Man, that the HECK is up with FF? I couldn't get on and post this for most of the day! Damn you FF, damn you...

Kyrie (c) Me

Kingdom Hearts (c) Square Enix

Kingdom Hearts

Bonded Soul

Chapter 62

The group made their way down the large rock formation and into the Stone Hollow, meeting the baboon as he waited patiently at the entrance. He quickly led them inside with his staff, before he looked at Simba. "Oh ho ho! The king… he is ready to be king?" the old baboon asked the young king. He nodded.

"I think so."

"Can you tell us about Scar's ghost?" Sora asked the shaman. Rafiki nodded. "Oh, yes…the ghost. A being with no body. It is created when the evil heart of Scar meets the hesitating heart of Simba."

"Hesitating?" Simba asked in confusion. At this, Rafiki turned to him. "You thought you weren't?"

"Gawrsh, that ghost sounds just like a Heartless." Goofy commented. Kyrie nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, it does sound like a heartless. And since Scar became a heartless before we cut him down, it would make perfect sense. But something still bothers me…what does Rafiki mean when he mentioned Simba's heart?" she thought as she looked back and forth between the lion and baboon. Sora was silent for a moment before frowning.

"Hm, I don't know." He spoke, his brows furrowed in thought. Rafiki nodded as he turned to Sora.

"You're right, you don't. But you do know it is upsetting. And it is upsetting the hearts of everybody in the Pride Lands. You may not know what it is, but it still IS. This world, it is full of many such things. And these things, a king must face. It is the test that has been set before you, Simba." The baboon explained to them. But Simba scoffed.

"That's all? Come on. You have to tell us more about the ghost…" he urged. But the baboon shook his head. "No, not today! But the hyenas in the Elephant Graveyard may know more. Does not matter, though. There is little the Simba of late can do."

"Aw, don't say that! Not when he's ready to try!" Sora spoke adamantly. But the baboon sighed softly.

"In his head, perhaps…but what about his heart?" at this, Simba turned to Sora and shook his head. "Forget it, Sora. Let's head for the Elephant Graveyard." With that, he walked out, Sora and the others following behind. Kyrie stood there for a moment hesitantly, before looking back at the baboon. Rafiki stared right back and gave her a smile.

"You are curious of my words to Simba, no? Simba will not be able to fight the evil heart of Scar if his heart is still hesitant. He must find his own path, not the one Mufasa took. In the end, he can only be Simba." the baboon explained. The white leopard nodded as she turned, waving a paw at him before leaving.

-A little while later, Elephant graveyard-

"Hey! Wait!" Donald called as the group walked into the graveyard, spotting the three hyenas as they walked. They paused and glanced back, irritation crossing their features.

"Aw, come on. Can't you guys just leave us alone?" Banzai complained. Kyrie hissed a little and crouched, ready to pounce if the three did anything that signaled for a fight. But Simba was more straightforward as he spoke.

"Do you three know anything about Scar's ghost?" he asked calmly. Shenzi cocked her head to the side, confused. "Huh? Scar's ghost?" at this, Ed began to laugh hysterically, making the three smirk maliciously as they turned tail and began to run.

"Maybe." Banzai called back. Sora growled. "You do know something!" but the hyenas kept running, prompting the five to chase after them. Kyrie was quick as she jumped up a ledge and ran along it, before jumping down in front of the three, scattering them. She quickly went after Banzai and lunged, sinking her teeth into the only area she could reach, his tail. The hyena screamed loudly and began to buck, but she held on tight.

"Gah, not again! What is it with you and biting my tail?" Banzai wailed. Kyrie simply smirked, his tail still clenched between her jaws. "Blegh! His tail tastes awful! Oh well…" she thought as she bit down harder, causing him to wail in pain. After a few more minutes, the others apprehended Shenzi and Ed, cornering the three against a rock wall as Kyrie released her hold on the hyena's tail. After a few seconds of rubbing his behind, he stared mockingly at them. "Oh no…I guess you caught us ALL."

"What're we gonna do?" Shenzi mocked, Ed laughing all the while. The group growled as they glared at the three.

"Tell me about Scar's ghost!" Simba demanded. But Banzai shook his head. "Sorrrry. We don't know nothin'."

"Ooh, wait! It's coming back to me! That's the one that only hangs out around fraidy cats. Right, Banzai?" Shenzi laughed. Simba roared. "Enough!" Kyrie crouched and got ready to pounce, before she felt something dark and dangerous approaching. Turning, she gasped as Scar's ghost appeared, making the others turn as well.

"Must be a fraidy cat around here somewhere!" Shenzi mocked. Sora turned to Simba, who had a look of pure distress on his face. "Simba do something."

"How does it feel to be king, hmm? Why, you must be a truly inspiring ruler by now. After all, you ARE the son of the great Mufasa." The ghost spoke, taunting him. Kyrie hissed and raised her hackles as she got in front of Sora. Simba looked at the ghost hesitantly before backing up and taking off, leaving the four behind.

"Ah, Simba…running away as always." The ghost taunted, making Kyrie snarl as she turned her attention back to him. With that it disappeared in a shroud of darkness, making the leopard cub shiver in uneasiness.

"Simba!" Sora called after the lion. But he was quickly gone, the hyenas laughing as they walked away as well. "Gawrsh, Rafiki was right." Goofy spoke after a moment. Sora looked at him.

"You mean, Simba's still unsure?" he asked. Kyrie nodded silently, padding over to the entrance of the graveyard as the three conversed. She looked on at the barren wasteland, a lump in her throat.

"Simba, why did you run? Are you giving up? What about Timon, Pumba, the lionesses, and Nala? They still need you…and your baby! What about your baby, Simba?" she thought as she stared. Sora, Donald, and Goofy joined her, the young cub looking at her as she turned to them.

"C'mon, we've gotta tell Nala and the others what happened." he spoke, nudging her. She nodded and followed as the three made their way to Pride Rock, meeting Nala, Timon, Pumba, and Rafiki. Sora, Donald, and Goofy began to explain the situation to them while Kyrie continued to scan the distance, hoping to see a flash of golden fur. When she didn't, she gave a soft sigh, disappointed. She felt something land on her back and turned, to see Donald looking at her.

"Are you okay?" he asked. She gave a small shrug, making the duck nod as Sora and Goofy joined them.

"Timon and Pumba said we can find him at the Oasis. We better get going." Sora informed her. She nodded and the four took off running, trying to get to the young king as quick as they could before anything bad happened to him.

"Don't worry, Simba! We're coming!" Kyrie thought as she ran. But once they got to the Wildebeest valley, the boys slowed down to prepare their jump, but Kyrie only sped up as she reached the crevice, using all of her strength to jump, flying over and landing gracefully on the other side. Not stopping, she kept going, leaving Sora and the others behind.

By the time she realized that the boys weren't behind her, she was already in the jungle, just about to enter the Oasis. She looked back and right, her tail twitching and her eyes blinking owlishly. "Huh? Where'd they go?" she thought as she blinked. Shrugging her shoulders, she shook her head as she walked into the Oasis, knowing that they would catch up sooner or later. Walking into the clearing, she spotted Simba with his head resting on his paws as he stared off into space listlessly. She padded over quietly, stopping and waving her paw in front of his face. But he was still unresponsive, so she did the only thing she could, bite his ear. She gave a small chomp and waited until he gasped, realizing that something had bit him. He gave a roar of surprise as she let go, before sitting up and looking down, realizing her presence.

"Oh, Kyrie, it's you. What're you- how'd you get here? Where's Sora?" he asked. She shrugged her shoulders and he remembered, she couldn't talk. "Oh…sorry. I forgot." he spoke after a moment. She smiled and shook her head before holding out a paw and lightly touching his. He gave a soft smile and a sigh before lying back down, staring off into the distance like before. She made no move or sound to interrupt, but instead sat beside him, staring at the sky. After a minute, Simba looked up at the sky as well.

"Father…!" he mumbled softly. Kyrie perked her ears at the sound of something approaching and turned, only to spot Scar's ghost as it stared at them smugly.

"Hmm. It seems even your daddy's abandoned you. How sad." He stated smugly. Kyrie growled softly as she took a step forward, placing herself at Simba's side as she glared at the ghost.

"That's not true! His father didn't abandon him, no parent would ever abandon their child!" she thought as she bared her teeth, her hackles rising. But the ghost began to approach and the two backed up, not knowing what harm it could cause if either got in contact with it. The ghost kept walking and the two kept backing up, before they reached the cliffside. Kyrie looked down before looking up, realizing just in what danger they were in. "Oh, what are we going to do? Ghosts can't be touched by a blade, but I'm pretty sure they can harm you. Simba…"

"Simba!" the two perked up as they spotted Sora, Donald, and Goofy running towards them, alarmed looks on their faces. The ghost looked back at them before disappearing, Simba sighing as the three finally reached them. "It's no use. I'll never be the king my father was."

"But Simba…that's not what you're supposed to be. You can't be Mufasa. You can only be you. Everybody believes in you as a king. They just want to see what you'll do. And if anyone's saying they liked your father better, it's because you haven't done much yet. That's all." Sora explained. Simba was quiet for a moment before looking up.

"I know that."

"Then stop moping and DO something!" Sora exclaimed. Simba growled. "I can't!" all was quiet for a few moments as Simba looked away, before Sora `hmphed`.

"Fine."

"Let's go, Sora."

"Yeah, why stick around if he's not even gonna try? C'mon, Goofy, Kyrie!" Sora spoke as he walked off, Donald flying above him. Goofy looked back and forth between the two sides hesitantly before following. But Kyrie stayed exactly where she was, she wasn't going to abandon Simba. Right now, he needed someone, and she was the kind of person who wouldn't abandon anyone. No matter the reason. After a moment, he looked and spotted her as she sat by his side, waiting silently.

"You're not going after them?" at this, she shook her head. He gave a small smile before he perked up, looking behind him to see Scar's ghost once more. Kyrie growled and stiffened, before he spoke.

"The hesitant king will one day lose all of his friends." the ghost spoke. Kyrie perked up, recognizing the strange voice. It wasn't Scar who was speaking! Looking behind the ghost, she spotted Sora, Donald, and Goofy as they hid behind a fallen log. Smiling, she winked at them before looking at the ghost, a mask of fright on her face. Sora, Donald, and Goofy nodded, smiling at her.

"Time to play the part of the frightened little girl. Hopefully, this can get Simba motivated, especially with Sora, Donald, and Goofy playing the role of Scar the bad guy." she thought as she began her little act. Simba looked at the seemingly frightened cub at his side, before glaring at the ghost. "King Simba the doubtful…"

"Worried by a silly ol' ghost…" Kyrie backed up a little more, inching towards the cliff. Simba looked back and his eyes widened.

"Ooh, Simba the do-nothing king…" Simba growled as he turned his attention back on the ghost, stepping in front of Kyrie. "No!"

"Try and stop me!" with that, he lunged, going through the ghost and making it disappear in a flash of darkness. Sora and the others came out of hiding, joyous expressions on their faces. "You did it! The ghost is gone!" Sora exclaimed.

"We knew you could do it!" Donald added. Goofy nodded. "Hooray for Simba!" Simba smiled at the three as Kyrie came out from behind his large forearm, joining the three.

"You know, I'm really lucky to have friends who'll stand by me…and help me see clearly. My father…wasn't so fortunate." He started. Sora sighed and rolled his eyes.

"There you go again."

"What I mean is…Everyone here, and in the Pride Lands, wants me to succeed. Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Kyrie. Pumbaa, Timon, Rafiki…Nala. You all want what's best for me. But my father always had Scar lurking behind his back, trying to cut him down. I've got to make the most of my blessings, and rebuild this kingdom." He explained. Sora smiled.

"Are you gonna say it, or do it?" the older lion smirked. "Wait and see." Kyrie smiled at the two lions, relieved that the whole conflict between them was over. But a sudden cry from the jungle made them jump.

"Simba!" turning, they spotted Timon as he ran to them. "Simba! Come quick! There's a bazillion ghosts of Scar haunting the Pride Lands! Everyone but Nala high-tailed it outta there. And now she needs your help." He exclaimed. The group gasped and nodded, running past the meerkat and into the jungle. He sighed.

"Our little Simba all grown up and finding his place in the world." Simba skidded to a halt and looked back at him. "Nice try. You're coming, too!"

We're getting closer and closer to Hollow Bastion, and then to Twilight town. You all know what this means... ;)

Til' next time, see ya!