The Battle for Pride Rock
Author's Note: The second last chapter is here. Make sure you get your reviews in before this story is done!
Chapter Summary: The climactic battle for Pride Rock turns out to be one of life and death.
All eyes were on Simba and Scar. Scar pleaded with Simba to let him go, while Simba only demanded that he tell the pride the truth. Seeing that Zira was distracted, Zarifa managed to push her off and she ran to her brother.
"He killed daddy, didn't he?!" Zarifa yelled, running up to her brother.
Scar shook Simba off him and tried to run past Zarifa. The pride was looking at him with wide and shocked eyes.
"Don't believe their lies! First Simba kills Mufasa, and now he and Zarifa try to kill me and have you all turn on me," Scar bellowed, playing victim. Zarifa and Simba wouldn't let him play the act.
"You killed him! Your own brother! And you were going to kill me," Simba exclaimed, adrenaline pumping through his veins. Zarifa felt the same.
"You were also going to kill me," Zarifa announced. "We should've known that you would've been behind our father's death!"
The lionesses were zeroing in on Scar as the hyenas did the same to Simba and Zarifa. It was only a matter of time before war broke out.
"I would never kill my own brother for the throne!" Scar sneered, trying to save himself. Sarabi stood tall and approached. Like the Pride Lands, she felt a fire inside her heart.
"If that is true Scar, I want you to look me in the eyes and tell me not only that you didn't kill Mufasa, but I want to hear you say that you loved him. I will only believe you when you say it!" Sarabi announced, loud enough for the entire Pride Lands to hear.
When she saw the disgrace in Scar's eyes, Sarabi knew the answer.
Simba roared and shouted, "tell them the truth, Scar!"
Taking a moment to observe his surroundings, Scar realized that he did not have a way out. There was no chance that he would ever be able to escape this with a lie. Turns out that every wrongful deed of his would come back and get him eventually. Yet, this was a fact Scar was rather proud of.
As loudly as he possibly could, Scar yelled, "I killed Mufasa! And I would do it again!"
Hyenas flooded toward Simba and Zarifa, a true testament to their allegiance to Scar's reign. Simba and Zarifa didn't miss a beat; they lunged at the hyenas, ready to fight.
"Lions, attack!" Sarabi ordered, as she and the pride charged at the hyenas.
The battle for Pride Rock had officially begun.
It was incredible the way the lions moved, their leonine bodies magnificently tackling the hyenas. When Pride Landers stood together, hyenas didn't stand a chance.
Tossing a hyena over the edge of Pride Rock, Sarabi searched desperately for Scar. She wanted to rip his throat out. She spotted him standing back, watching the battle ensue. He didn't notice that Sarabi was charging towards him. Sarafina jumped in front of her.
"Sarabi, no," Sarafina warned. Sarabi was shaking her head, trying to get past her best friend.
"He killed Mufasa. He exiled my son. He forced me to abandon my daughter. I need to make him pay," Sarabi exasperated, trying her hardest to get to Scar. But Sarafina stood firm.
"That is not your battle to fight anymore," Sarafina stressed. "Simba and Zarifa need to defeat him for the throne. Let your son and daughter take their place in the Circle of Life."
Enraged as she was, Sarabi knew that Sarafina was right. She needed to let Simba and Zarifa fight Scar. This was their battle, and they needed to avenge their father's death. Sarabi had done so much for the Pride all these years. She had been strong. Now, it was time to let someone else take a turn.
"Set Zazu free, he's still in that cage. I'll help Nala," Sarabi ordered Sarafina. Nodding, Sarafina ran to the den to release the major-domo.
As she turned to help command the lionesses, Shenzi, Banzai and Ed knocked Sarabi to the ground. For years, they had been instructed by Scar to never physically harm her, only to intimidate.
Those days were over now. They were going to do everything they had wanted to do all these years. Sarabi swatted at Ed's face, trying to remain in control.
"You really want to do this?" Sarabi warned with a low growl. The hyenas just laughed.
"You have no idea how long we have dreamed of this day," Banzai sneered, as the three hyenas pounced on the queen, who fought back with all her might.
From a distance, Zarifa saw her mother being attacked by Shenzi, Banzai and Ed. Years of feeling unable to fight back boiled up inside Zarifa. She was back and stronger than ever. Through the chaos of the battle, she ran to her mother. She was going to save her.
With all her might, Zarifa pounced on the mangy hyenas, trying to get them away from her mother. Even though she had caught them by surprise, Zarifa wasn't expecting Shenzi, Banzai and Ed to recover so quickly. They stood over her and Sarabi, grinning manically.
"You've just made final mistake of your life, Zarifa," Shenzi taunted with a low growl as Ed just laughed. Shenzi raised a paw, aiming for Zarifa's throat.
Shenzi's vengeful claws never came. In that moment, Apollo appeared and he grabbed Shenzi by the throat and tossed her away, while Lupita and Chiwetel did the same thing to Banzai and Ed. Zarifa's eyes widened with surprise. The Warrior Pride had arrived. They were quick to assist the Pride Landers in the battle.
Apollo gently nuzzled Zarifa as she got up from the ground. Lupita and Chiwetel helped Sarabi get up from the ground.
"Are you alright?" Apollo asked. Zarifa smiled with a nod.
"I've never been happier with your timing," Zarifa tried to joke. "Ready to fight these guys?"
"I was born ready," Apollo said as he ran towards the battle, attacking the hyenas. Zarifa and Sarabi didn't wait to join.
The gravity of what was at stake was clear in the minds of all the lions as they fought against the hyenas. With their strength, size and determination, the hyenas proved no match for the Pride Landers and the Warrior Pride. The odds were in their favour.
As she tossed a hyena over the ledge of Pride Rock, it came to Zarifa's attention that she hadn't seen Scar for much of the battle. She couldn't let him escape without atoning for murdering her father. She saw Simba fighting the hyenas along with Nala. Zarifa ran to her brother.
"Simba! We have to find Scar," Zarifa urged. Simba and Nala looked at each other, and nodded in agreement.
"You two go," Nala urged. "We have the hyenas under control. Go!"
With that, Simba and Zarifa ran off to find Scar. He couldn't have gotten far, especially with the fire growing to the size it was now. Zarifa spotted him trying to sneak off up to the top of Pride Rock.
"Simba, there he is!" Zarifa said.
When Simba spotted Scar, the disgraced king looked back in shock. He had hoped that the hyenas would have been a diversion enough for him to escape.
Roaring loudly, Simba chased after Scar, with Zarifa trailing behind. Like a coward, Scar ran as fast as he could to the top of Pride Rock.
As they ran together, something moving in the bushes caught Zarifa's attention. She stopped moving to get a good look at what it was. It was Zira. She was trying to make an escape. In Zarifa's eyes, Zira was just as guilty in destroying her family as Scar was. Zarifa would not let her get away with it.
"Simba, Zira is trying to get away. I'll go deal with her and meet you up top," Zarifa called out to her brother. Simba stopped and looked at his little sister over his broad shoulder.
"Are you sure?" Simba asked as Zarifa nodded.
"I can handle Zira. Be safe!" Zarifa said, as she watched Simba nod and continue running to the top of Pride Rock. Zarifa ran down to the burning plains.
Zira had thought she had succeeded in escaping the burning Pride Rock, until Zarifa suddenly tackled her down from behind. Caught off guard, Zira pummelled to the ground, trying to decipher who was attacking her.
When she saw that it was Zarifa attacking her, Zira was quick to push the younger lioness off of her and jump to her feet. She bared her sharp teeth as a warning.
"Zarifa…if you know what's good for you, look the other way," Zira threatened. Zarifa began to circle Zira. She had no interest in being a polite princess.
"You know I can't do that," Zarifa sneered through her teeth. Zira laughed spitefully.
"You think I'm afraid of you? You're nothing. Your family is a joke," Zira taunted, circling Zarifa. The princess growled.
"No, Zira. Your family is a joke. What did you think? That you could sway Scar into thinking that Nuka could be king of the Pride Lands? Nuka is just like you—a pathetic excuse for a lion," Zarifa yelled.
"You're right, Nuka is! But my unborn cub has already been chosen by Scar to rule the Pride Lands. And when this cub takes the throne, I am going to make sure that the first thing it does is order the execution of your family. Starting with your mother, nice and slow," Zira spat.
At the mention of Sarabi, Zarifa lost all composure. She charged at Zira and tackled her to the ground, fire blazing across the African plains.
The two lionesses tumbled over one another, each swiping viciously at the others face in an attempt to weaken the other. But Zarifa had spent her life training with the Warrior Pride. She not only knew how to fight, but also how to win. And Zarifa refused to lose.
After knocking Zira to the ground with a single blow to the face, Zarifa pounced on her. Zarifa was seething.
"You listen to me, and you listen good. You and Scar took away my family and the Pride Lands. But you will never take my power. You can try to destroy me, but you never, ever will. As princess, I declare you banished from the Pride Lands. Go back to the Outlands where you belong," Zarifa hissed, feeling powerful and strong.
Zira pushed Zarifa off of her and roared. She was ready to attack, even though she was injured.
"Tough talk, Zarifa. But you can't banish me. Do you think I would ever take orders from a scrappy little lioness like you? Oh, you must be joking," Zira taunted with a wicked laugh.
That was the last straw for Zarifa. She had had enough.
"Zira. Leave. The. Pride Lands. NOW!" Zarifa yelled and roared with all her might.
Something miraculous happened. When Zarifa roared, it wasn't just her roaring. It felt like great spirits were roaring with her, causing the fire surrounding to soar and the wind to pick up.
There was so much strength to Zarifa's roar that—to her surprise—Zira was forcefully blown away to the Outlands.
Coming down from her roar, Zarifa was heaving as she tried to catch her breath. She didn't know that her roar could do that—why did her roar do that?
As Zarifa tried to find answers for herself, a sudden loud thud came behind her. She jumped around to see what it was. Zarifa gasped when she discovered that it was Scar. She glanced up Pride Rock and saw Simba peering over. He must have challenged Scar to a fight and won.
When Simba saw Zarifa was face-to-face with Scar, his eyes widened.
"Zarifa, I'm coming down, hold on!" Simba yelled and disappeared, likely coming down to help her fight off Scar.
Scar lifted his head up from the ground, battered and disoriented. When he saw Zarifa, his infamous smirk was etched on his face. He slowly got up from the ground.
"Ah little Zarifa…my, my, my how you've grown," Scar taunted with a laugh. Zarifa remained unfazed.
"I am not afraid of you anymore, Scar. You're nothing but a murderous coward. You've lost more than just the Pride Lands, Scar," Zarifa said with a low growl. Scar began to circle her.
"That may be so, Zarifa. But just as I enjoyed killing your precious daddy, I am going to enjoy killing you," Scar warned with a cackle.
Just as Zarifa was getting ready to roar at Scar to same way she did Zira, she suddenly found herself surrounded by hyenas. They all looked callous and enraged. Scar smirked.
"Ah, my friends. Your timing couldn't be more perfect. Kill her. And then we will rule together," Scar bellowed, anticipating the hyenas eventual attack on Zarifa. Even though she was strong, Zarifa doubted she could take them all.
She was shocked when the hyenas walked past her.
"Friends? I thought you said we were the enemy," Banzai sneered. Scar was shaking his head, eyes wide.
"No, no, you don't understand. I was trying to fool Simba. Together, we can build our army if we just kill Zarifa," Scar stammered, trying to save himself. Shenzi stepped forward from the flames.
"You've made fools out of us for long enough. It's time for you to pay the price, Taka," Shenzi snipped, which got an ominous laugh from Ed.
The hyenas were closing in on Scar, ignoring Zarifa completely. Scar was begging for his life, trying to convince them that he didn't betray them, that he was their friend.
When the first hyena jumped on Scar, Zarifa knew that there was no saving him.
Soon all of the hyenas were hounding on Scar, who was on the ground screaming in pain. Zarifa watched as they hyenas mercilessly tore at his flesh, no doubt continuing until there was nothing left of him.
Scar's head poked out through the chaos of the hyenas. Zarifa made eye contact with Scar's blood-soaked face, his prominent scar lost under the thick red blood. She could feel his terror.
"Zarifa, help me! Save your only uncle! Please, help! Be better than I was!" Scar screamed, trying to fight off the hyenas as best as he could, but it was no use.
Zarifa sat for a moment. She could have fought off enough hyenas to get them off Scar and then roar that mighty roar to blow them all away. Then she could be alone with Scar and either save him, or finally kill him for the pain he caused all these years.
But this wasn't reflective of who Zarifa was.
Zarifa understood why Simba didn't kill Scar. Scar was destructive and all the good that existed in his life had been completely destroyed and brutalized by Scar's way of thinking. He had been possessed with this disease of his own ego and his own want.
No one could destroy Scar—he would be the only one to do that. And now it was time for him to suffer the consequences of his own actions.
Silently and without remorse, Zarifa turned her back on Scar, his screams chorusing through the savannah.
The rain came down.
To be continued…
ONE MORE CHAPTER! Leave your thoughts in a review, I am feeling sad about this all coming to an end!