In the distance, full of rich green glades of grass, Victoria can see the house approaching nearer and nearer… except it's not a house, not anymore; as it draws closer, she sees an apartment complex in its stead. Nothing too big, but it's not the little two-story summer home it was before.

Sitting in wait on a bench outside, with a face full of optimism, is Jessica. The second Victoria and the other survivors regain their footing and the tornado disperses, she does not hesitate to hug her family friend. "Oh, thank God! Are you alright, you're not hurt or anything?"

Victoria tiredly returns the hug and tells her, "I'm fine, Jess. Just a little tired from… everything that's happened over the course of the past two days. Are you doing good too?"

"Yes.", Jessica says as she leads Victoria and the group into the house. "I'm actually just kicking back, pretty much. I figured I'd be the caretaker but it seems like everybody just had to settle in on their own once they got here. And they did."

Lyla opens the front door, accompanied by the drifters, smiles all around. She waves and happily answers, "Hey, Victoria!"

Victoria lets out a calming laugh, happy to see safety in their spirits. "You had no troubles getting here on your own?"

"None at all. What happened to you?"

Victoria sighs, too tired to explain it all. "I got sidetracked. A lot." She seals the sentence with a grin as she looks at the lobby - formerly the living room - and how it has transformed.

The furniture's a pastiche, formed from personal taste throughout the apartment's populace: rich leather seating, slick plastic tables, smooth tile floors, fuzzy carpets, and much, much more. Pictures and paintings hang on the wall, created by people of all ages from all denizens of the building. Spotless windows welcome the glorious sunlight, shining through with heavenly rays of warmth.

"What matters is that you got us here, safe and sound. Thanks."

"You're very welcome.", she tells Lyla. As she looks around at all the happiness, she spots a reunion: Jacob and Sarah Lee, hugging it out, safe and sound together with their friends and a roof over their heads. That reminds her… "Where are Taylor and Courtney?"

Jessica leads Victoria two flights of stairs to an office space, blank and barren, where Courtney and Taylor and waiting inside. As they step out quickly, Victoria smiles at them, "So, um, hi." Oh, God, how do I phrase this? "Are you two… real?"

"Of course we are. We'd have to be."

Victoria shakes her head and corrects herself: "No, yeah, I get that. But I mean, are you two… yourselves- are you two the original Courtney and Taylor?"

The change in both of their faces - from smiles to stress - reveals one part of the answer. "Not wholly." adds another.

"I sorta had a suspicion. Plus, seeing the Party Parents' kid really… really got me thinking."

"They had a kid?"

"No- yeah- uh… kinda?" Victoria sighs, pondering to herself I am so bad at explaining this. I nearly confused myself! "I guess they dreamt of him, manifested him into being on the Astral Plane. Guess who else I saw?"

"Your parents?", Jessica asks, woefully optimistic.

Victoria glances over to her, wishing she were right. "No. But I did get to meet Chloe's dad. Not David. I'm talking about her biological dad, William. Him and Esteban Diaz, that guy who got shot in Seattle a couple years back."

"So you're thinking Taylor and Courtney are… ghosts that you dreamt up?"

In unison, Courtney and Taylor inform Jessica, "'Tulpas' is the word you're looking for."

A storm forms in Victoria's mind, only remedied by her own involuntary laughter. She's heard that word before, and it spooked her then. But now? I can't believe this. I might be going crazy. As Taylor reaches a hand out to comfort her, Victoria steps away - not that she means to - and assures her, "It's alright, it's okay, I don't… why am I even thinking about this? It doesn't matter, it was stupid of me-"

Jessica places a hand on her friend's shoulder and tells her simply and softly, "Vic, it wasn't stupid of you. It was actually pretty smart of you."

Victoria crosses her arms, not knowing what to make of the situation. Jessica's real - duh, she always has been - but Courtney and Taylor, on some level, just arent. They're still…

Courtney looks at Taylor before asking Victoria, "Do you want us to give you some space?"

Victoria quickly shakes her head. "No, no. Please don't leave me. It's just that I… I'm scared. I don't wanna lose you two again, I-I-I can't." As Jessica keeps a hold on her, Victoria begins grumbling the truth to herself: "This always happens. There's always a catch… I deserve this. Like always."

Jessica's grasp tightens as she looks her daughter- family friend in the eyes. "Don't you dare say that about yourself, Victoria. You're better than you think you are! There's a reason that you survived Arcadia Bay, that you got that standing ovation as Ophelia, that you got your Bachelor's Degree, that you've fought evil… dream demons, and that you're saving people's lives!"

"Was it fate?"

Jessica doesn't quite shake her head, but she does answer, "No… Not wholly, not even mostly. It was because YOU did it." She can see the anxiety in Victoria's face fade away as a smile forms in its place. "So some things don't go your way. Some things aren't as they seem. Are you gonna let that get you down? After everything you've been through?"

Victoria wobbles, her body and soul filled with resolve. "No."

Courtney chimes in, "We may just be manifestations of your grief, and we may go away one day, but we remember what you remember: the best of times. Those movie nights at the dorms, that time we drove to Portland to check out that roller rink, those beer pong tournaments we won together, it was all real. You'll never lose us, Vic."

"We're sorry.", adds Taylor.

Victoria raises her hands and reassures them, "You don't have to apologize. I'm not mad at any of you. I'm just tired."

Jessica remarks, seeing Victoria's anxious state, "You should go get some rest. Let me help you." Gently, she pushes Victoria along the hallway of rooms past Taylor and Courtney's office space. The two wave her goodbye for now, knowing that she needs some time off, before returning to their own room.

After a few seconds of walking past occupied apartments, Jessica leads Victoria to an unclaimed room. For a second, it is barren. But within the blink of an eye, it settles into a room of Victoria's mental liking.

Spotting the fluffy bed before her eyes, Victoria quickly falls onto it without any hesitation. Jessica lets out a laugh as she lays a soft and cozy blanket over her sleepy friend. "Sweet dreams, Vic.", Jessica wishes as she plants a kiss on her forehead before walking out quietly, closing the door behind her.

Victoria's mind soothes as she rests her aching body, only slightly tossing and turning. She re-affirms herself gently as she drifts: I am pretty, I am loved.

The Sun shines on an almost-empty Seattle, a Seattle that is too quiet for the bustling city that it usually is. All life - the humans, the flora, the fauna - all gone, prisoners of the Astral Plane.

But sitting alone, awaiting some friends from out of town, is the blue-haired Alex, having aged not even a day, fiddling with her handheld radio. Without any noise, she can hear a lot approaching; footsteps, military chatter, weapons clatter. And they're getting closer.

In that distance, growing even closer, she can hear a dialogue: "No need to worry, Director. We know her. Yeah, from the wendigos. Mhm. Okay, we'll stay in touch." Leading the pack are Max and Chloe, accompanied by something of a small army; Agent Flores, Agents Tyler and Alyson Ronan, Kate Marsh, Dana Ward, Daniel Diaz, Dr. Jonathan Reid, Lady Asbury, and a shitload of armed soldiers. As Alex catches a glimpse of the approaching army, Max waves to her with a smile on her face, hoping to lighten the mood.

Alex smiles back and says, "Hello, you. It's been a while."

As Max stops the crowd, Chloe pulls out a notepad from one of the pockets on her blazer. "Uh, formalities. This is Agent Caulfield, I'm Agent Price. We're with the Federal Bureau of Control. And all these people are our friends. If you have any questions for our lovely Director, Jesse Faden, she's right here."

Chloe pulls out a radio with her free hand, and it snarkily speaks in the voice of the FBC's Director: "Thanks for all the introductions, Agent Price."

Chloe swiftly continues, "We take it you're here to help."

Alex nods her head, happy to see friends before her. "Yeah, I'm just gonna cut to the chase: there's a lot of craziness going on on the Astral Plane, and we need to get to the bottom of solving it. What do you all know?"

The heroes have answers, and maybe a few questions of their own.

Kate: "That the Black Goat's behind everything."

Chloe: "And there's an Old Man who's been abducting whole towns."

Daniel: "They took friends of mine, all gone in a flash."

Tyler: "And a bunch of evil mind demons are working together to hurt those people!"

Dr. Reid: "They must be vanquished at once!"

Flores… actually has a question: "How do we save everyone?"

Alex chuckles, happy to hear something direct. "We go to the lady up top: the Black Goat. We find her, we talk to her, and we formulate a plan on bringing everyone home. Got it?"

The crowd discusses, and they unanimously agree, much to Alex's delight.

Dana explains what she knows: "We're pretty sure the Black Goat's in this place in Hell called the Neon Region. It wasn't too hard to get there, but she was definitely well-guarded."

"That's just another spot in the Astral Plane, no worries. Shouldn't be too hard to get there."

Max also has a question, asking on her personal friends' behalf: "Are Victoria and Jessica still safe?"

"Oh, Victoria's been busy; took down the Mad Hunter, led a coup on his game show-"

"Wait." Tyler jumps in and asks Alex, absolutely dumbfounded, "The Mad Hunter ran a game show?"

"Mhm. 'Fall Guys'. Ever heard of it?"

Alyson looks at her brother, eyebrows raised, and remarks, "Well, that's… something I never thought I'd hear a 'yes' answer to. At least he's not a threat anymore."

In a whisper, Chloe quickly asks Max, "Should I, uh, uninstall it when we get home?"

Max whispers back, a bit regretful, "Maybe?" They both quite liked that game. 'Tis a sad day.

"Anyways, she then travelled to Subcon with the Mario Brothers, and-"

Kate, wanting to get to the point, asks Alex, "Where is she now?"

"Also, did you just say she met the Mario Brothers?", Daniel asks, giddy as ever.

"Oh, at this nice little house her friends built. Long story short, Victoria and Jessica are safe and sound." Alex then looks down at Daniel and answers his question: "And yes, she met the Mario Brothers."

Chloe bumps Daniel's shoulder and chuckles with him before declaring, "Holy crap. That's awesome."

Max decides to get right to the point, as she tells Alex, "Let's go meet up with them then."

"I like the way you think!" Alex fiddles with her radio, and a triangular portal opens in the sky. Its destination: … not the House.

So she tries again! Its new destination: … still not the House.

Worry begins to linger in the air. "Uh, this usually works."

It won't work so long as Mantroid wills it. His sinister aura emanates around the House - Mantroid himself located out back by the AC units - acting as a barrier for the waking world's reinforcements. With vats of lava stored in rock barrels on a crimson wagon, he has his plot at hand: he wants to see fire, hear screams, feel the burn.

He puts a pipe in the vents, with one end pouring in the lava. Now, it is Mantroid's time to strike, and everyone else's turn to burn.