The fifth time Tahani drinks a cup of antimatter, it's for the last time.

The walk into the forest is quiet, solemn even. Before this walk—her final walk in the Good Place forest—she had opted not to throw a party. She had not given a loud declaration that she was leaving. She had simply left a resignation letter for Shawn and gave her other mentors hugs. As for her parents, they had gone through the archway only a few Bearimy's after Tahani's initial declaration and her sister had recently departed. Even John, one of her few friends who had stayed in the Good Place for as long as she had, had finally decided to leave the afterlife for good. That had dealt a huge blow to Tahani, but she had kept her chin held high.

Now, with a certificate under her belt and over millions of neighborhoods in operation, Tahani began to feel weary. Tired. It wasn't a bad sort of feeling. It was the sensation that one felt when they had achieved so much in a limited amount of time that they just wanted to rest and be happy.

In truth, Tahani was happy.

Tahani was complete.

And now, she wanted to go.

There was only one thing that held Tahani back.

"Janet," Tahani questioned softly. "Will you be all right?" Tahani fingered the hem of her suit jacket before adjusting the peacock bow tie that Michael had given her all those Bearimy's ago. It was looking a little worse for wear, but not all things were meant to last.

Janet's smile, all poise and polite, still belied a sense of melancholy. It may not have always been apparent, but Janet was human in her non-human/non-robot kind of way.

"Don't worry about me, Tahani. I'll be all right." Janet looked up at the sky for a moment before a fond smile lit up the planes of her ageless face. "Besides, rumor has it that Michael is going through his first round of tests." Janet made a small pinging noise when another dose of information made its way into her database. She glanced at Tahani with a look of mischief. "Might I add that it's in one of your neighborhoods?"

"Oooh! Really!" Tahani practically jumped in glee before catching herself. "Was it 89021Z? 76044B? Or—" Tahani took a deep breath, trying to achieve the inner peace that had come upon her only moments before the sudden reveal. "Never mind, they're all equally good and I bet that Michael is proud of me."

"Do you want confirmation?"

"Yes, please."

"He likes your redux of the Taj Mahal and Buckingham Palace."

"Of course! Neighborhood Project 76040B!" Hysterical laughter left Tahani's lips. "I almost want to forget all of this and go back!"

Janet looked at her steadily. "Do you want to go back?"

Tahani stared ahead at the forest. From her previous venture, she knew that they were close.

What was the use of coming this far if she was only going to turn back?

"No…but tell Michael that I hope I did him proud. Oh, he might want this back." Tahani undid the peacock bow tie from around her neck, placed a chaste kiss on the cloth, and placed it into Janet's hand. "Such an underrated look that tie."

"I'll be sure to pass it on to him when he finally gets to the Good Place."

"He better."

Finally, the pair of them stood in front of an archway composed of intertwining branches in between a pair of towering trees. A lone bench stood right in front of the doorway, small and inconspicuous, but ready to offer comfort.

"You can sit on that bench for as long as you want and whenever you're ready, you can just walk through."

"Join me?"

Janet nodded.

"Would you like a cup of antimatter before you leave?"

"That would be lovely, thank you."

"And would you like some stardust?"

"You know me too well."

Janet immediately summoned the drinks and handed it off to Tahani. Instead of it being inside a styrofoam cup, it was one made of ceramic—one that Tahani had made a long time ago when she was still learning how to do things for herself. The gesture made Tahani smile as she wrapped an arm around Janet's shoulders, a content sigh leaving her lips. Before she took a sip, Tahani glanced down at the steaming beverage, expecting to find flecks of stardust forming small galaxies within the confines of her cup, but found small points of light jumping in and out of the liquid.

"Hmm, I think you should try one new flavor before you go, like a mini farewell party for your taste buds."

"Well then, I suppose this is one of the best parties I've ever been to if that's the case." Tahani raised her cup in front of the archway in a solemn toast. "To whatever is on the other side."

Tahani took a small sip and found that it was pleasant. Not too hot, not too cold. Not too sweet, not too bitter. Not too calming, but not too much of a kick for her tastebuds.

"Hmm," Tahani breathed in the pleasant scent. "I think this is one of your finest work. What did you put in it?"

Janet leaned in before conspiratorially whispering, "Protons for positivity."

"You're joking!"

Janet smiled, no longer volunteering information.

"Are you ready?"

Tahani swirled the contents of her cup a little, watching the galaxies collide and form one mega galaxy that was strewn with an assortment of stars and planets.

"I'm ready, I'm just... I'm worried about you. Sooner or later, Michael will also want to leave…and then you'll be all alone."

"Tahani," Janet placed a hand on Tahani's shoulder, causing Tahani's gaze to fall on her rather than on the doorway's presence. "Don't worry. Chances are I'll spend a few thousand more Bearimy's with Michael and when that's over, I still have the Judge, Shawn, the new Good Place committee members…"

"That doesn't sound like reassurance, to be honest."

"But I won't be alone because I have you—" Janet took hold of Tahani's hand and placed it over where a beating heart should be. "—and Jason and Eleanor and Chidi and Michael in my memories. And my heart."

"You have a... heart?" Was she hearing that correctly?

"Of course! All those reboots had me forming not only emotional attachments and flexible thinking patterns, but also physical sensations that remind me of what a human feels like! If I remember correctly, I think I managed to learn what sweating was that one time Jason—"

"Ah ah ah," Tahani downed the rest of her antimatter and drew Janet to her feet. "I suppose that's a story that you can tell Michael once he's finished. As for me, well…" She inclined her head to the doorway, all sense of fear and anxiety drifting away to the breeze.

Janet and Michael were going to be okay and that was what mattered.

"I'm ready."

"Goodbye, Tahani."

And with that, Tahani Al Jamil, architect of millions of neighborhoods and one of the saviors of all of humanity, stepped through the doorway.

There was the bittersweet tang of finality resting upon her tongue.