Chapter Ten

As she ran, she heard Scar's gasp from somewhere above her. She glanced up to glimpse the tops of his and Simba's heads. They were both at the very top of Pride Rock.

"Mommy," a whimper came from close by. Shenzi's eyes followed the voice to a small crack in the rock. Inside of it, she saw the dark, tiny figure of Nuka.

She gasped and rushed towards him.

"What happened? Who took you? Are you alright?" the words tumbled out of her mouth.

"Zira took me," he answered.

"Zira," bristled Shenzi. While Shenzi had never spoken to the lioness, she couldn't miss her adoring looks at Scar. The way she always batted her eye lashes at him and showed off in front of him. It was no secret that she had wanted to marry Scar and bear his cubs. It was also no secret that she was horribly jealous of Shenzi.

"No, Mommy. It's okay. She was nice. She's on Daddy's side. She moved me to here so I wouldn't get hurt."

"Yeah?"

Nuka nodded.

"Simba, please. Have mercy," they heard from above.

"Mommy, go save Daddy! I stay here. I'm hidden."

Shenzi hesitated, but then there was a gasp of pain from above her. She looked at Nuka.

"Don't move," she said firmly before scampering further down the path. She sprinted to the top of the rock. From the other side, the hyenas were running up as well, coming to Scar's rescue. At the head of the path was Banzai and Ed, but as they turned towards Simba and Scar, a wall of fire stopped them in their path.

Scar backed further away from Simba until his paws felt the edge of the cliff. If he fell, he would die without a doubt.

"We are family!" he protested as Simba came closer. Over his nephew's shoulder, he could see the crowd of hyenas. His wife backed up, preparing to jump over the fire that separated them. The rest of them sat and watched. He made quick eye contact with Shenzi.

"It's the hyenas who are the real enemy!" he exclaimed, "It was their fault. Their idea!"

He watched as Banzai and Ed lowered their heads and growled. They gave a sideways glance towards Shenzi, who paused, poised to leap. She froze for a second before lowering her head as well, her teeth bared. Banzai backed away, leading the rest of the clan. Scar's heart skipped a beat when his wife backed away as well. If anyone could understand, he would have thought that it would have been her.

She was just as manipulative. Couldn't she see that it was the only thing he could have said to get him out of this alive? Simba wanted to kill him. He needed time. Would she have preferred to watch him get torn to shreds?

"Why should I believe you?" Simba asked, coming closer, but Scar's eyes were still on the spot Shenzi had been moments before, "Everything you ever told me was a lie."

As Simba stepped even closer, he won Scar's attention again. When had the cub gotten so big? He was even bigger than Scar now.

"What are you going to do? You wouldn't kill your old uncle," Scar drawled, forcing back the fear. Now that he was alone, without even his wife standing by, his fear had doubled.

"No, Scar. I'm not like you," retorted Simba.

"Oh, Simba! You're truly noble. I'll make it up to you, I promise. How can I prove myself to you? Tell me. Anything."

"Run, Scar. Run away and never return."

He hesitated, searching Simba's face for any sign that he might be bluffing. There was nothing.

"Yes," Scar said slowly, moving around Simba. He just needed time. Then he saw it! He bit back a smirk as his eyes landed on a pile of ash near the edge of the cliff, "Of course."

He slinked closer.

"As you wish, your Majesty," he snarled, swiping his paw through the ash at Simba.

The bigger lion cried out in pain as the smoldering embers flew into his eyes. He was blinded for a few seconds, but that was all the time Scar needed to pounce. He took Simba to the ground and bit at his neck. Simba pushed him off, but Scar took him to the ground again, his head hanging off the edge of the cliff. He bit at him again, but Simba swatted him away before his jaw could close onto his throat.

Scar tumbled to the ground a few feet away, but was back up in an instant, running at Simba as he ran at him. The two collided in a mass of fur, blood, and claws. Their roars echoed throughout the Pridelands. To Shenzi and Nuka, and all the hyenas. To Zira and Nala and Sarabi, and all the lionesses. To Timon, Pumbaa, and Zazu.

Finally, Scar's claw fell through the air and slashed open Simba's cheek. He went flying across the top of the rock, through the wall of fire that had originally separated the lions from the hyenas. While he was still recovering, Scar jumped through the fire after him. He had almost landed on his nephew when Simba stuck up his back legs and kicked Scar, who flew over him and went tumbling down the other side of the cliff.

He hit the ground hard, and for a moment, he just laid there, not wanting to move anymore. Then he was suddenly surrounded by growling. His eyes fluttered open to see Shenzi and Banzai standing in front of him with the rest of the clan all around.

"Ah," he drawled, smiling as he stood, "my friends."

"Friends?" Shenzi laughed, turning to Banzai, whose eyes lit up, "I thought he said we were the enemy."

"Yeah, that's what I heard," Banzai returned, grinning, glad to have his friend back. Even happier that the bond between Shenzi and Scar seemed to have been severed.

Hurt filled Scar's eyes. Did Shenzi really hate him? Did she really turn on him? Of all hyenas, his wife? If there was one thing he never lied about, it was his love for her.

"No," he murmured, his eyes only on her as the clan began closing in on him, "Let me explain. No, you don't understand. I didn't mean-. No, no!"

The first hyena jumped and latched onto his neck. Another one's jaws closed onto his leg. They all jumped at him, tearing him apart. He slumped to the ground, his vision swimming. He blinked blood out of his eyes as he grew faint.

They were going to kill him.

"Alright!" he heard a voice yell, "He's dead. Let's get out of here before the lions find us."

Suddenly, all the snapping mouths were gone, and the deafening snarling was replaced by the crackling of the fire that surrounded him. He was alone now, left to die. No friends. No family.

No wife.

Then there was one more mouth. Without opening his eyes, he felt the animal's hot breath on his neck. He didn't know whether it was a lion or a hyena or something else entirely. And he didn't care. He only prayed it wasn't Nuka.

He was there when Simba watched Mufasa die, and he didn't want Nuka to live through the same fate.

But if it was a predator, it didn't bite his neck like he thought. It took a mouthful of his mane and tugged. He was determined to ignore it, but it tugged again.

"Come on, Scar," a hopeful voice hissed. The voice was feminine and thick with emotion. He forced one of his eyes open to see Shenzi standing over him, the fur on her cheeks was wet with tears and blood. When his eyes landed on her, he sighed with relief, letting his eyes fall closed again.

"You're alive," she whispered, pulling at his mane again, "Come on. We have to go now while both the hyenas and the lions are distracted."

"No," Scar grumbled.

"We have to!"

"I can't."

"You can. Y-you're not that injured," she lied, "We don't have to go far. Just far enough away so that they won't find us until you've healed enough to go farther."

When he didn't respond, she nudged his shoulder.

"Please, Scar!" she almost yelled. She would have if she wasn't worried about the others hearing her, "It won't be long before Banzai notices I'm not with the clan. Please?"

Scar was quiet for a long time, but eventually, he nodded his head. Shenzi let out a sigh of relief as her husband opened his eyes and struggled to get to his feet. He put most of his weight on her, but she didn't mind. She just needed to get him far away.