"Hey, check us out!" Sora grinned, looking over his new Lion Form. Aanyx rolled her eyes, letting out a snort of laughter, "I stand corrected. That hairdo can look more stupid."

"Hey!"

"Um, I think we have trouble…" Goofy gulped, ducking into his turtle shell. Sora stepped back as a trio of hyenas advanced, "Heartless?"

Donald landed between him and Aanyx, gulping, "I dunno, Sora. I get the feeling they might live here."

"Well, well, well, look what we have here, Banzai." The middle hyena asked, now pacing around them. The one to the left chuckled, "I dunno, Shenzi. What d'you think, Ed?" The one to the right let out a babble of insane laughter, to which 'Banzai' replied, "Just what I was thinkin…trespassers!"

"Just passing through, we won't be any trouble." Donald assured hurriedly. Shenzi leaned into his face, "What's the hurry? We'd love for you to stick around for dinner."

"Yeah, we could have whatever's…Lion around!"

"Trust me, you don't wanna mess with this." Aanyx warned, staring calmly at the trio. Ed once more laughed, and Shenzi shook her head, "I think we do. What d'you say, Banzai?"

"Definitely."

"I warned you." Aanyx said in sing-song. Within the blink of an eye, she had Shenzi pinned to the ground, claws digging into the ladder's neck. Another hyena with a silvery coloring and orange markings pinned Ed, while a tiger cub held Banzai fast.

"It would be in your best interest to stop squirming." Xcaiyet advised lightly, applying more pressure. A lion roar suddenly split through the air, and Aanyx released the leader, "Your master awaits. Get the hell out."

"This ain't over, Cheetah!" Banzai called as the trio retreated. Aanyx ignored them, turning instead to the tigeress, "Aren't you supposed to be chasing something down?"

"That's the thing—we can't find it." Xcaiyet sighed, scratching behind an ear like a dog. "Great, you mean it's on the loose?"

"Sorta. There's also the possibility she's still in the castle." Kat admitted. Aanyx rounded on her, "Then go in there, embrace your inner sue, and for the sake of my sanity, kill it!"

"But she can't die."

Aanyx closed her eyes, mentally wishing she could pinch the bridge of her nose, "Okay, we're obviously thinking of different she's. I thought Intel just found out a weakness to Bratz."

"Oh, right, that. I thought we were talking about Barbie."

"Didn't you talk to her yet?"

"We just got there when we were told to meet back up at HQ. And before you ask, the only way Kat'd go is if I did too." Xcaiyet explained.

Their hushed conversation was suddenly interrupted as Sora let out a loud "Gyah!" and fell to the ground, "Everything's harder on four legs…"

Aanyx sent them a glare and turned back to the two, "Look, I don't care how you do it—gouge her brains out with a spork for all I care—just kill her, will you? Something tells me that I'm gonna have my hands full with this lot as it is,"

"We'll keep ya posted." Xcaiyet promised, grabbing Kat by the scruff of her neck and warping out.

Aanyx then turned her attention back to the trio, "If you've about finished making a fool of yourself…"

"I think I've got a grip on it…" Sora said, still stumbling slightly but managing to walk in a straight line. "Then let's get the hell outta here." Aanyx nodded, leading the way.

They soon found another lioness, cornered by a rather large Heartless. "Lookout!" Aanyx cried, jumping over the Heartless to crouch between it and the lioness. "Oi, Spikes! A distraction would be good right about now!" Aanyx snarled, snapping at the Heartless' legs. "But how am I supposed to wield the Keyblade?"

"Think, moron! Teeth—tail—anything!"

"Uh…okay, I can try…" Sora summoned his Keyblade, clutching it in his teeth and jumping. The Heartless fell in two strokes, and Sora set the keyblade down, the handle wet. "Eugh, slobbery."

"Thank you, you really saved me." The lioness said, walking over. "You're not hurt, are you?" Aanyx sat and cocked her head to one side. The former shook her head, "I'm Nala."

"Aanyx. And this is Sora, Donald, and Goofy."

"Have you seen any other Heartless around here?" Sora asked, getting straight to business, "Or maybe—"

"Uh…Heheh…Spikes, a minute?" Aanyx waited for the brunette to follow out of hearing range before speaking again in a low murmur, "Listen, I generally don't give a damn if you go nosing around, but this may not be the best place to ask about the Organization."

Sora gave her an odd look, "Why not?"

"Think about it. Each time you ask about guys in black hoods, but have you ever heard of a lion in a cloak?"

"Then what would they look like?"

"If we changed, then so did they. I'm guessing they'll blend in fairly well, so it might be better if you just give up on them." Sora opened his mouth to counter, but Aanyx hastily intervened, "I'm not saying for good. Just here. Trust me when I say that this particular pride doesn't take well to the mention of humans."

With that the auburn cheetah made her way over to Nala, "If it's not too much trouble, my companions and I have traveled a long way and would like a place to stay. We wouldn't be too much trouble—we can hunt for ourselves and can pull our weight if needed."

"I'd love to help, but the Pridelands are dangerous. Scar and the hyenas have made things unbearable for everyone. There's no food left…they've driven off all the prey. We're about to starve!"

Sora flipped his half-grown mane with an air of cocky confidence, "We can handle a little danger. You just saw us beat those Heartless, didn't you?"

"I guess you're right…you could be just what the kingdom needs. Maybe you can help us!"

"Ya mean take on this Scar guy and all those hyenas?" Goofy asked. Nala nodded, "He took over when our last king, Mufasa, died."

Seeing Sora about to say something undoubtedly stupid, Aanyx quickly intervened, "But isn't it typical Pride rule that whoever unseats the former king becomes king himself?" Nala nodded. "Uh-uh, bad idea. Having spent over five months with this airhead, trust me when I say he isn't kingly material."

"Hey!" Sora protested. Aanyx shot him a look and nudged Nala out of earshot, unintentionally revealing her hide at just the right angle. "Gawrsh, I wonder what caused that." Goofy muttered. There, carved into the side of her flank, was a scar in the shape of the letters XVI. "What's that?" Sora asked. "It looks like Roman Numeral sixteen." Donald replied in the same hushed whisper. Goofy tilted his head, "But, uh…isn't Organization XIII with Roman Numerals too?"

"Yeah…but c'mon, it's Aanyx we're talking about! It's not like she's feeding info to the Organization behind our backs." Sora reasoned, "And she did give us that little tip about not mentioning them here…"

"Or it could be that she's hiding them from us." Donald muttered. A shadow fell over the three conspirators, "OR, she could be standing right behind you wondering what the HELL you three are thinking in assuming that I would be stupid enough to pull a double-agent on you lot!"

The trio winced, and Aanyx smirked, "Now if you're done staring at my scars, let's go."

Sora looked around for a distraction, "Where's Nala?"

"She has to go ahead and tell the lionesses. She said to meet her in front of Pride Rock."

"And that is…?" Aanyx's smirk returned, seaweed-green ablaze with power, "Follow me…if you can!" With that she took off at a pounding sprint, gracefully bounding out into the Savannah. She didn't bother to slow down, enjoying the freedom in her cheetah form.

Another form was suddenly bounding at her side, and she didn't need the sudden bout of flaming red mane in her peripherals to know who it was. They matched stride for stride, extending to their farthest reach and tumbling out of sight.

Axel had pinned her low to the ground with a paw on her chest, breathing heavily. "You have to get out of here." He growled, "Xemnas—he's letting loose the wolves." Aanyx's eyes widened, "I can't. Sora—he's getting curious. I can't risk disappearing."

Axel sat back and looked her over, "What's gotten into you, huh? When you first took up this mission you didn't give a damn if he found out or not!"

"Yeah, and that was before I knew what I was up against!" Aanyx shot back. Despite her strong-willed determination, it was clear who was the boss; her ears were pinned back and she couldn't look him in the eye, bent so her entire body was below Axel's head.

"Yeah? And what, pray tell, has you so on edge that you're willing to throw away everything Roxas planned for—"

"He's breaking, Axel!" Aanyx shouted. This silenced the older Nobody immediately. Aanyx slumped to the ground, laying her head on her paws, and continued in a much quieter tone, "He's begun to merge with Sora. I can barely contact him as it is…and now he's trapped there…because of me…"

Axel nudged her ear soothingly, "Hey, it's okay. You're not the only one to blame, remember?"

"I guess….I just wish things could be back to the way they were, that's all…"

"Yeah, well, they will, kiddo. Just give it time, you'll see." Aanyx scoffed, regaining a hint of her composure, "'Kiddo'? You sound like the old man."

"Excuse me for hanging with Xig and Lux every night."

"You aren't….drinking…are you?" Aanyx asked cautiously. Axel cleared his throat, then gave her a hasty noogie, "Listen, I'd better get back to the castle. Keep an eye out for them Wolves, ya hear? Heartless are one thing, but those guys can be pretty tricky…"

By the time Aanyx had caught up with Sora, Donald, and Goofy, they were caught by Scar and the hyenas. "Go on, ladies—you've got some hunting to do."

"The herds have moved on, Scar." Nala growled, "We can't hunt in a land with no prey."

"No prey? Then what do you call this?"

"We're not prey!" Donald gulped, giving his best brave front. Scar merely chuckled. "Ooh, nice and fresh, too."

"Well, they're all yours, Scar." Pete chuckled maliciously. Aanyx jumped in front of the trio, letting out a deafening snarl. The hyenas jumped back slightly, nervous. "And who are you?"

"The so-called prey's master." Aanyx snapped at the air by the closest hyena, clearing a path until she stood by Sora. "What are you doing?" He muttered. "Calm down and play along. I can handle this." She muttered, not even looking at him. The power shone in her eyes again, and Sora crouched back in nervousness.

"Their master? A weak little cheetah like you?" Scar looked her over mockingly, "Then what are you doing on our lands?"

"Yeah, good question, Aanyx!" Pete mocked. Aanyx gave a feral snap in his direction, silencing the fat cat immediately, before turning back to Scar, "We've been traveling. We were separated by the Heartless and I followed them here."

"I've never heard of a lion bowing down to a cheetah before." Scar looked Sora in the eye, looking for any sign of weakness. "Uh…"

"Our business does not concern you, Scar." Aanyx said, intervening. Sora nodded dumbly, slightly taken aback at how far she was taking this. Her hackles stood on end, claws flexing and stance ready to leap into action.

Scar let out a humorless chuckle, "Oh, but they do, little girl. You see, this here is my land. Trespassing is punishable by death, and really, you and your little gang could feed us well."

"Pity, I'd hate to kill such a proper lion." Aanyx taunted. Scar tipped his head in her direction, grinning, "You know, I like you. You've got quite the makings of a Queen of Pride Rock."

"Then you wouldn't mind if I do this?" Aanyx grabbed the nearest hyena and threw him down into a chokehold, claws threatening to break the surface of skin. It whimpered pitifully, and Scar gave an indifferent shrug, "One less mouth to feed."

Aanyx released the poor creature, turning away and nodding for Sora to head out. "Don't you dare turn your back on the king!"

Aanyx easily evaded the swipe at her hide, "Let my companions go and we'll talk. You." She nodded to Nala, "Take them to the Savannah." She then added in a murmur, "I'll meet you there. I can't explain everything right now, but trust me."

Aanyx followed Scar away from the others before summoning two Wolf Nobodies. Scar looked at them in understanding, "Ah-hah, so that's the prey you're stalking."

"Shut up and let me do the talking, Scar. I understand you're king, but unless you want the whole charade to blow up in your face, you will leave me the hell alone and agree to my terms."

Sora didn't stop running until they had reached the open land, "Did we lose them?" He panted. "I think so…" Donald gasped, landing on his back. "What is she playing at?" Nala asked, nodding towards Pride Rock. "Aanyx can take care of herself." Sora defended, "She's gotten us out of a lot of different situations before!"

"Are you sure you're not just trying to make up for the whole love drug situation?"

The group turned to see a silvery hyena with orange markings casually resting atop a rock. Nala stood her guard, but the hyena waved her off, "Relax, if I had any intention of joining those losers I'd have no brain. Besides, these guys can vouch for me. Right, Spike?"

Sora nodded, "This is Xcaiyet—she's a friend of Aanyx."

"You sure make some strange friends…" Nala said warily as she relaxed into a sitting position. Xcaiyet rolled her eyes with a mutter of, "Tell me about it…" before turning back to Sora, "And anyway, since when have you been so protective of little miss sunshine? I thought you hated her guts."

"I never hated her…she just creeps me out, s'all." Sora mumbled, looking down. Were Xcaiyet human, she would have raised an eyebrow at this, "Yeah…somehow I'm not convinced…anyway, seems like you lot need a place to hide from His Royal Scarness."

Scar backed up slightly, refusing to forfeit, "You leave me no choice in the matter, do you?"

"None that a sensible person would take, no." Aanyx agreed, dismissing the Nobodies with a yawn. "It's not that difficult; you let my companions and me free, I don't kill you—now or any time after."

"Fine. Get out of my land." Aanyx grinned and portaled to the Oasis. She appeared to have timed it poorly, however, for no sooner had she appeared then she found herself surrounded by Arial Knocker Heartless. Growling low in her throat she knocked the oncoming one from its charge, ripped its wing off with her teeth, and moved onto the next one, spitting Dark Matter as she went.

A roar broke through, killing the rest, and Aanyx had to hold back a groan as she saw who it was. Though Naminé could easily render any human's memories, she hadn't mastered animals, and there was a very high probability that Simba still remembered the events of Castle Oblivion.

Simba roared again, hunkered down low and ready to pounce. He gave Aanyx his most fierce glare, "Get out." Yup, he definitely remembered. "Why? This is free territory." Aanyx said in a faux-innocent tone, striding arrogantly away and sitting with her back to him. "You're not welcome here!" Simba snarled. Aanyx waited, pretending to ignore the large cat, and he snarled, preparing to leap…

…Only for Sora to charge in between the two of them, protecting Aanyx, "Simba!" Simba faltered, looking at Sora, before his eyes lit up in recognition, only to go back to glaring, "Sora? Why are you protecting her?"

"Because she's my friend!" Aanyx, having sworn she'd heard Roxas' voice, whipped around. Sora seemed to find strength in this, for he continued on with more vigor, "I know she might not be the happiest person, and she really does curse a lot…but the fact is, she's been traveling with us, and…well…"

Realizing a little too late where the speech was headed, Aanyx suddenly cleared her throat, "The point is, Simba, I'm playing for this team now." She paused to walk out from behind Sora, "I may have made some bad choices in the past, but believe me when I say I couldn't make them again even if I tried." She then turned back to Sora, "And, for the record, do me a favor and don't go leaping into trouble, yeah? I'll have you know I had everything under control, down to the exact timing of his pounce, thankyouverymuch!"

"Well how was I supposed to know?"

"Think, retard! Think of all of those times you've seen me fight! Do I EVER take the easy path? No! It's too predictable!"

"Are you saying I'm predictable?"

"Don't make me Thundaga you, boy." Aanyx threatened. Sora opened his mouth to retaliate, only to be cut off by a pair of screams. "HELP! SIMBA! HEEELP!"

"SHE'S GONNA EAT US!"

Simba snarled and took off towards the jungle, Sora, Donald, and Goofy in hot pursuit. Aanyx followed only for the sake of appearing 'on the team', as she'd put it. By the time she got there, however, Simba was talking to a Meer cat and a Warthog.

"So that means…nobody's planning to eat anybody else for lunch, right?" the Meer cat asked, and Sora and Donald nodded. The Warthog shivered, "Are you sure they don't wanna eat me like I'm some kinda pig?"

"We won't…but…you are a pig…aren't you?"

"That's Mr. Pig to you!"

"Speaking of eatin', I'm starved!" Aanyx complained. "Timon, why don't you show the others where we eat?" Simba suggested.

"Uh-uh, no way. There ain't no way in HELL I'm eating that!" Aanyx scowled, shaking her head and shoving aside the leaf of bugs. "Ya'know…they're not half bad…" Sora said, surprised, after trying one. Aanyx almost gagged, "Numbskull! You keep using your Animal Instincts and you'll turn more Lion than Human!"

"Human?" Pumbaa asked. "What, didn't Simba tell you? When this world was lost to darkness, Simba was rescued by Signor Spikes over here and they traveled the worlds together." Aanyx rolled her eyes, examining the trees around them. "Gawrsh, Aanyx, how did you know that?"

"Simple; Yen Sid. We DID meet at his tower, if you'll remember." Having succeeded in pulling a variety of fruits down, she began to make a fruit salad, chopping them with her claws and tossing them onto a large leaf. "Hey, didn't you say we weren't supposed to let them know?"

"I said not to let the pride know. Simba already knew, so there's no point in lying to his comrades." Aanyx shrugged, "The Pride is what you have to watch out for. It's common knowledge that the humans will come to hunt."

"If you're human, then how do you know so much about it?" Timon asked suspiciously. Aanyx shrugged again, finishing her lunch, "I've been here before; Hakuna Matata."

"Ha-whatta?" Sora, Donald, and Goofy asked. Aanyx flicked her tail towards Pumbaa, "I'm sure Raffiki told you. You explain it to them."

"Where are you going?"

"To explore, obviously." Aanyx called over her shoulder. She made her way to the gorge, laying down in the shade of a boulder. She licked the scar on her hip, the cool saliva soothing its ache.

Ever since waking, her scar had hurt like hell, throbbing non-stop. She figured as much, merely glad she hadn't chosen Wisdom Form instead. She just wished the stupid throbbing would go away!

"That's a lovely thing to see. What are you, in heat or something?"

Aanyx sprang up with a snarl, "How dare you show your face!"

"It's free territory." Riku mocked, smirking. Even with his blindfold on, she could tell he was amused. Dark Matter swirled around her, claws dripping with it, "Give me one good reason not to kill you where you stand."

"You wouldn't dare. You've gone soft, bitch."

In reply, Aanyx shot a spear of Dark Matter at him, but it was easily batted away, "See what I mean? Go on—strike me down. Let's see some of that infamous Thunder magic."

"Bastard!" Aanyx portaled directly behind him with the hopes of sinking her teeth into his hide, only to have her every move parried with annoying ease. At last she collapsed, panting, her hip throbbing and eyes stinging from the dust in her contacts. "I'm disappointed. You've gotten weaker. Could it be that you aren't so very heartless?"

"If anyone here is Heartless, it's you." Aanyx growled, pushing herself to her feet, "What more do you want from me? I've kept the damn Somebody alive, haven't I? I've turned against my own Organization, damnit, and what do I get out of it? A whole stinking wad of nothing! I'm no closer to bringing Roxas back than I was when I last saw you, I'm killing myself because I can't use my fucking powers and yet I still have to protect Darkness-damned Sora! Why? Because he's a stupid fucking idiot who always manages to bite off more than he can chew!" Aanyx gave a final attempt at leaping at him before skidding on her side, appearing knocked out.

"Maybe if you worked harder you would be able to defeat me." Riku taunted. Aanyx's eyes snapped open in triumph, simultaneously calling to the Wolf Nobodies. Five white wolves with wiry hair and Nobody Symbols on their faces appeared in a circle around Riku, not looking at Aanyx as they spoke.

What is thy bidding, Master XVI?

Aanyx didn't reply right away, circling Riku, "I won't deny what I've said." She stated simply, "But honestly, even you should have seen that one coming."

"You cheated!"

"Pirate." Aanyx smirked in sing-song. The smirk turned sadistic as she stared at the cornered lion, "Take him to Neon town—make sure no other life is there—and do as you will. But don't kill him." The grin widened, "Oh no, I won't kill you, Albino. I'll let you experience a minimal amount of my own pain, but I won't kill you. And don't worry, I'll take good care of dear Mr. Ansem and his oh-so-precious computer files."

"You know where they are?" Riku demanded. Aanyx turned and strut a few paces off, "Certainly. And you can garuntee that it will be neigh impossible for the plans to be completed…successfully…"

In a swirl of grey the six of them were gone, and Aanyx stretched languidly before making her way back to Pride Rock. "Where are the others?" Aanyx demanded. Nala looked to the Den, and Aanyx nodded, entering to see the spiked tail of Sora disappear. She climbed slowly to the top, wincing every once in a while as her hip throbbed, and made it up just in time to see Scar return in full-out Heartless mode. "Aanyx, help!" Sora cried, noticing she hadn't bounded into the fray yet.

"You'll get no help from her, boy!" Scar chuckled, raking his claw against Sora's side. "What?"

"She swore not to harm me."

The sadistic smirk returned slightly as she bounded in, pinning Scar to the ground and knocking the wind out of him, "Yeah, about that." Her grin widened, "I lied. What can I say, I'm not exactly a goody-goody." She turned her head toward Simba, "As King of Pride Rock, I believe the pleasure is yours."

Aanyx sat between Pumbaa and Goofy, watching from below as Simba climbed to the peak. The true king let out a loud roar as light broke through the clouds, and one by one, the Pride followed suit, letting out a wave of roars. Aanyx continued the line with her loudest snarl, smirking as Sora followed suit with his own roar—they were accepted into the Pride.