The walk in the forest was but a cruel sense of false security we set upon ourselves. In this cold room, where our only light was that which came from the blinding screen, we saw the facts for what they were.

"I do not accept silence as an answer," it said, shaking my very core with those words.

"I don't - we don't know what you mean." I had to keep my voice steady, showing fear was a weakness here.

"We were just talking a walk, that's not against the rules," added Antoinette. Her hand, quickly losing heat inside the room, was the only way I could tether myself to reality, holding it like a lifeline.

Li looked down at the two of us, emanating a terrifying authority without the use of words. For that reason, his eventual response was all the worse.

"It is, however, against the rules to go into areas that are off limits. Why, then, did you go?"

"Got lost wandering the forest," I said. "It's happened before, it just happened again, that's all."

"Perhaps I would believe that. Unfortunately, it is an unlikely claim, your disappearances have been been far too convenient to pass it off as mere coincidence."

"But they could be! I mean - they are!" I tried to argue, but what good was there in refuting against the truth, especially if it was against something like this?

Silence filled the room, both of us anticipating and fearing the worst.

Seconds passed before he seemed to reach a decision.

"I already know where you two have been. Nobody goes into the off limits zone of the forest by accident. Yet, I give you two a chance to come clean, but you dare to continue lying to my face."

This wasn't good. I was drawing a blank on what else to say, unable to think of anything to argue. If he already knew, then... we were screwed from the start.

Antoinette and I crossed eyes for a second. Was it time to come clean?

"So what if we did?" she said, and I could hear how her resolve wouldn't waver. "That guy is old news, he's just holed up in the ground."

I nodded vigorously. "Right! Right, he's just a freak; we weren't going to go back."

"Besides," continued Antoinette. "We have to get back to 1-A. Claire and Kristina will notice if we're gone for any longer, and then you'll have to explain that."

"So you're wasting your time." I heard certainty in my own words. "This is over."

Li remained silent a moment, as if unsure how to respond to our barrage of arguments. It seemed like we were pushing him back, and in that moment I felt victorious, but little did I know was that the only thing we were doing was dig our grave deeper.

"You are both more than well aware of how important it is to keep order within Paradise, I'm sure."

"Then fine! Punish us if that does anything, see if I care," I spat out. "I've been through your torture before, I can take it again. I'm running purely on spite, anyway."

I glared at the screen, waiting for Li to dismiss my comment and issue a punishment.

"..." But it didn't. Instead, Li took a long time to look us over before speaking. "No. A punishment will not work."

At this moment I feared things would not go well.
"Aren't you just being dramatic?" said Antoinette carefully, nudging my side. "There's really no need for any of this, we're going to stay out of trouble."

I grit my teeth. I wasn't going to lie about that, not if he already knew.

Li shook its head "I do not like to punish."

"Coulda fooled me," I muttered. Li continued:

"A punishment is due to those who break the rules, so that they may be disciplined. When a person is incapable of showing change, however-" it looked directly at me- "will break the rules and lie-" it looked at Antoinette- "then a punishment will only make the fire of rebellion burn stronger."

"So you'll let us go?" I blurted out, to immediately realize how stupid that sounded.

Li continued as though I hadn't made that blunder. "You two, as much as it pains me to say, are unfit for our society. Unfit for this world."

Unfit...? My eyes narrowed, fearing the worst.
Antoinette was about to speak up, but Li's voice was stronger than hers.

"You will both be removed from my world."

And then, the room fell silent.

I stared up to the screen as those words echoed inside my head, the fear of the unknown seeping in.

Removed? What did that mean?

My senses returned to me painfully slowly, able to hear the muffled protests Antoinette made, slowly getting clearer until I snapped back into reality.

"What happened to second chances? We already said we would stay out of trouble!"

"I do not have to give explanations behind my actions," said Li. "I will not tolerate this disorder in my world.

But fear not, for I will modify the memory of your friends so they won't miss you." It paused. "Oh, that's right. Neither of you have friends. Then only the memories of 1-A members and those who know you. Once you vanish from this world, so will their memories of you."

An earsplitting crack drilled into my ears, and as they continued, the room began to fall apart. From the roof, the dark room began showing specks of white, a vision into the nothing.

"Goodbye, Sebastian and Antoinette. You won't be able to disrespect Paradise or me any longer. I wish there was a way to spare you, but..."

The room was falling apart. Light continued to fill the space, and as the walls were halfway down, I looked at Antoinette. She didn't know what to do.
She only stayed next to me, looking away from the falling walls.

Were we really going to disappear? Just like that? This was... wrong. I couldn't let it end like this, I couldn't fail Antoinette like this... It wasn't fair, we had just found something so important.

But was there even anything I could do? I stared into the eyes of God, powerless, and knew then that there was nothing I could do to save myself.

...

"Sebastian, I... I'm sorry."

Antoinette held my hand tightly. There was nothing we could do as the walls crumbled down around us.

"I'm sorry, I - I got you into this mess, and now we're..." She choked up, unable to continue her words.

Even though she said that, something didn't sit right with me. It took me a few seconds to understand why, but then when I hugged her for what would likely be the last time, it clicked in my head.

It could have been a longshot, but I had an idea to get out of this situation.

"Li!" I turned to him in my final resistance. "There is a way you can spare us - a way in which, no matter what, we wouldn't be able to break the rules even if we wanted to."

The screen remained. Even after the wall behind it broke away, it continued to stare down at us.

"Sebastian, what are..."

I didn't respond to Antoinette. Not yet. I knew that if I did, it would make this all the more difficult.

"You said - you wished there was a way to spare us, right? So - stop all this, and hear me out!"

The walls didn't stop crumbling away, giving way to the abyss of light behind it, and as they were reaching the floor, it all stopped.

Li stared into my eyes, as if trying to gauge my reaction. I couldn't waver. This could be my last chance.

I glanced back at Antoinette for just a second, and then spoke the words I never thought I would.

"This is all my fault. Before I came here, everything was fine, right? But - face it: I'm a freak. All of this, even Antoinette getting dragged into this? It's all because of me. We met with Dominique because he wanted to see me."

Li continued to stare, his face unchanging. I swallowed. I didn't know if I was getting through to him.

"So if you think about it, all this is because I was here. If..." I hesitated. "If I never came here, wouldn't you still have your Paradise the way you wanted it?"

Slowly, he answered: "Yes."

"So the only person you need to eliminate is me."

"Sebastian!" Antoinette grabbed me by the sleeve. "What the hell are you saying?!"

I forced myself to not look. I didn't want my resolve to break.

"You just need to eliminate me," I said, glaring at the screen. "Delete everyone's memories of me along with me - you can do that, you said it just now."

Antoinette pulled me back, forcing me to face her. Her eyebrows furrowed deeply.

"Are you even hearing yourself? To delete just yourself, why would you even think that's okay?"

"Well, I'm right - aren't I?" I grabbed the hand that held my sleeve, feeling myself become agitated. "He never would have looked for you if it wasn't for me, you'd still be in 1-A right now celebrating the day after New Years - with Claire and with Kristina, right?"

"But you wouldn't be there. For crying out loud, you're my best friend, I can't just let you do this!"

So she finally admitted it...

I flinched as my hand lost strength. Antoinette took it firmly in hers and looked me in the eye.

"Don't make me go back to a world where you weren't in it. I never thought I'd be saying this, but fuck! You matter a lot to me, I don't want to lose you."

And yet, because of what she said, I never felt more sure.

"... Antoinette, do you know what it's like to not exist anymore? I've felt it, Li showed me one day." I recalled that memory, the feeling of nothingness, of being less than hollow. "I can't stand the thought of you having to go through the same thing. You got wrapped into this because of my screwups - don't you remember what you told me when we met? To keep you away from all these weird things. That's what I'm doing now, but I need you to let me."

I paused.

"I'd rather be the only to leave than both of us...you wouldn't even remember me.. You'll be able to stay here, and enjoy what time you have left. You've been unlucky so far, but you're persistent. You'll be fine."

She had opened her mouth to protest, but nothing came out. My eyes softened, and in hers I saw the grief she would never remember. Her arms wrapped around me suddenly, and I couldn't resist hugging her back.

Then Li spoke again.

"I have considered your offer... and will accept. To lose one instead of two is preferable. Antoinette, is there anything you would like to say before I take you to 1-A?"

She reacted quickly then, grabbing my arms and looking me directly in the eyes. Without realizing, I had grown to love those eyes; to save her now was all I needed.

Tears sprouted as she stared at me in pain.

"You're an idiot. I'll - I'll find some way to fix all this, I promise," she stammered. "I'll get you back somehow - I'll end this for you."

To me they were nothing but empty promises. She poured her everything into them, but they were meaningless to me. I wouldn't be here to see them, and even if I was...

I put my hands over hers and shook my head.

"Antoinette, this isn't your battle to fight," I whispered. Now, so close to my end, I felt at peace with my decision. "You don't need to put yourself at danger... you'll find a way to make this better through something else, I know you will."

My words came out certainly, more sure of myself than I'd ever been. She didn't answer to this, and for a moment neither of us said anything, stuck in our own embrace.

"...Thank you for everything, Sebastian," she muttered. "I don't want to forget you... I..."

I couldn't hear the rest of what she said, her voice becoming too quiet and too shaky to understand. So I hugged her one last time, closing my eyes to take it all in. All the memories we had made, from the babysitting to the river, the library and the party, everything up until now... Time and time again, she was there by my side and we supported each other through and through.

I would never forget that.

From my lips, I heard:

"...I love you."

When I opened my eyes, Antoinette was already long gone.

I didn't have a heart anymore, but I could feel the silence weighing heavily inside of me.

I took a deep breath and looked back at Li.

"Now it is your turn, Sebastian. Antoinette has been placed in 1-A, though she is currently asleep. While you are being eliminated, so will the memories people have of you. Is there any objection?"

"I have plenty, but I doubt you'd listen to me now," I retorted, but it was a flat delivery. "Actually... before I go - or while - can I ask one thing?"

"What is it?"

"...My memories." I saw Li's eyebrows rise. "If you're so powerful, could I have my memories back?"

This was my moment of truth. My final bluff.
Li wouldn't answer for what felt like eternity, but eventually he'd say:

"As you are being deleted alongside everyone's memory of you, you will be able to witness your life."

I sighed. "I knew you were keeping them from me."

...It was what I always wanted. At the worst possible moment.

I nodded, putting my hands into my pocket. "Alright," I said. "Go for it. I'm ready."

Was I truly ready? I was so close to being eliminated from Paradise, my final resting stop. What would await me on the other side, I wondered.

...I guess it didn't matter either way. Still, I felt good. Antoinette was safe, and maybe, I thought, she'd get the chance of living how she deserved to. A million things came into my head that I could have said to her, but now the chance was lost. I could only trust that she'd be fine.

If I gave myself up for her, battled wits with God to protect her... then I was sure she'd be fine. I would always be with her in some way, I was sure of that.

As the feeling in my body started to fade, I couldn't help but wonder if she heard my last words to her...

...I guess I'd never know. Right now, I wanted to focus on my life. I could see the light of my memories beginning...

...

...

Sebastian's eyes were closed as a peaceful look glazed over his face. His body was suspended in midair, carefully being watched by Li to ensure nothing went wrong.

Only two beings in this endless white abyss, soon to become one.

"One down... one to go."

Li spoke to no one, but the image of Dominique was strong. As long as he couldn't get his hands on the dissapeared boy, he couldn't erase people's memory of him, and so Dominique remained an urban legend in Paradise, popping up whenever Li expected him less.

...crack.

Li's eyes darted across the pure white walls, the true nature of this abyss, but saw nothing.

BAM!

The wall underneath the screen burst apart, shattering the illusion of a white abyss. Bits of debree flew out from the newly created hole, and as the smoke settled, a voice broke into the room.

"Oops, looks like I hit the wrong wall."

"Dominique!" Li's voice had instantly changed to rage, the sound of a demonic beast.

"Aha, scared you? Wish I could stay, but I don't have time to chat."

Dominique ran into the room with a sledgehammer in hand and a grin on his face. From the screen, two mechanical hands shot out towards the boy.

"Woah- almost got me there!" Dominique swung the sledgehammer, cracking both the hands with one wide swing and then letting it drop to the floor. "Sorry, Li, but I'm not letting you take this kid."

The mechanical hands retreated back into the screen, but as two more were being prepared, Dominique picked Sebastian up and turned to face Li with a defiant smirk.

"Know your place, trash."

The hands shot out from the screen again, but they were too slow. Dominique had disappeared once more, and Li was left in the empty, white room.

The screen turned to a blood red colour, and in the rage, shook the room with its shout.

"DOMINIQUE!"

...

Zap.

"Woah there, don't go falling on me now."

Dominique had landed on the teleportation pad with an unresponsive boy, but didn't stay for long.
"Gotta hurry - gotta put him in," he said to himself, dragging the comatose Sebastian out of the room and down the hall to one of the various rooms in the underground base.

"Lost a perfectly good sledgehammer for your ass, you'd better thank me later." He knew there would be no response, but talking as he worked made it easier on his mind.

He entered a room with a large pod against the wall and, leaving Sebastian on the floor, fiddled with the controls until it opened up.

Sebastian was deposited quickly, and then Dominique stood back to admire his work, wiping the sweat off his forehead.

"Whew, that was close..." He approached the pod, checking that everything was stabilizing, and sighed. "Man... we were going so well."

He put his hand his hand to the pod and looked into the face of the comatose Sebastian.

"...Don't worry, buddy. I'm gonna get you out of here."

...

Several days later, a bespectacled boy with unruly red hair woke up in a white room.
He opened his eyes slowly, finding the light annoying, but not enough that he'd remain sitting.

From the side of his bed, he heard:

"Good morning! Please state your name.”

"Hm...?" He looked around, noticing the screen at once and smiling. "Ah... how nice." He cleared his throat and said loud and clear:

"My name is Joseph Hernández."