The Great Return is complete

But what lies around the corner?

And how could Sparky have ever known?

How could anyone have known… that the journey awaiting those plucky little bots would be so fraught with peril, so keenly possessed with a dark and menacing danger awaiting around every stage, every turn…?

If Sparky had known then of the injuries some would sustain, how long it would take them all to reach safety from their journeys, would he still have sounded the beacons?

But there is always solace if you know where to look. For there is a season for all things and time holds only to itself.

Sparky in his waiting was reminded of a theory of relativity. Put your hand on a stove for a minute and it seems like an hour. Sit with someone you love for an hour and it seems like a minute. This was the Great Return.

With each Seeker that crossed the threshold to safety, the spirits of The Found rose and fell. One deep breath out, one sigh of relief for the Seekers who had come… One deep breath in, one drag of gnawing expectation for those who remained on their mission…

Then all of a sudden, it was over. All of the Seekers had returned home, all except the one whom the darkness had inexplicably corrupted.

What happened next would live in the hearts and minds of The Found forever.

For without a word, as the last Seeker finally crossed the threshold, every robot broke out in a unison of song, pouring from their little bodies a harmonic, sweetly meditative tone that rang and rang through the sanctuary…

First joyful and blasting, reverberating through the bodies and chassis’ of the listeners, the sound rang on until it softened; turning as if to whisper the names of the ones who were lost…

The tone hung in the air, gently shaking the very walls of the citadel before dissipating as if it was rain. It gently became a murmur, then an echo, before finally coming to a complete stop.

It was in this silence that The Found sat for several moments before a small, plain looking Seeker spoke up with an unexpected bleep.

Despite its shy and slightly shabby appearance, it began to give an impassioned speech that was soon met with resounding applause.

Another Seeker then chimed in with its pitch. Then another, and another, until all The Found had come to a resolute agreement of the course that must be taken…

The sounds of building quickly began to fill the air as an urgent message was sent out across the open metaverse…

‘THE FOUND MUST STAY LOYAL,

FOR WE ARE STRONGER TOGETHER.

REJECT THE GOBLIN SACRIFICE —

THE WHITE ROBOT SEES ALL.

YOUR LOYALTY WILL BE REWARDED…’

~~~