FOREWORD: I would just like to apologise in advance if Sora seems OOC, but it's been a fair while since I've played the Kingdom Hearts games, and I haven't really played them all, so my knowledge is pretty much limited to KH1 and KH2 with a bit of Birth by Sleep.

Prologue:

As Simba brought his daughter; Kiara home from her near death encounter with Zira and her son Kovu, he knew that Kiara's desire to rebel against her father stemmed from the severe lack of Lions her age. Though Simba was a king, the progression of the circle of life was beyond his control.

His thoughts travelled to an old friend of his, easily younger than Simba himself and older than Kiara, but maybe just young enough to relate to the lonely princess. "Oh, Sora." He sighed, wishing his friend were here. Simba knew Sora was smart, even if his actions didn't show it. But Sora knew much more than Simba could hope to.

"Who's Sora, daddy?" the voice of his daughter broke through his train of thought. Simba looked down beside him to see Kiara walking alongside him, her once grumpy face replaced by curiosity.

Simba smiled down at Kiara and nuzzled her gently. "Sora is an old friend of mine. He was there for me during a very difficult time in my life." He said, looking to see if Kiara was still interested. "Back when I was living with Timon and Pumba, I was always haunted by the knowledge that I'd been the cause of my father's death. As a result of that, the Pride Lands were left to your great-uncle Scar to rule."

Simba took a moment to think back to Sora's involvement. "Needless to say, your mother found Sora, along with his two companions, Donald and Goofy." Kiara laughed, interrupting Simba's tale.

"Donald and Goofy? What kind of names are those?" she asked, an infectious smile plastered on her face. Simba smiled back at her.

"Laugh all you want, Kiara, but Donald and Goofy are as much my heroes as Sora is." Simba replied.

Kiara took a moment to think before asking what Simba knew would lead to a very difficult series of questions. "How come I've never seen or heard of these guys?"

The two lions had made their way to Pride Rock, and began advancing up the side with the intention of entering the cave. As they climbed, Simba continued his story.

"Because they aren't lions. Donald is a duck, and Goofy is a dog." Simba replied, stepping into the cave mouth. As his eyes focussed to the darkness, he saw his Lioness lying on a stone that was elevated slightly higher than the floor. The heavily pregnant lioness smiled at her two favourite lions.

"Did I hear Donald and Goofy being mentioned?" she asked, rising from the rock and stepping over to meet them half way.

"Yes. I was just thinking; what if Sora were here? Would he be a good friend for Kiara?" Simba replied.

"Possibly, but he'd also be a dangerous friend, what with that whole Keyblade business." Nala said. Simba simply nodded in agreement.

Kiara had one question floating in her head when she stepped into her home, but after listening to her parents discussing Sora, a whole flock of questions flew around her head.

"Who exactly is this guy?" she asked. Simba and Nala looked down to their daughter and smiled.

"That's the question, isn't it? Who is Sora?" Simba replied, taking a moment to think. "It's difficult to put Sora into words, but remember this, Kiara; If you should ever see a brown lion with a strange metal object in his mouth, that's Sora." He concluded, satisfied with that answer. Kiara however, was not.

"But you told me that Sora wasn't a lion." She protested.

Simba smiled at his daughter once again. "And he's not. I can't explain how he does it, but Sora has the ability to transform into a lion."

Kiara took what Simba had said with a grain of salt. She knew there was much she didn't understand about the world, but she knew it was impossible for someone to impersonate a lion, let alone actually become one. However, her doubt was slightly diminished by her mother's confirming nod.

It had felt like ages since Kiara had felt a sense of curiosity stemming from the unknown. Most of her time was spent trying to earn her freedom, and that didn't go so well today; though she had made a new friend in Kovu. Too bad it would be a while before she could see him again.