Simba, Nala and Haiba woke up by the water hole, back to being adults. "How did we get here?" Simba asked, looking around. "But we didn't… We didn't walk here. How come all of a sudden we've suddenly ended up here?"

"I guess in the dream world you can do anything," Haiba replied. "Especially if you're the King of Dreams – unless of course, this is the real world, and the cave is the dream."

"Oh, dear, oh, dear, oh, dear," said the King of Dreams from behind the three, shaking his head. "You don't understand, do you? Simba, your brain is completely see-through." He then smiled. "But I've always been able to see through you."

Nala viewed this strange lion with odd confusion. She just couldn't work him out. "Always?" she said, narrowing her eyes. "What do you mean by 'always?'" she asked, hoping for some kind of logical answer.

But somehow, she doubted she would get one.

"Now then, the answer is this," said the King of Dreams. "If you die in the dream, you wake up in reality. Healthy recovery in next to no time. Ask me what happens if you die in reality."

"What happens if you die in reality?" Haiba asked him.

The King of Dreams rolled his eyes. "You die, stupid. That's why it's called reality," he replied, staring at Haiba as if he were some kind of idiot.

"Have you met Simba before?" Nala cut in quickly, a curious expression on her face. She turned to Simba. "Do you know him? Simba, do you?"

"Now don't get jealous," said the King of Dreams. "He's been around, our Simba. Never mind that. You've got a world to choose. One reality was always too much for you, Simba. Take two and call me in the morning."

He grinned and chuckled evilly, before vanishing, as if he were never even there. "Oh, I don't like him," Haiba mumbled, looking down at the ground. The way he spoke, the things he said… It was just so confusing! Couldn't the King of Dreams give them a straight answer for once?

Unfortunately, it didn't seem like it.

"Who is he?" Nala wondered, staring at Simba. Somehow, for a very weird reason, she suspected that her mate held the answer to that. Maybe there were secrets – deep, dark secrets – that Simba was keeping from her.

Simba shrugged. "I don't know," he replied, sounding honest. "It's a big world. He could be anyone. I've never met him before." He stared at Nala, who had an unconvinced expression on her face. "Honestly."

"All right, then why is he doing this?" Nala asked. The King of Dreams hadn't exactly given them a purpose for his actions yet. Right now, it seemed like some kind of game he was playing. As if it was all just fun for him.

"Maybe because he's not entirely real," Simba mused, a thoughtful look on his face. "He doesn't have a true form. Maybe that upsets you after a while. So maybe now he's taking it out on people like us who can touch and eat and feel."

"What did he mean by 'deadly danger'?" Haiba wondered, looking around the water hole. Nothing seemed to be happening. Nothing dangerous, anyway. "So far, nothing's happened. It's just… a bit boring, really."

"Except for one little thing you're really missing…" Simba said, his eyes narrowed as he slowly turned around. "Where is everyone?"

"Good question," said Nala, realising that there wasn't a sound to be heard anywhere in the Pride Lands. It seemed like it was just the three of them. "It looks like… everyone's gone."

"Kufa inawadia…"

Simba whipped round. "Did you say something, Haiba?" he asked upon hearing that voice.

"What?" Haiba looked confused, before pointing to himself. "Me?" He shook his head. "No. I didn't say anything."

"Then what was that voice?" Simba asked, looking around. But no one was there. Not a soul in sight. "Didn't you hear it?"

"Simba…" She narrowed her eyes at him. "There wasn't any voice. I didn't hear anything. Just what are you talking about?"

Simba looked upwards. "I thought I…" He shook his head frantically. "Oh, never mind. I must be going crazy. Blame that stupid King of Dreams for messing with my head. As if it hasn't been messed around with enough already…"

"So they've gone," Haiba concluded, his eyes darting left and right. "Everyone in the kingdom has gone."

"Not exactly," Simba replied, before spotting a hill in the distance. "Come on," he called to the two, running in the direction of the hill. "To that hill!"

"What for?" Nala asked, following him.

"To get a good look at things," was his reply, as he started to clamber up the hill. When he got to the top, a smile appeared on his face. "I knew it."

Nala and Haiba got to the top, standing on either side of Simba. "Oh…" said Haiba, looking a little surprised. "I didn't expect that."

Four lionesses were stood at the bottom of the hill, motionless expressions on their faces. They looked as if they were in some kind of hypnotic trance. Either that or they were thinking really, really hard.

"I'm good at sniffing out things that aren't what they seem," Simba replied, sounding impressed with himself. "So come on. Let's think. The way this world works… Time asleep matches time in our dream world. So it's not like normal dreams."

"And we're dreaming the same dream at the same time," said Nala, adding to the information.

"Probably some kind of communal trance thing," Haiba concluded. "Very rare. And very complicated, too."

"I'm sure there's gotta be some kind of giveaway," Simba said, scratching his head. "But my mind isn't working because this kingdom is so dull! I'm slowing down, like you two have." He looked down at the bottom of the hill, where the lionesses were. "I wouldn't trust them to babysit, if I were you," he said to Nala. "What are they doing down there? What do they want?"

The birdsong started up again.

Nala sighed. "Oh, here we go again."