A/N: Here's the epilogue! I'm sorry it's obnoxiously long, I wasn't sure where to cut it off.

I had a great review from Syd760 that suggested I write a chapter detailing the Gladers' reactions to their memories, and that's where I got the inspiration for this chapter. Hope you like it! x

After receiving their respective memories, the Gladers were taken to a room. In the room, there was a table with plates full of sandwiches, bowls full of chips, and bottles full of juice. 10 chairs were spaced around the table, four on the long sides and one on the shorter sides.

The Gladers' escorts explained the next stage as they walked to the room:

"You have now had a carefully selected memory restored and your responses have been observed while isolated. You will now be observed in a social environment. How you explain your memory, how others react, etc. So enjoy your time with this memory, because when you wake up tomorrow, you will have no recollection of the memory or the events of today, and no one in the Glade will remember that you were missing."

The Gladers arrived in the room at the same time. No one spoke for a very long while, until Minho slapped his hands on the table.

"Alright, I don't know what you shanks just went through, but I'm starving. Winston, pass those sandwiches down my way."

Winston picked up the platter and passed it down the table. Eventually, watching Minho stuff his face made everyone else hungry enough to start eating, too, except for Alby, who was very anxious and upset.

The Gladers ate in silence that was broken only be the sounds of biting and chewing.

Frypan, who was grabbing for his fourth sandwich, was the next to speak. He glanced at Winston, who was removing the meat from his sandwich, and his voice boomed out, "Winston! What are you doing? I've never known a Glader who loves ham more than you."

Winston directed his eyes at his lap. "Oh it's…it's just my memory. Kind of turned me off from meat."

Newt raised his eyebrows. "Must've been bloody powerful."

Winston gave a half-hearted shrug. "Yeah, I guess so. It was my little cousin, Bella. She loved animals. Dragged me to a barn to see them. She trusted me not to hurt them, and now that's what I do every day. But then these men came and took me away. I don't really know why. But Bella was the last person I spoke to before I left home."

"Some people came and took me away, too!" Chuck piped up, talking through a mouth full of potato chips. "I was playing with my friend when they showed up. My mom started screaming at them but they took me anyways."

"Same here! Only I was playing with my twin sister. They took her, too," Gally added.

"Alright, so I guess we were all taken by random people. I was, too. Took me right out of my gym class," Minho said casually.

Newt smirked. "Surprised you weren't running too fast for them to catch you," he said, trying to add some light-heartedness into the situation.

Minho's face hardened slightly. "Well I wasn't always as fast as I am now, and my legs were a lot shorter, and I mean, it was a pretty small gym, there was nowhere really for me to go, genius," he said defensively.

Newt held his hands up in surrender. "Shuck, Minho, I didn't mean anything by that. Calm down. Anyways, you weren't the only one running. I ran a lot in my past life. A bloody lot."

Minho raised his eyebrows, his curiosity peaked. "A bloody lot? Why?"

Newt shrugged. "Doesn't matter at this point. What matters is why exactly we had to get these memories back. Because it doesn't seem to have done much good for anyone."

"Well obviously just to psych us out," Thomas said, trying to convince himself as much as the others. "The memories probably aren't real."

"I don't know, it felt pretty legitimate, man," Frypan said. "Why would they pull us out to give us fake memories?"

"Maybe it's a clue," Ben suggested. "Maybe there's a secret message or something that'll help us get out."

The Gladers all looked at each other pondering this possibility.

"Makes as much sense as anything else we've got," Newt said finally. "Anyone think they have some secret message in their memory?"

Everyone looked around at each other, willing someone else to speak. Minho finally piped up.

"You've been awful quiet, princess," he said to Teresa. "You have any idea what's going on?"

Teresa shrugged. "No, but I don't think they're fake," she said. "In mine I was talking about WICKED, and if I had to guess, I'd say that's the same WICKED I wrote about on my arm. I was telling someone about how WICKED was looking for a cure for something." She looked at Thomas. "Someone who looked a lot like you."

Thomas's stomach dropped. "Were you explaining it via a webcam or something? To someone who was riding in a car?" he asked, unsure if he wanted to hear the answer.

Teresa nodded. "You had the same memory, didn't you?" she asked. "Only you had it from the perspective of the boy in the car."

Thomas held his head in his hands and nodded.

Newt sighed. "Great. Anyone else share memories or is it just those two shanks?"

"Well we can't know unless we all share," Gally said condescendingly.

"Alright, we'll go around and share," Newt said.

"What if we don't want to?" Ben asked.

Minho rolled his eyes. "Just give us enough to tell if we had a similar memory. I'll start- I was running in gym class and two slintheads came and told me to come with them. Only person they mentioned was Mr. Runner over here," he said, jabbing a thumb at Newt.

Newt threw up his hands. "What'd they mention me for?" he asked urgently.

Minho shrugged nonchalantly. "They just said you ran a lot, that's all."

Newt pursed his lips. "That's bloody fantastic. Alright. We already know Teresa shares with Tommy. Frypan, how about you?"

"Well, I was cooking dinner with my dad. My mom wasn't there, she was sick or something. Then some men came and took me away with them. Nothing terribly traumatizing," Frypan explained, his deep voice ringing through the room.

Newt nodded and pointed at Ben. "Whadaya got, Benny?"

"Um…my mom and dad were scientists. They took me in to work with them and had me tested for something, I can't quite remember what." Minho rolled his eyes impatiently at this, but no one noticed. "I guess I tested positive," Ben continued, "or negative, whatever is considered good, because my parents were happy and crying, but then they signed some papers and gave me over to this guy in a suit," Ben said sadly. "They just gave me away."

There was a bit of an awkward silence before Gally decided it was his turn. "Well, I was playing with my sister when-"

"We know, slinthead, you already shared," Newt interrupted impatiently. Gally sat back in his chair and crossed his arms, glaring intensely at Newt. But Newt ignored him completely and continued to address the Gladers gathered at the table. "We already heard from Winston and Chucky, and we know about Tommy, and I haven't heard any memories that were similar to my own," he said.

Gally started to protest, wondering why Newt didn't have to share his memory and what could possibly have happened to keep him from wanting to share, but Newt cut him off before he could get a word out.

"So that leaves you," Newt turned to Alby. "You've been awfully buggin' quiet this whole time, you haven't said a word at all. What happened?"

Alby snapped his head up. He hadn't been paying attention at all and didn't really care to. Newt could handle this. He didn't feel good, he didn't feel right. The image of his mother holding her "snack" was burned so deeply into his memories he didn't think another moment would pass that he wouldn't think about it.

He noticed that every Glader sitting around the table was looking at him, Newt the most concerned by far.

"What's wrong? What did you remember?" Newt asked, his eyebrows furrowed together. Alby's memory must have been much, much worse than anyone else's.

Alby shook his head quickly, his eyes wide and filled with fear, then he looked back down at his lap, wringing his hands and bouncing his leg.

Newt debated pushing the issue, but quickly decided against it. "Alright, I'm going to say it's safe to assume that Alby's memory ain't matching any of ours."

Frypan gave a quick but hearty laugh. "So it's just Thomas and Teresa who share…what a surprise!"

Newt groaned and held his head in his hands, muttering "I was afraid of that."

Teresa had been patient so far, but decided it was time she took charge (or as much charge as Newt was going to let her have). "Okay, so Tom and I shared a memory. So what? It wasn't from the same point of view, we just knew each other before we were all sent to the Glade. And I could have told you that before we got any memories back." Teresa smiled internally when she noticed some of the Gladers nodding slightly in agreement.

"But by comparing memories, we're focusing on the wrong thing," Teresa continued. "There has to be some sort of answer hidden here. Some sort of clue. We just have to figure out what it is."

"You seem to know a lot about this whole situation," Minho pointed out, his tone more than slightly accusatory.

"Maybe I'm just more logical than the rest of you," she shot right back.

Newt gave Minho a small scowl. "Slim it, Minho, she's right."

"Alright then, what's this 'answer' we're looking for?" Minho asked bitterly.

"Well hell if I know!" Newt said. "Anyone got any ideas? Anything at all?"

The room went dead silent.

"Okay then…" Teresa said. "Well, there were some common threads between some of the memories, like being taken away by some strange people. Maybe we should start there."

"Alright. What do remember about the people who took us?" Minho asked, trying to retake a leadership position.

"They wore suits and looked very official," Frypan said.

"They said they had a right to take us. That we belonged to them or something," Chuck added, desperate to get into the conversation.

"That makes sense," Ben said. "My parents had to sign papers to give me away. They must have signed away custody or something."

"Were everybody's parents okay with letting them go?" Winston asked. "My dad was fine with it, barely gave me a second look, and Ben's seemed fine with it, too."

Frypan's face fell and he shook his head. "No, my dad was far from okay. As in actual sobbing and begging them to let me stay."

"My mom was mad, too. She didn't cry, though, she just yelled a lot," Chuck added.

"Okay, so there's some inconsistency there," Teresa stated. She was on the verge of starting to give up hope. "Anything else we all share?"

Minho slapped the table, grinning. "Ah, but wait! What if the clue is something we all had that was different? They wouldn't hide the same clue in every memory, it's probably something we have to dissect and figure out and put together."

"You think it's more like a puzzle?" Newt asked. "That we have to solve?"

Minho nodded once. "Makes sense. That's what we've had to do for the past 2 years. Try to solve a puzzle we were given."

Newt pondered this for a moment, then nodded. "Okay, that makes sense. So we all need to figure out what our individual puzzle pieces are."

Thomas groaned. "Great. Another unsolvable puzzle."

Everyone else groaned, too. No one liked that idea.

Minho shrugged. "That's it, then. If they're trying to have us mirror the Maze with this memory thing, then we can't solve it. It's as simple as that."

"And if it is solvable, it'll take two years," Newt added dejectedly.

"Guys, come on-" Teresa started, but Minho cut her off.

"Slim it. This is stupid. It's the Maze. It's the Maze for our minds. And we can't solve it," he said, putting particular emphasis on that last sentence. He was sick of her optimism.

Teresa sighed, frustrated. "Fine. Maybe you're right. But the chance that you are right isn't worth just giving up like this. They said we only have a limited time with this memory, so obviously we're supposed to be able to figure it out in the time we're given."

"But what if they're lying?" Minho asked.

"They're not lying," Newt said emphatically. "Not one bloody Glader has had a memory of any past life for two years, they wouldn't start letting us have them back now."

Gally piped up, anxious to have a voice in the conversation. "That's not true. I've had memories return."

"That's because you were stupid and got stung by a Griever," Minho said, thoroughly fed up with Gally's contributions.

"Guys! We're getting way off topic!" Teresa yelled. "They aren't lying, we only have a limited amount of time, and we need to focus!"

"What if there's nothing to figure out?" Thomas said, almost too quietly for anyone to hear that he said anything at all.

"What?" Minho asked.

"I said maybe…maybe there isn't anything to figure out. They said something about observing our reactions. Maybe that's all there is to it."

Minho stared at him and blinked once. "That's the stupidest klunk I've heard in a long time, shank."

Chuck was ready to come to Thomas's defense. "I think Thomas is right. If we haven't figured out anything by now, maybe we should just let it go."

Thomas looked over at Chuck and gave a small smile. That kid really is loyal, he thought to himself.

Minho looked at Newt and shrugged. "What do you think?"

Newt sighed and rested his forehead on the heel of his hand. He was tired and confused and really didn't want to deal with this anymore. "I think it's as valid as any other theory we got."

Frypan slapped the table. "Alright, that settles it. Let's get these people, whoever they are, to let us go and send us back already. I've got hungry Gladers to feed."

"I'm sure they can feed themselves for one night, Frypan," Winston said.

Frypan shook his head. "No, they'll ruin my kitchen. I run it the way I do for a reason."

"They'll probably just make sandwiches or something," Minho said, shrugging. "But-"

"I've got it!" Newt yelled, slamming the table.

Everyone around the table jumped at his sudden outburst. Alby was so startled he literally jumped a few inches out of his chair before turning to look at Newt wide-eyed.

Newt was smiling, legitimately smiling. He had it figured out, he actually had it figured out!

All eyes turned to face him, and Minho raised an eyebrow. "Alrighty, Newt, whatcha got for us?"

"It's actually so simple, it's stupid. We just have to-"

And all at once, the Gladers blacked out.

The Gladers woke up the next morning right where they had fallen asleep the night before. Alby and Newt were the first up, Newt stretching his leg because it was unusually stiff. Alby gave Newt a slap on the shoulder and a small smile. Something told him it was going to be a rough day.

Minho had his Runners ready to go when the doors opened, and they disappeared into the Maze. Minho was feeling oddly motivated to run hard and run fast, almost like he need to prove something. 'Why is that?' he thought to himself. 'I'm the best Runner this Glade has ever seen…"

Gally was pounding away at some repairs to the Homestead barely saying a word, even to his Builders. There was an empty feeling consuming him he couldn't quite put his finger on. Like he was missing someone. But every time he tried to imagine the person he was missing, all he got was a blank face that he somehow knew was smiling at him.

Chuck was in the same state, but he was slacking off more than usual. As he lugged a bucket filled with soapy water towards the kitchen, he had the unshakable urge to just drop the bucket and grab some Gladers and run around. He wanted to laugh and play, but he didn't think Alby would appreciate that.

Frypan had asked Winston to butcher up a cow for dinner that night. Winston did just that, but felt the slightest of hesitations as he lowered the blade to the cow's body. Frypan spent the morning whistling- he had just come up with an amazing recipe idea. If only he had some oregano…

Ben was following some orders Gally had given him. He was working on gathering some things to start repairs on the kitchen. He was the only Builder working on this project, and he was feeling very lonely. He wanted companionship right now, but Gally had seemed in a bad mood that morning, so Ben didn't want to ask him for some help or a reassignment.

Thomas and Teresa found each other immediately that morning and had spent breakfast just sitting in silence. Thomas had to get out to the Maze and Teresa was supposed to help with something in the Map Room.

Something's different, Teresa said in Thomas's head. I can't put my finger on it, but something's changed.

Well isn't that what you said? Thomas responded. When you first woke up, you said that everything was going to change.

Yeah, Teresa said. I guess I was right.

Thomas bit the inside of his cheek. Guess so. Do you think it's good or bad?

Teresa shrugged. I don't know. But we'll figure it out. Together.

A/N: Bonus points for the cheesy "Together" ending.

Anyways, thank you so much for reading, whether you've been following since day 1 or just read it today. I love your reviews, they always make me smile. :) Thanks again for reading, hope you liked it! -Laura xx