The Stars Are Projectors

Coyotes

It all felt like a dream to 3GS. He was out. He was free and sailing through the starry night sky. Free from the claustrophobic prison of a closet and free from his creator. 3GS breathed in the summer night air. He had almost forgotten what it was like piloting one of the airships, it was something he always found some comfort in.

He missed just sailing through the sky, leaving any worries back on the ground. Just him and the clouds. 3GS was getting lost in his thoughts until the ship suddenly jerked, almost knocking him over.

Loud beeping blared out from the ship, 3GS knew what the sound ment. The ship ran out of fuel, now he was losing altitude, and fast. 3GS began to panic. He should have known his luck would run out eventually. Of course the ship would only have a little fuel, 3GS knew it was foolish of himself to believe overwise.

3GS gripped the ship's helm tight. He was going to have to try to land if we wanted any chance of surviving. He started to try to steady the ship, as he braced for impact.

...

It was a nice summer night at the hotel, and another night of Oj staying up late in his office to make sure everything was done. Oj couldn't help himself, there was so much paperwork which was covering his desk in a mess that needed to get done. not to mention the planning for the annual summer rooftop party, which was fast approaching.

He had spent the whole day at his desk, and still was not even close to done. Some guilt was starting to get to Oj however, as he did promise Paper he wouldn't overwork himself. Afterall he didn't want a repeat of last year. Oj still doesn't know how he was able to sleep while fireworks were going off, or how he was able to sleep while standing in the middle of a party.

Oj let out a sigh. Finally deciding to pull himself away from his work feeling both guilt and fatigue setting in. Just as Oj got up from his desk the ground suddenly shook with an earth shattering boom. For a second Oj thought that maybe another accident with Bomb had occurred, but this was nothing like those. Oj rushed to the window and looked outside, and what he saw was extremely concerning. A dark cloud of smoke was coming from the nearby woods.

Oj then rushed out of his office to see that the loud noise seemed to have woken up some of the hotel's residents who were now crowding around in the hallway.
"Is everyone ok? No one's hurt right?" Oj asked.
"What the heck was that!?" Balloon squeaked out.
"I don't know, but considering the foreboding cloud of smoke outside. It's probably not good." Nickel quipped.

Everyone began to talk over one another, the cacophony of voices making it hard for Oj to hear himself think.
"Everyone please!" He finally shouted out. The hallway became silent as everyone turned their attention to Oj.
"Now that I have your attention, we're going to need to investigate what exactly happened. We don't know how dangerous this is but we're gonna need all the help we can get."
"Alright, I'll come along then." Knife spoke up.
"Great! Ok everyone who is coming along, get prepared! We'll head out soon." Oj said leaving everyone began to prepare for heading into the forest.

...

3GS has had better times landing ships, he was just glad to make it out in one piece. The same couldn't be said about the ship however. It was completely wrecked, and was creating a billowing cloud of smoke. There was definitely no chance of him being able to fly it again. This wasn't good. 3GS had no exact idea where he was, and he no longer had a form of transportation.

With his screen being the only source of light, he began to stumble through the dark forest. As he walked many images flashed through 3GS' mind at once, images of when he was on that other planet, images of him with his comrades, and the most upsetting, images of his creator. The moment he remembered his creator, memories of the night he was first trapped in that closet started to flood his mind, his breathing became sporadic. How he slammed his fists and wailed to be let out, to him slowly giving up hope, to his last memories before he woke up not a few hours earlier. It was so much at once to think about.

He leaned against one of the trees and slid down. Was leaving a bad idea? Was he going to be lost in this forest forever? Did he just trade one inescapable prison for another? He hated how pathetic he felt. Here he was, having a panic attack while curled up next to a tree. This was the first thing he did after he got out? 3GS really didn't know what to do now. He just kne it was inevitable that his creator would find him and trap him again if not worse. His thoughts spiraled until a bright light blinded him. 3GS brought his arm up to try to protect his eyes, and try to see the source of the light.

Suitcase froze in place as the flashlight she had placed in her handle shined on the distressed device. She recognized him, he was in that strange vision she saw during the cave challenge back when she was on season two. She had no idea how to process seeing him right in front of her. All she could do was just stare.
"Did you find anything Suitca- Oh my god."
Baseball interrupted himself when he saw 3GS. He then quickly turned around and called out to the others.
"Guys! We're going to need some help over here!"

...

Mephone yawned. He hated being woken up so late, but Oj kept trying to call and messaging him, saying to come to the hotel as soon as possible, and how it was important. 4S followed along cradling Mepod, who was still sound asleep, in his arms. Mephone wanted to complain about the current situation or even make a snarky remark about it, but he was too tired for even that.

Thankfully they all made it to their destination. Mephone knocked on the front door and not a moment later Oj answered.
"Thank goodness you're here!"
"This better be as important as you said." Mephone huffed. He was glad he was able to get at least one snide remark out. Oj only sighed in response.
"Look, something happened in the woods tonight. We found a completely totaled ship and we also found..."
Oj opened up the door wider, allowing those outside to see the lobby. Mephone's eyes widened. On the couch was someone Mephone thought he would never see again.

3GS looked towards the doorway, seeing the three other devices. They were obviously also meeple products, and this made 3GS worry. Did his creator send them to retrieve him? 3GS flinched as Mephone approached him.
"You're.. You're still alive?" Mephone said in a quiet tone.
"What? Who are..-?" 3GS stopped himself, realizing that this must have been the number 4 model that Mecintosh mentioned.
"I thought you were dead, or that he got rid of you!" Mephone's voice was full of relief.

"Am I missing something?" 4S said in a mix of concern and confusion. Mephone almost forgot how there were others in the lounge.
"It's uh- It's a long story. I can explain it all later." Mephone awkwardly answered and turned back to 3GS.
"But you should know that he is not going to come for you, and he's not going to hurt you." 3GS knew who Mephone was talking about, and this brought so much relief but also answers he didn't know he needed. This explained why the headquarters felt like a ghost town, and how it was so easy for him to get out.

"Thank you Oj for finding him." Mephone smiled
"Oh it's uh, no big deal yeah?" Oj responded awkwardly. he didn't fully understand what exactly was happening but he was glad to at least make Mephone happy in a weird way.
"You can stay with us if you want." Mephone offered a hand out to 3GS. 3GS hesitated at first, while he was happy to see other meeple products like himself, he didn't know if he could fully trust them. However he had no other place to go to and he was most likely better off here than anywhere else. 3GS then grabbed onto Mephone's hand as the two devices made their way towards the hotel's entrance.