Here's a fic for any of you who are interested in such things. And it's going to be about Simba! Yeah, my first fic starring Simba. Kinda strange for me, I know. But you can't not love Simba.

Also, if anybody thinks they have a good idea for a tlk fanfic, be sure to PM the idea, and if I like it, I'll put it on my 'to do' list, and eventually, I'll write it! And if you're just a guest, leave a review on any one of my stories with the idea.

Anyways, be sure to leave a review! And enjoy the fic.

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Simba's POV

"Y-ya don't think it's going to…. going to scar, do you?" Stuttered Taka, wincing as a hyena daubed a salve onto his eye. Simba, Hatari, Shenzi, Banzai and Ed were all gathered around, and every single one of them was in a bad mood.

"I don't know kid." Grunted the healer, a hyena called Kiji. "Looks to me like it'll leave a mark, at least."

"Oh no…" Whined Taka, one of his eyes shut with the fur around it stained red.

"Hey. Suck it up." Growled Hatari, stepping forward. "It's hardly a scratch, there's much worse injuries than scrathes. You could have had your organs disemboweled." Taka gulped, Hatari wasn't in an amiable mood.

"Yeah Taka, it isn't….. that bad." Tried Shenzi, smiling halfheartedly. "Just a mark."

""I know… it's just that… it hurts." He seethed, putting his paw back over his eye.

"Hey hey!" Snapped Kiji. "Take your paw off, you gotta let the salve do it's work! Leave it alone!" Taka gulped and quickly removed his paw, which was now painted red from the dripping blood.

"Sorry." He muttered.

"Yeah, whatever. Now I gotta put some more on." Grumbled the healer, as he walked back inside his den to retrieve more of the sticky liquid. He walked back out and dabbed it back onto Taka's eye, making him wince from pain again. Taka sighed pitifully.

"I said to suck it up, didn't I?" Growled Hatari.

"Sorry!" He seethed, looking away from the Matriarch. He wasn't trying to anger her, but it wasn't like he expected her pity. Still….

"Yeah whatever." Mumbled Hatari, as she turned to the healer. "Kiji, make sure he's all right before you let him go. No infections, got it?"

"Hundred percent." Grunted Kiji, bobbing his head in acknowledgment. Hatari nodded back at him, then turned around and walked away. No one said a word, because they could still hear Hatari cursing under her breath, the pulsing anger radiating from her was simply too potent to upset. Shenzi and Simba glanced at each other, as Hatari stopped outside the den, grabbed rock in her paw, and hurled it against the side of the stone wall they were situated in. The rock shattered into pieces, and Hatari walked away.

Simba whistled.

"Well…. I think… I just expanded my vocabulary." He said, now that Hatari was safely gone.

"Well, she's got a reason for it." Grumbled Shenzi, frowning in frustration.

"No kidding." Replied Simba, gritting his teeth as he exhaled slowly. The events of the previous night came back to him, right after he had stumbled into the Graveyard trying to catch up to Ahadi and Taka. He remembered hearing a shout, and he had turned a corner to find not only Taka and Ahadi, but the entire hyena clan, their teeth glinting in the moonlight.

"KILL HIM! KILL HIM! TEAR HIS THROAT OUT, CUT HIS STOMACH OPEN, SNAP HIS SPINE, GOUGE HIS EYES, CRUNCH HIS SKULL, BITE HIS GROIN, KILL HIM KILL HIM KILL HIM!"

Simba had stared in horror and awe as the assembled hyenas jumped down from their perches, like bats descending upon a tree, or perhaps more like dark angels, taking another soul for their own. Simba couldn't help but back up a few steps, as Ahadi roared in what only could be described as fear.

And it was a cry Simba would never forget, the sheer despair in it chilled him right to the bone.

The hyenas lept onto Ahadi as one, right as Ahadi attempted to turn around. Ahadi jumped away, clearing the seething mass of hungry teeth by a tail's length. But as he made to flee, hyenas emerged from the sides of the ravine, and pounced onto him. They dug their claws into his sides and the great black lion stumbled, even if only for a moment.

Necessity now proved that Ahadi wouldn't be outrunning his foes. And so he roared, gathering his strength as he tried to shake off the claws and teeth. Three hyenas flew off him, one skidding by Simba and hitting the rock next to him. But more jumped at him, and Ahadi's mighty paw raised and swept aside a whole flank, the lion's strength proving far stronger than anything Simba had ever seen.

Ahadi took two quick steps back, and kicked two hyenas who had been attempting to bite at his rear. He bared his teeth and swung out, catching a daring hyena in the chest, and throwing him back at his comrades in a ferocious and terrifying show of force. But while the great king seemed invincible, the hyenas seemed innumerable.

Another hyena lept at him, and another and another in quick succession. Ahadi caught the first one in the air and batted him to the side, but the second and third landed, their icy teeth grasping for his neck. Ahadi crushed them both under his paws, eliciting loud whimpers from the grey creatures as he tried to kill them. But to take the time to kill them would be fatal. His gaurd lowered for but a moment, the rest of the pack surged in on him, and threw themselves on as a horde.

Death seemed inevitable for the cruel King, but as the sound of tearing flesh was heard, Ahadi lept out of the mass and landed outside of the perimeter. Immediately Ahadi bolted, running back the way he came. The hyenas, in their attack, hadn't covered the ravine.

He ran right past Simba without even giving him so much as a glance, but Simba glimpsed real fear in Ahadi's eyes for the moment he could see him. Ahadi was bleeding all along his sides, his mane was torn and blood covered half his face. The great black lion now ran faster than Simba had ever seen a lion run, even as the hyenas sprinted after him, their bloodlust unfulfilled.

Simba sighed. Unfortunately, Ahadi had gotten away. The final report was eight hyenas with bruises, three with scratches on their backs, and one with a concussion. The hyena that had skidded past Simba had hit his head on a rock, and it wasn't doing him any favors.

Oh, and fifty very, very disappointed hyenas.

"Yeah…. it sucks." Grumbled Banzai, as Ed whimpered next to him.

"Hey Taka…. so… how exactly did you end up being chased by your murderous dad?" Asked Shenzi, clearing her throat. Taka frowned, looked down at his paws.

"He found out I was playing with you guys. He- he really doesn't like hyenas, I guess." Whispered Taka. Simba, Shenzi and Banzai looked at each other, compassion welling up in their chests.

"Look, Taka…. I-I know what you're going through." Said Simba, stepping up in front of the pitiful lion.

Yeah. Taka had been the one to put him through it. Or Scar. Whatever.

"R-really?" Asked Taka, looking up at Simba.

"Yeah…. I lost both my parents when I was a cub, remember?" He said. "That's why I met you…. all alone." Explained Simba. In truth, he had of course lost both his parents, one in death, and his mother when Scar had convinced him to run away. He'd gotten Sarabi back but… it still hurt to think about.

"Oh." Nodded Taka, looking back down. He ground his teeth, trying to think. "Do you….. do you think I'll see mom again? Now that I'm as good as exiled…."

"Of course you'll see Uru again!" Quipped Shenzi. "She definitely still loves you, it won't be hard to get your buddy Simba here to go tell her where you are!"

"You really think so?" Asked Taka, frowning sadly.

"I know so." Said Shenzi, stepping up in front of Taka. Taka sighed, looking depressed.

"Guys…. I'm exiled." He said, standing up and walked out of the den to the perch on the cliff they were on. They followed him out silently, as Taka stared out across the Graveyard.

"There's no way I'll be let into the Pridelands ever again….. not with last night. It's not so bad with you guys, hyenas are fine and all that but….." Taka looked at the border, the edge of the dust and bones. "The Pridelands are my home."

Shenzi rubbed the back of her head. "I'm sorry…. your dad is really a jerk-"

"My own dad!…. my own dad…. my own dad tried to kill me last night! My own dad, why would my own dad tried to kill me?" He exclaimed, his voice sounding strained. Simba frowned, he didn't really know what to say…

"I don't really have an answer for that-"

"I do." Interrupted Taka. "I have an answer. Dad hates me. He hates me with every drop of blood in his bones…. he only needs to look at me, and he gets in a bad mood…. he's always hated me."

Simba licked his lips, still unsure what could possibly be said to comfort him. And what could be said? Simba's father had been the best father possible, what did Simba have to offer to help Taka?

"You know, he even hated me when I was born." Whispered the orange lion. "Even when I was a little cub who didn't know anything about anything. Even when all I could do was mewl…. he hated me."

"Well…. Taka… some animals are just born evil. They don't know how to love." Explained Shenzi, setting her paw on Taka's drooping shoulder.

"You think dad doesn't know how to love?" Asked Taka, snorting. "You think he holds malice to every creature he meets? He loved mom at one point. And he loves Mufasa, his pride and joy. Believe me, Ahadi knows how to love. That's not the…. that's not the problem-" Taka's voice began to crack.

Shenzi gripped his shoulder reassuringly. "Taka… are you worried about… being inferior to Mufasa? Because believe me, you aren't inferior to that hulk of slimy-"

"I'm not worried about that!" Snapped Taka, pulling away from Shenzi's paw. "Im not worried about being inferior to my brother."

"That's good." Nodded Simba. "It's not something you should even care about."

"Exactly. Mufasa isn't any better or worse than you are." Added Shenzi. Taka snorted again.

"You don't understand…. I'm not worried about being inferior to him…. because I am inferior."

"What?" Echoed Shenzi, Simba, and Banzai, raising their eyebrows. How could Taka believe something like that? "Taka, how can you even think that's true?" Asked Simba, his eyes searching the face of depressed looking Taka.

Taka let out a long sigh.

"You know….. every time I met another animal, and introduced myself to them cheerfully, telling them my name…..do you know what each and every one of them said?" He asked, even his voice sounding downtrodden.

They all shook their heads.

"The first thing everybody said was: 'do you know what that name means?'"

They all looked at each other, grim realization dawning on their faces.

"You said it Shenzi…. you said it Simba…. Sarafina said it….. that zebra I met years ago, the gopher, Hatari, Kiji, that cheetah, those birds- everyone said it!" He shouted, his eyes starting to get wet. Simba gritted his teeth as he thought back to the very first time he met Taka…. the very first time he introduced himself….

"And every single one of you should know how I replied! Every time, with a straight, innocent face, I said, no! No I didn't know what my name meant! And do you all know why?"

They stared at him silently, their paws rotted to the ground as Taka's sad frown got even more depressed.

"I said I didn't know what it meant because….. because I thought that maybe…. if I pretended my name meant something else than trash…. something else than dirt...or garbage…. maybe if I didn't acknowledge my name….. then it wouldn't apply to me." Taka sighed again, and looked back out over the Graveyard.

"But…. I guess it didn't work." He whispered, so that they had to strain his ears to hear him. Silence passed for a few moments, before Taka stood up.

"I'm going to sleep. Goodnight." Said Taka, as he padded away slowly, his tail dragging behind him. They watched him go, unable to think of anything to comfort him.

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Taka's POV

He closed his eyes, sitting alone in a dark cave. He felt a single tear slide down his muzzle, but he did his best to ignore it. He shouldn't cry…. crying wasn't befitting of a lion…

Then again…. wasn't he a weak little whelp? Couldn't a weak, useless creature like him cry when he wanted to? Taka began to sniffle, another tear sliding down his cheek. And another. And another and another, until he began to sob. His chest heaving, he curled up into a little ball, hugging his muzzle.

Slowly, little by little, he cried himself to sleep.

.

He opened his eyes, looking around. Ugh, not this again! He didn't need to deal with this now!

"Oh come on!" He shouted, as he looked up at the ravine that surrounded him "Can we just get this over with?"

"Over with?" Came a sneering voice somewhere from above. "Are you getting impatient with our little meetings?" As Taka looked up around him, an all too familiar lion lept down, landing in front of him. The Nightmare smirked at him, towering above Taka.

"Yeah." Muttered Taka. "I'm not in the mood to screw around with you tonight. Just let me sleep!"

"Really?" Asked Uraziel, in mock surprise. "I never thought you'd get tired of me showing you your own innards every night!" He said, raising his paw up in between them, his claws extended.

"It gets monotonous, yeah." Snapped Taka. He'd already experienced that enough that it wasn't too terrifying. Didn't feel too good though.

"Ooooh… you look stressed! Is something wrong, perhaps? Did something happen?" Asked Uraziel, grinning cruelly.

"You could say that….. yeah." Shrugged Taka, looking down at his paws.

"Well then? What say the two of us take a break from ripping your throat out, and have a chat about it?" Asked Uraziel, his sneer still gracing his face. He sat down much to Taka's surprise, and pulled his claws back.

"So….. you aren't going to dig your claws into me?" Asked Taka, taking a cautious step back.

"Not this time around. Now sit down, and do tell…. what happened?" Asked the Nightmare, his eyes glaring at Taka with grim confidence. Taka gave a defeated sigh, and flopped down.

"My dad tried to kill me." He admitted, as he frowned down at his paws

"Your father? Now this! This is juicy, I must admit!" Grinned Uraziel. "Ahadi tried to kill you?"

"Yeah…" Sighed Taka, not meeting the Nightmare's eyes.

"Now… I can't say I didn't see that coming." Smirked Uraziel.

"I guess I shoulda seen it too." Replied Taka, exhaling slowly. Stupid Nightmare was probably right…

"But do tell." Gestured Uraziel, waving his paw. "How'd it come about?"

"You mean why he tried to kill his own son?" Asked Taka.

"Exactly."

"Well…." Taka frowned sadly, gritting his teeth. "He found out I was friends with some hyenas…. and I guess he finally had his excuse to get rid of me. He scratched me here-" Taka pointed at the red mark over his eye. "And chased me into the Graveyard. Now I'm stuck there….. exiled."

Uraziel nodded, smirking as he seemingly tried to think.

"So…. that can't be it, can it?"

"What do you mean?" Asked Taka, his eyes sagging as he frowned

"Well…. how did your father find out about your unfortunate acquaintance? I thought you were careful, I thought you were taking precautions, just so that you would keep your secret! No… someone told him…. Isn't that right?" Sneered Uraziel. Taka raised an eyebrow.

"How… how did you know?" Asked Taka, narrowing his eyes.

"I guessed." He replied, his voice sharp and scathing.

"Well… you're right. My brother, Mufasa saw me, and he told dad." Admitted Taka. At this, Uraziel's eyes glinted.

"Your brother….. aye? Very nice…" he chuckled, grinning with his sharp teeth.

"No it's not!" Retorted Taka. "It's not nice at all! I've been exiled, for crying out loud!" Uruziel dropped his smirk, and looked a little more serious.

"Well of course. This conversation is about you, after all. How's the exile going?"

"Horrible." Muttered Taka.

"And why is that? Come on, give me reasons." Prompted Uraziel.

"Reasons? Aren't they obvious! I've… I've been kicked out of my own home!" Shouted Taka, furious at Uraziel's stupid, smug smile of his. That fucking Nightmare, all he ever did was make things worse.

"And you don't like that. Why?" Asked Uraziel.

"Why? Why? I…. I lived there! I lived at my home, I lived there all my life! And my mom!" Taka's voice suddenly dropped off. "I want to be with my mom… I want to sleep with her every night… how am I supposed to do that out here?"

"I can't say I particularly loved my own mother." Grunted Uraziel. "But you certainly love yours. And now you can't see her, and it's all because you were exiled."

"Yeah." Whispered Taka.

"Think about it Taka. The only lion in your life to ever truly love you, and you're being cut off from her. A terrible feeling, I assume. And not only that, but you can say goodbye to your comfortable den. You can say goodbye to having meals every day, soon you'll be starving just like every hyena around you. You can say goodbye to sleeping underneath the stars, you can say goodbye to the grass underneath your paws, you will, be saying goodbye to all of that."

"Thanks for making me feel worse." Muttered Taka.

"I'm only trying to bring the reality of the situation to your attention. You have been exiled, after all." Sneered Uraziel.

"I know!" Shouted Taka, baring his teeth. Stupid Nightmare! "I know I'm stuck in the Graveyard, all right? You don't need to fucking repeat it!" He yelled, getting up to his paws.

"You hate being exiled, don't you?"

"Of course I fucking hate it!" Shouted Taka, growling at the Nightmare. "I don't want to be out here... I want to be with my mom!"

"Then, quickly remind me why you're here."

"I was kicked out by Ahadi." Snarled Taka, glaring at Uraziel.

"But is that the only reason? Let me summarize your situation. You are playing with your friends, friends you had to take because you had no other choices. Then, who should spot you? Your brother. Your very own brother, whom you used to talk to after your mommy and daddy fell asleep. Your very own brother you consider friend. And what does this brother dear of yours do? He goes straight to daddy! And when daddy finds out his youngest is playing with hyenas…. he loses it." Grinned Uraziel.

"And then your daddy attacks you, marking you hideously for the rest of your life. He attempts to kill you, but when he fails he exiles you. Leaving you here in a wasteland to starve! Without your mother, all by yourself! Doesn't that anger you?"

"Of course I'm angry!" Shouted Taka, infuriated by Uraziel's words. And… they were true. Why was Uraziel always right?

"And…. who's fault is it that you're out here?" Asked Uraziel, his eyes glinting as he grinned. "Is it your father, who attempted to kill you…. or is it maybe….. brother dear?"

Uraziel raised both his front paws, showing them to Taka. "So Taka… is it your father's fault, who acted upon a deep seated hatred he's had since you were born? It was instinct more than choice!" He waved his right paw. "Or is it perhaps….. your brother… who knew what would happen if he told your father…. who knew you were only looking for a friend… who knew that disaster would be just around the corner if he played tattletale?" He waved his left paw. "So tell me Taka…. whose fault is it?"

Taka scowled, as he looked at both the paws, considering his options. He thought back to his family…. he thought back to all those nights he and Muffy had talked to each other…. How they had bonded…..

"They're both at fault." He growled, his voice kept low in his anger. Ahadi hated him, but Mufasa had had a choice…. and he'd made the wrong decision. "They both forced this onto me."

Uraziel grinned widely.

"A very astute choice…" He said, putting his paws down. "Now then…. I suggest you get some sleep….. and think about how your own brother feels about you." With that, he suddenly became smoke, and disappeared into the wind.

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Sorry about making you all wait an extra week. I'll get back to my normal schedule, especially since a certain activity has just ended! Now I'll have more time, I hope. You know, maybe. Depends on the homework, right?

Anyhow, I was thinking. There are certain stories that whenever I see have been updated, I always am excited and go read them and leave a *cough* review. Do you guys get at least a little excited when you see I've updated? maybe?

And please. I would love to hear what you guys have to say about this chapter. Especially Taka's Nightmare.

Cya in a week!