Hello ladies and gentlemen. I'm very aware of those wanting to request a story, if you're reading tell me what you want and I'll add to this.

This story is a collaboration with different authors, so some OCS you have seen before and some being introduced for the first time.

So without further delay, here's Paths Unwinding.

Hyena laughter echoed throughout the grey skies of the Pridelands, now known as the Shadowlands. It's been six years since their beloved and noble king died while in the midst of saving the young prince.

In the wake of the king and only heir, at the time deaths. The throne went to the deceased King's adopted brother. Who literally ran the paradise kingdom, Milele into the ground.

In the heart of the Pridelands is a magnificent mountain structure known as priderock. Not too far was some pride members that stayed loyal to the deceased king. The lions and lionesses sat or laid around with their heads low.

They're deversated at what happened with Mateo and Nala. They were worried, it is rough for a young lioness to be out there alone. Rogues, nomad prides and such. The pride's attention soon went to the side of Pride Rock to a tawny lioness running over.

A delighted look formed on a older pale cream lioness' face as she ran over and embraced her daughter. "Oh spirits, Nala! I was so worried! Where did you go?"

Nala sighed deeply before looking at everyone. "I'll explain later. Right now we have to get up Pride Rock!"

Before any one could ask further a loud roar echoed through the grey land. Causing the pride to stand in a alert.

"Sarabi!"

A dark beige lioness with dark brown rimmed ears, sighed before standing and heading towards the rocky slope. To have a young lioness block her path.

"Mother, wait!"

Sarabi gave the goldish lioness a resurring nuzzle before sighing. "I have to go, Starra. If I don't...it will be worst than it already is."

Starra sighed heavily before stepping aside before watching her mother round the corner.

Sarabi walked through a line of hyenas. Some of them snap at her heels. She only glares disdainfully at them. Once at top she was greeted by a fuming red-brown, black mane lion. His scar across his left eye gleamed under what little light that shined.

"Yes, Scar?"

Scar sneered before he began to pace. "Where is your hunting party? They're not doing their job."

Sarabi took a deep breath before speaking as calmly as she could. "Scar, there is no food. The herds have moved on."

The red-brown lion growled. "No. You're just not looking hard enough."

Sarabi took a deep breath before speaking once again. "There's nothing left. We must leave pride rock."

The tyrant king glared at his sister-in-law and once love of his life with snarl. "We're not going anywhere!"

Sarabi's orange eyes widen in shock and horror. "Then you have sentenced us to death!"

Scar walks off a bit with a not a care in the world. "Then so be it!"

Sarabi glared at the lion with a disgusted expression. "You can't do that!"

Scar held his head proudly as he growled. "I'm the king! I can do whatever I want!"

Sarabi snarled at her brother-in-law and former friend. "If you were half the king, Mufasa was you would nev -"

Scar snarls as he hits Sarabi, knocking her to the ground.

On a ledge on Priderock

"I'm ten times the king Mufasa was!"

A young gold, red mane lion had been watching from behind some of the rocks on Pride Rock. He was waiting for the right moment to enter when the moment came when his uncle hit his mother. He growled as he glared at his uncle before leaping out and ran to his mother.

Scar instantly mistaked the young lion as his deceased adopted brother and is completely frightened. "Mufasa? No. You're dead."

The young lion ignores him and nudge the down lioness. Sarabi opened her eyes and like Scar mistakes the young lion as her departed mate. "Mufasa?"

The young male sighed and shook his head. "No. It's me."

Memories resurfaced as she looked into those farmilar orange eyes. "Simba? You're alive?" the dark beige lioness frowned with confusion. "How can that be?"

"It doesn't matter; I'm home."

Scar was just as confused as he watched the mother and son nuzzle. "Simba..?" then he came to realize his nephew was back. "Simba! I'm a little surprised to see you," giving the hyenas above him an angry look. "alive..."

On the word 'alive,' three hyenas gulped audibly and slink into the shadows. Simba nuzzled his mother once more before he glares at his uncle as he moved towards the red-brown lion.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't rip you apart."

Backing into a wall, Scar looks at the gold lion with fear in his eyes as he made different excuses. "Oh, Simba, you must understand. The pressures of ruling a kingdom..."

Simba growled lowly. "...Are no longer yours. Step down, Scar."

The red-brown lion nodded while waving a paw. "Oh, oh, ye - Well, I would, heh, naturally, heh - however, there is one little problem. You see them?" Simba followed one of Scar's black claws up to see the horde of hyenas on the rocks above. "They think I'M king."

Nala appears with the rest of the pride that is loyal to Simba's father. While a few young lions help Sarabi, the tawny lioness turned to Scar with a growl.

"Well, we don't! Simba is the rightful king!"

Simba turns from Nala and the pride to his uncle. "The choice is yours, Scar. Either step down or fight."

Scar sighed as he walked passed his nephew and over to the assembled pride. "Oh, must it all end in violence? I'd hate to be responsible for the death of a family member. Wouldn't you agree, Simba?"

Simba narrowed his orange eyes as growled at his uncle. "That's not gonna work, Scar. I've put it behind me."

Scar smiled before looking at the pride, mainly Sarabi, Starra and Nala. "Eh, but what about your faithful subjects? Have they put it behind them?"

Nala looked from the tyrant to the gold lion. "Simba, what is he talking about?"

Scar smiles delighted by at it all. "Ahh, so you haven't told them your little secret. Well, Simba, now's your chance to tell them. Tell them who is responsible for Mufasa's death!"

At Scar's last line the pride were startled before all are concentrating on Simba.

Simba sighed before taking a step forward. "I am."

Nala was tooken back. She closed her teal eyes and memories of the jungle resurfaced. No wonder why he didn't want to return.

Sarabi was stunned but didn't believe this nonsense. The dark beige lioness approached her son, slowly. She doesn't believe that Simba is responsible. Sarabi spoke with a grief stricken voice.

"It's not true. Tell me it's not true."

Simba sighed regretfully. "It's true."

"You see! He admits it! Murderer!"

Lightning crashes behind Scar's head as Nala's creamy, white mane brother and a few other young lions snarled at the red-brown lion.

"No! It was an accident!"

Scar walks around and around Simba as he accuses the returned prince; many of the pride watching growled at the red-brown lion's every word.

"If it weren't for you, Mufasa would still be alive. It's your fault he's dead; do you deny it?"

Simba looked at his mother who stood by Nala and a young goldish lioness, before sighing heavily. "No."

Nala zoned out as she tried to put everything together. Simba couldn't have been responsible for Mufasa's death.

The tawny lioness was knocked out of her thoughts by lightning striking below Pride Rock. Nala's eyes widen as the lightening igniting a fire. Also to her complete horror, Simba was dangling from the peak.

"Simba!" was all she could manage to shout.

Everyone watched with fearful eyes as Scar and Simba exchanged words. No one could hear but they were most surprised when Simba leapt from the peak and pinned the red-brown lion down. Everyone gasped as Simba growled with fury.

"Tell them the truth!"

They all held their breaths wondering what the truth was. Sarabi along with many others, deep down had a bad feeling but hoped that Mufasa was really killed by a accident. But as they waited, the truth came out.

"I killed Mufasa!"

-TLKTLKTLKTLK-

Arcadia couldn't believe how things turned for the better to worse. The creamy brown lioness was fairly new to the Pridelands, only been in the kingdom for a year before she climbed up the ranks.

By non other than sleep with the king. Where she gave birth to Scar's sons, Jesús and Luis. Where she was most likely currently pregnant with the deceased lion's newest cubs.

But, Arcadia wasn't the only one who had that way of thinking. Besides herself, there was one other lioness that slept her way to the top. Ishita. She hated being a normal lioness that hunted, cub-sit or was a midwife.

No, the dark orange lioness craved more and often butted heads with Scar's official mate, Kioi. A cousin to late king as well as the new king.

As Arcadia watched the new king claim the throne with Nala by his side, obviously as the new queen. Wheels began to turn. With a smile of her own, the creamy brown lioness roared along with the pride.

A deep growl caused everyone to look at a snarling dark tan lioness.

"You killed my father!"

Sarabi sighed, so did the dark tan lioness' aunt, Talia. Talia is Mufasa's half-sister. The dark gold lioness helped Kioi raise Zira.

"Now Zira...we don't know that for sure." Talia spoke up for her nephew. Which is the truth, only the kings know what happened on the summit.

Sarabi looked from her sister-in-law to her niece and nodded. Yes Scar did deserve to die and she had the thought to snatch his throat out. But during the time she and Mufasa had with Simba, they taught him the right and wrong for killing. Simba didn't kill Scar, unless Scar did something to provoke his death.

The younger lioness glared at her aunt. "Shut up you old wrench!"

Everyone gasped before growling at Scar's daughter so did Simba.

"I don't know who you are but you have no right to speak to any of the pride like that!"

The dark tan lioness rolled her dark red eyes. "If you must know, I'm Zira, your cousin and the heir of King Scar."

Simba was in shock, how could he forget about his big cool cousin. But he over came it. "Well one, Scar wasn't a king by a long shot. Not by looking at this place. Two, I didn't kill my uncle."

Zira growled."I don't believe that crap!"

Simba closed his eyes before reopening them. "Than I have to ask you to leave."

Zira's eyes widen, so did Sarabi's and everyone else.

"You can't do that!?"

Sarabi saw her son take a deep breath before the gold lion replied.

"I can and will, unless you plead your loyalty and stop this nonsense."

Sarabi looked from her son to the the dark tan lioness. "Listen to him. You can't possibly raised that cub you're carrying in the Outlands."

Zira snarled at her. "I don't need your advice. You and your son can just rot like the demons you are..."

"Hey! That's uncalled for, Zira!" Talia growled at her niece.

Two more lionesses walked over to the assembled group. One of them was Starra who was standing with her grandmother, Afia. The goldish lioness walked over where she was facing the older dark tan lioness.

"Zira, be reasonable. I seen the wounds, there's no way my brother could of killed..."

Zira whipped her eyes that seemed full of fire and hate to the younger lioness. "How can you defined him!? My father, who let you live! Is dead because of your brother!"

Starra shook her head. "I don't believe that. Those wounds look like a hyena attack."

At that Zira walked over and chuckled darkly before glaring at the younger female. "Do you really believe that, Starra? The hyenas was my father's loyal subjects! They would never betray him like that!"

An older pale white lioness rolled her light purple eyes. "Zira...shut up and listen! You're pregnant and have cubs too young to be in the Outlands!" Kioi looked at her daughter hard. "Do you want to risk the life of your unborn cub for something that can be delt with when the time comes? Hmmm..."

Sarabi saw the wheels turning in Zira's eyes before both the mate and daughter of Scar bowed to the new king.

Simba relaxed before turning to his aunt and cousin. "I'm truly sorry about Scar."

Zira and Kioi glared, burning holes into the young king before growling. Everyone let out a sigh of relief as the dark tan lioness and pale white lioness turned and stalked away.

-TLKTLKTLKTLK-

The rain had finally stopped after a nonstop rain storm for weeks. As a warm ray of sunshine spread across the kingdom, Simba sat at the peak with a head full of thoughts.

King Simba. It's been almost a month since he returned and defeated his uncle. But it was still some getting used to, to walk to the water hole and be greeted as such by the small amount of animals that slowly returned.

He feels unworthy to maintain the throne let alone receive the love, loyalty and respect of the animals as well as the pride. He knows that the stampede may not have been a accident. That he wasn't the one that killed his father. Or at least that's what he wanted everyone to think.

He still was naive enough to not see through the lies and the schemes of Scar. That he followed the evil lion right into his trap. Maybe, if he was smarter, than his father would of still be alive.

A familiar scent of his mother grabbed his attention as she sat besides him. His mother has been truly helpful and the perfect lioness to talk to when he needed advice, such as now.

"I figured you'd be out here."

Simba sighed inward before looking at the dark beige lioness. "I have been doing... I think I have been doing okay since I claimed the throne.. I just want to know what to do now?"

Sarabi took a deep breath. "I want to hope that everything is fine but you need to take precautions. Your next act as King, my son... is finding a queen.."