Scar just loves Nala too much to stay dead, amirite?!

--

"Nala."

The lioness awoke with a start. Her eyes quickly adjusted to the darkness of the cave. She lifted her head, looking about herself wildly. She heard her name. But more importantly, she knew who had said that.

"Scar?" she ventured in a soft tone, not wanting to disturb the slumbering Simba beside her. She knew saying his name was useless. He had been killed. The cowardly lion was dead for a long time now. Nala shook her head as she stood up and walked out of the cave. Sitting in front of it, she cleaned her face. She didn't know why, but the refreshing night air made her feel strangely dirty. With a short growl, she jogged away from the cave, going to the closest water hole behind Pride Rock.

Noting how the night animals kept their distance, Nala was thankful for the new moon. It was darker than usual, the land barren from the moon's soft kisses. Approaching the water hole, she crouched down and began lapping up the cool water. The lioness quickly snapped her head away from it. The water tasted sickening. Gagging, she gave another agitated growl as she turned away from the water and stopped short.

"Scar," she breathed, eyes wide. It had to be a trick of the shadows. The lion was standing in front of her, his twisted smile warping his muzzle and showing his sharp teeth. Nala's ears laid flat against her head as she took a few steps back.

"My, my. Is this how we greet old colleagues?" he spoke with his usual sultry tone, dripping with sarcasm. Nala gritted her teeth as she took a threatening stance.

"You keep away from me," she snarled. Scar simply tsked as he paced in front of her.

"Nala. My lovely, wonderful Nala. You were always quite the feisty one. I'm still not sure if I loved or loathed that attitude of yours," he said, finally sitting to the right of her. Nala's eyes were on him, claws out and on the ready.

"I hate you," she spat, feeling the saliva drip down her muzzle. She was angry, heart pounding a thousand strides a minute. Perhaps she was having a nightmare.

"Ah, well. I hate you too, dear," Scar said in a snide tone. He leaned towards her. Nala screamed in rage as she took a swipe at him.

"Keep away from me!" her voice sounded morphed, much too high-pitched to be hers. Scar only laughed and was sitting to the left of her before she could register it. Hissing, she quickly scooted away from him, keeping low to the ground. She could feel herself starting to panic. Even in this nightmare, Scar still frightened her. The dark lion cackled lowly as he started to pace around her. Nala kept moving, to ensure that she was facing him at all times. Panting now, Nala wanted direly to be back in the cage.

Wake up! she cried in her head as Scar started to speak.

"I am touched that you seem to feel such emotions for me," he breathed, head lowering. "It is so very refreshing to know that even now, after my death, you still think of me. I'm touched, truly."

"I want to rip you apart," she growled. But she knew that it was a front. She was scared and starting to loose control. Scar was supposed to be dead, but he was right in front of her. It confused and frustrated her. He died! He didn't deserve to live!

"And I want to sink my fangs into those lovely shoulders of yours," Scar whispered, suddenly near Nala's ear. She shrieked in terror, blindly turning into a frenzy of teeth and claws. She could feel Scar's flesh rip apart when she touched him, but she knew she was only touching air. His sadistic grin haunted the area in front of her red rage before he finally faded away with a ghostly gust of wind.

Nala panted, finding herself alone. She started screaming then, screaming no words. She could feel tears running down her cheeks as she started to attack the nearby shubbery and low hanging trees.

"Nala!"

"Don't touch me!" she roared, tackling the body that ran to her.

"Hey, Nala! Stop, it's me!"

Panting, Nala's eyes widened as she registered Simba underneath her, with one of her claws embedded into his leg. With a gasp, she quickly retracted her claws and backed off of him. Breathing despretely for air now, Nala cried out mournfully as she slumped to the ground, paws covering her face. She felt Simba approach her and nuzzle her head.

"Honey, what happened?" he asked. His voice sounded so soothing then as Nala quickly reached up and cuffed him to the ground, her head butting against his as hard as the oncoming headache would allow. Simba was kind as he simply nuzzled her back, not asking about her horrible nightmare and what she had seen.

I hate you, Scar. Keep away. she thought. But she could still feel those predatory eyes on her, even though no one was around them. Perhaps it was from inside of her.