Simba as a Cub

by Jonny2b

One of my favorite authors of this site. Aquaman52 wrote this great sci-fi comedy. He never finished it and its been over a year since he updated this or updated any of his stories and mysteriously left. I assume he disappeared for good. Therefore I am inspired to finish this epic story. I hope you like this version of it as the original. Other wise please enjoy.

5. New Friends?

Here were at the chapter that Aquman52 left off. After this is completely up t me.

Chapter 5. New friends?

Bored. I am bored. Bored bored bored bored. I am bored. Bored am I. Am I bored?

Yes. I am bored. I am bored out of my freaking mind.

For the hundred-thousandth time, Simba shifted his head enough to look outside.

All he could stare at was the ceiling and floor of the cave because he couldn't go outside. Nala had told him so. But he couldn't do anything in here either. But that was just it. He really wanted to do something but nothing? This was ridicules. Even sharing nothing with Nala or Timon and Pumba was good.

AHHHHHH….…screw it. Het thought. Im leaving her.

Simba got to his feet slowly, but surely. After stretching a bit and shaking the grit off his underbelly, he started padding forward, until he was right at the edge of the rim of sunlight that created an imaginary boundary between "stay here" and "don't go out there, where someone might see you". Let's be honest with ourselves here, he told himself. The place is deserted. Nala is doing my job. Timon and Pumba are doing there thing, general Tojo and his wife are training for Scar attacks and Conta and San are taking a tour which I am sure they wouldn't want to do anyways. There's no reason for me to stay cooped up in here.

He leaned forward, and his nose flashed in the sun. If I'm careful, he added as an afterthought. I'll be careful.

He stared cross-eyed at his nose for a little longer, then backed up again. Why did he feel guilty about leaving? He didn't use to. As a cub, he almost never did. And he was one now. Kind of.

Only because he respected Nala. But the outside was just beautiful. He had to leave. So whos to blame that he was a cub. No one will know right?

He'd be careful, and he'd hide if anyone or anything got too close. And he'd come back in fifteen minutes. Just a quick walk out in the grasslands, and then right back inside. Yeah. That would be perfect.

Simba left for the edge of the cave and looked out. Well no harm here lets leave for 15 minuets.

He padded out silently into the grasslands and took a leisurely stroll around the perimeter of Pride Rock, never speaking a word aloud and jumping into the foliage every time he even thought he heard something. He tried to focus on enjoying his fleeting visit with the world at large like he usually would, but the more he walked, the harder it was to ignore how high the peak of the grassline craned above his head, how the pebbles he used to not even notice was big enough to stub a toe on now. The past day or so had been full of moments like this, where for just a second or two he forgot what had happened to him. Forgot that he was officially fun-sized now. And it sucked.

Well, it did. There wasn't really any other way to say it. He'd even thought it when he was supposed to be this size, when it was part of nature's design. Being small sucked, as everyone wanted to grow up and be bigger not smaller.

So about after 10 minuets exploring he decided to make his way back to pride rock sick/birthing cave. All seemed well as he was about to go back in until…..

"Hey! What're you doing up here, little guy?" Was heard from behind him.

"Im screwed. Simba thought.

Simba thought maybe if I played the dumb innocent look and think she was Nala that caught me that all my troubles would go away. As he did turn towards he she looked similar to Nala face wise. He was trying to think of her name.

"You looking for your momma, little guy?" she said before he got a chance to think much beyond that. "She's probably still out on the hunt…can you tell me her name, sweetie?" She continued.

Simba prevented himself from laughing at this remark. Boy if she knew who he really was.

"Aw…little bit shy today, sweetie?" The Lioness continued like a caring mother.

Simba blinked. He hadn't ever answered her, had he? Well, disaster averted there, he supposed.

"Come on," the lioness continued, starting to pad towards him again. "Let's get you back to the nursery."

Before He knew it the Lioness had caught him by his nape and carried him to the Prides nursery. Wow imagine that the King of pride rock being carried to a nursery. Laugh out loud.

I protest, I protest I am not a marry man! He thought of how this felt stupid of being taken to the nursery.

Thankfully, the trip around Pride Rock to the nursery was a short one. Simba tried to get his legs under himself in time to make a smooth landing when the lioness set him down, but his forelegs were just slow enough to stand by and watch as he fell flat on his face. The lioness cooed and someone out of sight snickered, and Simba's face burned under his fur.

"You okay there, honey?" the lioness said, her bottom lip quivering with a barely repressed giggle. Simba blew out a sigh and plastered on a tight-lipped grin, so she'd hopefully get the hint and stop talking.

"Aww, you're a tough little guy, aren't you?" she gushed with a shake of her head. "All right, you run along and play now. I'll be right over here if you need me, okay, sweetie?"

After she turned around he lifted his middle paw and flipped her off. Sprung the middle claw. "Bitch" He mumbled.

Well he's sorta stuck here. Might as well get along with the other cubs. He didn't think they would care who he is or what he wanted right?

"Hi," he said casually.

"Hello," the cub closest to him replied stiffly. He was the largest and most likely the oldest, with golden-brown fur and a cocoa-colored tuft beginning to poke out over his sharp grey eyes. Behind him were another two cubs, a boy and a girl. Both looked a couple months younger than the first cub and had nearly identical blue eyes and tan fur. The only way Simba could even tell them apart was that the boy had a slightly larger tuft that hung over his brow a bit.

"Who are you and what is your purpose being here? the older cub asked. He sounded suspicious, and the two cubs behind him matched his furrowed brow and curled lip almost perfectly.

"Well…""Y'know, I was just…walking around, and I got caught." He put on a rebellious smirk and rolled his eyes for effect. "Ugh…grownups, right?"

"I meant, why are you here at Pride Rock?"

Okay. Totally wasn't prepared for that. Crap. "Uh…"

"Because you've never been around here before," the other cub continued. "And King Simba hasn't declared any new members of the pride or adjusted the hunting party, so you didn't come here with a rogue. So who are you?"

"I was too here!" he argued back. "I just don't come over here much, that's all."

"Because?"

"Because…I get to stay in the den."

"All day?" The older cub raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah."

"Because?"

"Because I'm…special. I don't know."

"You don't know if you're special?"

Ok what the hell this kid is the question master or something. He thought. "sigh Look, I asked my mom if I could just stay in the den while she was gone, and she said yes. And she didn't tell…whoever that was back there…"

"Kali!"

"Yeah, whatever." Add that to the list of names I should've remembered. "My mom didn't tell Kali, so now I'm here."

The other cub's stare was still impressively blank. "Wow."

"Yep," Simba finished with what he thought was an equally impressive glare.

"All right," he said. Simba waited for him to introduce himself, and ten seconds later he clued in on the fact that the cub wasn't going to.

"Uhhhh, So what's your name?"

"Akili," the cub said. "And they're Haraka and Baraka," he continued, as the pair behind him nodded in tandem. Simba couldn't help but notice that Akili didn't ask what his name was in return, which he found himself not minding as much as he might have normally.

But now came the difficult part: how the hell was he going to get out of here? Or barring that, how the hell could he stand another six hours in the company of The snob Brain Kid and Mario twins.

Just act like a cub. Do what a cub would do. Goof off.

"So, Akili," he drawled. "How fast are you?"

"Fast?" Please elaborate." As Akili blinked.

"You think you can outrun me?" Simba smirked.

"I doubt I'll be inspired to try." "Its illogical!"

"Uh…well cant you just…do it?" Akili just rolled his stood there blankly.

Simba then remembered his childhood. Then thought of it. "Tag your…..it" Akili just left.

So Simba decided to play growl at him and was about to pin him when all Akili did was sit there and stare at him.

"Uh what are you doing?"

"Declining inclusion in your vacuous display."

Simba's Jaw dropped. "Um…..what?"

"I don't wish to be 'it."

"So…you don't want to play tag?"

"That's what I just said."

"Well…what do you want to play?"

"What do you mean by that?"

"What do you mean, what do I mean by that? How do you guys play around here?"

Akili now looking and acting like Mr. Spock or Data from Star trek. "By 'play', I assume you're referring to some sort of competition involving a lot of running around for the purpose of pursuing a series of arbitrary achievements?"

"Sure, what the hell," Simba answered back curtly.

"In that case, I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint you again," he intoned. "You see, we don't exactly, as you say, play."

"Uhhh What do you mean by that? Simba was now slightly annoyed.

"It means we prefer to occupy our time with more refined activities," "I mean, cavorting about in mindless indulgence of hedonistic ideals…well, it's all rather childish, isn't it?" Aliki contuned.

"But…you are a child," Simba replied

"Now, that's all quite relative, isn't it?" Akili countered. "Did Habari the Fourth's age keep him from leading the High grass Pride to victory at Mashamba Ya Siri?"

"Sorry Who did what now?"

"Oh, let's not waste our time with him, Akili," a new voice interjected. It was the twin on the left, the boy, Baraka. Or maybe Haraka. "He must be six months old, and he doesn't even have the most rudimentary knowledge of provincial history."

"Oh, come on…it's not like it's really that important to know…" Simba muttered, unconsciously denying the fact that he probably should've known whatever it was they were talking about, judging by all the crash courses in diplomacy he'd been rushed through after he and Nala took over from Scar.

"On the contrary, my friend," Akili chuckled. "Why, without the past we have no present, and without a through comprehension of previous-"

"Yeah, all right, I'm just gonna...stop you right there," Simba said loudly, having officially had it with this little prodigy. "You don't play. Got it. So what do you do for fun?"

Akili took the interruption in stride. "Well," he said, "this morning we were discussing classical religious doctrine in contrast with the larger metaphysical concepts of personal culpability and karmic rebalance."

Simba's jowl dropped from far from compare.

"We were going to move on to discussing the local sociopolitical state in light of King Uongo's collaboration with the Eastlands dingo packs, but someone wouldn't admit that polytheism is a pedantic and parochial practice better suited to rogues and cattle than a cultivated and cultured pride such as this," Haraka (or Baraka) said bitingly. It was the same cub who had spoken before, in any case. The male one. Probably.

"And as I explained to you before, the gods existing as an concept is what ensures their persistence in our society," Akili argued back patiently, turning away from Simba entirely. "At the very least, faith in a collection of altruistic deities inspires the masses to act in accordance with those ideals the gods epitomize."

"But you're missing the greater picture of spiritual advancement! A prescribed set of ancient morals limits and conditions the leonine conscience to be a follower, not the leading force this territory requires it to be."

"Are you impending that our pride doesn't have a leader?".

"I'm saying that the one we have now doesn't seem to have the fortitude to make the necessary choices once they become apparent."

"Oh, come now," Akili said, surprisingly taking on a defensive air. "It's highly impractical to judge King Simba on what you think he would do in a situation he hasn't encountered yet."

"Well, who else is going to think about it?" the twin argued back. Simba had by now completely given up on trying to piece together which one it was. "It's not like His Highness has spent any time considering the formation of a competent government or a decision on social policy. And don't even get me started on wartime strategy…"

"Excuse me here. But what about his war time stogies? Are we at war with Scar or someone?

"I don't think you're giving King Simba credit where it's due."

"For overthrowing Scar? A drunk monkey could've outmaneuvered that buffoon, and quite frankly I don't know why the one we have didn't bother to try. Simba isn't any worse than Scar, but he hasn't proven yet that he's any better either."

"Now Just a Damn Minuet here I… he began to say before he caught himself. "He is not Stupid. Don't forget he has General Tojo and his friend Chumvi that helped." Simba was now yelling.

"And what can you say that can prove that?" Honestly there monkey and not much better. the twin snarled back, his patience obviously taxed with the newcomer to the nursery.

"He let you stay here," Simba replied in a low tone. "He didn't leave you and your family out in the grasslands to starve. And he didn't have to murder someone to take the throne." "Which I might add he witnessed as cub with Queen Nala."

"Well at least Scar is in that dreadful outlands." I'll give him credit for banishing him."

"It wasn't that easy with out the help of his wife and friends."

"Says who?"

"Says…"

"That's right. Says Simba," the twin concluded with a derisive hiss.

Simba was about to fight these guys when the lioness approached.

"Boys! Play nice!" she called out, but without showing any indication of getting up and enforcing her order.

"Let it go, Baraka," Akili said. Somehow, Simba was able to find a perverted sense of satisfaction in mistakenly having given the twin his sister's name in his mind. "You're grasping at reeds. Remember, the more you understand what you're talking about, the less you have to prove it to others."

"You'll have to forgive him," Akili said matter-of-factly, as if simply stating the patently asshole-ish nature of his friend made it all irrelevant. "He's got a bit too much confidence for his own good. As do we all, I suppose." He then turned to face Simba. "So, you were saying something about Scar?"

Simba got up and left. Where you going?

For a walk bub"

Simba could sense the eyes of the babysitter as he was walking . He was already plotting out a zigzagging path of escape through the foliage when he ran smack into a fuzzy, lion-shaped lump about his size.

"Ow…sorry…" the lump said. Simba blinked. That wasn't Baraka. That was…who the hell was that? It was another cub, that was for sure, a male with bright brown eyes and a yellowish-gold complexion that surprisingly looked a good deal like Simba's. Akili had been a little bigger than Simba and the twins had been a little smaller, but this cub was almost exactly his size. And he was staring at him.

"Wait, who are you?" the cub said somewhat bluntly. "Are you from another pride?"

"I'm nobody," Simba replied. "I'm just gonna go walk around now…"

"Nobody?" the cub interrupted as he stepped in front of Simba, his brow furrowed and his head cocked. "That's a weird name. Why do they call you that?"

"That's not my real name."

"Then what is it?"

"Sim…" Shit. "…ko. Pah. Kopa. Yeah, my name's Kopa." Actually Kopa wasn't such a bad name. Must retain that name if Nala and I ever have kids if we have kids.

"Simkopa…" the cub commented with a smirk. "That's not much better than 'nobody"

"Oh, come on…"

"Okay…hi, Chaka."

Chaka giggled. "Hi, Kopa," he said. "So where are you from, anyway?"

Simba liked this cub was much different from the others he met. He liked him as he reminded him as himself when he was a cub.

"We just got here a few days ago," Simba said.

"Wow…so you're from another pride?" "That's so cool!" Did you guys really eat your cubs if they weren't strong enough? Because that's what Nuka used to say other prides did before he went to the Outlands. I guess you weren't eaten, so you're probably pretty strong, right? 'Cause I'm pretty strong too. This one time, I pushed this giant rock into the watering hole and it made a humungous splash and everybody on the shore got soaked. It was awesome! Except my mom grounded me for a week and she had to eat a bunch of plants from Rafiki to make her stomach feel better, so I didn't do it again. That's my mom over there."

The cub turned away and pointed an oversized forepaw towards the lioness who had taken Simba over to the nursery. Once she noticed, she smiled and waved back at them. And for some reason, that was the point where Simba couldn't help but laugh.

"It's just…" Simba said, trying to think of how to explain. "You're just so different from the other cubs, that's all."

"Oh, you mean Akili?" he said. "Yeah, you looked like you were kinda dizzy when you ran into me. Akili's okay sometimes, but he always talks to you like you're not supposed to understand what he's saying. And Haraka's okay too, but she doesn't really ever talk to me. But Baraka's the one you gotta stay away from. He's so full of himself.

"Yeah, I kinda noticed that…" Simba added with a smirk.

"And it's not even like he's all that smart. He just uses a bunch of big words that Akili teaches him and acts like it makes him so awesome and, like, a genius and stuff. It wouldn't be so bad, except there's no one else to play with since Nuka left…"

"Well, I could play with you…" Simba suggested. He was honestly a bit surprised when he realized that he was kind of hoping Chaka would like the idea. Which he did.

"Really?" the cub nearly shouted.

"Yeah, sure," Simba said

"All right!" Chaka beamed. "But first…" Chaka smirked. "Tag! You're it!" Chaka shouted as he sprinted off, a giddy laugh echoing all around him the whole time. Simba grinned at him and chased back.

Simba was reminded on what it was like being a cub again. Simba could forget all his reconcilable as an adult and had fun for a few hours.

The evening was already well underway by the time Simba and Chaka finally returned to Pride Rock. The day was fun as it had been since he really was a cub way back when time was meaningless and no worries of duties were before him.

The journey home, however, brought forth a whole mess of conflicting emotions in Simba's mind, most of which were simple enough to have to do with reentering his old world of responsibility. Being a cub was fun. Bur Nala was more important to him.

He parted from Chaka once they reached the entrance to the den, after confirming that he'd be ready to go exploring again tomorrow at sunrise sharp. Once that was done, he started making his way up the winding path leading up to Pride Rock's summit, knowing that Nala was almost certainly up there waiting for him. There she was looking down upset.

"Hey, Nal," he whispered. Nala glanced over at him for a moment, but either couldn't keep his eyes in hers or just didn't want to.

"Nala, what's wrong?" he continued, keeping his hesitation out of his voice as much as he could. As the silence lengthened once more, he took her closest paw in both of his and squeezed.

"I thought you were going to stay put?" She mumbled without looking at him.

"I didn't mean to leave," he said. Nala please forgive me. I was captured. Fortunately no one knows who I am." Simba pleaded.

"I uh..I was at Rafiki's today."

"Is he working on the antidote?"

"He's trying, but he hasn't had any breakthroughs yet."

"Okay…sooo….."

"He…wanted to see me."

"And.."

"Well…everything is ok with me but…" Nala know locked eyes with Simba.

"You're pregnant," he said.

"I'm pregnant," she confirmed with what looked and sounded like a grimace.

Both lions blew out a long, heavy sigh, and with good reason: Simba felt as though he'd just been flattened under a thousand-pound boulder. And the funny thing was, there was a part of him that wanted to just scream with happiness. He was going to be a father!

Yeah. But he'd also be the size of a six-month-old cub. And the cub might be his child, but he could never be their father. Not like this. And Nala knew that.

"I thought I'd be happy," Nala whispered suddenly. The tears Simba hadn't witnessed before were returning again.

"Maybe we still can be," Simba countered, though even he thought it was a weak attempt. "I mean, Rafiki'll fix…this, and then we can just live out a normal life together…"

Nala smiled but then quickly frowned and both were silent. Both in depression as they stared out into the savannah.

"Hey," Simba I Love you…."

"I love you too…. I just wish we could be happy.." Not like this though."

They stayed on the summit for a few minutes longer, and then Nala got to her feet, mumbled something that sounded like "good night", and slipped away into the night. And a half-hour later, when Simba finally rose as well, he had only one singular thought trapped between his ears:

Please fix this, Rafiki. Please, please, please find a way to make us happy again.

Now its up to me I hope you like what you see now since its now all me.