By lunch time they'd been to the Land of Dragons and the Pridelands. Sora laughed out loud at Riku and Kairi's faces after they'd been turned into animals. Simba and Nala had restored order to the Pridelands and were expecting their first cub soon. They saw all of Pride Rock and Sora took them to the oasis. Before they got to un-used to walking on all fours Bryan suggested they go to the Great Forest.

Sora was astounded to see how much Bambi had grown and now had two fawns of his own. Sora also properly thanked him for all his invaluable help from when he could summon the young prince all those years ago. Afterward they dropped into Sherwood Forest to see Robin and Marion. Robin and Marion had gotten married and Robin was now the earl of all Nottingham. For Rachel and Bryan, that was great to hear.

The mid afternoon and evening was spent in Twilight Town. They'd explored much of the town, taking turns jumping on one of the community skateboards while hanging on to the back of the trolley. Sora was over the moon. Coming back to Twilight Town felt right. But they hadn't found the best part yet. It wasn't in that place tucked away in a back alley. No one could quite understand Sora's unmistakable joy. Or why he insisted they needed to go to the clock tower. When they did, they understood what Sora was looking for, Kairi too.

Three teenagers about their age looked to be just leaving from the clock tower. A boy with black hair saw them first and got the attention of his friends. Sora and Kairi ran to meet Pence, Hayner and Olette, they had done the same. Sora felt his heart swell with euphoria that, although he was happy to see old friends again, he knew this happiness didn't belong to him.

That ended the third day.

Back on the ship the small crew relaxed and had a hearty dinner. They broke off to do their own thing after that. Sora and Kairi had flown to the crow's nest and watched the swirling colors of the space between spaces. Bryan draped himself over the helm like a napping cat that had gone boneless.

Riku had taken to following Rachel around like a baby duck. The others wondered how that didn't get annoying. But Rachel didn't seem to mind the company or the closeness. They would brush shoulders or touch hands once in a while as they walked or playfully push each other in the arm. The affections became increasingly frequent. Sora and Kairi hadn't not noticed Bryan's reactions either. Rachel and Riku sat on the rail of the bow. Sora and Kairi took the opportunity to talk to Bryan about what he thought of the development.

"I don't know." Bryan said. He was still draped over the helm but his gaze was set firmly on Riku and his sister from across the ship, mostly keeping an eye on Riku.

"That's it?" Kairi said. "Your sister could be falling in love and you're not sure how you feel?"

"Aaaagh!" Bryan pressed his hands hard over his ears. "Don't say that!" The idea was still too foreign to hear said out loud.

"So you're not ok with it?" Kairi asked.

"I don't know!" Bryan stood up straighter and turned around to where Sora and Kairi had perched on the rail. "I mean, I'm glad to see Rachel so happy. I'm glad to see her smile about something other than adventures and her magic or her cat."

"She has a cat?"

"Yes. Don't change the subject. Part of me is happy that she is happy. The other part…" His face wrinkled up into a raging scowl and his head did a few sharp twitches. He looked back over to where Rachel and Riku were sitting. By his gaze, it was a wonder Riku didn't turn around to see what was burning through the back of his head. Bryan punched his right fist into his left palm. "The other part boils up in fury every time I see him so much as hold her hand and I want to sock him in the jaw so hard he won't be able to hold his head straight."

"Wow." Sora raised his eyebrows high. "You really feel that way?"

"I'd never actually do anything that violent but that's the best way I can describe what I'm torn between. Neither of you have siblings so I wouldn't expect you to fully understand."

"Can we fall off this thing?" Riku asked, looking over the rail.

"I don't think so. Shy of actually taking a deliberate nose dive. Then again, so long as you can fly there's no chance of that happening."

"How far away from the ship can you fly safely?"

"About twenty feet before you start to feel a weird tug. I haven't tested past that point for fear of being sucked out. And I like being three-dimensional so I'm not going to test the theory."

Riku chuckled and brushed his fingertips over hers and they didn't say anything for a minute.

"How come nobody seems to be feeling any fatigue?" He asked. "We've been running around nonstop for days without a lot of sleep but I don't feel exhausted. Do you?"

"You wouldn't. I put a restoration spell around the whole ship. It supplies energy and keeps anyone from getting worked up. It's not permanent but I thought it would be useful."

"You did that?"

"I figured we probably wouldn't be getting much sleep. And sleeping like we ought to would only cut into our short amount of time to go world jumping. So the spell gives back some of the energy and rest we need and makes it impossible for any of us to get worked up."

"How do you mean?"

"Like Bryan couldn't go full-blown crazy on his drum set or anything that would get the blood moving. None of us could get into an intense sparring session either. Not like we'd have the want or the energy after poppin' all over the place anyway."

"Another question, where did you guys get sent to after you left? The note calling you both back never said."

"Master has us go on all kinds of training quests and missions. There's a special training door for it. It's like entering another world and each region has a different challenge we're supposed to overcome with different criteria as to how we're supposed to do it. Like one place has a huge canyon. The challenge is to cross it but the condition is not to fly. The places are always the same but the regions might show up in a different order with different conditions for the challenge so we don't get complacent when we go through several times. It's like a big obstacle course. Other places there are specific goals to accomplish and we sometimes go on quests for days before finishing them. The rest I'm not sure I can describe and do it justice. He never actually said but I'm sure Master designed the course himself."

"That's what you were doing?"

"With greater fervor than ever before. Master said it was in preparation for another challenge that lay ahead. But he didn't say what that might be. Might have something to do with why he's meeting King Mickey. We'll probably get put through the wringer with new training regiments when he gets back. As Keyblade Masters there's so much more to learn and new skills to improve. But I guess it shouldn't come as a surprise. With destinies like ours, the adventure will never really be over."

Satisfied with the answer Riku inched closer to her. "I'm glad I get to spend some time alone with you."

She smiled. "Me too."

Riku inched closer still and wrapped his arm around her shoulder. Rachel leaned in and rested her head on his shoulder. Within seconds he could feel the heat of her body against his. Riku smiled and rested his head against hers.

"See? That! That right there is what I'm talking about!" Bryan dramatically held out his arms in their direction. "See how he's gettin' all-all cozy with her?"

"But it's so cute!" Kairi protested. "Relationships are supposed to be about closeness. Besides, holding her like that just lets her know she's in strong, dependable arms. "

"Yeah, whatever. Just so long as he keeps his hands were I can see 'em."