Flash Forward

Summary: Cedric and Sofia travel to the Mystic Isles to preview a peculiar orb that some of the Protectors discovered while investigating an abandoned refuge, which once hosted a band of wayward warlocks. While trying to determine how it works, they somehow get propelled into the future, where they discover a mysterious situation that desperately needs a conclusion.

Disclaimer: I don't own the show. All the OCs in here except Nana and Tanya (who belong to MarionetteJ2X) belong to me.

A/N: Okay, so a few things! First of all, in this chapter, you'll see the Dimension Door in action. 😉 Next, you'll get to meet the warlocks and learn a bit more about Sunni, and of course, what's happened to her family. Now, keep in mind that just because this is the current future doesn't necessarily mean that it will remain. It's been said before: the future is always changing. Anything you do, say, or even think can have some sort of impact on how the future pans out. I saw many of you worried about this particular future, especially in relation to the losses. Can that be changed? Of course! It all depends on the pathway the present chooses to take.

With that in mind, here's the final chapter. Keep your eyes open for a few more potential hints toward some things you'll see sooner or later. Oh, did you see anything so far? Because there are hints all over. 😊 Just got to know what you're looking for, especially patterns and such. You know how my mind works: I'm my own puzzle. Haha! Either way, I hope you have enjoyed!

PS: Since I know I'm going to get asked… Pacci is pronounced PAH-chee. 😉

Chapter 4: Z-Web

Sunni moved closer to Cedric and Sofia as they placed the book—the Galactica Spellbook, specifically—on his worktable. "What is that?"

"It's not a matter of what it is, but rather what it isn't," Cedric told her with a small smile. "It's not a regular spell book. It's actually a concealed door." He withdrew his wand and tapped the center of the book, just on top of the claddagh symbol, and murmured, "Ratio Veni Magia."

They young girl shifted a bit behind Sofia as she watched the book begin glowing. Again, she was frightened of magic, though this particular method was fascinating. To take something as simple as a book and shift it into a door? To her, that was rather neat.

The book hovered midair and away from the table, the transformation beginning. All the pages sealed together, and the cover of the book closed around the pages entirely. It then stretched and changed not only size but also appearance. When the transformation finally finished, the same Dimension Door that Cedric had introduced to the other conjurors a few months ago now stood before them yet again. The door knocker (the claddagh symbol from the book) sparkled a few times before growing still.

"Wow…" Sunni looked toward Cedric. "And…going through that door can lead us to…your future selves?"

"That's what we're hoping," Sofia sighed, placing one hand on the girl's head and smiling, gently running her fingers through her hair.

The girl paused, a strange sensation washing over her… A vaguely familiar one, though still a bit unknown. Something about the way Sofia tried to comfort her was…

"Are you girls ready?" Cedric asked, smiling as he noticed the small interaction between Sofia and Sunni. Seeing them nod, he turned to the door, tapping the heart of the claddagh knocker three times. The door opened, revealing that same swirl of stars and light that he had demonstrated at the Sorcery Seminar. He turned back toward them. "You must hold onto my hands and, no matter what happens, don't let go. If we were to get lost in dimension travel, who knows where we'd end up?"

"How do we get to the Z-Web specifically then?" Sofia asked.

"When we walk inside—"

"You can walk through the stars?" Sunni gasped, a look of uncertainty crossing her features.

The sorcerer nodded reassuringly. "It's all an illusion, Sunni… Space is vast, yet we have a solid ground we walk on here, within the middle of all that space. You need only focus and concentrate on what is real to you." He pointed into the opened area. "When we walk inside, I will call out the dimension we must reach. A door will appear to that dimension, though it will only remain for sixty seconds. We won't get a second chance to call out for that same dimension, so we must make it count."

"Will it always be like that?" The princess frowned. "We can only go to a dimension one time?"

"As of right now, yes. I'm still working on that…"

"And…when we want to come back, you just say that you want to return to the Ever Realm?"

"Yes." Seeing her uncertainty, Cedric pocketed his wand and walked up to Sofia, taking her face in his hands and smiling gently at her. "We will be all right, Sofia. I won't let anything happen to either of you. I promise…" Seeing her smile and nod, he pressed a kiss to her forehead, causing her to sigh in content.

Sunni watched them and couldn't help smiling to herself. They were clearly close… Way closer than friends, obviously. The optimistic side of her told her that her parents were probably just like these two. The realistic side of her told her not to be concerned with two people from the past and instead focus on rescuing her parents, whenever that would potentially happen… Maybe after they found the duo's future selves, they could then work on finding her parents. Maybe she would even be able to retrieve her memories. If only…

"Right then…" Cedric turned, holding out his hands toward the girls, who both accepted. "Let's go. And remember, don't let go."

They cautiously stepped through the Dimension Door into a huge, seemingly empty array of space. It was dark but also lit up a bit with the stars and random streams of light, and from the Dimension Door's opened door where the sun streamed in from the workshop. When they had entered just far enough, the door to the Dimension Door closed, but it didn't disappear.

"Transport Request," Cedric called out in a clear voice, watching as everything, including the floating stars, seemed to stand still. "Z-Web Dimension."

Behind them, they could hear a heavy door creak open, causing them to turn. Just through the door, they could see a peculiar flash of light, but it was a pale green rather than natural lighting they were used to.

"Hurry," Cedric told the girls, starting to run toward the door (which was at a good distance) and tugging them along with him. "We have less than a minute!"

Sunni panted as they ran, her body feeling heavier each time her feet came in contact with the ground. "I—I feel…really tired!"

"Just a little bit more, Sunni," Sofia encouraged her, tightening her grip on the girl's hand. "Hang in there, okay?"

"I… I can't, Ms. Sofia!"

Sofia frowned before briefly releasing the girl's hand and swiftly scooping her up, smiling as the girl gasped and held onto her. "You can do just about anything you put your heart to, Sunni. Anything. But whenever you need help, I'll be there for you. It's what you do for people you care about."

Sunni stared at the princess in awe as the partners continued hurrying, almost at the door. She'd never met anyone like Sofia. She seemed really brave, kind, optimistic (like herself), helpful… Why couldn't more people be like her? In the time she'd been wandering around the village, trying to remember anything about her former life, very few people had even one of those traits. All the realms could use more people like Princess Sofia.

The door before them began flickering, signaling that they were running out of time.

"Hurry, Sofia!" Cedric urged, rushing forward as quickly as he could, pulling his partner along. "Quickly!"

Sofia kept up with him, though she could tell they were both running out of energy.

They finally reached the door, barely ducking inside as the heavy door slammed behind them. They all collapsed onto a wooden floor, panting and laughing lightly in relief.

Sofia released Sunni, who lay back on the floor to catch her breath, and practically pummeled Cedric into a hug, disregarding his heavy breathing and sweaty face and robe. They'd made it. That was all that mattered right now… "You did it," she managed, slowly getting her own breathing under control.

He chuckled, returning her hug before smiling at her after she looked up at him. "We did it." He glanced to the side at Sunni, who was still lying down, though she had her head turned, watching them. "Are you all right, Sunni?"

She smiled, nodding slowly. "Yeah… I'm fine…" After collecting herself, she pulled herself up, sitting back on her heels and smoothing out her dress. She began looking around at their surroundings. "Is this the Z-Web Dimension?"

"It must be." Sofia stood to her feet, pulling Cedric up as well. "It looks so…ordinary."

In fact, they were in a rather simple room: wooden floors and plain walls. There was no furniture or much of anything in the room. The single source of light was a large, flickering green-flamed candle in a hanging fixture above their heads. The door behind them remained, though they didn't dare open it now. They still had a mission to complete.

"There's another door over there," Sunni said, pointing toward the other side of the room. She stood up and began walking toward it.

"Wait." The princess walked up to her, taking her hand. "Let's be careful, okay? We don't know what we're going to find in this dimension, so we don't need to go rushing into anything."

"Okay."

Once Cedric stepped up behind them, Sofia slowly opened the door, peering into the rather dark hallway, which was again illuminated by several simple green-flamed candles. Directly to the right was a dark dead end, meaning left was their only real choice. No one seemed to be around, so that was a mild relief.

"Suggestion." Cedric gestured toward his partner's wrist. "Which-Way Bow?"

"Good idea. I need to word this carefully…" She pondered how to state her query before releasing Sunni's hand and holding up her wrist, activating her Enchantlet. "Which-Way Bow," she called as the bow formed in her hand. "Show us the way to the Cedric and Sofia who are being held captive in the Z-Web Dimension." She released the arrow and watched as it darted off down the hallway. "That way. Come on."

They searched for a while, but it seemed that the arrow had simply disappeared.

"They've got to be here," Sofia complained as they continued searching. "If they weren't, the arrow would have just disappeared immediately before it even left the bow."

"We'll find them," Cedric assured her as they approached a large set of doors on the right side of the corridor. "Let's try this room."

Sunni shrank back in fear as she observed the doors. They were quite possibly made of iron, and they were very dark, almost darker than midnight. There were green designs carved into the doors, but she couldn't decipher them. However, something about these doors really bothered her. As Sofia reached for the handle to one of them, she blurted out, "Ms. Sofia, no!"

Too late. Sofia had already turned the handle, and both doors swung open, creating a loud bang as they slammed against the walls. Given that the room they now saw was large and practically empty, the echo of the banging sound was far more powerful.

The trio waited for a few seconds, their eyes darting in the darkness of the room for any sign of life, and their breathing a little softer due to uncertainty. It was nervous energy they were feeling, for obvious reasons.

Cedric finally sighed and said, "I don't think they're here."

"Guess again."

Before they could react, all three travelers were quickly pulled into the darkened room, the doors slamming behind them. Whatever had pulled them inside released them, and the room lightened up considerably…

…And they immediately wished it hadn't.

The room in question was grand, as suspected, and painted in the same black color of the doors, with the same green designs in the walls. The ceiling must have spanned fifty feet above their heads. There were what appeared to be capsules of frozen…people…all over the room, lined up along the walls. It was as if their bodies were being preserved, though for what, the trio didn't want to guess.

In the center of the room was a large glowing circle, which appeared to be stained with...

Sofia immediately began breathing heavily, images of Erine's demise flashing through her mind and nearly causing her to hyperventilate. Despite the progress she'd made on releasing her anger over the girl's death and allowing herself to move on as best as she could, those memories would never disappear altogether. She gasped as Cedric gathered her into his arms, holding her closely. It helped, but those dreadful memories weren't going away any time soon.

Three old men were standing just beyond that circle, their eyes all glowing a peculiar green shade. They appeared to be from different backgrounds and nationalities, but they were all dressed in dark green and black robes and had black triangles that appeared to be tattooed on their foreheads.

The first man was tall, dark-skinned, and had wavy silver hair that stopped just around his neck. He had a beard and mustache that matched his hair perfectly. He was an average build with a calculating glare on his face.

The second man was shorter and possessed a much larger build. His skin was sun-kissed and possessed a few more wrinkles than the first man. His hair was short and even partially shaved on the sides.

The third and final man was pale and very frail-looking. He was nearly as tall as the first man but fell short by about half an inch or so. His hair had a bit more body to it, though it still remained shorter than his collar. Like the first man, he had some facial hair of the same shade as his hair.

"Who are you?" Cedric demanded, reaching behind Sofia to gesture for Sunni to hide behind them, which she did.

"Oh, you haven't heard of us?" the first man taunted. "Well… Permit me to settle your curiosity. We are known as the Pyramid Prattlers. I am Palino. This…" He gestured toward the thin man. "…is Pavson." He gestured sharply toward the shorter man. "And this oaf is Pacci." He grinned. "And we're the last introduction you'll ever experience."

Pavson snarled and hurled an unexpected blast of magic toward the trio, but Sofia quickly sprang into action and used her amulet and Enchantlet to create a shield to protect them. "Ah, I recognize that move…" He grinned toward the other two as he lowered his hands. "We've come across these two before… Though I'm quite sure the ones we've already dealt with were a bit different…"

Cedric frowned as he listened to the men talk. He didn't like the way he'd said 'dealt with.' Sure, he knew their future forms were frozen, but… What else had they done to their counterparts?

"We got 'em all, we did!" Pacci declared with a sneer. "Even toasted one of 'em. Ah, but I think one of 'em got away, right? Some spritely little bit with dark hair…"

Palino noticed Sunni hiding behind the partners and smirked. "I believe we just found her…" He thrust his hand forward, using his magic to break Sofia's shield (and nearly her arm at that, though she reacted quickly and retracted it) and summon Sunni toward the center of the circle. He laughed darkly. "Yes, I remember you…" He began recalling out loud the events of over two years ago…

"Mama! Papa!" the four-year-old dark-haired girl cried, sobbing as she saw her parents and a few others around them frozen in place. Their eyes were wide in shock, and they were holding each other, as expected. She sobbed harder when she reached out, trying to claw at the barrier, only to realize it was futile. She shuddered as she felt a presence behind her, and she turned, her eyes widening at the sight of the triage of warlocks hovering over her.

"Why so frightened, little girl?" Palino taunted, chuckling as he raised a magically-sparking hand toward her. "This won't hurt a bit."

The little girl screamed as his hand made contact with her forehead, and she could physically feel her memories draining away from her mind as a triangle formed on her forehead. She suddenly couldn't remember her parents, their names, any other family members, where she lived, what she liked, or even what her own name was. Who…was she?

"And for the final touch…" Palino lowered his hand over the girl's glazed eyes, watching as they turned the same green shade as his and the others'. "Now then… You won't remember a thing." The triangle disappeared, and the girl collapsed to the floor.

"And why ain't we lockin' her away in one of the capsules like the rest of 'em, Palino?" Pacci asked, folding his arms.

"You know precisely why…" He chuckled. "You saw the same thing I did, Pacci. She was able to stand her ground, even as the others were captured, and she blocked every blast we threw at her. Powers such as hers shouldn't be frozen in time. They should have time to develop… So, let's see if she does increase her powers, whether she's aware of it or not at this point. And I know someone who would love to make use of her if that happens."

Pavson scoffed. "You don't mean…"

Palino sneered. "Don't I?" With a wave of his hand, the girl disappeared from the Z-Web. "She'll be back, no doubt." He looked back at the frozen figures and laughed. "Sooner or later, she'll return, and we'll see if her powers are worth harvesting then…"

"You were right, Cedric," Sofia mumbled. "Her memories were magically stolen."

"And her eyes… The strange green shade she has is a part of this whole thing. She's under some sort of spell, and we have to figure out how to break it."

"What's the counter-spell to mind control or memory loss exactly?"

Cedric frowned and shook his head. "I… I don't know, Sofia… We don't know what type of magic those men have, and—"

"I'm tired of hearin' you two yappin!" Pacci yelled, blasting some magic toward Cedric and Sofia, who managed to dive out of the way just in time, both landing on the floor.

"Would you like me to destroy them?" Pavson volunteered, frowning as Palino shook his head before walking to stand directly before Sunni. "And why not?"

"Because… They can witness as their precious angel is ripped away, piece by piece, once we drain her of her magic…"

Sofia gasped. No. No, they couldn't! They wouldn't! …This was like the Erine scenario all over again… She scrambled to her feet but screamed as Pavson used his magic to cuff her to a wall, unable to move. "Let me go!"

Cedric growled and moved to his feet as well, only to find himself in the same predicament. "Ugh…" He sighed, looking toward his partner. "I am so sorry for getting you into this, Sofia…"

"W-We'll figure this out, Cedric… We always do…" Despite the situation, she tried to smile, for him. She barely succeeded, especially as Pacci began cackling.

"She said the same thing the last time!" He grinned. "Beaten and bruised, defeated, those bratty girls of theirs already captured, and she was tryin' to be positive! Waste of air, if you ask me."

"Pacci, shut up," Palino snapped, glaring at the stout man. "Before I seal you away." He lifted his hand to Sunni's forehead, watching as the triangle that matched their own markings appeared. He smirked. "Let's give the girl back her memories… Why not? She might as well at least know her name before she dies…"

Sunni whimpered as all her memories came flooding back to her.

She knew who her parents were. She knew the rest of her family. She knew where she lived. She knew her favorite color was lavender (not purple, because everyone always loves purple). She knew her favorite fruit was boysenberry, thanks to a certain former steward.

She knew she loved magic. She knew that she knew magic. Very well…

She knew her name. She knew her name!

The girl's eyes shot open, the green no longer coating her irises. Instead, a stormy shade of blue stared back at the man above her, and a very dangerous smile appeared on her face. And now, when she opened her mouth to speak, a distinctly lighter and familiar accent was prevalent. "You've just messed with the wrong girl."

Sofia's mouth dropped open as she heard Sunni speak in a far different tone and accent to what she was used to. "Cedric… She sounds like…"

"Me…" His eyes were wide as they watched the girl react to the situation around them.

The dark-haired girl conjured forth a collection of powerful magic into her hands, and she released it, blasting Palino back, which sent him hurling into both Pacci and Pavson. She noticed that Pacci had smacked his head against the floor, and it was bleeding rather badly, but she honestly didn't care. "How dare you hurt and capture my family?!" She threw another blast of magic at them, slicing Pavson across the face, leaving a deep gash in his cheek, which caused him to let out a startled and pained cry. "How dare you send Enchancia into such a horrible state! I've been alone for over two years because of you!" She sent one final blast toward Palino, which created a gash across his chest, his robe ripped open and evidence of the injury appearing in a sticky red fashion. "You ruined my life! I hate you all! And you're going to pay for it!"

Cedric, finally snapping out of his state of shock, wriggled his hand a bit in his cuffs, managing to slip one out (to his surprise but clear delight) so that he could reach his wand. He quickly uttered a spell to free himself and Sofia, catching her when she nearly fell from her position. "Easy, Sofia." He looked back toward the young girl as he held his partner. "We have to stop her before she hurts herself…"

"Yeah…" She nodded. "Let's go."

Unfortunately for the little sorceress (because that's precisely what she was), the anger and rage she'd released in such a short period of time, not to mention her overexertion from using powers for the first time in a few years, had caused her to exhaust herself more than she'd realized. She could feel the energy leaving her just as quickly as it had come. She was, after all, only a six-year-old girl. She had her limit, and she'd just reached it.

"Sunni!" Sofia called, hurrying over to the girl to catch her as she fell, her form weakened and unconscious.

The warlocks, seeing this prime opportunity to fight back, began to struggle against their injuries to handle the situation once and for all.

Cedric moved in front of both of the girls, his wand wielded toward the trio. He smirked as they looked up at him, anger, confusion, and pain written all over their faces. "I don't think so. Interficio!"

When the light from the magical blast cleared, the Pyramid Prattlers were no longer there. They were gone… For good. (And a bit too easily for Cedric's liking, if he was totally honest with himself…)

"Cedric," Sofia called from her spot on the floor, the young girl still cradled in her arms. "Do you know a spell to free all these people? Including…us?"

"Er, yes, yes. Just a moment." He walked up to one of the encapsulated people, a stranger to him, and observed the substance around the man. "Looks like…quartz, almost. But diamond-strength quartz… And of course, a magical barrier…" He wracked his brain for a useful spell before sighing. "Let's…give this a try." He murmured something in another language, tapping his wand to the frozen man's prison.

To his delight, it worked, and the man was free.

"Wh-Where am I?" the man asked, holding a hand to his head. "Last I remember, I was…being approached by some tall, horrible man."

"You're in the Z-Web Dimension," Cedric explained. "We're going to get you out of here, but you need to follow my directions. First, leave this room and go left down the hallway until you reach a door on the right. That is the waiting room. Stay there until we come get you." He frowned as the man nodded. "And for goodness sake, do NOT open the other door in that room."

While Cedric repeated the directions to the rest of the twenty or so people who'd been sealed away for who knows how long, Sofia gently rocked the girl back and forth in her arms. She knew her name wasn't Sunni… She had gotten her memories back earlier, so maybe when she woke up, she'd finally be able to tell them her actual name. She was so eager to know it at this point…

Cedric finally reached the last few frozen people. Just looking at some of the barely visible features, he was able to see his future self (who looked relatively the same, though with different clothing), Sofia's future self (again, mostly the same, but with different clothing), and two girls whom he suspected were Tanya and Nana, though they did appear to look quite a bit different…

Disregarding this for now, he murmured the same spell from earlier and set to freeing their future forms.

Sofia smiled softly as 'Sunni' began stirring, her blue eyes opening and staring up at the princess. She caressed the girl's cheek. "How are you feeling?"

The girl's eyes welled with tears as she came to a realization. Something that had been in front of her face this whole time, though she didn't even know… "I…" She turned when she heard some puzzled groans and gasps. Instantly, she stood to her feet, waiting.

The future forms of Cedric and Sofia (and clearly aging and changed forms of Nana and Tanya) now stood gathered together.

Cedric stepped back over to Sofia as they watched the quartet, who were trying to get their bearings. Meanwhile, he saw the astonished expression on the dark-haired girl's face as she slowly inched away from Sofia and toward the other group. As he looked between the girl and the other group, and then at Sofia, it clicked.

The future Sofia smiled toward the young girl and knelt, holding out her arms. "Oh, my sweet girl…"

'Sunni' sobbed and ran toward the other Sofia, hugging her and burying her face into her shoulder. "Mama!"

The future Cedric, who had been tending to and checking on the future Nana and Tanya, smiled at the beautiful scene before him. How long had it been, exactly? He then frowned, turning around, looking a bit confused—almost as if something were missing.

Cedric and Sofia watched as the future princess laughed softly and dried the girl's eyes, humming as she sniffled.

"My brave little girl."

"I love you, Mama," the young girl responded, a purely happy smile spreading across her face.

Cedric leaned toward Sofia and whispered, "Maybe she'll finally say her name…"

Sofia nodded as she watched her counterpart eye them with a warm smile and an appreciative nod, seeming to understand what they wanted, before looking at the young girl again.

"I love you too, Se—"

Without notice, the entire scene practically melted away, muting all sounds and skewing all visuals, and Cedric and Sofia felt themselves being pulled back toward the original door. Their future forms had completely disappeared as the scene shifted, and they once again found themselves in the Dimension Door's grasp.

Cedric, realizing what must have happened, called out, "Transport Request: Mystic Isles in the Ever Realm, our own current time!"

A pale purple door with what appeared to be clouds covering the surface appeared, and the partners took off running toward it. They knew they had one minute to make it to that door, or they would be sealed away from it forever…

"They should be here by now," Chrysta informed the other Protectors, her anxiety for the safety of her friends filling her little by little. She pointed at the now still orb from earlier. "I thought if we were able to disable this stupid orb, they would—" She wasn't able to say anything else as a door appeared from literally nowhere, right above her, and Cedric and Sofia tumbled out, landing on top of the crystal fairy. "…reappear… Great timing, you two."

"Chrysta, I'm so sorry!" Sofia apologized as she moved over and helped her friend to her feet, smiling sheepishly. She then helped Cedric up again. "We…had an interesting time."

"Learn anything new?" Vega wondered as she smiled knowingly. She could tell that something was different. It was written all over their faces, whether they realized it or not.

"Uh, you could…say that," Cedric managed, dusting his robe off, though it didn't really need it.

They talked with the Protectors for a bit, relaying the information about the Pyramid Prattlers. Palino, Pavson, and Pacci were now eradicated in the future, but that didn't necessarily mean that it would be the case for the present time. They could very well still be out there and as far as the Protectors could tell, they were.

"We'll work on continuing to seek them out and detain them," Orion promised. "After what you've both told us, it's very necessary. Sealing people away for a few years is one thing, but enacting sacrificial methods? That's another thing entirely."

"Do you think…things went back to normal for them?" Sofia wondered.

"Maybe," Vega acknowledged. "But that's just it, Sofia… You write your own future. It is even hard to say if what you saw was actually your future… Considering alternate realms, it's possible that was a variation of your life in some way." She chuckled as she saw the princess hold a hand to her head. "I know. It can be very confusing. In any case… What you saw may or may not happen by the time you finally catch up with their time."

"I hope many aspects don't," Cedric admitted. "For example, as much as Baileywick and I bicker, him dying in a fire in the castle kitchen is horrible. And not just him, but also Nigel…"

"The best news I can offer you is that the future is always changing," Orion prophesized. "Thankfully. Because that means we consistently have opportunities to make things better, and we don't have to settle for the inevitable."

Sofia grinned at the wind walker. "I love the way you think, Orion."

After talking for a bit more, Cedric and Sofia returned to the AutoCoach and entered, heading home. As they settled in, a comfortable silence fell over them, both staring out the windows and seemingly lost in thought.

"You know…"

Cedric blinked as he turned to Sofia, who had turned to him, a soft smile on her face.

"You realize…what that means… About Sunni, I mean…"

He swallowed nervously before nodding. "W-We… We must have…adopted another child."

Sofia's face shifted from a thoughtful smile to a deadpanned expression. "…Really, Cedric?"

"Of course! We've done it before… Perhaps her situation was terrible, and we made it better?"

"Uh-huh… Right, Cedric… Adopted…" She smiled sweetly at his nervous state. "Though you've got to admit… It's pretty amazing how she looks…just like us, isn't it? I mean… What are the odds?"

Cedric folded his hands into his lap, his fingers fiddling with his gloves as he looked away from the princess. "Sofia… Perhaps we should…discuss this later…" He chanced a glance at her, noticing the mischievous smile on her face. He couldn't help the blush that crept to his cheeks, considering…

"Okay… But I'm holding you to that 'later discussion' promise then. Because I think you and I…have a lot to talk about…" It was her turn to blush as he smiled softly at her before reaching out and taking one of her hands.

"Indeed, we do… And we will… Soon."

She nodded in satisfaction before frowning. "We still never found out her name…"

Cedric nodded before shrugging. "Maybe it wasn't time for us to know yet… What is the saying? All good things come to those who wait."

Sofia smiled at him. "Well, then… I guess that's what I'll have to do. It's worth waiting for." She gently squeezed his hand as he tilted his head. "And for the record, so are you…"

He blinked at her words before sighing, smiling appreciatively. "Thank you, Sofia…"

A shadowy form watched the partners' AutoCoach traveling from a distance. Nothing was visible of the figure save for a pair of menacing green eyes, similar to the Pyramid Prattlers' but far more mysterious and dangerous. "Only a matter of time…until I take the light and tranquility from their lives forever… The best way to change the future…is to make sure it doesn't exist in the first place." With that, the figure disappeared.

The end

Ending Note:

To a few specific people—yes, those Sailor Moon references were intentional! Haha. Glad you've noticed that. 😊

Some of you will probably ask about why future Cedric was looking around so worriedly. Remember what one of Sunni's flashbacks said? What number did she focus on? Who's missing? …Are you sure about that? 😉

The book mystery… Cedric's Galactica Spellbook is coated in colorful symbols and such. Who's to say that doesn't change in the future? What exactly are those symbols? Will they always be there? Is it even the same book?! Le gasp. Lol. Y'all continue speculating. I thoroughly enjoy it. :D

Did those people escape the Z-Web if Cedric and Sofia were pulled back? Yes, because future Cedric and Sofia (and the others) know the same spell current Cedric does. And remember how Sunni said the book looked familiar… Yep. Future Cedric has one too. He'll get them out of there.

And…yes, I know, you didn't find out Sunni's real name. That might change later on down the road…. :D I look at it this way: you don't have to know everything the future holds right now. Like they were talking about, the good things are worth waiting for. And believe me, it's a very good thing you're waiting for… Just be patient. Or you could, I don't know, go back and look at the three hints I dropped in the story alluding to her real name. Haha. Two are there more emphatically in a specific sort of way, and one was more of a synonymous hint in this chapter… Look at the way things are worded. I've told y'all before that I do most everything for a reason. Can you figure it out?

If you do learn her name, please don't post it in the reviews. I have a reason for that request too. 😊 If you do figure it out, it's not the last time you'll see that name. I promise you.

Later! ~Aqua