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(no subject)

Character(s): Mufasa & whoever comes across him.
Content: A certain King is having nightmares.
Setting: First floor.
Time: Night time.
Warnings: Sadness? 8( Actually - I'd give this a PG-13 rating. There is some icky imagery involved and, for that, I apologize. But this is Mufasa's greatest fear.

Fatigue had finally overcome Mufasa. Though he liked to stay alert when the sun set, he found that presently impossible. With careful steps, he found a spot near one of the walls to lay down. Unfortunately, for him, Paixao would not let him rest peacefully tonight.

The moment he closed his eyes, dark images flitted through his mind. Wrinkling his nose, he tried to push them down. But, instead of relenting their hold, they grew in strength, overpowering his exhausted mind with a flood of memories.

"I'm going to be King."

Oh yes. He knew that voice. It was his own when he was little more than a cub. And, of course, he was speaking to his brother.

"All of this will be my responsibility, you know. I'll need your help."

Then, he had been ignorant of Scar's various expressions. But, now, he saw them clearly and they made his heart ache. Every word he said to Scar was hurting him. Had the bitterness truly started then?

The scene shifted and suddenly he was in a much, much darker place. He recognized it immediately. It was the gorge.

Lifting his head - within the dream - Mufasa tried to determine why he was here. There were no wildebeests, though it looked as if they had stampeded through here recently. As he looked down, he realized why he had come.

"Simba!"

His voice broke as he looked down at his broken...and dead...cub. Great tears welled in Mufasa's eyes and he roared out his despair. Leaning down, he gently and tenderly picked up his cub - his son - and tried to walk forward.

It did no good.

He collapsed and cushioned Simba between his paws. His tears dotted the cub's fur as he licked over Simba's crushed body.

All of his hopes and dreams -

Where were they now?

Jerking awake, Mufasa found himself crying inconsolably. Even his throat was raw. Had he roared in his sleep? Standing up shakily, he stared into the darkness, his eyes glowing dangerously.

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Not often did Scar take to wandering the streets of Paixao at night. Only lately, with nightmares plaguing him endlessly, had he been taken with any desire to even leave the refuge of City Hall. But now that the blizzard had begun to wain, and with his sleeplessness and frustration getting the better of him, Scar had finally left the Darkness-infested abode of the city's less cherished inhabitants. His paws lightly crushed the snow beneath him, making his steps much more audible. The cold didn't affect him much now, as he'd grown used to it over the last weeks.

First a scent, and then a sound, carried through the buildings. Now how often was it that one heard a King sobbing? With no uncertain steps, Scar turned in the direction his brother lay. He had not met with Mufasa face to face since that day in the gorge, and now would be as good a time for a reunion as any. With Mufasa vulnerable, likely due to the nightmares, he would be weak, and Scar would be presented with the perfect opportunity.

He approached the larger male as stealthily as the snow would allow, dragging his paws through it rather than lifting them above. As he prepared to speak, he put on a mask of what could appear to be concern--if one weren't looking closely enough.

"Having trouble sleeping, Brother?"

Digging his claws in the cold ground, Mufasa attempted to take a deep breath when he heard Scar's voice. It didn't help. Not in the slightest. For the first time, Mufasa was seeing red.

"It was...your doing." he managed to growl, the syllables breaking unevenly, "If it hadn't been me, it would have been him." he raised his gaze, flexing his claws so that they made noticeable furrows in the ground, "What did you tell him after I died, Scar?"

Though he probably already knew the answer. Yet, even now with his temper flaring, Mufasa was a fair King. He would allow Scar a chance to answer and, then, depending on what his brother said, he would pass his judgment once and for all.

Mufasa's anger did not make Scar waver. He had been on the receiving end of that angry voice more times than he could count. He almost had to fight off a yawn.

"If Simba hadn't been in that gorge when the stampede happened, you would have lived." Scar had no trouble merely echoing what he'd told Simba that day. "You would never have gone near it."

The scheming lion paused, just long enough for his brother to think about that. "That's what I told him."

And no matter how hard Mufasa tried to deny it, Scar wasn't lying.

A warning growl rumbled in Mufasa's throat. How could Scar tell Simba something so callous? Mufasa would never blame his precious son for a mistake. As a parent, it was his duty to look after his cub. If Simba had been injured - or worse - then that was his fault.

"Are you so heartless?" he hissed, stalking towards Scar, "You should have comforted him! You should have told him that I would have done anything for him!"

His fangs were definitely showing by this point.

Behind Scar, pools of darkness very slowly started to well up from beneath the snow. Nothing came from them, nor were they easy to see in the dim light, but if Mufasa was paying attention the stink of the Heartless was beginning to waft through the air.

"Have you ever known me to be very good with that, Mufasa?" In truth, he had at least given the brat a hug, but his brother would hardly find any solace in that, he knew. "I was never so able to find the right words as you."

Mufasa's anger was blinding him to the Darkness surrounding them. Even if the Heartless showed themselves, his focus would not waver. It was time Scar answered for his actions.

"That has nothing to do with it!" he snapped, "You could have brought him home to his mother! Sarabi would have comforted him!" he was dangerously close to crying again, the image of Simba's lifeless body all too fresh in his mind, "Instead, you drove him away. He forgot his birthright and he forgot...me."

"He seemed very scared when I mentioned Sarabi." Through all of this, Scar's voice had hardly changed. He was not unprepared for this encounter, not in the least. He knew since Mufasa had arrived in the city that they would eventually meet, and thanks the the Heartless, his brother no longer had the upper hand.

"And I couldn't have been certain how she would have reacted to the news of your death. So I told your son to leave the Pride Lands." Suddenly, the placating tone had turned into one hard as steel. Scar new the words would cut deep, and if anything would incite his brother to attack him, that was it. But if Mufasa leaped into action, he would find himself contending to with far more than just his little brother.

"Why would he be?" Mufasa paused, glowering, "Sarabi would never blame him! Simba was only a cub." his ears twitched and his eyes glowed with far more intensity, "You were the one that told him to leave the Pridelands! You were the one who almost killed him!"

He couldn't keep his rage contained a moment longer. Raising his paw, he smashed it into his brother's face, snarling.

"I trusted you and you betrayed me and my family! Murderer!" he bellowed the last word, hackles raised.

Scar was assaulted before he could respond. His brother's aggression was far to quick for him to react, and the strength of the blow was impressive, to put it lightly. He was sent reeling, just barely managing to stay on his feet.

The smaller lion snarled himself, and allowed the Heartless to dredge themselves up from the Darkness they wallowed in. Several Neoshadows now stood in wait, flanking him.

Attempting to catch his breath, he looked back up at Mufasa, eyes burning with an equal rage. "If that is all I am to you, Brother, then so be it." The last words were laden with a hateful growl. "Kill him."

The Neoshadows threw themselves forward all at once, claws raised to bring down viciously upon their new target.

Mufasa lifted his chin, his expression cold as he observed his brother. No. This wasn't his brother. This was someone else. Some beast who only lusted after power.

"You only prove my words." he sounded surprisingly calm and unaffected as the Neoshadows approached him. Yet, he knew what was to come and he was pitifully out-numbered. Tensing his muscles, he hunkered down and focused on his new opponents.

But their claws were sharp and, as they fell on him, he could feel himself being ripped into. Growling in pain, he snapped at one of the shadows and tried to find a more open ground for this battle. Already, he was wounded.

"He's my son." he spoke hoarsely, "I saw him born, I was there when his eyes opened for the first time! And you...endangered him. All over a - " he stumbled to the side as another shadow hit him, "...g-grudge."

Scar watched without emotion the Neoshadows tore into his brother relentlessly. Mufasa's words did not move him, seeing his brother in pain did not dent his determination. If anything, the short speech only made Scar colder. This was the only way this could be resolved.

The only way.

Mufasa had no choice but to concentrate on the Shadows. When they lunged for him yet again, he grabbed one by the throat and threw it aside roughly. He then pounced on it and finished the job.

Briefly, he looked back at Scar, his fur matted with blood.

"F-Father can see us." he grimaced when he was stabbed yet again. Somehow, he stayed on his feet, however. And, somehow, he managed to send that Shadow flying as well.

Mentioning their father only made Scar sneer. "He never cared for me any more than you did." All he had left for his father was hatred, just the same as Mufasa.

"If he can see what he's wrought, all the better." Scar had been excluded all those times when he was a cub. Let Father watch. Let him see what he'd made Scar become.

Let him weep for his sons.

Snapping at one of the Shadows, Mufasa exhaled shakily:

"That's not true." he groaned and closed his eyes, fighting back the pain, "I loved you! E-Even when you were d-difficult." he staggered, accidentally driving himself in the midst of more Shadows, "Sc-Scar..."

He drew up all of his strength and fought them again. But his strength was obviously waning. Every other move, he faltered and whimpered, his body shaking uncontrollably.

Slowly, Scar approached his brother. The Shadows moved aside as he neared, and he looked upon Mufasa's battered form with an expression as frozen as the snow they stood on. He raised one paw, then brutally slammed it into his brother's muzzle, finally retaliating himself for the earlier blow.

"It's too late, Mufasa."

Something inside Scar, something he had thought long dead, made him cringe. However, it only gave strength to his resolve. He turned away as the Shadows again converged on his brother, not caring even to watch this time.

Breathing heavily, Mufasa raised his gaze and stared at his brother - his brother - in horror. When had Scar stopped listening to his heart? When had he started to wish for Mufasa's death? Or Simba's death for that matter? No matter how enraged he was at Scar, his horrified disgust overcame it.

Roaring in agony, he squeezed his eyes shut and felt his mouth fill with blood. His body was beginning to feel cold and it had little to do with the snow. He was dying in almost the same manner as Simba had in his nightmare.

Somehow, it was fitting. What kind of father would let their child -

But, wait. He hadn't. Jerking, he tried to get on his feet again. Unfortunately, that was when the Shadows began their onslaught all over again. The Great King soon fell under the blows and lost consciousness.

"Hey!"

A figure suddenly appeared out of nowhere, slamming down onto a shadow near the center of the group from above. A column of light and an explosion of light magic appeared in her wake, which finished off the creature in an instant and blew back many of the others from the force of the attack. At that point, she'd already landed and vanished, only to appear a second later above another of the Neo Shadows, destroying it in the same fashion. Each Shadow was attacked like this, and within ten seconds, each one was gone without a trace.

With the soft crunch of snow beneath her feet, the young woman landed after the last attack and turned to face Scar, her keyblade held out before her.

"Enough!"

The attack itself was more than enough to warn Scar of what he would be dealing with should he choose to stay. By the time the Keyblade wielder had turned to face him, he was nowhere to be found, though if she looked hard enough she could find his pawprints in the snow.

Those, and a number of Heartless standing in her path should she attempt to pursue him.

She was surprised to find no trace of the lion she was certain had been standing there. Aqua slowly lowered her keyblade, glancing around, but could see no trace of him. She didn't try to go after him at this point. The other lion needed her help.

Turning, she didn't waste any time. Aqua raised her keyblade high above her, summoning her magic. "Heal!" Casting a curaga onto the fallen lion. Hopefully she hadn't been too late.

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