Okay...so...where to start... Oh yes. This was my next official 'serious' story that I'm doing as I have promised. A lot of you wanted a prequel, and this is what I've chosen to do. Judgement. I'm humanising of one of the most well done and prolific Lion King prequels on this site, Judgement written by a friend and co-author of mine 'Haradion'. This story will be a MHV of his, with a few differences. I will make it tie into my universe as well as his.

Before any of you start complaining about me plagiarising his work; I'll tell you this is being done with his permission and guidance. If any of you accuse me, you are either an idiot and seriously... fight me.

I will also say that I am kind of AUing my own work here. In my original stories I say that Mufasa and Scar were born in the lat sixties, but I'm taking that date and a few others back. Rather than being an official prequel, this is simply what the name suggests; A modern human version of Judgement. But it will kind of tie in with the original trilogy.

Meanwhile, my collection of parodies Movie Madness! will be put on hold until a later time. This takes over as priority Alpha. Sorry to any of you that wanted more.

Cheers: JJZ-109

JUDGEMENT: MODERN HUMAN VERSION

PROLOGUE: TENSION IN THE LINES

Death of Friedrich Heckler + 30 years

The Pridelands; the jewel of the Mediterranean. Home to one of the longest serving Constitutional Monarchies, ageless tradition, and one of the most blood-stained, violent and notorious pasts. Population: 82 million. Official language: English. Official currency: Prideland Dollar ($PLD). First discovered in the 1500s by the British, and settled by 1630. Independence was earned when a mixture of Pridelander colonists and Natives defeated the British Colonial Forces in a bloody war for freedom in 1750. That was the first time the country had earned its freedom, and it certainly wasn't the last.

In 1945 King Mohatu the Great lead his country to victory in the notorious World War Two against the Nazi Empire; who had threatened their home, their families and their very way of life. In the most recent example, a group of Civilian Freedom Fighters, Prideland Marines, and the Royal Family themselves had defied all odds to save their city from certain destruction at the hands of a murderous psychopath known as Friedrich Heckler. But none of those events, not one, could compare to the most infamous of them all.

It was the reign and defeat of Taka 'Scar' Taylor; self appointed dictator of the Pridelands. He set up a Communist system, drove the economy into the ground and set up mass death camps, in a scale not scene since World War Two itself. And out of all the enemies; the twisted villains in the country's history, he was the most recognized and hated. Why? Because he succeeded. Even though Heckler was capable of more and had worse ambitions, he had failed. So had the Insurgent Zira Blackburn.

Eventually, Scar was defeated by his own nephew and his terror came to an end. But the future wasn't as rosy as everyone had imagined. Scar had left a mark, and that mark had been what caused the bad things to come. The Outlanders and Heckler could both be traced back to one man; Scar. If it weren't for him none of those terrible things would have happened. Zira would be a woman making an honest living, and Heckler would be a brilliant scientist at work with making the world a better place.

Kovu had long been ashamed to say what his relationship to Scar was. And it was that relationship that had almost cost him his life and marriage. For the first time in his life, it had seemed like the mark of Scar had finally faded. The Pridelands were enjoying its longest stint of uninterrupted peace since before WWII, and coincidentally the scar on his face had faded over the years.

Kovu pushed open the doors to the palace, and two guards snapped into attention.

"King on deck! TEN-HUT!" They cried out and saluted. Kovu held up a hand and returned the gesture without paying them much attention.

He stormed through the quiet palace lobby, with only one thing on his mind. Anyone that noticed him either saluted or bowed, and Kovu didn't bother responding. He wore the usual white King's uniform, with a red slash and golden insignia on his hat. It was the symbol of the crowned lion clutching a scroll and olive branches in either paw, and the two flaming torches in either side of it. The torches were never part of the Royal insignia, until Kovu was crowned. He had added them in honor of his spiritual father, and arguably the most inspirational leader in history; the great King Simba, who had died so Kovu's wife could live.

Kovu tapped his foot impatiently as the elevator door closed painfully slow, and bit his lip. He had received an urgent call from the palace while he was working at the PI1 command room, which had been renamed the 'Kopa Palladino Center'. It had been about Nala, who was also the closest thing he had to a real mother. She was dying.

They had all known this day was coming. Nala was very, very old and frail. She had had her time on Earth, and was by far the most beloved Queen of all time. The beautiful, skillful, loving and active person that she was had faded. Now, she was an old widow in the brink of death.

Dong! The 37th floor button lit up and the elevator door opened. Kovu stepped out quickly and rushed down the hallway, and was led to a door; which was the only one with light protruding from the gaps. He knocked gently and the door was creaked open. He came face-to-face with his son; Simba II. He had grown into a strong, respectable man and worked as the current head of the Prideland Intelligence, and would work there up until his crowning.

"Dad..." Simba said and opened the door wider for his father to come through.

"Son...Where's your grandmother?" Kovu got right to the point.

Simba II silently motioned for him to follow him. Kovu took of his hat and held it under one arm as they went. Kovu had changed so much, and the world had seen it. He was once an enraged young man, hellbent on killing a proper psycho, which he had related to so much. That mohawked, scarred young warrior had transformed into King Kovu Blackburn. His hair had grown back, and his Scar had faded over the years. And now, he was a true gentleman and leader.

He hung up his coat and hat and kept following Simba, who led him over to a bed that everyone was crowded around. On the bed was a coughing and weak Nala, while Kiara and Vitani attended to her. Kovu slowly walked over to the bed, and thunder clapped in the background. There was a storm outside, and rain pattered down gently onto the window.

Kovu pulled up a chair next to the bed and took a seat next to the dying Nala, who hadn't acknowledged his presence yet. She had her eyes closed and was coughing. She only noticed him when Kovu held her hand in his tightly.

"K-kovu? Is that you?" She stuttered and slowly twisted her head around on the pillow.

"Yes Nala. I'm here." Kovu said softly.

"O-okay. Thanks for c-coming to see me off." Nala said and used much of her remaining strength to put a hand on his cheek.

"What kind of talk is that? Come on Nala, you'll be fine." Kovu lied and he saw her roll her eyes.

"Oh come off it Kovu, we all knew this day was coming." Nala pointed out.

As it turned out, Kovu wasn't as prepared for her passing as he thought he was. She had always been there with him, and now he didn't know what he would be like without her. A long chapter in the Pridelands' history was closing with her death.

"But you can't die! You mean so much to us...to me...this whole country." Kovu held back tears. He hadn't cried since the Rise of HYENA.

"Death is natural and inevitable. We all die one day, and this is my time. It's the great..." Nala was cut off.

"Circle of Life." Nala, Kovu, Simba II and Kiara whispered in unison.

There was a moment's pause in the room again, as Nala closed her eyes and breathed softly. She spoke with her eyes closed.

"Kiara, I will always love you. You'll always be my baby girl, and a good Queen and mother. Simba...You are so much like your grandfather and namesake. He was a good man, and I know you'll live up to him and be a wise King one day." Nala paused and breathed painfully again.

"Kovu, you never cease to amaze me with what you've achieved and who you've become. You'd be making your father proud." Nala said mysteriously and smiled.

Everyone in the room exchanged glances, and Kovu couldn't believe what he had just heard. Surely she didn't mean Scar. That was the one person who he didn't want to be like and/or impress.

"What? Surely you don't mean Scar..." Kovu mumbled, unsure.

Nala shook her head feebly and opened her eyes.

"No. Not Scar, your true father." Nala corrected him.

Kovu raised an eyebrow. Legally, Scar was his father. That's what it read on all of the 'official' documents, and it is what he had grown up believing for so many years.

"Simba?"

Nala shook her head again. He breath and heart rate started to decrease, and she opened her eyes for one final time.

"I love you all, and thank you for being here with me today. But now...I finally get to see my husband. It has been too long." She whispered and began to close her eyes, but Kovu interrupted her.

"But Scar was my real father! And Simba was kind of...you know, a more spiritual one. So who else is there?" Kovu asked and Nala smiled.

"There is another." She whispered and shut her eyes for the last time.

The rising and falling of her chest under the blanket stopped, and she became completely motionless. Kovu felt a tear slide down his face, and heard Kiara sniffle sadly. There is another. What the hell did that mean? Was there someone else he didn't know about? Kovu didn't have time to think about it as Nala's hand slipped out of his. Next to them, the heart rate monitor slowly stopped beeping.

The pattering of the rain then stopped, and a warm ray of sunlight shone through a gap in the clouds, and through the window; illuminating Nala's dead body. Then, everyone knew, that she was with her one true love once more.

Kovu then folded Nala's hands in front of her and stood up. He dried the tears from his face, before drawing a knife. Everyone gasped as he slit a small cut on his arm, and squeezed a few drops of blood into a small plastic container on Nala's bedside.

"Son...take this to your PI1 HQ, and get a DNA analysis going. ASAP." Kovu held the container to Simba II, who took it reluctantly.

"Why?"

"That's my business, now get going." Kovu ordered him.

"Can't I spend a few minutes with Grandma Nala first?" He requested. Kovu nodded.

"Yeah, I guess so. Take it when you are done then." Kovu said and slowly walked over to the window while everyone else mourned.

Nala's words haunted him.

"Not Scar, your true father."

"There is another..."

For the first time, Kovu started to wonder about his bloodlines. He had tried not to think about it, as that train of thought would usually lead him to the memory of Scar. But maybe in reality, Scar didn't even exist in them. It was at that moment, at the most inappropriate and strange time, Kovu thought about his bloodlines; which were so full of tension.

He thought of Scar...

Good to kick the story off? By the way, if any of you haven't read the Original Judgement, then get yo' lazy ass on it! You WILL appreciate this story more if you do! And you will be entertained for a while. By the way, the Official Judgement as we know it starts next chapter. Just building tension folks. You'll thank me later. Don't forget to review!

This has been JJZ-109, and as always...Have a nice day.