Row, row, row, your boat, but gently, so I don't get sick… urg.

Alex was lying down, or at least she thought she was. The buzzing in her brain and stomach made it hard to tell which side gravity was pulling from.

"... .. …. … … .. ..eat … … mind… … .. in…. … ….. ..r life….. ...venture…"

Ren?

She turned her head towards the voice and immediately dry heaved, curling in on herself.

Holy fuck, did I swallow a bag of salt or something?

"Whoa hey, Alex! You're up! Hey guys, Alex is awake and not dead!"

Her throat scratchy and raw, the bluenette forced herself to speak, "Ren, I love you but please shut up, I need to not split in half."

"He hasn't stopped talking since we got on the boat, since we came out of the cave even," someone helped her to sit up, their voice too deep to be the blond, "I think if he quiets down he might freak. Hey Ren! Maybe give her some space for a minute."

Alex blinked, the early morning sun shining into her face, "Michael?"

Her eyes focused, finally recognizing a wincing Jonas.

"Oh, sorry."

"No no, it's… I wouldn't be surprised if you saw the light for a while there. I don't know what you did in the cave, but it worked. We teleported or something to the mouth on the beach, all of us, even Nona and Ren. But you were out cold, and you must've swallowed a bunch of seawater somehow 'cause you had to cough up a ton of it. We made sure you weren't going to choke and carried you to the ferry."

"He's giving the rest of us too much credit," a sardonic voice cut in, "While you were lying there in the sand, Jonas had to do a bunch of chest compressions on you while we just stood there like idiots. Then he took it on himself to carry you all on his own. Don't worry, he didn't have to do mouth to mouth, I'm sure your incestious experience will come later."

"Yeah, I'm glad I didn't have to do that," Jonas scratched his arm, "I mean I would if I had to obviously but Ren would never let it go, like ever. You wouldn't either, would you Clarissa?"

"Bet your ass I wouldn't."

Clarissa. Here, right in front of her, alive, and her eyes their usual mix of cinnamon brown and mild contempt instead of glaring red stoplights.

"Clarissa!" Alex croaked.

The redhead waved a hand, "Yeah yeah, not possessed, hooray for me. Here," she handed the shorter girl a can of root beer, "We already had ours, and you probably need one more than anyone right now, courtesy of your stepbrother again."

Alex downed half the can in a quick series of gulps, all too happy to wet her throat. The carbonation burned but at least the beverage was still somewhat cold.

She belched contentedly, "Thanks. Heh, the shop person must've been surprised to see a group of people before the ferry service was even running. Wait..."

Clarissa smirked mischievously as Alex eyed her sideways, waiting for her to connect the dots.

"...The stores on the island don't open until an hour after the ferry starts running, how'd you even get the soda?"

The redhead laughed, "I told you, Jonas got it. I didn't say it was paid for."

Alex looked at Jonas expectantly as he nervously tapped his front pocket.

"...The locks here are all old fashioned and easy to pick, it's not like the shop had one of the future radio gates. I know, it was a bad thing, but Clarissa insisted, said we all needed some refreshments after… everything."

Alex rolled her eyes, "I bet she was just looking for a pack of smokes."

"Hey, I was the one who told him root beer was your favorite, you should thank me. And the only reason I'd need a cigarette right now is to cover up your stench, you reek like week-old fish. Now do us a favor and don't die until we get back to Camena, I'm going to make sure Ren isn't still creeping on Nona."

Clarissa walked to the other side of the boat, loudly interrupting the conversation between the two shortest members of the group.

Once she was out of sight, Alex pulled her collar to her nose and sniffed.

"Woof, she might've actually been underselling it. First thing I'm doing when we get back is taking a nice long shower. How 'bout you?"

Jonas took a seat on the bench and leaned back, "Breakfast, cereal and toast. Or maybe a nap. Or… anything really, I'm just happy to be off the island. Listen," he shifted, "I don't know what you did in the cave and frankly I don't care, it doesn't matter. But are you okay? Like really?"

Alex put her drink down, regarding the brunet, "I think so, not injured or possessed at least. I still feel a little woozy, but otherwise I'm fine. Well, other than smelling like old fish."

She expected at least a chuckle at that, but Jonas remained tight-lipped.

"Why do you ask?"

"Well for one I'm just making sure, for another I was down there too and I'm not feeling super great either. I think it had something to do with the whole," he swallowed, "tape recorder time trip thing."

He lowered his voice, "Speaking of, I want to thank you for helping me with that. I know we were already super pressed on time and we probably shouldn't've even done it but... I heard my Mom's voice one more time, had a whole conversation with her. I'm sure you can imagine what that meant to me, so seriously, thanks."

Alex blinked, "But I… Uh, yeah, no problem. Talking to Michael again was the best thing to happen to me last night, I definitely know what you mean."

She purposefully looked toward the others before the inevitable awkward silence could set in.

"Oh boy, guess who's in a tight spot again."

Jonas turned to see an irate Clarissa glowering over a babbling Ren, Nona shaking her head behind them.

"A mystery to be sure. You alright being on your own for a bit?"

"Course, I'll just kick back. You go ahead."

Crossing her legs, Alex sipped her root beer, allowing the remaining fuzziness in her head to dissipate.

I'm pretty sure I didn't fix that last tape recorder. How'd he talk to the supposed ghost of his dead mom?

She was really glad Jonas was okay with not knowing how she fixed the whole ghost situation, because frankly she couldn't remember herself. But Alex did sort of remember her distrust of the murmuring device that just so happened to be placed right before the cave. The shame of looking Jonas in the eye and denying him the chance to hear from his mother again because there wasn't any time.

Time we might've had if I hadn't insisted on gathering Maggie Adler's notes, just on the off chance that they would tell us what was going on. God he must've hated me right then…

But Jonas said he spoke to his late mother, and he certainly wouldn't lie about something like that, would he? Of course not, he'd have no reason to.

Alex glanced over to her stepbrother, So maybe one of us is remembering things wrong?

Their previous situation evidently defused, Nona and Ren sequestered themselves a slight distance away from the other two, though notably still within Clarissa's hawkish line of sight. Jonas joined the redhead in leaning against the railing, each with their back to the water. The brunet fished out a pack of cigarettes, tapping two out and crumpling the now empty package. He offered the first one to Clarissa, which she accepted and lit herself. She didn't offer to light Jonas', which suited him just fine, he preferred to light his own.

Then again, if he's happy and everything turned out okay then it shouldn't matter too much.

Sucking in a breath, Alex stood up and stretched her stiff limbs, finishing with cracking her knuckles. She turned her gaze to the shorter duo near the bow of the ferry, the flapping hands of her best friend catching her attention. She watched with amusement as Nona leaned back to avoid getting accidentally backhanded, her smile slightly too wide to be completely sincere. Alex caught her eye and she not so subtly jerked her head, nodding her over. The bluenette feigned ignorance, pointing to herself in an exaggerated "who me?" pose. Nona barked an exasperated laugh and simply waved her over, prompting Ren to turn around and light up at seeing Alex up and about.

Oh you crazy kids.

Smiling back, Alex set her root beer on the bench and joined the two.

"Nice of you to swing by," Nona playfully rolled her eyes.

"Well I didn't want to interrupt, you two were clearly having the best of times!"

"We were!" Ren chimed, "Well actually no, we couldn't've had the best time because you weren't with us, but NOW—!"

"Now are you finally chill?" the ravenette interjected, "Him, not you Alex, I know you're always chill."

"I'll have you know the only reason you've had Ren x1.5 is because I was so worried about you. You should be proud of me, I was able to resist the need to be certain of your well-being this whole time."

"Oh yeah, Alex just rescued us from monsters from beyond time and freaking knowledge, but you managed to be worried, high fives dude."

"I know you're being sarcastic but now I kind of want a high five."

Gracious enough to not leave him hanging, Alex held up a palm with a grin.

"See? Best time is now possible."

The two high fived, the bluenette tugging it into a hug.

"Thanks for thinking of me, but I'm fine now, I think. Hey Nona, we have room for one— oof!"

The shorter girl glomped right on, clamping both arms around Alex.

"You scared us, being passed out," she said, her voice muffled from the red jacket, "I wasn't even sure if you'd wake up, or if you did wake up that'd you still be, you know..." her voice quieted, "you."

The bluenette stilled, "I… hadn't thought about that. Hey," she extricated herself and put a hand on both of her friends' shoulders, "You tell me if I start acting off, okay? As far as I know I'm the last one to have contact with the Kanaloa crew, if they stuck to anyone after… whatever I did, it'd be me."

Ren tilted his head, "'Whatever you did'?"

"You don't remember?" Nona joined.

Alex shifted, "I told Jonas already, everything after we entered the bunker is a blur on my end. He remembers things… uh, he remembers a little more than I do, but not much. Now I'm a little paranoid, great."

The ravenette shrugged, "I'd apologize, but that's kind of a thing worth being concerned about. Let's check your eyes."

She brushed Alex's hair back and leaned in, inspecting for any signs of supernatural red.

"Alex you've gotta open your eyes more for her to see anything. Look surprised, pretend that you just beat me in Smash."

"Oh shut up, all you do is spam projectiles anyway. So, anything?"

Nona stared, her hands slackening.

Alex started to sweat under the scrutiny, "Uh, boring old brown, hopefully? No red?"

The shorter girl put her hands down and smiled, "No red, no boring, just delightful chocolate brown here."

Ren nodded in approval, "Nice."

"Ha ha," Alex scoffed, unable to hide a slight blush, "So what about you guys, are you feeling alright?"

"Well according to him, Ren's doing just sublime now—"

"I am."

"—I'm just happy we're on our way home, all of us. I haven't thanked you yet for saving us, whatever you did, soooo… yeah. You even got Clarissa back like you promised, I wasn't sure if I'd ever see her non-possessed again."

"She was your best friend, of course I got her back. Whatever's between us, we're a team now."

"Yes!" Ren exclaimed, "That's exactly what we are now, don't forget to help me convince Clarissa of that when we get back to boring real life. I actually think she's alright and fun to talk to but I'd like to continue hanging out with Nona without her friend shanking me in the back with a number 3 pencil."

The ravenette raised an eyebrow, "Why a number 3 specifically?"

"Actually I should've said number 4, they've got the hardest lead, point is she doesn't really care so much for me and I'd like that to improve somewhat and I might need your guys' help with that."

Alex nodded, "Yeah, I saw you two earlier, it looked like she already got her talons out for you. I'm guessing that's when you told her about your date."

"That's the thing," Nona explained, "Our uh, date thing hadn't even come up yet, Ren was just, y'know, being Ren. I'll probably tell her when he's not within arm's reach."

"Or targeting distance."

"Yeah, probably a good idea," Alex agreed, "People tend to calm down when our resident Elekid isn't around."

"Calm is overrated and so is Elekid, but in this instance I will bravely let Nona face the dragon alone."

"'The dragon', huh?" The blond jumped in surprise as Clarissa loomed behind him, "Is that what you call me behind my back?"

Nona covered a laugh as Ren smiled far too brightly, "Clarissa! Hey! What brings you to the vertically challenged corner?"

"I'm average, you diminutive doof."

"I am aware of that Alex, but liberties must be taken for my analogies to work."

Clarissa stepped closer to the boy, looking down her nose at him, "I knew you were gossiping about me, but luckily for you I'm here for someone more important. Hey bestie!"

Nona perked up.

"You mind if I take Alex away from you for a bit? Need to talk to her about something."

The ravenette slightly deflated, "Oh… no go ahead. But be nice! She saved your life after you were all, uh, not… nice.

Clarissa dramatically flipped her short-cropped hair, "Your wish is my command. Alex, you coming?"

"Uh, sure."

The shorter girl was guided back to the bench, her soda still resting where she left it. Alex sat in her spot from earlier while Clarissa remained standing, occupying the space across from her.

She's here, she's back, she's not possessed either, probably. I hope.

The redhead kept silent, one leg against the wall and not making eye contact. Becoming more tense as the seconds ticked on, Alex downed the remains of her drink, the citrus sting of her orange soda doing little to put her at ease.

"They should really have a recycling bin on this thing," she blurted.

Clarissa finally looked at her to raise her eyebrow the tiniest bit.

"W-well, a bunch of people must bring water bottles and cans on the ferry, right? So," she crumpled her empty aluminum can for effect, "Now I have nowhere environmentally friendly to put this—"

"Just hang onto it like a big girl until we land and then you can put it anywhere you like that won't haunt your little conscience. Hippie."

Alex set her jaw, "Excuse me for trying to be a good person. And I thought you promised Nona you'd be nice."

"Yeah, but I didn't say I'd be that nice. Or as nice as you think you are."

Clarissa's features hardened further, "They made you an offer, leave me behind and you and everyone else would be free. You didn't take it. Why."

"What're you—?"

"You know exactly what I'm talking about, those freaks from the submarine, now answer."

Alex blinked, "I— You knew about that?"

Clarissa's glare remained steely cold as the bluenette had to struggle to not lean back.

"I don't remember a lot from when they took me, it was like being under a bad trip, but I'll never forget their proposed 'deal'. They gave you and everyone a way out and it would have been really easy, so. Why. Not."

Geez, you'd think she'd be happier given what actually happened, the fuck Clarissa?

"I just— well for a number of reasons, really," Alex defended, "For one, I didn't trust the ghosts to actually let us go—"

"Bullshit, they only needed one of us, why would they bother with everyone?"

"I don't know, because they were concentrated evil?! They weren't exactly acting in a trustworthy manner the whole time, even you probably noticed that."

The shorter girl took a breath, "For another, I promised Nona that we'd ALL get home, including you."

Clarissa barked a single, harsh laugh, "There it is! I knew it."

Alex was starting to get an idea of what this was really about.

"Whatever you're thinking, it's probably wrong," she preempted.

"No, I get it," Clarissa said through a tight smile, "Nona just needed to bat her eyes and you would do anything she said, even risk her's and everyone's lives to wait up for me. That was a dumbshit, asinine move Alex."

"That's not why I rejected the offer and I'm pretty sure you know that!" the shorter girl snapped, "I'm not going to pretend that Nona didn't influence me, she did—"

"I bet."

"Would you stop! Do you know how worried we were about you?"

Clarissa scoffed.

"It's true! We ALL agreed to get you back, regardless of what the ghosts said. And most of all, and I really can't believe I need to tell you this, tossing you under the bus for an eternity of Hell or Limbo or what-the-fuck-ever happened to the Kanaloa crew would be wrong. Abandoning you and your stony-cold bitch heart would be wrong, even if it meant that we might've escaped."

Clarissa blinked, looking as if being spoken to in gibberish.

"...Is that what the others said too?"

"I already told they did," Alex huffed, "how is that so hard for you to believe?"

"Because I would've taken the deal."

"Really? You would've willingly sacrificed yourself for us?"

"No. I mean—! Argh, that's not what I meant!" Clarissa frustratedly ran a hand through her hair, "If I was in your place and I had to choose between one person (who wasn't Nona) and the rest of us, I would have gladly left that person drowning until the end of time with the rest of those freaks."

"Yeah well, that's not exactly surprising."

"Well it should be!" Clarissa's voice broke, giving Alex pause.

The redhead continued, her throat seizing up, "We a-all deserved to get o-out of that hellhole, but letting o-one person go to save the rest… I-I would've understood."

She clenched her teeth as tears ran down in rivulets down her cheeks, "A-and now you're telling me that everyone was willing to risk their lives and fucking eternal souls or whatever for me and I wasn't willing to give them the same courtesy!"

Clarissa hiccupped quietly into her fist, the shorter girl stunned at such a display of emotion from her.

My god, she's actually ashamed of herself, I didn't think that was possible.

Alex stood up, stepping closer to the taller girl, "Well, you said you wouldn't've abandoned Nona, that's something, right?

Clarissa dabbed at her eyes, "I'm implying that everyone else here is better than me, least you could do is take me seriously."

"I am being serious, plus we would've understood too. We were all scared and not sure if we were gonna make it back, it was just luck that we managed to beat the ghosts at their own game."

The redhead sniffled, "As if you beat them."

"What's that supposed—"

"Look, maybe I'll give you guys a little more credit in the future. For what it's worth, thanks for not leaving me for dead, or probably worse than dead. Even when you had a smarter alternative."

"Suuuure. Think nothing of it. We're just glad everything turned out good in the end."

Eventually Alex sat back down and Clarissa's tears dried, her makeup thankfully washed away long ago from the events of the night.

"So," the taller girl breathed out, "That's all I wanted to talk about. Heh, I haven't wimped out like that since Michael's funeral."

Alex gave her a sideways glance, "You… didn't come, I remember not seeing you there."

"I came that night, alone."

"Oh."

The two remained silent for a moment, both content to let the conversation drop. As Clarissa looked away, the shorter girl discreetly checked her eyes as closely as she could from their distance.

Not easy to tell, her eyes have always been more red than brown almost, but...

"Okay, time to go," Alex blinked as Clarissa held down a hand to the shorter girl, "We've had our not-fun and everyone is probably missing you already."

"Uh, alright," Alex accepted her hand, allowing herself to be pulled up, "Let's go to the others."

As the bluenette walked away, Clarissa saw the empty orange soda, forgotten on the bench. Checking to see that Alex's back was turned, the taller girl crunched the can in her fist and chucked it overboard.

"Hey everyone, we're back," Alex greeted, joining the others against the railing.

"Oh, hey guys," Nona wrung her hands, eyes flitting between her and the approaching Clarissa, "Soooo, you guys doing okay? I thought I heard shouting back there."

"Yeah, me too," Jonas added, "it didn't sound uh, friendly."

"Alex how possessed she?" Ren asked.

"Ren!" Nona elbowed the blond.

"Ow! What? It's a valid question and I'd like to be sure."

"As much of an ass he is…" Jonas let his sentence hang.

Clarissa rolled her eyes, "Wow, I can't believe I considered giving you guys any credit."

"She's clear," Alex glared sharply at Ren, "At least as far as I can tell."

"We'll take your word for it," the taller boy said quickly, eager to drown out whatever Ren was about to say next., "So, what'd you two talk about?"

Clarissa took a spot against the railing, "I thanked her for keeping me from being a Grudge reject and that I was… touched by your guys' concern over me."

"Wow, thanking us and not even in a backhanded way," Ren pursed his lips, "You sure she's not possessed?"

"Don't even joke about that Ren, seriously," Alex crossed her arms, "I'm going to have trouble enough sleeping tonight. Or maybe today. Anyway, how about you guys? What were you talking about before?"

"Prom," they answered in unison with varying degrees of enthusiasm.

"Yeesh, you're talking about prom already? That's not until spring, Junior year hasn't even started yet!"

"Well first we were talking about dating and how Nona and I are going to the old theater on Tuesday and yes, that is a thing that is happening—"

"Whoa whoa," Alex interrupted, "When did that become a thing? I mean congrats, I'm happy for you both, but did you two just hook up on the boat?"

Everyone sans Clarissa looked at her oddly.

"Um, Alex," Nona said, "Ren told you about us at the bunker door, remember?"

"Yeah," Jonas agreed, "And Nona got upset because she wanted to keep it semi-secret or something."

"I didn't mean it like that!" the ravenette insisted, "I just didn't want to make a big deal out of it, it's a one-time thing, just for fun."

Alex raised an eyebrow, "That sounds weird. Clarissa?"

"Oh, I had them spill all the details," she said with a stiff jaw, "Didn't exactly have to try very hard, the munchkin refused to shut up about it."

"I was excited! Anyway, it happened right before the cave magic hit you, must've just forgot, no biggie."

I thought I remembered things before the bunker, maybe I forgot other things too..

"If that's the case, then regardless I hope you both have a good time. Just don't give me a live-Tweet me the whole night, it was annoying enough last time."

"Nona," Clarissa spoke up, "Do me a favor and live-Tweet everything that Ren does so I know whether or not to kill him before I bury him."

"Haha nice one!" the blond laughed, "Ha… why are you looking at me like that?"

"Oh hey Ren," Alex said excitedly, "Row G—"

"Yes Alex, you told us about Row G," Nona deadpanned.

"SO," Jonas interrupted before someone got slapped, "Prom?"

"Yes!" Ren snapped his fingers, "I was telling Nona that if we're not together at that time—"

"I'm not planning that far ahead dude."

"—then she should take Jonas. Assuming of course he isn't with someone already by then."

"Still not sure why you're so invested in my dating life or weirdly into setting me up with your date," the brunet sighed, "But I'm with Nona, not planning that far ahead yet."

"It's called speculating, that's why it's fun!"

"It's a moot point anyway," Clarissa inspected her nails, chipping the rest of the polish off, "Nona's going with me, obviously."

"Ehem, fact check, she's going with me or Jonas, right?"

Everyone's eyes snapped to the ravenette, causing her to shrink in on herself.

"...What if we just all go with each other?" she suggested.

They stared at her.

"Ahh, I think I get it," Ren nodded knowingly, "We all go as a group, like as friends, not a big group date orgy thing. Although..."

"Ugh," Clarissa rolled her eyes, "If I had to pick from any of you I'd actually rather go double queen with Alex. Hey Blue, that offer to get hitched still on the table?"

Alex blinked, I'm positive I said I'd marry Nona. Or wait, was it Ren…?

"If you two ever end up tying the knot," another voice said amusingly, "You know I would support you both, I think you bring out good things in each other."

"Oh stop it Michael," Clarissa frowned without malice, "I was trying to make a joke and you turn it into a moment."

The older brunet scratched the back of his head, his eyes sparkling with amusement, "Can't help it, you know I have a weakness for weddings."

"It's true," Alex added, "He's gone to almost every wedding held in town for years."

"I can't help if I keep getting invited!" he shrugged with a hint of pride.

"Well don't get too into the idea," Clarissa flicked his nose, slightly put out that he didn't flinch, "If your sister and I happened to consummate our marriage, you wouldn't be invited. I'm sure your incestious experience will come later."

Michael doubled over laughing at that, leaning on the wall for support.

He settled comfortably next to his girlfriend, close enough to be intimate yet far enough to still be respectful in public, "In my opinion, I think Nona's got the right idea, you don't need to plan for a date for prom this early, just plan on going in a group as friends and you can break off from there depending on what happens."

"I can definitely agree with that," Jonas concurred, "For like the hundredth time tonight he's the only voice of reason here."

"I take offense at that," Ren harrumphed, "I have been offering helpful and sane suggestions all night if you don't recall."

"Oh really? It must've been hard to hear you from Cupcaketown."

Ren sputtered nonsense for a second before catching himself, "Duuu~de! Now is that any way to treat the guy mindful enough to invite you along our life-changing adventure?"

The taller boy chuckled once, "Probably," he turned to the others, "Don't mind him, he hasn't stopped talking since we got on the boat, since we came out of the cave even. I think if he quiets down he might freak."

"He's got a point Ren", Michael agreed, "Take a breath, we're safe now."

The blond inhaled exaggeratedly, puffing his chest out for comedic effect. He held it for a second too long, coughing on his own spittle.

Alex shook her head, "Where were you when your girlfriend was chewing me out earlier, I could've used your help in calming her down. Come to think of it, where exactly were you, I don't remember seeing you until—"

"Hey look!" Michael pointed, "I can see the shore now, we're close."

She turned, raising a hand to shield from the sun, "Finally, almost home. Out of all of us, I bet Clarissa's most happy about that."

Her brother regarded her strangely, "Who?"

"What? You know who, she's…"

Alex looked to his left, where she expected… who was she expecting to see?

She rubbed her eyes with one hand, "Uh, nevermind, I must've been thinking of Nona."

Great, the head and stomachache are back.

"You doing okay?" Michael put a hand on her cheek, "Head hurts again, huh? You're probably dehydrated, we'll get you something to drink as soon as we land. I would have gotten us all something before we left, but nothing's open there that early. Heh, I had talk Ren out of pressuring his new friend to shoplift us some sodas. Just hang in there, I think we have some root beer at home."

"Hey!" Nona called, waving her arms to gather everyone, "You know what we should do? Get a picture in quick before we land."

"Great idea!" Michael beamed, even as Jonas and Ren groaned.

Alex tightened he grip on the side of the boat, I don't really feel up to smiling for the camera.

"Oh hush you two," the ravenette tutted, "We totally earned this. Now get close, wait come out into the light, turn this way."

The taller two boys formed a back row according to Nona's instruction, Ren and his future date positioning themselves in front.

"C'mon Alex!" she called when Alex hesitated, "Right in the middle!"

No thanks.

"Sure uh, sure thing," the bluenette scuffed into the group.

Her brother put a hand on her shoulder, the weight on it steadying her feet and putting her more at ease.

*ding*

The loudspeaker buzzed to life, "Passengers, we'll be arriving soon—"

Yeah, yeah, no personal belongings or children left behind, Alex tuned out the canned announcements, I just want to land, we're already late to meet the others at the beach.

Nona held her phone out, stretching her arms to keep everyone in frame, "Okay everyone get closer, as soon as I get a good angle…"

Michael gave a warm smile, his posture perfect even with one arm on his sister. Ren gave a big smile, putting an arm around Nona. Jonas' smile faltered when he saw the blond putting up bunny ears behind him, but it returned in full when a sharp elbow from the photographer forced Ren to switch to a thumbs up.

Taking a breath, Alex curled her lips in a way she hoped was believable enough for the camera.

"C'mon Blue," she heard from behind her, "You saved us from a literal haunting, our goddamn hero can give us a better smile than that."

That's...

"Say cheese!"

*click*

Alex clenched her eyes shut for a moment, the far too intense flash causing her to see spots. She felt her brother's hand leave her shoulder, causing her to half-stagger into the railing for support.

As everyone dispersed, Nona tapped her phone, keen on inspecting the photo. Upon seeing the result, she frowned in displeasure.

"Darn it, you guys need to be less tall! I got a big empty space on one side and a bunch of us have red-eye."

Ren looked over her shoulder.

"It's fine," he insisted, "It's an easy fix, just tweak it in post."

She nodded, tapping open a photo editing app, "I'll send it to you guys as soon as I'm done."

Alex pulled out her phone in courtesy, fighting through a head full of cotton, "Go ahead, reception's back, hooray."

She tried to keep her head up, trying in vain to ground herself.

Am I even off the island? Are any of us off the island?

Upon looking around, her thoughts swam more chaotically.

This isn't right, there were more of us. No, there were less of us, they're just wrong WHERE IS MICHAEL YOU BASTARDS—

Welcome home.

Alex stumbled, the jolting of the ferry forcing her to her feet. The boat's engine droned to a stop, signaling the end of the journey.

She blinked, her equilibrium restored and her thoughts icy clear.

Oof, did something just happen?

Her smartphone chimed its custom tone. She unlocked it, only catching the 8-something time in passing.

One new message from an unknown.

"Well that was way more excitement than my little heart was designed to handle in one, uh, ever," Ren said, his voice for once carrying the slightest hint of weariness.

Alex looked up sharply, seeing the others hurriedly shuffling onto solid land.

"We didn't die, but I'm pretty sure I lost a few years of my life last night," Nona concurred.

"Just means less time on this sinful earth, I call that mostly a win," Clarissa snarked.

"Alex?" Jonas turned, realizing that his stepsister wasn't following, "We're here."

"I'm coming, just…" she opened the message, Nona's photo popping up on screen.

There they all were. Ren with an arm around Nona, both of them looking comfortable together. Clarissa with a small, natural smirk, her expression warmer than Alex could remember in a long time. Jonas had a happy, albeit stiff grin, a hand on his new stepsibling's shoulder. And herself, a bright, toothy smile, emblematic of dangers averted and obstacles conquered.

No spaces, no red-eye, good work Nona.

"... just wondering what might've been. Let's go home."

She leapt onto the dock, the thump of the wood rattling her sealegs. Putting her phone back in her pocket, her hand bumped a much larger rectangular object. The WAL radio.

I can't believe I almost forgot about this thing, it only saved our lives.

She bit her lip.

This would technically be stealing, I should probably just leave it on the ferry.

Alex looked back at the boat. Behind it stood Edwards Island, still slightly veiled in the morning fog. She turned to catch up to the others, cracking her knuckles, her elbows, then finally her neck.

Just in case.

Fun Author's Notes:

Easiest to write: Michael

Hardest to write: Ren

Most fun to write: Clarissa

Holy hell, wasn't sure if I could stick with this thing until the end, but I pulled it off, though how successfully I did is up to you. Thank you to all who read this, who kudos'd, and especially those who commented, nothing feels better than feedback and critique.

For those eager for more, worry not. I actually have two ideas for new Oxenfree stories, one is a longfic sequel to Crossfeed and the other is basically "what if Camena was Silent Hill". Or maybe I'll do that Overwatch fic I've been planning to write forever, we'll see where inspiration strikes. I plan on doing them all but I'll probably start the sequel first.

Tune in next time for Alex and company's next adventure, Under the Waves!