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The backpack stared at the computer screen, tugging at the sides of his face, illuminated only by the bright screen. It had been weeks since Liam had found Airy's Dimension, and since Airy had perished. With each hour that passed, he felt he was loosing himself more and more. His leg was still healing and he found himself increasingly more tired during the day than days previous. Liam had determination, but how much he had and if it could get the contestants of ONE off the Plane was questionable. Still, he would try.
That particular day was filled with scowering through the files and codes on the open computer tabs. Eye bags had begun to form under his eyes, staring at such a bright screen for hours at a time couldn't be healthy for either his physical or mental health. But that was not his priority right now. Liam's top priority was doing all he could to get the contestants off of the Plane, even at the loss of his own sanity. Texty's battery had died what felt like ages ago and he was afraid to mess with anything on the computer to try and charge them, fearful of what that could do.
So, Liam sat. At that same uncomfortable stool. Staring at that damaging bright white screen, reading and barely understanding the code within it. He began to get frustrated, one of the only few emotions he actively felt anymore. And after a few more minutes, Liam weakly stood from the desk, stumbling out of the cave and being forced to withstand the bright evening light of the sun. He let out a heavy sigh, not that anyone was around to hear, and began walking up towards the forest.
One of the better things about Airy's Dimension over the Plane was the fact there was a day and night cycle. Being able to look at the night sky, filled with an amount of stars Liam had never seen before in his life, was truly wonderful. And as soon as the sun had set, Liam sat near the edge of the forest, looking at the sky. It was quiet, but nice. As nice as being stuck in a strange universe alone could be. The ambience of the water rushing from the waterfall and crashing into various rocks was nice.
Eventually, after several moments of just sitting there, Liam stood and returned back to the shack, sitting on the makeshift bed and lying there for however long. And soon a wave of hopelessness crashed into him and as Liam turned to his side he began to sob. He quietly sobbed for a good while, eventually tiring himself out and falling asleep.
This wasn't an isolated experience.
The next morning was essentially a repeat, shakily standing up to the best of his ability with a wooden cast and stumbling back into the cave. He slammed himself into the seat and yet another day of staring into a computer screen began. Liam took a deep breath, attempting to energize himself even just a little so that maybe he could focus on the text in front of him. And then something clicked.
> SNTY.char/szpx_ttyzx/
Liam had been wracking his brain for what these files meant, and as he stared at those first four letters he felt idiotic for not catching on sooner.
Scenty. It was a "character" file. This had to be Scenty's command file. Liam just had to figure out what the letters next to it were for.
about command codes when they began traveling around universes with the radio. Those letters next to the file name HAD to be some code, maybe a code for her person? Liam had no idea, he was not a coder.
Liam cautiously pulled up a file explorer, deciding to check out the most recently used files. He hadn't messed around with opening files much, so it should be easy to look at the files Airy had opened last.
Somewhere in the recents was a file labeled "SHRINKERPLNT" and by the looks of it, it was one of the most recent files. Whatever it did, Liam couldn't be sure. As Liam looked, he saw some character files that had been opened.
"CRCL" and "SDABTL"
Liam guessed the latter was Bryce.
Then a file name caught Liam's interest. "EARTHPLACES" it had been called.
Liam opened it. And to his surprise, it was a list of codes for places...on Earth. Liam was thankful for the literal file names but it felt so simple. Maybe even Airy struggled remembering everything he had found.
Liam then got an idea. He pulled up the main command input tab and copied over the SNTY file he had found, and then next to it, copied over one of the place codes. They were strings of numbers he didn't even want to make an attempt at remembering. As soon as he entered it, he was startled by a faint sound coming from the Plane. Something had happened.
Maybe Scenty had been sent back? If that were the case, and he really hoped it was, maybe there was a way out after all.
He found another file, "SBWYST" and input a location code again.
Anxiety roared in his chest as he began doing this for every character file he could find. This could be killing them. But it shouldn't be. These are codes for locations on Earth afterall, and in all honesty? Airy didn't seem like the type to consciously try to trick people with the files on his computer. So Liam just hoped he was truly sending everyone home.
There was one last contestant file he hadn't yet touched.
He hoped, if he could find his own file, maybe he could return as well and maybe, just maybe be able to see Bryce again. That would be nice.
Liam stood from the stool, deciding to prepare himself for this. He took a deep breath, reentering the shack. He grabbed Texty, unzipping himself and gently pushing them inside. Texty would go where he went atleast.
Then Liam sat down, looking at the cast on his leg. He wasn't sure if it was done healing but he'd be damned if he went back to Earth with this thing on. Even if it was a sliver of hope. For several minutes, he struggled with the vines on the cast, very slowly untying them until each one was either ripped off or free. Cautiously, Liam would begin to slide his leg out, a motion that felt so distant. He tossed the cast aside and made an attempt at standing up. He put all his weight on the uninjured foot before putting a small amount of pressure on the now freed foot. He winced. There was still a little pain, but that could be from under use.
Liam chanced it more, deciding to take a few steps forward. And fortunately, he was able to walk. His foot just seemed to be weak, something that would likely get better with time the more he walked on it.
Then he looked around for anything he would need and took a deep breath, carefully returning to the cave. He got back onto the computer and finally input Bryce's code. As Liam looked at the Plane, it seemed empty. And so, he dove through the recent files, in an attempt to find his own. And there it probably was. "BCKPCK" It had to be it. And so, Liam copied it over to the tab and input a location, taking a deep anxious breath as he pressed enter.
He blinked, but quickly opened his eyes, subjected to the loud noises of a San Francisco day on the Golden Gate. When he opened his eyes he also saw a familiar face. One that stared back. Liam could hardly move. Even after all that, his brain felt dead and he was barely processing it all. But luckily for him, he didn't have to. Bryce immediately rushed over, pulling Liam into a tight hug.
Bryce had never hugged Liam before. It felt nice.
Liam weakly wrapped his arm around Bryce, some sort of sign he was present in the moment even just a little bit.
After Bryce pulled away from the hug he held Liam's face and held it against own in a slight head bump, tears streaming down his face. And seeing that made everything suddenly hit so much harder and all at once, and soon Liam was crying too.
They were probably being stared at by several people, but after going through what they've been through? Hell, they deserve to cry.