Chapter Text
the day so far had seemed normal, well, as normal as things could be in a place like this. i was going about my typical business, combing through old newspaper articles, trying to find something that might lead me to the answer of what happened to this place. but then, i heard a knock on my door, and a familiar face made himself known..
glisten poked his head through rodger's door. "rodger."
"glisten, what a pleasant surprise," rodger set the newspaper he was looking at down, "what's on your mind?"
i studied his expression, clearly there was something bothering this toon, i couldn't help but wonder what it was.
glisten clutched the edge of the doorway, avoiding eye contact as he spoke. "well.. me and shrimpo were down in the lower floors, right?"
"go on..?"
"we uh... we ran into a new toon"
a new toon..? now that piqued my interest.
"a new toon, what could they possibly have been doing down there? and how did they get there?" i was all too curious at this point. how much had glisten learned about them?
glisten shrugged. "he says he doesn't remember. honestly though, i think he's hiding something, so like.." he gestured towards rodger. the magnifying glass immediately picked up what he meant. he stood up from his chair, taking a few paces towards him.
"i'll get on it right away. thank you, glisten, you've been a big help." rodger patted glistens shouder.
glisten stepped back so he wasn't blocking rodgers door, "one more thing." glisten said.
rodger waited. "his name is airy, he's.. some kind of lantern. i left him by the tree, he should still be there."
with that, glisten walked away, having left a glorious breadcrumb trail for rodger to follow. airy...
i made my way down the familiar hallways that would inevitably lead me to this.. airy fellow. i knew it would be an interesting conversation at the very least. i was certain i had much to learn from him, i just hoped he'd be willing for an interview. rodger spotted airy, he was sitting where glisten had said he'd be. he looked to be lost in thought, or perhaps disassociating? i wouldn't blame him. rodger took a moment to look him over. a copper trawler lantern, intriguing.. his body was orange and shiny, like he hadn't had time to oxidize, or had recently been waxed, it was hard to tell. his arms were darker, more brown than orange, like a penny that had been left on the ground for a while. his face is glass. more similar to finn than to me and glisten though. i wonder if he can be lit..? rodger hadn't noticed airy turn to look at him. he hadn't spoke up yet but he had definitely noticed him staring. "can i.. help you..? airy asked after a while. rodger flinched, breaking away from his thoughts. you're going to scare him away! keep it together rodger! rodger straightened his jacket and took a deep breath. "yes, actually," he cleared his throat. "you're airy, correct?" "yeeah?" "wonderful. my name is rodger." he held out a hand. airy blinked, narrowing his eyes just slightly as he shook it. what are you thinking, lamp.. the two were silent for a moment. get to the point, rodger! he cleared his throat again, "i was wondering if you'd be willing to do an interview?" please say yes.. "um.. ok." airy said dryly. yes!!!! rodger tried to contain his excitement. "well then, follow me." rodger turned and started walking away, internally celebrating when he heard airy's footsteps behind him. don't get too excited yet, he hasn't told you anything..
rodger led airy to a mostly empty room, it was roughly the size of an old janitors closet, the only things inside were a table with two metal folding chairs, one on either side. on the table was a yellow notepad and an old cassette recorder with a blank tape inside.
"please, have a seat." rodger gestured to a chair. airy sat down as rodger closed the door behind them. he took the seat opposite from airy and pressed the button to start the tape recorder, then flipped to an empty page in his notepad.
"so, airy-"
"am i being interrogated..?" airy asked, cutting him off.
rodger paused. "no. don't worry. i just have a few questions. it's not an interrogation, i assure you." make him feel comfortable, he's clearly on edge..
airy fiddled with his fingers. rodger took a moment to write down a physical description of him, along with some traits he'd been able to pick up on. `he's distant, a bit quiet, and has a monotone. rodger looked up at him a moment, then scribbled down. `nervous ticks: fidgets with his fingers.
"airy, do you remember what floor glisten and shrimpo found you on?" rodger asked, this should be simple enough.
"um.. floor seven i think..? i wasn't really paying attention.."
`found on floor seven. he wrote that down.
"it was really dark, i had to put my light on, but i still couldn't see well." airy explained, flicking on his light to demonstrate. rodger noted that down, `can be lit. that solves that mystery.
"now airy, do you remember at all how you got there?" he watched airy flinch, and noted him begin tapping his foot on the ground. he updated his nervous ticks note.
"i don't.. remember."
he's lying. rodger squinted at him. leave it alone for now, come back to it later.
"do you remember anything from before you ended up there?"
"um... yeah."
rodger blinked, waiting. go on..?
"i was in the woods by my cabin."
`lives in a cabin in the woods.
"um... i went out to collect reeds, and i fell."
`fell whilst collecting reeds. "what happened after you fell?"
airy paused for a long time. rodger could tell he seemed very uncomfortable. there's definitely something he's not telling me.
"it's okay if it's a painful memory, this is completely confidential, i won't tell a soul." i want to know what's bothering you, i'll find out somehow, whether you tell me or not.
"it's um... it's hard to explain..." airy looked away from him.
`dislikes direct eye contact.
"take as long as you need." rodger tried his best to sound comforting.
"well... i didn't just fall." airy stated. rodger raised his eyebrow.
"i was walking on this plank bridge i made over the river, it was raining so it was slippery.. i um... i fell over the edge of the waterfall.." he paused, wincing at the memory. rodger looked at him sympathetically, then updated his notes, crossing out the previous description.
"were you hurt?"
"uh... you could... say that..." airy's voice had gotten small. i'm close to cracking this, whatever it is.
`hurt himself after falling over the waterfall.
"it um... killed me."
rodger froze, staring at him with his eye wide. he died..??? but.. he doesn't look like connie, so he couldn't be a ghost.. what the fuck happened here....?
shakily, rodger noted that down. `killed by the fall.
"i'm sorry, i..i don't understand."
airy hugged himself. "it's hard to explain." he stated again. "when i died, i got sent to this place that i've been calling the waiting room. usually it's like.. this wide open place that looks like a pink sunset. theres a couple chairs there, and a table with a radio on it. dunno how it works, but when i flip through the channels on the radio, it sends me to different universes. that's... that's how i got here." airy said finally.
`transported to floor seven by... a magic purgatory radio???
rodger rubbed his forehead. "that's all i need for now. thank you." he said quietly, flicking off the tape recorder. airy stood from his chair silently, and left the room, leaving the door cracked open. rodger looked over his notes. that left me with more questions than answers... i'll have to speak with him again sometime. he gazed at the door.