Ruby took a deep breath of not-quite-winter air and lounged against the banquet table.

It was just past harvest time for Norune, so Toan decided that somehow, the timing was perfect to have the whole party of adventurers in his village before everyone parted ways.

Which, for most of them, didn't mean much. Ruby and Ungaga would remain within a day's journey or so of his village, and the western kids would be just a boat ride away. Max and Monica, though, after they whisked away back to their time, there would be no going back. That goodbye would be final.

"It's a meeting of the utmost import," Osmond was saying to Ungaga. "I for one think it's only proper that you brought your wife."

Ungaga twitched an eyebrow. Beside him, Mikara laughed. "You don't have to convince him," she said. "He all but begged for an excuse to come."

"I don't know," Osmond said. "Perhaps we should continue labeling it as a diplomatic mission just in case, to improve relations between the desert and outlying villages."

"What purpose would that serve?"

The cave was a few days ago now. The village needed time to throw a proper celebration and Ungaga had to go pick up his new wife. Luneth, with his new Fairy King powers, practiced his zipping in and out of reality, and managed to get to some other stragglers. Which were mostly other friends of the orphans. Ruby knew the Fairy King had more powers than teleportation, but it appeared that it would take some time before Luneth would come to use all of them.

Ruby smiled to herself, removed as she was from the group. She took a sip from her cup of cherry wine, something Norune was famous for. It wasn't as good as some of the stuff she had in Queens.

She looked at Ingus, who walked with his girlfriend through the crowd. A pretty girl, Ruby thought, but she also looked like the type of princess that could barely fold her own napkins and the Ingus that Ruby knew would never fall for a ditz.

Yet more proof that the world she knew no longer existed. Ripples caused hundreds of years ago turned into waves and decimated kingdoms where empires once stood and republics where tyrants should have held the throne. And, in some cases, leading smart potential rulers to fall for the total opposite of what they may have chosen in another time and life.

Toan slipped into the spot beside her. Xiao, for once, appeared preoccupied elsewhere.

"Don't you have a date?" Ruby asked. "It seems to be the popular thing nowadays."

Toan poured himself some juice with a grimace.

Ruby sighed and set down her glass. "What's got you this time?"

Toan hesitated before answering, "Do you think he's gone this time?"

Time's Bells, the kid didn't know how to relax and forget. "Of course he's not. But he's quite a bit weaker now, I think. It's the Void, after all. Your brother's looking into it as we speak, though. Must run in the blood."

"Do you know anything about what happened? In the cave?"

"We beat up Aga?"

"No, I mean after that. Before Luneth woke up. Something happened."

Ruby shrugged, trying to appear casual, though some awful images and feelings came to mind. She couldn't remember very clearly, but she knew deep inside her that it was very bloody, very gory, and very much not something she wanted to ever remember again "... It was really unclear."

Toan frowned. Likely he wondered at night where the voices came from, the ones that whispered of death and horror. Likely he wondered where the Chronicle sword disappeared to, or if this life was entirely real. Likely he experienced something not unlike what she went through every day of her eternal and timeline-hopping existence.

And just that glimpse appeared to be enough to put him in a sour mood. Unless Toan didn't normally celebrate with the rest of his village? She certainly couldn't put that past him.

Ruby wished she could tell him it got better, that the gross feeling went away after a while. But all time-travelers paid the same price. Except her, of course, because Ruby lived with the same thing multiplied infinitely.

How she hated being a genie sometimes.

"How's the family?" she asked, desperate to change the topic.

"Father is…" Toan began. He paused, looking pointedly to where Renee moved about the crowd of the festival with Aga in tow. Aga's face was bone-white and shallow, and he didn't participate much in the conversation Renee started. Ruby couldn't tell if the coloring was from fear or malnourishment.

"I see," she said. "I guess it's to be expected. It will probably be a few years before he's back to normal."

"I don't think anyone could be normal after something like that."

Ruby shrugged. "I would put more faith in your family. After all, you got it from somewhere, right?"

Toan looked ready to argue, but held his tongue. Ruby tilted her glass toward him. "Right?"

"I suppose," Toan said reluctantly.

"Right."

Neither said anything else until Osmond darted past, Laura on his heels.

"Calm yourself, woman!" Osmond shouted behind him. "It was just a joke!"

"You want a joke? Wait till the village see you when I'm done!"

Ruby whistled softly to herself. "I keep forgetting he's never been here in this life."

Toan coughed and stood. "I'd better go save him from becoming Aunt Laura's stew."

"You got it from somewhere," Ruby repeated quietly, turning to see Aga converse awkwardly with Hag.

"My… parents," Refia said, looking skeptical. Max and Monica exchanged uncomfortable glances.

"Yes," Monica said. "Apparently."

"Nice to meet you," Max said. "Or maybe, nice to see you again? You've seen us, I mean, so technically it's your second time. For us it's the first, though, so it should still be a 'nice to meet you.'"

Refia looked at them, brows furrowed. Max wondered what she was thinking right now. It was pretty disorienting. His daughter was as old as him.

… His daughter.

"I guess this means we're getting married," Max said to lighten the atmosphere. Monica's cleared her throat and scooted a few inches away.

Refia kept staring. "You're…"

"Mom and Dad, yes," Monica said. "Apparently. Can't we stop talking about this please? You know what, never mind. I need some wine."

Max and Refia each took a drink in sync as Monica stood and left. It looked almost like she was heading for the village exit. "Wine isn't good for people our age," Max said quietly, turning back to the table and spearing a flank of pork.

Refia kept staring, eyes narrowed. "How does it work, again?"

Max shrugged. "I'm not sure, myself."

"I mean, I know I was kidnapped from another time, but you're hundreds of years in the future! And Monica's even further ahead than that!"

"Not anymore," Max said. "She actually broke the law in her time so she could return to mine. And then the genie kidnaps you to take you to this time."

"Uh huh." Refia stuffed a vegetable that Max couldn't recognize into her mouth.

It made sense that she was somehow their daughter, given the orange-blonde hue of her hair and her red eyes that shone in the firelight just like Monica's, only without the pinkish tint. Seeing that, Max didn't have too much trouble accepting her as family.

Accepting her as his daughter, however, just felt weird.

"You two can control time," Refia said. "So that's really cool."

"We had some gates we used, so we didn't really control it. We didn't even mean to come to this time."

"So you also got kidnapped."

"Not the same way you were."

Refia shrugged. "One question I have is: what will happen to future me given I'm here?"

"I'm not sure." Max started fiddling with a loose splinter in the table. "I've thought about it a bit. We technically beat the Genie, but we didn't affect the origin points of your disappearance."

"I guess that means I don't get to have you two for parents."

"Maybe not," Max said. "But it looks like your current parents are doing a fine job."

"Yeah. Sure." Refia chuckled. "I'm sure he'd love to hear that."

"He?"

Refia nodded. "I only have a father."

Max leaned forward, curiosity getting the better of him. "What's he like?"

If they were going to leave forever, Max figured he may as well find out everything he could. Refia obliged and Max listened intently as she told him about the blacksmith Takka.

"He's kind of a stern man, but he's never steered me wrong. Except for this one time…"

Ingus wanted to stay like this forever.

"Father was startled and confused," Sara said. "Time stopped, but only for so long. It was… strange. It hurt, I think. Being stuck, bleeding out, for however long it was."

They sat facing the fire and dancers, with Sara resting her head on his shoulder. It made Ingus uncomfortable, showing such blatant indecency before so many people, but there was no helping it as Sara insisted.

"I'm sorry," Ingus said. "I'm afraid it's my fault."

Sara jolted upright, startling Ingus. "No, you fool! You know as well as I do that there was no 'fault' involved." As she spoke, however, she hissed in pain and fell back against him. "It was the best the Crystals could do. And still I'm alive, aren't I?"

"... It shouldn't have gotten so close."

"Maybe not. But what's done is done, and there's no changing it now. I'll admit that these scars won't exactly be the most flattering on a woman of my station, but at the same time I appreciate the chance to actually fight for my country and kingdom every now and again instead of being kept inside all day, sewing our family's emblems over and over."

"I have to disagree, my lady."

"About what, my good sir?" She looked up at him, her eyes glittering in the firelight. Crystals, those eyes.

He steeled himself. Propriety. He was better than this. He couldn't let himself be distracted.

… Distracted from what?

"You were saying?" Sara said.

Ingus cleared his throat. By the Light, he didn't like what being around Sara did to him. "I, ahem, disagree that it would be unflattering. I am, after all, a captain and soldier. Scars are what make us who we are."

"Ah, yes. So unrefined. I forgot you're a barbarian. You should thank Desch, by the way. He did his best to help, and if it weren't for him I think I would be dead."

"I'll remember to do so next time I see him."

"If you see him again. Desch is as fickle a man as ever I saw. How did you pick up such strange company?"

"There was an incident with a dragon-"

"No," Sara said with a sigh. "That's not what I meant."

"Our meeting was of the Crystals' making and we chose to help him while his memories were returning."

"It was just a joke, Ingus."

"A joke."

"Yes."

Ingus blinked. "So you do not actually wish to hear of how our partnership came to be?"

"Not really. Though I suppose it may make interesting story to hear later."

Music thrummed in Ingus' ears and he leaned back against a tree. Sara leaned with him, hair falling behind her shoulder. They remained like that for a while, watching the festivities in comfortable silence. Ingus liked that he could always find quiet with Sara, unlike most people he knew. She didn't feel the need to generate noise simply for the sake of it.

They were simply together.

And that was all Ingus wanted.

… The intoxicating smell of her helped matters, no doubt aided by the wine he consumed.

Toan frowned, glancing around. Mom and Dad disappeared at some point, but Toan couldn't tell where. Arc stood alone, off to the side.

"Hey," Toan said, approaching his… brother.

His brother—could he call him that?—looked up. His face was unreadable, though his eyes were rimmed with red. "Hi," Arc said.

"Ruby says you're leaving."

Arc nodded. "No offense. I've been searching for this for so long, and now that it's finally within my reach, I'm realizing that it's not… what I need to do."

"What do you need to do, then?"

Arc stared at the pyre, at Alnet and the others dancing to a lively tune. "I'm not sure. I was kind of hoping some more traveling might help find me the answers I'm looking for."

Toan stood close to Arc, watching the scene before them. Felt the heat of the flames even from this distance, and he reveled in the sense it gave it him of being home.

"It might," Toan said. "But I wouldn't get my hopes up. Look at what happened to Dad, after all."

"… I realize."

"You'll tell us if you need help, right?"

"Of course," Arc said quickly. "It would be kind of rude of me not to ask every now and again, now that we've finally found each other. Bit of a waste, I guess."

Together, Toan thought. For the first time in fourteen years, and for the first time that Toan could remember, his family was together.

"Doesn't everyone dance at an event like this?" Arc asked. "Where I come from, it's custom for the whole village to participate."

"Not usually. There's a select few that'll rehearse and do a lot of coordinated shows, but beyond that we just appreciate the music."

"Huh." Arc cast a glance toward Claude, who danced lethargically to the beat. "Except him, apparently."

Toan allowed a smile. "Yes. Claude tends to be more enthusiastic than the rest of us."

Arc looked at Toan, also smiling a little. The red faded from his face, and Toan thought for a moment that he looked happy. "Is it always the same people?"

"Same?" Toan looked toward the pyre again. "Dancers? Usually. Sometimes we have to substitute, but at least in my case I try to avoid it."

"What do you do during the winter when you don't have any crops?"

"We store up food and seeds."

"No, I mean, do you celebrate in the winter too? Or do you only do it once a year? Or once a season?"

"We don't really follow a particular pattern," Toan said. "People here tend to celebrate any time they feel like it."

Arc frowned. "Oh. How can you throw feasts that often?"

"Dran's magic."

Arc pulled a small book out of the inside of his coat. "Really? Tell me about this. Does he enchant the soil? The crops? How can he account for the economy when a village has unlimited supplies?"

Toan shook his head. "They're not unlimited. And I don't know the details—you probably want to speak with Dran directly if you want more answers. I can introduce you to him tomorrow."

Clicking his quill against the book, Arc sighed. "We leave first thing tomorrow. Maybe I can visit again soon and talk to him then?"

"Of course."

"In the meantime, can you talk to me about your moon cycle?"

Toan felt a smile tug at his lips and proceeded to humor Arc's need to know odd trivia about his hometown.

Max cast Norune one last, longing look. "Are you sure we can't stay one more day?" he asked. He and Monica had waited until everyone went to sleep before sneaking away to a secluded spot so they could make a discreet exit.

Monica nodded. "The longer we wait the harder it will be to leave. Better to do it quick. You know, like ripping off a bandage"

Max nodded sullenly. "Okay."

The Chronicle sword glistened in the light of the night sky. All fires in the village had long died to smoldering charcoal, leaving just the moon and stars to guide them.

"Here goes," Monica said, lifting the sword up again. "Take my arm?"

Max nodded, wrapping his fingers around the crook of her elbow. He pictured their home in his mind as the sword vibrated and shone with a green light. He thought of the glowing hearth in his mansion and of his father's warm smile. He imagined the strength of Veniccio's ocean wind battering his clothes and tossing his hair.

Images of their journey filled his mind.

And Blue Terra vanished.

Arc stood on a ledge overlooking the Queens harbor. Renee and Toan were below the ledge Arc had found in hopes of seclusion, conversing with the other three orphans. They planned to leave with the Nautilus within the hour, taking the four Warriors home.

"What are you going from here?"

Arc jumped when Aga appeared beside him, lacking the armor he wore before and instead wearing Norune colors. His hair was shorter now, loose and uneven. Probably cut off by Renee.

"I'll go to Saronia," Arc said, recovering from his shock. "I think I'll work in the libraries and update all the information we have to include the history and geographical information that we've gained in our time here."

"And?"

Arc watched Luneth grab Toan in a headlock. "I was thinking of coming back again to stay. In all the time we spent traveling, I didn't notice a lot of sages or scholars or libraries. I can go around and share information. Odin knows, I'm not much good at anything else."

"Don't want to settle down at home?"

"That would be a waste, over there. If I stay here, I can continue helping the Crystals, albeit in a sort of roundabout way."

Toan took Luneth in the stomach and tackled him to the ground. "I guess. With the Nautilus, we can move between continents pretty easily, at least. There's not much keeping me from visiting either side. Luneth also doesn't plan to stay in Ur. He's talking about traveling the world, like you did."

"And like you will," Aga said. "I suspect you'll find that the more you travel, the less you can be content to stay in one place. The thought of settling in a foreign land may sound appealing, but after a year, you'll want to leave again."

He'd have to visit the individual villages and collect stories and data before he could compile it all into a comprehensible library. It would take years. "I'll probably want to find a centralized location to base my travels out of, though."

"I don't know about 'centralized,' but there's a quiet place north of here where you'll find the seclusion you need."

And he would need someone like Aga, who knew the place better than him. But Aga was going to stay in Norune with Renee and Toan, and that was quite a journey to make just for some information.

"Are you sure you don't want to come to Norune?"

Arc hesitated. Part of him wanted to, to try for the short time that he could have a "normal" family and be the son that his parents had lost. But…

He felt the ghost of the metal slicing through his back.

"I think so," he said, swallowing. "It'll be hard enough for you to adjust to each other again. I don't want to add to that."

Aga nodded respectfully. "As you wish. But our doors will always be open."

"Right."

"Hey!" Luneth popped in existence beside Arc. "What are you two talking about that we can't all participate in? Is it about me? About Refia? If it's gossip, I want in."

"Just our plans," Arc said, nudging Luneth's arm off his shoulder. "The possibility of staying in Norune and all that."

"Sounds great," Luneth said. "Are you gonna do it?"

"No, I already told you. I'm going to study in Saronia for a year and then collect stories in the east."

"Boring! You're going to drive yourself insane!" Luneth popped out of existence again, light trailing in his wake.

"He can be annoying sometimes," Arc muttered when Luneth reappeared below, dropping onto Ingus from a height. Ingus promptly swore loudly and tried to shake him off. "I'm going to miss him."

"Of course you will."

Aga disappeared then, jumping off the ledge.

Arc didn't want to leave his family, not after so long. But he knew that if he were to go back now, he might never find the strength to leave again. And there really were pieces of history in hiding, waiting for just the right person to come and collect them. Not to mention the threat of the Cloud of Darkness ever looming on the horizon.

And besides, it wasn't like he couldn't come visit every now and again. Perhaps he would find out how to replicate that map of Toan's and move about in an easier fashion.

If only Ruby would agree to help him.