[network] @ADMIN; Obituary [DAY 228]

[snowblindmods]

We mourn the loss of those who have died in the time between the last announcement and this one:

Frisk
Phi

Comments

@quark; voice

[averytinyparticle]

[This can't be happening. Not them. Not both of them. Not Phi and please, please not Frisk. He can't lose Frisk.]

Miss Phi? Frisk? Please answer me.

[His voice catches, his breath uneven.]

Please tell me that you're already back and this message is just coming late. Please.

Voice | @Summoner

[ninjainviolet]

[ Sheena's voice is both gentle and concerned. ]

Have you heard from them, yet?

[averytinyparticle]

No, I haven't.

[He can't stop the despair from entering his voice. Whenever anyone's gone for more than just a few days, it always means that they're gone. For good. Only people like Beckett come back--and Quark still can't understand why. Why not anyone good?]

I was supposed to be looking out for Frisk. Miss Toriel asked me to.

[ninjainviolet]

[ And Sheena hears that despair. Her voice becomes softer, gentler. If she could be there and hug him, she would. ]

What happened?

[averytinyparticle]

I don't know. I didn't hear anything from either of them. I had no idea they were even in danger.

[Did they get locked out? Eaten? What happened? Knowing would hardly make a difference, but he'd still feel better if he did. Or...he thinks he would, anyway.]

[ninjainviolet]

[ She's not sure herself which is better, Quark. Knowing or not knowing...

But she has an idea where his thoughts are headed--thanks to an earlier comment. ]

It's not your fault, okay? Believe me when I tell you that.

[ She repeats it in a softer and understanding tone. ]

It's not your fault.

[averytinyparticle]

Even if it wasn't, I should've been there. Maybe I could've stopped it.

[Somehow. They shouldn't have been all alone. And they must have been alone--nobody's come forward to say what happened.]

Oh the feels....

[ninjainviolet]

I know exactly how you feel--I really do.

[ Running different scenarios through the mind, wondering what could have been done if one extra person had been there. ]

So, let me ask you this: what would they say to you if you told them what you just told me?

[averytinyparticle]

Probably tell me that it isn't my fault.

[His voice gets small.]

But knowing that doesn't make me feel any less awful.

[ninjainviolet]

And they'd be right.

[ Her voice grows quieter. ]

I know. I don't think I've ever spoken to them. Would you like to tell me about them?

[ Remembering the good and not the bad may help. ]

@SceptredIsle; voice

[keepscalm]

[Jesus. Quark's message is worse than the obituary itself.

It's not an easy task to sound calm in response, but England manages it.] If they haven't come back yet, you can ask the administrator what morgue they're in. It'll make it easier to find them when they return.

[If they return, but England isn't cruel enough to say that.]

[averytinyparticle]

But nobody ever comes back anymore. It used to be that almost everyone did, but now...

[Now it's becoming a rarer and rarer occurrence.]

Kesara and Emily haven't come back, either.

[What if he's next?]

[keepscalm]

[Quark is right, and while England isn't heartless, he's also not going to lie to make Quark feel better.

He sighs.] I know. But you can never be certain. Resuscitation attempts are apparently ongoing indefinitely, so...

[The uncertainty is almost worse, in a way, but England is pretty bad at this "hope" thing.]

[averytinyparticle]

Miss Toriel asked me to keep an eye on Frisk before she died. I should've done my job--I shouldn't have let them die at all.

[And then Phi...]

After Miss Luna and Mr. Dio died, Miss Phi was the last person I had left here from home--and I never even saw her, really.

[Just when he tried to murder her in that crazy possessed night. He just feels so guilty, he can't stop the words from bubbling out of him. He can't stop the tears. Because if he has to choose between being hopeful and the worst possible thing, he can't find the strength of mind to cling onto hope.]