Simba, Nala and Haiba woke up in the cave – cubs again. They all stood up, leaning against each other. "Oh, I don't like this," Nala said, a worried look on her face. "I don't like this at all. I hate this. This is definitely real, it's definitely this one."
She narrowed her eyes in realisation. "I keep saying that, don't I?"
Simba got to his paws, wandering over to the side of the cave. He shivered a little. "It's really cold," he said, putting his fore paws across his chest to try and keep warm. It was like the temperature was getting colder… Colder and colder… "I mean, like, 'shiver and shake' cold. I think if I try to move my tuft around then it'll break off."
"It's not very warm underneath the ground," Haiba informed him, also feeling the chill inside the cave. "Not a lot of people know that, actually." He listened to the sound of dripping water. He couldn't hear where the sound was coming from, though. "Sounds like we're quite closer to a river – or something similar."
"We could always hug each other," Haiba suggested. "That's what conserves warmth. A nice, big hug. It doesn't really matter – that's what you and Nala were doing in the jungle, anyway."
"Hey!" Simba exclaimed, shooting a disapproving glare at Haiba. "I know you're into that stuff, Haiba, but that doesn't mean I am! I've got standards! A reputation! I'm not ready for… those kind of things yet. Can we just forget about it?"
"Considering the situation, no," Haiba answered. "Someone's got to be behind this. Switching between two different locations isn't something that happens every day. This is probably the work of some evil mastermind, hell-bent on destroying us all!"
Right on cue, a lion suddenly appeared in the centre of the cave. He looked a little bit like Simba when he was an adult – although his fur was a slightly darker shade, and his eyes were cold and brown. The mane also looked a little like the colour of blood… but the three cubs might have just been imagining that.
The lion looked up at the ceiling. "Well, that took a while," he said, as if he'd appeared in the cave on his own accord. He then shot a look at Simba. "Honestly, I'd heard such good things about you, Simba. You're supposed to be a great and mighty young hero – or a very adult hero, depending on how you look at it."
"Wait a sec, how did you get in here?" Simba asked, feeling even more confused now. It was bad enough switching between the cave and the jungle, but now there was a fully grown lion in the middle of the cave? Simba felt like his brain was going to melt any second now… "Who are you?"
The lion narrowed his eyes – like there wasn't an answer to be had. "What shall we call me?" he wondered. Suddenly, a thought occurred to him. "Well, if you're the King of the Pride Lands," he said, pointing to Simba, "then let's call me the King of Dreams."
Simba eyed the 'King of Dreams' up and down. "Nice look," he commented.
The King of Dreams pointed to himself. "This?" he said, his eyes widening. "Oh, I don't know, I'm not convinced. I mean, a red mane? That's just so… outstanding. I prefer to stick to the shadows, if I'm honest."
He would have got on well with Uncle Scar, Simba thought to himself. He glanced down at the ground and picked up a little stone, before throwing it at the King of Dreams.
The stone went right through him, bouncing across the ground, where it came to a halt at the cave wall. "Interesting…" said Simba, his eyes narrowed. What is this guy, a ghost from the past or something?
"I'd love to be impressed, but King of Dreams – it's in the name, isn't it?" said the King of Dreams, smiling at Simba.
"Spooky… not quite there…" He vanished, and reappeared behind Simba, surprising him. "And yet, very much here."
Simba jumped back a bit, staring at the King of Dreams. "I'll do the talking, if you don't mind," he told the mysterious lion.
"Nala, do you want to take a guess at who this is?"
"Um… King of Dreams." Nala thought for a second. "He creates… Well, he creates dreams, obviously."
"Dreams, nightmares, cheap tricks," Simba replied, thinking he'd figured this lion out.
"And what about the cutie here?" The King of Dreams asked, pointing at Haiba. "Doesn't he get a guess?"
"Hey, listen, if anybody's the cutie here, then it's Simba," Haiba told him.
The King of Dreams chuckled in response. "That's a delusion I'm not responsible for," he replied. The three cubs couldn't tell if he was joking or not…
"No, but he is," Haiba insisted, before looking at Nala. "Isn't he, Nala?" he asked, expecting her to reply, "Yes, Haiba, he is."
"Oh, Nala, you have to sort your friends out," the King of Dreams cut in quickly, approaching Nala. "Choose, even."
"I have chosen," Nala informed him. "Of course I've chosen." She pulled Simba to her side. "It's you, Simba."
"Oh, good." Simba chuckled nervously. "Thanks."
"You can't fool me," said the King of Dreams. "I've seen your dreams," he told Nala, sending a chill up her spine. "Some of them twice. I'd blush if I had a blood supply… or a real face, for that matter."
"Okay, mister, where did you pick up this 'creepy' act?" Simba demanded, staring at the King of Dreams.
The odd lion looked offended by that. "Me? You're on very thin ice, Simba," he warned the Prince of the Pride Lands.
Simba raised an eyebrow. "Am I?"
The King of Dreams narrowed his eyes. "Now where was I…?"
Haiba blinked a couple of times. "Um, you were…"
The King of Dreams vanished, before reappearing beside Haiba. "I know where I was," he told the surprised cub. "So, here's your challenge: two worlds. One's in the cave, and the other is in the kingdom. One is real, the other's fake. And just to make it more interesting, you're going to face a deadly danger in both worlds. But only one of the dangers is real."
The sound of birdsong rung through the cave. "Tweet, tweet, time to sleep," said the King of Dreams.
Simba, Nala and Haiba's eyes all started to flicker, the three of them suddenly feeling very sleepy… Very, very sleepy…
The three cubs collapsed to the ground, their eyes closed, asleep once more.
The King of Dreams chuckled. "Or are you waking up?"