Derek stood frozen on the edge of the ledge, heart hammering in his chest. The wind tugged at his mane—Scar's mane—and the sun beat down on the savanna like a spotlight. Below, he could see the dust rising. He could hear the stampede, the low thunder of hooves pounding the earth like a drumline of doom.
Mufasa's voice rang out again, desperate, echoing through the canyon.
"Simba!!"
Derek flinched.
He knew this moment. Everyone who'd ever watched The Lion King knew this moment. This was the turning point. The betrayal. The death. The one scene that shattered a generation.
And he was standing in Scar's body, at the exact spot where it all happened.
But he wasn't Scar.
He was Derek.
And he had a choice.
He turned in the direction of the gorge, his lion body moving with a grace he hadn't yet grown used to. His mind screamed at him to move, to do something. The stampede was already in full force. If he waited, it would be too late.
"Shit, shit, think!" he muttered, pacing. "Okay—this is real, somehow. I'm Scar. But I'm not that Scar. I don't have to do it."
The memories of the movie played out in his head like a ticking clock. Mufasa climbing the cliff. Scar digging in his claws. "Long live the king."
Derek shuddered.
He didn't want to let that happen.
He had no idea why he was here, how this had happened, or what came next—but one thing was clear.
He could change it.
His paws moved before his mind could stop them. He ran. Faster than he'd ever moved in his life. His claws dug into the dry earth as he sprinted across the rocks toward the cliff's edge.
The wind roared in his ears. The world rushed past in a blur of brown and gold.
The gorge came into view.
And so did Mufasa.
The great lion was clinging to the cliffside, muscles straining, eyes wide with fear and determination. Beneath him, the stampede raged on. Dust and wildebeest filled the canyon like a living flood.
Derek skidded to a halt at the edge.
Mufasa looked up. Their eyes met.
And in that instant, Derek realized something terrifying:
Mufasa thought he was Scar.
Derek hesitated, just for a second.
"Scar! Brother! Help me!"
Mufasa's voice cracked with effort.
Derek's chest tightened.
He stepped forward, heart pounding, every instinct screaming at him.
He reached out a paw.