(IMPORTANT UPDATE) vanished (airy x reader)

11

uh...sorry for being gone again. i lost track of time and i've had to spend the past week running from a hurricane. we got a generator though, so here's the next chapter! sorry if it isn't very good compared to the others. once im out of this mess i'll upload more regularly. yea

"...Hello?"

Airy's voice made you freeze. You didn't turn around. You couldn't turn around. How could you ever bear to face him after the invasion of privacy you'd just committed?

At the same time, you felt a muted fury. How could he have kept this from you? What was he doing? Was he deranged, keeping these people here for his own sick amusement? Or was there another reason?

Airy took a slow step forward. "(Y/N)—"

You whipped around, pointing at the planet. "What the hell is this?"

Airy flinched a bit. "That's my—"

"Who are these people, Airy?!"

You glared at Airy, who seemed otherwise unfazed by your anger. "Um...That's my competition. Called ONE. It's...a gameshow..."

What? "So these are real people?"

"Uh...yeh."

"Are you insane??" You were taken aback by this. He seemed completely unbothered by it all. "Why didn't you— why didn't you tell me about any of this?!"

"Uh...you...never asked..." Airy's voice was quiet. He didn't understand why you were yelling at him. Were you mad at him? He would've shown it to you if you'd asked.

You took a deep breath, biting your lip to keep yourself from saying anything. He obviously hadn't been trying to hide it from you, but you still wished he'd told you earlier. Not to mention...

"Where did you even find those people, Airy?" You asked him in a much calmer voice, though now it only thinly concealed your anger.

"I...Earth. I teleported them here." Airy was rubbing his hands over each other, averting his gaze. "Did you want to be part of the competition too? Sorry."

"Wh— No!" You were dumbfounded. "No, Airy! You can't just kidnap people!"

"I...didn't." His voice was calm despite your yelling. "It's...a fun competition..."

"That doesn't make it okay!"

He seemed to be ignoring you now. "The prize is a wish for anything. I...didn't want to bring them here for no reason, so I..." He stared down at the cave floor.

"No reason? What're you—" you stopped yourself, sighing heavily to try and calm yourself down so you didn't snap at him. He obviously didn't mean any harm, even if you disagreed with his methods. You were more baffled than anything. How come you hadn't noticed something going on earlier?

"...Sorry." Airy looked away, fidgeting with his knob. "I...didn't think I would have to tell you..."

"I don't believe this." You looked back at the planet. The little objects were milling about, completely unaware of your existence. Your gaze flickered to the microphone. You wondered if you could use it.

"It's...okay though. I'm—" Airy took a step forward, causing you to inch back. The hurt on his otherwise blank stare was evident, and you felt guilt despite your anger.

"I'm doing a...a good job at— at hosting. They...like me." He eyed the planet too, hands rested on his knob once more.

You sighed heavily. None of this spelled anything good. Alarm bells rang in your head. "I'm...gonna take a walk."

"Oh...okay." Airy watched as you brushed past him and left the cave, following soon after.

He stopped short of the trail leading up the cliff. "Be safe."

You didn't turn to look at him. "...I will." was all you said before you continued on your way.

a third sorry for making you all wait for ANOTHER cliffhanger. also, i'm gonna be trying to come up with chapter titles for all of the chapters. they won't just be numbers soon enough!