Simba quickly jabbed Shocker in the stomach with his claws, causing him to growl in pain. Simba was released from the villainous cub's grasp, allowing him to drop the safety of the ground, relieved.

Quickly, Simba got to his paws, turning around to face Shocker, who was glaring at him furiously. "Somehow I don't think you're gonna be very pleased," he said, backing away from Shocker. "But would it help if I said I was sorry for that?" He got no reply. "No? Okay."

Shocker let out a cry of anger, outstretching his forepaws and sending two bolts of electricity right at Simba.

His eyes widening in surprise, Simba rolled to the side, grunting as the wet ground connected with the scrape on his side. He looked down, and saw that it was bleeding. It was stinging, too. Of all the days to get dirty… he thought, before looking around to see where Shocker was.

But he was nowhere to be seen. "What?" Confused, Simba scanned the area around the water hole, but couldn't spot Shocker anywhere at all. He frowned. "But… but where is—"

Shocker landed right on top of Simba, causing him to cry out in surprise. "You should have looked up," Shocker told him, before grabbing him roughly by the shoulders.

Electricity coursed through Simba's veins. His whole body felt like it was on fire again. Like it was burning up from the inside. A few more seconds and he feared that he might disintegrate into a pile of ash.

Shocker suddenly let go of Simba, getting off of his body. He grabbed Simba by the neck, staring into his auburn eyes.

"You're just lucky that I need you alive," he said. "Otherwise this wouldn't be a very interesting day."

He pushed his paw into Simba's face—

Zap!

—And everything went black.

"Hey!"

Simba's eyes flickered open, and he found Haiba staring down at him. "Hey!" Haiba was trying to wake him up. "Are you okay, Simba?"

Simba groaned in pain. His whole head was throbbing. He hadn't felt such a headache since the time when he had been infected with the Kulaani illness. Slowly, he sat up, looking around confusedly. "Where's Nala?" he asked, noticing her absence.

Haiba sighed regretfully. "He's taken her," he replied. "Shocker's taken Nala. I saw him dragging her away just as I was waking up."

"Did he say anything?" Simba asked, rushing to his paws. "Do you know where he's taking her?"

Haiba shook his head. "He didn't say anything, Simba. He just dragged her away while she was screaming."

He hit the ground angrily in frustration. "No!" he yelled, breathing heavily. "Why did this have to happen?"

"Simba, what are you talking about?" Haiba didn't understand.

"She's hurt," Simba replied. "And I got her into this. If I hadn't let Shocker grab me, then she wouldn't have gotten knocked out." He looked down at the ground in despair, sighing. "It's all my fault."

"Simba…" Haiba began, putting a paw on his shoulder. "We can get her back. We just have to find out where Shocker's taken her."

"And how are we supposed to figure that out?" Simba asked. "Look around. Do you see anyone? No. It's raining. No one would have seen anything. Shocker and Nala could be miles away for all we know!"

"I don't think so," said Haiba. "He wouldn't just take Nala for the sake of it. He said he wanted to kill us all – remember?"

A few seconds passed before Simba nodded slightly. "Yeah," he agreed. "Yeah, he did. He said he was going to kill us. Not her – us."

"So I think he wants us to find him," Haiba continued. "I think that… he wants some kind of showdown with us."

"He could have killed us earlier," Simba pointed out. "'This wouldn't be a very interesting day'…"

"What?"

"It's what Shocker said to me – before he knocked me out," Simba explained. "He said that he would have killed me – but he didn't because it 'wouldn't be a very interesting day'."

"So he wants to make this last as long as possible," Haiba concluded. "He wants a bit of a fight. A challenge to test his new powers on."

Simba nodded. "I think so." He looked down at the ground, and smiled. "And I think I also know where to find him."

He pointed at the wet ground. Shocker's paw prints were embedded in it, creating a trail which led away from the water hole.

Haiba smiled. "Then we'd better get to work."

"You're a creep!" Nala yelled, as Shocker shoved her into the dark cave. "I can't wait until Simba gets here – because he's gonna—"

"Neither can I," Shocker interrupted. "I want to prolong this, Nala. I'm not just going to let my powers all go to waste. I want a challenge. Something to cut my teeth on."

"Then you're gonna get it," Nala informed him. "You've never met Simba before. He's going to tear you apart to get to me."

"I can't wait," Shocker replied. "I want a good fight. It'll give me such a rush – especially with these powers."

"Just who the heck are you?" Nala demanded. "And why are you so interested in killing us all?"

"You have no significance," Shocker said. "And the mystery surrounding who I am is not of your concern."

"Then I'm out of here," Nala declared, getting to her paws and trying to leave the cave.

With an angry growl, Shocker grabbed her, shoving her hard against the rock wall. "You're not going anywhere!" he shouted. "If you even try to escape, then I will fry your brain so fast that you won't even know it!"

"So kill me," Nala spat, not phased by him.

Shocker stared into her eyes, before turning away from Nala, letting go of her. He snarled, not looking happy at all. "Why do you even want to know?"

"Because I like to know who I'm dealing with," was Nala's response. "You said your name was Duni, didn't you?"

There was a moment of silence. Shocker had his back to her. "Yes," he finally answered. "That is – was – my name."

"Why'd you change it?" Nala asked, curious. This cub was hiding something. She knew it. Something had obviously happened to make him like this."

"Because it disgusts me!" he snapped, turning around to face Nala. "Every moment of every day with that name gave me nothing but suffering! No one loved me, no one even liked me! They were all so horrible!" His expression softened, as he turned his head slightly away from Nala. "Not until…" He trailed off.

"Until what?" said Nala, shifting slightly closer to Shocker.

"Until I met the cub who I fell in love with," Shocker replied. "I won't tell you her name. Turns out she felt the same way as I did. We had so much in common." He winced, as if the memories were hurting him on the inside. On a very personal level, they did.

"What… what happened?" Nala dared to ask.

Shocker was trying very hard not to show that he wanted to cry. "She… died," he said. "Illness took her in the end. She

never even got the chance to say that she loved me before she died. After that, I just couldn't take it anymore. So I left my old pride, in search of somewhere greater."

"And then you got the powers," Nala concluded.

"And then I decided to make my life better with them," Shocker finished. "It's not that I want this. I deserve this. Especially after all the misery I've been put through. It's about time that I had that one shining moment of glory."

"Not until Simba stops you," Nala mumbled.

Shocker slowly approached Nala, and stroked her cheek. "What a pretty face," he said. "It would be a shame to ruin it."