This was just a fun idea I had featuring a childhood memory between Mufasa and Scar (also known as Taka). It's all centered around the plot twist, hope it interests some people.
In the animal kingdom there exists a feeling of altruism among species. Some species in the Savana decide to not side with a group, but this can not be said about lions. Lions and all of the animals exist in a harmony, they protect each other and need each other to exist. No one lion understood this more than Mufasa.
The Lions are the top of the food chain and they rule the Savana while trying to keep order. Mufasa's strength, courage and many other feats places him in the center of attention for the Savana. Mufasa leads the Lion Guard and is set to be heir to the throne. Along with the praise and gifts bestowed upon him comes contempt for the heir to the throne. This place of contempt comes from Mufasa's sibling, Taka.
Mufasa strides back towards Pride Rock, his posture and body in perfect form. He definitely was the talk of the female lions among the pride, they gossiped over which one he would make his bride. The other lions in the guard stride next to Mufasa in a formation showing composure and strength. All except for one that is. The single lone lion paces behind Mufasa and the other's, sulking a bit as he does.
"Taka you need to keep up" Mufusa suggests as he turns around to face his brother. The younger brother continues to sulk as he grows to himself. "You should walk tall with us, we helped keep the Pride Lands safe yet again" The older lion continues, trying to have him join them.
"Actually, now that I think about it don't. The formation looks much stronger with the three of us up here, with Mufusa in the middle it only seems fitting" The lion to the right of Mufusa chimes in.
"Hey, that's not true. The formation would look fine with four of us" Mufusa tried to argue. "It's only fair we should walk side by side, Taka" He adds as the lions beside him snicker at the comment.
"But living in your shadow is so nice brother, I don't have to worry about the heat. It's nice and cool. It's my destiny after all" Taka responds with a fake happiness, showing his sarcasm.
"Why do you still bother trying to get to him? He's just a chump, he couldn't take on those hyenas like he said he was going to. He needed your help" The lion next to Mufusa remarks.
"I just want things to be-" Mufusa tried to response as the lion on his other side tapped him on the shoulder.
Mufusa faced forwards as he noticed a crowd of people cheering for them as they approached the entrance of the Pride Lands. "Hey, there's some girls in the crowd. Let's try and impress them" The fellow lion whispered, raising his eyebrows as he did.
Mufasa stood tall with the other lions as they approached the cheering crowd. The group walked through the anticipating group of animals as they were showered with praise. The lions next to Mufasa bumped paws with other fellow lions as they strutted through.
"Ooooh! There he is! There's Mufasa!" A female lion called out as a group of them swooned at him from a distance.
Mufasa couldn't help but smile as they squealed in delight at his presence.
"He is so handsome! He's gonna be a great king!" The group of females remarked in delight.
Mufasa suddenly heard loud growling from behind him as Taka pushed his way towards the front and blocked Mufasa with his body.
"How about this slab of meat ladies? Aren't I an amazing stud!" Taka puffed out his chest, while the group of females gave a look of disgust.
Taka pushed out of the crowd as Mufasa stopped in his tracks. Taka bolted through the group of animals as he dissipated from the line of sight.
"Ok! Ok! Break it up!" A voice called out as Mufasa looked up and saw a familiar hornbill come from the sky.
He was the king's assistant, Zazu. The group of animals let out a collective sigh as the fun was over. The group of animals disbanded as they all went their separate ways. The friends of Mufusa left as the female lions trailed behind them, giggling giddily as they did.
"Long live King Mufasa!" Both of them called out as dashed away. Mufusa just simply shook his head as he smiled.
"Another successful mission?" A female voice spoke. Mufusa turned around as he smiled. Standing there was a teen female lion, about the same age as Mufusa. She was Sarabi, a young female Mufusa took a liking to.
"Did you come to celebrate with me?" Mufasa raised an eyebrow confident as always.
Sarabi smiled as she shook her head.
"It looks like your friends are already going to do that. You usually go with them..." The female strolled closer to him.
"Well I had to stop by and see your beautiful face again" Mufasa flirted.
Sarabi nuzzled her face against Mufasa's as they enjoyed a brief moment together.
"I saw you smiling at those other females, you know" Sarabi smiled up at him.
"Ahaha so you saw that?" Mufasa laughed a bit embarrassed.
"You couldn't handle all those females. Imagine, you being a father. It wouldn't be pretty" Sarabi teased as she stared into his eyes.
"Come on, I'd be a good father. And you'd be a good mother... but before sunrise they'd be your business" Mufasa smiled.
"Oh no, that responsibility would fall on the future king of the pride lands" She responded, smiling back.
"Ah! You two will make a great king and queen!" Zazu chimed in.
Sarabi and Mufasa blushed as they backed away from each other. They both forgot Zazu was standing right there.
"Unless Taka becomes king" Mufasa looked towards Zazu.
Zazu was silent for a few seconds as he busted out laughing.
"Bwhahaha! That's a really good one Mufasa! Hahahaa!" He laughed no taking the comment seriously.
"Your father's humor must have rubbed off on you" Zazu wiped a tear from his eye.
"It's not... nevermind" Mufasa mumbled as he walked away while frustrated.
"Oh sire! I didn't mean it" Zazu lied following the lion prince.
"It's not that. I need to go find Taka" Mufasa explained, looking behind him.
"What happened?" Sarabi asked worried about his safety.
"Taka got angry at me today. He's been throwing contempt at me for a few weeks. I should talk to him" Mufasa explained his position.
"Well, be careful. You both mean a lot to the Pride Lands" Sarabi cautioned.
"With this much charm, how could I fail?" Mufasa showed off his confidence.
He then dashed towards where he last saw Taka go. His brother had to be somewhere, he knew all the places Taka would usually sulk. He did it so often it was expected. Mufasa searched for Taka as he suddenly remembered where they went as kids. Their father had shown them to the place where they must never go, it overlooked where the sun did not touch.
Mufasa quickly arrived at the location as he saw his brother standing there. Taka looked out towards the sunny area without facing his brother.
"Are you gonna tell me what that was about?" Mufasa asked, impatiently.
"You've been doing weird things like that for weeks now. I don't understand where this is coming from" Mufasa wanted to talk with his brother.
"Oh, so you do notice my behavior hmm? I thought you were so self- absorbed you'd never notice" Taka still didn't turn to face him.
"It's hard to not notice when you cause a scene like that. We can't just break down like that, we are the princes of this land" Mufasa informed him.
"Oh I'm sorry did I steal your thunder? Because what is great Mufasa without his praise! Should I kiss the rock we stand on because you're here with me?" Taka turned around as he showed his sarcastic anger.
Mufasa thought to himself as he realized how poor his negotiation skills were.
"We... both mean a lot to the pride lands. You know that" Mufasa tried using Sarabi's words.
"Did Sarabi tell you to the say that? It seems like something she would say" Taka read through him easily.
"It doesn't matter who said it because it's the truth!" Mufasa moved in closer to his brother.
"It's hard to convince me of that when there's no proof of it" Taka lamented, getting away from Mufasa.
"Taka this is ridiculous I-" Mufasa tried to argue as someone interrupted them.
"Sire! Sire! Good news!" Zazu came flying in.
"Zazu! Not the time!" Mufasa turned around, frustrated with the hornbill.
"But sire, you and your brother's presence is required!" Zazu explained.
"For what?" Mufasa asked as Taka listened in as well, turning around slowly.
"To decide when your coronation is of course!" Zazu exclaimed with excitement to Mufasa.
Taka's face twisted into a face of pure rage and malice as he heard what Zazu stated. Taka knew exactly what this meant, Mufusa was going to become king.
Taka quickly spun around as he leaped at Zazu suddenly. Zazu's eyes shrank as Taka batted Zazu with his paw using great force. Zazu bounced off a rock as he laid on the ground. Taka drew his claws as he leaped at Zazu's prone body. Mufasa quickly got involved as he moved quickly and smashed his paw upside Taka's face.
Taka fell on his side as Mufasa stood over Zazu, protecting him. Zazu stumbled to his feet as he shook his head, woozy from the hit.
"Taka! That is completely unacceptable!" Mufuse shouted to his brother angrily.
"Stop calling me that! I am not Taka!" Taka roared as he got to his feet.
Taka's scared part of his faced them as he breathed heavily. Taka was injured a few days ago when he tried to take on some buffaloes in an attempt to outdo Mufasa. This new explosion of anger left Mufasa feeling cold, he didn't want to happen what was about to happen.
"I challenge you to a duel! I will win my rightful place to the throne to best you in battle! We meet in the fields! Tonight we decide who is the best! Tonight I drag your face into the mud!" Taka shouted as he bared his fangs.
"Mufasa, please think about this. Don't stoop to his level. I know your honor is on the line but you have to be the bigger animal here" Zazu tried to reason with him, but it was too late.
Mufasa had already decided his stance. His honor and pride was too important, he couldn't back down.
"You're on" Mufusa replied simply, standing tall.
Taka grinned deviously as he strolled passed Mufasa and Zazu. Mufasa and him locked eyes as they passed.
"You won't be facing Taka tonight... he no longer exists..." Taka replied grimly. Mufasa stayed silent as Taka got passed them. With a sharp grin spoke the next sentence.
"You'll be facing Scar"
The night came quickly and along with it came a storm. A storm between brothers that was about to ignite, and a storm a physical kind. Mufasa strolled towards the field of battle as many other animals walked besides him. Along with them was Sarabi, who was worried about the fight.
"Please... Mufasa think about this..." Sarabi pleaded, not wanting either one of them to get hurt.
Mufasa stayed silent as there was nothing to be said. Sarabi stopped in her tracks as the male lions paced towards the battlefield unswayed. A group female lions following behind took in Sarabi as the rain began to fall.
Mufusa finally approached the battlefield as the group of animals allowed him to go farther. "You can do it Mufusa"
"You show him who's boss" Another one of the lions cheered him on.
Mufasa strolled closer as the other animals stayed back and watched. Scar stood in the middle as the group of animals all crowded around in a circle, making sure no one interfered with the fight. Scar and Mufasa faced each other down as the group of animals felt the tension rising. "Long live the king!" One of the lions cheered through the crowd.
"How sweet, you have mindless followers even in battle" Scar taunted.
"Scar... there's still time to call this off. We don't have to do this" Mufasa tried to appeal one last time.
The rain poured down on them as Scar's scruffy face could be seen through his locks.
"Yes... we do" Scar sealed the end of the discussion.
Lighting flashed in the sky with some elephants starting to stomp the ground in rhythm. All the other animals joined in as the pounding became louder and louder. Like the beating of drums it sounded the start of the fight.
Mufasa and Scar leaped at each other with claws drawn. Once they made contact a second lightning bolt flashed in the sky. Scar dug his claws into Mufasa's side as Mufasa dug his into Scar's shoulder. Mufasa quickly smashed his paw against Scar's face as he stumbled backwards. Mufasa was the bigger and stronger one, but Scar had ways of fighting larger opponents.
Mufasa leaped towards Scar as he managed to get below and headbutt Mufasa in the stomach. Mufasa fell backwards as he hit the ground. Scar seeing his chance, stomped on Mufasa's tail and dragged him towards himself. Using his other claws he attempted to stab Mufusa in the ribs. Mufasa's reflexes were quick as he smacked his claw into Scar's face before he could, cutting up his cheek. Scar tried to recover as Mufasa got to his feet and body slammed Scar, using his extra body weight.
Scar fell on his back with Mufasa trying to stab him in the side so he would be incapacitated. Scar managed to grab some mud from the ground and then smear it into Mufasa's eyes as he was being held down. Mufasa wiped the mud from his burning eyes just in time to notice Scar lunge and try to bite Mufasa in the neck. Mufasa managed to keep Scar as bay, but his anger rose exponentially. Not only was using mud a cheap trick but there was the action of the neck bite...
Going for a neck bite could be a potentially dangerous move, there was a chance of death if it landed right.
Mufasa's anger got the best of him as he head butted Scar with all his might. The ringing in his head he tried his best to ignore as he clawed at Scar while he tried to stand again. Scar's face jolted to the side as Mufasa came in with a second powerful swipe. He bashed Scar's face downward as Scar's face bounced up off the ground.
Mufasa breathed heavily, as he looked at Scar on the ground. Scar laid there weakly, the blood coming from his body mixing into the mud. Scar wasn't dead, just injured and exhausted.
The clouds cleared up above in the sky as Mufasa stood there, looking at what he had done. The land was soaked as he could see Scar look up at him in contempt. Scar wiped the mud from his face as he lifted up his head, he could feel the hatred in his eyes. Mufasa waited for him to speak but he said nothing... instead someone else did.
"Long live the king!" One of Mufasa's friends shouted.
Before Mufasa noticed what was happening the spectators rushing in towards him. All of them joined in as they lifted up Mufasa victoriously.
"Long live the king!" They chanted in unison. "Long live the king!"
Mufasa's friends started to carry him away as they cheered for his victory. He wanted to protest but he was too tired and couldn't be heard over them.
"No wait! Hold on!" Mufasa tried to speak, wanting to see if Scar was okay.
"Long live the king! Long live the king!" His friends continued as they only got louder.
As the chanting continued he kept his eyes on Scar, who was just now getting to his feet. With an icy stare Scar keep his eyes on his brother, no one else. Mufasa could hear Scar speak as clear as day. Only a few words left Scar's lips as they locked eyes, they were simple and yet poetic...
"Long live the king"