UGH! On another writer's block again. So it might take some time before I post another chapter.

Sorry for the inconvienence.

Kyrie (c) Me

Kingdom Hearts characters/ some of the story (c) Square Enix

Kingdom Hearts

Bonded Soul

Chapter 35

The four were quick as they made their way to Pride Rock, exiting the Elephant Graveyard and crossing the savannah. Once they got to the large rock formation, they spotted a large group of sleeping lionesses and the lioness from before as she stood next to an old baboon. She jerked her head towards Sora as they walked up, and whispered to the old baboon.

"That's him." She whispered. The old baboon nodded and walked up, scrutinizing Sora as he did so. He leaned into Sora's face, startling him as he backed up a little. Kyrie crouched ever so slightly, in case something were to go wrong and he attacked. From the corner of her eye, she could see the sleeping lionesses raise their heads and stare at the baboon with hope in their eyes.

"Um…what?" Sora asked. The baboon looked at Goofy and Donald for a moment, before looking at Kyrie. Their eyes locked for a few long moments, making the girl stiffen as he scrutinized her.

"Why is he staring at me?" she thought as they stared at each other. Finally, he looked away and walked back to the lioness. He began to whisper something to her, making her stiffen before slumping, causing the other lionesses to lower their heads in response. With that, he walked away, and she walked towards them.

"What was that all about?" Sora asked her. She hesitated for a moment, before sighing.

"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. You see, whoever saves the Pride Lands will be our next king…and he has to have the right qualities." She explained sadly. Sora cocked his head to the side, confused. Kyrie silently giggled at this, amused by the fact he didn't quite understand what she was talking about.

"Meaning…"

"I think she means you're not cut out for the job, Sora." Goofy added, making him sigh in disappointment.

"I'm sorry you came all this way." She spoke adamantly, making him shake his head.

"Hey, no… it's okay." He spoke. She quickly lowered her head to their level, and whispered to them.

"You'd better go before Scar finds out you're here. I'm really sorry." She whispered. With that she turned and took off, leaving the four behind. Sora turned to them and nodded, and they began their descent from the rock formation. But the sight of three familiar canines caused Kyrie to stop and hiss, her hackles rising.

"Damn, not them again!" she thought, glaring at them. They laughed and licked their lips as they spotted them, making Sora, Donald, and Goofy stop as well.

"Hey… a snack." The male hyena spoke, making the other male who Kyrie scratched earlier laugh as his tongue lolled out. The female shook her head, eyeing them hungrily.

"Snack? Nah, we got us a four course meal." she added. Before anyone could make a move, a loud roar rang out, causing them to look back at the rock formation. Two feline figures stood atop the formation, looking at the group below.

"Look at that, here comes Scar… the king." The male chuckled. Kyrie nearly groaned when she looked at the other feline, knowing exactly who it was because of the familiar ugly mug.

"And Pete…"

"And Pete!" Sora exclaimed. The first lion, Scar, jumped down agilely as he leaped from rock to rock, landing in a crouch a good twenty feet from them. Pete tried to do the same, but failed as he tripped and fell flat on his face, making them shake their heads.

"He's so stupid." Kyrie thought with a toss of her head. But she stopped, looking behind and realizing that the three hyenas had Donald and Goofy surrounded. She narrowed her eyes.

"Oh no…Donald and Goofy can't outrun the hyenas like Sora and I can. We need a distraction so they can get away…" she thought, before an idea popped into her head. Crouching, she zeroed in on one of their tails, and prepared to lunge.

"What are you doing here?"

"Aww, the cute lil'l kitty's worried about me. If I were you, I'd be more worried about my friends-" at that, Kyrie lunged, and sunk her fangs into the tail of the male hyena. He screamed loudly from the pain.

"Ow! Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow! Get it off, get it off!" he cried as he began to run in circles, Kyrie latched onto his tail like a fish on a fishhook. The other hyenas began to laugh hysterically at the sight, while Donald and Goofy took the opportunity to join Sora once more. He glared at them.

"Quick, get it off! It hurts!" he screamed. The female rolled her eyes at him as she walked over.

"Oh fine, just hold still!" and before the young cub could react, she tore Kyrie from the tail by her forepaw, tearing through the skin and snapping the bone with her sharp incisors. With a toss of her head, she flung her into the rocky wall, knocking the breath out of her.

"Ugh…" she thought as she fell to the floor, landing with a heavy thud. She tried getting on her feet once more, but the bone was snapped and blood pooled from the bite marks embedded in her skin and fur.

"Kyrie!" Sora cried as he ran over, standing over the fallen leopard as he growled at the hyenas. Scar watched the spectacle with amused eyes before turning to the lionesses.

"Go on, ladies… you've got some hunting to do." He commanded. But they shook their heads, obviously not wanting to hurt the newcomers.

"The herds have moved on, Scar. We can't hunt in a land with no prey." The lioness they had first met protested.

"No prey? Then what do you call this?" he inquired. Sora quickly shook his head, moving himself so that he was in front of his fallen friend.

"We're not prey!"

"Oh. Nice and fresh, too." He quickly looked at Pete, who nodded.

"Well, they're all yours, Scar. But leave the white lil'l kitty to me, I've got unfinished business with her." He answered before running off. Scar nodded, glancing at Kyrie's fallen form as she hissed, trying to get to her feet once more. She managed to get on three feet, but held the wounded leg in the air, not wanting to worsen her injuries by putting weight on it. Sora looked back at her in worry, before turning his attention back to Scar.

The older lion crouched, prepared to attack Sora, before the lioness tackled him. She held him down as he struggled, before looking at them.

"Run!" she ordered. Donald and Goofy nodded as they began to run, but Sora was hesitant as he stared at Kyrie.

"But-" he started, but was cut off as she shoved him, trying to get him to run. She would be fine, she knew Pete wasn't going to eat her.

"But Sora and the others aren't, they have to run." she thought as she shoved him again, trying to urge him to run. The cub looked at her reluctantly, before he followed after his companions. She limped after him, but the hyenas blocked her path easily.

"You're going to pay for messing up my tail!" the male hissed, his tail bleeding from her massive bite. But before she could move, the lioness had her by the scruff of her neck as she barreled through them. Kyrie looked behind her and watching as the hyenas pursued them. The lioness caught up to Sora with ease as she ran next to them, Kyrie's scruff in her jaws as she looked at them.

"Follow me!" she cried, her voice muffled as she sped up. Sora nodded as he followed after her, Donald and Goofy right on his tail. Once they got deep into the savannah, the group stopped to take a breather, the lioness lowering her head and placing Kyrie on the ground. The trio was at the girl's side in moments, looking at the nasty wound the female hyena had given her.

"Kyrie…" Sora spoke sadly, looking at the wound in guilt. Donald began casting cure, healing the broken and torn limb as Kyrie reached out and placed her uninjured paw on his head. She gave him a hard look and a smile as he looked at her and he understood immediately.

"Don't worry, Sora. I had to save Donald and Goofy, so I was ready for the outcome." she thought as she stared at him.

"Right, it was to save Donald and Goofy." he murmured, reading her expression. She grinned, flashing her white canines as her black-spotted tail swished back and forth. The lioness looked at them in guilt, lowering her head.

"I'm sorry I got you involved in this. Especially since your friend got hurt." She murmured. Sora shrugged his shoulders as he looked at her.

"It's no big deal." he spoke, wanting to ease some of the guilt from her. Donald and Goofy, as well as Kyrie, nodded in agreement.

"Aw, it's not your fault. Sora wouldn't be a good king." Donald added. Sora glared at him instantly.

"Hey! I had to give it a try, right?" he cried. Goofy chuckled at this, looking at him.

"So you did want to be king!" he teased. Sora looked away in embarrassment as Donald finished healing Kyrie's forearm, allowing the leopard to finally get back on all four paws. She looked at her arm, not a mark was left behind. Donald was an expert when it came to magic.

"I'll have to thank him later." she decided. Sora quickly turned his attention back to the lioness.

"Well… you know… Uh, Nala, isn't there anybody else who could be king?" he asked sheepishly, trying to keep his dignity. Kyrie raised her eyebrow at him, he knew her name?

"Huh. Figures he knew, but didn't tell us because of the "king" thing. It's just like with Santa Claus, he has a one-track mind." she thought, giggling silently. The lioness, Nala, shook her head.

"There was… but he died… when he was just a cub. He was the son of our last king, Mufasa. If only Simba were here…" she explained. Sora quickly perked at this name, his ears and tail twitching as Donald and Goofy looked at her too.

"Simba? But Simba's just fine! He was fighting right beside us not that long ago." He protested. Kyrie raised her eyebrow, he knew this "Simba" too? Her suspicions of him knowing just about everybody was confirmed, in her mind at least. Nala looked at him in shock, her eyes wide as she stared at him.

"You mean Simba's alive? But where is he?" she demanded. Sora looked at Donald and Goofy for a moment, before looking at her.

"That… I don't know." He explained. She sighed sadly.

"Still…Simba's alive! I can't believe it… Please… tell me about him."

"Of course!"

"But first, we should get away from Scar. We'll go through Wildebeest Valley. He won't follow us there." She explained as she began walking, the others following on both sides of her.

"Why won't he follow us there?" Sora asked.

"He forbade anyone to go into the valley, including the hyenas. We don't know why, though." She explained. Then she turned her attention to Donald, Goofy, and Kyrie.

"I'm sorry for not introducing myself to you guys earlier, there was a lot going on. My name's Nala." she explained. Donald and Goofy nodded.

"That's okay. I'm Donald, he's Goofy, and that's Kyrie. But she can't talk, so…" he stopped, the group looking at her. She smiled sheepishly, not liking how they were staring at her. Nala nodded, some of her suspicions confirmed on the quiet cub.

"I see." she spoke. Then the three quickly changed the subject by telling her all about Simba, leaving Kyrie to listen on as she walked beside them. When they got into Wildebeest valley, there was a large crevice that separated the savannah from the valley. Nala took a few steps back and crouched, before running and clearing the gap like it was nothing. Kyrie watched in awe, before backing up like she had. Nala noticed the hesitation in Sora's face, and looked back at him.

"What's wrong?" she asked him. He looked at the crevice below, and gulped.

"We're never gonna make it." He cried. Kyrie rolled her eyes and prepared herself, if the lioness could make it, then she could make it, too. With a run, she jumped over the gap, and landed with a jolt safely on the other side. Nala gave her an approving look, before jumping back over to help Goofy and to show Sora how to properly do it.

Once she got Goofy safely to the other side, Donald flew over and Sora followed after him, landing safely and waving his paw at them in victory. Kyrie giggled silently while Nala rolled her eyes at the young cub.

"Oh Sora…" Kyrie thought, walking over and nudging him playfully. He nudged right back, before the group continued on. Halfway through, they finished explaining about their encounter with Simba, and Nala began her own tail about the story of his passing.

"When Simba's father, King Mufasa, died we were told that Simba died alongside him." She explained. Sora raised his eyebrow at her.

"Who told you that?" he asked. She stopped for a moment, and lowered her head. "Scar." She answered. Suddenly, they spotted the old baboon again as he walked up a rock. He looked at the once, then raised his staff.

"It is time." He spoke. Nala gasped, smiling widely as she turned to them.

"It must be Simba! Sora! Hurry!" and with that, she took off. Kyrie stared at her in confusion, but followed right after Sora, Donald, and Goofy as they began their pursuit. They followed after her thought a winding path that had sand and desert rocks scattered all over the place, but quickly lost track of her when they saw a jungle just ahead of them.

"Man is she fast, I don't think any of us would've been able to keep up with her." Kyrie thought as she panted, running alongside Sora as they entered the jungle. They continued going straight, hoping that they were heading in the right direction.

"Look, there's a clearing!" Sora cried. The others nodded and followed after him, entering the clearing just when they heard a loud roar. Looking over, they saw a golden lion with a red mane as he stood on a log, in a crouch as heartless began to flee.

"Simba!"

I don't have much to say right now. Too down in the dumps.

Anyways, please read and review.