"What?" Clone Haiba couldn't contain his rage. "You let them escape?"

"Not exactly," replied Clone Nala awkwardly. "I just kind of… left them."

"Left them?" exclaimed Clone Haiba. "Left them?"

"Um… yeah," Clone Nala said. "They were going to kill me! What else could I do?"

"You're supposed to have the strength of ten lionesses!" Clone Haiba yelled, throwing his forepaws up in the air. "This is ridiculous! How are we supposed to beat those posers when you can't even execute a simple plan?"

"Um… have you ever thought that, uh, we might be the posers?" Clone Nala asked quietly.

Clone Haiba stared at Clone Simba, dumbfounded. "She's kidding me, right?"

"Haiba, they're not just copying us—they're exactly the same as us," Clone Nala told him. "Isn't it possible that… you know?"

"What?" Clone Haiba asked.

"That we could just be clones," Clone Nala answered, "and they're the real ones."

"This is insane," Clone Haiba said. "We know—in our hearts—that we're the real ones. They haven't got an ounce of us in them."

"They have all our memories," Clone Nala said. "The same feelings, the same personalities—well, sort of. And, if I'm honest…" She spoke in a whisper, "they're a lot nice than we are."

"I don't believe it," said Clone Simba, shaking his head. "Nala, you're going soft."

"I am not!" Clone Nala exclaimed. "I'm just saying, that's all. They might be… real. And we could be—"

"—fake?" Clone Haiba finished for her. "Nala, listen to me. We're real. We're here, right now, living. That's proof enough. Those other guys… they're just experiments—probably. Not more than a few hours old. They can't be real."

Clone Nala shook her head. "I don't know…"

Clone Haiba frowned, having had enough. "That's it. We're going to take action now—before it's too late."

"What are we going to do?" asked Clone Simba. "Make another plan?"

"We've wasted enough time on stuff like that already," Clone Haiba replied, waving the suggestion off. "We have to kill them, before they can kill us. I'm making this a war."

"A war?" said Clone Nala. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, that we're going to fight them to the death," Clone Haiba told her. "We're going to rip them apart with our bare claws."

"Ooh—that sounds violent!" Clone Simba exclaimed happily. "I like it!"

"It's our only option," Clone Haiba continued. "Otherwise these stupid posers are gonna keep on imitating us for ever. They've even corrupted Nala."

"They haven't corrupted me!" Clone Nala argued. "I was just thinking about the possibilities."

"Yeah—the possibility that we're not real," Clone Haiba retorted. "They've brainwashed you. That's how tricky they are."

"But I—"

"Just keep your priorities straight," Clone Haiba interrupted. "We're going to find these guys, kill them, and then get on with our lives. Come on."

Clone Haiba walked off, with Clone Simba trailing behind him. Clone Nala stared at the ground, deep in thought for a few seconds, before following them.

"Okay, so what are our weaknesses?" Simba asked, pacing back and forth impatiently. "What gets to us the most?"

"Yeah, but that's the problem," Haiba cut in. "If someone's made these clones, then couldn't they have removed our weaknesses?"

"No, I don't think so," Nala replied. "They wouldn't be clones otherwise—they'd be more like improved versions of ourselves."

"But isn't that what they are?" asked Simba.

"Not exactly," said Nala. "They're just eviller."

"Okay—weaknesses," said Haiba. "Well, you could start a make-out session with me. That'd take me out of reality for hours."

"I don't think their plan is to kiss you," said Simba. "I'd say your weakness was that you're too gullible."

"I am not!" Haiba exclaimed.

"Oh, really?" challenged Simba. "Well, what's that over there?"

Haiba turned round. "What?"

"See. You'll believe anything. When your clone gets here, you should just fool him into walking off a cliff or something," Simba said.

"Yeah, well… what about you? Your weakness is that you're too cocky. You're overconfident," Haiba told him. "And you disagree with everything I say."

"No, I don't!" Simba disagreed. "Look, all right, fine. So I just need to make him so confident that he does something stupid."

"And as for me," said Nala, "I think I can just prey on her vulnerability. It won't take more than some emotional words to defeat her."

"If she's not defeated already," Haiba said.

"Huh?"

"Well, you saw her earlier. She wasn't exactly putting up much of a fight when you said she wasn't real," Haiba said. "It's like she was beginning to question herself."

"So you're saying they can be convinced?" Simba questioned.

"Maybe," said Haiba, shrugging. "If we convince them that they're not real, then it might be too much for them to handle. They might kill themselves out of sheer shock."

Nala didn't look convinced. "That sounds too good to be true."

As the clones of Simba, Nala and Haiba stalked through a field with tall grass, they had their wits about them. They were expecting their counterparts to attack at any seconds. They were ready for a war—and they were ready to win.

"Can you see anything?" Clone Simba whispered.

"Not yet," replied Clone Haiba, narrowing his eyes. "But stay alert. We can't allow them to get the first hit in."

"How should we kill them?" asked Clone Simba.

"Go for the throat—it's simple," Clone Haiba told him. "Anyone can do it. Isn't that right, Nala?"

But Clone Nala didn't answer. She still seemed lost in her own thoughts, which were slowly beginning to consume her.

She was right, Clone Nala thought. I'm not real. Just a copy… a clone… It felt horrible to know that you weren't real after all.

"Come on, you little creeps," Clone Haiba snarled. "Where are you?"

"Yoo-hoo!" called a voice. "Hey, fellas! We're up here!"

The three clones turned their heads to see Simba, Nala and Haiba stood on top of a nearby cliff to their left.

"I think our search is over," said Clone Haiba, smiling evilly.

Simba smiled as he saw the clones approaching them from across the cliff. "Well, well, well. If it isn't the stupid poser clones from across the kingdom."

"It's you who are the posers!" Clone Haiba shot back. "We're going to rip you apart, piece by piece. There won't be anything left of you once we're finished."

"What, are you going to eat us?" Haiba asked sarcastically. "I mean, after all, eating me just might make you invincible."

"Huh?" Clone Haiba's interest was piqued. "What do you mean?"

"Well, cannibalism is healthy for you," Haiba told him. "If you ate me, then you would become really strong!"

Gullibly, Clone Haiba had been suckered in. "Really? Well, in that case, I think I will eat you!" He laughed evilly.

"Go on, then," said Haiba, smiling.

With a triumphant roar, Clone Haiba leapt at his double, tackling him to the ground. He licked his muzzle, pleased by the thought of devouring him. "Mmm… I guess you do look kind of tasty…"

"He's lost it," said Clone Simba, watching with confusion at what Clone Haiba was preparing to do. "This whole situation is driving him crazy." He shrugged. "Ah, well. Guess we should take care of the other two."

Clone Simba focused on his counterpart, advancing towards him slowly. "Prepare to die, you stupid copycat."

"Oh, yeah—you've caught me," Simba said, giving up instantly. "You might as well just leap into the air and strike me down. I can't do anything."

"That's a great idea!" Clone Simba exclaimed, his overconfidence clouding his judgement. He leapt into the air—and ended up sailing right over the edge of the cliff.

"Gah!" Clone Simba clung to the edge, his claws digging into the rock. "You tricked me!"

"Well, what did you expect?" Simba retorted. "You were trying to kill us."

Clone Simba scrambled to climb back up. "When I get up," he threatened, "I'm gonna kill you!"

Meanwhile, Clone Nala was watching the commotion, still lost in her thoughts. You're not real. You're not real. You're not real…

"Prepare to be eaten alive!" exclaimed Clone Haiba, opening his jaws wide.

You're not real. You're not real. You're not real.

"I think I got part of the plan wrong," said Haiba nervously, watching as he was about to be eaten by himself. It was an odd experience.

You're not real. You're not real. You're not real.

Simba grunted as his clone leapt on top of him, pinning him down. He struggled to break free, but it was useless. He was up against himself—and that was a major problem.

You're not real. You're not real. You're not real.

Clone Nala couldn't take any more. With an angry cry, she raced at the two clones. "We're not real!" she screamed, impacting with the two and knocking them off the edge of the cliff.

And her along with it.

Simba, Nala and Haiba raced over to the edge, watching with amazement as the three clones tumbled to their death.

Crunch! They all winced at the sickening sound that followed.

"What happened?" Simba asked, puzzled.

"I think she killed herself," Haiba said, staring at the three dead bodies on the ground. "It must have hit her that she wasn't real."

"She did the right thing," Nala said. "In the end."

Simba and Haiba shared a glance with each other. They weren't so sure about that.

"I don't believe it!" Shocker yelled, sensing the death of the clones. "How could clones fail?" He pointed an angry claw at the Interceptor. "This is all your fault! You and your silly ideas!"

"Oh, so it's my idea again, is it?" retorted the Interceptor. "You'd better be careful, my friend—otherwise this partnership is going to end up in tragedy."

"A lot of things can end up in tragedy," Shocker said. "I should know."

Suddenly, a cruel, deep laugh rang out from behind the two villains.

They turned around. "Did you hear that?" Shocker asked.

"Yeah," said the Interceptor. "But what was it?"

"I don't know," said Shocker. "I don't know…"

They didn't see the pair of blinking red eyes watching them in the darkness…