Mano could hardly will himself to walk away from his father after he slumped to the ground for one final time. He knew Iso was going to die here based on his condition, but he wasn't ready to accept it. Even still, Mano forced his feet to take him where his friends were leading him. Takumo and Yuta were let out of their little enclosure after an hour of staying still and silent, and they were stretching and rejoicing with everyone else. In this moment, Mano completely forgot where he was going and why he was going there. He could only think about the mountains of grief crushing that porcelain thin ignorance he once had.

He felt as if his heart was about to burst, so much so that he swiveled his head around to stare at his father once again. He did not move. Mano felt like he was going to break right then and there. Then, he felt himself go into autopilot, and he rushed back to his frozen still father on the floor of the elevator. Vai called out to him, but he didn't listen.

Mano collapsed to his knees next to his father again. He felt another ocean of tears threatening a tsunami of emotional agony, but he held them back as best as he could. He retrieved Iso's hat that had fallen a few feet away from him on the ground. Mano couldn't bear leaving Iso to rot away in the same place that he had conquered and escaped. As Mano picked up the hat, something fell out of it with a soft tink at his feet.

He quickly picked it up and inspected it; it was some sort of odd looking toothpick with a gold coating covering the entire thing. With a solemn expression, he took the toothpick and slid it behind his left ear; it was a message of his tragic victory over his father, to him at least. He didn't know if he would be able to explain to other inklings what it was or what it meant.

Mano took Iso's hat and placed it over his own head so it wouldn't get in his own or anyone else's way while they walked up the seemingly infinite ladder stretching above their heads. Cold sunshine leaked in the room from the giant opening above them, and this alone sent surges of energy through everyone's veins. A light cool breeze soothed everyone's flustered skin, and they kept hustling toward the opening.

On the way up, Mano hurled Iso's body over his right shoulder, and he left the Hydra Splatling down on the elevator below. He didn't want to leave it there at all out of fear for their new trek, but he'd rather give his father an at least somewhat honorable death over keeping a gun he could find in Inkopolis. Mano was the last up the ladder and moving the absolute slowest out of everyone. He was being careful as to not drop Iso's body or have his hat fly off of his head. Everyone else, especially Vai, didn't say a word to him. Grief might have been relatively new for Mano, but the others – with average emotional intelligence levels and empathy – understood Mano, at least to a certain extent.

Mano struggled slightly to get both himself and his father up and over the gaping maw of an entrance, but he managed it. He now carried his father, Iso Dunar, in both of his arms, his hat still adorning his head. Mano slowly walked over to a corner of the vicinity, crouched down to the floor, and let his father slip from his fingers softly. Mano wanted to cry again, but he held it back. He took off the hat and laid it over Iso's forever sleeping face. After Mano sat there and stared at him for a moment, he stood back up and sauntered back over to his dear friends.

They wordlessly offered their condolences as best as they could; Krahn patted his shoulder, Nora murmured reassuring phrases to him, the newcomers stood a respectful distance away, and Vai nearly cried herself. However, after enough time passed, Vai was the first to speak. "Let's get out of here, okay?" she began slowly, still staring at Mano, but Mano was observing the tiles on the floor. She sighed. "We've got a long journey ahead of us," she motioned to the cityscape in the distance. At this shared moment of wonder at the captivating landscape, everyone's faces were full of determination. With Vai's optimistic passion infused with the souls of her friends, they were off for Inkopolis.