From the Day we arrive on the planet… And blinkingly step into the sun… There’s more to see, than can ever be seen, more to do than can ever be done! (The many animals, trekked across the great savannah, the antelopes leapt with perfect grace, the zebras trotted merrily, the cheetahs sped with incomparable speed, the elephants lumbered with pride and wisdom, the giraffes walked with beauty and elegance, the many birds flew above as they gazed upon their destination, which was the destination of all the creatures)

There’s far too much to take in here… More to find than can ever be found… But the sun rolling high in the sapphire sky keeps great and small… on the endless bound! (The Animals came closer and closer, until finally, they stood before the splendor of Kingdom Rock, as a white bird with blue tipped wings and tail feathers, an orange bill and a blue hat flew above them to the point of Pride Rock where he bowed with respect and dignity to the magnificent king; Terra, a handsome lion with dark brown fur, a mane that slicked back over and the sides of his head, and eyes as blue as the sky. He looked down upon the bird that bowed before him, who was actually Donald, his Royal Majordomo, and smiled invitingly. They then both looked down as the animals made way for a very old friend, Merlin, an old mandrill with bluish gray fur, a colorful face with little spectacles, and a long white beard that tripped him sometimes; he carried a staff of twisted wood with small gourds hanging from it. The animals bowed in respect as he pbumed them. He climbed up the rocks until he stood upon the alcove where Terra stood, awaiting him.)

The Circle of Life…! …And it moves us all… through despair and hope…! …Through faith and love… Till we find our place… On the path unwinding… In the Circle… The Circle of Life!

(The two old friends gave each other a hug as they both looked to Terra’s mate and queen, Aerith. Terra went over, giving her an affectionate nuzzle as Aerith looked down at the small brown bundle of fur in her paws, giving it a lick as it twisted around to reveal itself to be a baby cub, with fur and eyes matching his father’s, but a certain beauty and shine in his fur that matched his mother’s. He looked up at the strange face of Merlin, who smiled at him and waved his staff over the little cub, which curiously tried to claw it. Merlin then broke open a gourd and wiped a small bit of the interior across the cub’s brow. He then took some sand and sprinkled it on the cub, making him sneeze, as Terra and Aerith nuzzled each other. Merlin then took the cub in his hands and slowly walked towards the alcove.)

…In the Circle of Life…! And it moves us all… Through despair and hope… Through faith and love! …Till we find our place… On the path unwinding… In the Circle… The Circle of Life…!

(Only when he reached the point of the alcove of Pride Rock, did Merlin reveal the heir to the throne, and the moment he did, the animals went wild! The elephants trumpeted, the monkeys pounded the ground as they chattered, the zebras pawed the ground with their hooves as they whinnied, and then finally, all the animals bowed in respect of their future king)

Elsewhere, a little field mouse scurried across a stone floor, only to have a light brown paw come down on it and lift the rodent by the tail, bringing it up to the face of an angular, orange-eyed lion with a gray mane.

“Life’s not fair, is it…?” the lion asked the mouse rhetorically as the mouse tried in vain to escape. “You see I- Well, I… will never be king… And you… shall never see the light of another day…”

Chuckling, he said, “Adieu,” as he prepared to pop the vermin into his mouth before he was interrupted by a loud annoying voice, “Didn’t your mother ever teach you not to play with your food?”

He looked down to see Donald, standing on the floor, his wings at his hips as he tapped the ground with his foot. Sighing vexingly, the lion said, “What do you want…?”

“I’m here to announce that King Terra is on his way,” Donald said rather dramatically before going back to his lecturing tone as he said, “So you’d better have a good excuse for missing the ceremony this morning,” as the lion noticed the mouse escape from his paw and scurry off to freedom.

“Oh come now, Donald, you made me lose my lunch,” he said.

“Ha! You’ll lose more than that when the king gets through with you!” Donald said mocking ly before he said as he crossed his wings, “He’s as mad as a hippo with a hernia…”

“Ooh… I quiver with fear!” the lion snarled as he creeped towards Donald with a scary grin.

“Now, Xemnas… Don’t look at me that way!” Donald said nervously before trying to fly, screaming, “HELP!!!” as Xemnas snapped him in his jaws, but just before he could crunch the bird, he heard a firm, stern and strong voice.

“Xemnas!”

With a full mouth, Xemnas looked and saw Terra as he said, “Drop him…”

Then Donald’s bill poked through Xemnas’s lips as he squawked, “Impeccable timing, Your Majesty.”

Then Xemnas spat Donald out, making the bird groan in disgust as he was covered in saliva. Xemnas went over to Terra, saying in spurious gratitude and admiration, “Why, if it isn’t my big brother descending from on high to mingle with the commoners…”

Keeping a serious tone and expression, Terra said, “Aerith and I didn’t see you at the presentation of Sora.”

“That was today?!” Xemnas asked in mock surprise. He then said, “Oh I feel so awful…” as he scraped his claws on a stone wall, making a loud irritatingly screeching sound that made Donald grind his teeth. Examining his sharpened claws, Xemnas said dismissively, “Must’ve slipped my mind…”

“Yes,” Donald said as he flew up and got in Xemnas’s face as he said in a brazen way, “But as slippery as your mind is, as the king’s brother, you should’ve been first in line!”

Xemnas made him back off with a threatening clack of his teeth, making Donald zoom behind Terra’s front leg as Xemnas said, “I was first in line… Till the little furball was born…”

“That ‘furball’ …is my son,” Terra said sternly. “And your future king.”

“Oh I shall go put into practice my civility…” Xemnas said sarcastically as he turned to leave.

“Don’t turn your back on me, Xemnas…” Terra said threateningly.

“Oh no, Terra,” Xemnas said. “Perhaps you shouldn’t turn your back on me.”

Snarling ferociously, Terra ran over to him, snarling in his face, “Is that a CHALLENG?!”

“Temper, temper,” Xemnas said unworriedly. “I wouldn’t DREAM of challenging you…”

“Pity. Why not?” Donald said with a raised brow.

“Well as far as brains go, I got the lion’s share,” Xemnas said to Donald before saying to Terra’s face, “But when it comes to savage nature… I’m afraid I’m at the shallow end of the gene pool…”

And with that, Xemnas took his leave as Donald sighed as he flew onto Terra’s shoulder, “There’s one in every family, Sire. Two in my own, actually. And they always manage to ruin special occasions.”

“Oh, what’m I gonna do with him…?” Terra said in a tiresome way.

“He’d make a very handsome trophy,” Donald said teasingly.

“Donald!” Terra said in mock shock.

Then Donald flew ahead of Terra as they left for the cave as the bird squawked, “Just think; whenever he gets dirty you can take him down from your mantle and spit on him.”

Terra chuckled from that.

A great rain spread across the Pridelands, bringing sustenance to the plants and rivers and some animals as Merlin, in his far off tree house, busily did some paintings with some paint he’d made from the juice of berries and clay from the earth. Chuckling to himself, he painted a blue line over the painting of his latest creation.

“Sora…” he chuckled as he admired the painting of the little brown cub.

Time pbumed, and before daybreak, Sora, now a rambunctious young cub with spiky hair and a silver necklace with a crown-shaped amulet on it, ran to the alcove of Pride Rock. Gazing with a smile, he ran into the cave, saying in a loud whisper, “Dad! Dad! Come on, Dad, we gotta go! Wake up!”

He leapt over the other lions, saying sorry after he accidentally landed on someone’s stomach until he stopped by his father’s side, saying in an impatient tone, “Dad…”

Aerith in a sleepy voice said, “Your son is awake…”

As Sora continued to say “Dad, Dad, Dad, Dad…” Terra tried to ignore him as he said to his mate, “Until sunrise, he’s YOUR son…”

“Dad?! Come on, Dad!” Sora said impatiently before grabbing Terra’s ear in his mouth and grunting as he tried to wake him up before losing his grip and falling backwards painfully. He then tackled Terra, getting him to eye his son as Sora said, “You promised!”

Seeing the expression on his son’s face, Terra said, “Ok, ok, I’m up, I’m up!”

“Yeah!” Sora said, excitedly running to the mouth of the cave as his father yawned, displaying his sharp teeth. Sora waited eagerly as his parents exited the cave and Sora nuzzled his mother’s legs before she gently pushed his rear to get him to follow his father to the top of Pride Rock.

“Look, Sora,” Terra said as they witnessed the incredible dawn over the vast Pridelands, the sun, a golden aura with a pink and orange and red and yellow shade.

“Everything the light touches… is our kingdom.”

“Wow…” Sora said in awe as he sat next to his father.

“A king’s time as ruler rises and falls like the sun. One day, Sora, the sun will set on my time here, and will rise with you as the new king.”

“So this’ll all be mine?”

“Everything!”

“Everything the light touches…” Sora repeated as he walked along the edge but sat down as he said, “What about that shadowy place?”

“That’s beyond our borders, you must never go there, Sora.” Terra said in a stern tone.

“But I thought the king can do whatever he pleases,” Sora said.

Terra began to walk down the path they took, saying, “There’s more to being king than getting your way all the time.”

“There’s more…?” Sora asked in curiosity.

“Sora!” Terra chuckled.

Not long later, they were walking together over the savannah, not far from Pride Rock as Terra went on.

“Everything you see, exists in a delicate balance. As king, you must understand that balance and respect all the creatures, from the buzzing ladybug… to the galloping zebra.”

“But Dad, don’t we eat the zebra?”

“Yes, son, but let me explain… When we die, our bodies, in a manner of speaking, become the grbum! And the zebra devour the grbum… And so, we are all connected in the Great Circle of Life…”

The silence was broken as Donald flew in, saying, “Good morning, Sire!”

“Good morning, Donald.” Terra said.

Donald landed on a rock in front of them, bowing as he said, “Checking in with the morning report.”

“Fire away.” Terra said.

“Well, there’s buzz from the bees that the leopards are in a bit of a spot,” Donald explained as Sora tried to pounce a grbumhopper.

“Oh really?” Terra asked but took notice of Sora, whispering, “What’re you doing son?”

Sora pounced again, checking his paws to see he’d missed again as he said, “Pouncing.”

“Let an old pro show you how it’s done…” Terra said, giving an unsuspecting Donald a sneaky look as the bird went on, saying, “I told the elephants to forget about it. But they can’t just-”

“Donald, would you turn around?” Terra asked casually.

“Yes, sir,” Donald said as he obeyed. “Now as I was saying…”

“Stay low to the ground…” Terra instructed Sora.

“Cheetahs never prosper!” Donald went on.

“Ok, stay low, got it,” Sora whispered but Donald took notice and asked, “What’s going on here?”

“A Pouncing Lesson,” Terra explained.

“Ah, very good; pouncing,” Donald said, but realized what he was saying as he gasped and said, “POUNCING?! Oh please, Sire, you can’t be serious!”

But Terra, with a grin and a raised brow, motioned with his paw for Donald to rebumume his position. Donald obeyed as he complained, “This is so humiliating!”

“Try not to make a sound…” Terra whispered to Sora.

“What’re you telling him, Terra?” Donald asked but saw no one. He grew increasingly nervous as he said, “Terra? …Sora…?”

Then from out of nowhere, Sora struck as Terra burst out in uproarious laughter. Sora got off Donald and walked to his father, feeling pleased with himself as Terra said, “That’s very good! Ha ha ha ha!”

While Donald got his bearings, his bumistant, Gopher, popped out of the ground, saying, “Donald Sir!” whistling out his sibilant consonants.

“Yes?!” Donald said, not in a good mood.

“Sir!” Gopher said with a salute. “News from the underground!”

Terra then said to Sora, “Now, this time-”

“Sire!” Donald interrupted. “Hyenas! In the Pridelands!”

Terra leapt over them, saying, “Donald, take Sora home.”

“Aw, Dad, can’t I come?” Sora asked hopefully.

“No, son.” Terra said before he ran off.

Disappointed, Sora turned around and started walking home, saying, “I never get to go anywhere.”

“Oh don’t worry, young master,” Donald said encouragingly as he followed him. “Someday, YOU’LL be king. Then you can chase off those slobbery mangy stupid poachers from dawn till dusk!”

At a ledge at Pride Rock, Xemnas swiped a bone away and was about to lie down when Sora showed up.

“Hey Uncle Xemnas, guess what?”

“I despise guessing games…” Xemnas said irritably.

“I’m gonna be king of Pride Rock,” Sora said proudly.

“Oh goody…” Xemnas said sarcastically as Sora stood at the ledge.

“My dad just showed me the whole kingdom, and I’m gonna rule it all!”

“Yes, well forgive me for not leaping with joy, bad back you know…” Xemnas said grumpily before collapsing on the floor.

Sora went over and crawled on his neck, saying, “Hey Uncle Xemnas, when I’m king, what’ll that make you?”

“A monkey’s uncle…”

Laughing as he rolled off Xemnas, Sora said, “You’re so weird.”

Xemnas looked at him, saying in a sneaky way, “You have no idea…”

He then got up and walked to the edge as he said, “So… Your father showed you the whole kingdom, did he not?”

“Everything!” Sora said as he went over to him.

“He didn’t show you that rise beyond the northern border?” Xemnas asked as he sat down.

Sora sat as well as he disappointingly said, “Well no… He says I can’t go there.”

“And he’s absolutely right!” Xemnas said. “It’s far too dangerous… Only the bravest lions go there…”

“Well, I’m brave,” Sora said. Then curiously asked, “What’s out there?”

“I’m sorry, Sora, I simply can’t tell you.”

“Why not?”

“Sora, Sora,” Xemnas said, putting a paw on Sora’s head. “I’m only looking out for my favorite nephew.”

“Yeah, right,” Sora said as he peeked out from under Xemnas’s paw. “I’m your ONLY nephew.”

“All the more reason for me to protect you,” Xemnas said with a smile. “And elephant graveyard is no place for a young prince.”

He then put his paw on his mouth, saying, “Oops!”

“An elephant what?!” Sora said in excitement. “Whoa…”

With his paw over his eyes, Xemnas said, “Oh dear! I’ve said too much. Well I suppose you would’ve found out anyway, you being so clever an’ all…”

Xemnas then hugged Sora close, saying, “But do me this, Sora, promise me you’ll never go near that DREADFUL place.”

Sora thought for a second before saying, “No problem.”

“There’s a good lad,” Xemnas said with a smile. He then shooed him off, saying, “You run along now and have fun, but remember…”

Sora looked at his uncle before leaving, who said, “It’s OUR little secret…”

Sora nodded and bounded off, not seeing the wicked smile on Xemnas’s face.

Sora ran to another part of Pride Rock, pbuming a couple of his aunts, until he came to where his two friends, Kairi and Riku were, with their mother, Aqua, and his mother, Aerith, was sleeping on a rock. Aqua was giving Kairi a bath while her brother waited his turn. Their father, Leon, slept next to his mate as she gave their daughter a bath. Kairi was a little cub with golden brown fur, a mixture of her mother and father’s fur, but with red hair, while Riku had silvery hair and fur. Aqua had silvery brown fur and blue hair while Leon had a long dark brown mane and brownish gold fur. He also had a scar that ran diagonally between his eyes. Aerith, Sora’s mother, had the same kind of fur as Leon, but with light brown hair that went down the sides of her face in curls, but with big bangs above her eyes. Sora went over to them, saying, “Hi, guys!”