Disclaimer: I do not own DanMachi or any of Omori's original characters, nor do I make any profit off of my writing.

Bell allowed himself a single, and in his opinion deserved, victorious laugh as he stared at his handiwork. Sure, if anybody had heard it, they probably would have described it as 'deranged,' 'haunting,' or (if they were just a little bit nicer) 'concerning.' But nobody was there to hear it, so that didn't matter.

Also.. that was kind of the point of why he was laughing.

He did it!

He really did it!

This—this was fantastic! Groundbreaking! And the best part? It wouldn't matter at all after today!

No, wait. That was bad.

Probably.

It kinda sounded like it was bad? (He thinks?) He wasn't sure. Things were awfully confusing when pretty much everybody you know was dead and buried. Believe what you will, but monsters do not make very good company. No, sirree. Well, some do (Bell is partial to goblins, it's just so cute how they always offer to give him back massages, he respects their tenacity a lot.) Sometimes, when he's extra lonely, he'll let monsters tag along with him. They couldn't talk, but they could bite and scratch which was kinda like talking if you really don't think about it. Besides, it wasn't like they could actually hurt him, nothing could really.

He doesn't remember the details fully, just that he'd had the brilliant idea of checking out the underworld of legend and seeing if he could, perhaps, bring a few friends back to life. A silly idea, really, when you consider the fact that it doesn't exist. But he tried anyway! And wouldn't you know? He found it!

Kinda.

Not really.

What he found was a very deep cave in the heart of the Beol mountains. And there he was, walking along the beach of a river in said cave (which.. weird, right? He didn't need to be sane to realize that, caves didn't usually have large rivers) when, oh no! He slipped and fell! Shoot, darn, blast! How would he ever manage to survive?

By swimming.

Not a hard concept.

Sure, the river's water (and he still doesn't quite understand why) hurt. Like a lot. Like a lot a lot. Like fuck. If he had to rate the pain? It was somewhere on the scale between 'ow' and 'death.' He liked to think that was a pretty good estimation considering it did hurt (the 'ow') and he didn't die (the 'death'). If he didn't know any better, he would have said that river hated him! Certainly felt like it!

Regardless, after that his skin was impenetrable!

Oh! Oh! And perfectly clear! That too! Honestly, most of the time he appreciated that more than the impenetrability. Acne was a bitch. Monsters were tame compared to when you got a pimple inside your nose. (Trust him, he does not recommend).

Where was he again?

Right! Magic!

You see, dear reader, before Bell laid a ritual circle. Not just any ritual circle; no, no, no! A time travel circle! What is time travel, he hears you ask? Well, he'll explain!

It's when you travel through time!

Pretty neat, right?

Oh? What's that? Why does Bell wish to travel through time? Well, that's simple! It was the last wish of all of his closest family and friends before they bit the dust with the rest of the world. (Darn monsters!) They were all like 'oh! Bell! Please don't let my loss keep you down, I want you to keep moving forward, be happy!'

So, that's exactly what he was doing!

Step one, not letting their loss keep him down! Easy! He was performing the ritual atop a mountain; he's never been higher!

Step two, keep moving forward! Not as easy (this ritual was a bitch to design!) but he did it! Well, okay, technically he was moving backward. In time, that is. But in a way, for him at least, it would be forward! Kinda. Not really, but whatever! For his conscious, it would be forward, and that's what mattered!

Step three, be happy! Well, that's just super easy! He has everything in the world to be happy for! The hellhound using his leg as an immortal chew toy, that was something to be happy for, and the goblin using its (now blunted) spear to give him a rather aggressive back massage? Yeah, he doesn't even need to say it for people to understand why that would make him happy. People were really missing out when they decided monsters were their enemies. They made better friends once you get past the part where they all want to kill you and suck the marrow from your bones!

Ha.

Ha ha.

Bell smiled as tears streamed down his cheek.

Smiles were good. People smiled when they were happy. So, that's why he smiled. Because he was happy.

"This is great!"

So great!

Bell stood up, ignoring the mutt beside him's cries of discontent as he moved away. "Sorry, Char Grilled, but it's time for me to go." There was a pause before Bell facepalmed. "I can't believe I didn't ask! Char Grilled," the hellhound perked up at her name, head cocking to the side and her tongue lolling out of her mouth. She would have been the picture of innocence if not for the flames building in her throat, Bell knew what those flames did (make a bomb ass cooked frog leg, that's what, hence the name). "Welf Jr." Now it was the goblins turn to look at him, pulling his despondent gaze up from his sorry excuse for a polearm, and letting out a befuddled 'mrgrgr?'

"How would you too like to journey to the past with me?"

The two monsters shared a long look.

"Mrgrgr?" Welf Jr. asked.

"Bouf." Char Grilled responded.

They turned back to Bell in unison.

And then they turned around and walked to the end of the room.

Bell gasped and clenched the fabric of his shirt before his heart. Oh! Betrayed by his only friends!

"H- Hey! That's not very nice, you two!"

Welf Jr. flipped him the bird and busied himself by plucking a new stone from the ground and beginning to sharpen it down to a point. Despite his shattered heart, Bell couldn't help but smile. Welf Jr. was such a good weapon's smith.

Bell shrugged off his two best friends' blatant disregard for his love and affection (not like it's the first time, damn ingrates!)

"Okay, bye then! I'll come find you two in like.. thirty-ish years!"

Well, that got their reactions. Welf Jr. tossed a stick at the white-haired boy, letting out a desperate 'mrgrgr!' that Bell was confident meant 'please do!' and not 'I never want to see you again, you freak!'

Bell just laughed as he swatted the stick to the side.

"I love you too, Welf Jr.—"

"—mrgrgr!—"

"—no you stop!"

"Mrgrgr!"

"No, you!"

The goblin took a menacing step forward as Bell giggled coquettishly.

"Mur. Gur. Gur."

"No, you!"

Welf Jr. threw his hands up in the air in defeat. He just couldn't deal with this today,

"Char Grilled! Make sure to watch after him for me, okay? You know how he always gets himself into trouble. You're a good girl, I know you can do it!"

The hellhound just blew a disgruntled puff of smoke his way, one that Bell happily dispersed with a swing of the arm and a giggle.

"And Welf Jr. be nice to Char Grilled! Don't think just because I'm not here to scold you that you can get away with being rude. If she asks to use your poke stick—"

"Mrgrgr.. " The goblin protested weakly that it was a spear, a very dangerous weapon against normal people, but Bell ignored him.

"—as a chew toy, let her sometimes! Live a little, friend! Your entire life can't just be making new rocks and tying them to sticks, that's lonely!"

With his send-offs officially over, and his two life-long friends obviously missing him already, Bell turned his attention down to the ritual circle.

This was it!

Oh, Bell couldn't wait to see the looks on those idiots' faces when he comes back to their time period ready to kick ass and take names.

A small, serene (and actually sane) smile blossomed on his lips as he imagined each of their faces.

Aiz.

Hestia.

Lili.

Welf.

Mikoto.

Haruhime.

Wiene.

All of them.

Oh, he just can't wait. It was a miracle he still remembered their faces after all these years alone, but he was glad he did.

It was too bad then, that all of those memories were about to fade.

It was inevitable, really. It's not like anybody could ever test a time travel ritual before using it.

You see, in his.. less than sane haste to complete the ritual, Bell Cranel made a crucial mistake. Just one single containment circle. That was all it took.

All it took to be sent back into a time when everybody remembered their lives. Everybody but him.

"Holy fucking shit!"

The guard beside him grunted, clearly displeased with his comrade's shout. "What the hell, man? What are you shouting for?"

The original speaker didn't bother to reply, instead deciding his time would be far better spent vibrating in place where he stood. He got more than a few weird looks but was ultimately ignored, not like it was anybody else's problem if he took drugs before work.

Oh.

Wait.

It probably was, wasn't it?

The second guard sighed and slapped a hand over the back of the first's helmet, rattling it like a metal pale. He muttered an annoyed 'pull yourself together' as he looked out back over the people lining up to enter Orario.

One.

Two.

Three.

"Holy fucking shit!"

That— that can't be real..

.. right?

The second guard whirled around to look at the first, finding the man wearing a shit-eating grin. He swallowed thickly, pointing a shaky finger into the crowd and at one unsuspecting boy. "I- Is that— ?"

A nod.

"Bell, mother-fucking, Cranel."

Huh.

Gate duty just got a whole lot more interesting. No wonder the Hestia familia had been so tight-lipped for the past three days. After returning they'd almost immediately reformed, causing an uproar of excitement within the city. Everybody (after getting over the initial confusion of being returned to life with memories intact) was understandably excited to rewatch the great Bell Cranel's journey.

Especially when they'd all been in Tenkai watching the dumbass spend years giggling to himself as he read tomes and scrolls (it was rather hard to be reborn when there were no kids anymore).

It was really boring and honestly? Some of them still heard his deranged laughter in their sleep.

But these were new times! Sure (hopefully?) he was feeling slightly better now.

Everybody had badgered Hestia and her familia about their captain, asking when he was going to make his first public appearance, but they had just laughed and waved them off. Now, now that made a lot more sense.

He hadn't even been with them!

He was right here!

Which presented a great opportunity. Sure, Bell would probably return to his original familia. But that was only a probably. Perhaps he could still be swayed to join somebody different this time around, like, say.. Ganesha?

"Next!"

Bell Cranel stepped forward and both gate guards breathed out a sigh of relief when he looked noticeably more sane. That was good. They weren't sure if they could handle sir-giggles a lot. He was a bit much and more than a little scary. (Seriously, who just lets a hellhound chew their leg? Shit was weird no matter which way you look at it.)

"Hello!" Bell smiled.

Both guards practically melted right then and there. So precious!

"I'm Bell Cranel, it's nice to meet you! I would like to enter the city and become an adventurer!"

Adorable.

It really wasn't hard to see how nobody took this kid seriously. He looks like he just walked out of the nursery, just a babe. How they were supposed to know he was a total, and unhinged, badass?

Well, they knew better now!

"Really! Well, then you should totally head on down to our familia home and speak with Lord Ganesha!"

The young boy gasped dramatically, and the guards had to give it to him, he really knew how to feign surprise. It was nice, made them actually feel like he was actually going to listen to them and wasn't just playing along for their own benefit. Such a sweet guy.

"Wow! Do you mean that?"

The first guard chuckled and nodded as he scanned the boy's papers.

"Of course, Mister Cranel. You'd be a perfect fit! Lord Ganesha is always looking for new heroes to defend the city!"

As impossible as it may seem, actual stars lit up in the boy's ruby eyes at his words. "Really? Heroes? Wow!"

Man. This kid was a really good actor. Hell, if they didn't know any better they probably would have thought he'd completely forgotten about the Hestia familia. Heh. Heheh.

"Alright, you're all set! Our familia home is in the southeast, you.. uhh.. well, you can't really miss it!" Unfortunately. "I'm sure you won't have any issues finding it."

"Of course!" Bell bowed rapidly at the waist as he spoke, punctuating each would with another bow. "Thank you, thank you, thank you! I'll head there right away!"

The guards chuckled to themselves as the young man skipped away, looking absolutely over the moon. It was crazy seeing him like this again, all innocent and unassuming, it was seriously like he'd forgotten all about his previous hardships.

".. "

".. "

Oh.

Huh.

In perfect sync, the two guards spun around to face the rapidly retreating boy, all but ignoring the next person in line.

"You don't think.. "

"No.. that's impossible, right?"

"I think most people who have thought time travel was too."

"But.. the only person without memories? He's the one who saved us all!"

The other guard just sighed.

Honestly. They really just felt bad. The kid was wandering into a dangerous world he knew nothing about and was soon going to find out he was to be saddled with the burden of supporting them all. They knew he wanted to be a hero, everybody had heard the story, but.. all of that responsibility this young?

It wasn't right.

He had no idea what he was getting into.

Bell had the distinct feeling he was being watched. Call it a stranger's intuition, that of a boy wandering through a new world, but it was just downright unsettling. More so than he'd felt when he and his grandfather had traveled to neighboring villages in the plains south of the Alv mountains. There people watched, yes, but only for a short moment as they tried to figure out who the new person was.

Here, though, here it felt like he was being stared at. Like his every movement was being tracked by a thousand unseen eyes.

Or a thousand seen eyes if you go by the veritable parade of people following him.

Why were there people following him?

He paused in the plaza outside the really big tower (Babel, was it?) and turned to face them. Hesitantly, he cleared his throat, tilting his head ever so slightly up as he prepared to call out to them. "Uhm.. h- hello? May I.. may I help you?"

Apparently, that was not the right question to start with as a million questions were launched his way all at once.

It was overwhelming.

He was overwhelmed.

He was just a boy who came to the city seeking to be a hero and use his skills to try to pick up girls in a dungeon. Was that really so wrong? Why were all of these people yelling at him?

With all of their voices rising up, getting louder and louder as they all tried shouting over one another, Bell took a frightened step backward.

Again. Wrong move.

They surged forward, using the openness of the plaza to surround him on all sides and get closer. Bell tried to listen to their questions, he really did, it wasn't like he wanted them to be mad, but he just didn't know what to do.

"Bell Cranel! The promised hero, everyone! Weird how he failed in saving everything except his own skin, isn't it?"

"Hey! Kid! How 'bout you join my familia!"

"Bell! Sign my tits!"

"Argonaut! What's your plan moving forward? How are you going to save us all from extinction?"

The questions kept piling up, every time he opened his mouth to respond to one, but their voices lifted up to cut him off. He didn't even know what these people were talking about. How did they know his name? What did they mean about extinction? And (not that he was complaining) why does somebody want him to sign their tits? He'd do it, but he was curious.

He took another half step back as the crowd encroached further into his space, only to be shoved forward roughly by those behind him. It was getting hot, it was the height of summer, and being surrounded by warm bodies did nothing to help. He was beginning to feel claustrophobic too, like he was suffocating. He couldn't catch a breath in any meaningful capacity, each one coming in tight and shallow.

He was almost positive that this was the end for him. He didn't know why everybody seemed so angry and pushy, but he knew where these things go. Best case scenario his death is quick and the angry mob leaves; worst case is he's trampled in the center of the crowd.

But, neither of those things happened.

Instead, a few things occurred in rapid succession.

First, there was a gust of wind, one that swept harshly through the crowds, chilling the mob to the bone and sending shivers down their spine. But to Bell? To Bell it was like a warm embrace, the winds caressing his skin tenderly before solidifying around his feet and anchoring him to the ground.

Second, there was a flash of gold. Just for an instant, everything seemed to slow to a standstill. The briefest moment in time where Bell could hardly make out any details but the safety he felt during it was unmistakable.

Lastly, those standing closest to him collapsed, heads careening down toward the cobblestone streets as they fell. In each case, their legs flew out forward, as if swept out from beneath them. Wide eyes turned toward the heavens as they spun backward, landing down on the person behind them and sending waves of collapsing people through the crowds, like some weird kind of flesh dominoes.

For a moment, there was nothing. Just a boy staring out over a sea of groaning people.

And then she was there.

Bell was pretty sure he'd died and gone to heaven.

"Bell? Are you alright? You're not hurt, are you?"

She held his face in her hands, her thumbs gently stroking the skin of his cheeks as she stared into his eyes.

He probably would have answered her with a dumb 'never better!' if not for the fact that he was mesmerized. What a beautiful shade of gold!

Moving past his lack of an answer, Aiz scanned his body, nodding to herself as she noticed his lack of injury and allowing the tension to leave her shoulders. Offering the boy a small smile, she shifted her hands down to his arms, giving his biceps a small squeeze. "I'm happy you're okay, but we should get you somewhere safer."

All he could do was nod.

Aiz dropped low, tucking her right arm beneath the crook of his knees and heaving him up against her chest. The boy let out a strangled 'eep!' in her arms that was simply adorable. Pairing that with his bright red face? Oh yeah, Aiz was really looking forward to spending some more time with him this go around. She'd wasted so much time being an emotionally constipated idiot that she'd missed what had been right in front of her for ages.

She wasn't making the same mistake again.

With one last scowl toward the moaning crowd (Seriously! Why were they being so rude to him!?), Aiz kicked off the street and took off toward the East. Unfortunately, with the Apollo familia still in business, the Hestia familia had lost their home, and Aiz doubted the god would make the same mistake of challenging them to a war game again. They'd probably need somewhere better to stay. Though, perhaps Bell would enjoy the novelty of sleeping in an abandoned church again (she knew she wouldn't have, but he was strange about things).

Oh, how things were changing.

Aiz touched down in front of the church. It had taken longer than she had wished, but that was the cost of throwing people off her trail. Only a select few people new of Bell's original home, her being one of them after he brought her here on a whim in the future.

The last thing Bell and his family needed right now were unwanted visitors, not when reunions were in order.

Gently, and with far more care than Bell thought he deserved, Aiz saw him down on the ground. She softly dusted some dirt from the shoulders of his brown jacket with the back of her hand, smiling softly as she worked.

Taking a step back, she nodded to herself once. He looked presentable.

"Come, I imagine they're all waiting for you."

She took his hand in her own, offering him a quick squeeze when she felt him tense up. It was understandable, it had been a decade since he'd seen the last of them, even longer for some of the others. Of course, he was going to be nervous. It was only natural. Aiz had been just as nervous for the past three days as she awaited his arrival. Hestia had offered to tell Aiz the location of Bell's home village so she could see him right away, but she abstained. It was mostly out of her own fear of seeing him again, of learning if he still felt the same way as she had after years of separation, but also because it didn't feel right.

In the years following Orario's collapse, she'd become family with Hestia and the others. She wanted to see Bell, yes, she wanted to see him as soon as possible, but it wouldn't be right to do so without the rest of them there.

Aiz pushed the door open, glancing over her shoulder and smiling tentatively at the boy's nervous expression.

"No need to be afraid, Bell. We don't bite."

Not like Char Grilled does, at the very least.

Bell nodded meekly but didn't correct his rigid posture.

The door to the basement swung open with a shrill eeeee! before Aiz stepped inside. "Hestia? Everyone? Are you down here?"

"Yeah! In here, Aiz!"

She peeked down, finding everybody crowding around the small room. Lili and Welf were discussing something on the couch, but turned to smile over at Aiz when they heard her. Hestia was across from them, focusing intensely on the deck of cards in her hand. Mikoto and Haruhime were in the kitchen it would seem, using their rather meager supplies to cook a traditional meal. The renard's tail was wrapped around the ninja samurai's waist like a belt, keeping the black-haired woman from leaving her side no matter how much she fought. It was unfairly cute.

She found herself smiling softly at the sight of them all. Bell had such a caring family.

It was Aiz who had freed Haruhime on the first day (and wow was it an awkward explanation. She had no idea that that was why Bell had been to the red-light district all those years ago, his explanation really hadn't done himself any favors. Saying 'I followed a friend' was far different from 'I am working to save the life of my friend's friend from human sacrifice' like yeesh.

At the same time, Mikoto and Welf had joyfully marched on the Soma familia with their current familias. (Hephaestus was happy to lend the support of her battle smiths and none in the Takemikazuchi familia were opposed to kicking drunk asses.) Zanis had put up a token defense, trying to use his new life to secure power once again. But most of the members of his familia actually preferred the new way things were run so it was pretty much him versus an army.

Lili was free soon after.

"I have a surprise for you all!"

They all turned and gave her their full attention, Hestia even abandoned her game of solitaire. Not like she was winning.

"Oh yeah? What is it?"

With a giggle that you never would have heard from her in the original timeline, she dragged Bell into the open.

You see, the reason the Hestia familia had been so tight-lipped about the missing 'hero' was because they really didn't know when he'd show up. Hestia was the only person who would have remembered and.. well, it had been a hot minute since then.

Their faces lit up at the sight of him, an excited cheer of "Bell!" escaping their lips as they all rushed forward.

Of course, Welf was the first to reach him (longest legs and all).

He seemed.. considerably less pleased than the rest of them.

"You named a goblin after me!?"

Oh. Heh. Yeah.

Aiz smiled fondly at the memories of the smith's initial outrage. She thought it was hilarious. Exactly what her Bell would do. (It wasn't like it was really hurting anybody.) Eventually, the blacksmith's anger simmered down to a discontent most often personified in a pout, but it would seem he never truly forgot the slight, merely bided his time.

"He wasn't even that good of a smith! He tied rocks to sticks! That's all!"

Honestly, he seemed more worked up about that than anything. Apparently, Bell praised Welf Jr's crafting skills far more often than he praised Welf Sr's and that struck a chord.

Placatingly, Aiz stepped between the two of them and tried to calm the smith down. Bell was looking mighty panicked.

"Welf, we talked about this. He didn't mean it as an insult."

The red-haired man grunted but said nothing, probably still waiting for his apology.

It never came.

"Uhm.. "

They all turned to face the young man.

"I'm.. I'm really sorry.. you all seem very nice, but.. who— who are you?"

They blinked.

Once.

Twice.

Thrice.

Then: "Eh!?"

How could he forget them! He remembered them not four days ago! That was his whole reason for journeying to the past, right? To come back and make sure they survived this time? Had it really been so long he forgot their faces? Sure, they looked younger now, but they were still the same people?

"Bell," Hestia began, ever the calming presence, "what do you mean? You don't remember us?"

He shook his head quickly.

"N- no, ma'am.. and the only goblin I've ever known was killed by my pops when I was a kid."

Aiz pouted.

Of course, of course. Right when she gets him back, she's lost him all over again! Now she was going to have to work to get him to fall in love with her again!

Darn, darn, darn!

Later that night:

"Eh!?"

Bell frowned down at the mattress. That certainly didn't sound like a good noise. What happened while she was bestowing him her blessing to make her make it?

"Goddess?"

Her voice, when she did speak that is, was completely neutral. He almost believed she was calm. Almost.

"Bell, tell me the truth, do you love anybody right now?"

"Promise you won't laugh?"

"I swear it."

His lips pulled up into an unconscious smile at the memory of a woman of gold protecting him from the crowds. "Aiz. I love Aiz."

Hestia sighed.

Naturally.

Well, at least it wasn't anybody bad!

Had this idea a while back, sounded better as an idea. Char Grilled and Welf Jr were the only parts I actually like about it now. They're precious.