A/N:

Okay, I know this took forever. But if you're still reading this, I'm guessing you liked the first two chapters. xD So here's Chapter 3! Only... two months... after Chapter 2... heh. Oh well, it happens. x) So, we cool? (: Good. Review time!

kate: Here it is... finally. lol Sorry I took forever. xD

Seph4evr: Thanks; glad you liked it. Suspense! Haha. :p

Kblade: Interesting, huh? Glad you liked that about it. Enjoy Chapter 3. :)

mom: Sweet. x) tbh, I wasn't that happy with it. But if you thought it was good, then cool. :p

Ceu Praca: The patient waiting is over. Enjoy. ;)

"Hey, any of you all seen Kiara?"

A voice piped up through the savanna, audible over the gentle bubbling of the nearby stream, which drained into the water hole. Several lion cubs laid limply in the grass, relaxing. This was their usual meeting spot; sometimes they would play, or talk, or just sit down and look at the sky, as they were doing during the present peaceful moment.

"Nope. She said she'd ask her father about coming, but you know how he is…"

A dark cub responded dejectedly, frowning slightly to his companions, plagued with the cynical thought that, no matter what they did, the princess would never be allowed to spend time with them. They had pestered her to come along with their little group on countless different occasions. But in the end, it was always the same.

Another older cub huffed slightly, her tan body barely visible in the thick stalks of parched, dry grass.

"Well, he can't keep her up there forever. Maybe he'll finally realize that she needs to spend more time with her friends and less time with those dimwits of babysitters."

All three of them had a good laugh at this, and though it added a little bit of humor and fun to their afternoon, they still felt like they were missing something. Each of them liked Kiara greatly; she was playful, and daring, and kind… not snobby and stuck-up like they had originally thought. The only problem was that they had only seen each other on a few occasions; most of the time she was escorted by Timon and Pumbaa. And those two were never any fun. Ever.

"Yeah, what killjoys," the original cub spoke up again, calm smile still not quite faded off of her face yet. "I feel sorry for her."

A moment passed, and all was silent except for the brook, which was still gurgling peacefully. But after several moments, something new appeared on the scene: the forceful trudge of heavy, quick footsteps across the ground.

"W-Who is that?" the first cub responded worriedly, head darting up to scan the surrounding savanna. But the answer was immediately obvious. This was no predator trying to stalk them. Rather, it was Simba, the largest lion in the Pridelands, rustling about noisily with worry written on his face. He finally caught sight of the cubs, and made his way over to them with an angry-looking grimace.

"Where's Kiara? Have you seen her?" he queried intensely, looking back and forth between the three cubs, who had gathered respectfully in front of him.

"No, we haven't. She said she couldn't come today."

Simba looked slightly disbelieving; his brow furrowed solemnly and he pawed at the ground impatiently. If Kiara wasn't here, where else could she possibly be?

"Don't you dare lie to me!" he growled in frustration, glancing back at the cub who had spoken. "She told me she wanted to come out here; where could she go off to if not the water hole?"

The cubs looked around, and then at each other, as if suddenly piecing two and two together. Suddenly concern appeared on their faces as they realized what exactly was happening.

"I-Is Kiara… missing?" The tan cub looked at Simba with a half-confused countenance, to which he merely nodded sternly in reply.

"Does she even know where the water hole is? She's never been out here before," the dark cub batted at the grass around him quietly, somehow knowing that something very wrong must have happened. What possible good outcome could come out of Kiara being absent? She was a young cub, after all…

Simba turned away at this remark and retreated off towards who-knew-where, obviously to continue his search. Kiara's mother, Nala, was also apparently present, as her light-colored head shot up from the oceans of tall, golden grass to scan her surroundings. How many others had joined the search party could not be said for certain.

"King Simba! We can help you look for her!" the tan cub spoke up, leaping after him with the utmost seriousness. The older, golden lion stopped in his tracks before turning around suddenly, as if remembering something.

"No, it could be dangerous. Go back to Pride Rock; in fact, here…" he again faced towards the search party, raising his voice as he called out across the savanna, "Tamu!"

"Yes, King Simba?" A young looking, pale lioness appeared from the curtains of grass around him, her narrow eyes darting this way and that as she studied Simba, and then the trio of cubs.

"Take these ones home. I want them safe."

"Of course," she uttered timidly, respectfully walking by him and picking up one of them by the scruff of the neck.

"Hey! Put me down!"

But it was too late. Simba had again turned his back to the cubs and was now returning to lead the search party—this time with no intentions of going back to the brook and chatting.

The tan cub looked at the black cub, both of them still sitting on the ground and mutually sharing a thoroughly miffed facial expression.

"What a way to ruin an afternoon," the latter spoke up in a depressed tone, rising to his feet and tagging behind the lioness, who had already started to walk away.

But the tan cub merely ambled alongside her, casting the occasional glance towards where she perceived Simba's search party to be—in case she should be able to catch a glimpse of them.

"Oh well," she muttered somewhat indifferently, "I just hope Kiara's alright."

"Hey guys, where are you?" Kiara called out again, not seeing any other signs of life around. This was supposed to be the path to the waterhole, but it didn't look like there was any water anywhere. Heck, it didn't look like the Pridelands were anywhere—in any case, this place really didn't look like her home... and it was starting to make her nervous.

The small, golden cub waded through the thick shrouds of fog surrounding her, trying not to slip or stumble on the hard, rocky ground. Thick shadows enveloped her little body, despite the fact that it was only mid-afternoon, and her surroundings were silent—except for the occasional snap of a twig or hoot of a bird…

"H-Hello? I-Is anyone there?"

She queried wearily, before hearing the panicked wing beats of a dark, silhouetted, avian form. Now she was beginning to understand exactly why her father was so adamant about her staying at home. This place was hostile, to say the least… Any normal, informed pride member would have had little doubts that these were the Outlands—though Kiara had little idea of this, being as young as she was. And what was worse was that she was horribly disoriented… and quickly beginning to panic. It was unlike anything she had ever seen before. Every time she tried to find a way out or a different path to take, she would end up stumbling upon her own old footprints, or a place she had seen several times before. She was trapped. If anything, she was only descending deeper into the darkness. Deeper into despair. Deeper into danger.

And then she heard another noise. A sort of raucous, foreboding call… coming from a cliff edge over to her right. Without knowing it, she began to run, attempting to get away from the darkness all around. From the strange noises and the frightening terrain. She ducked under a fallen tree and ran down a rocky slope, trying to get home. Or at least to get somewhere—anywhere—else.

But then she tripped on a boulder, falling to her knees and tumbling head-over-heels down the hill. She slammed into a jagged-edged rock, causing her to cry sharply out in pain, and then continued to roll downwards, further and further… And all the time she was heading ever closer to the horrible ruckus she had tried to eschew.

"CRAHH! CRAHH!"

A vulture cackled loudly as she plummeted into it, and the pair of animals landed together as a heap of fur and feathers on the unforgiving ground. She blinked desperately, trying to get away from the swarm of birds that had apparently gathered over a fresh carcass. However, the vultures were apparently more afraid of her than she was of them, which was saying something… considering the fact that she was petrified. The group flew away in unison, including the vulture she had landed on, which had escaped her grip without her noticing. Kiara was alone again, and all was silent except for the retreating screeches of the carrion eaters. The lioness shook herself distractedly, trying to understand what had just happened. But after a few moments, she backed up self-consciously, realizing that she must be next to some dead animal.

Or was it still hanging on to the last threads of life? Though she had never been hunting on her own, Kiara had heard many stories about prey animals in the savanna being eaten alive… But in the end, she didn't bother to look, and she would have continued trying to get home if it weren't for the fact that, out of the corner of her eye, she could see something strange about it.

Indeed, this was no ordinary carcass. It was a lion. And though she was still mildly disgusted, her childlike innocence and goodness urged her to help this fellow member of her species, especially considering the fact that it might still be alive. And so Kiara crept closer, taking care not to startle it… lest it should be hostile.

"H-Hello… strange lioness…? Are you okay?"

No answer. In fact, her body didn't even stir. Kiara could see she was still breathing—if barely—though she looked to be in a deeply comatose state. If Kiara didn't get help soon, then it would only be a matter of time… And even then, this lioness' future looked uncertain. Perhaps even nonexistent. Not to mention Kiara herself was horribly lost. The cub nudged the lioness gently with her muzzle, lifting up her head, which had been resting on her paws. After a few seconds, however, the younger lioness tired and set it back down as gently as she could. The cat's head flopped limply down to the side, and she continued to study the sunken, injured form closely…

Wait a second. This wasn't the only lion, was it? The curious cub drew even closer, and was shocked to find a small, light tan body within the grasp of the lioness' paws. A cub much younger than Kiara… Sweet. Innocent. Adorable. It looked merely asleep, though she wasn't sure whether or not it was even alive. The body was so small that it was hard to tell whether or not it was respiring…

She licked its head with her tongue, and, to her surprise, it opened its eyes and blinked wearily, as though it had been awakened from a deep slumber. The cub sneezed lightly and looked at Kiara questioningly. Kiara nearly stumbled backwards at those eyes—piercing and as blue as the sky on a cloudless day.

"Hello, there. Is this your mommy?"

Kiara cooed happily, leaning closer and staring at the cub with awe. She beamed happily, gazing into those reflective blue orbs… But the cub looked back, unblinking. It almost seemed as though she had an oddly omniscient air about her, a sort of clairvoyant wisdom hidden away in her silent form. But she didn't speak—indeed, she was too young to say anything at all.

But this only lasted a few moments. The cub's countenance and mood faded into something different… her features contorted into an expression of discomfort, and after several moments she moaned quietly, weakly… Kiara looked at her confusedly, wondering what was wrong. Until, of course, she realized… this cub and the other lioness—presumably her mother—were stuck here, in this barren wasteland. She didn't know why they were here, but the cub was probably hungry. And there was nothing she could do to feed her.

They needed help. Both of them. She didn't want to leave the cub's side, as she probably wouldn't be able to find them again. Or Simba wouldn't believe her and would keep her at home without finding them. All Kiara could do was wait, and hope that someone would find her as she screamed out to the world.

"Help! Someone! Please help me!"

Okay, so... if you're here, then you've probably read it. If you've read it, then you (hopefully) enjoyed it. And if you've enjoyed it, then you should review. ;)

Alright, you get the point... Feedback? Anyone? Don't all volunteer at once. :p

-Twin out (;