Simba, Nala and Haiba wandered around the cave, all of them shivering from how cold it was. "It's really cold," Nala muttered, hopping from left to right to try and conserve warmth. "I wouldn't mind trying out Haiba's 'big hug' idea right now."
"What does it matter if we're cold?" Simba snapped, ignoring how low the temperature was right now. "We need to figure out what those lionesses were up to." He rubbed his face, frowning. "I'm sorry."
"I want the other life," Haiba realised. "The one where we're happy and settled and everything is perfect."
"But it makes you wonder, doesn't it?" Nala cut in. "If that life is real, then why would we give up all of this? It may be dangerous, but it's just… fun. Why would we give it up, huh?"
"Because we're going to freeze to death?" Haiba suggested in a half-joke.
"Simba will fix it," Nala assured her. "He always fixes things. He's the master at this kind of thing." She looked up at the ceiling, shivering a little bit more. "Why is the King of Dreams doing this to you? Why us?"
"We're in trouble," said Simba, a concerned look on his face. "I knew we were right next to a river or something." He walked over to the wall, putting his paw against it. He frowned. "It's getting colder by the second." A sudden feeling of dread washed over him. "We're freezing. That's our danger for this world."
"Then this must be a dream," said Nala. "I mean, just because we're next to a river doesn't mean this cave is going to get colder. I'm right, aren't I?"
"Yeah, is that possible?" Haiba wondered.
"I can't know everything," Simba replied. "Why does everyone expect me to, always? It gets kinda annoying after a while."
He sat on the ground, suddenly feeling very helpless indeed.
"Okay, so this is something you haven't seen before," Haiba realised. "So does that mean this is the dream?"
"I don't know, but can you hear that?" Simba asked, listening to a quiet noise coming from above them.
The sound of rumbling could be heard from above. The sound of rocks rumbling. "Great, so now the cave's about to collapse!" Simba exclaimed. "We've probably got about fifteen minutes before we go splat! But that's not really a problem."
"Because you know how to get us out of this?" Haiba hoped, a little grin spreading across his face.
"No," was Simba's reply. "Because we'll freeze to death first," he told him, only managing to make the situation feel even more hopeless.
"Then what do we do?" Nala asked, staring at Simba with widened eyes. What was he going to do, just stand there and wait for the three of them to die? That wasn't the Simba she knew!
"Stay calm," Simba answered. "Don't get sucked in – like Haiba said – because this might be the danger we have to die in."
"Oh, this is so you," Haiba said, giving Simba a knowing stare.
Simba looked confused. "What?"
"It's getting colder, I've got fourteen minutes to live, and you're the only cub who can save us. I just wanted the nice, happy, simple life," Haiba said with a sigh. Somehow, he'd lost faith in Simba's heroic abilities.
The King of Dreams appeared behind Simba. "Oh, Simba," he remarked. "Dissent in the ranks."
He smiled, and began a little rhyme:
"There was a young cub from far away Who ended up throwing his life away He let down his friends and—"
He stopped when the birdsong was heard. "Oh, I'm all out of time," he said, sounding disappointed. He looked at the three cubs. "Don't spend too long in the other world, otherwise you might catch your death in here."
"This is the real one," Haiba stated, nodding. The three of them were back at the Pride Lands, adults once more. "I just feel it." He looked at Simba. "Don't you feel it?"
Nala sighed, looking completely lost. "I feel it both places," she replied, realising that she was most likely never going to figure this out.
"I feel it here," Haiba insisted. "It's just so… tranquil and relaxed. Nothing bad could ever happen here."
"But…" Nala looked left and right. "It's not exactly me, though, is it? Would I really be happy settling down in a kingdom where everything's totally perfect?" She looked down at the ground, and her eyes widened. "Simba, why are there piles of dust on the ground? And where have those lionesses gone?"
Simba rushed down the hill, and ran across the field, arriving in the middle. Around him were three piles of dust. "I think they're animals." He then frowned. "Or at least, what's left of them."
Nala gasped, horrified. "Oh, my gosh…"
"What happened to them?" Haiba asked, staring down at the piles of dust. If they were supposed to be the remains of animals, then it seemed that they had been completely disintegrated.
Simba narrowed his eyes, looking towards the edge of the field. "I think they did," he said, pointing at the four lionesses standing there.
"But they're just any old lionesses," Nala said, following Simba's gaze.
"No – they're creepy lionesses," Simba corrected her. "There's a big difference between a lioness who is creepy and a lioness who isn't creepy."
Simba was about to head towards them when the King of Dreams appeared in front of him. "Hello, peasants," he greeted them. "What's this, attack of the lionesses? Oh, that's ridiculous. This has got to be the dream, hasn't it? What do you think, Nala? Let's all jump off a cliff and wake up safe and sound! Who's first?"
"Leave her alone!" said Simba threateningly.
The King of Dreams smiled. "Oh, do that again. I love it when he does that. The tall dark, hero. 'Leave her alone.'"
"Just leave her!" Haiba cried.
"Not quite so impressive," remarked the King of Dreams. "But I know where your heart lies, don't I, Nala?"
"Shut up!" Nala snapped angrily. "Just shut up and leave me alone!"
"Stop it," Simba said to the King of Dreams. "Come on. Drop the act. I know who you are."
The King of Dreams didn't look very convinced. "No, you don't," he retorted.
"Of course I do," Simba told him, staring into the King of Dreams' eyes. "I don't have any idea how you can be here, but there's only one person in the world who hates me as much as you do."
"Never mind me!" the King of Dreams exclaimed. He pointed towards the edge of the field. "It's them you should be worrying about!"
The King of Dreams vanished as one of the lionesses stepped towards them. Haiba smiled at the sight of her. "Hey, I know you!" he said.
"Haiba…" Simba began in a warning tone.
"Oh, that's just Pumzi," said Haiba. "She used to sneak me the extra bit of food every time we had dinner."
Suddenly, the lioness grabbed Haiba by the neck, lifting him up. "Did I forget to say thank you?" Haiba asked her, before he was thrown violently to the ground. "How did she do that?" he asked, astonished. He quickly got to his paws, backing away.
"I suspect she's not herself," replied Simba, staring at the lioness. "You might want to get ready to run. Fast."
"Can't we just talk to them?" Nala asked.
The lioness opened her mouth to reveal an eye. It was green and dripping with some kind of slime.
Nala's eyes widened. "There is an eye in her mouth!"
Haiba was the first to realise what was going on. "There's a whole creature inside of her. Probably inside all of them. I bet they've been living here for years, waiting to feast on our guts!"
"That is disgusting," said Simba, horrified. "Those eyes aren't going to be coming out of anywhere else, are they?"