[Open] A new life... As Prince...

[Jason Arilani]

Kovu stepped out of the cave on Pride Rock, eager to get outside and feel the fresh air, the sun on his coat, and stretch his legs a little. As he did so, he sniffed the air. All seemed pretty peaceful, but it still felt strange. Out of his family, the only one left was Vitani. Nuka died when Kovu didn't do anything to get Simba, and Zira's pride got the best of her when she didn't grab Kiara's paw to be pulled up. Vitani saw where they were coming from, but Zira was too filled with hate to see the truth.

While Zira wasn't the best mother in the world, it was still depressing to think that she was gone. The most that would probably remain was a ghost, much like there was one of Scar left over. And now he was the prince? Married to Kiara and to take over the throne after Simba? Sure it was what he was assigned to do before truly realizing his love for Kiara, but it still felt weird now that it had actually happened. Sure it was nice to feel that he finally had that power, and of course that he was married to the one he loved, but there was a strangeness about it that couldn't exactly be described.

He walked out to the edge of Pride Rock and looked out at the Pride Lands, the faint appearance of the Outlands seen way out in the distance. He looked upon the other animals that had attacked at him when he was exiled, now grazing and getting water, feeling the warmth of the sun like he had come to do. He just wasn't exactly sure what to do now. Before he had a goal. But now... He already had what he wanted. What was he supposed to do now that he was a prince to the newly combined prides?

[globber]

At the base of Pride rock, a vortex of swirling green flames appeared. They gew brighter and wilder, intensifying enough to scare away nearby fauna. The flames made their destructive path towards the savanna, ready to consume all. The green fire was snuffed out before consuming any plant life though, and in its place were three creatures. Two imps, one squat and fat, the other tall and gaunt, and with them was a Trick ghost heartless. All of them were vile visitors from the underworld, scanning their bright, colorful surroundings. Pain and Panic were in much awe at the sight of a huge monumental cliff infront of them. If it held any more pride and heart-shattering power, the cliff would compare to Mt Olympus!

"Pain, it was a good idea to look for more monsters that could be influenced by Hades, but why pick this .... sunny happy place?" Panic questioned, looking back at the beautiful scenery with disgust. "Because this "sunny happy place" has ferocious lions, tigers, and BEARS! We need ta look fer animals with much darkness in their hearts. With this heartless-" Pain said, pointing at the seemingly docile Trick ghost. "- We'll track down this dark heart, and maybe make a powerful heartless outta it! Imagine a heartless lion, PERFECT fer Hades!"

The two imps smiled at eachother, another fiendish plan in the making ..... Suddenly, the Trick ghost began to act up. It swerved around in the air, as if bulging out to say something. Then, like a succesful bloodhound, it followed a scent .... "Follow it!" Pain and Panic morphed into two jackals (one squat and with purple fur, the other tall and skinny with blue fur). With teeth bared, they followed the Trick ghost up Pride rock, where it caught the scent of Kovu ....

[Jason Arilani]

Fire? That wasn't good... And Simba wasn't around to talk. Yet... Almost as soon as it appeared, it was gone. Now things were getting really confusing. Regardless, Kovu was the prince of this kingdom, and if Simba wasn't around to help, then it was up to Kovu to take care of this. He looked closer at what appeared, and it wasn't pretty. Two strange things and one of those creatures that fly around like crazy. Kovu just stared at the group, wondering what they were doing here.

Yet then they started to turn toward Pride Rock and run toward it, climbing up. The two strange imps transformed into Jackals with the other creature running directly toward Kovu. Who were these creatures? He wasn't sure, but he did know that the heartless was trouble and that he needed to destroy that. Then maybe he could get some answers out of the two imp/jackals.

When they got closer, Kovu got down in more of a pounce appearance, ready to attack when given the chance. He wasn't going to let them harm him. He just needed to be ready to attack. This was going to be his kingdom one day, and so now... he needed to show what he could do. He just needed to wait for the right time to strike. As a lion, he has learned that attacking too soon or too late could result in loss of pray in some situations, or death in others. So he had to wait for just the right time.

[globber]

The Trick ghost heartless, far ahead of Pain and Panic, impatiently flew towards its target, Kovu. Along with it, two other Trick ghosts appeared, straight from the Underworld. The darkness in Kovu's heart seems to be attracting Underworld heartless ever since the portal to the Pride lands opened up for them. The heartless quickly arrived, hovering around the lion prince. By the time Pain and Panic arrived, still in their jackal disguises, they gasped as they saw the self-invited heartless, and their target, Kovu. Their smiles showed their intentions, but they seem to be warey of their prey's defensive stance. Seeing the odds in their favor, Pain and Panic merely laughed at Kovu.

"Ha! What's this? Outta all furballs on this mountain, YOU had the most darkness?!" "Well, lion, seems like the heartless must REALLY like ya! Guess this means you have a heart of darkness." "Dark hearts must mean even darker past .... I don't know who you are fuzzball, but you can help us out, heart or NOT! Attack!" The jackals stayed back as the Trick ghosts readied to send out their fireballs.

[Jason Arilani]

Dark hearts? Heartless? What were these two talking about? Well, whatever it was, at least now he had a name to give the weird creatures that were before him. Regardless, they were here to attack Kovu, and he was not going to let them do that. He gathered some energy into his voice as he let out a very powerful roar, releasing the energy that had been built up. Waves of energy coarsed from his mouth, dark energy, as they rushed toward the heartless and the jackals. The earth tore open a little in the process.

After having completed that roar, he would remain in his stance, ready to pounce if they were still alive. If the heartless were gone, but the Jackals were still there, Kovu would say "Who are you? What business do you have here on Pride Rock?" He truly tried to act the part of Prince, but it was difficult to do at times. He still didn't feel like Prince. He didn't feel like he was truly a part of this pride. He was a part of one that was exiled. As such... he felt that he deserved to still be exiled. But for now, he had to rid this land of these creatures once and for all.

[globber]

As the lion roared, all three Trick ghosts tried to avoid the energy-releasing attack. Two of them were easily destroyed, exploding into a puff of darkness. The other heartless, one farthest away, was simply pushed back, colliding into the yelling jackals. "Get off!" Pain yelled as his paw knocked the trick ghost off of him. "Eeew! Creepy heartless! Yuck!" "Did I get any on my fur?!!?!" "Who are you? What business do you have here on Pride Rock?" The lion suddenly yelled. Pain and Panic jumped back with fright. The heartless, equally frightened, flew off towards the savanna ....

At first, the two jackals were unsure of what to say. A mad lion is always a dangerous one, and the slightest slip up would most likely result in being attacked by one. But they suddenly got the bravery to speak when they remembered. This lion used some kind of dark energy in that attack. It was definitley a strange beast. "Uuuh. Heheheh. Ya see, we were ... uuuh .... just in the neighborhood looking around ya know. When ... uuuh ..." "Don't pin this one on US, lion. You ain't our leader!" The jackals shivvered with their tails in between their legs.

[Jason Arilani]

So... It seemed they were just stalling... They wanted Kovu for some reason, but regardless of why they were there, Kovu knew that they needed to be stopped. They were sure to cause some damage whilst they were here, and he could not let them harm any of the lionesses that were on Pride Rock. He was just glad that Kiara wasn't here at the moment to be harmed. But one more thing he could see about the jackals... They were scared out of their furs... They weren't brave at all, most likely answering to someone higher then them... Flunkies... Much like the hyena's of scar.

"Leader of you? No... You aren't from here, so I may not be your leader. But I do lead the pack of lions that live on the rock YOU are on. Now I suggest you talk or else deal with all of us."[/b] Sure, he didn't exactly lead them, and some were still even distrusting of Kovu. But he could at least make these jackals think that he was in charge around here...

[globber]

Pain and Panic were still cowering from the might of the lion, but also knew that he had a dark heart. Something they could hang over his head. "We-well, we ...... weeeeeee .... weeeeeee ..." "WE could help YOU, Lion king." The fat jackal yelled. "Why are we lookin' fer one such as yerself? Ta see how we could b-b-b-better their lives! By doing so, not only do YOU get help .... but so do WE!" Pain was hint hinting at a possible bargain between themselves. "Uuh ... THAT'S right! Just watch, we could help with anything!" Panic's sharp dog nose pointed at the ground next to Kovu's feet. A black, swirling shadow appeared, releasing some souls of the dead. They danced and twirled around Kovu, as if telling him to go with the deal. The souls then vanished back into the portal, Pain and Panic proving their point. "Oh, how rude of us, we forgot a proper introduction. I'm Panic." "'N I'm Pain!"

[Jason Arilani]

[OOPS! Didn't know that it was my turn! SORRY GLOBBER!!!! *smacks face over and over again*]

Kovu watched the two as they stuttered a little bit, trying to figure something out to say. They also spoke of a possible deal between them and him. Though they weren't very helpful. They summoned something strange that danced around him a brief moment before disappearing into a small portal. They finally gave their names to him, though it was a strange pair of names. Kovu thought for a moment before saying "The name's Kovu."[/color] He figured he should give a name since they did.

However, he knew that he had to ask them about their bargain. "So... What exactly do you think I need help with? And what do YOU need help with?"[/color] He asked, needing to get more info. What did Kovu need help with? Simple... Finding Kiara and Simba. They seemed to disappear, and Kovu wasn't sure where they went. He knew he needed to find them, but that may have to wait for a moment.