One Step from Paradise

Summary: When Sofia's amulet summons her to aid someone, she's rather taken aback when she discovers that she's in a bizarre alternate universe. Even stranger than that is the person in need of her assistance: Cedric. (Plot idea from Mr. Shortman92)

Disclaimer: I don't own the show, the characters, or the OCs mentioned here. The Absentia Realm and its OCs belong to Mr. Shortman92. Nana and Abstruce Cedric and Sofia belong to MarionetteJ2X.

A/N: This chapter is a literal piece of random hilarity that I came up with WAY back when planning for this story. There's no real rhyme or reason to it, and I'm not even sure how or why these groups are all together, but just take it as it is. We'll call this the BLOOPER or DELETED SCENE chapter, I suppose. Haha. :D So…brace yourselves for craziness, cuteness, and just fluffiness, I guess. Haha. PS: THIS is the last chapter, officially. 😊

Chapter 5: Realm Remix

Cedric & Absentia Sofia/Sofie:

"You are just the coolest person ever, Mr. Ceedric!" Sofie cheered happily as she snuggled Cedric's arm before gasping dramatically and sitting up, placing her hands in her lap. She blinked when she saw that Cedric seemed to be blushing darkly, scooting away from her a bit on the picnic blanket. "Did I do something wrong?"

"N-No, of course not, my dear…" He cleared his throat. "I'm just…not a very…" He shrugged as he ran his fingers through his hair and sighed. "I like my space is all."

"Oh…" Sofie nodded in understanding. "Right. M-Me too." She looked away as she played with her hair. "So… What's it like being a sorcerer?" She grinned excitedly as she leaned toward him, causing him to fall backwards as she yet again invaded his space. "Is magic everything I think it is?! Mom and Dad don't know magic, so neither do I, but I'd love to learn it." She pointed toward the other Cedric, who seemed to be very intimidated by Fia. "I'm kind of hoping that Mr. Ceedric is going to teach me some one of these days, but we've sort of only just met recently, so we're still getting used to each other."

"Right…" Cedric scrambled to a sitting position once again before shaking his head. "First of all, if you're really wanting to get to know either of us, say our name correctly: Cedric. Said-rick."

"Ah, right! How silly of me!" She giggled and nodded. "Mr. Cedric. Is that right?"

Cedric scoffed, rolling his eyes. "Yes… It's a miracle how you can pick that up in five minutes, and yet it took my Sofia a whole year to remember."

From the other side of the courtyard, Sofia from the Ever Realm yelled, "Let it go, already!"

He smirked and chuckled before glancing down, noting the other Sofia's closeness. He swallowed nervously. "My dear, we've already talked about this—"

"You smell ah-mazing." She grinned as she grabbed his robe and inhaled. "Like chemicals, cookies, and perfume? Hmm?"

He shuffled away from her before stammering, "W-Well, Sofia did hug me earlier…"

"Ooh… You get a lot of hugs from her, huh?" She giggled as he blushed a bit. "I can understand why…" She leapt forward, hugging him as he yelped. "You're so huggable!"

"We've talked about the space thing!" He sighed in defeat before gently patting the village girl's head. "Hmm…" He then smiled thoughtfully. "Same old Sofia, no matter what realm, I see…"

Absentia Cedric & Fia

Absentia Cedric sat across from the auburn-haired princess on their own picnic blanket. He winced as he noticed her staring him down, those blue eyes rather cold as they focused on him. She was a lot different from the other two Sofias. Her hair was much shorter, first of all, and she seemed to favor armor. She also seemed a lot more serious and didn't smile as much. Maybe she just needed a cookie?

"Would you like a cookie?" Cedric asked as he fished one out of a bag. "Queen Lorelei made them for me earlier, and they're scrumptious!"

"Who says 'scrumptious?'" Fia asked, rolling her eyes before sighing and reaching out, taking the cookie from him. "Thanks." She nibbled a bit on the cookie before blinking. "This is actually good."

"Of course, silly! Everything the queen makes is divine!"

Fia frowned thoughtfully. "It's so strange to me that your queen is alive. Ours has been dead for many years." She blinked as he reached forward and placed a hand over her mouth and a finger of his own, shushing her. She scowled and slapped his hand away.

"OUCH!"

She glared at him. "I don't care if you are Cedric. Don't do something like that, especially considering the fact that I could drop-kick you if I wanted to. It's not good to startle someone with all the training I've had."

"I… I apologize. It's just…" He shrugged. "Our realm is such a happy realm. No one d—passes away."

Fia narrowed her eyes at him.

"Everyone is good. There is no evil or crime. The worst thing I've ever seen happen was Prince James trip over a stuffed bunny, but he was laughing when he did so and didn't get hurt."

"What? Do you people live in a bubble or something?" She smirked, causing him to squirm. "Wanna hear how my realm has played out so far?"

"Not if it's going to give me nightmares…"

The princess laughed wryly. "Why not? Might as well share mine with someone…" She ticked off everything on her fingers. "My dad went missing when I was little and is probably dead. Amber's and James's mom died giving birth to them. Our country just got out of a very long war, and we're still rebuilding and getting used to having peace. I slept on tattered mattresses for the last nine or so years. Our orphanage is full right now due to the war. Oh…" She pointed at him. "And you—or your counterpart, rather—betrayed me and my family once when you took over the kingdom."

"Well, that seems like a harsh thing to do," he commented, causing Fia to roll her eyes. "I wouldn't ever do such a thing. I wouldn't make a good king anyway." He shrugged. "Kings don't get to do magic all the time, and that's what I enjoy most." He smiled obliviously.

Fia gave him a reproachful stare. "Glad to see my tales of woe really had an impact on you."

"Well, I could give you a hug—" He grinned and held out his arms; he'd gotten more used to hugs recently with Sofie, and he found he quite enjoyed them.

She shook her head and waved her hands. "No, no. That's okay." She laughed somewhat nervously. "I don't really do hugs much unless they're from certain people.

Cedric blinked before grinning. "You're strange."

Fia lifted one eyebrow at him before smirking. "You're one to talk."

Abstruse Cedric/Ceddy & Sofia

"It's been some time since we last saw each other, Princess Sofia," Ceddy mentioned, watching as she laid out all the plates of food for them. "And you don't have to do that."

"It's fine," she assured him, smiling. "Cedric and I go picnicking all the time now."

He smirked, causing her to blush. "Ah, just 'Cedric' now, eh? Well, that's a good change, I suppose." He chuckled as she nervously tucked some hair behind her ear. "One sign of moving forward."

"Y-Yeah, you could call it that…" She pointed toward a small tart on a plate. "That's a boysenberry tart. Baileywick loves them."

"I'll have to ask him when we get back, though he and I don't exactly have the best relationship." He picked the tart up and began eating it, humming in appreciation at the flavor.

Sofia giggled. "I think that's any Cedric and Baileywick combination, though they have gotten closer since Baileywick's retirement recently." She looked in the distance, noticing her more serious counterpart actually laughing at something the Absentia Cedric had said. "She seems happier now. At least a little bit."

"Things have been a great deal better, Princess." He dusted off his hands. "Fia and I are currently training with a new magical army to help protect our kingdom from invasion."

"Let me guess: the Never Realm?"

He frowned curiously, shaking his head. "Never heard of that. And I just mean in general. You never quite know what will happen, and I will not have us being caught off-guard like last time."

She nodded. "I get it. Trust me." She then turned and looked toward her own Cedric, a soft smile coming to her face as she watched him trying to pry the Absentia Sofia from his arm. "Hmm. I guess some things don't change."

"Hmm?" Ceddy turned and laughed softly upon seeing the village girl's antics. "I'll be honest. I'm rather glad I was partnered with you instead of Grabby Gabby over there."

The princess grinned. "Did you just make a joke?"

He smirked. "I believe I did." He playfully tapped her nose, causing her to giggle. "Don't get used to it, my dear. It's a once-in-a-lifetime event."

"I'll take what I can get." She lifted her glass of grape juice. "To friendship?"

The sorcerer nodded as he copied her, clinking his glass with hers. "To friendship."

THE END!