I was falling. So fast, my body couldn't believe it. My stomach was flipping and rolling over. My paws stung as the wind whipped the raw gouges in them. I knew in a matter of seconds I would be gone. There was nothing I could do about it. I heard a scream over mine, I knew it was Simba. Not even enough time to say goodbye to him. My beautiful boy, nothing I could do. I tried to call to him but all I could do was scream. There was a terrible irony in the fact I would not land on my feet. I was falling fast on my back, this was how I would die. Just a fallen king, nothing I could do. I felt a slitting pain shoot through my spine and suddenly, just like I had never been born, darkness, pure, cold, dead darkness. I was gone.

The darkness swirled around me, like a deep mist, drowning me in it's abyss of death. Like pirahnas swimming in it's murky depths, black blobs drifted around me, ocasionally swimming into me and stinging me, like little static shocks. Suddenly, the mist began to swirl faster, whipping at me stinging me harder then the black blobs, and out of it suddenly loomed a huge dark lion figure, it's eye's glowed a terrible peircing green. It snarled and attempted to jump at me, but a golden light flew at it, it lit everything up, and the swirling mist became fluffy bright clouds. The golden shape swiped at the dark lion, everytime one of the golden paws swiped the figure, some of it's black mistiness disapeared, but it put up a mighty battle.

The two were locked in battle for what felt like hours. I wanted to help the gold figure, the was such a good energy coming from it, but it wouldn't let me up, it was too protective of me. The gold thing finally took one last swipe and the black figure was gone.

The gold shape floated towards me and as my eyes began to focus I saw what it really was. I nearly swallowed my tongue with shock. It suddenly became apparent that I was definately dead- no way back now. As it lifted one of it's golden plaws and stood over me- I could only utter one word...

"F-father?"

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I remember my first day in the stars like it was yesterday. Meeting long gone ancestors and closer family members- my father, mother, the stillborn sibling my mother had had. She still cares for her, a tiny baby, dead before she could live. 

Atleast I had the oppurtunity to bring new life. 

After I'd been round and spoken to everyone, my father took me aside and explained "the rules". It goes something like this:

• Once you go to the stars, you can never live again.
• You can watch one loved one at a time, or multiple if they are together. 
• You can only make yourself apparent to that loved one if you work hard to collect the energy to appear on earth. 
• You can access a loved one through their mind, but they will think it was a dream or hallucination depending on their situation.

Those were the most important rules on the list. I felt like a cub being taught the rules of kinglyhood. But that felt like nothing now. I had to concentrate. I watched my darling Sarabi fall to Scar's wrath everyday. So at night, I sent her dreams of us playing as cubs, loving as teens and of every happy moment we had. I gave Scar the worst nightmare's I could think up. Mainly, I came back to earth and kicked his butt. 

Simba, oh Simba. As he crossed the desert, I helped him to keep walking and told him he would find somewhere safe and someone to help him. I'm surprised after that accurate prediction, he didn't presume there was more to his dreams.

I became something of a "nerd" in the stars, because I spent all of my time studying my family and old friends, and trying to earn energy so at an important moment, I could help them to make the right decision. 

No one could've predicted in what way I would end up helping my boy. I always kept a spare stock of energy incase there was some special occasion to attend- for example, the birth of my grandchildren. And other things...

I had found someone new to watch- his name was Kopa. My eldest grandchild. He had a lot of my traits so I was very pleased with him. One day I could see he was heading for trouble. I mean serious trouble. I sent him messages all day, telling him to stay at home, but he just dismissed my warnings as "nothing".

He was murdered later that day. I made an appearance as a last resort but there was one attacker I just couldn't scare away. I recognised her as one of Scar's girlfriends when we were teens. She was a little obsessive and as I recall, that's why he dumped her. 

I did for Kopa what my father had done for me- only now I understood it. The closest and most loving relative dives in as soon as you die and fights off whatever caused you to die. If you fight it off successfully, the one you saved goes to the stars, but if you lose, they die again- for good. 

In the same way Kopa had been no match for the wrath of the gaunt lioness, she was no match for the boil of my anger. I ripped her shadowy soul to shreds within seconds. What was left of the peices would've been seen down into the rubbish tip- in other words, hell. There would be no one to fight for her. 

Kopa is with us now. I'm his grandpa, father and mother and try to give him everything he needs. But his yearning glances down at earth are enough to tell me he wants to go home. He wants to look after his little sister. He wants to be king. He wants to help his father patrol the borders. 

He's a cub who wants to be alive. And everything he does is geared toward his hate of Zira. And me to Scar. I remember when he stopped by. Mauled by a raging pack of Hyenas. I tried to help him for Mother's sake, but the odds were so out of his way that it was clear he wasn't supposed to be here. A freak of nature in the stars. 

I miss how things were, but I suppose I'm adapting. Living on the hope that one day, all of the family members I know and love will join me- but in their own due time, and I will do everything in my limited power to keep them alive until their true day comes. And whoever comes in the way of me doing that will pay with the one thing worst than their lives- their soul.