(Harmony's) POV:
Not wanting to see those hyenas come back and eat us, we quickly leave the area. On our way out, something catches Chibi's attention as he barks all of a sudden. Not long after, we see a lioness getting chased by some Heartless.
"Are those what I think they are?" I ask.
"Heartless!?" Donald asks.
"What do we do?" Goofy asks.
"Help, of course!" I exclaim, then rush into the fray. I get in front of the lioness, ready to face off against the Heartless. "Get back!"
My friends join in, helping me take care of the Heartless. Fighting them definitely did not prove to be easy, considering how we're so used to being human. It especially doesn't help that I can't seem to change into my drive forms, but at least we managed to defeat the Heartless in the end. Once it's over, we take a moment to catch our breath.
"Definitely Heartless," Heisuke says.
"Thank you. You really saved me," the lioness says.
"We're just glad you're okay," says Goofy.
"Did you see any other Heartless around here?" Luke asks.
"Heartless...Is that what they're called? I'm not sure if there are any others...I don't usually hunt outside the Pride Lands," the lioness explains.
"Your home, I take it?" Hijikata asks.
The lioness starts to look sad. "...It used to be. The Pride Lands hasn't felt like home in such a long time, not since I was a cub."
Seeing how hard this must be for her, I decide to quickly change the subject. "By any chance, you wouldn't happen to know if someone by the name of Riku or Madison came by the Pride Lands, would you? Or anyone who claims to be part of an Organization?"
"Or a big bully named Pete?" Mieu asks.
The lioness shakes her head.
I let out a sigh. "Well, thanks anyway."
"Let's take a look around, just to be sure," Asch suggests.
"Wait--the Pride Lands are dangerous. Scar and the hyenas have made things unbearable for everyone. There's no food left. They've driven off the prey. We're about to starve," the lioness explains.
"That does sound troublesome," says Saito.
"So that's what you meant, when you said the Pride Lands haven't felt like home to you," Harada says, understanding the situation.
"We can handle a little danger. You did see us beat those Heartless, after all," Okita points out.
"I guess you're right...You could be just what the kingdom needs. Maybe you can help us," the lioness says.
"You mean taking on Scar and the hyenas?" Nagakura asks.
"Sorry, but before we can make a decision, could you explain in more details about who this Scar guy is?" Luke asks.
"He took over when our last king, Mufasa, died," the lioness explains.
"Let me get this straight. He's your king and you want us to take down your king?" I ask. The lioness nods her head, telling me that that is exactly what she's trying to say. "Give us a moment, would you?"
My friends and I all group together, to discuss the matter at hand.
"We can't just go around knocking kings off their thrones," Luke points out.
"True. But she said so herself; her and everyone else has been forced to suffer for a long time now, and will starve if something isn't done about it," Hijikata says.
"If things are really that bad, then maybe we should help. Besides, something tells me that we should at least investigate," Heisuke says.
"I agree. And if Scar has really reduced them to the situation they're in, then he has no right to be a king at all," I say.
"You're going to make us help them out even if we say no, aren't you?" Asch asks.
"Does that mean it's a yes?" I ask.
"I guess it is," says Luke.
"Great!" I exclaim, then head back to tell our answer to the lioness.
(3rd) POV:
"Uh-oh, there she goes again..." Donald says with a sigh.
Harada shrugs his shoulders. "At least we know that her heart is in the right place."
Not long after saying that, the lioness soon takes off.
(Harmony's) POV:
"Where's she going?" Nagakura asks.
"She's going on ahead to tell the other lionesses. She even told me that her name is Nala, and that we're supposed to meet her at a place called Pride Rock," I explain.
"And Pride Rock is...?" Okita trails off.
"Something that shouldn't be hard to spot. It's a giant rock that kind of resembles a mountain far off in the Savannah," I answer.
"Then lets get a move on," Asch says.
With that, we head to our next destination, facing more Heartless along the way. We also take notice of how there's nothing in the Savannah but Heartless and dead plants, proving that what Nala said is true. I know jumping to conclusions is not a good thing, but...Somehow, considering the huge numbers of Heartless in this world, I can't help but get the feeling that maybe Scar is the cause of it, making things far worse than my friends and I could've ever imagined.
If something isn't done about this situation soon, this world might become overrun by darkness as we know it. Thankfully, it doesn't take us long to reach Pride Rock. The other lionesses lay down near a cave, with their heads on their front paws. When we arrive, Nala comes to greet us, along with a mandrill.
"That's them," Nala says to the mandrill.
The mandrill walks up to my friends and I. When he leans too close to my face, I can't help but feel uncomfortable.
"Uh...Is something the matter?" I ask.
Instead of answering, the mandrill does the same thing to my friends, as if he's examining us for some reason. Whatever that reason is, I don't know. The lionesses all lift their heads, waiting to hear what the mandrill has to say as he walks back to Nala, whispering something in her ear. I'm not sure what it was he said, but Nala soon becomes sad, causing the lionesses to lower their heads in sadness as well.
"What was that about?" Asch asks.
"I told Rafiki you might be able to help us force Scar and the hyenas out of the Pride Lands," Nala explains. "But he says it won't work."
"Why not?" Mieu asks.
"You see, whoever saves the Pride Lands will be our next king...and he has to have the right qualities," Nala explains.
"Meaning..." Luke says.
"In other words, none of us are cut out for the job," Saito says.
"I'm sorry you came all this way," Nala apologizes.
"It's okay. I'm just sorry we couldn't be of much help," I say.
"You'd better go before Scar finds out you're here," Nala whispers, keeping a lookout. "I'm sorry."
Since there's nothing else we can do here, we turn around, to leave Pride Rock. Before we can, however, those same hyenas from earlier appear, blocking our path. My friends and I tense up as more surround us. Chibi growls at the hyenas, warning them to back off.
"Hey--a snack," says one hyena.
"Snack? Nah, we got us a thirteen course meal," says another hyena, while the third hyena lets out a deranged chuckle.
Suddenly, we all hear a roar.
"Look at that, here comes Scar--the king," the first hyena says.
My friends and I turn around to see two lions standing on the rock outcrop. It doesn't take long to guess that the creepy looking lion is Scar, while the other one looks somewhat familiar. After a moment or two, I instantly recognize the second lion.
"And Pete!" I exclaim.
Scar jumps down from rock to rock, reaching our level. Pete tries to imitate Scar's movements, but ends up stumbling down. The others and I either roll our eyes or shake our heads at him, not impressed by what we saw.
"My back..." Pete says as he gets up.
"What are you doing here!?" I question.
"Aww, the cute li'l kitty's worried about me," Pete mocks. "If I were you, I'd be more worried about my friends!"
"Harmony!!" Donald calls out.
"We're surrounded!" Goofy exclaims in a panic.
"Go on, ladies--you've got some hunting to do," Scar orders.
"The herds have moved on, Scar. We can't hunt in a land with no prey," Nala informs.
"No prey? Then what do you call this?" Scar asks, referring to me and my friends.
"We're not prey!" Luke exclaims.
"Oh. Nice and fresh, too," Scar says, his eyes showing how insane he is, as he stares at me in an uncomfortable way. "The lady, however, lives. A king does need a queen, after all."
"Over. My. Dead. Body!!" Asch yells, getting in front of me and baring his teeth at Scar.
"Well, they're all yours, Scar," Pete says before leaving.
Asch and Scar glare at each other. Just as Scar gets ready to pounce at my boyfriend, Nala tackles him to the ground before he even has a chance to hurt Asch.
I gasp. "Nala!" I exclaim, worried about her.
"Run!" Nala exclaims back, trying to keep Scar pinned down.
I nod my head. My friends and I then use this chance to try and evade the hyenas, to make our escape. We refuse to look back as the hyenas begin to chase us.
"Follow me!" Nala exclaims, catching up to us. Thanks to Nala leading the way, it doesn't take us long to lose the hyenas, getting in a good distance away from them. "I'm sorry I got you involved in this."
"It's not the first time we've ended up in a bad situation, so don't worry about it," says Heisuke.
"Aw, it's not your fault. Asch and Luke wouldn't be a good king. Neither would Hijikata, Okita, or Saito and Heisuke. And Harada and Nagakura probably wouldn't be any better," Donald says.
"You want to be turned into duck stew? Because that's what I heard," Hijikata says, giving Donald a death glare, along with the rest of the guys.
"ANYWAY!" I exclaim, gaining everyone's attention, before something could escalate. "So, Nala, is there anyone you can think of who could possibly be king instead of Scar?"
"There was...but he died...when he was just a cub," Nala answers. "He was the son of our last king, Mufasa. If only Simba were here..."
My eyes widen with shock at the mention of that name. "Simba!? But he's fine!" I exclaim.
"Another friend of yours, I take it?" Saito asks.
"He actually fought alongside us against the Heartless a year ago," Asch answers.
"You mean Simba's alive!? But where is he?" Nala asks, looking hopeful.
"That...we don't know," Luke answers.
"Still...Simba's alive! I can't believe it..." Nala says, looking ready to break into tears of joy. "Please--tell me more about him."
"We can do that," I say.
"But first, we should get away from Scar. We'll go through Wildebeest Valley. He won't follow us there," says Nala.
"Okay. Then we can talk on the way there," says Nagakura.
(3rd) POV:
Meanwhile, in a large jungle, Simba lays down on the grass, next to a small, flowing waterfall. He has been feeling down, ever since having that dream. It brings nothing but a painful reminder of his father's death.
"Hey, why the long face, Simba?" the meerkat, Timon, asks. "You gotta lighten up and live a little!"
"Y-yeah..." Simba says, still feeling down.
"What were you thinkin' about?" Pumbaa, the warthog, asks.
"Lemme guess. The past, right?" Timon asks.
All Simba has to answer with is a hum and a nod of his head.
"Hakuna matata!" Timon and Pumbaa exclaim in sync.
Simba smiles at the two, grateful that his friends are trying to cheer him up. But even so, he's still bothered by that dream he had. So, he gets up and walks away, not wanting to trouble them with his problems any further.
"Would you look at how he's grown, Pumbaa. Why, when I rescued the little guy, he was only this big," Timon says, recalling when him and Pumbaa first met Simba back when he was a cub.
As Simba walks near the cliff, starring off at the blue sky, he can't help but recall something else. He remembers his time of when he became a summon gem and was summoned by Harmony, to help her and her friends fight against the Heartless. Although it wasn't enough to atone for his past sins, he felt that he had made up for it, at the time, back then. But he knows that it will never happen.
As long as his memory of his father's death continues to haunt him, he will never forgive himself for what happened back then. He sighs as he flops onto the ground, causing a bunch of leaves and flower petals to get caught in the wind and fly in the air.
(Harmony's) POV:
As Nala leads the way through Wildebeest Valley, she tells us her story about Simba. A long time ago, Simba was supposed to be the next king, because it was his birth right, as King Mufasa's son. Simba and Nala have known each other ever since they were cubs, making them childhood friends. They were even engaged, to one day get married and become king and queen.
The story comes to a temporary halt when we reach a steep slope. And what's worse is that there is no other way through the gorge. Any other route that might help us cross involves heading back to the Pride Lands, proving that we have indeed reached a dead end. Trying to jump across would be suicide, and my friends know that, too. Nala soon proves us wrong when she manages to jump across the slope, making a perfect landing, impressing all of us.
"What's wrong?" Nala asks, noticing how none of us are joining here.
"We're never gonna make it," Luke says.
(3rd) POV:
Nala rolls her eyes and sighs. "I guess Rafiki was right," she says under her breath.
"What was that?" Heisuke asks, him and the others unable to hear what Nala just said.
"Never mind. It's not important. Here, I'll show you how," Nala says. "You can do it!"
(Harmony's) POV:
Thanks to Nala, we soon become able to make great jumps like she did. To prove it, we each made it across the slope. Though, in Goofy's case, Donald and Mieu had to try and carry him by flying him across, since turtles aren't great jumpers.
(3rd) POV:
The flower petals and leaves the wind had caught from before fly all the way towards the Pride Lands, heading towards Rafiki's tree. Rafiki catches a hand full, and examines it by sniffing it. His eyes widen with shock. He quickly heads back inside of his tree, placing the flower petals and leaves in a huge, empty turtle shell.
He shakes the turtle's shell a little, then becomes surprised once more. Rafiki turns his attention to an old painting of a lion cub on his wall. Laughing with joy, Rafiki dabs his hand in red liquid that he uses for paint, creating a mane on the lion cub painting's neck. Knowing what must be done, Rafiki grabs his staff and leaves his tree.
(Harmony's) POV:
As we come on the other side of the gorge. Nala continues her story, telling us what happened, while we continue on our journey to try and find Simba.
"When Simba's father, King Mufasa, died, we were told that Simba died alongside him," Nala explains.
"Who told you that?" Asch asks.
Nala stops, lowering her head in shame. "Scar."
"Well, Nala, Simba is definitely alive. That you can trust me on," I say.
"If you ask me, it sounds like Scar only said that just so he could become king," says Hijikata
Before anything else can be said, we soon notice Rafiki several feet away from us. Rafiki walks up onto a high rock.
"It is time," says Rafiki.
He points his staff to the gorge's exit as we hear a lion's roar from the distance. It's nothing like Scar's roar as I notice how it carries a familiar sound to it. I listen carefully, recognizing that roar to belong to none other than a good friend.
"It must be Simba! Harmony! Everyone! Hurry!" Nala exclaims with a smile, then breaks into a run.
"Wait up!" I exclaim.
The others and I try to keep up with Nala as we follow the path Rafiki directed us to. We end up in a wasteland, where a large oasis stands at a great distance, fighting Heartless as we try to get there. Nala must've been more excited than I thought to see Simba again, because we soon lose sight of her in the jungle.
"Great. Lost her," says Okita.
"Chibi, can you try to find her?" I ask.
Chibi sniffs around, trying to catch a scent, then becomes excited, letting out happy and cheerful barks. As Chibi follows the scent, he leads us to a clearing. There, we see Simba, who is standing on a log, surrounded by some Heartless. He lets out a loud and mighty roar, getting rid of the Heartless, making them disappear on us.
I smile, glad to see him. "Simba!" I call out.
My friends and I go to greet him. However, Simba glares at us, ready to fight if necessary. Seeing that he doesn't recognize us, my friends and I stop in our tracks.
"Simba...?" Mieu asks.
"What's wrong? Don't you recognize us?" Luke asks.
"It's me, Harmony. And Asch, Luke, Donald, Goofy, Chibi and Mieu are here, too," I say, hoping he'll listen.
Hearing that, Simba becomes less tense and walks closer to us. He gets a good look at us, then his eyes widen in realization.
"Harmony! Asch! Luke! Donald! Goofy! Chibi! Mieu!" Simba exclaims, smiling bright at us. He then pounces, knocking me, Asch and Luke to the ground. I laugh, along with most of the others, while Asch, Hijikata and Saito smile. "What happened to you? And where's Sora and Madison?"
"A lot of stuff happened. We're on a new journey, dealing with a new threat. As for Sora and Madison...Let's just say they're busy with something else and couldn't make it," Asch explains.
"Oh. And who are your new friends?" Simba asks.
"Right. This is Hijikata, Okita, Saito, Heisuke, Harada and Nagakura. It's a long story, but they're traveling with us, helping us fight off against the Heartless," I explain.
Before anything else can be said, we hear screaming coming from back in the jungle.
"Help! Simba! Heeelp!" one voice calls out.
"She's gonna eat us!"
"Timon? Pumbaa!? Something must have happened in the jungle! I have to go help my friends!" Simba exclaims.
"We'll help, too," I say.
We quickly head back into the jungle. After a few moments, we see a meerkat and a warthog backed into a corner by Nala.
I know she said that the Pride Lands are on the verge of starvation, but I didn't think she was this hungry.
Seeing his friends in danger, Simba pounces Nala to the ground.
"Simba! Wait!" I exclaim.
"Stop!" Donald yells, while Simba and Nala fight against each other.
"It's Nala! Don't you recognize her?" Luke asks, worried about the two getting hurt.
Okita sighs. "Forget it. Neither of them are listening."
Simba and Nala continue to fight each other. It doesn't take long for Nala to pin Simba to the ground, growling at him. Simba looks up at her with surprise.
"Nala?" Simba asks. Hearing her name, Nala quickly gets off of Simba, curious about him. Simba gets up and walks towards her with a smile. "It's me, Simba!"
After a second, Nala finally recognizes her friend. "Simba!" she exclaims, giving him a bright smile. "You are alive!"
"Seriously? That's all it took for them to recognize each other?" Heisuke asks.
"Well, they haven't seen each other in who-knows-how-long," Harada points out.
"Hey! What's going on here!?" the meerkat, who I'm guessing is Timon, questions, most likely in shock, considering how close he was to being eaten earlier.
When Timon and Pumbaa turn around, noticing me and the others, they scream at the top of their lungs and run away. While Timon hides behind one of Simba's legs, Pumbaa cowers in front of a tree.
"Don't worry. They're all friends of mine," says Simba, giving his two friends a reassuring smile.
"So that means...nobody's planning to eat anybody else for lunch, right?" Timon asks.
The others and I nod our heads, reassuring him that everything is fine.
"Are you sure they don't wanna eat me like I'm some pig!?" Pumbaa asks.
"We won't, I promise," I say.
"...But you are a pig, right?" Nagakura asks.
Pumbaa turns around to glare at Nagakura. "Call me Mr. Pig!"
More than half of us laugh at that.
"Could you guys excuse us for a few minutes?" Simba asks.
"Why am I not surprised?" Timon asks.
We stay where we are, letting Simba and Nala have some privacy. They have a LOT of catching up to do. Not only that, but Simba needs to know about what his uncle has been doing to the Pride Lands.
(3rd) POV:
As Simba shows Nala around the jungle, the two begin to have some fun, almost like the same way they used to when they were cubs. They explore the jungle, having the time of their lives, and soon realize their feelings for each other. As cubs, they only saw the other as a friend. But now that they're all grown up, they see each other to be more than that. Eventually, Nala decides to speak up, knowing that it's time to ask for Simba's help.
"Simba, you've got to come back to Pride Rock. I thought Harmony and the others might be able to help, but you're the only one who can save us from Scar," Nala says.
Simba stops in his tracks and sighs. "I can't go back," he says.
"Why?" Nala asks.
"Hakuna matata. It's something I learned out here. Sometimes bad things happen and there's nothing you can do about it," says Simba.
Nala becomes shocked by what she heard. All she knows is that this is definitely not the Simba she remembered. The Simba from her childhood would get so excited at the thought of becoming king. But now, hearing him talk like this makes her wonder what happened that made him change so much.
"Simba..." Nala says, not sure what else to say to him that could possibly change his mind.
(Happy 4th of July, everyone! Hope you enjoyed the chapter!)