Ahem, IMPORTANT AUTHOR'S NOTE YOU ALL

Well, while most of you seemed to be fine with the last chapter, two or three of you seemed to dislike it. (For reasons beyond my comprehension. *cough*)

So….. allow me to clear up any confusion I suppose…..

Well, I guess what was disliked was that it wasn't Taka who crumbled and decided to kill Mufasa. That it was Uraziel who forced him to be that evil lion. But to be clear, there was already a big part of Taka who wanted to kill muffy. Uraziel asked him if he wanted to hurt his brother, and he replied yes, if you remember. And I guess it wasn't clear, (sorry) but when Uraziel asked him if Mufasa should go through the ultimate pain, he was asking if Mufasa should die. And Taka answered yes. The only hesitation was that he wasn't sure if he himself could do it. Uraziel, frustrated by the clear desire yet lack of confidence, just hurried things along. Like the impatient bitch he is.

So uh… I hope that clears things up. Taka's still angry. But Scar is now with that emotional weakness removed.

Sorry, how else am I supposed to create sympathy for one of the most evil characters, unless it wasn't entirely his choice?

So….. yurp. Don't hate me.

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Shenzi's POV

Shenzi let out a sigh as she gritted her teeth. She looked up at Taka's den as she debated whether or not to wake him. On the one paw, maybe Taka needed some sleep. On the other paw, perhaps it would be better if he had someone to talk to.

Taka had been an absolute mess yesterday. He had seen his mother, Uru, get buried last night, and had broken down completely, sobbing with grief. They'd stayed next to him for hours, trying to offer him some sort of comfort but nothing seemed to get through to him. He'd just kept crying and crying, unable to stop.

She figured she'd go in and check if Taka was awake. If he was, she'd speak to him, maybe try and cheer up…

She walked into the den, looking around. She spotted him sitting at the back of the cave, looking at her silently. For a moment she drew her head back, his emerald green eyes felt as if they pierced her as he stared at her. There was a moment of quiet as their eyes met, neither breaking the fragile silence. Taka's eyes were round and somehow… they seemed different.

"Oh… hey Taka." She called tentatively, as she took a few steps toward him. Taka picked his head up off his paws, his expression unchanged. He said nothing, so Shenzi continued.

"Hey, listen…. I'm sorry about what happened to your mom….. If you aren't feeling well-"

"But Shenzi!" Suddenly, Taka opened his mouth, his muzzle stretching into a grin. Shenzi watched his eyes narrow at her. "I'm feeling absolutely wonderful…"

"Uh- you are?" Asked Shenzi, raising her eyebrows. "Oh…. uh…. that's… that's good…."

"It is indeed!" Agreed Taka, as he stood up on his paws. Shenzi took another pawstep back as he grinned at her, his eyes glinting. Somehow, the way he was looking at her felt distinctly uncomfortable…

"Then….. good." She shrugged, raising her eyebrows as he walked toward her. He stood in silence, his grin only widening.

"Say, what were you saying when you walked in?" He asked suddenly.

"What? Oh yeah, just telling you I was sorry about your mom….." She stuttered, her smile gone as she stared back up at him.

"Were you now? Then please….. continue…." He said, as he sat down. Shenzi blinked, trying to think back to a few seconds ago.

"Uh…. sorry about your mom, I know you're rather…" Shenzi looked into his steely eyes' "upset about her dying, but if you need anything-"

"Oh yes, mother dear. Such a shame she passed on." Said Taka, his grin dropping into a bored expression as he turned away. "Truly atrocious."

"Well, you certainly did seem to think so." Replied Shenzi, feeling confused. Was this some sort of grief thing? Denial maybe? Why was he suddenly…. well…. not torn up about Uru's death?

"Did I?" Asked Taka, as he examined his claws.

"Yeah, you were sobbing uncontrollably yesterday-"

"Hrrk!" Grunted Taka, as he slammed his paw down onto the stone. He turned around to face Shenzi, his expression looking stormy. Shenzi took another pawstep back. "Did you say I was crying uncontrollably?"

"Yeah…"

"Ugh!" He snarled, turning around as he bared his teeth at nothing in particular. "Weak! Weak weak weak weak!"

"What do you mean?" Asked Shenzi, mystified. "It's not weak to cry when your mother dies-"

"Weak!" Roared Taka, as he faced Shenzi. She could hear a growl deep in his throat, and she swallowed nervously as he continued. "It's unbefitting for a lion of my stature- a prince no less! To sob like a cub! And over what, my late mother?"

"Yeah! You love Uru." Answered Shenzi, and Taka glared at her.

"Love is only for those who choose weakness! Emotions are nothing but to be preyed upon, to be scorned!"

"What?" Asked Shenzi, her jaw agape. What in the hell was going on?

"That I would succumb to such a flagrant display of emotion- pathetic." He spat, pacing back and forth in the den as Shenzi looked on. He turned to her, suddenly grinning again. For someone who called emotions weak, he seemed to jump through them rather quickly.

"Shenzi dear." He grinned, his white teeth bared at her. "This…. all of this…. is wonderful."

"Err…. how?" Asked Shenzi, as she took another step back.

"Because! I've come to a realization! I realize I've been wronged."

"How?"

"How? Don't you know how? Can't you count them at this point, all the different ways I've gotten the short end of the stick?"

"Uh…" Shenzi swallowed, unsure of what to do. "Well…. there's your mother's death…. Your father's hatred… your brother's mistake-"

"Betrayal, you mean." Interrupted Taka, his lip curling into a sneer.

"B- betrayal, then." Stuttered Shenzi. "Your brother's betrayal…"

"Exactly!" Exclaimed Taka suddenly. "My brother wronged me. My brother is nothing but an ignorant nuisance, and because of him I was banished from the Pridelands! Oh, and it was his fault that I never got to say goodbye to mother, I suppose." He added, in an afterthought. "But I'm going to fix all that!"

"How?" Asked Shenzi, confused. "Taka…. what is all of this?!" She demanded, tired of his mood swings, tired of how he seemed to suddenly not care…. tired of how different he suddenly was, without explanation.

"Taka." He snorted. "Taka…. what a horrible name. I'm not dirt… I'm so much more now. Shenzi dear…." The dark lion looked down at Shenzi, his eyes glinting. "Call me Scar."

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Shenzi's POV, some time later

Oh, he was nuts!

Absolutely nuts!

Shenzi jumped over a tusk and looked around, trying to find the others. She had to tell them what had just happened. Taka's attitude had unnerved her somewhat, and had put her on edge. He had spent a good long while telling her how he was no longer weak, and how he was going to right the wrongs done to him.

He was just… so different! The only word she had for it was… unfeeling. Somehow, overnight, he just stopped caring about Uru, and had stopped caring that Uru was now gone! And Taka had told her that he was better now, that he was no longer the weak Taka who would cry instead of take action. None of it made any sense.

And the weirdest part was that he demanded they call him…. Scar, or something like that.

"Simba?!" She shouted, looking around. She had to find that stupid red lion, he'd known Taka for longer, maybe he knew what was going on. She looked in a few dens, poking her head into whatever crevice Simba spent his time in. "Simba?!" She repeated, getting impatient.

"Hey Shenzi, come over here!"

Shenzi flicked her ears, turning around. Now Simba was calling to her? Well, at least she'd found him. She trotted after the sound, making her way through a few of the trenches of the Graveyard until she reached a den filled with noise.

She entered it to immediately be greeted by Simba.

"Hey Shenzi, come over here! You gotta see this!" He exclaimed, as he backed into the den.

"What?" She hissed, perturbed by the grin on the red lion's muzzle.

"Look! Look here!" He said, pointing at the other hyenas in the den. Banzai, Ed, and Mzazi were all standing next to each other, with Banzai and Ed grinning at the disabled hyena. Mzazi however, looked absolutely aglow.

"H-hey Shenzi!" He shouted, his muzzle stretched wide in a grin. "L-look here! Do you see? Do you see?"

"Uh… see what?" Asked Shenzi, thrown off by the celebration of… whatever this was.

"Mzazi managed to stand up by himself." Chuckled Simba, and Shenzi looked down at Mzazi's trembling legs. She couldn't help but smile slightly as she looked back up at Mzazi's gleaming expression.

"Yeah Shenzi, I did! I stood up, without any help!"

"Really?" She asked, a spark of interest shooting through her. This was good news, this was very good news. Mzazi had never been able to stand up by himself before, that he was doing it now perhaps heralded his healing.

"Y-yeah!" He stuttered, unable to keep his happiness contained. Shenzi grinned at the joyous hyena, and she felt her stressed emotions slowly slide away…

Hold on, why was she stressed? She'd come here to tell Simba something, hadn't she? With a little hesitation, she turned away from the happy hyena and turned to Simba, shaking her head to focus.

"Simba, I got to tell you something." She said, as Mzazi turned back to Banzai and Ed. Simba flicked his ears, tearing his gaze away from the disabled hyena.

"Hmm?" He asked.

"I gotta tell you something….. something weird. Quick, come on out here." She said, turning around. Glancing at Mzazi, Simba followed.

"What is it?" He asked, as they trotted out of the den.

"There's something wrong with Taka." She said bluntly.

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Simba's POV

"Wrong? What do you mean wrong?" Echoed Simba.

"As in….. as in wrong! I don't know how to explain it, but he's acting weird!"

"Well…. weird how?" Asked Simba, not grasping what she said.

"As in… Simba, it's like he doesn't care anymore. This morning I went to go see how he was doing, and he had this look in his eye, like they were glinting or something, and he told me he was doing great! But he said it strangely, he said it with zeal, like he was doing absolutely perfect! And I asked him about Uru and he told me he didn't care about her, he told me he didn't need her. And then…. then I mentioned that he cried yesterday, and he got upset. Not like, sad upset but more like, angry upset. He told me he wasn't weak anymore or something-"

"Wait, hold on a moment!" Interrupted Simba, overwhelmed by her sudden flow of information. "Start again, what was Taka saying?"

"Simba, Taka said he didn't care about his mother. Well, he didn't say it, but he acted as if he didn't care at all about Uru!"

"Uh… is this like a denial thing? Stages of grief?"

"I don't think so." She shook her head. "It's like he's suddenly a whole new lion. He told me he hated being weak, and that his crying had been a mark of weakness. He told me he was going to right the wrongs that had been done to him, to change his destiny and a whole lot of bullshit like that. I couldn't make heads or tails of it, but you've known Taka for much longer, so I was hoping maybe you knew what the hell was going on!"

Simba frowned. He was getting a horrible feeling suddenly, all of this was distinctly…. strange. Taka was changed somehow, according to Shenzi. Taka no longer cared that his mother died, she said…. but why?

"Oh, and weirdest of all, he wants us to call him Scar!" She exclaimed.

Simba had to stop himself from choking. He whipped around to face Shenzi, his eyes wide and his jaw agape.

"Did…. did you say Scar?" He whispered.

"Yeah, Scar. Does that name mean anything to you?"

"Mean…. anything?" He chuckled awkwardly. "Oh no…. nothing at all…. Nothing…."

Scar.

He asked Shenzi to call him…. Scar!

"Are you sure he said Scar?" He demanded, nearly unable to process what she was telling him.

"Yeah, I'm quite sure. Why?" Asked Shenzi.

"Oh, because it's my name." Added a sinister voice. Simba practically jumped out of his fur, and he turned around to see an incredibly familiar face staring at the two of them.

It was Taka all right. But…. no, no this wasn't Taka. As Simba stared at the twisted grin, and the glint in those horrible green eyes, Simba knew at that very moment that this was not Taka. The horrible smile that bespoke nothing but evil only meant one thing.

This…..

This was Scar.

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About two chapters left. I hope you all are okay with this…. please tell me if you think I'm taking any shortcuts or something…. I don't want to screw this story up.