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"...no one...has ever said that....to me..."

It was the first time...he knew It was the first time...anyone had told him he wasn't a coward. Eta V looked around and stared at her in awe.

She...really thought that?

He could feel tears streaming down his cheeks, and he made to wipe away the tears but realized he still had the gas mask on, so he placed the hand on the mask instead. "T....t....thank you..." Honesty, he wondered if he could go more then three seconds without making a spectacle of himself.

He looked around, relieved that everyone seemed to want to go together. But before he could say anything else, Deli had stood up and marched towards the door.

"Ah! w-wait!"

Before the small amount of courage could desert him, he stood up as well. He looked to see Eta VI had also stood up, his vision blurring as she extended a hand towards him, and took it with much gratitude.

He had no time to say his goodbyes, no time to really consider what he was doing. But in the end..this was a good thing. And as he stepped through the door with everyone, he realized one thing.

For once in his life, he wasn't afraid.

((Eta V is now concluded! ))

Delta Nine clasped Theta Seven's hand tightly. It was all going to be alright now, wasn't it? They were together again. Though it'd been difficult for her to make friends, she was here with Theta Seven. Together until the end.

"Don't apologize," she whispered softly, shaking her head. "I'm ready." Her head dipped in a nod. She would go with him through the door, hand in hand. Though most of their time on the island had been spent separately, it didn't matter. There was something more to the bond they'd both felt, something beyond all ... this. Something more.

She watched Deli move to the door and gave Theta Seven's hand a tug. It was time to see where that door went. She was ready.

(Delta Nine is concluded~)

They all had to go sometime... and after listening to Deli and Eta VI talk, Deva realized that there couldn't have been another way she would have wanted to go. There weren't enemies or teams, just people who had found something to bond over and be there to support one another so they weren't left alone. Maybe it was human nature not to want to be alone, but at least there were others there willing and able to lend their support.

Reaching out, Deva took Eta VI's hand with a smile and watched as Deli and Eta V headed on through the door. "Oi... that guy is always running off somewhere, leaving a string of bad jokes behind him. Don't think he's going to be changing anytime soon though... but... I don't think any of us would want to change even if we weren't this way before going through this place." she said with a small sigh as a calming wave overcame her.

"Thank you. Guess it's my turn to go now. See you all on the other side."

And with that Deva was gone.

(Delta 5 is concluded.)

Theta-5 was glad to help his friend up, but now that they were together again, there was little reason to stay here. They had a brief life, but what little he could remember had been spent with his friend 13. There was no reason to stay. No reason to linger. No reason to stick around in a place where he knew no one else. Seemed rather silly getting to know other people he hadn't had the chance in his short existance to meet in real life. There was a door. An option. A possible solution? A trap maybe. Whatever the end, the grand conclusion to it all, it was there. To help in the decision, 13, ever sure of his decision....or maybe her decision?....went straight for it. He admired his confidence, but before he could even say that to 13, to say so much more, the other was gone.

Breathing deep, Theta-5 looked around once more at the nearly barren lounge and back to the door. This was it. Never had a door been so ...final.

Alone, he moved through the door, hoping that his dumb luck would continue on.

((Theta-5 has gone through the door.))

[ Theta Two enters from the final exam thread. ]

She could only remember falling asleep, and then nothing. It hadn't even felt like dying, but she knew that she had. It was a feeling in her bones, a disconnected feeling that crawled candidly through her veins. Theta Two didn't expect to wake, but her vision flooded her before she could even recollect herself to realize she'd opened her eyes. She was pressed to the ground -- actually, it was a couch. Groggily, the girl pushed herself up. Up, and right off of the side of the couch. The now bare room suffered from her rather ridiculous sailors curse, the iron ball in her head crashing into everything it could as she stood up, one hand pressed to her gas mask clad head, the other limp at her side. Her eyes turned left, and then right. She wasn't christian, she didn't believe in the afterlife, but she had to admit, this sure as hell was nice. Nice place, that was to say. She could do without the perpetual headache that seemed to never end.

Eyes adjusting, she patted herself down. "Alright, purgatory." She whistled softly. "Didn't expect that." Theta Two was only briefly aware of the bar, but her attention drew swiftly to the gaping maw of the door, and the blackness beyond. There was an immediate rush of adrenaline in her bones, followed by a solemn resignation. Final destination, it practically screamed, when there was nowhere else to go. "Man, look at that," She murmured to herself wryly. "Send us to purgatory, and don't even give us directions for using the big, black door." She laughed softly to herself and drew her back straight, eyes cast around the room. "Well at least I know where I'm going." Stretching her hands above her head, Theta Two wryly understood that this place was nearly vacated, and believed it practically empty until her eyes landed on a familiar figure.

Behind the mask, her entire face lit up.

In a matter of three-two-one-go!, the girl had swung herself into action, reckless abandonment following her movement across the floor as she swept the familiar Theta-Nine into a hug, no matter the drink in his hand. "You're dead!" She announced, Leaning back a fraction to stare at him as best she could behind the mask. "Damn it," she swore vividly, realizing the exact meaning of her words. "We're both dead." And then she hugged him again, even though she'd only known him for a few hours, days at most. Oh well, they'd once said that distance made the heart grow fonder. So maybe survival made it do the same too. Laughing candidly, she drew away, smiling at him behind the mask. "I missed you a lot, Thyme." Theta Two admitted honestly, her hands falling to her sides. "I guess this is the final destination though, yeah? Beyond the doorway and all... thats the last thing we've got to do, I'd bet. Or maybe it'll make us into some sort of creepy a** monsters, who knows."

She glanced back, her tone trailing off. She had to go. She had to find out what was beyond the door. It was an itch rigged in her bones, an ache crawling up her spine and in her skin. A rare soberness entered her tone, something fond and gentle in her words that she'd never used before as she turned back to Thyme, pulling him into one last hug. "Let's say that something crazy happens when we go beyond; let's say we get to meet again. Its less then a snowballs chance in hell, but if we do, and these gas masks come off, I'm going to kiss you." She grinned broadly at the absurdity of her words, the sudden spike of confidence that rang out from the somber hum in her voice. "So Thyme, for now its just a see-you-later, got it? Just in case." Shying away a bit, the girl rose to her full height, slapping the other gratefully on the shoulder. "See you on the other side, huh, boyo?" Theta Two tilted her head back and laughed. It was the last sound she might ever hear out of herself, and she didn't want to go past the door thinking, what the hell, how ******** emotional can I sound.

Turning on her heel, Theta Two saluted to her once-in-a-lifetime partner, and braved the darkness one last time.

[ Theta Two has gone through the door, and is now Concluded. ]
( holy s**t sorry for rushed post! Q A Q /bows head to thyme chaos for incredibly dorky speech )

((Theta-1 entering from Exam Thread!))

They had lied to her...

Theta-1 stood staring at the lounge she now occupied and felt nothing but searing rage.
She had a pendant (or, well, she HAD had a pendant, now that she was um, dead it seemed to have vanished from her non-corporeal being), she had fought and killed and hide for that stupid thing that had promised her safety and what good had it done her? NONE. She was STILL dead and in some stupid lounge because APPARENTLY, the afterlife really was a lounge. How dumb and idiotic and GRRR!!

But the anger passed. It didn't fly from her body with enlightenment or anything silly like that, it just sort of... Drained from her. Instead the feeling of having just missed someone in this lounge replaced the feeling and she instead took to walking around it, looking at all the people carefully.
"Deli? Thev? Delta 5? I won't call you DVD, promise... Are you here?" There was no answer. "Its just me, isn't it?"

With a sigh Theta-1 turned to the door others were passing through. She was alone, and she had always been alone and she would probably stay alone forever, so it only made sense that she walk through this door alone.
"Who was it that said 'Death was only the next great journey'?" She asked out loud, pausing before the door to look behind her at those who remained. "Oh, that's silly. I said it, that's what matters."

And she passed through as easy as you please.

((SOLO to come shortly!))

Zeta Ten Entering from Test Thread

A lounge... Zeta Ten looked around at the mostly empty bar.

She thought she was dead, it was the only thing that made sense. A brief flash of anger coursed through her. She had done everything right: lived, fought, survived, taken their stupid test. How had it all ended here?

No one was even here anymore, and the only person left in the lounge was the bartender, who looked up from wiping the counter tops to glance at her, then looked back down at his rag. No help there... she thought.

Then she noticed a door, slightly ajar, across the room. From what she remembered, she had just appeared in this lounge. So what was the use of this door? It was a curiosity. She walked towards it and looked through. The door swung slightly more open, and Zeta Ten took a breath. If she was dead there was no other choice. She stepped through.

((Zeta Ten is concluded.))

((Solo to come soon.))