retracted and her eyes returned to their usual teal colour, before she too collapsed to the ground, falling into Simba's warm, kind embrace.
Tama blinked several times, slowly climbing to her paws. "What... What happened?" she asked, looking around confusedly. "Where am I?"
"Simba, what's going on?" Nala asked, looking up at him. "Why are we here? Don't tell me I fell asleep?"
Simba laughed, looking up at the bright blue sky. "It's a long story, Nala. But I think it's safe to say that dark isn't a problem for me anymore. I'm not sure about vampires, though."
"Huh?"
"I don't believe this!" Tama exclaimed angrily, falling onto her back by the edge of the water hole. "You're telling me that I tried to turn the whole kingdom into vampires?"
"I'm afraid so," Tojo replied, admiring his reflection in the water. He smiled when he saw that he had no sharp fangs, and his eyes had returned to their bright blue colour. He was back to normal. "You wanted to spread the Curse of the Vampire or something. It was actually pretty weird."
"You're pretty weird!" Tama said, glaring at him. "I can't believe I don't remember this. It doesn't make any sense at all!
How come you can remember, but I can't?"
"Because you didn't suck enough of my blood," Tojo explained. "So I still retained my free will, and my memories of the incident. It's not a memory I'll look back on fondly."
Tama frowned and shook her head. "And just to make it worse I feel tired! Me! Tired!"
"Why don't you take a nap?" Tojo suggested.
Tama scoffed. "Yeah, right! As if I... want... to take a... nap..." Tama lowered her head to the ground, and closed her eyes, fast asleep.
Tojo laughed and walked over to her. "I'm feeling a bit tired, too," he said to himself, looking down at Tama. "Maybe I should... No, I can't... Oh, she won't mind."
Tojo lay on his back and snuggled up to Tama, closing his eyes and resting his head against hers. I'm sure you won't mind, he thought. I think a small part of you actually likes it.
"I knew it!" Nala exclaimed, upon hearing Simba's story about how she had been turned into a vampire by Tama. "I knew my mother grabbing me and dragging me into the den wasn't a dream! It was all that Tama's fault! I'm going to go over to her right now and teach her a lesson!"
Nala got up from her spot in the field, only for Simba to laugh and pull her back down. "Come on, Nala. It wasn't her fault. She looked just as confused as you did. Let her off this one time."
"Oh, all right," Nala begrudgingly agreed. A little smile then formed on her face. "I wonder what everyone else will think, since they were turned into vampires, too."
"They'll probably forget about it," Simba told her. "They'll just think it was a weird dream or something."
"I guess you got over your fear, then," said Nala. "Now we can watch the stars at night without you screaming your head off!"
Simba smiled. "Yep! The dark can't scare me anymore!"
Nala giggled, and snuggled up to him. "Thank you, Simba," she said softly, licking him on the cheek. "You're my hero."
Simba laughed, and then, he suddenly coughed. Then he coughed again. And again. And again.
Nala looked up at him. "Bad cough?" she said, raising an eyebrow.
"Yeah... I'm... fine..." Simba said, still coughing. Then he stopped, and smiled at her. "That was a bit weird."
Nala looked up at the bright blue sky. "I'm surprised you're still awake, actually. You'd think that after staying up all night you'd—"
A snore interrupted Nala. Turned her head to look at Simba, she found that he was fast asleep. She giggled, and rested her head on his. "You are so funny," she told the sleeping Simba. "Even when you're asleep."
Nala closed her eyes too, and began to drift off to sleep, knowing that when she woke up, she would be having even more great adventures with the greatest friend she could ever hope to have.
