Disclaimer: I own nothing from Lost Dimension and everything belongs to their respective owners.

Note: This fanfiction contains spoilers! Read at your own risk! (Thanks! ^_^)

It Has To Be You

Looking back on their journey through the tower, Sho would have had to guess that each of them had become suspicious of the fact after the second floor's Judgement. The eighteen year old figured that he must have known sooner than that – whether it was from his 'visions' or something else, he couldn't really be sure. The realization had quickly settled in their hearts by this – the fourth floor's – Judgement.

As Sho looked around at the four others in the room with him, he knew it couldn't be a coincidence. The End – a terrorist that had appeared days earlier threatening to destroy the world if he wasn't defeated – had this calculated from the start, probably waiting for the moment to come when they would all realize the true amount of sacrifice the Pillar demanded of them.

The idea that the group of eleven had to sacrifice any one of their members was – even to this hour – very unsettling. Having to make that choice in order to continue to the higher floors of the Pillar… it was a heavy burden.

The first elimination had almost seemed predetermined, if only for one deciding event: George had taken Yoko captive, somehow knowing what would happen. The fact that they had to have all the current members alive in order to proceed further was what stopped the tragedy that would have happened – and the results of the first Judgement were made quite clear. George had disappeared in a beam of light, a small box-like object clattering to the floor.

It was the proclamation that had first driven a wedge into their new group: "there is a traitor among you." Sho had desperately hoped that – with their first comrade revealed to be a 'traitor' – the whole ordeal would be resolved. There could only be one traitor… right? That's what everyone must have hoped.

The foresight after their missions on each new floor didn't stop, as well as the mysterious voices filled with ill intent. Of course, some of these voices turned out to be filled with uncertainty and doubt; it was no question that this came from the stress of their final goal and the words of their enemy.

The dark-haired teen had just started to get a grasp on his Gift when the second Judgement came and – with it – another startling revelation: to pass the second Judgement, two more comrades must be eliminated. It was around then that Sho had started to add up the numbers: the first floor demanded one elimination, while the second one demanded two…

I – no everyone – must have realized where this was headed back then. I just didn't want to accept it.

The End had appeared to their ever-smaller group several times throughout their climb of the tower, more mysteries and uncertainties arriving with him. One thing was very clear though: he wanted Sho to continue to ascend the Pillar, sacrificing more and more of their group. Why? Why me? He had wondered many times throughout the past few days, but coming up with little for an answer. Maybe when they got to the top, they would finally receive some answers…

With the end of the third floor came three more sacrifices, with Sho just barely avoiding elimination himself. Maybe it was that someone had been tired of his 'influence' over their group, or maybe they had some other reason, but the four that were with him now… they wouldn't betray me. They wouldn't betray each other either, not with everything we've been through.

With the way things had been heading, they all knew by then. The start of the fourth – and final – floor had been filled with silence, most likely from the fact that they had to accept what was going to happen.

One… then two… then three… and now four… Sho thought as he stared at the five consoles in the fourth chamber of Judgement. That equals ten eliminations. Only one of us can remain.

"We're… here again." Yoko's voice cut through the silence in the room as they walked across the familiar bridge, the door closing behind them. It was a sign repeated four times: they could only move forward now.

Marco nodded, his gaze downcast from his place close to Sho. "Yeah." When the younger boy looked up at him hesitantly, the dark-haired teen noticed an unknown emotion mixed with the slight fear.

They all know what comes next…

"Is it really all that surprising?" Himeno's tone was more confident than the other two had been. Her words spoke truth, but he knew that, underneath the mask she wore, the pyrokinesis user must have been scared too. How could any of them not be, when there was only a one in five chance of continuing? "This room has appeared at one point or another on all the floors beneath this one. Why would it change now?"

"It would be nice if The End would have changed it a bit though…" At Agito's statement, everyone glanced at him with varying emotions. This prompted him to continue in… well, the best way that he could. "You know, maybe he could have thrown us a party? This is the second-to-last floor, after all."

"We're not entirely sure of that…" Sho wasn't sure how to continue. He wanted to hope that this – indefinitely – was the end of the floors and that their enemy waited for them on the next. It certainly felt like they had traversed a large amount of the Pillar. So, if this could be the last one…

"Even so, wouldn't the party be on the last floor after he's defeated?" Yoko inquired, her tone a little lighter. The teen glanced over at her, noticing how her trembling hands were clasped together tightly. Was she frightened or filled with hope? No matter who would continue, Sho realized that the one to survive would be the one to carry on their hopes for the future. I'm alright with that.

"I guess so. He could have mixed things up a bit though." Agito shrugged at the response as he let out a nervous laugh. Even now, he was still trying to lighten the mood… Maybe it'll make things easier… or are we just stalling time…?

"It doesn't matter, not anymore." Himeno shook her head, being the first one to make her way over to the voting console. Her eyes burned with an intense resolve. "We all know what we have to do now."

The fiery teen stared back at them and, after each sharing a glance with the rest, they took their places at their respective consoles. The number of machines had diminished over the past few floors as their number of comrades had lessened. Sho could only believe that it was another way to mock them; they would never forget those who were sacrificed to climb the Pillar, but there were constant reminders laid throughout the floors to constantly remind them of this fact.

Sho tapped the screen on his console with a finger, not surprised when the normal blue interface popped up. On the screen, each of their pictures was displayed. All five of us… we…

As his eyes scanned the interface, however, he noticed that several things were different. The side of the screen displayed that he only had one vote, and this was further emphasized by the words on the screen. Instead of the normal – "Select a candidate for erasure" – another demand was stated: "Select the candidate to continue."

Does that mean…? Sho hesitated, his gaze trailing to the others around him. Did their interfaces change as well? On all the other floors, the same request had been presented to them, with more votes going to those who participated more in missions. This time, however, seemed to be different. Looking around at their faces, Sho almost felt like everyone else wasn't surprised by this outcome.

Instead of voting each other out, we need to vote for one person to continue. The person with the most votes would ascend the stairs, while the others… His thought cut off as he gazed back at the screen in front of him. How could he possibly choose one person out of the list? It seemed like a strange idea in his mind: how exactly had he been able to choose someone to erase on the floors below? Even so, he – along with however many of them had been left – decided that person's fate. And yet… he's asking us to choose one, and erase the others.

Sho let his hand linger above the screen, unsure for once on how to proceed. Every other time they had come to the Judgement room, he had at least known something about what would happen, whether it was the likelihood of someone being voted out or if they were a traitor. This time, he didn't know what would happen beyond this room.

Am I afraid of dying, or am I afraid to lose everyone here?

The question lingered in his mind as he looked at his comrades – no, they were more like a family now – again. Himeno's gaze was locked on him as her finger pressed down on the screen.

One mechanical noise, followed by three others, rang through the room. The dark-haired teen took a deep breath as he looked back at the screen, realizing that he was the only one yet to make a choice. What would happen if there wasn't a conclusive vote? Would the decision be made randomly, or…?

Sho's eyes widened as the answer hit him. At exactly that moment, the interface on his screen faded, leaving him without a choice in the matter. "Wha-?" a small exclamation of surprise left his mouth as the voting consoles fell to pieces in front of them, fading away into grains of dust.

His gaze instantly sought out the other four in the room, whose consoles crumbled as well. In contrast to the confusion and shock that would clearly be on his face, everyone else was smiling. And it was because they understood too.

I never had a choice in this.

Sho couldn't make excuses; he couldn't proclaim that he didn't understand or that they hadn't known what the outcome would be. All he could be was honest. "When…?" The rest of the question died in his throat, which by now felt slightly dry.

"It wasn't too hard to figure out," Himeno was the first one to answer him, her tone neutral even though they knew what came next. They each had few precious moments before…

"You know, The End sort of left us a few hints on the way up," Agito continued as his gaze traveled to the ceiling absentmindedly. Sho knew what he was referring to, but that still didn't make things right. If all of this was predetermined…

"Please don't think we meant any harm by deciding this behind your back." Yoko's hands squeezed just a bit harder as she gave a quick bow. Her eyes were filled with some remorse and sadness at the idea that they had kept their decision hidden from him. "It's just…"

"It has to be you… right?" Marco stared up at him when Yoko's words had trailed off, leaving the room in uncomfortable silence. The younger boy looked the closest to crying that Sho had ever seen him, but it was a silent vow: they wouldn't hide what they were feeling, not at the end.

"Everyone…" Why was it that – when he had so much he wanted to say – he couldn't find the words? He wasn't sure if he was ready for that kind of burden; to be entrusted with their hopes for the future…

"Give The End what's coming to him, and burn him good for me." As he registered Himeno's words, he could help but think that everything was going too fast. After learning everything behind her words, he still couldn't find a response.

"Don't forget that he has feelings too though. Or at least I think he does. Everyone has to feel something at some point; it's only natural!" Agito proclaimed louder, making Sho laugh inwardly. He's still going with the 'everyone is my friend' ideal…

"Even if I didn't get to achieve my dream… maybe you'll be able to convey what we all hoped for." Yoko had tears in her eyes now too, but her words caused him to almost voice his thoughts. Through all this, you learned what singing from the heart really meant.

Marco's hand reached out hesitantly before the boy tugged on his jacket. Sho almost wanted to encourage him to speak his mind, but the brown-haired boy beat him to it. "You… taught me that maybe this world isn't so bad. Maybe there are people worth saving… good people who actually care. You'll save this world, right? For all of us?"

The dark-haired teen could only nod, finally finding his voice. "Yeah, I…" He started with a somewhat confident tone, but his words were cut off by a painfully familiar sound. His eyes widened as four beams of light shot out from the ceiling of the room, encompassing the other occupants of their group. Not a second later, four more cubes were clattering to the ground; the sound echoing off the walls of the empty room.

For several moments after, Sho found that he couldn't think. His mind was strangely silent as it caught up with what he had seen. All he could do was stare at the box-like objects and try to think back on the family that had slipped from his grasp.

The teen fell to his knees after that, his mind registering more cubes along with the four: ten in total. One by one, he picked the cubes up, feeling as though he could clearly remember the people they had replaced. Would these memories of them fade as time went on? Would he even be able to move on after this?

Sho felt as though the Pillar itself were crumbling around him. Was sacrificing all this really worth it? He wondered as the grief hit him full force. On every other floor, he at least had someone to turn to, someone who needed him to be strong and move on. This time, he was completely alone.

No, everyone is still here. The teen shook his head as he stood unsteadily to his feet, the cubes securely in his hands. When he pulled out his gun, ten slots were present in the side, another indicator reminding him that this was supposed to happen. He hadn't noticed the number of slots before, but with the weight of everything they had been through, he wasn't surprised.

All the cubes were secure in the slots a moment later, each glowing with a faint light of different colors. Everyone, I won't forget. I'll continue forward and stop The End, no matter what. I won't let your faith in me be proved wrong.

The glass stairs descended from the ceiling, causing him to look up at the passageway. His steps slowly grew stronger and, as he walked up the final flight, he had to wonder something: if they would have been brought together, under peaceful circumstances, and known each other then, would things have been different? Would they have been able to be friends and act like people their age? What if they didn't have their Gifts and this heavy burden? As he grew closer to the last step, Sho truly hoped that they would have been able to.

So, I apologize if anyone in this is a bit OOC, but it's the first fanfiction I am writing for Lost Dimension (and, well, the first fanfiction for the archive too), and I haven't necessarily beaten the game yet, so… some stuff might not be accurate. This really came from speculation on what I thought would happen if you add four floors plus the number of eliminations and a whole ton of other theories in my head, but I hope it was enjoyable nonetheless! I have a few more ideas coming at some point, but I hope this has inspired anyone else to write for the archive as well! Please let me know what you thought in a review!

-AnimeWolfGirl9