Sarafina's revelation about the horrible things that Simba's parents had done hit him like a massive rock to the stomach.
He could only gape at Sarafina—this heartbroken, inconsolable lioness—with shock in his eyes. He couldn't believe it. For a long time, he'd known that his parents had become extremely reclusive. They just didn't respond to anything. Nothing at all. Only to themselves. There was obviously something going on between the two…
Simba didn't know what it was, but it seemed that things were finally unravelling before his eyes.
And it was more atrocious than he could possibly imagine.
"Is this true?" Haiba asked, staring at Simba with an equally horrified expression in his eyes. Even he seemed disturbed by such an act.
"Of course it's true!" Sarafina snapped, still both furious and upset at the same time. Nala had never seen her so livid.
"What, do you think I'm lying? Is that it?" She made a move to lunge at Haiba, claws poised for the kill, but Nala held her back. It took all of her strength, but she just about managed to restrain her almost maniacal mother.
"Mom—calm down!" Nala yelled, struggling as Sarafina tried to escape her grasp. "Fighting isn't going to solve anything!"
"There's nothing to solve!" Sarafina shot back, finally giving up on trying to attack Haiba. "We're dead." She lay on her back; it looked as though she had given up all hope. "We're dead…" She began to laugh at the top of her voice, startling the three cubs. "We're dead! Dead, dead, dead!"
They shared an uncertain glance over Sarafina's creepy laughter. "What are we going to do?" Haiba asked, concerned.
"It's obvious that something's wrong."
"Could the pride really be… dead?" Nala asked uncertainly, afraid that her home might really be in ruins. "It's just not possible. Is it, Simba?"
Simba didn't answer. He just shuffled his paws awkwardly on the ground. While Sarafina was laughing madly to convey her sadness, Simba was silent. It looked as though his thoughts were trying to process all of the information he'd heard.
The pride was dead. Who knows what else was in danger? The whole savannah? Maybe even the world?
"Simba?"
Nala's voice snapped him back into reality. "What?"
"What should we do?" she asked, concern evident in her eyes. Sarafina had finally stopped cackling, and it looked like she had slipped into unconsciousness. "If your parents are really… Well, you know…"
"I knew it," Simba replied, a noticeable frown on his face. "I knew there was something wrong with them. Right from the start. And we didn't do anything about it. We just let them do… whatever the heck it is they're up to."
"There wasn't really anything we could have done," Haiba argued. "They did nothing. At least, not until now."
"So what do we do about it?" Nala asked. "We have to stop them."
"There's nothing we can do," Simba sighed, sitting down on the ground. "They're far too strong."
"But we don't know if that's true," Haiba said. "Nala's mother could be—"
"Of course she's not lying," Simba interrupted. "Isn't it obvious? She's lost her mind. It's like she's been tortured or something. Didn't you hear her?"
"So why don't we go up there and find them?" Nala said, bravely stepping forward. "We can't let them hurt anyone else."
"What can we do?" Simba asked, looking like he'd given up already. "Huh? We're just… cubs. Weak cubs. We can't do anything…"
"Yes, we can," Nala insisted. "Don't say that, Simba. Look at all of the things we've done. All the lives we've saved. This is just like those times."
"This is my parents," Simba retorted. "What do you expect me to do? Kill them? This isn't Scar or Hago, Nala. They're the reason I'm here in the first place. I don't even know why they would do such an awful thing."
Nala stared at him. "Then go and find out."
Simba winced at the devastation splayed out before him. He stood to the side of the waterhole, just staring at this pile of misery and death. Lionesses and various other animals were lying everywhere, dead. Covered in blood. Some of their legs were broken, others had eyes missing… It was horrible.
He dipped his head, fighting back the urge to cry. Mom and Dad… why would you do such a thing?
It took him a while—considering that he had to step over several rotting corpses—but he finally made it to Pride Rock.
Everything was dead silent. If someone was here, then they were very skilled at hiding.
But there wasn't anywhere else Simba's parents could be. It was very clear that this was where they were orchestrating their evil plan. This was where they were. He was sure of it.
He reached the entrance of the den, staring inside at the darkness. The afternoon sun hung lazily in the air, obscured slightly by white clouds. Shadows danced across the area. It was rather unsettling…
"Mom? Dad?" he called, taking a step towards the den. They were definitely in there. There was nowhere else left to hide…
"The… son?" said a distorted voice.
Simba whipped round—to face Mufasa and Sarabi.
Their eyes were black—the blackest Simba had ever seen. It was apparent to him that there was nothing less than pure evil flowing through their veins.
"Why'd you do it?" Simba was burning to ask the question. "Why did you kill everyone?"
"Do you like our work, child?" asked Sarabi. "Isn't it wonderful?"
"Work?" said Simba. How could this possibly—in any way—serve as work? It was nothing of the sort. It was just a sickening massacre. It made him want to vomit. "Work?"
"Yes," said Mufasa. "Work. Our work. We have b een preparing for it. Day after day. Night after night. All leading up to this moment."
Simba still didn't understand. Their voices… It sounded as though there was someone completely different inside them.
They weren't his parents. "Who are you? What have you done with my parents?"
It couldn't be them. It had to be someone—or something—else. Perhaps mind control or something of the sort. Or clones. Yes, that sounded right. This was clearly one of Shocker's schemes. His worst one yet. He would kill him for this…
"Your parents are here, Simb a," Mufasa said. "We are your parents."
"No, you're not," Simba said, shaking his head. "You're monsters!"
The two looked at each other and chuckled. A loud, unpleasant noise.
"How very wrong you are, child," said Sarabi. "For it is you who are the monsters. The parasites of this world."
What are they talking ab out? Simba asked himself, confused. They were speaking as though they were from somewhere else. Somewhere far away…
"You are the disease of this earth," said Mufasa, "and we are the cure."
"Who are you?" Simba demanded, staring at them. Right into their black eyes. "Who are you?"
"We are… the Vimelea," they said in unison.
Simba could only stare at them, rooted firmly to the spot. The Vimelea? Who were they? What were they? And more importantly, why had they slaughtered every single living thing in the kingdom?
"The—the Vimelea?" Simba spoke quietly. So his parents were being controlled. Through these… whatever they were.
"What are they?"
"We are the Vimelea," they spoke, again in unison. It was as if the two were one and the same. "We came from across the stars—such a long way from this earth."
Simba was even more bemused. How could anyone travel across the stars? It didn't make sense at all. "What for?"
"For this world," they replied. "Our cousins—the Inque—have tried and failed b efore to enslave this puny planet. But we are stronger. We shall not fail in sub jugating this earth and purging it from imperfection."
"How?" Simba asked.
"Every b eing will die," they replied. "Every single form of life will b e removed in order to create the new world. The perfect world. A world filled with nothing b ut new Vimelea. To thrive and expand across existence. We are the supreme b eings."
Simba tried to hide his shock and disgust from these Vimelea. Their plan was absolutely disgusting. To kill everyone who lived on the earth? That was a number that Simba couldn't even count.
"How are you doing this? How are you inside my parents?" He had so many questions on his mind for these… things.
He just had to understand how they could do something so despicable.
"We can invade the minds of all living creatures," they spoke. "Take over their minds—their souls—and completely eliminate them."
"What?" Simba didn't fully understand. Eliminate? That just didn't sound right…
"You see, we don't just take over the mind," they explained. "We become the mind. Your parents… are gone."
"No…" The truth pierced the core of Simba's heart.
"King Mufasa and Queen Sarab i have b een dead for months," the Vimelea explained. "What you see here are just mere shells of who they once were."
They were lying. They had to be.
"Those insignificant, pathetic parents of yours are gone for ever. They'll never come b ack. Never." They began to laugh horribly; it echoed across the entirety of the Pride Lands it was so loud.
"No… No…" Simba backed away, his soul cracking in two. One of his worst fears had finally come true.
Mufasa and Sarabi were dead.
Tears welled up in Simba's eyes, and he began to cry underneath the sounds of the Vimelea laughing.
And they didn't care at all.