FOREWORD

Just a few author's notes to begin with:

- This story is heavily based on my previous story, "Mufasa and Scar: The Broken Legacy", so I recommend that you read that one first, to prevent confusion.

- This story is NOT canon with the "TLK Six New Adventures" stories, so some names and situations will be different, mainly the names of Scar's parents, Scar's own real name, and the way he got his scar. (Again, for a more detailed explanation on this, please read the first fanfic.)

- I am not a native English speaker. Though I've tried my best, if the grammar or sentence construction is still wonky, I apologize in advance. Comments, suggestions and feedback are very much welcome!

- Disclaimer: This work is based on Walt Disney's film "The Lion King". Elements and characters taken from this movie are property of Walt Disney, I don't take any credit, and no profit is made out of this story.
Any character that you don't recognize from the movie was made up by me. If you would like to use them for a story of your own, just drop me a note. :)

Without further ado, I hope you enjoy the story!

The Rise and Fall of King Scar

Chapter 1

Dangerous Curiosity

It was a beautiful, sunny day at the African plains. A herd of gazelles had gathered around the waterhole. They had decided to stop and rest for a short moment, taking turns to drink, while the rest remained on the lookout for nearby predators. The wind blew slightly every now and then, creating a gentle, cooling breeze that the gazelles welcomed gratefully.

The herd looked up in alarm as they detected movement in the distance, but relaxed considerably when they realized it was King Mufasa. The lion was not on the prowl; he was simply doing his usual rounds, making sure that the borders of his territory were clearly defined, to warn intruders against trespassing.

The King greeted the gazelles as he walked by, and breathed in deeply, feeling rather content. He had good reasons to feel that way; the lionesses of his Pride were happy and well fed, and the rest of the animals looked up to him with respect. He had done a good job as a King so far, maintaining the delicate balance of the Circle of Life, working with other leaders within his territory to keep order and peace. He also looked forward to teaching his young cub, Simba, how to take care of this Kingdom, that one day would be his to rule.

Mufasa's life was quite stable at the moment; perhaps the only thing that tainted his happiness was the presence of his brother Hatari, who went nowadays by the nickname of Scar.

It was not that Mufasa didn't love his brother, but Scar's attitude towards the birth of Simba had him worried. Scar had never expressed out loud any desire to become a King, except one time, when they were younger. The former King, Thembi, was teaching Mufasa how to be a good leader and had made a comment stating that Scar would never be a good king, not knowing that Scar was listening in. Mufasa could remember that that remark had stung his younger brother deeply. Further than that, Mufasa could not recall any other occasion in which Scar mentioned wanting to become a King. His reaction to the birth of Simba, however, told Mufasa otherwise. Perhaps deep inside, Scar did want to become a king, and now Simba had destroyed any chance he might have had.

Mufasa shook his head for a moment and concentrated again on his son. After all, despite Scar's initial reaction towards the Prince, he now seemed to have come to terms with Simba's presence, behaving polite and civil towards the cub.

Mufasa could not have been more wrong, though. Scar desired the throne more than anything, mostly to prove his father wrong. But as of lately, Scar had also noticed how everyone admired and respected Mufasa, and Scar couldn't help but picture himself on his older brother's place. Mufasa had always had everything he wanted, and lived a pampered childhood. Scar had nothing of the sort, being despised by his own father, which was another thorn dug deeply into his heart. Consumed by hurt and jealousy, Scar had been plotting a way to seize the throne.

At the moment, there was no one at Pride Rock except for Scar, who was resting on the southern ledge of the pride's lair. He was lying down, resting his chin on his paws, looking thoughtful. He had managed to earn Simba's trust, which was a vital part of his plan. This also meant that the cub would pester him every now and then, so for now, Scar was enjoying the calm and quiet afternoon.

It had been a few days ago since he last visited the hyenas at the elephant graveyard. Scar had three good hyena friends, Shenzi, Banzai and Fedha, or Ed for short. He used to bring them food often, after their mother died and they were too young to fend for themselves properly. But Shenzi and Banzai, being adults now, had become more skilled at hunting and they didn't need Scar's help to survive. Ed had never learned to hunt properly, due to a violent encounter with the former king, which left him mentally impaired. But his two siblings took good care of him.

The hyenas would never say no to a special treat from their lion friend, though, and would brighten up considerably whenever Scar popped by for a visit.

However, Scar had no plans to go to the graveyard today. The heat was getting to him, so instead he decided to go to the waterhole to quench his thirst.

He stood up and stretched, digging his claws in the soil as he did so. He climbed down the ledge and off Pride Rock, and made his way to the waterhole, glancing as he walked towards the lionesses that were still lounging not far away from where he was.

He spotted Sarafina and the queen Sarabi sitting together, keeping a close eye on their cubs, Simba and Nala. The rest of the pride would go hunting soon, but the sun had made them drowsy, and from what Scar could catch of their conversation, they were procrastinating a little bit, and would go hunt during sunset instead, as it was bound to be cooler then.

Scar looked around for Karanga, the former queen and the lioness who raised him as her own son. She was nowhere to be seen, but neither were her daughters, so he assumed that she was out there giving them hunting lessons in private. The two young lionesses were growing up and would soon start joining the hunting sessions, if all went well. This meant Karanga would spend a lot of time with her daughters, but she always made sure to give Scar his own share of attention whenever she returned.

Scar bent down to drink and pricked his ears as he noticed one of the lionesses approaching him quietly. It was Ndani, one of the few lionesses who didn't mind striking up a random conversation with him.

"Hello," he said, looking up. The lioness's head hung low, and she looked rather sad, nothing unusual for Ndani, who according to her pride-mates, always had something to mope about.

"Hey, Scar," she replied and sat next to him, bending over to drink some water as well.

"You look sad... Did they exclude you from the hunting party again?" he ventured to ask.

Ndani had made one too many mistakes while hunting in the past, which had led the lionesses to place her on guard duty back at Pride Rock, more often than not. But she shook her head this time.

"No, it's not that. Actually Sarabi even said I was getting better," she replied, smiling at him slightly.

Scar chuckled. "So what's the problem, then?"

Ndani sighed. "It's one of my friends, you know, from the Outlands. She went and got herself knocked up by this rogue, and now she's feeling terrible. We're kinda worried about her."

Scar raised an eyebrow. "I thought your friends said they didn't need male lions?"

Ndani couldn't help but chuckle. "She wasn't very excited about it, I tell ya, but what do you reckon, that's the price to pay if ya wanna have cubs..."

Scar nodded and drank some more, lapping at the water thoughtfully.

"She's been feeling really sick lately," Ndani went on, "Never seen anything like it with the lionesses from our Pride. I just hope she'll be okay."

"You should talk to Rafiki," Scar suggested, "the old monkey might have something to help your friend feel better."

Ndani nodded. "Good idea. I think I'll also do as you did with the hyenas, and bring her something to eat. She's in no state to hunt, that's for sure."

"Speaking of the hyenas," Scar said, "Banzai told me that you guys met by the border the other day..."

"Oh yes!" Ndani exclaimed, "Forgot to tell ya. He was hunting there and I was just returning from the Outlands. We had some good fun, chasin' them birds around... He's a funny guy, that one."

"Glad you get along," Scar said sincerely, "I still hope I'll get to meet your friends some time."

Ndani grinned. "I'll try and talk 'em into it, but don't expect them to be as friendly as your own mates."

"And yet, one of them still managed to seduce a rogue," he said.

Ndani giggled. "He wasn't crazy about her, ya know... He just did his thing and left."

Scar stood up and shook himself slightly. "Time to look for some shade," he muttered.

"Come and join us by the tree," Ndani said invitingly and turned around in the direction of the rest of the lionesses.

Scar followed her, not really intending to mingle with the pride, but looking forward to the refreshing shadow cast on the ground by the acacias.

Ndani sat down next to her sisters, Sarabi and Sarafina. Scar sat down a few paces away and looked at them, wondering whether Ndani was really related to the other two.

Sarabi and Sarafina had both firm, muscular bodies, and very beautiful features. Ndani, on the contrary, was small in frame and a bit skinny. She had a rough and unpolished look to her, whereas her sisters looked pristine and elegant. Their mother, Dalasini, had joined the Pride Landers and had agreed to also feed Mufasa and Scar, after the Queen passed away unexpectedly when they were born. Ndani was probably smaller as a result of that; she might not have had enough milk to drink as a cub. Being the runt of the litter, she always had it difficult, living under the shadow of her stronger and prettier sisters.

That had led Ndani to stray away from the pride and make friends elsewhere, and more often than not Scar could see her hanging out with a group of three lionesses he still had not had the pleasure to meet.

Scar got distracted from his thoughts when he heard Karanga and her daughters approaching. They were chatting animatedly about their lesson, looking a bit tired but content.

"Hello, my son," Karanga greeted Scar, nuzzling him gently.

Scar closed his eyes and enjoyed her attention. "Hi, mother. It looks like you three had a good lesson..." he said.

Karanga nodded as she lied down on the grass. "They are getting better, and more confident. Specially Tahlili, she's a natural. Shada works hard but she has to learn to focus more."

Scar listened to her, as he watched the two young lionesses provide a full report to the rest of the pride of what they did during their lesson.

He turned to Karanga, who was frowning slightly.

"What's wrong?"

"Kuuliza," Karanga replied, "she's twitching in her sleep..."

Scar looked around and spotted Karanga's mother, Kuuliza. She was the oldest lioness in the pride and her health had taken a turn for the worse lately. She even stopped joining the hunting parties, not being able to keep up with the younger lionesses anymore.

"She must be dreaming," Scar replied.

"Yes, but she's been getting all these nightmares lately, and more often than not wakes up all terrified... It's so not like her. Mother's always been strong and I never saw her being scared of anything. It was quite a weird sight, when I saw her panicking the first time..."

Scar looked at the old lioness. He remembered her as a strong and good huntress, but now she had lost weight, and she looked a lot more fragile. He wondered whether she still had long to live.

"Hey, Uncle Scar!" young Simba said, who had apparently materialized next to Scar without him noticing.

Scar refrained from rolling his eyes in the presence of the rest of the pride and looked down at the cub.

"Yes, Simba?" he said, in what he considered to be a good imitation of the annoying, condescending kind of voice the rest of the Pride used when talking to young cubs.

Simba climbed up on his uncle's back and snuggled on his mane, just as he often did with Mufasa. "Nala's all sleepy... You wanna play tag with me?"

The lionesses were staring at the two of them, so Scar had to put his best smile on his face and put up with the cub's playful displays of affection.

"Me? Oh no, no, no. I am too old to be running after cubs, especially one as quick as you are. I'd never ever catch you," he said, while the lionesses laughed.

Simba smiled proudly. "Psh, you're no fun," he said, while batting at Scar's tail.

"Indeed," Scar replied through clenched teeth.

Sarabi looked at her son lovingly, and looked up, noticing Mufasa approaching in the distance. "Look, Simba, here comes your father, why don't you go greet him?"

Simba rolled off Scar's back, hitting the ground rather hard.

"Oomph..." he said, and shook himself slightly. He then ran towards his father as fast as he could.

"Wow, look at him go..." Anasa said, smiling.

The lionesses smiled as Simba and Mufasa played and pounced on each other in the distance.

Scar looked away and stared idly at the horizon.

Mufasa and Simba eventually returned to the Pride. Sarabi greeted her mate with a loving lick on his cheek, and Mufasa nuzzled her in return.

"Simba was just telling me how he wanted to come with me next time, to see what his father is up to while he's gone," he told her.

Simba nodded, feeling rather curious about why Scar and Mufasa kept disappearing every other day.

Both lions took turns to patrol the borders and make sure no intruders crossed them, and Simba had noticed the pattern.

"Tomorrow?" Simba asked eagerly.

"But it's your uncle's turn tomorrow," Mufasa replied.

Simba's ears drooped, looking disappointed.

Mufasa smiled at him. "Okay, okay. I will show you what we do when your uncle and I are gone. In fact... There is actually something else too that I would like you to see."

Simba looked up at his father. "So you'll take me with you? You promise? First thing tomorrow?" he asked eagerly.

Mufasa nodded. "I promise."

"Great!" Simba exclaimed, and ran off to wake up Nala and tell her all about it.

"Scar, will you take the northern border tomorrow? I'll do the Southern one with Simba."

Scar nodded silently, as the lionesses began stirring.

"Time to stop procrastinating, my friends," Sarabi said as she stretched her legs, getting ready for the hunt.

The older lionesses, except Kuuliza, stood up and followed Sarabi, who would be leading the hunt today.

Karanga lagged behind, looking worriedly at her mother, but Mahali, who would stay behind on cub duty, came to her and gave her a comforting nuzzle.

"Don't worry," Mahali said, "I'll keep an eye on her too."

Karanga nodded gratefully and followed the rest of the pride as they discussed their hunting tactics for today.

Mahali stayed behind to watch over Simba and Nala, with the help of Tahlili and Shada, who were too young to join the hunt, but too old to be baby-sat. The three of them knew enough games to keep the cubs entertained and out of trouble for quite a while.

The hunting party, having had a bit of a difficult hunt, returned to Pride Rock way after evening had fallen already. They still managed to bring down a small gazelle and a zebra, after a couple of failed attempts. So although they were very tired, their spirits were high.

The pride ate well that night, and when they finally huddled together and went to sleep, they felt content and satisfied.

Scar, as usual, went to sleep alone by his ledge, even though the lionesses had already gotten used to his presence back in the pride, after a long period of absence. Scar lived with the hyenas for a while after he got into a serious fight with his father, and returned to Pride Rock only after the former King had passed away. Still, the lion kept more to himself and preferred to sleep on his own.

Scar woke up the next morning, not feeling very well rested. He was in a bad mood, and was not looking forward to patrolling the borders if the heat turned to be as bad as the day before.

He stretched himself and his eyes fell on a piece of meat he had dragged up to his ledge the night before. He decided to have breakfast first, and he'd make the rounds once he was done.

Scar ate distractedly, his thoughts all over the place. He wondered whether to pop by the elephant graveyard or not. After all, he would be patrolling the northern border anyway, but his heart was not into it. The hyenas would probably demand food and he wasn't planning on carrying any meat along while on patrol.

He finished eating and sat up-straight, grooming his face with a paw. Scar then stood up, looking a bit sour. He glanced at the ground shortly and kicked the bone he had just been gnawing on off the ledge. It was time to go start his rounds.

The lion looked up suddenly when he heard someone approaching.

"Hey Uncle Scar! Guess what?" Simba exclaimed, as he made his way up to the southern ledge, looking very enthusiastic.

Scar rolled his eyes, as Simba was probably the last lion he wanted to see right now, and managed to mutter, "I despise guessing games."

"I'm going to be King of Pride Rock!" the cub continued, having just had a father-and-son talk with Mufasa earlier that morning.

"Oh, goody," said Scar, not bothering to fake a friendly and condescending tone of voice anymore at this point.

Simba went on, telling Scar how Mufasa had showed him the whole kingdom and how he would get to rule it all sometime in the future.

Scar listened uninterestedly to Simba and talked to him curtly, hoping the cub would get bored and leave soon.

Simba, however, kept pressing on, completely unaware of his uncle's inner struggle, and making Scar even moodier than he was before.

"Hey Uncle Scar, when I'm king, what'll that make you?"

"A monkey's uncle," he replied, but he was suddenly struck by an idea that might work to get rid of Simba, given his insatiable curiosity at this age.

Simba chuckled. "You're so weird," he said bluntly, though he didn't mind the company of his uncle at all.

"You have no idea," Scar said, grinning slightly. He was sure Mufasa would have warned Simba about the perils of the elephant graveyard, as no lion or lioness dared to venture there on their own unless it was absolutely necessary. He decided to test his grounds, and changed his voice to a more friendly tone.

"So, your father showed you the whole kingdom, did he?"

"Everything!" Simba replied.

"He didn't show you what's beyond that rise at the northern border!" Scar said, feigning surprise.

Simba's ears drooped and he looked slightly disappointed. "Well, no... He said I can't go there..." the cub admitted.

Immediately Scar knew that he had found a golden opportunity to get rid of the cub, and to make it look like an accident. He knew the cub would not be able to resist something as spooky as a graveyard, especially if he hinted that only the bravest lions ever ventured into that place.

With that in mind, Scar proceeded to tell the cub how the northern border was dangerous indeed, and casually dropped the words 'elephant graveyard' into the conversation, as if by accident, with the expected results. Simba looked thrilled.

Scar, out of fake concern, made Simba promise that he would never go there, but the lion could tell that it was only a matter of time before the cub decided to go and explore.

"Looks like I will be popping by the elephant graveyard after all, and alert the hyenas..." he thought, smirking to himself as he watched Simba walk away with an excited and mischievous expression on his little face.

Scar stretched himself again, and climbed down the ledge. He took with his mouth a left over zebra haunch from last night's meal, and headed towards the northern border, feeling a lot cheerier all of a sudden.