Austin disembarked from the Northern Line train and walked up the stairs to the exit. He walked out of the hexagonal station building, and turned to look up at it.

CLAPHAM NORTH STATION

It was his first time exiting the station after the explosion just a week prior. The station's name was cloaked in a lavender tint; an unfamiliar marker. He turned back around and walked to his flat.

Slumped on the sofa and his mind restless, he reached for a distraction. Gramstagram? Not in the mood. Clik Clak? Too much. YouTube, that's gotta work. Nothing. "I can't hold this off for any longer," he thought to himself. He grabbed his landline and typed in his brother's number.

Dialing... dialing... dialing... dropped.

He couldn't stand it anymore. He had to know if his brother was alive. He ran out of his apartment back into Clapham North Station, and took the train all the way to Turnham Green. He pounded at the door of the building, hoping they were still home.

Jay opened the door and shakily held his kitchen knife up to Austin's face. Austin froze with sheer fear and immediately jumped back and fell down the steps. "Oh, it's just you. Sorry about that.." Jay said.

"Water under the bridge. Listen, I need you to contact Edward's friends."

"Aren't they dead though?"

"I thought so too, but I know a guy who knows a girl who's the daughter of a scientist that was working on the crash site last week. He told me that that scientist met a group of people matching the description of his friends, but not all of them."

Jay stared at him for a few seconds before closing the door.

"So what happened?"

Austin clawed at the door, "You've gotta believe me!!! It's true!!"

He slumped against the door and began fiddling with his phone. The meteor registry still listed all of them as presumed dead, except for Tom, Taylor and Markus. Fred was the only one of the group listed as confirmed deceased.

Hoping for some sort of miracle, Austin went to Fred's grave.

Fred Fazbear III
Loving father, husband and pizzeria owner.
14 Aug 1974 - 19 Jan 2019

He sat in front of it, staring at the carved letters. He felt something manifesting within himself...

*     *     *

"Hey Tom, do you feel that weird breeze?" Tom shook his head. "Hm. Guess it's just nothing," Edward said.

"Look alive! We've arrived," shouted Paul.

XLOPT ANERORA!
WELCOME TO ANERORA!

The city, despite the damage, was glowing miraculously with a stained purplish-yellow glow. The sight amazed the group. Never before had any of them visited Anerora, as it wasn't a well known city outside of Mrva and Fazmury.

"How did you know about this place?" Taylor asked.

"Word was getting around that this was the nearest city to the research site with proper amenities. The lot of you look in pretty bad shape."

They arrived within the downtown area and unloaded from the minibus. A station had been set up for survivors to get air, and they all checked in.

Over in London, Austin was browsing for any available flights to Fazia, to no avail, as all public flights had been closed since the impact. Irritated, he threw his lamp across the room. As he turned back toward the screen to slam his desk, his computer rang.

1 MAIL NOTIFICATION
FAZIA METEOR DATABASE UPDATED

He relaxed his arms back to his sides, grabbed the mouse, and clicked it. His browser opened a new tab and displayed the new entries to the victim database.

NEWEST UPDATES:
TERESA & NANCY DAVIS: ALIVE (ANERORA)
MARC, JAIDEN & TYRONE EDWARDS: ALIVE (ANERORA)

Before he had even scrolled down. He froze in sheer joy. They were all alive! He picked up the phone and called Jay, informing him of the news. He and Sophia were ecstatic!

EDWARD COLLINS: ALIVE (ANERORA)

*     *     *

Patricia and Markus had arrived in Anerora days prior to Volt and the others. Every day they tried contacting Thomas but not a single dial went through. On the day they arrived, the call picked up.

"Hello?"

"Hi Thomas! I wasn't sure if you had my number saved. This is Patricia."

"Where did you guys go?"

"Well, after we left the airport we darted for Anerora. We've been here for the past few days."

"Really?? We just got there today!"

"That's perfect! Let's all meet at the town square at noon tomorrow!"

Thomas hung up the phone and excitedly told the group the news. After a year and a half, the others would finally get to see Markus again. Paul seemed a bit hesitant at first, but decided not to rain on their parade. Noon of the next day came, and the group walked into the town square, looking for a cream colored cat in the crowd. They finally found her, and the group reunited with Markus.

Paul hid behind the crowd, but it wasn't too long until Patricia noticed his yellow fur and approached him.

"Professor Volt."

"A-ah! Ms. Strella, it's you again!"

"I have no words."

Patricia walked back toward the rest of the group. "What was that about?" Teresa asked. "It's not important right now. We'll discuss it later."

Patricia instructed the group to hard restart their phones due to the electromagnetic shock of the explosion. As soon as they did, their phones began vibrating and chiming en masse. Edward sent a text to his brother, and the two began talking on the phone excitedly. Patricia watched the virtual reunions with satisfaction, which was short lived as Paul stood awkwardly close to her.

"Nice shot, Marcsman," said Teresa.

"Listen, I think we need to talk about some things," he whispered.

"I know what you did. There's nothing to talk about."

---