(Lion, King of the Beasts)

*July 18th, 1900*

*Day 38, Night*

The gang had walked across the dark forest as they had eventually ran into a couple of animals consisting of a tiger, squirrel, bear, and other such creatures as they looked over to see their new travels.

"Good Evening, could you tell us the way out of this forest? We're here to see Glinda, The Good Witch of the South" Dorothy had asked the creatures in a polite tone of voice as the tiger began to speak.

"Good Evening, and I'm afraid we don't know since we've never really explored this forest due to a terrible giant spider who rules this area with an iron fist, It's terrible indeed!" The Tiger had responded back in a fearful tone of voice as this made everyone eyes widen as this was the exact same terrible beast whom the China Doll Princess had warned them about as Cowardly Lion began to speak.

"Giant spider? I have some courage in me so how could I help? If I can kill the spider than you guys will be freed, right?" Cowardly Lion had asked the Tiger as the creature nodded his head in agreement as he had a smile on his face while Scarecrow began to speak out.

"Lion is right, I've heard that Lions are king of the beasts so this is a good chance for him to showcase his mighty courage" Scarecrow had spoken out as everyone was in full agreement of Cowardly Lion taking care of the beast as an Elephant began to speak out.

"Then it shall be decided! The Lion shall set forth and kill the beast and if he does, then He shall be crowned King of the Beasts!" The Elephant had spoken out as the animals and everyone else erupted in cheers of praises of joy while Cowardly Lion was ready to face off against the terrible beast.

"Good luck!" Dorothy had cried out in full support of her friend as she saw Cowardly Lion beginning his journey to find the giant spider by walking towards the direction which consisted of spider-webs until he was gone from sight.

"I have a feeling that Lion might actually pull this off.." Tin Woodman had spoken out in a tone of confidence as he and the others awaited for Cowardly Lion's return.

*Forest*

Cowardly Lion was roaming the dark forest for a few minutes until he stopped in his tracks due to hearing a terrible laughter followed by sounds of clanking and to his shock, the Giant Spider was right behind him as it had a huge grin.

Its legs were quite as long and its body covered with coarse black hair. It had a great mouth, with a row of sharp teeth a foot long; but its head was joined to the pudgy body by a neck as slender as a wasp's waist.

"And who are you? I've never seen any Lions around this area, do you intend to die or do you want to live?" The Giant Spider had asked Cowardly Lion in a polite yet threatening tone of voice as its twelve eyes focused on its prey with great intensity; however, Cowardly Lion didn't back down as he stood firm in his place.

"My name is Lion, I was sent here to kill you and free these poor creatures from your terrible rule" Cowardly Lion had responded back as this caused the Giant Spider to cackle with laughter as he had found this to be quite idiotic.

"Oh? You intend to kill me? Well, I WOULD LIKE TO SEE YOU TRY!" The Giant Spider had cried out as he used one of his legs to quickly smack his opponent with great intensity as Cowardly Lion was sent flying back while he had hit some branches in the process as he cried out in pain before he collapsed on the ground.

"H-He's fast! I gotta find a way to conquer his speed but HOW?" Cowardly Lion had spoken out in surprise.

He looked over to see the terrible creature quickly approaching him with such speed as it used its large legs to deliver another hard blow towards the Cowardly Lion as he was sent knocking back once more before collapsing on the ground.

"You're weak but you also look tasty so I shall savor my dinner which nicely brought itself to me.." The Giant Spider had spoken to Cowardly Lion in a joyful tone of voice as he had walked closer and closer to his prey; however, Cowardly Lion quickly used his claws to slash the legs of the giant spider as it winced in pain as Cowardly Lion quickly ran away from his opponent while trying to find ways to defeat him.

"So, You would choose to run rather than accept your own fate, eh? Fine! I shall tear you to pieces with my bear legs!" The Giant Spider had cried out while running after his prey with such speed as many trees came crashing down in the process as until coming to a complete stop while Cowardly Lion had seen this from the bushes which where he was hiding at.

"He's so strong and fast, How could I defeat such a terrible beast with ease, Think! Think!" Cowardly Lion had thought to himself while hearing the large footsteps of the giant creature as he observed the head which had brought an idea to him.

" If I slay this terrible creature by reaching its neck then I might win this battle" Cowardly Lion had thought to himself once more as he quickly climbed one of the large trees and he climbed higher and higher until he was on top of the tree while the Giant Spider began to speak.

"Where are you?! Are you scared of me?! You are just making me hungrier by the second! I CAN'T WAIT TO EAT YOU ALIVE!" The Giant Spider had spat out in a rather chilling tone of voice as this made some rabbits quickly run away to safety as the creature laughed quite loudly as it searched for its prey while Cowardly Lion hanged on to one of the branches.

"Okay, Just aim for its neck and I shall be good, right?" Cowardly Lion muttered to himself as he quickly jumped down towards the giant creature while letting out a battle cry; however the instincts of the Giant Spider quickly sensed what was going on.

"So, you've found my weak spot, eh? Well, good luck in trying to get it because I'm afraid that's not gonna happen" The Giant Spider had advised to Cowardly Lion as he looked up to see his opponent attempting to kill him as the giant creature as he had used his legs to make it stretch as it managed to slightly graze the Lion as he winced in pain before collapsing on the ground.

"O-Oh man! He's tough! His instincts are truly marvelous! How could I ever defeat such a thing.." Cowardly Lion had thought to himself as he looked up to see the giant creature approaching him with a huge grin on his face.

"You could never defeat me, King of the Beasts? What a joke! I'm the King of the Beasts and nobody and nothing can't stop me!" The Giant Spider had roared out in "victory" as he got closer to his prey before quickly grabbing him while pulling up close to his face.

"I shall win! I won't allow you to eat me! I can't lose!" Cowardly Lion had cried out while this was to no avail as the giant creature used its strength to throw him into the air.

"Too bad! You shall be dead once you hit the ground!" The Giant Spider had cried out in joy while he stared at the sky, waiting for his prey to come back down.

Cowardly Lion was up in the air for a few seconds before descending back down with such speed as he knew had to come up with a plan.

"Think! Think! I need to find a way to behead him but how do I do that?!" Cowardly Lion had cried out as he suddenly heard a voice calling out to him which belonged to a woman.

"O, Lion! Brave at heart! Use the mighty sword of Oz! Use it and become the noble King of the Beasts!" The mysterious voice called out in a mighty tone of voice as the Lion could feel a sword appearing from his hand which surprised him greatly.

"W-Who are you?! Whatever you are, Thank you.." Lion had spoken back to the voice as he could not hear the voice anymore; however, the beast knew what he had to do as he felt himself getting closer to the giant creature as it laughed.

"A sword?! AS IF THAT'S GONNA DEFEAT ME!" The Giant Spider had roared in confidence as he opened his large mouth; however, Lion knew what he had to do as he used the sword of Oz to cut each of his arms with quick succession while the giant creature cried out in pain as he looked up to the Lion descending upon him, with eyes filled with courage as in that moment, The Cowardly Lion had became Lion, King of the Beasts as with one slice, Lion had successfully beheaded the Giant Spider.

"I-Impossible.." The Giant Spider uttered out as those were his final words as his head and body collapsed into the ground thus killing the giant spider for good.

"I did it! I've defeated the spider!" Lion had cried out in joy as finally made it back to the ground; however, the sword that he carried disappeared as well much to his confusion; however, he shrugged it off and made his way back to the others to report the news.

*Main Forest*

Lion had returned back to where his friends were at with a huge smile on his face.

"Did you defeat the beast?" Scarecrow had asked him as he was met with Lion nodding head with a smile as he, the others, and the animal of the forest erupted in cheers of praise as the animals had officially crowned Lion as their new king.

"Congratulations! You've defeated the beast! How did you do it if I may ask?" The Elephant had asked Lion in a joyful tone of voice as Lion began to speak.

"Well, a voice spoke to me and gave me a sword and that's how I was able to kill the beast; however, the sword had disappeared as well.." Lion had answered back as this left the Elephant and the others curious; however, that was the least of their concern as they had a new king.

"So, you're gonna be their new king, right? I've heard being king is a huge responsibility" Dorothy had asked Lion as the creature nodded his head in confirmation.

"Of course, I'm King of the Beasts; however, I must still travel with you and the others and once I'm done with that, I shall return back this forest" Lion had answered back as this made Dorothy and the others smile as for the rest of the night, Everyone had celebrated the Lion's victory over the Giant Spider as the night was filled with fun and fellowship.

*Day 39, Morning*

The next morning had arrived as Dorothy and the others were finally ready to depart from the forest as everyone was saying their final goodbyes.

"Take care everyone, I'm confident that Lion is gonna be a kind and just ruler to everyone in this forest, I just know it" Dorothy had spoken out with a smile while putting on the golden cap so she could summon the Winged Monkeys to take them out of the forest.

"Don't worry, I shall return once Dorothy returns home, I'll give everyone my word!" Lion had spoken out as this brought reassurance to his new subjects as the animals all gave him a smile.

"Of course, we'll wait patiently for your return, King Lion" The Tiger had spoken out with a smile on his face as he and Lion had shaken hands while Dorothy had seen this with a smile on her face as she began to recite the chant.

"Oh, Winged Monkeys! I summon you by thy name! Please come here, NOW!" Dorothy had cried out as the golden hat had illuminated for a few seconds before the Winged Monkeys had finally arrived at the location as the leader spoke.

"Alright, where do you guys want to go? We can take you guys anywhere if it's not outside of Oz but just know that you have one more chance to summon us, right?" The Winged Monkey leader had advised Dorothy as the young girl nodded her head in understandment.

"I understand and if possible, could you take us to Quadling Country? It would be a great help for us" Dorothy had asked the leader as he had thought of it for a moment before coming to a decision.

"Of course but Just to know, we can't take you to Glinda's castle since she has a special protection barrier that nobody can break, but we can take you far enough to where you guys are in front of the area, does that sound good?" The Winged Monkey leader had spoken to Dorothy as the young girl nodded her head in agreement.

"Sounds wonderful, We can use all the help we need so we don't mind those conditions" Dorothy had spoken back to the leader of the Winged Monkeys as she and her friends held on to the Winged Monkeys as they had finally risen up to the skies.

"Goodbye! I shall return, my loyal subjects!" Lion had spoken out while he saw the animals waving him goodbye as he and his friends had finally escaped the forest.

"Quadling Country, here we come!" Dorothy had cried out in joy as she knew in her heart that her journey was slowing coming to an end.