AN: this chapter was a bit of a pain to write, if I'm honest xD as always, let me know what you think :)

The Family That Trains Together

Aqua sat at the table, falling into the deadly trap of thinking long and hard, and she was managing to work herself up into a real mess inside. Phil had made them train, with an audience of several youths, even when it started pouring with rain in the freezing air. Terra and Leo had hunched miserably on the sidelines while he was pestered with questions from Killion's gang. Killion himself was nowhere to be seen, which may have been just as well. Surrounded as she had been by so many people, Aqua hadn't had a chance to talk to Terra, and by the time they got home – drenched, shivering, and Mel nursing what promised to be a terrible head cold – she was too physically and emotionally exhausted to chase him when he inexplicably disappeared.

Dinner was a quiet affair; Ven tried to liven things up and teased Terra about the 'broth' he had made for them – still essentially soup, but with a different name with Mel's impending illness in mind. He failed to get anyone to respond, and sat frowning at his bowl; even long after Leo had polished the contents off.

Thanks to Ansem's medication, and his new and 'improved' winter feathers, Leo had escaped catching a cold. Using his massive wings as an umbrella was a huge help too; Terra had been somewhat lucky to escape the downpour. Aqua tore herself from her revery to fret over Mel for a moment, as she coughed and spluttered through her meal. Her words about 'taking it to the chest' sprang to mind, and it looked as though she was wrapped up in her own thoughts. That warmth in the air that Aqua was beginning to register as her aura (as opposed to just feeling out for the energy resonating from the heart) was quite withdrawn right now. She asked innocently and as lightly as possible, and Mel managed a laugh.

"When you're sad or sick your energy usually comes back in towards your body. It's a defence mechanism against picking up on other people's negativity on top of your own, but it also focuses effort on self-healing. I am very tired…"

She looked pretty rough, so Aqua accepted the excuse and suggested she went to bed early. Leo seemed fairly well, considering he was still on antibiotics and had torn the gardens down, on top of his ankle and wings. He kept pestering everyone for food and attention, and nearly knocked Terra off his chair in his bid for affection, whining loudly when Terra closed his eyes and tried to ignore him. Leo wouldn't stand for that, so he sat down alongside him instead and kept repeating his name, banging his tail against the floor until Terra gave him a playful shove to shut him up.

"What's you're excuse then, huh? No one else is in the mood – so what are you so happy about?"

Leo opened his maw and rumbled at the back of his throat before he stood up and walked to stand behind Aqua's chair. He snorted down onto her hair before he rubbed his face against her body, like a cat, humming loudly.

"Look who's popular," Ven laughed with a fake sneer.

"Ahkwahhhh!" Leo rumbled, practically purring as she scratched him under his chin.

"I think he's growing some new feathers," she said, running her fingers along a new and scruffy growth that was protruding from the bottom of his jaw and along the undersides of his cheekbones. It reminded her a bit of stubble on an adolescents jaw.

There was a bang as Mel's arm slid and her head hit the table, and they hastened to check she was all right. She waved them away, wide eyed and startled from the experience, insisting, "I was just resting my eyes."

"Yeah, whatever." Ven said in a business like tone. "You're going to bed,"

"I didn't fall asleep, my arm just slipped. I was just thinking," she insisted yet again as Ven dragged her away by the hand with little to no fight at all, especially when she started a hacking cough.

"Thinking about what?" Ven humoured her.

As they disappeared they heard her saying, "Deep and significant thoughts."

Leo yawned widely and made a show of stretching his limbs before he trundled off after them with his lopsided gait, hobbling on his injured leg. Aqua smiled after them, and then turned to speak to Terra, now that they didn't have an audience. But Terra was already on his feet, his back turned to her as he considered the washing up. He was balanced awkwardly on one leg, holding the other at an angle that put as little weight on his ankle as possible.

"Terra," Aqua began, getting up from her seat, but he spoke over her.

"It's okay, I got it." He didn't look at her.

"Huh?"

"I'll do the washing up. You'd better go to bed, you look ill."

Aqua raised an eyebrow. After a nice hot shower and a cup of tea, she had felt absolutely fine – she didn't feel in the least bit sick. "I feel fine, Terra. I just wanted to talk to you,"

"I really think you should go to bed." He cut her off, dumping the pot in the sink and scrabbling around for a sponge.

Aqua put her hands on her hips and glowered at him. "What are you being so evasive for?"

"I'm not!" he finally turned round to meet her gaze, if only briefly. "I just think you need to go to bed."

He was trying to get rid of her.

"Look, Terra. I'll go if you think I'm not well," she said carefully, watching him move on his foot lightly with concern. "I just wanted to talk to you for a moment."

Terra stared off into the distance, avoiding looking at her. He didn't say anything as she came to stand next to him.

"Terra, about earlier-"

He spun round awkwardly on his uninjured leg and took her by the wrists, avoiding her hands, and stared earnestly into her face, startling her into silence. "Look, Aqua. I know things have been a bit weird between us lately, and…well, I've always liked you, and that day…when we were all together again, I didn't want to say anything then – and then we came back here and there was so much to do, and then we were looking after Mel and Leo – you've got way too much responsibility to carry without me adding to it, so if you don't feel the same way about me I understand-"

Aqua could only blink and look up at him in amazement.

"I don't want to be another thing for you to worry about-"

"Terra," she said weakly, her heart pounding with so much affection for him.

"-Just forget it – I was so glad to have you and Ven back, I don't want to ruin everything by forcing feelings on you that you don't want – just- just forget it,"

"Terra," she said, trying to shake some sense into him and get a word in edgeways around his fast paced speech. "Just shut up!" she cried desperately, unable to stand the hurt he was trying to hide in his eyes. "For five seconds?"

Terra gulped and looked away from her, turning his body away, clearly afraid he had upset and-or angered her, and most probably trying not to feel rejected.

"Terra," she said again, more softly now, reaching up to cup his face with her hand. He turned to her reluctantly, and on impulse she leaned over so they were very close together, and she saw the surprise in his eyes just before she bridged the gap between them, pressing her lips against his. He stilled completely, and she wondered whether his mind had gone as blissfully blank as her own. She pulled back slightly and smiled at his stunned expression. "I love you Terra. I've just been so wrapped up in trying to be a good teacher and master that I didn't realise it until today, and I'm sorry."

He had been so full of words before, and now he was completely speechless – it was infuriatingly endearing. Terra's lips moved, but no sound came, and he hesitated before leaning down to her, his expression sliding to one of wonderment. His kiss was like the soft caress of a moth's wings – hesitant, as if he didn't quite believe she accepted him.

Aqua had never been exactly romantic, and part of her had been worried about it, but she found herself reacting to him as easily and naturally as breathing. His hands slid to her back, and her arms found their way around his neck, wanting the keep him close so he couldn't run away from her, or disappear into the shadows again. She had no idea how long they stood there, wrapped up in each other's embrace, just purely and simply together.

The door crashed open without warning and Ven strolled in, stopping dead in his tracks when he took in the sight of them. Aqua felt her cheeks burn, and bit her lip, chancing a glance at Terra whose face rivalled that of a tomato. Mel was hovering at Ven's elbow, a tissue held halfway to her nose, looking almost as embarrassed as Aqua felt.

"Um…" she said, biting her lip. "We'll just," she spun round and tried to retreat, but walked straight into Leo who had ambled up behind them, and Ven grabbed her arm to stop her was withdrawing. She gave him a pleading look, but Ven was watching Terra closely, an evil little smirk on his face.

Aqua inwardly groaned. There would be no end to the teasing he would be dishing out on them. Terra scowled at him, face smarting, and he asked aggressively, "What do you want?"

"Nothing!" Ven said in a parody of innocence. "Just looking for some cough drops," he walked into the kitchen, and Mel reluctantly followed, dragged by the scruff of her neck by Leo. "So, err…what're you guys up to?"

Aqua hid her face in her hands, turning away from them all. She wanted the ground to swallow her – it seemed Mel wanted that too, she didn't look at all comfortable standing there while Terra stared Ven down like prey.

"None of your business," he spat.

"Oh, I see." Ven still had that little smirk on his face. He went to root around in a box they kept basic medicines in while everyone else stood in tense silence.

All except for Leo, who was looking from one unhappy face to the next with puzzlement.

Ven started singing under his breath, watching Terra from the corner of his eyes for a reaction. "Aqua and Terra, sittin' in a tree…"

Mel drove the heels of her hands into her temples with despair, and Terra growled to himself.

"K-I-S-S-I-N-G…" Ven continued, taking his eyes back to the box he was rummaging through. "First comes lurve…!" he leered at them wickedly.

Terra suddenly brightened, with a little smirk of his own, and he strode over to where Ven stood, shoulders back and head held high. This could only end badly…

"Second comes marriage," he chanted, before flinging his arms around Ven. "Then comes Ventus in the baby carriage!"

"LET GO OF ME!"

"Never!" he grabbed Ven in a headlock and rubbed his knuckles furiously into his scalp.

Aqua closed her eyes and rubbed them tiredly. Maybe Terra had been right, and she needed an early night… Mel sidled over to her and put her arms around her middle, looking apologetic and quite ill.

"I'm really sorry…" she said in a small voice.

Aqua sighed and put her arms around Mel, hugging her tightly. "It's all right. It's not your fault…" she was going to kill those two, if they didn't finish each other off first.

"But…you're happy, right?" Mel ventured softly.

Aqua closed her eyes, leaning her cheek on the crown of Mel's head, and she smiled. "I was. Until they started their own little romantic get together,"

The boys were on the floor, wrestling with each other and swearing divine retribution in between cursing each other. Leo was watching wide eyed, as though considering joining in – he probably thought it looked like fun, though Terra and Ven were acting like it was life or death.

"You know?" she said to Mel, rocking gently from side to side, the way her own mother used to when she was very little. "I'm so glad I have another girl in this place to talk to. Please don't ever leave us,"

Mel giggled. "I knew I had a greater purpose to serve in this world and this life time. It must be to keep your sanity,"

They left the kitchen after obtaining the cough drops, leaving Terra and Ven to settle their differences through the medium of their fists. Aqua decided that whatever mess they created, she'd have them fix it in the morning. Before she finally crawled into bed, she looked up at the sky through her window, tracing the pattern on one of the glass candleholders on the sill. He was an idiot; he was still impulsive despite how much he had matured over the years, he still couldn't stand Ven getting one over him, and deep down he was just as unsure and timid as she was. But on the flip side he was kind, loyal to his friends, and sincere with his words and actions.

It was with a smile that Aqua lay down to sleep, relishing in the memory of holding Terra, even if it had been briefly, and feeling the depth of both his feelings and her own.

XOXOX

"FREEDOM!" Sora yelled, running up the steps and flinging his arms around Aqua, hugging her tightly while bouncing on the spot. "FREEDOM!" he shouted again, running through the doors with his arms outstretched as though he were trying to do an impression of a Gummi ship.

Terra had hoped to find some decorum in Riku, but he did a back flip in celebration and ran after Sora, whooping loudly and doing a flawless cartwheel while he exclaimed, "Exams are over!"

"FREEDOM!" Sora shrieked, doing a summersault. "FINALLY!"

"I heard there was some freedom," Ven grinned, bouncing down the stairs of the entrance hall. "Hey guys!"

Sora hugged him round the middle laughing like a maniac. "No more math tests! YES!"

Kairi trailed up the steps behind them, looking worn out.

"You okay?" Terra asked as Leo shot over to say hello, looking absolutely delighted to see them in such high spirits.

"Yeah." She smiled despite her worn out appearance. "They've been like this all day. And yesterday."

"We'll see what we can do," Terra said with a smile, patting her on the back as they went inside.

Aqua was already shouting to make herself heard over the noise; Ven and Riku were doing a victory dance while Sora danced an upbeat waltz with Mel, chanting some silly little song about no more homework and no more studying. Terra chuckled, enjoying the moment at Aqua's expense before cupping his hands to his mouth and shouting, "SHUT UP!" at the top of his lungs.

They had a schedule to stick to that day, and they had to get going. Aqua wanted to visit two worlds in particular, to further their education and training, and to cast a wider net on the heartless situation. There were still more than usual running around, but the increase seemed to have died down for now – it was still a cause for concern, though. First off, they were going to Radiant Garden to drop Leo off and pick up Lea; they couldn't take the chick with them where they were going, and Ven had suggested letting Ansem take care of him. Terra thought of all the gadgets to use and all data Ansem must be dying to get his hands on, and he chuckled to himself.

"All right, do you have everything? Ven? Mel?" Aqua called over the chatter that broke out.

Ven and Mel lifted their bags from the ground and slung them over their shoulders in answer.

"Terra?"

"Yup," he heaved his own satchel off the ground and tossed the strap over his arm.

"And you three?" Aqua was looking around for her own bag, which Leo dutifully handed to her in his mouth. "Okay, good. Let's go!"

"Woo!" Ven raced Sora down the stairs into the courtyard. "I haven't been on the Excalibur yet!"

"That's Highwind!" Riku shouted at them as they ran to the ship.

"They still haven't settled on a name." Kairi sighed as she and Mel followed at a more sedate pace with Leo looming over their shoulders.

"Maybe they should flip a coin?" she suggested.

Kairi gave her a despairing look and massaged her temples. "They can't pick who's heads and who's tails…"

Terra laughed as he followed them, Aqua hurrying to his side after a last double check. She was still running around like a headless chicken, still trying to fill their Master's shoes and keep everyone together and in line. The only difference now was that she held his hand when the walked together, and tried to steal kisses when Ven wasn't looking. He seemed happy enough for them, but he hadn't let up with the teasing, and Terra was finding more excuses than usual to beat him up.

Inside the ship, Ven forgot to point and laugh at them because he was so entranced by all the gadgets and flashing lights in the cockpit.

"Whoa!"

"Take a look at this!" Sora showed him the controls on the main console while Riku went around flicking switches before sitting down in the chair next to Sora's. "Ready Riku?"

"If everyone else is," he said, looking over his shoulder. "Buckle up, Sora's in charge navigation today…"

They all squeezed into the small space, Leo having to remain mostly in the hold with his head and neck stuck through the doorway and up the stairs to the cockpit, grumbling at the injustice of being left behind. Kairi gave up her own seat at the front to let Ven watch firsthand how the ship was flown. Mel looked mildly intrigued, but her loyalties lay with Leo so she and Kairi kept him company while Aqua and Terra discussed their plans for the day. Both worlds they were hoping to visit were ones Sora had visited before with Donald and Goofy. Sadly, they couldn't make it today, so it would just be 'The Keybladers' as Sora had unofficially christened them.

In Radiant Garden they found Ansem and Lea waiting for them at the Postern, and they traded their dragon for Lea's custody. He looked a bit animated by the prospects of the day, but he spent his time winding Ven and Sora up while Aqua talked to Ansem.

"We should be back later this evening. We don't think there should be any problems, but don't let him over work his leg. He's still a bit stiff on it."

Leo was happy to see the lovely man who had nursed him back to health, and he was trying to lick his face with enthusiasm.

"Try not to experiment on him now!" Lea said brightly, waving at the dragon who tried to imitate the motion but couldn't balance on his hind legs and promptly fell over.

"Of course not," Ansem said, eyes bright with humour. "I'm sure he'll be just fine."

Leo kept nipping at their shirts and getting his teeth into Terra's shoulder guard as they tried to leave, but he didn't put up too much of a fight. He clearly wanted to stay and have fun with his new friend, and he knew that they would come back for him, but he still didn't want them to go. His big golden eyes seemed to say swimmingly, "Can't we all stay and play together?" but they managed to prise themselves from him and get back on the gummi ship to leave.

A fight broke out when Lea wanted to sit in the prime seat and Ven refused to give it up. In the end he sat with a thunderous expression on his face while Lea sat quite comfortably on his lap, talking loudly over him whenever Ven tried to speak while Sora and Riku tried not to laugh.

"Maybe its karma," Mel said serenely as Kairi questioned why Lea was picking on him so.

They drew right up to the first world they were to visit, and before they landed Aqua stood up to give them a pep talk. She called for order and everyone turned to listen from where they were perched around the cockpit.

"Okay everyone! I know Sora's been here before, but the rest of us haven't, so we need to follow Sora's lead. We'll have a different form when we disembark, and there are some things we won't be able to do in this world, but our new forms will allow us to do new and different things instead. Remember, this isn't a test – it's a lesson in adapting to your environment."

"And a heartless hunt!" Lea crowed.

"Yes," Aqua said dismissively. "But if we could stay together as a group so we don't lose anyone, that would be great. So don't wonder off by yourself, all right?"

There was a murmur of ascent and Sora raced everyone to the doors with a whoop. "Follow me, guys!"

The world was a lush green plane covered in grass and the odd tree, with a huge towering stone structure in the distance. They landed in a small grove of trees surrounding a bubbling stream that collected in a rocky bed to form a pool that reflected the beautiful azure sky above. Terra had been warned about where they were going, but it was still a shock to see the others on all fours, covered in fur and sporting long tufted tails.

"Welcome to the Pride Lands!" Sora bounced, a thick mane of fur the same colour as his hair flying in all directions. The rest of his body was a slightly darker shade; the body of an adolescent lion.

"Whoa," Riku was looking down at his paws, lifting them up to his nose for inspection. "This feels weird." His mane wasn't as thick and unruly as Sora's, but it was just as impressive, and his fur was the same off white, almost silver-purple of his normal hair. His build was bigger and slightly more muscular, with a lighter shade on his body, making Sora look somewhat skinny and half-grown.

"Uh, Sora?" Kairi asked awkwardly, standing stock still with her tail swishing agitatedly. "How do you walk?" rather than a mane, she had a sweep of hair rather like her own, that laid down flat against her skull and fell into her eyes – more like a normal hairstyle on a human than a lion's mane. She was the same deep red as her hair, the rest of her body a coppery auburn, and appreciably smaller than the boys with much more slender legs.

"Like this!" he took an exaggerated step towards her, placing each foot down on the dusty ground carefully. "See? One step at a time…"

Ven bounced and took a few steps before tripping and landing in a heap at Terra's feet. "This is bizarre!"

"No, that's probably just you," he teased, testing his own gait and feeling the strange distribution of weight on what used to be his hands.

Ven's mane was an impressive array of sweeping, golden spikes that mimicked his usual hair; he was completely golden all the way over, and roughly the same shape and size as Sora. Behind him, Lea was testing his own legs out, standing out amongst the brush like a bright red beacon; his already mane like hair was present, and stretched down most of his back, which was incredibly slender given his height. He looked physically more like a cheetah, though his colouration betrayed him.

By the time Terra had gotten used to his new posture and gait the others had just about too – Mel and Kairi were still trying to walk fast enough to keep up with Riku and Sora, who had started fighting playfully like a pair of kittens, snarling and biting at each other in a harmless display of high spirits. Mel's fur was a rich gold, darker than Ven's, and she still had those two little ringlets that hung down either side of her face. Predictably, she was the smallest of the group, but there seemed to be a tinge of robust energy as she managed to hold her ground while Sora and Riku gambled around her, keeping her footing on the small rocks and pebbles under foot even though the boys crashed into her.

Aqua managed to find her bearings quickly, and lost no time; bustling around helping the others find theirs. Her body was blue, like her hair; a lighter shade than the sky above, standing out almost was much as Lea. She padded past Terra on sure feet, rubbing her new muzzle against his like a cat, and purring loudly. He pushed against her, purring in response to the contact.

As she sauntered off to survey their position, he looked at his reflection in the water. A dark, earthy coloured male lion looked back at him with deep blue eyes; his mane mimicked his own hair, falling in exactly the same shape and sticking up at the same angle. He wasn't as tall and long limbed as Lea, but he had a stockier, sturdier build and he thought he looked quite powerfully built compared to Riku and Sora.

"Everyone all right?" Aqua called, jumping from the rock back onto the ground and rounding them all up. "Okay. There don't seem to be any heartless here at the moment, so lets take it easy for now and just practise moving around."

"We can walk, ya know." Lea sniffed. He barked with surprise as Sora pounced on him, failing to fend him off.

"We need to get used to moving on all fours." Aqua pointed out unnecessarily. "Let's try pairing up for some light sparring. Just tap your opponent, not tear their fur out. You," she said to Ven, head butting him towards Kairi. "Are banned from sparring with Terra."

Aqua paired Lea and Riku, Sora and Terra, and then herself with Mel; they spent half an hour getting a feel for their new forms while playing tag sparring, and having a great deal of fun. Next Sora showed them how to fight while holding a keyblade in your mouth, and they changed partners for the new exercise.

After clumsily hitting Aqua upside the jaw for the fifth time Terra paused to take a look around at the others to see how they were fairing. Mel and Ven were weaving from side to side, mirroring each other's movements in confusion with the same puzzled expression; slowly succumbing to the desire to laugh as they didn't manage to land a single hit each. Kairi kept tripping over her feet with her nose in the air while she tried to keep her vision clear – Riku didn't have much more success, though he got the hang of actually landing strikes while trying to keep them as light as possible on her. Lea was getting a sound thrashing from Sora, who was bouncing in and out of the others laughing and trying to cheer them on.

"Look, its easy!" he insisted, showing Riku how to angle his head to deal a heavier blow. "You've gotta stay on your toes, like this,"

Eventually they stopped to take a break and lapped at the water from the stream before they settled down in the shade of the trees. Despite being winter, it was still incredibly hot in this world, and Aqua didn't want anyone dropping from heat exhaustion. It was a very pleasant rest; Lea snoozed by himself apart from the others, while Riku and Sora chatted animatedly about Christmas with Ven, plotting parties and talking about various presents. Sora kept teasing Riku about Santa, and was met with several physical rebuffs before it exploded into a full-fledged fight that didn't last long in the heat of midday. Kairi and Mel exchanged artistic endeavours and discussed different tips on using ink dyes and fabric paints, ignoring the boys as they romped together in the shade of an overgrown bush, snarling and growling at each other for dramatic effect.

Terra had settled down to a snooze as well, but Aqua chose to sit down and use his back as a pillow, her chest vibrating as she purred. He purred in response and opened his eyes lazily. The tuft of her tail was twitching from side to side just in front of his nose, and he playfully slammed his paw down onto it. Aqua growled, whisking it out of the way and giving him a warning thump. Undeterred, Terra chased after her tail, and she leapt to her feet, striking out with her claws and snarling. He ended up on his back with her teeth worryingly close to his throat, but she laughed as she growled at him. They rolled over on the dusty ground, scraping with each other until the heat of the day became too much for them, and they collapsed together in a heap a little way away from the main group.

"You're such a pain," Aqua said conversationally as Terra settled his head on top of her neck.

"You put up with it," he countered, grinning.

Terra was relieved that things between them hadn't really changed much, they had simply…deepened. After Ven had been punished for his teasing, things went back to the way they had been before, with the added benefit of cuddles as opposed to hugs. They still bickered and fought, wound each other up and lovingly abused each other verbally as they always had. Only now Terra had a new tactic that almost always won him an argument; when he knew he was losing, he swept her into his arms and kissed her, to great effect. Aqua was still a bit slow on the romantic front, and it never failed to make her blush and stumble over her words when she wasn't expecting him to. Not that he needed an argument as an excuse to kiss her…it was quite fun catching her off guard, though she was wising up to his antics. But more than anything, it was the deeper understanding between them, and their feelings, which was the best thing of all.

For the beginning of the afternoon they practised running and fighting at high speeds, cutting a route through the long grasses and startling a herd of gazelle as they went. It was going quite well, and Terra stopped to look at Mel who had climbed onto a large and craggy outcrop of rock to see over the horizon. He turned back to watch Ven and Riku tackle Lea to the ground, keyblade in mouth, when a terrible snarl broke out and Mel shrieked with surprise. She scrambled back down to the ground and streaked to Terra's side, and he stepped in front of her to shield her from whatever was chasing her.

A shabby looking lioness was stood where Mel had been moment ago, teeth bared in a grim snarl and malevolence keen in her yellow eyes. She stalked towards Terra, poised to attack, and he growled back, attracting the other's attention.

"Who are you?" the lioness demanded in a low hiss.

Ven roared, and was instantly backed up by Lea and Kairi. Sora trundled to the front and tried to resolve things more diplomatically.

"Hiya! Sorry we disturbed you, we were just passing through," he seemed to think the lioness would listen to him.

"You don't look like Pridelanders." She said, coming to a halt several paces away. Close to she looked quite mangy and moth eaten, as though her diet and living arrangements were poor. "Who are you?" she asked again. "Where have you come from?"

Aqua padded forth and looked the lioness straight in the eye, which seemed to aggravate her. "I'm very sorry, I didn't realise we were trespassing here. My name is Aqua, what's yours?" she tried to sound polite, to little affect.

"Zira," she said, eyeing them up one by one. "Yes…you don't look like Pridelanders to me,"

"We're not from around here," Sora piped up. "We're just visiting. We have friends here,"

"Oh? Is that so?" Zira simpered. She inspected the underside of her paw, giving them a piercing look from under her eyebrows. "You wouldn't happen to be talking about Simba, would you?"

"Yeah, that's right!" Sora said happily. "You know him?"

"Oh, I do." She smiled, quite unpleasantly, and Sora blanched. "You can give that king my deepest regards. Now get out of our land," she bared her teeth and advanced on them.

Sora took a step back, but Aqua held her ground as Ven pounced to her side, hackles raised and teeth bared in a mirror image of the lioness. Terra lowered his head and snarled a warning, and Zira seemed to think better of it after their display. She snorted derisively and turned her back on them.

"I wouldn't hang around here, if I were you." She said carelessly. "This is the boarder of the Outlands. Our territory. Run along to your precious king before my pride find you." And with that she gracefully loped up the rocky crag and disappeared from sight over the top.

After a tense silence, Aqua said, "Maybe we should get going," and they followed without comment or complaint. "Hey Sora, do you know where to find Simba?" she asked as they backtracked towards the stream.

"Yeah, just keeping heading for that big rock over there," he nodded at the structure that dominated the horizon ahead of them.

"Do you think he would mind us visiting?"

"Not at all! I haven't seen him in a while, it'd be good to visit him!"

With that said, they fell into formation and ran at a steady pace across the planes, startling animals and birds as they went. Terra relished in the exertion and effort, and the sheer speed – it was almost like flying. Amazingly, once Mel found her pace she kept up incredibly well despite her shorter legs. They arrived at the mammoth formation of rock to find another lioness, much more well groomed than Zira, who challenged their presence there. Sora gave his name and asked to speak to Simba, and she considered them closely before she disappeared to relay the message. She returned with two more lions, another lioness, and a huge male with sandy fur and a thick red mane who was delighted to see Sora.

They were all introduced, and Simba invited them right inside Priderock as honoured guests. Terra was amazed by the stone monolith and kept craning his neck to see the top. Sora was greeted by the other lions with affection and joy, and everyone wanted to know what he'd been doing lately, and how Donald and Goofy were doing. They were also equally fascinated by the others – Aqua in particular was a novelty with her sky blue fur, and so was Lea with his bright red coat and lanky build. Simba's mate Nala introduced them to Kiara, their daughter, and she was excited to meet Sora, who she had heard about from her father and her two nannies of sorts – Timone and Pumba, who seemed to tail her wherever she went, much to her annoyance.

Terra was surprised to find a warthog and a meerkat living so comfortably in a lion's den, but they were treated with respect and tolerance and shared a similarly abusive relationship with Simba, as did Terra and Ven.

All too soon they had to leave, and Kiara followed them to the base of Priderock. She was bubbly and bouncy like Sora, but Terra had a feeling Simba was very protective of her and didn't like having her out of his sight. A bit like Aqua, in that case.

"You'll come back soon?" Kiara asked, rubbing her face against Kairi's in farewell. "It'd be great if you did! I'm going to start hunting soon, it'd be wonderful to have someone to practise with,"

"What about the rest of your pride?" Sora asked.

"Well…" she looked defeated. "My father gets them all to baby-sit me. It's really annoying…"

"He cares about you, and he doesn't want you to get hurt," Aqua said evenly, smiling at Ven, who was wrestling with Riku. "I know the feeling."

"Yeah, but he never gives me the chance to prove I can do it by myself," Kiara said, frustrated. "Everywhere I go, it's the same thing. No one sees me as just me. I'm always," she sat back on her hind legs and imitated a grand and royal air, paw raised in salutation. "Princess Kiara!"

"Is that a bad thing?" Sora said innocently.

Kiara sighed and looked at the ground. "Its just…there's more to me, than being the king's daughter."

Riku padded over and sat down beside her, looking grave and sincere. "One day, you'll meet someone who does see you for who you are, and not what you were born as."

She gave him a wishful smile. "I had fun today, with you guys…I feel almost normal."

"Too bad we can't stay," Sora wilted at the thought, but then perked up. "But we'll definitely come back to visit!"

"Kiara!" someone called from above on the rock.

Kiara rolled her eyes and exhaled with a huff. "Coming! I'll see you guys later," she loped back up to the main outcrop and paused long enough to look over her shoulder and shout, "Goodbye!"

"See ya!" Ven called back, standing back on his hind legs and waving his forepaw.

It felt weird back on the gummi ship – Terra tripped over his feet, with his weight suddenly shifted back straight down his spine. The others had difficulty adjusting – all except for Sora who bounced around with his usual vigour and grinning at them all. He really enjoyed the one-upmanship over Riku.

"Where to next, oh leader?" Lea drawled, collapsing into the passenger seat before anyone else could. Ven tried to sit on him and pay back the treatment he had been dealt, but he ended up sprawled on the floor for his troubles.

"Ready, Sora?" Aqua asked, ignoring Lea's cocksure smile.

"Full speed ahead!" he shouted, laughing as Riku hit the accelerator.

If running around on all fours with a long tufty tail wasn't weird enough, the next world they visited was even harder to adjust to. They landed in the sea, in a small garden comprised of coral, some of them gasping for air as their lungs filled with water. They could breathe, and talk – which as bizarre in itself. What was even more peculiar was the sudden lack of legs all together – Terra twisted around in the soft currents trying to get a look at his lower body; it had formed into a sleek, dark grey tail with a fluked end and a long, powerful looking dorsal fin. Sora swam past, hands behind his head and swimming at his leisure, grinning as usual. His tail was like Terra's, though more rounded at the points and the dorsal fin wasn't as prominent, and it was a blue to match his eyes. Sora wasn't wearing a shirt, and Terra noticed neither was he, it seemed to have vanished.

"Hey Terra!" Sora beamed at him.

"How do you do that?" he demanded humorously, flexing his new tail and slowly spinning upside down uncontrollably. He turned to look for the others, and found them in similar states of disarray; Sora didn't look where he was going and collided with Ven, who went spinning off through the water with a cry of surprise. Ven's tail was black and white, patterned like an orca's; his dorsal fin was longer and much narrower, with a grey saddle patch behind it. He was also in a similar state of undress.

"My day just keeps getting weirder and weirder…" Lea muttered to himself, hanging upside down in the currents and slowly revolving clockwise, inspecting the vivid red tail below his waist, two partially see through white and red striped fans sprouting from the end like the fins of a lionfish. He looked wide-eyed and uncertain of how to take the situation.

"Speak for yourself," Riku muttered, patting himself down. His tail was like Sora's, but black with a very dark purple stripe that swirled down either side to meet in a spiral on tail fluke. "How do you move this time?"

"It's all in the hips!" Sora said happily, demonstrating for them with exaggerated movements; they started at the solar plexus, and the whole body had to flex to move to generate enough power to swim forward against the currents.

Kairi and Mel got the hang of it faster than the others, and though Mel twisted and turned easily in the water as if she had done it before, when asked she turned a blank stare on them and said, "I have no idea what I'm doing." Her tail was that of a sleek, light grey dolphin flecked with darker grey and green, with a copper streak down the middle below her dorsal fin, which was much smaller than the others.

Kairi on the other hand had a fan like fin that was a soft pinkie sort of colour that deepened to sunset red at her waist. Both girls had kept their tops, but they were altered somehow…Mel merely wore her purple tank top and Kairi had her dress though it was cut off at her hips. Similarly, Aqua's grey top was in place, but she didn't have her long white sleeves; her tail was the same blue as her hair, with a small pair of teardrop shaped fins at the end.

After a slow session of getting used to the environment, they started practising fighting. Some of the coral got destroyed after Sora and Riku started arguing, but all in all they managed to deal as little damage as possible to their surroundings and to each other. They found a few heartless, which were quickly dispatched thanks mostly and purposefully to Sora, and unintentionally thanks to Ven who went spinning out of control through a particularly strong current and crashed into the large jellyfish like creatures, his keyblade dancing through the water with a mind of its own. Aqua seemed concerned by the presence of the heartless, but Sora insisted it was nothing like what it had once been.

"Whew!" Ven said, wiping his brow even though there was no sweat upon it and flopped onto a tall pinnacle of rock, clinging to it to keep from drifting away. "I'm beat…"

"Okay, we'll take a break," Aqua called over the noise of Riku and Lea bickering about the fight with the heartless.

Mel floated past, experimenting with a particular twist of her tail and diving gracefully downwards. She seemed to be enjoying this world; she looked completely at home with the mode of travel, as natural as walking on two legs. Terra wished he could swim like that, and he watched her wistfully as she danced circles around Lea, who tried to catch her by the tail and missed every time. She was just as evasive and quick as she was in her normal form.

Aqua swam up and took Terra's arm; he smiled down at her and wrapped an arm around her waist. "We should do this more often."

"What, group exertions?" she turned to look at Riku and Mel, playing a game of tag around Lea. It made her tired just watching them, let alone keeping them all in one place together.

"This," he grabbed her by the waist and pressed his lips against hers. She didn't resist, and he could feel her fingers intertwine in his hair as he slid his hands down her back. It was a wonderful, short lived moment; they pulled apart just enough to look into each other's eyes – the soppy sort of romantic thing you only read about in books, and Terra had once sworn to Master Eraqus as a boy he'd never do – before leaning in again.

And then it ended.

"Argh! Terra's trying to have sex with Aqua!"

Terra snarled and turned on Ven with a vengeance. As he wrestled him to the seabed, everyone turned to watch in various states of amusement and alarm. "Shut the hell up!" he snarled, shaking Ven as hard as he could. He could deal with the teasing at home, in private, where he was surrounded by his closest friends. That, he could deal with. Having Ven shout about it in public – pointing it out and overly exaggerating what had happened… Terra's face felt as red as Lea's tail. And speaking of tails, he saw fit to grab Ven by the fluke of his and started spinning around in tight circles while the younger man yelped and struggled uselessly. After he had gathered enough momentum, Terra let go and Ven went sailing over the horizon, propelled through the water against the currents, yelling in surprise.

"So long!" Terra shouted after him, folding his arms and smirking after him.

"Farewell!" Riku laughed, waving after him.

Sora did a little twirl, ending with a dramatic pose as he sang, "Auf Wiedersehen – good night!" They stared at him in silence, and he laughed to himself. "Heh. I thought it was funny…"

Terra yelped as something collided hard with the back of his head. He turned to see a very angry Aqua bearing down on him, and he inwardly groaned. "What the hell was that?!" she demanded, in full mother mode.

Lea floated by on his back, eyes closed and humming to himself. "So long, and thanks for all the fish…" he grinned wickedly at Terra while Aqua gave him a stern talking to about throwing Ven over the horizon.

They eventually found him, swimming to and fro in a daze, still dizzy from all the spinning, and not really with it. Aqua fussed over him, fearing a concussion or worse and glowering at Terra for having sent him flying in the first place. But Ven wobbled over to Terra with a weak smile, and he clung to his arm to stop himself from being swept away and said, "Nah, it wasn't that. I had to fight this heartless, but I was really dizzy, and I hit myself with my keyblade…and my head hurts."

By the time they had finished up, left for Radiant garden and picked up Leo - saying goodbye to the others as they were going to make their own way home – Aqua had lost most of her anger, but she still refused to speak to Terra. She fussed over Leo, who fussed over them all, and reluctantly took leave of Ansem after a final farewell; she also continued to fuss over Ven, who seemed perfectly fine and was still on speaking terms with Terra. The two of them bounced along happily up the stairs from the courtyard and back indoors, chatting amiably about the day and laughing about what Terra had done to him.

"Did you see how far I flew!" Ven enthused. "It was fun! Can we do it again?"

"No!" Aqua all but shouted at them both, shaking with suppressed rage. "No, no, no. No more throwing each other anywhere! You could have been seriously hurt this time, Ven!"

"Aw, c'mon Aqua!" Terra pleaded. "He didn't hit his head that hard!"

"Yeah! I just didn't have the hang of swimming," Ven insisted, wide-eyed and innocent. "And then I hit myself with my keyblade…"

Aqua glowered from one to the other before she stalked off, shoulders hunched and muttering darkly to herself. Mel scampered after her, giving the boys an apologetic look, leaving them alone with Leo, who looked highly amused at the proceedings.

"It wasn't that bad!" Ven whined. "It didn't even hurt that much! Swimming that fast was fun!"

"Yeah," Terra eyed him narrowly, and Ven tried to bolt. He grabbed him before he got too far and held him in a headlock. "And the next time you say something stupid like that in front of an audience I'm going to fling you to the moon – ya got that Ventus?"

"Lemme go! Lemme go! You know I didn't mean it! You were just making out! It's not the same thing! LET ME GO!"

"Not until you apologise," Terra grunted, slowly descending to his knees to trap Ven against the floor and lessen the amount of available space he had to flail around in.

"No way!" he protested, struggling against Terra's grip.

"Trust me, we've got all the time in the world!" Terra grinned, pressing him into the floor.

"AQUA!" Ven screamed, floundering under Terra's weight. His pleas for help fell on deaf ears.

XOXOX

"C'mon, hurry up!" Ven shouted, racing around and triple checking their various bags of presents. He was impatient to get moving, and it made Aqua laugh.

Memories of his first Christmas with them came flooding back; he'd tailed Master Eraqus everywhere, pestering him with questions and delighting in the novelty of putting up decorations and eating special types of cake. As long as it was smothered in molten chocolate and plenty of cream, it didn't matter how fruity or nutty it was.

They were dressed warmly against the snow that was just starting to fall outside, and Leo finally had his special hand knitted coat Mel had made; it was a patchwork of different colours, patterns and stitches, in every shape and size, and it covered the majority of his body from the base of his neck down to the beginning of his tail. He was very pleased with it, but he kept getting it snagged on various objects as he moved around.

The plan was to spend Christmas Eve day with King Mickey at Disney Castle – Christmas Day proper alone together at home, and then Boxing Day in Radiant Garden. Sora had invited them over for New Year's, and they were all coming to visit with them today. But first, they had to drop off some presents to their friends in other worlds before they went to the Castle. They had a plan, and Aqua had directed Terra to go with Mel, while she took Ven, so as to minimise the distractions of fighting each other and to keep an eye on Ven.

At around Midday they had finished delivering, and they met up again at the Castle; Donald greeted them at the gates and led them to the audience chamber where they encountered Sora, Riku and Kairi. After a warm welcome they all retired to a beautifully decorated room full of musical instruments, with a lovely little Christmas tree in the corner and walls festooned with holly and mistletoe. They lunched on finger sandwiches and other light, posh snacks before they all settled in to chat. It was the perfect, laid back, comfortable afternoon without the worry of where her friends were and what the heartless were up to.

Sora, Donald and Goofy provided entertainment by re-enacting some of their more comical past adventures; Riku plucked a guitar from the wall and started running through some mindless scales before he started providing the drama with music, and they fell about laughing at the sheer silliness of it all.

Riku laughed and handed the guitar to Mel, and she set about playing a lilting, happy little tune while he turned to Sora and said, "Have you looked at that paper Mr Higgs gave us yet?"

Sora instantly shrivelled up and collapsed to his knees. "No!" he whined, a perfect impression of Ven trying to wheedle his way out of something. "I don't want to! I hate math!"

"But you'll have to sit the test some time," Kairi said, wagging a finger at him. "Flying around playing the hero isn't an excuse to not do your homework!"

"It's a math test!" Lea said bracingly, lounging in an armchair at his ease, arms pillowing his head. "It's not like you're die or anything,"

"What if I did?" Sora said, wide eyed, jumping to his feet. "What if I was doing the test and a vortex opened up and sucked me in and you never heard from me again!"

"What a relief that would be," Riku muttered under his breath. Kairi flicked his ear in response, but couldn't hide her smile.

"But what if the heartless came in and tore the school down because they were mad at what happened in the past and wanted to get back at me?" Sora insisted, his suggestions becoming even more outlandish. "What if he died of a heart attack?!"

Mel struck a chord on the guitar and said, "What if the sky turned to fire and your nose fell off?"

They all turned to look at her, but then instantly swung round to Leo, who had yelped and dived to the floor, his paws on his nose and his eyes focused on it before he looked hesitantly up at the ceiling to check for fire.

"She didn't mean it," Aqua said soothingly, stroking his neck. "Mel was making an exaggeration."

"My mum used to say that to me when I got in a tizzy." Mel explained. "I always seemed to work…"

Sora smiled apologetically. "Sorry…I really do hate math, though." He insisted.

A while later Master Yen Sid made an appearance, to great delight, and he handed a small box to Mickey, which turned out to house a harmonica.

"Gosh!" he exclaimed, holding it up to the light. "I'd forgotten where this had gone!"

"Do you play?" Sora asked, watching the shiny object with Ven over his shoulder.

"Oh, just a few simple tunes," he said bashfully. "Nothing much…"

"Why don't you play us a tune, your majesty?" Donald suggested, and then Mickey had to give in and comply just to get Riku and Sora to shut up. It also helped that Minnie smiled sweetly and requested a song, so he let the others bully him into it.

First he cleaned it, and then blew a few notes to give himself a reminder, before he started playing the tune to Jingle Bells. Sora clapped and cheered, and Mel snuck over to the grand piano in the corner of the room and waited for the right timing before she began weaving chords around his playing, making it sound jazzy and upbeat. Aqua gave into the itch for music and liberated a violin from one of the shelves and added her own music to the medley.

They all joined in playing and singing various Christmas carols; even Lea was sweet talked into it provided you put up with his alternative and often rude lyrics. As the evening drew in they had to leave, promising to visit soon and continuously wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas. Sora and the others departed first, waving happily and wrapped up in scarves, hats and ear warmers; it was snowing heavily outside, even though they were returning home to a warmer climate.

Leo had taken his own coat off because it was quite warm inside, but he crawled back into it before they also left. Mickey gave everyone a hug and escorted them as far as the Castle gates, where he waved them goodbye.

Back at home, they piled up their newly acquired presents underneath their tree and had a last mug of hot chocolate before Aqua chased them up to the dorms. "Good night!" Ven called to them all, grinning like a little kid.

"Merry Christmas!" Mel grinned back.

It was the first time she had actually grinned as opposed to smiled – she looked about five years old, and it was surprisingly endearing.

Before Aqua could make it to her own bed Terra grabbed her by the waist and gave her a quick peck on the lips. "Good night,"

"Good night, Terra," she smiled up at him.

As she pulled the covers back and climbed into bed, Aqua looked up at the sky; it was bright and clear, the snow had stopped falling for now, and every single star shone brilliantly in the dark sky. She found the three stars, brighter than their neighbours, shining down on her – the same three she had jokingly told Ven were theirs, that she had watched for the night before she became a master.

Two comets arced across the sky under the moon, briefly outshining the stars around them.

Aqua smiled before rolling over and snuggling into her duvet. Tomorrow was going to a fun, but long day…

XOXOX