A/n: Hey, gang. Aside from the good news about a new chapter up, I have even cooler news: I launched a deviantART account. So far it's got Lion King fanart and anthro art; someday, it may have some After the Roar art. You never know.

If you want to know what username I go under, all you have to do is give me the correct answer to a question.

In this chapter, one of the characters gets suddenly and violently ill. The scene, however unrealistic it may seem, was inspired by a real-life event that happened to me. What was the event? Be the first to correctly guess, and I will not only give you my DeviantART username, but also give you a shout-out in Chapter 14.

It's like How Ridiculous's YouTube Channel: I'll pin ya!

Chapter 13: Stand Down or Fight

Golden eyes narrowing and a smile tugging on his whiskers, the cheetah crouched behind the rocks. All was quiet, for now. Taku's army was standing in the treeline and gazing out at the flatland for any sign of the hyenas. The herbivores' figures were nearly black against the gold of the setting sun, but Moro saw their faces well enough. Their unease over their impending war with the hyenas—the war that wasn't going to happen—was less than subtle.

The soldiers' families were a hundred yards away, sheltering in the trees and grazing in the grass. The biggest of the elephants was Jumbe, and he had been waiting along with the women and children, pacing a rut into the grass. He started to break away from the herds and go to Taku, but an eagle swooped down out of the sky and started talking with Jumbe. The words were inaudible and the movements of their mouths were ambiguous, but Moro knew what it was about, and he grinned happily.

Perfect...

With scowls on their faces, Jumbe and the Elders broke away from the rest of the herds, and they trundled up to Taku and demanded to know what was going on.

"I don't know where the hyenas are," Taku said. "We should have seen something by now—"

"You know what I mean," Jumbe said. "One of the eagles in your squadron just came back. He said he had some news, and he didn't want to bring it to you first."

Taku went still and wide-eyed. "What new information?"

"Oh, I think you know," a rhino replied. "You told us you killed Bara, but there's a lion in Site Delta. He looks like he could be the son of Mufasa, and he looks like he's been in a pit of alligators."

The elephant glanced away. "That's news to me, Sir..."

"There's more. You sent the carnivores to Site Epsilon to find their families, but that's not what your eagle saw."

Taku kept looking away. "I don't know what you're talking about, Sir."

"I think you do. Now are we going to hear the truth? Or will we have to press you for it?"

Well, now, Moro said to himself. Looks like we're going to have some fun...

The cheetah blinked his eyes and let them go bleary. He bent down to smell the grasses, letting the pollen clog his nose. He drew in a shaky breath, feeling it tighten his throat. And with a satisfied smile, his cry face was complete.

He let out a fake sob and burst out of the rocks, and he charged up to Taku and roared: "YOU'RE A MURDERER!"

All the herbivores turned to Moro at once, and Taku glared wide-eyed at him.

"YOU JUST COULDN'T WAIT TO GET RID OF US!" Moro screamed. "WE FOUGHT FOR YOU, AND YOU KILLED US!"

Jumbe turned to Taku and rumbled, "What have you done?"

"That's not all, Sir! He lied to you about everything. Simba didn't really die in the gorge; he survived. He's been living in a jungle for two years. Taku found out about it and roped Simba into killing Bara. Then when Simba and his friends came out here, Taku double-crossed them and tried to have them all killed. After Simba killed Bara, Taku turned his army on the carnivores! Twelve of our men were killed, and Sarabi was gored!" The cheetah feigned a sob and turned to Taku. "You don't care about the Circle of Life! YOU'RE WORSE THAN SCAR!"

"Moro, calm down," Jumbe said. "I know what happened. I know you're angry. But I promise you, Taku will be dealt with—"

"WHEN, SIR?!" Moro screamed. "When everyone I love is dead? When our own king is lying in a pool of his own blood?!"

"Moro, listen—"

"NO, JUMBE, KILL THE TRAITOR NOW!"

"You know we can't do that," the old elephant said. "We don't know how many of his men were planning this thing. If we kill him now, we may never know."

"THEN DEAL WITH HIM NOW!"

"All right, Moro, all right..." Jumbe let out a sigh and shook his head. "We'll put him on trial, and we'll let you give your testimony."

Moro bobbed his head and gave a pathetic whimper. "Thank you, Sir…"

"Before we do that, you need to get some food and water."

The cheetah's weepy face went even sadder. "It's not going to be an inconvenience, Sir?"

"A calf from one of Bara's herds was found dead. Besides, you can't be on the witness stand if you're not thinking straight."

Moro gave him a jerky nod and a hint of a smile. "Thank you, Sir…thank you…"

With a mighty sigh, Jumbe ordered Tama to take Taku's statement, and he ordered the rest of the Elders to gather the herds. As the Elders scattered, the old elephant led the cheetah into the trees, their heavy heads drooping low as the land scrolled beneath their feet.

Fifteen minutes later, they stopped at a large hill. A cave was yawning in the side, and nothing went in or out. Jumbe smiled down at Moro and invited the cheetah to enjoy the meal, and Moro slunk into the cavern, hanging his head in a pitiful trudge.

The cheetah sat upon the stone floor, letting his eyes get used to the dark, and he took in a breath and tasted the dusty and damp air—

"Wait a minute," he muttered. "There's no food…"

A rock rumbled up and sealed the tunnel, and all was plunged into darkness.

Moro's face went wide and large with fear. His head swept side to side, his mouth dangling open. He went up on all fours and scrabbled at the stone walls, but nothing gave.

"Jumbe?" he said. "JUMBE, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"

Moro dashed toward the mouth of the tunnel and scraped his paws down the rock. His claws scratched the stone, but the rock wouldn't budge. He crouched down and put his muscular shoulder against the boulder, but his paws kept slipping against the stone floor, and he fell back onto his haunches, then lifted his head to the ceiling. "LET ME OUT!" he screamed. "LET ME OUT!"

All he heard was a heavy sigh and a heartbeat.

"Oh, laugh now, Jumbe. When I get back there, I'm going to scratch your eyeballs out of your head. Then we'll see how funny you are. We'll see who's laughing at the end of this thing…and I promise you, it's going to be me—

"OWWW!"

Moro jumped off the stone floor and scrambled away, his haunch blazing with pain, and the salty taste of blood landed in his open mouth. There was a skittering and a squeal as the mouse dashed down the tunnel, nails scraping against the rock. Moro snarled and slunk toward it, following the mouse's musky scent—

A pang of dizziness went through him, and he started to go wobbly. His head began to swim, and he fell back onto his haunches. He felt as if his head were floating along in a river. His breath went short, as if someone stole all the air out of his lungs, and his heart slammed against his chest as he heaved and gasped. Then as he lifted his head, his ears started to ring, and sweat burst out across his chest. And without warning, his stomach did a flip.

"Oh, no," he muttered. "Oh, no…"

His stomach gave a heft revolt, acid and food burst up in his throat, and he hurled his head forward and spewed all over the rocks.

"…And those are the men who were planning this with me," Taku said. "It's a small circle, but I had to keep it that way. If more people had known, the whole army would have revolted."

The rhino nodded dully. "Are you going to renounce what you did, son? Will you let the carnivores take their place in the Circle of Life?"

Taku glanced away and let out a shallow breath. "I did what I thought was right. The carnivores are arrogant monsters, especially after the hell they've put us through. But they have a purpose...and if they can help us win the war against Sakora—"

"That's not what I asked."

Taku looked him in the face and gave him a glare. "If you were in my footprints, what would you say?"

"Probably the same thing as you. But then again, I don't have the luxury of being young; I outgrew my ideals a long time ago."

Taku filled the pause with a smirk.

"Why did you bring us out here? You said we were fighting the hyenas—"

"We were," Taku said. "At least, that's what we should've been doing. Someone named Dark Horizon was helping me get you back, but he double-crossed me; he was going to feed us all to the leopard tribes if I didn't do what he said."

"Why didn't you tell us before?"

"I told you: He was going to feed us to the leopard tribes. But now that the leopard tribes are working with Simba, my son's no longer in danger. Tama, I was going to tell you the truth, I swear. But Dark Horizon was going to have my son killed; I couldn't just let that happen."

Tama looked as dull as ever, but he acknowledged the words with a nod. "Technically, you're still in charge of Special Ops. If you tell your men to work with Simba, will they follow through?"

"Of course, Sir."

"All right, then. I don't know whether you're telling me the truth about your hostility toward the carnivores. But I know Sakora's on the move, and if he wins the war against Simba, we're all going to be next. Go to your men, and give the order to work with Simba until this thing's over."

Taku nodded and started away—and then Jumbe crashed through the shrubs and said, "Taku, forget that order."

"...What?"

"Tama, get the rest of the herds over here. We're dealing with Taku now."

The rhino looked just as confused. "Jumbe, this isn't the time—"

"You have your order. Bring them over here now."

"Sir, don't do this," Taku said. "Sakora needs to be killed. Dark Horizon has got to be stopped."

"And they will be...but not by us."

"What are you talking about? Zira's working with Sakora. If we don't help Simba, he and his pride are going to lose!"

"No. It'll be a stalemate."

"You don't know what you're talking about!"

"You've got Simba and his minions in Site Delta, and Sakora's moving in even as we speak. The Great Carnivore War is about to come to a head, and that's all that matters."

Taku paused and gawked at Jumbe, and his heart did a tumble in his chest. "This was my old plan, Sir," he muttered. "But I gave it up—"

"And I'm finishing it. You did a fine job getting Simba and his bubbleheaded bimbos into this war. Your plan was poorly executed at times, but only because since Simba was a wildcard. At least Dark Horizon was there to lend you a hand."

Taku's mouth fell open, and his eyes went misty with tears. "You're working for him, too..."

The old elephant stared as darkly as ever.

"Sir, don't you understand? He's been playing us—"

"'Playing us'? Do you have any idea what he's done for us? After we were kidnapped, he said he had a new home for us. He was going to give it away as soon as the war was over."

"That's a lie, Sir!"

"It's a jungle at the edge of the desert! How could we say no to that?"

"He's ripping you off! Everyone out here wants the jungle. Zira, Sakora, Ngozi, Vaziri...and I'll bet Moro wants it, too. But they're not going to get it. Dark Horizon wants it more than any of us; he's keeping us at war so he can take it for himself."

Jumbe smirked at him and muttered, "Dark Horizon told me that's what you were doing."

"…What?!"

"He said you were keeping everyone at war."

"That's his plan, Sir! That's what he's trying to do!"

"Why should I believe you?"

"Don't you see? He told us to go to war with the hyenas so we'd all be killed. But that didn't work. So now he's turning us against each other. We can't let him play this game anymore. We've got to stop this war, and we've got to do it now."

Jumbe kept smiling at Taku and watching as the herds gathered around. "By the power vested in us as Elders of the Pride Lands, we are executing you for treason, murder, and conspiracy to commit murder. I am stripping you of your ranks as General of the Pride Lands and Commander of Special Operations. You will be executed here and now in the presence of these witnesses. You'd better make your goodbyes short, son; your family doesn't need a long and drawn-out farewell."

Without warning, a smile went up Taku's face. "Where's Moro, Sir?"

Jumbe glared at him but gave no reply.

"What happened to him, Sir? Did you make him disappear?"

"We know where he is, son. He's eating."

"Good. Bring him over here; he'll have dinner and a show."

Jumbe ignored him and turned to the Elders. "Gentlemen, kill him."

With a heavy sigh, Tama turned to Jumbe. "Sir, why don't you bring Moro back?"

"I already told you—"

"I know what you told me. But if you don't get him, I'll do it myself."

The old elephant glowered down at him. "Are you going to carry out the order, or not?"

"That's it," Tama muttered. "I move that we postpone the execution."

"No! Taku is a murderer. He killed twelve carnivores in the stampede. He murdered Sarabi, and he tried to kill Simba. As the Head Elder of the Pride Lands, I will personally carry out his sentence—"

"NO!" Taku roared. "We're going to settle it the old way. You and me, mano a mano, a fight to the death. If you win, you take my post. If I win, I keep my post, and the Elders drop the charges against me."

Jumbe snickered at him. "We both know I'm not a tottering old coot. Do you really want to go up against me? Are you ready to be killed in front of your family?"

"We all know I am, Sir. The question is: Are you?"

The old elephant didn't answer.

"I don't want to fight you, Sir. I just want to end the wars. Right now, Sakora and Dark Horizon are about to win, and I don't want my son growing up in a world with those two on the loose. So make no mistake: I will do anything to protect the Pride Lands…even if I have to die."

And tears glistening in his eyes and mouth trembling, he steeled his shaky nerves and said:

"It's your choice, Father."