Staring at the seemingly impossible gap before them, the cubs all glanced at each other unsurely.

"Could we be in any more danger?" Nala asked. "A bridge would have been nice."

"It's the path of death, you dumbo," Binamu retorted. "They're not exactly going to give us a free ride, are they?"

"Okay!" Nala said, just about exhausted from Binamu's constant moaning all of the time. Couldn't the girl just lighten up for a few moments? At least? "So do you have any bright ideas that'll help us get over this thing?"

"No," she said simply. It was all Nala could do not to pummel her right in the face. Not only was she annoying—she was stupid. At least Wafu and Aibu were helpful! What was even the point of trying to save an ungrateful little brat like—?

Be nice, Nala, she reminded herself. You don't want to go all 'red eyes' on everyone again. Be. Nice.

The thought still nagged. Binamu didn't deserve to live. What benefit would she be when she grew up? Just someone who moped around the place all the time? What was even the point in trying to save her? It wasn't like it would mean anything—she still wouldn't change her feelings about Haiba. She'd just stay the same.

"I've got an idea," Haiba said, causing Binamu to roll her eyes.

"Oh, now what?" she asked, thinking that his idea was sure to result in all of their untimely deaths.

"We should jump down the pit," he told them.

"Jump down the pit?" Simba exclaimed. "Haiba, I don't know what you're thinking, but—"

"Oh, think about it," he interrupted. "The Pit of Despair? It's cubs' stuff. A scary story, that's all."

"But we are cubs," Aibu was quick to quietly point out. "And besides, just look at that pit. Who knows what horrors could be lurking below…?"

"There aren't any horrors," Haiba assured them. "The real despair would be to sit here and rot away for the rest of our lives. It's a trick. I'd bet that the pit leads to the safest place in this whole jungle."

"How can you even be sure of that?" Binamu asked. "You've never been sure of anything in your life—as I've seen!"

"Shut it," Haiba snapped, before continuing with his outlandish theory. "Look, there's no way across this pit—right?"

The other cubs glanced at each other. "Yes," they agreed.

"Unless," Haiba said, sticking a claw in the air, "you count the pit itself as a way across. Think about it."

"But… I…" Binamu sighed. "It just won't work. And it's not like I'm ever going to trust you."

"Fine," said Haiba. "Then you can stay here and starve. As for me—I'm getting out of here."

With that, Haiba leapt into the pit, before any of the others could protest.

Simba and Nala gaped at each other, mouths open wide. They couldn't believe he'd just done that.

They counted the seconds. Nothing. Not a sound or sight of Haiba from anywhere. He had to have perished in the pit… … or ended up somewhere else.

"We've gotta go down after him," Simba said, standing at the edge of the pit.

"What? Are you crazy?" Binamu asked. "It's obvious! The idiot went and killed himself!"

"Maybe he did," Simba said. "Maybe he didn't. You coming, Nala?"

Nala shrugged. It wasn't like she couldn't do anything else. "Yeah," she said. "Maybe he ended up in some other part of the jungle—like he thought."

Binamu watched to her amazement as Aibu joined them. "Aibu, what do you think you're doing? You don't listen to them! You listen to me!"

He merely gave her an apologetic glance, before standing beside Simba and Nala. If he stuck with Binamu, then they would starve to death, just like Haiba had said. Logically, this really was their only option.

"You ready?" Simba asked. Nala and Aibu nodded.

Binamu rolled her eyes before walking over to the edge of the pit. It wasn't like she was going to remain there all on her own. "Whatever. Let's just get on with this."

"Then let's go."

With that, the four of them leapt into the pit.

They tumbled down, down, down into the darkness. Legs flailing all about the place, they all screamed as they plunged to their probably deaths.

But then, it seemed like the pit had decided to take a sudden curve.

With a loud grunt, Simba bumped and bounced at an impressive speed along the newfound slope.

"It's a… slide?" Simba exclaimed in surprise. He was going so fast that he couldn't even believe it. This was impossible!

The slid seemed to take another sudden curve—this time upwards. Simba could see a large circle of light up ahead as he raced towards the sky. "Whoa!" he cried, popping out of a hole and landing on the ground.

Blinking a few times, he returned to his senses. The first thing he noticed was Haiba, sitting on a rock with a smile on his face. "Welcome."

"Yah!" Nala wailed as she popped out of the hole, landing on her stomach.

"Yikes!" Aibu slid across his stomach, coming to a halt at Haiba's paws.

"Lame," Binamu remarked, as she lazily emerged from the hole, landing just at the edge of it.

"See? What did I tell ya?" Haiba hopped from the rock. "I knew that Pit of Despair thing was a load of nonsense."

They had ended up in a small clearing. Fallen leaves were scattered around the medium-sixed hole they had all popped out of.

"Now we're free," he continued. "Probably five minutes away from the Pride La—"

"Guess again," Binamu interrupted, pointing to something in the sky.

They all looked to see that she was pointing at—not the sky—a huge rocky mountain in the distance.

"Let me guess," Simba said. "The Mountain of Utter Evil and Nasty Things?"

"Looks like it," Binamu replied, walking in its direction. "Guess we'd better start climbing it."

"You're eager," Haiba noticed, walking alongside her.

"I've been here for long enough," she said. "I just want to go home."

"How's life in the Grand Lands, anyway?" he asked. He hadn't been back since he'd first met Simba and Nala. He was planning on visiting his mother sooner or later, but something had always come up. He wondered if she worried about him sometimes… "You doing all right?"

"Fine without you," she retorted, not looking at him. She wasn't particularly interested in having any kind of conversation with her slimy toad of a cousin.

"You wouldn't be alive if it wasn't for me," Haiba told her. "You would have just stayed at the edge of the Pit of Despair for the rest of your life."

"Well, thanks," she mumbled, so quietly that Haiba couldn't understand her.

"What?" Haiba asked, not quite hearing.

"I said thanks!" she exclaimed, so loudly that everyone else could hear her now. She glanced around embarrassedly, before continuing towards the mountain. "Now leave me alone."

"I knew it," Haiba said with a satisfied smile.

"Knew what?" she asked.

"You know, don't you?" he said. "Deep down, you still like me."

"Haiba, I never—"

"No, not like that," he interrupted. "I mean as a cousin. A family thing. I know we didn't exactly leave on the best of terms, but… you knew there was still something between us… didn't you?"

"I… I don't know," she said. "I don't know anything anymore." She hurried ahead of him, intent on ending the conversation there and then.

Haiba didn't bother going after her. He knew the truth, and that was good enough for him. It wasn't like he had wanted for their relationship to end in such a horrible way. Hopefully they could still salvage what little was left of it.

She just had to trust him.

"So this is it," Simba said, as he stood with everyone else at the base of the mountain. "The Mountain of Utter Evil and Nasty Things."

It was huge. It looked like three mountains meshed into one. The cliffs in the Pride Lands had nothing on this!

"What exactly do we do?" Nala asked. "Climb to the top?"

"I guess," said Haiba. "Maybe it'll transport us out of here once we get there. After all, this whole place is magical."

"Exactly!" Simba exclaimed happily, before hopping onto a stony platform and beginning to climb his way up the towering mountain. "We'll be out of here in no time…"

Eleven Hours Later…

"'We'll be out of here,' he says," Haiba muttered as he climbed up what seemed like the thousandth rocky platform on the mountain. "'No time,' he says."

"Will you stop whining?" Simba complained, easing himself onto a large platform. Looking up, they appeared to be somewhere in the middle of the mountain. "We're halfway there."

"Oh, how comforting," Haiba said as he clambered onto the platform. His eyes widened at what he saw. "What the…?"

"What?" Simba turned around to follow his gaze, and then realised. "Okay. Now this is just getting weird."

Nala was the next to join them. "What on earth are you—? Oh."

Aibu helped Binamu up onto the platform. "Just what the heck is going on now?" she yelled. "I thought we were supposed to be—"

She cut herself off once she saw the forest in the middle of the mountain.

It was only a small forest—but the mere thought was enough to make their minds boggle. It just didn't make any sense!

Nestled in amongst a cluster of trees was a large stone podium. Placed on top was what appeared to be a glowing, amber stone.

"What do you think it us?" Binamu asked quietly, staring in awe at the stone.

"I don't know," Simba said, before approaching it. "But I guess we should find out. It could be our way out of here."

He reached up to the podium with a paw to touch the stone—when it suddenly exploded in a bright flash of light.

Wincing from the brightness, the cubs all watched as a clear image of a lion appeared before their eyes.

"Oh, no…" Simba moaned, realising who the lion was.

Hago coughed and spluttered, for reasons unknown to them all. "Damn dust…" He looked at them all. "Oh, hello there. I'd just like to thank you all for getting this far through my deadly traps. Blame this part of the jungle for having holes that unsuspecting lions like me can trip into. That's why I cursed this place with horrible monsters and evil weeds."

"Who's this clown?" Binamu asked.

"Long story," Simba mumbled.

"But I'm afraid that your efforts have been in vain," Hago explained to them. "You see, the real trap is to have you go through all of this misery just for you to die anyway."

"What?" Haiba yelled in surprise.

"Sorry to burst your bubble," he said, before chuckling. "Actually, no I'm not. I'm quite glad, actually."

"Oh, come on," Simba said. "There's gotta be more."

"Well, there is more," Hago continued. "You see, this little stone below you is the answer to all of your problems. That is, if you can figure it out. But I doubt you will. Happy death, suckers!"

The image of Hago disappeared, and the ground suddenly began to rumble beneath the cubs' paws.

"I really hate that guy," Haiba said, struggling to stay on the ground. "What the heck has he done now?"

Simba looked around worriedly as rocks began to tumble from the mountain. It was crumbling apart! "He's bringing the mountain crashing down!"

"Oh, great!" Haiba cried.

Nala hurried for the edge. "We have to climb back—"

She screamed as the part of the platform she was on suddenly collapsed, and she fell from the mountain.

"Nala!" Simba screamed, eyes wide with horror.

Nala grunted as she impacted with another platform on her stomach several feet below. Just before she could sigh in relief—a boulder came crashing down on her.

And that was how everything had ended up. Nala, lying on the ground, with a pool of blood underneath her, crushed by a boulder. What a miserable way to go.

But as she lay, slowly expiring, something else horrible was transpiring...

"Where's she gone?" Simba asked, looking around frantically. "Where did she go?"

"I don't know," Binamu replied, backing away from the crumbling platform. The wind had intensified, throwing rocks and debris all about the place. "She just fell off and—"

Binamu gasped in surprise as something suddenly struck her in the back.

Or, to be more precise, struck her through the back.

Looking down in horror, Binamu realised that there was a sharpened stick protruding from her stomach. The wind must have been so strong that it had impaled her.

"Binamu?" Haiba's eyes settled on her, and it didn't take him long to realise that something was wrong. "Binamu!"

As Simba ran to look for Nala, Haiba ran towards his cousin. Gasping in pain and shock, she collapsed to her back.

"What happened?" he cried, falling to her side, unable to believe what he was seeing. She had been impaled without warning. Once the initial panic had sunk in, he slowly came to the conclusion that she was dying.

"I… I…" she was hyperventilating. "Oh, it hurts… Haiba, it hurts…"

"It's okay," he assured her, even though he knew the truth. "It'll be okay…"

She grunted, tears streaming down her cheeks. "I'm… I'm going to die…" She stared him in the eyes. "Aren't I?"

He didn't answer. Doing his very best to comfort her in this time of despair, Haiba lightly stroked her across the forehead.

"I'm sorry."

She sobbed. "No… I'm sorry. I… I shouldn't have done this to you, Haiba—but I just… I felt so angry. I felt betrayed. So hurt…"

"I know…" he said softly. "But it doesn't matter. I don't care anymore. It's okay, Binamu."

"I'm sorry," she repeated. "I'm so sorry. I…"

Her eyes flickered shut, and they stayed that way.

Binamu was gone.

"Binamu?" Haiba called, tears in his own eyes. "Binamu?"

He then suddenly realised all the blood on his paws, and fell away from her body in despair. "No!" he screamed, hitting the ground repeatedly in anger. "No!"

Crying, Haiba looked away from the body of his dead cousin. "It's not fair… It's not fair! What's the point of even trying to save them if they die anyway? What's the point?"

He was so angry and sad at the same time. She didn't deserve to die. He was just about making a connection with her— and now this had happened? He wondered how life could be so cruel…

Suddenly, his eyes snapped onto the stone podium where Hago had appeared. The amber stone still remained there, glowing lightly.

Not even knowing what he was doing, he walked towards the stone—ignoring the danger swarming all around him— and picked it up.

"You see, this little stone b elow you is the answer to all of your problems."Hago's words rang in his head.

Haiba stared down at the stone as it turned a light blue colour. Like smoke pouring out from a fire, the colour began to seep out from the stone. He watched in amazement as it wafted towards Binamu— —before passing right over her.

"Nala!" Simba hopped down several platforms before reaching Nala. Her lower half was crushed under a huge boulder.

A pool of blood was seeping out from underneath her. "What happened?"

"Boulder…" she managed to sob out. "Crushing me…"

Pushing with all his might, Simba tried to shift the boulder. Grunting, he just about managed the job; the boulder tumbled away, down to the ground hundreds of feet below.

"Dying…" Nala wheezed. "Dying…"

"You're not gonna die," Simba said, although he had a horrible feeling that Nala was going to die right there and then. "I won't let you."

"Too late…" Nala rasped, eyes flickering shut. "I'm… sorry…"

"Nala, I—" Simba was interrupted by the sudden appearance of a strange blue mist wafting down from the mountain like an unearthly waterfall.

He watched in bemusement as the mist poured into Nala's open mouth, settling inside her body.

Her eyes snapped open and she gasped, full of life once more. Coming to her senses, she noticed Simba stood beside her. "Simba?"

He held her close to him. "It's okay, Nala," he said, grateful for whatever had brought her back to life. "It's okay…"

But for a certain cub above them, it was far from that.

"I don't understand it," Aibu said. "Why did it bring Nala back to life?"

Simba, Nala, Haiba and Aibu were stood in a safe part of the jungle, far away from the Path of Death and all the horrors contained within it. Once they had survived the crumbling of the mountain… the exit just seemed to present itself for them.

"I don't know," Simba replied honestly. "Maybe out of Binamu and Nala, it picked the one more likely to survive."

Nala shrugged, relieved that she'd survived the ordeal. "Maybe. Guess we'll never know."

Haiba had come up with his own theory. He knew what that stone had done. It was taunting him. Preyed on his hope that Binamu could survive and then sliced it in two. It had toyed with his emotions. Taken something very dear from him.

And it just wasn't fair. His point still stood. What was the point in trying to save her if she was just going to die anyway?

"You gonna be all right, Aibu?" Simba asked. He felt quite sorry for him. To lose three friends in a day had to be horrible.

"I'll be all right," he assured Simba. "Besides, I did once win a lifetime membership at Jowai Resort. I think I might just use it."

Nala's mouth dropped open. "No…"

Aibu smiled, giving them a little wave. "See ya," he said, before bounding off into the jungle.

"I don't believe it," Nala said in shock. "The lucky guy…" She felt rather jealous at the idea of Aibu being groomed and pampered by some pretty lionesses for the rest of his life. On the other hand, he did deserve something of a happy ending…

Be nice, Nala, she told herself once more. Be. Nice.

Simba and Nala turned their attention towards Haiba. "You okay, Haiba?" he asked.

He did nothing. Just stared at the ground. They wouldn't be able to understand the enormous loss that he had suffered. It felt more horrible than they could possibly imagine.

Haiba smiled at them. "Yeah," he said, masking the intense misery stirring inside of him. "Why wouldn't I be?"