"…You suck at this." Alice said as we stood in the open fields of the world of Final Fantasy.

"Tell me honestly if you expected us to get where we were going." I asked and she looked away as Gareth chuckled and Lily giggled, "Look, we're here so let's try to find our friends."

"…What were their names again?" Gareth asked and I thought for a moment…we didn't spend very long with them so their names were a bit fuzzy…it was…the princess, the dwarven blacksmith, the fairy and the sage.

"It was Sarah, Brokkr, Wendy and…sage."

"Can't remember his name?"

"No Gareth, he never gave it to us." Lily answered, "Um, side-note, how are we going to find them?" She had a point…I had no clue where we were or where the Warriors of Light were so finding them was going to be a bit of an issue.

"Hey Lily, do you still have the map from earlier?"

"I should still have it." Lily quickly shuffled through her journal and held the book out for me; it was the early edition before monsters started swarming it.

"Good, we can use this. Let's see…mountains are to our left…and the ocean is to the back of us…which means we're facing north so we're…near the mountain town of Gaia!?"

"That's near the top of the map!" Alice yelled scanning the map hastily, "There's not even a dock near where we are!"

"So we're stranded?" Gareth asked and Alice sighed.

"For the moment, yes."

"How did we end up in the middle of nowhere? We're not that bad at this are we?" Lily asked hastily flipping through her notes. Suddenly I felt a tug at my collar and looked to see Alice was holding me.

"Screw your stupid portals!"

"Gah! Stop!" Releasing her grip I straightened my shirt and looked around; I'm sure we were put here for a specific reason…maybe there was something here that we needed. I scanned the area and saw a small clearing on the grass revealing a path leading to the mountain side in the distance, "Look, someone has been here. They must have found something here at the very least." I started to walk and heard a heavy sigh before they followed behind.

"Just tell me we won't find bones at least." Lily asked.

"Animal, possibly." Gareth said, "Human…iffy."

"Really comforting Gareth." Alice replied sarcastically.

We finally came to the cave side and I was surprised to see a large opening jutting out of the mountain leading into the darkness inside; good something was here…I really didn't want to get hit over a hunch today…everything feels sore anyway. As we walked I took notice of the path we followed and saw a few foot grooves; what was weird was that from what I could tell there were about eight different foot prints meaning there was a big group here…possibly recently to.

"That looks ominous." Gareth said as Alice drew her katana which came out flaming.

"Not as ominous as some of the things we've seen." Alice replied as she stepped into the cave, "Come on let's go farther in."

"Alright, everyone be careful." I said pulling out Twin Soul as Gareth and Lily nodded and pulled out their weapons.

We moved through the cave slowly and walked lightly; my experience in this world was much more hostile than anywhere else we'd been so I had to stay much more alert. Although I was surprised to find a lack of monsters in the world outside…but that could just mean they took up residence in the caves below meaning this area is even more dangerous. I took a deep breath and felt wetness on my brow; wiping it away I was surprised to find I was sweating profusely…now that I notice, it seems hotter than before.

"What the hell? How did it get so hot?" Gareth asked and I looked at the others to see they were also wet…wait. I took a whiff of myself but was surprised to find I wasn't stinking; this wasn't sweat, it was just air moisture…and a lot of it at that.

"Are we in a steam cave?" I asked.

"I…no we can't be." Lily answered turning to me, "It would be a dry heat instead of water vapor."

"Fair enough but then what's causing this?" Alice asked as we all stopped to talk. I took another whiff of the air and smelled something new.

"Hang on…anybody else smell that?" I asked and they all took a sniff.

"It smells a bit salty." Alice answered.

"But also…slightly soothing. It's nice." Lily added.

"Smells like a hot spring." Gareth said bluntly.

"You've smelled a hot spring before?" I asked.

"No but I've smelled hot mineral water. It's basically the same thing right?" Lily nodded in response.

"So we're near a hot spring?"

"If we are then let's keep going. It's a landmark at least." Alice said as she continued to walk.

"It's already a straight path though. Do we really need one?" Lily asked catching up to her.

"Look can we just get there. I'm sick of being lost." Alice said giving up, it's been a long day for all of us so I could understand…still funny to see.

Stepping over the threshold of light we all gasped in surprise at the giant underground hot spring that was splayed out before us; it looked piping hot and was giving off a lot of steam that filled the air. I took a few steps forward and dipped my fingers into the water feeling a sudden relief wash over my fingers, this was definitely a hot spring…but why were we transported to a hot spring in the first place?

"Who's there?" Hearing a females voice I stepped back and watched as a figure came through the misty expanse; when they came into view I saw a girl with gentle eyes and long green hair holding a towel over her body and looking at us with caution, "Wait…Soren!" I took a moment to think and realized that the girl with green hair was Princess Sarah of Cornelia.

"Sarah!?" I said in shock as she dashed at us and gave me a hug.

"I can't believe it's you! It's been too long!" When she let go she looked behind me and gasped, "And you brought Alice, Gareth and Lily too! It's everyone."

"You better believe it. I don't go anywhere without my team."

"Really?" Gareth said giving me a cocky grin.

"Some details are better left unsaid." I said with a chuckle, "So how have you been Princess?"

"Actually, I'm not the princess in this world. I'm just Sarah the wandering adventurer." She replied posing dramatically, "What about you guys?"

"Traveling across realities." Alice replied stepping forward and pushing me behind her, "On a more important note, why are you dressed in only a towel?"…Oh yeah, that's all she's wearing.

"It's a hot spring cavern. We're enjoying the hot springs."

"We?" Lily asked and Sarah whistled loudly before three others came out of the mist; it was Brokkr who only had his head and neck sticking out of the water, the sage who gave us a gentle smile…man he's like ninety percent wrinkles…and a blue haired girl.

"Who's she?" I asked and she jumped forward suddenly shrinking down and sprouting wings…Wendy!

"Already forgot about me?" She asked playfully as she fluttered around my head before growing back to human height and giggling.

"No, just didn't expect you to be able to do that."

"So what's happening?"

"We came by to visit." Lily answered.

"Ay well it seem like ye came at the wrong time." Brokkr said laughing, "We avent even gotten dressed."

"That's okay shortie." Gareth replied looking him up and down, "…I see your rocking a six pack very well.

"Can't be a smither without some muscle."

"Fair enough."

"Hang on…weren't there eight footprints?" Alice asked and the Sage nodded.

"Very perceptive, yes there are four more with us." I looked around finding nobody else nearby.

"Where are they?" I asked and the four of them all gave each other worried looks.

"We'll bring them over, just…don't freak out." Sahrah said before giving a sharp whistle. We all heard the sloshing of water as four more figures came out of the mist…no…no way!

"I-I-It's…them." Lily said beside herself in shock.

"No way…not possible." Gareth said as I heard his feet slide back slightly.

"I didn't see this coming…not by a long shot." Alice said patting my back and bringing me back to my senses. Four people stood in front of us…and not just anyone, it was Kent, Hana, Pent, and Sena…our friends who died in the mirage tower and sky palace.

"Whoa! Who copied us?" Hana asked stepping forward playfully and looking us over, "…Not bad replicas at all…this one is pretty cute too."…Yeah…that's definitely Hana.

"Back off!" Alice yelled getting in between us, "I got enough of this the first time!"

"Woah, calm down Alice. She hasn't done anything!" I said stopping her rampage.

"…You're just too dense for this conversation." She said clocking me in the head out of nowhere.

"So these are clones?" Kent asked stepping forward and looking Alice over, "…You're clone seems colder than you Hana."

"You want your clock cleaned too?" Alice threatened shaking her fist.

"No, they're not our clones." Sena said stepping forward and pushing her glasses up, "Cloning magic is still years off and the technology is even farther than that."

"Alice…I feel we've heard that name before." Pent said taking a deep breath, "Of course! They are the friends of the Wanderers!"

"Wanderers?" Lily asked and Sarah chuckled uncomfortably, "Oh…not a good name."

"Ay, we know." Brokkr said and I pat his back.

"Been there man, been there."

"So you guys were there when they saved the world?" Kent asked looking skeptical, "Is it true?"

"Yep, every word!" Gareth said proudly.

"Even the part where they single handedly destroyed a meteor by using the planets life force?" Hana asked getting in my face.

"Almost every word." Alice finished with a sigh.

"That sounds familiar but…many generations away from now." I said thinking back to where that's from and chuckling.

"Wait…so you guys don't remember us?" Lily asked and Pent nodded.

"As far as we know this is the first time we have met." So…this is this reality's Warriors of Light…although I'm guessing they don't need warriors of light in this reality.

"Well…then it's nice to meet you guys." I said stepping forward and holding my hand out, "I'm Soren and these are my friends Alice, Gareth and Lily." Kent looked at my hand and then my face before smirking and gripping my hand.

"Nice to meet you Soren. I'm Kent and these are my friends Hana, Pent and Sena…but you already knew that didn't you."

"No, I knew the names…but I don't know YOU four." There was an awkward silence before we both laughed easing the tension. Suddenly Hana popped in between us with a big smile on her face.

"Time for a shared bath!"

"…That actually sounds nice." Suddenly I felt Alice smack the back of my head again, "Ow…why?"

"You're too stupid for words you know that?" Alice said confusing me.

Alice

"Hmph…I wanted a shared bath." Hana said sulking as she sat in the water with us. Taking charge I made sure that the boys were taken to a separate part of the spring while us girls soaked at the other end as we were separated by a makeshift wall of rocks.

"Wasn't happening on my watch." I replied sliding into the heated water and letting out a long sigh; this was amazing.

"Is my copy ashamed of her body?"

"No! I just don't want those animals ogling at us the whole time!"

"Hmm…"

"I don't think I'd mind Soren being here." Sarah said and I sat up in shock.

"Yeah, he doesn't seem the type to be that way." Wendy added and I sighed.

"Trust me, he is…it's just weird to tell how he's feeling…he goes into a blank stare." And that just makes it worse…damn it what was he thinking in that moment.

"Wait…he actually-"

"No! Never! Not at all!" I replied hastily with all my might making Hana giggle…stupid girl is too pushy…am I that way?

"You're lying." Sena said bluntly.

"Um…how about we just drop this okay? It's probably better that way." Lily said and I relaxed back into the water. It felt like the water was washing away all my worries and tension but it felt like more than just that; every fight and struggle I had ever been in was being washed into the water and evaporated into the air…I honestly wouldn't be surprised if I was a few pounds lighter when I stepped out…we've really been through a lot in this adventure haven't we?

"So what happened after we parted?" Sarah asked snapping me out of my memories, "It's been about a year and you just show up out of nowhere and during our break no less."

"Well how about you explain what you've been up to?" I asked turning to her, "I honestly didn't expect to see you guys with these guys…I didn't know what to expect with you guys."

"In this world it would have been weird to go back to our old lives…especially with our copies being here." She had a point, two princesses doesn't make for a good kingdom…or leads to a beheading…ugh.

"So we decided to keep wandering the world around us to help others out." Wendy chimed in, "One of the towns we visited had these guys running around helping them out…and so we decided to team up. That was about six months ago now."

"That seems weird. What were you four doing?" I asked looking at Hana and Sena.

"We're traveling heroes." Hana answered confusing me.

"We've decided as childhood friends that we wanted to help those in need," Sena continued pushing her glasses up, "but the world was at peace for the most part so we decided to start up a small hero community to dispatch troubling monsters and bandits to protect villages."

"It was slow going for a while," Hana said with a sigh, "but we liked it."

"Yes…it's very enjoyable." Sena added with a smile on her face and a wistful look in her eyes.

"It's definitely what I like to do most." Sarah said, "Maybe that's why I never liked my princess duties." She giggled at herself and we all laughed, "So what about you guys?"

"It…It hasn't been easy." I replied feeling my mood take a sudden spiral down.

"We…We've had better times." Lily added as I began to tell our most current journey.

Soren

"So that's what your next journey was." The sage said with a heavy sigh, "I'm sorry you had to see friends die again."

"…We couldn't stop it." Gareth said in his rare serious mood, "Unfortunately we weren't strong enough to do anything."

"I guess it was just our role to play." I added, "We can't save the day every time."

"Even so it seems like we just plunged it into darkness." He had a point…this is the first time we've left someplace in such a bad state…although I guess I can't say that considering one of those worlds is currently swarming with every creature imaginable, "I just…wish we could have fixed it."

"…Yeah."

"Ay buck up young ones." Brokkr said, "Ye still have work to do right? Then take care of the root and make sure it can't come back!"

"Alternate universes…my life is filled with weird stories isn't it?" Kent asked and Brokkr snapped his fingers at him.

"Focus boy!"

"Sorry. Anyway, it seems like you guys should be there instead of here."

"Yes, your focus is off base if you're relaxing with us." Pent added.

"We'd be there right now but it's much harder to travel through reality then you think." Gareth said defensively.

"It's traveling through space, time and possibility all at once so I'm surprised you four weren't torn apart during your passage." The sage said.

"We're magic."

"That's a crap answer." Kent said and he shrugged.

"Best short answer." Everyone turned to me and I sighed before going into the finer details; once I was done they all nodded in understanding, "So it's like a roulette wheel for us." And their faces returned to confusion.

"Every time man. We're too far back for them to even know what a casino is!" I replied and he laughed.

"Sorry I forgot."

"Wait…what's a roulette wheel?" As Gareth started explaining the rules of gambling I took a quick hop to a secluded part of the spring and seeped into the water; this was my first hot spring and god be damned if it was going to be my last, it's like an even better version of a bath. Suddenly I heard water move behind the wall and I heard a soft contented sigh.

"Huh? Who's there?"

"Oh! Soren?" That's Lily's voice.

"Hey Lily."

"H-Hi." She replied sounding meeker than she usually was. I've seen her open up more as a person but she still stays in the back only chiming in rarely…but at least she was confident in what she said finally, this stuttering meant she was feeling more unsure than before.

"You okay? Anything on your mind?"

"Hmhm…you can read me like a book can't you?"

"And yet you're the book nut in the group."

"Hmhm, yeah…Hey…I'm part of the group right?"

"Of course, you know that better than anyone."

"Yeah…but I can't help thinking about what's happened so far. I know I joined you three when we came to this world…but I can't help thinking about what would have happened if I decided not to help you that day."

"We probably wouldn't be around then…or at least I wouldn't."

"No…you're way too tenacious to go down like that. I know you would have come through in the end…but that would mean I keep fighting you guys…"

"…No, we wouldn't have made it."

"Ah…you're not so optimistic today."

"No…it's just I see how important you are to us Lily. You know we care about you a lot but it's the truth. You're more important than you think you are. All three of us can guarantee it…hell I'm pretty sure Gareth would fight to the death to keep that true."

"Hehehe…y-you really think?"

"No doubt, he really likes the time you guys spend together."

"…Thanks Soren." We sat there in silence and I closed my eyes as I took a deep breath; as I focused my attention on Lily I felt a force push me from where she was sitting…her aura was much stronger than ever before…that made me happy, "Hey Soren?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm sticking by you until the end…for you and for myself."

"Wouldn't have it any other way." I gave a content sigh before sinking into the water, "But for now…let's enjoy this feeling."

"Works for me." She replied before giving out a long satisfied sigh.

Once we finished soaking we all put our clothes back on and stepped back out into the field; the sun was starting to set in the horizon and I began to think back; in Hyrule the sun was on the east side of the world then in the Mushroom kingdom it was in the middle of the sky when we left, now the sun was beginning to set…we traveled through worlds but stayed constant to time…reality is a strange mistress.

"That was a nice soak." Lily said stretching with a long sigh.

"My body feels ten pound lighter." Alice said patting her waist.

"You lost weight? You didn't need to." I said and she looked at me before her face turned red and she shook her head.

"You are a confusing boy on all fronts."

"Huh?" I heard Gareth and Hana laugh behind me.

"I like him." Hana said talking to Kent who sighed.

"He's an idiot." Kent replied.

"A cute idiot."

"Come on, let's go." Alice said ushering us over.

"Hang on." I replied reaching into my jackets' inner pocket and pulling out a scroll tossing it to Sarah, "That will keep us connected no matter how far apart we all are."

"How romantic." Wendy said giggling and I gave a small chuckle.

"Think of it like…a promise. A promise that we'll meet again, this isn't the last time we'll see each other."

"I like it." Kent said giving a smile

"Yeah…I like that promise." Sarah said as she and Kent stepped forward and holding out her hand, "Let's meet again." Grabbing both their hands I shook them confidently.

"Yeah…until we meet again." Drawing my sword I swung behind me opening a red tear, "Everyone ready?" Alice, Gareth and Lily nodded before we all walked through the portal back into the white void.

Walking forward I felt something begin to push against me making my heart race slightly; I stopped in my tracks and closed my eyes taking a deep breath, it was still there…this wasn't my fear this time.

"We're almost there."

"Really?" Gareth asked.

"You sure?" Lily asked.

"We've been wandering for a few hours now." Alice said and I turned to her with a confident look.

"Positive."

"…Alright then. Let's do this."

"Let's get moving then." Gareth said.

"I'm ready." Lily chimed in. I turned around and was surprised to see a red portal had opened up directly in front of us. Taking a step forward we all passed through the portal and I felt the pressure increase tenfold as the light consumed us. When it dies we were standing in front of a metal fortress that towered over us; the ground was a dying brown and the air above us was a gray mesh of desolation while a giant stone wall stood behind us. This was obviously the entrance but it was walled off from entry. I felt someone grab my shoulder and looked over to Alice who pointed forward; I looked to see the metal door slowly open into the darkness. With a shared nod we all walked into the entrance ready to finally take on Owen for the last time…and we were ready!