Simba blacked out upon hearing the truth from the Vimelea. That his parents were dead. Stolen from these aliens just so they could purge the entire earth of life. He hated them more than he hated anyone before in his life. He was an orphan. Reduced to nothing. No one was going to take care of him now.

He woke up sobbing, crying in his sleep he was so sad. Clawing his way to a standing position, Simba discovered that he had been dumped to the side of the waterhole. He almost didn't even notice that there was the body of a dead cub lying next to him, blood dripping from the poor soul's throat. The Vimelea must have decided to dump him there. They didn't want to kill him yet; just extend his suffering for as long as possible.

Still crying, Simba stumbled away from Pride Rock in the distance. He just wanted to find Nala and Haiba—before he would end up doing something stupid like killing himself.

And far away, the Vimelea kept on laughing.

"Oh, no."

Shocker frowned, dumping Tama's body on the ground as he came face to face with Nala and Haiba. "I knew we should have taken that right turn at—"

"What the heck are you doing here?" Nala asked, her eyes burning with anger. "Did you have something to do with this?"

She moved towards Shocker, and pushed him backwards at full force. "Did you? Answer me!"

"Nice push," remarked the Interceptor.

"I don't know what you're talking about!" Shocker yelled, pushing Nala onto her back.

"Oh, so the whole pride drops down dead and you two are just conveniently there?" Nala said sarcastically.

"Coincidence?" said Haiba. "I think not."

"We just want to leave!" Shocker told them. "I had nothing to do with the extinction of this pride! What, you think I have the power to kill everyone here? Do you think I even want to? No! I couldn't be bothered to destroy this place! I have much better things to do—like killing you instead!"

"I'd like to see you try," Nala snarled.

"Maybe we will," Shocker snapped, his paws sparking with electricity. "I haven't had a good shock in a while…"

"Look! Behind you!" Haiba said, pointing with a claw.

"Yeah, like I'd ever fall for that one," Shocker said.

Nala followed Haiba's gaze. "It's Simba."

Indeed it was. Simba—looking like he had just witnessed the ten most harrowing wars ever waged—was slowly walking towards them, head hanging low. He looked completely destroyed on the inside. As if someone had ripped his soul clean from his body.

"Look who's come here to join us," said the Interceptor, a smile on his face. "I like it!"

"Does he ever stop saying that?" Haiba grumbled.

Nala watched, astounded, as Simba slowly trudged up to her. He didn't even seem aware of Shocker and the Interceptor's presence. He then fell at her feet, crying softly.

She just watched him, not understanding what had gone on when he went to interrogate his parents. "Simba… what's wrong?"

He looked up at her, eyes red from extensive crying. "They're gone," he sobbed. "They're dead." He wrapped his forepaws around her legs, continuing to cry. "They killed them and they're dead…"

It didn't take Nala very long to put two and two together. Simba's parents were long gone. She should have seen it coming. After all, they acted nothing like they used to. They hadn't for months. Their appearance was clearly just a coverup.

She didn't understand what for, exactly. That would have to wait until Simba revealed all the details…

Nala hugged him softly, bringing him up. "Simba… what happened?" she asked.

He couldn't reply, and just buried his face in her fur. The tears never seemed to stop. It broke Nala's heart to see him in this way. The poor kid was torn up. No one his age should have to experience such a thing. Nala could sympathise in some way; after all, her father was a psychopathic monster.

"They're monsters…" Simba said, looking up at Nala with his saddened face. "Monsters… They want to kill us all."

Shocker watched Simba, his eyes half-closed. "So, what's new?" he shrugged.

Simba's eyes hardened, as he swiftly turned around to face him. His anger was uncontrollable and frightening as he jumped towards Shocker, lifting him off the ground with both forepaws and shoving him hard against a tree. He grunted in surprise.

"Don't you get it?" Simba yelled, shaking with fury as he strangled Shocker by the neck. "Everything I've ever cared about… is gone. Ruined. Dead." He spoke with a sense of truth in his voice that scared all of them. "I have never been more alone. I have… nothing! No one! It's all gone! Get it?" He looked away, tears flowing down his cheeks. "No… No…"

He collapsed to the ground. Shocker dropped from Simba's grasp with a thump! He backed away as Simba wept uncontrollably on the ground.

"Nice one, idiot," the Interceptor whispered.

Nala walked over to Simba, a placed a paw gently on his shoulder. She couldn't really do much else than be a comfortable presence. He was in an even worse state than her mother.

"Simba…" She trailed off, unsure of what to say.

"They're called the Vimelea," Simba finally said, all traces of emotion devoid from his voice. "They're from… far away. And they want to kill us all. The whole world. So they can make more Vimelea. Until it's just them. They… they took over my parents. Destroyed their souls. All that's left of them is the bodies. They're just shells." His voice broke, the sadness creeping in once more. "They're not ever coming back."

Haiba stepped forward, and spoke for the first time since Simba had arrived in his grieving state. "They loved you, Simba. You know that. They were proud."

"I know," Simba said, rising upwards. "And I'm going to make sure that they're avenged." He stared Haiba in the eyes. "I won't stop until both of those Vimelea are wiped off the face of the earth. Even if I have to kill them with my bare claws."

All was silent for a few moments. No one was sure of what to say.

"We'll help you," Nala offered. "If that's what you want."

"Yeah," Haiba said. "You can count on us."

Shocker and the Interceptor nodded at each other, and tried to extricate themselves from the scene.

"Where do you think you're going?"

The two turned around to face Simba and his dead eyes. "You're going to help me as well. Or I'll kill you, too."

Somehow, they didn't think that Simba was lying about that.

"Uh, yeah," said the Interceptor awkwardly. "I like it—and stuff."

Shocker shrugged. "Whatever."

Simba surveyed his friends—and his enemies—knowing that these were the only animals who could help. "Then here's the plan…"

"They're called the Vimelea," Pori explained, as she and Zazu hid underneath Pride Rock. "They're a kind of parasite.

They can take over the minds of anyone. Well, not exactly take over—it's like they b ecome the creature itself. Like stealing their souls."

"So, err, how do you stop such… parasites?" Zazu asked, both nervous and curious. "I take it they are hard foes to overcome?"

Pori nodded. "You just have to kill the body they're in. It's like fighting any other opponent. It's just that… they have this immense strength. You'd have to tear it apart in order to stand any chance of destroying it. Then you have to burn the body—so none of the parasite inside can escape."

"Have you ever done this before?" Zazu questioned.

"No," Pori said, "but there's a first time for everything, right?"

"Yes," Zazu said, unsure. "Of course…"