"Animal Kingdom, here we come!" cheered Jordan and Alex after lunch excitedly.

Following lunch, and their lightsaber battle, as planned the Core Four were heading to Animal Kingdom. The park was packed with attractions, but since they'd had a fairly early lunch they had a few hours to spend there. The bus from the resort took them to the main Animal Kingdom entrance, the archway's letters in a Jurassic Park style font.

That led them to Oasis, a sandy area with palm trees and small dotted lakes to own up to the name of Oasis. Alex heard the call of a few birds and animals from the sides festooned with big trees. There were a few groups of people huddled at certain viewing locations which they bypassed in favour of heading for Primeval Whirl located in DinoLand, U.S.A for a spin on a rollercoaster.

It was exhilarating fun zooming along a roller coaster with dips and twist, dinosaurs roaring defiantly in their faces as they zipped away, shrieking mixed cries of fear and exhilaration. After that, they egged each other on to ride the TriceraTop Spin with the little kids, even going as far as to buying food and betting and bribing. They crossed back into the very centre of Animal Kingdom, passing by an area dedicated entirely to kids named The Boneyard.

There was a massive - and Alex meant massive tree nicknamed the Tree of Life on a small island with a thin river and sandy paths weeding around it. They did get caught up on the mainland, even starting a few of the trails by accident before exploring the shops and activities ringed around the Tree of Life. The lazy rides were the best, on which they could chatter softly and still enjoy the animal-theme attractions.

Some snack stalls caught their attention and they sampled a range of different foods strolling through the windy paths. They had to persuade Dix not to buy every single animal merch on sale since it definitely wouldn't fit in their suitcases and there was an alarming amount gathered already from previous parks.

They explored the areas named Africa and Asia, then venturing over to Expedition Everest, aka, another gigantic mountain ride. Shaped as per the name (Mount Everest).

"Hmmm. Not recommended for small children." Dix smirked. "I guess that means—"

"Yes, yes, Jordan can't ride it, blah blah blah." Jordan rolled his eyes. "But if you're talking about small, who hasn't grown in a while?"

Dix's cheeks turned flaming red. "Not me. I'm as tall as all of you."

"Sure." Alex chuckled. "If they have to measure you at the height thingies, we'll know for sure."

"Ah, a day in the life of the amazing Jordan Sparker." sighed the blonde, slinging a hand around Dix's shoulders. "Accused of being a small child and bullied for having a fantastic personality."

Dix snorted lovingly, looking up to Jordan and whacked him lightly on the forehead. "Well, you're my small child."

Alex stopped in her tracks. "That...came out so wrong."

"What do you mean—oh." Dix shrieked quietly in alarm. "I didn't mean it like that and you know it."

Jordan was wheezing silently, his face burned red with laughter and Bear stood frozen in shock behind them.

"How 'bout that ride, huh?" said Bear, smiling as wide as his mouth could stretch. "And let's not talk for a solid five minutes so our brains can recalibrate."

Alex kept her mouth clamped shut as they lined up for Expedition Everest. There wasn't need for Bear's suggested vow of temporary silence since the artificial Everest had their breaths captured. Obviously it would be impractical and very expensive to recreate an exact model of Mount Everest, also considering once riders reached the top they'd probably pass out from lack of oxygen. Therefore, it was a smaller replica, but it still looked ethereal.

And Alex knew a lot about mountains having trained on Mount Paedris for absolute days upon days with Niyx, so Expedition Everest really did look good. With snow capped peaks and a ginormous rock body, a twisting railway looping in and out, the ride looked like it would be fun. They entered through these series of huts where they passed through Fast Pass, looking at all the climbing equipment and gear decoratively scattered around the rooms.

They boarded the car with Alex behind Bear and Jordan at the front with Dix behind her.

"I'm a screamer," Someone whispered from behind them and Dix nudged Alex in the side, her cheeks bright red and puffed with contained laughter as the person gave their seat mate an extensive essay on their screaming tendencies on rollercoasters.

The ride started slow, with loping hills and a relaxing couple of drops at a languid speed, moving through a carved path around the base of the mountain dotted with tall green trees. Then they began a slow chug upwards, through an exquisitely marked arch of red stone, Alex wasn't worried at all as they went through an ice tunnel with snow packed walls until she saw what was in front of them.

The track had abruptly ended and they were approaching the snapped rungs of the rails which balanced over the edge of the small peak they'd climbed. The slow car showed no signs of stopping until it paused at the very edge and even from the second row Alex caught a glimpse of an enchanting view of Animal Kingdom below. Turning to tell Dix, she was caught off guard by the sudden downhill movement of the car barrelling backwards through the ice tunnel.

Said 'screamer' from before proved their point enthusiastically as they shrieked through the dark journey back down, the car shuddering with speed as they whipped past a shadow show casting blue light on the rock walls. It depicted a large monster roaring in anger and tearing the track in two - what looked like the snapped track they'd stopped at earlier.

A pair of glowing purple eyes met her briefly before they continued their journey rocketign along the track, through dips and twirls inside the depths of Everest, screams echoed by the roars deep below. After they were met with blasts of light and jarring stops, turns and drops, they slowed suddenly as they approached the hut they'd left from.

Alex laughed as Bear staggered out of the exit, ranting about the yeti and what he'd read on the Internet.

"It's—we can't, oh my gosh, it was so real, I just, oh my—has anyone ever seen a yeti, actually? Cause that seemed pretty darn accurate."

"How about we visit some of the markets?" Jordan suggested, peering at his phone.

"Oooh, and after that we can go to the Kali River Rapids!" Alex pushed them together the water ride eagerly.

With Jordan's suggestion first in mind, the four of them browsed through the markets, trying Asian delicacies and desserts, looking through clothes and merchandise, snacking at the yeti themed cafes that only fuelled Bear's yeti discovery obsession. After that, they went to ride the river rapids, the four of them claiming a gigantic doughnut and gripping tightly on the bars as they were tossed and turned around the river, bouncing off the sides with giggles of glee.

Then Dix dragged them to Africa, where they rode the Wildlife Expression Train and gazed at the animals darting and prowling through the thick foliage. From there, they strolled around and looked at the gorillas and meerkats, watching the birds and then going back to the entrance of Africa to pass by the lions, hippos, elephants and rhinos.

It was nearing evening when they'd finished every other area but the small section dedicated to the Avatar movies. Alex hadn't watched them herself, but apparently Dix had on the long plane ride. The princess begged the exhausted others to go on one final thrill ride for the day, the Avatar Flight of Passage. Alex crumbled shortly after Jordan did, and then Bear followed.

Dix said they were boarding something called a mountain banshee, which really looked to Alex like a glowing manta-ray wit, but Dix was invested in her diction as she gave them a run down on the ride. Apparently the Flight of Passage was an important rite of passage, flying and specifically bonding with a flying manta ray (mountain banshee) in the life of a Na'vi hunter on Pandora. Although Alex didn't know what was going on clearly, she could admire the exotic and breathtaking scenery that they flew past, a jungle of paradise and colours.

"Dinner." Jordan moaned as soon as they returned to the hotel, slumping in the lobby's plush chairs. They looked out of place slightly damp and very tired, but the staff seemed used to this as they offered them water which was readily accepted.

"Where do you want to go?" Alex asked, peeling herself off from the position that would have given her a terrible crick in the neck.

"Nowhere outside." Bear said firmly as they walked into the living room adjoining their suites. "My feet will slap me unconscious. Theme parks are so much work."

"Room service, then," Dix sighed as she released a bush of red hair from her braids. "My feet too, will slap me unconscious Barnold."

"What do we want to order?" Jordan crammed a mouthful of salt and vinegar crisps into his mouth and they all clustered around the menu.

"Uh...there's burgers, pasta, lobster rolls, sandwiches, steaks, and a ton of other fancy stuff." Alex read aloud, passing the menu around.

They all decided what they were going to have and then ordered using the room telephone, flopping back down on the couches with their lightsabers tightly clutched in their hands as they watched the random episode of Friends airing on the TV. Alex jumped up to collect their food and set it out for them to eat as they laughed at the show.

Alex had watched Friends before, only a few episodes scattered through the seasons since they'd never really had the time as a family to settle down long enough for her to watch everything, so it was fun watching with her friends. She munched on her burger, summoning A'enera once or twice to practice some basic strokes and then pocketing the fiery sword away.

They'd put the dishes outside, stacked neatly on the tray when Jordan hopped up on one of the couches, brandishing his lightsaber grandly.

"I have the high ground weaklings!"

Alex grinned to herself. "Not for long Sparkie."

A/N: is it another chapter? W o a h. Gosh I'm sorry I hate abadoning pieces randomly but i just lost total isnpiration for this and then BOOM i wrote the rest of this chapter. A littel short compared to the one before, but expect some sort of updates since I'llbe doing a big announcement in a bit :)

-dommie out