"Oh." Not really through the barrier, then. The hand in his chest lets go.

"That's rough. I'm sorry." He pauses again, searching for more words, then remembering something, feels a drop in his gut. The air around him twists coldly.

"Not to bring down the mood even more, but if no one's told you too, uh... the Starrs have gone. They were called back onto the ferry like Tayrey, I think. Apparently it happens sometimes." Random disappearances. Same as the last two worlds he got pulled to. Maybe existence far from home is just not stable, like isotopes decaying, shooting off its extra particles. It makes him wonder if him and Darcy are doomed sometimes--but there were those dreams, and anyway the Starrs came and went together. "Nobody's really sure what it means, but I guess they're going wherever they've gotta go."

It can't be death if this place is death, anyway. Phil drops the pasta into the pot.

"I'm still figuring out what to... I mean, me and and all the kids were really close to 'em. I don't know."