Simba, Nala and Zazu stared at the creature – who had identified himself as Death – with utter confusion and fear. They didn't know where he had come from, nor what he wanted. Only one thing was certain.
Whatever it was, it wasn't good.
"Ah, it's so good to be back in the land of the living," Death said, walking past Haiba's unconscious body and towards the three cubs. He chuckled. "Even though I'm not technically alive, but you get the idea."
Simba and Nala noticed something truly horrifying. As Death walked, with each step he took, he killed all that was beneath him. The grass started to wilt, becoming grey, dull and lifeless. Soon enough, there was a whole trail of grey, dead grass behind this horrifying entity.
"What… what are you?" Simba was speechless. He felt totally transfixed to the spot. As if he couldn't move. This… thing had injected him with pure fear. He'd never seen something so terrifying before.
"What am I?" Death pointed to himself with a scraggly claw. "Well, I can be a lot of things. Depends on your perception.
Some consider me a god, others consider me a merchant of death. Well, you would, what with the name and all. But generally I'm considered the bringer of ultimate destruction and doom – unless you're some jumped-up psycho who thinks I'm the next best thing to sliced bread. But being a lion cub, you don't even know what bread is. That's the problem with travelling all over the world. You don't know what references to make. Anyway, hi, I'm Death, how ya doing?"
Death stuck out a paw, his claws unsheathed, ready for Simba to shake it.
But he just stared at it, not moving a bit. He'd seen what Death did by touching anything living. It was murdered instantly.
So the most stupid thing he could do would be to shake him by the paw.
Death could see that Simba wasn't going to make a move. "You gonna leave me hanging?" He smiled, returning his paw to the ground. "Smart move. One touch and you're dead. Cool, isn't it? It's a shame I forgot to mention that to Belle when I met her once in the marketplace. Needless to say, her happy future with the Beast was instantly erased."
"What are you talking about?" Simba asked, staring at Death with wide eyes. "And what do you want from us?"
Death laughed, shaking his head. "It's not a matter of what I want, Simba, you tiny little furball. It's what I need. What I crave. Sure, even if I didn't need it, I'd probably still do it, but it's in my nature."
Nala stood behind Simba, the mere sight of Death causing her blood to run cold. It was like having all of the nightmares she'd ever experienced combined into one. She wanted to close her eyes. Wanted to block out the horrible sight. But she couldn't. She just couldn't take her eyes off Death.
"You see, certain terms and conditions apply to my further existence," Death began to explain. "As told by You-Know-Who up in the clouds." He pointed to the sky. "You see, I need souls. Souls of good, honest, decent people. Grass just isn't going to cut it. And, to be specific, I need thirteen souls – from this exact area. If I get those thirteen souls, then I'm free. Free as a bird. A dead bird, but a bird nonetheless. Remind you of something, Zazu?" he said, shooting a sly look at the terrified hornbill on the ground.
"Then your count is up to two already," Simba realised. "You killed Ahadi, and you killed Zazu's father."
"Not quite, junior," replied Death, taking another step forward, killing a few more blades of grass on the ground in the process. "It needs to be at this exact time. My old nemesis – again, You-Know-Who up in the clouds – was very specific. How I hate him so much. I need thirteen souls, otherwise it's back to the same old routine of keeping the dead in check."
He smiled. "Luckily for me, I happen to be an individual of extreme power. I kind of… stand out – which reminds me of a catchy little pop song I heard once. But it means that I can bend the rules. I've been spreading death and destruction throughout the world a hundred times over. And You-Know-Who hasn't been very efficient in stopping me. It's a battle that, one day, he will lose."
"Okay, I'm officially freaked out now," Simba said, taking a few steps backwards. He just wanted to get away from Death right now. Warn everyone. Warn them that they were all about to be murdered by the biggest evil the world had ever seen.
"Everyone is freaked out by me, Simba," Death told him. "Aladdin was freaked out, Ariel was freaked out, and so was Mulan. They all are. Unless, of course, you happen to be evil. That's why old Aha thought of me as a friend. But I soon got rid of him – as I'm sure you've seen."
Simba was surprised. "How did you know that?" he exclaimed.
"Because I'm the one that caused it," was Death's response. "I wanted to give you a little taste of the evil that I've caused at your home – before you were even born. Not that I haven't given you a taste of my evil already, that is."
Simba became confused. "What is that supposed to mean?" he asked. "I've never seen you before in my life."
"Fair point," Death agreed. "But who do you think made you grow up so fast? Who do you think made the cave collapse on poor, old Frank? Who brought Hago back from the dead? Who stuck the wild Mambo beasts in that cave? Who stuck you in an alternate universe for a day? Who deliberately placed the psychic pollen by the water hole so you would inhale it? Who created the fancy forest place with the psychopathic frog? Who made sure that bolt of lightning struck Duni right on the head and turned him into Shocker? Who? Who? Who?"
Simba's eyes were wide with horror. All these recent problems… They had all been caused by Death! He'd been the root of all of this!
"It was all me, Simba!" Death declared. "I've been laying traps for you all along – ready to bring you to this exact moment! It's brilliant! It's ingenious! Better than when I burned down FernGully! Better than when I crushed the Powerpuff Girls! Better than ripping the heads off of all those annoying, colourful ponies who don't ever shut the hell up!"
"So basically you just kill anyone you want," Simba concluded. "Doesn't matter who, or when. You just do it."
"Got it in one, baby!" he exclaimed, pointing to Simba with a claw. "You're the first one to have actual significance. You're something special, Simba. I'd call you a genius if I wasn't standing right here in front of you."
"So what happens if you're free?" Simba dared to ask.
"If I'm free, then all of existence will be thrown entirely out of balance. You-Know-Who up in the clouds will be defeated, and I will rule on high, spreading death and destruction on a diabolical magnitude that hasn't ever been heard of before,"
Death said, smiling at Simba. "Doesn't that sound like fun? It'll be more exciting than that time where I made Dexter's lab explode. But still, down to business. Any more questions before I tear this whole kingdom apart?"
There was a moment of silence.
Simba was staring into Death's crimson eyes. "How do I stop you?" he finally asked, breaking the eerie silence.
Death simply laughed. "You can't," he replied. "I'm an all-powerful, immortal being, you foolish, tiny thing. Not even Tarzan asked me such a stupid question before I let that leopardess eat him. It's impossible to kill me – I'm already dead."
That was when Simba said one of the bravest things in his life.
"That's not going to stop me from trying."
With that, he walked away, motioning for Nala and Zazu to follow him. They willingly complied.
"You can't prevent this!" Death called after them as they disappeared into the distance. "Your deaths are all inevitable!"
Once they were out of sight, Death frowned. "It was easier to shoot Bambi's mom." He sighed, and then looked up at the afternoon sky. "That's it. I've had enough of this happy, colourful brightness. It's like living with Snow White. Which reminds me, that damn Queen never thanked me for the poisonous apple recipe. I must destroy her later…"
Death smiled, and then pointed to the sky with a long claw. "Time to dim the lights!" he exclaimed.
A thick, black mist began to emit from his claw, shooting straight up into the sky. Death chuckled, as his evil powers began to do their work.
The mist spread across the clear blue sky, removing all of its brightness and colour. In just a matter of seconds, the afternoon had deteriorated into night. The sun had been replaced by the full moon.
Death laughed evilly at the top of his voice. "I can see why villains do this laughing thing. I like it, it's… it's cleansing."
"Oh… my head feels like the heaviest stone ever…" said a voice from beside Death.
Death turned his head to the side, and saw Haiba slowly standing up. "Hmm." Death frowned. "I should have anticipated that you wouldn't stay down for ever. Not that it matters, of course."
"Huh?" Haiba stared at Death, confused. "Oh, hey. You're the guy that's been messing with my head. You look kind of dead. And your eyes are red. Wow. I just rhymed without even knowing it."
"Time to die!" Death said, before going to poke Haiba with his claws. One touch. That's all it took.
Haiba dodged out of the way. "Yikes!" he cried. "Hey, there's only two people allowed to poke me around here – and they aren't you!"
"Come here, you fool!" Death lunged at Haiba, but he jumped to the side, before running away as fast as he could. "Hey! Get back here! It's only the worst pain ever! Just deal with it!"
Death watched as Haiba escaped. A thoughtful look crossed his face, and he put a paw to his chin. "Hmm…" he said, as a plan formed in his head. "I think I know how to deal with this troublesome pride."
Death took a deep breath, held a paw up to his face, and then exhaled, breathing out a small amount of black mist. He caught the mist with his paw, and formed it into a ball. "Try this one on for size," Death said, before throwing the ball of black mist at the ground.
In a black, smoky explosion, a lion holding a long, golden staff appeared.
"Hago!" Death exclaimed, a grin forming on his face. "I've got another job for you – and try not to mess it up this time."