The Lobby, Sunday Afternoon

[endsthegame]

A rip opened in the middle of the dorms lobby-- but it was unlike any void the island had seen before. It didn't precisely shine, but white light did filter out, almost tentatively, like the rays of the morning sun. It did not pull or pluck at anything, and when it vanished, it would leave the dorms exactly as it had found them.

It was not a rift that would take; it was a rift that would give.

Give back the people it had taken, that is.

[[ for those who were formerly strewn across the multiverse, after they touch their part! come home, folks ]]

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[trigons_child]

Raven had been doing her best to keep herself occupied so she didn't fret too much about her missing friends and the growing pain in her Soul-Self. Then suddenly the pain was gone and she felt whole again. About three seconds later she was teleporting to the lobby, sensing a great surge of emotion -- and pain -- there. If her friends were injured they were going to get healed whether they liked it or not.

[living_endless]

"We're back," a very worn-looking Didi announced to Raven. She was dirty and had a bad scrape by her hairline, but she seemed to be trying to hold it together and more or less succeeding. "Jono and me ... we were in the same place."

"Where were you?"

[trigons_child]

Raven had seen both of them return, but hadn't wanted to crowd them when Karla had glomped on to Jono. "I am glad you were together at least, but more happy that you have returned safely," she said. "Will you allow me to heal that?" She gave the scrape on Didi's head a concerned look.

"I remained in Fandom," she went on. "But...pieces of my soul were missing, and now they have returned, so I think somehow they were wherever you were. I am just not certain why."

[living_endless]

"Part of your soul was with it?" Didi asked, eyes widening. "Your poor soul."

She leaned her head toward her friend. "If you want to. It's not that bad -- you should save your energy for people who are in worse shape."

[trigons_child]

"When people began to vanish I started to feel considerable pain," Raven said, wrapping her arms around herself and rubbing them. "Karla looked inside me and saw that something was shattered, and when I manifested my Soul-Self there were pieces of it missing. But I am all right now, my soul is whole once more. And it is no trouble to heal you."

She gently touched her fingertips to Didi's injury, drawing it into herself. The scrape disappeared from Didi's head and appeared on her own, then slowly faded away.

[living_endless]

"You're a miracle," Didi said, brushing her fingertips over the healed skin. "Thank you."

She shook her head. "Do they know what did it? It was ... one of the saddest places I've ever been, where we ended up."

[trigons_child]

"The machinery that controls the island was broken somehow," Raven explained. "I do not know what did it, but pieces were missing, and had been pulled to wherever you all were. And now that you have returned with them, the machine will be repaired, and hopefully that will restore the island to normal." She looked out the lobby doors and frowned. "Much of the island is gone. The dorm are one of the few buildings that is still intact."

[living_endless]

"We came back, maybe it all came back," Didi said hopefully. "Right now I'm just happy to be someplace safe."

[trigons_child]

"Not yet, but soon," Raven said. "I am certain they will be successful, though for now all we can do is wait and pray. You should rest; I can still see you are in need of it, and Jono as well. I can sense this must have been an order, for I can feel many people are very distraught over their experiences."

[living_endless]

"I should rest," Didi agreed, glancing toward the stairs. "I'll see you later, Raven. Thanks for filling me in a little."