A/N: I am so very sorry about the length of this chapter. It just, sort of ended early and…yeah. Sorry. As always, please enjoy.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Never Forget Part 1: Surfacing

Chapter 10: Falling Apart

Shenzi pulled herself onto the top of the cliff. As her brothers scrambled up next to her a load roar met their ears. A large, golden furred lion slammed them to the ground with a swipe of his paw. He stood over them, growling angrily. Shenzi felt that there was something familiar about him, though she was too terrified to think about what it might be.

"What do you want with my son?" The lion growled at them, his furious eyes framed by his rain drenched black mane. Black mane? She thought confusedly before realization came to her.

"You're Scar's dad?" All the anger drained from his face in a moment.

"Scar?" He said quietly, heartbreak written on his face. He closed his eyes briefly; when they opened anger replaced the sadness. "What do you want with him?"

"He's our buddy, our pal. Right Ed?" Banzai looked at his grinning brother who nodded enthusiastically; apparently oblivious to the danger they were in. "See? We're all friends, amigos, buddies…Shenzi a little help?" The female hyena looked at Ahadi with sheer terror in her eyes.

"Please don't eat us?" She asked, a hopeful, if fearful, smile spreading on her face. The lion growled at them to be quiet, confusion and anger fighting for control of his features.

"What do you mean friends?" He knew this was taking too long, but at least it gave Taka enough time to find Zira and get to safety. "You have some explaining to do."

"Hey Zira, guess what." Yewande called in a playful voice. The lioness smiled slightly and decided to humor her companion.

"What?" The cheetah giggled and hopped in place, an impressive feat considering they were in an upward sloping tunnel.

"There's a light at the end of the tunnel." She picked up the pace, leaving the lioness to stare at her backside. She goes from being wise and cynical to happy and childish disturbingly quickly. The lioness thought, her smile growing as she matched the cheetah's pace.

"Well at least we don't have to worry about the tunnel collapsing." Zira said wryly as they exited into the torrential downpour. "We'll probably just drown from the rain." Yewande chuckled softly and nudged the lioness' shoulder with her own.

"Do you have to be so cynical?" She asked before pausing, her head cocked to one side. "Do you hear that?" It was barely there, nearly inaudible over the sound of the rain and the river. She could have sworn she heard a lion's roar. "It sounded like a lion…"

"Where did it come from?" Zira asked, all humor gone from her voice as she looked around, desperation and quiet hope evident in her eyes.

"That way." The two cats set off along the cliff. "How do we know this is Taka?" Yewande asked the lioness, knowing what disappointment would do to Zira.

"Who else would it be?" Zira called back to her as they bounded across the cliff, giving the edge a wide berth.

"Maybe his father came looking for him?" The cheetah had to skid in the mud in order to avoid smashing into Zira's suddenly unmoving form. She looked at her companion with something akin to rage in her rust colored eyes.

"You don't know the king." She spat the title like it was a curse. "He'd never come after Taka."

"What if he did? Just answer me that." Yewande backed carefully away from the lioness, not wanting to do anything to…compromise the situation. Zira growled, not at the cheetah but in the direction the roar had come from.

"Then he's had this coming for a long time." With a snarl Zira charged towards the origin of the roar.

Yewande was not the only one to hear the roar. Surprise caused him to loose his footing and slide partway down the cliff. After he regained his footing and pulled himself higher up the cliff he paused and growled in the same rage-filled tone Zira had used. He was torn between his oldest and best friend and the three beings that had saved his life. I will repay my debts. He thought angrily as he pulled himself atop the cliff. I'll deal with Ahadi and then Shenzi will help me find Zira. He ran towards where he had heard the roar come from.

"Do you really expect me to believe my son would willingly travel with you?" Ahadi held Banzai down with his paw, his eyes boring into the other two hyenas. Shenzi growled at him but froze when the lion put more pressure on her brother's neck. "Now tell me the truth."

"That was the truth!" Banzai choked out, his distressed tone causing Ed to whine in sympathy.

"My son would never travel with you." Ahadi had impressed upon his sons on a young age that they were to avoid hyenas at all costs.

"Maybe you don't know him as well as you think you do." Shenzi said, trying to distract the lion and give Banzai time to escape. Unfortunately her brothers weren't known for their keen intellects.

"Yeah, you know violence isn't the best parenting technique." The male hyena said with a strangling sound as Ahadi put even more pressure on his neck. Shenzi stared at Banzai in horror.

"That was stupid, even for you!" She yelled as she saw the look in Ahadi's eyes flicker between anger, guilt and sadness.

"What is that supposed to mean?" He asked in a low, quietly dangerous voice. He let up on the pressure. Encouraged by this sign of trust, the hyena explained himself.

"Well giving your kid a scar won't exactly inspire good behavior will?" The lion's answer was a fearsome roar before he slapped the hyena away from him. Ed dived to catch his brother and actually managed to prevent him from falling off the edge of the cliff. With another roar Ahadi charged the hyenas, only to be tackled from behind. He lost his footing due to the rain slicked mud that coated the cliff and his own momentum. The large lion slid to the edge and nearly fell over, catching himself just in time. He pulled himself away from the drop and looked at who had tackled him.

"Ahadi." Scar seethed, his breath coming out in pants from all the frantic running he had been doing. "First Zira, then my home, and now my companions." His eyes narrowed in barely controlled rage. "You just can't help but take everything away from me can you?"

"Taka I-"

"Do not call me that!" The dark lion screamed as the rain began to come down harder than ever. "Your son is dead," a sadistic smile spread across face without touching his eyes, "you killed him." Scar paced before the king of the Pridelands, working himself into frenzy. "And then you chased away the one thing that him sane in the entire world!" With a roar the younger lion leapt at his father in pure fury.

Zira and Yewande dashed across the cliff, closing in on where the roar had come from. As they ran they had heard more and more roars, roars from two very different lions. Zira couldn't be sure, but she felt the roars were familiar. This caused her heart to skip more than a few beats. The cheetah, built for sprinting not long distance running, struggled to keep up with her companion's frantic speed.

"Zira, you're being too reckless. You can't keep this up in your condition." She gasped, hoping the lioness would listen to reason. As they neared the origin of the noises they heard the sound of a start and stop fight. They came to a part of the cliff that was higher than the rest. Below them was a strange sight: three hyenas were cowering together watching Ahadi and some other lion fight. Zira stared intently at the younger lion.

It can't be…The lion slashed the Ahadi across his face, leaving a trail of bloody scratches. After everything we've gone through…The king shoved the younger lion away without using his own claws. All this time…The young lion bit onto Ahadi's neck, forcing the king of Pride Rock to squirm in his attempts to remove his opponent. He finally broke free and slid towards the edge of the cliff. The young lion stalked towards him, hate evident on his face. I won't let Taka's revenge be stolen from him! The lioness scrambled down to the same level as the two fighting lions. She ran toward them, a wild and determined look in her eyes. The second the younger lion's eyes met hers they both froze. Zira stopped her frantic charge and stared into those emerald eyes she adored so much.

"Zira?" Scar took as tentative step towards the lioness, pure, unadulterated emotion on his face as he gazed into her eyes. They were redder than he remembered them but they held the same look in them. He moved as though in a dream, completely forgetting his imperiled father.

"Taka!" The king yelled at his son in a last, desperate attempt to bring his son back. It was all he could do to hold himself up with is forelegs. "Help me up so we can all go home." The young lion froze, rage overtaking his features once again. "Please son, just come home…" Scar spun and stalked towards him, the rage having become quiet contempt. Ahadi closed his eyes and wept as he slid ever closer to death. "Taka I'm sorry…" His son leaned in close to his ear, as though to impart some great secret.

"I already told you Ahadi. Taka…is dead." The dark lion whispered cruelly in his father's ear. He turned and walked away, ignoring the sound of Ahadi slipping towards his doom.

"Taka? Taka!" The old lion couldn't believe his own son would leave him to die like this. "Scar!" The dark lion turned with a sadistic grin on his thin features. "I am family…please…" The grin vanished as Scar seemed to consider Ahadi's plea.

"Yes…and it seems I take after my father too much for his own good." Once again Scar stood over his father, a look of righteous fury on his face. "And so, like you did to me, I'm going to leave you to die." At those hate filled words all the strength seemed to drain out of the king. For the first time he felt how old he really was. And what a complete failure as a father he must have been. My father truly lives in me…He thought as he finally fell through the air, plummeting to the river. And I…live in you Taka…