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It had become a constant, humming mantra, that Riley didn't have to think about anymore.

Help me. Please. Help me. Anyone. Help me. Help me.

There was no actual hope that she'd be heard, anymore. It was simply a constant sound, emitted to keep the creeping darkness from settling completely into her mind. She was using her own voice to convince herself she wasn't alone.

It worked so well, in fact, that she almost heard other voices mixed in with her own. She was playing tricks on herself, but they brought her comfort.

There was a tug somewhere around her middle, as if she was being pulled away. It felt nice, if only because she hadn't felt anything since she'd gotten here. What did not feel nice, however, was the sudden jerking motion as her incorporeal essence was slammed back through a portal, into a very living body once more.

She fell on her back, her tentacles still glowing as the FEAR reassembled them last. Her eyes, her real eyes, stared up at the sky for a moment in blind shock.

And then the voices returned.

She was shuffled into line, staring numbly at the students around her for a moment, before they were sent through another portal - and promptly returned to school.

Alive. Unhurt. But most of all.. home. Or as close to home as a place would ever seem again.

As soon as she'd exitted the portal, Riley didn't actually move anywhere. She just stood there, staring up at the school in the distance. Her eyes were round, disbelieving, and foggy. Her mind.. wasn't quite ready to comprehend any of this.

Voices. So many voices. But for once they were welcome. They were voices she knew, and while they may not have always been voices she liked they were definitely voices she knew. They were real. They were alive. Wait, were they alive? Really? Junko was still finding it so hard to believe she was really alive...but the staff. Ohhhh the staff. She'd never been so Jackdamned happy to see them before. She'd been hoping for a second chance, praying even if such a thing could be done, and she'd gotten it. She was so happy. Junko was hugging herself and laughing, laughing and crying with joy. She was alive! They were back at the school! That hellish excuse for a field trip was over! They were home.

Who else was around? Junko wiped at her face with her sleeve and looked around, spotting Aksaja, Sharra and Riley right off the bat. "RILEY!" Junko cried, running over to her and throwing her arms around the mindflayer in the tightest hug she could manage. She was alive! She wasn't cut in half! She was okay. She was okay.

Where were the others? Seiji? Elaphe? Where were they? Malodore? Were they okay?

It was only when she was back did Arachne wake up from the trauma induced haze, giving her surroundings a dull look. They were back..but she couldn't feel any joy because they had lost so much.

Had Sepheran even made it? And what of Elizabeth and all the others that had died, was that real? She slowly raised her head, looking around and saw a very familiar purple ghoul..

'R-riley?!' she exclaimed, going over and grabbing her on the arm to see if she was real.

Junko was more than willingly pulled into the group hug, sniffling and whimpering as her shoulders shook. She held Riley tightly and buried her face against the ghoul, trying not to hold so tightly she'd strangle her but...it was clear Junko wasn't ready to let go anytime soon. She couldn't lose them. Not again. Seeing Riley be cut in half like that...her fingers clutched the ghoul, as if suddenly hugging her would keep her whole, because all she could see was her friend literally falling apart. No. She couldn't let that happen. She was here. She was alive. They were home..

Hi? That was all Riley had to say was HI?!

...Heh...haha! Junko laughed through her tears, a huge smile on her face. "H-hi!" She laughed, nuzzling her face against Riley as she turned her head in a way that allowed her to see who else was around. "Hi guys...welcome back!" Junko sniffled, bowing her head and lifting a shoulder so she could try and wipe at her face without letting go of Riley. She didn't know what had happened to Sharra or Aksaja, it was Riley she'd seen die...in a very horrific way. As far as she had known those two had lived, but she wasn't any less happy to see them. She was ecstatic that everyone was alright.

It was cold, and lonely... And filled to the brim with regret. She wasn't sure which was worse. That was death, but not the death she knew from Christmas. It was different, more painful, even...

... Then, there was an odd sensation, like she was being drawn towards something - a FEAR magnet. She know this sensation - when she had been blasted apart by a fireball back in Christmas town, it was this same sensation that she felt just before she woke up on a bed in the infirmary... But... There was no infirmary on the island, was there? Just lots of children, all staring, staring, staring...

And suddenly, she felt someone shove her into a portal - the portal at the beach.

Wait, someone shoved her! The portal?! She looked down, staring at her hands - her solid, uninjured hands - before she removed her hands to stare at her feet. It felt good to be solid - to have hands to feel with and legs to move with and... Eyes to cry with. She inhaled sharply; everything came back to her - all the regret, all the things she wanted to cry over but didn't have the body to cry with when she was dead.

"Wow... Wow..." She couldn't stop her tears from falling as she finally looked up. She was greeted by the view of the oh so familiar school and...

"ARACHNE, RILEY," Her eyes widened as the tears continued to fall. She ran, her arms opened wide as she pulled Riley, Arachne and the ghoul she never formally introduced herself to (Junko, was it?) into a group hug. She smiled, her grip firm as she bathed in their warmth.

Nope, still not hugging the boils. They'll have to deal.

"Welcome home... We're home..."

Petro had followed after the herd without really thinking or seeing anything. He'd moved mechanically, truding behind someone, until finally going through the portal. The FEAR-rich atmosphere of the Academy was a welcome breath of fresh air and had Petro slowly regain his senses. A part of him wanted to stay "asleep" as it were. It didn't hurt so much, the deaths of his comrades, classmates, friends. But his mother had it drilled into him that running from things never solved anything and so, lucidity returned to Petro's eyes.

And what greeted him stunned him. Everyone that had died was there. Does this mean he died too? But no, looking at himself, he saw the splinters riddling his arms, the numerous cuts that continued to lightly bleed, the fact his leg still hurt where Lizzy hit him. The monster horse had no idea what had happened but he didn't care.

The others were alive and that was all that mattered. He didn't join in the hugging though, he was content to simply watch everyone else while he put his weight on the dull, battle-worn mace like a make-shift cane.

"Yes, yes I am," Her voice was soft - and her crying only made her even harder to understand - but it like she didn't quite believe it herself. However, she was there... Solid and alive. Slowly, she let Riley and Junko go, turning her full attention to Arachne instead, wrapping her arms around the Spiderkin and holding her close. She lowered her voice as she closed her eyes, leaning on her friend, "I want to tell you that I love you, and that no matter what happens in the future, know that true friendship is love too... And its about time you call me Lizzy."

She laughed - ah, how she missed her own laughter! One off her long list of regrets. It was like her heart felt lighter, just by telling Arachne what she had wanted to tell her. Of course, now to look for the rest and pray that they too, made it back safely...

"Mandy!" She pulled away from Arachne, but held onto her hand as she dragged her over to the ghoul, dropping to her knees as she wrapped her arms around her shoulders; they might not be close, but... She was there with them. That made her special in her heart.

"We're fine now, yes," She smiled, giving Mandy a squeeze as she looked up at Arachne, beaming at her friend, her tear-filled eyes asking for her to join in the hug. She then spotted Petro a distance away and waved at him, gesturing for him to come over.

Group hug take 2.