[Edward POV]
Three days before Christmas.
Sage came to my house to talk.
Sitting on my couch with a cup of coffee in her hand, Sage said, "The convergence has passed."
"What do you mean?" I asked, confused.
"Well, the reason you're locked out of the afterlife session."
"Oh my god, I totally forgot about that." I muttered.
Sage gave me a dirty look and said, "Anyway. That's done now, but you're going to have to enter an audit after this."
"Audit?" I leaned in forward and said, "Can you tell me first what makes the Afterlife shut downs in the first place?"
"Well…" Sage paused for a bit. "To explain it simply, it's spring cleaning."
"Huh?" I was really confused.
Sage said, "The Afterlife managed a lot of agents, worlds, and karmic convergence. Every ten thousand years, they will organize their files, make sure they didn't miss an important thing, audit their agents and such."
"I see." I nodded in understanding.
"There's also the fact that Cthulhu was hired as the outside auditor for the afterlife, so no mortal souls should go there because his presence alone would shatter the souls." She added.
I asked, "Is Cthulhu real? And if he is, does he really have a tentacle beard?"
"I'm not answering that." Sage said casually. Then, her eyes turned solemn.
"Edward, you must be really careful during the auditing process. If they don't feel like you deserve to be an agent, they will strip everything away from you, even your past life memories."
I flinched slightly. "So don't play around in there, got it?" She added.
"Got it." I replied seriously.
…
"Wait. Is it snowing?" I muttered in surprise as I sat at the garden table, with a present box in front of me.
I haven't left to go to Wisconsin yet since I was solving Alex's puzzle. Maggie, Amy, My dad, Frankie, all had left to go to the ranch.
It wasn't extremely difficult to solve. I finished it in one day.
However I didn't tell her that and waited till it was almost Christmas, pretending the puzzles were giving me some troubles.
It was a truly enjoyable adventure. Translating ancient Sanskrit into Chinese characters. Then, I have to figure out the chemical composition of a certain flower.
The flower would lead me to a rock, and I had to uncover the fossils inside.
It took a lot of twists and turns. She really had worked really hard for the puzzle. If I didn't have my portal, it might take me at least a week to solve it.
I called Alex using a video call. She was spending Christmas with Phil's parents this time.
"Hey." Alex grinned as she answered. "I thought you would get it sooner, Newgate. I'm disappointed in you." She teased, cackling slightly.
I chuckled and said, "I have some work to do so I had little time to solve it."
"Oh really? Like what?" Alex asked tauntingly.
"Like taking over Black Rock and ensuring the housing market didn't turn to shit after the pandemic." I told her. "Also approving a lot of loans, helped people rebuild their houses after it was hit by a tornado."
"You should figure out ways to stop a tornado from hitting a town in the first place." Alex said mockingly. "Don't you live for problem solving?"
I sighed and said, "I figured out a chemical composition involving Silver iodide and Sodium polyacrylate. It was supposed to induce rainfall and moisture absorption causes the tornado to dissipate."
"And?" She was curious, propping her hand under her chin and looked at me lazily.
"However, it's not feasible." I added. "Stopping a one-minute tornado circulation would require the energy of roughly one Hiroshima atomic bomb per second. The chemical it needs will be extremely large, and will cost more than the cost of rebuilding."
"Oh dang." Alex said flatly. "Well, at least you try. It is great to see you fail at something. It really humanized you."
"Why are you alone? Where are the others?" I asked.
"Some went shopping. Grandma's taking a nap– Wait, is that snow… In LA?" She was stupified.
"Took you long enough." I grinned.
Alex gasped in wonder. I smiled as I enjoyed the snow. It was only a drizzle, but for Californians, it was really a Christmas miracle.
"Hey. Open your present on Christmas. Not now." Alex said.
"Sure. I'll wait. Also, I'm returning the favor since I enjoyed your present very much. You'll receive the puzzle in the mail, and if you solve it, then you will get your present."
Alex's eyes turned nervous. "Wait–"
I cut the call before she could argue.
"I wonder what's in the box." I said and began shaking it slightly.
…
The snow didn't last long. The driveway was barely filled by it.
I went to go do my last minute Christmas shopping for the people in my life.
"Your grandpa and grandma will love the sweater. Buy those." Enid told me.
I went to buy the present with Jenna and Enid. It has been a while since we hung out.
Many people at the mall widened their eyes as they saw me. Some froze in their steps. Many were taking pictures of me from afar.
The pandemic was declared over yesterday. Now, everyone can go out freely again.
Enid asked, "Edward, we should go on a camping trip."
"That sounds fun. When." I agreed easily.
Jenna added, "We're good on the weekends. You're the one who needs to decide which weekend."
Enid giggled and said, "Since you're busy all the time."
I laughed and said, "I'll make sure to remember it. It will be fun to get everyone together."
I opened a portal to Cuba when I went back and hid the present underneath the Christmas tree in my mother's place.
"I'm basically Santa Claus." I said with a chuckle.
…
In the living room. Selena, Taylor, and Willa were carrying their luggages with them.
"It's time Edward." Taylor said. "The pandemic is over. We're leaving."
Selena's eyes were a little teary. Willa has a dejected expression on their faces.
"You can stay longer." I told them, my tone slightly nervous. "We don't have to end it."
Taylor shook her head and said, "It's time to get back to the real world."
Selena walked towards me and kissed my cheek affectionately. "Goodbye Edward."
Willa took her turn and kissed my other cheek, saying, "I'll miss my time living here. Call me if you want me to come over."
"Hey." Taylor rebuked her. Willa smiled sheepishly and walked away.
Taylor stood in front of me and said, "It's not that we're leaving you because we want to. I think it's better for all of us to… move on."
"Hmm… Why should we move on exactly?" I asked.
Taylor sighed and said, "Edward. I love you. But, you're too complicated for us." She kissed my cheek too and brushed my cheek with her hand lovingly.
"Goodbye Edward."
Haley had gone earlier. Ness followed suit soon after. Barbara was the only one left in my house right now.
Unlike the others, she was in high spirits as she was saying her goodbyes.
"I know you like me the most among all of them." She said cheekily.
I laughed and said, "Maybe. I do have a soft spot for you."
She bit her lips slightly and said, "You know, if you actually fought for any of us, we wouldn't have left. But you didn't."
"Yeah. Maybe I didn't."
"When you decide, come find me. I'll be sure to say yes to being your girlfriend." Barbara said and kissed my lips goodbye.
My mother left, my aunt left. I was all alone in the house right now.
"I feel like I'm going to miss the pandemic." I muttered with a heavy heart.
The girls decided together that no one would stay with me after the pandemic ended. They shouldn't push themselves on me– I should be the one who picked them.
It was really messy. Dealing with all of this.
I wouldn't be dealing with all of this if it wasn't for my grandpa.
-Flashback-
The talk in Wisconsin. I sat beside my grandpa on the porch, he was staring into the snow, watching Maggie and Amy building a snowman.
My grandpa coughed slightly. Then, he turned to me.
"You're smart Edward." He said.
I grinned and replied, "Well. Everybody knows that."
He chuckled. "But at the same time, you're lost."
I went silent as he saw through me.
"You didn't think anyone would notice?" He turned back to watch the snow.
"I figured they would think I can handle myself." I replied solemnly.
My grandpa smiled slightly and said, "The curse of being a smarty pants huh?"
"Yup." I replied.
We stared at the snow for a while. My grandpa then broke the silence by saying, "When I lost Ted's mother, your biological grandma. I was lost too."
"Everyone tried to cheer me up, but I couldn't accept their sincerity, and I looked at everything with a skepticism lens."
"I thought, 'They are only doing this because of pity'. I rejected their hands when they offered to pull me out of the pit of despair."
I looked at my grandpa intently. He turned to me and said curtly, "Human beings need each other."
"The thing is, when you're smart, people think you don't need people. You do." He added and placed his hand on my shoulder.
"I know about the girls living at your place. You shouldn't do that. But I'm not going to stop you. Since you're trying to figure things out."
I grimaced for a second.
He smiled and asked, "When they left, will your heart ache?"
I went silent again.
"Will any of them make you feel restless at night? Unable to sleep if they are not around?" he asked again.
I still didn't have an answer.
"Your mind might be preoccupied with finding the cure and saving a lot of people. No one will blame you for what you're doing right now. But when the lockdown is over. You need to slow down Edward, and actually think about what you want."
He looked at me and said seriously, "Not what the world needs. But what you need. Promise me you'll do that."
"I will." I replied after thinking for a while.
"Good. Now go fetch me some hot cocoa." He said and chased me away.
-Flashback ends-
…
[General POV]
Florida. The Grandparents Dunphy house.
Alex wore headphones as she listened to pandemic song number 5.
Claire approached her, putting her christmas shopping bag on the kitchen counter. She looked at her with astonishment and said, "Wow, you're listening to music again?"
"Well, I feel like Edward wrote this because of his situation, so I'm trying to understand it." Alex replied.
[Birds– Imagine Dragon]
Edward sang with a melancholic voice, "♫♪ Two hearts, one valve ♫♪"
"♫♪ Pumpin' the blood, we were the flood
We were the body and- ♫♪"
Barbara returned to her house, and as she shut the door, her smile crumbled. She slowly crouched and hugged her own knees. Tears fell down her cheeks.
"♫♪ Two lives, one life
Stickin' it out, lettin' you down
Makin' it right ♫♪"
Edward held his phone, and he called someone. "Sage. I need your advice."
"♫♪ Seasons, they will change
Life will make you grow
Dreams will make you cry, cry, cry ♫♪"
"♫♪ Everything is temporary
Everything will slide
Love will never die, die, die ♫♪"
Taylor watched the music video for the song and began to cry from the animated story.
"♫♪ I know that
Ooh, birds fly in different directions
Ooh, I hope to see you again ♫♪"
Selena jumped on the bed and screamed into her pillow.
"♫♪ Sunsets, sunrises
Livin' the dream, watchin' the leaves
Changin' the seasons ♫♪"
Willa just stared blankly at the snow falling down.
"♫♪ Some nights I think of you
Relivin' the past, wishin' it'd last
Wishin' and dreamin' ♫♪"
Jenna, Enid, and Elsa got together before Christmas, and were excitedly planning their next year. They wanted to go on a trip as the pandemic ended.
"♫♪ Seasons, they will change
Life will make you grow
Death can make you hard, hard, hard ♫♪"
Grandpa Sam clutched his chest and fell to his knees in Wisconsin.
"♫♪ Everything is temporary
Everything will slide
Love will never die, die, die ♫♪"
Grandma Jules ran towards him urgently. She screamed, "Call the ambulance!"
"♫♪ I know that
Oooooooh, birds fly in different directions ♫♪"
Ted reached for his phone, but Sam lost his consciousness and fell flat to the floor.
"♫♪ Ooh, I hope to see you again ♫♪"
Frankie tried to call Edward, but his line was tied up from his call with Sage.
"♫♪ Ooh, birds fly in different directions ♫♪"
Sage told him, "Human life is short and fragile. Who knows what will happen."
" ♫♪Ooh, so fly high, so fly high ♫♪"
"♫♪ When the moon is lookin' down
Shinin' light up on your ground ♫♪"
Edward received a phone call once his talk with Sage ended. He widened his eyes and immediately opened up a portal to Wisconsin.
"♫♪ I'm flyin' up to let you see♫♪"
He entered the ranch house hurriedly, and saw his grandpa lying on the ground, with Grandma Jules crying at his side. Then, his dad shook his head as he saw Edward.
"It's too late."
"♫♪That the shadow cast is me ♫♪"
"♫♪I know that
Ooh, birds fly in different directions
Ooh, I hope to see you again ♫♪"
-Flashback-
After Edward brought Grandpa Sam his cocoa.
"♫♪Ooh, birds fly in different directions♫♪"
"Edward. If I die, please take care of your grandmother. She will need someone to help her get through it."
"♫♪Ooh, so fly high, so fly high ♫♪"
Edward scoffed and said, "Don't worry. With me around, you'll live to be 100 years old."
"♫♪ Ooh, so fly high, so fly high ♫♪"
Sam shook his head and said, "No one can control life or death. That includes you."
"♫♪ Ooh, so fly high, so fly high ♫♪"
Grandpa Sam looked at Edward with a smirk and said, "And when the time finally arrives. Edward, you need to let it go."
[Season 5 ending. Season 6 will be the last season]