AN: Okay…

I have been looking for something similar and, to my great surprise, I haven't found any fanfics that describe the story of how Taka became the leader of the Lion Guard (at least not on FF). Correct me if I'm wrong. I wouldn't wanna steal anybody's ideas.

This story is a form of an experiment. I will attempt to write a few first chapters myself, but because the canon is so vague right now, I probably won't be publishing very regularly. We need to wait for what is revealed in the 2nd season of the show.

I also ask for your suggestions. Please, let me know what you think happened during those mysterious days of the reign of king Ahadi, so I can use your ideas later on in the story.

Alright. So we start off when Taka is just an innocent cub- as Simba mentions, he took charge of the Guard when he was about as old as Kion. Way before he ever became the evil Scar.

Hope you enjoy XD

Chapter 1 – Meet the Lion Guard

The day was exceptionally warm and humid. The sun kept blazing mercilessly and the air in the horizon danced, creating a mystical visual effect.

The large lion with a black mane and a golden coat continued to deliver his long discourse, focusing on nothing else apart from the lesson. And the two cubs that were lying before him, his students, tried hard to listen to every word he said.

-"Cheetahs are active mainly during the day, with hunting as their major activity. Adult males are sociable despite their territoriality, forming groups called 'coalitions'. Females are not territorial. They may be solitary or live with their offspring in home ranges. Though taller than leopards, they are notably smaller than us lions. Basically yellowish tan or rufous to greyish white, their coat is uniformly covered with nearly two thousand solid black spots…"

And so he went on and on and on. The two auditors, who were actually his sons, were impressed by the fact that their father didn't seem to be affected by the hot weather at all. But, then again, he was the king.

It was now later in the afternoon, and because the lesson had already lasted since the end of their midday siesta, listening to the fascinating descriptions of a what a cheetah is was becoming harder with every minute…

-"… they will stalk their prey, charge towards it and kill it by tripping it during the chase and biting its throat to suffocate it to death. The cheetah's body is specialized for speed- it is the fastest land animal. The chase is intrsprs'd wiiith a fewww shooort bursts of speeeee…"

One of the brothers, the younger one with a dark brownish-orange pelt, suddenly felt something strange. It was as if the ground hit him on the chin! Surprised and excited by that weird sensation, he took a look around. His older sibling was still there by his side, fixing his eyes carefully on their father who continued his talk. But why did he have the feeling that the teacher skipped a couple of sentences? Hm, that was odd…

-" … cheetahs are diurnal, which means they are active mainly during the day. Diurnality allows better observation of the animals' behavior and makes coming in contact with them easier."

That was good to know. He better remember that. But boy, did his head feel heavy! And this heat and humidity… sheesh.

- "Groups rest in grassy clearings after dusk, though males and juveniles often roam around at night. The cheetah is an alert animal- individuals often inspect their vicinity at observation points such as elevations. Even while reeesting, they take tuuuurns at keeeep'n a looookouuuutttt…"

All of a sudden, everything became silent and the blazing sun was gone. Oh, how pleasant…! All he could hear now was some delicate buzzing in the far distance. He was on a soft cloud, delicately rocked in the rhythm of the cool breeze…

But then…

-"TAKA! Are you sleeping?!"

Having heard his name, the cub opened his eyes with a gasp. The sun blinded him again, and all he could see now was the huge mountain that stood right in front of his nose- his father.

-"I, I, I… N-no sir! I was just…" – he stammered, feeling his heart beating like a hammer.

Then he heard his brother's voice.

-"Yes you were! I saw you. It's not right to lie, you know!"

Taka sent him a narrowed glare of resentment.

-"Gee, thanks a lot, Muffy…" – he snapped.

The king, walking up close to them, gave both of his sons a delicate rebuke.

-"Now Mufasa, you shouldn't accuse your brother like that. And as for you, Taka…" – if it weren't for his father's slight smirk, his glare would make him feel like he was seriously in trouble – "… if you weren't sleeping, than please, repeat to us the last thing I said. Okay?"

The younger cub smiled awkwardly, but the hair on his back bristled.

-"Um, yes, father, right away… Um, you were talking about the cheetahs, and…"

-"Yeah, father's been talking about cheetahs for the past half an hour!" – Mufasa interrupted him.

-"Muffy, please! Let him finish!" – said the king.

Fortunately, that short intermission gave Taka some time to gather his thoughts.

-"You said that cheetahs are very alert animal, and that they, um, have someone keep a lookout even when they're resting."

The old lion scratched the black hair of his mane.

-"Well, that wasn't exactly the very last thing I said… But alright. In that case, are you able to tell me what the word 'diurnality' means?"

Fortunately, Taka remembered that one well.

-"It means that cheetahs hunt during the day!" – he said, and turned toward Mufasa with an expression of triumph.

–"See! I were paying attention!"

Not looking too convinced, Mufasa snorted.

-"Hmf! I know what I saw. Go on, dad. Ask him something else!"

-"What? That's not fair!"

The king only laughed, seeing his sons' juvenile rivalry.

-"Well, a review is always a good thing, I guess… But it is a hot day, so let me just throw a few more questions out there and see which one of you answers first. How about that? Alright, in that case, can anyone tell me what is the name of the leader of the cheetah coalition in the Pridelands?"

Immediately, Mufasa raised his paw.

-"Ha! That's an easy one. You just told us that yesterday, father- his name is Kitako!"

A frown of amusement appeared on the king's face… but it was no expression of approval.

-"Uhm… Are you sure about that one, Muffy?" – he laughed.

-"Hah-hah! Mufasa, you bird-brain!" – jeered the younger brother. – "That was a trick question! Father hadn't mentioned the name of the head cheetah yet! The one he mentioned yesterday was the leader of the leopards, not the cheetahs. And besides- his name isn't 'Kitako', but 'Katiko'!"

-"What?! Oh, you little…"

Mufasa didn't take kindly to being criticized like that, and he was visibly about to pounce at his brother for humiliating him. The king could already predict how that would end, so instead of letting his older son beat the younger one up again, he just stretched out his massive paw, separating them.

-"Heh-heh, okay you two! Cool down now!"

Reluctantly, Mufasa sat back on the ground, but didn't look too happy about his brother's malicious grin.

-"Taka, you shouldn't call Muffy a 'bird-brain', you know. I told you, it's not nice. Remember that you two are royalty! You should give a good example to the others."

-"Sooorry, father…" – the younger cub rolled his eyes.

-"And as for you, Mufasa, it's not good to lose your temper like that. Sometimes your anger can get the best of you, but you don't want to feed it too much, especially on a day that's already as hot as this one!"

-"Yes, father. I apologize."

But the king cocked a brow at his older son with a chuckle.

-"Am I the one you should be apologizing to, hm?"

Both siblings looked at each other awkwardly. Yes, they did have their little fights, but they were still brothers, after all.

-"Sorry, Taka!"

-"Sorry, Muffy!"

They shared a hug, and then just laughed it off. Their father joined the merriment of their reconciliation.

-"There you go, that's what I call giving a good example! Actually, I don't blame you for dozing off a bit, Taka. Yes, I did see you, don't look so surprised… But today's a really hot day, and this humidity is simply unbearable! I think we can end our lesson earlier today. How's that sound?"

-"YAY!" – the brothers cheered mutually.

-"C'mon you boys!" – the king encouraged them, standing up. – "Let's head back to Pride Rock. Perhaps your mother is already back from the…"

Ahadi was not able to finish his sentence, however. For above the sun-scorched savanna of the Pridelands, a sound suddenly lifted which could not be confused with anything else- a strong, deep call that caused some of the birds to take off from their branches and fly away in terror.

RRROOOOOAR!

Mufasa and Taka, themselves seriously startled, turned to their father for help.

-"What was that, dad? Is there any trouble?" – they asked.

The alerted king kept his head up high before answering, as if waiting for something. And then, another roar, even mightier than the first one, could be heard coming from a different direction.

RRRRROOOOOOOARRR!

It was only then that the father looked at his sons a bit more calmly.

-"Boys, you have to pay attention now. The first roar we heard came from one of the members of the Lion Guard."

-"The Lion Guard?" – both the cubs gasped at the same time, hearing the name of the famous group of brave defenders of their kingdom.

-"Yes. A guard has just called for his leader, which means that there really is some kind of trouble. Luckily, your uncle Upesi isn't far away. Hmm, I wonder…" – the king took a moment to think something over. – "Since we're done with our lesson, how would you boys like to watch the Lion Guard at work? If we hurry up, we might just get there in time. That should be a good experience for both of you."

-"WOW, really?" – Mufasa and Taka bared their little fangs in a smile of amazement and anticipation. – "We really can?! Let's go!"

-"Alright, then. Make sure to run as fast as you can!"

And so they took off, galloping toward where the first roar came from. Both the brothers tried to catch up with their father, but still, every few minutes, he had to stop so that he wouldn't leave them too far behind.

-"C'mon, guys! We're almost there!" – he hurried them.

The cubs were exhausted from the heat, and were glad to see the end of their run as they climbed a tall hill and noticed that part of their pride was gathered under one of the tallest trees in the Pridelands. To their shock, they saw that many cubs and lionesses sat underneath the tree, gazing toward one of the tallest branches… on the tip of which there was a small ball of golden fur attached, holding on for his dear life.

-"Siri! Don't let go!" – yelled one of the females, terrified.

-"What in the world are they doing?" – Mufasa asked, seriously concerned.

-"Hmf." – Taka answered with a snicker. – "They were probably just bored and made Siri climb to the top of the tree."

-"That looks very irresponsible… But look! There's uncle Upesi!"

A regally-looking lion with a dark brown mane and an emblem of the Lion Guard on his left shoulder suddenly entered the scene along with three of his companions. They were in a hurry, and upon noticing what was going on, they immediately joined another member of the Guard who was already sitting at the bottom of the tree, right below the branch from which Siri was dangling.

-"You two stay here" – said the king. – "I'm going down there to see if I can help them."

Mufasa and Taka obeyed, knowing that they had a better view of everything that was going on from the top of the hill. The frightened lionesses seemed greatly relieved with the arrival of Ahadi and the Lion Guard, but still the cub's life was in danger. He was holding on to a dry branch that was bent dangerously because of the weight of his body, looking as if it was about to crack.

-"Siri!" – called the leader of the Guard. – "Try to slowly move back the same way you climbed the tree! But be careful!"

Unfortunately, the cub's muscles were flexed from the dread of falling, and he was unable to move.

-"I… I can't!" – cried the helpless Siri.

Upesi frowned. He knew he couldn't send anyone to climb up the tree, because then the branch would surely break off. He turned his head toward the rest of the Lion Guard.

-"Nguvu!" – he addressed a huge tan lion that looked like a boulder made of muscle.

Their uncle started saying something to him that Mufasa and Taka weren't able to hear. But then they noticed that the strong lion came up to the tree, put his front paws on the trunk, and…

-"Can you see that?!" – gasped the thrilled younger brother. – "They're going to shake him off like a ripe piece of fruit! Haha!"

-"I don't think that's very funny, Taka" – Mufasa answered, biting his lip. – "It looks extremely risky. I wouldn't wanna be in Siri's skin right now…"

With a forceful heave, the strongest member of the Lion Guard shook the whole tree one time and then another, causing the leaves to fall and the top branch to make a cracking sound.

-"W-whoooaaah!" – cried the frightened cub, shoving his claws even deeper into the wood.

-"Don't worry, Siri! We'll catch you!" – Upesi assured him, standing at the bottom of the tree with the rest of his Guard.

With one more strong push of Nguvu's mighty muscles, the dry branch finally cracked, making the lionesses gasp in horror. It didn't break off completely, however, leaving the poor Siri dangling at its end, kicking the air helplessly with his hind legs.

-"WHHHOOOAAAHHH!"

-"Just let go! We've got you!" – Upesi kept yelling.

Finally, the cub listened. Now even Mufasa and Taka let out a loud gasp of dread for the life of their friend. They saw him fall a long, long way, and then…

Another lion from among the Guard agilely jumped high in the air, as fast as an attacking cheetah, and grabbed Siri in his teeth before he even reached the ground. They landed safely, with the rest of the lions making sure that their swift companion wouldn't lose balance and fall to the ground upon landing.

But he didn't.

Very soon, the Lion Guard was surrounded by cheering lionesses, cubs, and even the king himself. Siri, who almost fainted during his fall, was handed to his mother.

-"HOORAY! They caught him!" – Mufasa and Taka celebrated together, and then quickly ran down the side of the hill in order to rejoin their pride.

Siri was now conscious again, and was being interrogated by Ahadi who continued to smile in order not to scare him even more.

-"Now what in the world made you want to climb to the very top of that tree, little one? Were you trying to turn the sun off, or something?"

-"N-no, your majesty. It was… only a dare, your majesty. I didn't know it would end this way… your majesty!"

The king turned around to face the rest of the cubs.

-"Ah, I see. A dare, ey? Now which one of you was so brave to send a friend to climb up a tree instead of doing that himself, hm?"

Of course, all of the cubs looked away, innocently. The king understood that it was completely pointless to ask anyone of them to confess.

-"It wasn't us, obviously!" – Taka announced, as he and his brother sat with the rest of the young members of the pride.

-"Yes, well, both of you were with me all the time, so that frees you of all suspicion" – Ahadi agreed. – "But since you're all here now, I want you to listen to me carefully. I know that sometimes you get bored when the lionesses are busy or when they're resting, but you must always play safe, do you understand? You can clearly see that this tree is dry, and trying to climb it in this weather is very dangerous. Siri could have gotten seriously hurt, or worse, if the Lion Guard hadn't shown up! This is why I want you to promise me to never do anything like that again! Did I make myself clear?"

-"Yeees, your majesty… We prooomise!" – the ashamed cubs nodded in unison.

-"Very good! Now, as for you two…" – Ahadi turned toward his sons.

Mufasa and Taka looked at each other and gulped.

-"What is it, dad? We had nothing to do with this, honest!" – awkwardly mumbled the older lion.

-"Hahaha! Relax, Muffy." – laughed the king. – "I just wanted to introduce you to the members of the Lion Guard! Come with me."

Greatly relieved and thrilled with being given such an opportunity, the brothers skipped right behind their father's back and sat down by his side in front of the five most famous lions of the kingdom, gazing at them with admiration.

They knew, of course, that Upesi, their mother's younger brother, was the leader of the group, and they were very proud of their uncle. But the other members of the Guard were usually very busy either working or training, and so the princes have not actually been officially introduced to them yet.

-"Upesi!" – Ahadi addressed the leader, putting a paw on his brother-in-law's shoulder as a sign of praise. – "You and your team did exceptionally well today!"

-"Thank you, my lord!" – the lion answered with a bow. – "Prince Mufasa, prince Taka. How are you two doing?"

-"Great, uncle! Nice job!" – Taka said enthusiastically.

-"Father wants to introduce us to the rest of the Lion Guard!" – said Mufasa, beaming with no less thrill than his brother.

-"Does he now? Well, I guess it's high time for that!"

And so, king Ahadi's sons met the four other lions that bore the honorable emblem of the Guard. Nguvu, the strongest, who helped shake Siri off the tree. Koho, the keenest of sight, who first saw that the cub's life was at stake and whose roar they first heard earlier. Upepo, the fastest, who caught Siri when he was falling from the branch. And Jabali, the bravest, who encouraged Upesi's daring plan of rescuing the stuck youngster.

After receiving the royal honors due to king's sons from someone as famous as those five lions in front of all of their friends, Mufasa and Taka went back home feeling very content. But these feelings were to develop differently in both of them, as from now on their lives were to become closely intertwined with the mission of the Lion Guard.

AN: Yay for Muffy and Taka as cubs! XD

So anyways, this first chapter describes the situation which Rafiki talks about in the episode 'Paintings and Predictions'. So the cub stuck in the tree is actually… Nala's father (for now, I gave him the name 'Siri', or 'mystery'. God only knows if the creators of the show are going to reveal his real name in later seasons, but the very mentioning of him came as much of a shock).

So Siri is rescued by 'the Lion Guard of his time', and since in the painting we can clearly see that Scar was not in charge of it yet, I figured out that the leader before him must have been either Ahadi's or Uru's brother. So Mufasa and Taka are introduced to the old Lion Guard in this chapter. But when will the new one, the titular 'Takas Guard' be formed? That's material for the next episode.

Oh, and FYI, the info about the cheetahs is taken straight from Wikipedia. Ahadi may be knowledgable, but listening to an academic lecture on a hot day is torture, man!

The author of the cover image is MaeraFey from DA (dzięki, Maera!). Go check out her full gallery, if you will.

Please tell me what you think about the description of my theories. All reviews/favs will be strongly appreciated! XD