Kingdom Hearts III: The Army of Light

by J. Tom

Sora and his team are now traveling the worlds to save them from Master Xehanort's wrath and recruit friends both old and new to join their army of light. But as their adventure goes on, things become harder for them. Tougher foes, dangerous fights, all leading up to the final battle that'll determine the fate of all the worlds. My version of Kingdom Hearts III. Rated PG-13.

59. Chapter 59: Steaks Rising

Now the steaks rise in the final chapter of this year.

Enjoy!

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At the top of the Castle That Never Was, Master Xehanort and Maleficent were conversing with each other. After receiving valuable intel from Ansem, Xemnas, and Young Xehanort, the leader of the Organization requested the three members to inform both Scar and Zira that he needed to speak to them immediately. Xehanort also requested Maleficent's presence as he needed her assistance in her magic to give Scar and his forces an advantage in the coming fight.

"Are you certain that you can give Scar and Zira what they need for the coming battle?" asked Xehanort.

"Absolutely. If what you just told me is true then we will need every advantage that we can muster against those fools. Both Scar and Zira won't be taken down so easily compared to last time." Maleficent replied.

"I do not doubt your abilities my dear, especially when it comes to drawing out one's darkness. However, will Scar be able to regain what he had lost after so many years in his world time?" Xehanort clarified.

Maleficent smirked. "I am quite certain. It took me some time, but after looking through footage of the Pride Lands' past battles thanks to my magic, most notably the ones that feature young Kion, I have the knowledge needed for Scar to be at his full power for the coming attack."

Xeahnort laughed.

"Good. If all goes correctly both Scar and Zira will have the power needed to enact their revenge and drive the Pride Lands into darkness." remarked Xehanort.

It wasn't long before the Xehanorts and Maleficent heard the sound of footsteps as they turned to notice Scar and Zira approaching them.

"You summoned us, Master Xehanort?" asked Scar.

Xehanort nodded. "Yes, I have. First things first, are your forces ready for the attack on the Tree of Life."

Scar smirked.

"Yes, they're just about assembled and ready to proceed as planned. Earlier, Zira and I gave them a run down as to who our possible opponents will be, aside from obviously Simba and his family." replied Scar.

"Makucha and Mama Binturong also gave us more insight into the Tree of Life given their prior experience with dealing with Kion's Lion Guard and the Night Pride. Everyone in our new army is now aware of that place inside and out." noted Zira.

"If I may ask Zira, will Nuka be able to handle fighting against his former pride? I understand his hatred against Kovu for his betrayal, but I'm not sure if he will be able to handle fighting against the others who had left you." asked Maleficent.

"Do not worry, Nuka told me earlier that he is determined to prove himself to me now that he is considered the Chosen One, and he stated to me specifically that if he has to fight against his former brother and sister, then so be it." remarked Zira.

Xehanort nodded.

"I see then, in that case, this will be a good time to tell you both some information that I have received from my fellow members. Most specifically, it pertains to your former daughter Zira." said Xehanort.

This caught both lions' attention, especially Zira when she heard Vitani's name.

"Vitani? What about her?" Zira snarled.

"Has she come to her senses regarding Simba, and decided to rejoin her mother and brother?" Scar inquired.

Maleficent shocked her head. "I'm afraid it's more of the opposite. For Vianti specifically, she alongside some of the other lionesses of your former pride are now the Pride Land's newest Lion Guard."

As soon as Maleficent finished her sentence both Zira and Scar's eyes widened in complete shock. This was something that neither of them were expecting. Vitani, Zira's ex-daughter is now the leader of a new Lion Guard for the Pride Lands.

"This...this can't be real. This is not possible. There is no way my former daughter is now the leader of the Lion Guard." Zira exclaimed.

Scar then growled as he turned towards Xehanort.

"Explain yourself Xehanort. Earlier you told me that Kion and his Lion Guard are now back in the Pride Lands. There is no way Vitani is now the new protector of the Pride Lands with the original Guard just now returning to their home! She doesn't even have the Roar of the Elders!" yelled Scar.

Xehanort then frowned, especially when he heard Scar's last statement

"I'm afraid she does Scar, Vitani not too long ago, has gained the power of the Roar." remarked Xehanort

"IMPOSSIBLE! I REFUSE TO BELIEVE IT! VITANI HAD ONLY RECENTLY JOINED SIMBA'S PRIDE! SHE CAN'T HAVE GAINED SUCH POWER IN SUCH A SHORT AMOUNT OF TIME!" Scar angrily exclaimed with fury in his eyes.

"I suggest you two provide us with some explanation. Because I'm not sure which is worse. Kovu being with Simba's daughter or THIS!" Zira said, demanding to know how this came to be.

Xehanort and Maleficent looked at each other and silently nodded to each other before directing back toward the two lions.

"Very well then. Before Prince Kion and his Lion Guard returned, Vitani and some of Zira's former lionesses established a temporary Lion Guard to protect the Pride Lands. This was more or less to try to redeem themselves for their previous actions against Simba. But even when Kion and his Guard returned and resumed their duties, there was tension between both Kion and Vitani's groups regarding who should be the one to protect the Pride Lands as the Lion Guard." Xehanort explained.

"Thus, the two groups decided that the best way to settle their dispute was to compete against each other for the title. In a best-of-5 competition, the two groups hold contests based on each of the Lion Guard's main roles, this being strength, speed, sight, boldness, and fiercest." Maleficent elaborated.

"Then if what you said is true...are you saying that Vitani beat Kion and resulted in her and her group becoming the new Lion Guard?" Zira deduced.

"Zira, as I said, there is no way that Vitani could simply gain the Roar after she beat Kion." Scar clarified his fellow lion.

"And you are correct on that matter Scar. Vitani couldn't just gain the Roar just by beating Kion..." Xehanort started to say before smirking at Scar. "...that is unless Kion himself was willing to let go of his own power."

This caused Scar to raise his eyebrows in confusion.

"Let go...what do you mean by that?" asked Scar.

"Tell me Scar, when you were in charge of your own Lion Guard, prior to you losing it, did you feel like you truly mastered the Roar?" asked Maleficent.

Scar pondered on this question, thinking back to the times when he was in his own group before answering the question.

"I ran my Lion Guard for years before losing the Roar. After going through so much in terms of utilizing the Roar for my benefit, I feel like I have mastered it." said Scar.

"And that lays the problem between you and Prince Kion, you see in comparison to him you weren't willing to let it go." remarked Xehanort.

"What are you talking about?" sneered Scar.

"You see, the competition between Kion and Vitani's groups was evenly matched and it all came down to a tiebreaker between the group's leader. Despite having a disadvantage without the Roar, Vitani was able to show Kion that she doesn't need that power for her to lead her own group." Xehanort said as he explained the rest of the competition.

"Thus, in an act of respect for her courage, Kion yielded to Vitani and thus caused her and her group to not only be the Pride Lands' newest Lion Guard, but Vitani herself to earn the power of the Roar of the Elders." said Maleficent.

Both Scar and Zira were silent as they heard of this revelation. Although both of them were glad that they didn't need to worry about Kion and his group being a major threat, the fact that it was Zira's former daughter who gained the power did anger them both. Especially Zira since she had trained her for her vendetta against Simba and now she amassed a power that was beyond her teaching.

"That miscreant of a child thinks she can play with a power that's beyond her control. Regardless of whether or not she has earned it, I will make sure that she and the rest of those who betrayed me will pay. She in particular is not worthy of such a title and power." snarled Zira.

Scar at the moment thought more on this before realization dawned on his face as he turned towards his lover.

"Zira my dear, at least look on the bright side of things, with Vitani just now gaining the Roar, she is only a beginner, and since Kion no longer has his, he and his former Guard members are no longer a threat. In truth, this will make our attack on the Tree of Life have a higher chance of success." remarked Scar.

At that moment Xehanort frowned when Scar finished his sentence.

"I'm afraid you are wrong on that statement Scar. Prince Kion is now more of a threat than you could imagine." said Xehanort.

Scar turns towards the old man with confusion on his face.

"What?" Scar said softly.

"Remember when I mentioned the difference between you and Kion, you weren't keen to let the Roar go and as such you had it with you until it was forced away from you after you used it on your former members. But for Kion he was willing to let it go out of respect for Vitani. Based on what I have been told, shortly after Vitani and her group were deemed as the new Lion Guard, the spirit of Askari appeared before everyone present." said Xehanort.

"Askari...as in the first leader of the Lion Guard?" said Zira.

"The very same. Kion didn't lose his power of the Roar, but rather according to Askari, by having Kion pass the Roar's power to someone else, he is now officially masted it." stated Maleficent.

"It's similar to how a Keyblade wielder can pass down his power to a successor. As a result Kion now has achieved the Roar of the Elders full power." noted Xehanort.

Scar at that moment was breathing heavily, anger flared within him and was directed at the young lion. After everything the former did, even going so far as to set Kion back when Ushari bit him and gained the Mark of Evil, the young lion was able to achieve something further than what he had done as a leader.

"I...I refused to believe this. There cannot be two Roar of the Elders in one place!" exclaimed Scar.

"And you are right, although Vitani and her group are now the Pride Lands' newest protectors, Kion was told by Askari that there is another place that needed to be protected with the Roar's power." said Xehanort.

Both Scar and Zira pondered at what Xehanort said before the former eyes widened as the pieces were now coming together.

"The Tree of Life?" Scar deduced.

"Correct. The Tree of Life is a mystical place deemed for its power of healing, thus making it a prime target for anyone who wants to destroy it. That's why such a power as the Roar of the Elders can be used to protect such an ancient place." clarified Maleficent.

"If that's the case, then our plans for our attack on the Tree of Life and our revenge on Simba could end up ruined because of this development." said Scar.

"If you take into account both Kion and Vitani's power, alongside both of their Lion Guard groups, not to mention Simba, Sora, and those who are also present, even with everyone in our army now aware of who could be present when the attack occurs, it will not be enough." added Zira.

Xehanort then smirked.

"We know, which is why after learning of such details we need to gain back the advantage, hence why I called you both here. Let's just say that the both of you are going to gain the power needed to end Simba, Kion, and the rest once and for all." said Xehanort.

Xehanort then turns his gaze towards Maleficent.

"You know what to do." Xehanort stated to the witch before the Dark Keyblade Master teleported behind the two lions.

Before the two lions could question what was happening, Maleficent summoned her staff and started to chant in an unfamiliar language, although it was a different incantation compared to the earlier one that she used for the resurrection spell. As she was chanting dark energy was gathered at the tip of her staff and growing in size.

As soon as the Mistress of Evil finished with her incantation, she directed her staff towards Scar and Zira, and the dark energy was then launched from it and enveloped the two lions. At first, both Scar and Zira were grunting in pain, but then they started to feel more revitalized as they felt themselves gaining more power.

As soon as the energy dissipated from the two lions both Scar and Zira were lying on the floor but with a dark aura surrounding the both of them. Both Maleficent and Xehanort walked towards the two lions.

"How are you both feeling?" Maleficent asked.

Both Scar and Zira were silent but it wasn't long before Scar started to laugh maniacally which was then followed by Zira.

"I feel...I feel great. I feel like I have been reborn." Scar said with a dark smile.

"Same for me as well. I feel like I can take on a whole army with just me alone. Maleficent, what did you just do?" Zira asked.

Maleficent smirked, eager that the spell did exactly what she wanted it to.

"I merely gave you both a boost in your abilities by bringing forth the darkness within the two of you. This newfound power has increased your strength, speed, and agility. You both are now more powerful than what you were originally before your respective downfalls. In essence, you both won't be able to fall so easily." Maleficent explained.

"That's not all. In addition to this newfound power, there is one additional thing that came with it, but only Scar can be able to use it." said Xehanort.

"And that would be?" Scar asked with curiosity on his face.

Xehanort smirked, eager to see if what Maleficent had told him minutes ago could be true.

"Rather than tell you, how about I show you Scar. But first, I will need you to face away from all three of us, the last thing any of us needs is to get caught in what you are about to unleash." Xehanort stated.

Scar, confused by this but didn't want to question his orders, turned so that he was facing away from them. At the same time, Maleficent walks towards Xehanort and Zira so that she is also behind Scar.

"Now Scar, I want you to concentrate and bring up the dark power that you have just now gained and when you feel like it's at its peak, unleash it in one...grand...roar." said Xehanort.

Now with curiosity to see what else he had gained with this power, Scar closed his eyes and concentrated. He let all the anger that he had towards Simba, Kion, Sora, Kovu, and all those that had crossed him build up inside him as a dark aura appeared around Scar's being and growing in size.

At the same time, even though there was a dark sky in The World That Never Was, dark clouds started to appear which was then followed by thunder and lightning.

Both Xehanort and Maleficent smirked as Zira's eyes widened with realization and shock.

"This power...it can't be!" exclaimed Zira.

"Now Scar, take all of your power...and UNLEASH IT!" Xehanort yelled out.

And so Scar did just that as he roared out like he never could before and as that happened, the clouds took the form of multiple faces each resembling Scar and they roared out alongside him. The resulting roar created an immense shockwave with such force that knocked everyone present except for Scar off their feet, even those who were in the lower levels of the castle could feel it.

As soon as Scar finished with the Roar, the clouds that had his faces dissipated and the night sky returned.

Xehanort, Maleficent, and Zira approached Scar who in turn was left with nothing but shock.

"Scar, was...was that the Roar of the Elders?" Zira asked.

Scar was silent at first but then started to laugh which became louder and louder after he passed second.

"Yes...YES! It was Zira, I seem to have regained the power back! But at the same time, it doesn't feel like it." Scar answered, feeling ecstatic.

"That's because the roar that you just did was not the Roar of the Elders, but rather it was your own special roar, created for you alone." Maleficent elaborated.

"Indeed. This roar can be used with no limitations, making it even more powerful than both Kion and Vitani's Roars combined, I dub thee as the Roar of Scar." said Xehanort.

Scar, taking note of the name, turned himself around to face Xehanort, Maleficent, and Zira as the latter began to joyfully laugh at what just transpired.

"Scar, this is incredible, even though it's technically not the Roar, it's still the same in concept. How do you feel?" Zira asked her lover.

"I feel like a part of me that has been lost returned, now more powerful than ever. With this, I can crush anyone that has ever wronged me with ease." answered Scar.

"Yes. But there is a word of caution Scar, do not use this power frequently. If you use the Roar of Scar too much it will leave you greatly weakened and vulnerable." stated Maleficent in a firm voice.

Scar then nodded. "I understand Maleficent. Do not worry, I will put this power to great use, and that's by destroying Simba and everyone else in the Pride Lands with it."

"Yes. With this newfound power, Simba, Kovu, Kiara, Kion, Vitani, Sora, and everyone else will fall before all of us." affirmed Zira.

"Then if that's the case, then we shall commence the attack on the Tree of Life within 24 hours. As of now, Simba, Sora, and the others are soon about to be notified of the coming attack by my fellow vessels. Soon they will assemble their forces and make their way towards the Tree of Life. By the time the attack happens, everyone will be there for your arrival." said Xehanort.

"I advise that you two as well as the rest of your forces should rest up and be prepared to go back to your world." Maleficent further stated.

Both Scar and Zira nodded at the two dark superiors before taking their leave. As Zira proceeded to walk towards the interior of the castle, Scar stayed behind and turned his head back towards Xehanort and Maleficent.

"Thank you Xehanort and Maleficent, I promise that we will not fail you." Scar said with determination before leaving the area.

Xehanort turned towards Maleficent as soon as the two were alone again.

"Assemble as many Heartless, Nobodies, and Unversed as possible to assist with the coming attack. As for me, I will order Ansem, Xemnas, and my younger self to make sure the attack goes as planned and assist if problems arise." Xehanort ordered the Mistress of Evil.

Maleficent nodded.

"As you wish." Maleficent replied before teleporting out of the area via a corridor of darkness, leaving just Xehanort alone.

Xehanort then proceeded to walk out of the area as he laughed to himself.

"It's unfortunate that I couldn't tell either Scar or Zira that we needed Simba's daughter alive for my plans for the Keyblade War seeing that nothing will stop them from killing Simba and his family. But even if Princess Kiara does fall in battle, I have ways that I can ensure her revival if need be. The time has come for the Pride Lands to finally meet its end, and to show Sora and the rest of the Guardians that I am always one step ahead." Xehanort finished as he continued to proceed into the castle.

---

Pride Lands:

The next morning, the sun rose over the kingdom. Simba and Nala stood on top of Pride Rock overlooking the land.

Kiara, Kion, Kovu, and Vitani were chatting in the lair as Sora and his friends patrolled outside.

Both Lion Guard and former Lion Guard were in the lair as well, along with Azaad. They were all chatting amongst each other.

Naminé wandered into the lair to drink some water from the lake. Fuli spotted her and walked over next to her.

"Hey, we didn't really get to chat so much in the past two days since your return. Your name's Naminé, right?" Fuli asked.

"Uh… yeah, that's me." Naminé answered.

"You know, I've never seen a white cheetah before." Fuli commented.

"I'm not exactly from around here. My kind are pretty rare." Naminé responded, avoiding giving anything about being human.

"So, you race often?" asked Fuli. "I'm betting you're the fastest where you've come from."

"Me? I don't really race that much. I doubt I'm THAT fast." Naminé answered a little sheepishly.

"What!?" Fuli exclaimed in shock. "Come on! That's ridiculous! You're a cheetah. Cheetah's are the fastest animals alive. I should know. And so does Azaad."

"That is true." Naminé nodded. "But racing isn't really my thing to be honest. In fact, I don't really know how fast I truly am."

And idea flew into Fuli's head.

"Tell you what, why don't we find out for ourselves? Let's have a race around the den, just you and me." she offered.

Naminé was taken aback. "Wait, you want me to race you?"

"Yeah sure! It'll be fun! We'll see just how fast you really are compared to me." Fuli smiled.

"Well… uh…. Ok I'll do it." Naminé relented.

"Sweet!" Fuli grinned.

Later the two cheetahs got into starting positions at the entrance to the lair, facing the Pride Lands.

Sora, Roxas, Kion, Kiara, Bunga, Beshte, Azaad, Kasi, and Anga were there to watch on the side as everyone else was patrolling.

"Think this will be anything like Fuli racing Ono or Kasi?" asked Bunga.

"Not sure." replied Kion. "Fuli is a pretty fast cheetah."

"How fast has Naminé run?" asked Anga.

"Uh… it's hard to say." Roxas replied. "She's run fast before, but her top speed is… pretty much a mystery."

Ono flew down in between the two. "Alright cheetahs, one lap around Pride Rock at your stop speed! The finish line will be two boulders 50 feet away from the landmark itself. On your mark… get set… GO!"

Fuli and Naminé raced off as everyone cheered.

"Come on Fuli!" shouted Bunga.

"Run fast Naminé!" called Roxas.

Fuli was running fast with a determined smirk across her face. "I so got this."

As they ran, Fuli was surprised to see Naminé coming up close to her.

"Hey Fuli!" Naminé panted as she ran.

"Naminé?!" Fuli exclaimed in surprise.

"They are heading towards the finish line!" shouted Kiara.

The two were neck and neck. But Fuli, having been born a cheetah, was too fast for Naminé.

And with a rush, Fuli crossed the finish line.

Everyone cheered as Ono shouted, "Fuli wins!"

Fuli beamed with pride as Naminé walked up next to her, panting in exhaustion.

"Wow…you really… are… fast." Naminé admitted.

"I'm not the Pride Lands fastest for nothing." Fuli boasted. "Still, that was a good race, Namine. For a moment there, I was actually worried. You're pretty fast." she commented.

"Indeed." Azaad agreed, walking up. "You definitely have the fire of a cheetah burning bright in your heart."

Naminé smiled in appreciation. "Thanks you two… I will admit that was fun."

"Glad it was for you." Fuli smiled.

"Uh I hate to break up the conversation but… does anyone else see that?" asked Anga.

Everyone looked ahead as dark ominous clouds loomed over the Pride Lands.

"Hevi Kabisa!" gasped Kion.

"Relax I'm sure it's just a storm. No big!" Bunga said casually.

"I don't think it is Bunga…" said Roxas, narrowing his eyes.

Suddenly, Riku, Kairi, Mickey, Donald, Goofy, Minnie, Daisy, Max, Oswald, Ortensia, Xion, Lea, Isa, Myde, Ven, Terra, Aqua, Simba, Nala, Kovu, Vitani, Shabaha, Tazama, and Imara ran/flew up to them.

"We saw the storm clouds and decked it back here from patrol!" said Max.

"Roxas says it may not actually be a storm." said Sora.

"I think he might be right, something is wrong here." said Riku.

"Yeah besides, the wind isn't picking up, there's no rain, I doubt this is even a storm." said Xion.

"Maybe it's dry lightning on the horizon." suggested Ono.

Suddenly a familiar set of yells sounded out.

"Timon! Pumbaa!" gasped Simba.

And out came Pumbaa running as fast as he could with Timon holding onto his mane for dear life. Pumbaa skidded to a stop near them.

"Oh thank goodness you all are here!" the warthog said in relief.

"Uncle Timon, Uncle Pumbaa! What's going on?!" Bunga asked.

Timon hopped down. "Well you see, Ma, Uncle Max, and the meerkat colony were stopping by for a visit at Hakuna Matata falls when-"

"Scary monsters attacked us and we all ran and/or dug for our lives!" Pumbaa interrupted.

"Way to finish the story Pumbaa." Timon deadpanned.

"Were they the Heartless?" asked Mickey.

"Or Nobodies?" asked Lea.

"They didn't look like them! They had eyes and they were red!" Pumbaa replied.

"Red-eyed monsters?" Kion asked in surprise.

"I've never heard of such creatures in the Pride Lands." said Kiara.

"We didn't have them in the Outlands." said Shabaha.

Sora and Co.'s eyes widened.

"Oh crud…" muttered Myde.

Kovu overheard him. "You guys know anything about this?" he asked.

But before any of them could reply, Rafiki suddenly lept down by them.

"Whoa! Rafiki?! Where did you come from?!" exclaimed Oswald.

"A lot of us often ask that ourselves." joked Bunga.

"This is no time for jokes!" Rafiki said sternly. "I sense danger is upon us…"

"Danger? What kind of danger?" asked Simba.

"After two days danger lurks behind us." Donald deadpanned.

Suddenly an army of Unversed spawned all around them.

Among the Unversed were Floods, Thornbites, Sonic Blasters, Wild Bruisers, Blobmobs, and Spiked Turtletoads.

"THE MONSTERS!" Timon and Pumbaa screamed.

"Hevi Kabisa!" gasped Kion. "What are those monsters?!"

"They don't look like Heartless!" said Ono.

"Or those Nobodies." added Beshte.

"They're Unversed!" shouted Ven, summoning Wayward Wind. "They thrive on negativity!"

"That means Vanitas is here!" said Terra, summoning Ends of the Earth.

"Odd. I don't smell his evil aura." said Riku.

"Who cares?! Let's kick these bozos to the curb!" shouted Lea, summoning Flame Liberator.

Sora summoned Knockout Punch, Roxas summoned Maverick Flare, Riku summoned All for One , Kairi summoned Destiny's Embrace, Xion summoned Lost Memory, Naminé summoned Shooting Star, Isa summoned Blue Moon, Myde summoned Mystic Water, Aqua summoned Master's Defender, Mickey summoned Kingdom Key W, Minnie summoned Starlight, Donald summoned Centurion+, Daisy summoned Spellbinder, Goofy summoned Frozen Pride+, Max summoned Fenrir, Oswald summoned Classic Tone, and Ortensia summoned Zero/One.

Simba, Nala, Kiara, Kovu, Kion, Vitani, Rafiki, Bunga, Ono, Fuli, Beshte, Anga, Azaad, Kasi, Tazama, Shabaha, and Imara got into fighting positions.

"Uh yeah so Pumbaa and I are just gonna-" Timon began.

"Nice try you two." smirked Shabaha.

"You're helping us fight!" said Anga.

"And there's not really a way out fellers!" Goofy added.

"Yeah there's a lot of Unversed!" said Roxas.

"Come on you two, it'll be un-Bunga-lievable!" said Bunga.

"I guess if we have no choice." Timon said as he hopped on top of Pumbaa. "Let me at 'em!"

"Okay!" Pumbaa nodded.

(Monstro Boss Fight from Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep Final Mix plays)

Mission: Defeat all of the Unversed

Playable Characters:
Sora

Donald Duck

Goofy

Riku

King Mickey

Kairi

Terra

Aqua

Ventus

Roxas

Lea

Xion

Naminé

Isa

Myde

Queen Minnie

Daisy Duck

Max

Oswald

Ortensia

Party Members:
Simba

Nala

Kiara

Kovu

Kion

Bunga

Fuli

Beshte

Ono

Anga

Vitani

Shabaha

Kasi

Imara

Tazama

Assistants:
Timon

Pumbaa

Rafiki

Azaad

Sora charged at a few Thornbites and slashed at them with his Keyblade. He pounded on several of them as well to hold them down before he leapt into the air and casted Crawling Fire several times before they were destroyed. Oswald leapt in unison with the Floods as he slashed them away. The lucky rabbit used light magic to blindside them before he finished them with a Wind Tracer spell. Mickey charged at a few Blobmobs as the monsters fired liquid shots as the mouse king-turned-lion. But he was able to dodge them with ease as he slashed at them several times. Mickey was struck by the liquid, but didn't let that slow him down as he held his Keyblade high with his tail and fired Thundaga to destroy them. Riku ran across the ground slashing at a few Floods before he came near a Spiked Turtletoad. It tried to stomp on him multiple times, but Riku was able to dodge them by jumping or rolling out of the way. Riku slashed at the legs with his Keyblade and then slashed at the face. He then jumped into the air and casted Blizzaga against the giant Unversed 3 times before he stabbed it in the face, finally managing to kill it. Aqua ducked and jumped back from some Wild Bruiser's Heavy Punches. As she fired orbs of light at them, one did a Drum Impact that knocked Aqua to the ground. But she quickly recovered and ran back at them as she fired Ignite a few times. And it was enough to finish the monsters off. Naminé slashed at some Wild Bruisers as well, but had to dodge a Spiked Turtletoad as it attempted to eat her. But she was able to dodge it quickly. Its whiskers tried to strike her, but she slashed each of them with her Keyblade and then attacked it full-on against it before freezing with Deep Freeze. Naminé then jumped up and unleashed Mega Flare against the frozen Unversed, killing it. Donald flew down to bash some Thornbites in their heads with his staff when two of them used Whiplash with their tentacles to knock him to the ground. But Donald got back up and fired a series of Thunder spells against them before he finished them with Sparkaga. Minnie slashed at some Floods when they suddenly dogpiled her. But she slashed at them with her claws and shoved them off as she caught her Keyblade with her tail, slashed them across their faces, and then unleashed Esuna to finish them off. Terra was surrounded by three Sonic Blasters as he tried to dodge their Energy Spin moves with their tails. He slashed at them when he was struck with their tail lasers. The Sonic Blasters were about to hurt him further, but Terra leapt back up and slammed his Keyblade onto the ground with a Raging Storm spell as three fire pillars destroyed the Unversed. Max spun around and slashed at more Thornbites as he held his Keyblade tight in his teeth. One attempted to Spin Barrage him with its vines, managing to strike his shell. But Max recovered and then jammed his Keyblade into its face before he jumped up and casted Thundaga Shot to destory it.

Ortensia thrashed her claws against the faces of several Blobmobs as they attempted to hurt her when they suddenly grew legs and spun rapidly, kickeding Ortensia several times around. But the cat-turned-clouded leopard leapt back up, held her Keyblade up, and launched a fireball that exploded, catching the Blobmobs in the blast. Roxas slashed away a Flood and a Thornbite, but he was surrounded by a quartet of Sonic Blasters. He tried to slash them, But they Warped away, dodging his attacks. Getting an idea, Roxas used Poison to slow them down before he casted Triple Pursuit to finish them. Goofy ducked from several Floods jumping at him and bashed other ones away with his shield. Goofy then used his Goofy Turbo ability to destroy three of them at once before he landed on his feet, unharmed. Xion charged at several Wild Bruisers firing a series of fire magic against them. The three charged back at Xion when she suddenly held her Keyblade up with her tail and unleashed a Balloon spell that floated over to them and exploded, taking them within it. Daisy flew high and blasted light spells down on the Unversed. Suddenly she was knocked to the ground by a Spiked Turtletoad's whiskers. It inflated its belly and was about to smash on top of Daisy when she rolled out of the way. She used Blackout to disorient its vision before she flew back up, using Fira on the legs and then flew higher and finished it off with a Meteor spell. Lea dodged two Blobmobs' liquid shots when they suddenly grew spikes and thrashed him to the ground. But the Flurry of Dancing Flames got back up, put his Keyblade onto the ground, summoned and tossed his chakrams, coated in fire. They sliced off the spikes before disappearing. Lea grabbed his Keyblade and unleashed Blizzaga Pursuit to destroy the Unversed. Myde used Warp to eliminate 5 Floods, but was knocked around by several Thornbites. Recovering, the mullet-haired meerkat slashed at the Unversed in retaliation before he casted Transcendence to finish them. Isa slashed at several Wild Bruisers, only getting struck twice, albeit barley. Seeing three leap at him from the left, Isa performed Zero Graviza, sending the Unversed into the air. The Luna Diviner them jumped up and used Dark Firaga to destroy them all. Kairi was up against a Spiked Turtletoad as she slashed its legs and whiskers, dodging them trying to attack her. She then slid underneath, fired Firaga Burst, sending it up into the air, jumped back it performing Spiral Bloom, and then finishing it off with an Ice Barrage spell. Ven slashed at a few Blobmobs as they tried to strike him, managing to knock him against a rock. But Ven jumped onto the rock, fired a series of light spells at them, and then finished them off with Triple Pursuit.

Simba roared as he sunk his claws into a Spiked Turtletoad and tried to thrash it with his claws. Nala assisted her husband as she slashed the giant Unversed with her claws. With one finland jam of the claws in their heads, they destroyed the Unversed. Rafiki whacked and smacked several Floods around, even knocking some into each other. One attempted to jump at Rafiki from behind, but he back-fistpunched him without even looking. Kiara and Kovu teamed up to take down several of the Sonic Blasters, dodging their lasers. Kiara bit them and thrashed them on the ground and Kovu pinned some and threw them around with his jaws. Kion and Vitani teamed up against several Blobmobs. Kion headbutted one at Vianti and she thrashed it with her claws. Then Vitani jumped onto another, jammed her claws into it, and dragged it to the ground as she thrashed it. Kion then punched on another, causing them to roll before the lion thrashed it into darkness. Pumbaa charged at several Thornbites, headbutting them away as Timon punched any Floods trying to jump at them both. Pumbaa then picked up one Thornbute with his tusks, threw it up, and kicked it away with his hind legs. One Flood tackled Timon on top of Pumbaa's back, but the meerkat just grabbed it, and threw it off of him. Bunga punched and pounced on several Floods, even scratching a few with his claws. He then jumped across five and farted in their direction, confusing them before they got caught in the crossfire of Terra's Quake spell. Shabaha cackled as she jumped from Unversed to Unversed, thrashing and clawing them every chance she got, even jumping into the air and kicking a Blobmob in the face with both back legs. Still airborne no less! Fuli, Azaad, and Kasi ran circles around every Unversed, making said creatures dizzy, and headbutting them at every chance, even thrashing them with their claws as well. Ono and Anga assisted in air attacks as they flew down to knock some of the smaller Unversed over or knock the floating ones onto the ground. They even picked up some of them with their talons and threw them into the air or to the ground, or even striking with their beaks. Tazama saw some Floods leap into a small cave. Using her night vision, Tazama ran in and slashed them with her claws. She was suddenly blasted from behind by a Sonic Blaster. Growling, the night vision lioness jumped out and tackled the Unversed with her claws. Beshte and Imara used their strength against the Spiked Turtletoads, running into them at top speed to knock them over, or shoving them off their feet. Beshte stomped on the ground to knock over some Floods and Imara would thrash them away.

"Keep it up everyone!" called Rafiki.

"Yeah that's what we're doing!" Ven shouted, killing a Thornbite with a Blizzara spell.

Anga flew up and used her sight to look at the battlefield. "I think these Unversed things are almost gone!" she hollered.

"That's a good sign!" said Lea, stabbing a Wild Bruiser with his Keyblade.

"I don't know about you, but I'm getting tired of fighting these guys!" called Donald, wiping off the sweat from his forehead with his wing.

"Me too!" said Pumbaa.

"I'm more annoyed than tired… for now!" Fuli grunted, dodging a Blobmob firing at her.

"Is there any way to put an end to this fight?!" shouted Timon.

Just then, Kion had an idea. "Vitani!" Kion called. "You thinking what I'm thinking?!"

"I think I am Kion!" Vitani smirked. "Everyone get behind us!"

"I like this plan already!" grinned Bunga.

The whole group got behind the two lions as they focused on the last of the Unversed heading straight towards them. They locked their eyes and then…

ROOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRR!

Both Kion and Vitani performed the Roar of the Elders as the great lions of the past roared with them in the sky.

The Unversed were sent flying away and crashing against the ground, destroying them and ending the battle.

(Monstro Boss Fight from Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep Final Mix ends)

Everyone panted from the fight.

"Wow… t-that… was tense…" panted Roxas.

"I don't think… I've run that fast… in a while…" said Azaad.

"Get used to it…" Fuli said. "You haven't been… in battle… as much."

"Preaching to the choir Fuli…" grunted Max.

Kairi, Donald, Aqua, Naminé, and Xion casted Curaga on everyone.

"Alright! Now I'm all better!" Bunga grinned.

"Been a while since I felt that kind of healing magic." Beshte commented.

"You all fought valiantly." praised Simba.

"Not bad for both the old and new Lion Guards fighting together for the first time." commented Ono.

"Yeah! That was a good team up." said Tazama.

"But where did those monsters come from now?" Timon asked.

"You guys mentioned a Vanitas earlier, I'm guessing he's an enemy of yours?" Simba asked.

"Unfortunately yes." snarled Ven. "Although we only just fought him recently before coming here so I'm dumbfounded to think that he had recovered so quickly. Regardless though, he must be here somewhere. Vanitas, come on out and show yourself!"

But the raven-haired villain was nowhere to be seen.

"Uh… is something supposed to be happening?" Bunga asked.

"You got me." shrugged Anga.

"Come on out Vanitas you big palooka!" Donald quacked.

"We know you're out there unless you don't want to bother dealing with almost 40 animals!" Xion exclaimed.

"I'm afraid that Vanitas is not here at this moment. Rather he lent us some of his forces so that we can draw your attention." came a familiar voice to Sora and his team.

At that moment, three dark corridors appeared before the group, and out came Ansem, Xemnas, and Young Xehanort who were all donning their cloaks. It was Ansem who spoke.

"Ansem!" Riku exclaimed.

"Xemnas!" Roxas snarled.

"Xehanort!" Sora yelled.

"Hevi Kabisa!" Kion and Vitani gasped.

"Whoa!" Kovu jumped.

"What in the Pride Lands!?" Fuli gasped.

"GHOSTS!" Timon and Pumbaa jumped.

"Who are they?!" shouted Shabaha.

"Organization XIII!" Goofy exclaimed.

"Who now?" blinked Imara.

"Enemies of our allies visiting the Pride Lands. They helped assist Scar's spirit when he was still around." Rafiki said with a glare.

"I remember, it was around that time that I got stung by that scorpion." Simba sneered.

"So do I, that was when my friends along with Sora, Donald, Goofy, Riku, Kairi, and Mickey fought that Saïx guy." Kion said with anger on his face.

Unbeknownst to any of them, Isa growled to himself, realizing that he still needed to tell Simba and the Pride Landers of his previous identity.

Sora bravely stepped forward, glaring at the group. "So Xehanort sent his top lieutenants from the Organization to do more dirty work. You know I'm surprised you guys are now showing your faces seeing as we haven't seen any of you lot since we got here. Why are you even bothering us now?!" he demanded.

"Always trying to act the hero whenever our presence is shown." Young Xehanort said in wicked amusement.

"You have no place here in the Pride Lands!" Simba growled.

"King Simba. Queen Nala. Princess Kiara. Prince Kion." said Ansem, looking at each member of the Royal Family. "Together after so long. We see now that the prince and the now former leader of the Lion Guard truly is healed after all."

"You bet I am…" Kion growled.

"Why are you here?!" demanded Nala.

"No need to get hostile your majesties, we are simply doing what our master has requested." Xemnas replied.

"How does it feel being bossed around by your original self and not large and in charge anymore Xemnas?" mocked Lea. "Bet it stings."

"On the contrary Axel, Master Xehanort is the only one I truly do take orders from." Xemnas replied. "But that is not why we are here…"

"Then explain and get lost!" snapped Ven.

"Always trying to be the spitfire Ventus. Landing you into trouble every time." mocked Young Xehanort.

"You so-called heroes have been interfering with our operations for close to a week now in this world." Xemnas said with a glare.

"Too long has this world been bathed in the light. Time and again darkness tries to take control, only to be thwarted by those like you one way or another. Now it is finally time to end this game once and for all." Ansem declared.

"Damn right it does. With you three getting the hell out of here!" Riku snarled.

"Your mere presence in this world is bad enough, but we don't want any more of your evil deeds trying to hurt anyone anymore." scowled Aqua.

"As king and queen of the Pride Lands, I demand you leave now!" Simba ordered firmly.

"And if you don't, we will not hesitate to make you leave by any force necessary." Nala snarled.

"We dealt with your kind before, and we will do it again!" growled Kion.

"You wanna take that risk with all of us?" Kiara challenged.

"I'm afraid none of you have any power over us." Ansem coldly replied. "No matter your royal status."

"We have come here to tell every single one of you that your entire world will fall to darkness. Under orders of our leader, we have declared a full frontal assault on the Pride Lands, Outlands, Back Lands, and more." Xemnas added.

"That's not happening and you know it!" scowled Kairi.

"PUH-lease!" scoffed Bunga. "We can handle that."

"We've all fought harder battles before! We can handle whatever you throw our way!" Fuli added.

"Zira may have been tough. And especially Scar. But we all took them and their forces down no problem." Sora added.

"Zira worked for these guys?" Shabaha asked in surprise.

"I had no idea she teamed up with anyone to help her avenge Scar aside from our clan." Kovu replied.

"Neither did I. She never told us about this." Vitani added.

"Zira kept her involvement with us a secret so as to not raise any questions from her pride. We decided to let her go through with her plan to use Kovu to overthrow Simba so that she can take over." Young Xehanort stated before turning his attention to Kovu, Vitani, and her Lion Guard. "However, thanks to the actions of Kovu switching sides, followed by Vitani and the rest thereafter that her plan to seize the Pride Lands has failed."

"I made my choice. I wasn't going to follow my former mother's actions any longer." Kovu stated as he glared back.

"It took me longer to realize that alongside my friends, but what Kovu and Kiara told us was that we lions are one is the same. I'm still trying to atone for my actions with my mother, but I wouldn't change my decision either way." Vitani declared.

Shabaha, Kasi, Imara, and Tazama all nodded in agreement with their leader.

"I'm afraid that the three of you severely underestimated all of us if you think that we are just going to let you attack our home. Everyone's hearts are stronger than you realize. And that will help them overcome any obstacle you have planned for your frontal assault." Rafiki chuckled.

"I'm afraid you are wrong Rafiki." Ansem replied, not even phased. "Because we have gathered the necessary allies from this world in order to accomplish it."

"Who did you even gather? Zira's dead and her clan's sided with us!" said Mickey.

"And all the Outlanders are under Jasiri's more peaceful rule." Minnie added.

The incarnations of Xehanort just smirked.

"I don't like the way they're smiling…" Pumbaa gulped.

"Your confidence, while useless, is understandable. But I'm afraid there's more than meets the eye to all of this." Ansem said. "We have recruited many useful members, each bearing a grudge against King Simba or any member of his family."

"For instance. Scar's old hyena army, led by Shenzi, Banzai, and Ed." said Xemnas, making Sora, Donald, and Goofy go wide-eyed and Simba and Nala gasp.

"Wait, those three meatheads? I haven't seen them since my second visit here." Sora exclaimed.

"I too have also not seen them for many years since I became king. Not since that whole ghost of Scar incident that happened when Sora came here for the second time. A part of me was wondering where they and their clan ran off to since then." Simba sneered as he remembered his encounters with the Scar's loyal followers.

"Shenzi, Banzai, Ed, and the rest of their clan were only just recently been recruited to our cause after we made an offer to them that they can't refuse." Young Xehanort stated.

"And then there's the Egyptian Cobra himself, Ushari." said Xemnas.

Both Pride Landers and Outlanders gasped.

"UHASRI?!" Kion and his friends exclaimed together.

"How is he alive?!" cried Ono.

"Yeah! I accidentally knocked him into the volcano's lava!" said Bunga.

No one noticed Isa wince.

"The answer is more closer than you realize." mocked Young Xehanort. "And he is more than willing to join our side..."

"In addition to them, we also recruited Makucha and his army as well." Ansem added, making Kion and his friends gasp and share alarmed looks.

"Hold on. Makucha and his pack have joined your group?!" Beshte exclaimed.

"Oh, that's definitely not good." Kasi said.

"Wait who's Makucha?" Ortensia asked.

"A ruthless leopard who is very persistent. He and I had our fair share of conflicts in the past." Kion explained.

"Last time we saw him, he was in charge of an army of predators alongside two other leopards named Fahiri and Jiona, a snow leopard named Chuluun, a komodo dragon named Ora, a porcupine named Smun, and lastly Smun's superior who goes by the name Mama Binturong." Ono elaborated.

"They kept attacking us throughout our journey to the Tree of Life. However, Kion ended up blowing them all away with the Roar, after they tried to take over the Tree of Life and feast on the rare animals that reside there." Anga finished.

"Unfortunately, Prince Kion's efforts have resulted in him bringing in more allies for us to use in our plans." Xemnas noted.

"And lastly of course… we have none other than Zira herself." Young Xehanort finished.

Everyone was shocked, especially Kovu and Vitani.

"I don't believe it... Zira's alive?!" Kovu gasped.

"That's not possible!" Kiara stated in shock.

"But how?! She was violently swept away in the flood!" Vitani exclaimed.

"No one could've survived that!" said Daisy.

"Well it looks like she somehow did!" said Xion.

"Zira was saved at the last second, and she is beyond angry given what she has been through and what she has learned of what has developed with her former pride." Young Xehanort.

Simba growled at the Xehanort incarnations. "If you think you can just assemble an army of our most hated enemies just so you can come to our home and destroy it, then you have another thing coming!" he growled, blaring his teeth.

To their surprise, the three villains just chuckled darkly.

"What's so funny about that?" demanded Anga.

"Speak up!" quacked Donald.

"I'm afraid, Simba, you are most mistaken." Xemnas said to the Lion King. "Although we stated that this attack will be against the Pride Lands, Outlands, and Back Lands, they are not our main target. Our whole group has our eyes set on a more… useful location."

Everyone was confused.

"Useful location, what are you talking about?" Sora demanded.

"There is a place that is deemed more of a threat to my future self's plans. One that is more relevant to this world than any of the other places here combined." Young Xehanort announced.

"Then stop with all the build-up. What is your main target for your attack? Who are you targeting?! What is your evil plan?!" demanded Kion.

It was then that all three Organziation members laughed maniacally as they all turned to look at Kion.

"I'm surprised you haven't figured it out Prince Kion, after all...you and your group were just there... not too long ago," Ansem said with a dark smirk.

"Not too long ago. What are you talking abo..."

But it was at that moment when Kion had a sudden realization as his eyes widened and Ansem's words sunk in. There was a place where he and his friends were just at not too long ago and it was the one place that he ended up leaving on such short notice because of what he had learned. This plus the additional fact that Makucha and his forces were now a part of the main attack force, confirmed his fears of the one place that could be attacked as well as the one lion that was now in grave danger.

"No...no...HEVI KABISA!" he screamed.

"Kion what is it?!" Kairi asked in worry.

"It...it can't be...you...you wouldn't." Kion said as he glared back at the three Organziation members with anger in his eyes.

"It seems that the young prince has figured it all out." Young Xehanort stated as he did a small clap with his hands.

"Kion, do you know where the attack is going to happen?" Sora asked

"The target...is the Tree of Life!" Kion cried.

"WHAT!?" Everyone yelled out in horror.

"The Tree of Life?!" Rafiki exclaimed.

"I did not see this coming." Bunga remarked.

"Explain yourselves! Why would you attack a place such as that?" Lea demanded to the Xehanort vessels.

"The Tree of Life is an ancient place that has its unique power of healing, thus proving it a hindrance to our plans. But once we destroy it, its power will soon cease. And that alone will be more than enough to plunge the Pride Lands into darkness." Xemnas explained.

"We'll see about that!" Sora snapped.

"We will stop you!" Mickey said determinedly.

"You may have stopped us before King Mickey, but I'm afraid your efforts will be all in vain in the end." Ansem said.

Kion, still breathing heavily, continued to glare at the three members.

"You won't get away with this. If you as so much hurt Rani, I'll..." Kion said before being interrupted.

"There's no stopping what's coming, here or in the Keyblade War." said Young Xehanort. "Smaller attacks have already been set upon the Tree of Life, but consider yourselves lucky that Queen Rani and the Night Pride were able to hold their ground against our forces, but not for much longer. The final attack will commence within 24 hours. But even then that won't be enough time for you to save it as you are all so far away. So your efforts will be futile."

"That won't happen. I will do whatever it takes to protect Rani and the Tree of Life, even if it means giving my life for it." Kion declared.

"Same for all of us. Your attack will fail." Kiara added.

"We will thwart your plan, just like all the others that came before this." Sora finished.

There was silence for a few seconds before Ansem spoke again.

"Very well then, you are all welcome to try. But no matter how many allies you gather, no matter how you end up reaching the Tree of Life, your efforts will only end up being futile. We have ways to counter all of you." Ansem declared.

"But for now…" Xemnas began.

"Set your hearts free…" all three said in unison before they all teleported away.

"Uh… what did they mean by that last one?" Bunga asked.

"I think we have more important things to worry about right now Little B." said Beshte.

Sora, Simba, Nala, and Kiara all approached Kion who was still breathing heavily upon what he had just learned.

"Kion are you feeling ok?" Nala asked.

"I...It's just that...Rani..." Kion panted as his eyes were filled with anger and fear.

"Kion, it'll be ok, we are going to stop them." Kiara said as she consoled her brother.

"From what you told us about Rani, she seems to be a capable fighter who can be able to hold her ground. I know that you feel like you owe it to her and the Tree of Life, but we're not going to let you hold this burden alone." Simba declared.

"You've got all of us to help you with this Kion. All of us have got you back." Sora answered with determination.

Kion looked at his family and Sora as their words nestled in his mind, and it wasn't long until his breathing became more calm as he gave a small smile.

"Thank you...all of you. You're right, we need to think of a plan to counter this attack." Kion stated.

"Of course." Sora said before turning his attention to everyone else. "Everyone, we need to have a meeting to discuss how we're going to respond to the Organization's threat."

They all gathered in a meeting circle.

"Alright, Ansem, Xemnas, and Young Xehanort said that the final attack to the Tree of Life is gonna be in a day," said Sora.

"That doesn't give us so much time to prepare for a defense attack." said Terra.

"Even then it is still a long ways away to the Tree of Life." said Ono.

"Ono is correct. The journey will take us more than a week to get there." Rafiki said grimly.

"There has to be a way to get there in time!" said Myde.

"The question is how." said Isa.

"We can worry about that later." said Kion. "We'll need all the help we can get to stop them."

"Kion's right. The Tree of Life is a very big place." said Fuli.

"Rare animals all around!" said Bunga before gasping. "Including Binga!"

"In addition, Makini is also still at the Tree of Life as well. Meaning that she will also be in danger of this assault." Rafiki added.

"Which means we all may need to go together," Nala said.

"Wait, what about the Pride Lands? If we go it can still fall to evil without any members of the Lion Guard or the Royal Family!" said Oswald.

"Even if the Pride Landers could handle Scar's army back when it was all evil Outlanders, any creatures of darkness can be a different story if they keep on coming." added Terra.

"Perhaps it won't be hard if one Lion Gaurd stays behind." suggested Rafiki.

"Then I nominate Vitani and her Lion Guard." Kion said. "They've proven they're capable."

"No. I'm sorry Kion, but we're not sitting this battle out, we're going with you." Vitani said firmly as her Guard all nodded, taking everyone aback.

"You are?" asked Kiara.

"But why? You are your friends are now the new Lion Guard. You have a duty to protect the Pride Lands." said Goofy.

"Yes, but if Zira truly is back, she has to be stopped." Vitani replied. "I let myself fall to her lies and manipulation like Kovu. But unlike my older brother, I wanna put her in her place for good if she tried to mess with a power like the Tree of Life."

"'Tani, you and your Guard are redeeming yourselves by defending the Pride Lands." Kovu countered.

"I know!" Vitani sighed. "But I still wanna help. Our world is on the verge of being plunged into darkness and I don't want my friends and I to stand by while the rest of you are about to enter from what I assumed is the fight for our lives. This is the best chance for myself and the rest of the pride to truly redeem ourselves for our actions."

"Well we do need all the help we can get." reminded Ono.

"Ok." Kion relented. "You can come with."

"Alright! We're going to the Tree of Life!" cheered Shabaha.

"This is gonna be awesome!" said Kasi.

"Come on, let's go get more help!" said Sora.

"Indeed! We need strong fighters to give us a further advantage!" said Azaad.

"But not everyone from either land." said Rafiki. "Both sides need strong fighters to protect them from the darkness."

"Good thing I got some in mind." Kion said.

"You can count on us to help too!" said Timon.

"Yeah! We've fought agasint evil before and we can do it again!" said Pumbaa.

"Good to see you guys taking after my bravery again!" Bunga grinned.

At that moment, Zazu flew up to them.

"Zazu? What are you doing here?" asked Nala.

"I was going to inform you about the strange creatures of darkness that were at Hakuna Matata Falls." Zazu replied. "They seemed to have ceased their attacks."

"Oh thank heaven!" Timon said in relief. "Wait. Is my colony okay?!"

"I spoke to your mother and uncle. Everyone is accounted for since they lured them into collapsing tunnels they made to destroy them." Zazu replied.

"Oh thank heaven!" Timon said again as he fainted.

"Zazu, we'll need your help. The Tree of Life is gonna be under attack by Sora and his friends' enemies and we have to stop them." said Nala. "Are you in?"

"Yes Nala, I shall help." Zazu said without hesitation. "We owe the animals there that much for healing Kion and my fellow bird Ono."

"Perfect!" said Ono. "Alright let's go get more help."

"Some of you wait here for our return!" said Kion. "Those who want to come with me, follow me!"

And Kion left the grounds of Pride Rock followed by Sora, Kiara, Kairi, Kovu, Riku, Donald, Goofy, and Vitani.

---

Hakuna Matata Falls:

The meerkat colony was recovering from sending the Unversed down their tunnel traps.

"I recounted again and we are all good and accounted for!" said Uncle Max.

"Uncle Max, that's the third time you've done that since Zazu left!" Ma exclaimed.

"And we are all accounted for once again!" Uncle Max said proudly.

Two meerkats came by hauling a stuttering Iron Joe who said, "Freaky scary monsters everywhere eyes as red as the BLOOD IN MY VEINS!"

"...aside from Iron Joe's sanity." Uncle Max muttered.

At that moment, Sora, Kion, Kiara and their friends ran up.

"Hey you lot where we're you? You missed the whole monster invasion!" said Ma.

"It's a long story, but we need your help!" said Kairi.

"The Tree of Life is under attack and we need all the help we can get!" said Kovu.

"Timon's already helping us." said Kion. "You two in?"

"If my Timon has to help save our home again then I am in!" said Ma. "C'mon Uncle Max!"

"Don't I get a say in this?!" Uncle Max whined.

"Oh don't be such a scaredy-meerkat and let's go!" Ma scolded.

"Head for Pride Rock! We'll meet up later!" said Kiara.

The meerkats nodded. Uncle Max turned to them. "You all hold down the fort until we return!" he said.

"Yes sir!" the meerkats said in unison.

With that, Ma and Uncle Max took off. Sora and the others ran for another area of the Pride Lands.

---

Elsewhere, Tiifu and Zuri were visiting the mudpots.

"I could really use this for my fur," said Zuri.

"Exactly! I could use some soft fur after all that's happened." said Tiifu.

But before they could even go in, Sora and Co. ran up.

"Tiifu! Zuri!" Kiara called. "We need your help!"

"The Tree of Life is in danger!" said Donald.

"And we need all the fighting power we can get!" said Goofy.

"And you came to us? Of course we can help!" said Tiifu.

"Can't we take a dip in the mudpots first?" Zuri asked. "I could use some softness for my fur!"

"There's no time! We're figuring out a way to leave soon!" said Kion.

"And there won't be anything to make your fur soft if our enemies destroy a great source of power for this place!" said Riku. "First the Tree of Life and then they'll target the Pride Lands again."

"Ok fine I suppose soft fur can wait." Zuri said begrudgingly. "Can I at least sharpen my claws?"

"Fine! Sharpen them on a tree by Pride Rock!" Vitani sighed. "Now go!"

Tiifu and Zuri nodded as they ran for Pride Rock.

---

Outlands:

The hyenas were all chatting or playing together. The vultures were there too.

"So did you get to see the Tree of Life at all?" Tunu asked Jasiri and Janja.

"Yeah… no not really kid." Janja replied.

"He's right, we had to rush to get Kion and the Lion Guard to help stop Zira and her pride." Jasiri replied. "No time for sightseeing."

"At least you were quick about it." said Mzingo, perched on a rock.

"Yeah but not fast enough." grunted Janja. "We missed the whole thing."

"Probably for the best." said Madoa.

"Yeah! We heard how violent it was!" said Cheezi.

"Yeah yeah! And so many animals disappeared in a flash of light for like 5 seconds before they came back!" Chungu added. He pondered as he rubbed his chin with his paw. "At least that's what I heard from Mwoga."

"I just reported what I saw." Mwoga replied off of Mzingo's raised-eyebrow look.

"Yes, quite." Mzingo nodded before spotting something. "I say, Prime Minister? It would seem as though we have some company!"

Jasiri looked in Mzingo's direction and saw Sora and Co. run/fly in. "Kion? Sora? Kiara? Kovu?" she asked in surprise.

"Oh thank Askari you're here…" Kion said in relief.

"Whoa slow down there! Where's the fire?" Janja asked.

"FIRE?!" Chungu and Cheezi yelped in alarm and began to panic.

"Relax fur-brains, it's just an expression." said Janja, rolling his eyes.

"Oh ok!" Cheezi said in relief.

"That takes a load off my shoulders!" Chungu added.

"What brings you guys all the way to the Outlands?" Jasiri asked.

"The Tree of Life is in danger." Kairi said. "Organization XIII is targeting the Tree of Life!"

"The Tree of Life?!" Jasiri and Madoa gasped in unison.

"Oh that ain't good..." said Janja.

"We need extra help to take down our enemies." said Kiara.

"But we don't wanna take away too many animals so the Pride Lands have less protection." said Riku. "Just a little extra muscle."

"So you came to us." Jasiri smirked.

"But why us specifically?" Janja asked.

"Because your predecessors who lived here are back in the game." Vitani replied.

"Including, Shenzi, Banzai, and Ed." added Sora.

The hyenas and vultures gasped at the mention of those names.

"Those three?!" exclaimed Janja.

"I take it you know them?" asked Riku.

"Mostly." Jasiri replied. "Janja and his clan are their descendants."

"But those three aren't any of my folks if that's what you're thinking!" Janja quickly said. "After Scar died, we were trained to fight back should they ever come on our turf. And sometime after Kiara was born, Shenzi handpicked me to lead the clan as they wanted to move on."

"They told us the stories about what happened with Scar and his reign!" added Chungu.

"And now they're back?!" exclaimed Cheezi.

"Guess whoever the bigger guys are gave them and their clan an offer they couldn't refuse." said Jasiri.

"And now they're back with an apparently alive Zira!" said Donald.

"Ok now that's worse!" exclaimed Janja.

"Did we also mention Ushari's back too?" Goofy added.

The hyenas gasped, especially Janja, Cheezi, and Chungu.

"HE IS?!" the trio exclaimed.

"That traitor to both lands is alive?!" asked Janja.

"But I thought that snake was dead! He was fired up in the volcano!" said Cheezi.

"Is he a ghost?!" Chungu asked.

"No he's alive." said Donald. "And out for vengeance."

"He's gonna help on the assault of the Tree of Life." added Kovu.

"Ok. I'll help." said Jasiri. "Janja, with me."

"Huh? Oh yeah sure thing!" Janja nodded. "I sure wanna give our so-called 'family' a taste of their own medicine for trying to hurt our new friends! Same with Ushari for betraying us and trying to kill us too!"

"Can we come too Janja?!" Cheezi begged.

"Yeah yeah yeah! We wanna kick some evil butts to the ground this time!" said Chungu.

Janja groaned. "Alright fine. You can." he relented.

"Madoa, you're in charge again." Jasiri told her sister.

"Of course Jasiri." Madoa nodded. "I will lead the Outlands with my best leadership once more."

"And we'll assist her as well." Mzingo promised.

"Alright fellers! Let's skedaddle!" said Goofy.

"Please be careful Jasiri!" begged Wema.

Jasiri smiled. "Don't worry, I will. I'll have many friends by my side." she said.

"Alright. Good luck." said Madoa.

And those who were going to the fight ran off.

---

Pride Rock:

Meanwhile, everyone was gathered as Simba and Nala came down the steps of Pride Rock.

"Everything good up there with your pride?" asked Oswald.

"Yes. My mother will be in charge while we're gone." said Simba.

"Are you sure? Isn't she getting on in years?" asked Ortensia.

"Nonsense." Nala scoffed. "Sarabi may be old, but she's still a tough lioness. My mother too."

"Yes. They may not do much hunting or fighting, but they really can when it's called to them." added Simba.

"So these are all the past kings and queens of the Pride Lands?" asked Azaad, looking at the paintings inside the Lion Guard lair with Vitani's Lion Guard.

"That's right." said Rafiki, tapping each painting with his staff. "It goes back to the very first king, Mohatu. His role would soon be taken over by King Ahadi and Queen Uru. They would later give birth to Mufasa and then Scar. Mufasa would then be king after their time. Simba was next in line until…"

"Scar killed his own brother." scowled Kasi.

"Exactly." said Rafiki. "And then, with the help of his friends, Simba took down Scar and took his rightful place as king with Nala as his queen. And sometime in the future, Kiara and Kovu will rule as king and queen."

"That is so cool…" said Tazama.

"Attention everyone!" Zazu called. "Our final allies have arrived."

Everyone looked over to see Sora, Riku, Kairi, Donald, Goofy, Kion, Kiara, Kovu, Vitani, Janja, Jasiri, Chungu, and Cheezi run in.

"There you guys are!" said Aqua.

"Is this everyone we want gathered?" asked Daisy.

"As many as we can get." said Sora. "We don't wanna take away too many animals in case any Heartless, Nobodies, or even Unversed return."

"Indeed. The Pride Lands still have to defend themselves without a Lion Guard for a while." Rafiki nodded.

"Especially since the steaks are higher, so to speak." said Max.

"So this is it?" asked Xion. "This is the army that's gonna help save the Tree of Light?"

"It is Xion." said Kiara.

"We're ready to help save it!" Bunga said excitedly.

"It'll be nice to come back, even after a few days." said Fuli.

"I can't wait to see it!" said Timon.

"Me too! From what Bunga told us, it sounds beautiful!" said Pumbaa.

"We still have a problem." said Anga and all eyes fell on her. "Those three humans with gray hair said that the attack is gonna happen in less than 24 hours."

"Which means less than a day and it took us a long time to get there!" said Ono.

"With or without any obstacles in our way." added Kion. "And even when we were rushing back here to stop Zira, we were already too late."

"There's got to be a way to get there faster…" Nala said. "There just has to be!"

"I'm afraid there is only the one path." Rafiki said.

"That's unfortunate." sighed Zazu.

"Well how are we gonna get there and warn the animals?" asked Tiifu.

Everyone tried to think of something but nothing came to their minds.

Sora and Co. were watching them.

"Gawrsh, I wish there was something we could do to help." said Goofy.

"Yeah but our gliders can't take so many of them." said Max. "We could fall down and get hurt."

"And Zero Gravity spells can only last for so long." added Aqua.

"And no powerful spells that can send us flying away either. They could get us hurt." added Terra.

"There has to be a way to get there…" said Naminé.

At that moment, an idea flew into Sora's head. Although in his mind, it was a crazy one.

"Guys, I think I might have an idea. But we should discuss this privately before making any decisions."

The rest of Sora's team were curious as to what Sora had in mind so all 20 of them moved over to the Lion Guard lair entrance.

"So what's your idea?" Mickey asked.

"This will be a crazy plan and even I'm not too sure about this, but then again desperate times call for desperate measures. There will be some difficulties that will come with it, but it might be our only way to get to the Tree of Life." Sora stated.

"Well don't keep us waiting. What's your idea?" Kairi asked with curiosity.

"Well, the idea is that we can get to the Tree of Life sooner... by taking the Gummiship!" Sora announced.

Everyone was surprised.

"The Gummiship!?" Roxas and Ven exclaimed in unison.

"Where did that idea come from?!" exclaimed Lea.

"Look I know it's out of the blue." nodded Sora. "But it's our fastest way instead of our gliders or even on foot… or wings. Plus it can sit so many people and animals ever since Chip and Dale upgraded it to be bigger, longer, and more spacious."

Everyone pondered that idea.

"Well… I suppose we can give it a try." said Minnie.

"It is our best option right now." said Mickey.

"But none of us can drive it like this!" said Lea, gesturing to their animal forms.

"Yeah… that's where another hard part of my idea comes to mind." Sora said sheepishly. "My idea would also have to include us… being in our human and toon forms."

The Guardians of Light gasped.

"Sora, I don't think that's a good idea!" said Donald.

"Yeah. If we reveal our true forms we'll be breaking the world order!" said Goofy.

"Guys, the world order is already broken. Both Xehanort and Maleficent did that a long time ago!" Sora argued.

Ven sighed. "I'm afraid Sora's right. The world's order has become pretty much expendable now."

Terra nodded at those words. "And let's not forget we're forming an Army of Light anyway. And after seeing what the animals of this world are capable of I think we should ask them to join."

"We need all the help we can get to fight Xehanort's army." said Riku. "And if we're going to be telling Kiara, Kion and the others about other worlds we might as well show who we really are."

"But what if Kion, Kiara and the rest of the guard get mad that this was kept secret like my nephews after they found out about Della?" Donald asked.

Daisy flew beside her love. "Don't worry Donald. We won't allow a repeat of the Sunchaser incident to happen." she assured him.

"Right. Because we're all here to explain everything to them. I'm sure they'll understand." Kairi added.

"We owe it to them." Aqua relented. "And we may need to be at full power if we're gonna stop Zira, Ushari, Makucha and his army, and the hyenas."

"Plus, we did show and tell Woody, Buzz, and their friends who we really are before we got the cowboy and astronaut toys to join us." said Sora. "Why should this be any different?"

"Oh yeah! I forgot about that!" chuckled Goofy.

Donald sighed. "Oh alright."

Isa then spoke up. "Sora, you do know that if we return to our regular forms, they will suspect me to be Saïx." he said.

"We'll defend you buddy." promised Lea.

"Oh yes! We won't let them hurt you!" said Minnie.

Isa managed a small smile.

The animals walked over to those from the Pride Lands and Outlands.

"Hey fellas?" Mickey called as they all stopped talking and looked at the 20. "We have an idea on how we can get ourselves to the Tree of Life fast."

"You do?!" Bunga and Beshte asked together.

"That's great!" said Jasiri.

"But what is it?" asked Azaad.

The Guardians of Light traded glances before nodding.

"Before we tell you of our idea, we will have to show you something in order for us to do it." said Kairi.

"And what that might be if I may ask?" Kion asked.

"Our true forms…" said Sora.

Simba, Nala, Zazu, and Rafiki's eyes widened while everyone else was confused.

"Uh… come again?" asked Cheezi.

"True forms?" asked Vitani.

"What true forms?" asked Shabaha.

"Just watch." said Donald, summoning Mage's Staff.

"Sora? Are you sure?" Simba asked.

"I'm sure Simba." Sora said.

"Wait, Dad do you know what he's talking about?" Kion asked his father.

"Just watch Kion." Rafiki chuckled. "All of you will be in for a treat!"

With a burst of magic, Donald unleashed a spell around him and his friends, nearly blinding everyone.

And when the magic faded, there stood Sora and his friends back in their regular forms.

Everyone gasped in shock and slight awe as they stared at them.

"Hevi Kabisa...!" Kion and Vitani gasped in shock.

"What in the Pridelands...!?" Kovu exclaimed.

"Unbelievable...!" Kiara gasped.

"Alright! We're back, we're back!" Lea grinned before there was a crack in his spine. "My back! Gah my back!" he groaned as he fell onto his side. (1)

Everyone, even the shocked, winced.

"Guess your human body wasn't used to you swinging around like a monkey so much in that form." commented Ven as Terra helped Lea up.

"Yeah I'll keep that memorized." said Lea, cracking his back back into place.

"Gotta say, feels nice being human again." said Riku, adjusting his jacket.

"And back on both feet," said Aqua, moving her legs around.

"And not carrying a shell!" said Max, feeling the lack of a tortoise shell on his back.

Simba smiled as he approached the group. "It's been a long time since I've seen you three in your true forms. I see you've done some growing Sora." he commented.

Sora chuckled. "I was 14 years old when we first met Simba. It's been over 2 years since then."

"As for me and Goofy we're toons so we barely age." said Donald.

"So this is what you all really look like." commented Nala. "I must say I am amazed."

"As am I, you all look astounding!" said Zazu.

Rafiki laughed whole-heartedly. "Yes indeed! Our heroes as they were born. Such forms they're used to when not in our world I presume."

"Ha ha! You presume correctly, Rafiki." chuckled Mickey.

"Uh… I hate to ruin the moment but… we still have an audience." said Minnie, pointing ahead.

The group looked at the shocked group of animals still staring at them.

Kion and Kiara slowly walked up to them, looking at them all around. Their shocked expressions remained on their faces as if they were trying to register what they just saw… if that was even possible right now.

Kion finally spoke up. "Sora? Guys? Is that really you?" he asked.

"Heh, heh, surprise." Sora said sheepishly with jazz hands.

"This is the real us." nodded Riku.

"Most of you guys are human!?" Kiara exclaimed.

"Yes… yes we are." Ven answered.

"You guys are all seeing this too right?" a gobsmacked Bunga asked.

Everyone nodded.

"I'm seeing it. I'm still trying to figure out how!" said Ono.

"Am I dreaming?! Please tell me I'm dreaming! I don't think my mind is working right now!" cried Uncle Max.

"You're not dreaming Uncle Max this is the real deal!" said Ma.

"What do you mean this is the real you?!" Timon asked, "I'm so confused."

"We mean this is what we truly look like Timon." said Terra. "This is how we were born."

"But you guys were just animals!" said Cheezi.

"Uh, I think some of them already are animals." said Chungu.

"Not all of them!" Cheezi retorted.

"We have powers, Cheezi," said Mickey. "Some more powerful than others."

"Those were forms we took in order to blend into this world," said Naminé. "You don't see many humans around here… aside from safari travelers I guess."

"That is quite true." nodded Zazu.

"As for the eight of us, we had to blend in even more in African culture around here," said Daisy. "That's why we took different animal forms and weren't wearing any over-the-top clothes."

"Hold on… you said you're not from this world?" Beshte asked.

"Nope! We come from a bunch of other worlds!" Myde replied.

"Why didn't you tell us this was who you really are?" Kion asked.

"Yeah… I thought you trusted us. We trusted you." Kiara said, sounding hurt.

Sora and Co. winced as Mickey walked up. "I'm sorry Kiara. But we had to protect the World Order." he said.

"World… Order?" Azaad asked. "What is that?"

"The order kept between worlds that can't allow anyone to know about them. It's a balance thing." Lea said. "We're the exceptions because we fight to protect them. Got it memorized?"

"But Xehanort and his allies, including those three you saw earlier, basically broke the order." said Roxas.

"Which is why we're telling you the truth now." Aqua added.

"Ok… we can see why you stayed mum about it." said Jasiri.

"Hold on." said Vitani, looking over at Simba, Nala, Zazu, and Rafiki. "You four don't looked shocked about this…"

"Did you know about them not being from our world too?" Kovu asked.

To the Pride Lander and Outlanders' surprise, the quartet nodded.

"Yes we did." said Simba. "I knew ever since our world fell to darkness long ago, long before my kids were born."

"I also was told about this shortly after Simba took his rightful place as king." Nala added.

"I've known ever since I took this job," said Zazu. "Every ruler of the Pride Lands and their major domo knew dating back to the Pride Lands earliest days."

"And I have known for quite sometime myself!" said Rafiki. "Every Royal Majuzi knows about such power and secrets in the Pride Lands and beyond its land. Even it's world!"

"Makes sense that you would know." mused Zuri.

Kiara and Kion approached their parents.

"Mom, Dad, why didn't you tell us? We're your kids!" asked Kiara.

"We take our responsibilities seriously for the Pride Lands. We met Sora and the others when we were cubs." Kion added.

Simba and Nala sighed.

"We wanted to tell you. But we were gonna wait until you were older." Nala said. "You were both still pretty young despite being trained to be future queen and leading the guard."

"And then Scar returned as a fiery spirit, Kion got poisoned by Ushari, Ono became blinded by ash, the Lion Guard and Makini had to go to the Tree of Life, Zira's attacked, and here we are." Simba added.

"Wow. That's an awful lot on your shoulders." Janja commented.

"Boy I'll say." said Pumbaa.

"Ok… I can see why." Kiara admitted.

"We are sorry we didn't tell you sooner though." Nala sighed.,

"It's fine Mom, I mean you were just trying to help them." Kion said, smiling a bit. He faced the world-travelers. "And I get it, you guys had a duty to the worlds with a big responsibility."

"Thank you for understanding Kion." smiled Minnie.

"But we are sorry we weren't so truthful in the beginning." apologized Naminé.

"Hakuna Matata." Kiara smiled. She faced the others. "Right guys?"

The other animals murmured to each other before managing to nod in agreement.

"Yeah we can forgive you." said Anga.

"You all were just trying to protect the order." said Kovu.

"And you helped us protect both our lands, especially the Pride Lands." added Beshte.

"And we gotta admit, you guys do look un-Bunga-lieveable!" Bunga added.

"Thank you everyone." said Isa.

Simba, Nala, Kion, Kiara, Janja, Beshte, Bunga, Ono, and Fuli's ears perked up as the faced the Luna Diviner who had been oddly quiet.

"Wait. There's something familiar about you." said Nala, narrowing her eyes at Isa in suspicion.

Simba suddenly remembered. "Wait! Aren't you the one Sora and his friends called Saïx?! The member of Organization XIII that helped poison me!"

"Yeah! I remember you!" Kiara exclaimed. "You attacked Pride Rock and tried to kill us!"

Everyone who wasn't there that day gasped.

"Oh dear…" murmured Minnie.

"Uh oh…" gulped Goofy.

"Secret's out." Myde winced.

"What are you doing back in the Pride Lands!?" Kion angrily demanded. "You've got some nerve showing your face here after you almost killed my dad!"

Simba, Nala, Kiara, and Kion growled and slowly approached Isa who managed to remain calm and unfazed.

"Uh oh..." said Donald.

"Guys, wait!" Sora pleaded.

"No, stop!" Lea shouted.

"Don't hurt him! He's-" Xion started.

She was cut off when Kion lunges at Isa with a roar only for him to catch him by the back of his mane, easily holding him back.

"Let me go!" Kion demanded.

"Calm down. I'm not here to fight." said Isa.

Simba, Nala and Kiara were about to attack but Lea and Roxas quickly blocked their way.

"Step aside! He's an enemy to the Pride Lands!" Simba exclaimed, gritting his teeth.

"No he's not! You don't understand, he's not Saïx anymore! He's Isa! And he's a friend now, not an enemy!" Lea quickly explained.

The Royal Family stop growling and lift their heads up in shock while Kion stopped struggling.

"What?" Simba asked, surprised.

"Wait, he's not?" Kion asked, looking at Isa suspiciously.

"It's true you guys. Isa isn't evil!" said Sora, supporting his friend.

"He's changed, just like Kovu and Vitani and their Pride!" Kairi added.

"What is going on here?" Azaad asked, confused.

"Some of us are completely lost right now!" Kovu added.

"During the Kumbuka celebration, Simba was stung by a scorpion, as I don't doubt you know." explained Rafiki. "Said scorpion, Sumu, was given a spell to block any healing spells by Sora and some of his friends it and needed volcanic ash to heal it."

"Sora, Donald, Goofy, Riku, Mickey, and Kairi joined the five of us and Makini to go to the Outlands to get the ash, stopping any Heartless or Outlanders from stopping us." said Fuli.

"Hey I remember that! You kicked our tails hard!" said Janja.

"When we got to the volcano, we saw Scar's fiery spirit." said Ono. "And then Saïx showed up and tried to help Scar's army kill us near the volcano's lava!"

"We managed to escape, but then he sent a black lion Heartless after us." added Beshte.

"And then he showed up at Pride Rock and we had to fight him on the edge before Kion roared him away!" added Bunga.

"I saw it from inside the den with Mom and Rafiki while Dad was recovering." said Kiara.

"And I bet he was responsible for the Nobodies attacking us when we tried to rescue Sora from the Outlands!" accused Bunga.

"So first he's Saïx, and now he's Isa? I'm confused." said Janja.

"And all of a sudden he's on our side after disguising himself as a mandrill?" asked Tiifu.

Before anyone could say anything else, Isa stepped up towards the royal family. "I assure you, your majesties, I am not the same evil being that invaded your world." To everyone's surprise he took a knee and bowed down. "I apologize for my actions back then, but I did what I had to in order to maintain my cover. But I can promise even at that time I was plotting against the Organization."

"What do you mean 'maintain your cover'"? Kion asked, arching an eyebrow.

"Plotting against the Organization?" Asked Fuli.

"Give him a chance, Simba. I mean, you thought Kovu was evil and now look. He's a part of your pride now." Roxas pointed out.

"He has a good point. Even though he was a part of me I wanted nothing to do with Scar or following in his paw prints." said Kovu, voicing his support.

"Exactly. It's the same for Isa, he wanted nothing to do with Xehanort in the end." said Sora.

"Certain people change Simba, humans and animals." Said Kairi.

"Please Simba." Naminé pleaded.

Simba thought for a moment before nodding. "I'll hear you out."

"Thank you." said Isa. "Saïx was the name I had when I was part of Organization XIII, twice in fact. Both times were against my will, along with Roxas, Lea, Xion, and Myde. But we didn't know it at the time. During the second time I had a piece of Xehanort's heart inside of me to make me one of his vessels."

"Piece of his heart?" asked Anga, confused.

"Not like the vital organ, the physical one." said Mickey.

"Mickey's correct." Isa nodded. "But I was in control of my senses and actions. Despite being one of the chosen for the 13 Darknesses, I used it to my advantage. I pretended to be supportive of Xehanort's goals when really I was helping out Sora, Lea, Roxas, and the others in secret."

"So, wait…you're a good guy now?" Bunga asked, suspicious. "And you're telling us you've secretly been one from the beginning?"

But Kion was still confused. "But wait, that doesn't make any sense."

"Yeah, you tried to help Scar kill us. You sent his army to attack different places around the Pride Lands!" Fuli reminded the bluehead.

"And you sent those Nobodies to attack us when we were heading for Flat Ridge Rock." Beshte added.

"And you sent some of those monsters to kill me when I first met Sora." added Jasiri.

"The attack from Scar's army was for you to see what you were dealing with in addition to the Heartless and the Nobodies." explained Isa. "If any of you were about to get killed, I would've sent some of my Berserker Nobodies to deal with them and make it look like they committed treason. Besides, I had to be as convincing as possible while I was working within the Organization."

"That…makes sense." Anga admitted.

"What about when Sumu stung Simba?" asked Nala.

"Yes, weren't you the one who made it, so the poison that was killing me was immune to healing spells, Isa?" Simba remembered.

Isa nodded. "Yes, I was but I promise you, I had no intention of killing you, your highness. Scar needed a reason for the Lion Guard to head to the volcano, along with Sora, Riku, Kairi, Mickey, Donald, and Goofy. Furthermore, if I hadn't made the poison immune to healing spells then the Lion Guard would've had no reason to come to the volcano, therefore they wouldn't know of Scar's return."he explained.

"But my husband almost died from that poison." frowned Nala.

"I admit, Simba dying from the poison was a risk, but it was a calculated risk I had to take in order to make his return to you all known, otherwise you'd have no idea what you were truly up against. I just had to put my faith in Sora, Kion and the rest and hope they'd get the volcanic ash to cure Simba on time." Isa justified.

The animals couldn't deny this. If the poison was easily curable then they wouldn't have gone to the volcano to get the remedy for Simba, thus they wouldn't know Scar had returned and prepared for him.

"I…suppose that is somewhat reasonable." Simba admitted.

"But what about at the volcano when Scar's army trapped us?" asked Ono.

"Yeah. We almost died back there!" Fuli shouted.

"If any of you fell, I would secretly open a corridor and you'd be sent safe outside the Outlands." replied Isa. "I'd feign ignorance so it would look like someone was helping you in secret."

"That's…actually very clever." Said Ono.

"What about that Black Lion Heartless that went after us?" Beshte asked.

"I sent that as an opportunity to dispose of a powerful Heartless from Xehanort's army." shrugged Isa. "That and I had to maintain my cover."

"Again…that makes sense." Anga replied.

"Okay, but what about when you attacked us at Pride Rock?" Kion asked.

"Yeah. You tried to kill us!" Bunga scowled.

"Actually, I did that in hopes that YOU would kill ME." Isa answered.

Now the animals were all absolutely dumbfounded, especially the former Lion Guard and Royal Family.

"Huh?" said Anga.

"Say, what now?" Beshte asked.

"I'm sorry, could you repeat that. You wanted us to kill you?" Fuli asked, incredulous.

"Okay, now I'm confused. Not just because I'm not that smart. But like, really, REALLY confused." Bunga admitted.

"You mean, those things you said and did when we fought, all of that was just to provoke us?" Ono asked in realization.

"Why would you want us to kill you, Isa?" asked Kion, confused.

"When anyone succumbs to darkness, they split in two. Their hearts are released, and the darkness causes it to form into a Heartless. And the body they leave turns into an empty husk, a Nobody. Those with a strong will retain their human form like I did." Isa replied.

"Same for me." Lea added.

"Me three." said Myde.

"Naminé, Xion and I were a special case." said Roxas. "But that's a story for another time."

"But what does that have to do with attacking us at Pride Rock?" asked Kiara.

"Just hear him out." Donald assured.

"When a Heartless and Nobody are destroyed, the human they were created from is resurrected." Isa answered.

"I'm sorry what?" asked Kasi.

"Heartless and Nobodies… come from humans?" asked Timon.

"Is that an afterlife thing?" asked Shabaha.

"Or is it some sort of curse?" asked Tazama.

"Sounds like a real nightmare to me." shuddered Pumbaa.

"Oh it is." Lea said grimly.

"When a Heartless is destroyed their heart becomes free. And when a Nobody is destroyed, their body disappears into nothing. The two halves find each other and merge to reconstruct the person they once were before the split happened." Mickey clarified for the animals.

Ono looked down, thinking. "Nawaza, nawaza, nawaza, of course!" He shouted in realization. "By that logic if we had defeated you, your body and your missing heart would've merged together and turn you back into a human again!"

"Correct." said Isa.

"So, that's why you provoked us when we fought!" Kion finally realized.

"You wanted us to kill you, so you'd turn human again!" said Bunga.

"Indeed. Unfortunately, not even Kion's Roar of the Elders was powerful enough to destroy Saïx. So, I had to wait for another opportunity." Isa gestured to Oswald. "Fortunately, I have Oswald to thank for freeing me from Xehanort's clutches and turning me into a human again."

Oswald waved with a smile. "You're welcome."

"But I must also confess another thing..." Isa sighed. "Ushari's alive... because of me."

Everyone gasped.

"You saved that traitorous snake?!" Zazu exclaimed.

"But how? You weren't there!" said Bunga.

"Yeah, you weren't in the volcano when Kion destroyed Scar." added Beshte.

"I used my dark powers to summon a corridor to bring Ushari to the Organization's base before he landed in the lava." Isa replied. "Maleficent, the most evil fairy in all the worlds, healed him."

"Why would you save him?!" demanded Kiara.

"He was the one who started the whole mess of Scar's return!" said Nala.

"He almost turned Kion evil!" added Fuli.

"Unlike Kovu, he actually betrayed the Pride Lands!" added Tiffu.

"And he let Scar try to kill me and my clan!" added Janja.

"HOLD IT!" Rafiki shouted, waving his staff around. He faced Isa. "You had no choice, didn't you? This Xehanort wanted Ushari spared from any grim fate if the Pride Lands won against Scar."

Isa nodded. "Rafiki is correct. As dark as it may sound in other circumstances, I didn't want to save that vile snake after what he did to the Pride Lands, especially after he almost turned Kion evil. That's a path I and others know all too well." he said. "But I had no choice. I had to continue paying the part of the chosen to fool the Organization. Saving Ushari was part of it, unfortunately."

"Huh... I can see why you did that." Kovu murmured.

"And it does sound dark just letting someone die like that, villain or not." added Beshte.

"I know I felt that for a little bit..." murmured Ono.

"So, you see. Isa was on our side the whole time." Sora supported.

"Some of us wouldn't be here if it weren't for him." Roxas added, receiving nods of agreement from Xion and Naminé.

"So, all that time you were pretending to be our enemy to secretly help Sora." said Kion, finally understanding.

"And you prepared for every possibility to maintain your cover. That's amazing!" said Ono.

"It's also very smart." commented Imara.

"And risky since he was lying to the bad guys!" said Timon.

"Which makes him just as brave for doing so." said Azaad. "Such courage in his heart is amazing."

"Kinda like me!" said Bunga. "Well, kinda."

"Wait, so you were secretly helping Kion and Sora kick our tails the entire time you were here?" Janja asked.

"Yes, Janja, I was." Isa said, smugly, causing the Guardians to snicker a little.

Janja whispered to Jasiri, "Okay, I know I'm not a bad guy anymore, but should I be upset or annoyed by this revelation."

"This is a lot to process, so let's just let it sink in and go with it." Jasiri deadpanned.

"Did you two know about this?" Fuli asked Kovu and Vitani.

The two shook their heads, not having known any of this.

"We were living on the farther ends of Outlands at the time so we wouldn't have known the conflict that was happening." said Kovu.

"We didn't know Scar had returned as a spirit." said Vitani.

"And there's something else." said Sora, stepping up beside the old Organization's Number 7. "If Isa hadn't made Jasiri change direction, I wouldn't have met her and she wouldn't have helped me get back to the Pride Lands."

Jasiri's eyes widened. "That was you?" she asked Isa. "Those rocks that fell next to me… and made me spot Sora lost on my turf, that was you?"

"When I saw Sora stuck in the Outlands, I knew I had to help him. But I couldn't blow my cover." Isa replied. "When I saw Jasiri wandering along, I knew she could help him like she did with Kion. All I had to do was toss some pebbles."

"And now Jasiri's a good friend to us and an ally to the Pride Lands, as well as proof that not all Outlanders or even hyenas in general are bad and some are good." said Sora.

The animals all murmured to each other as they realized another good deed Isa did in secret.

Isa looked back at Simba. "Again, your majesty, I apologize for the trouble I had caused during my previous visit. But I had to play things close to my chest in fooling Xehanort while subtly helping Sora. I'm willing to redeem my past misdeeds if you'll allow me to fight alongside you."

Kion, Kiara, Kovu, Janja and Zazu walked/flew up to Simba and Nala, the former thinking of his answer.

"Mom, Dad, I think we should give Isa a chance. When I look at him, I can tell he's not the same guy we met a few years ago." said Kion.

"Yeah, give him a chance, Simba. I needed hundreds of chances before I finally turned around." said Janja.

"The same goes for me and the other Outlanders. We all needed plenty of chances before we finally came around to respecting the circle of life." Kovu added.

"They're right Dad. And Isa has spent the past few days risking his life to help protect the Pride Lands while Kion was away." Kiara reminded.

"Indeed sire. In a way, we're all indebted to Isa for his assistance in keeping the Pride Lands safe from Zira and the Heartless." said Zazu.

"Let's give him a chance, Simba. Isa has done so much for us in the short time he's been in the Pride Lands. And Sora seems to trust him. Perhaps we should too." said Nala.

After some thinking and nods from the other Guardians, Simba smiled at Isa. "Very well, Isa. If there's anything I've learned these past few days, it's that everyone deserves a second chance. And we'll need all the help we can get to save the Tree of Life. If you truly wish to make amends, then can I count on you to continue fighting alongside us.

Isa smiled and bows his head. "It would be my honor."

"Which brings us back to our major problem." said Anga. "How are we gonna get there in less than a day when it could take us a week to get there?"

The world-travelers smirked.

"We didn't tell you how we get from world to world, did we?" Minnie giggled.

"Uh… no I don't think you did." said Vitani.

"What kind of magic do you use?" Zazu asked.

Mickey pulled out the Gummiship remote. "This will take us there! Gather around everyone!"

Everyone gathered close together.

"Ok now what?" Pumbaa asked.

Mickey pressed some buttons and a massive beam of light shot down from the sky and took everyone with it.

---

Gummiship:

Jiminy was finishing writing a letter as he sat on the console. He read it out loud as he wrote it.

Dear Pinocchio and Geppetto,

I hope all is well. Traveling across the worlds with Sora, Donald, Goofy, King Mickey, and all of their friends has been a blast! Granted, I'm not a part of the action, but I do catalog what I can. I might join them in the worlds again. It gets hard to find good entertainment on this ship these days, even for a wise old cricket. I'll be sure to come and visit when things die down. Until then, continue having good aventures together as father and son.

Yours truly,
Jiminy Cricket.

No sooner did Jiminy place the latter in his jacket, a massive beam of light made him turn around.

"Oh you're finally back-oh my goodness!" Jiminy gasped when he saw the whole brocade of heroes in the Gummiship.

Thankfully since several of the animals were small or could perch on the seats or console, it wasn't even that crowded.

"Hey Jiminy! A-hyuck!" Goofy greeted.

"Man it feels good to be back in here after almost a week as an animal." Lea commented.

The Pride Landers and Outlanders looked around the Gummiship in shock and awe.

"Hevi Kabisa…" Kion gasped.

"What in the Pride Lands…?" breathed Kiara.

"Poa!" Beshte said in awe.

"What is this place?!" asked Janja.

"It looks all… future or something…" said Pumbaa.

"I've never seen skies like this before." commented Nala, looking out the window. "And yet… it looks beautiful."

"Well whatever this place is, it's un-Bunga-lievable!" said Bunga.

"What is this place anyway?" asked Ono, perching himself on a chair with Zazu and Anga.

"Welcome to the Gummiship!" said Ven. "One of the biggest pieces of transportation from world to world in the Lanes-In-Between!"

"Our Keyblades can turn into gliders and help us go from world to world as long as we're in our armor, but this helps transport many at once." said Aqua.

"This is nothing like those things humans call 'vehicles' when we see them drive by to look at us." commented Fuli.

"I'm surprised we can all fit in here." said Kovu.

"Yeah! Even I'm surprised I can fit in here." said Beshte.

"Well this thing is a much bigger version of one we took before our enemies destroyed it." said Sora.

"You certainly keep surprising us Sora." chuckled Simba.

"There's more to some heroes than meets the eye." chuckled Rafiki.

"This is how we're gonna get to the Tree of Life faster." said Mickey. "We just gotta fly it closer across your home world and then beam right back down."

"It has everything!" said Donald. "Bedrooms, restrooms, a kitchen, a game room, a laundry room…"

"I don't even know what those things are." Vitani deadpanned.

"I don't think any of us do 'Tani." said Kovu.

"Don't worry. Leave the transportation to us." said Kairi.

"But we do have rules since there is a lot of you and you're not used to such a setting." said Aqua.

"Rule 1, don't touch anything." said Lea. "You press something that looks shiny we could crash."

Bunga was about to press a button until he saw Fuli's look and pulled his claw away.

"Rule 2, no marking your territory anywhere in here." said Max.

"That's fair. It'd be rude to do so." said Kion.

"But what if we have to?!" asked Cheezi.

"Just hold it in then, fur-brain!" said Janja.

"Rule 3, don't run around the ship recklessly." said Terra. "There's a lot of us and even massive ships can take so much at once."

"Don't worry, we won't go running around." promised Simba.

"Or flying in our case." added Zazu.

"Rule 4, don't distract the pilot, co-pilot, or the one in the weapon's chair." said Mickey.

"I don't know what those are in your human terms." blinked Janja.

"Just don't distract me, Riku, and Mickey." said Sora as he sat in the weapon's chair, Mickey in the pilot's seat, and Riku in the co-pilot's seat.

"And Rule 5, sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride." said Myde, sitting in his chair.

"Now that we know how to do!" grinned Bunga.

"By the way, who's the bug in those things you call clothes?" asked Timon.

Jiminy hopped onto Kairi's shoulder. "Jiminy Cricket! Conscience and friend to many and I help these guys by cataloging what happens in the worlds they visit and offer them wise words." he greeted.

"Oh so you're like Rafiki." said Nala.

Jiminy chuckled. "That is one way of putting it." he said.

"Oh yeah! Rule 6, no eating the wise cricket." Xion said.

All eyes went on Timon. "Whaddya looking at me for?" the meerkat asked.

"Just don't give into temptation Timmy." said Ma.

"So… why are they all here?" Jiminy asked. "Is the world safe?"

"It's a long story Jiminy." said Mickey, pressing some buttons. "But right now, we need to go to another area of this world so we can get to the Tree of Life faster."

"Xehanort and Maleficent are planning to destroy it and its power!" said Kairi.

"The attack is less than a day, so we need to move now." said Aqua.

"Well then let's go!" said Jiminy.

"Way ahead of you!" said Mickey, pulling a lever.

"Hold onto your butts guys, because we're moving now!" Sora called to the animals.

"You got it Sora!" said Kiara.

Kion looked out the window towards his world. "Hold on Rani… we're on our way…" he said.

And the Gummiship sailed off towards the Tree of Life.

To be continued…

---

The stage is set folks!

Now many of the Pride Landers and Outlanders know Sora and his friends aren't truly African animals but humans and toon animals that wear clothes.

Up next we return to the Tree of Life!

Rate, review, and I'll see you all in the new year!

Special dialogue thanks to jdimock and Super Sayian 3 Odd.

(1) Spider-Man 2