Disclaimer: I don't own Lion King.

.

Author Note:

Thank you all, who reviewed, for your fantastic support. When I saw how fast some of you posted your comments, I was astonished. I also cursed loudly, because I realized that I need to speed up my writing in order to provide you with chapters.

Your feedback makes wonders – I regained my lost motivation, developed tons of ideas and I'm in the process of writing them down. Please continue supporting me! (it works)

Sorry for not posting sooner, but I waited for new people to review, but they never did.

.

.

Chapter 10: Savior

.

Nuka knew that Msuli would pursue his mother. After all, Zira was the informal leader, the strongest of the lionesses. Nuka had to save her! He needed to tell her to escape. Nuka shook Vitani.

"Snap out! We need to warn mother." He murmured.

His little sister came to her senses surprisingly fast. When she looked up, there was no senseless panic in her blue eyes, only steel determination.

"Right." She nodded and followed Nuka, as the siblings set off in search for their mother.

Luckily, they knew her favorite resting spots, thus not much time passed until they picked up her scent. Hers and someone else's. Nuka and Vitani exchanged startled gazes, not sure what to make out of this. Clenching their jaws, they ran faster to win the race with Msuli. Like a stampeding herd, they dashed past jagged rocks, sliding along the way, but miraculously keeping their balance. With a grace matching that of a leopard, the cubs landed on all fours in front of Zira.

"Nuka! Vitani!" she exclaimed, clearly surprised to see them at such moment.

Actually, the cubs were equally bamboozled, perhaps even more than she was. Simultaneously, they stared at the tiny dark hairball cuddling to their mother's belly.

"Is that…" Nuka pointed his paw at the small creature. Vitani tiled her head, intrigued.

Zira smiled, stroking the whining newborn cub.

"Your brother." She introduced the little one.

The older cubs were so amazed by the fact that they had a new sibling, that they almost forgot their purpose. However, the longer Nuka stared at his younger brother, the more unsettled he became. The dark pelt of the cub looked suspiciously similar to that male lion, whom he had seen with mother while they were doing that awkward things. Actually, considering that Msuli's pelt was fair, even brighter than mother's…

Vitani gasped sharply. Apparently, she was very smart for her age.

"Msuli!" the siblings exclaimed.

"Mother, you must get up!" Nuka insisted, grabbing Zira's ear with his teeth and pulling at it to get her to move. However, she smacked him. She narrowed her eyes at him and Nuka backed away.

"Something terrible happened." Nuka confessed.

Zira's eyes widened. She stared at her son, as if trying to read his mind, for the cub couldn't cough out a word more. His throat contracted, as he thought of Msuli's wrath and the pained cubs of the female cubs. He hadn't seem a thing, but his imagination filled the gap with gruesome images.

Mother seemed to understand. She nodded solemnly, not asking any questions. Slowly, she got up. Her legs were buckling, for she didn't regain her strength after the labor yet. The newborn cub whined, as she took a hold of him with her teeth. She headed out of the stony hideout, but she wasn't moving as quick as she should have.

"Faster, mom!" Vitani exclaimed, prancing around Zira. She ran ahead, glancing from time to time at her mother, checking if she was following the energetic cub. Suddenly, Zira dropped her youngest cub, and Nuka's fur stood at the back of his neck. Vitani furrowed her brows, confused why did they react in such a weird way. She craned her neck so much, busy looking at her family, that she crashed into a solid wall. It wasn't very hard though. It was firm, true, but softer than most stones and somewhat furry. Moaning, she gazed upon the obstacle.

Instantly, her heart felt, as if it rode up to her throat. She yelped and covered, backpedaling, but fear made her limbs stiff.

"F-father?" she stuttered, crushed by the male's lion merciless stare. He snarled at her, baring his long, sharp teeth. His intimidating mane covered the sun, casting shadow on little Vitani. She crouched backward, wishing she could blend into the rocky surroundings. She plastered her ears flat against her head, shivering uncontrollably.

Nuka instinctively hid behind Zira, as his greatest nightmare was about to come to pass. His breath quickened. What to do? In a moment, Msuli would release his anger upon mother and her cubs. Nuka knew he was supposed to defend her and his siblings, but what could he do with his little, scrawny body? He was like a termite in comparison to his menacing stepfather. Was there no salvation for them? If only Nuka were an adult lion…

The mangy cub gasped, as an idea popped into his mind. A far-fetched one, but it could be their only hope. In his thoughts he said a quick prayer for the Kings of old to watch over mother, Vitani and his newborn brother. Then, he dashed out, leaving his family at Msuli's mercy.

.

Scar huffed, frustrated, when another mouse eluded his lightning fast attack – at least it used to be quick, before the hyenas inflicted the gruesome injuries onto his body. Disheartened, the lion collapsed onto the dirt, mentally firing curses at his former associates and Simba. One day… one day Scar would have his revenge. He just hoped that he wouldn't starve until that moment. His stomach rumbled, reminding him that Nuka was late with his half-rotten provisions.

Thinking of which… Scar's head perked up, as the wind carried a familiar scent – a very particular one reeking of a cub and termites. The corners of the adult lion's lips twisted upward in a pleased smile. It was about the time for his little minion to appear. With a certain dose of difficulty, Scar scrambled himself off the ground, careful not to shift weight on his bad hind leg, for it still hurt immensely. He equipped his mask of a "good uncle" and turned toward Nuka, who ran to him, as though a hungry cheetah was chasing him.

"Ah, Nuka, how wonderful to-," Scar said, but the cub interrupted him rudely.

"Scar!" Nuka exclaimed, breathing hard. The legs under him buckled uncontrollably, betraying that he put all his energy into the race to Scar's den. He launched forward and stared at the adult lion pleadingly. "It's Msuli, he… Mother and…"

Nuka couldn't catch his breath, and Scar couldn't understand his rambling. Comfortingly, he put his paw on the cub's shoulder.

"Slowly, lad. Tell me, what happened." Scar didn't really wish to be burdened with Nuka's family drama, but he had to bear it, at least until his injuries heal completely and he would be no longer dependant on the little termite nest.

Nuka nodded. He drew a shaky breath and held it in, calming down. Afterward, he released the air, but he couldn't stop shaking like a petrified gazelle.

"Scar, my mother is in danger!" He exclaimed. "Msuli is going to kill her and my siblings. Please, you've got to help us! You're an adult; you can take Msuli down."

Scar stiffened. Nuka's expectant, hopeful stare made him really uncomfortable. Was the cub honestly expecting him to challenge another male while he couldn't even catch a lunch? Nuka was out of his mind – perhaps Scar had made some mistakes, some not quite smart decisions too, but he was not suicidal.

"I would, I really would, but…" Scar smiled apologetically. "You see, I'm still badly wounded. I'm afraid…"

"You can do it!" Nuka cut in again. Scar cursed in his mind – the cub seemed to be determined to get his help. For a fleeting moment, the adult lion felt a bit sorry for him. It was just a brief thought which quickly vanished, overshadowed by Scar's instinct of preservation.

"Do you think I don't want to help you?" Scar raised his voice, introducing an emotional flavor into the tone of his voice, matching the fake, caring expression of his green eyes. He winced, demonstratively limping away, emphasizing just how much difficulty he had with a mere task of walking. He sighed heavily and whispered, loud enough for Nuka to hear though. "It pains me that I am not able to save your family, Nuka. It hurts worse than my wounds."

Scar sighed once more, for the sake of the dramatic effect and limped toward his miniscule den. However, Nuka must have been desperate indeed, for he circled the adult and blocked his path. It was laughable, how firmly the skinny sack of bones stood his ground. His crimson eyes burned into Scar.

"Save mother from Msuli." It wasn't a whimpering plea; it sounded almost like an order.

Scar raised his eyebrow, surprised that his little minion was capable of speaking to him in such a tone. As unexpected it was, it made the adult lion feel uneasy – his authority had been just challenged, and no one did that to a king. A former king, actually, but that changed nothing. Instantly, Scar dropped his act of a gentle fatherly figure, letting his true self shine through. His green eyes went cold and no smile rested upon his muzzle, as he lowered his head to glare at Nuka.

"If I try, your dear stepfather would probably kill me, and I can't die just yet." He growled. It was satisfying, how Nuka cowered under his intimidating gaze. However, Scar felt that he lost some of his gift during his exile, for the cub straightened his back far too quickly. He even growled back, although the sound resembled a noise made by a suffocated warthog.

"If you don't come to help mother, I'll tell Msuli that you're staying here." Nuka smirked. For a moment, Scar had am impression, as if he had seen his own reflection in the water. The cub skipped away, making some distance between them. "Msuli won't be happy about it. He will hunt you down."

Scar stared at the smug cub blankly. Had he just been threatened by this mangy little thing? He bared his teeth and roared at Nuka.

"You wouldn't dare," Scar hissed.

"I would!" Nuka exclaimed, prancing around casually, while Scar was getting angrier.

If the cub did what he threatened and had that male chase after him… Scar had no delusions how drastically his chances for survival would dwindle. He wasn't in top form, to put it delicately, and there was no way he could outrun other lions. Scar doubted that he could be any competition for a tortoise in his condition. Even if he did manage to run quickly enough, there was nowhere to go – the Outlands, the Pride Lands and the Elephant Graveyard swarmed with his enemies, and the desert wasn't a desirable destination either. On an off thought, Scar reminded himself to get along with others better. There was only one solution – he had to silence Nuka, preferably permanently.

He crouched and pounced, attempting to pin the cub to the ground and dispose of the threat. Unfortunately, Nuka proved to be at least as agile as mice – lightly, he jumped away, avoiding capture.

"I'm telling Msuli." He announced and slowly jogged toward the center of the Outlands.

Scar's temper flared at such an outrageous betrayal.

"Brat," he murmured and sprinted after Nuka, clumsily dragging his bad leg and hissing from pain from time to time. His target was unnervingly elusive. Every time Scar thought he had the cub in his grasp, he slipped away just barely. The adult lion was intent on catching him though. With an admirable determination he tried to hunt Nuka down, oblivious to the fact that he was being led further into the enemy territory.

.

.

.

.

Author Note:

Chapter 11 is titled "Showdown". As you may suspect, the excitement will only ride up.

Please, review and force me to release the next chapter really soon.

My faithful reviewers, you guys rock. Please keep being awesome and write me a comment. I anticipate your opinions.

Readers, who haven't reviewed yet, don't be shy and tell me in the comments what you think about the story. I'll update after I get some reviews from you, the new people.

Also, a new rule for Arc 1: "Msuli" (first 13 chapters): As soon as I get 10 reviews from you, I'll update right away! No waiting.