A new world. The first movie that I ever saw in a theater was The Lion King. And I still love it! Wonderful characters, engrossing plot… Interestingly, I just finished reading Hamlet for literature. But, I'm rambling.

Namine: "This isn't rambling. Hamlet on the other hand, he rambled."

Touche. But in other news, this story has finally exceeded one-thousand reviews! Thank you everybody!

Namine: "Congratulations. But moving on to the story, Darth doesn't own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, Square Enix, or anything else he wants to use."

Chapter 73: The Animal Kingdom

"Woah…" Yuffie exclaimed. "Check us out!"

Sora had plenty of fond memories of the Pride Lands. And most of them were linked to the fact that it was totally inhabited by animals. And so, it seemed only natural that they should take a similar form when visiting.

Sora looked like a young lion cub. He had short brown fur covering most of his body. And his 'mane' resembled his usual spiky hairdo. His crown pendant still hung around his neck. Donald had become a different kind of bird, with wings instead of arms. He seemed to enjoy the aspect of flight. Goofy was a tortoise with a brown and green shell.

Kairi had become a young lioness. Her crimson hair had spread all over her body like Sora's. A few locks of her normal hairdo hung down on either side of her face. Her Oathkeeper lucky charm/necklace was hanging from her neck.

Riku was also a lion, though a slightly older, larger adolescent version than Sora or Kairi. He had silver fur all over his body. His mane of spiked silver hair hung on either side of his head.

Yuffie had become a lion adolescent like Riku. She was slightly smaller, and her fur was jet black like her hair had been. She had her usual hair style on the top of her head, her bandanna was wrapped around her forehead, and her wrist guard was on her front leg over her paw.

King Mickey had nearly gone back to his ancestor's roots. He was a black-furred meerkat, with a few light brown markings on his back that resembled his seal. His face was the same, and his distinctive ears were untouched, but his tail was longer and thicker than it had been. His arms were also slightly skinnier.

Nehrut had become a mandrill. The majority of his body hair was dark brown like his hair, and it was messier at the top of his head. His skin around his eyes was dark blue in color, and his long nose was dark red. He had a tail (though he had heard that mandrills typically didn't) and the very tip was marked with blue.

Bariss was a mandrill as well. She was still slightly shorter than he was, and her hair was closer to the blonde color it was in her human form. Her typical hair style was still in place on her head. Her emerald heart necklace hung from around her neck. The skin near her eyes was dark green, and she too had a tail, marked with green.

And Axel was now a bat-eared Fox with red fur to match his usual hair. He seemed to have his own sort of mane going down his back, like his normal hair. His very large ears seemed to be permanently flattened back on his head. Whether he was doing this consciously to make himself look less ridiculous or not, no one ever knew.

As Sora tried to re-familiarize himself with walking on four legs (left and right, right and left, left and right, right and left) he looked around the environment, and was amazed at what he saw.

When they had left the Pride Lands a few months previously, it had been only recently freed from Scar's reign. The old tyrant hadn't taken care of the land, resulting in it being parched, dead, and free of almost all wildlife. There had been very few prey animals wandering about, and there had been barely a trace of green anywhere on this very savanna.

But now it was lush, and green, and full of life. The wide open plains were covered by tall grass, and smaller creatures roamed around. The sky was clear and blue, and beautiful birds flew overhead in great impressive loops. It was miraculous.

"Simba's done a lot with this place, huh guys?" He said, adressing Donald and Goofy.

"Aww... I always knew he'd whip the Pride Lands back into shape!" Goofy said.

Sora was just about to agree with him, when Riku (trying to get the hang of the whole four-legged thing that had nearly gotten Sora killed by hungry hyenas) rammed into his side and fell on top of him.

"Having a bit of trouble?" Nehrut asked, standing above them. He looked over at Bariss. "We really lucked out here, didn't we?"

"No kidding." She agreed, demostrating her point by standing on one hand.

"My feet are so big!" Mickey said, walking awkwardly around the immediate area. He tripped, and fell into Yuffie, whose already precarious balance caused her to fall over on top of him.

Kairi, on the other hand was adjusting beautifully. She easily trotted around them all, looking very proud of herself, and struggling to hold back her laughter at the antics of her less-than successful friends.

"How are you getting it!?" Riku asked, sounding incredulous.

"You're just jealous." She replied cheekily as he got up off of Sora. Then right away, she literally pounced on her boyfriend. The two rolled over and over across the ground, knocking over Axel in the process. Eventually, Kairi was able to pin him to the ground by his shoulders.

"Not that I'm complaining..." Sora said with a grin, "But what has gotten into you?"

"I can't help it!" She said, rubbing her nose against his. "You're just so cute!"

For reasons that only Sora knew, Donald immediately started laughing. (1)

"Nothing's going to stop you guys from being all sappy, huh?" Axel said. He had finally managed to get his walk somewhat under control, though his legs wobbled occasionally. "You're lions for crying out loud!"

"So?" This time it was from Yuffie, who –having gained some acceptable amount of control over her legs- stunned Riku by rubbing her body along his in a feline manner. She smiled devilishly at the result. He was staring straight ahead with a stupid look on his face. She then touched his chin with the tip of her tail, and his knees buckled.

"Oh brother..." Axel said. Sora, Kairi, and Nehrut were rolling on the ground in silent laughter.

"Guys..." Mickey said, somehow sounding simultaneously amused and annoyed at the same time, "Could we please stop fooling around and-"

Something burst from the brush behind him. He reacted instinctively, and leapt high into the air, all traces of his former clumsiness gone. Kingdom Crown (which was slightly smaller to account for his shorter height) appeared in his hand while he was in midair.

His attacker passed under him in a blur, and stopped when it found Presul at its nose. The weapon had appeared out of nowhere in similar fashion to a Keyblade. The young lioness stopped on a dime, when she suddenly realized that there were ten different weapons pointing at her.

But the second they realized who she was, the weapons disappeared again. "Kiara!"

She looked at Nehrut, who was directly in front of her. Her eyes narrowed slightly, she recognized his voice. She looked into the face of the mandrill in front of her long and hard for a few seconds before she realized. A smile spread across her face instantly.

"Guys!"

She jumped at Nehrut, who had been the first to put away his weapon. For a few seconds they stood there in a weird, cross-species hug. The two had somehow grown very close during the few days they had spent on the Unity. The rest of the party grinned and gathered around her.

Kiara bowed to the King, looking embarrassed. "I'm real sorry, Your Majesty. I thought you were someone else."

"Someone else?"

"Young lady!" Somebody shouted from a little farther off.

"Darn it..." Kiara's ears drooped.

Two figures came into view soon after the shout. One was riding on top of the other's back, holding on to his ears for balance. This one was a meerkat with light brown fur. A patch of red hair sat on the top of his head. His fingers and toes were black, and he looked fiercely irritated.

His larger friend whom he was riding on top of was a dark-red colored warthog. He had black hair on the top of his head, and slightly yellowed tusks. His relatively tiny hooves kicked up bits of dirt as he ran.

Sora smiled. It was never a party without Timon and Pumbaa.

Pumbaa came to a halt when they were about five feet away from the group. Timon jumped off his back, and the two walked toward Kiara, who looked much more annoyed than worried.

"You can NOT just wander off like that young lady!" Timon exclaimed, looking sternly at her. "You know how we and your parents worry when you just disappear without telling anyone!"

"If any of the Outlanders were to..." Pumbaa started to say, but then he stopped when he realized they had an audience. Three of which he recognized. "Sora!"

"Yeah, Sora can't do it either!" Timon added. Then he caught himself, confused. "Wait, Sora?" Then he too, noticed the audience. "Oh! Sora, Donald, Goofy!"

"Hey guys." Sora said, smiling at the meerkat.

"How've you been?" He asked. "Livin' Hakuna Matata?"

"Not exactly."

"Too bad."

"Okay would someone tell us what the heck Hakuna Ma-whata means?" Riku asked.

"It means 'no worries' for the rest of your days!" Pumbaa answered him, with a big smile.

"It's our motto."

"What's a motto?" Goofy asked.

"Nothing! What's a motto with you!?" Timon and Pumbaa burst into laughter. Sora chuckled.

"Unfortunately, the princess's trouble-making makes that a bit difficult." Timon said, recovering, and looking pointedly at Kiara.

Or at least where Kiara had been.

"Where'd she go!?" Timon and Pumbaa screamed simultaneously, looking panicked.

"She went over that direction while you guys were getting re-acquainted." Nehrut said, hiking a thumb over his shoulder as he did.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Timon asked with a glare and a twitching eye.

"I was laughing at the 'motto' thing."

Kiara stopped nearly a mile later, laughing quietly to herself. She knew that the odds were good that she'd be punished for this, but sometimes a girl just had to break a few rules to have some fun.

She shrugged silently to herself. Maybe with Sora and the guys here, her father would be too preoccupied to punish her too badly. She walked a little ways, humming a little song about Hakuna Matata that Timon and Pumbaa had taught her. She stopped her humming soon however, when she realized where she was.

She had just entered the outermost section of the place her father and other lions had affectionately dubbed the 'Outlands.'

It was a fairly barren place, as opposed to the Pride Lands. Rocks, sand and dirt and near-dead trees as far as the eye could see. The place always seemed darker somehow, like the day light was afraid to get too close. An eerie mist seemed to be constant here. It was unsettling. A murky, very dirty grey river flowed nearby past the cliffs that marked it's border with the Pride Lands.

Normally, this wouldn't have bothered her too much, if the place was empty. But for the past few months, since Scar's downfall, the Outlands had been the home of traitors; Lions loyal to Scar, who hadn't been overly pleased by the sudden change of command, and exiled for it, not to mention a few leftover hyenas.

Among other things.

Kiara froze when she saw two red-brown pinpricks through the mist, surrounded by a sickly yellow: A set of eyes.

As the eyes came closer, their owner gradually began to come into view. It was a lioness with dark brown fur that was starting to grey after a few years of harsh living. A streak of darker hair ran from the center of her forehead and down her neck. One of her ears appeared to have a tear in it. She walked, crouched over, teeth bared, ready to pounce in an instant.

"Princess....." She said, smiling horribly as she approached. Her eyes flashed. "Welcome to the Outlands. What brings you out here?"

Her question was greeted by rounds of hysteric laughter from behind her, and another three figures came into view slowly. They were hyenas, and these three were particularly well known to anyone who had lived through Scar's reign, including Sora, Donald, and Goofy.

Shenzi (the apparent leader of the three) said, "Awww... Girl, are you lost?"

"Why don't we give you a hand?" Banzai asked.

Ed just laughed, as always.

"Silence, you fools!" The lioness snapped quickly, before turning her attention back to Kiara. She chuckled, but it was totally without mirth, and there was murder in her eyes. "Now just come here..."

Suddenly there was a deafening roar from very nearby. And the space in between the two lionesses was suddenly filled. There stood a large full-grown lion male. His coat was bright and yellow-orange. His brown eyes were fierce, and his dark red mane hung down around his face.

Simba, the King of Pride Rock got down on his front legs, ready to pounce, and snarled.

The lioness glared at him, and looked about to pounce herself, when suddenly another thirteen beings appeared, quickly circling her and the three hyenas. This included the ten off-worlders, Timon and Pumbaa, and the Queen, Nala. Several weapons were now pointing inward at them.

But the lioness only continued to glare at Simba. "Simba..."

"Zira."

"Nala."

"Zira."

"Shenzi." Sora.

"Sora."

"Banzai." Goofy.

"Goofy."

"Ed." Donald.

"Timon... Pumbaa." Timon said. "Great! Now that we all know each other, GET AWAY FROM OUR PRINCESS!"

The lioness now known to all as Zira turned her head briefly toward Timon and let out an audible growl.

"Take your hyenas, and leave here. Now." Simba said, his voice harsher than anyone had ever heard it before.

There was a small motion from near Zira, and suddenly everyone's eyes were focused on a young lion cub. His fur was dark red and the little patch of hair which would later become a full mane was black. His eyes were green. The cub looked a bit apprehensive, and was shaking a bit.

"Have you met my son, Kovu?" Zira asked, using a tone that suggested that she was showing the cub off. "He was hand-chosen by Scar. To follow in his pawprints, and become king..."

"Woah..." Roxas said into Sora's head. "He looks a lot like Scar. You know, just not evil or psychotic, or old yet."

"Pffftt..." Timon wasn't impressed. "That's not a king! That's a fuzzy maraca!"

"Kovu was the last of us born..." Zira continued, ignoring Timon's insult. "before you banished us to the Outlands! Where we have little food, and less water..."

"You chose your own fate, Zira." Simba interrupted, his voice lower, but somehow more intimidating than when he was snarling. "Take them and go. We're finished here."

The lion king turned around to his daughter, and picked her up gently with his teeth. She hung in the air by the scruff of her neck.

"Oh no Simba." Zira said, smirking horribly. "We have barely begun." She picked up the cub Kovu with her teeth (with less affection than Simba) and turned around. Shenzi, Banzai, and Ed glared at the party at large for a few moments, before following her back into the mist.

They vanished from sight soon after, but they could hear Zira's low laughter echoing back to them through the darkness.

Viola. The next chapter will mark the two-year anniversary of Brotherhood of the Dark. Tune in then!

(1) In case anybody missed this, Donald comments that Kairi would think Sora would look cute in lion form in KH2.

I've hit a thousand, but I still want more! Please review.