Disclaimer: I don't own Lion King.

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Chapter 23: Ghosts

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Scar stretched his limbs lazily. The simple action proved to be a challenge, for he had some heavy hairballs flung across him. Yawning, he opened his eyes, not minding the minor inconvenience. After the incident with the hippos, the lionesses were bringing him food on their own accord. With his stomach so full that it felt like bursting and his recent wounds healing neatly, all he wanted was to sleep.

The latter was a luxury though, for it conflicted with his new duties. Zira and her lionesses went to hunt again, leaving the cubs in his care, unfortunately for him. Vitani's loud snoring could wake a dead elephant, and Nuka seemed to want to finish Scar off with constantly talking. As soon as the adult lion heard the cubs stir, he squeezed his eyes shut, praying for a few moments of peace more.

"Scar, come play!" Vitani poked him with her little paw.

"He's not well yet," Nuka explained to his sister. For a brief while, Scar was grateful and hoped they would go back to sleep. However, once the cubs opened their eyes, they wouldn't stop being a nuisance. Scar felt Nuka tug at his mane. "Are you sleeping, Scar?"

The yanking at his mane from the other side betrayed that Kovu was awake too and mimicked his older brother enthusiastically. Scar felt like strangling all three of them, when they nudged him. Nevertheless, he faked steep. He succeeded until Vitani decided to take more drastic measures to get their caretaker to play. She crept to Scar's rear and pounced at his tail. Suddenly, the adult lion felt little teeth bit at it.

"Damn you!" Scar roared, jumping to his paws.

The startled cubs let go off him, staring at him with their eyes wide opened. Kovu mewed, not knowing what was going on. Towering over them, Scar glared at them maliciously, making them cower before him. Instinctively, Scar raised his paw, about to strike some sense into their thick heads. However, his front leg froze in the air, as soon as she realized what he was doing. He couldn't possibly beat them up, not if he wanted to have Zira crawl at his paws. Her cubs were the key to her heart, so Scar had to be like a gentle, loving father, they never had.

Holding a breath in, he lowered his paw. Then, he breathed out slowly, reminding himself to act appropriately. To gain Zira's trust, he needed to be a nice daddy to her cubs. What would Mufasa do?

"You two!" Scar pointed his paw at Nuka and Vitani. "Your behavior is unacceptable! From this day forward, you will respect your elders."

He looked down at Kovu. The dark hairball crawled closer to him – Scar doubted the tiny cub could understand a word he said anyway. The adult lion glared at his siblings, making them sit stiffly to repent for their unruly behavior.

"Is that understood?" he demanded harshly. Nuka and Vitani nodded hastily.

"Good," Scar said. "Follow me." He snatched Kuvu by the loose skin on his neck and limped across the interior of the den. The lion strolled outside, followed by his irritating entourage.

The night ruled over the Outlands, enthralling the barren plains and hills with its darkness. The clouds dispersed, showing the bright light of stars. There was a certain thing, Scar's father had told his sons. Right now, Scar was about to convey the knowledge to his wards.

He laid down, placing Kovu safely on his crossed paws. The little one snored lightly, instantly falling asleep. Nuka and Vitani exchanged confused glances and copied him, settling themselves on his both sides. When Scar looked up, they raised their heads as well, glancing at him with curiosity and a bit of fear that he would inflict some punishment for their misbehavior.

"When I was a cub," Scar said. "My father took me and my brother to gaze at the night sky. He told me, that the great kings of the past look down at us from those stars."

Scar stole a peek at the cubs, who appeared to be enticed by the silly idea – they seemed to believe it, just as his idiotic late brother had done when they were little. The expression of awe on Nuka's and Vitani's muzzles started to wane pretty quickly though.

"So…" Nuka scratched his head. "A bunch of old geezers spy on us from above?"

Vitani jumped to her paws, emitting what was supposed to be a furious and threatening growl.

"Even when I pee?" She grimaced in disgust. Waving her paw threateningly at the sky, she exclaimed. "They won't get away with this!"

"Vitani, they're dead already." Nuka rolled his eyes, pretending to act seriously and mature. Then, he squinted his eyes, as an idea popped into his head. He stared at his guardian. "Scar?"

"Hmm?" Scar muttered in response.

Before asking his question, Nuka vigorously scratched his read with his hind paw. Once the termite problem had been temporarily pacified, he glanced at the night sky and finally turned his attention to Scar.

"Does only the kings of Pride Rock get to become spying fossils or do leaders of the other prides get up too?" Nuka asked.

Vitani ceased her attempts to bully the great kings of the past too and gawked at Scar expectantly.

"It has been always quite vague, actually." Scar replied. When he saw the cubs open their mouths to ask more questions, he added hastily: "I didn't bring you here to listen to your bickering. Now, go stare at the kings of the past and let me take a nap."

Nuka and Vitani scowled. They raised their heads to observe the stars, but they didn't seem to be fully committed to the task. Scar didn't care though – all he wanted was a moment of peace.

"It's boring." Vitani complained.

Scar rolled his eyes. "If you stare long enough, a ghost will appear and talk to you." Scar's voice was dripping with sarcasm, but none of the cubs noticed it.

"Really?" Nuka asked with glee.

"Of course." Scar lied with straight face and snickered, when the two cubs narrowed their eyes to glare at the night sky. It was delightful how naïve and easily tricked they were. Pleased with his makeshift scheme to have his wards occupied, Scar laid his head on his paws, letting his mane fall over napping Kovu. Relaxed, the lion closed his eyes. Before he drifted to sleep, he focused on nice thoughts. He imagined how he would vanquish Simba, crushing Mufasa's legacy once and for all. In the end, Scar would be the one triumphant, reclaiming his throne. Smiling at the prospect, he slipped into deep slumber.

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"Taka." A distant voice called.

Scar's eyes snapped open. He knew this voice! He knew it very well, but it would be impossible… Spooked, he jumped to his paws. The strong wind appeared out of nowhere, ruffling his mane and making the grass dance. Grass? A nagging voice in the back of Scar's head told him that something was not right, seriously not right. Then, with horror he realized that the familiar surroundings were gone. The tall, dark silhouettes of the termite mounds were nowhere in sight. Zira's cubs vanished and Scar found himself standing in the middle of a never ending sea of grass. His legs started buckling, cold sweat made his pelt wet.

"Brother."

Scar whirled around toward the source of the voice, but he was alone on the grassy plain. He could have sworn that he had heard Mufasa. Panicked, he dashed out, racing across the creepy grasslands. However, no matter how fast and long he ran, the horizon never changed. Suddenly, he also realized that his injured legs didn't hurt, even though they should.

"Give it up." The owner of the voice was right behind Scar's back.

He whirled around. Scar's green eyes widened, as he stared in terror at the apparition before him. Regal like always, proud and strong, Mufasa sat in front of him. Scar backpedaled, startled and frightened beyond imagination. A strangle sound resembling a cough escaped his throat. The ghost of his brother stood up and slowly strolled toward him. Scar tried to dash out, to escape, but his limbs went stiff all of a sudden; he couldn't move.

"Mufasa," he whispered.

"It is I." The apparition responded in his brother's deep voice.

Scar burst in nervous laughter, thinking that he must have gone insane. "You're not real; you're dead!" He exclaimed, pointing his paw at Mufasa.

His brother looked very much authentic and solid though. Driven by a desperate need to prove that he was seeing just a mirage, Scar leapt forward. He swung his paw, anticipating it to go through the image of Mufasa like though smoke. How surprised he was, when he hit his brother's muscled leg. Panicked, he carefully pressed his paw against Mufasa's warm chest, but it didn't budge, as if it was real flesh. His breathing quickened, when he gazed up to meet his brother's gaze. Mufasa arched his eyebrow, giving Scar that patronizing look he hated.

Stumbling, Scar stepped back. He trembled like a terrified gazelle. "What's the meaning of this?" he demanded.

"I've come to-" Mufasa began, but Scar interrupted him.

"To kill me?" he asked. "You're here to get revenge on me for killing you, aren't you?"

Mufasa sighed heavily, shaking his head with dismay. "Hate and vengeance are beneath me, brother," he said. "I have forgiven you long ago."

Scar eyed the apparition with distrust. However, as spooky and abstract the current situation was, he could still tell that the ghost of his brother was being honest.

"Of course you are." Scar rolled his eyes. "Even dead, you're so proper."

Mufasa chuckled, covering his muzzle with his big paw. "I see you haven't lost your grumpiness," he stated.

Scar narrowed his eyes at him. "What do you want, Mufasa?" he asked.

The ghost became serious again. He lowered his paw, resting it on the unnaturally green grass. "I am here to warn you," he said solemnly. "Abandon your dreams of becoming the king of the Pride Lands. It is not written in the stars for you."

Scar scowled at the outrageous warning. Mufasa was trying to trick him! "Keep your warning to yourself." He growled. "You're saying this only to save Simba!"

"I'm saying this to save YOU!" Mufasa roared. Scar instinctively cowered before the ghost. His brother prowled closer, glaring at him condescendingly with those red eyes of his. "It's not too late yet, brother. You can still save your soul. Just turn your back to the Pride Lands and be happy with what you already have!"

"I have nothing!" Scar rebuked angrily, channeling all of his frustration. "You have taken it from me! You and your spawn Simba."

"Why are you so blind to the truth?" Mufasa shook his head sadly. Scar tried to walk away, but he put his paws on his shoulders, forcing his younger brother to look at him. "You could lead a happy, fulfilling life, if you only wanted."

"I want to be the king!" Scar yelled in Mufasa's face. He pulled back sharply, getting away from the ghost of his brother. Challengingly, he stared at the illusion, excepting Mufasa to patronize him, like he used to do. However, the apparition was silent. His red eyes expressed sorrow.

Scar turned his back to Mufasa, set on leaving him behind. Just when he whirled around, he came muzzle to muzzle with another lion, blocking his path. As he stepped forward, Scar backpedaled.

"I'm disappointed in you, Taka," the ghost of his father said.

Distressed, Scar tried to escape, but Mufasa found himself in his way.

"You won't succeed, brother," he told Scar.

"Your body is crippled." The spirit of his father added.

Panting, Scar attempted to take a leap, but the burden of his injured body appeared. His stiff hind leg dragged behind him, one of his front ones hurt with every step. His back made him hunch in pain. He felt like slowly dying. Even though he tried, he couldn't escape – Mufasa and father circled around him, becoming less corporeal and more like blurred smudges.

"Abandon this foolish desire." Mufasa repeated.

"Repent!" King Ahadi demanded harshly.

"You can have a second chance," Mufasa said.

"Make amends, Taka!" Father's deep voice called.

Scar sat on the grassy ground, trapped. He squeezed his eyes shut and covered his ears with his paws. Rocking forward and backward, he begged for this madness to end.

"Leave me alone!" He shouted at the top of his lungs.

When the voices fell silent, Scar uncovered his ears and opened his eyes. He felt unearthly chill beneath his paws. He looked down and saw nothing – a pitch black pit pulling him down, dragging into the abyss of emptiness. Scar screamed, but no one heard his voice.

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Terrified, Scar shuddered, waking up abruptly. Confused, he looked around. He was no longer in the ghostly grasslands, assaulted by the spirits of his kin. The night was still ruling over the desolate termite mounds. Nuka and Vitani got defeated by boredom and fell asleep at his sides, clearly tired for waiting for the ghosts to show up. Vitani's snoring was strangely soothing to Scar's ears. His heart still beat like crazy, and his breathing was shallow, erratic. The night was warm, but he was shivering. He closed his eyes, drawing a shaky breath. It was just a dream, a very bad nightmare and nothing more.

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Author's Note:

Hello, my favorite readers! It has been a long time since the last update… I feel so guilty. Anyway, I'll have several new chapters for you. Please enjoy them and don't hesitate to leave me a comment.