This story takes place 6 years after the end of the journey. I am just going to pretend Dawn of the New World does not exist because, honestly, I don't care for it. Anyway, Sheena is the chief of Mizuho, so she has been doing her chiefly doings and all of that. Zelos in now the ex-Chosen, but he is still working with the king, helping with Meltokio's relations with other villages and cities and with Tethe'alla's relations with Sylvarant. Raine is currently a resident in Sybak, teaching at the university there. She is also married to a fellow half-elf scientist, and they have twins: a boy named Orion and a girl named Kyrie. Lloyd and Colette are married too, living in Iselia with a newborn child. The others have lives too, but I will share the details later.

The sun was just climbing over the horizon, when the child awoke for the second time. Right now, Sheena was sitting with her back heavy against a tree and with her eyes towards the lightening sky, hoping for an explanation. The child was right beside her, unfurling from his curled position. He had followed her to the tree, after she had scrambled there when he first awoke and then had fallen back asleep soon after. That was the first time she was ever frightened of a child. Not even the mischievous, trouble-seeking ninja children of Mizuho frightened her. But with the one question the little boy asked, she was shaken to the core and took flight towards the tree at which she now rested.

Ignoring the movements of the boy for now, Sheena continued in her troubled thoughts. "Mother? I can't be a mother," she thought for what seemed to be the hundredth time. That question and belief had been haunting her for hours, making it unable for her to sleep. "I have not slept with a man ever. I have not even kissed a man! How can I be pregnant? Why is this boy calling me 'mother'? I can't be his mother." But she knew that last part was most likely false. The boy's hair was the same color as hers. The shape of his eyes were like hers. Even his face shape was similar to hers, though at that moment it was hard to tell since he had the chubby face of a three-year-old. He also wore Mizuhoen clothes.

"Okaasan, I'm hungry," came his sleepy voice. She wearily turned her head towards him, not even fazed by him calling her 'mother' again, since that word had been running through her mind basically the whole night. Instead of saying anything back to him, she just numbly stared at his eyes. "Again, those eyes," she thought. Those eyes had long haunted her since the boy's first awakening along with 'mother'. "Those eyes have to belong to the father."

Her skin crawled as she thought about the father. Sheena had a good inkling on who he was, but she didn't want to believe it.

"They look so much like his!" Anger began to swell within her, but the kick of the baby inside her quelled that fire. Her hands quickly hugged her stomach, and her head bowed. "What mess am I in?"

"Okaasan! I'm hungry," came his voice louder and more demanding now.

Sheena turned to face him again. "I can't be angry at the baby inside of me or this kid. Their not to blame," her mind told her. "Anyway, the boy looks too cute to be mad at."

She turned her slight frown, which she had been wearing for quite a long time, into a smile and ruffled the boy's mess of black hair. "Fine, let's get you something to eat, kiddo!"

The boy's face brightened at this, and he quickly stood up. Sheena grabbed her lone bag and struggled to get up as well. She had to use the tree as support, for her body was stiff and it ached, and the weight of the baby was heavy.

"What are we gowing to eat, mom?" he asked.

"Uh," she started. Her brow furrowed. She had no idea. She squatted back down, but not without sighing first, and opened up the bag to look inside. The boy came to stand next to her. "You don't know, mom?"

"Yeah," Sheena replied absent-mindedly as she dug through the bag. Finally she found some onigiri balls that were wrapped up.

"Here, let's have some onigiri," Sheena said with some forced enthusiasm. She never was bad with children before, but now she didn't know quite how to act around this three-year-old. She placed the food on the ground in front of him and sat down cross-legged. He followed suit with as slight scowl on his face.

"What?" Sheena asked, noticing his expression. "You don't like these?"

"They're bowing", he replied, "We alway haf these."

"Well, sorry, kid," she said with small disappointment because she felt she was already failing at her suddenly appointed motherly duties.

"That's okay!' he said, quickly changing moods, and he snatched a ball, and took a big bite of it.

Sheena stared at him with a tinge of surprise, both at his sudden willingness to eat the food and the huge bite he took.

After taking her own onigiri ball and quickly swallowing it she asked, "So what's your name?"

He looked at her funnily, a ball halfway to his mouth, but he then proudly said, "Okaa-san, I know my name. I'm Sen!"

"Right, right. I was just testing you." And she continued eating.

Soon they finished their breakfast, and Sheena cleaned up their small mess and wiped Sen's face clean of the sticky rice.

"Okay, let's go," the young mother announced when shouldering her bag.

"But, mom, I haf to pee!" Sen exclaimed.

Sheena sighed. "Fine go pee over in the bushes." After she saw his questioning look, she continued, "You can pee by yourself can't you?"

"No, and daddy come with me," he pouted, but he turned and started to the bushes by himself.

"Wait, wait. I'm coming," she called, and quickly came to his side to assist.

When Sheena finished tying his trousers on, he asked, "Are we going to daddy, now?"

A sudden dread filled her. "I don't know for sure if he is the dad, but we could still go to him," she silently said to herself. "Even if he's not the father he may still help me and know what's happening. Anyway we are fairly close to Meltokio." She concluded in her mind. Now with the sun's light, she was able to see the capital in the distance. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. After thinking a few moments more, she let the breath go.

Sheena smiled down at the boy and grabbed his tiny hand. "Yep, let's go find daddy." And with a reluctant, hesitant step she began the journey to Meltokio.