Yuzuko's eyes became hazed by the constant flashing cameras. It was as if she never left the island. It would have only have been a matter of time before the fame fizzled out. Yuzuko couldn't wait for that day to come. Endless interviews, photoshoots and TV stints strained her body.
Her mother and grandmother had used her as a poster girl for their companies. She was not surprised her grandfather disappeared.
As a winner of the show, the media tie-ins were more extensive as the others. But Rós and Aron made quite a stir with the baby rumours. Aron, Yuzuko and Lavender's biological father turned out to be America's new president. Then along came Ivan Bucks III. Yuzuko shuddered at the fact that her son would have an uncle younger than him. The thought of being an auntie excited her; her little boy would have a playmate.
After a month touring the world for public conferences, the survivors gathered in Yanyu's home in Shanghai. Yanyu's apartment was minimal with only a sofa, cushions and a coffee table for her guests to sit on.
"Guys, what do you think Hassin and Nila would be doing if they were here?" Chang-Hoon asked.
"They'll be cooking," Sook-Jo said.
Yuzuko laid back and thought of her son. "They'll be with their children."
Yanyu held a picture of her Uncle Fan by her chest. "After this, I don't think I will come to Shanghai again."
"Why?" Sook-Jo asked.
"Because I want to spend the rest of my life with Chang-Hoon."
Sakura gazed at the window. "But Shanghai is a gorgeous city."
"Shanghai is amazing, beautiful and breath-taking, but Uncle Fan was my only family. He's gone now, I have no reason to be here anymore on my own."
Todd stood and poured a glass of wine for Yanyu. "I think we can all consider ourselves family."
"Of course." Yanyu looked over at Yuzuko and Aron. "Even though not all of us are blood-related. Some of us are actual family."
"So Rós is it really true?" Sook-Jo whispered, brushing her shoulder towards Rós. "Are you really..."
She nodded. "About two months now."
Sakura clapped her hands. "Congratulations."
"Can't wait to go home," Aron admitted. "I just want things back to normal again."
"What's up with you?" Todd asked, crashing his elbow into his shoulder. "You don't like our company anymore?"
Aron sprung up. "Of course, I do! I'm happy to see you all in real life. I just wish it could have been under different circumstances."
"And some of us have families at home to go to." Yuzuko stared at her phone's screen which displayed a picture of her son playing football for the first time. "I just thought since we'll all be leaving in a few days, I thought maybe we could have a goodbye meal together?"
"We've had lots of meals like that lately." Sook-Jo took tapped her phone and scrolled through pictures through her iPhone. "Look this picture got fifty thousand likes."
"That's us in the Eiffel Tower." Todd nudged Aron. "You're a miserable bugger you! You ruined the picture."
"How?"
"You're not even smiling. You really need to smile more. I thought Bobby was worse."
Aron stuck out his tongue before he spoke. "I'm sorry I'm not photogenic."
"To be fair," Yuzuko said in Aron's defence. "It was the day we found out Ivan Bucks Junior was our father. Plus, we were all really tired and everyone was following us like we're superstars. It would be nice just to have one meal between us without the cameras rolling."
"Shall we go out somewhere?" Todd picked up his phone and started looking up restaurants near them. "Anyone fancy a cold beer and some karaoke?"
"I kinda..." Yanyu stumbled and leaned into her husband's lap. "I wanted to go somewhere far away from home."
"We could always order a takeaway," Todd suggested. "Bobby was a big fan of Chinese food."
Yuzuko looked at Sook-Jo. "When's your flight back home?"
"Next Tuesday, 12 AM."
"Our flight is in the evening."
"We're all flying from Pudong aren't we?"
Everyone nodded.
"Isn't that a coincidence that we're all leaving on the same day?" Sakura sighed, staring at the boarding pass on her phone. "Yuzuko and I will miss all of you."
"We'll still have discord."
"Look what I've found!" Aron showed a picture of an arcade with chocolate doughnuts at the front. "Apparently it's only a ten-minute walk.
"Oh, that's the Choco Donatsu Arcade!" Yanyu remembered her Uncle Fan promising to take her to the grand opening of the arcade once the show had finished.
"I thought it wasn't meant to have opened until December."
They all stared at her in silence until Chang-Hoon pinched her cheek. "Yanyu, sweetheart... it is December!"
"Being in the game has really distorted my time."
"Is it weird that I feel bad for the robots?" Yuzuko asked.
Sakura was the first to reply. "No."
Todd chuckled in disbelief. "They're just robots."
Yuzuko pointed at Todd. "Robots have feelings! I feel like a murderer for what we did."
"You are a murderer though!"
"That was self-defence."
"Shall we go to that place then?" Aron asked the group. It was a unanimous yes. Slipping on their best baseball caps and biggest sunglasses, they made strolled over to the Choco Donatsu arcade.
As the doors opened, they were greeted with a rainbow staircase and confectionary-inspired interior.
"IT'S A GREAT HONOUR TO HAVE YOU HERE!" An energetic voice echoed through the speakers. "WELCOME TO CHOCO DONATSU!"
Looking up at bannister, they saw Professor Denki waving at them.
"GRANDPA!" Yuzuko scurried up the stairs and squeezed Professor Denki's back.
"Be careful," Professor Denki croaked. "You'll break my bones."
Smiles spread upon them as they saw Kiki climb up on Professor Denki's suit and waved at her friends.
"Hello, guys!" Kiki squealed. "I'm so glad to see you all again."
"KIKI!" Yuzuko kissed Kiki's cheek. "How did you survive?" Her heart accelerated and she laughed so hard her eyes burned with tears. "I was told you were dead."
"That wasn't me in the explosion," Kiki explained. "That was a fake version of me that Sia had created."
"Why would she do that?" Yuzuko asked though she didn't think she needed to.
"Sia made another version of me to outdo your grandfather," Kiki explained. "It didn't work at all!"
"How did you escape?"
"Bobby made me a boat," Kiki explained.
Todd opened his mouth. "What? I don't remember him building a boat! When was this? How long were you sailing for?
"The storm swept me to the Robots Have Feeling Cooperation's headquarters near Tokyo Bay. And I've been Professor Denki's friend ever since."
"I'm so glad." She looked up at Professor Denki. "You're not angry at me are you Grandpa? Please don't hate me."
He patted her plaits. "I'll never hate you. It's not your fault. You didn't choose to be there. I'm just happy that you survived. I can't believe you won. I don't know what was going on in your mother's head, but her plan worked. And by the way, we were closing in thirty minutes so enjoy yourselves."
Playing Choco Donatsu brought the nostalgic joy that they craved. Neon lights sparkling around the arcade machines made them forget. No more worries about the media shoving cameras in their faces. They were more than survivors, they were friends. They played the game, neither of them stopped until the lights went out and floating on all the screens was...
GAME OVER