Watching the WICKED building collapse below Teresa became the ending of the battle. The way she fell down, staring at a wounded Thomas, who screamed for her on the Berg, marked the perish of everything WICKED worked for over so many years.

Everything really was going to change now.

Everyone exchanged looks on the Berg, a silence looming over the small space. It felt different now, knowing that many of their friends were long gone at this point.

Everyone died fighting the enemies and helping their friends. At least their deaths were not in vain.

"So does this mean it's over?" Sonya asked in an exhausted tone.

Vince nodded his head. "Yeah, it's over."

"Are we going to the Safe Haven now?" Maeve questioned next.

He let out a small smile. "It's the moment we've all been waiting for, hasn't it?"

And so Vince and Jorge drove the Berg over the Last City, while some of the others tended to Thomas' wounds inflicted by Janson. Aris looked down at the burning city from the front window, the crumbling buildings and lifeless bodies all around. Knowing that Piper and Newt were still down there made his heart sink.

Piper was all alone down there. She died alone.

Why did I leave her?

The blood, her blood, was still on his hands. He saw the pain and sadness in her eyes, the way the blood was soaking through. He only wished she wasn't caught in the middle of Thomas and Newt's fight. Maybe she would still be here, sitting next to him.

Once they made it out of the city, Aris leaned against his seat and closed his eyes, dreaming of what the Safe Haven would be like when they settled there. Hopefully, after being in a world of darkness, there would finally be some light.

*******

The Safe Haven was everything they hoped for. Truth be told, everyone really just wanted to be away from WICKED. Relief flushed over their faces with the thought of being off the grid.

The Immunes cheered for the place the most, while the others soaked it all in, observing every shelter that was made and the endless sky that went on forever.

Getting sleep was all everyone wanted, so they took a hammock and crashed for the night. Aris took the time to wash his hands as much as he could, but the red stained his palms. Though it took him a while to get to sleep, thinking about Piper and how much she would've loved this place, he finally fell asleep, picturing her face.

The next morning, everyone got breakfast and sat by the water. Thomas was still asleep after being treated for his wounds. Brenda and Aurora said he would recover just fine. At least there was some good news about that spreading around the camp.

"I wish all of our friends were here," Lillie spoke up.

The others nodded in agreement. "Yeah, imagine the entire bloody Glen here," Maeve chuckled.

"I'm sure that'd be loads of fun, having a bunch of sticks here," Sonya added, smiling.

Once the laughter died down, Harriet had a sad look on her face. "You know, Piper said goodbye to me." She paused, stirring her breakfast with her spoon. "She thanked me for being a strong leader in the Glen." The few tears that fell down her face were quickly wiped away. "I didn't have time to respond, because my walkie went out on me." She glanced at the others, sighing. "I wish I had the chance to say goodbye."

Sonya took her hand and held on to it. "She knew you would have if you were able to."

Harriet looked down and nodded. "Yeah, Piper was very understanding like that."

They remained quiet for the rest of breakfast, then went and helped out with building more shelters and handling food. The rest of the day went on like that, everyone doing their own thing, taking the time to reflect on how they got here, along with mourning the loss of those that didn't make it.

Then, everyone stopped for a moment to see Thomas walking toward them, making his way past Aris. His limp was barely noticeable as he shot him a small smile, then headed for Minho, who greeted him with open arms. It was the reunion Thomas finally wanted. Aris was sure he wished Newt was there as well.

"Good to see my healing powers worked," Aurora joked.

"With my help, of course," Brenda added.

So that night, everyone gathered for a bonfire, with the celebration of finally being free from WICKED. The night was filled with food, drinks, and laughter, a careless atmosphere fell over the night.

Once the night got darker, they sat around and watched Vince as he stood in front of them, preparing a few words. "We have come a long way together. So many have sacrificed so much to make this place possible. Your friends and your family." He raised his cup in the air. "So here's to the ones who couldn't be here. Here's to the friends we lost. This place is for you. It's for all of us. But this..." Vince pointed at a big boulder behind him. "This is for them. So, in your own time, in your own way, come make your peace." He sighed and raised his cup again. "Welcome to the Safe Haven!"

Everyone cheered, raising their cups, cheering and clapping, getting all excited once again.

For the rest of the night, Aris imagined what Piper would've done during the celebration. He pictured her beside him, raising a cup for everyone from the Glen that never made it here. He could see her smile, and he missed it, even though she didn't do it very often. He wished she had, though.

"Hey," Lillie said, coming up to him. "You okay?"

Aris nodded, clearing his throat. "Yeah, I'm fine. I just..." He stopped, trying to keep himself together. "I just miss her."

She gave him a sad expression, nodding as well. "I know." She looked over at the boulder. "I thought about carving her name. She was the first person I thought of. But then I thought of you and figured you should be the one to do it."

He only stared at her for a moment, then took her hand. "We'll carve her name together."

And so the two headed off to the boulder as Beth was finishing up the name she was etching in. Once she was finished, she turned around and let them go next, taking the empty spot below Gwyneth's name, and started with Piper's.

As they took turns drilling into the stone, Aris glanced at the other familiar names that covered the boulder: Rachel, Esther, Jane, Cora, Helen...

Aris felt as if he should've grieved for them as well, so he did it silently.

"Okay, just this last bit," she told her, getting out of the way.

So Aris took his time, wanting to make it look perfect. While he didn't think that it would matter to anyone else, especially Piper, it mattered to him. Because her name would be there forever.

Once he was done, the two took a step back and stared at her name. After staring at it for so long, it almost didn't look real. The more Aris looked at her name, the more he thought about her, and he wasn't sure to feel happy or sad anymore.

"Now what?" Lillie asked.

"We grieve in our own way," he replied. "Try to move on."

That night, Aris couldn't sleep again. He wanted to cry, yet no tears came out. He also wanted to be happy. Why was that so hard? Should he feel happy now that he was safe? If he began to feel happy, then it would take away from grieving for everyone else. It would take away from grieving for Piper.

Would she want him to be happy and move on? Of course. But he realized that now was not the time to do so. Now, he mourned for her.

So Aris drifted off to sleep for a short time. It was when the sun was about to rise when he found himself waking up. He got out of the hammock and strolled toward the boulder, instantly spotting Piper's name from where he carved it. Taking his fingers, he traced each letter, and with each glide he wept.

The smooth boulder and the rough edges of her name was a start. As the sun was peeking over the horizon, Aris stared out at the ocean, a small smile came on his face. While he was still feeling sad, a sense of comfort filled his head, knowing that he loved her and having the thought that she knew and felt the same way toward him made him feel better.

Life without her would be hard. Being at the Safe Haven without her would be difficult. But somewhere, with the rest of the Glenners, she was okay.

Piper was at another Safe Haven, and Aris was sure that it was beautiful.

THE END

~~~~~~~

A/N: Well, it's officially over.

Stay tuned at the end for my last Author's Note.

Song above is Clouds by Before You Exit.

-A