The Lion King 3: Scar's Revenge

By Matthew Sorenson
Part II: Witness to Treachery

	"Zira..."  Scar choked on the words.  "She's actually alive."
	"These lands belonged to Scar!"  The tan lioness who had once been his 
mate stood in front of his greatest rival, declaring all lands the property 
of her supposed dead lover.  She had not abandoned him, even when he was 
dead.
	The mighty king Simba retorted, "I banished you from the Pride Lands! 
Now you and your young cub...get out!"  Scar couldn't remember whether or not 
he had known about her exile.  His old life was a blur.  Still, this was his 
greatest enemy talking to his greatest love...or at least he thought she was.  
No was not the time to sort things out.  It's all confusion in this sort of 
situation.
	Zira went on to introduce her young son to the mob of angry lionesses 
supporting their king like the harem that they were.  "Kovu was the last born 
before you exiled us to the Outlands..."  These words struck Scar 
immediately.  Was this the cub he never got to meet?  Kovu certainly looked 
like his, but he remembered how both him and Zira had prayed to the gods for 
a girl.
	"Like the gods would listen to me...or even Zira, if they knew that 
this is what she'd become.  They're in the Outlands, hmm?  No one knows them 
better than I.  I have to see this for myself."
	And with that thought, the former king, the deposed leader, the royal 
disgrace, the orphaned son, the protective brother, the proud uncle, and the 
prospective father started to slowly creep out of the Borderlands, taking a 
small land bridge into the Outlands, where he started to look for the 
settlements, where he'd usually find the dying rogue, waiting for his death-
blow.  Now he was searching for a different kind of quarry: his children.  
After a short time of searching, he spied a scraggly lion, a shell of his own 
self, mumbling to himself and hobbling around, scratching and conversing with 
another younger lion whose name he determined to be Vitani.  Where had he 
heard that name before?  This couldn't be the unborn child...Kovu was last 
born, she said it herself...
	But while Vitani, who appeared to be a tomboyish girl cub, was a 
mystery, there was no mistaking the tattered companion.  This was the cub he 
had once held in his paws, the one who had called him dad, and who had been 
such a precocious little child...this was Nuka.  As he stared at the terrible 
things that time does to its minions, he felt a warm tear slide down his 
cheek.  He watched it fall, hit the ground, and evaporate on impact with the 
parched ground.  And as the small cloud of dust rose, Scar took cover behind 
a large rock, as he saw Zira coming towards the two with Kovu in her mouth.
	"You were supposed to be WATCHING him!"  She yelled at Nuka after she 
had put down her younger son.  They yelled and quarreled for a short period 
of time.  "Friends?  You thought you'd get to the daughter. And Simba would 
welcome you with open arms? What an idea!"  Suddenly, a horrifying glimmer 
appeared in his late mate's eyes.  "What an idea."
	For the next few hours, Scar bore witness to some horrifying displays, 
as all the lionesses in the Outlands conversed with Zira in a shocking 
display as to a plan to get back at Simba for destroying someone who many of 
them didn't know.  Kovu was to be raised for the sole purpose of revenge:  to 
seduce Kiara and to use her to get accepted into the pride, and then...to 
kill Simba.  While Scar was no great fan of Simba, he knew that what Zira was 
proposing was wrong.  He wanted to jump out, say "Here I am, this fight is 
meaningless", and he easily could have.
	But he was slowly gaining wind of what Zira was now....and he didn't 
want anything to do with it.  As soon as the Outlanders dispersed from his 
place of hiding, Scar followed Zira to her lair.  She slept alone, for years 
not having had a mate who didn't either try to betray her or meet a cruel end 
at her hands.  She was so different, yet so many things were the same...how 
daintily she had to clean her fur just before bed, the ritual rubbing her 
shoulder against the wall.  He amusingly remembered how weird he had found it 
when they had been a royal couple.  There was a new custom, though.  On top 
of a large leaf in her lair lay some strands of black hair...his hair.  She 
had kept a token.  She leaned her head down and daintily kissed the strands, 
being careful not to separate them from each other.  While she was thus 
occupied, her former mate made a quick decision and stepped into the lair.  
Zira froze.
	"Nuka, I thought I told you to leave me alone after I've finished my 
bed rituals.  I'm ready for bed now, and I'm not going to break the cycle, so 
if you could just go away."  She realized that the form wasn't leaving and 
turned around to growl at him.  Upon seeing Scar, she started for a second, 
but her look of shock was quickly turned to a coy smile.  "I haven't seen you 
in a while.  And here I thought I was finally sane.  Last time I saw you it 
was just after I had adopted Kovu.  You'll be pleased with him, Scar.  He's 
going to avenge you and get our lands back."
	"That's just it, Zira.  I don't want to be avenged.  I'm happy with the 
way my life is, and I regret many of my old choices.  I don't want you to 
renew this stupidity."
	"I'm positive, Scar.  Who's making you say that?  Mufasa?  Your mom?"  
Zira chuckled with the last words, and it took most of Scar's willpower not 
to lash out at her.
	"It's me.  This is your former mate and I'm speaking for myself.  I'm 
standing here right in front of you, telling you what I want."  Looking down, 
he continued speaking.  "Maybe...if you give this insanity a rest, we can be 
together again."
	Zira laughed even louder, almost menacingly.  "Scar.  Let's get one 
thing straight.  I love you with all my heart, and I will never love anyone 
as much as I love you.  But I'm sane enough to know you're just a figment of 
my desperate imagination.  I haven't mated since you died, and every season I 
have, I suffer through with only emotional pain and self-gratification.  All 
this desperation has renewed you as a vision in my mind, and I can't place my 
fate at risk for a figment of my imagination."  She walked around in a 
circle, and lay down in the middle of her lair.  "You're dead, Scar.  I'll 
see you when the gods take me up to be by your side."
	A figment?  He was nothing more than a figment?  "What if I can 
convince you that I am real?"  And with that, he walked up to her, 
outstretched his tongue and left a long lick down the left side of her face.  
As he did so, her eyes closed and she tilted her head to the side and sighed 
happily.  "Do you believe me now?"
	She smiled pleasantly and said "I'm sorry, Scar.  But the dead don't 
come back to life.  Go away and let me sleep.  I am a sane lioness."
	As Scar walked away from her, he felt emptier than he had since 
Karanga's death.  His own mate...she wouldn't believe him.
	Thus, on a dark evening in the Outlands, a dead husband walked away 
from his long-suffering widow.  And if the wind that blows through every lair 
in the kingdom could speak, it would tell you it heard these words from the 
failed mate: "But you aren't, Zira.  You were...but not anymore."

	Time continued on, as it eternally will.  Ujono grew up, and became a 
healthy full grown lion, with a full black mane, piercing blue eyes, and a 
beard which was only slightly shorter than Scar's.  According to his uncle, 
Ujono looked exactly like his grandfather, the great king Thembi, only more 
malnourished.  In many ways, this was gratifying to the old neglected, 
deposed king.  To feel that he could, in a way, become friends with his 
father, ignoring the times before when his father cast him aside, and blamed 
him for his original wife's death.  Of Ujono's traits, Scar noticed some odd 
ones.  He wasn't particularly interested in sex, for one.  He had mated with 
a lioness once, but he was more concerned about finding a mate where the act 
would mean something, and, possibly because of his isolation, his mind was 
diverted from the usual thoughts of full-grown lions of that age.  
	He took a strange interest in the shamanic arts, and eventually hunted 
down one who would know.

	In the middle of the pridelands, there stood a giant, knarled tree.  
Inside, a dark furred baboon sat both drinking and writing from a gourd.
	"Hmm...the weather, it looks like it will be hot for a long time, eh?"  
He looked up towards the heavens and yelled "Do you have a problem with rain?  
It's been almost a full moon's cycle since the last one!  I could use a drink 
of water!"  He shook his rattling stick at the sky, as a plea.  Rafiki was 
answered with a crash of thunder, and a near immediate pouring rain.  Rafiki, 
still outstretched towards the sky, looked around with his fur getting soaked 
to his very bones, and with water drenching his face, gave the heavens a look 
of exasperation and sighed.  "Thanks for your promptness."  And when his tree 
started to rattle, he shouted out again, "Hey!  No earthquakes!  Don't make 
me come up there!"
	He laughed, sat down, and said "It won't be long, eh?"  And when the 
tree started to shake again, he let out an exasperated sigh and jumped down 
to the ground.  "Who is making this racket?"
	"It's me, Rafiki." said a golden lion with a wet black mane sticking to 
the sides of his head and neck.  The statement was just met with a quizzical 
look.
	"First of all, say 'I'.  Secondly, who is 'I'?"
	"I is Ujono.  I don't know if you remember me."
	"Ujono!  It is...I see...wow...I...you're quite the big one now!  I 
remember when you were just a little fellow.  I don't know if I ever saw you, 
to be honest.  Your mother didn't get very involved in much of the prideland 
activities.  I do remember seeing her at the funeral.  She didn't bring you, 
but she talked about you, and I must say, you are Thembi's twin!"  Rafiki 
stood back and took a good look at him, trodding through the mud and wet 
grass.  "You need to eat more, boy."  He poked Ujono in the couple of visible 
ribs he had.
	"I call it nutrition."  They both laughed, but soon after, Ujono got to 
the point.  "I'd love to stay here and chat, but it's starting to get really 
uncomfortable out here in the rain, and I came to ask you for something."
	Impressed by the lion's determination, Rafiki continued the dialogue.  
"What do you want from me?"
	Ujono took a deep breath, and continued.  "I want you to teach me the 
shamanistic arts."  Rafiki's face was one of thoughtfulness.
	"Why exactly do you want to learn these?"
	"Well, we're rather isolated out where we live, and we're happy there, 
but my mom's getting older, and since she used to be the one who'd obtain all 
the remedies to our illnesses, we all think that it would be good for me to 
learn to do some of it myself."  Suddenly, Ujono realized what he had said.
	"We all?  What do you mean by that?"
	"Ummm..."
	"Does your mom have a fellow?"
	Ujono gave an inaudible sigh of relief.  "Yeah, but don't tell anyone, 
we don't want to stir any rumors."  Rafiki raised his hand.
	"I completely understand.  Now, as for you being my student, I'll do 
it."  A little bit more thought from Rafiki.  "Besides, I'm getting older 
every day, and it's getting harder for me to go to people.  If you get enough 
training, you could go in my place during some of the less important cases."
	And the rain soaked lion smiled.

	And that rain soaked lion learned.  And learned.  And when he was done, 
he learned more.  Scar found Ujono disappearing rather often to tend to lions 
throughout the kingdom.  Whenever some creature had a mild ailment, Ujono was 
the one to contact.  So as time went on, and while Kovu was training for his 
deception of Simba, Ujono was gaining a reputation as a healer, and was 
gaining, in addition, some respect.
	However, at home, he broke a rule set by Rafiki quite often.  Whenever 
his nephew wasn't performing his health duties on others, Scar noticed that 
Ujono would experiment on himself.  He had already taken to fermenting 
berries in a number of troughs in his room.  One time, Scar walked into 
Ujono's den to ask him a question.  Not long after his installment as 
Rafiki's right-hand, Ujono started pulling a large rock in front of the 
opening to his room.  Scar pushed it aside, and a huge cloud of gray smoke 
flushed out of the room, all of it stemming from a coconut half sitting in 
the middle of the room.  Ujono was lying flat on his back next to it, 
chuckling to himself, swinging his mane, and drawing symbols in the air with 
an outstretched claw.  Scar coughed, and the prostrate lion glanced over, 
laughed, and said "I believe I've discovered the secret of the gods."
	The old lion's head was starting to hurt from the smoke.  He had heard 
of some plants being able to have this effect, but he'd never seen it in 
action.  When he had been younger, it had been told to him by the hyenas that 
in the old times, after a great hunt, the Great Hyena would summon fire, put 
it to a mixture of plants, and then the entire tribe would gather around the 
burning embers and engage in something called "clinging to the tails of the 
gods."  It was a festival where supposedly the hyenas' spirits would be 
inhabited by the gods, and they would speak the wisdom, which would run their 
pack.  Of course, that was just a legend.  Ujono lying on the floor acting 
like an idiot...that was real.  Still, it wasn't his concern.  As long as he 
was steering from dark powers, his stupid little rituals would only bring 
temporary damage to himself.  And he was still a wonderful nephew, and Scar's 
best friend in the world.
	Shada's time was spent less recklessly and with consideration of her 
age.  She was hardly ancient, but she was getting older by the day, and on 
the day that Scar found Zira again, she had not mated in ages.  Her season, 
at first a terrible burden to bear, was so often unsatisfied that she became 
used to the pain.  For more time after that fateful day, she was without 
mate.  There are those who have said that she engaged in the act with her 
aged stepbrother, who would certainly have been a convenience, but these 
statements are unfounded and come from unreliable mouths.  What is true, is 
that as Ujono grew and grew in his shamanic abilities, the daughter of 
Karanga went out for a walk through the plains, and came across a young rogue 
lion who captured her heart.  They spent entire days together, doing whatever 
lovers do when they agree on their futures.  There was many a night during 
those times where Ujono and Scar would be waken from their sleep by the sound 
of Shada arriving, giggling, and making far too much noise for an animal at 
that hour, before finally going to sleep with a large smile on her face.
	And one night, she came home especially late.  While the two males in 
her lair looked on with one eye open, she took everything that meant 
something to her, wrapped it in a small pelt, and tied it into one small 
bundle, about the size of a large gourd.  She then went over to Scar and 
kissed him on the forehead, and did the same to Ujono.  She then took the 
bundle into her mouth, walked to the exit, and as she walked out into the 
night, she issued a muffled "goodbye."
	And Shada was never seen in the Pridelands again.  The few creatures 
who have gone out of range of the Pridelands and the Outlands have claimed 
the existence of a massive pride, supposedly founded by a lioness of 
Prideland royal blood.  As to whether this is Shada or Tahali (or even both), 
no answer is known.

	By this time, Scar had almost completely put the incidents with Kovu 
and Zira out of his mind.  He vaguely remembered Zira's plan to raise Kovu to 
destroy Simba, but he had stopped spying on the Outlands for updates.  It had 
started getting dull long ago.  Scar knew that if something important was 
happening it would somehow get back to the lair in the plains, and by this 
time, he often spent entire days without once thinking about what sort of 
plans his former mate might have in store to overthrow the kingdom.  The only 
news that ever happened was either good news or random accidents.
	So when an unexplained fire swept part of the savannah, nearly claiming 
the life of the princess Kiara, the news struck Scar as interesting, but not 
particularly shocking.  That is, until he found out who served as Kiara's 
savior: a young lion with a striking resemblance to a dead king, and one who, 
by a strange coincidence, had a name that meant the same as the nickname of 
the same king.  
	But the part about Kovu's reemergence that bothered Scar the most 
wasn't his presence; it was the nagging in the back of his mind that forced 
him to question the motives behind Kiara's rescue.  He had always hoped that 
either Zira, or Kovu, or both, would realize that what they were doing was 
wrong and attempt to make amends with the Pridelanders.  He also knew that 
the main agenda of the scheme consisted of Kovu falling into the confidence 
of Simba, and using that trust against him, to deliver him into his final 
conflict.  On the day the knowledge of the rescue became public, the deposed 
king took up his old spying activities once again, this time assisted by his 
shaman-in-training nephew, who had taken an active interest, and perhaps a 
perverse delight, in what would happen next.  Scar and Ujono already knew 
that a party consisting of Simba, Nala, Kiara, and Kovu was slowly walking 
its way back to Pride Rock.  Since the group was already nearing their lair, 
and as evening was setting in, the pair would have to hurry if they wanted to 
catch a glimpse of the caravan before they retired for the night.  They 
immediately set off, running as fast as they possibly could, until they 
finally reached their destination with their legs burning.  Simba and his 
company had just arrived, and Ujono and Scar took shelter in a hidden 
position and watched the proceedings.
	As the other lionesses slowly filed into the lair behind the ledge of 
Pride Rock, Kovu began to slowly follow them, only to be growled away by 
Simba, who motioned for his daughter's rescuer to sleep outside of the lair.  
As Kovu curled up next to a protruding rock, Kiara went to him and thanked 
him for saving her.  They bickered and argued about the lioness's hunting 
skills, and then Kiara dared Kovu to train her properly in the morning.  And 
while Ujono's eyes ran up and down the form of the princess, Scar was looking 
into the distance, past the ledge, at two almost invisible figures in the 
distance.  Zira and Nuka were standing on a log, spying just like him, except 
with a clear motive.
	After Kiara had gone into the lair, and it was clear that Kovu was 
asleep.  Scar motioned for his nephew to follow him.  He slowly ascended the 
staircase like rock, staying as low to the ground as he possibly could.  
However, once he reached the top, he walked along the side ledge of the main 
rock.  After a decent distance, he stopped in front of a lair whose entrance 
was covered in cobwebs and whose floor was enveloped in dust.  As he stepped 
through the webs, into the lair, clouds of dust circled and billowed around 
his paws.  Ignoring the near-choking dust, he walked in a circle before lying 
down in the dirt, neck stretched out and eyes closed.  Ujono stopped in front 
of the entrance.
	"What is this place?"  He coughed as the huge cloud of dust built up 
from Scar's settling slowly floated out of the lair.  Scar just yawned and 
fell asleep almost immediately.  He had spent years of his life sleeping in 
that lair, and it felt wonderful to be back there again.

	For many nights on end, Simba had been having lovely dreams about clear 
streams and romps with his lioness in the moonlight.  When he went to sleep 
that night, he expected nothing different.  Once again, his dreams took him 
into the savanna, and this time, he heard his father calling out to him.  
However, the tone of Mufasa's voice was desperate, and a strange force seemed 
to be pulling him towards the canyon.  When he reached the edge, he looked 
down to see his father clinging desperately to the sidewall, begging for help 
while hanging over the memorable wildebeast stampede of his youth.  Suddenly, 
he heard an evil laugh which he hadn't heard since another dream, when Kiara 
was just a cub.  It was Scar, cackling evilly to see both Mufasa and Simba in 
so dire a predicament.  As Simba stretched out towards his father, he was 
pulled back by his uncle, and his father slid down the canyon and disappeared 
beneath the hooves of the stampede.  Turning his eyes on Scar, the cackling 
visage changed into Kovu, complete with a scar over his left eye.  As soon as 
Simba made the connection, he was released and hurled down to the same fate 
as his father...
	Simba awoke with a start, gasping and panting.  It had been ages since 
he'd had a real nightmare, and this time, Kovu was involved.  He decided that 
the second pair of eyes he had seen must have belonged to Kovu, and Simba 
went back to sleep, purposely ignoring the fact that Kovu's eyes are green, 
and the second pair was blue.

	Scar and Ujono awoke just before the sun came over the horizon.  They 
had to make plans as to how to keep aware of current events.  After much 
debating, they decided that they would take a huge risk and live in the 
southern side of Pride Rock, in Scar's old lair.  From the amount of dust, 
and the cobwebs covering the entire entrance, it was easy to assume that no 
creature had been back there for some time.  No one would know where they 
were staying, as if any one in the kingdom particularly cared.  After the 
situation with Kovu and Zira was reconciled, they would be able to move back 
their usual lair in the plains.
	In the meantime, tasks needed to be assigned.  Since Ujono was much 
younger and in top physical condition, aside from his slight malnutrition, he 
would follow Kovu and Kiara in their expeditions, provided he stayed out of 
sight and did not interfere.  Scar agreed that he would keep a good eye and 
ear on Simba, to make sure nothing would happen to him.  They would meet back 
at the lair at sunset to share their findings with each other and possibly 
put together any possible happenings.  Food was the responsibility of the 
individual, and if one did not feed himself, it was not the other's duty to 
feed him.
	However, their first assignments saw them staying very close.  Simba 
went through his usual routine of getting up, stretching, and walking down to 
the waterhole for a morning drink.  Kovu followed his routine, and stalked 
quietly near him, and when the king stopped to lap up water, Kovu prepared to 
attack.  And though Scar and Kovu expected their preparation to be for 
nothing, Kiara innocently stepped in front of Kovu, distracting him from his 
mission, and allowing Simba to slip away under his nose.  The two walked away 
together, and this served as the cue for Scar and Ujono to go their separate 
ways.  "I'll see you tonight, Scar.  I'm expecting this to be a lot of fun", 
smiled Ujono as he stalked after the couple.
	Scar grinned.  "Lucky you."

	By the time Ujono got back to the lair, Scar was already half asleep, 
propped up against a wall, with his eyes only half open.  Some of the bones 
from a picked-over elephant lay on the lair.  His uncle had managed to 
scrounge up enough food for himself, and the extra antelope which he had 
brought wasn't needed.  Scar chuckled.  "I'm not quite that helpless, Ujono, 
but thanks for the concern.  You can take it with you tomorrow."
	"No, I got it for you.  You eat it."
	"Trust me, Ujono.  I need to at least scrounge for myself.  I'm old, 
and if I let you start bringing my food, I'll get old and fat.  I'm gonna get 
my own food until all my legs are broken, and when that happens, just kill 
me."  Both laughed.  "But enough small talk.  What happened today?"
	"Well, it was pretty exciting for a while.  They chased birds, got 
attacked by a heard of rhinos, and then they got all romantic for what seemed 
like forever.  By nighttime, they were looking into the stars and talking 
about stuff.  Then Kovu started to talk about you."
	"What?"
	"Yeah.  Kiara was talking about the great kings of the past being up 
there in the stars, and Kovu asked 'Do you think my father's up there?'"  
Scar just sighed and shook his head.
	"I honestly don't know.  Sometimes I really wonder myself, but I keep 
hoping I'll be judged for what I've been doing, and not what I've done.  If I 
get judged eternally for my past, I wouldn't want to be with an unfair judge 
like that for all history."  He just looked at the ground and shuffled his 
feet.  "What else happened?"
	"Well, after that, they started nuzzling each other.  Really cute 
couple."  He bore his claws and started swiping them in the air as if 
swatting at something.
	Scar nodded.  "Actually, I saw that.  Simba was right above them, 
looking for guidance from the same kings.  Nala wanted Simba to get to know 
Kovu better.  Then they came back here, and I've been standing here, half 
asleep, waiting for your slow self to get back."
	Ujono had gotten hold of one of the smaller elephant bones and was 
gnawing it ruthlessly.  "Not my fault, really", he mouthed between bites.  
"It really looked like they were going to leave soon until Rafiki found them 
and sang some stupid song about love.  I swear it was the longest, most 
annoying, stupidest thing I've ever seen.  But those two loved it, and 
they're a lovely couple, and now I want a lioness."  He snapped the bone in 
half with his teeth while Scar laughed.  "Then they both get back here and 
Simba actually lets Kovu go into the lair."
	"Are you serious?"
	"You'd know that if you had been paying attention.  He's been accepted, 
at least, to some degree."
	The former king nodded.  "I got to admit, I'm pretty surprised.  Didn't 
think that would be happening at all.  And as for me not paying attention, I 
had to come back here.  Simba was about to mate with Nala, and I'd rather not 
see my own daughter violated by that creature, thank you very much."  Scar 
plopped himself down on the floor of the cave.  "I don't know about you, but 
I'm going to sleep, and hopefully there'll be another breakthrough tomorrow."  
With that, Scar closed his eyes and went to sleep.  Ujono was soon to follow 
his example, and he closed his eyes fantasizing about heroically getting rid 
of Kovu and taking his place by Kiara's side.

	"Wake up, Ujono!"  The young lion woke up to his uncle shaking him hard 
and pointing towards the wall of the cave.  He was frantic about something.
	Ujono yawned.  "What is it, Scar?  Are Kiara and Kovu going at it?"
	"Shut up and put your ear to the wall, right there."  He pointed to a 
specific point on the wall.  "They just left together."
	"They?  You mean Kovu and Kiara?"  But as Ujono pressed his ear to the 
cold rock wall, the only voice he could hear was that of Kiara.  

	"It's amazing.  I can't believe that Dad wants to talk to Kovu.  I know 
he has a questionable past, but I'm sure if Dad gets to know him, they'll 
love each other."

	He pulled immediately away from the wall and started to run out of the 
lair.  "Hurry, Scar!  We got to catch up to them!  This might be it!"
	Since Kovu and Simba had already gotten a head start, Scar and Ujono 
had to run, and as their quarries went to the site where the savanna fire had 
been, the cover was scarce, and they were forced to take refuge far out of 
earshot.  They arrived in time to see Simba talking to Kovu while looking at 
something in the burnt soil.  Everything seemed to be going fine between the 
two of them.  
	Suddenly, a pack of lionesses surrounded them.  Leading them was Zira.  
And as a dust cloud moved over the pack, Scar and Ujono were able to move 
closer and hear what was being said.  Zira smiled evilly and congratulated 
her son.  "Well done, Kovu.  Just like we always planned."  Simba turned on 
Kovu in that instant, but while he tried to refute the charges, Zira gave the 
order to attack.  Simba was forced to fight off lioness after lioness before 
a leap from Nuka knocked him down into the river gorge and onto his side.  
Zira stood over the chasm proudly and proclaimed "We've got him!"  The two 
lions couldn't help but notice how well trained Zira's troops were, and they 
chased towards a large wall of stones and broken wood, hoping to corner him.  
As he attempted to climb, Kovu was told to knock him down, from a place high 
atop the gorge, but when he ignored his mother, Nuka proudly stepped in.
	"I'll do it...for you, mother!"  He leapt on to the wall, begging his 
mother to watch him, desperate for her attention.  As Simba neared the top, 
Nuka caught his hind leg and proclaimed "This is my moment of glory!"  
However, Simba scrambled, and knocked down the log upon which Nuka was 
standing, sending him down the rock slide, and wedging him between two heavy 
logs.  The final steps by Simba sent down an even heavier log, which came 
hurtling down upon Nuka at mind-boggling speed, not even giving him enough 
time to scream.  As Simba crawled to safety, Kovu descended and started 
digging through the rubbish to find his brother, before being knocked away by 
his desperate mother.  She dug until she could find him, and when she found 
him, he apologized to her.  "I'm sorry, mother.  I tried...."  And as Zira 
cradled his face in her paw, Nuka's head fell limp, and both her and Vitani 
stood over him, heads hung low.
	Ujono could only stare, in a fit of shock.  In a manner of seconds, he 
had watched a lion die.  He had never seen death like that before.  Of 
course, he had killed antelopes, but they were food.  He wasn't awake when 
grandmother Karanga passed away.  This life had been alive one moment, 
jumping and eager to please its mother, and now, he was dead.  Ujono had 
never known Nuka, but the feeling of seeing a fellow lion die made him feel 
horribly uncomfortable.  He looked over his shoulder to see how Scar was 
taking it.  He couldn't see him, at first glance.  Scar was lying on the 
ground, in a fetal position with his eyes closed tight.  He was crying 
uncontrollably, and murmuring to himself.
	There is no word to describe the pain that Scar felt.  He remembered 
the day his young son was born, and he remembered how his son went from a 
cute little baby to an anxious, slightly hyperactive cub who wanted to be 
exactly like his father.  Scar hadn't even seen Nuka since the day he saw the 
new Zira for the first time.  Now, his firstborn, possibly his only son, was 
dead.  One of the only creatures he had loved in the world was lying in a 
river gorge, crushed between logs, logs sent down hurtling by the enemy who 
had stolen his own life.  It was Simba's fault again.  Then a thought came to 
his mind.  "Kovu was right at the top of that wall.  If Kovu had obeyed Zira, 
Nuka would still be alive."  That Kovu was the problem.  He was the reason 
for Scar's grief.  Any disobedient creature like Kovu could not be his son, 
and looking upon the scene, he came to the realization that Vitani was his 
daughter.  She was the unborn child, and through the sadness he felt over the 
loss of Nuka, he vowed that he would not lose this daughter, not to Simba, 
and definitely not to Kovu.
	Apparently Zira felt the same way.  In one motion, she stepped away 
from Nuka's grave, pulled back her claws and hit Kovu, full in the left side 
of the face.  When he looked back, he had received a slice that perfectly 
resembled Scar's famous namesake.  Zira accused Kovu of betraying the pride, 
and betraying Scar.  And when Kovu replied "I want nothing more to do with 
him!", Scar couldn't help but snarl, distracting Ujono for a moment.  
	"Nuka is dead because of you!"  Zira backed Kovu into a corner as she 
confronted him with his crime.
	Kovu could barely get out a "no."
	"You've killed your own brother!"  And with that, Kovu started to run.  
Neither of the males opted to follow him, as they wanted to find out what 
plans Zira had in store.  She quickly gathered the other Outland lionesses 
around her and told them her scheme.  "Listen to me" she cooed.  "Simba is 
injured and weak.  Now is the time to attack!"  She slammed her paw down in a 
fit of rage.  "We will take his entire kingdom by force!"  And although Scar 
had to force away his smile, he was worried what was going to happen now.  It 
looked like the past playing all over again.

	Neither Scar nor Ujono opted to return to Pride Rock before the 
Outlanders made their move.  If they had, they might have been pleased to 
watch both Kovu's exile and the seeds of rebellion that were growing within 
Kiara against her own father.  The incident with Kovu had taken a protective 
father and turned him into a paranoid ruler, not allowing his daughter to 
venture out past Pride Rock, much less find Kovu.  Eventually, she was forced 
to sneak out secretly through some loose rocks in the side of the main lair.  
Openly defying her father, she wandered throughout the entire night, looking 
for him.  Just when she was giving up hope, she looked up, and saw him 
looking back at her.  They played together like cubs, talked together like 
friends, and kissed like lovers.  And while Kovu was all for the two of them 
running away and forming their own pride, Kiara decided that something needed 
to be done.  
	At the same time Kiara and Kovu sat by a watering hole and talked of 
love, Ujono and Scar were stalking through a cold, shallow river, secretly 
following Zira and her army towards Pride Rock.
	At the same time Zira and Vitani made their way towards their enemies, 
Simba told Zazu to assemble the lionesses for battle.
	They all met in between, on an empty stretch of dry savanna near the 
river gorge.  It was raining, and as the ranks moved closer and closer to 
each other, Zira ascended onto a monolith which has since become known as 
Tyrant's Rock.  Mud dripping from her maw, Zira bared her teeth and delivered 
her challenge.  "It's over, Simba.  I have dreamed of nothing else for 
years!"
	"Last chance, Zira."  Simba's voice came loud and clear, in a tone that 
Zira had heard years before.  "Go home."
	"I am home."  She smiled at Simba, and as the lightning crashed, and 
light reflected from her eyes and teeth, she perfectly resembled a demon.  
Then she raised her head to the sky and yelled out.  "Attack!"  The prides 
walked, then trotted, than ran towards each other, before finally lunging at 
each other's throats and attacking each other relentlessly.  Eventually, the 
outlanders, who had been trained at an unforgiving rate, beat down the 
Pridelanders, and Simba became the target of an ambush.  Six lionesses 
attacked him at once, and as he shook the last one off, he felt a mighty 
thump as he was cuffed by Zira.  When he arose, the two rivals circled each 
other, waiting for just the right moment.  They growled, unsheathed their 
claws, and prepared to lunge.
	Suddenly, Kovu and Kiara leaped into the center of the circle, blocking 
the fray.  As each parent told the child to move, the progeny held their 
ground.  "Daddy, this has to stop," pleaded Kiara.  Zira was not making 
Kovu's task an easier one.
	"You're even weaker than I thought!  Get out of the way!"  Kovu refused 
to back down, and when Simba demanded the same, Kiara begged for his 
attention.
	"A wise king once told me, 'We are one.'  I didn't understand him then.  
Now I do."  She sighed and continued, drawing his attention to the collection 
of lionesses from both prides, who in the fray, had gotten mixed together.  
"Look at them.  They are us.  What differences do you see?"  For a long time, 
all anyone could do was look at each other, and everything was peaceful.  The 
sun slowly started to come out as well, as if responding to the burden which 
seemed to slowly be disappearing.  Even Vitani, when ordered by her mother to 
attack, refused.
	"No, mother.  Kiara's right."  She walked over to Simba's side, and 
took a place among the other lionesses.  "Enough."  The other lionesses were 
soon to follow, paying no heed to Zira's threats.  They placed themselves 
throughout the Prideland's ranks, realizing the futility of the conflict.  
Zira, on the other hand, would not let it go.
	Announcing that she would never let the past go, she growled to herself 
"This is for you, Scar", and lunged at Simba.  Kiara jumped in the way, and 
together they rolled down the gorge, hitting rock after rock on the way down 
the incredibly steep slope.  Kiara managed to grab her claws onto a low 
angled ledge.  Zira caught the ledge lower, on a sheer slope, and clutched 
desperately onto her life.  In the meantime, Scar had all but fallen down the 
cliff, so caught up in a mental torment that he was physically inept.  He 
didn't want to reveal himself to Simba, but he couldn't just let Zira 
die...As he approached a part of the cliff a little further down from Zira, 
with Ujono chasing wildly after him, trying to stop him, he tripped, fell a 
distance, and hit his head on a stone, losing consciousness.  Ujono slid into 
a place right next to him, and stood by his limp body as he watched the scene 
unfolding over the river.  Although Kiara did her best to reach out to Zira, 
her paw was forced to avoid swipes and slices from a Zira too overcome with 
her own hate to let herself be saved.  Instead, she fell backwards into the 
flash flood that was rampaging through, and disappeared beneath the waves 
before the rest of the water disappeared further down the gorge.
	When Kiara came back onto the plain, she was reunited with everyone 
from both the prides, as they congratulated her for her effort and for her 
bravery.  Soon, the newly formed pride formed a caravan that went back to 
Pride Rock, where Kovu and Kiara were declared as both heirs to the throne 
and official mates.  As they ascended Pride Rock with Simba and Nala, they 
glanced over the edge and surveyed what would one day be their kingdom.  With 
both Scar, Zira, and their pride gone, nothing but peace seemed to be in 
store for the kingdom.

	Ujono was coughing.  In fact, he was coughing so hard, he had coughed 
up at least one wad of blood.  He was trying to balance waking up Scar with 
convincing himself he hadn't seen what he thought he had.  He hadn't really 
seen Zira disappear like that, had he?  He hadn't seen two deaths in one day?  
"Come on, Scar...wake up...please..."  As he shook his head, getting ever 
more frustrated, he looked down into the gorge and saw what looked like a 
bloody piece of fur.  He focused all his attention on the object and came to 
a reasonable conclusion.  Quickly he hoisted his mentor onto his back and 
started descending into the gorge.  The mound of fur was wedge in between two 
rocks and was letting more and more blood seep into the river as time went 
on.  As Ujono neared the patch, he knew it was Zira.  He stopped right next 
to her, lifted her face up, and rested it on the rock.  She was bleeding from 
the head and from the side of her belly, but he could tell she was still 
alive, so he tried talking to her.  "Zira?  Zira?  Are you okay?"
	Her eyelids fluttered slowly and she opened her eyes halfway and looked 
up at Ujono.  "Ah...so this is what the devil looks like.  Much more 
attractive than I thought he'd be."  As she started to laugh, she suddenly 
groaned and attempted to shift her weight.  "If I'm dead, this shouldn't 
still hurt."
	"Zira...I have someone here who wants to see you.  He misses you more 
than you could ever know."  He pulled Scar over to the rock so that she was 
looking straight into the closed eyes of her unconscious lover.  "He was 
knocked out trying to get to you, trying to save you.  He's been alive this 
whole time, but he didn't know how to approach you."
	Zira just stared at Scar's face, and soon the blood staining the stone 
mixed with her tears.  "Scar really was alive...why couldn't he come to me?  
I needed him."
	"I think he was just frightened, of what you seemed to be.  Of what you 
had become."  Ujono shook Scar hard.  "Wake up, Scar.  Zira's alive and she's 
right here."
	The dying lioness pulled a bloody arm out from between the rocks.  It 
was so maimed and coated with blood that Ujono could hardly stand to look at 
it, but Zira took her paw and caressed the side of Scar's face.  "My dearest, 
dearest Taka.  I'm sorry this had to happen, my love.  Please forgive me."  
She craned her neck, fighting the horrible pain, draining her remaining 
energy, and softly, yet passionately, kissed her mate on the mouth.  Ujono 
suddenly realized that his eyes were welling up with tears, to see the 
bloody, dying lioness kissing the only creature that had meant anything to 
her.
	"Scar....Scar!  Please!  PLEASE WAKE UP!!  PLEASE WAKE UP!!!"  He 
started to cry uncontrollably as he tried his best to wake up Scar in time.  
It was all in vain, however, and as Zira broke the kiss, she caressed his 
face again (leaving the left side of his face stained with her blood), and 
rolled her head backwards, coughing up blood one last time, and then went 
motionless.  Cold.  Dead.  Ujono was left lying on the ground with his face 
in his arms, crying uncontrollably.  He didn't hear Scar start to move.
	"What....what?  Where am I?"  He looked around in all directions, but 
when he stared straight foreward, his gaze remained fixed.  Zira was there, 
bleeding and dead.  "....Ujono......"
	"Yes, Scar?"
	"What happened?"
	"She was still alive, Scar.  I brought you down here you could talk one 
last time.  She kissed you and asked you to forgive her, but you were 
unconscious.  I couldn't wake you up."  Scar's eyes also began to fill up.  
"There's one more thing."  They made eye contact, each staring into the 
other's sadness-filled eyes.  "She called you her dearest.  Her dearest 
Taka."
	Any other lion would have immediately started crying in this situation.  
In fact, if it hadn't been for the bump he had received, Scar probably would 
have done the same.  Somehow, however, the tears dried up.  The sadness was 
gone, and it was all replaced with anger.  A desire for vengeance swelled 
where the tears should have been.  And before he had time to convince himself 
that he was choosing the wrong path...something snapped in his mind.  His 
mind was changing, shifting, distorting his every view.  In his brain, he saw 
a field of waste.  Corpses, skeletons, dead plants, hot dirt, and vultures 
everywhere.  At the end of the field, there stood a large elephant skull, and 
standing on top of it was a ravenous beast with huge, razor-sharp teeth, and 
giant claws.  It laughed maniacally as it gazed down at Scar and Scar found 
himself compelled to hate this thing.  Suddenly, the shadows covering the 
monster shifted, and he saw who it was.  It was Simba.
	As Ujono wiped his eyes, he could see that Scar was standing perfectly 
still with an empty gaze on his face.  His eyes were completely dead, as if 
he was obsessed with something.  For Scar, it was his nemesis.  Simba had 
taken so much from him: his pride, his lands, his friends, his son, his 
daughter, and now his mate.  When he had stood idly by, he had watched his 
family be taken from him, and he had not even been conscious to kiss his love 
goodbye, all because of Simba!  Any of Scar's pains came from him.  No...they 
weren't Scar's pains.  They were Taka's pains.  Scar was a corrupt individual 
who went from being a ruthless tyrant to a sniveling coward, hiding behind 
bushes and rocks, spying.  It was time...
	"Scar....what's wrong with you?"
	The sound of the old lion's voice came out icy and cold, in a harsh 
monotone.  "Scar is dead.  I have destroyed him."  
	Ujono was completely confused.  "Destroyed?  Who...what...what are you 
talking about?"
	"Taka is now in control.  Taka will do what Scar was always afraid to 
do.  There are many debts to be repaid."  As his uncle looked deep into the 
distance, Ujono could only stare at him and be shocked at what he was saying.  
He knew that he had gone through a lot, but what Scar was speaking...it was 
becoming far too clear.  Scar had gone mad.  "If you do not help me, it is 
not of my concern, but I will seek my revenge, and my name will be 
remembered...
forever."

-------------------------------------
"And you will shed tears of scarlet."
-------------------------------------

end of part 2

For questions, info, or feedback, e-mail scar_the_lion@hotmail.com .