After making sure there was nothing left of our enemies at all, we returned to the ground, soon gathering in Mirai.

“I can’t believe it’s finally over.” I said.

“We all worked hard for this,” said Jason.

“Couldn’t have done it without all of you.” I added.

“You better be grateful.” responded Jean.

“I really am.” I said.

“Okay,” said Justin, “you being like this is kind of gross.”

“Sorry.” I said.

Looking all around me, I saw all the friends that were with me on my previous adventures, along with some new faces. I really was lucky to have them in my life. Whether it was because they wanted to help me out or they were more interested in saving the world, it didn’t really matter. In the end, we all worked hard to make things right. Soon, a light started shining brightly. Afterwards, we saw a familiar person: Matilda.

“Well done, heroes.” she said.

“I think we’re doing okay for people that have died multiple times,” responded Jeff.

“I never would have thought that all of you would come together.” continued Matilda.

“Just felt like it.” responded Donovan.

“Can you tell us what happened at the end?” I said, “Miles and evil Justin turned into some kind of monster.”

“That power came from downstairs.” said Matilda, “Same realm where a certain butler you’re familiar came from.”

“You can just say hell.” said Jean, “We’re not kids.”

“Heaven and hell have been at odds since when all worlds began,” said Matilda, “In the end, hell never wins. It just comes close. Your enemies just used the devil’s power to help them, but you heroes were far stronger.”

“This really was a weird adventure,” said Christina.

“Exactly how did another version of myself end up with us, anyways?” I asked.

“Your enemies this time made quite a mess of things,” said Matilda, “and that includes messing with transportation between dimensions so it only makes sense another version of one’s self would come over unintentionally.”

“Except in the case of our enemies, those two came over on purpose,” I said, “I never thought I’d be fighting another version of our old enemy… or a version of my brother.”

“You’ve gone through a lot.” said Matilda.

“Will I be able to go back to where I belong?” asked Christina.

“Yes.” said Matilda, “In time, you will be able to head back to your own world.”

“That’s a relief.” she said.

“Um… what about us?” said Clara.

“You may do as you wish.” said Matilda.

“That’s it…?” said Clara, “After finding out…”

“It’ll be alright, Clara.” said Sonia, putting her hand on her sister’s shoulder.

“Why did you have all three of us?” asked Clara.

“Does one need a reason to have kids?” responded Matilda, “Don’t forget, you’re a bit different from your sisters.”

“That’s right.” said Clara, looking down, “Thanks for giving me another chance in life.”

“What are we going to do now?” asked Kia.

“I promise I won’t be far.” said Matilda, “You can always come get me when you need me.”

And after those words, she disappeared.

“Don’t worry,” said Sonia, “I’ll take care of you two.”

“You know I'm an adult, right?” asked Clara.

It didn’t take long for the three sisters to walk away.

“Well… that happened.” I said.

“It… sure did.” commented Jason.

“I don’t know what’s going on.” complained Justin.

After that, I cleared my throat.

“I really meant what I was talking about earlier.” I said, “Jason… you’ve been on every adventure with me so far and have been a very reliable guy ever since I’ve known you.”

“Thanks.” responded Jason.

“Mikaela,” I said, “You’ve been following us around for a while, but I’m glad you decided to actually join us instead of being creepy and observing us. You’ve been a good friend to us all the entire time.”

“Only ‘cuz I felt like it.” she said.

“Jon, Cerise, Lilith, Lucas… it’s because of your family I even got involved,” I said, “You roped us into some kind of weird training thing one day. Little did we know what we had been dragged into.”

“It was worth it in the end.” said Jon.

“Sure was.” added Lilith.

“Sorry for dragging you into all this, but not really.” said Cerise.

“If only Erica could be here.” said Lucas.

“Don’t worry,” I said, “she’s still watching over all of us.”

“Even dead, she can’t leave us alone.” commented Lilith.

“Charles… Iris…” I said, “I wish we could have met under better circumstances, but still, it’s been great to have you both on the team.”

“I wouldn’t worry about it now,” said Charles, “Thanks to you, I don’t have to hide anything from Iris.”

“I like things the way they are.” his daughter added.

“Matthias… I made a mess of things in your country, didn’t I?” I went on, “But you’ve been really helpful.”

“We might not have been on the best of terms, but I’m glad you fixed what was broken,” he said.

“Jean, I really am glad to have you back in my life,” I said, “even if you did turn against us that one time.”

“Do you have to keep bringing that up?” she said, “But yeah, glad to be with you again.”

“What about me?” said Jeff.

“Yeah, sure.” I said.

“H-Hey!” he said.

“I really didn’t expect you to join us, but I’m grateful.” I said.

“You better be,” he said.

“Catherine… Harold.” I said, “Glad you two decided to show up. I wasn’t sure I’d see you two again.”

“Same here.” said Harold.

“Well, we got to see each other again and things worked out.” said Catherine.

“Yep.” I said.

“Don’t let all of them hog the spotlight,” said Donovan.

“I could never forget about you,” I said, “you’ve always been an interesting guy and very supportive.”

“You’re a pretty good guy yourself.” responded Donovan.

“Dexter,” I said, “I didn’t know you very well, but still, you did good. Then… James… like Jean, I’ve known you for a long time. I think you’re a cool guy and I was really happy to have you here.”

“This is getting kinda embarrassing,” said James, “but yeah, you’re cool too.”

“Tom, Timothy, Kevin, Eric, Daniel, Hunter, David, Cameron, Elijah, Simon, and Isaac… Thanks for your help on all the adventures you’ve been a part of.” I said.

“Is this gonna go on any longer?” asked Justin.

“Oh, and you too.” I said, “I never in a million years thought you’d be a part of these, but here we are now.”

“Whatever.” my brother replied.

“Christina,” I said, “it still feels weird talking to another version of myself, but stuff like this doesn’t happen often. I’m actually glad we met.”

“So am I.” replied Christina, shaking my hand, “There’s a chance we won’t see each other again after this, though.”

“I’m not worried.” I said, “In the end, we’re the same person.”

“I guess it doesn’t matter.” she said, “Well, I’m gonna be heading back to my own world soon.”

“As for the rest of us, we need to get things figured out for ourselves.” I said.

“What do you mean?” asked Christina.

“I… have an announcement.” I said.

“Should we be worried?” asked Cerise.

“This quest got me thinking,” I said, “so much has happened these past few years, and all of it has been away from home. Back there, I couldn’t accomplish much. In the end, I figured this was the best thing for me.”

“Spit it out.” said Jean.

“I plan on staying in Mirai.” I said.

“What!?” exclaimed Jason.

“Are you really serious about this?” asked Harold

“You’re not coming back to our world?” asked Catherine.

“No.” I said, “I don’t have a reason to go back.”

“So… you’ve made up your mind, huh?” asked Jason.

“I sure have.” I said.

“Well,” he said, grabbing my hand and shaking it, “Guess I’ll be seeing you around.”

“Are you all okay with this?” asked Justin.

“Sorry, Justin.” I said, “But I can’t return home with you.”

“W-Whatever.” he said, “I’ll talk to our parents about this.”

“I’m gonna miss having you around,” said Jason, “but I’ll make sure I come to Mirai every now and then.”

“You better.” I said.

“You want to be with me that much?” teased Jean.

“What are you talking about?” I asked.

“Just messing with ya.” she said.

“Want to stay with us until you get things figured out?” asked Jon.

“Sure.” I said.

“Well, these past several days have been very interesting,” he said.

“They sure have.” I said, “Well, this is it - from now on, this is my home.”

That was the last time I saw most of the people in the group. Occasionally, a few of them would come over and visit. Years went by and I grew older, along with everyone else. During this time, I was getting along pretty well with Jean and this time we spent together made me feel like we never had any time apart. 

Eric, Mia, and Chloe are no longer the small children they were when we went on that large adventure. The three of them got to grow up in loving families so I’m not worried about what they’ll be like in the future. As for adventures, nothing too crazy has happened, but I’ve met some new people during my time here, and you never know, they might be involved in something big one of these days. For now, I’m just going to enjoy my much happier life.

-The End-