Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“I'll give you the pieces IF you send everyone back tonight.” 

“Yeah, yeah I’ll do that.”

“Airy, are you listening to me? Tonight.”

”Yeah- no! No, not tonight. Uh...”

”Then you're not getting these pieces.”

“Tomorrow! I’ll…do it tomorrow.” 

“Tomorrow.” 

“Yeah. Yeah, I'll do it tomorrow.”

Liam stared up at the ceiling of the hut, his mind racing with thoughts and doubt about Airy’s intentions. Will he really let them all go? Is he going to be an issue? Liam couldn’t be sure, but it seems as though Airy is….well, insane. So he isn’t too worried about him being dangerous. Maybe he’ll leave the, all alone. 

“Hey.”

Liam turned and saw Airy at the doorway.

“I'm gonna go get some wood. Just, thought to let you know.” He slurred slightly, simply walking away from view. 

Liam exits out of the hut, looking around for Airy for a few seconds before making a beeline towards the cave. He passes through the vines adorning the entrance, slipping for a moment before he regains his balance on the wall, before he walks over to the table, and goes up towards The Plane, looking down in on the contestants.

Bryce was sitting in the grass, holding Amelia, who was sobbing uncontrollably against him. Charlotte and Subway Seat were off to the side, the two unable to say much as they just stared at the ground. Tray and Whippy Creamy were there, in their inanimate form due to the despair they face.

Liam looks upset, staring at his friends and Allies as he whispers towards the microphone.

“Hey guys! It’s me!” 

He glances at the computer, the screen black as it’s turned off and he sits down at the chair, pressing the button before leaning into the microphone. 

“Guys.”

The group stopped immediately and turned their attention upwards to the sky, their faces covered in shock over the new voice. Tray and Whippy Creamy suddenly become animated again, turning their attentions back up.

”is that…?” Charlotte mutters for a moment, unable to process it.

”Guys! It’s me!” Liam voice ripples through The Plane and they all stood up suddenly. 

“Backpack!” Amelia screams, disbelief and complete shock.

“Liam!” Bryce repeats, his voice breaking as he begins to laugh uncontrollably “Oh my god it’s you!” 

Liam smiles down at them, relief on his face as he talks again “Y-Yeah, it’s me guys. It’s me.” 

“Whoah, Liam is here? But I can’t see him.” Atom says, the piece of grass he’s holding moving up and down. 

“No guys I’m, I’m here. I’m outside of The Plane.” Liam tells them “I-I’m at Airy’s dimension.” 

“Oh my god, you did it!” Bryce smiles, proud of Liam for accomplishing this.

“Wait you’re in Airy’s world? D-Did you find him?! Tell me you beat his ass!” Charlotte stomped her foot, a smile on her face.

”N-No, I can’t, he’s the only person who can bring you back.” Liam tells them. 

“What, who is Airy though? He’s not just…air?” Tray seems confused.

“He’s…some sorta…copper lantern? He has a crack on his face.” 

“Lantern..?” Bryce places a hand under his mouth, his eyebrows furrowing. 

Amelia wiped her tears “H-How are we gonna get out then?”

”I-It’s okay guys, A-Airy is gonna let you all go.” Liam gives an assured smile even though they can’t see him.

Confusion and doubt spreads across all their faces and Charlotte speaks up “What? He’s gonna let us all go?”

”What do you mean, why would he? I thought he wanted us to play his sick game.” Subway Seat shared in the confusion. 

Liam rubbed the side of his head and sighed “I-I made a deal. We’ll let you all go tomorrow and I give him back his tape recorder.”

”What? That’s it?” Charlotte furrowed her brows “What’s the catch?”

”No catch, he’ll let us all go tomorrow.” Liam simply said.

Whippy Creamy spoke up hesitantly “H-How can we trust him?”

”Yeah, Liam. This sociopath has been terrorizing us for….for so long now how can we just-“ Bryce began. 

Liam interrupted “Guys, please just….trust me. Okay, I talked with Airy I’ve…seen him. And he’s…he’s not…he’s harmless.” 

“Harmless?” Amelia repeated.

”He’s…he’s just been here for a long time. I don’t even think he realizes what he’s really…doing right now and……I trust he’ll do this, I’ll make sure of it!” Liam promises.

Everyone seemed doubtful and Bryce took a sigh “Well…I trust your judgement Liam, I….I hope you’re right.” 

Liam smiles softly, taking a deep sigh before Airy steps into the cave “Wh-What are you doing?”

Liam turns around and glares “You’re gonna let them all go, tomorrow, you will at least let me talk to them.”

Airy opened his mouth for a moment, staring “O-Okay.” 

Liam sighed, placing a hand on his head “Tell them. Tell them right now.”

He took a step back and gestured to the microphone. Airy stayed quiet as he walked over to the Plane and sat down, swallowing his saliva before leaning in

“U-Uh, hey.” Airy spoke.

Everyone immediately felt dread hearing him. 

“Why can’t you just drop dead already?” Charlotte pinches the bridge of her nose.

”Uhm, yeah, well. So, I guess this season of ONE is uh…gonna be ending soon.” Airy spoke, somewhat disappointed as he glances at the pile of hay in the field “And well, it seems like you guys aren’t completing the challenge.” 

“We don’t want to play your games anymore, Airy.” Bryce had his arms crossed, shutting his eyes. 

“O-Oh, are you guys sure you don’t want to win? Have the prize? It’s one wish-“ 

“WE DON’T WANT TO BE HERE ANYMORE, CAN YOU JUST FUCKING UNDERSTAND THAT, AIRY!?” Bryce finally had enough, screaming out into the sky.

Airy flinches back slightly, his expression unchanged as Liam had a look of contempt on his face. 

Airy clears his throat “Okay well uh…tomorrow I’ll announce a winner that the viewers will vote on.” 

“Airy we don’t-“

Bryce is interrupted by Charlotte, placing a hand on his arm and shaking her head “Please, we’re so close to leavening.” Her tone was just…desperate at this point.

Bryce’s anger danishes and replaced by sadness and he sighed, defeated “You announce a winner tomorrow…and we all go home?”

”Yeah.” Airy simply confirmed.

Bryce stayed silent and sighed, only nodding “Okay then…fine.”

They stayed quite for a few moments, with Amelia having a look of just…disbelief on her face as she almost smiled, tears still weeping “We’re…we’re gonna go home?”

”Yeah, I just said that.” Airy added.

Charlotte takes a large deep sigh as she kneels forward “Ohh god.” 

Tray and Whippy Creamy begin to incessantly laugh as they hug each other, with the outdo music beginning to play Subway Seat leans back “Thank god. We’ll finally be back home!” 

“Well, I guess that’s fine.” Atom simply says. 

Liam stays silent as he watches the others’ mixed emotions as he then glances at Airy, who just looks…disappointed. Airy leaned back, standing up as he began to walk away. Liam walked to the mic.

”We’ll talk tomorrow, I-I promise.” Liam tells them.

”Thank you Liam…Thank you.” Bryce begins to smile, a tired smile, yet still a smile.

Liam walks away from the mic and  towards Airy, who was sitting by the water as the rain poured down on the both of them. Liam stood next to Airy, staring down at the copper lantern with still a mix of contempt yet also a soften look.

”Well, Uhm, you’ll send them back when I wake up.”

”Okay.” Airy simply responded in confirmation.

Liam nodded, looking around.

”Uhm…who should win?” Airy asks. 

“What?”

”The competition? W-Who do you think should win?” Airy looked over at Liam, interested.

Liam sighed “Airy I…I…”

Liam stared at Airy for a few moments, his expression faltering as he gave a deep sigh “I don’t…I don’t know, Bryce? Maybe Amelia? She gone through so much. Charlotte? She deserved it with her mold. Uhm…I don’t know, Airy, I don’t know.”

Airy stayed quiet and nodded and Liam’s expression shifted slightly as he sighed “Do you. Have a charger?”

”For uh…the laptop?” Air glances at Liam and nods “Yeah…yeah I do.”

Liam nodded “Just uh…charge it before tomorrow, please…Uhm…maybe…do you wanna…”

He shook his head, taking a step away and sighing “I’m gonna go to bed.”

”Okay…” Airy nodded, staring at the water as Liam heads towards the hut “U-Uh, Backpack?”

Liam paused, shutting his eyes and sighing before looking back “Yes?” 

“W-What did….what did you think of the challenges? What do you think I did wrong with them?” Airy asks, staring at him. 

Liam sighed again, annoyed now “I don’t know, they were crude, they nearly killed us, they were so mind numblingly simple. I drowned in one of them!”

Airy stayed quiet for a few moments before he nodded and glances away “Okay…”

Liam stayed quiet, staring at Airy before he simply walks back into the hut.

Amelia was inside the wooden hut, staring ahead at the horizon of the sky, taking a deep, long breath as she then stares at the sky. 

“Well. Knew I’d find you here.” Bryce walks over and sits across from Amelia. 

She stares at the sky again, staying quiet as she takes a deep sigh “…Tomorrow, hm.” 

Bryce chuckles “Yeah, seems like it. I knew Liam would do it. He had it in him.”

Amelia stayed quiet, and Bryce looks over “You okay?” 

“Y-Yeah, yeah I’m okay.” Amelia nodded, glancing away.

”I know it’s been…you’ve been here for a long time, I know that, Amelia. But we’re gonna go home. We’ll be back to our old lives before we know it.” 

Amelia nodded, a small smile cracking on her face “Yeah…Yeah, back home…back home!”

“H-Hey, If me or Liam are ever in Washington. Maybe we can find you.” Bryce smiles as he looks over at her.

Amelia started laughing “Honestly, maybe we can all pretend this is a bad dream after this.”

Bryce sighs “Yeah…yeah maybe.” 

He stands up “You wanna join the pool party?”

”No, no I think I’m just gonna relax for now. Thanks though.” Amelia declines, shaking her head.

Bryce nods as he walks out of the hut and Amelia’s smile fades, staring back at the horizon as she begins to breath harshly.

The morning comes, and Liam finds himself waking up on the makeshift bed on the ground. He groans softly, sitting up as he glances around the hut. He glances at Airy, who was in the doorway.

”Hey uh…i’m gonna announce the winner now…” Airy simply said.

Liam stayed quiet, before he stood up “Okay.”

The two enter into the cave and walk over to the table and The Plane. Liam spots the laptop on the table and picks it up, opening it “You okay, Texty?”

A small window text box opens up and Texty responds in text to speech “YEAH. I’M FINE. DID YOU KILL AIRY?”

Airy looks over at Liam and Liam stare for a moment “I figured out the issue. We’re all going home, Texty.”

”AWESOME.”

Liam shuts the laptop and places it inside himself and zips himself up as Airy awkwardly goes to the microphone. Liam leans into The Plane, seeing the group discussing with each other.

”Hey, contestants.” Airy begins, making everyone look up “It seems like today you will go home now.”

”YES!” Charlotte cheers, finally with the confirmation.

’Who-Hoo!!” Whippy Creamy fist bumps tray.

”Well, I’m uh, gonna announce who the winner is now.”  Airy simply says.

Airy moves his hand to small box with scraps of paper in it, and he pulls one out. He opens it and reads what’s inside.

The contestants stare up at sky, slightly annoyed yet just waiting for Airy to be finished.

”And…Scenty is the winner! Of uh: ONE.”

Amelia stared up at the sky for a few moments, the announcement of her “winning” not even getting her any other emotion out of her as Atom says “Wow. Congrats Amelia.”

”What-would you like your wish to be?” Airy asks.

Amelia stayed quiet, staring up at the sky with a blank expression and everyone turns to her. 

“Uh. What would you like your wish to-“

”Just-“ Amelia pauses, taking a deep breath “Just take us home. That’s my wish. Bring us all back.”

”oh. Okay…kinda a lousy wish but okay.” Airy nodded “Okay, I’m gonna send everyone back in-“

”W-Wait!” Bryce spoke up “Can we at least say goodbye to everyone first?!” 

Airy glances over at Liam and he nodded “O-Okay. Sure.”

Bryce sighs as he looks over at the rest and the group hugs head other, saying their goodbyes as tears are shed.

“Thanks for teaching us yoga, Amelia.” Subway Seat smiles. 

Amelia chuckles and then frowns at Subway Seat, Tray, and Whippy Creamy “Well, I guess we won’t, see you guys ever again.” 

“Oh, yeah you’re going back to your own world.” Charlotte frowns as well.

Tray chuckles “Hey, it’s fine. We’ll have the memories!” 

Atom moved the grass up and down “Well, I guess this was fun. But I’ll miss you guys.”

Bryce sighs as he looks at Charlotte and Amelia and  hug each other “Maybe we can visit each other.”

“That’d be nice.” Charlotte chuckles.

”Make sure to take care of that mold treatment, Charlotte.” Amelia reminds.

”First thing.” Charlotte promises.

Bryce looks up “Hey, Liam. I guess I’ll see you on the the side!” 

Liam chuckles “Yeah, we’ll see you guys.”

Airy nodded as he leans over, pressing some buttons before leaning on the mic “Okay, I’m uh, gonna take you guys back now. In three. Two.”

The group stares at each other, smiling as they all nod as a final goodbye.

”One.”

The group all disappear and Liam’s smile falters as he sighs and glances over at Airy “Well, uh. Seems like it’s my turn.”

Airy nodded as he goes to the computer and presses  “Yeah.”

“Uhm…you know, are you…gonna be okay here in your own?” Liam asks, a look of genuine concern on his face for a moment.

”Yeah, yeah I’ll be okay.” He nodded.

Liam nodded slightly and sighed softly “Okay. Well uh….I’m ready when y-”

Airy stared at the computer before glancing over at where Liam once was and sighed softly, sitting down at his desk. He glances around, silent. He stands up and unplugs The Plane, plugging into another planet for a moment as he thought.

”Hm…maybe.”

He tapes on something on  the keyboard, tapping his foot “Well. I guess we’ll see soon.”

On the screen was the Plane Database, listed SEASON 3.

Chapter Text

When someone wishes to describe the life of Taylor Nolan before being teleported to ONE, it would be boring.

When someone wishes to describe the life of Taylor Nolan AFTER being eliminated from ONE, it would still be described as boring.

Taylor lead a pretty normal life. For the most part at least. She lived in a simple, two story condominium with her mother. She went to school, went to her work as a cashier, and went home to do her school work. Rinse and repeat. She would visit her dad in jail for the weekend, then rinse and repeat again. 

Taylor didn’t particularly mind this life, she had good grades. A positive relationship with her mother, and best of all, a best friend, Charise. However, she couldn’t lie and think her days were pretty dull, a benign repetition that continued onto her teen life. So when she suddenly teleported into a grass field with several others by a mysterious voice in the sky, saying that as long as they compete, they can win a wish for whatever they want, Taylor thought that was the best thing ever!

The Best Thing Ever…

“Hey, Taylor?” Charise broke Taylor’s train of thought. 

Taylor blinks for a few moments, staring at her best friend and smiling “Yeah, what’s up?”

”I uh, asked what you wanted for lunch.” Charise told her.

“Oh, uh, sorry! Uhm, I guess pizza!” Taylor laughed slightly, distracted slightly.

Charise frowns “What’s wrong? You seem…weird?” 

“Weird? What do you mean weird, hah! I’m fine!” Taylor smiled.

Charise pursed her lips and shrugs “Okay, come on. Let’s get to the bus station.”

The two of them make their way down the sidewalk, with Taylor glancing at the passing cars down the street. Her mind still wanders to ONE from time to time. It was such an odd experience, and telling Charise it, she seemed as though she didn’t believe Taylor, and that was fair, it was a strange thing to claim. 

“You know. How was that investigation thing happened? You never told me about it?” Charise looks over.

Taylor paused for a second and glances at her friend, puzzled before shrugging “Eh, it uh, just hit a wall.”

And that was true. Ava Ledger certainly believed Taylor about what happened, but there was just no information to go off of. No further witnesses, no leads and the investigation just went cold, and the people who she met in The Plane are still missing. She still keeps in contact with Ava, even six months later, but they haven’t spoken in a bit due to Ava’s job.

Charise laughs a little “Honestly, Taylor. Maybe you can write a book about what you saw!”

Taylor gave a sarcastic smile “Would be a really short book. Chapter 1: Teleported to the Plane! Chapter 2: Baby gets Impaled! Chapter 3: Objects from another universe! Chapter 4: Epilogue.”

”Short stories! They exist!” Charise points out.

Taylor chuckles “Yeah, yeah I guess.” 

Charise adjusted the straps of the backpack she was wearing as they make it to the bus station, cars passing them quickly. 

“So, honestly Taylor, what do you think about all that?” 

Taylor shrugs “I uh…don’t really. It’s something weird that happened but uh, well….I don’t think about it anymore. Not by much I guess.”

“Are you worried over all those guys?” Charise questions.

Taylor frowns and sighs “Yeah, yeah I guess. But, hey, at least I made it out! And who knows, maybe they’ll be out too.”

Charise chuckles and leans back as they wait for the bus “So…what was gonna be your wish if you won?”

Taylor purses here lips, thinking “…Maybe a new phone. Money. Hmm…I guess I liked the fun more then the prize.”

Charise laughs slightly “Well hey, I think you’re worth a million bucks!”

Taylor and Charise laugh as a large trucks barrels down the road. When it passes them, Charise’s backpack is on the ground, and Taylor stared at where her friend once was, before she dropped her own backpack.

“Okay. Well uh….I’m ready when y-ou…are…”

Liam was suddenly back at the alleyway, taken aback over how quickly he was teleported. Guess Airy really wanted him gone. 


And then, Liam was ambushed by a hug, with Bryce wrapping his arms around him as he laughed cathartically “You did it you did it! You actually did it!” 

Liam laughs, retraining the hug “Yes! Indeed I did! It seems like I managed to get through to Airy. Somehow.”

Bryce pulls away and looks around, his laughing fit dying out as he glances around “Well, I uh, I guess that we’re finally out of here, huh?”

Liam chuckles, nodding as he leaned back “Yeah, I suppose we’re finally gonna continue with our lives.”

Bryce looks around for a second and then he stops, sighing “I gotta make it back to Bridgeport.” 

Liam sucks in his teeth “Yeah, okay that’s fair enough. It’s uh gonna be a long trip, you gonna be okay on your own.” 

“Yeah, yeah.” Bryce nodded “I’ll just take the busses. Uhm, how about you? You don’t really have a job or anything.” 

“Eh, I’ll…work it out.” Liam excuses, at this point he simply wanted to end things off with a good note with Bryce, not bog it down with semantics about being gone for so long.

Bryce nodded for a moment, the two quiet for a moment before Bryce hugs Liam once more “Well, uh, I guess this is goodbye.”

”Maybe it can just be…see you later?” Liam replies back, kinda jokingly.

”Yeah, maybe.” Bryce chuckles and glances around “I’ll…catch you around…Mr. Worldwide.”

The two laugh slightly as Bryce walks out of the alleyway and Liam sighs for a moment, thinking what his next move is. He doubts he has a apartment at this point. And so he’s homeless. He’s also out of a job, so that sucks. And he’s gonna need some therapy for everything he’s gone through. Hm. Oh well. 

Liam turns and walks out of the hallway, deciding to chat up with an old friend. 

Garrett Dennis tapped his foot, looking at the various cereal options on the shelf of his local grocery store. 

He sighed for a moment, shaking his head “Really not enough diversity of food here.”

Garrett glances down the aisle before he pauses, and his expression shifts to confusion then shock. Amelia was aimlessly walking down the aisle, having a small basket in her hand, looking around for cookies. 

Garrett slowly approaches Amelia “Amelia? That you?” 

Amelia stops in her tracks and stares at Garrett, wide eyed. Her mind was processing the person in front of her. Who was he? He looked familiar.

”G-Garrett? Garrett Dennis?” He clarifies “You don’t…remember me?”

Amelia immediately had a look of resonation on her face “O-Oh! Oh Garrett wow! Hey! It’s been a bit!” 

“Yeah, uh, what’s up Amelia? Where were for six months?” Garrett looks concerned “You’ve been missing for that time!”

Amelia laughs as she places her hands on her sides “Missing?” 

“Y-Yeah you’ve just disappeared from work one day and I got interviewed, the police thought you’ve been dead.” Garrett explains to her.

“Whaaaat? Dead?! Nooo I just took a…sabbatical. A sorta spirit journey.” Amelia makes up an excuse that can make some sorta sense.

“Oh, a spirit journey? For six months?” Garrett seems surprised.

“Well, must’ve taken longer than I thought.” She laughed nervously. 

Garrett sighs “Well, I’m glad you’re okay. You know other people been going missing you know? The woman who interviewed me said there were potentially others?”

Amelia shrugs “Odd. Must have been a dead lead!” 

“Yeah, I guess.” Garrett nods “Uhm…wow, so you’re doing good?”

”Yeah! Yeah, I’m alright! Just uh…just gotta get back into a routine!” Amelia smiled. 

Garrett nods and thinks “Well, that’s good. If you want we can talk about getting your old job back.”

Amelia stayed quiet for a second, staring at him before he clarifies “At the yoga studio.”

”O-Oh yeah! Uh, sorry about…all that. 

“Nah nah, it’s all good. We don’t have much employees, so it’s be nice having you back.” Garrett smiles reassuringly.

Amelia smiles softly, nodding “I’d like that.”

”Great. Just uh, stop by the studio and we’ll talk about hours. It’s nice talking to you.” Garret smiles as he walks pass her down the aisle, and A,elia’s smile fades as she glances at the tile floors. She then glances at her shopping basket.

“Oh. I don’t have money…right.”

Amelia walks down the sidewalk, staring up at the various businesses that align her town. It all felt alien to her. Like she was some sort of alien coming to Earth for the first time. Her mind raced a lot over so much at this point. Her house? That was pretty much gone. Money? She has to start over now. Family? 

Hm. 

The Plane was easier. It was simpler than her life here. 

She stares up at her old Yoga Studio and she takes a deep breath. Walking down the halls of her old workplace, she’s filled with a slight anxiety as she makes her way down to Garrett’s office. She glances into the room she remembered doing yoga before she was teleporting. She sees students, some old faces, some new, doing stretches with an instructor and she stays quiet for a few moments as she just…stares. 

Amelia knocks on the door of Garrett’s office before letting herself in, seeing Garrett at his desk, a water bottle next to him which he takes a sip out of. 

“Hey, Amelia. Come in.” He smiles and gestures. 

“Hey, Garrett.” She steps into the room and grins “Again, thank so much for this.”

”Hey, it’s all right.” Garrett looks at his computer and thinks “So, let’s see, Jackie is taking over today’s hours so we can fill you in tomorrow at 4 to 7. Is that good?” 

“Yeah, I guess that can work.” Amelia gives a small smile.

”Perfect. How is housing situation? You need a place to stay? I’m sure we can set up something.” Garrett offers.

”No, don’t worry. I’ll figure it out.” Amelia declines.

”You sure?”

“Yep!” Amelia nods, trying to keep a cheerful attitude.

Garrett nods slightly, his smile partially fading “Uhm, if you wanna talk to me about…anything, you can Amelia. Okay?”

”Absolutely.” Amelia nods as she quickly turns and walks out as Garrett sighs and takes another sip of water.

Amelia was halfway down the hall before she stops in her tracks. Shutting her eyes. He’s just trying to help. Amelia sighs and turns around, walking to Garrett’s office once more and opening the door.

“Garrett, I-“

Amelia stops, her eyes meeting an empty office and she steps in, looking around for where Garrett went. She stared, confused for a moment.

”Uh, Garrett?” 

She quickly looked behind the desk and anywhere else “G-Garett?!”

She then notices Garett’s water bottle on the floor, slowly spilling water out as she begins to breath heavily. 

In a blink of an eye, Charlotte stood in her living room. Well. What’s left of it.  Her flatscreen TV, couches, everything she once owned was gone. All that’s left was dusk and dimmed light through the windows. She stayed quiet as she blinked, scanning the empty room as she had a melancholic expression across he face.

In the neighbor’s house, there was a knock on the door. They walked over and opened the door, and Charlotte stood, scratching her arm “Can I borrow a phone?”

Charlotte held a phone up to her ear, staying quiet as it rang until the call came through.

”Hello?” A female’s voice answers.

Charlotte immediately released a long sigh of relief “Oh my god, Lauren, ahah! Thank god, I was worried you changed numbers.”

There was a beat of silence before Lauren answered “C-Charlotte? Is that you?!”

”Yes, it’s me, it’s me Lauren.” Charlotte smiled, beginning to tear up.

”What the f-Girl?! Where the hell were you?! You’ve been missing for six months we all-“

”I know, I know, listen. You were right, everyone was right, I was being selfish and stubborn here. I decided to use your money you all gave to me and spent it on myself instead of helping my mold treatment, I pushed you guys away because of my own issues and, Oh hell, Lauren, I wanna tell you everything I went thought.” Charlotte’s words went flying out of mouth as she was placing a hand on her head, tearing up more.

”What are you talking about?!” Lauren sounded confused and upset.

”Look, I’ll explain later, can you reach out to Parker? I can’t reach him.” Charlotte asks.

The line went dead for a moment and Charlotte waited for a response “Lauren?”

”….wait, you don’t know?”

Inside the police station, Charlotte slammed on the counter, upset “Look! I’m here right now! I’m Charlotte Stern! And Parker didn’t do anything to me!”

Sitting across from her was Officer Goetz, a window pane with a smug expression on his face and office cap. He took a long sip of his coffee “Jesus, is this some sorta elaborate prank y’all pulled out? First the candy wrapper started yelling about how you “vanished” then the magazine girls starts to ramble on being teleported to play a dangerous show and then you’re here, six months later, saying the same thing, huh?” 


“It’s true it’s all true!” Charlotte looks extremely pissed off.

Goetz glances at the other cops in the station “Guess that mold really is as bad as people say!” 

Charlotte slams on the counter and steps back, turning away as she controls her breathing. She turns around and glares at Goetz “Believe me, or not. I don’t care. But I’m here, I’m alive, and safe. And I’m telling you Parker Robins did nothing to me. Now let. Him. Go.”

Officer Goetz stayed silent for a moment before he sighs “Let him out of the cell.”

Charlotte stood outside the police station, nervous before the doors swing open and out walks Parker. He looked extremely tired, bags under his eyes as his arm is inside a sling. Charlotte looks horrified seeing his state and Parker stares at Charlotte, both confused, frazzled and just…angry. Charlotte rushes and hugs him, but he pulls away, shaking his head.

”N-No. How did. How are-What happened?” Parker asks. 

“Parker, listen-“

”I-I saw you, just…vanish in front of my eyes, Charlotte. Just…gone. Like that.” 

“I know, Parker, but I’ll explain everything on the way to your house. You live in the same apartment, right?” Charlotte turns around.

“Explain it to me NOW, then!” Parker stands his ground.

Charlotte stops and clenches her fists and eyes, groaning deeply “….Please, Parker.” 

Parker stays silent, and he sighs “Fine….you have a car?”

She nods “Got it back from impound.” 

The car ride was awkward. Charlotte was driving down a busy road, taking occasional glances at Parker, who was staring out the passenger side window in deep thought.

”So…what happened to your arm?” Charlotte asks.

Parker sighs “Martin, happened.”

”Martin did this?!” Charlotte griped in the steering wheel in shock and anger.

”He was the most vocal in saying I had something in you disappearing.” 

Charlotte’s anger disappears and turned into shame “Parker, listen, I-“

“I just….can you tell me the truth, once?” Parker looks over at her.

”Tell you the tr-Parker? What I’m saying is true!” Charlotte defends her story.

”Oh please! Sociopathic Voice forcing you and a bunch of others into playing games? What, they suddenly came back to life when they died?! What are you even talking about?!”

“Then how can you explain me vanishing in front of your eyes?!” 

“I DON’T KNOW!” Parker slams his good hand on the dashboard, leaning back “I don’t…know…”

Charlotte sighs, keeping her eyes on the road as the two stayed silent “…I’m telling the truth, Parker. It’s all the truth.”

”And how will you even begin to explain this to everyone else, huh? You wanna explain it to my bosses? To our friends? To the internet?!” Parker glares “Because all of them think I killed you, or I hurt you so badly you had to run away for months.” 

“I’ll tell them the truth, which is that you had NOTHING to do with what happened to me.” Charlotte tells him.

Parker leans back “Like they’ll believe it…”

Charlotte sniffles and she looks over at him “Parker, I’m sorry. I’ve been a complete bitch when we last talked. I promise you, I’ll repay all the money I owe you and our friends.”

”God, just, STOP, Charlotte!” Parker barks out.

Charlotte flinched back, having drifted slightly on the road before getting back to her lane and there was a moment of silence as Parker sighed shakily.

”It doesn’t…matter what happens now, okay? My life has taken a huge hit right now. I feel hated in my own neighborhood, most of our friends hate me  now. And I’ve felt like I’ve gone insane for the last SIX months!” Parker tears up “And no amount of money will change that!”

”I know, Parker, I know but-”

”I’m happy, you’re alive, okay? I’m happy you’re safe now but….after everything? I…” 

There was a strong silence, and Charlotte shuts her eyes for a moment.

”I don’t think I wanna b-”

Charlotte opened her eyes, staying on the road as she waited for him to finish “Parker?”

She glances over and her eyes widened as she just saw an empty seat where Parker once was.

”PARKER?!”

She suddenly turned the steering wheel, making the car turn over and squeal to a halt, blocking the entire road as suddenly the cars came to a stop. Charlotte fell out of the vehicle as she backed up, starting to breath heavily. She was hyperventilating, her ears ringing which block out the sound of the cars blaring their horns and the drivers yelling. She was just hyperventilating.

Bryce was in the airport, on the payphone to his boss as he placed a coin in the soda machine.

”Yeah, I know, sorry boss. I’m on the first plane back home, I assure you. I’ll be back in maybe 6 hours tops.” He assures, taking the soda from the vending machine and drinking it “Alright then, I’ll see you.”

He sighs, looking around the busy airport with a sense of….happiness. He was free. He can let go of everything that had troubled him from before. Airy. The Plane. All of it was behind him. He smiled, taking another sip of soda. 

“Plane for San Francisco to New York, departs in 10 minuets.”

Bryce sighs as he finishes his soda, tossing it in the trash as he started walking through the airport. He sat in the uncomfortable coach of the plane, staring out the window as the plane traveled through the clouds. He didn’t care about it though. At this point, nothing can get them down at this point. 

He sighed softly, leaning back in his seat as he planned where to go from here. Maybe he’ll reach out to Liam later on. Find Amelia, and maybe Charlotte. Not Taylor though, since she was a teen and left early. The four of them, they’re really suffered through much. Although, now they’re free to live the rest of their lives. And Airy? Well, he can go fuck himself for all he cares. As long as he never bothers the, again.

Touching upon New York, he exists the airport, sighing as he glances around before he boards a bus heading to Bridgeport. He sat in the back as he watched the cars pass him, smiling as he began to tear up. He then proceeded to cry, laughing as he leaned forward, and the other passengers looked confused and uncomfortable as Bryce leaned back, laughing.

Opening the door to his apartment, god. He never thought he’d be happy seeing it. He walked over to his bed, before falling onto it and laughing triumphantly, giving a content smile.  After a few hours of just laying in bed, he sighs as he sits up.

”Welp. Onto the grind.” He smiles, actually happy to go to work as he walked over to get his uniform.

Bryce was humming as he tapped the steering wheel while driving, listening to the radio on his way to work. Bryce turns the street of his work and he slows down as he sees smoke coming from the direction of his work. As he gets to the parking lot his eyes widened as he sees the Epic Burger restaurant, now just the burnt black remains. He sees his boss and three of his other coworkers. Thomas, a tube of glue; Jackie, a soft serve strawberry ice cream cone; And Marion, a lightbulb. 

Bryce parks and he gets out of his car as he hears his boss just yelling at the three employees. Bryce walks over, confused as hell.

”Guys, what happened?!” 

“Oh, there you are Bryce!” His Boss turns over, upset “A fire is what happened. That damn Kylie caused it.”

”Kylie?” Bryce looks confused for a moment and then thought about it. Oh right, his coworker. He honestly forgot about her this whole time. They never even really talked to each other so she was mostly just a bystander to him. He glanced between the four of them “W-Wait, where is she?!”

”I don’t know, I guess she’s just gone like a fart in the wind! No one’s telling me where she went!” The Boss glares.

Thomas sighs as he grabbed the bridge of his nose “I told you already, boss. Kylie was operating the grill when you told me to start unpacking the frozen food in the freezers. I left her there for 5 minuets, and when I came back the grill was on fire and started spreading and Kylie was gone.” 

“And I told you that I was on my smoke break by the alleyway.” Jackie adds in “And I didn’t see Kylie go out that door in that time.”

”So what? She just walked the front probably.” The Boss says.

“Impossible.” Marion speaks up “I was at the entrance sweeping. I didn’t see her once.”

”What? So she just VANISHED?!” 

Vanished. Vanished. No….

Bryce’s eyes widened as those words rang in his head and he began to panic. This couldn’t be happening. No. No it can’t be.

Bryce began to hyperventilate as he walked backwards, looking around for a few moments. 


The Boss groans “Listen, Bryce, we need to talk about our-”

He looks over and see that Bryce had already driven off “H-Hey!”

”What’s up with him?” Jackie asks, confused.

”He’s been acting really weird.” Thomas places his hands on his hips.

Inside a bar, Liam and Owen were laughing, a few drinks were already passed around as Liam explained literally everything.

”Wait, so like. He agreed to let you go over a simple tape recorder?” Owen squints slightly, smiling.

”I don’t know man, he’s fucking insane.” Liam laughs a little “Just a crazy dude just living by himself.”

Owen leaned back, smiling as he laughed a little and Liam took a shot “Come on, Owen. Ya’ gotta believe me.”

”I wanna dude, I really do but like! Ya’ gotta admit this is insane sounding!” 

Liam sighed, nodding. It did sound insane now recounting it “It does, but I’m telling the truth.” 

Owen sighed a little “So, just to recap here: A copper lantern, died. And he made it to a world where he can just, make planets. He kidnapped a bunch a people and tried to play games with them, but he killed them all.”

”Yes.” Liam nodded.

”So, ten years later he tried again, and he kidnapped you and a bunch of others. You saw a baby get impaled and revived and you got your leg broken. Then! This lantern just teleported people from another WORLD where they hide from things called “humans” then then he just teleported things like a stone and a blob of shapes and an atom?” 

Liam sighed a little “Yeah…”

”You drowned, and you saw the afterlife which is some sorta, water room with a tube of toothpaste-“

”Owen.” Liam looked annoyed.

“Sorry, it’s just…it’s ridiculous, is all.” Owen chuckled.

Liam sighed, leaning back “It’s…awful, Owen. Six months…seven I think, actually? I can’t be sure at this point. But…i saw what the afterlife was like. I drowned in that pool. I thought innocent people were gonna be stuck there forever and uh….god…”

Owen stays silent as he looked at Liam and his smile faded as the mood sobered.

”…That…Airy, guy. He died ten years ago….I wanna…find out who he was.” Liam revealed “I wanna know his name….who he was…and…and…just how he died…”

”Despite….all he did to hurt you all?” Owen leaned forward.

Liam stayed silent and nodded “I just think that’s the least I can do…”

Owen stayed silent and sighed deeply, nodding “Okay. Look. How about this. Uhh, you show me proof about all this and I’ll help you find out who this guy was, okay? Sound good?”

Liam nodded for a moment and then realized “Oh shit, yeah! Proof!”

Liam pulled out the laptop from himself and placed it on the table. He opened it up as Owen scooted over “What’s this?”

”Owen, say hi to Texty.” 

Suddenly, the notes opened up and Texty replied “HELLO.”

”Whoah! It’s really real! Huh!” Owen looked shocked and intrigued.

“Testy. Opened The Database!” Liam asked.

After a moment, a new tab opened up and showed the Plane Database, showing Liam; Bryce; Amelia; Charlotte and the others. 

“Whoah. Is that them?” Owen asks.

“Yup. That’s them.” Liam confirms.

He taps to Amelia’s page and he sees her placement’s change, placing her as “Winner.”

“Wow…unless this is a really elaborate set up I guess this is true…” Owen leaned back and scooted back “I’m…sorry, dude. That must be really awful to go through all that shit.”

”Yeah, well…” He sighed “It’s good to tell a friend about it….maybe I can look back at this and laugh?”

Owen gave a small smile “I mean, hey, it sounded like a shitty reality show anyway.”

Liam chuckled, cracking a legitment smile “Yeah…yeah.”

“I mean, probably wouldn’t even green-lit a third season bad.” 

The two of them laugh for a bit as Liam shook his head “Yeah, not a…third…season.”

His smile faded as something dawned on him, a nagging, itching feeling in his brain that rubbed him the wrong way from the very start. Liam looked at the Database and opened the search bar.

”Liam…you okay?” Owen asks, furrowing his eyebrows.

Liam ignored him and in the search bar, typed out “season_three.”

He pressed enter.

He was sobered up quick.

In the database, was a group of six.

Legal Name: Alice Howling

Sex: F

Age: Adult

Height: 4'4

Residence: Greenburg, IN

Occupation: Flight Attendant

Next

Competition Name: Melony

Legal Name: Garrett Dennis

Sex: M

Age: Adult

Height: 5'10

Residence: Yakima, WA

Occupation: Manager

Next

Competition Name: Candy Bar

Legal Name: Parker Robins

Sex: M

Age: Adult

Height: 6'2

Residence: Brunswick, GA

Occupation: Brand Associate

Next

Competition Name: Stocking

Legal Name: Charise Lantigne

Sex: F

Age: Teen

Height: 5'7

Residence: Toledo, OH

Occupation: N/A

Next 

Competition Name: Mustard

Legal Name: Kylie Harding

Sex: F

Age: Teen

Height: 5'6

Residence: Bridgeport, CT

Occupation: Fast Food Worker

Liam hands shakes and he pressed next. Owen’s image came on screen.

Liam’s breath began to quicken as he looked up.

At the empty bar seat across from him.

In a nice middle class household, Ava Ledger was at a dining table, eating some simple rice and peas as she seemed content with herself. She thought about whether or not she should go to her high school reunion that’s coming up. That could be nice. Though her years in high school wasn’t, what with everyone pushing her buttons. Literally sometimes. 

Halfway through her food she gets a ring on her personal phone and she stands up, walking over to it as she took it off the counter. 

“Hello?” She answered.

Ava’s expression shifted as she turned to the wall “Taylor? Taylor what’s w-Sl-Slow down. Okay. Just slow down, what happened?”

There was a pause as she Ava stood up straight, and she shifted slightly “Okay, just, shown down, you’re not making….what? Are you sure?”

Ava nodded and stayed quiet before she walked over to her coat “Okay. Taylor, where are you? Okay, just stay there, I’ll pick you up.”

She then heard her landline ringing, and decided to let it go to voicemail as she put on her coat “Listen, it’ll be okay. There’s a reasonable explanation for all of this, I assure you.”

Her landline kept ringing before it went to voicemail, but then another call sounded and then the landline began beeping “3 Incoming Calls! 4 incoming calls!”

Ava stared at the landline, bewildered as it kept beeping wildly. 

A energy drink bottle was jogging through the park as she listened to her music through her headphones. As she slowed down to catch her breath, she goes towards some benches on the ground. She paused, pulling her earphones off as she notices a stroller on its own just…standing there. She walks over to it and leans over, and there was a green tomato baby, cooing as he stared up at the jogger, grinning. 

“Aww, what a cute baby!” The Jogger smiled back and cooed as she then looked around, her expression shifting “Where’s your Ma and Pa?”

She stayed quiet for a few moments and looked over at the bathroom facility a bit away and shrugged “Well, I guess they’re just in the bathroom. It’s a good neighborhood at least.”

She shrugged as she continued jogging away from the stroller, who cooed and laughed as it was left alone.

Chapter Text

Taylor Nolan was tapping her foot wildly, staring at the linoleum floor as she had her hands in her face, beginning to cry. Her eyes was already puffy and red from previous crying fits since Ava picked her up. Ava enters the room with some files and kneels down to Taylor’s level.

”Taylor, it’s gonna be okay.” Ava promises, though there is some hints of doubt in her voice. 

Taylor begins to cry more as she squeezes her knees “Why? Why is this happening?! Why now?!” 

Ava nodded and sighed “I don’t know, why, Taylor, I really don’t but…they’re back.”

”T-They’re back?”  Taylor looks surprised as she sits up straight.

Ava gives another nod  ”I’ve pulled some strings and they’re coming over now. And we’re going to get to the bottom of this.” 

Taylor sniffles, wiping her eye as she looks at Ava in the eye “Are you sure?”

”I’m sure. But for this to work, we need to start from the beginning, so you need to explain your story once more, and your last time seeing your friend. Okay?”

Taylor takes a deep breath before she sighs and nods “Okay…I’m ready.”

Liam walks out of the terminal into the crowd of the airport, shambling around like a zombie without a purpose. These last few hours were a huge blur. Liam just going from one location to another as he attempts to reason with everything that happened. He didn’t respond when people came and picked him up from the airport, and he didn’t respond as they drove through down the highway, asking him questions for what felt like hours. He was like a prisoner, entrapped in his own body as he just stared at the headrest ahead of him. 

Eventually, after what felt like an eternity, the car came to a halt from a police station, labeled “Toledo City Police Department.” and Liam simply looked up at it, a blank expression still on his face.

He takes a step into the police office, and glances around. Sitting next to each other were Bryce and Amelia, holding onto each other as Amelia was crying. Charlotte sat on a chair, expressionless as she seemed dead inside, like Liam. Liam takes a step forward and the attention was drawn on him, with Bryce and Amelia standing up first. 

“Backpack!”

“Liam!”

The two run over to hug him, but Liam steps back suddenly, holding his hands up. 

“Y-You guys are here?” Liam glances between them. 

“Yeah, Jesus Christ Liam, we were all called down here.” Bryce tried to explain. 

“H-Hey there, Liam.” Taylor was suddenly next to Liam, rubbing her arm. 

Liam flinches back and shakes his head “I’m sorry uh. Who are…Oh. Magazine?”

”Taylor.” She corrects, a small smile plastered on her face. 

“Oh. Jesus Christ, you just. Completely missed everything, you got out early.” Liam seemed slightly stressed realizing that, although he was happy that a teenage girl was not able to witness most of the hell they went through.

“Taylor told the cops everything when she came back.” Bryce filled in Taylor “A-Apparently they hit a road block and our disappearances were cold cases. Until we came back and well, the lead investigator lady pulled some string and brought us all here.”

Liam looked between them all “Guys. Look, I think we all know what happened but, I looked back at the database. There’s a new season he’s making and he took-“

“Parker. That bastard took Parker!” Charlotte shouts, slamming her body against the chair in a flair of anger. 

Bryce had a pained expression as Taylor sniffled “Yeah, my best friend, Charise. She just, god I don’t even know how to say it she just-“

”Disappeared? Like thin air?” Charlotte looked up, teary eye.

Taylor nodded quietly and Liam sits down, his hands on his face “He made a season 3. And he’s using our friends.”

”Friends?” Bryce groans as he placed a hand on his head “Oh, god, Kylie.”

Taylor looked over “Kylie?”

”She’s just my coworker. We barely talked. Why did he have to take her of all people?! She’s innocent in all this!” Bryce had a sorrowful expression, guilt filling his head as he paced around. 

Taylor glances at them “Guys, it’s okay. It’s all gonna be okay. We’re all here now, and right now we’ll get our statements in order.”

”Where’s the investigator?” Amelia finally asked, having spent most of the conversation in a daze. 

“Ava’s talking to the chief. She’s gonna be a minuet.” 

Taylor gestured to a door down the hall, where Ava’s muffled conversation can be heard with the chief. 

Inside the office, The Chief of Police, A brown coffee cup with a black lid, looked very displeased and stressed as Ava pleaded her case.

”Regardless of what you think, Ava, you can’t just pull our resources and bring people across the country for this! You know how much plane tickets for several people costed?!”

”I’ll pay for it out of my own pocket.” Ava stood her ground. 

“Don’t say you can, you know you can’t!” The Chief scoffed and leaned back “I mean, Ava, suddenly you’re reopening this case.”

”Chief, I’m sorry, I really am. But this? This is big. All four of them are back and now they’re reports of five others disappearing. Poof. Thin air. And we can understand what is going on.” Ava tells him.

The Chief sighed and leaned forward now “Ava, listen. I know I’m being a dick, but I am in your corner here. I just, I don’t know what to say. If what you’re saying is true. And if what these people will say will line up with what the magazine will say, then. Well. Jesus, Ava, you know how insane this will be to the other departments? Let ALONE other government!?”

Ava glanced at the ground and sighed deeply before nodding “I know, boss. But trust me. We need this…Please…”

The Chief stayed silent and shuts his eyes, sighing “Okay…go ahead.”

Ava opened the door and walked into the hall and entered the room, the five looking at the investigator. The recorder takes a breath as she glances at them all. 

“Hello everyone. I’m Ava Ledger. Thank you all so much for agreeing to come here and discuss things. I understand that you have dealt with some disappearances as well and so, I think…we can help understand what has happened and find the best way to help…so who’s up first?” 

Sitting down across the desk, Charlotte was staring at the table, quiet as she scratched at the table. 

“Can I get your name for the tape?” 

She sighed “Charlotte Stern.”

“I am uh, Bryce Hansen.” Bryce leaned back looking down.

“….”

”Ma’am? Can I get your name for the tape?”

”S-Sorry, right. Amelia. Amelia…Euler.”

“Liam Plecak.”

“Thank you for agreeing to meet with me. As you and the others are aware, I’m with the special missing persons unit, and six months ago I was investigating the disappearances that happened on the night of February the 10th, that you were apart of. And now it appears we are dealing another string of disappearances. Now, can you please tell us about the individual who was missing?”

”Parker. Robins.” Charlotte spoke clearly as he took a deep breath “He’s a uh…candy bar. Yellow and green wrapping.”

”Okay, Charlotte. Now, we’re going to discuss your…status of your disappearance in a moment. But for the rundown for the report, could you tell me when you last saw him before he disappeared.”

Charlotte nodded and she adjusted her seat, glancing at the table with a troubled expression “Yeah, so…god. I don’t know how to begin…I uh…after I…came back, I immediately went to find Parker, after our argument.”

“The argument about the money and your mold operation?” Ava questions “He told me when you disappeared you had an, argument, correct?” 

Charlotte looked shamefully at the wall and nodded “Yeah.”

”We’ll talk about that later. Right now, please talk about when you last spoke to Mr. Robins.” 

She nodded “I picked him up from the police station. He was…people thought he had something to do with me disappearing.”

There was a beat of silence “He had nothing to do with me disappearing.”

”I understand.”

Charlotte places her hands on her head as she leaned on the table, thinking “So I bailed him out and I drove him down the road and that’s…well…” she silently moves her hand up. 

“He just disappeared?” Ava questioned.

”Yeah, gone. Like the wind. He just there one second and next….gone.”

“And you sure he didn’t get out of the car at any time?” Ava asks for clarification. 

“I think I’d notice if he’d tuck and roll outta my car!” Charlotte snaps back before calming down “I’m sorry, I’m-“

”It’s okay, just continue on.”

”Kylie Harding.” Bryce quietly answers “She’s a uh….yellow mustard bottle.”

“Could you describe your relationship with Kylie?” Ava asks.

Bryce sighs “She was…just my coworker. We didn’t have any relationship of any kind. We worked together, we occasionally talked and that’s it.”

“Miss Harding was interviewed months ago about your brief uh, disappearance.” Ava informs “It said you came back but you avoided any attempts to be interviewed.”

Bryce glances at the floor “I’m sorry, I didn’t…I didn’t wanna…”

“It’s fine, what’s important is that we act now. So please, Bryan, tell us what you know.” 

“He was Uhm…Garrett Dennis. He was Uhm…melon. Dark green stripes.” 

“Can you talk about your relationship with Mr. Dennis?” Ava asked. 

Amelia stayed silent for a moment before shrugging “There isn’t really a…relationship. He was just my boss. He was nice, that was it.”

“Can you please tell me about his disappearance?” 

She paused, thinking before she took a deep breath “I was getting my job back. I left his office. I came back to talk to him. And he was gone. That”s all I know.” 

“Can you elaborate?” Ava prods. 

“I can’t.” She shook her head “That’s literally everything. He was there, and then he’s not. He couldn’t have gone anywhere else.”

Ava stayed silent for a moment before she spoke “It appears you’re experiencing some sort of traumatic reaction at the moment, do you wish to call a professional at the moment?”

”What, no, I’m fine?” Amelia seemed offended slightly “Traumatized? What are you talking about?”

”Well, according to some other interviews, you’ve took what happened pretty hard during your time in The, well, Plane.” 

Amelia leaned back “Are you kidding? I’m okay, I’m fine, can we just….continue?”

”Okay, well. How about we speak about your experience?”

Liam stayed silent, staring at the table with a vacant, dull eyed expression.

“Mr. Plecak?” 

He stops looks back up, taking a deep breath “Owen Thompson. Nail.”

”Your relationship with Mr. Thompson?”

”We were friends.” Liam simply said “Coworkers.”

Ava wrote it down before continuing “Can you describe the events leading up to Mr. Thompson’s disappearance?”

Liam paused, glancing around before he answers “I was at the bar with him. I was talking to him about everything.” 

“About your experiences during The Plane?” Ava presses. 

“Yeah, I thought it’d be good to talk to so I’m not…crazy.” Liam explains himself “We talked and….well. One thing lead to another and…he was gone. Just like that.” 

“Any other details?” Ava asks. 

Liam stays silent, staring at her before he simply looked down “I-I’m sorry. I’m sorry I can’t do this right now, I just-“

”Okay. Okay, let’s just take a break. It’s no problem.” Ava assures as she fiddles with the camera.

zip

Liam stood in the bathroom, hanging himself against the sink while he began to cry over the running water, his eyes and fists clenches as he sobbed heavily from everything now, all the stress, fear and distraught now releasing from his deep core. 

Outside, Taylor was standing next to the door, looking down sadly.

“So. Me and Parker were arguing. About my…mold treatment.” She sighed, having to painfully go through that memory. 

Ava adjusted her seat “Parker told me about that, he said that they paid you money for the surgery, and you didn’t.”

Charlotte stared down, shamefully “Yeah. I don’t know why. I guess…I was being dumb.”

”What happened next?” 

“I mean, not much, one minuet I’m just, standing there, and the next-“

“Boom! There we were.” Taylor rattled on what she said last time “We were suddenly transported to this place.”

”And what was this place called?”

”It was called The Plane.” Bryce answered, leaning against the table and giving a deep sigh.

Amelia leaned back, thinking wistfully for a moment “It was…an infinite plane of grass, stretched out beyond any of us can see. A clear white sky, a bright sun. It’s like….you don’t know where you are but it’s almost…familiar feeling.”

“And to be clear, this is where you and the “first batch” of people came to?” Ava asks.

Amelia nodded “Yes. It was me, Mold-…” She paused, taking a deep sigh.

”It was all of us there, and then…he spoke.” Charlotte gone became angered as she clamped her hand.

”This, being. Airy? Could you describe him for me?”

“He was this, demented host. He was…incompetent.” Bryce explained, feeling himself angered “He didn’t listen to any of us, he was insane. Thought that…I don’t know, like everything was a fun game!” 

“Taylor described…a moment where he started the first game.” Ava spoke slowly.

Bryce stopped and his eyes widened, placing his hands on his face “Fuck…the baby.”

Liam stared off for a moment, trying to just…fly himself away from the Earth, and go somewhere else at the moment. For now, however, he spoke again. 

“I….tried to save him. I ran, but the stake was just…faster.” Liam spoke flatly from the memory “And it just….it was impaled.”

Ava took a second to respond, taking a deep breath before continuing “And the baby…Tomato. Right? It just…reappeared.” 

“Yes.” Liam nodded.

”Even though you saw it get impaled?”

”You think I’m crazy?” Liam furrowed his eyebrows “That I’m some sorta sick person for even saying that? I saw it with my own two EYES-“

”Liam, please, I’m not saying that, I believe you. I just need some answers.” Ava calmed him down.

“Apparently. Airy can just…respawn people if they died?” Taylor raises a hand up, confused as she sighed “It honestly sounds insane if I didn’t see it myself.”

Ava was writing it down “So, Airy brought you all there for a game show of sorts, and promised you a chance to win one wish?”

”Honestly. I  should have known it would’ve been bullshit.” Charlotte sighed “Sorry.”

”It’s okay.” Ava gave a small chuckle “Continue.”

“The first challenge right uhm…” She sighed “Trying to stand on top of the stakes. It was such a stupid challenge.”

”The baby kept falling. So he was just disqualified.” Amelia gave a chuckle, shaking her head “It was so…stupid.”

“I broke my leg.” Liam stared ahead “Fell off the stake. Broke my leg. He gave me a cast.”

”He? Are you referring to Airy?” 

Liam nodded “He gave me a wooden cast. It was crude but it gave the job done.”

”Then we met the objects we told you about. These…things that came from another universe apparently.” Taylor leaned back, laughing a bit. 

“Could you elaborate these other objects?”

”Right yeah, uh…” Taylor sighed softly “A tray, a bus seat, airplane food.” 

“Whip cream, A base, contact lens and A text box.” Bryce cites.

“A text box?” Ava sounded confused. 

“Yeah, uh, Texty. They were a text box from a laptop. My old friend Bradley owned it before Texty was brought to The Plans, then when Liam came back here we manages to get them by buying the laptop.” Bryce awkwardly tried to explain. 

“So, the text box is sapient?” Ava asks. 

“Yeah, I mean, go ask Liam he can show you.”

“Here.” Liam opens up the laptop and turns over to Ava. 

“HELLO THERE.” Texty spoke. 

“Oh my god.” Ava’s chair screeched back, her voice shocked “They weren’t kidding. Wait, does that mean they’re hidden objects here-“

“I don’t think we should think about that.” Liam shook his head “Let’s just continue with the interview.”

Amelia tapped the table as she continues to speak “After, Magazine was eliminated-“

”You mean Taylor?” 

“Right, right. Then came the third batch.”

”Atom, it was an Atom. There was this Folder, uh not like an actual folder but like, you know those help chat boxes in computers?” 

“Yes I know them.” Ava told Charlotte. 

“Yeah, that. There was a Circle with a Mole. Apparently he was already on a game show. A stone without a mouth. And some…weird cluster of triangles that can…mimic people.” She explained, before she sighed “I know this sounds, completely insane to you.”

”Just…describe everything to the best of your abilities. What did you think of these….batches of contestants?” 

Charlotte chuckles “I wasn’t sure what to think. It was weird, they were completely not what we were used to. I didn’t really know what to think.” 

“How about you…explain to me your time in The Plane?” Ava decided to switch tactics “You’ve been in The Plane for several months, correct.”

Charlotte paused, her body freezing up for a moment before she looked down “Uh...it wasn’t good.”

Amelia was silent when asked that question, unable to really……say anything “We….kept track of everything. We made tally marks….just dotted down the days I guess.” 

“But…what did it feel like being there?” Ava pressed.

Amelia paused, looking down and licking her lips “…It….well…..it got easier after a while. The days blurred…we got…used to a routine….and well….that was it…”

“You…I don’t mean to be rude but it seems you’re gaining a certain amount of…nostalgia.” 

She paused, staring ahead before she cracked a smile, and then she began to laugh. Softly at first, and then beginning to laugh harder. 

“Amelia? Amelia!” 

Ava got up from her seat as Amelia fell off her’s, onto the ground in tears as she kept laughing and Ava turned iff the camera. 

click. 

“Now…Bryce told me about….your death. And you came back. He told me you saw something. And afterlife?” Ava was curious now, somewhat out of some morbid questioning about their future when they die “Can you…describe it for me?” 

Liam stared ahead for a moment, drifting off and opening his mouth. His pupils dilated and his breathing got slightly heavy “It was…a colorful room….stretched far from my eyes…I….was walking on water I guess. Beyond that was two chairs, a desk, and a radio. And I saw someone. A tube of toothpaste.” 

“Do you know his name?” Ava asked.

“Julien Beaumont.” Liam answered “He was….the original contestant. For season one.”

“Can you give me…their names?” Ava pushed over a piece of paper.

Liam looked down  at the paper and then turned to the laptop, putting something in and spoke “Jessie Maw, Button; Oscar Mayworth, Calculatory; Thomas Brooks, Caney; Sandra Pullock, Scarfy; and….Max Schwartz, Whistle.”

He wrote down the names and slid them over, and Ava sighed “Thank you, Liam. You can continue.” 

Charlotte sighed “Then, one day. When Bryce was eliminated….Airy went off.” 

“Meaning?” 

“He…fell..or had some sorta accident, I don’t know really. We all heard him fall over, something shatter and him in pain for a few…long minuets and then…nothing. And we were…left on our own for all that time.” Charlotte sighed. 

Ava paused and thought, which Charlotte noticed and chuckles “Yeah…we were never seen in months? That’s why. We were stuck in there…for months.” 

Liam stared again, drifting for a moment “It…felt weird. We got into a rhythm. A routine. We’ve spent months and months just….alone, by ourselves, trying to make do.” 

“I…can’t imagine how bad that must have been.” 

Liam sighed “Bassy…she just went into a coma. She retracted her limbs and just stayed in her hidden form after a few days…the rest of us just…tried to find time. Amelia did her yoga….Charlotte was…away. Contact Lens was swimming, Whippy Creamy was listening to audio books. Hah, it felt a bit normal….but it was Hell. Worst than hell.”

Charlotte had some tissues in her head, rubbing her eyes a little “Uhm….well. After a few…weeks….or months…it started to spread more. The mold.” 

“Oh…did it..?” 

She gave a chuckle “I read up after I got out that….mold infection will eventually get you in the brain and just…eat away at it like a parasite. It…slowly kills your body, rots it away until you’re not even…realizing you’re alive. I sat there…behind The Pool…month after month…at some point I couldn’t even move. Or speak. All I did was just….stare and stare….feeling my own body….just rot away.”

“If this is too much. We can stop.” Ava interrupts. 

Charlotte shook her head “No it’s okay…it’s okay…eventually…I did die. I know that. And I got to…the other side.” 

Ava stayed silent before speaking “What did you see?” 

Charlotte stayed silent, shaking a bit and sniffling “I….I was…in mud.”

”Mud?” 

“Some sorta quicksand. I was…partially sunken. I saw them…my friends…the people I cared about….Parker.” 

“What were they doing?” 

 “They….stood and stared. They just…stared and then….turned away from me, they were walking away as I pleaded for them to stay, held out my hand for Parker and then…” She stopped “And then I came back.”

There was a small beat of silence and Charlotte sighed “…I was selfish almost my entire life. I spent….all my life just…being a bitch to everyone. I’ve used my own friends, and I’ve…I turned them away, and I…fuck. I’m sorry….i think….i think i need a break.”

”Okay, thank you, Charlotte. this is very good.”

“So. You and Liam decided to try and find answers, can you please tell me about that?”

Bryce sighed heavily “Yeah, well…uhm…Liam found my address, from a sticky note from Stone I guess. He…spent a day or so at my door….i was just so scared to open it up.”

”Why?” 

“…because then what happened to me would be real. But…I eventually opened it, and soon enough…stupidly enough maybe, we decided to work together. We…found Oscar, one of the previous season contestants…fuck, right. There was a first season before us.” Bryce clarifies.

”Another season?”

”Apparently, Airy….during the first season’s second challenge, he messed up and….killed everyone.” Liam explained “And…he couldn’t bring them back…they’re all dead. Except Julien and Oscar.” 

“What happened to Julien?” 

“I…brought him back.” Liam smiled softly. 

Bryce placed his arm on the table, keeping his head up “We…hit dead ends until one incident…left us both dead. And we were in The…Afterlife I guess. But…I think the room depends on who dies. Because me and Liam…saw different things.”

”What did you see?” Ava asked.

”It was…my old neighborhood I guess. A street, houses. Two folding chairs with radio…and my sister.” 

“Your…sister?”

Bryce looked uncomfortable “Yeah, Stella…she, died ten years ago. Car crash.”

”What was she doing?” 

“I…don’t know. Beckoning me, I guess. Waving at me.” 

Ava wrote something down and then took a breath “The radio…I assume that that’s how you…got places?”

”Yeah I mean…we put down a random numbers, and we…well, pulled the antenna and it brought us to different worlds. Crazy, weird worlds.”

”Like what?” 

“I don’t know, just like…weird worlds. Some had humans in them.”

”Humans?” 

Bryce chuckles “Like. I don’t know, bi-pedal, hairless, long limbed, I don’t know, it took us a long time before we got back to L.A, and we decided to go and find Airy and confront him…before I was sent back by Airy.” 

Liam stayed silent and sighed “If…only I had those sticky notes again…Waiy! Wait! Texty, do you have the notes saved?!”

”NO. SORRY.”

”DAMN IT!” Liam slapped the table.

”Hey hey, Liam it’s okay. What happened when you finally met Airy, where did you go?” 

Liam sighed and leaned back “I was in this…new world. Some sorta…it was the woods I guess…it was actually really peaceful. There was a hut that Airy built and…I went inside a cave and I found him…and his computer.” 

“Can you describe Airy?”

Liam nodded “He was….a copper lantern. And had a crack at the side of his head, probably from the accident.”

”What was Airy like?”

”He was…” Liam sighed “Confused? Jittery? He didn’t really get what was going on? He was constantly talking like he wasn’t fucking with our lives….he just thought it was some stupid game. He…apparently died ten years ago, and he was living there ever since…Just…relaxing.”

”I suppose all that time wasn’t good for his mental state.”

”You think?” Liam raised an eyebrow before sighing “And…I guess I wanted to just break his head in but…I couldn’t because only he knew how to set them free. So I…made a deal with him. I gave him pieces of his broken tape recorder…and he lets everyone go. And he followed through, and let us all go….only at the cost of our friends being kidnapped.” 

“It wasn’t your fault. You didn’t know.”

”Yeah, right…all I had to do was look at his computer…for even a second.” Liam shook his head “…I didn’t even do that….i didn’t do that.”

The silence continued. 

The TV screen shuts off and The Chief stared at the blank screen, staring off as Ava looked at him as well. 

“Those were all the interviews Chief.” Ava told him.

The Chief placed the remote down and pinched the bridge of his nose “Oh….Jesus Christ, Ava…what the fuck is this shit?”

”Boss…I know how it sounds…it sounds insane.”

”insane? Ava, insane doesn’t even BEGUN to describe this.” The Chief barks back “Like…Jesus Christ….what the fuck.” 

Ava stared and looked down “Please…you have to believe me…believe them…”

The Chief stayed silent, staring down before he sighed “I’ll speak to the other departments. Even if this is a fraction true, this is going to become a federal case now. I’ll look into the files of all the missing contestants, look for Mr. Mayworth and Mr. Beaumont, find any deceased records for anyone fitting this…”host’s” description and go from there.”

”Thank you, and also put…” She stops “Shit, Charlie. The baby!”

”Fuck! Okay, okay, I’ll put a missing report on Miss Howling and have someone search for her son.” The Chief said “….Ava. This case. Is insane.”

”I know Chief. But trust me…we gotta do something.”

The Chief sighed “I know…I’m in your corner with this. Trust me. I’m with you.” 

Ava stayed silent, before she smiled “Thanks, Boss.” 

Ava washed her hands in the sink of the bathroom, before she sighed and looked into the mirror, troubled, stress and exhausted. 

“It’s not over….until it’s over.”