It had been seven years since Mark's last video. Three years since Seán had announced he'd be stopping YouTube soon, too. That didn't mean they had no more fans. People still watched their videos, wrote fanfiction, drew fanart. Unfortunately, the people who did began to dwindle as time went on.

The Egos? They were afraid. No, terrified. Most of them had already grown transparent in the arms. Some were close to fading completely. The few fans who still watched were all that kept them alive.

Magic grew weak, Visions started to cloud, powers became draining. They were all fading. Some, faster than others.

The doctors, with Iplier weak on his feet, made their rounds every day. They'd ordered that everyone stay in Egos, Inc. so that they could all be kept track of. The Septics' office, Ego Central, had begun to fall apart during that time; with no magic to keep it in good shape, no Egos to give it reason to exist. Schneep and Dr. Iplier made sure to check in on everyone; just to see who was still with them. So far, they'd been lucky. No one had faded yet—though the King, Bim, Marvin, Yandere, and Twins seemed to be getting close.

The Jim Twins never let go of each others' arms anymore; terrified that if they let go, that if they didn't stay near each other, they'd fade without their brother at their side. Marvin clung to Jackieboy in a similar manner, while Bim and the King had locked themselves away in their rooms, and Yan stuck close to anyone he could; namely Chase, due to his more paternal nature.

The Egos knew, simply through an accident many years ago, that they couldn't fade Outside. Not outside of their offices, but really, truly Outside. That if they left their dimensional plane, and went into the humans', that they could live on. But it was a terrifying thought. Most of them had never even set foot out there; if they had, it had been only very brief, and with their creators. They didn't know what to expect, except that it physically altered their features.

Kathryn had explained it in a way that made sense; especially to those who weren't exactly 'law-abiding'. If the Egos went Outside, and did something to draw attention to themselves, the different appearance they got made it so Seán or Mark wouldn't be pinned as suspects. Sure, the Ego might look like they could be related to them Outside; but they no longer looked like clones as they did in their own plane.

The Egos were all too afraid of what was out there to leave. Not even Dark wanted to go out there. Nor Wilford, or Anti, or the Googles; the seemingly fearless ones. The Outside was a new, unknown world to them.

That all changed when Schneep entered the Twins' room to check up on them, and found only a note on their bedside table. Bing, Chase, and Yan had all left similar notes.

They'd left together, in the middle of the night. Gone Outside. Chase with his kids in tow; each of them with backpacks filled with cash, food, and water. Yan so desperate to survive he'd left behind every keepsake of his senpai he'd collected and only brought a few changes of clothes, as well as his swords. Bing had ripped his charger from the wall to take with, while the Twins shouldered backpacks filled with notebooks and clothes.

The next day, Jackieboy and Marvin left with Bim and the King. Then it was the Googles, while Anti and Jameson left within two hours of the androids.

Their numbers started dwindling more and more; anywhere from one to a few Egos leaving every day, until the only ones left were the doctors, Dark, Wilford, and the Host. But soon enough, even they wanted to leave. There was nothing left for them in their plane but a lonely end.

"Out there, we have chance. In here, we can only fade from memory," Schneep had said to the other four. Alone, he'd exited through the back door that would take him to the humans' plane; carrying nothing but a card from Marvin, a scalpel, and his cellphone and wallet.

The following day, the remaining four made their choice.

"You'll need a human name," Dr. Iplier had said, gaze flitting between Dark and the Host. The Doctor could barely stand, and the others had to squint to focus on his extremely faded form that was barely visible. Dark, predictably, selected Damien. The Doctor suggest 'Arthur' for Host; a callback to his original title of Author, and easy to remember. He received a frown for it, before the blind Ego gave a nod.

Much like the Doctor, Host was very faded. He was followed closely by Dark. Only Wilford, through all these years, had maintained a mostly-solid form with only his hands fading in and out of visibility. And that was only because he was the channel's literal icon; seen every day even if the videos themselves weren't viewed.

Shifting the pack on his shoulders, the Doctor bent down to pick up his first-aid kit. He struggled with its weight in his weakened state, but managed. His free hand found the crook of Host's elbow; both as a means to help the blind Ego since his Visions weren't working properly, and so they could support each other, and he led the Host through the back door without another word. Dark and Wilford hesitated for but a moment before following suit.

Dark flinched at the bright sunlight to greet him, and it took a good thirty seconds for his eyes to adjust to it. Smoothing out his suit jacket, he reined in his aura to form the appropriate shadow at his feet that he always seemed to lack. Out here, he couldn't let it surround him, draw attention to him, them. Finally, the old Ego took a look at his comrades and was nearly dumbstruck. He knew they'd all look different out here. He just...hadn't really thought about it until actually seeing it with his own eyes.

The doctor looked so young. He was also lankier and taller than their creator, now. His face was one of a tired youth; maybe college-aged, and a soul patch adorned his once clean-shaven face.

The Host's face was narrower, angled more harshly; bandages almost looking like they'd slide right off with how loosely they clung to it now. Iplier leaned in to readjust them so they wouldn't actually do so. Much like the Doctor, he was taller, but overall build similar to what it had been before. It was amusing, however, at how much shorter his coat seemed with the added height of the Ego himself.

Wilford had gained a soldier's build; slimmer than before but still powerful. His mustache didn't curl at the corners nearly as much, and covered his upper lip better; no longer pink, but the same black as his hair. Dark wondered how long it would be before it was dyed back to that signature color.

Dark, himself, didn't feel much different build-wise; his suit didn't seem loose or tight, at least. Though, he did keep stepping on the bottom of his pantlegs. So the doctor and Host were taller, Will more or less the same height, and Dark shorter? How did it work out like that, he wondered with a twinge of annoyance. Judging by Wilford's smirk, the height difference was fairly obvious.

The Doctor was looking the other three over as well, his own surprise at their appearances shining in now-green eyes. "This," he muttered, "looks like the start of a very bad joke."