Kingdom Hearts: The World's Reluctant Heroes

Sombra found that the culprit behind the presents being stolen was the Professor's latest creation, like a Nobody that just wanted to experience the joys of Christmas, though this just confirmed that the world was more of a distraction, nothing about the situation screamed Heartless or the Organization. With that in mind they wrapped up their time on the world and departed without delay, continuing on their way to the Pride Lands since it was the last world on Sombra's list before he worried about The World That Never Was and the false Kingdom Hearts it contained. While they traveled she learned that Lock, Shock, and Barrel had been inside Santa's workshop again, doing stuff to some of the machines to cause chaos or just to have some fun at Santa's expense, before the group sent them packing and used the device to make some presents to lure out their target. Of course their trap worked and that's how they discovered that it was the Processor's machine, which they beat up before knocking it out, but that was the tale on what had happened and part of Sombra was glad she had spent her time assisting Prexus, since that was more worthwhile.

Following their departure from Halloween Town it was more of the same thing, just flying through space, training to make sure everyone's skills were as good as they could be, and just enjoy some good food, as Luxord and the other new arrivals were discovering that Sombra was such a great cook.

While they flew between worlds Sombra focused on what she had done back in Halloween Town, creating a special chest to house all thirteen Darknesses, the greatest force of Darkness in the World, so they can't escape and cause problems, and that two of them were already stored inside it. Of course that made her wonder where in the world the other eleven might be located, even though she doubted that it was with Xehanort since they seemed more like rulers and less like followers, and even if they were on his side they would have seen the Darknesses make a move by now. With that in mind she really had to wonder where the others were lurking, since she agreed with Prexus on the matter of capturing them, because taking all of them out meant they would be able to fully save the World from whatever plan they had been working on before they were discovered by Prexus. Other than that there wasn't much for her to worry about, plus the chest was in an area that only she could access, so she didn't have to worry about anyone finding it and stealing it for their own purposes, allowing her to focus on preparing for whatever dangers the Pride Lands had for them this time around.

When they reached the Pride Lands the main group went down, this time finding that they were alone in the area they had landed in previously, none of the hyena were present, allowing them to turn towards Riku and Kairi, the former being a pale blue lion, slightly taller than Sora, while the latter was a lioness about Sora's height and had auburn fur.

"So, just like Atlantica, you'll have to adapt to a whole new type of movement, and we'll teach you what we learned the last time we were here." Sora commented, as he could see that Riku and Kairi weren't used to walking or running on all fours, in fact they were surprised when they found that their Keyblades appeared in their mouths, as they were biting on the handles, so some training was required to make sure they got used to their new forms.

Sombra and the others watched as the pair got used to their new forms, rushing around the graveyard and testing their speed, so they could aid everyone in battle without being a hindrance, though at the same time Sombra knew that Simba was likely having some problems, given that Scar's Heartless was somewhere in the Pride Lands. Part of the reason behind that decision was due to the fact that she could feel it's presence, seeping into the ground and decaying the land, or at least it sure seemed that way based on what she was feeling right now, which was making it hard to pinpoint it's location. Once the pair were ready to go the group headed out in the Savannah, where they found the trio of hyenas wandering off to one of the other portions of the Pride Lands, in fact they wanted nothing to do with the group, not after what happened the last time they visited this place. Sombra nodded to the others as they made their way across the Savannah, there was only one Heartless signature and it was scattered, constantly appearing in different locations of the Pride Lands, meaning it had to be gathering power before manifesting.

When they reached Pride Rock they noticed some dark particles form into a shadowy version of Scar, though as Sora and the others approached it Sombra jumped down on the specter and crushed it, banishing it like he must have been doing since he started seeing them, before smiling as he noticed them.

"Guys, your back! As you can see, Scar is still troubling the Pride Lands." Simba stated, his tone both happy to see them and sad that it had to be under such circumstances, in fact he seemed like he wanted to just relax with them for once and not have to fight anything, which was understandable since some of them loved taking a break during their travels, "Sombra, I know you are skilled in the same arts as Rafiki... please tell me we aren't dealing..."

"With Scar's Heartless? I'm afraid so." Sombra replied, as this was one of those times where she wished she could tell their friend or the local ruler that things weren't as bad as they thought, that what they were dealing with was just something else, though as she said that Sombra detected a large surge of dark energy and found a bunch of it heading out into the massive Savannah, where all of the energy was gathering, "Oh, so that's why you haven't been able to beat him... he's been hiding his core all this time, as he was waiting for us to arrive so he could crush all of us at once."

"Talk about a sore loser." Riku commented, as he and Kairi didn't know a lot about Scar, other than what they had been told during Sora's last visit to this world, but it seemed like the lion's heart held a grudge against them for beating him and now had the power to stand against them, causing him to sigh for a moment, "Come on, let's go take him out."

As they rushed out into the Savannah the group noticed that Scar's Heartless was massive, in fact it dwarfed even the large Behemoths they had fought in the past, to the point that Sombra was sure that it even stood taller than Pride Rock, as it was titanic in size. It was a four legged skeletal creature, more like Scar had been when he was alive, though most of it's body was covered in green moss, grass, and other plant life, as if it had torn a piece of the earth out of the ground itself, especially since there were trees growing on it's back. In addition to that it's head had a number of small red horns around it, with a pair of large elephant tusks attached to it, one on each side of the head and stopping at the end of it's muzzle, making it look deadlier than before, and there was a large humanoid shaman on it's back. The shaman seemed to be like a passenger of some kind, even though it seemed to have part of Scar's power as well, but since the four legged beast had the emblem that told them what their target was, since Sombra was sure that crushing it would crush the shaman.

She didn't have to think of a name for the Heartless, not when a single step caused the ground to quake, which was why she went with 'Groundshaker', though with that in mind she and the others separated from each other, attacking the titanic Heartless from multiple directions as they unleashed some of their stronger attacks.

The reason for that was due to the fact that Groundshaker was massive, so some of their attacks might not do anything to it and others might do major damage, but Sombra suspected that by unleashing a number of incredible attacks they might be able to bring it down a lot faster. To that end she was preparing one of her stronger attacks as the others distracted the titanic Heartless, forming a sphere of dark energy and a sphere of light energy behind her, to mix them into a single point in front of her, an attack Riku recognized since she had used it back in the Realm of Darkness. The point behind this attack was to weaken the Groundshaker to the point that the others, namely Simba, could bring it down without her having to do much else, and right now it seemed like they understood her plan without her having said anything on the matter. When the attack was ready Sombra fired the combined orb of elemental energy and watched as it barreled into the Groundshaker, knocking it to the ground with ease and opened the way for everyone else to tear into it, eventually breaking it down and releasing it's heart for her to capture.

This time, however, she absorbed the heart of the Groundshaker, granting her it's elemental power, causing Sombra to land on the ground with her claws digging into the earth, where she channeled her new power into the ground and purified the Pride Lands, something that caused her to smile as she joined the others, to make sure Simba was alright as they wondered what the future held for them.

As that happened Axel stepped out of a Dark Corridor and returned to a familiar area in Hollow Bastion, where he and his friend had met Ventus for the first time, though in his hand he carried a bag that had a number of their favorite ice cream bars, the specialty of Twilight Town, but he had another reason for coming to this area.

"So, you are giving up on her again, are you?" a familiar voice inquired, where Axel found that his thoughts had been right, Saix was standing off to the side and seemed to be focused on the reason behind them eventually joining the Organization in the first place, in fact he had pulled down his hood before Axel had even reached this area, "Too focused on your new group of friends to care about her, or the friend you left behind?"

"Oh Isa, I never forgot... I just have different resources than you do." Axel replied, to which he reached into his bag for just a moment and pulled out one of the bars, one he tossed to his old friend and found that Saix caught it without delay, though he had his eyebrow raised as he waited for Axel to explain himself, "I finally figured it out. You were focused on Xemnas and the information Xehanort might have left him, but wouldn't acknowledge any other paths... but I have access to Ansem and his computer, Xemnas and Sairaine are working together, and I have access to the greatest mind the World has to offer."

Saix stood there for a moment as he understood what Axel was saying, there was no reason for him to remain with Xigbar now that most of the Organization's surviving members had jumped ship, leaving only the second as the one in control of the castle, because if he asked Sombra for assistance the quest for the missing girl would be over in no time. He knew that it was within Sombra's skills if she so desired, as her power was out of this world and it seemed like the World itself favored her, if what they had seen during the Heartless War was any indication, and he found himself debating things. He hated to admit that Axel was right, leaving the Organization and falling in with Sombra's group had been the wisest thing he could have done, because it only only reunited him with Ventus' group, but it also gave him access to all sorts of information that no one else had access to. It was possible that he could now track down the missing girl and find her, just like they had planned to do when they originally joined Ansem's apprentices, plus he knew that rejoining his friend would benefit him as well, as it would allow him to awaken his heart in due time.

In the end Saix found himself sighing as he realized that Axel was going to hold this over him for a long time, but it was the smartest move that was available to him right now, and it would signal the end of the Organization as a whole, which would annoy Xigbar to no end.

"As much as I hate to admit it, you speak the truth." Saix said, where he noted that Axel did, in fact, raise an eyebrow for just a moment, but said nothing as he realized what this meant for his old friend, to which he stored the ice cream away in his robe as he took a step towards Axel, "Well then, shall we join your friends and see if they're willing to take in one more? We can focus on the search once Sombra comes back."

Axel smiled as he beckoned for Saix to join him, because it was good to have all of his friends back, even his first best friend, and he could only imagine the look on Xigbar's face when he realized that the Organization was done, that he was alone in his quest to forge their Kingdom Hearts, all while wondering what Sombra would make of this situation, causing him to look forward to what the coming days held in store for him and his friends.