The void was humid, to say the least, as each of the sides regained their memories. And the group was silent, suspended in a black abyss of nothing.

Roman was the first of speak up.

"Holy odin's beard in a braid," he says. "We're so gay."

The group looks at him, blinking, before each laughing. Beautiful melodic noises erupt into the void, bouncing off of walls that no one knew existed to make it sound like a full auditorium of people laughing.

"I guess that's why our writing never was quite straight enough." Logan pitches in.

After a few laughs, it's back to quiet. To endless suffocating quiet, because wherever the echo of their laugh has gone, it's too far for them to hear.

"What now?" Remy asks, mainly to Picani.

"They'll pick us up once the outside world is ready to receive us, after having deactivated the part of the simulation that will trap us in there," Picani explained. "Seeing as you guys have your memories back, the process seems to have already started."

Remy nods.

"What are these?" Patton asks, pointing at the orbs.

Remy takes this one. "The other simulations. This place used to be filled with them," he says. "Then the program was shut down."

"I recall something about it in our briefing", Logan says. "Why are there five? Surely they pulled all the people out of the simulations."

"Didn't have the time," Remy said. "Some of the people, Sim Addicts, or people addicted to being in a simulation, got into the coding and shut themselves in."

"Who?" Virgil asked.

"We don't know," Picani said. "But they're stuck there forever."

It's silent again.

"We can't get them out?" Roman asks.

"We tried," Remy says. "When simulations were shut off, the government started what was known as 'plugging', where it would send an AI to force the 'player' out."

"It didn't work," Picani added. "These people were smart, and put up defences against the AI by adding their code to the game. This happened with you, too."

"So they sent us to get you," Remy added. "Because you hadn't locked yourselves off to them, you'd just been added to the game."

Silent. Echoing noise that somehow made them all ache in the head.

And then there was someone in the centre of them, someone that looked a little too familiar, and when it was fully formed- well, Patton almost passed out.

"Thomas!" Patton said, throwing his hands up. They may not be able to move place, but Patton was still going to express his joy. "You're okay!"

"Yeah," Thomas replies. "I... I am okay."

"That's good," Logan said, adjusting his glasses and tie. "If you had been injured it would have been less than optimal."

"Way to go, calculator watch," Roman sighed. "You should be a Detective with that deduction."

"Roman," Patton ave him a look. "That was mean. Don't be mean."

Roman sighed and grumbled an apology, making Thomas smile.

"I'm glad you're all back," Thomas smiles. "I was beginning to feel... less like me."

"Yeah, Who wouldn't?" Virgil sighed, shifting. "Only thing I can't remember is why we were here in the first place."

Thomas shrugs. "It was supposed to help us with...." He seems to be searching for an answer. "Uh... something?"

"That's weird," Virgil says. "I don't trust this."

"You never trust anything," Roman says. "But it's okay, you've got the rest of us."

Patton smiles. "Yeah!"

Remy shifts. "Hey, guys?" He say. "This might suck to hear but... when we get back, and everything gets set back to normal, me and Picani won't be here anymore."

They're all silent.

"So, Uh," Remy, for the first time in ages, I'd speechless. "Well.... I'm gonna miss you guys."

"We're gonna miss you too."

And then the group is being pulled again, sinking into some place in a way that feels oddly familiar.

A bright light.

Concrete.

Isn't this a lie?

Is this real?

They open their eyes to find themselves greeted with a concrete room. It's not painted, it's bare and bland.

"You're back," A person in a beanie- Joan, they recognise, breathes between sobs. "You're all back! Thomas is coming back!"

Another person with multicoloured hair, Talyn, they recognise, is clinging to Joan as she smiles between sobs.

Where are they?

Patton grabs hold of Logan and Roman's hands, and Roman grabs a hold of Virgil's to make sure they're all there.

"Uh, excuse me," Roman speaks up with the question everyone wants to ask. "Where are we?"

"You're in reality, of course." A man in glasses says as he stands up from his chair. "Where else would you be?"

"Oh, I don't know," Roman sighs. "Mars? The moon?"

"Earth," Joan chuckles. "You're still on earth."

"So, any idea when the timeline reset will take place?" Picani smiles softly.

"Oh, yes," The man in glasses smirks. "Right this way, right this way. Come along now, right this way."

He repeats that all the way down the corridor. Each of the sides are following, hand in hand, trying to figure out what each of them are thinking without making too big of a fuss.

The man leads them down to a dark, dimly lit room that Virgil doesn't trust. It leaves them aware of where they are and what he's doing, it leaves them searching for the nearest exit.

He fires up a machine. "Right, I'll do you one by one," He says. "Who's first?"

And because no one else will raise their hand, Roman takes a step forward. "I volunteer," he says. "Seeing as I am the bravest here."

No one would tell you out loud, but they agree with that statement as all three of the others cling to each other.

What was going to happen to Roman?

And why, all of a sudden, did Virgil feel like the man in the glasses was lying to them?

...

...

Why did this feel like another simulation?