Kovu frowned at the little lioness, confused as to what she was doing. In the outlands, he didn't play much with his brother and sister, preferring to fight.

"Don't you know how to play?" Kiara questioned, then realisation dawned. "Oh…" she grinned, and crouched down, making an odd purring noise as she leapt about.

Kovu grinned, this he understood, and crouched down too, "Rar!"

His little rar was snatched away by the sudden loud roar of a huge golden lion who suddenly appeared over Kiara's little form. Before the lion could even look at Kovu, however, two more roars sounded, these the roars of Kovu's parents who appeared over him like magic.

"Scar!" the lion growled, then looked at the lioness, "Zira."

"Simba." Zira snarled.

Scar almost grinned at the astonishment on Simba's face at seeing him, battered, yes, but alive. He glanced around and saw that the cowardly boy had brought all his lionesses with him. "Nala."

Nala growled, "Scar. Zira."

"Nala." Zira almost purred.

To one side of the lions, a meerkat that was sitting on a warthog piped up, "Timon," he gestured to the warthog, "And Pumbaa. Great, now that we all know each other, GET OUTTA OUR PRIDE LANDS!!"

Zira snarled, "YOUR pride lands?!" she leant against her mate a little, "These lands belong to Scar."

Simba growled, "You two aren't even supposed to be alive. You were banished, now get out!"

Scar smirked, "Oh Simba, you wouldn't do that to your poor, eldery uncle, would you? Send us back to those lands where we have so little food, and less water..."

"What are you even doing here? Poaching?!" Nala snapped.

Zira made a shocked face, "We were searching for our cub." She leant down and nuzzled her face against the shivering Kovu. Scar almost laughed, Zira was a fine actress when the occasion arose.

"You both know the penalty!" Simba roared.

Scar glanced at his mate, then smirked to himself, "Oh Simba, we all know the law, outlanders are allowed to come here if they're searching for something of theirs. The only one guilty here is Kovu." He reached a paw out and pulled Kovu from the protection of his mother. "My Son, and your future king."

Kovu trembled at the sight of Simba's glare, so much so that his teeth chattered. In the background, Timon made a joke about the boy being a fuzzy maraca, not a king, it didn't lighten the situation.

Scar scowled. "He does not know the penalty. But if you need your pound of flesh, here." He pushed the cub towards Simba.

As the lions watched, Scar wieghed up his options, if Simba had become too much like Mufasa, he would attempt to kill Kovu, and if he even raised a paw to the cub, Scar was going to tear his throat out. If, on the other hand, he was still the same old weak-hearted Simba, he would walk away.

Simba stared at the shivering cub for a second, then closed his eyes. "Take him and get out. I never want to see you again." He leant down and picked up his own cub, the little lioness.

Zira growled and stepped forward to retrieve her child, while Scar continued to grin wickedly, "Well this was a pleasant family reunion. We must do it again some time." He stared down at the little lioness in Simba's mouth, letting out an evil snicker designed to give cubs nightmares.

All thoughts of Zebras forgotten, the two began to make their way towards the outlands. As they turned away, Kovu heard the lioness squeak out "Bye." And he quickly replied, "G'bye."

...in the outlands...

Vitani growled to herself as she tugged at the little root in the ground, there was no real reason for it, she was just bored and felt like killing something.

"Hey 'Tani, where's the lil termite?" Nuka whined, reaching his paw out to the root, "The chooosen one." He cut the plant and laughed like a hyena when his sister fell backwards and crashed into a rock.

She shook herself off, "Nuka! Where is he? Did you leave him on his own again?!"

Nuka rolled his eyes and rubbed his back against a tree in a last-ditch effort to stop the itching of his termite infestation. "Hey, it's every lion for himself, he can't always have mom and dad protecting him."

"Ohh, mother's gonna be mad, she told you to watch him!" Vitani growled, "But luckily she might be in the way when Daddy finds out and slays you." The word 'slays' dripped from the lionesses mouth like poison, a talent she had picked up from her father.

Nuka rolled his eyes, "I don't see why he's so special anyway, I should be dad's heir, I'm the oldest, the smartest, the stronges- ARGH THESE TERMITES!!" he wailed, chewing at his own fur.

Vitani smirked to herself, "Why don't you tell mother and father that?" She nodded at the space behind Nuka.

Nuka spun around and grinned dopily, "Mother! Father! Hi!" He sensed the ice in the air as the two adults walked past without a word. "I caught some feildmice for your dinner! I left it by the—okay." He trailed off.

Zira placed Kovu on the ground next to his sister gently.

Vitani giggled and batted at his tail, "Hey Kovu, wanna fight?" She growled and crouched. The two cubs were world-class experts at games of rough and tumble, often not stopping until their mother separated them.

Scar took a moment to watch the two cubs, then turned on his eldest son, "You were supposed to be watching him!" he snarled, raising one paw as if to strike him, "You have ONE purpose in life, to care for your brother and you can't even do that right!"

Nuka yelped and bounced backwards in terror, eyes closed as he felt certain his father was going to teach him a lesson he would not soon forget.

"It's not his fault!" Kovu piped up, guilt in his bright green eyes. "I went off on my own!"

Scar's face went blank, and he lowered his paw, staring at it in astonishment, not believing that he had been so close to striking one of his own children. He knew the sting of such a blow, and had sworn to himself that he would never harm one of his cubs, for fear of turning into his father.

Zira scowled at the cub, "Kovu! Who is your enemy?!"

"Simba!" The cub squeaked, backing away from his mothers fury.

Zira advanced on him, "Who made us outsiders?!"

"Simba!" The cub repeated, dodging behind his father's legs.

"What have we told you about them?!" Zira growled, grasping the cub's tail and pulling him towards herself till he lay on his back, staring into her merciless gold eyes.

Scar let out a roar that silenced the lioness. "That's enough, Zira. He understands."

"I'm sorry mother!" Kovu whimpered. "…S-sh-she didn't seem so bad…" Kovu stammered out, "I th-thought we could be-"

"Friends?" Scar purred, nudging the cub to his feet. "You thought you'd get to the princess, and Simba would welcome you into his pride?" he lowered his head, "Trust me, Kovu, it would never work. You're better forgetting her and the pride lands." He turned and began to walk away. "We have a life here."

Zira frowned, confused and even slightly worried for her mate, leaving the cubs and going after him. "Scar?"
Scar sat on a fallen tree that looked out over the pride lands. "I almost hit him."

"Nuka?" She asked, "Well he deserves it, if he can't do one simple thing-"
Scar turned his head to look at her, "Zira, do you know who gave me this scar?" he pointed at the gash over his eye.

She shook her head, "Ahadi said Wildebeests did it."

"Of course he did," Scar muttered, remembering the day he had got the wound as clearly as he remembered Zira's face.

"Dad! Dad!" Prince Taka called, dashing up pride rock to where his parents lay sunbathing in the afternoon sun. He skidded to a halt beside them, "Look! I caught a mouse!" He dropped the little offering beside his parents.

Uhru, the queen, beamed at her youngest son, nuzzling her face against the adolescent lion. "Well done darling, very impressive when you think how fast they move."

Taka didn't react to her words but fixed his eyes on the large male beside her, whose black mane rose and fell slowly as he breathed.

"Your brother caught an antelope the other day." Was his only comment. He rose, "Speaking of whom, it's time he learned of the kings of the past." He rose his head and roared Mufasa's name, a sure-fire way to bring him running.

Taka scowled for a second, then suddenly perked up, "Can I come too dad? Please?" he grinned widely in what he hoped was a winning fashion.

Ahadi looked at him as though he had suggested he turn into a hyena and marry a meerkat. "Certainly not, you're not going to be king, it's of no use to you, and you'll only get in the way."

Taka's face fell, "I promise I won't! I'll be really quiet! You won't even know I'm there."

"You're not coming. Now shut up."

But Taka wasn't about to let those words stop him, and that night he followed his brother and father out into the grasslands to watch the stars. It would have worked, had Zazu not spotted him and started shrieking like a siren.

Ahadi approached the cub, furious. "I told you to stay away, you worthless little insect."

Taka whimpered, starting to back away from the older lion, "I just… I didn't mean to diso…"

"Dad! Please! It's not his fault!" Mufasa pled, "I asked him to come, punish me!" but the cries fell on deaf ears.

Ahadi stood over the boy, growling. "You are a nothing, you will never be king, you cannot care for the cubs, you cannot hunt, you are a worthless drain on the pride and I curse the day I ever laid eyes on you, you little piece of trash."

Taka had felt a flicker of rebellion in his heart, and suddenly growled, bringing a paw up as if to try to fight his father.

And his father had delivered a violent swipe to Taka's face that almost took his eye out. Taka had raced off yelping, and did not return to pride rock for a week, by which time the wound had set into a scar across his eye, and he'd made friends with three certain hyenas.

"…Why didn't you tell someone?" Zira asked, nuzzling Scar's mane in pity for his sad story.

Scar lowered his head to rest on his paws; "You wouldn't have believed me. Mufasa could have said something, but he was too busy learning to be king." Scar practically spat the word king.

"Poor Scar." Zira whispered, resting her head on his. "But it makes me wonder…" she trailed off.

"What is it Notch?"

Zira rubbed their heads together, "It's always been your dream to rule the pride lands, and now Kovu has a way of getting there you say no?"

"It was my dream once." Scar replied, not moving his gaze from the golden land. "…but it's funny, as you get older, dreams start to change. Do I want to rule those lands anymore? No." Scar turned and nuzzled her; "My dream now is to end my days with you and the cubs. If I can have that, then maybe I can be happy."

Zira purred, resting her head on his, "So, you're saying that killing your brother, banishing your nephew and taking over the throne could all have been avoided if someone had shown you a little love?"

Scar laughed, something he hadn't done in years. "When you put it that way I sound like such a psychopath."

"…Mom? Dad?"

The two turned their heads slightly. Nuka was standing at the base of the tree with about five field mice hanging by their tails in his jaws. He walked over and laid them beside his parents, then scampered off.

Scar raised an eyebrow, "I think he was trying to be apologetic." He sighed and watched the adolescent lion sitting by his two young siblings. "…The poor boy really is mine." He muttered.

"How so? You weren't quite so inept at that age." Zira pointed out, chewing on a field mouse.

Scar nodded, "but I was always in my brother's shadow through no fault of my own." He sighed, "Perhaps I'll consider taking him hunting properly. Maybe look into finding a lioness for him."