people fell on the reaction room floor. Normally, they should have started stirring within about a minute of being summoned. That's what happened with everyone else. That's how it should have gone.

But... something went terribly wrong.

Lou had tried her hardest. She had concentrated as much magic as possible on helping those who needed it, and yet the effort was utterly fruitless. Every survivor was out cold from the sheer concentration of pure magic that had been forced upon them. And the other six...

A pink fluid slowly began to coat the floor around them.

Lou cursed, terrified. "I... this wasn't s-supposed to... damn it." The lights went out briefly, and when they came back, the eleven newcomers were nowhere to be seen. Lou plastered an energetic smile on her face. "Sorry about that little mishap, besties! You're all free to take a quick break, do... pretty much whatever. I have a few little things to attend to behind the scenes. I'll be back in ten or so."

Before anyone could object or ask the mile-long list of questions spinning through their heads, the Author disappeared in a cloud of pastel sparkles and lights.

Internally, Lou was panicking. PANICKING. Their magic was supposed to heal the victims, not overwhelm and knock out the survivors! What the hell were they going to do? Try a few healing spells and pray they work? They didn't know. They didn't know and they were freaking the fuck out.

Lou appeared in the makeshift medbay she had previously set up beyond the reaction room for emergencies like this, each character from the infamous murder mystery series set up in a hospital bed. Lou took a deep breath, pondering her next move.

"I'm fucked, but let's at least give this a shot."