Nuka's life wasn't perfect in the outland thanks to his hateful parents and annoying hyenas ruining it. Since he arrived in Prideland, his life has become better and perfect. He has new friends, a new family, and the perfect lifestyle he could ever want.

Nuka is now eight years old. His mane grew a bit long as he has long whiskers. His body was weak since he was born but now he has a healthy body like other lion cubs when he lives his life in the Prideland. Sadly, he still has his scar from his heartless father however his life with his new loving family is beautiful.

In the lion cave, the royal family was still sleeping peacefully as the sun slowly rose. Nuka sleeps next to Kiara as he rests his cheek on her paw. The young cub slowly woke up when the beam of light hit his face as he yawned adorably.

He picked himself up as he stretched from sleeping so long. He's excited to enjoy another day in Prideland with his friends and family. Nuka wanted to wake up his new family but he didn't want to disturb their resting so he decided to head out on his own.

He then slid down the rock structure as a shortcut taught by Kion. The little lion cub begins wandering through Prideland for anything exciting today. Sadly, he got bored after thirty minutes as he still couldn't find anything to entertain himself while exploring the forest.

Suddenly, he started to hear voices nearby as he stayed alert. He crawled into a bush and waited for the voices to get closer. Nuka heard multiple footsteps and chatted getting closer and hearing what they were saying as their voices were familiar to him.

"I still can't believe that Janja punk kicked us out of the pack! We were the bosses and followed that stinken Scar to get whatever we want! Now, we're scavenging for food here while we try to avoid Mufasa's kid," a male aggressive voice complains.

"Actually, I was the leader of the pack. That annoying Janja doesn't deserve to be the boss. I'm more smarter and clever than every last one of you combined," a sassy female voice said.

"If you were so smart, then how come he whipped your tail back there?"

"He didn't beat me, he cheated! He's nothing but a dirty little cheater and does whatever it takes to get what he wants! Watch! When he's weakened or caught off guard, I'll take him down and take back what's mine!"

"That'll be the day. Meanwhile, we're out here on our lonesome as those stupid vultures and bugs eat off the good stuff while I'm starving to death!" Suddenly, a male one just burst out laughing at the cranky one. "HA SHUT UP!!"

Then, the sound of two males fighting each other while making canine whining noises. "Well you two stop," the female yelled at them. "You're going to get us caught! Why must I always get you two morons to stop fighting over something so ridiculous!" She struggles as she's trying to break them up.

After hearing the three animals' conversations, Nuka finally recognizes their voices and knows who they are. He bursts out of the bushes and reveals it's the three hyenas he hasn't seen ever since he was a year old. The excited lion shouted their names with joy, "AUNTIE SHENZI!! UNCLE BANZAI!!"

The three hyenas stopped fighting each other and panicked as they hid in a nearby bush. The little lion tilted his head confused about what they were doing. "Who is it," Banzai asks.

"I don't know," Shenzi told him. "Go check it out."

"No way! You go check it out!"

"Ed," they both ask him as the crazy hyena giggles insanely.

The two hyenas kicked the crazy one out of the bush and faced the lion cub as he spring into the air in fear and hid back in the bush. "UNCLE ED," Nuka shouted with joy.

Finally, the hyena trio calmed down and revealed themselves to the cub. "Wait a second," Shenzi tilted her head as she recognized the cub. "Is that little Nuka?!"

"Nuka," Banzai said. "You mean Scar weak-" Shenzi shoved the aggressive hyena's shoulder to behave. "I mean Scar, youngest kid? I haven't seen this kid since we left the Outland."

"I know. Look at you, sweetie. You look so healthy and grow up so fast. I almost hardly recognize you."

"Yeah! How have you been, kiddo? Whatcha doing in Prideland?"

"Is your daddy out there trying to steal some food from the Prideland?"

Nuka lowered his head in shame and told them the truth. "I… I'm no longer welcome to the Outland… my dad banished me… what's worse is that my dad gave me a scar." The little cub showed them his scar.

The three of them gasp at what Scar did to the little cub. Shenzi sits next to Nuka and brings him closer to comfort him. "Awww honey. I'm so sorry that happened to you. Your father should never have done that to you."

"I really do appreciate it but it's alright. I'm living in Prideland now."

"Huh," Banzai tilted his head. "Aren't ya worried about those Pridelander lions?"

"Of course not. I'm living with Mr. Simba and his family."

"SIMBA," Shenzi and Banzai shouted confusedly while Ed gasped.

"Honey," Shenzi asked him with concern, "are you telling us that you're living with Simba, the king of the Prideland, and his family?!"

"Yup," Nuka smiles cutely.

Then, Shenzi smiles evilly as she heads to the other hyenas. "Excuse me, sugar," Shenzi told the lion cub. "I need to have a private conversation with your uncles real quick."

The trio of hyenas headed behind the bush and talked. "What are ya doing," Banzai asked, confused.

"I got a brilliant plan. Nuka could be our key ticket to get some delicious foods we desperately need."

"What the heck are you talking about?! He's just a little cub! He's no-"

Shenzi smacks him behind the head. "Shut up and listen! He may not be a hunter but he is a cutie."

"What?"

"Look at Nuka. He's an adorable little cutie. A cutie that lionesses easily fall for. We can use Nuka to distract them while the three of us can drag off their kills."

"Now, that's the greatest plan I've ever heard! But wait, how can we convince that Nuka kid to help us?"

"Simple. Let's just ask him." The three of them emerged from the bushes and went over to the little cub. "Ha Nuka! Can we ask for a big favor? Can you please help us with something? Something very important."

"Of course," Nuka nodded and smiled cutely. "I would be more than happy to help you guys."

"Can you please help us get some delicious meals? We haven't had a good meal in days and we really need something good to eat."

"I… I umm… I'm not much of a hunter. I'm just a cub."

"It's best we should explain it by taking you there."

"Taking me where?"

"Just follow us, honey." The three hyenas lead the way while Nuka follows them as he's afraid of what they want from him.


The four of them arrived at the hunting ground and hid behind the bushes. They looked over and spotted two lionesses hunting down two gazelles. Nuka watches the lionesses hunt down their prey and study them.

After the lionesses took down their prey, Nuka was amazed by their hunting skills. "You see, honey," Shenzi told the lion cub. "That's what we're talking about. We want you to distract them with your cuteness while we take their meals."

"Bu-But wouldn't that be stealing," Nuka asked as he was getting scared. "I… I don't like stealing anything from good animals."

"No! It wouldn't be stealing if they can just easily catch another prey. They have plenty of prey out there for them to eat. I'm sure they won't mind if we take their first catch of the day."

"Are-Are you sure?"

"Absolutely, honey."

They lowered their heads as the two lionesses carried their deceased prey near them. When Nuka gets a closer look at them, he's completely shocked to see that it's Kiara's best friends, Tiifu and Zuri. He immediately backs away in fear. "I-I can't do it… they're my best friends! I can't take their meals!"

"Nonono honey. It's okay. They're great hunters. They can hunt down like hundreds of meals in a day. I'm sure they'll be perfectly fine."

"Oh-Okay."

"Don't worry, honey. They'll be perfectly fine. Now, go and do your magic."

"Oh-Okay." Nuka nervously crawled toward the two lionesses as he was scared if they caught him helping the hyenas.

The two lionesses enjoyed their catch as they complimented each other while they were dragging their kills. "You did a very good job catching your prey, Zuri," Tiifu tells her while she smiles.

"I know I am," she nodded. "I'm pretty much the best lioness of Prideland. I can catch any prey whenever I want and at any time."

"Alright, don't get a big head."

"You did a good job as well, Tiifu."

"Aww! Thank you!"

"We're pretty much the best duo-"

Zuri suddenly stopped when she felt a gentle rub on her paw. They both looked down and spotted Nuka nuzzling on her paw adorably. "H-Hi Tiffu! Hi Zuri," the little cub greeted them both with an adorable smile.

Zuri immediately falls under Nuka's cuteness as she starts nuzzling the little cub while the little lion giggles adorably. "Awwww! Hi little Nuka! Awww! You're so cute! So adorable! Awwww! Who's an adorable little cub?! You are! Yes you are!"

"Awww," Tiifu smiles at how adorable Nuka is while Zuri kept playing with him. "Hello Nuka! What are you doing out here, sweetie?"

"Oh just wanna learn more about hunting, Miss Tiffu," Nuka giggles as he's getting nuzzles from Zuri. "I was just having fun until I saw you two were hunting so I stayed and studied how you two hunt. Hahahaha!" He laughed at the sweet lioness who kept nuzzling him adorably.

"Awww," Zuri adores the lion cub's cuteness as she keeps nuzzling his cheek. "You're so adorable and cute! Awwww!"

While the lionesses duo were distracted by the lion cub's cuteness, the hyena's trio rushed over to the gazelle's dead bodies and immediately dragged them away quietly and quickly. Nuka did his best to buy his friends more time as he went over to Tiffu and nuzzled her paw, causing them both to pet and nuzzle the little cub back. After the hyenas get away with the bodies, Nuka slowly backs away while being nervous. "I-I'm so sorry but I have to go now," he told them.

"Awww," Zuri whined. "Already? Can you please stay?"

"I'm so sorry but I promise to spend some quality time with Kiara today. I promise I'll spend time with you two later! Goodbye!" He shouted as he ran off in a hurry.

"Goodbye, cutie," Zuri shouted. "I miss him already. He's so cute! I wished he was living with me instead."

"Yeah," Tiffu nodded. "He is a cute little cub. I'm so happy he's living here with us." She turned around and was completely shocked to see their prey gone. "Huh?! Where's our food?!"

"What are you talking about? They're both right-" Zuri was shocked as well. "What the?! Where did they go?!"

Nuka heard them and stopped behind a bush to listen in on their conversations. He heard them panicking and saddened by their food being stolen right under their noses. The little cub lowered his head in shame for letting this happen as he slowly crawled away.


The lion cub returns to the hyenas as the three of them are already dining on their stolen meals. Nuka still feels guilty for stealing Kiara's best friend's meals as he still lowers his head in shame. Shenzi noticed him and headed over to him as she swallowed her meal. "Well, if it isn't our sweetest little helper," she greeted him. "Thank you so very much for helping us get our delicious meal of the day, sweetie."

"Yeah kid," Banzai agreed. "You really did it for us! I'm very impressed with your performance with those lionesses and keep them busy!"

"I… I'm really happy I can help you guys with this but… I feel very bad for stealing their meals… it doesn't seem right," the lion cub said depressed.

"Aww," Shenzi said as she comforted the cub. "Don't feel bad, sweetie. They can catch any meal any time any day, honey. Lions always love to hunt."

"But it doesn't feel right stealing things from others…"

"It's okay, kid," Banzai said "Come on. Dig in. Have some meat, kiddo."

"But… it belongs to my friends… I… I shouldn't…" Nuka said feeling guilty.

"It's okay, honey," Shenzi cheers him. "You won't be in trouble. No one will ever know about this. This will be our dirty little secret. Okay?" She pets the lion cub's head while smiling at him. "Now, go ahead and eat up. You earn it."

Nuka hesitated at first but he sadly nodded and took a small bite from the gazelle's body as a snack. He slowly begins to head off until Shenzi nuzzles his head gently. "Thank you very much for the great meal, sweetie. We really appreciate what you did for us."

"Your… You're welcome… I… I need to go…"

"Go where," Banzai immediately told him until Shenzi nudged him.

"I… It's about to be sunset and… I always watch it with my best friend… I won't tell anyone…"

"Aww you're so sweet," Shenzi smiled. "We'll see you around, honey." The three hyenas waved goodbye to Nuka as they smiled. The lion cub waved back as he continued to head off while still feeling bad for what he did.


When it's about to be sundown, Nuka rushes to the same rock spot where Kiara and he watched the sunset as he already found her there. He lays in between her paws while nuzzling her chin. "Hi Nuka," she greeted him while smiling. "I'm so glad you made it just in time!"

"H-Hi Kiara," Nuka said with a sad smile.

"Hmm? What's wrong, Nuka? Why are you sad?"

"Wh-Wh-What are you talking about? I… I'm not sad…"

"Nuka, you can't lie to me. I can tell when you're sad. You can tell me what's wrong."

Nuka was hesitant at first but he took a deep breath and told Kiara. "Kiara… I… I think I did something bad today…"

"Hmm? Like what?"

"I… I think I helped someone steal food from other animals…"

"What makes you think that?"

"I was talking to some new friends after they gathered their food. We were having a good chat until… someone stole all of their food… I feel responsible for causing it…"

Kiara nuzzles the little cub's cheek to cheer him up. "Nuka, don't feel like that. It wasn't your fault. You didn't know that would happen. You didn't help them to steal from other animals. Did you know the thieves were there?"

"I… I think I heard something nearby… but I didn't know they were going to steal their food…"

"It still wasn't your fault. You didn't know they were going to steal their food. Sometimes there are horrible animals out there that do horrible things. And you're not one of them."

"I… I'm not?"

"Of course not. You're sweet, kind, wonderful, and so loveable!" She nuzzles the lion cub's cheek as Nuka giggles adorably. "Hehe. I love you, Nuka."

"Hehe! I love you too, Kiara!" The two watch the beautiful sunset go down as they lay together and enjoy the view. Finally, the two jump off the rock and head off to the pride rock.


The two of them arrive and are about to head to the cave for a good night's sleep until Nuka begins to become extremely worried because he sees Tiffu and Zuri talking to Simba. After their conversation ends, the lion king heads straight toward the two as the lion cub begins to shiver in fear. He gets in front of them and talks to them. "Kiara, Nuka, I'm happy you both made it back home okay," he told them.

"Hi Dad," Kiara greeted her father. "I just saw you talking to my friends. What were you talking about?"

"They reported to me that their food had been stolen." This brought more fear to Nuka as his heart was pounding fast.

"Oh no! Did they say who stole their meals?"

"I'm sorry but we don't know who. They didn't find any tracks or footsteps. But I believe this could be the works of either the outlanders or hyenas. They did say that Nuka was there with them before their meals were taken."

Nuka becomes even more scared when his name is mentioned as Kiara looks down at him, remembering their talk from earlier. "Nuka mentioned this to me before sunset."

"Nuka? Did you see who stole Tiffu and Zuri's food?"

"I… I'm so sorry I… I didn't," Nuka lied to them. "I was there watching them hunting and learned how they do it. I… I didn't see anyone else around… I'm so sorry…"

"No need to apologize, Nuka," Simba told him. "It wasn't your fault. You two can head inside. In the morning, I'll alert the other lions about this and send them out to patrol. I… I need to tell my father about this matter. I will see you all in the cave soon."

After Simba left to speak with his father, Kiara turned towards Nuka and lay in front of him as she stared at him, causing the lion cub to become more nervous. "Nuka, why didn't you tell me you were with my friends when it happened? Why did you lie to me," she asked him with a calm tone.

"I… I was afraid you would be mad at me and think I was responsible for getting their meals stolen," he responded scared.

"No! Of course not. I would never accuse you of anything, Nuka. I know you would never do something horrible like this. Especially to your friends and loved ones."

"Th-Thank you for believing in me, Kiara. You… You really are the best."

"Awww you!" She nuzzles his cheek. "You know that you can tell me anything right? You don't have to keep any secrets from me."

"Of course. I will always come to you with anything that's going on in my life."

"Thank you. Now, come on and let's get some rest." Finally, both the lioness and the lion cub head into the royal family cave, eat their meal and head to bed sleeping together. Sadly, Nuka still feels guilty for what he has done today as he slowly drifted off to sleep.


The next day, Nuka slowly woke up adorably next to the sleeping lion princess as he yawned cutely. He nuzzles Kiara's cheek before he heads off to find water to drink. The little cub runs to the nearest lake and begins drinking from it until he hears something nearby. He begins looking around then suddenly something hides within the bushes as he moves towards it cautiously.

When he gets within a few feet of the bushes, Ed springs his head out of it to shout with a goofy smile, "Boo!"

Nuka was scared as he jumped and fell on his back as the three hyenas emerged from the bushes laughing. "Hahaha! He got you good little Nuka boy," Banzai laughed as the little lion cub picked himself up.

"Guys," Nuka yelled. "What are you three doing here?!"

"Awww! We're so sorry for scaring you, sweetie," Shenzi calms him down by petting his head. "We're just messing with you. That's all."

"It's not that! I mean you guys shouldn't be here. Mr. Simba told the other lions to patrol around here."

"What," Banzai freaks out. "Why?"

"Well, it's because of that stunt we did yesterday. Everyone was upset about it."

"I told you we shouldn't have done it! I knew it was a bad idea," the male hyena told Shenzi.

"How come you didn't tell me that was going to happen, you numbskull," she yelled at him.

"I was hungry! We were all hungry! What do you expect?! This is me you're talking about! It's not like Ed knew this was going to happen!"

"Ed," they both asked. Ed responded with an evil goofy smile while rubbing his whiskers, making Shenzi and Banzai very confused.

"Ah man," Banzai yelled. "I told you that we should have a lookout!"

"No you didn't, you moron," Shenzi barked at him.

"Well, you could've made Ed the lookout!"

"You want Ed to be our lookout?! Ed?! Lookout?! If he caught anyone who saw us, he would scream, and then more animals would catch us!" Ed laughs like crazy while nodding.

Nuka quickly shushes the trio of hyenas before anyone could hear them arguing. "Shhh please," he whispered to them. "I don't want anyone to catch you guys. Please keep your voices down." The three looked back at each other and nodded to the lion cub. "Okay. So, what do you three want?"

"We need your help with catching some food," Banzai told him.

"You mean… helping you guys to hunt?"

"No kid! I meant to distract one of the lions with your cuteness so we can take their food!"

"What?! Have any of you heard what I just said?!" Ed nodded goofily while his tongue out.

"We know, sweetie," the female hyena. "But you know how hyenas are. We get very hungry and we need meat to survive. We would never get you involved with any of this if we weren't so desperate."

"Plus, you're the only lion cub we know who isn't afraid of us-," Banzai told him until Shenzi shoved him.

"The point is we really need your help, Nuka sweetie. Tell you what. If you help us out with this, then it will be the last time we asked you for a favor. I swear, honey. What do you say?"

Nuka took a while to think long and hard about this. After several seconds, he nodded and agreed, "Okay. I'll help you guys. But this is the last time I'll help you steal from other animals."

"You got it, honey. Come on. Let's get this over with." The three hyenas lead the way to the hunting ground with the innocent lion cub following them.


The four of them arrive at the hunting field and already spot a lioness taking down a zebra by herself. "Oh yeah," the male hyena shouted with joy. "A zebra! Now we got it-"

Shenzi shoved his head to the ground to shut him up to avoid being spotted. "Would you shut up, you fool? Do you want us to get caught that quickly?" They saw the lioness dragging her dead prey with her mouth close enough to spring into action. "Okay honey," she told Nuka. "Are you ready?"

The lion cub nodded as he was about to do his part until he was completely shocked to see that the lioness is Nala, his adoptive mother. He immediately backed away while shaking his head in fear. "I can't," he cried. "I can't! I can't do this!"

"Whoa whoa, honey. What's wrong?"

"That's Mrs. Nala! The queen of the prideland and my best friend's mother! I can't steal from her after everything she did for me! I just can't!"

"Shh shh shh. It's okay, honey. Like we said before, she could just hunt down another animal. They're lions. They're born to hunt. She'll be fine."

"I… I can't… I just can't… she's like a mother that I always wanted… I can't just treat her like this."

"Please, sugar. This will be the last time you'll get to do this for us. Pretty please."

Nuka looks away and thinks about it for a little bit. When he looked back, the cub was surprised to see the hyenas right in front of him making puppy eyes while Ed made derp puppy eyes. The little lion sighs in defeat and goes with it as he makes his way toward Nala while shaking nervously.

Nala was dragging her prey back to her home as her family meal until Nuka revealed himself to her. "H-Hi, Mrs. Nala! It-It's really great to see you, today!"

The royal lioness let go of her kill and made her way to the little lion cub. "Hello, Nuka," she greeted him with concern. "What are you doing out here by yourself? Simba informs everyone about thieves out here. You shouldn't be out here alone."

"I… I'm so sorry, Mrs. Nala," Nuka apologized while lowering his head sadly.

The lion queen smiles as she leans down and nuzzles his cheek. "And didn't I tell you that it's alright to call me mom? You are a member of the family after all."

"Hehe! Right. Thank you, your hi-I mean… mom."

Nala smiles happily as she begins to pet the little cub with her paw while licking his cheek, causing Nuka to burst out laughing from being tickled. Then, the three hyenas take this opportunity to sneak toward Nala's dead prey and begin to drag it away while the lions are distracted. Ed was giggling quietly about getting away with their new meal until he accidentally stepped on a thorn and shrieked loudly in pain. He knocked the deceased zebra onto Banzai as he ran around panicking while Shenzi chased after him to stop.

"What on-" Before Nala could look at what was making that noise, Nuka quickly grabbed her attention by faking a headache as he cries loudly. "Nuka?! Nuka what's wrong?!"

"M-MY HEAD!! IT-IT-IT HURTS!!! IT HURTS SO MUCH!!!"

While Nala was trying to comfort Nuka, Shenzi managed to tackle Ed to the ground and covered his mouth while patting his head, calming him down. After the crazy hyena calms, the two get the dead zebra off Banzai and help him up. Finally, the three quickly dragged their meal away before being spotted.

After the hyenas escaped, Nuka quieted down and ended his fake act. "I… I… I think it stopped…"

"Are you sure, honey?"

"Ye-Yeah… th-the pain went away for some reason… I… I don't know how it happened…"

Suddenly, a group of lionesses led by Nala's mother, Sarafina, rushed to the lion queen and the lion cub. "Nala," she cried while hurrying to her daughter's side. "Are you alright?! We heard screaming!"

"Mother! I'm fine. Nuka had a bad headache. He showed up after I hunted a-" When she turned around, Nala was shocked to see her prey went missing. "My prey! It's stolen!" The little cub slowly crawled away from the scene until the lioness stopped him. "Nuka! Where are you going? It's not safe out here now."

"Bu-But I need to go see Kiara," he nervously told the queen.

"Not now. This area isn't safe right now. Please stay with me until it's safe." Nala turned towards her mother and the other lioness. "Mother, I want you and the others to search for the thieves. They couldn't have gone far."

The lionesses went off to search for the ones who stole Nala's food while she stayed behind to watch over Nuka, keeping him safe. The lion cub is scared of what would happen if they found the hyenas and discovered he was helping them. "M-Mom? Wh-What would happen if they caught the thieves," he asked the queen nervously.

"Well, this isn't the first time they stole from us," she told him. "They need to be punished. It isn't right to steal from other animals, Nuka. If you steal, then there'll always be consequences."

Then, the group of lionesses returned to the two. Nala's mother reported to her daughter about the thieves, "Daughter, me and the others searched within the area but there was no sign of the thieves or the prey they stole. We couldn't find tracks or anything. I'm so very sorry."

"It's alright, mother. You tried your best. For now, we must report this to my husband immediately. He must be informed about this." All of the lionesses began heading back to the pride rock while Nuka was about to head out to find the hyenas until Nala called him. "Nuka! Come along! Let's go!" The lion cub was worried about his friends but he must go with the others so they won't be suspicious.


Finally, the lion cub and the others arrived at the pride rock to see the lion king. Nuka was worried about telling his adopted father about the thief until he became more anxious when he spotted him with Kiara. He hides behind Nala to avoid being spotted while he's shaking nervously.

"Simba," Nala called out to her husband.

"Nala," Simba became worried to see his wife with the other lionesses while he and his daughter rushed to them. "What's wrong? What's going on?"

"There's another theft. The thieves had stolen my food while I wasn't looking. My mother and the others tried to hunt them down but they escaped."

"I'm sorry, Nala. How exactly did they steal your prey while you weren't looking?"

"I was about to drag it back here until Nuka came to see me and had a headache." Kiara looked over to the lion cub as she slowly became upset with him after she heard about Nuka being part of this.

"Nuka? Did you happen to see the ones who stole my wife's prey," Simba asked the lion cub.

"I… I… I'm so very sorry but… no… I didn't see who it was," Nuka lied nervously and scared, which upset Kiara even more.

"Understood. Alright. Don't worry everyone. We will figure out how to put a stop to this theft once and for all. Resume your normal routine and continue your daily activities. Everything will be perfectly fine."

Everyone begins to go off while Simba heads to Kion, who just arrived home, and discussed something in private. Nuka was about to sneak off to find the hyenas until Kiara stood in front of him and said to the cub, "Follow me. Now." The lion cub becomes scared of the tone of the lion princess' voice as he follows her down the pride rock.

Then, the two went into the jungle so they could be alone as Kiara turned and stood in front of him with an upset look on her face. Nuka begins shaking nervously and whimpers quietly from her expression. "Ye-Yes, Kiara," he asked, scared.

"Nuka, be honest with me, were you part of that theft?"

"I… I… I uh…"

She gets closer to him and gets closer to his face. "Please don't lie to me."

The lion cub begins shedding a few tears from how he upset his best friend. "I'm so very sorry… I… I am so very sorry…"

"Why would you do this, Nuka? First, my two best friends and now my mother? Your adoptive mother? Why?"

"They… They told me that this will be the last time I'll help them… I swear this won't happen ever again…"

"I would like to believe you, Nuka. I really do but you help them steal from my mother. You shouldn't have helped them. You knew it was wrong but you still helped them. My mother and my friends showered you with love and you stole from them."

"I really am sorry, Kiara… I truly am sorry… Please forgive me…"

"I forgive you, Nuka. And I know that my mother and my friends will forgive you if you told them the truth. I'm not mad at you… I'm just disappointed. I expected better from you."

"I'm so very sorry…" The lion cub lowered his head as he's shedding more tears and crying.

She went over to the crying cub and began comforting him by nuzzling his cheek gently. After the lion cub calms down, Kiara begins heading off leaving Nuka alone. "I want some time alone."

"Wh-What do you mean?"

"I just want some time alone."

"Are… Are we still going to watch the sunset later on?"

"No, Nuka. Until you tell everyone the truth, I want some alone time." Kiara finally left the lion cub alone as Nuka lays there regretting his actions upon those who loved him. After several minutes, he then heads off to search for the hyenas to confront them.


Nuka found the three hyenas finished dining on the stolen zebra as the lion cub was very upset. Shenzi noticed his presence and was happy to see him as she greeted him, "There he is! Our little angel! Thank you so very much for getting us that delicious meal, sweetie," she smiles as she nuzzles the cub's cheek.

Banzai came over with torn meat and spoke to him with his mouth stuffed, "Here, kiddo! Your part of the share! Dig in!"

The little lion cub knocked the meat out of the hyena's mouth and landed next to Ed as the crazy animal immediately ate it. "Honey, what was that for?!"

"I will never help any of you ever again," Nuka yelled.

"Sweetie, what's the matter?"

"Thanks to you three, my best friend hates me because we stole from her mother!"

"Wait what the heck," Banzai yelled confused. "Your best friend is the princess of the prideland?!"

"Yes! And we stole from her two best friends and her mother! This is the last time I'll ever help you jerks!"

"Well, sweetie," Shenzi pointed out, "you could've walked away when you saw those you cared about were the ones we were going to steal from. So technically, you're the one more responsible for this than we are."

"Don't you dare hold me accountable for stealing those foods! You three did the stealing not me! You used me!"

"Since when did he become smart all of a sud-" Banzai yelled until the female hyena shoved him.

"Okay," Shenzi accepted defeat. "We understand, honey. You're upset with us and you don't wanna help us. I get it. We won't need your help again."

"Then how are we going to get our last meal of the-" Banzai smacks him behind the head.

"What was that," the lion cub asked as he tilted his head.

"Oh you don't need to worry about Nuka," Shenzi told him as she and the others were heading out. "That's our problem. Not yours. So long, sweetie. It was an honor working with you."

After the three left, Nuka tried to puzzle out what they were going to do. He already knows that they are not hunters and can't catch their food. Suddenly, he remembered that Kiara was heading to the hunting ground. He gasps as he immediately rushes to stop them from hurting his best friend.


When he arrived at a nearby cliff, Nuka looked down at the hunting field to see Kiara as she had just caught a gazelle. He then spotted the three hyenas entering the field and heading towards the lioness. The lion cub quickly used a shortcut down the hill and headed towards them.

By the time he made it to the ground, the lion cub saw the trio were closing in on the prideland princess as he charged straight at them. The hyenas were about to ambush Kiara until Nuka jumped on Ed's back and bite his ear, causing the insane canine to scream in pain. The crazy animal begins to panic after the cub hops off him while Shenzi and Banzai try to calm him down while the lioness was shocked to see his best friend here.

"Nuka," the female hyena yelled. "Why would you do that?!"

"Way a go, brat," the male hyena shouted. "You ruined our chance to get our-"

Then suddenly, all three of the hyenas were ambushed and knocked to the side by Simba. The trio of thieves was about to flee until their escape was blocked by Kion and Mufasa. The lion king tackled them to the ground and growled at them angrily. "I should've known it was you three from the beginning," he roared at them.

"Oh my goodness," Shenzi smiles as she's scared. "Is this little Simba?! Oh my how you grow up so fast!"

"Ha kiddo," Banzai greeted him as he was scared as well. "How's it going?! How is running the kingdom for ya?!"

"I'm afraid you won't sweet-talk your way out of this, you three," Mufasa told them.

"So these were the three hyenas that almost killed my dad when he was a cub," Kion asked. "They don't look scary to me. Goofy but not scary."

"Yet, for the first time, they have the guts enough to steal from my wife and we're going to hurt my daughter," Simba yelled in front of their faces.

"Wh-Hurt your only daughter," the hyena gang leader gasps. "We would never hurt your little princess!"

"Yeah-Yeah," the male hyena nodded in fear. "We wouldn't lay a paw on your little angel!"

"Right Ed," they both asked the insane hyena as Ed nodded, which dropped their jaws for not playing along.

"You three will be punished for your crimes to my kingdom," Simba yelled as he popped out his claws. "You hyenas finally get what's coming!"

Nuka watches in horror as he's about to witness the punishment of his three hyena friends. Before the enraged lion king could strike down on them, the lion cub rushes to them and stops this by screaming, "Mr. Simba please stop!"

The lion king stops when he sees the lion cub in his sight while he's still holding down the hyenas. "N-Nuka what are you doing," Simba said, confused.

"Th-They didn't do it alone…"

"What? Nuka, what are you talking about?"

The little lion lowered his head in shame and told them the truth. "I helped them… I helped them steal those foods… I… I should be held responsible for the theft… Please let them go… They wouldn't get those foods if it weren't for me… Please…"

Everyone was shocked by the truth while the hyenas were looking at each other scared. Simba took a while to process this as he slowly let go of the three. "Alright… you three are free to go. But if I ever caught any of you stealing from my pride again, I won't be so merciful!"

The hyena trio slowly heads off as Shenzi was grateful to Simba, "Thank you for sparing us, your highness. I swear we will-" The lion roared at them, causing them all to flee while Ed giggled goofy.

The lion looked down at the lion cub and was upset about the truth. "Nuka, this is very serious. You helped them steal from Kiara's friends and my wife! Why would you ever help them? After everything we have done for you, why would you do this to us?"

Nuka became scared of the lion king's furious tone as he took a deep breath and explained, "I'm so very sorry Mr. Simba… They… They were so nice to me when I was a little cub… My mom and dad weren't always there for me… my siblings were always busy hunting… they were there to take care of me and make me happy…

"I haven't seen them ever since they were kicked out of their pack and left the outland… When I saw them again yesterday, they were hungry and alone… You all took care of me so I wanna take care of them… but I never wanted to steal from others… especially from those I care about… I'm so very sorry, Mr. Simba… I really am sorry…"

"Nuka, I respect you were trying to help them but you should know that stealing is wrong," Simba told him. "You know better. This is a serious crime I can't ignore and can't go unpunished."

The lion cub lowered his head saddened until Kiara stood up for him. "Dad, please," she begged her father. "Nuka made one simple mistake. I make mistakes. We all make mistakes. It's not like he actually hurt anyone."

"But Kiara-"

"Can we please let Nuka be forgiven? He learned his lesson and learned from his mistake. Please, father. Please."

"Yeah dad," Kion agreed as he stood by his sister's side. "As Kiara said, it was one mistake. We still have our food. Also, he's just a cub. Cubs always make silly mistakes. Can we just let this slide?"

Before Simba could reply, his father stepped in and reminded him, "Simba, they're right. Nuka is still a cub. He has a lot to learn before he could become a fully grown lion. Don't you remember when you were once a cub and you always get into trouble? And I was always there for you to teach you a lesson on the circle of life and how we are one?"

Simba took his father's advice and nodded to him before he responded to Nuka, "I appreciate you telling me the truth but I'm not the one you should be apologizing to. Three lions want to know the truth and deserve an apology."

"I understand," Nuka nodded as he became nervous.

"Come now. Let us return home."

The group of lions begins returning to the pride rock as Mufasa helps drag the food back. Kion gets close to his sister and whispers to her, "Did you know that Nuka was helping those hyenas?"

"Since yesterday," Kiara laughs nervously. "To be honest, I thought he was gonna come clean this morning. But I'm glad he finally did." The two siblings catch up and return home.


Later, as the sun was setting, the three lioness victims were waiting patiently outside of the cave after they were summoned by the king. Simba soon comes out with Nuka by his side as the lion cub is nervous about apologizing to those he hurt. "Is there a reason why you summon us here, Simba," Nala asked. "Have you caught the thieves?"

"Yes we did," Simba nodded.

"That's wonderful to hear, your highness," Tiffu bowed in front of the male lion. "Is that way you gather us here?"

"There's one more. Nuka, is there something you need to say to them?"

The scared lion cub took a deep breath before he stepped forward in front of the lionesses as they were confused. "I… I… I was helping the thieves in stealing from all of you…"

The three were shocked by what they just heard as they all looked at each other in disbelief. "Nuka," Nala spoke first, "why would you help them steal from us?"

"I… I'm so very sorry… they… they were my friends when I was a little cub… they were hungry and alone just like I was… you all took me in and fed me so that I wanted to do for them…

"But when I saw all of you were the ones they're going to rob from… I just couldn't do it… I never want to hurt any of you but… I was scared they were going to hurt you… I… I never meant to upset and hurt you…" The lion cub begins to shed tears from his eyes while whimpering, "I'm so very very sorry… So sorry… Could… Could any of you ever forgive me…"

Zuri rushes forward and starts comforting the little lion cub by nuzzling his cheek. "Awww Nuka," she cried. "Of course we forgive you! We would never be mad at an adorable little cutie like you!"

"Oh Nuka," Tiifu cried with a few tears as she went over to comfort him as well. "It's alright! Don't worry about it! A cute little cub like you deserves to be forgiven! Please don't cry!

Nala steps forward and stands in front of the crying lion cub as she leans in to lick his head. "Please never steal again, Nuka," she told Nuka while comforting him. "You're a sweet young cub and you deserve to do greater things than that. Please promise me that you will never do anything like stealing ever again."

"I… I swear mommy," the lion cub cried.

After a few minutes of comfort, Nuka finally calmed and wiped the tears from her eyes while the three lionesses gave him some space. Simba and his children watched the lion cub's forgiveness from his actions as they wiped their tears as well. The lion king stepped forward and spoke to all of them, "Alright everyone. We all went through a lot in one day. I believe we should call this a day and get plenty of rest."

As everyone is heading off to sleep, Simba stops both Nuka and Kiara before they enter the cave. "Nuka, you did the right thing by telling the truth and taking responsibility for your actions," he told the lion cub. "I'm proud of you."

"Thank you, your highness," Nuka smiles. "I learn from the best." The little cub looks up at Kiara as she smiles at him.

"That's good to hear. Also, you're grounded."

"Huh? Grounded? What does that mean?"

"You're joking right?"

"Hmm?"

"Oh! You're not joking. Well, grounded means you're forbidden from leaving the cave."

"Huh?! Why?!"

"Well, you did help to steal food from others right?"

"Oh… right… sorry…"

"You're already forgiven, Nuka. While you're grounded for a week, you shall be by Kiara's side the entire time while she's grounded."

"That's right-Wait what," Kiara yelled, confused. "Grounded for what?!"

"Kion said you knew about this since yesterday and you didn't tell me about it." Kiara looks over and stares angrily at her brother as he immediately hides. "Now, I want you both to eat up and head straight to sleep."

Finally, the two head into the cave, eat their food and lay next to their family as they're sleeping. Nuka went up to Kiara nervously as he remembered their last conversation while she looked down at him. She smiles as she welcomes him while the lion cub smiles and lays on her paws cutely. "I… I'm so sorry for getting you grounded, Kiara," he apologized to his best friend.

"It's alright, Nuka," she told him. "I blame myself for not telling my dad about this."

"Are… Are you still upset with me?"

"Of course not, Nuka. You did the right thing and I'm so proud of you. I'm so sorry for being that way towards you but it was the only way for you to learn your lesson."

"Thank you, Kiara. I… I love you."

"I love you too, Nuka." She leans in and nuzzles his cheek as he giggles quietly. "Let's get some sleep." The two then went to sleep close to each other.

Suddenly, Nuka wakes up as he quietly and carefully separates from Kiara without waking her up. He hid a big piece of meat behind a rock as he picked it up with his mouth and headed out of the cave at night. He went down the pride rock and headed within the forest quietly.


Meanwhile, the three hyenas lick their scratches from the close call with the lion king and are threatened by him as well. They all whined about being caught and never getting to steal another meal from the lions. "Does being caught by Simba bring deja vu you fellas," Shenzi asked them.

"Yeah definitely," Banzai whined. "I remember the way his old man took us down and wiped our tails!" Ed giggles from what he said. "It's not funny, Ed. I don't think I can sit for a week thanks to that royal brat." The crazy hyena bursts out laughing, causing him to attack him.

"Would you idiots stop fighting for once?! I swear you idiot's always fought whenever I'm around-"

"Hi guys," Nuka cut in as the three hyenas screamed from his sudden appearance.

"Well well well," Banzai growled. "If it isn't the lion who ratted us out! Thanks a lot!"

"I… I'm so sorry…"

"No honey," Shenzi said as she lowered her head. "It should be us apologizing to you for dragging you into this. We should've let you out of this mess. We really are sorry, sweetie."

"It's okay. I really do want to help you guys I really do… but I don't wanna steal from anyone ever again."

"Understood, honey. We'll find some other ways to get food from now on without your help."

"That's good to hear."

"Are… Are we still friends, honey?"

"Of course!" The hyenas were surprised by his response. "You guys took care of me when I was a little cub. In fact, you guys are more than friends. You are family to me."

"Awww! That's so sweet of you, Nuka! You're still the same little cutie we know and love back in the outland."

"Family huh," Banzai asked. "Huh. That's the nicest thing that a lion has ever said to me. Thanks, kid." Ed went over to hug Nuka with his upper legs while giggling joyfully.

"Thank you, guys! You guys are still the same hyenas back in the outland as well," Nuka smiles at them.

"Thank you, sweetie," Shenzi smiles.

Oh! I got you guys something!" Nuka went behind a bush and revealed the meat he brought to them. "I got you three a meat for you to eat!"

"Oh sweetie! That's so nice of you! Very generous!"

"Yeah thanks, kiddo," Banzai cheered. "You brought meat for the three of us!"

"Actually… I only brought one," he told them as their jaws dropped from what he said to them. "Sorry, but I can only save one piece of meat. That's what happens if your family is a bunch of lions. Well, I have to go back and go to sleep! Goodnight guys! See you around!" Nuka cheered goodbye to them as he went back home.

The three hyenas stare at the meat for a while before they look at each other. They gazed at each other angrily while Ed stared at them with a goofy smile. "This is a way Nuka is getting us back for stealing his friend's food isn't it," Shenzi told them while making eye contact with the two.

"Yeah," Banzai responded while Ed nodded.

"And there's only one meat just for one of us… the one who deserves it the most…"

They did nothing but stand there while staring at each other, waiting for one to make the first move. Finally, the three hyenas jump at each other and begin fighting for the meat. The night filled with barks and cries of the savage trio.