Stranded in Paradise; Welcome Home [An II Au]

Safe and Sound

There were so many questions to be answered.

Almost everyone was gathered in the living room, sitting around Mephone4. The broken phone was sitting on the bright orange couch, wrapped in a soft pink blanket. The Floor appeared beside Pickle with a cup of water on a plate, passing it to the cucumber. "Thanks, bud," Pickle said, picking up the water from the plate and holding it in his hands. Mephone's eyes were closed, as if in some sort of slumber. His breathing was steady, yet slow. "You think he's gonna be okay?" Paper asked, standing beside Pickle and the Floor.

"Yeah, I'm sure he'll be fine. Just...give him some time, okay?"

"He looks horrible..." Suitcases said, observing the weakened phone, "Was he...on the island with you guys?"

"No, he wasn't." Balloon replied, "We kinda thought he was the one who set us up. Maybe for like a...survival sort of situation...but now that he's back, I...don't think that's a possibility."

"We'll just wait for him to explain himself when he wakes up." The Floor said, popping next to Suitcase and Balloon. "I'm sure he didn't...MEAN to put you guys on that island, right? Like...an honest mistake?"

"How can making someone crash land on an island and go through a MONTH of suffering be counted as a mistake?" Nickel limped over to the trio, an unamused look on his face, "He literally ABANDONED us!"

"Oh, he just abandoned YOU?!" Trophy suddenly butted in, "What about us?! He abandoned us for a month too! TWO months! He's got no one better to explain his absence too than us!"

"Well, maybe if you guys were also stranded on an island and forced to fight for survival while having to deal with a serial killer, he'd be more sorry for you!" Nickel yelled.

"You boys quit your yapping!" Tea Kettle got in between them, "He's going to explain it for BOTH of you! So I suggest you both shut your traps before I send you to your rooms!"

"Stay out of this, old woman! You didn't wait for TWO months just to continue a stupid game show season, did you?!" Trophy yelled.

"SCREAMING MATCH!!" Goo shouted.

The arguing just got worse from there. People defending Mephone, people arguing against Mephone, and people just trying to break up the fight. No one could come to an agreement on what to do. No one could do anything except yell and argue. However, one scream suddenly filled the room. A scream that got everyone silent.

"AAAAAAAAAAAGGHHH!!"

It was Mephone. He was awake.

Mephone scrambled backwards on the couch, his back pressed against the cushion while his tear stained face was observing everything in the room. His screen glitched, damaged by the large crack embedded in his forehead. "...M-Mephone! Are you ok??" Balloon attempted to approach Mephone, only for the electronic to just curl up in a ball and sob into his knees. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry, Mr. Cobs, I'm sorry! Please, I'll be good! I'll be good! Don't do this, please!!" Mephone pleaded to no one. Balloon backed up a bit once he understood the situation. "S-...Sorry..." he mumbled.

"Hey...Mephone...You're okay..." Pickle said as he approached, careful not to touch Mephone at all or make him uncomfortable. "It's just Balloon...Do you remember him? Balloon?" Mephone looked at Balloon again, his blue eyes reflecting off of his rubber salmon surface. "Ba...Balloon...?" His eyes glanced around everyone else in the room slowly, "N-...Nick...el...? Tr...Trophy...S-S...Suit...case..."

"Yeah...yeah, that's it. We're all here. You're safe..." Pickle said with a soothing calm voice. Mephone slowly looked at Pickle with his glitching eyes, tears beginning to burn up in the corners again when they made eye contact with each other. "I'm...safe...?"

"Yeah...you're in Hotel OJ...We're all here...You're gonna be fine..."

Paper picked up the water Pickle sat down earlier, passing it over to Mephone. He just stared at his reflection in the water's surface, before slowly bringing it up to his lips. He downed the water in a few small gulps, setting the cup down on the floor again. "Uh, thanks for the rest, I guess..." The Floor said, trying to lighten the mood.

"Mephone, can you...tell us what happened? Where you went, what...happened to you?"

"I...I burned it all down...b-...but...Cobs...Cobs is...still alive...he...he said he'd kill me...he said he'd kill me...when...o-oh god...oh god! Cobs is going to find me! He's going to kill me! He's gonna kill me!!"

Mephone dug his face into Pickle's chest, frantic and dry sobs coming out of his mouth as he muttered the same phrase over and over again "please Cobs, don't...please Cobs, don't...please please please..." Pickle just sighed and wrapped his arms around Mephone, rubbing the robot's back soothingly.

"I'll...take care of Mephone for the time being...just until he's mentally well enough to explain everything that happened...you guys can just...go on with the rest of your day..." Pickle didn't elaborate further as he just continued to rub Mephone's back, whispering "it's okay...you're safe...you're safe..."

One by one, everyone else just left the room. "Hey, Nickel?" Test Tube quickly ran up to the small gray coin as he left. He turned around and hummed to her question. "I'm almost finished with your new prosthetic. You think you can stop by and try it on so I can properly hook it up?" She continued. Nickel seemed to ponder it for a moment before he nodded. "Yeah, that sounds good. If it'll get me away from the craziness of today."

Nickel just sighed of relief as he left the hotel with Test Tube.

...

...

The embers died down around Meeple.

Broken electronics and destroyed phones littered the soot filled surroundings.

And within the rubble of it all...

Was a pair of broken glasses.

And the lingering smell of popcorn.