Gummi
It took several hours after leaving Twilight Town, during of which they also had to deal with another special gate, the five heroes finally made it to the next world. Flying out of the gate, they saw the new world, which looked like a deteriorated savanna. "This place familiar to you guys?" Kirito asked Sora, who shook his head in response, "I see. In that case, Yui, give us the rundown."
"The place is called the Pride Lands." she explained, tapping away at the keyboard, "It's location is somewhere in the African wilderness."
"That explains a lot." Asuna stated, looking at the new world, "What I don't get is why does it look so deserted."
"That much is unknown for the time being." Yui answered, "But this world does have some world rules that will effect us in a way."
"What is it?" Donald asked.
"Will we get new garments, like we did in Halloween Town?" Asuna asked. Yui turned to them and shrugged, having no idea.
"Well, we won't know just standing here." Sora stated, getting to his feet, "C'mon, we got a keyhole to find!" Everyone nodded in response, got up, and walked to the transporter as Yui set it up.
"Gawrsh, wonder what kind of rules we have to follow?" Goofy asked.
"Let's find out." Kirito responded as he felt the transporter activate as Yui dove back into his pocket again. The teleportation process activated, and already Sora, Kirito and everyone else felt their bodies change as the were sent down to the world.
The crew came out of teleportation, and already they looked to one another to see what kind of world rules they had to follow. They were surprised to see that they were not humans or anthropomorphic beings, but animals now. Sora became a lion cub. Kirito became a black panther cub. Asuna transformed into a cheetah cub. Donald became a bird of some kind. Goofy turned into a turtle. And Yui, who was no longer in any pocket, became a butterfly. While Donald's, Goofy's and Yui's heads looked normal, the other three's heads changed, only their hairstyle stayed pretty much the same.
"Hey! Check us out." Sora stated, looking at his body.
"How'd this happen?!" Asuna stated, looking at her paws and body.
"I guess we were introduced to our wild side." Kirito assumed, feeling his new body and walking around a bit on all fours. He then stopped and thought of something. He focused, and his Keyblade came out from above him. He tried to grab it with his paws, but he couldn't get a good grip on it, not to mention his body made it impossible for him to walk on his hind legs. He flopped to the ground with his Keyblade. "I'll never be able to carry it like that." he moaned, trying to figure out a way to carry it.
Sora looked concerned and he tried conjuring his Keyblade. It appeared above him, and he was somehow able to grab it with his mouth. "Will this work?" Sora asked through his gritted teeth, looking at the other two.
Kirito found Sora's idea a good one, and chomped on the handle of his Oblivion, picking it up. "I guess this will have to do." he sighed through his mouth full of Keyblade.
Asuna looked at the boys, not interested in carrying her Keyblade with her mouth. She thought of something, and produced her Keyblade. However, she tried a different method; her tail. She was able to curl her tail around her Keyblade, and kept a firm grip on it. "Nice. I didn't think cheetahs have prehensile tails." she said, swishing her Keyblade around.
"They don't." Kirito told her, "You're just lucky." Asuna giggled in response as the team put their Keyblades away.
It was then that they looked around at their surroundings. They were in a chasm of some kind, with hot, green liquid flowing through cracks into pools around them, steaming upwards. The sky above them was cloudy, with no sign of the sun. Sora basically spelled it out with his next words. "This place is kinda creepy, though." he said as the five of them stood back to back. Donald and Asuna nodded in response.
Suddenly, Goofy made a noise, and they turned to see a hyena standing in front of him. They looked around, and they saw two more hyenas popping up, encircling them, with more coming from other parts, some hanging over the cliffs. "Don't look now, but I think we just fell into their lair." Kirito stated, looking at the hyenas around them. One deranged looking one started to laugh at the sight of them.
"Heartless?" Sora suggested, seeing all of the hyenas.
"I dunno, Sora." Goofy answered, "I get the feelin' they might live here."
"He's right." agreed Yui, landing on Kirito's head, "These animals aren't Heartless nor Nobodies. They are definitely part of this world."
"Don't mind us!" Donald shouted, "Just passing through. We won't be any trouble."
"Yeah, that's right!" Asuna agreed, "So why don't you just leave us alone."
"Don't be silly." One of the circling hyenas said, who's voice told it was a female, "We'd love you to stick around for lunch."
"Um...we didn't bring anything to eat." Sora stated. Kirito looked to him, wondering how stupid he could get.
"That's not gonna be a problem!" laughed the other circling hyena, who was a male.
"Sora, I think they're referring to us as 'lunch'." Kirito told him. The deranged hyena laughed and licked his chops.
Donald looked left and right, then screamed frantically as everyone took off in different directions.
Goofy was waddling as fast as he could, but his tortoise-like body made it hard for him to move fast. Donald flew away with all his might. Sora was having a hard time running on all fours, and he tripped over a crack in the floor, causing him to flip over. Asuna found it difficult to run on all fours too, but she wasn't tripping over things. Kirito wasn't having any trouble at all, and he was leaping around the hyenas avoiding them. It felt to him like he was use to being an animal, though he didn't know why. He could see, however, that the others having difficulties, but just as he was going to help them, he got surrounded by a horde of hyenas.
"Going somewhere?" the male hyenas asked, walking towards the flipped-over Sora. Donald, Goofy and Asuna were being cornered by a pack of hyenas. Kirito pulled out his Keyblade, and tried swishing it at the hyenas. He found it hard to swinging his weapon around like this. The male hyena that stood in front of Sora was about to take a bite at him when they heard a loud roar off in the distance. This drew all of the hyenas' attention. "Man, that Scar's got the worst timing." grumbled the male hyena.
"Just let him roar." the female hyena told him.
"Nah, we better go see what he wants." he said, "Sounds like he's grumpy enough already." The female sighed and agreed. The group of hyenas left them alone and took off through the chasm, and disappeared from sight.
Sora, Kirito and the others gathered together again. "I dunno what that was about, but I'm glad it's over!" Sora said in relief. Donald and Goofy sighed in relief.
"That was almost gonna get ugly." Asuna stated.
"Man, fighting with my weapon has gotten harder now." Kirito stated.
"And everything's harder on four legs..." moaned Sora.
"We better start practicing then!" Asuna suggested. Donald nodded in response.
"I found a trick to it." Goofy stated to Sora, "Here lemme show ya."
For the next fifteen minutes, the team were getting use to fighting and walking in their new forms. Kirito was already use to walking, but it took him some time before getting the swordplay right, same went for Asuna and Sora. Goofy figured out that he could spin himself like a top to move faster around, and he used his shield on top of his shell. Donald was getting better at flying, and held his staff with his talons.
"I think I got the hang of this." Asuna stated as she jabbed right through a rock with her Keyblade at tail.
Kirito gripped his Oblivion tight in his jaws, and slashed right through the rock that Asuna punctured, causing it to fall sideways. "Could use more practice, but I think I got it." said Kirito, putting away his Keyblade.
"Then lets get moving!" declared Sora as Donald and Goofy gathered around him. Asuna and Kirito nodded in response. Yui, who was sitting on a rock, flew onto Kirito's back, and nested herself in his fur before they took off.
For a while there were high sheer cliffs all around the pathway, yet no hyenas in sight. There were also bones of animals spread throughout the floor, apparently gnawed on by the hyenas. Afterwards, they made it out of there, and into a rocky area full of large skeletons that looked like certain animals.
"Are these...elephant bones?" asked a nervous Asuna, eying one of the skeletons.
"We must be in one of those elephant graveyards I read about." assumed Kirito. Donald and Goofy both gave nervous moans as they looked around. The place looked void of life, or so they thought.
They heard something, and they turned to see a young, female lioness leaping away from two large, boney Heartless. She roared at them, and took off, with the two in pursuit. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Sora asked.
"Heartless?" Donald guessed.
"What do we do?" asked Goofy.
"What do you think?" Kirito responded sarcastically, producing his Keyblade and grabbing it with his jaws. He, Sora, and Asuna ran off to chase after them. They bypassed the two Heartless and swerved around to stop them from attacking the lioness.
"Stay back!" Sora told her as Donald and Goofy came up to meet them. Yui leapt off of Kirito as the five heroes charged in at the two large Heartless.
The Heartless, to which Yui described as 'Living Bones', were pretty tough, producing shockwaves and ramming them with their large bodies. Fortunately, Sora was either stupid, crazy or crafty enough to figure out that he was able to leap on top of one and use it like a rodeo bull, making it attack the other with ramming and shockwaves. He then flipped into the air, and sent it hurdling head first into the ground, destroying its head. It was still able to fight without its' head, but it was blind, so it was easy to take care of from then. The team wiped out the Heartless.
They gathered together after they finished. "That wasn't too hard." Kirito sided as he put away his Keyblade.
The lioness came in from behind them. "Thank you." she said, "You really saved me."
The group turned to meet her.
"We're just glad you're okay." Goofy replied.
"Are you ok?" Yui asked, looking from one side of the lioness' body to the other, "Are you hurt at all?" The lioness shook her head, implying she was ok.
"Did you see any other Heartless around here?" Sora asked her.
"Heartless..." she echoed, "Is that what they're called? I'm not sure if there are any others. I don't usually hunt outside the Pride Lands."
"So were still outside the Pride Lands." Asuna assumed, looking around. It didn't look like a prideful place to him.
"Hey, do you know if a guy named Riku is there?" Sora asked, walking up to her, "Or some bad guys in black hoods? Or maybe this really big bully named Pete?"
"Easy on the twenty questions, Sora." Kirito told him, walking up to his side, then he whispered, "We don't know if they transformed like we did or not."
The two wildcats looked to the lioness, who shook her head to Sora's questions. Sora sighed then turned to the others. "Oh well, we might as well go take a look, anyway." he told them. The team nodded in response.
"Wait, the Pride Lands are dangerous." the lioness warned them, "Scar and the hyenas have made things unbearable for everyone. There's no food left. They've driven off the prey. We're about to starve."
"That's horrible." Asuna gasped, hearing her story. The lioness turned away from them.
"Hey, we have been through quite a few battles, and come out all right. We should be fine." Kirito assured her.
"We can handle a little danger." Sora stated as he and Kirito walked up to her, "You just saw us beat those Heartless, didn't you?"
The lioness couldn't deny the battle she saw the guys overcome. "I guess you're right..." she agreed, then she thought of something, "You could be just what the kingdom needs. Maybe you can help us."
"Let me guess; you want us to take on this 'Scar' beast and all those hyenas?" Asuna guessed, walking up to her.
"Scar?" Donald repeated.
"He took over when our last king, Mufasa, died." the lioness explained.
"So you're saying this guy is your king." Sora summed up, "You want us to take down your king?" The lioness nodded.
"Wait just a minute." Kirito told her, and the trio of wildcats huddled up with Donald, Goofy and Yui.
"We can't just go around knocking kings off their thrones." Asuna told them.
"Then again..." Sora cut in, coming to an idea, "If they see that I'm stronger than their king, maybe they'll ask me to be their next king!"
"Sora..." Goofy said sternly.
"I'd have to refuse, of course." Sora corrected. Kirito placed a paw on his face and sighed, not convinced of Sora's last words.
"Still, I'd like to see the Pride Lands," Sora said, looking to the lioness, "So you guys don't mind lending 'em a paw, do you?" Sora didn't wait for an answer, for he dashed over to the lioness again.
"Uh-oh, there he goes again..." Donald groaned.
"Doesn't he ever take things seriously?" Kirito asked Donald and Goofy. They shook their heads. Kirito turned to Asuna, who shrugged in a 'lets just deal with it' way.
They saw Sora talk to the lioness, who nodded in response, then dashed right passed them. "She's gonna go on ahead and tell the other lionesses." Sora explained to them as he walked over, "We're supposed to meet her at a place called Pride Rock." He led the group forward through the graveyard, and finally out of it, catching up with the lioness.
The savanna, which was vast, was void of life. The sun wasn't shining here either, the few trees around them were bare, and the ground was just as dead of plant life. However, what wasn't dead were all the Heartless that impeded their path as they were dashing towards the large rock formation in the distance. There were Shadows, Soldiers, Living Rocks, Living Bones, and even some new ones for which Yui described as Ariel Knockers.
They manage to make it to Pride Rock, which was a majestic rock formation. There were lionesses sleeping around here and there as they passed. Kirito assumed that Pride Rock must be their home, hence the word 'pride'. As they walked forward, they saw the lioness they had met before walk down to them, with a hairy baboon that carried a walking stick right next to her. They walked right up to the five of them.
"That's him." the lioness said, directing the baboon's attention to Sora.
The baboon got close to Sora's face, eying him. "Uh...what?" Sora asked, kind of feeling awkward. The baboon then looked to Kirito, Asuna, Goofy, and finally Donald. The lionesses resting from the side perked up when they saw the baboon look at them. He then turned back to the lioness, and whispered something in her ear. Based on her expression, Kirito assumed it wasn't good news. The other lionesses also looked sad, and rested once more.
"What is it?" Sora asked.
"I told Rafiki you might be able to help us force Scar and the hyenas out of the Pride Lands. But he says it won't work."
"Why? We're plenty strong." Kirito remarked.
The lioness shook her head. "You see, whoever saves the Pride Lands will be our next king, and he has to have the right qualities." she explained.
"Meaning..." Sora started.
"I think she means you're not cut out for the job, Sora." Goofy told him. Sora made a depressed sigh, confirming Kirito's belief that Sora still wanted to be king.
"I'm sorry you came all this way." the lioness told them.
"Hey, no. It's ok." Sora assured her.
"Well, we should at least tell each other our names." Asuna stated, "I'm Asuna. He's Sora, and that's Kirito, Yui, Donald and Goofy." All of them nodded in response to their name.
"I'm Nala." the lioness told them, coming up close and lowering her head so her voice wouldn't carry, "You'd better go before Scar finds out you're here. I'm really sorry."
"Don't worry about it." Kirito replied as he turned to leave, "We'll be on our way."
They were just about to leave when three familiar hyenas impeded their path. At the same time, three other hyenas came up from behind them. The heroes glared at the enemies and looked ready to fight them.
"Hey, a snack." said the male hyena.
"Snack? Naw, we got us a five course meal." the female corrected as the deranged hyena laughed.
"Don't bite off more than you can chew." Asuna warned them, preparing to strike.
Suddenly, a roar resounded around them. "Look at that, here comes Scar; the king." The group turned to see to lions standing at the end of Pride Rock. One had dark brown fur with a black mane, and a scar over one of his eyes. The other had brown and black fur, with a face that was too familiar to them. It was Pete's face.
"Seems like Pete's here, too!" growled Kirito, seeing the familiar face.
Scar dashed over and leaped down the rocky side to them, and slowly crept towards them. Pete however, wasn't as graceful with his footwork, and halfway down he slipped and fell on his side. The heroes grimaced at the failure of a landing Pete's performed. "My back..." Pete moaned.
"What are you doing here?!" demanded Sora as Kirito and Asuna came to his side.
"Aww, the cute li'l kitty's worried about me." Pete sassed at them, "If I were you, I'd be more worried about my friends!" The trio turned to see Donald and Goofy getting circled by the hyenas.
"Sora! Kirito! Asuna!" Donald shouted.
"Were surrounded!" wailed Goofy.
"Go on, ladies, you've got some hunting to do." Scar told Nala and the lionesses.
"The herds have moved on, Scar." Nala retorted, "We can't hunt in a land with no prey."
"No prey? Then what do you call this?" Scar asked, turning to the heroes.
"We're not prey!" spat Sora.
"We're your worst nightmare!" Kirito warned him.
"Oh. Nice and fresh, too." Scar said, not even worried about Kirito's words.
"Well, they're all yours, Scar." Pete told him, and he ran off. Sora, Kirito and Asuna looked prepared for a fight.
Scar was about to pounce on them when Nala leapt in, pinning Scar down. "Run!" she shouted to them. Kirito looked around, and knew when he needed to flee.
"I'll get us out of here!" Kirito declared, producing his Keyblade and charging at the hyenas. Thanks to all that special training, he slashed right through the horde of hyenas, leading the team out of there.
Nala left Scar and ran towards them. "Follow me!" Nala shouted, and she led the crew away from Pride Rock. As they walked through the savannah, they stopped to catch their breath. "I'm sorry I got you involved in this." she said apologetically.
"It's no big deal." Sora replied.
"Hey, it's not your fault." Yui assured her, flying out of Kirito's fur, "If you ask me, Sora's foolishness wouldn't make him a good king."
"Hey! I had to give it a try, right?" Sora responded.
"So you DID want to be king!" Goofy accused him.
"Why am I not surprised?" Kirito sighed.
"Well...you know..." muttered Sora.
Sora immediately tried to change the subject a bit. "Uh, Nala, isn't there anybody else who could be king?" he asked the lioness.
"There was," she answered, "But he died... when he was just a cub. He was the son of our last king, Mufasa." She then sighed as she muttered, "If only Simba were here..."
"Simba?!" exclaimed Sora, causing Kirito and Asuna to look surprised, "But Simba's just fine! He was fighting right beside us not that long ago."
Nala looked shocked and amazed at hearing this bit of news. "You mean Simba's alive?!" she asked, "But where is he?"
"That... I don't know." Sora answered.
"Still...Simba's alive!" Nala stated, "I can't believe it..."
"Hey, Goofy." whispered Asuna as they were talking, "One question; does Simba know about four-legged Sora, or two-legged Sora?"
"Oh, he knows Sora, along with other worlds." Goofy told her.
"Gotcha, so like Mushu." Asuna finished, and she whispered what she found out to Kirito and Yui.
"...But first, we should get away from Scar." Nala stated, "We'll go through Wildebeest Valley. He won't follow us there."
"Gotcha." Kirito answered after hearing Asuna's words. Nala led the group through the Pride Lands towards the valley. As they ran, Kirito saw some green leaves and flower petals flowing in the wind towards Pride Rock. Well, at least there's still some hope for this land. he thought as he ran with the group.
The team made their way towards the valley when they were impeded by a deep trench. The heroes looked down it. They couldn't see the bottom. "Woah..." Sora gasped, emphasizing what was on everyone's mind.
Nala, however, wasn't perturbed by this. She backed away a few steps, and took a running leap over the trench, and made it to the other side. "Wow!" the group gasped.
Nala turned and saw the concerns on the guy's face from a distance. "What's wrong?" she asked.
"We're never gonna make it." Sora shouted back.
"Yeah, I don't think we can leap that far over." Kirito stated.
He looked to his side where Asuna should've been, but she wasn't there. Instead, she was backing up and, using her cheetah speed, made a fast dash and leaped over the trench, over to the other side. Kirito stood opened-mouthed as Asuna flicked the hair out of her eyes and looked at the crew. "Scaredy-cats." she taunted.
Yui flew out of Kirito's fur. "Donald, let's fly over to mama and Nala." she suggested to Donald. The two flew over to the other side without any trouble.
Nala saw the trio right next to her, then she looked up at Sora, Kirito and Goofy and sighed. "I guess Rafiki was right." she muttered, indicating Sora.
"Of course he was." Asuna agreed.
"What?" shouted Sora.
"Never mind." Nala dismissed, "It's not important."
"Guys, I'll show you how to do it." Asuna told them.
"You can do it!" cheered Yui.
Asuna and Nala explained how to do a better dash to them, and through her instructions, Sora and Kirito managed to work out how to leap over the trench. Goofy decided to also make a spinning leap over, causing him to hover over the trench and make it to the other side. Once the team made it to the other side, they continued on.
Kirito, now mastering his newfound dashing speed, started to race across the valley, and he even found ways of drifting through corners. However, he completely forgotten about the Heartless, and saw a few of them coming in his way. He tried to stop, but his speed caused him to skid across the ground, toppling the group of Heartless like a bunch of bowling pins. Massaging his head, he turned to see the Heartless dazed by his attack. "Well, I guess that's one way to do it." he stated as Sora, Asuna and the other came in and knocked down the dazed Heartless. He decided to take things slow as he walked along with the others, dealing with all the Heartless that impeded their path.
As they walked Nala started to tell them stories about Mufasa and Simba. "When Simba's father, King Mufasa, died, we were told that Simba died alongside him." Nala explained to them.
"Who told you that?" Sora asked.
"Scar." Nala answered.
"And you believed him? After all that he put you through?" Kirito asked. Asuna nudged him so as not to sound rude.
Just then, they heard footsteps, and they turned to see Rafiki coming out of nowhere, walking up a small ridge right next to them. "It is time." he stated, waving his stick towards the end of Wildebeest Valley. The heroes were quite confused with what he meant, but Nala figured it out.
"It must be Simba!" she exclaimed, "Everyone! Hurry!" She dashed on ahead, with Asuna keeping up with her.
"Wait up!" Sora shouted as he and the other followed from behind.
"I'm starting to get a bit jealous that Asuna's the fast cat in our group." Kirito stated to Sora, who smiled in amusement.
The team were dashing through the valley as the sky started to get bright, and the sun started to show itself, they swerved along with the path, taking out the Heartless they met. They started to see a jungle oasis off in the distance. "Finally, someplace full of life." Asuna stated as she took out a new Heartless called a Shaman. The team raced through the pathway, and finally made it to the jungle. Nala was also surprised that this place that it was still full of life, and she decided to part ways with them so as to hunt food. The others dashed on ahead, running through the jungle, where there were an abundance of Heartless scattered everywhere. There were even Shamans that rode headless Living Bones, which proved to be a bit more difficult. They worked their way through them, gathered some dropped items, and continued forward.
They made it to an oasis part of the jungle where they stopped to see a group of Ariel Knockers surrounding a male lion. He looked around the same age as Nala, blond fur and he had reddish-light brown mane. "Looks like he could use some help." indicated Kirito, about to step forward, but Sora stopped him.
"Don't worry." he answered, "He's got this." Kirito looked confused for a second, then he realized that this lion must be Simba.
He turned and watched as one of the Heartless drew in closer. Simba made a resounding roar to the group around him. This caused the Heartless to get scared and disappear in a blink of an eye. Once the coast was clear, Sora and the other raced towards him.
"Simba!" he called out, getting the lion's attention. He hunched down, ready to attack them. Kirito, Asuna and Yui stayed back while the other three came closer. "I-it's me, Sora!" he told him, "Donald and Goofy are here, too."
Simba walked to them and looked at the trio, and suddenly realized who they were. "Sora! Donald! Goofy!" he exclaimed in pleasure. He pounced on top of Sora in a playful way, glad to see his friend. Donald and Goofy laughed at him. Asuna and Yui joined in the laughter while Kirito smiled in amusement.
"What happened to you?" he asked Sora, seeing Sora's body.
"The world's rule changed their body to what you see them as." Yui answered, flying over to Simba, who noticed the newcomers.
"Don't worry, their friends of ours." Sora assured Simba as he got off of him, "That's Yui. The other two are Kirito and Asuna."
"Nice to meet you." Kirito said to Simba, bowing slightly. Asuna waved a paw at him.
"Great to meet you, too." Simba replied. Kirito couldn't help but admire him slightly, after how he scared off the Heartless.
Suddenly, the group heard a couple of screams coming from in the jungle. "Help! Simba! Heeelp!" someone shouted.
"She's gonna eat us!" cried out the other voice.
"Timon? Pumbaa?!" Simba shouted back. No response. "Something must have happened in the jungle!" Simba assumed, "I have to go help my friends!"
"Okay, we'll back you up!" Sora told him, and the group dashed into the jungle once more.
When they got there, they saw Nala walking towards a meerkat and a warthog, who were cowering in a corner. She was about to pounce on them when Simba leapt in, knocking her over. The two lions then began to brawl with the others watching from the sidelines.
"Simba! Wait!" Sora shouted. Simba wasn't hearing Sora as he was fighting Nala.
"Stop!" shouted Donald.
"That lioness is Nala!" Asuna cried out, "Don't you recognize her?"
The two lions kept fighting, rolling about until Nala finally pinned Simba down to the ground. At this moment, Simba finally recognized who he was fighting with. "Nala?" he questioned. Nala, surprised that he knew her name, got off him and backed away as Simba got up. "It's me, Simba!" he told her. Nala took a good look at her, and got excited. The two circled each other, exchanging words of pleasure.
"Hey! What's going on here?!" the meerkat asked as he and the warthog watched the the two realized that Sora, Kirito and the others were right behind them. They slowly turned and, after seeing three wildcats behind them, panicked and ran off. The meerkat hid behind Simba's paws while the warthog tried curling himself up over to one side.
"Don't worry. They're all friends of mine." Simba assured the meerkat at his feet.
"So that means...nobody's panning to eat anybody else for lunch, right?" the meerkat summed up. The heroes nodded in response.
"Are you sure they don't wanna eat me like I'm some kinda pig?!" moaned the warthog.
"We won't..." Sora answered. "...but you are a pig, right?" Kirito asked.
"Call me Mr. Pig!" the warthog snapped, turning to them. Everyone laughed at the warthog.
Once they stopped laughing, Simba bent down to the meerkat and asked, "Could you guys excuse us for a few minutes?"
"Why am I not surprised?" the meerkat sighed. Simba and Nala walked off, having things they needed to discuss.
"So, if you guys are Simba's friends, then which one of you is Timon and which is Pumba?" Kirito asked.
"I'm Timon. He's Pumba." the meerkat answered, addressing himself and the warthog.
"Nice to meet you." Sora greeted them, "I'm Sora, and this is Kirito, Asuna, Donald, Goofy and Yui." each of them waved to the twosome.
"Ooh, lookie there. A snack!" Pumba said, looking as Yui.
"You try doing so, and you will be the our lunch." Asuna growled at Pumba, causing him to shakily step back from her and Yui.
"Sorry." he said to Yui.
"It's ok." she replied, waking it off, "You shouldn't worry about it."
"You mean 'Hakuna Matata'." Timon corrected her.
"Hakuna Matata?" Donald echoed.
"Yeah, it means 'no worries'." Timon answered him, "It's something that we taught Simba. Look, bad things happen, and you can't do anything about it, right?"
"I guess so." Kirito answered.
"Wrong!" punctuated Timon, "When the world turns it back on you, you turn your back on the world."
"That doesn't solve anything." Asuna stated.
"Simply put, you gotta put your behind in your past." Pumba stated.
"No, no, no. It's 'you gotta put your past behind ya'." quoted Timon.
"Oh, I get it!" said Sora, realizing what he meant. Kirito, however, wasn't too fond of such things.
"I'm gonna go get some water." he told them, turning to leave.
"Let me come with you." Asuna said as she and Yui came to his side. The trio walked away from the group.
"Jeez, what's his problem?" Timon asked the others.
"Nothing. That's just how he is at times." Sora answered.
"I'm sure they mean well with what they're saying." Kirito said, "But there are some things in the past you can never put behind." He thought about all the things that happened to him and Asuna during SAO and ALO.
"I know." Asuna agreed, "There just going by the old saying 'ignorance is bliss'."
Kirito led the other to the oasis, where Simba and Nala were talking about things. He didn't want to hear them, and walked along the log. "To me, the past maybe troublesome, and at times you should let go of it." Kirito stated, walking with one paw at a time over the log, "However, all the troubles and tribulations you go through can make you stronger."
He got to the other side along with Asuna and Yui as he continued, "Think about it; if it hadn't been for that two year long experience in SAO, we wouldn't have met, and neither would I have met all my friends." Asuna and Yui smiled at him, grateful for that incident.
"There's always a silver lining in everything, right?" Asuna asked him.
"And the silver lining in rescuing mama is that we got to meet Leafa and Recon." Yui added.
"And I got to see your papa be a total badass when defeating Sugou." Asuna added.
Kirito faltered a bit, embarrassed at the praise given to him by Asuna, before responding, "Well, I'll try to be a badass again, this time around, when we beat Gouxus for good."
The trio drank up some water, looked around the oasis for a bit, and found more torn pages to Pooh's storybook. They would give it to Sora later on. They also noticed that Simba's and Nala's conversation wasn't going that well, though they didn't want to get in closer to hear.
After a while, they saw Timon leading Sora and the others in a conga line of sorts as they came out of the jungle. "Hakuna!" Timon quoted. "Matata!" the others replied as they followed him. Kirito and Asuna looked to each other, and rolled their eyes in unison. Their friends really were carefree.
As they came up to the group, Nala was walking away from Simba, who walked off on his own. "He's not the Simba I remember." she scoffed as she passed by the group, "Something about Hakuna Matata..." She walked into the jungle and disappeared.
"Why doesn't she like Hakuna Matata?" Timon asked, "It's a wonderful phrase!"
"You guys just don't understand." Kirito said to them, "There are flaws in what you believe in."
"Well, we should at least try to cheer Simba up." Sora suggested, looking to see Simba looking out over the cliff. The group agreed and they wandered over to him. However, Simba merely passed by them and walked into the jungle.
For the rest of the day, they didn't see Simba. They did find Nala, however, and Asuna reassured her that they'll straighten this whole thing out, even though she didn't really know how. Nala had faith in the five heroes, and decided she'll stay in the jungle for the time being. In the meantime, Kirito decided to take a catnap. All that he went through that day really wore him and the others out. The team rested for some time.
Kirito was the first of the group to wake. He saw that night had fallen, and the skies were clear, so the stars were shining. He slowly got up and silently walked around the others, deciding to take a stroll in the jungle. He wandered around for a while until he made it to the grassy plains, looking at the stars. They seem to make him at ease as they twinkled above him. He looked forward, and noticed someone ahead of him. Getting closer, he saw Simba pacing back and forth, muttering to himself. Kirito hid himself close to where Simba was at.
"My father's dead." Simba stated, "And it's because of me... It's my fault. I can't go back... It won't change anything." Kirito looked at him as he looked up at the stars. He wondered what Simba could've done that would make him believe his father's death was his fault. "You said you'd always be there for me!" Simba shouted to the stars, "But you're not... It's because of me. It's my fault." He looked pretty sad as he looked down in shame. Suddenly, he heard somebody chanting, and so did Kirito. They looked towards the jungle and saw the image of a baboon shaking the branches in the trees. Kirito recognized it was Rafiki. He came down, swinging on a low branch as he continued to chant, which disturbed Simba.
"Come on, can you cut it out?" he moaned to the baboon.
"Can't cut it out! It grow right back!" Rafiki answered as he came down to Simba, then he started to laugh. Kirito watched as Simba tried walking away, but Rafiki kept pursuing him.
"Will you stop following me?" Simba told to Rafiki, "Who are you?"
"The question is who are you?" Rafiki responded.
Simba tried to answer, but he closed his mouth an exhaled deeply. "I thought I knew." he answered, "Now I'm not so sure."
"Well I know who you are." Rafiki responded, "You're Mufasa's boy." Simba looked astonished that he was able to know such a thing.
"You knew my father?" Simba asked him.
"Correction, I know your father." Rafiki answered. Simba looked at him, then he sighed.
"I hate to tell you this, but he died a long time ago." Simba told him.
"Nope. Wrong again!" Rafiki retaliated, side stepping Simba as he went to the edge of the jungle, "He's alive, and I'll show him to you. You follow old Rafiki. He knows the way." He then dashed into the jungle, with Simba in pursuit. Kirito followed swiftly and silently behind the two of them.
The trio raced through the jungle until they arrived back at the oasis again. Kirito dashed into the bushes, where he spied on them as Rafiki beckoned Simba over to the water's edge. He looked up at the spot where his friends should've been sleeping, but they weren't there. He then felt a paw tapping his back, and he turned to see Asuna and Sora standing there, with Yui, Donald, Goofy, Timon, Pumba, and even Nala standing there. Asuna shushed him, and pointed to the scene before them, and the group watched.
Simba looked down into the water, but saw nothing but his mirror image in the pool. "That's not my father." Simba moaned, turning away, "That's just my reflection."
"No. Look harder." Rafiki told him, and he waved to the waved to the water, which rippled as Simba looked into it. Suddenly a different lion appeared in his reflection. His father's face. "You see? He lives in you." Rafiki said to the astonished Simba.
"Simba..." echoed a deep voice. Simba turned towards the cliffside, and saw a swirling of clouds gathering in the sky.
"Father?" he asked, racing to the edge and looking into the sky. The group of spies couldn't see anything, so they slowly crept out to Rafiki's side and stared into the sky as the ghostly image of a lion appeared in the clouds.
"Simba... you have forgotten who you are." the lion said to Simba, "You must take your place in the Circle of Life."
"How can I go back?" retorted Simba, "I'm not who I used to be."
"Remember who you are." the lion responded, who's body almost looked like it became alive, "You are my son, and the one true king. Remember who you are." The ghost started to disappear as he continued to echo 'remember', until he finally disappeared. Simba dashed forward as he looked into the sky, watching his father's image disappear, and the sky turned clear.
For a while, there was silence, then he spoke, "You can all come out now." The group came out of the shadows, encircling Simba.
"What was that?!" exclaimed Rafiki, parting through the group as he was trying to be oblivious to what they just saw, "The weather. Pppwe! Very paculiar don't you think?"
"Yeah." agreed Simba, "Looks like the winds are changing."
"Ah, yes. Change is good." Rafiki quoted as Kirito came to his side, nodding in agreement.
"Yeah, but it's not gonna be easy." Simba stated, "I know what I have to do. But going back means I'll have to face my past. I've been running from it for so long."
Kirito sighed and looked to Rafiki. "Mind if I borrow this?" he asked, grabbing Rafiki's staff. He then jumped up and whacked it on top of Simba's head, surprising everyone.
"Ow! Jeez, what was that for?!" cried Simba, rubbing his head as Kirito spat out the stick.
"Why should you care? It's in the past!" Kirito responded.
"Yeah, but it still hurts." Simba moaned as he rubbed his head.
"Of course it hurts." Kirito scolded him, "Believe me, I know. But what matters is how you deal with it. Are you gonna run from it, or are you gonna learn from it?"
Everyone started to see the point Kirito was making. Asuna saw that Kirito was starting to see a bit of himself in Simba, so he had to knock some sense into him. Rafiki grinned and nodded with what Kirito was saying. Simba had to think about what Kirito was saying, then he looked to him. "Thanks. I needed that." Simba said to Kirito, who smirked in response. He then turned to the crowd as he said, "I'm going back to face my past. I could use your help." Sora and the others nodded in agreement. Nala looked happy at Simba's answer.
"He really is a king..." muttered Timon. The sun started to rise behind Simba, showing him off in a proud way.
A light shined from above Kirito, and down came a Keyblade keychain, which landed in front of him. Instead of chain links, it was a vine, with an emblem of what looked like a lion head on the end.
"That's the 'Circle of Life' Keyblade." Yui explained, looking at it. Kirito picked it up, deciding to take it. Sora and Asuna weren't complaining.
"Well, what are we waiting for?" Sora asked as Kirito put the keychain away, "Let's go!" The group cheered in response as Sora, Simba and Kirito led the group out of the oasis and through the jungle, going back to the Pride Lands once more.
As they dashed through the wastelands and Wildebeest Valley, Kirito noticed just how well Simba fought. His fighting skills as a lion were really good, with his spinning claws and his powerful roars. He fought really well against all the Heartless as they pressed through the path.
It took a while, but they made it back to the savannah. Simba crawled up to a high place and looked out to the land, gasping at the devastation it faced. "It's horrible, isn't it?" Nala said, coming to Simba's side.
"Wait a minute. We're gonna fight your uncle for THIS?" Timon asked, seeing the savannah.
"Yes, Timon." Simba answered, "This is my home." Timon grumbled a little, but he decided not to worry about it too much as he and everyone else got down and raced through the Pride Lands.
As they got closer to the side of Pride Rock, they rounded the corner, and noticed a horde of hyenas resting, impeding their path. "Hyenas. I hate hyenas." moaned Timon, then he whispered, "So what's your plan for getting past these guys?"
"Live bait." Simba answered.
"Good idea...hey!" Timon muttered, realizing that he and Pumba were suppose to be the bait.
"Come on, Timon." Kirito encouraged him, "You guys have to create a diversion."
"What do you want me to do, dress in drag and do the hula?" Timon suggested.
Moments later, "Luau!" shouted Timon, dressed in a hawaiian look, with Pumba sitting there with an apple in his mouth, and the two went through, what Kirito thought, an embarrassing song and dance routine. However, it drew the hyenas in, causing the others to slip by. As they rounded the corner, they heard Timon and Pumba's routine end, and then they started to scream as they were chased off by the hyenas.
"I need to make a mental block of that scene." Kirito muttered to Asuna, who was suppressing the urge to burst out laughing.
As the group went to Pride Rock, the team split up; Simba went up the side while the others went down the middle, going towards the lionesses. There were still more hyena here. The sky started to turn stormy, and lightning started to glow in the clouds. Scar was perched at the top of Pride Rock when he turned and saw Simba standing at the top of the hill, glaring down at him. Scar cringed in fright as he started backing away as Simba leapt down at him. "Simba! You're...alive!" Scar gasped in fright.
"This kingdom doesn't belong to you." Simba growled at him as the others made their way behind Simba.
"Simba's the rightful king." Nala shouted.
Scar backed himself into a corner as Simba moved forward. "The choice is yours, Scar." he warned him, "Either step down or fight."
Scar looked to where he was at, but he still had a trump card. "Must this all end in violence?" he asked Simba, sidestepping him, "I'd hate to be responsible for the death of a family member, Simba..."
"I've put the past behind me." Simba growled.
"But what about your faithful subjects?" Scar asked, eying Sora, Kirito and the others, "Have they?"
"Simba, what's he talking about?" Nala asked Simba.
"Go on." Scar told Simba, coming to his side, "Tell them who's responsible for Mufasa's death!"
Simba looked nervous and sad, but he finally sighed, "I am." Everyone, apart from Kirito since he heard it before, was startled at this. Simba killed his father?
Scar started to back him off towards the end of Pride Rock. "You see, he admits it! Murderer!" he taunted, "If it weren't for you, Mufasa would still be alive. Do you deny it?"
"No! But it was an accident!" defended Simba.
"You're in trouble again." Scar taunted still, "But this time, Daddy isn't her to save you. And now everyone knows why!" Suddenly, Simba's back paws slipped off the end of Pride Rock, and he managed to hold on with his front paws as he hanged there.
"Simba!" shouted Nala, Sora and Asuna. A fork of lightning shot out of the sky and shot at some dried bushes, which started to burn. Smoke came up to meet them as Scar got to where Simba struggled to get back up.
"Now this looks familiar. I think I've seen this before." Scar said amusingly, "Oh yes! I remember. This is just the way your father looked...before he died." Scar then dug his claws into Simba's claws as he got in closer. "And here's my little secret..." he said to Simba, bending in close so he could whisper, "I killed Mufasa."
This news infuriated Simba, and with one leap he got back up on the platform again and pounced on top of Scar, pressing his front paws into his neck. "Murderer!" he accused Scar, causing the others to gasp in surprise, "Tell them the truth!"
"All right. All right!" Scar gasped, "I did it."
"Louder!" roared Simba.
"I killed Mufasa." Scar's voice boomed throughout Pride Rock.
The hyenas went to work, about to attack Simba, but the lionesses blocked them, and they started to quarrel with one another. Even Rafiki joined the battle, and he was like a kung-fu master out there! The trio of hyenas the heroes had to deal with came out of the cave and attacked Simba, knocking him off of Scar so that he could escape into the cave.
The three hyenas surrounded Simba, blocking him from going. "Simba!" shouted Sora as he, Kirito and Asuna got into the middle with him, "You get Scar! We'll handle these guys!" Simba nodded and took off after Scar as more hyenas came to join the trio.
Just then, Pumba came charging out of nowhere, with Timon on top. "`Scuse me! Pardon me! Comin' through! Hot stuff!" Timon shouted as Pumba bowled right through the hyenas. Timon got off Pumba, and the two looked from side to side, saw that they were still surrounded by hyenas and ran off, with the trio of hyenas leading the remainder of the pack in pursuit.
Kirito's eyes went vicious as he charged at the pack, and knocked them out of the way, leaving the trio who went into the cave. "Come on!" he shouted, and he led the group, along with Nala, into the cave.
Inside, he found the three hyenas cornering Pumba and Timon into a corner. The team dashed in and stood between the two friends and the hyenas. "Goofy! Donald! Nala! You guys protect those two!" Sora shouted, "We'll deal with this!" Sora stepped forward to the male hyena, which he was soon to know as Banzai.
"This ones mine." Asuna growled as she stepped towards the female, who was named Shenzai.
"Guess that leaves me with this one." Kirito summed up, turning to the deranged one, who was named Ed.
The trio of fights started with one another. Although the hyenas were swift, their fighting skills were a little lacking. Shenzai was the clever one of the bunch, though not as quick thinking nor as fast as Asuna. Banzai kept trying to sidestep Sora in order to get to Timon and Pumba, but Sora's skills were more than enough to stop him. Ed was just plain stupid, and he tried to do the same attack at Kirito every time, who blocked it every time and retaliated strong.
The trio of wildcats knocked back the hyenas silly until they finally left. They took off out of the cave as the group gathered once more. "Where's Simba?" Sora asked.
"He went up there." Nala answered, directing the group to the other end of the cave, which let upwards, "That leads to the peak of Pride Rock."
"Right." Kirito understood, "Nala, stay here with Timon and Pumba. We'll go see Simba." The team went up the pathway to meet Simba, ready for the final clash with Scar.
The team ran up the side of Pride Rock until they reached the top, where they saw Scar and Simba circling one another. The smoke frothed the air all around them, coming from the flames below. Simba was breathing heavily as he glared at Scar. "Simba!" Donald shouted, aiming to help him, but Kirito and Sora stopped him.
"This is his fight, Donald." Sora stated.
"Leave this battle to him." Kirito added.
The group watched as the two made a lunge for one another, swiping each other at the face. One of Scar's swipes knocked Simba away onto his back. Simba looked and saw Scar about to pounce him, but he used his hind legs to push him through mid pounce, causing him to fall off the edge and scream as he fell down. Simba raced towards the edge to see him fall. It looked like the battle was Simba's victory.
"You're okay!" shouted Sora as he and the others raced towards him.
"You defeated Scar!" cheered Asuna. Simba turned to his friends, sighed in relief, believing it was over.
"Aw, that was just a sneak preview!" chuckled a deep voice, "Cause this ain't over-not by a long shot!" The team turned to see Pete come up to meet them.
"Why? You just feelin' like a sore loser?" Asuna asked, glaring at him.
Pete laughed and pointed a paw to the spot Scar fell over. The team turned and saw, to their astonishment, Scar's paw rising up to meet them once again. He was alive! "Anger and jealousy turned the king of Pride Rock into a Heartless!" Pete explained as the group saw Scar leaping up to meet them, a black aura surrounding his body, "Oh, your kingdom's gonna rise again. But this time, as the Pride Lands of Darkness!" Simba backed away as the sky turned eerie around them.
"That's what you think!" he growled as the group gathered to face Scar, now a Heartless.
The battle ensued, and the team went off in pairs; Asuna and Donald, Kirito and Goofy, and Sora and Simba. The team did their best to try attacking Scar, but he was enduring and incredibly fast. Even Asuna was having a hard time avoiding his speedy attacks. He tried pouncing on top of Kirito, and the two started to roll around until Kirito finally shrugged him off, and slicing him with a flurry of attacks.
He then started to do techniques which he would've not had if he wasn't a Heartless. He started to produce Fire magic around him, and even his leaps produced flames where ever he touched, causing serious trouble for the group. He kept leaping from every angle, almost impossible to hit. "This guy's fierce!" Sora muttered as they fought, making a slash at Scar, only to be repelled by the flames.
They waited for moments when he paused in his attacks before striking, but he was still pretty enduring, and kept on going. He also changed tactics where every leap he made, he made a trail of lightning strikes through his leap, keeping everyone at bay. Asuna kept from a distance and tried firing Blizzard attacks when he slowed down, but it still wasn't enough to stop him. "Ah, just fall already!" Kirito shouted through his Keyblade as he attempted to strike, only to be shocked by the electricity.
It was pretty obvious that they had to avoid getting hit while he was in action, and waited for the right opportunity to strike at him. It also seemed like Goofy's attacks seemed to do make him a bit more vulnerable at times, making it golden opportunities to strike. However, fiery and thunder pounces weren't Scar's only attacks. He had something far worse.
About midway through the battle, the black aura around him started to get fierce, and four black energy orbs surrounded his body. He started to charge at dashing speeds, and was even flying out the outer edge of the peak. He then would dash at the members, and he homed in on them. He knocked Sora, Donald, Goofy and Simba aside with this attack. Asuna's dashing speeds were enough to avoid getting hit. Kirito, however, kept charging at Scar every time he made a move. The two would clash, and it always ended up with Kirito getting tossed aside. In the end, Kirito's last attack on Scar's final charge knocked him out cold. He laid there, battered and bruised from the relentless assault.
"Kirito!" shouted Sora and a terrified Asuna. Donald and Goofy went to his side while Asuna went into a fierce rage, and started to do a relentless assault on Scar, not even giving him a chance to recover. Simba and Sora joint up together, and the two went into a Limit break on Scar. They leapt into the air, and slammed their paws into the ground, which caused rocks to erupt around them, damaging Scar. Then Sora and Simba started to dash towards Scar and spin in the air at him quickly, slashing furiously. Finally, Sora and Simba stood beside each other and roared loudly, creating an energy field around them that damaged Scar greatly. The combined attack of Asuna's ferocious attack and Sora's and Simba's Limit Break caused immense damage to Scar, though it wasn't enough to stop them.
Donald and Goofy had just finished restoring Kirito again. He got back to his feet again just as the others leapt back to avoid getting hit by Scar's attack. "What'd I miss?" he asked, seeing Scar still up.
"You reckless idiot!" Asuna scolded him, "Don't ever scare me like that again! Didn't you make a promise to me and Leafa about doing stuff like that?!" She turned to him, and Kirito noticed the tears in her eyes. She was that worried about him.
"...Sorry." he mumbled, getting right between Sora and Asuna as Simba made another attempt to attack Scar.
"Man, there's no end to how much he can take." complained Sora, seeing Scar still fighting strong.
"With all that running around, it's really making it a pain for us to attack him." Asuna stated, seeing Scar going into another fiery prance around the stage, damaging Simba again.
"Yui, is there anything we can do?" Sora asked the butterfly as she flew from one side.
"I think there might be a way." Yui answered, "I believe in this world, you three can undergo a unique trio Limit Break."
"We can do that?" Asuna asked, amazed. Yui nodded, then said, "But it can only work in this world, and it requires everyone's magic power."
"In that case..." Asuna started, then she pulled out two bottles of ether, and handed one to Sora. The two restored their magic power, and were ready to strike.
"Let's go!" Sora declared, and the trio closed their eyes and focused their powers together. Finally, their bodies started to glow, and they went into the Limit Break 'Beast Trinity'.
They opened their eyes, which grew fierce like animals, and they went into action. Asuna started with 'Wild Cross', in which the team focused energy onto Asuna, and she dashed at blinding speeds across the area, damaging Scar as she left a white line of energy where ever she left. Kirito was up next with 'Beast Fury', and with the focused energy power he gained, his claws grew incredibly long, and he started slashing wildly all around, damaging Scar even further. Sora ended with 'Anima Roar', in which the crew's focused energy drew Sora to unleash a roar that caused a burst of energy all around them, sending Scar flying. Finally, the team grouped together, produced their Keyblade, and grasped them with their tails. They connected the tips, and a final burst of energy came surging out, with multiple spirits of their animal forms spreading every which-way, homing on any opponent in the vicinity. In this case, it was Scar. The final move was called 'Wildcat Finale'.
There was a bright light, and the trio stood there, with Simba, Donald, Goofy and Yui at their side. In front of them, Scar was still up, slowly staggering towards them, trying to stay up. Finally, the dark aura flashed, and he toppled over, dead. The area turned back to normal around them, and the skies started to form rain, washing away all the flames and smoke from down below. The final battle was over.
The group turned to the spot Pete was standing, but he disappeared. He probably fled near the end. Sora looked to Simba, who looked back at him. Sora smirked as he said, "Let's just tell everyone you defeated him, ok?" Asuna and Kirito nodded in agreement. The last thing they needed was to mess up the world. Simba nodded in agreement, prepared to take his rightful place.
It was still raining when they came down from the peak. The fires died down, and the smoke cleared. Nala, Timon, Pumba, Rafiki and the rest of the lionesses were waiting for them. Rafiki pointed Simba towards the end of Pride Rock. The rest of the team went down to the side and looked up as Simba made his way up the rock towards the end.
He then looked up to the sky, and saw a patch of the clear night sky behind it. For a moment there, he could've sworn he heard his father's echo saying 'remember...who you are'. He paused, then let out a deafening roar to the sky. The lionesses followed suit with their roars of approval as Simba made another roar.
Then suddenly, in the sky, more swirling clouds appeared in front of Simba, and the image of his father appeared once more, this time shining with a burst of familiar light. The light parted the storm clouds as it shone down onto Simba and the rest of the land. Sora, Asuna and Kirito gathered together once more, ready to perform their task. They pointed their Keyblades downward together as they as the sky's light bursted around them. Suddenly a crown mark appeared around them, and a strange energy surged around them as the surrounding changed into a bright sky with black clouds. The light made a large keyhole appeared. The trio jumped back, flipping their Keyblades around and pointing them at the keyhole. Three beams came from their Keyblades and shot themselves at the keyhole, and a sound of a lock unlocking was produced, along with a blinding light. Suddenly everything was back to normal.
"Hey, what's with the light show?" Timon asked as he and Pumba finished watching the spectacle.
"We have to say goodbye for a little while." Sora told them.
"But we'll be back. That's a promise." Kirito added. He found his animal form quite comfortable.
"I'll go tell Simba." Pumba stated.
"Aw, he's prob'ly busy." Goofy said to him.
"Just tell him that we'll be back soon." said Asuna.
"Oh. that's right, he's king now." Timon remembered, "He's gonna be so busy he'll prob'ly forget all about his two best buddies."
"I'm sure he'll remember." Asuna assured them.
"Well, you always got Hakuna Matata, right?" Sora reminded them.
"Guess so..." Pumba answered.
"Whaddaya mean, 'Guess so'?!" cried Timon, "What if he forgets to tell the carnivores who we are? One look at you, and you're a pig roast." This did not improve the situation.
"That's MISTER Pig Roast." Donald corrected.
"Same thing!" cried a terrified Pumba, "And I'm not sticking around to be anybody's pork dinner!" He turned and ran off quickly, with Timon calling out to him and chasing after him.
"You can never forget your true buddies." Sora stated.
"That's for sure." Kirito agreed, "That's why I say that you can never leave your past behind you. Cause that's what brought you to who you are today." Everybody nodded in agreement.
Suddenly, in the sky, three Magic orbs appeared from above them, and flew down to them.
"Those are more Fire Elements." Yui explained, "With these, your fire spells will be upgraded to Fira spells."
"So our fire attacks have improved, huh?" Asuna asked as she, Kirito and Sora all absorbed their Magic orbs, "Sounds great. Can't wait to try it."
The trio looked to Simba, who walked back to Nala and Rafiki. He and Nala rubbed their heads in a loving matter, then walked into the cave. "Guess this means were off." Sora stated, "Let's go back to the adventure." Everyone nodded in agreement and, without anyone looking, they teleported out of there, back to their ship again.