"Thank you, Lucas." Claus beamed. "I knew you had it in you."

"Don't thank me for nearly killing your friend." Lucas glanced over at Mary. "Although I'm still not sure why we're keeping her around."

"I know I don't deserve it," Mary said, "But thank you for giving me a second chance."

"Just stop. Please." Lucas took a deep breath. "Unless you want me to threaten more people?"

"You were wrong to make those threats," Ninten said, "But we're happy that you came around, so long as you don't make the same mistakes again."

"Mistakes? I should have killed Mary, but I guess I didn't have the guts for it."

"Trust me," Mary said, standing up, "I feel the same way."

"Listen, I don't care how you feel, all right?"

"I'm not asking you to."

"Then what are you doing?"

"I don't know. Whatever helps, I guess."

"Have you ever considered that maybe you should just give up? Maybe you should just stay dead like all the other people who died."

"Like you're one to talk," Ninten said.

Lucas flashed a thin smile. "Fair enough. But I might be on my way out soon."

"And who's to say that I'm not the same?" Mary said. "I'll see what I can do to get publicity about the Nowhere Islands. I'll help Ninten get started with the PSI company after he graduates college. But after that, I think I'll be ready to finally go."

A pause. Lucas looked back and forth between Mary and Ninten, and then looked at his reflection in the blue fountain water.

"I suppose it's no longer any of my business," Lucas said. "Just be careful about the people you hurt, all right?"

"Lucas." Claus walked over and put a hand on his shoulder. "We're going to be okay. Ninten's going to make sure that Mary does the right thing."

Lucas shied away from Claus' touch. "The last time I put my trust in someone else, you shot yourself."

Claus flinched, turning away and crossing his arms. Ninten could see his eyebrows knotted in betrayal, hidden from Lucas' gaze.

"I'm sorry," Lucas said. "I know that wasn't your fault."

Lucas reached out towards Claus, who glared at Lucas and stepped away.

"Well, guess I'm just a terrible person." Lucas turned to Ninten. "You said everyone matters. What about me? I'm just as cold as George and I hurt my own brother like this."

"Maybe you shouldn't make those remarks about how awful you are," Ninten said. "That's not what Claus is telling you and it probably makes him feel bad."

"See, I keep making these missteps. And I still matter? If you could kill me right now, would you?"

"Well, you're already dead."

Lucas rolled his eyes. "You know what I mean."

"I would never wish for someone to stop existing. I can accept when nature runs its course for people, but it's not something I would want to inflict on others."

"Not even George?"

Ninten paused. "I wouldn't want to erase him. But given that you did, he's long down the list of people I would mourn."

"Would you feel bad for Mary if I sent her through the fountain like I threatened?"

"I know she hurt a lot of people, Lucas, but at least she's trying."

"I'm not, but you don't want to purge me."

"I can see the humanity in you."

"But not in George? Isn't there a bit of humanity in all of us? Don't we all matter?"

Ninten fell silent.

"Don't get me wrong," Lucas said. "He was an insufferable ass. But it just feels strange to hear you preach about how everyone matters and you only need to save one person to break the cycle of suffering and then not care when he's gone for good."

"Are you sure you should be lecturing me on this?"

"I'm not the one claiming to have morals." Lucas smiled. "Maybe you should check yourself, Ninten."

Ninten took a deep breath. "You know what you said about Mary? How you can't feel bad for her because she was in power and hurt so many people?"

"I don't want to have this argument again."

"No, it's not that. I think I feel a little bit of the same way about George. It's not the same as an imperialist destroying everything you love, of course, but George always told me that he was in charge and I had no say in my future. The moment I start to feel bad for him, I hear him whispering in my ear about how I owe him everything. So maybe he deserves compassion, but I don't think I can be the one to give it to him right now."

"Hmm." Lucas smiled. "I never pictured you as being so vulnerable."

"Maybe I'm not. But that's just how I feel."

"Oh, it's not an insult. It makes sense that you would have challenges as well, especially dealing with George." Lucas looked back at the fountain. "Before I go back to my Magicant, how much of this whole mess are you planning to keep secret?"

"I don't know how I feel about bringing people back from the dead, for starters," Ninten said.

"I think George was exaggerating about bringing back anyone from history," Mary said. "The only way we were able to bring Claus and Hinawa back was because we had blueprints of Claus' mind. And even then, it required PSI skills so difficult that I'm not sure I could replicate them even if I were whole."

"Okay, so that might not be in our near future," Ninten said, "But if people are dying and want to spend more time with their loved ones, maybe they should be able to upload their mind to a psyspace."

"I had a feeling you might say that. And I guess I can't blame you for not bringing this up earlier when I was threatening to kill you. Well, I don't think I could take you three on even if I wanted to, so good luck."

"Now that George is gone, we might be able to provide better ways for bring services for everyone without gating them by money," Ninten said.

"I doubt it," Lucas said. "But what I do believe is that you'll do your best. And maybe that's enough for now. So please, Ninten. Prove me wrong. Show me a society where not only the rich get more access to life than the poor."

"We'll work together to see that dream through," Mary said, "And it's also worth noting that especially in America, your fears about the rich gaining better access to life are already true."

"What do you mean?" Claus said. "Nobody else knows about storing minds in psyspaces, right?"

"Rich people have higher life expectancies than poor people, for one reason or another," Ninten said. "It's just a fact. Our efforts might help level the playing field."

"Again, I'd love if you proved me wrong," Lucas said. "Maybe I'll stick around for a while longer to see what happens. Mary, would you mind sending me back to my Magicant?"

"Lucas," Claus said. "We'll be seeing each other often, right?"

"I'd be happy to."

"You can all stay here in my Magicant for as long as you want," Mary said, "But if you want me to send you back…"

"I do."

Mary walked up to the fountain and waved a hand. "I think I should be able to do this without most of my PSI capabilities."

After a pause, the water started to glow golden, warm rays shining up to the starlit sky.

"If you use telepathy on the fountain, it will tell you where it goes," Mary said. "Just in case you don't trust me."

Lucas nodded and walked up. "So I just hop in?"

"You only need to stick your hand in if you want."

"All right." Lucas looked back at Ninten and Claus. "Good luck, and thanks for everything."

Lucas reached down towards the fountain before stopping himself. "Claus?"

"Yeah?"

"I'll wish I had been a better brother. I'm sorry."

Lucas stuck his hand in the water.

"There's still time," Claus said. "We can go back to what we had."

Lucas' body started to glow. "Thank… you…"

Lucas disappeared, leaving behind blue wisps that dissolved into the sky. Claus ran forward and grasped at the air where Lucas had stood before pressing his hands up to his chest. Turning back to Ninten, he scratched his head and looked down at the pink fluff spilling over his shoes.

"I know it's silly," Claus said. "I know I'll see him again."

"But every moment matters, right?" Ninten walked over and placed a hand on Claus' shoulder. "I understand."

"Looks like even from beyond the grave, I'm standing in between the two of you," Mary said. "I'm sure that my apology doesn't mean much to you, Claus, but I'm sorry for everything I did on the Nowhere Islands."

"It's okay."

"No it's not."

Claus looked up at Mary and frowned.

"What I did to your village will never be okay," Mary said. "I'll never expect an apology to fix anything. But I am sorry, and I'll do my best to try and put the pieces I shattered back together. I won't rest until the Nowhere Islands is free. You have my word, Claus."

"Thank you." Claus glanced at the green aurora glowing in between the glittering stars. "I used to think about this place a lot, you know. From when you and George first brought me back. I wondered why you had it so good while I had to suffer reliving my own past. But in the end it helped me come to terms with what happened, and I see that not everything was easy for you either. So in my mind, you've already started to help."

"That's rather sweet of you." Mary walked next to Claus and looked up at the stars alongside him. "I'd love to learn more about you. If you were comfortable with it, of course."

"Yeah, you can look at the data you took from my mind."

"I meant more seeing you in person. You're welcome to stop by whenever you like. You, Hinawa, Lucas, and the others."

"Claus," Ninten said. "How many other people were actually in the V-game? I know that Isaac was real, right? And Fassad?"

"We didn't meet often." Claus frowned. "My mother might know more."

"I can snoop around George's records," Mary said. "I do know that you wounded Isaac when you pulled your stunt in saving the in-game Claus from him and the Drago."

"How is that even possible?" Ninten said.

"To be honest, I'm not sure. It's probably something George was experimenting on. I was always under the impression that when I got hurt as a spirit in my own psyspace that I would regenerate all the damage. But I guess we really don't know much about what we're dealing with."

"Claus, I know you said that you wanted to go back to a simpler time," Ninten said. "How do you feel about us messing with all of this PSI technology?"

"Oh, I don't care as much as Lucas. And who knows, maybe it could help us go back to the basics. See what makes us human."

"I sure hope so," Mary said. "Although I don't think that the past was a better look for humanity than the present."

"I guess I only remember the good parts," Claus said. "I don't know."

"Oh, I didn't mean to argue with you." Mary cleared her throat. "Regardless, please stay in my Magicant for as long as you like. You can check out the castle or the village."

"A castle?" Claus' eyes lit up. "What's it like?"

"Pink, like the rest of this damn place." Mary exhaled. "I can teleport you there if you want."

Claus bobbed his head up and down. "Please."

Mary started the hand motions for PSI teleport.

"Wait." Claus looked over at Ninten. "This isn't a goodbye, right? We still have so much to talk about."

"Right," Ninten said. "This isn't a farewell. It's a new beginning for both of us."

Claus grinned. "Then I'll see you later. But I bet it's late out in the real world. You should get some sleep so that you feel like yourself when we talk later."

Claus looked up at Mary and nodded, and she finished the PSI manifestation and teleported him away. Claus faded out of the scene with a wave for Ninten.

"A new beginning, huh?" Mary glanced over at a steel spire that pierced the heavens above. "I'm almost tempted to believe it."

"Things aren't going to be easy for either of us," Ninten said. "But sometimes life has its way of lifting weights off our shoulders even when we face challenges."

"I hope that day comes for me. But until then I'll do my best to help you and the Nowhere Islands."

"It looks like you already saved Claus by bringing him back and giving him a chance to work through his past," Ninten said. "And you know the saying."

"One person to break the cycle of suffering." Mary surveyed the pink landscape. "But I don't think I can take credit for Claus. You were the one who helped him."

"Well, do you have any ideas for helping the Nowhere Islands? We should probably use your influence to put a spotlight on the issue, but I'm not familiar with how to start a media sensation."

"I think that right now Claus is right. Maybe you should rest."

"It can't be that late, can it?"

Mary shot Ninten a flat stare. "You arrived in the middle of the night."

"Oh. Right." Ninten yawned. "And I'm kind of in a forest, right?"

"Trust me, you would know if something happened to your body, even from my Magicant. But who knows how long that will stay? You should go back to your apartment before you catch a cold."

"What a grandma thing to say."

Mary rolled her eyes. "Or before people steal your wallet."

"Okay, fair enough. Can I exit your Magicant just like any other?"

Mary nodded. "I'll see you later. I'll probably be bored out of my skull, so feel free to stop by whenever."

"We have to find a way to install something in my apartment so that I don't have to go off the path in the middle of the forest to visit you. Doesn't sound like a great long-term plan."

"I'll work on it. But for now, maybe just bring Ana with you to keep guard if she's okay with it."

"I'll have to bribe her with food." Ninten sighed. "My pockets aren't endless, grandma."

"Your great-grandparents are billionaires. They'll find some way for you to afford it."

"But I don't want to use your money-"

Mary shook her head. "I insist."

Ninten laughed. "What a grandma."

"Well this grandma wants for her baby boy not to have dark circles under his eyes tomorrow. I'll talk to you later. I love you, Ninten."

"Yeah, love you too." Ninten closed his eyes and started to detach his mind from the present.

"And Ninten?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for everything."

Ninten didn't stop his mind from leaving Mary's Magicant in time to respond.

Ninten started awake on damp dirt. He groaned, leaning up, shielding his eyes from a glowing ball of light in front of him. The orb radiated heat that sent shimmers through the air around it like a fire.

"About time." Ninten heard someone stand up next to him. "What happened in there?"

Ninten looked around to see Ana with her hands on her hips. He rubbed his eyes and yawned.

"Things went well. I can tell you the full story tomorrow, but I need sleep." Ninten looked back at the glowing sphere. "Thanks for keeping a lookout."

"Well, since you had all the fun while I was stuck looking at some trees, maybe you could pay for ice cream tomorrow?"

"When did we decide that we were getting ice cream? I have to watch my weight, you know."

"With Ness, dummy. Remember?"

"Oh, right."

Ana shook his head. "I'm sure that he thinks I'm awful for forgetting about his dad back then, but look at who's the real amnesiac here."

"Well, I was fighting for my life and getting stabbed by someone I loved, so maybe you should be paying for me."

Ana laughed. "We can talk about it tomorrow. Now are you going to get up or do I need to carry you?"

"Would you actually?"

"If you needed me to. You say that you need to watch your pounds but I can literally bench press your weight."

"Well, if you wanted to give me a piggy-back ride…"

"Is that your kink?"

"Shut up." Ninten scrambled to his feet.

"There's no shame in it, you know."

"Conversation over. I'm walking."

"Knew it." Ana nudged Ninten with her elbow. "So predictable. It's a wonder that you were able to pull anything over Mary."

"I'll tell you about it later," Ninten said, walking towards the path. "But I can say that I'll still have a lot of work to do."

"Well, that sucks."

"Not in my mind." Ninten looked up at the starry sky. "I think that this is exactly the new beginning that we all need."

One of the things I was realizing when writing this chapter was that all of the "kid" characters in the Magicant have a sort of adult counterpart that they have similar qualities to. Claus and Hinawa both were innocent at first and got turned hard and bitter, the story draws similarities between Ninten and Mary all the time and they're both pragmatic as well as emotional, and in the past few chapters we see how Lucas is similar to George in that they play the "anti-hero" role while kinda just being assholes. I was playing Octopath Traveler recently and one of the cool things about the storytelling in that game is that the antagonists/villains often reveal an alternate route that the main character could take and help push the characters to recognize things about themselves. I guess subconsciously maybe this is why I matched George up with Lucas, to push Lucas' character given that George is a big meanie. :(

And then there's just Ana haha.

Anyways this is the last "chapter" of the story... but there will be an epilogue! Hopefully the ending is satisfying, there wasn't a super huge climax fight but it didn't really feel right for the story since it was supposed to be a bit more "realistic" and show how Ninten is going out into the bigger world.

Thank you for reading this far! :)

Review Response: Genie: Omg the memes I think this is the first time I've ever experienced one of my friends saying "yeet." I am scarred by this, Genie. ;( Something about "prepare for trouble you pineapple" is just marvelous to me. Pineapple. I don't think I've ever used that word in one of my stories. And this would be a great time for hello darkness my old friend lolol. All jokes aside though it was difficult balancing being realistic about depression where everything seems hopeless with not coming across as being too dramatic. I'm sure I could have done it better but I'm glad I took the risk. :) Yay for one-liners. In the two chapters before this you can see a bit of George's perspective. He clearly thinks that he has redeeming qualities but that's up to you to decide. Generally I try to make my villains sympathetic but George is just George I guess. Still if he is evil I hope he comes off as distinctly evil and not blandly evil. And yes Ninten definitely did take a stab at it haha. Aww thank you I'll try to keep writing!