Wonder what our favorite cubs are gonna discover...guess we'll find out now! Also, to the people that'll read this, I have a challenge for you guys: if you guys stay until the end, I want you guys to guess what movie this story's based off of. It'll get more obvious as the story progresses, but yeah ;)

Chapter 2:

The stars were out, and so were Simba and Vitani. Climbing out of their tree, the two headed towards the Elephant Graveyard.

"You think we'll find anything?" Vitani asked.

"It's the Elephant Graveyard, we'll definitely find something," Simba answered.

Walking for a bit longer, they reached the Elephant Graveyard. They reached the all-too-familiar Elephant skull and climbed up, nestling inside momentarily. Vitani turned to the prince.

"So are we heading out now?" she asked.

Simba nodded. "Yeah, come on!"

The duo hopped down and strolled further in the land full of bones. Glancing up, a thought crossed Vitani's mind.

"You know, I don't get why Daddy and Uncle Muffy call it the shadow place," she remarked, "I can see the stars perfectly from here."

"Probably because of the air here," Simba reasoned, squinting his ruby eyes.

The two walked further, though there wasn't anything out of the ordinary. The air was still somewhat foggy, making it a bit hard for them to see; whether it was their sleepiness or the lack of excitement, their trip was quiet for the most part.

Simba came to a halt, causing Vitani to nearly crash into him.

"What is it? What's there?" she frantically asked, thinking the worst.

Simba turned to Vitani.

"This is kinda lame," Simba admitted, "yeah this is the first time spending the night here, but we've snuck off here before; why don't we just head back?"

Vitani hated to admit it, but there really wasn't much else out here. As a sigh escaped from her mouth, she nodded.

"Yeah, let's just-"

Peculiar noises immediately silenced her. The cubs held their breath as they continued to listen.

"What was that?" Vitani whispered.

"I-I don't know" was Simba's fearful whisper.

It grew quiet again. All of a sudden, chants were heard. Simba nor Vitani could understand the language, leaving them even more fearful. The chants finished, and there was silence for a moment.

Adrenaline coursed through the lioness cub, and she slowly edged forward.

"Come on," she whispered, "let's get a closer look."

The two cautiously walked closer towards the noise. After a few more moments, their eyes widened and they locked eyes with one another.

"There's a whole new area back here," Vitani voiced. Despite her practically inaudible voice, the excitement was evident in her eyes.

"Oh this just got good," Simba said, the same excited glint in his eyes.

The cubs edged closer and closer, determined in figuring out what those sounds were. They quietly trotted down a path that was completely pitch black and they had to strain their eyes more than ever. Walking further, a scent filled their nose.

"Tani...this smells like-"

Before he could finish (though Vitani knew exactly what he was getting at), a bloodcurdling scream filled the air before abruptly being cut off. Now terrified, the cubs turned to head back.

"Let's get outta here!" Simba whispered as loud as possible.

The cubs turned and raced back towards the Elephant Graveyard. Upon seeing the giant skull, the two stopped to catch their breath.

"What*gasp*was that*gasp*?" Vitani forced out.

Having regained most of his breath, Simba shook his head. "I...I don't know."

Desperately wanting to push aside that weird incident, the two climbed into the skull and settled in for the night.

"You think we'll get caught?" Vitani fearfully wondered, "we weren't really being that quiet."

Simba waved his paw. "We'll be fine, 'Tani. Now come on, we gotta get some sleep."

Ignoring the weird feeling, she forced her eyes to shut, and soon her mind faded into more pleasant thoughts.


The following morning, the cubs were once together and Simba wasted no time in telling the cubs about his and Vitani's adventure; the moment their friends heard this, they immediately bombarded them with questions.

"So how was it?"

"Yeah, whatdja see?"

"Were there any ghosts?"

"Well..." Simba trailed off, sliding his eyes over to Vitani.

She hadn't said anything since she woke up. She wasn't going to admit it, especially not to Simba, but she'd been plagued with nightmares. Not the typical "monster" nightmares, but awful nightmares, consisting of screams, chants, and flat out gore; she hadn't even risked breakfast, causing her parents and two of her siblings to bombard her with questions. What was she supposed to tell them? That her and Simba went and spent an entire night in an area they were forbidden to go to-

"Tani!"

A light shake jolted her from her thoughts. Letting out a sharp gasp, she saw Simba staring at her.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

Turning, she noticed everyone else was awaiting her answer. She quickly regained her composure and nodded.

"Yeah, totally," she lied, "I'm just exhausted."

Simba nor Kovu, Tama, or Beleco, were convinced, but they weren't going to force her to speak.

Kiara quickly redirected the topic. "So what was there? We've been waiting all morning!"

Simba set aside his worry and turned to Kiara.

"Well, at first we were gonna quit, because it was just the normal Elephant Graveyard, but then we heard this weird chanting sounds, and when we walked further, there was a whole entire area," Simba answered, "it got quiet, and when we got closer it smelled like..."

Simba turned to Vitani, who met his nervous gaze.

"Blood," Vitani finally spoke up, "it just...the coppery smell was so strong, and right as we smelled that, we heard this scream that just..."

Vitani shook her head, trying to rid herself of that memory.

"We ran back to the Elephant skull, and then just went to sleep," she briefly concluded.

The cubs took in their small, but significant discovery.

"That's so weird," Tama finally commented, "like...really weird."

"Do you know what kinda animal it was?" Kopa asked.

Simba and Vitani frowned at one another, before turning back to Kopa.

"We didn't see," Vitani answered her boy best friend.

Kula suddenly hopped on all fours. "Okay, your ghost adventure sounded fun, but I wanna play!"

"Yeah, let's go swimming!" Nala seconded.

Getting up, the cubs all raced to the waterhole. Simba trotted a few feet, but realized his cousin was taking her sweet old time.

Simba raced back to her side. "Hey, are you sure you're okay?"

Vitani sighed. She didn't care if she got made fun of, she needed to get this off her chest.

"I...didn't really sleep," she admitted, "I kept having creepy dreams."

She waited to hear Simba's laughter, and him calling her a baby; instead...

"Me too."

Vitani whipped her head around, more alert than ever. "What?"

Simba nodded. "Yeah, there were these animals, but...they looked weird; they looked...like zombies."

Vitani blinked. Okay, so it wasn't just her paranoia...

"In mine, the animals were chanting, and there was screaming, and so much more blood," Vitani admitted, feeling a weight lifted off her shoulder.

Simba placed a paw on her shoulder. "But, we're back home now, so don't worry."

For the first time that day, Vitani cracked a genuine smile. "I'll try not to. Thanks, Simba."

Simba flashed his signature grin. "No prob', 'Tani; besides..."

While he flashed his signature grin, he pointed his nose up and placed a paw on his chest. "I'm the Pride Lands prince, and I can take on anything."

Now laughing, Vitani rolled his eyes. "Yeah okay, whatever you say princey."

Simba laughed at the remark before pushing her to the ground. "Last one to the waterhole is a jackal!"

Vitaai sprang to her feet. "Hey!"

Their guts hurting from laughing, the two raced to the waterhole, completely forgetting their initial paranoia.


Perfect, he's alone.

Using the few tips she retained from hunting, Chipo tried to make her way over to her brother. She was sick and tired of not just Mila and Penda, but also his constant teasing; it was one thing for siblings to playfully tease one another, but they were also supposed ot protect one another.

She was merely a few feet away, when his voice broke through her thoughts.

"You're not as sneaky as you think you are."

Well, might as well show myself.

She gave up the act and walked over to him, seating herself right by his side.

"Nuka, we need to talk."

"Kings, not this bullshit again."

He rose from his spot before turning to leave. She wasn't letting him this time however, and immediately hopped in front of him.

"Yes, this 'bullshit' again," Chipo mocked him, "Okay look, I get that I'm not the best huntress or fighter, but it'd be nice if you guys would stop picking on me every chance you get!"

"Well, maybe if you were, everyone would take you more seriously," Nuka coolly responded.

"What did I do to you?" Chipo demanded, "why are you so mean to me?"

Nuka looked her up and down. "Oh come the hell on. You may be total ass at hunting and fighting, but there's no way you're that dumb."

Realization dawned on Chipo, and her ruby eyes widened in disbelief. "Are you serious? It wasn't like I did it on purpose; I was trying to look out for you guys!"

Nuka let out a laugh, though void of amusement.

"Yeah okay, that was a totally genius way of looking out for 'us'," he sarcastically remarked, "really feeling the love, sis. Especially considering what happened after-"

"You know I didn't mean for that to happen!" Chipo began to lose her temper, "Geez, ever since you and Mila met you've been even more of a jerk."

"Hey, keep her out of this!" Nuka's voice rose, "she didn't do anything!"

"Except you" was Chipo's snarky comeback; true or not, it clearly numbed his tongue.

The duo grew silent, and for a moment, the two glared at each other, identical ruby eyes boring into one another's. What happened next caught Chipo entirely off-guard.

Nuka began to laugh.

Her anger morphed into confusion. How and why did he go from nearly ripping her throat out to hysterical laughter?

"What's...so funny?" she question, trying to keep up her stern demeanor.

"Oh, Chi'."

Nuka wiped his eyes and looked her up and down. "You swear you're something special. Guess I can't blame ya; I mean, I guess if I were coddled and babied I'd act like hot shit too."

Chipo glared, feeling her face grow hot. "Nuka, I'm telling you now. Shut the heck up-"

"Or what? You'll tell Mom and Dad?" he taunted, "sheesh, talk about no backbone whatsoever."

"I do too have a backbone!" she cried.

"Oh yeah, it's so strong that you have to get everyone else to fight your battles, because if you try to you'll just get your sorry ass handed to you again," he sneered at her, "ya know, if it wasn't me, you would've ended up just like Jahi-"

The old name did it for her. She rose a paw and got ready to strike Nuka; unfortunately, he saw it coming and shoved her to the ground. Letting out a bitter chuckle, he turned to walk away from her.

"Pathetic."

He sauntered away, leaving a heated Chipo on the ground. Ignoring the now forming tears in her eyes, she picked herself up and stalked away, her long, auburn tail dragging across the ground.


The cubs had all split up and went their own ways. Right now, Vitani was playing with both Tama and Simba in the grassy fields.

"Okay, I spy with my little eye, something...red," Tama voiced.

Vitani and Simba scanned the scenery. So far there was nothing red, but that wasn't deterring them.

"Hmm...was it Uncle Muffy?" Vitani asked, referring to the king.

Tama shook her head. "Nope."

Simba looked around, ruby eyes searching for even a mere hint of red.

"A ladybug?" he sheepishly guessed.

Tama blinked. "A ladybug? Are you kidding me, Simba?"

Vitani laughed, turning to the creamy gold cub. "Yeah, Simb', how would she notice a tiny little ladybug?"

Simba's face reddened, "S-Shut up!"

The tuft duo laughed with each other, before a though crossed Vitani's mind.

"Oh, I know!" she declared, "the butterfly!"

The other two turned to the direction she was staring at, and to their surprise, a large butterfly fluttered by them.

"Grr, dangit!" Tama cried, "I didn't think it'd come back!"

Vitani blew a raspberry at her. "Ha-ha. Okay my turn!"

The other two turned away and Vitani scanned the area. "I spy with my little eye...Chi-Chi?"

"Well you can't just tell us-"

"No, Chi-Chi's upset," Vitani quickly reiterated.

Once the other two turned around, they saw the adolescent lioness sauntering across the fields; her tail grazed the ground and her gaze was on the green grass beneath her.

"Come on, let's go see if she's okay," Tama suggested.

The three rose to their feet and raced over to the disheartened lioness. Right now, she was just standing in place, her gaze glued to the ground.

"Um, Chi-Chi?"

The cub-like voice snapped her out of her trance. She glanced up at the cub trio before quickly wiping her eyes.

"H-Hey guys, what's up?" she asked, trying to cover up her unhappiness.

"Are you okay?" Vitani asked.

Chipo cracked her best attempt at a smile. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"Are you sure?" Tama spoke up, not buying the act.

Chipo wiped her face. "Yeah it's nothing, don't worry."

Though still not convinced, the trio hugged her forelegs.

"Well, if you say so," Simba finally spoke up.

"We love you," Vitani voiced, nuzzling her leg.

A genuine smile appeared on Chipo's face as her heart swelled. The cubs were such sweethearts; if all else failed, she knew they'd always be there.

As she wrapped a foreleg around them, she pulled them closer. "I love you guys too. Now go play, I'm fine."

They let go and went off to find their other friends. They checked by the waterhole, the fields, even Rafiki's tree.

"You think they went back to Pride Rock?" Tama suggested.

Vitani and Simba mentally facepalmed; how they didn't think of that, they'd never know.

"Well, come on!" Simba exclaimed.

The trio raced to Pride Rock only to realize that not only were they right, Mufasa was next to an unfamiliar cub.

"Hey what's going on?" Tama wondered.

Kopa turned to the trio and his eyes brightened. "Oh hey guys!"

Simba looked to the cub, then back up at the fiery maned ruler. "Dad, what's going on?"

He gestured to the cub next to him. "Cubs, this is Jaylie; she's going to be stay with us for a bit, and I trust that you guys will make her feel at home..."

He grinned at his son, niece, and nephew. "Especially you three."

Jaylie was a...different looking lioness cub. Now she definitely wasn't ugly, she just simply had features and colors never seen before; her fur was a creamy blondish color, and above her eyebrows were two patches of white fur, which everyone guessed was birthmarks of some sorts. On her right ear, a beautiful flower(1)was placed neatly, a common plant from her native pride. The thing that stood out the most however, was her most beautiful brown-blue eyes(2); not necessarily like Beleco's, but still a beautiful, different color.

Simba looked back at Jaylie and smiled. "Hey, Jaylie!"

The other cubs followed in suit, excited to have a new playmate.

A shy smile on her face, she gave a small wave. "Hi."

"Come on, let's keep playing!" Simba exclaimed while the cubs broke off into their groups again.

Simba, Kopa, and the tuft duo raced off, but Vitani stopped when she realized Jaylie was hanging back.

"Hey, come with us," Vitani invited, "you'll love my friends, especially Kopa."

Despite feeling nervous, Vitani's friendliness put her at ease.

"Well...okay."

A grin spread across her face as Jaylie moved towards her. The two caught up with the other three, who appeared to be playing a game of "Pinned Ya".

"Hah, you've been dethroned!" Tama cheered, staring down at Simba.

"You cheated!" Simba protested.

Tama smirked. "No, I'm just better than you."

She let Simba up, and Kopa laughed at the two.

"Sheesh Simba, Tami roughed you up."

The trio turned to see both Vitani and Jaylie.

"Shut up, Kopa," Simba grumbled.

Vitani turned to the newbie. "Hey Jaylie, wanna play with us?"

Jaylie hesitated for a moment, before offering a shy smile and nodding. "Okay, sure."

Vitani and Jaylie got into position, and Simba played referee.

"Ready? GO!" he called out.

Vitani lunged, catching Jaylie off guard. The two tussled for a moment, Vitani taking the upper hand. Unfortunately, she was too forceful and ended up violently knocking Jaylie to the ground.

"Haha, pinned ya, Jaylie!" she giggled.

"Ow! Let me up!" Jaylie cried.

Taken aback by her sudden change of attitude, Vitani immediately got off of her. Still in pain, she could only afford to sit up.

"Sheesh..." she shot earthly and ocean dagger at Vitani. "What the heck!"

Vitani gasped, realizing she overdid it. "Oh my gosh, I...I didn't mean to-"

Jaylie gripped her head to try and stop it from spinning. Being the closest to her, Kopa slowly helped her to her feet.

As Vitani tried to help Kopa up as well, she batted her paw away.

"Just leave me alone!" she cried, still in pain, "is this why you wanted me to come with you guys so bad?"

While Kopa finished helping her to her feet, Simba came to Vitani's defense. "Jaylie, she didn't mean to."

"Yeah, this game can get pretty rough," Tama seconded, "it's not for the weak."

Now on her feet, Jaylie narrowed her eyes. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Tama frowned. "I just meant it can get intense, I wasn't trying to say you were weak."

"Well I don't like it," she brusquely retorted, before locking fiery eyes with Vitani.

"Stay the heck away from me."

Kopa noticed Vitani was preparing to made her own comeback; knowing it would escalate way more than needed, he quickly tried to diffuse the situation.

"Come on Jay', I'll get you to Rafiki's," Kopa suggested.

The remaining trio watched as Jaylie leaned onto Kopa, before making their way to the mandrill's tree(3).

"What the heck's her deal?" Tama demanded.

Simba turned to his cousin. "Are you okay, 'Tani?"

Swallowing, Vitani nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine. Wasn't expecting that but..."

Tama rolled her eyes. "Don't even worry about her; she saw us playing, she should've known how it was."

Vitani nodded, slowly feeling better. "Yeah, you're right."

Simba turned to the lioness cubs. "Hey, let's go see where Nala and the other went."

While the trio raced, one thought was occupying Vitani's head.

Why didn't Kopa say anything?


She felt a bit better, now that she had time to breathe. Nuka's words stung, but even despite the cruelty...

There was truth embedded.

She didn't have much, if any, of a backbone, she did rely on her parents and even Ayana to defend her, she wasn't exactly the best huntress...

Returning back to Pride Rock, she couldn't help but think about what her littermate had said to her. She needed to change, she couldn't keep being the same helpless lioness that relied on Mommy and Daddy-

"Hey, Chip!"

She turned around and was met with the sight of Ayana, the lioness of-er, her cubhood friend, racing towards her.

She couldn't fight off the smile. "Aya'!"

The two shared a nuzzle, before looking one another in the eye again.

"Let's hang out, it's been forever!" Ayana suggested, "I've been dying to show you some new moves I learned from hunting."

Chipo let out a chuckle, but Ayana immediately detected her tone.

"You okay?" she asked her friend.

"Oh yeah, totally!" Chipo answered.

Ayana might've been a bit on the dim side, but she was no dummy. Rolling her eyes, she turned to walk away.

"Come on, we'll go to our place, and you can tell me what's really wrong."

A small laugh escaped Chipo's mouth; she could never hide her feelings from Ayana. They walked to a nearby area with a decent sized cave, sitting down and making themselves comfortable.

"Okay, so..." Ayana turned her body to face Penda's. "Spill."

Chipo rose an eyebrow. "Do I really have a choice?"

Ayana grinned. "Nope."

Chipo sighed, before spilling everything. She explained her argument with Nuka, how it escalated more and more, and how it even got physical.

"The thing is...he's right," she finally concluded, "I'm not as skilled as other lionesses my age, I'm weak and a terrible huntress; hell, I couldn't hurt a butterfly."

Ayana wore an incredulous look. "What are you talking about? You're a total badass!"

Chipo scoffed. "Yeah, so badass I choke up every time in fighting or hunting."

"You just need more practice," Ayana reassured her.

"That's just it, Aya'!" Chipo cried, rising to her feet in frustration, "I don't get why I can't just toughen up! I can't be this sensitive forever!"

Ayana was slightly taken aback by her sudden outburst, but that quickly melted as an idea formed in her head.

"Hey, I got it!" Ayana declared, rising to her feet as well, "why don't I train you?"

Chipo's ruby eyes widened. "Really? You'd do that for me?"

"Uhh, hello? You're my soul mate!" Chipo reasoned, "I'd do anything for ya!"

Happy tears sprang to Chipo's eyes, and she nuzzled Ayana's head. "You're the best."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, don't go all soft on me," she teased, returning the gesture, "now come on!"

A new spark ignited, the lioness followed after her friend, excited for her extra training.


The cubs were once again at Pride Rock, but this time, Vitani was barely engaging with the activity. She still found her best friend's behavior all too odd.

He knows it was an accident right? I would never hurt Jaylie on purpose. But why is he avoiding me? Could he...like Jaylie more than me...?

The thought of losing her best friend made her heart twist. Nala, who noticed her off behavior, walked over and sat down by her.

"Hey, you okay, 'Tani?" she asked.

Vitani huffed and rolled her eyes. "No. You're not gonna believe what happened."

Nala motioned with her head for Vitani to follow her. While the others played on, Nala led Vitani to a small den near the waterhole rocks.

"So come on," Nala pried, "you never miss out on any contest."

"Well...earlier, I was playing 'Pinned Ya' with Tama and Simba. Kopa and Jaylie came by and joined us not long after, and Jaylie and I started to play, but then..."

She felt her blood began to heat up as she recalled earlier's events.

"I...I accidentally slammed her too hard into the ground, and when I tried to apologize, she yelled at me to leave her alone. Tama and Simba came to my defense, and Jaylie said 'Well, I don't like it', before giving me a dirty look saying, 'Stay the heck away from me'."

Nala was surprised; she had barely spoken to Jaylie, but the few small exchanges were anything but hostile.

"What'd Kopa do?" Nala wondered.

Vitani violently rolled her eyes. "I was going to ask Jaylie what her deal was, until Kopa was all 'Come on, Jay', let's go to Rafiki's'. It's just...he didn't even bother to defend me."

Nala was torn. On one hand, Kopa and Vitani were each other's better halves; at the same time, Jaylie was new, and Vitani was known for being rough...

"Nala?"

Vitani's voice brought her out of her thoughts and she sighed.

"Well...you can be pretty rough, and that's coming from me," Nala began, "but I also know you would never purposely hurt someone."

Vitani nodded, and turned her body to face Nala's. "So what should I do?"

"Well, you could always go check on her," the cream cub suggested, "maybe she calmed down now."

Vitani brightened at the idea. "Hey, you're right. Thanks, Nal'!"

Nala smiled. "Of course. Come on, I'll come with you."

The two got and made their way over to Rafiki's tree. On their way there, Vitani caught sight of her brother, in a somewhat similar state that she had found Diamond.

They probably got into another argument, Vitani concluded.

Upon arriving at Rafiki's tree, the two early climbed in and were immediately greeted by the mandrill.

"And what are you two troublemakers doing here?" he teased, his signature grin on his face.

The events of earlier coming back to her, Vitani's own smile dimmed.

"Is Jaylie here?" she asked.

"We wanna make sure she's okay," Nala added.

Now it was Rafiki's turn to lose his grin. "Nothing too serious, but de girl is in some pain."

Vitani's heart clenched. "Can we see her?"

Rafiki sighed. "To tell de truth...de girl made it vedy clear she didn't want you around."

While Nala's eyes widened, Vitani's rolled hers.

"Are you serious?" Vitani questioned.

"As serious as de Great Royals of de Past," Rafiki answered, "not to mention, dat boy Kopa was persistent on staying with her."

Despite fuming on the inside, she managed to nod. "I see...thanks, Rafiki."

"Let's go, 'Tani," Nala suddenly voiced, "thanks again, Rafiki."

"Don't get into too much trouble now!" the mandrill playfully scolded, before going back to what he was doing.

The way back was silent for two different reasons: Nala was wondering why Jaylie was acting so hostile; she was fairly nice to her. While Vitani did still feel bad for hurting Jaylie, she definitely wasn't as eager about befriending her anymore; as for Kopa...

She wanted to understand him. Really. But he knew she'd never hurt anyone on purpose.

I'll just talk to him-well, them, tomorrow, Vitani thought, it was just too soon today.

"Hey, where were you guys?"

So deep in thought, neither of them realized they had returned to Pride Rock. Looking in front of them, they found the rest of their friends now perplexed bu their confusion.

"Oh, we just needed a moment" was Nala's quick reply.

"Well that's a relief," Kula voiced, "I thought maybe the monnnsterssss of the Shadowy Place got you guys!"

The cubs laughed as Nala shoved her. Shut up!"

Despite still laughing, the joke reminded the royal cousins of their voyage. Simba and Vitani locked eyes with one another, thinking the same thing: let's find out more.

"Hey guys, 'Tani and I will be back!" Simba declared.

While the rest of the cubs went back socializing, Simba and Vitani ran off.

"Come on, I bet Rafiki will know something," Simba eagerly suggested.

As earlier's visit replayed in her head, she stopped in her tracks. "Uh, I don't think that's a good idea."

Simba frowned. "How come?"

"Jaylie, Pinned Ya, 'Stay the heck away from me'?" she reminded him.

He winced, realizing his mistake. "Rats. Hm...who else would know?"

Vitani thought long and hard. A lightbulb went off in her head, and her eyes brightened...

But quickly dimmed.

"I'm sure our parents would know, but they'll get suspicious," Vitani voiced.

Simba slammed his paw on the ground. "Dang it!"

The cubs stayed silent, until another individual appeared in Vitani's head.

"I've got it! Follow me!"

Taken aback by her sudden eagerness, he raced after her.

"Tani, where are we going?" he called out to her.

Further into the grassy fields, an all-too-familiar, curly maned lion came into view.

"Nuka!" Vitani eagerly called out.

He turned to see both his younger sister and cousin racing towards him at the speed of light.

An eyebrow quirked upwards, he lifted himself up. "Okay termites, what are you guys plotting this time?"

The cubs giggled, knowing exactly what he was referring to.

"Nothing," Vitani finally answered, "this is serious."

"Yeah, and we know you know the answer," Simba smartly added in.

A smirk grew on his face. "I do, huh? Okay, what do I apparently know about?"

Vitani took a deep breath to calm herself down. "Okay so...last night, Simba and I went to the Shadow Lands-"

"What?" Nuka cut her off, "are you guys crazy?"

"Wait, listen!" Simba interjected, "when we were exploring, we discovered a whole other section."

"Like...behind the Elephant Graveyard," Vitani explained.

"And it was really dark, but we heard these weird...chanting sounds? I don't know, but we followed the sounds. Well, until they stopped," Simba continued with a frown.

"But that's not the weirdest part!" Vitani piped up, "like he said, the sounds stopped, but all of a sudden, we smelled blood. We couldn't really see too well, but it was like right there, right in our faces."

"And then the weirdest thing," Simba continued, "we heard this loud screaming, like someone was getting hurt."

"Or worse," Vitani voiced, remembering the awfulness of the sound.

"That's when we ran back to the giant elephant skull and went to sleep," Simba concluded.

Vitani now looked to her brother, and her excitement returned. "So do you know anything about that place?"

Nuka snickered. "Okay kiddos, cool story, but there's no way you guys think I believe that right?"

Their jaws dropped. Was he serious?

"Nuka, we're telling you the truth!" Vitani insisted.

"Yeah something weird happened, and we wanna know!" Simba just as persistently added.

Rolling his eyes, Nuka chuckled and shook his head. "Sure it did; even if that was true, how would I know about some hidden land behind the Elephant Graveyard?"

Their assertiveness deflated. He did have a point...

"Well...once we figure out, we'll show you!" Simba declared.

"Yeah!" Vitani turned to Simba. "You know what? Forget Jaylie, let's go see Rafiki!"

"Yeah, forget her!" Simba agreed.

Watching the two race off, Nuka shook his head.

"They're such dorks."


"Come on, keep going!"

Her mother's and aunt's training was child's play compared to Ayana's. She had her do warm-ups, practice her stalking skills, and even had her hunt on small creatures nearby. Now, they were doing some one-on-one fighting, and while Chipo wasn't oblivious to Ayana's strength, it was another thing to witness her brutality firsthand.

"That all ya got?" Ayana called out, "I'm barely breaking a sweat."

That was definitely a lie, but it struck a cord with the adrenaline-filled lioness. A cry escaping her mouth, she charged and prepared to attack Ayana again. While she did manage to strike, Ayana quickly came back to retaliate against her attack. Ayana pinned her to the ground, and the two girls started to tussle. While both put up a fight, Ayana still ended up on top. For a moment, the only sound that could be heard was the girls panting. Ayana removed herself from atop Chipo, and she opened her mouth.

"I think you're lying."

These words took Chipo aback. Now rising from her position, she stared at her friend. "What are you talking about?"

"You say you're weak," Ayana began, "but this lesson proved otherwise."

Chipo still didn't fully understand. "What are you saying?"

"I'm saying it's not skill ya lack, it's confidence," the lioness answered matter-of-factly.

Chipo blinked, heat rising in her cheeks; she lowered her gaze, cursing Ayana for knowing her all-too-well.

"N-No...it's...both," she voiced in defeat.

Ayana rolled her eyes before approaching Chipo. She wrapped a foreleg around her, causing the embarrassed lioness to glance up.

"You need to stop doubting yourself, and stop letting Nuka and his lady get into your head," the future matriarch continued.

At the mention of her brother, her anger from earlier slightly returned. This time though, she knew she was right.

"Yeah."

Getting up, a slightly warm feeling washed over her.

"You're right, Aya'," she told her, "I shouldn't listen to Nuka, or Mila and Penda; what would they know?"

"Exactly!" Ayana cheered.

"But," Chipo continued, "I'm not the greatest huntress still. So..."

A smirk, much like her father's, appeared on her face. "You're not done with me yet."

Ayana mirrored her expression. "Well, don't keep your teacher waiting. Come on, get up!"

Chipo got up and followed Ayana, her thoughts now not as self-hating.

I'll get this down. And I'll show everyone that I'm not some weak link anymore.


In a baobab tree just a few minutes from Pride Rock, Rafiki was humming to himself and painting. Jaylie and Kopa had long left, giving him the moment alone.

"Rafiki!"

"Hey, Rafiki!"

He chuckled, already knowing what the cubs where planning on interrogating him about.

"I see de troublemakers have returned," he teased, "and just what do you cubs need ol' Rafiki for?"

"We wanna know about what's behind the Shadow Lands," Simba eagerly answered.

"And we know you know the legend!" Vitani pressed on.

Sensing the humor in Vitani's remark, Rafiki laughed. "And just how do you know dat?"

"Because you're Rafiki, and you know everything," Vitani teased.

"Yeah come on, tell us," Simba pleaded.

Rafiki chuckled. "Vedy well. Come along."

Vitani and Simba shared an excited look, before hurrying over to Rafiki. They watched as he mixed his paints around, forming all types of mini pictures. Once the paint settled, Rafiki pointed to the first one.

"Many moons ago, dere was a group of two-legged mammals, betta known as humans," Rafiki began, "dey lived amongst other humans, but what made dem different was deir...spirits of worship."

Vitani grew puzzled. "What do you mean?"

Rafiki disheveled that painting, before gesturing to the next one. "Most member of deir tribe worship nature, but dis group...dis group worshipped someting much darker."

Simba leaned in closer to Rafiki's drawing. It looked like the humans were sitting in a circle, with flames on large poles providing light. One of them was standing in the circle, an animal that closely resembled a jackal in the circle as well.

"Dese humans would eh...offer, dese animals to deir evil sprit guides, in return for eternal life. All was well, until one day..."

He messed that image up before pointing to the third one.

"...De rest of de tribe took notice to deir ways. De rest of de tribe, as noted before, worshipped nature. Dey were fairly tolerant of other beliefs, but dis one dey could not accept..."

Rafiki stopped and turned to the two. "I don't think de rest is appropriate for young cubs like you two to hear."

Vitani's jaw dropped. "What? We're a year and a half!"

"Yeah, come on, Rafiki!" Simba protested, "tell us!"

Their reactions were just what Rafiki wanted to hear; the mandrill grabbed his gut as he cracked up.

"I'm teasing you two," he finally voiced getting himself together.

The cubs' mouths were agape. Going to the fourth painting, Rafiki cleared his throat.

"De people sentenced de group to death, burning dem wit de same fire used in deir circle," Rafiki continued, "de cult was gone."

"That's it?" Vitani asked, feeling...disappointed?

Rafiki burst into laughter again. "Not just yet, Miss Vitani!"

He moved onto the fifth, and final, painting.

"Legend has it, deir vengeful spirits still roam about de area," he explained in a serious tone, "dough dey don't show demselves, dey send de evil souls of deir sacrifices to do deir evil bidding. De people of de tribe managed to contain dem wit a blessed stone, and to dis day, dere hasn't been any incident."

Vitani and Simba sat back and replayed everything they were told. They always suspected there was something creepy about the place, but a whole legend? Now that was just too cool!

"That was awesome," Simba voiced.

"Yeah." Vitani looked up at Rafiki. "Thanks, Rafiki!"

"Yeah, thanks, Rafiki!" Simba voiced.

Rafiki chuckled. "Anything for you two troublemakers. Now go, run along and don't cause too much trouble!"

Laughing, the duo raced out of the tree and back to the grassy fields. Chuckling Rafiki shook his head.

"Dey really are deir parents' cubs."

Outside, Simba and Vitani were bouncing up and down with exxcitement.

"That was the coolest story ever!" Vitani cheered.

"Yeah, way better than my parent's history lessons," Simba remarked.

The cubs laughed at the comment, knowing it was full of nothing but the truth.

"We've gotta tell the others," Vitani suggested, "they're gonna wanna know about it too."

Before Simba could agree, a roar was heard.

"Wait...it's lunch already?" Vitani questioned, "Man, we were gone for a while."

"I'll say," Simba agreed.

Vitani turned to him. "Well, what are we waiting for? I'm starving, and we've got a tale to tell!"

Simba grabbed her paw. "Come on!"

Excitement and hunger fueling them, the cubs raced back over to Pride Rock, ready to see their friends again.


Honestly...I really only had to change the names for this chap. But yes, now Simba and Vitani now know the full story, and we even got some Chipo and Nuka interaction though not so loving ' (by the way, I don't remember if I specified this in the first chap but if not: Nuka...I guess is three, and Chipo turned two...not that long ago, though she's still older than Vitani and Kovu)

And damn Jaylie...why'd you have to do my girl 'Tani like that? It's not like she meant to hurt you (or did she? XD)

As always, if you enjoyed the story, follow and fave to keep up with it (or if you hate me/my stories then...get off my page? lmao), and I'll see you guys next time!

KawaiiCutie12 signing off!✌️