Nala was dying.

She couldn't exactly say it was the first time this had happened. In fact, she'd been in so many deadly situations that it made her head spin just to think about it. After being attacked, stomped on, brainwashed and tortured, she kind of… settled in.

Or at least, she thought so. Surely after being subjected to such a high level of danger so many times, it became second nature, right? Apparently not. Because when you're dying—when you really know you're dying—all the other lifethreatening things just seem pale in comparison.

"Agh!"

Nala couldn't stop screaming. It hurt too much not to. That was one of her worst fears: being in so much pain, but to a degree that it just persisted for what seemed like ages. It never ended. The type of pain that just made you pine for death because it would be a blessed release. It was that bad. "Agh!"

She just couldn't comprehend how things had managed to get so bad. It seemed like any other ordinary adventure that she embarked on with Simba and Haiba. The classic 'having fun while almost getting yourself killed' kind of thing that they did on a regular basis. After a previous encounter with their archenemy Hago, this actually seemed like something of a break.

But it had proved to be one of their greatest challenges ever. And one of the most fatal.

Shaking and trembling, unable to take in the pain, Nala craned her neck around to get a look at her killer. It was so surprising—so confusing—that she could scarcely believe it.

A boulder. Crushing half of her body while she was stuck halfway up what looked like the tallest cliff in the world. All the things she'd seen—evil magicians, psychotic cubs, Death—and a damn boulder was going to be the death of her. What a joke!

"Agh!"

But it didn't seem so funny. In fact, it was quite the opposite. Laughing was the last thing Nala had on her mind right now.

All she could think about was the pain. The neverending, agonising pain. She just wanted to die. Couldn't life just leave her alone? Had she not suffered enough? When was it going to end?

"Nala…"

Simba's voice rang in her head. She knew it was just her imagining things, but all the same, it was a relief to hear. That one little cub who could inject some scant joy into what remained of her life.

"Nala… Nala…"

She glanced at the small pool of blood seeping out from underneath her. The boulder bore into her skin, crushing her even more. She couldn't move. She was paralysed. She barely even had the strength to keep her eyes open.

"Nala… Nala… Nala…"

His voice sounded so faint. It was as if Simba was trying to get some kind of message out to her. Some sort of… mystical summons that she just couldn't ignore. She had no choice but to listen to him.

And then she saw it.

Maybe… maybe he was calling her to that… bright golden light that had suddenly appeared before her eyes? After all, it was so pretty… so enticing… so hypnotic… It certainly looked like a better option than the endless pain. Why not go into the light? It was too good to pass up…

Reaching out with a paw, Nala struggled to inch herself towards the beautiful, glorious light. She had to get to it. It was the ultimate end to her suffering. She just had to get there… Had to… Had to…

"Nala!"

And there was Simba's voice again. Only, this time, she didn't want to hear it. This time, it sounded different. This time, it sounded like an obstruction. It was blocking her from the potential pleasure of the light, rather than giving it to her. He was trying to stop her… He didn't want her to enjoy herself… He just wanted her to suffer and die…

Her body flared up with anger. What was the point in prolonging her life any longer? She was only a cub—just starting out on life. Instead of living a pleasant, long existence—like she should—it was about to be cut short. Oh, but no, that wasn't enough. The actual death was going to be padded out like the chapter of a story that should have ended hundreds of words ago.

"Nala! Wake up! Can you hear me?"

Nala snapped her eyes open—not even realising they had been closed—and noticed that the beautiful light had flicked off in an instant. "Huh?"

Then the pain came rushing back to her, and she screamed again. "Agh!"

What had she been seeing? That light… It was so mysterious. What did it mean?

But Nala had little time to dwell on such matters. They seemed trivial when compared with the suffering she was enduring—or at least, trying to endure. She didn't know how much longer she could hold out…

Blinking, with tears forming in her eyes, she just about managed to life her head up. She could see the top of the cliff that loomed over her like a sinister shadow. She could see a hazy, darkened figure at the top.

"S-Simba…?" she croaked, unable to determine whether it was him or not. That part where he had been shouting her name—the last time, anyway—just had to be real. He was trying to find her. Help. And—that is, if he could—fix things.

"Nala! Where are you?"

His voice sounded clearer this time. Those previous occurrences had to be hallucinations of some kind. In the pain, she had conjured up her own mental versions of Simba—and eternal, glorious light—in order to alleviate some of the agony.

Her mind worked in mysterious ways sometimes… Especially when she was mere moments away from death.

"Nala! Say something!"

Oh, how she wished she could. But it wasn't that simple. Just saying his name made it hard for her. The boulder weighing down upon her was simply far too liberating for her to form words. The pain… It hurt so much… And it was getting worse with each passing moment.

"S-Sim… ba…" she rasped, but it just wasn't good enough. He wouldn't hear her. Not in a million years. She was doomed. Utterly doomed. She was going to die right there, lonely and without hope. No hope at all.

Her head was swimming, vision blurred with bemusement. She couldn't even tell what was up or what was down anymore, let alone speak. Her senses were slowly being drained away, like a wet rag being wrung out. Her eyes flickered; it felt like she was about to succumb to an eternal sleep, never to wake up ever again.

So this was what dying felt like. No bright light. No salvation. No indication of something better. Just… being sucked away from everything. She wasn't leaving life. It was leaving her.

Nala did not believe the old notion that, when someone is about to die, their life flashes before their eyes. After all, she had faced death so many times, and not experienced such a thing once. Not when Hago had tortured her for months, nor when on the receiving end of Shocker's evil powers. Not once, during the horrible encounters with villains, monsters and vampires.

Never. Not even close to it.

This time, however, it was different. As Nala knew—knew without a doub t—that she was near death, the recent events of her life tore through her skull like the most sudden bolt from the blue that one can experience. Everything flashed before her eyes.

And it made her want to scream.