Hi guys! XD I, um....I totally forgot I was supposed to be posting today, so I'm kinda doing it over the school's network XD Yay for college and not being blocked by BESS any more! :D:D:D
So I'll take about an hour to answer all your reviews and get this up, and then I'm gone! We're working on drawing copper wire :D:D:D:D Good, good times.
calmxbeforexthexstorm: Riku was kinda irritated with the whole aspect of the world in general. He's not much of a fan of Valentine's Day as a rule. XD The HT outfits were mostly drawn from other sources, except Roxas', of course, 'cause Roxas was easy to copy from Sora. Valentine's Town was a bit more interesting, but it seems I did all right. Yay. -heart-
Neko Ninja Hezza: You don't have much longer to wait! :D Keep reading!
LupinandHarry: Yeah, I was kinda irritated myself at it. But it gets better! I swear! :D
Naruta13: Aww -heart- I like that. I'm glad I could brighten your day.
Rose93darkness: Yeah, isn't it? I always wondered what the other worlds would be like. I mean, we've got St. Patrick's Day, and Easter, and...Thanksgiving, I think, as well as Valentine's Day, that we haven't seen in canon. So I decided to explore one or two more.
Ethos Soku Rockbell: Well, there's some more coming! Stay tuned! :D
aniuwolfe: Yeah, you and I seem to do that alot, don't we? XD And good luck on that Halloween Town Roxas! :D
Okay. I guess this means we're onto the story! :D
Having already known exactly what Valentine's Day was all about, the Keybearers decided to bow out of the lesson Jack was going to get on the holiday. Instead they wandered the town, checking out the place themselves.
Snow dusted some of the higher hills near the town. Sora had decided to climb up there and see the whole town, and do a little thinking, and maybe play a little in the snow; with the early-spring weather of Valentine's Town, it wouldn't be as cold as it would be in Christmas Town.
The view was breathtaking. The town itself was sprawled between the river and the hills, lit gold on one side and steeped in purples and pinks on the other. Though just as adverse to pink as any guy his age, he had to admit, it was beautiful. With a smile, he sat, watching the boats down the river and the townspeople bustle around the streets.
So...Jamestown was Earth, home to the Natives, who worshipped the land like a mother. It was a place deeply connected with the earth and all it had in it. Atlantica was Water...ditto. Entropy had been on Wonderland, which was as random a place as he'd ever seen and hoped ever to see in his future.
Light, Darkness, Order, Air, Fire, Spirit and Memory were left. And he thought he might've been sensing a key here, but it faded in and out like a bad cell phone signal. Which one could it be? Air? Darkness? Spirit, maybe? Light wouldn't really make too much sense...neither would Order, or Fire, really. Memory could work, though. Where could they find Light, or Fire? Order he had a pretty good idea; Tron's world inside Ansem the Wise's computer. He couldn't think of anywhere more fitting, unless there was someplace else that they'd find later that fit better.
Light could be the Hundred-Acre Wood. When he thought about it, he could remember sensing a niggling little feeling like a key when he was there the last time...before, of course, he'd fallen asleep. And just thinking of fire brought him back to his first battle with Jafar in his genie form, in the lava pit beneath the Cave of Wonders on Agrabah. But it was possible they'd find both keys someplace else.
And somehow, these keys were connected to the five of them. Kairi had Earth, Roxas, Entropy, and the King had Water. They were probably arranged in matching pairs, the way Merlin had had then written down; Earth and Air, Entropy and Order, Water and Fire. Which left Spirit and Memory, and Light and Darkness. Which pair would be his? Which would be Riku's?
"Sora?"
He jumped. What was it with Riku appearing whenever the brunet thought about him?! It was like he knew or something. That was...a little unnerving to think about, now that he had. As ridiculous as it was. Riku wasn't exactly a mind-reader; had he been, he wouldn't have stayed away as long as he did, fearing Sora wouldn't forgive him.
The silver-haired teen smirked, tucking his hands into his pockets. He hadn't meant to startle Sora, but he'd noticed the brunet was deep in thought over something. The younger Islander had never been good at brooding in private. "Sorry." He called, walking over to stand next to the Keyblade Master. "You want to be alone?"
Sora chuckled wryly. "Since when did I ever like being alone?" He inquired. "I was just thinking, really. C'mon, sit down."
One silver brow arched, sardonic. "Oh, I knew you were thinking, Sora. I could hear the wheels clacking in protest from halfway down the hill." He teased. With a scowl, Sora kicked his ankle as he laughed. "Sorry, sorry, that was mean." In surrender, he kicked a little snow out of the way, uncovering the grass beneath before he sat. "What were you thinking about?"
The brunet sighed, leaning back and planting his hands in the snow behind him. "The keys." He admitted. "Where the rest of them might be, y'know? We've been out here a while now...almost a month, if I've been keeping track right. We've found a key almost once a week. I'd say that's good progress. We might even be home before school starts again."
"Shit. School. Don't mention school." Riku shook his head. "I don't want to think about going back under the yoke again after all this time."
Sora nudged him lightly. "We're not going to be that far behind everyone else." He chided. "Remember? Kairi said it took a while for things to be organized enough after everyone got back for Destiny High to reopen. We could probably take night classes so we can catch up the semester we missed."
The elder Islander shot him a look. "Sora, you could barely handle the work from regular school. You honestly want to take on night school too?"
The Keyblade Master pouted. "I like to think my work ethic's changed a little." There was quiet for a few moments, before Sora spoke again. "Have you thought about...what we'll do when we finally go home and stay home?"
Riku blinked. "What do you mean?"
"I mean, like, jobs. Or college. You know, things kids who aren't Keybearers have to think about."
The silver-haired teen blinked again in surprise. Actually, now that he mentioned it... "No, not really." He shrugged. "I mean, most of the time we've been gone, I was thinking I wouldn't get back. I figured I'd just hang around with DiZ in Twilight Town, or wherever he ended up." He canted his head slightly, turning to look back at Sora. "What about you?"
Sora shrugged. "I haven't really thought much about it either. Maybe we should start, though." With a sigh, he pulled himself to his feet, dusting off the snow. "C'mon. It's getting cold up here."
Riku's lips twitched wryly. That was an interestingly circular conversation. "Sure."
They started down the slope, back down towards the town. The walk was nice, as the hill wasn't all that steep...a little like Starry Hill, if you went up the back instead of being a showoff like him and leaping up the front face, Sora grinned to himself. But hey, he liked showing off. He could do some pretty epic things, if he said so himself.
Thinking about it, however, didn't help when he stepped off a ledge masked by the snow and overbalanced forward, too surprised to catch himself.
"Waah!!"
Laughing hysterically, Sora tumbled down the slope, head over heels. Riku went to help and stumbled over the same ledge, trying to keep from landing on his face by rolling over his shoulder. His momentum pushed him over again when he went to straighten and stop himself, pitching him forward.
He landed on his knees, planting his hands wide. It was lucky he did, too, because otherwise he might have accidentally hit Sora in the face. Sitting back, he pulled his hands out of the last little bit of snow on the ground.
It took a second before the younger teen could stop laughing long enough to realize what had happened. His breath caught in his throat in surprise. "Hi."
"Hey. Sorry." He was straddling the slighter body below him, he realized, sitting on Sora's thighs. The Keyblade Master was flushed, either from the fall, or the rather compromising position they were in. Or both, he realized after a moment. It could easily be a little of both.
"It's okay. Not your fault." Sora swallowed hard, shooting him a hesitant smile. Reaching up, he toyed with a lock of silver hair for a second, before it seemed he realized what he was doing and pulled his hand away. He went to sit up, expecting Riku to anticipate this and move out of the way, but obviously he wasn't paying attention because they suddenly ended up very close.
They were both breathing hard. His attention narrowed to the pulse point in Riku's neck, which beat nearly in time with his own racing heart. 'It's just the adrenalin, from the fall.' He tried to tell himself.
'Not tru-u-ue!' Part of him sang back, like an insolent child. He flushed again, a deeper red this time, and shut his eyes, hoping the elder Islander wouldn't notice.
It took what felt like a heroic effort on his part, but Riku pulled back, letting the Keyblade Master stand unimpeded. "You okay?" He asked. Sora looked up again and nodded, still red.
"Yeah." He breathed. "N-No problem."
Familiar giggles suddenly came out of the bushes. Sora was off in a flash, running after three smaller figures that looked rather like the masked children Riku had seen in Halloween Town...what had Sora called them? Lock, Shock...and Barrel, that's right. He tore after the young Keyblade Master, running after the three kids. Luckily, they ran right past Jack on their way to the Halloween Town door, because otherwise they would have had no time to tell the Pumpkin King where they were going.
Sora hissed a curse, slowing at the jack-o-lantern door. "Should we follow them?" He asked, as Riku came to a stop next to him. The elder Keybearer shrugged.
"We've gone this far." He decided. "We might as well figure out what they've been up to this whole time."
The brunet nodded, his spikes bobbing back and forth slightly. "Okay." He replied. "Let's go, then."
Now that he'd been through the doorways a few times, it was much easier for Riku to keep his head while tumbling through space. He managed to land gracefully on his feet this time, but looked around the Hinterlands in dismay to find that Lock, Shock and Barrel had disappeared. "Where did they go?" He asked.
Sora's heart sank when he saw the footprints, eerily similar to the last time he'd had to hunt the three children down. "Let's follow these and see where they take us." He suggested, looking down at the trail. "It's better than wandering around and trying to find them."
He was rather glad, however, when the prints led not to Curly Hill, but all the way back to Dr. Finklestein's lab.
One of the doctor's cabinets of supplies was slightly ajar, and as Riku watched, the door trembled lightly, as if something was behind it and trying desperately not to move or make a noise. He discreetly pointed it out to Sora, who scowled and walked over, throwing open the doors.
A cloud of black dust greeted him, sending him into a coughing fit. His eyes watered; damn them, he couldn't see! "Catch them!" He cried, coughing deep in his chest. "Don't let them get to the door!"
Rather than chase them, as he'd already been warned of the trio's deviousness several times, Riku instead shot a volley of Dark Aura from his spot in front of the lab's door. They homed in on the three children, knocking each of them senseless for a moment each. This gave Sora time enough to blink and wave away most of the dust, going after Shock when he could see again.
They knocked the three pranksters around a little, just enough to tire them out. When finally Lock and Barrel had joined Shock slumped in between the doctor's bookcase and desk, whining and complaining, Sora stood over them, crossing his arms over his chest with a scowl.
"Come on, guys. Why are you following us, and what have you been carrying around with you?"
"We're not following you!" Lock argued. "We're following Jack!"
"He wouldn't let us be in his troupe." Shock pouted. "We're as good at Halloween as he is! Why can't we go?"
The two Keybearers exchanged glances. "I don't think he wants to have to keep an eye on you the whole time so that you won't be making mischief." Riku replied dryly.
"But we wouldn't do all that stuff if we weren't so bored!" Barrel complained. "We wouldn't be bored showing people what Halloween's all about!"
Another exchange of glances. "We'll talk to Jack about it, okay?" Sora promised. "But for us to do that, you need to show us what you guys have been carrying around this whole time."
Lock scowled. "But it's ours. We don't want you stealing it!"
"C'mon, guys, would I do that? Really?" Sora shot them a look. Wisely, Riku held his tongue; he'd thought about it once or twice.
They all turned to huddle in a circle, arguing so fiercely that their voices overlapped. Riku, for his part, wondered whether they could actually understand each other. He glanced at Sora a third time; the Keyblade Master shrugged back.
Finally, they spun around to face the two teens again, Lock pinning both hands behind his back. "You promise you'll talk to Jack about letting us be part of his troupe?" He demanded. Sora nodded.
"Of course."
"And you won't steal our treasure?" Barrel prodded. With a nearly-silent sigh, Riku shook his head. His awareness notched up several levels, though, when his hand twitched again, like the Way to the Dawn wanted to be summoned. But that wasn't exactly a gesture of goodwill, now was it?
"Sure." He agreed.
The devil-boy, obviously satisfied by this, brought his hands out and opened them. A pair of red-and-black dice lay on his palms, shining an eerie bloody colour in the light. "Look, it's Oogie's dice!"
Riku's Keyblade forced itself into existence with a spark of blue-black, startling him, Sora, and all three children. The dice in Lock's hands began to glow with the same light.
"A...a key?" The silver-haired teen stammered, taken rather off-guard. Sora grinned.
"Of course! No wonder it irritated us so much that they were hiding it!" He declared. "I thought I was feeling a key-sense, but it kept fading in and out funny."
The key was traced in the dice, but left them intact when it appeared, a deep ebony, with a white lining on the hilt engravings. Sora came close as it deposited itself in Riku's hands, leaning over it.
"Darkness?" He asked. When Riku didn't answer right away, he looked up in surprise. The silver-haired Keybearer looked a little rattled, and a little angry.
"Yeah, I guess so." His jaw tightened. "C'mon. Let's go tell the others."
He spun on his heel and left Finklestein's Lab, forcing Sora to run after him. The Keyblade Master didn't know what to say to cheer Riku up, so he followed him mutely until they went through the portal and into Valentine's Town. There, Riku stopped on Sweetheart Bend, where the portals to Halloween Town and Christmas Town came out.
"I'm sorry." He apologized. He'd been able to feel Sora's agitation like a festering wound. "I don't like being so openly connected to darkness. It's like being branded. I...I hate it."
Sympathetic, Sora hesitantly approached him, laying a gentle hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry." He murmured, coming around to take ahold of both the elder teen's arms. "You've had enough of that, I'm sure."
"Yeah." Riku sighed, raking his fingers through his hair. "I guess I've just got to deal with it, though, huh?"
And that was how everyone else found them; Sora gently holding Riku's arms while the silver-haired teen hung his head in defeat. "Is everything okay?" Kairi asked, worried as always. Sora blinked in surprise before shooting a soft smile her way.
"Yeah, it's okay, Kairi." He told her. "We found our next key."
Shaking off the despondence that had crept into his heart, Riku held it out. "Darkness."
"Can you stay and keep performing for everyone else? We still need to do performances for St. Patrick, and the Easter Rabbit!" Jack asked. Everyone exchanged glances, though Sora couldn't help a smile at Jack's seeming inability to use the word 'bunny'.
Roxas winced. "We'd hate to leave you without a troupe, Jack, but-"
"Oh!" Sora lit up suddenly. "But I know where we can find you another one! One that would be even better than us!"
"Do you!?" Jack lit up as well. "Where?"
Three separate thumps sounded off the new troupe's arrival. Riku's lips twitched.
"Lock, Shock and Barrel."
"They promise to listen to you...well...as well as they can, anyway. And they want to do it, Jack." Sora promised, when the Pumpkin King looked rather doubtful. "They've been following us this whole time."
"C'mon, Jack, puh-lease?" Barrel tugged on Jack's trouser leg.
Jack sighed. "Oh, all right." He relented. As they began to celebrate, he cut them off with a noise, and they looked up at him in surprise again. "But you have to listen to me all the time, do you hear? Don't be running off, or making mischief."
"We won't, we won't!" Shock screeched, making Kairi wince and cover her ears. Sora chuckled.
"I hate to leave things unfinished, but is it okay if we skip out?" He asked, taking the Darkness Key from Riku's hand. "This is one of ten, six of which we still need to find. We'll come back and check on you, but right now, we should keep looking."
"Oh, of course!" Jack's skull spread into a grin. "You know where I'll be, Sora. Take care, now."
They made one last stop at Christmas Town, standing on the hill overlooking the village and the workshop. Snow fell gently around them, completing the picture.
"Makes you kinda wish we had snow on the Islands, doesn't it?" Sora asked. Kairi nodded.
"I do, sometimes. I miss the snow."
"We could always come visit on Christmas." Riku shrugged. "I imagine they probably have celebrations that day."
Sora grinned. "Or maybe we can bring Axel and Naminé and everyone over and have a party at our house."
Roxas chuckled. "It's certainly big enough."
"The castle gets festive at Christmas." Mickey admitted. "There's a ball and a pageant, and then a Christmas Banquet that we invite the townspeople for. Reminiscin' and such."
"I wonder, would all our Christmases come on the same day?" Goofy asked aloud, drawing everyone's attentions to him. "I mean, 'cause of all the time-things. Atlantica is ten years ahead of everyone else, now. It feels like spring in Radiant Garden, but it's summertime in Wonderland and the Kingdom of Roses and Chateau Vitrearii. And in Jamestown, it's almost fall."
Donald tapped his head thoughtfully. "How did we not notice that?" He squawked. Thoughtful and a little worried, Sora folded his arms over his chest.
"I hope that isn't going to cause problems later."
Roxas shrugged. "If it did, we'll fix them. "He replied, rather cockily. "After all, we're the Keybearers. Who else could?"
"It could be bigger than us." Riku commented. "We might need someone's help."
Mickey chuckled. "Welp, until we do, we'll just keep goin' the way we have." He decided. "It's silly t'make up problems that we don't have yet." He stood. "C'mon, everybody. Let's keep lookin'."
They'd moved on to the next world, "Pride Land", Sora had called it. The teleport down was oddly disorienting...to Riku, anyway. He felt like he was on all fours, although that might have been because everything seemed so much larger here.
Or, rather, his perspective had been changed enough to make everything look bigger.
Which, conversely, must mean he'd gotten smaller.
Wings flapping drew his attention overhead. A white bird fluttered overhead, clutching something in its talons. Something that, oddly enough, looked a hell of a lot like the Save the Queen Wand.
"Donald?" Riku asked, blinking. He hadn't been able to fly before...had he?
Disney Castle's Court Wizard landed on a rock, turning around as he folded his new wings back. His wand had mysteriously disappeared. "How d'you like it?" He asked mysteriously. Before he could ask, though, something landed against his back, tugging his hair, and he felt a set of sharp teeth sink into his ear.
Which suddenly felt like it was closer to being on top of his head than on the side.
"Hey! Get off!" He tried to shake whatever it was off, only to tumble forward, landing on his front. His hands slid out from underneath him, and he blinked at them. They were furry. And had quite sharp-looking claws. "What the-?" He tried to get up, only to hear a familiar voice; slightly muffled by the ear it had to come around.
"Aww, c'mon, Riku. You don't want to play?"
"Sora, get off me!" He shook his head, tugging his ear out of Sora's mouth. He slid his paws back underneath him, levering himself to his feet. Rolling, he managed to throw the other teen off him. "At least let me get used to this first."
"Oh, right." Sora grinned, although it was a curious sort of grin, seeing as he was working with the facial muscles of an adolescent lion rather than a person. He did seem to take quite a bit of pleasure in baring all his teeth. "Sorry."
He was bigger now, though still smaller than Simba had been, last time he'd seen him. Shaking his slightly-fuller mane, he grinned again. "It's too much fun, being like this. I love this place."
"Hmph." Riku shook himself, then sat back. He looked himself over, raising a paw to examine curiously. "White." He commented, matter-of-factly. "I'm white." A lock of shaggy silver mane fell into his face when he dipped his head to look again. "And grey."
"It's pretty." Came a voice from behind him. He turned around to see Kairi, who had ended up a deep red as opposed to wine-coloured, like her hair. "I never thought I would ever see a white and silver lion."
Riku arched a brow. "Says the red lion."
"Oh, hey, Roxas. Looking good." Sora called. "It's a good thing Simba's all grown up; if he weren't, we might have some trouble telling you apart."
The blond was, well, blond. He turned, looking back at his thin, tufted tail. "This is so weird. I have a tail." He swished it slightly, as if trying to prove his point. Sora chuckled.
"Yes, Roxas." He sounded very condescending. "If you didn't have a tail, you'd look very odd."
There was a loud thudding noise from far off. The noise grew in volume as a dust cloud rose off to their right. Donald took to the air, looking to see what all the commotion was about.
"Stampede!" He squawked in alarm. In response, Sora took off running.
"Come on, everyone! This way!"
Their path took them over a hill, out of the way of the stampeding herd of what the Keyblade-Master-turned-lion called 'antelope'. Most of Sora's concentration was on his feet, so he didn't see the lioness bounding his way until she nearly ran into him. He slid to a halt, awkward after all this time, and turned to the lioness in surprise. She stared at him in the same way, brown eyes wide.
"Kovu?" She asked. Sora rose to his feet, canting his head at her.
"Uh, no. Sorry." He replied. "My name's Sora. Who are you?"
"Oh." She sat back on her haunches. "Sorry, Sora. You look like an old friend of mine." She smiled at him. "I'm Kiara."
Sora grinned back at her. "Nice to meet you, Kiara." He looked around at the surrounding grasslands. "What are you doing way out here? Pride Rock's way back that way, isn't it?" He looked over his shoulder, where the rock formation just barely peeked over the tall, lush grass.
Kiara's eyes narrowed. "Did my father send you, too?" She growled. "Maybe I should just take this hunt into Outsider territory!"
Sora blinked in surprise. Outsider territory? What did she mean by that? "No, I haven't been sent by anyone. I didn't know you until just now, how could I know your father?" The Keybearer reassured her. "It's just that, the last time I was in this area, most of the lions I knew stayed near Pride Rock."
Kiara had begun to look at him strangely, and he blinked at her in surprise. "What? What's wrong?"
"You don't look old enough to have been here before my father was around." She began thoughtfully. "Are you an Outsider?"
"Sora!"
Whirling around, Sora saw everyone else coming over the hill. Even less adjusted to paws than he was, Riku skidded, trying not to tumble down the slope. Roxas, unfortunately, was not so lucky, tripping on a rock and rolling head over tail down to where Sora and Kiara sat. Kairi had been slower, so she managed to stop with some grace. The short fur on her head parted to reveal King Mickey's round black ears and a pale flesh-coloured nose. Goofy's shield-sliding made him overshoot the gathering a little, so he plodded back, the shield slung over the shell on his back. Donald perched atop it, folding his wings back.
"What's up, guys?" Sora asked.
"Tell him, Kairi." Roxas struggled to his feet, shaking his head clear.
The redhead took a deep breath. "I think we might be in trouble." She announced. "I just saw a couple of lions setting the grass on fire. I don't know why; maybe they're hunting, or trying to scare us off, but we're right in the middle of it all." Her deep blue eyes were wide in fright. "We have to go, now!"
Sora looked up. Dark grey smoke was starting to puff over the ridge. "Yeah, okay. Let's get out of here." He looked back over a shoulder at Kiara. "Are you coming? I don't think your dad will be happy if you get caught in a fire."
Kiara sighed. "I guess I'll just have to do my first hunt another time." She grumbled. "All right. Come on, I'll get you guys out of here." She took off, her paws pounding the dirt as she ran.
"Wait!" Donald cried. He had taken to the air again, making sure their path was clear. "The fire's spreading this way! We need to find another path!"
Riku's turquoise eyes darted around, taking in the spreading blanket of smoke. "Unless there's a pond or something nearby, I think this fire might overtake us." He muttered.
Kiara gasped a realization. "The river!" She cried, bounding away. "We have to go! If we hurry, we should be able to get there in time!"
The pack of them ran off, following the lioness. As the sky darkened and the fire spread, they found themselves taking cuts around banks of red-orange flame.
After a moment, Kiara made a frustrated noise, looking around wildly. "I think we got turned around!" She shouted, then coughed deep in her chest. "I don't know where the river is from here! The fire-" She began to cough again.
"Shit." The curse was barely audible over the crackling flames, but Riku didn't really care. "We're not going to be able to get out of this."
With a glance around, Roxas scrambled over to an already-blackened patch of grass. "C'mon, this way!" He called. "The fire shouldn't double back over this!"
It was getting hard to breathe without coughing, Quickly, everyone followed Roxas over to the blackened ground. "How d'you know that, Roxas?" Goofy asked. Roxas grinned.
"Goofy, my best friend is a pyromaniac. I should know how fire works!"
The effort of their flight, and of her hunt before they arrived, was obviously getting to Kiara. She stumbled a little, coughing as she sank to the earth. Kairi gently nudged her shoulder. "You okay?"
The lioness nodded weakly. "Smoke."
"It's going to get to us all soon enough if we don't get out of here." Riku muttered darkly, pessimistic as always. Sora sent him a 'look'.
"Stop being negative." He ordered. "We'll get out of this." Crouching, he nudged Kiara's side. "C'mon, Kiara, we need to get moving again."
She didn't respond, something that worried everyone. "Kiara!" Sora tried again, but got the same result. He cursed too, though less potently than Riku had. "If she's passed out, I honestly don't think we could get her out of here."
A growl rumbled out of the fire, startling the entire group. A dark shape leapt from behind a wall of flame, stopping beside Kiara's limp form. He jerked back in surprise at the sight of Sora, black mane flowing wildly. "What are you doing here?" He asked. "Since when did Pride Landers bring young on their hunts?"
"Long story!" Sora shouted. "Can you help us get her out of here?!"
The dark lion shook off his surprise, leaning over and grabbing the unconscious lioness by the scruff of her neck. He threw her a little, just enough to be able to duck underneath her limp body. "Come on. I'll get you guys to the river."
Quickly, they bolted, following the newcomer through the flames. A few times, Sora used the Keyblade to shoot Blizzard spells at burning debris in their path.
Suddenly, their mysterious guide vanished. "Wait!" Sora cried, darting forward, only to have the ground crumble beneath his paws, dumping him into cold, murky water.
Well, they'd found the river.
Swimming wasn't quite as easy as it usually was, he realized quickly. Several more splashes sounded behind him as he paddled towards the opposite bank. Only the hulking form of their saviour guided his way.
"Kiara!"
Another voice, this one familiar, came from the side of the river they were heading for. A second lion, taller, older, and with a larger, red-brown mane, ran up to the edge of the river, bellowing.
Kiara stirred, lifting her head. "Daddy?" She murmured. Another lioness came up and nuzzled her cheek.
"Kiara! Oh, you're safe!"
The older lion snarled at the younger one. "Kovu! What were you doing with my daughter?!"
"A 'thanks for saving her from the roaring fire' would be appreciated." The dark lion snarked back. "Jeez, you get cast out by your own, and everyone suddenly doesn't trust you."
Sora's eyes widened when he pulled himself onto the bank and saw the elder lion and his lioness. "Simba!" He cried. Simba and Nala snapped surprised looks his way.
"Sora?!"
"So you do know my father!" Kiara's voice was accusing. Nala nudged her gently.
Shooting a quick look Kiara's way – obviously Nala had her baby while he was gone – Sora trotted over to Simba, momentarily pleased when he realized the Pride Lands' king was only about one-and-a-half times bigger than he was. That was cheering; maybe he might actually end up being full-grown the next time he came around here.
Simba glanced between him and the dark lion who had saved Kiara for a moment. "Is this true, Sora? Did this Outlander-" He glared at the young lion momentarily, "-really save my daughter?"
Sora nodded. "He saved me and my friends, too. We all might've been roasted if it weren't for him." He wasn't entirely sure where this whole 'Outlander' conflict had come from, but the younger lion – Kovu, he'd heard Simba call him – seemed nice enough to him. And he figured they owed him one.
Drawing back from the crowd, Simba seemed to think on that for a long time. As he did, Kiara pulled herself unsteadily to her feet and stalked over to her saviour.
"I had everything under control." She spat angrily. The dark lion rolled his eyes as her.
"Sure you did. That's why I wandered in just about the time you would have died. Those young onescouldn't get out either, you realize. What business they had with you, I have no idea."
"They weren't supposed to be there!" Kiara cried. "No one was supposed to be on that hunt but me, and if Dad hadn't sent his little spies after me, I wouldn't have been so far out from Pride Rock in the first place!"
"Kiara, that's enough!" Nala snarled at her. Kiara growled back, obviously bent on being furious with everyone.
Simba's red-brown eyes were stern. "Listen to your mother." He ordered, turning Kovu's way. "You were outcast by the Outsiders?" He inquired. Kovu arched a brow.
"So, you're actually going to trust me?"
Simba sighed. "Your actions today have not completely assured me of your loyalties, Kovu, but I'm willing to give you a chance to prove them to my satisfaction." He warned. "If you can do so, I'll welcome you as one of my own."
Kovu shot him a sardonic glance. "Wonderful." He replied snarkily. "Thanks for the vote of confidence, Your Majesty." The tone of his voice made it sound like an insult. Simba glared at him.
"All right, everyone. We're going back to Pride Rock. And you, young lady," He turned to pin Kiara with his gaze, "are not to leave the area unaccompanied."
Kiara's eyes widened. "But Dad!" She cried. "What about my hunt?!"
He snarled, but didn't answer, stalking off with stiff shoulders. Nala quietly came up and nudged her cheek gently.
"I'll talk to him. He knows how important this is to you, Kiara, but he was quite frightened today."
As they left, the young lioness turned to her new companions. "I guess you're coming with, too, huh?" She asked. Sora grinned at her.
"I guess so."
It took until dusk to return to the centre of the Pride Lands. Sora was awed by the sight; the last time he'd been here, everything had been dead and brown. But the view from the tip of Pride Rock was stunning; all green and golden and blue. It was almost like the Islands in how vivid it was.
He chuckled to himself, looking up at the brightening stars in the sky. "I guess I really do miss the Islands." He realized aloud. "I keep comparing every place I go to home."
About to turn and follow Simba into the den on Pride Rock, Sora couldn't help hesitating and glancing back at Kovu. The proud young lion was curled up in the shadow of a few boulders near the doorway, and looked rather like he was trying not to feel the cold.
This didn't really seem fair to Sora, so he trotted over, fixing an apologetic smile on his face. "Hey."
Kovu glared up at him with a half-hearted snarl. "Go on. Get inside before I snap you in half with my ferocious Outsider jaws." Showing them off with a large yawn, he then turned and flopped down on the stone.
Undaunted, Sora walked up and nudged his paw. "I don't really feel comfortable sleeping inside...I'm not really a Pride Lander either. So do you mind if I join you?"
"Knock yourself out." Kovu replied without looking at him.
Sora grinned. "Thanks." He replied, then curled up at Kovu's side, under the stars. The older lion's bulk sheltered him from the winds, just long enough for him to drift off.
The next morning, Sora woke to find that he wasn't the only one who decided to sleep outside. Riku had taken the space next to him and was still asleep, the fur of his paws rustling under his nose with every breath. He opened one sleepy turquoise eye when Sora yawned and stretched. The young Keybearer-turned-dark-lion grinned at him.
"Good morning."
Kairi lifted her head from Riku's other side. "Sora?"
"Key, Kairi." He stepped over Riku and nudged her shoulder. "Decided to join me?"
The red lioness curled up further, covering her eyes with one paw. "It's bright." She complained. Sora chuckled, nudging her again.
"I'm gonna remember this when we get home, you know." He teased. "Every time you tease me for sleeping in."
She sat up and yawned. "I guess it's about the same, isn't it?" She murmured. He grinned.
"Yup. C'mon." Nudging her a few more times with his nose, he got her up and moving. And then he started nudging Riku. "Up."
He complied, not really wanting to have Sora wrestling with him again this morning, though at the sight of Kiara creeping out of the den, he canted his head a little. "What's she doing up so early?"
Cautiously, as if not wanting to wake her father or anyone else, she crept over and nudged Kovu awake. The dark lion yawned, looking rather unimpressed.
"I heard you coming the moment you left the doorway." He sneered. "Obviously not much of a huntress, are you?"
Kiara scowled at him. "You know, I was coming out to thank you for saving my life yesterday." She retorted. "If you think you're so damn special, why don't you teach me, hmm? Impress me. I dare you to try."
His gaze slanted towards the doorway to the den. "And what would Daddy say about this?"
"He doesn't have to know. He'll sleep in until midmorning anyway." She trotted off to the edge of the rock, tail held high in her own arrogance. "Come on. Unless you're chicken."
"Kiara, can we come too?" Sora asked, practically bouncing on his paws.
"Besides, then, if he does find out, he'll know you were accompanied." Roxas considered that thought aloud. "That ought to soften the blow a little."
She softened, chuckling at Sora's eagerness. "Yeah, sure. Come on."
With a grin, he glanced back at Kovu. "Are you coming? You've got willing students, now."
Kovu growled, exasperated. "I suppose."
It proved to be an interesting day in the Pride Lands. Kovu started off teaching how not to be heard when stalking prey...which got rather noisily interrupted by Timon and Pumbaa, shrieking in fright when they stumbled across Riku. The silver lion had rather been enjoying following the two, until Timon tripped backwards while trying to yank a worm out of the ground and ended up falling flat on his back, right underneath the eldest teen's nose.
"Well, now that we know you aren't gonna eat us." Now sitting comfortably on one of Pumbaa's tusks, the meerkat grinned. "Aren'tcha glad we're not following you this time, Kiara?"
"This time." She echoed sardonically. "If you're not following me, then what are you doing here?"
Pumbaa tossed his head, accidentally throwing Timon off in the process. "Breakfast!" He responded cheerfully. Dusting himself off, Timon shook off his irritation with the warthog, grinning again.
"This is the best spot for bugs within a day's walk of Pride Rock." He spread his hands, indicating the area before them. "But check out the squatters."
Large white birds, about Donald's size, were pecking at the ground, dragging up worms and beetles from the earth. Kairi had to grimace; she wasn't exactly fond of bugs. Her reaction had Sora chuckling.
"What's wrong, Kairi? Too slimy for you?"
"So, you want us to get rid of the birds?" Goofy asked. Timon lit up, hopping up on his shell.
"We woulda done it already, but'cha see, they don't much listen to us." He replied, as Pumbaa started charging in among them, yowling at the top of his lungs. The birds calmly lifted themselves into the air around him, then dropped again, returning to their meal. Roxas laughed.
"I can see why that would be a problem." He assured them. "So, you want us to try?"
Timon grinned at him. "Give 'em a roar. See if that does anything."
Not entirely certain as to how to go about that, all three of the other Keybearers-turned-lions turned to look at Sora, who grinned broadly at them. "I'm not very good, I don't have the lungs for it yet. I'm too small." He admitted. "But I can give it a shot."
Stepping forward, he took a deep breath and roared, sending about fifteen of the closest birds scattering into the air. He was right, though; there was a slight squeak in his voice when he did so, as if he wasn't used to pushing all that air out at once. Knowing he'd pay for it later if he didn't, Riku smothered a chuckle. He caught a soft twitter of laughter from the King, though, nestled in his mane.
"Why don't'cha try yourself, Riku?" The tiny royal inquired. He considered it for a moment; he was older, bigger. He probably wouldn't have the same squeak, and if he did, well, it was deserved. He could nurse his pride later if it happened.
Even with that reassurance, though, it took his a few deep breaths before he was ready to try.
"Do you want a better example?" Kiara teased, watching him with eyes that sparkled with mirth. Sora stuck his tongue out at her. When Riku shot her a smirk, she nodded. "Okay."
Owing to the fact she was a bit larger than Sora, her roar was much louder and more deep-throated than his. It sent another large flock to the skies, most of which didn't return; they'd obviously had enough interruptions.
"What's the point of this training?" Kovu wondered, clearly confused. Kiara cocked an eyebrow at him.
"Training? This is fun." She watched, fondly, as the young silver lion gave a roar. Flashing him a grin, Sora ran forward, snapping at the birds' feet as they took off. Roxas followed him.
When the land was finally clear of what Timon lovingly referred to as "scavengers", they were all laughing, having chased all the birds to one end of a small canyon. Still shot with adrenalin from the chase, Sora was still running, rounding the end of the canyon before pulling up so fast he sat down on the hard-packed earth of the savannah. His eyes went wide.
"Uh...guys?" He suddenly sounded very nervous, backing away from the end of the pass.
"I, um...I think we should start running again. Except, like, back that way."
"What's wrong, Sora?" Kairi asked. He chuckled nervously.
"The birds. They...well...they had friends."
And when he turned tail and sprinted off, they had seconds of warning before a herd of rather angry-looking animals with sharp horns Kiara called "rhinos" came charging back at them, making the ground rumble with their steps as they did so. Obviously realizing the sense in running, everyone followed Sora at top speed, Kovu quickly outstripping the younger lion.
Roxas spotted the cave first. "This way!" He shouted, ducking inside. It was barely enough to fit them all, even when everyone curled up. Sora ended up practically sitting on top of Riku, with Kairi wedged between him and the wall. It was...well, it was actually kinda comfortable. If he decided to take being squished into a rock wall as being 'cozy'.
Other than that, though, he really didn't mind much.
When the rhinos passed, it took some squeezing to get everyone out. Kovu and Kiara ended up nose-to-nose for a second or two, stumbling out of the crevice with shaky laughs. Kairi's eyes lit; she rather enjoyed watching these things happen. She just supposed it was the romantic in her. She didn't mind doing a little nudging, either, but considering how recently she'd met both Kovu and Kiara, she figured that was a little blatant even for her.
Besides, she had a couple of others she was keeping an eye on, at any rate. And from the looks of things, they needed the nudging even more.
The heat of the sun at noon gave everyone a chance to nap, and considering the crazy race they'd had this morning, Roxas was surprised...and a little embarrassed...when he woke up just past dusk to find everyone else awake. Sora had used the claws his new form gave him to scale one of the trees and was now draped lazily over a nice, sturdy branch. Riku was sprawled out on the grass in the tree's shade alongside Kairi, with the King taking refuge in his mane. Donald had perched himself on Sora's head, and Goofy was still asleep, curled up in the tree's roots with Timon and Pumbaa.
Kovu and Kiara were on their backs a little ways away, watching the stars come out and the clouds light up with sunset. She was pointing out shapes in the sky, either from the thickening stars or the remaining clouds. He, in turn, was laughing, and making funny little comments that occasionally had her arching a brow at him.
"Ooh, look! There's two lions killin' each other over a scrap of meat!" He chuckled, not noticing she was eyeing him quizzically. "I love this. I've never done this before."
"Really?" She shook off her unease; just because they'd grown up differently was no reason to be weird around him. "My father and I used to do this all the time."
"We do too, sometimes." Sora called from his perch. He grinned lazily when Kovu turned to look at him in surprise. "Wherever you go, looking up at the stars is a great way to pass the time."
Kairi giggled. "Unless it's cloudy, they're always there."
"What are the stars to you?" Kiara asked. "My father always said that the kings of the past watch over us from up in the stars."
"I like that." The red lioness sighed, tilting her head back to look up at those kings.
"I wonder if Scar's up there?"
Everyone looked up at Kovu in surprise. He obviously hadn't meant to say it aloud; he looked around after a second and shook himself, realizing they were all watching him. With a sigh, he dragged himself to his feet, walking over to a nearby stream.
"He wasn't my father or anything...but Mom's always told me that he picked me out to be his heir. He's part of me, if only a little."
Kiara's eyes softened, and she got up to follow him. "My father says that Scar had...a...a darkness, inside him, that he just couldn't control." She admitted. Kovu sighed.
"Maybe there's a darkness in me like that."
"That's okay." The dark lion looked up at Sora in surprise, as he jumped off the branch he'd claimed and landed neatly in the grass. He grinned at Kovu, trying to be reassuring. "Even if there is. Darkness can be controlled. If you know it's there, you can keep a handle on it and be just fine." His eyes twinkled as he shot a look Riku's way. "Right?"
The silver lion couldn't help a smile. Sora's faith was cheering. "It can be difficult." He admitted. "But it's possible."
"See?" Kiara gently nuzzled Kovu's chin, tucking her head underneath his and practically burying her nose in his mane. "So don't worry about it. I'm sure you could control it."
Obviously he wasn't as sure as she was, because he pulled away, turning his back. "All my life-" He began, but couldn't finish. He shook his head and kept walking, away from everyone else. "Never mind."
"Should we go after him?" Roxas whispered. Kiara shook her head.
"You guys stay here." Was her answer. "I'll go after him."
I'm stuck on the final battle of this bloody place. THE FINAL BATTLE. So I'm not sure whether I'll have it done for next week or not. God willing. -crosses fingers-
Hope to see you again in a week!
Love,
Ivy J.