Nala had come to the conclusion that she had been knocked out by the odd clone of herself at some point. As consciousness slammed back into her, she found herself attached to one of the trees around the outskirts of the Pride Lands. She struggled to move, but discovered that she was restricted by several tight vines.

"How many times do I have to get stuck in this situation?" she moaned, rolling her eyes. She made a mental note never to get herself kidnapped ever again. Although that didn't seem like a viable possibility at the moment.

"Hello, Nala," said a cruel voice. Nala sighed at hearing 'herself' talk like that. It sort of freaked her out. Clones were pretty creepy.

"What do you want?" Nala asked. "I've already told you that you're nuts. What else do you want?"

From out of the shadows, Clone Nala emerged with a nasty smile on her face. "I want you to suffer. After all, I don't take very kindly to posers."

Nala arched an eyebrow. "Posers? If anyone's the poser, then it's you. You were probably only born about a few hours ago!"

Clone Nala struck her across the face, leaving a burning red mark. Nala winced in pain. "I was born two years ago at the Wild Lands!"

"Two years ago?" said Nala, confused. "But that doesn't make any sense! I should be a—"

"I don't need to explain myself to you," interrupted Clone Nala. "What you need is to learn your lesson. How are you doing this? Copying the way I look?" She examined Nala with curious eyes, getting right up in her face. "Magic? Mind games? Some kind of illusion? Tell me."

"I'm telling you," Nala said through gritted teeth, "that you're a clone. I'm the real Nala!"

Clone Nala raised a paw. "I think I've heard enough. Clearly you're delusional. Everyone knows that I'm the real Nala."

"But you—" Nala was cut off by some voices in the distance.

"Nala! Where are you?" sounded Simba's voice.

Clone Nala smiled gleefully at her counterpart. "Looks like one of your posers is looking for you. I'm sure they won't be able to tell the difference… when I lead them right into a trap!" She tossed her head back and let out an evil laugh.

"No! You can't!" Nala protested, but it was far too late for her to do anything. Clone Nala walked off into the distance, just as Simba, Haiba and Zazu wandered into view.

"Nala!" Simba cried, failing to recognise the difference between her and the clone. "Where've you been?"

"Uh… somewhere," Clone Nala lied, trying to act naturally. "Stop being so controlling, Simba."

Simba's eyes widened slightly. "Controlling? I was just worried about you."

"Well, I didn't need you to be worried about me," Clone Nala replied. "I can take care of myself, thank you very much. Now, come on. We have to find those clone thingies and show them who's boss."

Clone Nala strode off, leaving a very perplexed Simba.

"Um, young master?" Zazu interjected, perched on Simba's shoulder. "Do you notice anything, um… odd about Nala?"

"I guess she's just… moody?" Simba guessed with a shrug of his shoulders. "I don't know—but at least she's okay."

"That's what we think," said Haiba suspiciously.

Simba walked ahead, beckoning for him to follow. "Come on. I don't want to lose her again."

The real Nala struggled against her bonds. "No! You've got the wrong Nala! You've got the wrong Nala!"

But Simba and the others had long since disappeared. Slumping, Nala let out a long sigh. "Why me?"

Clone Simba giggled evilly as he watched Clone Nala walking off with the 'imposter' Simba and Haiba. "They've fallen for the plan like idiots! And then we'll be able to return to our former glory!"

Clone Haiba grabbed Clone Simba by the throat. "I'm the one who says the evil stuff around here! Is that clear?"

"Very much so," Clone Simba gasped.

"Good." Clone Haiba dropped Clone Simba to the ground. "Nala will see to them. It won't be long before they're nothing more than corpses on the ground."

"And then we can rule the Pride Lands once more?" asked Clone Simba eagerly.

"Of course we can, Simba," Clone Haiba replied, patting him on the head. "Of course we can…"

"There's just one thing, though," Clone Simba said.

"And what might that be?" asked Clone Haiba, knowing that Clone Simba was likely to ask a stupid question that had no effect on his plans whatsoever.

"Well, what if Nala… doesn't kill them?" he asked slowly, afraid of angering Clone Haiba.

"Why would she do that?" said Clone Haiba with a laugh. "After all, Nala is a highly skilled, murderous lioness. It's not like she can't take on two pathetic posers, right?"

"But what if they're stronger than we think?" questioned Clone Simba worriedly. "What if they're so strong that they can blow us up just by the power of thought?"

"Simba?"

"Yes?"

"Shut up."

"Sorry."

"Have you noticed anything weird about Nala?" Haiba whispered as he and Simba walked along.

"Aside from the fact that she's very rude, no," replied Zazu, flying overhead. "I knew we were wrong to trust her."

"It's obvious, isn't it?" Simba asked. "She's traumatised by being kidnapped too many times. She always gets kidnapped. After a while, it can make you go crazy."

"Nala isn't the type to go suddenly insane," Haiba replied. "She's the type that makes other animals go insane."

"You're telling me," agreed Simba with a frown. "She was turned into a vampire once—she wanted my blood!"

"So did that Vitani girl," remarked Haiba. "Good thing she's gone, huh?"

"Shut up back there!" Clone Nala snarled, turning her head to glare at the others. "Why can't you just be silent?"

"Hey, Nala," called Haiba. "Where are we going?"

"I'm not telling you!" Clone Nala snapped. "Now sit down and shut up."

"How can we keep moving if we have to sit down—?"

"Shut your mouth!" Clone Nala interrupted. "I said sit down!"

"Okay." Haiba sat down on the ground, and slowly began to shuffle himself forwards, barely covering any distance. "This journey is going to take a lot longer than I expected…"

Six Hours Later…

It was late in the evening by the time the four of them reached their destination. Or, to be more precise, Clone Nala'sdestination. "Ah…" she sighed. "Here we are."

They had arrived in an area around the outskirts, which was dotted with a few fresh trees. Simba, Haiba or Zazu couldn't detect anything sinister about the place. Then again, Nala was acting very strange since they'd rescued her…

"So… what are we doing here, exactly?" Haiba asked, getting to his paws. "It'd better be worth the bruises on my butt…"

"Keep your mouth shut," Clone Nala threatened, "or I will take it off."

"Uh, Nala?" asked Simba. "You sure you're all right? You're acting a little… psychotic, if you ask me."

"I'm the same way I've always been!" Clone Nala exclaimed. "Now get over to those trees!"

"Why?" Simba asked.

"Just do it!"

"Okay—okay!" Simba cried, moving quickly over to the trees. "Just do as she says," he warned Haiba and Zazu.

"How many more dismal situations do I have to be forced into?" Zazu moaned, before fluttering onto a nearby tree branch. "It's more misery than my being can take…"

"Zip it, Banana-Beak," Clone Nala snapped, watching as Haiba joined Simba by his side. "Now that you're all in position, we can begin."

"Begin with what?" Haiba asked.

"Begin with your execution, of course," Clone Nala replied, as if it were the most normal thing in the world.

"Execution?" cried Zazu. "Oh, this is simply awful!"

"You can't execute us!" Haiba said. "Nala, what happened to you? You were always so nice."

Simba was in tears. "I trusted you!" he sobbed.

"Um, don't you think you're overreacting a little?" Haiba questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, it's not very nice seeing your future mate trying to kill you," Simba sniffled. "It upsets me."

"Oh, brother." Haiba rolled his eyes. "Look, Nala, you'd better explain yourself or I might have to take drastic action."

Clone Nala sighed, walking over to them. "What is it with you people and talking all of the time?"

"It's called communication," Haiba told her. "You might want to try it sometime—"

Clone Nala slashed Haiba across the face with her claws. He fell onto his back, howling in pain. "Scratches!" he wailed.

"I really hate scratches!"

"It's not that bad," Simba said. "Really."

"My face!" Haiba cried. "My beautiful face!"

"Err, Nala, would you mind explaining why you plan on executing us?" Zazu inquired carefully.

Clone Nala smiled evilly. "To eradicate posers like you," she replied.

"Posers?" said Haiba. "It's like being with that Tara girl again…"

"But… why?" Simba asked, horrified.

"But… why?" Clone Nala mimicked in a cruel tone. "Why do you think? I don't take kindly to imposters. And so you will die. And yes—it will be painful. Extremely painful."

Simba gulped.