Chapter 1: ONE 18: The Group Hug Everyone Wanted
Chapter Text
"Do you have a USB cable?"
Airy looks up, dropping the chopped wood in the corner of his shack. "Uhh.. what?"
"A USB cable. You know-- the thing that connects two devices? So you can transfer files and stuff? Or to charge your phone off your computer?"
"Uhhh. Nnoo... I, don't? I don't know what any of that.. is."
Liam grumbles in frustration, getting up from his makeshift bed and looking around the wires of Airy's computer. "You have to have one. Please. There's got to be.."
"Backpack, what are you doing?"
Liam didn't respond, but kept on scouring his wires, eyes narrowed in pursuit. Finally, after shuffling around, he managed to find a cable that seemed like it would fit. Taking the nearly-dead laptop, he plugged the USB cable into its side, connecting it to Airy's computer.
"Yes! Yes, please..." He opened the laptop, hastily reading a popup on the side.
>Do you want to transfer your files onto the connected device?
>Yes / No
Without waiting, Liam clicked the yes button, and not even a second later the screen went black. Dead. With the laptop now gone, Liam shut the laptop closed, turning to look at Airy's PC. "Texty? Hello? Texty, you there? Please.."
Liam clicked open a new document, and clicked into the search bar. "Texty, type here. Please, Texty, come on. You have to be here."
...
>uh where am i
>liam omg
>hi
>this isnt bradleys desktop
Liam practically fell out of his chair. Airy looked a little distraught, wondering how the hell any of that worked. He didn't question it, though.
"Texty! I can't believe that worked. Do you still have everything? The kill codes? It all should have transferred over with the files. Do you have it all still?"
>ya
"Great. Ok. Hold on here." Liam turned to the microphone, fumbling around with the buttons. "Airy, how do I work this thing? Let me talk to the contestants. I need to talk to them."
Airy took tiny steps toward him, glancing at the computer screen, then to Liam and the microphone. "Uh, why do you want to do that?"
Liam blinked, and stared. "Why do I- jesus, Airy, just tell me where the unmute button is."
"Uhh, kay. This one."
Liam pressed it immediately, looking back to the planet. "Guys, can you hear me? Guys, it's me, it's Liam, or Backpack, whatever. Listen, it's gonna be ok. I'm gonna get you guys home, ok? Just.. hold tight, please. I'll get you all home."
Back on the Plane, at the sound of Liam's voice, the group collectively did a double take. Bryce was instantly distraught, but spoke up anyway at the sound of his voice. "Liam? What are you doing? How did you get there?"
"The notes. Bryce, I had Airy's note still, remember? It brought me to where Airy is staying. He has a whole set up here. It's..." Liam paused, glancing back at Airy, who was sitting in the bed. "it's getting bad. I lost the notes, Bryce... but I think I figured out a solution. I think I can get us all out of here. We just need Stone."
Liam turned to Airy fully, holding unwavering eye contact with him. "Airy, you can bring back eliminated contestants. Bring Stone back to the Plane. Now."
Airy looked away, seeming a bit nervous at the thought of that. "Uh, but, he kind of.. freaks me out. He's weird."
"YOU'RE weird! Just bring him back to the Plane! Do you want to go home or not, Airy?!"
Airy stayed silent at that question, but got up and walked over to the computer. "Fine." He muttered, clicking through a couple things and typing on his keyboard. Liam watched him diligently, waiting. "Kay, done. He's there."
Liam hurried over to the planet, and sure enough, a little gray rock was there. His eyes lit up excitedly, and there was indescribable hope building in his chest. This was their ticket home, this little gray rock right here. "Stone, can you hear me? Stone?"
On the Plane, Stone looked stressed to all hell. He looked around at the other contestants, then up at the sky. Of course, he knew this would happen, but it was still rather jarring being brought back.
"He can hear you, Liam. But why did you bring him back? Don't you know how awful it is to be stripped from your livelihood just when you think it's all finally over? You know I know how it feels, so why did you do it?" Bryce yelled back at the sky, fists balled up. "You better have a good reason, Liam."
"I do. Stone, I need you to write the radio frequency to San Francisco again. If you do, then we can go home again. I'm about to drop a note and pencil down for you, Stone, so.. please. Can you do this?" Towards the end, Liam's voice grew to be a bit desperate, but it was worth a shot nonetheless. Turning away from the microphone, Liam turned to Airy. "Okay, Airy. Give me two notes and two pencils. Whatever you have leftover from the drawing challenge."
Airy nodded silently, shuffling around the shack a bit. "Give me a sec to find them."
Back on the Plane, Stone was still distraught, and upon hearing he had a task, immediately shook his head no. No way in hell was he going through this again. It was already stressful enough doing it once, so why did he have to do this again?... Unsurprisingly, upon seeing his reluctance, Bryce would not stand for it.
Bryce walked over to Stone, easily towering over him. His frustration was practically radiating off his body. "Stone, can't you just help us one more time? You OWE it to us! You sent us on a wild goose chase, going through stupid dimensions, had us dying too many times to count, all for it to amount to NOTHING! All for it to amount to Liam getting trapped there with Airy, with no way home! So you better-"
"Soda Bottle, stop!" Scenty yelled, pushing Bryce away from Stone.
"It's BRYCE! I have a NAME! I had a NAME before I was brought here, and if Stone is ruining that chance to get my name back, I-"
"BRYCE! I had a name too, okay? It-- It was Amelia. I want my name back too. But screaming at the only person who can help us is NOT how we get back home!" Amelia shouted back, balling her fists before turning back to Stone. "Stone, I'm sorry, but- please help us. Please. We had lives before us, didn't you? We all did. We all just want to go home. I- I was a yoga instructor. I had students to teach. Soda- Bryce had an apartment again when he went back, and he lost that when Airy ripped him away again. We all were happy before this. So please... please, Stone.. let us go home. Let me go home." Towards the end of her yelling, her words and voice seemed to get lost, and she crumpled down into a mess of tears. Bryce came to her side, wrapping her in his arms while holding back tears himself.
"Okay, I'm sending the note down now," Liam warned, and soon came the fluttering of a blue sticky note and the thump of a pencil. Bryce looked up, watching the note land before shifting his gaze to Stone. He had no words left, but having Amelia sob in his arms was an argument in itself.
Stone paused, looking down at the note and pencil for a moment in contemplation before slowly picking it up and beginning to write. The other objects; Tray, Whippy Creamy, Subway Seat, Moldy, and even Atom with his piece of grass, gathered around him to watch him write. Bryce sat still, holding Amelia while her sobs died down into sniffles. "Thank you," He said quietly.
To the group's surprise, Stone flipped the note over after he finished writing the frequency and scrawled out a message. Once done, he handed the note to the closest person, which was Amelia.
Amelia took the note and read it. And- for a rare time- she giggled, although it was one laced with overwhelming sadness.
>can i go home too?
"Of course you can come home with us, Stone. Of course." Amelia set the note down, then opened her arms. "Come here. I'm.. sorry. About all of this."
Stone seemed reluctant, but after taking a few steps, he seemed to commit to the idea of a "hug" and practically shoved himself into Amelia's arms. Amelia laughed, wrapping her arms around Stone carefully and closing her eyes. Soon enough, the other objects joined in, forming a much needed warm hug among all of them, even Moldy.
I think we're finally going home.
Chapter 2: ONE 19: Yoga in a Cafeteria
Summary:
The group enters the second part of their journey home.
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
"Alright, Liam. We have the note written. What now?" Bryce shouted up to the sky, clutching the note in his hand.
"Ok, perfect. Stone, double check the note please. Make sure it's absolutely correct." Liam replied, looking down at the planet as the contestants conferred.
Stone gave Bryce a bright thumbs-up after looking over the note again. "Stone says they're good."
"Okay. Now, Bryce, can you read out all the numbers to me? I'm gonna write it down on the note I have here. Make sure you have every single one correct.. not one mistake."
Bryce furrowed his eyebrows, confusion painting his face. "What? I don't get why, but, I guess so." Bryce shrugged, holding the note up so he could read it. "Okay, ready? Four.. eight.. two.. seven..."
---
"..five.. period.. six. Did you get all that, Liam?"
There's a moment of silence, then Liam speaks up. "Yeah, I did. I'm gonna read it back to you, make sure every single one is correct. Okay?"
"Okay."
--
"five.. period.. six. All correct?"
"Yep. Every single one." Bryce sighed in relief, setting the note down. "What now?"
"Okay. So.." Liam glanced over at the computer, where Texty was watching cat videos spinning around. "Texty, Airy, listen up. All of you. This is the plan."
>oops sorry lol
"Ok, so. None of you freak out. But, basically, we need to get back to the radio room, where we can put in this frequency. Once we put in the frequency, we can go back to San Francisco, on Earth. But, to get to the radio room, we need to.. we need to kill ourselves, guys."
Immediately, the planet erupted in a series of "WHAT"s and "no way" and "of course"s, but Liam shushed them. "Listen! Just listen. Texty has the kill codes for all of us. She'll enter those, and that'll take us to the radio room. It'll be quick and easy."
"Will it be painful?" Amelia and Tray said in unison, voices piping up from the planet.
"No. You won't feel anything, and it'll be more of a teleport than anything. Me, Bryce and Texty had to do this when we were putting in the radio frequencies and kept getting it wrong. It's not fun, so.. make sure you get it right. Bryce, me and you will put in the radio frequencies when we get there."
The objects on the planet seemed a bit hesitant with this plan, but they all trusted Liam and whatever he thought would get them out. At least, they didn't have much of a choice, by the sounds of it.
"Okay.. but, why do we have two notes with the San Francisco frequency, then? Won't we just need one?" Bryce questioned, looking up at the looming voice in the sky and waiting for a response.
Liam sighed, nervously playing with the note in his hands. "Just in case one of us loses it in the teleport, or something happens. I don't want to take any risks, and I don't want to be left stuck if us three get separated from your group. I'm not really sure how deaths in different places will link up, but it should be totally fine."
The objects on the plane looked around at each other, nervousness and hope mixing among their expressions. "'Well, anywhere that isn't here would be better," Moldy muttered, shrugging.
"Moldy's right. This seems like a pretty solid plan. I.. I trust Liam." Amelia squeaked out, seeming more like she was trying to convince herself than anyone else.
Bryce nodded, glancing around the group then back at the sky. "Alright, Liam. We trust you. Just tell us when you're about to send the code."
Liam gave a breath of relief, a small smile lining his lips. They trust me. "Okay, hold tight. Texty, do you have all the codes? Does Airy have a kill code?"
>yep
"Good. Airy? You ready?"
Airy looked around, looking slightly stressed out by the whole ordeal. "Yeah, I.. guess. I'm finally leaving this place." A small frown creased his lips, "But, it makes me kinda sad. I've been here for.. a really, um.. long time. I'm gonna miss my little shack."
Liam couldn't help but smile. "Oh, trust me Airy, you won't miss it much when you go back to the real world. You've... you've suffered for far too long. It's time to end this. It's time to end ONE."
"..Yeah. I guess so."
Liam turned back to the planet. "Ok, guys. You all should link arms or something, just to make sure you don't get disconnected. Let me know when you're ready."
The group looked at each other, and one by one, they began to link. Atom sat on top of Subway Seat, who held Whippy Creamy's hand; Tray linked arms with Whippy Creamy and Moldy, who linked with Amelia's arm. At the end of the link, Amelia linked arms with Bryce, but Bryce dropped her arm and took her hand. It was a simple exchange, but was met with a slightly confused look from Amelia, and a small smile from Bryce. That confused look soon turned into a small smile, too.
"Ok, Liam. We're ready, I have the note and everyone is linked. We're ready to go home." Bryce shouted.
"...Alright. Texty, the laptop should be charged from the USB cable now, so I'm gonna transfer you back."
>kk
Liam opened the laptop, relieved to see the screen light up again with life.
>Do you want to transfer files from this PC to "bradleys work machine"?
>Y/N
>Y
"Bradley's work machine," Liam chuckled, opening a browser for Texty. "You there, Texty?"
>BOO
>yeah lol can we go now
Unplugging and picking up the laptop, Liam looked over at Airy, gently linking his arm. "Ok, Airy. You ready to go?"
"Uuuuhhh.... yeah."
"Okay, everyone. Texty, enter the codes in three.. two.."
As Airy stood with his arm linked with Liam's, he spent his final moments looking around at the shack he had built from the ground up, that he had lived in for years- decades?- who even knew. At the wood he had just collected, that would never be used. At the terribly uncomfortable bed that only had reeds for bedding. At the axe he had crafted from scratch. At the cassette player, which played his favorite song- wait, the cassette player!
Eyes widening, Airy tumbled over to the cassette, reaching out for it in the last moments of the countdown.
"-ONE."
--
The Plane group landed with a thud in the waiting room, Bryce still clutching the blue note and Amelia's hand. After looking around, he realized this place wasn't the suburbs he grew up in anymore. It was blank and colorful, spanning infinitely in three directions. What remained the same from his last visit was the two chairs and radio.
Everyone's hands and arms dropped, and Amelia looked around, seemingly stunned. "I.. I'm in the yoga studio. The mats.. the mirror. It's all here." Amelia turned around. "..A radio?"
"I'm in the cafeteria again!" Tray said joyfully, sitting down in one of the lunch seats. "Is this the radio Backpack was talking about?" She asked.
"Liam. And, yeah. This is the place we got sent to.. and, I'm guessing we all see different things, huh? I don't see anything. But... I used to see the streets I grew up in." Bryce turned, looking out onto the infinite stretch of room. "And Stella..."
"Well, where's Liam? And Texty? Weren't they supposed to be here at the same time?" Whippy Creamy inquired, jumping onto the other seat next to Tray.
"Uh, yeah..." Bryce blinked, rubbing his forehead in contemplation. "Why didn't they- shoot. Oh, god."
"What is it?" Subway Seat piped up.
Bryce looked up and around him at his fellow contestants, stress once again showing in his eyes. "I think, because they "died" in a different location, they got sent to a different radio room."
"But, Liam still has the note to San Francisco. He has the frequency. I guess it was a good idea to make two notes after all," Bryce sighed, walking over to the radio.
"Should we still go through with it? We can't wait for them or something?" Amelia asked desperately.
This time, Moldy spoke. "I don't think we have much of a choice, Amelia.. they have the note, though. We'll get sent to the same place, won't we? We don't have anywhere to go but here, and if Bryce is right, waiting for them will do nothing."
Amelia frowned, but nodded. Bryce crouched down, gently scrolling through the stations and numbers. "So many..."
"Oh. Wait... this might.." His eyes followed the sequence on the screen, darting back and forth from the note and the radio. "Guys. I think this is the one. Amelia, double check it."
Amelia walked over and scanned through it, diligently searching for any errors. "It seems completely correct, from what I see. Anyone else wanna look?"
Tray and Whippy Creamy took a look at it, each making sure to scan the entire thing. "Well, yeah. Looks good to me." Whippy Creamy shrugged, looking back at Bryce.
"All right. I'm gonna lift the antenna.. Liam and Texty should land in the same area as us, probably around the same time, if they find the frequency as quickly as we did. We should end up on the Golden Gate bridge like last time." Bryce sighed, looking around at the group. "Are we all ready?"
There was an uneasy silence among the group. Well, not for long, at least. Atom piped up, grass blade waving curiously. "What's the Golden Gate bridge? Is it made of gold?"
Bryce and Amelia looked at each other, holding back giggles. "You'll see soon enough, Atom. Let's go."
Reaching out, Bryce grasped the antenna, looking around at the waiting room and group one last time. He pulled the antenna up, letting it ding through each pull until it was at it's full height. And with an oddly familiar chime, the group was gone, just like that.
Notes:
hope yall enjoyed <3 ill write more on this bc i love this au. i hope this gave you all some of the happy ending you wanted, more of them all is to come.
-hannah
Chapter 3: ONE 20: Bridge of Gold
Summary:
The objects return to Earth. Angst ensues.
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
The group of three popped into the waiting room with unexpected ease. Is what someone would say if it was supposed to just be the three of them. In reality, they were supposed to land here at the same time as the contestants on the plane. That was the plan. That was what Liam said would happen, and he told them it would be alright, that they would all get there at the same time and go home at the same time. So why? Why didn't it work?
Liam realized the mistake immediately. If Airy noticed that the entire other group was gone, he didn't say anything, and simply stared at the cassette player he clutched in his hands. His expression was unreadable.
"Wh- no. No, where is everyone? Texty, did you put in the kill codes at the same time? At the exact same time? Where is everyone? We were supposed to teleport here together! Me and Bryce were supposed to put the code in! No... where did the go?"
>yes. chill out for a sec laim *liam sorry. i put them all in at the same time, idk what happened. :(
"Auughh.. god, Airy, do you have any idea where the other contestants went? Airy?" Liam spat out, eyes darting to the distant-looking lantern.
Airy looked up, blinking at Liam for a second before shrugging. "Uhh... I don't... know. But I think, if you die in different spots, you get sent different places. To a different.."
Airy stopped short, eyes drifting away. He took in his surroundings, eyes widening once he realized where exactly he was.
His eyes turned back to the radio, and in his eyes, it sat in the little shack on the Plane. The log chairs, table, everything. The only thing different was that now there was a radio between them.
"Why am I... back on the Plane?" Airy choked out, turning around rapidly to take in his surroundings. It was.. overwhelming, to say the least.
Liam looked at him in confusion, before shifting his gaze to look around at his own surroundings. He wasn't on the plane; there was a bed, a familiar looking table, a set of car keys--
"I'm in Bryce's apartment."
Liam walked over to the radio, where Airy had now stationed himself, looking distraught. He set Texty down on the table and took the other seat, looking around at the apartment. "Why am I here? Why did it change?" There was a small frown curving on his lips, but Liam shook away the thought, turning his attention to Airy now. "You sounded like you knew about the death thing. Why didn't you tell me before I sent us all off? I could've at least warned them. If it wasn't for this extra note, we would be stuck, Airy. Why didn't you say anything?" Liam pressed, searching for an answer, anything.
"I.. forgot." Airy said simply, looking back at Liam hopelessly.
The frown disappeared, and was now a thin, irritated line. "Of course you did," Liam scowled, saying it with an almost laugh. "You never think, Airy. You never thought about us during ONE, you never thought to let us go back to our lives, you never thought about anything else other than yourself and what you wanted!"
The empty-headed lantern kept his silence while he went on, looking down at the cassette player and fiddling it with his hands. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, he spoke. "I.. forgot. To care about others. I.. haven't had company, or been around other people, in.. a long time." Airy mumbled out, shyly looking up from his cassette player and making eye contact with a pissed off Liam. "ONE was the only thing I had. The only thing I knew how to.. do. I just wanted to talk to other people. And play. I thought it would be fun." Airy tilted his head to the side slightly, letting a tiny but vastly naïve smile come to his lips.
Liam just stared. It was unbelievable. Everything he said.. he just forgot? Was that supposed to be an excuse? "You thought stealing a baby from his home would be fun, Airy?"
"He looked cute."
"He had parents who were probably worried sick about him. People on Earth care about each other, you know."
Airy's smile dropped, a more genuinely curious expression taking it's place now. "They.. do? Care about each other?"
Liam's eyebrows furrowed, sinking into the chair next to the radio in defeat. "Of course people care about each other, Airy. Owen cared about me. And..." He trailed off, trying to search for other people who cared about me. "And.. my mom did. Before she died. But I had people." His expression went blank for a moment, before snapping out of it and shifting his gaze back to Airy. "You had people who cared about you, didn't you? Friends, family?"
Airy turned his gaze away, eyes going back to the cassette player. Yes, that's right... care. That was a familiar word. So was.. love? Slowly, some of his memories began to flood back. "My mom.. cared about me. When I went to.." the words got lost. For the life of him, he couldn't remember what that place was called. "..before I left, to go and learn at a place, I was.. moving. My stuff out. Into a new room. My mom was sad that I was leaving. She said she would visit me on.. Chri.."
The words got lost again. It was a special day, he knew that. It sounded like Kri.. Krist? God, what was that day called? "Anyway. She said she would visit me, but before she left, she gave me a.. gift. This. It has my favorite song on it. I listened to it every day. I don't remember what it's called. But, uh, she never.. visited me."
Liam's expression changed again, and it seemed more empathetic this time. "What happened to your mom, Airy?"
Airy glanced over to Liam, then back at the cassette player. What happened to her? Why can't I remember? "Something.. happened. But.. I forgot what." A frown returned to his face, and he slunk into his chair. "I don't know why I.. can't remember. How long has it been..?"
Liam stayed silent, looking away from Airy and at the radio. "Let's just go home, Airy." Bending slightly to reach to radio, Liam pulled out the note, and began working away at getting the right frequency. "When was the last time you played the song?" He asked mindlessly.
Airy shrugged. "I played it a little after I started your season of ONE, but I haven't listened to it since I dropped it on the Plane. But now that it's together again, I can try?" Airy prompted, and the slightest bit of excitement glimmered in his eyes.
"Sure. I could use some background music while I do this."
And so, Airy gently pushed the cassette tape in. The music began once it clicked into place, and with the familiar song playing again, Airy felt a certain part of himself ease up. And for the first time in a long time, he smiled. A real, true, genuine smile.
Liam's expression remained neutral as he flipped through the numbers, but as he searched for the right frequency, he couldn't ignore the new sense of understanding he had for Airy. The poor guy had literally spent decades in this dimension alone, and from the sounds of it, his mom literally died after he moved into college. With the promise of visiting him at.. Christmas, probably, although that never happened. He doesn't even remember what happened to his mom. Maybe he blocked it out, or it's truly been so long that he really has forgotten? How long do you have to be disconnected from reality to forget your own mother's death?
A chill went down Liam's spine. That thought was too morbid to think about. Too long. Longer than anyone should have to suffer through.
There's a sun around the bend...
--
Shortly after the song ended, Liam landed on the the right frequency. He double and triple checked it before getting Airy to look at it, who took approximately two seconds of staring before he shrugged and said it looked right to him. Liam simply pushed him away and checked it again, darting his eyes between each number.
"Okay. I checked it four times. It's definitely correct." Liam sighed, standing up to his full height as he picked up the laptop. "You both ready? We're going home."
>yeah
>that song was nice btw <3
"Thanks, Texty." Airy replied contently, holding his cassette player to his chest. "I think I'm ready, Backpack."
"Liam. My name is Liam, so call me that."
"Sorry. I forgot."
Liam wanted to be mad at him for that slip up, but with what he knew now, he couldn't. He settled for a simple "I know" before turning and grabbing the radio antenna. "Alright. Here we go."
Liam pulled the antenna, letting it clink through each height before reaching the full height. The familiar note played again, and just as soon as they arrived, they were gone.
--
"Let's just wait a little longer, guys. They'll be here soon. We've only been here for, what, 20 minutes? We need to give them more time." Bryce pleaded, facing the group as they all were turned to him.
"Fine. But I'm only waiting another 10 minutes before I try and find us a place to sleep tonight." Moldy grumbled, folding her arms.
"It'll be fine, Moldy. They would've waited for you, so why can't we wait for the--" Amelia paused mid-sentence, her entire face dropping as she stared past Bryce in nothing but shock.
"What are you-" Bryce started, but as he turned, he saw what she was looking at.
Liam. Airy. A laptop.. Texty.
Bryce was the first to slam himself into Liam, seconded only by Amelia and then the rest of the objects. It was a complete mess; lots of tears, mostly from Liam, and a lot of shuffling on Liam's part to make sure that Texty wasn't crushed by the weight of all these bodies hugging him.
"LIAM! You're alive, and here! You didn't get lost! You made it! You.." Amelia sobbed, pressing her face into his chest even harder as the tears kept coming. "I thought we lost you guys. I didn't know what happened, I thought we were all supposed to go to the radio room at the same time... Liam, I'm so glad you're alive."
Liam could barely speak, and let himself be wrapped in the warmth of all his friends. "Liam, Jesus Christ, never scare me like that again. You're terrible for that," Bryce choked out, screwing his eyes shut and hiding his face in Liam's chest to make the fact he was sobbing like a baby less obvious.
"I know, I know. I thought we'd all be together too. I'm sorry.. but we're--" he couldn't keep going, allowing another fit of sobs to take over him before he continued. "But we're here, all of us.. together. In San Francisco, just like- just like last time," he sniffled, burying his head into Bryce's shoulder. Bryce let out a weak laugh. "Just like last time."
After a good five minutes of hugging, the group broke away, and perhaps this was the moment when the rest of the group fully realized a very crucial, slightly uncomfortable fact: their tormenter, Airy, had been standing there awkwardly the whole time, fumbling with his cassette player while he watch them hug.
Bryce stared at him for a moment, not fully understanding. But when he did, his fists balled up, anger quickly gathering inside him. "Why is he here," he spat out, complete venom lacing his words. "Liam. Why is our literal TORMENTER here?"
Liam backed up slightly, unintentionally standing by Airy's side. "Bryce, wait.. calm down. I know it doesn't look like it makes sense, but Airy-"
"But Airy what? Airy trapped us on a tiny planet for nearly a year of our lives? Airy made us do challenges for his own sick enjoyment? Airy killed a baby? What the hell is wrong with you, Liam? Why would you bring him back with us? We were supposed to be happy and normal!"
"And we were supposed to stop ONE, Bryce! This is how you do it! And you don't know the half of what Airy went through. Sure, I used to hate his guts too, but after he told me what he went through? How long he was on the planet alone for? God, Bryce... it makes you feel SLIGHTLY bad for him!"
"What, he told you he spent a couple years alone, and suddenly that makes everything he did okay? What he did to me okay? He RIPPED me from my normal life, just to "rejoin" his stupid game again! All for his OWN ENTERTAINMENT! All for HIMSELF! What about US? We're objects too, Liam! We have feelings, we had LIVES."
"I know that, Bryce! I know! But you don't understand, and hell, even I don't fully understand! But he's been disconnected from reality for much longer than you or I or even AIRY can understand. He doesn't remember a lot of things, including how to interact with objects! He just... I don't think he's evil, Bryce. He just needs to relearn a lot of things, including how to treat other objects!"
"What, he doesn't know how? That's BASIC decency! Stop trying to excuse his actions!"
"I'm not! But you have to understand where he's coming from, or at least try! He's not evil, just lost! Just like we all are!"
There was finally a pause in the argument, as both Liam and Bryce took a moment to catch their breath. The rest of the group watched on; most of them were originally on Bryce's side, but as Liam brought up his points, he sounded... convincing. Like this tormenter might have actually been one of them, at some point. It was hard not to sympathize, at least a little, with that.
Bryce wasn't convinced, though. Still brimming with anger, Bryce stepped forward, approaching a very nervous looking Airy.
"Bryce, stop!" Liam yelled, but it was too late. Bryce snatched the cassette player from Airy's hands, and in an instant, threw it against the ground. Hard.
The cassette player, already fragile, broke immediately upon impact. It crumbled into multiple pieces, a lot more than the first time it broke. It was a tragic sight, really; a group of ragtag objects, staring at a broken cassette player and at each other in silence as traffic sped and honked by.
Airy dropped to his knees, a stunned silence gripping at him and making it impossible to say anything in retaliation. He began collecting the pieces, slowly, with absolutely nothing to add to the argument.
Surprisingly, Amelia pushed past Bryce, followed by Stone and Tray. The trio dropped down beside Airy and began helping him pick up the pieces, in silence.
"You're helping him? Why?" Bryce spat, but it sounded more pathetic than angry.
"Because Liam is kind of right," Amelia said quietly, pushing some of the pieces towards Airy. "None of us know Airy's full story. What he did to us was traumatizing, yeah, but I don't doubt that Airy is also traumatized from what he's gone through, if what Liam is saying is true. And... this is part of stopping ONE for good. Bringing Airy back to Earth is a surefire way of making sure he can never do something like this again. That he can't hurt anyone again." Amelia paused, looking over her shoulder at Bryce. "We all need to heal. We're all broken, in some literal ways.. we need to heal. All of us."
Bryce stayed silent. He watched the four of them pick up the pieces of his destruction, then turned his gaze to Liam, who remained silent but clearly distraught.
Moldy came up behind Bryce, standing by his side. "I don't really know what to believe. I don't forgive Airy at all.. not after he let me die on the Plane from my mold. He left me defenseless, and didn't send me home or anything to get treatment. He let me die. So, I'm still pretty upset over that." She said, crossing her arms over her chest. "But, if what Liam is saying is true, then I don't see a reason why we can't start the healing process now. Sounds like he might have had it worse than us, which isn't excusing him for his torment, but.. we all have issues. We need to resolve them at some point... even if it'll take us a while to get there. But Airy is still an asshole, for everything he did. Maybe just a socially-disconnected asshole."
Subway Seat and Whippy Creamy came to Bryce's other side, with Whippy Creamy sitting on top of Subway Seat. "To be honest, I'm not good at the whole dealing-with-trauma thing. Me, Subway Seat, Tray, and I guess Atom too... we haven't lived in an actual society like this. We're used to being used as, well, objects. For the use of someone else. Living on the Plane sucked, but at the same time, it was something new. We got to be conscious openly for once, and talk to other objects. So, maybe it didn't traumatize us as much.. but from what I can see, looks like Airy has had it pretty messed up, too." Whippy Creamy shrugged.
"He still sucks for taking us against our will, though. But, I wouldn't have learned yoga if it wasn't for Amelia and the Plane. I wouldn't know what a society like this is even like, and I would've kept being a tray in a school cafeteria." Tray added, collecting the final parts of the broken cassette and giving them to Airy. "I think we should give him a second try. And if he's a terrible guy after all, we can just kick him to the curb! That sounds pretty reasonable to me."
The silence lingered again, and Bryce's gaze flickered between everyone. They actually.. had good points. But still, he tormented them for his own enjoyment for almost a year! Wasn't that awful? Wasn't he a terrible person?
Wasn't he?
Bryce shook his head, rubbing his temples in frustration and overstimulation. "Gahh,... ugh. I hate this," He muttered, a scowl now taking place on his face. "You all seriously want to give him a second chance? After everything? After over seven months of torture and hell?"
The objects looked between each other, and finally settled on just a shrug. Liam sighed, walking over to Bryce and standing in front of him. "I know you're hurt, Bryce. I'm hurt, too. We're all traumatized. But.. I think we need to give him a chance. After what he told me, I can see where he's coming from. Where he's coming from is entirely messed up, yeah, but in his own way, Airy is a victim of torment too." Liam paused, meeting Bryce's eyes directly.
"Do you trust me?"
Bryce stood, searching Liam's eyes. He was a mess of emotions right now; unsure, hurt, overwhelmed, cold, hungry, tired, everything. But it was a simple question. Do you trust me?
Bryce contemplated the question for a second, before he screwed his eyes shut, pushing himself into Liam's arms again. "I trust you, Liam," He whispered, voice shaking rapidly as he held back tears. Which, of course, didn't last long- they managed to escape, and soon enough, Bryce was quietly sobbing into Liam's shoulder.
"I trust you, too."
Notes:
AUGHGHkhdskgg what the hell this chapter was like. 13k characters wow. n e ways hope u baes enjoyed <3 this is not the end!!! more is coming. also idk why but some of of the words that were supposed to be italicized (mainly at the end) got messed up and didnt format correct so they just. Didnt Italicize? idk kinda annoying but shouldnt be too big of a deal. my back hurts. GOODNIGHT ENJOY YOUR HAPPY ENDING FOOD!!!
-hannah
Chapter 4: ONE 21: What Do You Know?
Summary:
Bryce and Liam head down the street to buy a charger for Texty. Of course, it's never that easy.
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Their first night back in San Francisco was a cold and uncomfortable one. Moldy was barely able to find them a shelter that had enough space for all ten (although, finding Atom a spot to sleep wasn't much of an issue, so it was more like nine) of them, but at last, they had a proper roof over their heads and actual food in their stomachs. The Batch Two objects had some trouble figuring out how to eat, but caught on pretty quickly once Amelia demonstrated it to them. Airy just stared at the food for a while before saying he lost his appetite, while the Batch 1 objects happily indulged in their somewhat awful meal. Nonetheless, at least they weren't cold and hungry anymore.
The next morning, Liam took Texty’s laptop and went out into town to clear his head, but ended up being joined by Bryce ("I don't want to be around Airy any longer than I have to."). Bryce suggested that they revisit the general store where they bought the old charger from; it was the only place they knew, after all. Plus, it couldn’t hurt to see it again, for old time’s sake. So, the trio set foot in that direction.
The walk there was uninteresting; but the moment they stepped into that store, everything took a sharp, unexpected turn. The guy at the register was a tall, slightly-greasy looking nail, who did a double take at the two customers who walked in, before promptly stumbling backward and spiraling into a small panic attack. Owen.
Bryce and Liam were just as shocked as he was, but Liam seemed a lot more happy at the sight of his old friend than Owen was. Owen, on the other hand, thought he was hallucinating. Again.
"Oh my god, oh my god. Fuck. I'm seeing him again, fuck, I knew I wasn't ready to get a lower dose, god dammit. Fuck. He looks so real, just stay calm, just stay calm.." He whispered anxiously to himself, turning into a ball of mutterings and avoiding eye contact with the pair.
"Owen? Owen! Owen, it is real, it's me, Liam. We're real. Are you okay? What’s going on?” Liam said worriedly, leaning over the counter to get a clear view of Owen on the floor.
Owen looked up, chest heaving and face scrunched with hesitance. “...Liam?” He choked out quietly, staring up in disbelief at the green backpack.
“Maybe we should give him some space, Liam,” Bryce said quietly, glancing back at the nail. “Everyone still thinks we’re dead, y’know.”
Owen’s eyes widened at the sight of the soda bottle, and he began to rise to his feet. “I haven’t hallucinated you before… but I know you died at the same spot with him.” He paused, looking back and forth at the pair. “Is this real? Did the cops really get everything wrong again?” Owen said shakily, holding his breath with hope.
“Yes. Owen, it’s me. This is Bryce. We’ve uh.. been through a lot. We were here to buy a charger, but do you have a sec? We have a lot to explain.” Liam smiled, trying his best to be convincing in a world where he was forgotten.
Owen didn’t need much more than that. He raced to the other side of the counter, pulling Liam into a tight hug before he could protest. “Oh my god, man, yes! Tell me everything. Where the fuck have you been? It’s been, what.. 7 or 8 months now? Oh my god. Dude, I’m so happy,” The nail chirped, and the hesitance that was once in his eyes was now replaced with excitement and relief.
“Don’t even worry about the charger. Here,” Owen turned, grabbing the first charger on the shelf and shoving it into Bryce’s hand. “Take this, charge that laptop, whatever you need to do. Let me just grab my coworker so he can cover for me.” Without another word, Owen turned down the aisle, heading towards the back room.
“Huh. That’s Owen, right? That nail you talked to the last time we were here.” Bryce said absent-mindedly, sitting down at the same table and chair that they did last time to set up Texty.
“Yup, that’s him. He’s a long time buddy of mine. Geez… he looked terrified when we first walked in. I really hope he’s okay.” Liam sighed, a heavy weight of guilt settling in his stomach as he watched Bryce plug Texty into the wall. “Although, maybe we haven’t been completely forgotten yet after all.”
A few minutes later, Owen emerged, his coworker trailing behind him slowly. “Sorry guys, had to wrangle Julian up to cover the register. He’s kinda slow at it, but hopefully we won’t be too long…” Owen said nonchalantly, approaching the group.
Julian. The name was oddly familiar, yet not quite. Out of curiosity, Liam turned back to the counter, where he was immediately met with a jaw-dropping sight. Julien.
“Oh my god.” Liam gasped, hand flying over his mouth as he immediately stood out of his chair to hurry towards the toothpaste. “Julien! Oh my god, dude, you made it! How are you? Are you okay? I can’t believe you’re here!”
Bryce and Owen exchanged a confused look, while Julien stared at Liam with wide, shocked eyes. “Radio,” Julien drawled slowly, taking a step back from Liam.
“Yes! The radio! I brought you back here, remember? Your name is Julien, how did you end up here?” Liam pressed, enunciating himself excitedly with his hands.
“Oui,” Julien mumbled, and didn’t say anything else. Owen intervened, “You know this guy, Liam? I thought his name was pronounced Julian, my bad. Guess my French needs a touch up. But anyway, uh, how do you even know him? He barely seems to knows himself. He uhh.. Well, just seemed to show up out of nowhere one day? He wandered into here looking confused and pretty lost about a month ago, and I’ve had to communicate with him using Google Translate.” Owen looked back at Bryce and Liam. “How do you guys know him?”
Bryce shrugged, looking just as lost as him. Liam piped up, “I don’t really know that much. Listen, it’s.. A lot to explain. But how is he working here?” Liam asked, confused on the logistics of how that could even work successfully.
“Well, it’s not exactly… official, per se. He wouldn’t leave the store after he came in, and I felt bad for him so I let him sleep in the back. It was supposed to just be for one night, I swear, but he begged– as well as he could, at least– to stay the next morning. So he just works here, sleeps in the back, and I pay him under the table. We’re short staffed, after all. He’s.. kinda helpful? He doesn’t speak well, at least not any English, but he’s able to understand it. So it sorta works.” Owen shrugged.
Liam shook his head. “Damn, Owen. At least he has a place to sleep.” Liam turned towards Julien and waved him over, and the toothpaste walked over at the speed of a drunk guy. Once the two were finally sat, Liam opened the laptop, looking over at Bryce. “Bryce, this is Julien, the guy I was telling you I saw in the waiting room. I sent him back to San Francisco after you disappeared.” Liam explained shortly, and Bryce returned it with a shrug. “I remember you telling me something like that,” Bryce muttered, leaning back in his chair.
“Alright. Well, I should explain everything to you, Owen. And maybe Julien can get some closure, too.”
–-
At the end of a long spiel by both Bryce and Liam, Owen was sat with his head in his hands, trying to grapple with this new understanding of his friend and of reality that he had. Julien, on the other hand, sat staring at the screen bewildered.
“So you’re telling me,” Owen breathed, a laugh buried in his words, “That some lamp– Airy– trapped you in some dimension, forced you to play games for over seven months, and when you die you apparently get sent to some room with a radio? And you scrolled through stations and dimensions using notes, only for Bryce to be sent back to that planet leaving you alone, so you found the lamp’s planet and DIDN’T kill him? And you brought him back with you to San Francisco after you freed everyone?”
“I’m still stuck on the last part, too,” Bryce muttered, still discontent with the decision to bring Airy back with them.
“Basically, yeah. And it was necessary to stop ONE for good.” Liam asserted confidently, shooting a look at Bryce.
Owen laughed in disbelief. “No one is going to believe you if you tell them this, man. Honestly, I’m not sure how much of this I believe.” He sighed, leaning back in his chair and looking at Julien. “So what about him, then?”
Liam turned his attention to Julien, who was clearly having a rough time taking all of this information in. “His case is probably the worst out of all of us. From what I gathered, he was trapped in the radio room for ten years. Without knowing what station to go to, you’re trapped there. Julien had nothing. Thankfully, I had the San Francisco note with me when I found him the second time, so I was able to save him and send him home. But obviously.. Y’know, being there for a decade, kinda ruins your sense of self. His mind has probably deteriorated from sitting in the same spot, silently, for ten years. With nowhere to go.” Liam let out a heavy sigh, looking at Julien with sympathy.
Julien looked up, facing Liam quietly. “Julien,” The backpack started, his voice hesitant. “Let me show you something..” Carefully, as if he might disappear any second, Liam pulled up the season one contestants from the Plane website and Google Translate with the microphone enabled. He sifted through each one before landing on Julien and clicking his profile. “This is you, remember?” Liam asked quietly.
Julien stared for a moment, memories slowly flooding back to him of who he was. His full name. His passion; filmmaking. A picture of him. Slowly, he nods, turning his attention back to Liam, eyes beginning to swell with tears. “Oui. Tu m'as sauvé.” He chokes out, and the translator barely catches his words. (“Yes. You saved me.”)
Julien stands and slowly brings Liam into a bit of an awkward hug. Liam laughs anyway, and wraps his arms around him, allowing the poor toothpaste to sniffle into his shoulder. “It’s over now, Julien. We’re here to help you.”
Bryce clears his throat awkwardly and looks to the side, ending the hug and having everyone’s attention on him. “So, uh.. Owen, any questions?” Bryce manages to get out, feeling a bit uncomfortable and out of place.
“Well, yes, plenty.. But, I’m betting that neither of you know the answer to them, no offense. So I guess what matters now is that you’re both here. I’m just glad you’re both alive, even if I don’t know you as well, Bryce. No one should have to face what you two did.” Owen said warmly.
Bryce and Liam shared a glance. “Thank you, Owen. I’m really glad to be back. We’re all just trying to get on our feet again and start our lives over. Right now, we’re holed up in some homeless shelter down the way until we can all find somewhere to stay.” Liam explained, looking over at Bryce.
“Yeah. Actually, speaking of, didn’t you say you were understaffed? Maybe we could help you out here or something like that. It’d be good to get a job with someone who understands our situation… plus, we really need the money.” Bryce laughed pathetically, rubbing the back of his neck to fight the awkwardness of the idea.
“Ooh, that’s a really good idea! God, yes, I really need help around here. I pretty much manage this place alone now.” Owen beamed, desperate for their help. “I can hire you guys right now if you’re willing. The pay is pretty good, I’d say, and you guys can probably help Julien readjust better than I can; considering you’ve all been through the same thing. Are you guys down for that?” He asked intently, although it was more of a plea than an offer.
Liam looked back at Bryce, uncertainty in his gaze being met with a gentle confidence in Bryce’s that made him feel a bit more at ease. “...Okay, sure, why not. I guess it is a good idea. But we’re gonna need time to adjust too, Owen. We really can’t handle anything big right now, especially with all the issues we’re working out on our side, too.. It’s only like, our second day back on Earth.”
“Yes!” Owen stood from his chair excitedly. “Of course! I get it. It’s not easy coming back, and I understand more now why Julien acts like that… poor guy. But, I can accommodate whatever you guys need. Anything for you, Mr. Worldwide.” Owen grinned, clicking his tongue and doing the signature finger gun motions toward Liam.
Liam simply laughed weakly, standing from his chair to pack up Texty and the charger. “Sounds good. We’ll come back tomorrow then, to get everything sorted out. Hopefully being legally dead isn’t too much of an issue.” Liam laughed, followed by Bryce and Owen’s laughs in agreement.
“Hopefully not! I’m sure we can get it figured out.” Owen smiled confidently, looking Liam in the eyes with warmth. “I’m just glad to have you back, man. Thanks for not being dead.” He grinned, looking over to Bryce. “And you too. Thanks for sticking through it.”
Bryce chuckled lightly and shrugged. “You’re welcome, I guess. We’ll see you later, Owen,” Bryce said, waving goodbye to the nail. “Bye guys! Don’t die while you’re gone! And I mean it.” Owen shouted after them, watching them carefully as they walked out the street and back towards the shelter.
“...Well, I guess that’s that.” Liam stated simply, clutching Texty’s laptop at his side as they trudged up the hill towards the shelter. “We’re really gonna start working as soon as we’re back? Don’t you want some time?”
“No.” Bryce replied shortly, staring ahead at the sidewalk. “Not really. I need some space from Airy, so I might as well get that by working and helping the group out. And I’d honestly prefer to not think about ONE, and all the.. Well, trauma, that came with it.”
“I guess that’s fair.” Liam shrugged, staying silent for a few moments while they continued walking. After a few minutes of silence, Liam couldn’t help but break it again. “Well… I don’t mean to sound cliche, but you can’t run from what happened, Bryce. At least not forever. You should give yourself time to process it. I know I need some time.”
They paused outside the shelter doors, and Bryce held his tongue for a moment while he looked away from Liam. “Liam, you’ve been handling this whole situation way better than I have. This entire time, I’ve wanted to run. Away from Airy, from the group, even from you. It’s taking everything I have left to not shut everything out and hide away. I’m.. struggling to process this.” Bryce said bitterly, keeping his eyes away from Liam’s. “I don’t even know this city. I have nothing, except for a group of objects who are just as lost as me.” Bryce rubbed his temples, and sighed.
Liam tried to find Bryce’s eyes, but couldn’t. He frowned, taking in his words as he stared at the shelter before them. “There isn’t anything we can do now, Bryce. We just have to process this and get through it. For us, and for the group.”
“I don’t want your therapy, Liam.” Bryce scowled.
“What, telling you to take a moment to breathe is suddenly therapy now?” Liam snapped back.
“It’s not that.” Bryce’s eyes suddenly met Liam’s, and a twinge of embarrassment flooded Liam for no apparent reason. He struggled to maintain eye contact with the soda bottle while his eyes pressed into him like a knife at his throat. “Just stop telling me how to handle my trauma, okay? We’re different, Liam, nothing will change that. I know that if I sit down and think about it for one second, everything will crumble and I’ll be locked inside myself. And I can’t have that happen. The group needs me.” Bryce spat, tearing his eyes away from Liam as he headed for the doors.
Liam wasn’t sure exactly what to say, but he knew he had to get a word in before Bryce got away from him. “I’m not trying to tell you anything! I just– I don’t know anything, either! I just want to be there for you, Bryce. We did everything together. We fought the hardest for our freedom, and we got it. So just.. If you ever want to tell me something, you can, okay? Whether you like it or not, we know each other better than everyone else.” Liam blurted.
Bryce paused and pondered what he had to say... and while a hidden part of him knew that Liam was entirely right, the part of him that wanted to run away got the final say. So, without another word, Bryce opened the door to the shelter and walked away inside.
Upon seeing him go, Liam’s shoulders dropped in defeat, and a melancholic look took his face as he followed after him a few moments later.
I guess all there’s left to do is try.
Notes:
erm... sorry for not updating this for a literal year LMAO ive been busy with school, work, and college/scholarship applications. nobody prepares u for being a high school senior so im getting through it as well as i can :) i cant promise consistent updates, but i'd definitely like to keep working on this in the background. hope y'all are enjoying this fic so far <3 take care
Chapter 5: ONE 22: System Restart
Summary:
It's time for a fresh start.
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
“Uuuggghhhh.”
There isn’t much anyone can do, given her condition. Charlotte knows this; and for the last few days, has insisted she was fine, but the deepening color of her mold marks a clear sign that things weren’t as well as they seemed. Be it the atmospheric change from adjusting to Earth after being on the Plane for so long, or otherwise, Charlotte was re-adapting the worst out of the entire group. Head clutched in her hands, she squeezes her eyes shut, slowly rubbing at her temples as she mumbles in discomfort.
“Knock knock!” Tray steps into the shared bedroom with hesitant footsteps, slowly making her way towards an obviously irritable looking Charlotte. Herself, Charlotte, and Amelia all shared a bedroom, with the boys in a separate quarter within the homeless shelter– probably for the best, as Whippy Creamy and Subway Seat’s chatter would keep them up all night. Charlotte would’ve gone crazy.
“You doing okay, Mol– Charlotte?” The previous name slips out on accident, and Tray flushes, clearly embarrassed. Tray stands near the door, seeming almost afraid to step too close to the moldy piece of bread. She fumbles with her hands, holding something, though clearly feeling too awkward to say much about it.
Charlotte grunts, and looks up towards Tray with squinted eyes. “Do I fucking look okay?” She spits out, exhaling shakily as she slumps her face into her hands. “No. My head hurts all the fucking time. I still can’t open my right eye. This shit sucks.”
“I’m sorry, Charlotte.” And it’s a genuine statement, despite how short it is. “Umm… would Ibuprofen help? I got some for you from the store yesterday. I don’t know much about medication, but… well, Amelia said it’s what she uses for when she’s in pain.” Tray offers, half-shrugging towards the end of her sentence, unsure with herself. “And I got you a sandwich from the cafeteria, too.”
Tray offers a bright smile when Charlotte finally looks up, meeting her eyes. There’s a long beat of silence, and as Charlotte just stares at her, Tray begins to worry that perhaps she offended her somehow– that anxiety is dashed, though, when she finally nods. “...Sure. That might do something.” Charlotte sighs, taking the Ibuprofen and sandwich from Tray. As she downs the Ibuprofen and bites into her sandwich (meta-cannibalism aside), she peers up, squinting again as Tray sits on the bunk across from her. “Where’d you get the money to buy Ibuprofen, anyway?” Charlotte interrogates, suspicious.
Tray laughs nervously for a moment before answering. “Well, uhh– I didn’t realize you had to pay for stuff until after I already left the store. I’m still getting used to the whole, like, economy thing.” A pause, and Tray sighs, slumping a little. “I don’t know how to be a proper object. I mean, I don’t even have an actual name. And they’re telling me that once we’re out of here, I have to get a job, and find a place to live, and pay bills and stuff? And buy my own food? Like– I just. I don’t get it.” By the end of her tangent, Tray’s voice is noticeably shaky, tears threatening to spill any second. “Sorry. I made it all about me, when I came in here for you.” She ends it with a weak laugh, embarrassment bubbling over into a quiet sniffle.
Charlotte shakes her head, listening to Tray talk as she eats. “Well, first off, that’s called stealing and it’s a crime. Trust me; I went to jail for it. Not a fun place to be.” Tray is noticeably petrified by this new information, and Charlotte can’t help but laugh, waving her off with a hand. “Relax, you’ll be fine. Probably.” Her added cheeky grin does little to help Tray’s nervousness.
“Secondly, you’d be surprised by how many objects are also confused about how to live. We all are struggling to pay bills, find jobs, find housing… all of it. It doesn’t really get easier, I hate to break it to you.” It’s rather blunt, but such is Charlotte's personality.
There’s a long silence between the two of them.
Seeming to feel the overwhelming gloom of her words, Charlotte speaks up again, trying to be a little more encouraging. “But! We’ll get through it together. Or, whatever they say. I mean– listen, living is hard, but it’s not impossible. You’ll be fine. Okay?” Charlotte stares expectantly at Tray, who seems to be in some sort of trance. “Okay?” She repeats, slower. And this time, Tray blinks up.
“...Okay.” Tray finally manages, voice still shaking, but at least she’s not disassociating anymore. “Okay. Yeah. Yeah, I can.. I can do it. I think.” She returns to her silence, taking a minute to think back to the breathing exercises Amelia taught during her mini yoga lessons, while Charlotte finishes her sandwich. Strangely, the silence is somewhat comfortable– a first for both of them.
The easy silence that had settled over the pair is immediately broken again when Tray pipes up. “Do you, uhh… do you know how to treat your mold? It– it is treatable, right?” It’s an uncomfortable and awkward question, and the air grows tense once more, the tone of mutual uncertainty returning. Charlotte just half-shrugs, looking away.
“Yeah. I mean, I think so? There’s an experimental operation… but it’s, like, two hundred thousand dollars. And…” She trails off, sighing, the frustration from the beginning seeming to creep back into her voice. “I don’t know. I was gonna pay for the treatment myself, but then my friends pitied me and tried paying for it instead, and it just– went downhill from there.” Charlotte frowns, unable to iterate the full story, though her guilt is ever-present.
“Oh. That’s a lot of money.” Tray blinks in surprise, peering at Charlotte with nagging curiosity. “You should try getting in touch with your friends again! I know Amelia was trying to reach her old manager the other day. Maybe they could try helping you pay again! And then you’d get all better.”
Tray is far too optimistic and naive, to the point where it almost gets on Charlotte’s nerves. She keeps her annoyance at bay, though, instead sucking in a breath and making herself remember that Tray is still new to being an object. New to everything, including interpersonal relationships and all the complexities that come with them.
“Our last conversation was an argument,” Charlotte explains, putting it lightly. “I doubt Parker would want to talk to me again.” She speaks tersely, the topic still tender.
“Well… I mean, I don’t know too much about friendships, but I think if they were your true friends they’d still care about you, argument or not. I mean– last time you saw them was right before you got brought to the Plane, right? They haven’t seen you in almost a year. I’m sure they’re worried sick!” Tray suggests, tone bright as she stands up from her bunk.
“I don’t know. Maybe.” Charlotte’s eyes drift away again, sighing. She opens her mouth to speak, but closes it. The words get lost– Tray wouldn’t understand, Charlotte thinks quietly. Doesn’t understand.
“Well, I saw a phone in the common area if you want to try calling him? Or maybe Back– err, Liam, could let you use the laptop to search him up like Amelia did. I think it’s worth a try.” Tray moves across the bedroom, stepping towards the door with a smile. She felt a lot better than she did stepping through originally. Talking to Charlotte ended up being more pleasant than she expected; in her opinion, at least.
“The rest of us are out there if you want to join. No pressure! But we miss you. Hope you feel better, Charlotte.” Tray’s tone is tender, sweet, and it makes Charlotte feel ill just listening to it. She mutters a quick goodbye as Tray steps out and away, gaze now fixating on the world outside the window.
Tray wasn’t horrible company, Charlotte decided. She was actually really nice, looking out for her and getting her Ibuprofen and a sandwich when she never even asked. But that was the thing– she didn’t ask, because she didn’t need her help. I don’t need anyone’s fucking help. I can do this on my own. Charlotte muses angrily to herself, rising from her bunk with a huff. Tray was sickly sweet; but despite her naivety, her words somehow managed to stick with Charlotte.
If they were your true friends they’d still care about you.
Could that actually be true? Parker was her best friend, and had been desperate to try and help Charlotte’s situation. He’d been her spelunking buddy, her (platonic) date to prom, her rock and #1 supporter when she’d found out her diagnosis. He was there for everything– could what they had be saved? Would he want to try? Would she?
As Charlotte makes her way out of the bedroom and into the common area, her gaze drifts, towards one wall of the room. For a homeless shelter, the setup was actually quite nice– a fireplace lit up either side of the room, surrounded by couches and filled with fellow objects just trying to make it through the day with someone at their side. On one end of the room sat her group: Liam, Bryce, Amelia, Tray, Whippy Creamy, Subway Seat, Stone, and the laptop with Texty on the coffee table, propped open so she could be included, too. Atom was in there somewhere– just too small to see. Airy sat off to the side, trying to include himself, but looking pretty miserable.
Charlotte scuffles past the group before any of them can call her over to chat. Tray catches her eye, and shoots her a smile; but it promptly goes ignored as Charlotte shambles towards the back wall where the phone is. Now that she’s out of sight, she can breathe… and think about what to say.
What to say, what to say. Charlotte stands there, just staring at the phone, hands dangling at her sides helplessly.
“Hey, you using the phone?” A stranger snaps Charlotte out of her trance– and she stumbles over her words, nodding.
“Uh, yeah. Sorry. I’ll be just a minute.” Charlotte wasn’t expecting much of a conversation, anyway, if Parker even answered the phone. A minute seemed fitting.
Charlotte never ended up preparing words to say. There were people waiting on her; she just needed to pick up the phone, get cussed out, and leave it at that. Then, at least, she could tell Tray that she tried, and not be lying about it.
Parker was her best friend, so punching in his phone number was just muscle memory. Despite not having called him in nearly a year, time felt like it stood at a standstill; like she’d just blinked and woke up a year in the future, placed back in that last moment before she was teleported to the Plane. Like some kind of coma, but in reality, it was just Airy’s fucked up game.
The line rings for seemingly forever. Charlotte groans into the phone, impatience already wearing thin– and as she begins to put the phone back on the receiver, a voice crackles through.
“Hello?”
That feeling, that rush, is something Charlotte will never be able to describe. Her face immediately flushes, blood running cold, with an indescribable emotion– fear? Anxiety? Embarrassment? Adrenaline? A lump forms in her throat, and Charlotte coughs, voice breaking briefly as she speaks into the phone.
“Hi. Parker? This is Charlotte.”
A scuffle echoes through the phone line; the sound of someone falling or stumbling into something. She can hear him mumble or shout something on the other end, though it doesn’t pick up enough for her to make out words. After 30 long seconds, the voice returns, breathy and in shock.
“Holy. Fucking. Shit. Charlotte? You’re alive?”
—-—-
Some time later, Charlotte steps away from the phone, hanging it onto the receiver with stunned eyes. The stranger from earlier aggressively grunts, moving past her to take the phone into his hands, and it takes all of Charlotte’s willpower to keep herself from punching this dickhead. She hadn’t expected to take so long on the phone, obviously, or else she would’ve said something beforehand!
Not my fucking fault, asshole. Charlotte thinks to herself as she steps away, though her footsteps are slow and deliberate as she re-enters the common area again. Her group is still there, chatting away; looking focused about something, for once.
“Charlotte!” Tray pipes up as Charlotte reluctantly approaches, patting the empty seat between herself and Airy. “Here, come sit. We were just talking about our names! Which, by the way, I think yours is so pretty.” The way Tray speaks is almost fangirl-esque, and Charlotte stumbles out an awkward laugh and ‘thank you’.
“Hey Charlotte.” Liam waves to her as she sits down, and she can’t help but feel flushed; everyone’s eyes are on her, and she hates that. “You doing okay?”
“I’m fine.” Charlotte mumbles out, brows knitting in disdain as everyone turns their attention to her. “What were you guys talking about?”
“Names! Aren’t they so weird? Or well, like, at least ours are. Like, I’m called Whippy Creamy, Subway Seat is called Subway Seat.. Tray’s just Tray, and so is Stone, so I guess theirs are less of a mouthful.. But still.” Whippy Creamy’s tone is bright yet inquisitive as he speaks; he had clearly thought about this.
Does he always talk this much? Charlotte wonders to herself silently.
“You forgot Atom.” Amelia pipes up meekly, motioning to the little grass blade on the coffee table.
“Oh! Yeah, sorry Atom.” Whippy Creamy frowns towards the little guy. “But your name already sounds like Adam. So like.. You don’t really count.”
“Thanks a lot.” Atom remarked, rolling his metaphorical eyes. “Hey, while the attention is on me, I wanted to talk to you guys about something.” Despite his small size, it doesn’t take much for the entire group’s attention to be pulled onto him.
“So, like, I’ve enjoyed being an object in the real world for a while, but also… well, I don’t know how to explain this.” The little atom sighs, grass blade fluttering around as he struggles to find his words. “I’d like to go back to being just, well, an atom? I don’t like stressing about how I’m gonna fit into the real world. It’ll be pretty hard for me to get a job, or find other friends, or like.. well, anything, really.”
“That makes sense.” Liam nods along sympathetically. “Is there a way for you to revert back? I know Bassy did it; you could too, right?”
“I could, but that’s not what I was thinking. And I don’t even know if this is possible, but– I was wondering if there’s a way to merge into the laptop? And be something like Texty. I figure, since I’m small enough, maybe I could just… walk into one of the USB ports, and work my way into the system from there?”
The idea leaves everyone stunned. Liam and Bryce share a concerned look; Amelia stares towards Atom, eyes widened in perplexion. “Wouldn’t that risk frying the motherboard or something? And, would Texty even want to share the laptop? I don’t know, Atom…” Amelia trails off, humming quietly in thought.
> WAIT
> i dont mind being roomies with atom BUT
> atom istg if u kill me im gonna be
> SO
> MAD!!!!!!!!
> i mean ig i wouldnt know that im dead BUT STILL
“Relax! Sheesh. I’m the size of an atom, I’m not gonna fry anything. And I’ll be careful when I’m inside, promise.” Atom pipes up, and that seems to quell most of the anxieties of the group.
“Okay… are you sure, though? Why do you even want to do this?” It’s Bryce who speaks now, tone even, though his expression is plastered with confusion. “It’s probably irreversible, too. Have you actually thought this through?”
“Yes, I’ve thought this through. I know I won’t be able to come back. But I think it’s worth it, for myself, at least.” He speaks solemnly, and in a rare moment, Atom speaks thoughtfully. “I want to be able to blink in and out of existence at my own will. And if I’m in the laptop, I can surf the internet, interact with people, and do whatever I want. There aren’t limitations online. Here, with how I am, there’s too many barriers to count. I wasn’t made to be something. Just a part of something. And I’m chill with that.”
The group falls into a bumpy, uncomfortable silence. Atom’s words are heavy, but despite the depressing nature of what he’s saying, he speaks with a certain air of assurance. He’s confident, and determined. He faces a rebirth with greater strength than the rest of the group could.
There’s not much anyone else can say, so they opt to just nod instead. And after what seems like an eternity of pondering what Atom said, Subway Seat breaks the silence.
“Well, good luck in there, buddy. Don’t go installing viruses on it.” It doesn’t take much for the group to laugh, timid smiles returning to the faces of everyone sitting around the fireplace.
“I won’t, I won’t!” Atom chirps, setting his grass blade down for a final time. “Alright. I’ll see you guys on the other side. Thanks for not leaving me behind.”
“Of course, buddy.” Subway Seat smiles, and the rest of the group murmurs their well wishes to the little atom. It’s bittersweet, yes, but not goodbye.
Atom steps into the laptop and disappears from sight for good. He’s small, and has no trouble entering through the USB port– although, after a minute or two of silent waiting, the batch of objects begin to feel uneasy.
“Wait. How will we know that he’s–” Liam is abruptly interrupted by an air horn noise erupting from the laptop, blasted at 200% volume. An enlarged notepad document pops up immediately after.
> HAHAAAAAAAA
>YALL THOUGHT I DIED IN THERE
>IM ALIVEEEEatom you are so annoyig turn the ari hrn ofNOPE I DO WHAT I WAN
…
>im the one with admin permissions u idiot
>lol look at this loser who cant type
>idiot haha idiot
>hi my name is atom and im rlly obnoxious lololol
“Texty, bring him back.” Liam commands, voice taking an almost parental tone.
…
>say sorry
>DO IT
>OK OK Fine
>Sorry
Bryce’s face falls into his hands, and Charlotte mirrors his annoyance. “Jesus Christ,” she mutters.
>It was like a maze in there
>Bunch of wires and flashing lights and shit
>I found my way into the system though
>Cuz I’m awesome.
>ur not but ok
Amelia seems to find it funny though, sharing a quiet giggle with Tray as they look at each other from across the couch. Charlotte just rolls her eyes, nudging Tray in the side to bring her attention back. “Can we go back to talking about names, now that Atom is figured out? I think you guys should start using human names instead of just going by your object.”
“Charlotte’s right. We should give you guys new names.” Amelia pipes up, nodding in agreement. “I think using names that are similar to your objects would be good. Like, uhhh…” She trails off, shoulders slumping awkwardly. She hadn’t thought that far ahead.
“Oh! I got one! Since my name starts with a W, how about I go by Wolfgang? Whippy Creamy, Wolfgang– they sound sorta similar, right? Like that’s basically the same. And it sounds cool too.” Whippy Creamy seems to speak endlessly.
“Absolutely not.” Subway Seat nearly shoves him off the couch at the preposterous suggestion. What was he, a 1700s composer? “Something simple, dude. Like.. I don’t know, Will? William? They’re both W names.” Subway Seat gives Whippy Creamy a stern look as the last sentence comes out like a compliment; he can already see the grin on his face. “I didn’t mean it like that. Shut up, man.”
Whippy Creamy bursts into a small fit of laughter, shaking his head as he struggles to compose himself. “No, no! Will. Okay! I like that! Will… yeah. Will.” He gives his nod of approval, a shining smile splitting his face.
“Alright, so Will, then. Subway Seat, for you, what about Sawyer? It doesn’t have the exact same sounds, but they’re similar in their own way. Would that work?” Bryce suggests lightly, brows raised slightly as he pitches the idea to Subway Seat.
Subway Seat mulls over the name for a few moments, seeming to think more about his new name than Whippy Creamy did. “Hmm. Alright. I like that, actually. Sawyer.” Subway Seat allows a brief smile to flash across his face before looking down, seemingly embarrassed. Will can only giggle at his shyness, earning a sharp elbow in the side from the newly-named Sawyer.
Amelia finds her gaze drifting, now to the dead-silent Stone, who’d been sitting quietly at her side the entire conversation. Her expression softens, smile warm as she addresses him. “Do you want a new name, Stone? We can help you pick one out.”
Stone’s eyes snap up to her, freezing for a moment as her attention is on him. He hardly takes a beat to consider it before shaking his head ‘no’ rapidly, looking down at his lap as he does so. Still shy, but he knows what he wants, at least.
Amelia hums in agreement as she pulls her gaze away from him, looking towards the group as they all peer at the duo curiously. She doesn’t push Stone further. “I think Stone’s gonna skip out on this one. Plus, I think Stone is fairly human-sounding anyway, right? I mean… it beats being called Subway Seat, or Tray.” Amelia chides playfully, shooting the latter a cheeky look.
“Speaking of, I have the perfect name for Tray.” Charlotte chimes suddenly, posture straightening as she leans up from her previously slumped position. “How about… Tracy?”
The group stares in awe of Charlotte as she drops the name suggestion. Everything about it is sheer perfection– and it seems like there are literal stars in Tray’s eyes the longer she thinks about the new name.
“Yes! Immediately yes! Oh my god, see, this is what I mean! Your name is beautiful, and you just gave me the most perfect name suggestion ever! It’s just like my object but with an extra syllable! Wow.” Tray is literally beaming– perhaps the happiest she’d ever been, all from a name.
“Glad I could help.” Charlotte shakes her head with a low laugh, though her smile can’t hide itself. The rest of the group murmurs in agreement; Tracy it is, then.
As the group diverges into side-conversations about their new names, it’s Liam who breaks the peaceful energy with a very obvious “look at me” cough. He blinks, flushing for a moment as everyone stops to stare at him.
“Uh, shouldn’t we give Airy a new name, too?” Liam bumbles out, and everyone just sort of stares at him for a moment before switching to glare at Airy, who hadn’t said a word the entire time. He fiddles with his cassette player in his hands, unaware the entire group is now staring at him until Charlotte expectantly pokes his side.
Airy blinks up, and you can almost visibly see him retracing the conversation he’d been loosely following to figure out how he was supposed to respond.
“Oh. Uh. Nnno, no, it’s fine, I’ll just… stick with Airy for now, I think.” The lampshade mumbles out, voice hardly audible beneath his awkwardness. When the group answers him with more stares and suffocating silence, Airy slowly rises, standing from the couch to walk away.
“Uh. I’m going to bed. G’night.” As Airy retreats wordlessly to the men’s sleeping quarters, the rest of the group share an unreadable look, also beginning to move and rise.
“Yeah, I’m hitting the hay too. Goodnight y’all!” Will exclaims cheerfully, following after Airy with a wave to the others. The rest of the objects nod and say their goodnights; even Texty and Atom with a huge text document before Liam closes the laptop on them, off to recharge in their bedroom.
As the three girls head in the direction of their room, Charlotte reaches her hand out, stopping Tracy before she can enter their shared sleeping quarters. Amelia is already inside, curled up on her bunk reading a book.
“Hey, Tracy,” Charlotte murmurs, testing out the new name for the first time. “I just wanted to say thanks for earlier. I know I can be kind of a dick sometimes, so… sorry for that.” she sighs, rubbing the back of her neck in discomfort as she speaks.
“Oh, no worries at all! I liked talking to you. You made me feel better. And thanks for the name, too. I love it.” Tracy beams, a golden smile plastered across her face. It makes something inside Charlotte unfurl, and relax. “How’d that phone call go earlier? I saw you walk behind the wall to call before you came over.”
“About as good as it could’ve gone, I guess? I don’t know. Parker wasn’t really mad still, moreso just worried about me. It was hard explaining everything over the phone to him, and we had a lot to talk about and too little time. Sooo…” Charlotte takes a moment to pause, sucking in a sharp breath. “He’s getting on the next flight he can to San Francisco. He’s gonna be here in, like, a day or two.”
Charlotte looks like she’s ready to take a punch to the face as she delivers the news, but Tracy just stares in disbelief, shocked by how Charlotte’s situation had unraveled. “So he might be here as soon as tomorrow? How does he even have the money to come here? Aren’t you from, like–”
“Georgia. And… Parker’s family has, uh, money. It’s a lot to take in; just, don’t worry about it, okay? I’m gonna explain everything to him. And apologize. And– I don’t know. We’ll see.” Charlotte sighs, looking away and into the bedroom. “Just thought I’d tell you. I’ll tell the others tomorrow, I guess. I’m not sure what’s gonna happen.”
“Hey, it’s gonna be okay. I’m glad you called him, and that you’re gonna try to fix things. I know that was a lot. You’re doing good.” Tracy’s words unintentionally come off as pitying, or coddling, and Charlotte’s stomach twists as she hears it.
I don’t need to be soothed. She thinks bitterly, brows knitting as she looks away. “Yeah, I know. Thanks.” Charlotte huffs, shifting her gaze to look back at Tracy briefly. “Goodnight, Tracy.”
As Charlotte walks away and climbs into her bunk, Tracy finds herself frowning, unsure of where that conversation took a turn to cause Charlotte to become cold again. Did I say something wrong? I just wanted to be nice. She feels a tiny part of her flutter with disappointment as she climbs into her own bunk, pulling the covers up with a quiet sigh.
“Goodnight, guys.” Tracy murmurs over to Charlotte and Amelia, and they respond with their own quiet mumblings of goodnight as Tracy clicks the lamp off, plunging the trio into tranquil darkness.
Let’s just go day by day.
Notes:
um... hey guys... long time no see heh?
first off i wanna apologize, the last year and a half have been NUTTY for me. i was still a senior in highschool when i wrote my last chapter, and now i've finished my first year in college and am going through a LOT of life changes right now. it's a turbulent time for sure, but continuing this fic was oddly invigorating :-) no guarantees on when the next chapter will be, but i've got a LOT of chapter ideas for the future so this fic is far from over, trust. i want to flesh out everyone's characters more and i have a few character arcs planned.
we'll see how it goes! if you're reading this new chapter even after all this time, thank you. i love reading your comments!! you guys are awesome.
-hannah
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