Now this is the final chapter for the Pride Lands! Enjoy!
One by one everyone began to exit the Tree of Life.
"So what do you wanna call our combo Sora?" asked Kion.
"What about Light of Udugu?" asked Kiara.
"That's a great idea sis!" Kion grinned.
Sora blinked. "Huh? Udugu?" he asked. "What's that?"
"Udugu's another word for kinship. It's the special bond between siblings." Kiara replied. "Mom helped us realize it when we were little."
"And you're kinda like another brother to us too." smiled Kion.
Sora was touched. "Thanks guys."
"Are you sure you guys are ok?" Nala asked.
"You did just come back from the dead a few minutes ago." said Makini.
"I still can't believe that's a sentence…" Uncle Max said, rubbing his head. "Geez I am getting too old for this…"
"Easy Uncle Max, don't go fainting on us now." Ma said, rubbing his head.
Terra and Ven helped Aqua out of the tree, followed by Lea holding Isa around the shoulder, Ortensia carrying Oswald in both her arms bridal style, and Kairi and Xion guided Myde out last.
"Guys, it's ok we're fine now!" assured Oswald.
"Our injures are gone and our blood is back in our bodies." said Aqua.
"They're correct, we're fine." said Isa.
"Yeah we can walk just fine!" said Myde, moving his foot around. "See? I ain't limping."
"Well you can't blame us for being concerned." said Minnie.
"She's right, we just watched four of you get thrashed to death for a few minutes!" said Fuli.
"And then you came back!" Bunga added.
"We appreciate it, but we're ok now." assured Aqua.
"And yet you still draw breath."
Everyone jumped and gasped.
There stood all the villains, back on their feet and paws, standing right across from them like when they first arrived, although several of them looked exhausted and pained from the fight. And it had been Young Xehanort who spoke.
"SCAR! ZIRA!" Simba yelled.
"You're all conscious again?!" Anga exclaimed.
"Dang it! I thought we kicked their butts hard to the ground!" Baliyo exclaimed.
"Your confidence overshadows your realism." Xemnas said. "While the battle was powerful, you should know by now that you can't keep the darkness down."
"But hey, you all did put up quite a fight!" Smun said.
"Smun, don't compliment the enemy!" scowled Mama Binturong.
"Sorry Mama…" the porcupine apologized.
"I'm surprised a certain four of you are still alive." Zira said with a mocking grin. "After all, some of us did leave quite the… aftermath on you…"
The heroes scowled in anger as the animals, barring Scar, Zira, and Ushari, laughed.
"I will skin you all INTO RUGS!" Ven snapped as he was about to charge forward, but Naminé and Xion helped him back.
"Ven no, we gotta be rational about this!" Xion said.
Ven did his best to calm down but shot an icy glare at the villains.
"Sheesh if looks could kill." Nuka muttered.
"I'm surprised that you all are still trying to destroy the tree." Kiara huffed.
"Yeah didn't we prove that we're more tough than all of you put together?!" Janja asked.
"You got your keisters kicked to the ground!" Shabaha cackled.
"You did prove yourselves to be formidable all together." admitted Ushari.
"Quite the tough fighters." added Makucha.
"But we always have tricks in mind to deal with you pathetic idiots any day." Scar smirked.
"Which we will be executing in due time… unlike when four of your friends were executed." smirked Young Xehanort.
"I will smash your faces into car windshields, and then go back in time, take Mother Xehanort out to a nice seafood dinner, and never call her again!" Lea shouted.
Young Xehanort was ticked off and attempted to run at Lea. "MOTHER XEHANORT IS A SAINT!" he shouted.
Lea tried to attack back but Isa and Terra restrained him. Ansem and Xemnas did the same to Young Xehanort.
"He's right! Leave the mothers out of this!" said Terra. "It's unnecessary." (1)
Nala, Ma, and even Zira gave Terra a look.
"At least the ones that aren't here." Terra clarified.
"Getting back to the main conversation, we figured that destroying the Tree of Life wouldn't be an easy feat no matter how hard we planned." Ansem said.
"No shit, we aren't gonna let you lay one finger on this tree!" Sora said firmly.
"Not even the so-called Roar of Scar will stop us!" added Kairi.
"Quite the brave fools, just like Shabaha and the honey badgers." mused Zira.
"Vitani and I will roar you all away, right here, right now!" Kion growled.
"Any last words?" smirked Vitani.
Scar just chuckled darkly. "Oh, but I do. We had a second plan in mind in case things went out of our control." he said, walking around the land while sticking close to the group. "For you see… we figured if destroying the Tree of Life won't be simple enough… destroying the whole land will be much easier."
The heroes blinked.
"I think you got your plans mixed up, you crazy cat." Max said.
"Either way we won't be letting you destroy any or all parts of the Tree of Life!" Rani said firmly.
"Oh but we will!" Shenzi laughed. "We planned this and it was being done while we were fighting!"
"Smell the air." Ora hissed.
Confused, everyone took a whiff… and the humans' and toons' eyes widened.
"That's gas!" exclaimed Mickey.
"Oh, sorry." Pumbaa winced.
"Not you, it's gasoline!" corrected Donald. "It's something humans and toons like us use for those vehicles you see tourists drive!"
"Why yes, we had some of our other allies pour it around." Ansem said.
Flashback, during the fight:
While Sora and Co. battled Scar, his forces, and the Organization, Negaduck was pouring gasoline from a red container around the Marsh Forest. The animals were hiding away from the battle and didn't see him.
"That's right, all over this stupid paradise." Negaduck laughed.
Several Soldier Heartless were assisting him.
Negaduck pulled out a radio. "Hey you lot! How goes Operation: Flammable?" he asked.
Desert Plains:
Megavolt and several Dusks dumped more gasoline around the desert. "Going good boss!" Megavolt said into an earpiece.
Rocky Mountains:
Quackerjack poured gasoline across the mountains as Wild Bruisers assisted him.
"The view is good for a good gas pouring down the hill!" Quackerjack said into a toy radio connected to the frequency.
Bamboo Woods:
Black Heron dumped gas around the forest while being assisted by Stealth Soldier Heartless.
"This is so much fun!" Heron grinned while speaking into a headset. "Although third to claiming revenge on the McDuck family and world larceny, one I'll be doing later."
Willows:
Steelbeak and some Large Body Heartless dumped more flammable liquid across the land.
"Yeah everyone took the gasoline so I'm using kerosine, is that flammable?" Steelbeak asked into a ham radio.
Cikha Escarpment:
Liquidator dumped gas across the land while being assisted by Darklings.
"Why it sure is! As long as it's done like in Scar and Maleficent's vision." he said into a walkie-talkie.
Winter Woods:
Bushroot was connecting sticks of dynamite across the mountainside alongside some Reapers.
"Flammable liquid won't work in snowy conditions so I had to improvise with dynamite." he said into a radio. "But I can connect it to a trail and it'll do the rest!"
Lake of Reflection:
Dark Riku, wearing his purple bodysuit, finished dumping gasoline near the lake, assisted by Novashadows across the way.
"As long as it does the job, then go nuts." he said into an earpiece before looking at the lake. "Pollution will come easy… Reflect on that." he said with a smirk.
Marsh Forest:
Negaduck led a trail close to where the fight was. But the heroes were too busy fighting the bad guys to notice.
The others eventually caught up and helped dump the gas trails across each other before they were empty.
"Will it even be enough?" asked Quackerjack.
"One spark is all it takes and the flames will do the rest." Negaduck grinned. "Now let's get outta here."
Dark Riku opened a Corridor of Darkness and the villains quickly ran through. Not one of their enemies were wiser.
Present:
Young Xehanort then pulled something out of his pocket. A match.
"What's that, a match?" asked Max, squinting.
"Marty McFly was not the only one to take a matchbox from Biff Tannen's home in the alternate 1985." Ansem replied.
Young Xehanort suddenly lit the match against a large rock and went over to a trail.
"What was it you said to me in the Toy Box? Oh yes. Happy trails." he mocked, dropping the match.
"NO!" Sora and his team screamed.
Young Xehanort just laughed as the match ignited the gasoline, starting a fire.
"FIRE!" Everyone shouted.
"NO!" the Night Pride cried.
The fire spread very quickly across the trails and scattered all around the Tree of Life's habitats. And because many areas had grass, fallen leaves and sticks, the fire spread off the trails. And it wasn't long until the trees caught the blazes as well.
The heroes watched in horror as the fire spread.
"And now the Tree of Life will burn!" Scar laughed maniacally.
"Come on, let's get outta here!" said Makucha.
Ansem, Xemnas, and Young Xehanort moved their hands and a large swirl of darkness took them and all the evil animals away.
"We gotta get outta here!" Timon shouted.
"I don't wanna be a roasted pig!" cried Pumbaa.
"No! We have to save the animals!" said Rani.
"We can use the Roar on the clouds and make it rain!" Kion said.
"We can't, too much smoke is building up!" Vitani shouted.
And she was right. The amount of burning the fire caused smoke to billow into the air, blocking any lingering clouds. Neither Kion or Vitani could use the Roar on the clouds. And even if they could use it on the Roar to make the large smoke cloud go away, it was building up at a fast rate thanks to the increasing wildfire. Not even the snow on the ground in certain areas could stop the fire as the flames instantly melted it and spread further.
Suddenly one of the trees collapsed. The flames had destroyed it entirely.
"Come on, split up and find the animals!" said Aqua.
"Use water magic to keep the fire at bay!" Mickey said to his fellow keybearers.
"And don't breathe the smoke!" said Rafiki.
"Find your way back to the other side of the Mountain Pass!" said Nirmala.
And everyone scattered around looking for the animals while dodging the fire and anything it made fall near them.
The animals were in a right panic as the fire spread rapidly.
"Fire! FIRE!" shrieked Astuto.
"It's everywhere!" shouted Sasem.
"Run away! RUN AWAY!" screamed Varya.
The Keyblade Wielders scattered across the Tree of Life, using Water spells and ice-themed spells like Blizzard, Ice Barrage, Icicle Mine, and Deep Freeze to put the fire out, alongside Myde using his sitar to cast his own water magic. Lea even tried to absorb the fire with his pyro skills but it was harder than it looked since it continued to spread.
While the wielders tried to keep the fire at bay, the animals ran to help the animals while also trying not to breathe in the smoke.
"Come on, this way!" Bunga said to the darwin foxes.
"Oh thank you so much!" Astuto coughed as she led her kits away.
"Just get low and don't breathe the smoke!" said Jasiri, leading Heng Heng and lemurs away.
"Thank (coughs) you!" coughed Heng Heng.
"Come on, this way!" Kely.
Tiifu, Zuri, and Baliyo cleared a dirt path to block the fire.
"Good thing we saw Kiara, Kion, and Bunga do this by the mud pots!" Tiifu said.
"This is worth getting my claws all filthy!" Zuri said.
"Come on, down the path!" Baliyo said to the goats.
The Mountain Goats rushed down the pathway.
"Thank you!" said Rama.
Trees started to collapse from the roaring flames.
"The fire's getting stronger!" said Terra, casting Icicle Mine.
"And the heat's making me sweat up a storm!" said Donald, casting Ice Barrage and then wiping the sweat from his forehead.
"Just keep goin'!" said Goofy, carrying a baby goat.
Suddenly loud explosions were heard across the Tundra.
Everyone staggered in surprise, yet thankfully avoided the flames.
"What was that?!" shouted Tazama.
"That came from the Tundra!" shouted Nirmala.
"Hapana! There's gonna be an avalanche!" cried Ono.
"Come on, to the winter section!" shouted Baliyo.
Several members ran towards the snowy parts of the Tree of Life.
Snow and rocks began to fall from the mountains.
At the Winter Woods, Terra, Mickey, Naminé, Daisy used water spells against the blaze to free a path as Simba ran over to the tiger den.
"Get out of there now, an avalanche is coming!" he yelled.
Varya ran out of the den, followed by her kids.
"That boom startled us, so we hid!" she said.
"Come on!" Simba said. "I'll get you outta here faster!"
Varya wasted no time. "What about my kids?!" she cried.
Nala, Kiara, and Kion ran up.
"Hope on! NOW!" shouted Nala.
Feliks hopped on Nala, Polina on Kiara, and Pasha on Kion as the lions rushed them away from the avalanche.
At the same time, Sora, Riku, Xion, and Oswald used Water spells against the fire while Fuli, Azaad, and Kasi raced with the young musk deer on their backs, followed by Kiril.
The resulting explosions from the tundra mountains forced Tangaagim, Pinguino, and the penguins into running for their lives as the snow and large pieces of mountain rubble fell down behind them.
"Run, run away!" Tangaagim shouted.
"Slide too!" Pinguino suggested as he and his fellow penguins slid down the mountain.
They soon reached the bottom.
"Come on snow guys!" shouted Janja.
"Follow us!" said Shabaha. "This way!"
"Don't have to tell us twice!" Pinguino smirked as he, his fellow penguin brethren, and the large polar bear raced on as fast as they could.
Everyone raced across the fire-filled land through the Mountain Pass. Some had to dodge flaming trees that fell over towards them instead of collapsing to pieces of burnt wood and leaves.
"Zuka Zama, this is out of control!" shouted Bunga.
"Not one place isn't covered in flames!" Binga added.
"Come on, let's get outta here!" yelled Kairi.
"Smoke is coming down! Everyone on the ground!" shouted Aqua.
Wasting no time, every human, animal, and toon got down closer to the ground to avoid smoke inhalation, though it was easier said than done. The Keybearers tried using Aero, Cyclone, and Wind & Tornado Tracer spells to blow the smoke away.
Suddenly, a large flaming tree fell down and blocked Simba, Nala, Fuli, Surak, Cheezi, Chungu, and Azaad.
"Whoa, that was (cough) close!" coughed Cheezi.
"What do we do now?!" Chungu shouted.
"Remain calm!" Surak said before coughing.
"Dance water dance!"
A burst of water put out the fallen tree.
There stood Myde laying on the ground holding his sitar out.
"Twende kiboko!" Beshte shouted as he charged forward and smashed the tree into pieces with his snout.
"Thanks Beshte!" said Simba.
"No problem!" Beshte smiled, flapping his ears.
"Hey, save the happy praises for later. LET'S MOVE IT EVERYONE!" Myde shouted.
Everyone ran for the exit.
It wasn't long until every animal, human, and toon were gathered outside the Tree of Life.
"Is this all of (coughs) us?" asked Imara.
"It's hard to tell, there's so many!" said Shabaha.
"All four hyenas accounted for!" said Jasiri.
"Our team's accounted for too!" said Riku.
Anga landed in front of Simba. "Everyone from the Pride Lands is here, Simba." she reported.
Ullu landed in front of Rani. "Hoo hoo! I just did a head count! Everyone from the Tree of Life is accounted for too!" she said.
Everyone sighed in relief.
"Ok! We're all here!" Kairi said happily.
"It's a really big miracle!" said Timon.
"But what about the Tree of Life?!" asked Baliyo.
Then they heard cackling as they turned back towards the entrance.
Among the flames, six figures appeared. From left to right, it was Ora, Chuluun, Makucha, Shenzi, Ushari, and Mama Binturong.
Behind them emerged Scar with Zira to his left and Nuka to his right.
Behind them emerged Young Xehanort with Xemnas to his right and Ansem to his left.
Everyone glared at the villains.
"You bastards!" snapped Isa.
"Is this what you wanted?!" yelled Kairi.
"Oh it's more than what we wanted!" Shenzi cackled. "It's even better!"
"If we couldn't have the Tree of Life, then none of you could!" Mama Binturong sneered with a grin.
"Say goodbye to all that power and land!" Makucha laughed.
"You'll pay for all of this!" Kion snapped.
"You won't get away with this, Scar!" Simba yelled.
"Oh but I'm afraid we have, my dear nephew." Scar laughed. "You're too late to save anything."
"In the time of all of this, everything has been reduced to ash and dust." Xemnas said.
"It's over. The Tree of Life is done for." Ansem said.
"We have finally won!" Ushari cackled.
"No! We refuse to believe that!" Mickey shouted.
"We will never believe that!" said Ven.
"Are you sure about that, Ventus?"
The world-travelers froze and went pale. They knew that voice.
Above the flames emerged a figure on an Organization cloak. He then removed his hood to reveal…
"I'm afraid from where we stand, it's highly unlikely." Xehanort said with a wicked smirk.
"XEHANORT!" The Guardians of Light shouted while the animals from the Pride Lands, Outlands, and Tree of Life stared in shock.
"Wait, that's the true Xehanort?!" Simba asked.
"As in, the leader of Organization XIII? The one responsible for all of the world's suffering?!" Kion asked.
"The very same!" Riku snarled.
"What the hell are you doing, Xehanort?!" Sora demanded.
"Is it not obvious? My presence here is merely to set an example for all of you." Xehanort said. "This is what happens when you cross the darkness one time too many…"
"Like you, we grow stronger, more powerful, and more dangerous than you can imagine." Young Xehanort added.
"And look at the consequences!" mocked Ora.
"It all burns to the ground!" cackled Chuluun.
"How's that for dark?!" Nuka cackled wildly.
"It's all over you pathetic light-dwellers." Ansem said. "We have won this battle."
"This war is in our favor." Xemnas added.
"And to prove it even more, allow me to finish the job." Xehanort smirked, holding out his hand and summoned Gazing Eye.
"Everyone get down!" shouted Terra.
"That Keyblade is dangerous!" yelled Isa.
But to everyone's surprise, shock, and horror, Xehanort turned around and fired a Dark Firaga spell… that struck the Tree of Life! It was immediately engulfed in flames.
"NOOOOOO!" Rani, Baliyo, Surak, and Nirmala screamed in horror.
"THE TREE OF LIFE!" Kion, Bunga, Fuli, Beshte, Ono, Anga, and Makini screamed.
Everyone stared in shocked horror, speechless.
"Let this be a lesson to you all!" Xehanort said. "Keep on fighting against the darkness, and your efforts will cost you dearly. Nothing will be spared."
Sora glared as he summoned his Ultima Weapon and charged. "XEHANORT YOU SON OF A-!"
But Xehanort laughed as he struck Sora with a Triple Plasma spell that made him crash onto the ground.
"I believe you have more pressing issues to deal with right now, Sora. As much as I want to stay and chat, I believe it's time for us to depart." Xehanort said.
"Bye bye you all… LONG LIVE THE TREE OF LIFE!" Scar called before he and Xehanort laughed madly as the flames blocked everyone's view of the villains.
Dark swirled around the flames indicated that the villains escaped.
"We have to stop that fire!" shouted Kairi.
"The flames are out of control!" shouted Zazu.
"And the smoke is too high!" added Kovu.
"We have to try!" said Nala. "If we don't, everything will be lost!"
"Kion, come on, if we get a good distance we can make it rain!" said Vitani.
"Right!" Kion nodded.
"But will it be enough?!" asked Ma.
"Two Roars at once have to do the trick! They just have to!" said Makini.
"Good luck!" Riku said as he and Kairi helped Sora up.
Running as fast as they could, Kion and Vitani ran down the path away from the group and the blazing wildfire.
They spotted a mountain up ahead and traversed it. Panting like mad they charged for the top.
After a little while the two lions made it. They looked down at the fire.
"Hevi Kabisa it really has spread badly!" gasped Vitani.
"We won't let it spread more!" said Kion, determined. "Aim for the clouds above the smoke!"
Vitani nodded as she and Kion craned their necks up high and looked at the clouds above the smoke. They nodded at each other, focused their eyes on the target as the clouds transformed behind them.
And then…
ROOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRR!
The clouds transformed into roaring lions. The impacts struck the cloud, causing it to rain hard.
Rain pelted down all over the land, not only getting the massive group wet, but dousing every single flame.
"They're doing it!" cheered Ortensia.
"Poa!" grinned Beshte.
"The fire's going out!" Rani said in relief.
"Hot dog!" cheered Mickey.
"Zuka Zama!" Bunga and Binga cheered together.
"Quack-a-Rooney!" Donald cheered.
"YES!" Timon and Pumbaa cheered together.
"They're doing it!" Rafiki laughed.
"Keep going you two!" Sora shouted.
The Roar lasted a while, as did the rain. And after what felt like a long time, the fire was put out completely. Tiny bits of smoke emitted from the ash, soot, and rubble.
Kion and Vitani raced down and rejoined everyone.
"Did it work?" asked Vitani.
"It did." Kovu said. "The fire's all gone."
Anga flew up and cringed at the sight. "But the damage… is pretty done." she said.
"Use caution, the fire and smoke may be gone but the air isn't healthy." advised Aqua.
"Aero spells oughta do the trick." said Roxas, summoning Oathkeeper and Oblivion.
Naminé, Mickey, and Aqua summoned Shooting Star, Kingdom Key W, and Stormfall and joined Roxas in using Aero spells to blow away any infected air and emitting smoke across the land.
Everyone looked around the land in utter shock. The land that was the Tree of Life, once a paradise to animals of all kinds… was reduced to ash and debris.
"Hevi Kabisa…" Kion breathed.
"It's worse than we could've imagined." Surak said firmly.
"The fire destroyed everything." Oswald sighed.
"The trees, the plants, the flowers, all burnt." Xion said sadly.
"I don't think the lake, river, and pond are safe to drink from after such a wildfire." said Naminé.
"The tundra mountains are wrecked…" Ono said as he flew up.
"What about the tree itself?" asked Kiara.
Everyone gazed at the tree. The top was burnt, but the rest seemed unharmed.
"Oh thank the great kings and queens…" breathed Rani. "It's still standing."
"Yes, since that vile man burned it last." Zazu noted.
"You think its power still works?" asked Max.
"It should." said Nirmala. "But I don't think it can fix… all of this."
Everyone looked at the animals that lived across the land who were gazing at their wrecked homes.
"Our homes…" Heng Heng sniffed.
"They're gone.." Astuto sniffed.
"There's nothing left…" Kely said sadly.
"Now where will we all go?!" cried Pinguino.
Everyone felt bad for the animals.
"I can't believe the Organization did this." Lea said angrily. "They burned down this whole place and for what?! To prove a point?!"
"No. To destroy the Tree. But I guess they saved it for last and did the rest out of pure spite." scowled Isa.
"They really have gone too far this time." sneered Max.
"Please, they crossed that kind of line over a decade ago." huffed Donald.
"They crossed too many if you ask me." said Roxas.
"We failed guys…" Sora said sadly. "We tried to save the Tree of Life. Sure, the tree itself is still standing, but the rest of the land is gone."
"And the animals have nowhere to go." Kairi said sadly.
"Well… the important thing is that they're all alive." Rani said, trying to sound optimistic for her kingdom's sake.
"We did save a bunch of lives." said Jasiri.
"It felt good doing that!" Cheezi commented.
"Yeah! Very good!" Chungu nodded.
"But how can we help them now?" asked Naminé.
"They could move to the Pride Lands!" suggested Bunga.
"Not all of them can, I'm afraid." Rafiki said, shaking his head. "Certain animals like the penguins, panda, and polar bear need certain environments to survive in."
"Can't King Sokwe take some of the winter ones in?" suggested Beshte.
"I doubt there would be enough room in the snowy mountains where those gorillas are currently living." said Simba.
"There has to be something we can do." said Xion.
"But what?" asked Terra.
"Yeah, I mean, it's not like we can regrow everything at once or something." said Vitani.
And then, Myde remembered something. He gasped. "Of course! That's it!"
"What's it Myde?" Ortensia asked.
Myde gathered his teammates in a huddle and explained his idea. When he finished, smiles and grins crossed everyone's faces.
"That's a hot dog idea!" Mickey grinned.
"W-What is Mickey?" Rani asked.
"You know how to save our land?" Nirmala asked.
"Yes!" said Sora. "Give us a minute."
Mickey pressed some buttons on the Gummiship's remote and beams took him, Sora, Kairi, Minnie, Daisy, and Ortensia away.
Rani, Makini, Binga, and the rest of the Night Pride were shocked.
"Whoa…" breathed Baliyo.
"Wow! That was so cool!" Makini said in awe.
"Curious. What was that?" Surak inquired.
"Oh, that's their magical mode of transportation." Fuli said casually.
"Common knowledge really." Ono added.
"Huh?" Baliyo and Binga blinked in confusion.
"We'll explain later." Kiara replied.
At that moment, six returned in beams of light, holding something in their grasp.
"What are you holding?" asked Nala.
"The answer to our problem." Kairi replied. "Seeds!"
They held up the packets.
"Seeds? Like, plant seeds?" Kiara blinked.
"You betcha!" Mickey replied. "But these aren't any ordinary seeds. They're the Habitat Recreation Seeds of Science!"
"Or H.R.S.S. or H.R. Double-S for short." Ortensia chimed in.
"Invented by our friends Even, Ienzo, Ludwig Von Drake, Gyro Gearloose, Fenton Crackshell-Cabrera, Gandra Dee, Fethry Duck, Li'l Bulb, and Manny the Headless Horseman of the Apocalypse." Ven added.
"Ooh, cool name for them!" Pumbaa commented.
"The what seeds of what?" Janja asked.
"Even I don't get that." Jasiri said.
"I appreciate the idea of planting seeds, you guys. However, even after replanting, it would take a very long time to regrow everything that was burnt down." Rani said sadly.
"And those mountains are a different story." said Surak.
"Do not fret Rani." Aqua said kindly. "This will help solve the problem for everyone's home here."
"Because these seeds aren't any ordinary seeds." Minnie said. "They can grow to become any animal's habitat!"
The animals were surprised.
"You must be joking." Zazu said, bewildered.
"They can actually do that?" asked Zuri.
"That sounds poa!" said Beshte.
"That sounds un-Bunga-lievable!… both ways." admitted Bunga.
"You're not leading us on, are ya?" Timon asked suspiciously.
"Trust us, they work. We saw it for ourselves." said Isa.
"Just give us a few minutes." Daisy said.
And with that, the group made their way across the Tree of Life, splitting up to plant whichever seeds belonged to which burned habitat. They opened the packets, dug holes, scattered the seeds in, and then covered them up.
The six then rejoined everyone at the exit.
"All done!" Mickey said.
Bunga looked out to the land and waited. "Uh… nothing's growing." he said.
Anga took to the skies and used her vision to look out to the burnt lands. No sign of any greenery or fresh nature anywhere. She flew back down.
"Bunga's right, nothing's growing." Anga confirmed.
"Oh they will!" promised Sora. "We just gotta do one more thing. Come on guys!"
The 20 Guardians of Light walked forwards a bit and spread out so they wouldn't hit each other.
"What are they doing now?" asked Cheezi.
"Ooh, I bet they're gonna put on a show!" Chungu guessed.
"Ugh, fur-brains." Janja groaned as Jasiri patted his back with her paw.
The Keyblade Wielders began to move their arms and legs around in a swift motion, concentrating as they did. They began to slowly move their hands around.
"Are they… dancing?" Kovu asked, titling his head in confusion.
"Dancing to regrow nature? That's a new one." said Shabaha.
Rafiki held up his hand to silence them. "Hold on… I have seen this before…" he said. "Let them concentrate."
The animals were confused but watched on.
Sora and his friends then clasped their fingers together and then moved their hands around before lifting their left hands into the air. And then, one by one, they began to glow a golden light.
"Whoa!" both Lion Guards, Kiara, Makini, Kovu, Timon, Pumbaa, Rani, and Binga said in awe.
"What in the Pride Lands is that?!" asked Simba.
Rafiki chuckled happily. "Ha ha ha! The answer to our problems!" he cheered.
A golden glow emerged from the twenty heroes that began to spread around the land. And almost instantly, the burnt land began to disappear and greenery took its place. And then to their surprise, nature began to grow. Trees, grass, bushes, plants, flowers, all if it began to grow. The sand was fresher. The mountains weren't looking so desolate and destroyed anymore and the snow looked more fresh. Ands the burnt top of the Tree of Life itself faded to become more fresh and healthy than ever.
The animals from the Pride Lands, Outlands, and Tree of Life stared in a mixture of shock, surprise, amazement, and awe as they watched the entire burnt land cease and fresh nature replace it entirely from a golden glow.
"Hevi Kabisa…" Kion and Vitani said in unison.
"Zuka Zama…" Bunga said with a dropped jaw.
"I can't believe what I'm seeing…" Fuli said, blinking to see if this actually was for real.
"Like my Dad always says, 'Live long enough, you'll see everything.'" Beshte managed to say.
The animals that lived on the land stared in shock at the scene before they gazed whag their fixed habitats.
"They're… they're… they're fixed!" gasped Heng Heng.
"Our homes are okay!" exclaimed Astuto.
"The burns and ash are gone!" exclaimed Kely.
"It's a miracle!" Varya said happily.
"THIS IS EXTRAVAGANT!" Pinguino said joyfully.
"Oh, happy day! Happy day!" Cek cheered.
The animals looked at the Guardians of Light in shock and awe.
"How-how did-h-how did you do that?!" Kiara asked.
"That was amazing!" said Nala.
"You just made all that stuff grow with your hands!" said Timon.
"You guys are full of surprises!" chuckled Jasiri.
"Sora, what kind of power is that?!" asked Kion.
"The Power of Chi." Sora replied with a smile, "It's a special technique that we learned in another world, down in the Valley of Peace in a Secret Panda Village."
"It helps us become one with the universe." said Terra.
"Almost like meditation." Minnie added.
Rafiki laughed happily. "I knew that kind of power looked familiar!" he said.
"You've seen this sort of thing before Rafiki?" Makini asked her mentor.
"I have heard whispers about such power across our world so many years ago." Rafiki replied. "Stories about giving such power, becoming one with the universe, and what it can do across the land."
"And you twenty used it to save every single habitat at the Tree of Life!" said Zazu.
"We had to! It was the only way to save this whole place." said Naminé.
"After everything you all have been through, we had to put a stop to all of this. This was our only option to fix the damage our enemies caused out of petty, dark-filled evil," Riku added.
"This place is a sanctuary to the sick, injured, and animals that need a home." Terra said, gazing at the fixed lands and the animals happily settling back in them.
"Including some of you. You're all our friends." Minnie said with a kind smile.
The animals smiled in appreciation. Rani stepped forward.
"Sora, Donald, Goofy, everyone… thank you so much." she said wholeheartedly. "This really means a lot to us."
"No problem in the slightest Queen Rani." Sora smiled.
Rani giggled. "Just Rani is fine." she said.
"Hey, approval on a first-name basis from the royals, that's an awesome sign." Myde said.
"Take it in kid. Take it in." Timon said dramatically.
Later everyone gathered near the Tree of Life. Sora and his team stood before Simba, Nala, Kion, Rani, Kiara, Kovu, Vitani, Baliyo, Nirmala, Surak, and even Jasiri. The other animals gathered around them, watching.
"On behalf of the leaders of the Pride Lands, Outlands, The Tree of Life, as well as the rest of us, we want to thank all of you for everything you have done." said Simba.
"You risked your lives to save all of our homes from such evils and not only saved us, but so many animals from death and destruction." said Kion.
"And even after our land here was destroyed in the fire, you pulled off such an impressive miracle and brought it all back." said Rani.
"And four of you almost died completely saving us all." Kovu added. "I mean, it was scary and bloody and downright-"
"Kovu!" Kiara hissed.
Kovu sheepishly shut up. "Right, my bad."
"Even then, you put your lives on the line to save us all." Kiara said. "You really are heroes."
"You've proven yourselves to be similar to the members of the Lion Guard and even the Night Pride." Nala added with a proud smile.
"Brave when facing danger, fast when fighting, strong in your heart, keen not just in sight but in judgment, and smart in your own ways." said Vitani.
"And you have our sincerest thanks." Surak said.
The animals all cheered for the Guardians of Light who smiled happily and proudly, though Donald, Lea, Myde, and even Daisy basked in cheering.
"It was our pleasure, you guys." said Mickey.
"And pretty much the least we could do." added Roxas.
"So modest." Nirmala said proudly.
"Some more than others." Jasiri quipped, pointing her paw at the four basking in the fame, making both female animals giggle.
Kion stepped forward. "We wanna give you something." he said. "Vitani, Rani, and I discussed it before we called this special gathering and… Sora? Guardians of Light?"
Vitani stepped up and smiled. "Every single one of you humans and toons are now… honorary members of the Lion Guard."
The Guardians of Light's eyes widened when they suddenly saw flashes on their left shoulders. When it faded, there stood the Mark of the Lion Guard lion head on their left sleeves.
Sora's was black as it was on the gray stripe, Riku's was white, Roxas' was black, Terra's was light gray and closer to his neck thanks to his armor, Ven's was white, also closer to his neck, Xion's was silver, Lea's was red, Isa's was sky blue, Myde's was blue, Mickey's was yellow, Minnie's was magenta, Donald's was sky blue, Goofy's was light green like his signature hat, Max's was a darker red, and Oswald's was navy blue.
But for Kairi, Daisy, Ortensia, Aqua and Naminé, theirs were on their skin, feathers, and fur due to their lack of sleeves. Kairi, Naminé, and Aqua's were a darker shade of their skin, Daisy's was gray, and Ortensia's was white.
"Whoa!" they gasped.
"And… honorary members of the Night Pride." Rani added with a smile.
The same flash appeared on their right sleeves. It was the Mark of the Night Pride. It was the same color, though for Ven's it was black since his jacket's right side was white.
"They did it again!" Myde exclaimed.
"Are these.. actually real?" Donald asked, feeling his sleeve.
"They are." nodded Surak.
"Hey, how come Kairi, Ortensia, Daisy, Naminé, and Aqua's are on their shoulders?" Max asked.
"Because we're not wearing sleeves." Aqua noticed.
"It's almost like a tattoo." Naminé said, feeling her shoulder. "But yet it feels like normal skin."
"Like a birthmark." Ortensia quipped.
"I wonder…" Sora hummed as he lifted his sleeves.
Everyone else with sleeves did likewise. And there stood the marks on their skin, fur, and feathers, but in different shades of them.
"This is so cool!" Ven said with a grin.
"I never imagined having marks of both the Lion Guard and Night Pride." Kairi said in awe.
"But why?" Aqua asked.
"Because you all proved yourselves worthy in all our eyes." Rani said proudly.
"You stood by all of us and defended our homes." Nirmala added.
"No matter what danger occurred, you didn't give up like the rest of us." Kion added.
"And four of you almost paid with your lives and yet you survived to finish the final fight by helping save the animals in the fire." said Rani.
"You're heroes to all of us, from the Pride Lands, to the Outlands, to the Back Lands." Simba said.
"Including the Tree of Life." added Baliyo.
"But we weren't in the Outlands for a fight." Goofy pointed out.
"It still counts." Jasiri smiled. "Your actions defended our homes."
"Especially since those villains were targeting them all." Rafiki added.
"Take it you guys and gals. You all earned it." Fuli said proudly.
"Yeah! Wear those marks with pride!" encouraged Bunga.
The world-travelers smiled in appreciation and pride.
"We will." promised Terra.
"Thank you all so much." Naminé said.
"We're honored!" said Mickey.
"But I feel as if there is more we can do to thank you for all you've done for us." Nala said.
"I think we're all thinking that Mom." Kiara said.
"Is there anything we can do for you all?" Rani asked.
The Keybearers traded glances and nods.
"Well there is." Sora said. "You may have heard us mention this, but we are assembling an army ourselves agasint our enemies."
"Every single villain we fought today is a part of it." added Oswald.
"All of them?!" Bunga asked in disbelief.
"Yeah, all of them!" Goofy said casually.
"If any of you wanna join in on yet another adventure and help us stop them, step forward." Mickey said. "If not, we will not force you."
Every animal around traded glances.
And then, one by one, Simba, Nala, Kiara, Kovu, Kion, Vitani, Zazu, Rafiki, Timon, Pumbaa, Bunga, Fuli, Beshte, Ono, Anga, Makini, Jasiri, Janja, and even Rani stepped forward.
"Are you all sure?" Sora asked, surprised by some of the members.
"Yes." said Nala. "After all you've done for us, we feel like we should do this."
"Both for you and for our homes." Simba added.
"And finally, to put an end to the evil that those villains keep bringing into our lives," Kiara continued.
"It sounds like an un-Bunga-lievable adventure!" added Bunga.
"Wherever Simba goes, we go too!" said Timon.
"To the end!" Pumbaa declared.
"I always wanted to see the other worlds!" said Makini giddily.
"It sounds fun." Anga mused.
"We have Keyblades now. We gotta learn how to use them well in protecting the ones we love." Kion said.
"And to further redeem ourselves." Kovu said, Vitani shaking her head in agreement.
"Yeah, I could use some more redemption." said Janja.
"Those fellows are messing with the wrong pack of animals if they plan to get away with taking over our world along with many others." Jasiri said.
"I refused to let the Royal Family go off on such a daring mission." Zazu said.
"The same applies to me as well. This threat is bigger than anything we have ever faced." Rafiki said as Makini nodded her head in agreement.
"But what about Rani? Doesn't she need to take care of the Tree of Life and its inhabitants as their queen?" asked Aqua.
"I know I'm the queen, Aqua. But those villains made it personal when they attacked our home. Sure our home is safe, but they were willing to hurt us all for their evil deeds. I want to take the fight to them." Rani said. "Besides, my brother, uncle, and Nirmala can handle ruling together."
"Are you sure sis?" Baliyo asked.
Rani smiled. "I'm sure, little brother." she said. "You've seen what grandmother and I have done during our times as queen. Same with Mom and Dad. You can do it."
The three members of the Night Pride smiled in appreciation for Rani's confidence in them.
"Thank you Queen Rani." Surak said.
"We promise not to let you down." Nirmala said.
"And I can lend assistance as well." Azaad said with a bow.
"With strength and respect, we will protect." Baliyo promised.
"I know you will." Rani smiled.
"But what about the Pride Lands and the Outlands?" Xion asked.
"The same reason is the same as Rani's." Simba replied. "And my mother can handle ruling with our pride by her side."
"Madoa can too." Jasiri said in agreement.
"And we'll help Madoa!" promised Cheezi.
"Yeah yeah yeah! Help out a lot!" Chungu eagerly nodded.
"Somehow that scares me." Uncle Max said dryly.
"Oh have faith Max." Ma lightly chided.
"What about the Lion Guard?" asked Goofy.
"I have faith in my team." Vitani said, looking at the four lionesses. "Do you four think you can handle protecting our new home without me?"
The four lionesses looked at each other and smiled.
"Sure thing Vitani!" Kasi said.
"You can count on us!" Shabaha said eagerly.
"We won't let you down." promised Tazama.
"We'll protect the Pride Lands like there's no tomorrow!" promised Imara.
"I'll hold you all to that." Vitani smirked.
"I'll let the animals know what's going on." said Rani. "Ullu?"
"Hoo hoo! Of course!" The owl said as she flew off.
Later as Rani and the Night Pride addressed the animals of the Tree of Life, Sora and his friends waited.
"Well, we just got ourselves a whole lot more members for the army." commented Myde.
"19 total." said Max. "That's a new record."
"The steaks seem to be higher than ever." said Ven. "We have to be ready."
"Ven's right." said Roxas. "If those evil bastards were willing to set fire to this whole land just to make a point, then they're really stepping up their game."
"Guess the Organization wasn't kidding about getting stronger. It's not all big talk anymore." surmised Lea.
"No doubt the villains recruited under Maleficent's lead are gonna try to do the same thing." Isa said.
"Pete and Mortimer managed to put Vexen's gold power-blocking shackles to use. Guess that was just the beginning." Kairi frowned.
"Well whatever they got planned next, we'll put a stop to it!" Sora said confidently.
"Sora's right!" Mickey nodded. "No matter what those evildoers throw our way, we will overcome it."
Everyone nodded in agreement.
The Night Profe and Azaad eventually joined them and the rest of the Pride Landers and Outlanders joined them.
"So is it all ready?" Daisy asked.
"The animals will miss me, but they know that the rest of the Night Pride will take good care of them while I'm gone." Rani said.
"And I will do my sincerest best in assisting them." Azaad said with a smile.
"So are we going to other worlds or not?!" Bunga asked excitedly.
"Hang on Bunga." Mickey chuckled. "We'll leave in a bit."
Suddenly, the Tree of Life began to glow.
"Uh… what's going on with the tree?" blinked Janja.
"Curious. I've never seen the tree do that before." Surak said, taken aback.
"Neither have I." said Nirmala.
"Yeah, why is it glowing?" Kiara asked.
"I think I know. A-hyuck!" chuckled Goofy.
Sora turned to Myde. "You helped play a role in Zira's downfall. You should do it." he told the Melodious Nocturne.
Myde was taken aback. "Uh… are you sure? I-I think it should be Isa. After all, he did make amends with the Royal Family, the Lion Guard and-"
Isa placed a hand on Myde's shoulder, cutting him off. "How about we both do it?" he suggested.
Myde managed a surprised yet content smile. "Uh yeah. Sure thing."
Isa held out his hand and summoned Blue Moon. Myde followed likewise with Mystic Water. The two held their Keyblades out as a crown emblem appeared underneath their feet.
The Tree of Life shot a beam out into the sky, revealing a keyhole. Isa and Myde aimed their Keyblades at it and beams of light shot out from the tips and combined into one before it went into the keyhole as a locking noise was heard.
Those who had never seen such a sight before were in awe.
"Hevi Kabisa…" breathed Vitani.
"That was so cool!" exclaimed Binga.
"What was that?" asked Kovu.
"What just happened is that your world is finally safe and we can go now." answered Lea.
Rani nuzzled Baliyo and he returned the gesture.
"Be safe sis." he said.
"I will." she promised.
Azaad came up to Fuli. "Always remember, you're stronger with those you cherish the most." he said.
"Of course." Fuli smiled as the two shared a nuzzle. "Thanks for the help Azaad."
Azaad smiled at his fellow cheetah.
Binga ran up to Bunga. "Be safe Bunga! You help your family, and I'll help mine by being brave just like you!" she said.
"I will!" promised Bunga. "Stay smooth, Binga."
"You as well, Bunga." Binga smiled as she gave Bunga a surprise peck on the lips. Bunga blushed sheepishly, making Binga giggle.
"So are we heading to your world first?" asked Kion.
"Not yet. We gotta make one quick stop before we do." said Riku.
Saving goodbye to Baliyo, Surak, Nirmala, Binga, and Azaad, the large group disappeared in multiple beams of light back to the Gummiship.
Pride Lands:
Simba and Nala shared a nuzzle with their respective mothers, Sarabi and Sarafina on top of Pride Rock. Down below, Kiara said goodbye to her best friends.
"Tiifu? Zuri? Thanks. You two really stepped up for us." Kiara said thankfully.
"It was the least we could do." smiled Tiifu.
"Anything for you bestie." smiled Zuri.
Timon hugged his mother and uncle.
"Oh Timmy please be careful." Ma begged.
"And try not to cause a disaster." Uncle Max pleaded.
"Don't worry, I'll be ok!" Timon reassured them. "Remember, Hakuna Matata."
"We'll do our best." said Ma.
"Stay safe Timon." Uncle Max said.
Timon smiled. "I promise I will." he said.
Janja and Jasiri said goodbye to Cheezi and Chungu.
"Be good under my sister's leadership, okay you two?" Jasiri said.
"And for the love of all things tasty, please don't burn the place down." pleaded Janja.
"Don't worry, we won't!" Cheezi said.
"Yeah, the only time we will need any kind of fire is when we're cold." Chungu said.
Janja groaned.
Vitani addressed her Lion Guard. "You four do your duty well. Protect the Pride Lands and for goodness sake, don't argue about who's in charge. I'm putting all four of you in that position so you won't butt heads."
"Don't worry, we'll be good!" promised Imara.
"We'll defend like there's no tomorrow!" Shabaha declared.
"Have fun!" said Kasi.
"And don't die!" added Tazama.
Vitani chuckled. "I'm not planning on it." she said.
The 19 animals that volunteered joined the world-travelers who were behind Pride Rock.
"Everybody ready?" asked Donald.
"We are." conformed Simba.
"Take us to your home." Rani said.
"Ready to do so!" Mickey said, pressing some buttons on the Gummiship remote.
"By the way, what are you gonna call your new Keyblades my fellow felines?" asked Ortensia.
The 7 lions summoned their Keyblades with their tails and thought for a moment.
"Circle of Life." Simba said.
"Lionheart." said Nala.
"Midnight Roar." said Kiara.
"Leader's Roar." said Kion.
"Rejection of Fate came to my mind." said Kovu.
"Dark Biter." Vitani grinned.
"Sleeping Lion." Rani finished.
"I like the sound of those names." Kairi smiled.
"I find Vitani's slightly disturbing." Myde mumbled.
Vitani just cackled good-naturedly.
29 beams of light came down from the sky and took them all to the ship.
Gummiship:
Jiminy was cataloging the Mutant King Heartless in his journal and writing down its danger level as a level 10, on par with other Heartless like Ansem.
Then a massive bright flash appeared and everyone was inside the ship.
"Oh good, you're all back!" he said. "Are you all ready to go?"
"We are now." Naminé said. "The world is finally safe and we got our new recruits."
"Wow… y'know I never really got a good look at this place when we were making our way to the Pride Lands." Rani commented, gazing in wonder at the Gummiship. "So this is what you use to get yourselves from world to world?"
"We used to have something smaller until one of our enemies blew it up." Donald said casually.
"This one has plenty of space for a lot of people and animals!" Daisy said.
"We could probably fit all the lions from all your prides in here." joked Max.
Everyone laughed.
But Sora stopped laughing when he spotted something taped on the Gummiship's pilot seat. "Huh? What's this?"
Sora took it off.
"What'cha got there Sora?" Mickey asked.
Sora opened it and read it out loud to the group.
To Sora and the Guardians of Light,
If you received this message, then you must've survived the onslaught that was Scar and his army. I hope all of you enjoyed the surprise in the form of Scar being alive again, but this is only the beginning. Just as how you fools are continuing to strengthen your forces, I have found ways to increase mine. As you all have been informed by my younger self, my sorcerer allies have come up with a resurrection spell, allowing those who have been defeated to come back to life. Scar along with Nuka was among the first of many that my Organization and I can bring back, and as long as we have some form of a sample of any potential ally that has fallen, we can amass our forces to be equal with your Army of Light. Fortunately for you all, there will be some exceptions that won't be coming back to the land of the living. The last thing any of us needs is to deal with a traitorous Mad Titan.
But with that being said, I should be more livid that the 20 of you have once again foiled my latest scheme. Especially since the attack on the Tree of Life was something that my Organization and I have been planning for months. However, I am not as irritated as you might think of me right now. The reason for that is that while you fools were in the midst of saving the Pride Lands, the 20 of you unintentionally ended up involved in another scheme and you were all powerless to stop it. The damage thanks to that scheme has already been done with little to no chance of fixing it.
You are all probably confused by what scheme I'm alluding to, but soon you will find out about the details in due time. With that, I will leave what I said for you to think about. Until we meet again Guardians, and give my regards to the McDuck family back at Disney Castle, especially the young Della Duck. And before any of you question it, we are aware that she's alive.
Sincerely,
Master Xehanort
The Guardians of Light were silent, as were those from the Pride Lands, Outlands, and Tree of Life.
"Well shit…" Lea murmured.
"This… this-this is not good…" Max said worriedly.
"So they were responsible for Scar and Nuka's resurrection." Terra said, running his hand through his hair.
"Xehanort must've left this for us the moment he realized his plans backfired." said Mickey.
"Everything you told us has been wrong!" Donald angrily shouted at Isa. "Darn it Isa! You told us earlier that Scar was killed off by the lions of the past!" Isa remained stoic and silent, fingers on his chin. "You never said the Organization had revived him."
"That's because they didn't." Isa answered. "At least not when I was still a member."
"So how is this possible Isa?" Oswald asked.
"Our enemies must have perfected some kind of resurrection spell." Isa answered. "I had heard whispers of such a spell when I was a member, but I didn't think anything of it. I assumed it was impossible, even for a mage. But... the fact that Scar has come back again, this time with a physical body, must mean that this spell was never a bluff."
"The letter mentioned any form of DNA." said Aqua.
"What's DNA?" asked Bunga.
"Genetic material that makes up who we are." said Max. "Blood, hair, saliva, skin cells, finger prints, etc. Paw prints, feathers, and fur would be for your cases."
"So one small piece of fur was able to bring Scar back to life?" Jasiri asked in astonishment.
"With the right kind of magic, anything can be possible." Rafiki said.
"So this means we may be expecting old enemies returning." frowned Roxas.
"They really are expanding their ranks." Xion said worriedly.
"Even if their allies end up being killed by us or their own stupidity, if anything remains from them, then we will have bigger problems." said Terra.
Sora sat in the pilot's seat. "We'll worry about it all later." he said. "Right now, let's go home. This world is finally safe after so long and we gotta check on the progress of everyone else in our army."
"Sora's right!" said Mickey, taking the co-pilot's seat. "We'll cross those bridges one at a time!"
Ven took the weapon's seat. "For now, set a course to Disney Castle!"
Everyone took a seat in the chairs. The animals sat on the floor looking out to the Lanes-in-Between as Sora drove the ship.
Jasiri looked towards Janja. "Hey Janja? Thanks again." she smiled. "You know… for saving my life back there."
Janja blinked. "Huh? Oh yeah, uh, sure thing! No biggie." he said.
"Well it is to me." Jasiri said in appreciation. "You really have changed for the better and I am very proud of you."
She nuzzled Janja, making him blush red.
"I'll never forget your bravery." she said sweetly.
"Uh… yeah… I'm glad you won't." Janja said, managing a smile.
Kion came over to Rani. "Hey, how are you feeling?" he asked.
"A lot better knowing that my home is safe." Rani replied. "Thanks to you, your family, and your friends."
Kion smiled. "Hey, it was the least we could do. The Tree of Life is your home." he paused. "And… my friends and I have been considering… we think we may take you up on your offer of joining the Night Pride."
Rani was surprised. "You are? Well, I guess it makes sense given the mark on your shoulders. Sorry that I didn't notice it sooner, given everything else that happened. Kion, I appreciate it but… are you sure?"
"I'm sure." Kion said. "I still wanna make sure that my family is ok with it… after this is all over. And then… and then we will really be part of the same pride… you and me…"
"Kion, I-I-I honestly don't know what to say." Rani said, stunned.
"Don't worry. We'll figure it out together." Kion reassured her, much to Rani's relief.
"So, how long it will be until we arrive at your world?" Simba asked.
"Probably a few hours. I wonder how everyone's been getting on since we left." hummed Donald. "I hope Della's bonded well with the boys."
"Plenty of time has past since we left, I'm sure she has." said Daisy. "And if not, well, we can help along the way."
"Didn't Scrooge say that the bet was almost over?" asked Naminé.
"I bet he won." said Lea. "No doubt about it. I mean, who else could be the Richest Duck in the World?"
Duckburg, a few days earlier:
Louie ran for his life across Duckburg from the Bombie. The large creature smashed the ground, causing cracks that struck a building and made a billboard of Louie to land in front of him. It had a picture of Louie in a suit with the words:
McDuck Enterprises
Under New Management
The Richest Duck in the WORLD!
The picture of Louie broke with the pointed finger pointing at the real duck.
Louie looked back and saw Bombie approach him menacingly. Louie backed away in fright.
"What? Please, stop! I can't do this." he pleaded.
But just before the Bombie could strike Louie, the triplet clad in green shouted, "I shouldn't even be the richest duck in the world!"
The Bombie stopped, hesitating.
"I'm not ready to be a businessman." Louie admitted.
Bombie backed off.
Louie looked down in regret and realization. "Owlson was right. That's the thing the richest duck in the world needs to earn. Humility. Being able to admit that you can't do something."
Scrooge climbed out of a car Bombie threw. "Sentimental hogwash!" he scoffed. "He's obviously afraid of facing Scrooge Mc-"
Bombie roared at him, cutting Scrooge off.
"...Fair point." Scrooge conceded. "What now?"
Louie looked at Bombie's dirty shoes and saw a shoe shining business Scrooge unsuccessfully tried to start up again. He gasped, running over and grabbed a rag and brush.
Bombie came over and offered Louie's his boot.
"Been walking a long way? Sorry about that. This curse affects us both, huh?" Louie hummed as he got to work cleaning, working up a sweat as he did.
Scrooge smiled at him proudly and joined in. "Good thinking lad."
"Uncle Scrooge, you can have your fortune back. I am not cut out to be the richest duck in the world." Louie told him.
The curse went from Louie to Scrooge.
"Of course not. Not yet, anyway. But Louie, you were a better billionaire than I was today in every sense of the word." Scrooge said earnestly as the curse left them both. They had both demonstrated humility.
Bombie looked at his reflection in his shined shoes. Satisfied and thankful for the help, Bombie set off for home, knocking over some debris.
"So, you're not super mad at me?" Louie asked.
Scrooge snorted as the two walked off. "Lad, if this is the worst damage you did as the richest duck in the world, then everything is fine." he told him.
Castle That Never Was, Present:
Scar roared angrily. "Those meddling PESTS!" he shouted. "They ruined everything we worked hard to destroy!"
He walked around the Grey Room. Zira, Ushari, Shenzi, Makucha, and Maleficent were there.
"Patience Scar. We know youre angry." said Maleficent.
"Then why can't we go back and kill them?!" he boomed.
"The keyhole has been sealed." Maleficent replied. "But do not fret… what was caused by that fire was only a small fraction of what's to come."
"Give it more time Scar." soothed Ushari. "It will all be worth it in the end. I know I had to wait."
"Just imagine Scar… once the Keyblade War goes off… every single piece of the Pride Lands, Outlands, Back Lands, and the Tree of Life will burn… straight into an image for all of us…" Zira said, nuzzling Scar.
This managed to calm Scar down. "Yes… I suppose so… very well, I'll bide my time." he said, barely toning down his anger. "We'll just have to get an even bigger jump on them…"
"Yeah! They'll never see us coming!" said Shenzi.
"And besides, it gives us extra time to get more dangerous than ever." Makucha said. "Those four pathetic bags of meat were only the beginning.
"Yes… we must be prepared…" Scar growled as the animals all left the room.
No sooner were the evil animals gone, Xigbar, Dark Riku, Terra-Xehanort, and Sephiroth walked in.
"I see three of you have recovered well." Maleficent mused.
"Oh they did. And they're ready for more action when the time comes." Xigbar nodded.
"So our little fire stunt failed." muttered Dark Riku. "Should've known they would use the power of chi to do it."
"It doesn't matter. No amount of chi will stop what's coming next." said Terra-Xehanort. "Now that they know what we're up to, we can easily maximize our efforts."
"And when they least expect it, we will strike them down. Badly." Sephiroth grinned. "And we can do just as bad as Scar and his followers did to the blueheaded woman, the two traitors, and that pesky lucky rabbit king."
"I admire your confidence Sephiroth." Maleficent nodded. "In the meantime, our former F.O.W.L. agent allies have received word that the McDuck family is currently on another adventure."
"Did he regain his fortune after his great-nephew realized he wasn't cut out to be a billionaire?" asked Terra-Xehanort.
"That's the result we heard."
The six villains looked over to see Pete and Mortimer walk in. It had been Pete who spoke.
"Now the kid's back to being, well, a kid." Pete went on.
"Yeah, but still estranged from his space mom." Mortimer said. "Speaking of which, Della Duck was on her middle son's little show the other day. I recorded it just to see how dumb it was."
Mortimer pulled out a tablet and played it. It showed Dewey on his Dewey-Dew Night show and Della was on the couch and had no idea what was going on in all honesty.
"Now, fresh from being lost in space for a decade, put your flippers or whatever moon people have together for, uh, Della Duck!" Dewey said, playing a "yay" on his keytaur. "Mom, can I call you Mom?"
"I am your mom." Della said, as if it were obvious.
"Great. You were stuck on the moon for like a really long time. Any funny stories about that?" Dewey asked.
"Oh yeah." Della grinned, looking at the camera. "In the cruel void of space, it's easy to lose track of time. So one morning, I decided to have a staring contest in the mirror, but I was so desperate for human connection it lasted three weeks." Della grabbed a coffee mug and stared uncomfortably at her reflection. "To this day, I can't look in a mirror because I'm afraid I'll see 'her'."
Della went blank as she smashed the mug against the table. A cricket sound was heard.
"Boy somebody's got issues." Mortimer commented.
"So she's partially traumatized from her little trip to the moon." mused Maleficent.
"Yeah and the funny thing is, she's oblivious as heck!" Mortimer laughed.
"And how do you think that?" Sephiroth asked.
"Well, for one thing, there was her way of punishing her other son, banning him from his dream and dream adventure." Pete pointed out. "At least that's what McDuck's enemies told us."
"You sure you wouldn't do that to your son?" Mortimer whispered.
Pete glared at his partner-in-crime. "My son respects me." he hissed.
Mortimer shrugged and looked back at the villains. "And then you got her still being in the dark about how her actions broke her family for a decade." he snickered. "And then later on, during her little broadcast to the moon, she began to question if her friendship with that moon alien was real or not."
Mortimer moved the video ahead.
Della looked at the camera. "Hello, Penny. If you're receiving this-"
"And Penny is?" Dewey cut in.
"Oh, Penumbra? She's my best friend." Della replied.
"A moon alien, and an earth duck. How did you meet?" Dewey asked.
"Well, funny story. I ended a decades-long war that was her whole reason for existing." Della replied.
"That must've made her mad." Dewey said, playing an "Ooh!" sound.
"What? Nah, I mean, sure, everyone started praising me instead of her and…" Della trailed off but tried to smile. "But she took me in. She playfully tried to kill me a few times."
"But you can't spell frenemy without 'enemy', right folks?" Dewey asked the audience as a laugh track was heard.
Della frowned. "No, no, she helped me get back home."
"Ugh, maybe she helped you escape the moon to get rid of you, hey?" Dewey chuckled, not realizing he was upsetting his mom as a laugh track played again.
Della frowned even more, now thinking that her snow was right. "That... would explain why she hasn't come, or called back. Maybe we were never friends." she said sadly before getting off the couch.
Mortimer turned off the video. "Her own little world is crumbling."
"It was bad enough when Louie turned against her." Dark Riku said. "Hates her with a passion."
"Can't say I blame him." Xigbar said with a shrug. "But it's her own fault. She abandoned her family, didn't take the time to know the kid, went overboard. Yeah the kid needed discipline but whoo-boy did his ma take the cake."
"It was amusing to see that little wretch suffer." Sephiroth said sinisterly.
"And if that wasn't enough, Black Heron said that one of her spy flies picked up one of Della's old attempts to talk to the moon people." said Pete. "She sent it to us."
Pete pulled out his phone and showed what the spy fly picked up.
Della was on the houseboat.
"Hey, Penny. It's Della, again. Thought you moon landers would be here to visit by now. I stocked up the fridge, I got air mattresses for everybody, and I know I shouldn't have, but I got you something special." Della went off and got a sparring dummy. "Eh?" she encouraged before putting on a picture of herself on the face. "Heh heh, don't you want to come spar with this?" she asked, punching the dummy. "Heh heh. Oh, hey. These are the kids!" She ran off and brought in Huey, Dewey, and Webby. "Huey, Dewey, and I tried to get Louie, but his assistant said he was in the middle of a 'complex business deal.' So this is Webby, the boys' charmingly violent best friend. She's like their you."
Webby tossed Dewey to the ground as an example.
"There's five more, but Lena and Violet are out on the town, April, May, and June are out with my brother's old college roommates on an adventure, but you'll see them along with some other cool people soon!" said Della, counting her fingers. "There's Daisy, Minnie, Mickey, Goofy, Sora-"
"What is this?" asked Huey.
"Sending a message to my friends back on the moon." Della replied.
Dewey climbed up onto the table. "This is beaming out to the galaxy?!" he asked in awe.
"Yep, they were supposed to follow right after me, but I haven't heard from them. So I've been sending them transmissions like I sent you." Della replied, Huey and Webby justs tarted while Dewey danced. "The ones I sent you from the moon? Hundreds of hours of heartfelt lessons that gave me hope and purpose?" Della desperately asked.
"We did not get those." Huey replied.
Della cringed at the response.
Pete stopped the video. "She really has no idea."
"It doesn't matter now." said Maleficent. "She and her family are vulnerable. If they're on a new adventure, we should play this to our advantage. And then we make it easier for the family's enemies to exact their revenge. Let's find out where they are and we will see what they can do."
"Right away!" Pete and Mortimer saluted.
"As for you four, head back to training." Maleficent told the Organization. "We must make our promise in Master Xehanort's letter to those wretched fools a reality…"
"You can count on us." said Sephiroth as he took to the air and flew off.
Xigbar, Dark Riku, and Terra-Xehanort walked behind him out of the room.
Maleficent watched them go and smirked. "And that reality… will be their worst nightmare…" she said wickedly.
To be continued…
FINALLY! After over a year the Pride Lands arc is COMPLETE!
And now we got more recruits for the Army of Light!
Up next… an adventure with the Duck/McDuck family… goes wrong.
Rate, review, update TV Tropes, and I'll see you all soon!
Special dialogue thanks to jdimock, Super Sayian 3 Odd, and Cwoods1997.
(1) Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy
In Loving Memory of:
Susan Buckner
(Grease, The Brady Bunch Hour)
January 28, 1952 – May 2, 2024
Edgar Lansbury
(Producer, Director, Sister of Angela Lansbury)
January 12, 1930 – May 2, 2024
Bernard Hill
(Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Titanic, ParaNorman, Fable III, Boys from the Blackstuff, Valkyrie, Eisenstein, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Runners)
December 17, 1944 - May 5/Cinco de Mayo, 2024
Roger Corman
(Director; The Little Shop of Horrors, The Raven, The St. Valentine's Day Massacre, and actor; The Godfather Part II, Apollo 13, Scream 3, Looney Tunes: Back in Action)
April 5, 1926 - May 9, 2024
Susan Backline
(Jaws, The Great Muppet Caper, The Fall Guy TV series)
September 1, 1946 – May 11, 2024
Tony McFarr
(Stunt Double for Chris Pratt; Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Jurassic World, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, Passengers, The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It, Furious 7, Captain America: Civil War, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, Ant-Man and the Wasp)
October 12, 1976 – May 13, 2024
Dabney Coleman
(Recess series, 9 to 5, Tootsie)
January 3, 1932 - May 17, 2024