The Lion King III: The Chosen Ones

Cub Arc: Who Are You?

Chapter Two: Grandpa Simba

….

After night fell, the dark lion rounded up what was left of the survivors. Forcing them into a small line, he demanded that they obey his complete commands and to march out into the world unknown. His rogues kept everyone together, snapping their jaws at any straggler that fell behind and quickly dealing out a physical beating for those who didn't comply. Not only was the dark lion stealing away their free will but he also demanded their pride as well, forcing them to address him as "King" instead of the murderer that he was.

The young cub kept to herself the whole time. She hated how he kept her specifically at her side, away from everyone she ever knew. She couldn't cry anymore, the endless stretch of desert had dried up all of her tears and replaced them with a cold, bone chilling fear that stole her voice. She had very quickly that loose words from her mouth would result in another death.

Sand and relentless pain blurred the edge of time for the young cub; she didn't even realize that they had finally reached the border of the "King's" land. More ferocious and ugly rogues met them at the border. They jeered cruelly at their new guests and a couple of them spat at some of the older lionesses, their faces alight at the thought of fresh meat. Their "King's" throne stood in the darkness like a demonic fortress and soon hard roars filled the air.

Soon the young cub and her pride learned that they were now part of a dark brotherhood, known as The Shadow Pride. This would be the everlasting hell for the rest of their lives, one that they would never be able to escape from.

OooO

Another morning sprang life to the pride lands. It was going to be another one of those peaceful days that everyone had come to expect. The animals aimlessly grazed the plains, going on with their lives without a care in the world.

However, for the unfortunate souls who lived in Pride Rock, no morning was ever normal. Prince Tanabi made sure of that.

There was no doubting which side of the family the cub took after. Tanabi was the spitting image of his mother, from her big bright eyes to her goofy smile. A chubby little ball of fluff and energy, he also took after his grandfather with the dark markings in his inner ears and the curious red orange tuft that grew on his head. The only thing that Tanabi seemed to have inherited from his father at all was his dark coloring.

The young lion snickered quietly to himself. His sister wouldn't know what hit her; he had executed his master plan out so well. Tanabi easily snuck some of the crazy old baboon's colored powder out from right under his nose. Now came the hard part, dying his sister's tail without her realizing it.

Tanabi smirked as he carefully picked up his sister's tail with his paw, dipping it into the blue powder. He held his breath when the female cub twitched a little in her sleep but otherwise, she remained in a deep slumber.

Oh man, I can't wait to see the look on sis' face. She's so gonna flip! Tanabi, you are a genius.

Getting to his paws and stretching; he decided to move on to his next prank. There were more plenty of victims just waiting to keep him entertained.

Until his sister woke up, that is. Tanabi stood frozen in place as Ayira yawned and fixed her tired eyes on her brother. For twins, they couldn't have looked any different. While Tanabi looked like an outlander version of his mother, Ayira was the female version of their father. Ayira had not only his sharp green eyes but his crooked smile as well, even her bright orange crème fur held a natural dull tint.

Tanabi grinned goofily at her, trying his best not to look so guilty. "Morning sis!"

His twin yawned flatly, "How can you be awake and happy about it?"

"How can you not be?" Tanabi asked, jumping playfully in front of her. "C'mon, sleepy bones! We gotta wake up grandpa."

"You are such a cub."

"Yeah, yeah, I know. It's so hard being a prissy girl like you, ain't it?"

Ayira shot him a look, one that might as well have told him to jump off the edge of Pride Rock head first. Tanabi tried not to stare at her new blue tail but he let out a snicker of amusement. The princess wrinkled up her nose at him.

"What?"

"Oh, nothing…just wonderin' when your tail started turning blue…"

Staring at Tanabi like he had lost his mind again, Ayira suddenly felt that her tail felt oddly wet and sticky. As soon as she brought her tail around and caught sight of the blue appendage, the female cub shrieked angrily at him.

"TANABI!"

The Prince started to laugh even more at her, knowing it would set his older sister off. He suddenly turned around and ran away frantically with Ayira hot on his tail.

"YOU BETTER RUN!"

Ayira's loud screams startled everyone in the main cave. Tanabi continued to laugh like a maniac as he hopped over several bodies of the once sleeping lionesses. The pride sisters let out a collective sigh before grumbling about how they could never get a morning without a fight.

"Nyah! Nyah! You can't catch me!"

Tanabi stuck his tongue right at his sister. The angry look on his sister's face was almost too funny for words. Smirking, he picked up speed, confident that there was no way she could catch up to him.

"Come back here!" she screamed through her fangs. "So I can kill you!"

"Like you could! You run so slowly even our furless great granny can run faster than you!"

That did it. The orange cub quickly started to catch up with him and Tanabi let out a horrified cry. They zoomed in a wide arc around the cave and Tanabi suddenly felt the urge to wish that his parents were somewhere close by to save his sorry hide. Ayira closed the distance between the two of them and pounced onto Tanabi's back, slamming him into the ground. The two siblings then got into a loud verbal match which involved biting and scratching each other in retaliation.

"What's going on here?" A soft yet firm male voice demanded. Simba stood over the two cubs, looking down at them sternly. Ayira immediately got off of Tanabi.

Aww crap, when did he wake up? Tanabi thought nervously to himself as he flashed an innocent grin up at the massive golden lion, "…Hi, Grandpa! Nice to see you…still in the den…eheh…"

Now, Grandpa Simba was one of Tanabi's favorite family members mainly because he could take a joke or a prank unlike his parents. In fact, his grandfather would often whisper little things in his ear to try on his parents from time to time. Tanabi also marveled at how big his grandpa was. The golden lion was made of nothing but pure muscle; he was like a real life giant. Everyone said that Tanabi was looked and acted like Simba when he was younger, which he took as a compliment.

"Grandfather, look what Tanabi did to me!" Ayira whined, lifting her tail. "I'm sorry for being disobedient but that stupid head deserved it!"

Tanabi scowled at her, "You were trying to kill me with those crazy claws! How did I deserve that?"

Simba sighed tiredly, "Tanabi. Your parents justgot onto you about your pranks yesterday. I think you owe everyone here and apology."

The brown cub turned around and bowed his head in apology, noting the non- too pleasant looks he was getting from the pride, "Sorry everyone!"

After getting a few murmurs in response, Tanabi turned back to his grandfather who was still looking at him with disappointment. He lowered his ears, he was used to this look by now and he hated it. Anger he could deal with, but disappointment, he didn't understand why it bothered him so much.

"So where are we going today, grandfather?" Ayira asked as respectfully as she could.

The old former king shrugged, saying coolly, "We were going to go down to the watering hole and take a stroll. I figure that since both of you have been listening so well during our lessons, you should be able to relax and play afterwards…but I'm not so sure now."

Tanabi gaped at him in shock; that was so unfair! If he knew that before, he wouldn't have even done the prank. "Aww…c'mon Grandpa, please? I won't do it again, I promise!"

"Hmm…I don't know, Tanabi," Simba said slowly and thoughtfully, with a hint of playfulness in his voice. "I don't think you deserve it."

"I didn't mean any harm, I was just bored! Please Grandpa, I won't do it again!" Tanabi pleaded, lowering his ears out of guilt and feeling sorrier than he ever did.

Simba raised an eyebrow in amusement," You have some serious thrill issues, kid. Alright we can go." Before Tanabi could let out a cheer, he quickly added in a stern tone, "But no monkey business, got it? You start acting out again and I'll take you straight home. Clear?"

The Prince nodded instantly, not wanting his grandpa to change his mind. Simba smiled down at him and playfully ruffled the fluff on top of his head.

"What am I going to do with a little scamp like you?" Simba asked affectionately, showing that he had no hard feelings. He then grinned at the two young cubs," Well c'mon then! Last one there's a rotten hornbill egg!"

"Cool!" Tanabi exclaimed, quickly darting to the exit of Pride Rock to his destination. He couldn't waitto get out of that stuffy cave. He ran out onto the promontory and bounced down the stone like steps. Today was going to be a good day.

OooO

The water hole was always one of Tanabi's favorite spots and it was also Grandpa Simba's too. It was always packed with random, bizarre animals to talk to and play with. Not to mention all the fun of swimming in the water. Today, however, they had arrived much earlier than the other animals. Tanabi didn't care; it just meant they had the whole place to themselves.

Ever since Tanabi was old enough to remember, their grandpa had always taken them out for little field trips throughout the kingdom and taught them about different things on life. Their parents were usually too busy with their duties in the mornings and they thought that Simba was the best choice for teaching him and his sister about respect for their subjects.

Tanabi always found these lessons boring. Which was weird considering his Grandpa Simba was so much fun to be around and would let him get away with more than his parents ever did. Though when lesson time came around, you could forget it, Grandpa Simba turned into such a killjoy.

Tanabi didn't understand any of the old lion's ramblings, who would want to be King anyway? All it was were rules, rules and more rules and helping everyone with their problems. He had figured out a long time ago why his parents were so boring to be around, it was because they had the fun sucked out of them.

While waiting for his grandpa to start his lessons, Tanabi had found a freaky looking chameleon in the tall grasses. Out of boredom and curiosity, he had started to stalk the strange creature unaware that he had broken his grandpa's rule of playing: stay where he could see you.

"Psst! Ayira, come here! Look at this!" the prince whispered in awe to his sister. His carmine eyes widened in amazement as the chameleon's eyes flickered wildly. This is so cool!

"This better not be another stupid trick of yours, Tanabi." Ayira replied unimpressed by her brother as she walked towards him," Because if it is, I'm not falling for it."

"Just c'mere for a sec," Tanabi hissed at her.

Frowning at him, Ayira crouched down for a look and her eyes grew wide.

"Eww! What is that thing? Ouch! What was that for?"

"Stop being such a girl! You're gonna scare it away!"

"I am a girl, stupid. Anyway, I'm surprised you haven't scared it with that ugly face of yours."

"You're uglier than I am!"

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"Am not!"

"Your mama!" Tanabi retorted back, receiving a cold look from his older sister. "…What? Hey, hey, it's getting away!"

The chameleon finally realized that the two cubs were occupied with fighting and it started to walk away. Tanabi jumped in front of it, bending down to its face and waved his tail playfully. He then let out a playful roar to see if the chameleon would be afraid, but it continued on unfazed. Tanabi's might and powerful roar wasn't what he thought it was. It sounded like a pathetic mew. Ayira laughed at him.

"You call that a roar?" Ayira teased Tanabi, who was now pouting. She pushed her brother aside, "Let this so called 'girl' show you how it's done."

You're not gonna be much better sis. Tanabi rolled his eyes at her as she waited until the chameleon got a little way further before jumping in front of it. The orange cub then let out a roar, one that was a bit stronger than Tanabi's. The chameleon jumped at the sudden sound, making the two cubs laugh.

Getting in on the fun, Tanabi returned Ayira's roar from behind, making the chameleon jump up again in fright. The two cubs trapped the poor thing and continued to let out roars back and forth, scaring the chameleon silly.

"Tanabi! Ayira!" Simba shouted over the two cubs. They stopped laughing and allowed the chameleon to escape. "Why were you picking on that poor creature?"

"Because it was funny," Tanabi snickered but quickly dropped his smile when Simba shook his head at him. Apparently, this wasn't the answer his Grandpa was looking for.

"Cubs, how would you feel if someone was picking on you?" Simba asked curiously.

Both cubs shared a glance.

"Well, pretty bad I guess," Tanabi said after a minute of thought. He then wrinkled his nose up," But Grandpa, that thing was so weird!"

Simba chuckled softly once again, "He probably thinks the same thing about you, Tanabi. That still doesn't give you the right to pick on that chameleon."

The young prince hung his head a little, "Yes grandpa..."

Ayira tilted her head in confusion, "But grandpa, I thought you said we were all the same…we're all part of the circle of life, right? How can we be the same when he looks nothing like us?"

"Just because someone isn't the same as you doesn't mean that they don't have feelings or dreams like you do, Ayira," the former king told her gently. "So remember to treat others like you want to be treated."

When the siblings didn't reply and continued to stare up at Simba, he gave a knowing smile and turned his attention to something else in the distance.

"Maybe this will help you understand. Look out as far as you can see: there are plenty of animals, big and small, young and old, that live together in harmony. Like we depend on the antelope and zebra to eat and when they die, they turn into the grass and the antelope eat that new grass. Everyone in this kingdom has a part in the circle of life and it's those small differences that make this kingdom whole."

Tanabi tried to picture what his grandpa told him, a world with nothing else but lions. It didn't seem like such a fun place to live. There wouldn't be much to look at that was for sure, if the antelopes and the zebras made up the grass.

"You're right, Grandpa Simba…it'd be kind of boring if everyone was the same."

Simba grinned, "Yeah, it would be little buddy. But I'm not expecting you to understand all the secrets of the kingdom now, that'll come in time when you're older."

"I hope I'll be as wise as you are when I'm Queen," Ayira told him as she lied down on the ground. The young princess gave a content yawn, "You must know everything!"

"I wouldn't say all that now, I still have plenty to learn while I'm still here just like you," Simba said to his granddaughter and grandson. He raised an eyebrow at Tanabi, who was currently bouncing his leg up and down crazily as he was sitting, "Are you okay?"

"Can we go play now? Please? Please? Please?" Tanabi asked impatiently with a grin.

Simba laughed ruefully, "Sure, why not? But on my count, one…two…"

There was no need for a third count because as soon as the word escaped Simba's mouth, a brown blur shot past him with such speed that the former king barely had time to react. A huge splash was seen and the next thing he saw was Tanabi floating on his back in the watering hole.

Simba grinned mischievously and decided to run after Tanabi, cannon-balling into the cold water. The brown cub gasped out in horror as the impact of his heavy grandpa hitting the water made a wave that crashed over him. Tanabi ducked his head and rode the wave, playfully dog paddling to the surface.

"Booga booga!" Simba cried out as he popped out from behind Tanabi, shaking his head and tongue back and forth crazily.

The brown cub giggled when his grandpa grabbed him, "Oh no, the monster got me! Help me sis!"

"That can't be natural…" Ayira quipped, shuddering at the thought of water. She laughed a little when she saw their grandpa; he looked so ridiculous with his huge red wet mane covering his whole face like that.

"C'mon in Ayira, it feels great!" Simba announced cheerfully.

"Yeah Ayira!"

The orange cub rolled her eyes, "No. A future queen doesn't play around in the water and get her fur wet and dirty."

"That's it little missy, you are so getting in now," Simba teased, grinning.

He jumped out of the water hole and shook himself off beside Ayira, the water droplets hit her at every angle.

"Ewwwwwww! Grandpa, stop it!" she complained but was laughing at the same time, blocking her face with her paws. "W-wait, what are you doing? Grandpa!"

Simba laughed heartily as he playfully but gently pushed Ayira into the water. The female cub came back up, spluttering and glared at Simba like she was going to bite him.

Tanabi snickered, "Ha ha! Looks like the queen isn't so high and mighty now, huh grandpa?"

Simba and Ayira grinned at each other before directing their attention to the brown cub, "Splash attack!"

"What?"

The grandpa and granddaughter duo splashed at Tanabi as hard as they could. Tanabi giggled and fought back. Soon, everyone found themselves chasing each other in the water, splashing back and forth, having the time of their lives. Their wild laughter could be heard all throughout the morning.

OooO

Simba yawned tiredly as the afternoon sun's glow rested on his face, tickling him with its toasty warmth. On his chest, two small cubs were sound asleep and were curled up into tight ball on his soft, fluffy mane. The golden lion ran a paw over his grandcubs, smiling tenderly at them, thanking the spirits of the past that they were finally asleep.

Who would've thought any of that would have come out of my mouth? The former king thought to himself amusedly, thinking about their lesson. Man, Nala's right. I am getting old.

He could've laughed at the irony of it all. A little more than a year ago, it was his worst nightmare that Scar's successor would take over the pridelands. Now, here he was, the proud grandfather of two bright cubs. Life was so crazy like that.

As he watched his cubs sleep, Simba remembered how it felt like almost yesterday that he was in their spot. The golden lion had no doubt that his lesson went blissfully through one ear and out the other for them but that was how he wanted it. There was no need for his grand cubs to grow up so fast; all he wanted was that they had an easier cub hood than he did.

Smiling down at his little princess and prince one last time, Simba also closed his heavy lidded eyes and allowed sleep to take over.

Back then, life was perfect in the pride lands.

Way to go Simba, ruin the whole frickin' chapter by giving a public service speech on The Circle of Life :-P. Lol, actually I did enjoy writing the monologue, it made me feel like I was somewhat staying true to TLK's style of giving us life lessons. Hopefully I did an okay job on it. Until next time, Chizy out~