Hey, guys! Here's another installment of "Bonded Souls"!. ...I WAS going to have this up earlier today, but FF wouldn't let me into my account. DUNNO why...

oh well. Anyways, here it is!

Kyrie (c) Me

Kingdom Hearts (c) Square Enix

Kingdom Hearts

Bonded Soul

Chapter 61

Axel growled as he threw his chakrams, taking out another group of heartless as they came at him. Catching them in his hand, he continued his onslaught on a large group of heartless in Hollow Bastion. Demyx watched on from a few feet away, sighing as he watched Axel take out his frustration on the heartless.

"I'm surprised Axel's as pissed as he is. Since we can't feel emotions and whatnot." Demyx thought as Axel finished off the horde, leaving no heartless left standing. He stood there, panting, for a few minutes before giving a growl.

"Damn it, damn it, damn it!" he growled, throwing his chakrams and lodging them into a large crystal-like formation that was a few feet away. Demyx jumped at this, and decided now to intervene.

"Axel, calm down, okay? Look, it's not as bad as it looks!" he cried as he approached the pyro. But Axel quickly shook his head, sweat dripping down from his brow in exhaustion.

"Demyx, you didn't see the expression on her face, the look in her eyes. She looked hurt and confused, I blew it! I friggin' blew it! Got it memorized?" he growled as he glared at the man. Demyx quickly held up his arms in surrender as he looked at him.

"W-well y-you didn't even ask her to be your girlfriend! All you did was try to kiss her, so of course she would be confused!" he stammered. All was quiet for a few moments before he sighed, slumping to the ground and leaning his forehead against his hand.

"It doesn't matter now. I can't see her, not after that. It'll only make things- …harder." he whispered softly. Demyx frowned at this, before placing his hand on the man's shoulder.

"But Ax, what about Kyrie? She's always happy to see you- you'd be hurting her feelings!" he exclaimed. But Axel shook his head.

"Even if it does, I can't." he spoke, his voice soft. But Demyx wasn't about to give up.

"Look, just try again. And I promise, this time I won't interrupt! All ya have to do is get her alone and talk with her. Tell her about everything and about how much you care about her. Then, you just ask! `Kyrie, will you please be my girlfriend?`, that's all!" he explained. Axel was quiet for a few moments, before sighing.

"I guess…" Demyx sighed softly and got to his feet, he hated to see the man acting this way. So far, only Roxas and himself were the most emotional-acting of the organization members. Now Axel was beginning to act the same way, and it, in a sense, hurt him to see the pyro suffering. He looked at the blue sky, his mind lost in thought.

"I know she loves you, Ax. You can't give up."

-Meanwhile, Kyrie-

Kyrie sighed softly as she looked out the Gummi ship windows, her mind lost in thought. After bidding Jack and Sally farewell, the group got on the ship to head to the next world, the Pride Lands. But before that, Sora and the others saw her crying and started to pester her with questions, most of which she wouldn't answer. After awhile, they finally left her alone, and haven't said a thing to her since. She sighed again as she rested her chin against her hand, one name entering her mind at that moment.

"Axel…" she thought as she gazed out the window, her mind in a whirl. Everything was jumbled up inside, but she knew this for certain. She cared about Axel, she truly and deeply cared about him. She cared about him more than a friend, and wanted to be with him. But…she knew he could never feel the same way. After all, he was a Nobody, a person who didn't have a heart to feel with.

"But…if I could, I would give him my heart. I would do anything to get him a heart, anything."

"Anything? Your wish may come sooner than expected." a voice spoke, making her gasp as she looked around the cockpit. But no one had spoken, since Sora and Goofy were off in dreamland and Donald was manning the controls once again.

"Who was that? Wait…that voice, it sounds familiar…"

"We met twice, once in the Underworld and once at Agrabah." the voice spoke. It was disembodied, but she could tell it was feminine. Then, she remembered.

"Oh…it's you…"

"Yes, it is I. Kyrie, because of what you are, your feelings for the nobody may be able to gift him with a heart of his own. For if he should get his original heart back, he would no longer be the Axel that you knew. But for Axel to get a heart of his own, you must be willing to do something in exchange."

"But what is that `something`? What do I have to do? And what are you talking about when you say 'what you are', is there something-" her thoughts asked. But the female voice chuckled softly.

"You will learn in time. For the moment this is needed is still far off, but so very near. Once it comes, you'll know what to do." and with that, it fell silent. She was silent for a few moments before nodding in understanding. With that she turned her attention back to the window, allowing her eyes to close and for sleep to consume her.

-Later-

"Ah…it feels kinda strange to have a tail and be furry again, but I can't complain." Kyrie thought as she stretched her four limbs, feeling the ground beneath the pads of her feet and the dry wind whipping at her white fur.

"Then again, I wish I had my notebook. It's gonna be hard when it comes to communicating with them." she continued, deadpanning. Sora looked back at her and Donald and Goofy approached them, looking around at the scenery. It hadn't changed since the last time they were here, and this got her worried.

"It doesn't look like things have changed much." Sora mumbled in concern, Donald and Goofy nodding in agreement. With that they began walking through the savannah, heading to Pride Rock. But three blurs in the distance made them stop, watching as the blurs cleared. It was Shenzi, Banzai, and Ed as they ran at them, before slowing down to a trot.

"Oh, it's you guys. Man, we were hoping you were a meal." Shenzi complained, making Kyrie hiss as she arched her back. But Sora seemed to take a more optimistic approached to the comment.

"Hiya!" he greeted, waving his paw. But Banzai merely rolled his eyes at him.

"Don't gimme any of that 'hiya' stuff! Thanks to you clowns, we're back to scavenging scraps for a living." He barked. Ed started the laugh at this, causing the group to roll their eyes at them. With that, Shenzi turned and began to walk away.

"C'mon, it's not that bad. I enjoyed that week-dead elephant we had yesterday." She muttered. Sora ignored her comment as he looked at Banzai.

"Hey how's Simba?" at this, the female hyena stopped, giving a laugh as she turned to them. The group blinked at her in confusion before Banzai chuckled maliciously. "We gotta laugh every time we hear that dude's name." he laughed. Shenzi shuddered.

"Ooh. Say it again!"

"Simba!"

"One more time!"

"Simba!" Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Kyrie deadpanned as the three had their little fun. "Simba!" at this, the three began roaring with laughter, before Kyrie and Sora hissed.

"That's enough!" Sora ordered. The three stopped immediately, before they began to walk off.

"Go on then, see for yourself. Simba is one wishy-washy king." The female hyena taunted as she and her companions walked off. The group turned and looked at each other in worry.

"Gawrsh, whaddaya think coulda happened?" Goofy asked. Kyrie shrugged and looked towards Pride Rock, something was amiss, she could feel it. "There's something dark lurking in the Pride Lands. But this dark scent…it's familiar…" she thought as she looked around.

"Well, let's go find Simba and see." Sora spoke as he looked towards Pride Rock. The group nodded in agreement and set off, Donald flying overhead as Sora, Kyrie, and Goofy ran on the terrain. But once they got to Pride Rock, a dark shadow appeared, making them stop and gasp.

"Scar!" Sora exclaimed, Kyrie hissing in agreement. Indeed it was the lion as he stared at them mockingly, his body enshrouded with darkness. Sora ran forward instantly, but the second he leaped at the lion, he disappeared. "Huh?"

"A ghost?" Donald asked as he flew down, landing on Goofy's shell. Goofy nodded, before looking around in worry. "We better tell Simba about this. Wonder if he's up there…" he suggested, looking up at the massive rock formation. Kyrie nodded and began walking, with Sora running to catch up to her so that they walked side-by-side. Only problem, was that Sora was walking on her right side, making her uneasy as her hackles raised and her tail twitched anxiously. Sora looked at her.

"Hey, what's up?" he asked. Kyrie pointed to her right eye using her paw, making him gasp as he remembered the last time he had been in her somewhat blind spot. "Oh! Sorry!" he exclaimed, jumping over so that he now walked on her left. She smiled and shook her head before playfully nudging him, as an act of forgiveness. Sora smiled in return but stopped when he spotted a lioness approaching them.

"Have you come to see Simba?" she asked. He nodded. "We saw Scar's ghost!" he exclaimed, the others nodding as well. This made the lioness frown in worry, shaking her head.

"An omen like that could only be foretelling the end of our pride. Yet…King Simba won't do a thing. I guess just being the son of the great King Mufasa doesn't necessarily mean he's ready to rule the kingdom himself." She spoke. Kyrie growled in response, arching her back a little. But Sora quickly calmed her, before looking at the lioness.

"Trust me, Simba will think of something." He assured her. But the lioness didn't believe him.

"The time for thinking is past. We need him to take action…as his father would have done. He ruled with courage and pride. I remember it like it was yesterday…The mighty Mufasa…"

"Simba'll do all that, too. You'll see!" he protested. After a moment, the lioness sighed and turned, walking away. "I'm not so sure."

"Simba will save the Pride Lands, you'll see!" Kyrie thought with a huff, angry that his own servants were doubting the young king. With that they turned and headed into the lion's den, only to find Simba in a state of depression as he lay listlessly on a rock, his head turned away. His ears perked at the sounds of their footsteps and he turned, giving a small, sad smile.

"You came back…" he murmured, making the group stop and look at him in worry.

"Are you okay?" Donald asked softly, concerned for the king's health.

"You don't look so good." Goofy added, making Kyrie nod in agreement.

"Hey, Simba. Why don't we team up and do something about that Scar ghost? Seems like everybody's worried about it. So, now's your big chance to show 'em what you're really made of!" Sora suggested. But the lion stood up, growling angrily as he glared at the group.

"That doesn't concern you!" he roared, making the group jump in alarm. He quickly realized his mistake and bowed his head sadly. "Sorry…"

"It's okay." Sora answered hesitantly. The young king sighed as he raised his head, staring at them with a lost look in his eyes.

"I just wish I knew what my father would do."

"But he's not here, Simba. It's all up to you now. And that means the important thing is what you're gonna do being the king. Not what your father woulda done." Goofy explained. Simba turned away, pausing for a moment before asking.

"So you're saying…it's all up to me…"

"Yes! You can do it, Simba. We believe in you." Kyrie thought as she looked at the lion. Sora nodded. "See, there ya go!"

"Exactly!" the young lion and leopard jumped and turned, to see Timon and Pumba as they approached.

"We know your dad was a great king, and all. But now it's you turn. Remember what I taught ya. 'You gotta put the past behind you.' It's time to go out there and show everybody things are gonna be just fine!" Timon explained, trying to give the lion some much needed encouragement.

"Yeah, you can do it!"

"You gotta live for today!"

"And find your own path!"

"Live for today…And find my own path…not my father's…" Simba murmured, making the others grin happily. "That's it!" Sora exclaimed.

"I'm glad to hear you say that, Simba." The group turned and watched as Nala walked in, Donald smiling at the lioness. "Nala!" he cried. She smiled at them and took her place by Simba's side as she stared at them.

"Promise me you'll help Simba any way you can." She said softly. Kyrie nodded as Timon added, "As long as Sora handles the dangerous parts!" the group nodded in agreement before Nala nuzzled her mate.

"I'm counting on you, Simba…and so is our baby." Kyrie gave a mew of surprise as Simba looked away bashfully. The others smiled and rejoiced at the news, before Timon sighed.

"Great! Now we're going to have to babysit!" he sighed, making everyone but Kyrie laugh at the comment. But Kyrie was silent as she stared at the lioness curiously, she was having a baby?

"A baby…" she thought as she stared. But the laughter had died down as Simba looked at the four.

"Let's go see Rafiki first. I'm sure he'll be able to tell us something about that ghost."

Yep. We're in the Pride Lands. For some reason, I didn't really like how they made Simba the 2nd time around, since he's all EMO and stuff like that. Well, the better term is Angsty, but I like Emo better.

Anyways, so Axel's pissed because he thinks Kyrie doesn't love him, even though she does. Aren't I a stinker?

Axel: Yes, yes you are.

Me: ...That was a rhetorical question, Axel!

Axel: Whatever. Anyways, review on how the story's goin' so far. R-E-V-I-E-W. Got it memorized?