Hi guys!

Well, how about all that AMAZING KH3 INFO AT E3!?

I'm not emotionally prepared for that game and I'm alright with that.

But let's get back to my KH universe, shall we.

Kingdom Hearts © to Disney and Square Enix!

Lion King 2 © to Disney!

Sasuke © to Yamichaos27!

All other OCs © to me!

Chapter 9: Pride Lands- Redemption

Xion cast Curza over Simba as he told everyone what happened. Blaze lay down, resting her head on her paws. "I can't believe Kovu would lead Simba into that trap…"

"It can't be true!" Kiara snapped at her father.

Down below Pride Rock, Simba's subjects, of all animal kinds awaited news on their king's recovery. Suddenly, voices began raising from the group below. Everyone watched as Kovu made his way up the rock, his head lowered, tail drooping, but everyone could see the new scar over his eye, a scar that looked just like Scar's.

Simba stood up, narrowing his eyes at the young lion. "Why have you come back?"

"Simba…" Kovu looked up, his eyes full of tumultuous emotion, "I had nothing to do with-"

"You don't belong here!"

"Please… I ask your forgiveness." The young lion bowed his head.

Kiara quickly moved next to her father. "Daddy, please listen to him!"

"I agree with Kiara!" Yuyake jumped up, standing beside the young lioness. "Let Kovu speak, please hear him out."

Simba never turned his eyes from Kovu. "Silence! Kovu, when you first came here you asked for judgment… and I pass it now. Exile!"

"No!"

"Kovu!" Brim and Blaze both leapt up as the lionesses began driving Kovu back.

Standing nearby, Lea and Xion looked at one another. "What should we do?"

"Xi, we didn't see what happened, so we have to respect what Simba says." the pyro sighed. The two stood there until everyone dispersed but Simba, their kids, and Kiara. "We still need to figure out why Xext is doing all this. He wants all this war, but why?"

"Good question…"

Kiara's voice shattered their thoughts as she growled at her father. "You will never be Mufasa!" She turned and ran into the den, sobbing, followed by Blaze, Yuyake, and Brim.

Simba stood still, struck by his daughter's words before he lay down, staring out across the Pride Lands. "Simba." Xion walked over. "I'm sorry."

"Why can't she understand that I'm doing this for her own safety?"

"She's a kid still. Give her time to cool off." Lea sat down. "Actually, both of you take some time and then talk it out calmly. She's angry, you're angry, no one explains anything well like that."

The king looked over at the two keybearers and sighed, "You're right. Thanks you two. By the way, did you find that Xext person?"

"We did, but he told us you needed help, so we came back."

Xion nodded. "He seemed to want this whole thing to happen. We don't know why."

"Ask Rafiki, maybe he knows."

"Thanks, Simba."

"I'm sorry Kiara…" Blaze sat down beside the lioness, wanting to give her a comforting nuzzle, but her quills made that quite dangerous. "What do we do now?"

"We go after Kovu, that's what!" Yuyake began looking up and down the walls of the den.

"But we can't go out the front and there's no back exit."

The black-furred lion laid a paw on part of the wall. "Don't be too sure." He backed up before running at the wall, just before he hit it, Yuyake jumped, all four paws landing on the wall as he pushed off. A crack. Part of the wall split open a little, allowing light to filter in. "Let's hurry before someone sees us go."

Kiara jumped to her paws, running over and shoving the crack open a little more, just enough so that she and the others could slip through and run across the plains under the cover of the setting sun.

From the shadow of a nearby tree, red and golden eyes watched, as the young white lion's tail flicked back and forth. He leapt down, smirking as a dark corridor enveloped him. "Now the fun begins…"

"Mr. Roxas, where's Maxine?"

Roxas looked up from his stack of paperwork. "She's not here yet?" He looked up at the clock. 3:48. "Hm, she was supposed to be here at 3. I'll be right back." Getting up, Roxas walked to the landline(1) and dialed in a number. "... Hey, Olette! … Yeah, just doing some paperwork. Say, Maxine was supposed to be over here almost an hour ago, do you know where she is? ...Oh, I see. Thanks." He hung up the phone, turning to the kids. "Maxine is sick apparently. She threw up this morning, so she's staying home today. Sorry kids."

"Aw… ok."

"Any sign of Kovu?"

"None. And Kiara kinda took off on her own."

Yuyake lay down among the grass and rolled over, hoping to rid himself of the annoying itch in the middle of his back. "Well, we better find her."

Blaze opened her mouth to speak, but she stopped as laughter fluttered towards them. The three looked up and saw Kovu and Kiara standing next to one another by a pool. "It's them!" They ran over to their friends, both of whom ignored them.

"Let's get out of here." Kovu nuzzled the lioness beside him. "We'll run away together! And start a pride… all our own!"

Kiara lightly laughed before shaking her head. "Kovu… we have to go back."

"You're kidding. But we're finally together!"

"Our place is with our pride. If we run away, they'll be divided forever."

Brim nodded. "Yeah, only you two can fix this mess."

Averting his eyes, Kovu stood in silence before he finally looked back up. "Race you back!"

"I don't think so." They all jumped, turning to see the white lion walking towards them. "I can't have you messing this up."

"Xext!"

Blaze's spines alighted with fire as she snarled. "Kiara, Kovu, go! We'll handle this creep!"

The two lions began to run off; Xext turned towards them, holding up a paw to freeze them with his powers, but he pulled back as a ball of fire nearly hit his paw. "Not happening!"

Brim, with a hatchet in his mouth, pawed the ground beneath him as Yuyake summoned one of his Keyblades. "You're not getting past us you creep!"

"Uh, where are the kids?"

Lea and Xion looked around the den, their eyes landing on a large crack. "And they're gone. We better tell Simba."

"Better tell me what?"

"That Kiara and our kids are gone."

"What!?"

The king grit his teeth, but before he could do anything, Zazu flew into the den. "Sire! The Outsiders are on the attack, heading this way! It's war!"

"Zazu! Find Kiara!" Simba's head snapped up, his eyes lighting up with a burning anger. "We'll assemble the lionesses. Move! Now!" The bird flew out as the lion turned to the keybearers. "I'm going to really need your help."

"You can count on us!"

The clouds grumbled, releasing their floodgates as rain poured down on the two approaching prides that met on the plains before Pride Rock. The river nearby roared as it beat against the logs that nearly killed Simba, and now served as a dam, drying up much of the river behind the Outsiders.

Zira grinned across at Simba, her teeth dripping with saliva. "It's over, Simba! I have dreamed of nothing else for years!"

"Boy, does she need a hobby." Lea shifted on his feet before summoning his Keyblade.

"Last chance Zira!" The king held his head high, "Go home!"

"I am home! ATTACK!"

The Outsiders charged in, Simba's pride following suit. The two lines clashed, becoming a jumbled mess of bodies. Lea and Xion batted away the attacking lions as they came close. Nearby, they could see Zira and Simba trading blows.

The two leaders pulled back for a moment, taking a breath before they ran back at one another, their eyes blazing with anger.

Then.

Kiara and Kovu jumped between them.

"Kiara!?"

"Kovu!? Move…"

Simba narrowed his eyes at his daughter. "Stand aside."

"Daddy, this has to stop!" The battle began to slow, as all eyes fell on the newcomers, confused as to their actions.

Zira snarled at the young lion she raised. "You're even weaker than I thought. Get out of the way!"

"You'll never hurt Kiara… or Simba." Kovu snapped. "Not while I'm here."

"Kiara, stay out of this!"

Looking her father in the eyes, Kiara spoke softly. "A wise king once told me, 'we are one'. I didn't understand what he meant… now I do."

"But they…"

"Them… us." The young lioness looked around at her pride and the Outsiders alike. "Look at them. They are us. What differences do you see? Aren't we all part of the Circle of Life."

Lea and Xion couldn't help but smile as realization began to dawn on the faces of the lions around them. Simba looked around as well, studying each face; he glanced at the keybearers and they both nodded to him. He paused before nuzzling his daughter.

"Vitani… now!"

They tensed as Zira turned to her daughter, but the young lioness averted her eyes and began to walk towards Simba. "No, Mother! Kiara's right. Enough!"

"If you will not fight, then you will die as well." However, Zira paused, watching all of her lionesses walk over to Simba's side. Her eyes filled with panic as she found herself all alone. "What!? Where are you going? Get back here!"

"Let it go, Zira. It's time to put the past behind us."

"I'll never let it go…" Dark wisps began steaming off her. Lea and Xion tensed. "This is for you, Scar!" The darkness enveloped her, and her body disappeared, leaving only a heart which writhed in the darkness. Around it formed the body of a large Heartless which looked like a lion, but the body and long tail were a dark red with flecks of white across it. The face and ears were white with red around the glowing yellow eyes; chains hung from the two front white paws. The Werecat Heartless(2) roared before leaping at Simba.

Kiara pounced, catching the Heartless off guard as Lea came in for a strike. Xion followed up with another blow, as Kiara clawed at the Werecat's face. The four backed up until the Heartless stood at the edge of the deep, dried up riverbank.

The Werecat turned, it's long tail catching the two keybearers with it, as it fell taking Xion, Lea, and Kiara down with it.

"KIARA!"

"Lea! Xion!"

Flame curled around Xext, but he managed to leap out, only to have Brim charge at him from the left. "Wow, you have improved since we last met. I'm impressed."

"What do you want, Xext!? Why are you even here?" Blaze sent another blast of fire from her quills as Xext tried to freeze Yuyake with his powers.

The white lion laughed. "Well, maybe I'm trying to distract you from finding Pith. Or maybe, I'm trying to bring about more darkness for our boss to absorb, so he can grow stronger. Maybe I'm doing both. Or maybe I'm doing neither…"

He glanced over towards Pride Rock, "But I get the feeling that my job is almost done. Hopefully, your parent's job will be too."

"What?"

"I mean, if they get crushed by a bunch of logs like Zira's kiddo did, their jobs are officially done."

The kids instantly stopped. "You lie!"

"Do I?" He smirked. "You can fight me or try to save them. Your choice. But know this… I made sure they will die on their own."

"Screw you!" Brim turned and began to run towards Pride Rock, his friends following behind.

"Do you think he was lying?"

"We can't chance it!"

Kiara caught herself on a ledge as Xion and Lea fell further down with the Heartless. Everyone above ran to the ledge as Kiara pulled herself up.

"Look!" Kovu ran towards the log dam. Heartless began appearing around the logs, attacking them.

"If the dam breaks…"

"Hurry!" Simba yelled. "Kill those Heartless!"

Xion swung Seeker of the Stars(3), catching the Werecat across the mouth. A crack echoed across the ravine as the logs split, and the river careened towards them. "LEA! RUN!"

The pyro saw the water and took off, Xion beside him. The Heartless roared but soon found itself crushed under the pounding of the water and the remains of the giant logs.

As the water rushed up, Lea and Xion tried to climb the sides, but the muddy earth slipped beneath them. Suddenly, something warm wrapped around them and launched them up just as the water rushed under them. On the opposite shore stood their kids; Blaze's quills glowed with fire as she controlled the stream of flames that wound around the adult's and carried them to safety.

"We made it in time…"

Xion nuzzled her son as he ran over, and Lea did the same to his children. "Thanks, Blaze. You saved our lives back there."

"You're welcome, Aunt Xion."

"Looks like Xext was telling the truth." Yuyake scratched his ear. "We were fighting him and he said he was going to kill you two unless we were there. He's probably long gone by now, but he might have clued us into why he is trying to stir up trouble… maybe. He wasn't really clear on that."

"We'll discuss it on the ship."

Everyone, the pride, Kovu, the Outsiders, walked back towards Pride Rock. Their home. Simba fell back to the Keyblade wielders who waited behind. "You're not staying, are you?"

"No…"

"I figured." Simba nodded. "I am sorry I wasn't more helpful in finding Sora's son."

Lea shook his head. "You had your ha… paws full. And we got some of what we needed."

"But not all." Rafiki swung down from a tree. In his paws, he held something wrapped in leaves. "This is for Moyo Huzuni(4), 'sad heart', the sister of Hauna Moyo."

"Angel…"

"She is trapped, and cannot escape. They will force her to do evil, but this can protect her from their control." The baboon unfolded the leaves to reveal a small red fruit. "Ledidi, the miracle fruit(5). Give this to her."

Blaze made a small wisp of fire to grab the fruit. "How do you know so much, Rafiki."

"Oh…" the baboon laughed, "I have my ways." With a wink, he swung into the trees.

"I don't get him…"

"No one does."

"How is he, Doctor?"

The doctor closed up his bag and turned to Sasuke. "His lordship, despite all the pain he's in, is doing well. However, all the stress from the situation with Pith combined with the workload of being king could cause problems."

"We'll do what we can then." The doctor bowed and left. Sasuke looked over at the old king who sat, speaking with Merlin, the resident wizard. They'd been trying to figure out where Pith might have been taken.

"Well, there are some pocket dimensions and alternate universes that we can connect to, but I would need more time and some help to decipher if they are worth exploring." Merlin stroked his beard. "Fortunately, Master Yen Sid's student has come to visit me. She is quite adept at magic and would probably be willing to help." He vanished in a puff of cloud.

Even gathered up some papers from the king's desk. "He's bringing her then."

"Who?"

"The Vermillion Sorceress." Ienzo finished. "I don't know much about her, but she's visited before to look through our library for texts on magic."

Another puff of smoke appeared, but not Merlin's. This one was dark in color, like smoke from a fire. When it faded, Merlin stood beside a tall woman dressed in a yellow dress with wings adorning the collar; her blue hair, which faded to white, hung in a long braid down her back. Her gray eyes panned the room, looking at each person.

Merlin coughed. "Everyone, this is Yen Sid's student, Maryushaka(6)."

"You may call me, Mary." She smiled. "I will assist in any way I can. That is why my master sent me here after all."

"Thank you, Mary. We are grateful for your help."

"You're welcome. Now, shall we get to work?"

Well, that's the end of that world!

Please review!

Footnotes:

(1) No cell phones for these guys.

(2) This is a variant of the Werewolf Heartless which served as the boss of Castle of Dreams in KHUX.

(3) This is the Keyblade that she got in my KH3 rewrite.

(4) Swahili for sad heart.

(5) The miracle fruit is a real berry that when eaten it makes sour foods taste sweet.

(6) You will learn more about her in an upcoming KH3 chapter.

VAs:

Maryushka- Erica Luttrell (Emily Kaldwin, Cheetah, Princess Candy, Sapphire)

Identity Crisis

In the last chapter's devo, I talked about identity, and I have a second part on that.

The last thing I asked was where should you get your identity.

Finding our identity in what we can do, what we have, or how much people like us will never be satisfying. Only when we find our identity in Christ will we really find out who we are.

First, we are made in the image of God. A perfect, all-powerful being and we are made in his image. When God created everything, he spoke it into existence, except when it came to humans. He formed them with his own hands and breathed life into them.

In Jeremiah, it is written that God forms us in the womb. He knows who we are and what we will be like before we are born.

Despite what we may do in life, to God, we are still worth saving. Even if only one human existed, Jesus would still die to save them. We are loved, we are heirs with Christ, and if we accept him, we are adopted as His children. We are royalty, we have destiny, and we have hope.

That is who we are. Our identity.