*Chapter 12: Death of Mufasa*
Clouds of dust filled the gorge after the stampede finally ended. Both Ajani and Simba are wandering around, looking for Mufasa. They coughed as dust hit their throats. Ajani squinted his eyes, looking for any signs of Mufasa.
"Dad!" Simba called out.
"Mufasa!" Ajani called, staying by Simba's side as they continued to look around. Suddenly, they heard a strange noise and looked to see a stray wildebeest run right past them and to see a body of Mufasa underneath a dead tree that was broken in half. "No..." Ajani whispered as he hurried towards Mufasa. Simba followed the boy with worry. They both see lifeless Mufasa with many bruises and scrapes around his body, with some blood trickling down his head and both of his forepaws. "No...no." Ajani shook his head as he touched the mane.
"Dad?" Simba asked as he walked up to face his father as the king lied motionless on the ground, saying with worry as he rubbed up against Mufasa's cheek "Dad? Dad, c'mon. You gotta get up."
"Simba..." Ajani spoke. But the lion cub ignored him.
"Dad...we gotta go home." He said. Ajani sadly watched the young cub proceeded to tug at his father's ear. But got no response as his father's head limply fell back into place. Ajani sniffed a bit as tears form in his eyes.
"Mufasa...I'm so sorry... I've tried." He said. "First my father, and now you." Simba moved away from his father's body and ran out into the distance as he cried out.
"HEEEEELP! Somebody! Anybody..." His voice echoed through the canyon as he finally sobbed. "Help." And began to cry. Ajani started to cry as he hugs the body of the king who took him in months back. Simba walked back towards Ajani and placed himself under his father's paw, nuzzling close to him. "Ajani...what do we do now? He's gone..." Simba asked.
"I...I don't know." Ajani answered. "The pride would be saddened by this. Even your mother..." He rests his head on Mufasa's side. He doesn't have any words to say. He isn't ready to say goodbye. Not yet. Now Simba lost a father like Ajani did long ago. Not only that Mufasa is a great father figure to Ajani, but he's also a great friend.
They're moment in mourning is soon interrupted however, when Scar approached them. Both Simba and Ajani looked over their shoulders to see the dark lion standing above them.
"Simba... Ajani... What have you done?" Scar spoke in a whisper. Ajani gave the dark lion a glare. Simba spoke to his uncle tearfully and moved out of his father's grasp.
"There were wildebeests and he tried to save me! It was an accident, We...we didn't mean for it to happen!"
"Of course, of course you didn't. No one...ever means for these things to happen." Scar said while pulling Simba close, distantly embracing him as the young cub buried his paw in Scar's foreleg while Ajani watched in disgust. While Scar talked in mock regret, the boy slowly stood up, gripping onto his spear. Hatred filled in his eyes.
"You...you vile monster!" Ajani shouted. "You did this!" Simba flinched by the sound of Ajani's voice.
"Ajani?"
"Simba! Scar did this! This is a set up!" Ajani said as he pulled Simba away from Scar. "Nia warned me about this. She knew about Scar's plan! Scar wants us killed so-"
"Why, Ajani... How could you think such a thing? I would never try to kill my own nephew...or you. You two are important to the Pride Lands." Scar said in a fake shock tone. Ajani slowly shook his head at the dark lion. How he wanted to end him right here and now, but not like this. This is not the place. Scar then gasped and looked down at Simba. "What would your mother think?"
"What are we gonna do?" Simba asked with a sniffle.
"Run away, Simba. And you too, Ajani." Scar said. "Run. Run away, and never return." Scar says as he leered towards the two. With that, Simba takes off running as Ajani cries to him.
"Simba!" But to no avail. The cub left with dust behind him. Ajani turned to Scar with a look of anger but turned back to Simba. He started to follow Simba. Once the two were out of sight, the three hyenas came up from behind Scar as their leader gave them a simple order.
"Kill them." And the hyenas take off to hunt down the cub and the young boy as Scar continues to sit there motionless. Nia appeared next to Scar with fear in her eyes. Scar formed a sinister smirk. "You almost foiled my plan, Nia. But I am giving you one last chance. Once I am king, you will get whatever you desire." He said.
"You won't get away with this, Scar. One day, your ruling days as king will end." Nia told him. "You will see."
XX
Simba ran towards the dead end of the canyon that was filled with a large hill of rocks as Ajani finally managed to catch up to him. They soon heard growling as they looked over their shoulders and gasped to see the three hyenas evilly lurking towards them. Taking quick action, Ajani picked up Simba and started racing up the rocks. The three hyenas looked up to see that Simba and Ajani were halfway up the canyon. Simba and Ajani quickly managed to make it to the top of the canyon, but stopped in their tracks to see that there was a sheer drop on the other side. They were about to turn around until they saw the three hyenas charging towards them.
"We gotta jump!" Ajani said to Simba.
"Would they follow us?" Simba asked.
"I have doubts, but let's go! Jump!" Ajani shouted. And with that, the two jumped off of the cliff and tumbled down into the patch of briars below. Once they fell through the patch and landed hard on the ground, Ajani winced, and he clutched his arm in pain as it had been scratched at by one of the thorns. Simba looked at him in concern.
"Are you okay, Ajani?"
"I'm fine! Keep going! I'm right behind you." Ajani said, trying to ignore the pain. And the two continued climbing over the thorny briars while trying to avoid getting scratched and cut.
The three hyenas on the other hand kept running down the sheer drop towards the briars. Seeing the thorny briars, Banzai recoiled.
"Woah!" He exclaimed. While skidding extensively, Banzai managed to come to a stop just above the briars, giving a sigh of relief. That was until Shenzi and Ed ran into him, sending him flying down into the thorny briars. Jumping out of the thorny bushes, Banzai yelled in pain. "YEOW!" Shenzi and Ed both laughed at their friend's misfortune as Banzai painfully walked back up to them. As they continued, Shenzi looked out into the distance to see both Simba and Ajani running far away from the briars and into the desert.
"Hey! There they go! There they go!" She said.
"So go get them." Banzai said while he removed the thorns from his paw.
"There ain't no way I'm going in there. What, you want me to come out there looking like you? Cactus Butt?" Shenzi replied with a smirk. Banzai looked to Ed who looked at him in amusement, causing Banzai to spit thorns into his face and making Ed let out a small yelp of pain.
"We gotta finish the job." Banzai said.
"Well, they're as good as dead out there anyway. And if they come back, we'll kill them." Shenzi argued.
"Yeah!" Banzai said with a smirk. He looked at the runaways and shouted. "YOU HEAR THAT?! IF YA TWO EVER COME BACK, WE'LL KILL YA!" The three hyenas made their way off the cliffs and back towards the Pride Lands in malicious laughter. Knowing that they and their leader have succeeded in their plan in getting rid of Mufasa, Simba, and Ajani.
Later in the evening, all of the lionesses and Zazu were gathered at Pride Rock as Scar sat above them on a large stone, addressing them in a sad tone while covering his head with his paw, faking tears.
"Mufasa's death was a terrible tragedy. But to lose Simba, who had barely begun to live... And Ajani, who is a brave young lad, loyal to the pride and protector of Simba. The boy has so much to live for..." He said. All of the lionesses bowed their heads in sorrow and Zazu placed a comforting wing onto Sarabi's paw as she struggled with her pain and grief at the loss of her husband, son, and rescuer. Nala nuzzled her mother's paw as tears ran down her cheeks, mourning her two best friends. Scar proceeded to say more. "For me, it is a deep personal loss. So it is with a heavy heart that I assume the throne. Yet out of the ashes of this tragedy, we shall rise to greet the dawning of a new era..." Zazu gasped in fear and all of the lionesses looked on in alarm as the hyenas started to emerge, casting eerie green shadows and laughing hollowly while Scar finished his statement. "In which lion and hyena come together, in a great and glorious future!" With that, Scar ascended to Pride Rock as more and more hyenas appeared in full force. Nia, who stood by Shenzi's side with fear and tears in her eyes. This is the vision she feared most of all. But she knows that one day Simba and Ajani will come back one day. But she doesn't know when.
Iris watched the Pride Rock from afar in one of the trees. She couldn't believe it. Scar is taking over the throne. She didn't want to believe that both Simba and Ajani are dead. The python sighed sadly and slithered down to the ground to return to her home.
"Ajani, you are not dead. Nia knows it. You mussst return." Iris said. "The Pride Landsss need you and Simba."
After witnessing the whole ordeal from the distance, Rafiki shook his head in sorrow and shame of the unfortunate future. Eventually appearing back in his tree house, Rafiki sat in silence as he mourned his friends, wiping away a tear of his own. With a heavy heart, he reached up and rubbed his hand across the cub and human painting he made months back when Simba was born and Ajani became part of the pride, marking the end of both of them.
Or so he thought.