The group of one nymph, one human, a flamingo, and a slime arrived at the farm just in time to greet the dawn. Martha and Bob were already up and starting the farm tasks for the day. The clockwork carriage's ticking announced them as they approached from alongside the stream.

Bob and Martha both looked worried when they saw Kaide leading the group. The nymph that had tried to kidnap Alex came back and appeared to be the one leading the group now. The fact that Alex and Merumeru looked passed out in the back of the cart didn't help either.

When everyone got close enough, Martha asked, distrust in her voice "Kaide what did you do to Alex and Merumeru?"

Kaide frowned, having gotten her memories back from her time as Kyle made this interaction rough. They didn't see her as their child, not anymore. "Nothing really. Yesterday was really busy for them so I took over pulling the cart so they could get some rest." Kaide desperately wanted to call them mom and dad but wasn't sure if that would be okay.

"How long are they going to sleep for? Is there something wrong with them?" Bob asked, fearing foul play.

Kaide shook her head, "No. It was a very tough couple days. We traveled through the night to get back from Sakura's grove."

Martha raised an eyebrow, "How do we know you didn't just use magic to put them to sleep?" She sounded skeptical and maybe even a little angry.

Fufi threw Kaide a bone, "Alex and Merumeru stayed up some of the night pushing the cart but Kaide finished the last leg. Also, Kaide, do you want me to tell them or should I let you?"

Kaide froze. It seemed like Fufi was giving her the opportunity to say what she wanted, but the nymph just couldn't spit it out.

Martha glared at the nymph. "You're no better than the demons."

"She's right," Bob said. He then turned towards the nymph, "I don't know what kind of sick joke is going on but the forest took our son and now you come back likely to rub it in our face that you took Alex and his friends as well. No, you are not welcome here."

Kaide looked downwards in shame and embarrassment as Martha gave her one final glare before walking away.

Fufi flew off the cart, landed next to the nymph and nudged Kaide with her wing. "You've got to tell them."

Kaide nodded, taking a deep breath, "Mom I am sorry. I know what I did was wrong. It wasn't until yesterday that I got my memories back. Before I was a nymph I was your son Kyle."

Martha turned back around. "What does that mean?" She asked quietly.

Kaide smiled, "I can explain all about it but first you need to know how much I love you both. How deeply grateful I am for raising me. I owe so much to you and dad for bringing me into this world. I know I can't ask you to forgive me but I want to try to make things right. Please understand what happened isn't who I am today and I'm sorry."

Bob walked up behind his wife and put his hands gently on her shoulders, "We have always loved Kyle and never lost hope. Are you really him...er.. her? I'm not sure how this is supposed to work. Is that really our child Fufi?"

The flamingo nodded. "Yes, Sakura took everyone's memories."

"Sakura?" Martha gasped.

Kaide held a hand over her chest and closed her eyes tightly as if in pain, "Yes, she is the spirit of the forest. I don't know all the details, some of the nymphs that had been with her longer know more but she was here before all of this. When the demon queen's army razed the city and turned everything into a wasteland it changed her. After losing so much so much she just couldn't trust anyone."

Martha sat down heavily onto the cart and wrapped her arms around herself. Her mind felt like it might explode from trying to process too many new ideas at once. She looked down and saw Alex sleeping peacefully next to Merumeru. He looked completely healthy.

"Bob, come see, Alex doesn't have leaf hair anymore. I think Kaide is telling the truth. I don't know is Alex still a girl? It is hard to tell." Martha pointed at the boy. Alex still wore the magical girl dress.

Bob stared intently at Alex. He reached out flicked Alex's nose, "Alex, wake up."

Alex opened his eyes and smiled sleepily, "Dad."

Martha snickered, "That's just Bob he's not your dad."

Alex yawned, "Ugh, sorry I guess I was dreaming of being back home."

"It would appear you were," Fufi said. "You seem fine now though. How do you feel?"

"A bit groggy but okay. How long was I asleep?" Alex asked.

The group continued catching up. Eventually the subject was brought up about what Kaide would need to stay with her parents. She showed them the card with the aspen tree. It was decided that the best place to plant her tree would be in the same wall off place with the apple tree. Alex's soul returned safely to his body so they didn't need to be as careful about it. The group wondered if Alex would want to tree cut down but he really didn't care. True, he likely wouldn't eat apples again any time in the near future but if it was going to be Kaide's grove from now on and she didn't mind having an apple tree nearby then it was okay.

Kaide's parents agreed to welcome her back to live at the farm.

The party opened the pipe gate and Kaide pulled out her card and placed it in a spot that would get a lot of sun. An aspen tree sprung up from the ground with a rustling of leaves.

Fufi smiled, "I'm glad love and justice prevailed in the end."

Kaide took Fufi into one of her arms, "I'll always remember how you helped me."

"Oh come now, I think you can do better than some random fairy." Fufi winked, fluttering her wings for good measure before flying over towards Alex. "You are looking much better now." She gave Alex another once-over. "Though I don't think your soul is fully restored. You're still feeling pretty drowsy. Don't worry, I think you'll be fine with some more rest."

Kaide yawned, "I could use some sleep too. I've been up all night as well." She hopped up into the tree and reclined against a large branch.

Alex and Merumeru spent the rest of the morning resting as well.

Bob and Martha kept to their routine around the farm.

When Alex woke up Fufi was still beside him half-awake, he asked, "Are things really going to be okay like this? Some of the people that went back to being human are probably on their way back to those barbarians that we met in town. I'm a little worried about what might happen next and if we'll be safe here."

Fufi blinked awake slowly then shook her head. "We have an advantage right now," she said in an airy voice. "Also, don't be so sure that they'll consider you an enemy. I think you took some of the blame for what Sakura had done. If they do send someone out here maybe it could just be to ask for forgiveness."

Alex smiled, "You make it sound so simple but it isn't. That doesn't mean it won't work out though." He smiled up at Fufi who gave his nose a light flick with her wing.

Alex glanced at Kaide sleeping in the tree and whispered, "Do you know how long we slept?"

"No idea," Fufi replied softly as she began grooming herself.

"Well, I was thinking. I'd like to try to take the cart apart and try to learn from it. If we are going to be traveling some more it'd be nice to improve it." Alex mused while inspecting the cart.

"Oh, it needs improvement. You should make it look cuter. Right now it is much too plain." Fufi looked at the cart as well. She folded her wings close to her back.

"Maybe we could mount the water barrels higher and build a cover for it. I think the current interior would benefit from a few new designs." Alex suggested.

Fufi thought about it for a second and nodded. "It could be fun. It could be our magical chariot."

Using the workshop, Alex took the cart apart and wrote down some notes about how it all fit together and how it worked. The most interesting part was the main spring. It was studded with gems and glowed with magic. When Merumeru woke up later in the day she noticed what Alex was doing and brought out some additions of her own that Alex had thought were lost. She apparently had got the shower and the sink that they had left behind.

"Where did you get these Merumeru?" Alex wondered when she produced them out of seemingly nowhere.

"Meru!" The slime girl cheerfully answered.

At this point, Alex knew that Fufi's insistence about making things cute was actually useful and not just magical girl familiar silliness. Over the course of a couple days they had remodeled the cart into a carriage fit for nobility. Alex used some of the books and past knowledge of clockwork dolls to change it so that the carriage could be controlled from the driver's bench. They would no longer have to pull it to get the wheels to move. While the wheels couldn't turn the speed at which they could spin could be altered allowing it to turn a bit like a tank. Merumeru even made some pipes and a spot with a shower drain so that they could take a cold shower as well. The water barrels were on the roof so there was a bit of gravity fed water pressure. There were glass windows and doors. There were even small wall mounted shelves on the inside for the stuffed animals and dolls to be placed in. Bob helped with the woodwork and Alex made some bench seats with wool stuffing and some of the fabric to create curtains. Merumeru even was able to her slime powers to create the leaf spring suspension. Kaide even helped out with her plant magic. She was able to grow wooden parts to the exact specifications needed. She was even able to add ornate decorations for the outside.

The cart became more than a cart now, it was a magical carriage fit for a princess, "This is great! Thank you everyone!"

Alex blushed, "Yeah, I'm glad we managed."

Kaide poked him on his chest, "So, you're going to leave?"

"Eventually, we still have the quest to defeat the demon queen." Alex replied simply.

"I see... So will you be coming back?" Kaide asked hopefully.

"Yeah, you and your parents did a lot for us. They are good people." Alex nodded.

Everyone took turns driving the carriage around. It was not like driving a car. The controls consisted entirely of levers that switched gears around. There was no driving wheel. It would take some getting used to. Alex really wanted to create a second one for the farm but without another magical spring and some hard to create mechanical bits it was simply too difficult to do with what they had at the workshop. However it was a fun afternoon. Everyone enjoyed the cart and even got a chance to try out the shower and sink. Merumeru made it her little project to modify the well to have an extra outlet to easily fill the water barrels.