"You can't do this to me. You said it was my choice. I choose to stay. Who gave you this order"?
The Crow sighed. "The Great Kings of the past".
"I don't know who those are".
The Crow sighed. Ahadi only told Mufasa, that would make this more complicated. They consist of ex rulers who are long deceased. Your grandfather for example".
"My grandfather. Do you mean Mohatu".
"Yes. They are unpleased that I upset the balance. My orders are to bring you back".
Taka was horrified. "No! I won't! You can't do this. Not after all I've been through".
"It's not my choice".
Taka glared viciously. "Did you try to convince them not to, did you fight for me at all".
"I did, but they told me it's not my place".
"I'm not going"!
"Not going where"?
Taka turned to see his dinosaur friends who went to check on him. Taka answered Littlefoot's question.
"He says I have to go home".
Petrie looked confused. "That not sound bad".
"Home to the pride and family that despises me".
The others glared at the crow. Littlefoot spoke first. "If Taka doesn't want to leave, he doesn't have to leave".
Ducky nodded. "He is one of us, he is".
The crow sighed at them and turned to Taka. "You're clever for your age. Is your plan to live in the Great Valley for the rest of your days. You're a carnivore Taka. How to you plan to survive in this place. This place isn't as excepting of carnivores as the Pridelands are".
"I can eat fish".
"I suppose you could live off fish. And what if the Great Valley runs out of fish, what will you do. Fast. You're a lion, you need to eat something. What if you decide to eat your friends"?
They all gasped at what was said. Taka was horrified. Littlefoot quickly recovered and defended him. "Taka's been a loyal friend since we met".
The Crow sighed. "Do you know what you're asking of him? To live with you, he would have to go off meat to eat only fish, that would be like you going off green food and eat only sticks".
Taka knew he had a point. To his own surprise, the next one to defend him was Cera. "So, how is taking him back to a family that hates him any better than letting him stay?
Littlefoot nodded. "Why are you acting like you know what's best for him, when you want to bring him to a place like that".
The Crow sighed. "I don't want too". He muttered to himself, so they couldn't here. "They have proven to be able to live with carnivores in older worlds. Chomper is proof of that". He spoke loudly again. "This is not my decision. I should never have brought him here. It was an abuse of my power, that I need to correct. It will be easier to accept if I erase all your memories".
Littlefoot looked confused. "What does that mean".
Taka spoke. "He means, use his powers to make us forget meeting each other".
Petrie gasped. "You can't do that".
Ducky agreed. "No, you cannot".
Taka sighed. "I'll go".
The others protested. He sighed and turned to the Crow. "I'll only agree to this if you agree to let me remember them. They're my friends, if I have to leave this place, I want memories of them. He gave them a sad look. "It might be better if you forget me".
Littlefoot shook his head. "No, we won't allow that".
Cera agreed. "If he goes, we will never forget him. You're not erasing our memories".
The Crow nodded. "I understand. You will have to say bye to each other".
Taka looked at them and sighed. "I'm really glad I met you all. Even Cera. It felt nice to have friends who care about you. I can say at least that after all I've been through, I'm a changed lion".
Ducky was the first to speak. "We will miss you, Taka. Yep, yep, yep". Spike went and licked Taka on the head as a friendly gesture.
Petrie was next. "Me, no forget you, Taka. You're a friend".
Next was Cera. "I'll admit, you were quite annoying for a long time. I never thought I'd say this to you, but I'll miss you. You're not so bad after all".
Taka smiled. Littlefoot walked beside him. "You were there for me since I lost my mother. I know you blame yourself, but this is all on Sharptooth. You've been a great friend. You stood with me when the others had their doubts. I'll miss you greatly".
Taka nodded. He followed the Crow, they watched with sad looks as he left.
Taka and the Crow were now in the Pridelands. The Crow decided to do what he could to cheer up the cub. "If it makes you feel any better, I have friends from that world who told me some interesting things. They can't tell the future either, but they can tell me what could have been. Littlefoot's mother would have died, regardless if you died or not. Similar to what happened in this one. In this world, your dinosaur friends would successfully got rid of Sharptooth, but that's not the case in that world".
Taka's eyes widened. "What do you mean".
"They would have successfully stopped Sharptooth, at the cost of their own lives. Your presence saved them. I honestly had no idea what would have happened to them, until my friends informed me. I'll be honest, I didn't think you would survive. That's why I wanted you to take my offer to return home. Yet you proved me wrong". The Crow wondered if he saved Taka from a dark past. He would save everyone from the bad bath if he could. But he cannot predict the future and is forbidden to interfere. His meddling had only made things worse for who he sought to help.
Taka sighed. "I'm back in this world. I don't suppose you'll be escorting me back".
"No, my work is done".
Taka made his way to Priderock. Some animals gave him looks of surprise and curiosity. When he got to Priderock, he saw both lionesses and cubs muttering amongst themselves.
"It's Taka. He returned".
"Look at that scar on his face".
"I assumed he was dead".
He went into the cave, where his brother and parents were. Mufasa and Uru looked surprised to see him alive. Ahadi was indifferent. "You returned. I see you got a scar. I'm actually impressed you didn't come back crawling sooner".
Taka simply glared at him. "I'm not dead and I'm not afraid of you anymore".
Ahadi growled. "What you say"?
Taka didn't back down. He continued to glare. Ahadi decided to walk off. He had more important matters than to deal with him.
As Ahadi walked off, Taka growled bitterly. "Home, sweet home".
