Now, Kipo supposed it was a good time to reflect. After all, what did she have now, other than time? Besides, she had a lot to think about, and none of it simple.

Grief. It really did eat away at a person, didn't it? Kipo had lost so much during the course of these last few months, and each and every loss hurt her, like she being stabbed with each and every person they lost. Kipo couldn't even recognise herself anymore, she was so different from the person she had been when she first came here...

Before, if she had been looking to describe herself, Kipo would say she was a good person. A god person, who always tried to do the right thing. And she always did do the right thing, and the right thing usually worked out.

Maybe she was even some sort if hero, if she ever cared enough to describe herself like that.

Now, though, Kipo wasn't so sure.

She still tried to do the right thing, but that was the thing, wasn't it? She had tried to, but it hadn't worked out that way. What was that one saying? The road to hell is paved with good intentions? Kipo supposed that was true here, or true enough. She did try, didn't she? It just... didn't work out. How could they have known it wouldn't work out, but wasn't it the thought that counted? That they did their best? Didn't that count for... anything?

Kipo hated it, but she knew the answer to that. It didn't. For all their planning, and all their strengths, it wasn't enough. And now they were here.

But... were was here? How did they get here? In her mind, Kipo posed it as a philosophical question, but there was a simple, awful answer to that, too.

Half an hour ago, Kipo remembered pushing open the doors, and then rushing in ahead of them, ever the instinctual leader, even if she didn't like it. But her friends: Fei Fei, Tulip, Mabel, Coraline, Kai and Luz were right behind her, ready to back her, and to fight whatever was in front of them.

Immediately, Kipo's eyes sought out the World. She was unsure what she was looking for, but she knew as she looked around that none of these, whatever they were, were it.

Five creatures stared down at the new arrivals, varying expressions on their faces, ranging from bewildered, to angry.

Only one of them was even vaguely humanoid, though it only served to make them creepier, in Kipo's opinion. They were hanging from a chair, literally hanging, their long limbs draping off of it as they sat limply on it. They were... long and skinny, curled around themselves like a snake, and though their limbs were tangled together, Kipo suspected that all of them were twice as long as Kipo was, and Kipo wasn't short. And on the end of each of their limbs was a flipper instead of hands or feet. So it was a water creature, Kipo realized. Which meant that it was... Piranha. Probably. They-or she, Kipo supposed, looked furious, her features scrunched up tightly as she glared at Kipo and her friends.

The one next to her was slightly more normal, though, only slightly. It was an alligator, or maybe a crocodile, Kipo couldn't say she could tell the difference. It had long limbs, like Piranha, though these were slightly more proportional to it's body than the one's on Piranha was. Kipo thought back, trying to remember which one this could be, and then mentally face palmed when she remembered Alligator. So. Probably an Alligator then. Unfortunately, Kipo could read his expression, either because his long snout made it already difficult, or because he was hiding it.

The next one was... strange. Kipo blinked at them, unable to really figure out what she was seeing until she realized it wasn't supposed to be an animal, or a human, but instead a simple looking white ghost. That... was a little weird, and Kipo could not, for the life of her, figure out why they looked so different, or who they were, until she looked at everyone else and then decided that 'Cactus' was the only one that even slightly fit. She supposed it made sense, with their strange little arms hanging from their side and their simple rounded shape, but it still through Kipo for a loop. Cactus was cowering behind their chair, clearly trying to find from the newcomers, even though Kipo assumed that they each knew they were looking for the World. Not any of the watchers.

The next one was, like Alligator, more animal than human. A caribou, Kipo realized, but an albino one, with red eyes and a flowing silver mane. This one was probably Snowflake, Kipo guessed, if not for the white coat, then the silver dots that dotted her back, flickering as she moved, just slightly. Her head was tilted as she looked over at Kipo and her friends, more curious then openly hostile. She definitely seemed like the friendliest of all the gathered watchers, though Kipo did not trust that even for a second.

And then there was the last one, right at the back, behind the large circular table that the watchers were all gathered around. This one... Kipo couldn't see it very well, but she could guess who it was: Starfinder. Kipo could only see glimpses of her when she moved, but she thought she saw huge, leathery wings, and razor-sharp teeth. A dragon, then? And not like those bone dragons, either, a real, live dragon, like in the ones in legend.

Like Alligator, Kipo couldn't see her expression, but there was no doubt Starfinder was watching them, because her eyes were glowing a white that penetrated the darkness surrounding her, and focused on the new arrivals.

The creatures were sitting in chairs that surrounded a table, one that reminded Kipo of Hurricane's table in the classroom. They probably served the same purpose, Kipo thought, that table was what these assembled creatures used for their watching.

...It was a strange experience, seeing the ones who had apparently been watching her journey this entire time. Everything, every fight, every loss, every moment... Kipo shuddered, suddenly feeling embarrassed, and angry.

There were seven seats around the table, and two of them weren't filled. Hurricane and Ocelot, Kipo realized. One dead, one missing in action. But Kipo ignored that for now, changing her forearms for her jaguar paws. Neither of them where who they were looking for.

"We're looking for the World," Kipo announced, as if they didn't already know that. "Where if he?"

Piranha laughed at that, a loud, raspy thing that sounded almost like she was choking. It echoed off of the walls, and Kipo saw that her mouth was full of small, needle-like teeth as she laughed.

"Do you really think we'd really tell you if we knew?" she mocked. Kipo resisted the urge to step back, horrified. Was this really the person Pier had liked so much? Kipo didn't get it at all... though maybe she was different, however many decades ago that was.

"He's not here?" Luz asked, sounding worried. When Kipo looked back, she saw Luz scanning the room, as if the World was just hiding somewhere. Kipo could understand the feeling, in fact, she was getting a horrible, sinking feeling that they had made some sort of mistake...

"Where is he, then?" Coraline demanded. Fei Fei lifted her sword threateningly, but the watchers didn't even look a little afraid.

"Where else would he be?" Tulip asked, a twinge of panic in her voice. "Where else would he be, if not here?"

"Of course he wouldn't be here," Snowflake said, sounding kind despite the condescending words. "This is our prison, not his."

"Prison?" Kai scoffed. "But there wasn't a lock! You all could get out any time!"

"Can we?" Alligator asked gruffly. He nodded towards the door behind them. "Does that look like a door you could open that easily?"

Kipo frowned, that horrible, sinking feeling turning into a bottomless pit. She forced herself to turn towards the door... and found that somehow, the big, steel doors had quietly shut themselves behind the group without anyone noticing, and on this side of the doors, there were no doorknobs.

"No..." Kipo whispered.

"No!" Kai shouted, louder. He ran towards the doors, but there was no way he was going to pry them open, not matter how much he pulled or shoved. But he didn't give up, no matter how swollen and red his fingers got. All anyone else could do was stare.

Kipo, for one, couldn't believe herself. She couldn't believe what was happening. How... how could she have been so wrong? About everything? She had made a mistake. No, worse then a mistake, she had went ahead and led her friends straight to their deaths.

Kipo had been wrong. Kipo had been so horribly wrong. And now, they were...

"Trapped," Piranha rasped, sounding strangely smug for who was also a prisoner. Kipo looked at her, and got the sense that Piranha hated them. Her grin was feral and excited, but it held no happiness. Only cruel maliciousness.

Kipo backed up, suddenly nervous. Her friends followed her lead until they were all backed up beside Kai. They stared out at the creatures, who hadn't moved, and were still staring at them.

"W-What are you going to do now?" Mabel asked, in a voice very different from her usual one.

"Are you going to kill us?" Luz hissed. Her hand was tightened into a fist, and Kipo saw the orb bob in the air, surprisingly menacingly.

"That would be the kindest thing to do," Snowflake said, glancing at the other creatures.

"Or maybe we should let them kill us," Alligator argued, voice flat. Kipo couldn't tell if he was being sarcastic or not. Cactus squeaked nervously. "Oh, shut up."

"We won't be killing them and they won't be killing us," Piranha said. "I'm sure he has a much better idea of what to do with them. He is very smart, after all."

Kipo could see the disagreement on everyone else's face, but verbally, no one disagreed. At the end of the table, Starfinder looked around the room.

"Well, he better hurry up," she said in a deep, rumbling voice that shook the room. Even though she was supposedly having a conversation with the other watchers, Kipo suspected that she was talking to someone else. "He'd better hurry up, then. I'm getting bored."

As if on cue (it probably was on cue, actually), the floor of the cave room started shaking, and Kipo stumbled, grabbing onto the wall in order to steady herself. She looked around wildly, trying to figure out just what was happening now... but it didn't take too long to see it.

Kipo's eyes widened as in front of them, the rock floor shifted, rising up as almost a tower first, and then shifting, changing it's form into something that vaguely resembled an adult human.

"The World," Kipo breathed in realization. This is who she had seen both those times. Not a person, but... this. Kipo immediately felt ashamed. Was this a trick planned from the beginning, all leading up to this one, crucial misunderstanding? Kipo knew, instantly, that this was not a thing they could kill, especially with their previously plan. They had made-no, Kipo had made a terrible error, and now they were going to die for it.

Still, that did not stop Luz from stepping forward, moving her orb so it covered the rock things head. A noble effort, Kipo knew, but ultimately useless. It was like trying to strangle a finger puppet. It wouldn't work.

The World moved as if it barely noticed the orb covering its head. And when it spoke, well, the sound didn't come from the rock person. It came from all around them.

"I've made a decision," the World said. It was... a surprisingly normal voice, and that distracted Kipo more than what it said, whatever that was. But his next words caught her attention and held it. "I've decided to make some changes around here."

Piranha leaned forward eagerly, but the others seemed a little more apprehensive. Rightly, as it turned out.

"I've grown bored with my current watchers, they aren't as interesting as they used to be," the World continued. Snowflake stiffened, eyes trained intently on the rock figure, and a awful apprehension drawing across her face. She was scared, Kipo realized. "We've got seven survivors, and seven seats, so I'm going to make new watchers, and you all will go into my world."

For the first couple seconds, the World's words were met with a stunned silence, because no one could understand what was happening, or even comprehend what the World was trying to say.

Finally, Starfinder spoke up. "What?"

"You heard me," the World said calmly, as if he was telling them all the weather. "I'm taking the current watchers power away before they can screw up anything else. I'm-."

"You're trying to stop Hurricane," Alligator guessed. Cactus looked at him, wide-eyed.

"H-He's still alive?" the little ghost asked, shocked. Alligator shrugged.

"Not for long," the World replied, not fazed at all. "But that reminds me, I am on a time limit. So without further ado-."

"WAIT!" Piranha screamed, jumping out from her seat. But she didn't et far, and as she tried to move towards the World, her limbs got tangled below her, and she didn't seem to have the strength to get to him. Not that it would have mattered. "Don't do this, please! I've been so loyal all this years-these decades! You can't! You CAN'T-!"

Piranha's pleading didn't even matter, because suddenly, she was gone. All the watchers were, and Kipo, Fei Fei, Kai, Luz, Mabel, Tulip and Coraline had replaced them in their seats, luckily still looking like they always had. They stared at each other, stunned. They really had become the new watchers, just as the World had said.

They were prisoners for life now, and that life could last hundreds, if not thousands of years. Thousands of years, just sitting here, watching people die, over and over again, for a world she couldn't interact with.

Already, Kipo was starting to understand the old watchers, but just as quickly as it came, Kipo pushed that thought out of her head.

She was a good person. She wanted to do the right thing, even if she didn't succeed, and all her efforts were wasted, and led to nothing but bad endings.

Because that's what this was, wasn't it? A bad ending. The heroes had failed, the bad guys had won. All Kipo had now was the face that she had tried her best. It just... wasn't enough.

And even that thought didn't placate her for long, because if there was anything this long journey had taught her is that people changed, and sometimes not for the better. Kipo was not the same person she was before, and she knew that.

Kipo... was still a good person. But her worry wasn't if she was good now, it was who she would become.

The road to hell was paved with good intentions. Who would she be in a thousand years? Hurricane? Ocelot? Piranha?

Kipo shook herself, horrified by the mere possibility. No, she couldn't become any of them. She could not wait so long as to become like the watchers that made been here previously.

Kipo didn't have a plan, she didn't know anything about being a watcher, and she didn't even have her friends right now, not really. Kai was staring at the table, eyes blank, Luz, Mabel and Fei Fei were hopelessly wailing on the door, trying to force it open, and Tulip was resting her head on the table. Only Coraline didn't seem torn apart, but she wouldn't meet Kipo's eyes across the table.

But that was fine, for now. Kipo trusted her friends, trusted that when the time came, they would fight again. But for now, they had nothing to fight.

They had nothing to do, really, except watch. So Kipo leaned back in her chair, and stared down at the table until it flickered to life, just like the one in Hurricane's cabin.

And on that screen, she watched as Hurricane destroyed the world.

Just like he said he would.