Welcome To Camp Blue Lake

Enclosed inside a battered, slightly torn envelope is a letter— thankfully untarnished in spite of the envelope’s worn exterior. The contents are written in large, clumsy handwriting, and included is a postcard of the Tokyo Tower.

[♫♫♫]

Twenty minutes is, thankfully, a lot of time to come up with a cover story. While the specifics will be ironed out down the road, for now Julio convinces everyone to feign amnesia, at least until they’re home and don't have police breathing down their neck. It’s not like anyone would believe the truth, or that they’d have proof. 

Max, meanwhile, is looking to make himself scarce before others arrive. He can’t exactly hide in his current form, and Abbie and Niko stick out like sore thumbs as well. Carefully, he writes down an address and copies it a few times so it can get passed around. It’s the address of the real Mason Hatcher, who is about to have a lot of unexpected company. But that’s a problem for later. For anyone who asks, he has written a the address of a P.O. Box in West Virginia as well underneath Mason's address.

It’s a bit of a wait, but if your time trapped in that other domain taught you anything, it was how to wait. How to pass the time. Your personal belongings have been scattered haphazardly in the staff cabin, along with some stuff that you accumulated in Eden. Items that were created with your love. Items that you used to bond and forge deeper connections with. Items that spark joy, and through your love became “real”. 

Maybe you just focus on packing so you can get the fuck out. Maybe you give the camp one final tour. It is far emptier than Eden’s version of the Camp, with the stock in the kitchens, medical cabin, and trading post all empty, since no counselors meant no Summer Camp. 

Maybe you challenge the Squatch one last time. Or see what supplies are still in the activity cabins. Or if Yua’s car is still there (it is, but the battery is dead from months of disuse, and there is some police tape around it. The contents have been rummaged through thoroughly, but most can be found in the Grand Hall in evidence boxes. Yua does find a few raccoon plushies in the trunk however, that definitely weren’t there before).

Maybe you go to Ranger Buddy’s real grave, to pay your final respects. 

 Or maybe you are just waiting for your turn to use the phone so you can call your friends and family, who no doubt have been worried sick about you since May. You’ll have to wait for your turn after everyone else who has the same idea.

Bob arrives first with his bus, and practically tackles you all at once, crying as he grips you in a group hug, apologizing and thanking every God that you are all okay. An ambulance and two police cars arrive next, and Bob takes to packing all of your belongings into the bus before you’re taken aside to check on everyone and get stories and confirm identities. Bob is yelling at police officers to get off your case and let you all rest, since you clearly don’t remember anything and this is obviously a stressful situation for you all. 

It’s not even noon when everything is squared away, and police and paramedics leave, giving you the good to go. Bob offers to bring you all to his house, and then you can get picked up or coordinate rides from there. Frankly, everyone is a bit too weary to put any real objections up. Plus, it’s closer to civilization than Camp, and he offered a stop at McDonald’s along the way. 

Gathering into the bus to leave is a lot quieter, more somber affair than packing up to arrive was. Wordlessly, Bob closes the bus door behind the last of you, and begins driving away. 

As he does so, you may be tempted to turn around and look through the back of the bus, giving Camp Blue Lake one final glimpse until you leave it behind, possibly forever. You see the gate and archway that you’ve crossed a thousand times now, but you also see a figure, growing ever more distant

(ty to junijwi for the art!)

Even if you aren’t familiar with this particular form of the elderly man in front of the gate entrance immediately, you know you’ve seen that hat and that mustache, and would recognize those anywhere. Also free from the bidding of demonic forces, Ranger Buddy has made an appearance, waving farewell to his counselors just as he did at the end of every summer in life. He gives a warm smile to you all, tears in his eyes. 

As you get further from the gate, his form grows fainter, and right before you turn away, he fades from sight. But he will always be there, so long as Camp Blue Lake exists. And in your memories of one unforgettable summer.

You don’t need any dramatic effects or overt magic to realize the exact moment you have left the artificial camp you spent the past several months in, and returned to the real world. The ground beneath your feet feels more solid, real soil and not a primordial ooze. In the woods, you hear a symphony of insects, birds, and animals, stirred by your sudden arrival. It makes you realize just how damnably quiet the false camp was in those past few days. 

It would be overwhelming if it wasn’t so joyous.

The breeze blowing between the trees and in your face feels fresher. The leaves and dew smell crisper. The million subtle things you only recognize now because of their prolonged absence the past few months. It feels more vivid than you could ever imagine. It’s the difference between seeing a place in photographs or on television versus seeing it in real life. It is like looking at what is behind you in a mirror, and then turning around to see it with your own eyes. 

You all have been displaced to the parking lot upon returning to the real world, but through the trees you can catch a glimpse of the beautiful Blue Lake that the camp was named after. On cue with your arrival, you see beams of light from the sunrise behind you dancing over the surface of said lake, and bring focus to the world around you. If it isn’t the most beautiful sunrise you’ve ever seen, it’s easily in the top three. You absolutely understand what Ranger Buddy saw in the place when he founded the camp all those years ago, even if you don’t have the best vantage. 

As you look at the far side of the lake, you just see an old tree line. Any signs of Briarwood are gone. No lights, no dock, no shadowy figures meandering about. You don’t see any signs of the carnival either. Everything is exactly as it was when you arrived back in May. 

You take a minute to soak it all in, but Julio speaks up first. 

“Hey I should like… call the police maybe? Actually, no. I’ll call Bob first. Let’s call Bob.”

He shuffles off to the Director’s Cabin to get to the phone. Just like when you arrived, it does work, and within a few minutes you can hear one side of a conversation.

“Hey uhh… It’s Julio…. Hey hey don’t yell I’m fine we’re all fine… Hey don’t cry either dude we’re fine. Really. I’m calling from the Camp… It’s a long story. Look just, can you get the bus so we can go home? I… damn that sucks I’m sorry we caused such a problem… Really, a class action lawsuit? There was a no-refunds policy in the contract… Look I’m sure it’ll be fine I promise everyone is safe…. No you don’t need to call the police or an ambulance really we just wanna get h- oh you filed reports got it. Well uhh… Whatever you need to do then I guess. I’m gonna call Cam really quick and tell them I’m alright and then let everyone else use the phone… Yeah no it’s good to hear from you too dude.”

And just like he said he would, he makes one more phone call, this one he’s a bit more emotional though, and speaks in a quieter voice so you can’t hear him as well from outside. When he’s done, you see him wiping a tissue against his eyes as he leaves the Director’s Cabin, and he breaks into a smile.

“Bob’s on the way with the bus. He called 911, so we have about 20 minutes before people arrive.”

Malyce’s tears rolled down his cheeks as he watched the lives he had stolen be returned to them. He felt magic leave him, rightfully so, and move through Niko to power him enough to change fate, itself. Did he even deserve this? Maybe not, but he knows they deserved it. He wiped weakly at his face, pulling his tears away from his eyes. With this, they can walk away from this horrid place, and begin to rebuild their lives the way they intended. 

It took a long time for Malyce to realize that what he had done was selfish, but the lesson has soaked so deeply into his bones that the Earth herself tasked Abbie with making sure he found his way out of the darkness. The want for fame was only a cry out into the void for love he didn’t quite have the language to ask for. He had certainly resigned himself to being “evil”, but could never quite commit. His heart was too big, and now it harbored love for everyone. 

A shiver runs down Malyce’s spine as he feels the world created by Vual for his thrall begin to melt away. Reality began to spill into this bubble from the broken spots. Openings where the real world began to pour onto the goo inhabited world they were left with. He looks expectantly to Abbie, then realizes that she can’t do anything. The earth reclaimed her, which means she no longer had control over goo world. He looks down at his boot, shifting the ground beneath him.

“We have to go. Like. Sooner than later.” 

Malyce then turns to Abbie, eyes filled with love for her. He barely had a moment to breathe since Niko died for a second(third?) time, and he couldn’t get the words that needed to be said to her. Abbie was filled with so much love. She encouraged him, supported him, and made him feel truly loved first. He walks towards her, reaching out and tugging on her wrist. 

[♫♫♫]

“Hey. I know that… there is a lot of shit to process, in regards to Vual, but this was still your Eden. This was still your home. Before I get us out of here, I think you should be allowed to say goodbye. I still have pret-ty good control of this place, if I do say so myself.~” 

He turns to face out towards the village, the remnants standing strong for the time being. Malyce had already begun to roll the fog in closer to them all as he spoke. He shrunk the bubble for as long as he could, for as long as his sister needed.

Standing up from the ground, Abbie turns towards her recreation of Briarwood to lay her eyes on her stolen home one last time. There would be no making it again once she left this place, and there would never be another Briarwood. Once the group left her Eden now, Briarwood would become a memory that only one living being had in their possession any longer. Her teeth clench, and her hand curls into a fist. 

Even if this place had been nothing more than a lie, she would only be putting more falsehoods into the world by claiming that it wasn’t a comfort, too. Even if it wasn’t real, even if it didn’t really exist, this Briarwood let her pretend like all wasn’t lost to fire and smoke, that home was still a place permitted to her.

Home didn’t have to be a place. She knew that now, of course, with the people she’s met here at camp, but her first home, the home she would always hold closest to her heart, would forever be that place. She has been a child of the Earth, a child of man, a child of brimstone…but, through all of those roles, she has always been a child of Briarwood.

She turns away from her village, and she keeps her eyes on the ground in front of her.

“Just make it quick…”

It was necessary to leave, but that didn’t mean necessary things didn’t hurt.

After letting Abbie have her moment, and honoring any wish she may have, Malyce turns back to the others. There’s a lot of anger, grief, confusion, and hurt. He can’t do anything to comfort them this time, but he remembers words Nora gave him. A true apology doesn’t frame your own feelings. What truly matters is the recipient of your apology, and how you can help them with what you’ve done. With a deep inhale, the fog that threatened all of you for so long begins to thicken, rolling in waves closer to your position. His eyes illuminate a bright green before he huffs.

“Alright! I’m getting us out of here! We’ve kept you here for far too long, and it’s time for you all to go home.”

Malyce steps closer to a certain someone, weaving through the crowd until he gets to him. He looks up at Yua, whom he’s thrown forcefully into a rollercoaster he just wants to get off of. His heart still yearns for him, and he prays silently that what he’s doing is enough to assuage Yua’s anger, just a little. He holds out a gentle hand, hoping to stare into Yua’s eyes through his sunglasses. He gives him a tiny, trying smile.

“You told me that I had to walk you out of here, alive. I want to do right by that. May I walk you out of here?” 

Malyce’s chest tightens in anticipation. He knows Yua’s angry, and will most likely be angry for a long time. All he can hope for is reconciliation, and maybe the two can find new footing out there in the world. He can’t help but grin when Yua takes his hand, and he gives him a squeeze. He shoots a hand up and turns around.

“Alright, then! Follow me!!!” 

Malyce pulls Yua along, pushing himself through sprained muscles, broken ribs, and a swimming brain. Everything happened so quickly, he barely got a moment to breathe, but as he moves them closer to where it all began, a trickle of hope planted its seed. He still felt the deepest guilt, and the darkness in his heart over what he had done was nowhere near cleared, but as he held  Yua’s hand, and smiled at Kaede, and Eri. Even Abbie and Max! Malyce felt that his misery would be bearable. He would have people there who believed he could recover from this. 

As the group moves closer back to the main camp, buildings and attractions around them begin to dissolve into mist. Cabins are completely decimated, trees evaporate before your eyes, and the only thing you see before you is the parking lot. Where you all found Julio originally that fateful day is where Malyce would bring you all back. 

He stands at the edge of the parking lot, clutching a fist close to his chest. He says goodbye to the world that he thought would provide everything he asked for, and says hello to the world that he thought had abandoned him.

“As we step back into reality, you may feel a little dizzy. I don’t know how demon pocket universes work–” 

Malyce pulls Yua closer to him as he shrieks, the consequences of his contract with Vual imploding coming to light. It seems that Malyce didn’t have only a stricken contract, but more was taken from him in exchange.

“M… My…. My movies don’t exist anymore?!” 

The fog begins to clear, and the smell of fresh grass and nature fill your senses. The air feels warmer now, and everything feels organic once again. Malyce hisses quietly to himself, concerned about how his entire world has been rewritten.

“Noooo!! Not Ezekiel Crane Junior!” 

His initial shock melts away as he begins to laugh at the development. Guess he really is a nobody, now, with nothing to show for himself. He can’t complain though: this seems like a fitting punishment for the man who sought to kill for fame and power. Once his laughter subsides, he sighs, all his wound up feelings releasing them, like unraveling a twine ball.

…Well, that’s not entirely true. One dead remains. 

Niko opens his eyes and promptly struggles to remain upright. He looks more corpselike than he has the entire time here, which is impressive, given that he’s been one the entire time (sometimes twice over). His skin is nearly devoid of color apart from dark bags under his eyes, now visible thanks to sweating his makeup off. Hanging limply by his sides, his hands clearly tremble. His wings and tail droop like he can’t muster the energy to lift them– and yet he stares at the newly-resurrected group with eyes wide, shining with awe.

For the first time many of you have seen, a bright smile splits his face. 

“It worked? It worked–”

And now, his gaze turns intense, and fixes on his boss. The little bird cocks its head, but somehow you feel the motion resonate with far more gravity than it should. The voice that comes out is that, clearly, of a duke of Hell.

“...Very impressive. I suppose I should offer some platitude about the indomitable human spirit, but I don’t really care to. You’ve caused me quite a lot of trouble, Nicky.”

Niko sways where he stands. He coughs, and a dark liquid that faintly smokes splatters from his mouth. 

“The souls are processed. I didn’t break any regulations. I held custody of the souls. I only interfered within my bounds unless instructed by you. I used power as needed unless instructed by you. 

My contract is complete. You have to… grant me my boon.”

The bird’s head tilts the other way. The two demons, one infinitely more powerful than the other, watch each other in silence. You can imagine that each runs over the contract in their head, looking for where the reasoning might be faulty. And maybe it is. Certainly they could stand here and argue semantics until Niko inevitably passed out, and both would be able to do so readily. But for whatever reason– maybe Max still standing nearby and the death of his colleague still fresh, or something more sentimental, depending on what traits you might imagine Barbatos to have– he doesn’t.

He opens his beak and laughs, an awful sound. 

“Do I? Do I really? Goodness me, Nicky, I really gave you too much leeway in that contract! My mistake, my mistake, ha-ha! What a demon you are, to negotiate with me!”

He leans forward– his neck extends unnaturally, and he peers down at Niko with one blood-red eye. 

“...You could have been the best of us. But you’re too damned human, I see.”

 “Ah-ha-ha, well. I’ll have to find a new assistant, which is a real shame! A real shame, but, ah, I don’t think it’s worth it for me to stick around and argue with you. And I think you have enough to reckon with that you’re as good as damned if you live, ha-ha. A living Hell, that’s what they say! I always thought that was funny!”

The bird laughs and laughs, and from its mouth pours liquid, blood-red. It pools around Niko’s feet.

“I release you. I grant you the curse of life.”

Niko’s transformation isn’t like the rest of yours– you watch as the liquid climbs up his body, and where it touches it smokes. Niko falls to his knees, clawed hands digging into the grass until those too are covered, and his entire body is consumed. And then it retreats, and with it the black coating his hands burns away, taking with it his claws, and his ram’s horns crumple into charred remains, and his wings shrivel and fade to dust. 

This resurrection lasts only a minute at most, and at the end is left Niko– wearing the leather jacket and sweater he had been wearing when he’d “died” again. His eyes, when they open, are the dark magenta you all recognize. Once again, he appears human… or would, if he didn’t have two tiny horns poking out of his forehead and a tail still drooping onto the ground. Parting gifts from his spiteful boss, most likely. 

But despite that, Niko breathes in, and his lungs fill for the first time in three years. He gasps like a drowning man, blunt human fingers tearing at the grass. His eyes shine with– no, it can’t be. Even if the presence of tears in his eyes is questionable, though, the relieved, wobbly smile on his face is unmistakable. 

“Thank– fucking God.”

And with that, the last of you lives. 

…The small bird Barbatos remains on his branch for a moment longer, regarding the group now that Niko has become unexciting to him. It should be impossible for a bird, but you swear you see him smile. 

“I have to say, you all really are some of the most interesting humans I’ve had the pleasure of meeting! I’ve got quite a lot of business to attend to on account of you all, but I must say: I simply can’t wait until we meet again, ha-ha!”

And finally it takes to the skies, and then vanishes into a wisp of red smoke. 

As those around him offer their help and power to save the dead, Niko stands by silently. He has no profound words after his plea– only a gratitude someone like him, who was embarrassed by simple shows of emotions, could never fully voice. He stares down the bird still lingering on the branch with a gaze that seems to say see? See what we can do? 

Then, finally, when everyone is done, he turns to face you all. Crookedly, he smiles, and then holds his hands out. 

“Thanks.”

Starting with Malyce’s green magic, wisps of smoke seem to grow from the ground into his waiting hands. Orange, red, pink, blue– they congeal into a smoky cloud, mixing into the shadowy black of the magic you’ve seen Niko cast. He looks down at it once it’s grown almost large enough to entirely conceal his face, and exhales slowly. His eyes close.

“...Alright. Let’s do this fucking thing.”

And he presses his hands together, crushing the cloud into nothing. 

But it’s not nothing, not exactly– shadowy tendrils spread outwards again, towards those of you who have died, wrapping around your bodies like cocoons. The living watch, perhaps a bit apprehensive, as their friends are completely consumed in shadow. But for those inside the magic, you feel–

Well, it’s not great, actually. 

You feel your own souls, for a moment, the only solid part of you. It’s as if everything else has vanished, leaving you to grip onto that spark of your being tightly as the rest is ripped away. But then, around it, the magic begins to solidify. Bones and muscles knit themselves together into human shapes, solid and warm. Nerve endings reconnect. Hair pushes from your scalp. You are rebuilt, as unsettling as it is. 

The shadowy magic is consumed by the forms taking shape beneath it. The entire process takes several agonizing minutes, where the living can only watch and the dead can only feel. Niko, somewhere in between, trembles with exertion, his eyes screwed shut with focus, and a demonic duke watches on in as much surprise as a bird can express.

It goes on and on, until:

You feel the first beat of your newly-alive heart. 

You take a deep breath and open your living eyes. 

Your body stands recreated faithfully (with modifications as requested, of course). You look around at your friends, finding everyone in perfect shape. 

“Even if it sucked, you had happy times here, right? It wasn’t all bad."

"Or even just… how much you want to live."

He wants to live. He didn’t die, but he wants to live so, so bad. He wants to get out of here, he wants to go sit in the mall and watch people walk by– real people, real non-goo people. He wants to get bit by real raccoons, he wants to get a sunburn, he wants to play with the fuzzy dice in his actual car, he wants to feel real again.

It’s complicated, and it bothers him to think this, but a part of him doesn’t want to go back. He doesn’t want to step out of here because he knows that’s when it goes down hill. A few weeks pass, whatever emotional high he got from all of this starts to fade and his fingers go cold despite how bundled up he gets...

That’s what always happens. Looking around the room, he thinks about how his past friendships ended: he’d slip away, pack up, and leave before they knew he was gone; leave before he could get trapped, or worse, before they got sick of having him around.

Looking over everyone, he thinks about how he’d run… It’d be hard. Eri would probably sniff him out like a bloodhound and drag him to her apartment even if he drove all the way to Canada. Or Saya would find his e-mail and send him friendship malware that fills his computer with cute-ugly dogs. Marion he could get away from, but he imagines him laying in the dirt like a sad dog crying until he gets a headache… 

He thinks about Max, about all the ghosts, about how Ines and Jacky-Bobby are planning some kind of righteous murder training camp… He’s never gonna escape this spooky shit. Friendship be damned, how can he go back to sending spam e-mails now that he knows basically everything fucked up actually exists? 

Again, of everything going on, he zones in on Kaede saying his name. He thinks about how Kaede murdered (with his hands, even) Niko (wait, he killed the guy saving us? no, no, don’t get distracted) and how he said “nope, no, not unpacking that” and actively ran away from him from then on. Same with Ines, same with… well, he’ll still run away from Tommy. And Hibiki, probably. He’s unpacking shit right now, but that’s too much to unpack (okay, okay, stop getting distracted). He calls out to Kaede,

“... You should give me that chicken burger recipe. It haunts me. Like, having dreams of floating chickens with halos on kinda haunting.”

Well, it’s a happy time. His brain is segueing to ‘happy time’ thoughts. The reality this is almost over is setting in and, while he doesn’t know what he’s going to do once they’re out of here, he decides... some good shit happened. And some complicated shit. And some extremely complicated shit.

He looks at Marion and points at him:

“Okay, got it, I’m funneling chickens and ferris wheels and benadryl brownies into you, so pleaaaase get us the hell out of here."

"A-And-- and don't blow a blood vessel in your brain doing it or I'm actually going to go for real insane finally."

He looks at Niko, who’s actually doing the work here (he thinks) while Marion is acting as a weird vibe battery. He points at him and says...

“...... You were funny too.”

As soon as Niko implores the others for their help and Malyce steps in to kick things off, Max...

Takes a step back. A literal one, and a few more of them, even, to briefly remove himself from the group now that the issue of Barbatos was taken care of. This part-- well, this part isn't something he can help with.

That's fine with him, though.

Slowly, he lowers himself to the ground, the exhaustion of the fight finally settling in. It's easy for the terrible and bloody wear and tear of battle to go unnoticed on a backdrop of dark fur and feather, but he can certainly feel the burn of each wound now. Not that he minds them, of course. They'll heal quick enough, and he'd sooner suffer a thousand more of them than see the lashes on any of the humans instead.

...But he is still tired, and very sore. Max curls up on the ground, disheveled wings curled over himself much like a blanket and arms folded under his head. He blinks slow as he watches the group, a low, quiet rumble at the back of his throat as he breathes deep and heavy.

He loves humans, you know.

He loves how terrible they can be. He loves the way their hearts twist into dark and thorny things, and how they spill blood for nothing at all.

But right now, he loves how wonderful they can be just a little more. How kind and gentle a heart can be; how the same heart burns so defiantly bright.

All things want to live. It's the basis of existence.

Humans, he finds, are the only things so eager to live for a purpose of their own choosing.

He loves that more than anything.

To have a front row seat to it like this...

Max's eyes grow lidded, a deep and tired sigh rumbling low through his body as he watches the counselors take turn in speaking their piece.

What an honor it's been to know these people; to serve his own purpose through them; to love them.

Never one to willingly participate in magical rituals for good reason, Jacky-Bobby Jackson makes an exception. Looking back on his time at the camp, he found himself doing that quite a bit.

Rules like "don't bother forming any attachments" and "don't let anyone know you as anything other than a stoic" fell by the wayside.

He made plenty of exceptions, even going as far as to get his clothes muddy in the name of fun. He openly laughed in an amusement park, of all places. Played games that he absolutely couldn't afford or imagine in his childhood. Swore in a manner that he hadn't since the 1940's. Sang in front of everyone. Shockingly had a slumber party. Stayed up all night making train after train for a group that were practically strangers to him.

They got him to break the most important rule of all. They got him to care.

On the best note, the summer gave him a longer moment with his son. Buddy had made something special out of the campground. Time would tell if Bob would adequately carry on the family legacy.

His faith in that's still a work-in-progress. Jacky-Bobby plans to stick around for a while yet, to make sure that things turn out smoothly for the camp here on out. No matter where Jacky-Bobby ends up in the world, he'll keep the camp in his periphery, acting as its guardian to swoop in at a moment's notice.

And in his heart, he'll hold onto all of the good times he had here.

"Should anyone ask, I didn't contribute to anything. . .," the pause is palpable, "magical. For the record."

He'll grant that magic's maybe good for one thing: saving all of the people he considers friends.

Jacky-Bobby lifts a hand in Ines' direction, giving a small wave.

"I've changed my mind on what I told you earlier. I could use an apprentice or two, after all. We'll talk."

Witch hunting. Demon hunting. The skills were transferable. Her natural talent could use some guidance. Who better than Jacky-Bobby Jackson?

"And, Malyce... If you're still interested in some of the things we talked about before...the road trip, the training, that's fine. We'll talk, as well."

They were brothers once upon a time. With some work, they could be again.

"That goes for just about all of you—the talking part, I mean. I'm sure there will be at least one summer in the future where you'll find yourselves in need of employment, yes? Come back, and have a real summer at Camp Blue Lake. Most of you have proven yourselves worthy."

The exceptions to that know who they are, hopefully.

Whoa. Whoa. Whoa!

Tommy can only really be awed by everything that transpires—and how apparently, now, she has her best chance to actually get out of here with the knowledge she’s gained.

And that makes what she has to do it way easier. 

“Ehehee…that’s it? Easy for me, since you know, if you don’t count the part where I died, I got everything I could want from this trip! More than that, actually!”

She bounces on her heels excitedly, thinking about getting invited to sleepovers, making trains, singing karaoke, sewing a plush to give to her crush, taking wedding photos—and it all gets augmented by one simple fact.

Thomasin Iori came to Florida for the supernatural. And she found it.

If you had asked Eri three months ago how she imagined her summer would turn out, she would never in a million years guess it’d have gone like this.

[♫♫♫]

Not just because of the murders and demon pacts, mind you. She hadn’t expected she’d make so many friends either. Close ones, too; people whom she’d trip over herself trying to stay in touch with after all was said and done.

So to give them a chance to all go home… Well, who is she to pass that up?

Eri’s not normally the type for reminiscing, but she figures sometimes exceptions can be made. So she slings an arm around Kyousuke’s shoulder, as she pipes up with her own contribution.

“Y’know, I guess it was my bad for not specifyin’ what genre of movie-worthy summer I wanted, eh?”

She snorts at her own joke, before beaming at everyone.

“But at least we get a chance of havin’ a happy ending and fuck, do we deserve it. We all should get to have second chances, yeah? To live life and be better. Plus… uh, I’m…”

She pauses, and her cheeks start to flush. Of course she's suddenly feeling self-conscious about what she wants to say next.

“Man, I, uh, I hate bein’ sappy, but I’m real glad we all got to meet, yeah? Even, um, even if it was kinda sorta actual Hell, I don’t think I’d ever trade it for a normal summer without you guys.”

She shakes her head. And in spite of her bright red face, her brow furrows as she adopts a look of determination that’s become so familiar by this point.

“No, I know I’d never trade it for a normal summer! But we definitely gotta have a reunion, yeah? Like, a normal one in a church or somethin’, so there’s no chance of demons! Or wait— at some kinda nature reserve! ‘Cause demons are naturephobic or whatever, right?”

That’s what she gathered from Max and seeing Max’s mom, at least.

“A park’s way cooler than church, so let’s go with that, yeah? We can have like… Summer 2! And if anyone doesn’t come, I’ll fuckin’ hunt you down and drag your sorry ass there, got it?”

Her eyes glimmer with affection even as she makes this threat. She’s come to care so much for everyone here: from Audie and Suzy, to even Niko and Hibiki. Although not all of them are her friends, she’s still happy to have met them. 

As she contemplates this, her expression softens some. And she adds quietly, as if thinking aloud to herself:

It was finally happening… something that Kaede had hoped for, but was scared to dream too hard about. Afraid to hope… afraid that hope would come crashing down. 

But here it was. They really are leaving… all of them… they’re going home. He was going to see his family again. He could go…

Home.

There‘s an incredibly joy… and an indescribable fear. That old fear still has a hold on him, but… 

“I don’t want to go back to the old me.”

He fights that fear with everything he has. He’s faced so much here. Learned so much… everyone’s experiences have shaped him a little too, watching everyone overcome their baggage and fears, growing and healing… while it was messy as hell, they did grow, didn’t they?

Warrick and Nora learned to open up and see themselves.

Saya learned to love, and let down her walls.

Malyce learned that you are allowed to try to redeem yourself.

Suzy learned to open her heart and let others in.

Sure everyone learned something here… but Kaede learned from all of them. When he didn’t have the strength, someone did. when he lacked the courage, someone rose up. When he lost his fortitude, he was held accountable… as well as when he suffered, he was lent a hand or two.

”I want to go home… but if I’m gonna go back and end up as scared as I was before, then what was all this for?”

He breathes deeply… memories of the fear, the paranoia, the shadow around every corner… inhale…. exhale…. Slowly those thoughts are pushed back. As much as that experience is burned into him, deep as the scars on his hands… he pushes forward.

”I don’t want to be scared anymore.”

”I want to leave here as I am. …Better than I am. When I see my mom again, I want her to be proud of who I became. I want to be someone you guys want to see again. Not… someone to be scared of.”

Of course, since this is a speech by Kaede, his emotions begin to overwhelm him. Tears bubble up in his eyes, and he sniffles, wiping them away with his sleeve.

”Kyousuke… I want to be a friend you can depend on, no matter what. Warrick… I wanna repay you for everything you’ve done for me. Suzy, I want to be someone who can stand by your side without fear.”

His words hitch, broken up by a sharp sob. 

“Saya, I don’t want any hard feelings between us. I never ant you to think of me that way again. And Max, I wanna… I wanna hang out sometime. M-maybe go flying. Wouldn’t that be cool?”

He sobs mix with a laugh.

”Malyce, Hibiki, Jo… You three can always depend on me, if you want. That’s what I hope you think of me… We can stick together, if you want.”

He takes a second to breathe, to catch his breath and regain some composure…

”Nora, I want to have out with you more. Yua, y-you don’t need to worry about me. Tommy, I want to believe in you! All of you… I… I….”

He stands up straight, face soaked in tears.

”I want to be your friend!… I never want to forget any of you! I… I want you to remember me, and think of me! And when I go home…. I’m gonna face that.. that thing! It’s my life! I want to live it how I want! I want to be happy! I…”

He looks to Niko. Niko…. His victim, a demon, his friend…. The fact Niko even calls him that it a miracle. But it’s not enough… not yet.

”Niko… I want to be the kind of person… who will never hurt you again. Someday… I hope the memory never even crosses your mind. I can’t e-erase what I did… us coming back doesn‘t undo what I did… But I’m gonna remember it for the rest of my life, for the chance that you don’t have to.”

…. He chokes back a sob, and for a moment, he has no words. Just a futile effort to stop his tears so he can even finish his thoughts. When it’s clear he’s too full of emotions to go on, he squeaks out one last thing…

It's been quite the adventure from something that started as a passing whim. From where Ines stands she wouldn't have ever known the summer at some random camp would end in such a wondrous way. That growing resentment during the trial, where she was finally starting to truly hate the people around her was quickly quelled. How could Ines finally give into her hate after defeating a demon lord together? After seeing the actual Mother Nature come and give Abbie a second chance and new purpose. The feeling in the air made her feel all warm and tingly, made her forget her gripes, and focus on hope for the future. 

Put away the bad times and focus on the good. Saya’s friendship, no matter how short lived, was precious to her, fighting Eri on the shore was so fun, Tommy’s presence lights her heart on fire and she couldn’t be more grateful for the second chance at their relationship, meeting Max was truly life changing and she couldn’t ask for a better friend, bonding with Kaede over their monstrosities was moving, Hibiki befriending her despite everything gave her comfort when she most needed it. The way Malyce hugged her little ghost self to comfort her in her darkest hour. 

All these people, all the good and bad moments, let Ines to this very moment and she couldn’t be happier to have experienced it. She will accept where her soul goes when she dies for good. There is no erasing the horrors she’s committed but that doesn’t mean she should give up on being better. For the rest of her days Jo will strive to do good in her own way, to be happy, to inspire happiness in the people who decide to keep her in their lives. 

Ines no longer feels alone. That deep primal need for companionship has been met here by these people and there is no doubt it will continue. 

Her fists shake besides her as Ines pools all her focus into… Well, the vibe in the group.

Sometimes you think you've got a handle on a situation, you know. Sometimes you're sitting all smug with your little burgeoning god complex and you think you've got it all figured out. And then your roommate turns into the devil, and things start going awry, and you wind up hiding behind a rock with your bestie Suzy while everyone else does the heavy lifting because- and let's be real here- Saya trying to participate in that would have been more of a hindrance than a help.

(She did get to finally meet the legendary Sticky 2, though. So there's a plus.)

And sure, she has Thoughts on the Situation. Most of them boil down to hoping she never has to interact again with anyone or anything who reminds her of the total hell they've been put through for the last three months. But any cruel words or petty gestures die before they form when she realises that Mother Nature has shown up, and,

Oh no.

That wink.

Saya gurgles and wails in a horrified tone, a tone you've never heard her vocalise before- the noise of Saya getting caught red handed and actually kind of regretting it.

"W-was that about- wait, does she know about the porzoi-!?"

She sinks down on whatever flat surface is left to sit on, horrified. Yes, there's going to be a happy ending. Yes, maybe Nora can harness this situation to get a fat ass for free and save Saya some money she can put towards buying Versace instead. Yes, she's very happy and she loves everyone (almost) and she's looking forward to a wonderful bright future.

But jesus fucking christ her nigh-omnipotent mother in law just busted her trying to breed porzoi and porgi and whatever else she had written down on her novelty Garfield notepad. What a big fat L. Possibly the first true L she's taken here. Defeated in every way possible, Saya goes beet red and buries her face in her hands. 

There's hardly time to look away before Max can make quick work of Vual, severing flesh from flesh and mortal from contract.  It's beautiful, it's poetic, and it's the first thing that greets Nora once she returns to a present state of mind.

She turns away, and only the smell of rain alerts her to a new presence.  There's at least seven "what the hell"s that die at the back of her throat witnessing the splendor of this being she has no choice but to revere with her silence.

Her head is spinning at this point, too distracted by the chattering and strange animals to process what exactly has happened to her dear friend Abbie.  She doesn't realize it's over until Earth has left, though she figures she's grateful that there's no more fighting on the horizon.

And then... Niko's boss was a bird?

The nuance is lost on her, as it often is, but Niko starts talking about his contract, and her focus is swiftly reclaimed.  She looks to Niko, tilting her head to the side with a coy smile.

A womanly smile, even.

"... Well... I guess I did promise to forgive the Interloper.  Under very specific conditions."

Not that there's anything to forgive, in her mind.  She's always seen Niko as altruistic-- despite considerable evidence to the contrary.  His pettiness just so happened to be compatible with hers, often enough that it only allowed her to feel more connected with him.

She really can't bring herself to be angry with Abbie, either.  As far as Nora's concerned, Abbie didn't kill anyone.  The killing game wasn't her idea.  She was just... a consultant, forced into her role.  In so many words.  The love she had was real, if not misguided.  And Nora's love was real in kind.  It's not a compassion so easily shaken.

Malyce, of course, has been center stage to her rage ever since he confessed.  His motivations, outdated as they are, chafe so violently against her own that she feels she might lose her eyesight if she thinks about it any harder.  It's maddening, it's selfish, it makes no sense to her.

But he's undoing it.  Giving up what little boon he gathered from this awful, horrible deal, repurposing it to bring them back.  To bring Warrick back.  To bring her back.

Rage lurks just around the corner, of course; she doesn't think she'll fully expunge it anytime soon.  But the thrill of LIVING again threatens to outshine her anger over the situation, at least for now.

(Not that death doesn't have its conveniences, of course.  It's going to take a bit to remember she can't float anymore.) 

But faced with a reality that she barely hoped to indulge beyond noncommittal plans for necromancy?

Things fall silent for a moment before Niko straightens up and runs a hand through his hair, disheveled from fighting Vual. 

“Well. Now that that’s all figured out, uh, there’s one more thing…”

He glances pointedly towards where the more ghostly of you are gathered, opening his mouth with a clear hesitance to continue speaking. 

“My contract… here’s the thing. You all did die, so, you know, technically you’re supposed to pass on. And I’m supposed to pass you on. That’s what I agreed to do coming here, and in return…

I get to live again. So, uh–”

His contract had mentioned a boon, if you recall– this must be it. But… surely he’s not intending to send you all to Hell even now, right? For his own gain? …Actually, that does sound like something you might imagine Niko doing, and the look in his eyes as he adjusts his grip on his scythe is unreadable. Perhaps you prepare to beat the shit out of yet another demon, just in case. 

Before he can continue, though, you hear a new sound. The… flapping of wings? 

You turn to look and find a small bird, black with an unusually red chest, landing on a tree. It tilts its head, looking at you all, and then opens its beak. And speaks. In an annoying voice you’ve heard for the first time rather recently. 

“Oh, well done! Great news, great news, since Vual is, well, let’s just say we don’t have to waste resources on a trial anymore! Isn’t that great! Unconventional, but it gets the job done!”

The bird chortles to himself before seeming to realize there’s other people around. Niko, meanwhile, looks shocked that it’s here at all.  

“Oh, so many humans here! Wow! Are these all the souls you gathered for me, Nicky? You always were such an overachiever! Greetings, everyone! Ah-ha, it’s been so long since I’ve been around humans. Alive ones, at least, though some of you certainly aren’t! You may call me Barbatos.”

…So this diminutive bird is indeed Niko’s boss, then. The employee in question has started to look a bit ill, and opens his mouth to speak, but is plowed right over.

“Well, it’ll take a while to process them all, but I would say this handily fulfills the requirements of your contract! You’ve been filing all the paperwork, right? Of course you have, ha-ha, well, it’s kind of a shame, isn’t it? I don’t want to lose my best employee, but deals are deals…”

At the subject of the contract, Niko’s brow furrows, and he looks as though he’s working up the power to speak again– but it’s not him who interrupts.

“You.”

The small bird is suddenly gripped in one of Max’s large clawed hands, tight enough that you might imagine the squeak of a dog toy.

“Vual has already been made as offering to stave Her anger; you will listen, or I will implore His Radiance make the same of you to sate Her entirely.”

…Okay. Sure. He’s threatening to talk to Barbatos’s manager, otherwise known as literal Satan. At this point, why not? Max gives the small bird a firm shake, bobbling its head around.

“Your contract requires that all souls are correctly processed before release. These souls- do not fall under your domain. By your admittance, Vual has broken the laws of Hell’s own making in trying to take them. Yes?”

The bird wiggles around a bit trying to escape.

“Well, technicallyyyyyy, I suppose, but souls are souls, you know, and we can always use more. You don’t know how much it takes to run Hell–”

“By that meaning, to process them correctly would mean returning them to life. These are your own words.”

Barbatos chirps angrily, leaning down to peck at Max’s hand with a sharp beak. Then it vanishes– but a snake slips out of the looseness of Max’s grip, and then a wasp flies upwards, and the bird lands on the branch again.

“Fine, fine, fine.” The bird’s jovial tone has taken on a darker edge, and you remember that despite his current tiny size and relative friendliness in comparison to Vual, this is a demon Duke as well. “You want to try to play contract lawyer with me? Fine! That definition of processed definitely wasn’t what I had in mind, but I guess that’s my mistake not catching the wording, so, go ahead! If you think you can figure out how to bring back the dead, be my guest! Oh, but I don’t know if poor Nicky has that sort of talent in him, he’s just a reaper, oh noooo–”

“Actually.”

Niko finally speaks up, seemingly emboldened by watching Max threaten his boss, who he hates so dearly. A polite smile twists across his face, fangs poking through the corners, and he waves a hand.

“You interrupted me before I could explain, but I think I’ve figured out the mechanics for bringing them back well enough. I’ve been studying, and I did it for myself anyway, didn’t I? Made myself a new body to pretend to be alive, put my soul in it– with your power, I can do the same for all of them.”

Barbatos looks indignant, as much as a bird can.

“My power? You think I’ll let you use it for that–”

“It’s in my contract. All usage of your power is voided when it ends, and you gave me express permission not that long ago, or did you forget?”

Niko looks smug, but his expression falters a moment later. Here, he finally turns to look at you all assembled.

“I can do it. I– I would’ve turned you all in for my life, sure, but I changed my mind. We can all get out of here together, but– the thing is, I’m not that strong. I know the mechanics behind the magic needed, but the strength it would take to work it on all of you is… too much. For me alone. Max, um, gave me the idea, though– if you all could… let me take some of your energy, then… I could do it.

It won’t hurt you. But… you have to be willing. To help me. I know it might be hard to trust me now, but… I just want this all to end. So…”

In a move uncharacteristic for Niko, who typically refused to trust anything to others, he asks.

“Please. Help me save everyone here. You all– even if it sucked, you had happy times here, right? It wasn’t all bad. If you’re willing, and you think about… the times you lived happily, I think I can recreate that. Or even just… how much you want to live, now. I can make that real for you all. 

But I need you all to help. One last time.” 

A soft voice calls off from the side.

“That won’t work.”

It’s Abbie, still holding herself up by her hands on the ground, looking ragged and tired.

“Well. Kinda. It’ll kinda work. Even with you stealing Barbatos’ magic and getting the energy from everyone else, it’s not going to be enough. Because it’s not your magic and you’re using it for something its owner doesn’t want it used for, it’ll fight against you. You need an anchor–a base of magic from someone who wants for this to happen…”

Her shoulders slump, and her eyes droop halfway closed.

“I…I’m too tired. I can’t…do it. I’m sorry. I would give it to you if I had anything left, but…”

Malyce staggers forward, making brief eye contact with Niko for a moment before looking down. The words said both in the trial and the fight still weigh heavily on him. But enough of Malyce’s ego. In this moment, he doesn’t matter. What matters is making this magic work.

“I can do it." 

He’s soft at first, pulling off his clawed gloves. His fingertips glow with residual magic. His confidence grows as he holds his hands out, palms up. 

"Vual may be gone, but what he gave me isn’t… Not yet, at least. I don’t need it anymore. If I want to be magic again, I’ll work for it. Let me be the launchpad, and with everyone’s effort, Niko can finish the job." 

Malyce knows that things are possible when people work together. No one has to do anything alone. He breathes in, feeling every particle of power that has been granted to him. The boons written in ancient script that he took for his own. These very boons will be his to give back. He stole lives for this magic, and now it’s time to give it back. 

Malyce’s hands soon become illuminated with a green aura. He remembers Abbie’s words just previously: this has to be the magic of someone who wants this. Everyone gets to live. Reverse the tragedy he helped bring upon these souls. Fire, blood, broken bones and shattered bodies will be no more. He doesn’t know what his future looks like, but at least the ones here will have one.

Malyce scoots a tad awkwardly towards Niko, his appreciation bubbling on the tip of his tongue. When he opens his eyes, he gives the other man a half hearted smile, the magic he concentrated in his hands moving towards Niko. 

"This should be a good start.”