Yuuki breathed deeply. Maple Island always had this air about it that he loved. It smelled like trees, but not a damp, earthy smell like one would find in a forest, it was a sweeter smell; it smelled the way maple syrup tasted, he couldn't really describe it that well. But it made him feel at home.

The group of six had, after spending some time on an airship, docked at Southperry and made their way through Amhearst, with Yuuki leading the way. He had been particularly cryptic about where they were going, which annoyed Aran and confused Tear.

"Hey, Eskalade?" Tear whispered into her shoulder.

"Wassup, pretty butt?" The voice of the Nova god answered back.

"Don't call me that." Tear shrugged a bit and brushed off a maple leaf that had landed on her clothes. "I wanted to ask, did you know about the Erdas?"

"Those things? Yeah, I knew about them." The dragon mused. "Never dealt with them, if that's what you're wondering. I tried to learn, but the crazy lady kicked me out."

"Crazy lady?"

"Different worlds do have different gods." The dragon tut-tutted. "Yuuki is probably trying to find the goddess of Maple World. You and me? We're from Grandis, so who do you think I learned from?"

"The goddess of Grandis? She's a crazy lady?"

"Precisely."

Tear scoffed. "She kicked you out, that sounds pretty sane to me."

"Madam, I take offense." The Nova god feigned shock.

Tear was trying to come up with a witty response when she walked straight into Xenon, who had stopped in the middle of the road.

"O-oh, sorry!" Tear sputtered out.

"Do not worry. You have done nothing wrong." The cyborg answered. His expression seemed vacant. "Tear…I have an inquiry."

"Huh?"

"A question."

"O-oh. I knew that. Go ahead."

The two began walking again to catch up to the others.

"What do you believe we shall find when we eventually enter the Door to the Present?"

Tear pondered this for a while. The Black Mage was behind this, so there would be monsters, obviously. There were always monsters. But as for what else might be beyond that vortex, what they might find, or worse, who they might find…

"I dunno." Tear answered. "…there's sand, maybe it's a beach?"

Xenon seemed to process this response for several seconds before letting loose a small chuckle.

"That response…" Xenon giggled unprofessionally. "…made me feel very human, and that is a compliment. Thank you, Tear."

"Don't mention it." Tear giggled back.

The two stopped alongside Aran, Liuva, and Hayato. Yuuki stood a few feet in front of them, standing in front of a small house. In the distance, atop a small hill, stood a lone maple tree. Yuuki stared into the leaves of the far-off tree until he heard a voice.

"Y-yuuki?!"

The voice was quiet, almost timid. A girl's voice. The source of which emerged from behind a small bush off to the side; a girl with light brown hair, wearing a green dress and holding a staff with an elaborate golden pattern on it. Her hair was shaped into two long pigtails that cascaded down her back, and she wore a small hairpin in the shape of a flower. Yuuki gave her a warm smile, and the girl's expression became one of glee.

"Yuuki!" The girl ran forward and gripped the warrior in a vice-like embrace.

"Erk…S-sugar…air…" Yuuki gasped as he heard two of his ribs crack.

"S-sorry!" The girl exclaimed and dropped the warrior. Yuuki put his hand on her shoulder, partially for support as he stood up.

"You dragged us all the way out here to see your girlfriend?" Aran asked, eyebrows raised. Sugar flushed crimson.

"She's not my-!" Yuuki began, but stopped himself. "…oh never mind. If I try to fight it you'll only wind up teasing more, and we're on a bit of a tight schedule." The warrior straightened up. "Sugar, this is Aran, Xenon, Liuva, Tear, and Hayato." He pointed at each member of the group in turn, who gave varying methods of greeting.

"And everyone, this is Sugar…"

"Look…" Liuva commented. "As romantic as it is to say goodbye to your lover before you leave on a big mission, we've got bigger fish to fry, like finding-"

"Sugar is the goddess of Maple World." Yuuki finished.

Liuva opened her mouth to say something, but immediately shut it. Yuuki immediately felt extremely smug.

"Hold up." Aran raised her hands. "You're the goddess of Maple World. You."

Sugar flushed and rubbed the back of her head.

"Well, she's the goddess's 'other self'." Yuuki clarified. "The goddess doesn't have a physical form, so she sent Sugar out into the world in her stead."

"So she is…human?" Hayato questioned.

"Uhh…" Yuuki frowned and started thinking about this. Then he shook his head. "Doesn't matter really. Don't think about it too much."

The warrior turned to Sugar.

"Hey, so the reason I came…" He took a deep breath. "It's about the Erdas Flow…"

Sugar frowned slightly. "What about it?"

Yuuki sighed and relayed the story of their meeting with the Memory Keeper- and their meeting with the Erdas. Sugar's expression read like an open book at each high and low.

"…and when the Memory Keeper mentioned that the goddesses had learned how to manipulate the Flow, I immediately thought of you."

Sugar's expression faltered. "I-I…I mean…I can't manipulate Erdas myself…but…"

"Your other self can, right?" Asked Yuuki.

"Y-yes…just…" Sugar heaved a deep breath. "Yuuki…this mission…it sounds dangerous."

"I've been in worse." The warrior smiled. "I promise, I'll be okay."

Sugar smiled back. "A-alright…I'll send you to my other self. You can find her in a space called the Event Horizon. N-normally it's inaccessible, but I can open a portal there." Sugar glanced at the tree in the distance. "B-but only two at a time. Six people is a bit…"

"Fine, fine, whatever." Scoffed Liuva. "Let's go already!"

The blaster immediately charged up the hill. Hayato sighed and followed her, Xenon shortly after. Yuuki gave Sugar another grin, and set off as well.

Aran walked alongside Sugar with her hands resting on her head as she walked.

"So..." The legendary hero mused. "You're the human version of a goddess, right?"

"U-um, yes! Kind of…"

"But you're human, right? Or at least, mortal?"

"U-um…y-yes? I think?"

"Oho." Aran chuckled. "So that means you and Yuuki can be together, at least."

Sugar flushed a shade of red that was close to black. "T-t-that's…! W-we're…! I-I-I'm not…! It's not like thaaaaaaat!"

Aran let out a laugh. The shy ones are always fun to mess with.