Disclaimer: I own nothing written about in this story.

Pursuit

AN: Well, I hope you're all ready for the biggest chapter ever! (over 12k) Also, towards the end of this chapter I suggest listening to "Man of the World" (from the Naruto soundtrack)... Fair warning though, you will probably cry. (I hope you cry... I cried...)

Chapter Ten – of a Son

The air was stifling and muggy, with a rich, heavy scent while there was a seemingly ever present birdsong high overhead. Really high overhead, was Terra's first coherent thought as he eased into consciousness. He blinked his bleary eyes to clear them in his delirium. After staying up to watch over his family and friends the night before, it stood to reason that he was currently dead tired.

He wasn't at all prepared for a huge, dark, and furry animal face to be the first thing he opened his eyes to. With a startled yelp, that by no means reflected his respected master status, he jerked away from the creature, though he wasn't going to get very far crabcrawling backward.

"Ven!" He felt his temper flare up after the initial shock had faded. Another animal world? After he had specifically demanded otherwise? "I'll kill him!" he shouted, without really taking stock of his surroundings.

In response to his outburst, the large, tenebrous creature that woke him up moved back cautiously and offered a few grunts in concern. "Calm down friend," a foreign, male voice told him followed by a man that appeared at his side seemingly out of nowhere. "You're scaring Terk," the stranger added as he crouched by Terra's side, a little too close for comfort in the keybearer's mind, especially since the guy was practically naked except for a tattered loincloth. His green eyes were curious but careful and his long, brown hair was unkempt and hung like tendrils on either side of his face.

The grayish-black creature from before moved closer and gave the strange man a seemingly contemptuous shove followed by a few more grunts, as though it resented his comment or intended to argue the matter.

"Look who decided to wake up," Aqua's smooth, deep voice called out to him with a good amount of humor lining her tone. Terra looked up, both surprised and relieved to see that she was still in her human form. She was sitting on the ground some distance away, with even more of the same, dark pelted animals scattered around the area.

Terra raised his hands, his human hands, in front of his face and then patted at his head, feeling familiar dark brown locks thread between his fingers. He smiled sheepishly at no one in particular. He had overreacted and jumped to the conclusion that just because his first sight was an animal he automatically assumed he was one. He looked back to see Eraq wasn't far from his mother and was tumbling around on the ground with three tiny, dusky bundles attached to his person. Upon closer scrutiny he could see that the bundles were just smaller versions of the various dark creatures supervising the youngsters nearby. Gorillas, he finally remembered after wracking his brain for a moment.

"What were you saying earlier?" Terra scowled. He could practically hear Ven's arrogant smirk as the blond appeared on his right, the nearly naked stranger and his animal friend still bickering on his left. The earthen warrior had to wonder, was he the only one that fell into a coma after their arrival?

"Oh, nothing," Terra replied through a nonchalant façade before quickly throwing an arm around his friend's neck and proceeded to ruffle up his blond hair with the other. "Just a little of this!"

"Hey," Ven yelped and squirmed in his friend's steel grip as his messy blond hair was violated into a static hazard. "Hey!" He finally managed to shove Terra away but that was mostly because he already released his hold. "This is the thanks I get for picking a normal world?"

Terra stood up, hands on hips as he sent Ven a satisfied smirk before turning a dubious gaze to their surroundings. "You call this normal?" He raised his eyes skyward but the only blue he could see was dappled through the thick leaves above, high above. The trees and foliage were so dense and tall that he nearly got dizzy trying to find where it all peaked. There were vines all around, hanging from enormous trunks, with walls of bamboo shoots sprouting from the earth in random placements. In every literal term, it was a jungle.

"Ven," came the throaty voice of the male native. "What is your friend's name?"

"Oh right," Ven said as he stood up to dust himself off and attempt to right his wrought hair. "Terra, this is Tarzan. Tarzan, Terra." He frowned distractedly when his blond locks wouldn't cooperate before making a gesture to the big gray ape beside the wild man. "You already met Terk."

Terk proceeded to give Terra a friendly slug on the shoulder in greeting, his unarmored shoulder. "That's some arm he's got." He had meant the comment to be a compliment as he rubbed the offended limb sorely, but the ape quickly took offense and snarled at him.

The two keybearers cringed but only Ven seemed to sense the problem. "Uh, Terk is a girl."

Terra could only gape at his friend, speechless. How was he to know the difference? The gorillas all looked alike to him.

"Now Terk, take it easy," Tarzan tried to sooth. "It's a simple mistake." But the ape threw her arms up in the air in a huff and stalked off. "Don't worry, she'll get over it," Tarzan told Terra with a amiable smirk. "Are you also Sora's friend?"

"Huh?" Terra balked for an instant, but turned to Ven when he was elbowed in the ribs.

"It's ok," the blond told him. "Sora came here a long time ago. Saved the world and all that."

"A good friend," Tarzan added with a smile and a nod. "Sora's friends are my friends."

"Tarzan is the leader of the gorillas here," Ven explained. "So we can relax and have fun for once."

"Wait, what?" Terra tipped his head at Tarzan in confusion. "How are you their leader? How can a human lead apes?" Granted, it was obvious the jungle man could communicate with the beasts, but surely being their leader was a joke?

"Kerchak named me leader when he died," Tarzan answered and bowed his head solemnly. "He was a good leader. And a good father."

Terra was afraid to ask anymore questions and simply decided to just start accepting things blindly. He even convinced himself that if the apes began talking coherently then he wouldn't even blink twice. They didn't, of course, but boy was he ready if they did!

Both Terra and Ven remained silent for a bit, allowing a moment for Tarzan's remembrance to pass. "Hey Tarzan," Ven finally piped up energetically. "Can you show me how you slid down that tree one more time? I think I almost got the hang of it."

"Of course I can Ven," Tarzan replied with a grin, his former sadness discarded as he turned to Terra in question. "Does Terra want to learn tree gliding as well?"

"Er, no thanks, Tarzan," Terra answered with an awkward scratch at his neck and a glance in Aqua's direction. "I've got a different objective at the moment."

With an indifferent shrug and a leap, Tarzan was in a tree and scaling it quickly, leaving Ven to scramble after him. "We'll be back soon."

Terra gave his surroundings another careful sweep and noticed Zack was a fair distance away and was, for whatever reason, wrestling with a large adolescent gorilla. It was safe to say that the swordsman was losing, but he was providing a captive entertainment for their circled audience, the majority of which was other apes, but also included Rin and Angelo. Though from Terra's vantage point he could tell that the dog was pouting, with longing glances shot over in Eraq's direction as he played with the infant gorillas.

Terra focused back on his wife and crept toward her, feeling his stealth come surprisingly easy over the leaf riddled jungle floor. He kept a wary eye on the various gorillas in the area, including the one that sat right at Aqua's side. Their backs were facing him and they were distracted by the youngsters playing in front of them. As he made his slow, predatory approach he noted curiously how Aqua and the ape beside her seemed to be getting along really well. The blue haired keyblade master even appeared to be talking to the huge dark-brown creature, regardless of the obvious language-species barrier. It suited him fine though, since that just meant his wife was all the more distracted.

He crouched only a few feet away, careful not to disturb the undergrowth beneath his shoes. He eyed his prey with intent concentration. His assault would be glorious; he'd get a good laugh and Aqua would be furious with him for all but ten seconds before joining him in his twisted humor. With a confident smirk, he lunged, hooked her waist with one arm, tackled her to the jungle floor and proceeded to tower over her with a victorious chuckle, all of which earned him a yelp of surprise from her and a screech of alarm from the ape nearby.

He had expected to startle the both of them, with the shock fading an instant later and Aqua's retaliation following soon after, but he hadn't expected what actually came to pass. Now, Terra considered himself a well-toned, imposing individual, his main strengths being that of raw power and sturdiness. But when he was suddenly pulled off his wife by one leg, lifted into the air as if without effort and then promptly slammed back to the ground an instant later, he was made clearly aware of how inescapably powerless he could feel when faced with a creature of such abnormal bulk.

Terra was currently laying on his back, and though the leaf-strewn debris had padded his collision with the ground, the wind had still been knocked out of him. This left him with the only option of contemplating his mistake and attempting to process the whole transpiration. The gorilla's reaction had been instinctive, with everything happening within the fragments of an instant. Terra had been deemed a threat and was being properly dealt with. He was coming to accept the fact that he was not meant to hit it off with the locals like the rest of his companions seemed to be doing with flying colors.

The lumbering beast roared at him for good measure before lifting its arms for another attack. Just how many of these apes were out to kill him anyway? And where was Tarzan? He really needed an interpreter about now."Wait!" Thankfully, before he was pounded flat with the earth, his wife stepped in to hover over him protectively, causing the furious ape to freeze with its dangerous limbs hanging in the air. "It's alright Kala," Aqua soothed, one hand stretched out to halt the animal while she used the other to pull Terra up to a sitting position beside her. "He's with me, and he's an idiot."

"Hey!" Terra puffed at her indignantly, only to straighten up when the ape snarled a warning at him. "Idiot, yes that's me." His lungs were still recovering and he wasn't too keen on being lifted into the air again and thrown about like a rag-doll.

"This is Kala," Aqua explained to her husband. "She's especially protective right now because of her new baby." She turned to the mother gorilla with an apologetic expression. "Kala, I'm sorry Terra startled you. He didn't mean any harm."

Terra was genuinely surprised when Kala's own expression softened and she chuffed softly in reply. Could these primates really understand human speech? He froze up when Kala carefully extended one forearm in his direction, her knuckles brushing the leafy earth. He looked to Aqua for any insight on the gesture, only then realizing he had wrapped a protective arm around her. "I think she's trying to apologize," Aqua told him and nudged his free hand down to touch Kala's. "You should too."

"Er, right," Terra said as he reached out and touched the ape's knuckles with his own. "I'm sorry for scaring you." The action felt strange at first, but he soon realized he was experiencing some sort of ancient exchange, as if a window of understanding was suddenly opened to him. The moment of clarity was quickly shattered though, as a clumsy body clambered into his lap and he looked down to see Eraq's tousled hair and dirty face peering up between him and the gorilla.

"What was that all about Dad?" the boy asked, his exuberance practically sizzling the air around him.

Terra sighed and ruffled his son's already messy hair. "Oh, you know Eraq, just making friends everywhere I go."

"Oh," Eraq replied brightly, not at all catching his father's sarcasm. "Just like me and Mom."

As if in direct response to his statement, Kala cooed and grunted softly as she reached out and snatched the boy from his father's lap. "Uh..." Terra was at a loss as to how to react. He glanced to see that Aqua didn't look worried at all, and Eraq didn't seem frightened either, rather he molded to the gorilla's embrace with a childish giggle.

"I think Eraq must remind her of when Tarzan was that age," Aqua commented with a fond smile. When Terra gave her an odd look she proceeded to explain the matter to him. "Kala raised Tarzan from a baby when his real parents died. That's why he can communicate with all the gorillas and why they can understand our speech... Well, mostly anyway."

Terra blinked at her. Seriously, just how long was he out for? Some excited screeching and laughter drew their attention back to Eraq. He had scaled Kala's shoulders in an attempt to escape the pursuit of his earlier playmates as they were also attempting to climb up Kala's arms as if she were the local jungle gym. She grunted at the youngsters fondly and nudged one in particular with an added affection, no doubt her own, as it scrambled up her arm, undeterred. She was a loving mother, through and through.

"Aww, Mom," Eraq called down from his vantage point atop the gorilla's arching back. "You dropped Kupo," he berated, sounding as though his mother had committed some great badness. He crawled down off of his perch, ignoring the baby apes barking for his attention.

"Oh. Sorry Eraq. I'm not to be trusted with him," she deadpanned as she picked up the doll and dusted it off before handing it to him. "You'd better keep track of him yourself, or he might run off on my watch."

Eraq took his beloved plushie from her and hugged it tightly, howling a protest when his playmates gathered around him to grab at it for themselves. He quickly grew anxious as his former playmates suddenly turned into unlikely enemies. In an attempt to escape the onslaught he climbed back into Terra's lap, but when that didn't work he tried climbing higher much like he had on Kala, only, his father was less inclined to hold his weight and fend off the infant apes at the moment. "Ack, hey Eraq, take it easy, they're just playing."

"But they'll hurt Kupo!" the boy insisted as he anxiously held up his toy as high out of reach as possible.

"Hey, watch it," Terra grumbled. He tried to hold his son up with one arm and fend off the "army" with the other, but more than once he nearly had a foot in his mouth and a finger in his eye and he was growing very tired of the ordeal. Aqua on the other hand was not doing much at all to mask her amusement, and even less to assist him as she tittered with a hand over her mouth. "Thanks for the help," he told her, his tone as dull as he could manage. "I'll be sure to return the favor later." He really couldn't blame her for laughing though, since the scene must look pretty ridiculous, what, with Eraq teetering on one arm, an ape scrambling on his head, another latched to his fending arm and still another on his shoulder closest to Eraq.

Eraq's cries had grown into a more desperate, unintelligible whining and before Terra or Aqua could comfort or berate him the chaotic mess came to an abrupt halt and the babies all dropped at once. Kala had barked an order at them and the threesome instantly backed away, all of them cooing and chirping innocence as they moved to their babysitter and or mother obediently. She in turn led them away to what probably constituted as a nap.

"Thank you!" Terra sighed out dramatically as he unceremoniously dropped to his side while easing Eraq down beside him, all the while the boy clung tight to his moogle with a contented smile. Well, at least he was happy. Crisis averted. Terra glanced up to meet Aqua's gaze and had to scrutinize darkly in response to that annoyingly beautiful smirk of hers. "Don't think I'll forget about that favor later."

"What favor?" Zack wondered from behind him. Terra wasn't sure when he and Rin had approached but he suddenly felt much more reassured with them close by. After nearly getting mauled by two full-grown female gorillas and three miniature ones, he'd had his fill of the creatures and desired nothing more than his usual companions company for the rest of the day. "You been causing a ruckus over here Terra?"

"You have no idea," that was Aqua's humor-laced voice and Terra found that he could hardly pull his gaze away from her brilliant smile, even if it was at his expense. Meanwhile Eraq started giggling when Angelo snaked her way over to him and began licking his face.

"What about you?" Terra grumbled at Zack, trying to feign annoyance though he was pretty sure his wife could see through his act. "You win your contest of "all brawn and no brains" over there?"

"Er, what contest?" The dark haired swordsman raised his hands in question. "I don't know what you're talking about. That ape didn't stand a chance."

"That's right." Rin scrutinized him knowingly. "You sure showed him." She expounded her statement by lightly tapping his shoulder which elicited a strangled cry from him.

"Argh, come on Rin, that's my bad arm."

"Oh, of course. My mistake." She promptly corrected herself and moved to tap his other shoulder, only to reduce the man to a pathetic howl as he slid down to his knees in agony, all the while gripping his stomach with both arms.

"Zack," Terra began, his tone dubious as he watch the display. "Why are you holding your stomach when she hit your arm?"

Zack could only whimper in pain as he slowly lowered his head to the ground. "That's just how badly his opponent whooped him. His body is all messed up," Rin explained for him with a sympathetic shake of her head though she had a sardonic twist on her mouth. "I haven't seen him this beat up since he got trampled by Pegasus after he stole that apple from him."

"Rin," Zack groaned painfully. "I told you, that event was never to be mentioned."

"Uh-hu," Rin replied with a roll of her eyes. "And I suppose this is another one of those events?"

"I would appreciate that, yes," Zack wheezed pathetically.

Aqua chuckled lightly at the exchange but moved to kneel by Zack's side mercifully. "Sit up Zack, I'll see if I can heal you up a bit."

"That would be awesome!" Zack cried with relief and did as he was bid, wincing as he sat up. "Terra, you married the goddess of kindness."

The male keybearer merely snorted in reply, though if asked he would have agreed with that statement. Aqua hushed them both so she could concentrate on Zack's sore muscles and torn tissue in order to properly apply the cure spell.

Everyone remained silent for a few moments as she worked and she had nearly finished the treatment when a wild howling split the peaceful silence of the jungle around them. Terra tipped his head and raised a bewildered brow. It was a sound like nothing he'd ever heard before. Everyone looked up in response, expecting to see the strange creature emerge from the tree tops any second. Instead, there was a quick patter of movement nearby and Tarzan could be seen swinging around a large trunk. He landed beside Terra in an almost silent approach and a whirling spray of leaves in his wake.

Ven was only seconds behind him, though his chest was heaving a bit more than the jungle man's was. "This guy knows how to get around!" he exclaimed with a puff and plopped down on the ground close to Zack and Aqua and considered them curiously. "Something happen while I was gone?"

Zack seemed absolutely miserable and opened his mouth to reply only to have Rin cut him off. "Not really. Just some unnecessary horseplay." Zack looked like he wanted to debate the matter but Aqua had started working on his bruised ribs and it was all he could do to keep breathing without screeching. He and Aqua were the only ones that didn't turn toward a rustling in the undergrowth nearby.

Twigs were snapping, followed by a clamor of frustrated undertones along with a thunderous crashing... Were those footsteps? If they were, it was sure to be an enormous animal. The sounds finally drew Zack's painful gaze and Aqua's concentration broke in order to watch for the creature as well. Everyone was growing a bit concerned about the situation except for Tarzan, as he actually grunted with excitement and approached the source of the tremors.

A huge, red beast stomped out of the brush an instant later, its ridiculously long nose trumpeting its arrival and perhaps that of its companion? It thundered onward, noting the curious newcomers on its way over to the troop of gorillas. Terra could only guess blindly as to what in the world an elephant was doing socializing with a bunch of gorillas, but he was by no means surprised at this point.

"Tarzan, what's all the hullabaloo about?" One bamboo wall parted to reveal the other source of the previous noise. A slight, disheveled woman parted the sturdy stocks with one thin hand and stepped into the clearing to meet Tarzan where he halted in front of her. She was barefoot and wore a green skirt, with her hazelnut colored hair draping over a yellow top. She cradled a carefully wrapped bundle in her other arm, to which Tarzan was currently peering at closely, like a cat, fascinated by a twirling fish in a pond. "There you are, love. I've been looking all over for you, you know."

"Friends." Tarzan hummed at her excitedly before taking her free hand and leading her over to everyone. "Sora's friends came to visit."

The woman's green eyes flashed with genuine surprise when she first noticed the visitors, but her astonishment quickly shifted to excitement at hearing his explanation. "Oh wonderful! It's so rare that we ever get visitors way out here in the jungle."

By the time everyone had been properly introduced, Aqua had finished up her healing on Zack and he could finally sit up straight without wincing. Worn out from her search for Tarzan, Jane collapsed onto a patch of soft moss, her seemingly precious cargo tucked in the crook of one arm. If everyone hadn't already assumed it, Jane was Tarzan's wife, and that tiny bundle in her arms was their newborn son.

"Wow," Eraq marveled as he approached the mother and child curiously. "He's even smaller than Denzel back home! How old is he, and what's his name?"

Jane giggled at the boy, as well as at her husband since he was fidgeting and hooting in response, too excited even to answer. "He's about two weeks old, and his name his Korak," she told him, her soft green eyes turned down at the baby in her arms, who was currently cooing and sputtering bubbles at her.

"Ko-rak," Eraq repeated slowly, making sure to enunciate the name properly. "That's a nice name," he chirped up at her politely. "Would it be ok if I held him for a minute?"

When Jane hesitated for an instant, Eraq turned to his parents for permission as well. Terra balked at the question. The notion made him a bit nervous, since playing with Denzel back home was one thing; he was older by about two years and not nearly as fragile as this newborn in question. He was relieved when Aqua seemed to have a solution and moved to sit with Eraq in her lap. "Only if I help you, and if Jane says its ok." Eraq nodded and handed his moogle to her, so that she had one arm wrapped around him and held the plush in the other.

"Of course you can hold him dear. I could use a break, let me tell you!" Jane bent down and carefully handed over the cooing baby to Eraq, with Aqua there to coach and instruct proper support for the infant's head. Jane stood up with hands on hips and an approving smile on her face. "Well, if you don't mind watching him for a bit then, I could really use a nice bath. Tarzan, be a love and take me to the river? I think Tantor could use a break from guard duty."

"Guard duty?" Aqua's ears perked up at that and Terra could practically hear the worry in her mind. Was there some sort of danger around? Naturally they both knew there was always some form of danger or another in every world.

"Oh yes. Didn't Tarzan tell you about the leopards?" Jane wondered, giving her husband a disapproving look, to which he merely shrugged indifferently. "Not to worry though. They don't attack groups, only single or weak targets."

"They know better then to attack me or Tantor," Tarzan grunted almost arrogantly.

Terra nodded at the explanation. That explained Jane's elephant escort earlier. Can't have a new mother running around the jungle with her newborn all by herself and hungry predators on the prowl.

"Anyway," Jane waved a dismissive hand. "You'll be fine, especially with the gorillas around, and we won't be gone long."

Korak gurgled curiously within his new perspective in Eraq and Aqua's arms. His bright, emerald eyes studied them intently while his tiny hands reached and waved around aimlessly. "He thinks he's a bird." Eraq giggled down at the baby which caused him to smile widely and giggle in return.

Jane and Tarzan took the distraction as an opportunity to make their exit. Though they did not go unnoticed and Terra watched them go almost longingly. A moment alone with his wife; that sounded like a really great idea right about now. But how to orchestrate such a setting? He smirked mischievously as the gears started turning in his divisive mind.

Rin had been sitting nearby for the whole exchange but gradually sidled over so she was close enough to watch the infant's expression with a curious intrigue. "My turn next Eraq," she told him cheerfully, as if she were his young peer and they were taking turns with a new toy.

The boy smiled up at her brightly to agree but suddenly frowned when Korak started whining unpleasantly. "You can have him now." With Aqua's help he turned the newborn over to a now unsure and apprehensive Rin.

The transfer didn't seem to have an effect on the child's temperament, in fact he was growing more and more agitated, almost as though he could sense how his parents drew farther away by the second. "Oh," Rin deadpanned. It wasn't that she had come to a grand realization or anything, she just had to accept the fact that she was simply stuck with an unhappy child and "Oh." seemed like the correct response.

To his credit, Eraq tried to cheer him up by waving his moogle around and making odd noises to entertain him but that only seemed to make the infant cry louder. Aqua graciously pulled the boy back and offered Rin a knowing smile. "It might help if you walk around with him."

"Er, maybe you should just take him back," Rin replied nervously over the wailing of the child that seemed to catch the vibe that he was suddenly unwanted by all.

Aqua would have happily obliged but Terra cut her off and suddenly grabbed her right hand and tugged her up to stand beside him. "Oh no. She's busy. You asked for the kid, so you're stuck with him."

"Terra," Aqua admonished with a disapproving look, both of which were ignored completely as he turned to Zack.

"Pawn him off on Zack if you want."

"Huh?" The swordsman nearly fell over from his place by a tree he and his sword were leaning against. He had unhitched the massive weapon when they arrived in order to interact with the gorillas without injuring them. "But I didn't do anything!"

Terra was dead set on his goal now and was thus deaf to any and all complaints. He turned to Ven next. "And as payment for me putting up with all these animal worlds, you get to watch Eraq for awhile."

Ven shrugged at the task. "That's fine, Eraq's easy." The blond grinned and knelt down to the boy's level. "We could go explore this awesome tree maze that Tarzan showed me."

The boy's eyes lit up at that and he proceeded to bounce around with excitement, his exuberance only hampered by his mother's warning tone. "Ven. What about the leopards? If you lose sight of him for even an instant..."

"Come on Aqua, I'm a Keyblade master now." Ven gave his head a pert tip. "No stupid leopard is gonna bother us. And if it does, I'll send it running with its tail between its legs."

"He's got a point." Terra nodded, though he wasn't about to pressure his wife into agreeing that their five year old son go on a sojourn through a perilous jungle with only one guardian, Keyblade master or not.

"I'd still feel better if someone else went with you," the Grand Master insisted.

"Don't look at me," Zack told them, arms crossed in a pout and a cringe aimed at the wailing child in Rin's arms. "I'm the back-up babysitter, apparently."

"Well, how about Angelo?" Ven suggested with a glance down to the dog sitting nearby. "I bet she could smell a leopard from a mile away. And protecting Eraq is like her hobby or something." The dog yipped up at him as though in response and wagged her tail fervently before hopping over to give the boy in question a vigorous lick. "See! Case and point."

"I suppose." The blue haired woman was still not entirely convinced, though she couldn't argue that the dog was extremely protective of the boy. And even if Ven did happen to lose track of him for a moment, Angelo would no doubt stick to Eraq like glue no matter what. "Alright Eraq," she finally gave in with a deflated smile aimed down at her son's impossibly adorable and hopeful cerulean gaze. "But promise me you'll listen to Ven and don't wander off. Understand?"

Eraq's charcoal mane bobbed eagerly and he threw his arms, including his moogle, in the air triumphantly. "Yay!" He turned to a kneeling, grinning Ven and clapped a victorious high five with him.

"Eraqus," his mother warned with his full name and that universal tone that all children knew better than to ignore. "What did I just say?" Granted, the boy had a short attention span, but Aqua knew he was old enough to focus on the important things.

"Uhm," Eraq stalled, his eyes aimed skyward in thought. "Don't run off and do what Ven says?"

"And?" Aqua pressed expectantly, though both she and Terra wore amused expressions as their son appeared to be wracking his brain for the answer.

Eraq frowned for a moment, but his expression suddenly lit up and he answered with a proud, wide grin. "I promise!"

"Good," his mother replied with a warm smile and bent down to run a hand through his dark, cinder locks and cupped his ear and chin with a tender affection. "Now go have fun."

With his mother's approval, the boy howled, Angelo barked, and Ven whooped in response, their clamor dwarfing Korak's continuous wailing nearby, or perhaps the child was simply quieting slightly due to Rin's attempts to soothe him. Either way, the trio's exodus was loud and obnoxious and caught the stares of various apes in the process. "Then we're off!" Ven announced as he lopped away into the brush, with the boy and the dog hot on his trail.

"Be careful!" Aqua fussed after them with a sudden, worried frown when she lost sight of Eraq's dusky blue head among the green foliage.

"They'll be fine." Terra rolled his eyes and gave her hand another tug, adding quietly so only she could hear, "but I can't say the same for you."

"Terra!" she scolded and swatted at his shoulder.

"I'm kidding, kidding!" He cringed at the rebuke but refused to relent his tugging as he led her away. "But I think I do deserve some time with you. Alone." With that last word he threw over his shoulder and aimed a pointed look at their two remaining companions. To which Zack raised his hands defensively and shook his head, as though he wanted nothing to do with whatever they had planned together. And poor Rin was pacing around, still just focused on trying to placate the unhappy infant in her arms.

Aqua could only huff at her husband in answer, knowing better than to argue with him when he was this stubborn about something. She looked over to give Rin an apologetic look. "You might try bouncing him as you walk around," she offered as a final bit of advice before Terra led her out of the clearing completely.

A nap? All that trouble to get her alone and he just wanted to take a nap? The azure keybearer sat up and glared down at her tenebrous counterpart as he slept, though her eyes betrayed a soft amusement as she leaned beside him on one hand and fondly stroked his chestnut brown hair with the other.

Although he had made such a big deal over something so mundane as lounging about, Aqua wasn't about to complain. Far from it really, since their little jungle getaway was calm and peaceful aside from the colorful ensemble of birdsong high in the trees. In fact it would almost be a sin not to take advantage of the warm tranquility seeping in like that one ray of lazy, afternoon sunshine from a gape in the leafy canopy above.

They hadn't traveled very far from their original clearing when they found their current nest of soft moss and huge leaves, but Aqua could no longer hear Korak's wailing in the background. Whether that meant his cries were blending with that of the chirping birds or that he had simply calmed down, she couldn't know. Although the threat of those prowling leopards worried her, even with Zack and his monstrous sword nearby. In the off chance that something had happened, the Grand Master quietly got up to check on the situation, seeing as her husband was sound asleep and more than likely wouldn't notice her momentary absence.

When she returned to the clearing she was both relieved and surprised to see, and hear, that all was peaceful there as well. The herd of apes had all moved off a ways and were either foraging or napping themselves, though they could still be seen among the trees and were a constant, reassuring presence in the background.

Rin was sitting on the ground with her back propped against the opposite side of the tree Zack was leaning on, his massive weapon resting between them. The ebony headed woman was rocking the infant in her arms back and forth gently and Aqua had to smile at the sight. It seemed Rin's maternal instincts had figured things out automatically, in fact, if Aqua wasn't mistaken, she looked like she was quite enjoying her time with the child now that he was quiet.

As she cautiously moved closer to the trio so as not to spook them, Aqua noted how seriously Zack seemed to be taking his guard duty, with arms crossed and his wary gaze sweeping their surroundings carefully before landing on her approach with recognition and a nod. It was a curious thing really, how the pair could so easily fall into the roles of a couple yet they both vehemently denied the matter. It made her wonder if they both truly did have a significant other out there somewhere.

Rin certainly insisted now and again about that Squall character that Aqua still for the life of her could not match a face to. And then Zack never actually mentioned anyone but somehow, wordlessly he conveyed that he too was waiting for someone, even though he liked to portray his philandering ways every chance he got.

When she finally drew close enough to peer at the infant, Rin looked up and raised her free hand and a finger to her lips as sign for silence, to which Aqua nodded with a smile and a stifled laugh. Korak was sleeping so quietly, it was hard to believe he had ever been upset.

"Well, I do say, there's nothing quite like a good wash!" came Jane's voice from across the clearing as she fussed with her damp hair, causing the trio by the tree to chorus a hiss in her direction. "Oh dear," the brunette whispered in response. "Is he sleeping? Sorry, wasn't expecting that." She chuckled lightly as she and Tarzan approached carefully, both of them marveling down at their son, who shifted in his sleep but thankfully didn't wake up. "Would you look at that!" Jane exclaimed in a hushed tone and eyed Rin curiously. "He usually only goes to sleep for me."

Rin offered up a sheepish grin and a slight shrug so as not to jostle the slumbering baby. "I'd like to hold on to him until he wakes up, if that's alright? He just got to sleep a little bit ago."

Jane smiled widely at that. "That's fine by me, only, we should be heading back to the house now. It's getting a bit late. But you're more then welcome to come with us if you like."

"You guys have a house out here?" Zack asked in an undertone and pushed off from the trunk, suddenly genuinely interested.

Tarzan grunted softly in response. "Tree house."

"A tree house!?" Zack nearly blurted and promptly clapped his hands over his mouth before adding more quietly, "that's so cool! I want to see it!"

Tarzan hooted with just as much excitement but the three women all fought off similar bouts of laughter. "Zack," Aqua said between a chortle. "You are such a kid sometimes."

"Er, well," he coughed objectively and made a gesture at the dark haired woman beside him. "Naturally, I'm going mostly so Rin doesn't have to come back alone, in the dark. Leopards on the loose and all."

"Naturally," Aqua replied, both her and Rin giving him an amused smirk.

"Let's be on our way then," Jane said as she carefully helped Rin to her feet without disturbing a sleeping Korak. "Only a few hours before it gets dark out here."

Aqua blinked as Rin, Jane and Zack headed out of the clearing, the thought of darkness only just now entering her mind. She hoped Ven would bring Eraq and Angelo back soon. She didn't want to have to worry about them much longer. Apparently Tarzan was wondering something similar, as he had remained behind to survey the area. "Where are the others?"

"Oh," said the blue haired peacekeeper. "Ven and Eraq went exploring and I'm hoping they'll be back soon. And Terra is taking a nap." She cringed at the thought of her slumbering husband; hopefully he wasn't awake and fuming that she had left him there alone.

"If I see Ven, I'll send him back right away," Tarzan told her before heading off after the others and adding back over his shoulder, "the jungle is a dangerous place at night."

The wild man's words did nothing to soothe her worries, in fact, now she had a very different reason to worry about leaving Terra alone. As powerful as he was, it didn't matter if he was attacked unawares in his sleep. Honestly, why did everyone insist on splitting up like this? It was too hard on her nerves to have to worry about each group separately.

Eraq thought it took forever to find the place Uncle Ven had been talking about, but once they finally made it, the boy stared up at what just had to be the most ginormous tree ever! And then, as if it was so big it needed help to stay upright, there were hundreds of other, smaller trees reaching up to help keep the big tree's branches in the air. And thus, a literal maze of trees was born.

"Well?" Ven called to him with a wave of his hand. "Come on Eraq, catch me if you can!"

"What? No fair Uncle Ven, you're way faster than me!" the boy whined, though he kicked off in pursuit of his guardian anyway. Angelo ran at his side, barking playfully as she kept a wary eye on their surroundings.

"Lesson number five: It takes more than speed to succeed," Ven recited as he quickly disappeared behind the trees. "You gotta use your head kiddo!"

Eraq halted smack dab in the middle of the countless trunks, near the huge expanse of the giant tree. "But Mom said I was supposed to stay close to you," he whined out. This adventure wasn't turning out to be as much fun as he thought.

"She also said to listen to me," Ven's voice pointed out from somewhere nearby and Eraq looked in that direction. "Don't worry bud, I'll stay close, and all you gotta do is find me."

It sounded easy enough, only his voice kept changing direction and it was confusing, especially since every tree looked the same. "Uncle Ven, I don't wanna play this game anymore, I'm scared." He instinctively held his moogle tighter with one hand while his other hand reached out to grasp a handful of Angelo's fur. "You'll stay with me, right Angelo?"

The dog licked his face in response but her attention was drawn away distractedly. Her ears switched around before she crept away, out of his desperate grasp, and she too disappeared an instant later. "No, don't leave me!" the boy whimpered after her. "Angelo, Uncle Ven!"

He could still hear some faint rustling nearby but Uncle Ven just wouldn't reply to any of his pleas. With nothing left but his black plushie, Eraq clutched at it in fright and plopped down on the soft earth. This was too much like his nightmares. He was all alone again. "Please don't leave me," he repeated with a frightened sob.

Upon reaching their private abode, Aqua instantly had a bad feeling crawl up her spine. Terra lay where she left him, still sleeping peacefully, but something was definitely off. The birds above had grown abnormally quiet, as though they too sensed something and were afraid to draw attention to themselves, that or they were awaiting the coiled tension down below to spring loose before making their escape.

The Grand Master summoned her keyblade and examined the treeline suspiciously as she strategically drew right beside her husband. There was something moving cautiously in the vegetation around them, though she could not place it among the various colors of plant life and splayed sunlight all along the jungle floor. One thing was absolutely certain though, a heinous, raw, killing intent permeated the air, and it felt eerily familiar.

"It's been there since you left," Terra informed her quietly, though her senses had been so attuned that she nearly jumped out of her skin when he spoke. "Didn't think I'd notice?"

She sighed down at him with a hand at her pounding heart, noting how he regarded her with one eye cracked and very little concern considering the danger presently stalking them. "You knew it was there this whole time and didn't do anything about it?"

The dark haired warrior raised his hands in a shrug before he sat up. "Better that they tail us then tail Eraq and Ven right?"

Aqua frowned at his wording and turned back to the hidden threat. "They? You mean there's more than one?"

Terra nodded and moved to stand beside her, his gaze drawn toward the beasts' last known trajectory, though the prowling shadows were harder to locate then he originally thought.

Initially, when the lithe creatures bolted in retreat as black streaks behind the flora, the keybearers simply figured they had been spooked by Terra's stance and the fact that it was no longer a single target that the predators would have to deal with. But after noting the direction they fled, and wondering why they hadn't done so sooner, like when Aqua first appeared or when Terra first sat up, something definitely seemed odd, almost as though something had called out to them.

"Terra, I have a bad feeling."

"Yeah," Terra murmured distractedly. "We should probably go find-"

They both froze, only their heads turned to meet each others petrified gazes. Aqua felt an icy wave pass through her limbs in a cold sweat of panic at the sudden, horrible darkness that she both remembered yet had tried desperately to forget as it materialized somewhere in the distance. "No," was the only thing she could gasp out of her suddenly disobedient lungs. It was suddenly even a challenge just to maintain a steady breath.

"Go now!" Terra must have been shouting at her for a few seconds, because it took a gentle shove from him to get her attention and snapped out of her frozen shock. "We'll split up and find them!"

Aqua nodded fervently with quick, sharp breaths as the panic slowly faded to an adrenalin rush. She felt, more than directed, as her legs started moving and she darted off in one direction toward the darkness while Terra split off in another, parallel path. As she pounded past the startled gorillas, she couldn't help but wonder, were those really just leopards?

The rustling was getting closer, but Eraq was too frightened to get up from his place on the floor to see if it was Angelo or Uncle Ven. He didn't care anymore though. They both left him. Now all he wanted was either Mom or Dad. "I want to go home now," he wailed at the air.

He hugged his moogle even tighter when the rustling sounded just beyond a tree on his left and he looked up expectantly. A low growling greeted him and he crept backward fearfully. But when Angelo's snout emerged a second later he beamed and leaped toward her gratefully. He didn't care what he thought a minute ago, he did want her and Uncle Ven to come back.

Before he could embrace the canine however, she started barking and growling frantically in what seemed like every direction at once, and Eraq stumbled back in fright. He couldn't understand what was wrong with her, since she had never reacted like that before. "Angelo," he cried and tried to cover his ears with one hand and his moogle with the other. "You're scaring me!"

The dog paused in her crazed barking in order to whine at him in apology but she quickly reverted back to her previous actions, only she snarled this time and actually lunged at something behind a number of trees. "No Angelo, come back!" the boy wailed and tried to follow, but before he could see what she was tussling with he was thrown to the ground from something ramming his back.

There was a heavy thud behind him followed by a horrible shriek but unlike in his nightmare, there was no pressure pinning him to the ground, he had simply been knocked down. Terrified, he turned over to see Uncle Ven standing over him. He smiled suddenly as his fear subsided but he noticed with a frown that his blond guardian had drawn his keyblade, and a creepy, black fog was dispersing around it.

Ven's eyes were distracted, like Angelo had been, before he suddenly shot an intense gaze down to the boy. "Eraq, run, find a safe place to hide!"

"B-but, Mom said-"

"I know, but you need to do what I say and go hide," Ven told him with more seriousness than Eraq had ever heard in his uncle's voice. Angelo suddenly yelped and cried out painfully, causing Ven to leap in her direction. "Go now Eraq!"

The boy nodded bravely and clutched at Kupo as he looked for a place to hide. He could do this. After all, Uncle Ven and Angelo were the ones fighting the monsters, and all he had to do was hide, right?

He forced his little legs to run as he headed straight for the big tree trunk, but he was once again knocked back, only this time onto his rump. He felt his entire body freeze up as he stared, wide eyed at the monster snarling before him. It was almost exactly like the shadows from his nightmares, only it was bigger, the size of Angelo, and it was more like a cat. But those eyes. Those glowing, yellow eyes were what paralyzed him, he was sure.

The shadow cat roared at him but before it could attack again there was a furious snarling and Eraq couldn't even turn to see what it was when Angelo suddenly lunged and latched onto the big cat's throat, causing it to writhe and screech.

Eraq cried at the dog incoherently as she rolled and fought with the cat in a blinding mass. He wanted to help her but he just couldn't. He was too small, and not nearly brave enough. So once he got to his feet again, he made another break for the other side of the huge tree trunk, where he thought he might be able to hide like Uncle Ven told him to. He just hoped that both his uncle and Angelo would be ok if he actually made it there and waited for them.

He could hear the many shrieks and howls raging on behind him but he refused to look back, and the only reason he didn't clamp his eyes shut in fear was because he had to watch where he was going. His chest was heaving by the time he reached the other side of the enormous trunk, but thankfully the horrible noises had faded and he collapsed to the forest floor, though he still somehow held Kupo after his mad dash.

As the noises receded a slight glimmer of hope rose in his mind and he hugged his black plush a little tighter, as it was his only form of comfort left. He was beginning to think he was safe and that Uncle Ven and Angelo would be running around the big tree any second but he whimpered frightfully when a small black creature emerged from a nearby bush from the opposite direction. "S-stay back!"

He tried crawling backward but his back bumped into the trunk and the little creature padded over to him without a sound, inspecting him curiously with its yellow eyes. He thought it looked a lot like a cat as well, but it had a longer nose, like a dog's but still not quite the same, and its tail was all bushy, neither like a cat or a dog. And he was not at all expecting the thing to actually start speaking to him, nor was he expecting it to be a gentle, female voice. "Oh my, what ever is wrong child? You seem so frightened."

"M-monsters!" Eraq blurted, again trying to back further into the trunk in vain. "They're everywhere, and you're one of them... Aren't you?" He was so confused, first the monsters wanted to attack him, now this one wanted to talk to him? But monsters didn't talk did they? And neither did animals unless you were one of them, right? After all, Angelo didn't talk in this world.

"Monster?" the little black cat-thing repeated incredulous. "I should think not, dear."

"Th-then, what are you? And how are you able to talk to me?"

"Well I'm a fox of course," answered the small animal with a flash of mischief. "Didn't your parents ever tell you about us? We have special powers you know."

"Special powers? Like what?" the boy wanted to know, though he still felt a twinge of fear toward the little creature, even if she was being nice.

"Well, I can talk to you for one," she told him as she padded closer and half-circled around him playfully. "I can also put up a barrier around us to keep the monsters away, if you like."

"Could you really do that?" the boy asked, hopeful.

"Why, of course my dear," the fox told him in an almost sickly sweet voice before she started howling a chant of foreign words that made absolutely no sense to him. An instant later a silvery wall rose from the ground around them and domed a short distance above his head. "There, no more monsters. Feel better?"

"Yes thank you very much-" Eraq bobbed his head as he replied but he stopped abruptly as he remembered a certain rule he had just broken and hugged his moogle tighter. "Oh, um, thank you but I forgot. I'm not supposed to talk to strangers unless Mom or Dad are around."

"Is that so?" the fox wondered aloud and sat down on her haunches as she looked up at the barrier casually. "Well then, perhaps your parents don't care about you as much as you think they do. Because the way I see it, without me, the monsters will get you."

Eraq blinked at her carefully before replying, something she said didn't sound right. "My parents love me."

"Oh but of course they do, my dear." The fox backtracked a bit but quickly rebounded with a cute tip of her head. "But you know. Love is so relative. For example. Why haven't they come to help you yet? And didn't they want to get rid of you earlier?"

"Dad did want Uncle Ven to watch me for awhile," Eraq frowned but quickly recovered, though he failed to notice that the animal had much more information than she should have had. "But Mom didn't want me to go at first."

"Ah yes, well perhaps they do still love you. But did you know, they didn't always love each other?"

Eraq blinked with genuine confusion. What was she talking about? Mom and Dad loved each other since forever! That was why they were Mom and Dad! "How do you know that?"

He wasn't sure he liked the sinister way the fox smirked at him but he was quickly swept up with a number of different concerns when she swished her fluffy black tail and a swirl of black smoke rose around them like a blanket. "Relax my dear," the fox's voice soothed from beside him, although he could no longer see her. He started to panic regardless of her words as the darkness engulfed him and he could no longer even see the moogle wrapped tightly in his arms.

He felt his breathing intensify out of his control but before he could whimper or complain a dull, gray backdrop appeared and curved above his head, where he guessed the barrier was. Somewhat comforted by the sparse amount of light, he felt his breathing steady and glanced over to barely see the fox's silhouette among the blackness. "Look up and watch, child."

Eraq complied, but only because he wanted to make her happy so she'd hurry up and turn the lights back on. He was sorry he did though, because the scene unfolding before him was surely something that would haunt him forever.

"Mom, Dad!" he cried out to their ethereal forms on the foggy dome above but neither seemed to have heard him at all. In fact, there was something really strange about them. Dad looked really different somehow, but that was his dad right? And then that was definitely Mom, he knew that without a doubt, but why was Dad hurting her? Dad never hurt Mom. Never!

The person that portrayed his dad was holding Mom up by the throat with one hand, and stranger still, Mom wasn't fighting back! "Dad, what are you doing? You're hurting Mom!" he shouted at the illusion but once again his parents were deaf to his calls.

"They can't hear you, child," the fox told him gently. "This is simply a vision from the past." She swished her tail once more just as the male in the vision had raised his Keyblade threateningly and Eraq nearly ducked under his moogle before the smoky atmosphere vanished all at once, taking its horrific images with it. "So now you see. You're father is not who you think he is."

Eraq's young mind was racing. He didn't want to believe those images. He couldn't! "You're lying!" he snapped at the little creature. "Dad would never do something like that. Especially not to Mom!"

The fox merely tipped her head at the boy. "No reason to get upset with me, child. I can assure you, the visions I conjure are the truth. I can't create them. I can only pull them from the past."

He wanted to object more, but she sounded so confident in her answer and he didn't have the mental capacity to argue with her. She spoke like an adult. Like a really scary adult. And he was sure that there was something not right with the vision she showed him. Still, there was no way he would be able to get that image out of his head any time soon. Why would Dad ever even think of hurting Mom? It didn't make any sense!

He felt like crying again. Like curling up into a tight little ball and waiting for someone to rescue him. Sure, the fox was protecting him from the monsters, but he felt like he was being tormented in a way that was almost worse than those viscous shrieks.

Shrieks. Shouting. Eraq raised his head, unaware that he had dropped it in his despair. It was faint, but he could hear someone calling his name, and some barking too! "Uncle Ven? Angelo?" He called out to them and ran outside of the barrier without a second thought, phasing right through it as the fox followed after him.

"Be careful dear, it might be a trap," she warned him. "Those monsters have been known to imitate people."

The boy looked down at the small fox with a frown. He wasn't sure if he should believe her or not. She had upset him a lot, but she did protect him when he had needed it most, and that wasn't something he would soon forget. "Eraq!" someone called his name again, but it wasn't Uncle Ven this time... It was Dad! And he sounded really close, not to mention worried.

"That's my dad!" the boy exclaimed happily to his small companion before calling out to his father. "I'm over here Dad!"

"Indeed," the black fox replied with a frightened look as she stepped back. "I've seen what he's capable of."

"But Dad's not like that," he tried to assure her.

"Isn't he? I'd rather not find out." She stepped back a bit more and watched as the boy turned back toward his father's voice, his expression a little more anxious than before. He did not see her sly smirk before she noiselessly swished her tail and disappeared inside a pitch black gate that loomed only a footstep behind him.

Eraq whimpered in his delirium. He was happy that Dad had found him, truly he was. So why was he also scared? He didn't believe those false visions, so why did he feel so frightened all of a sudden? Just then, his father tore out from a wall of greenery, vines and leaves flying everywhere in his frenzied wake. His dark eyes went wide when he locked on to Eraq's position. "Eraq!" he called desperately, though to the boy, he sounded angry.

"Dad, I didn't mean to run off, there were monsters and-" the charcoal haired boy whimpered and took an unintentional step back, feeling for the first time the cold lick of darkness against his skin. It felt angry, and empty, and it pulled at the rest of his body as if it wanted to eat him whole. "Dad?" If he hadn't been panicking before, he sure was now. He felt his breathing come in short wisps, his heart pounded faster than ever, and there were white spots all over the place, wherever he looked, so much so that he almost couldn't see anything anymore. He could see his dad running for him though, Dad would save him. And with that last thought, he succumbed to the complete white, and then, to the infinite black.

Terra could not believe his eyes. After practically exploding from the undergrowth he had been frozen with shock and terror by the sight of a dark portal only inches away behind his son. The boy seemed to be frozen in place as well. "Eraq!" he cried out, desperate to warn him of the impending danger behind him. He was downright horrified when the action seemed to have the opposite result, causing the boy to take a deadly step backward. And was that fear in his eyes? Fear, towards him? His own father? The expression was not foreign to him, but the direction it was aimed at certainly was.

Terra felt as though the breath had just been sucked out of his body. He had never done anything to make Eraq fear him in such a way. Sure, he had administered discipline many times, but never in a way that warranted such a morbid fear as this. Surely there was a valid explanation for it, but for now all that mattered was getting him to safety and the hell away from that portal!

The boy was whimpering something, but Terra couldn't decipher it as he was still too far away. He was worried that a rushed advance might spook him more, so he approached at a steady, calm pace, one hand held out to his son in a welcoming gesture. "Eraq, calm down. Just come to me. That's all you need to do."

But the boy didn't seem to hear him, his bright blue eyes were glazing over with pure terror as he peered at the swirling dark matter behind him. He was losing consciousness and the portal was drawing him in. "Eraq!" Terra howled desperately and in a final bid to save his son he launched himself toward the portal, but he was still too far away and it was already closing around his small body.

Despair threatened to choke him as the reality of the situation kicked in. He wasn't going to make it. But suddenly, from around the huge trunk Ven appeared beside the closing portal with Angelo by his side, the both of them panting and bloody, but Terra paid that no mind. "Ven! The portal! Eraq fell in!"

The blond didn't even waste the instant it would have taken to nod his understanding, but rather he leaped straight into the dark pool without a second thought, with Angelo barking frantically and leaping right after him.

And then there was nothing. The darkness vanished with a hiss, and Terra was left panting at its former location, only a few seconds too late. He dropped to his knees with a strangled cry. Instantly, thoughts of denial started racing through his frantic mind. This was nothing but a nightmare. He would wake up soon to Eraq pouncing on his stomach, telling him all about his adventures with Ven and he would then proceed to tickle him relentlessly as the usual punishment for waking him up prematurely.

Unfortunately, reality was all to quick at presenting itself to him.

He could sense her approach from behind him more than heard her. Aqua's fear and denial was even more apparent to him than his own. "Terra?" Her emotions rolled off her being in waves, and he struggled to turn his body to face her. "Where is he?"

The female keybearer gazed around the area with a dazed expression, her breaths coming in gasps though she didn't seem to notice. She was far too calm for the situation and it worried him. A disaster like this would surely break her.

He stood on shaken legs to face her fully but he found that he could not bring his gaze up to meet hers. "There was a," he paused, his breath hitching disobediently. "A dark portal behind him, and he- he-"

"What?" Aqua insisted and moved to place both hands on his broad, slouched shoulders, shaking him desperately. "What happened? Terra, tell me!"

"He fell in," the words were a mere breath, but he knew she had heard him, because her hands fell away limply and she staggered back in shock. "Ven and Angelo jumped in after him. I was too late to follow."

"No," she cried feebly, her panting fading to wracking sobs as she kept backing away in horror. "Not again. Terra, I can't do this again!" she shouted, and although he knew her words weren't directed at him, he could still feel their sting.

"Aqua, try to stay calm." He reached for her in an attempt to reassure her but she only backed away even more. "Ven is with him. We can figure something out."

But she wasn't listening anymore. She was shaking her head back and forth, but whether that was directed at his words or the calamity was unclear, probably both. Before he could make any further attempt at stabilizing her emotional avalanche she suddenly spun around and darted out of his reach.

"Aqua wait!" he called after her in vain and wanted badly to chase her down and make her understand that things weren't as bad as she was making them out to be. It wasn't like Eraq was dead. They would find him. He'd make sure of that. He needed to tell her these things, but he had given that desperate, final sprint for Eraq everything he had, leaving him with absolutely nothing left to go after her. Not that he could catch her anyway; she had always been faster than him and unless she wanted to be caught, he didn't stand a chance.

Falling back to his knees out of exhaustion and frustration, he slammed his fists on the soft earth with yet another howling cry of anguish as guilt set in. He couldn't help but feel like the entire mess was his fault. Whose idea was it to go on this damned vacation anyway? Who was it that constantly jabbed at Aqua's fretting? She had every right to fret! She was right all along! He clenched his teeth in aggravation. If only he could go back in time and smack himself across the face he would gladly do it if it meant he could fix everything.

But who was he kidding? He had already been given a second chance in life, yet he was still making an utter mess of things! A second chance was unheard of. Why would he ever think he could get a third?

He unclenched his fists and stared at his open palms for a long moment. A brilliant clarity dawned in his muddled mind and he remembered the vow he had made a long time ago, before Eraq had even been born. To never again lose himself to despair.

He felt determination spread like fire in his body and he rose to his full height, his legs were warning him to rest more but he ignored them and stalked forward in pursuit of those he was meant to follow.

Aqua ran. She ran so hard and fast that her body was giving her all the obvious signals that she should stop, but she didn't listen, she couldn't, not yet. The sobs and the river of tears flowing down her cheeks wouldn't stop but she didn't fight them either. She could feel her emotions roiling around inside her like a chaotic storm and she wasn't even sure what she was feeling anymore.

Anguish, loss, anger, emptiness, confusion, grief, but those were only words. Words that couldn't begin to describe her tears. She felt an all too familiar agony in her chest, like her heart was being torn in two for the second time in her life. Losing her master, Ven, Terra and even herself all in the same tragedy had caused her enough anguish for one lifetime and she didn't know how she would live through another.

How does one even begin to accept the loss of a child anyway? Sure, she knew Eraq wasn't dead, Terra had a point when he said Ven was with him. But that didn't mean she would see him again! A dark portal meant he had possibly fallen into another world. A single world, a single star in an ocean of stars. She scoffed bitterly between sobs. What were the odds of finding him, really?

She knew she had given up without even trying, but the situation was just too overwhelming, too impossible for her to contemplate in her state of grief.

She felt a thin prick of guilt gnaw its way into her already aching heart. She didn't blame Terra, but she was sure she made him feel that way. She knew because he wasn't coming after her. He was no doubt wallowing in his own grief and guilt and had no way of overcoming it just as she didn't. She allowed another bitter laugh to escape her throat with a sob. It was such a sad irony. The moment when they needed each others reassurance the most, and they denied it from one another. It didn't matter though. No words would mend her broken heart.

Without realizing it, she was back in the clearing with the gorillas and her body continued to move on its own, as if she were drawn to a source of comfort that her mind had forgotten.

Her legs halted finally, her entire body trembling and wracked by misery as she stared down at Kala, the gorilla she had befriended earlier in the day. The female primate hooted at her worriedly but Aqua merely answered in a dead monotone, "he's gone." She didn't know why, but she all of a sudden succumbed to her exhaustion and intense grief fully, collapsing beside the familiar ape with a cry. "Eraq's gone." She wrapped her abdomen with both arms and doubled over as she proceeded to wail over and over so loud that she was sure her own eardrums were about to burst.

Kala cooed at her gently, pulled her closer and pressed her worn knuckles to Aqua's torso, where her heart was. The woman gasped in surprise between her grief stricken cries. Somehow, she had understood what Kala was trying to communicate, as if from one mother to another, heedless of the numerous barriers between them.

You will find a way to cope.