Heyo my Edgelings!

I am absolutely pumped for this chapter!! I might just be my favorite so far! Huge shout out to Alice_d3mon and tacofromii_ye for giving me awesome ideas and inspiring me to write this!!

I call this masterpiece (insert drumroll):

ONE Lost Soul AU!

Things to note:

#1 - Watch ONE by hfj cheesy.

#2 - PLEASE go watch the Co-Host AU by FroggyRibbit on YouTube!!! It is actually insanely amazing and I am so excited to see all the new voice actors in Episode 5!!! This is definitely heavily inspired by it, but not so much that it is literally just the same thing. I hate it when fanfics just take someone else's idea and barely change anything. Trust me, I put a lot of thought into making this my own original idea, not just a copy of someone else's work.

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The sky was overcast, and the air humid and thick. The forecast called for rain all evening and into the night, but for now the dark gray clouds only loomed overhead, declaring their intentions with the occasional rumble of thunder. Small houses dotted the rolling hills around the public elementary school of the mid-sized town, Each house looked about the same, they were different colors and had different decorations, but the structures and floor plans were identical, as were the tiny fenced in yards behind each evenly spaced home.

Sidewalks ran alongside the road in front of them, connecting the Elementary School, the Library, and the quiet suburban neighborhood to the collection of small shops in the center of town. Now, at 3:00 in the afternoon, a lone figure walked on the sidewalk, heading away from the large school building.

Most people had already holed up in their houses to avoid the upcoming storm, but this particular person was rather enjoying the weather. A cold wind whipped briskly through the thick air, stirring up the dead leaves that had finished falling only two weeks ago. The boy watched as the leaves flew up into the sky, imagining them sprouting wings and turning into birds.

The quiet was nice. The boy thought to himself. Other than the rumble of the occasional car passing by, there were no people making noise. He liked it much better that way, school was always too loud. It made his head hurt.

Today was especially bad, because they had a one-hundred-days of school party, and so many people came to the gym. The shouts and screams of children and droning of adult voices had echoed so horribly in that huge, high-ceilinged room. The little boy went and hid beneath the bleachers for most of it, his head throbbing. Even the music was bad, and he loved music.

Sometimes he wondered if he should tell his teacher about the headaches, but he decided not to. He didn't want to get made fun of. He already got enough of that from being the quiet kid with the big head.

He didn't want to get on the bus that afternoon, but his teachers always told him he had to. He didn't want to be in such a small space surrounded by all of his yelling classmates. But he had a plan. He walked around the bus with the crowd of other kids his age, but instead of getting on, he ducked behind one of the landscape bushes beside the building.

He waited in that bush until all the buses had left, and then he got up and started walking down the sidewalk. He could see his house from the school, so he knew it would be an easy walk. Why did he have to ride the bus anyways when he lived right there? Why couldn't he walk everyday? This was nice. The quietness gently undoing the effects of today's hassle.

There was something good that happened this morning though, the boy remembered as he pulled a little clay sculpture out of his pocket and admired it. It was a little blue dog, just like his neighbor's puppy that he sometimes played with. It was a little rough and bumpy, but the boy loved his creation. He loved making things.

He looked up and realized he was already in front of his foster parents' house. He turned and began crossing the street.

But he didn't check for oncoming cars.

The screaming of a truck horn.

The screeching of brakes.

The crushing of metal.

The shattering of glass.

The driver of the red pickup leapt from his seat, and rushed to the front. But there was no doubt. No hope. It was final. A small, bronze body laid bent and half crushed, and a little metal hood rolled down the street, falling over with a clatter. Glass shards littered the pavement.

And a little blue clay figure laid broken in a limp hand.

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He awoke with a gasp in a blank, glowing room.

He stared down at his hands, trembling, remembering the excruciating pain he had felt only a split second before. The sound of shattering glass ringing in his ears. The little boy curled up into a ball and sobbed.

After a minute of this, he raised his head again, sniffing and wiping his runny nose on his elbow. Where was he?

Around him was just... nothing...

It scared him.

He turned around, and saw something. He smiled. Something was good.

Two chairs, a table, and a radio.

He was instantly drawn to the radio. The top of his bronze hood was barely taller than the table top. Oooo, the little box had a button on it! Without a second thought, the boy reached up and tried to press it, but it didn't move. Did it turn then...?

He turned it, and static roared out from the speakers. The boy yelped and jumped back, his heart pounding, terrified by the sudden loud noise in the otherwise complete silence. He turned it again, and it got quieter. He sighed in relief.

Huh, what was that little metal stick on top for?

What would happen if he moved it?

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The little lantern popped back into the waiting room, shaking and breathing heavily. He was never touching that crazy box ever again!!!

5 minutes later...

Hmmm... wonder what happens if you turn it this way?

(Insert multiverse hopping compilation. There's plenty of them on YouTube!)

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2 years later...

"Oof!" The little lantern grunted as he fell forward, barely catching himself with his thin little arms. Hmm... grass... that was a good sign... most of the ones with grass didn't kill him instantly. He should have at least a few seconds to look around.

He slowly stood up, his legs weak from sitting in that armchair, searching for a new radio channel that wasn't just static.

He looked side to side carefully. The colors here were nice. They were more muted, pastel... they didn't hurt his eyes which was good. It also wasn't too bright or too loud. In fact... he couldn't hear anything at all...

...It was nice...

The place was empty as far as he could tell. Paranoia gripped him in a violently abrupt burst. He glanced up suddenly, expecting something to come plummeting down and crush him from above. "Whew..." He sighed, nothing up there.

Hmmm... There wasn't really anything close by, the terrain was completely flat. There were only a couple trees off in the distance. Some of the blades of grass were oddly triangular, but other than that it almost reminded him of... somewhere... he had been to so many places that he was having trouble remembering where he originally came from... or anyone he knew there...

Well, since he didn't see anywhere else to go, the little lantern just sat down on the grass. Enjoying the new, refreshing surroundings... while they lasted. He knew something would probably come kill him soon enough.

But while he was here... he picked up one of the strange grass triangles. He missed having something to play with. He began to fold it up, then unfold it, then try to make shapes with it... and then he folded it again...

... and for the moment, he was happily entertained by his little piece of grass...

And then the air reverberated with what sounded like a huge yawn. He looked up, panicked, and was mildly relieved to see there was still nothing falling from the sky.

Wait a minute... did the sun just... move?

"What the..." A deep, rich voice rang out of the empty sky.

The little lantern stared up open-mouthed, not really scared of death, he'd been through it enough. He was just a little anxious, uneasily waiting for this unknown source to just do its job. He was slightly unsettled that he couldn't even tell where it was coming from, making the whole ordeal unnecessarily stressful.

The sun became bigger, as if leaning closer to him. Was the sun talking to him?!?! That was new...

"What... How did that get there?" The voice boomed once again.

The strangest part of the whole situation was that the little lantern actually understood what this mysterious voice was saying. He never understood the language in any of the other worlds he had been to so far.

...should he try to talk to it?

"Mmmm..." The little lantern hummed and opened his mouth, suddenly realizing that he barely remembered how to talk. "...Huh... huh... huuuuuh... heh...he-llo?" He finally managed to say, his voice a barely audible squeak.

"It talks?" The sun asked in a monotone voice, "Is it... alive? How did it get there?"

Was the sun asking him to answer? The little lantern decided to assume so, "...I... d-died." His little voice contained no emotion, sounding almost disinterested.

"Died? That means you are alive. Or... were alive? That doesn't really explain how you got there, but no matter. The important question now is what to do with you..."

"I guess... just... send me... back..." The boy shrugged. He didn't expect anything more. He just used the radio to avoid the endless blank boredom of the Waiting Room.

"Send you back where? How?" The sky asked, confused.

"Oh... the Waiting Room... and you just... kill me... I guess..." The lantern explained calmly, turning his attention back to his folded piece of grass.

"Kill you? How do I do that?"

The boy looked up, slightly confused, "I... don't know... It usually just... happens..."

"So you don't choose it? Hmmm... Well... do you want to go back?" The sun asked.

"..." The boy stared forward blankly, trying to process. He... he had never even considered... staying somewhere... He looked around again. Gentle light, blue sky, soft grass, a couple trees... It was nice... better than the Waiting Room... Maybe... "C...c-can I stay?"

"Sure. Talking to you is nice. Haven't had anyone here since... ever."

"You're here alone... all the time?"

"...yeah."

"...You can't leave?"

"There's... not really anywhere to go... It's just dark here..."

"Dark?"

"Oh right. It must be bright down there."

"...Are you... in outer space?" The little lantern asked, trying to comprehend who he was talking to, and where he was.

"Outer space? I'm not sure what that is..."

"...oh..."

Everything became silent, and the boy went back to fiddling with the grass.

Finally, he thought of something, "Sunny?"

No answer.

"Sunny?" He called out again.

No answer.

"Sunny?" He tried once again.

"Are you... talking to me?" The voice in the sky finally answered.

"Yeah..."

"Why are you calling me that?"

"Because... you're... the sun?"

"No. I'm not. I don't even know what that is."

"Well... what's your... name?

"I don't have one."

"Oh... what do I call... you then?"

"...I dunno."

"Sunny?"

"No."

"Sky-y?"

"No. Could you try to come up with something... better?"

The little lantern thought very hard, "...Airy?"

"N-" The voice huffed out a sigh, "You know what, sure. We'll go with it. How about you, do you have a name?"

"Yes."

"What is it?"

"..." The little boy opened his mouth to answer, but froze... Suddenly realizing..."I don't remember."

A light breeze blew through the Plane as Airy sighed, "So what do you want me to call you? Lantern?"

"Yeah... That's fine..."

"I was being sarcastic."

"What's sarcastic?"

"Nevermind."

"... Airy?"

"Yeah?"

"Are we... friends?..." Lantern asked hesitantly. He vaguely remembered the objects at his school having friends. The faces were muddled, the background blurred, but he remembered their laughter. They were always happy with their friends... He never had any...

"Uhhh.... Sure I guess..."

Lantern smiled a tiny little smile. "Thanks."

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Comfortable silence had settled over the Plane as its single inhabitant slept peacefully on the soft, warm grass. Airy watched Lantern as he gently breathed in and out, deep in the throthes of a hazy dream. The giant celestial being was fascinated by his tiny new companion.

For all of his long existence, he had never had the opportunity to interact with any other sentient beings before. It was refreshing really, a break from his monotonous pattern of sleeping and staring into the void surrounding him. The light emitted from his glass globe head was the only light penetrating the void, and he was its only inhabitant.

Of course, it had always been that way. He was used to it. But this new little thing sleeping on one of the planets dangling from his hood peaked his curiosity. He was happy to finally have someone to talk to. He never realized he had been lonely until now.

The revelation was both a blessing and a curse. Now Airy had someone to talk to and interact with, but right now he was sleeping, and Airy was bored. Of course, he was also used to being bored, but now that he had someone to talk to, boredom suddenly became unbearable instead of normal. He wanted to talk to Lantern again, but didn't want to wake him up.

So Airy patiently waited.

And waited.

And waited.

And waited.

Finally, he was sick of waiting. Time had never meant anything to him before, but now the seconds ticked by so slowly. Lantern had been asleep long enough, right?

"Mh-mh," Airy cleared his throat, hoping to wake up the tiny Lantern gently. Lantern rolled over, but remained asleep.

"Mh-MH," Airy tried again, slightly louder. Lantern yawned and slowly sat up, rubbing his eyes sleepily.

"Hello again Lantern. Sleep well?" Airy asked in a chill, monotone voice, eager for another conversation. He didn't really care what it was about, anything would be more entertaining than staring at the void.

"Ahuuuuuuummm..." Lantern yawned again, blinking rapidly in the light, "Yeaaaaaaaah..."

Airy watched as Lantern stretched his arms out over his head, captivated by the movements. He had never seen anything move except his own hands and feet. Everything about Lantern was interesting to Airy.

"What did you do before you came here?" Airy asked.

"Ummm..." Lantern hummed, still clearing out the sleep fog in his head, "I... sat on a chair... beside... a table and... used the radio..."

"What did this 'radio' do?"

"It took me places."

"You mean like here?"

"Yeah... but the other places... weren't as nice... They all... killed me... and then I went back to the radio." Lantern yawned again.

"Oh... Do you... know how you got there?" Airy asked dully, which didn't reflect his emotions at all. He actually really wanted to know if Lantern remembered how he... existed... Airy had no idea how he got here... He had just kinda... always been here... There was nothing before here.

"Well... I died..."

"Riiiiiiiiiiight..."

"But before I died the first time... I lived in a place... called Earth." Lantern explained.

"What was it like there?" Airy asked curiously.

"I... I don't remember much... it was loud... and there were lots of people... and... they didn't like me very much..."

"Why not?"

"I... didn't talk a lot... and... I have a big head..." Lantern explained, patting his metal hood.

"Why does that matter?"

"I don't know... but it's fine now..."

"Did anything else happen?"

"I got hit by a car."

"What's a car?"

"A big piece of metal... moving very fast."

"Oh... so that's how you died?"

"Yeah."

"Anything else happen?"

Lantern thought for a moment, trying hard to sort through all the clutter in his brain to find the memories of his old life. He found something. "I made a blue dog out of clay." Lantern smiled a little.

"What are those things?"

Lantern suddenly became confused. How was he supposed to explain... "I could... make one if you want..."

"Ok."

"But I need clay."

"What's clay?"

"It's like... mud... but you use it to... make stuff."

"I can make mud."

Suddenly, a large blob of wet dirt began plummeting from the sky. Lantern stepped out of the way just in time before it splattered on the ground where he had just been standing.

"...Sorry... It's kinda hard to aim."

Lantern slowly leaned down and scooped up a handful of the goopy mud, rubbing it between his fingers curiously. "How did you... do that?"

"What?"

"Make... this." Lantern held up his muddy hand as if to show the air.

"Oh, I just... did it I guess. I just think about it and then put it there."

"Oh... that's pretty cool." Lantern began rolling the mud into a ball, slowly pinching and pressing certain parts until the vague, lumpy shape of a four-legged animal with a tail appeared. Lantern set it on the ground with a tiny proud grin. "Look. I made a dog~"

"Hmm... I like it." Airy smiled, marveling at the tiny creation, though Lantern couldn't see him as anything but a bright circle in his 'sky'. Airy was happy. Yes, having someone to talk to was very nice...

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Several Weeks Later...

"Hey Lantern," Airy called out.

"Yeah?" Lantern answered, looking up from his grass origami. He had gotten pretty good at making little animals.

"I made you something." Airy stated proudly as something small fell down and plopped onto the grass beside Lantern. It took a while to make things that small.

Lantern stood up and walked over to the little gray shape. He picked it up and examined it for a minute, before his characteristic tiny grin appeared. "It looks like my dog sculpture... before it fell apart...."

"Yes! I made it out of stone so that this one won't fall apart! Did I get it right? It's hard to see when it's so tiny..."

"It's only got three legs... and the tail is shorter than mine was..." Lantern commented, turning the cool, smooth figurine over and over in his little hands.

"But do you like it?"

"Yeah... thanks Airy... It's pretty good... I'm going to name it... Doggy..." Lantern grinned as he sat back down, happily moving the rock figure along the ground, pretending it could actually walk.

Airy smiled fondly, very satisfied to see that Lantern liked his gift, "You are really good with names huh? I suppose I'm no better though..."

But then Lantern frowned sadly, and set the dog-ish looking thing down.

"What's the matter? Is something wrong with it?"

"No... I just wish you could play with me..." Lantern said sadly, tracing circles in the grass with his finger.

Airy sighed, "We've been over this. I can't go down there. I don't fit. I can make you something else if you want though."

"No... I'm still trying to make a bird..." Lantern picked up his piece of grass, and then picked the stone dog back up, setting it on his lap while he worked on folding his grass.

Airy wasn't content though. This wasn't the first time Lantern had asked him to play, but Airy simply couldn't make it happen. He would never be able to fit onto the small planet attached to his golden hood. But he wanted Lantern to be happy. He liked seeing his little boy smile.

Hmmm...

If Airy couldn't go down there...

...maybe he could bring someone who could.

If Lantern could come here from a different world, then maybe Airy could bring others here too.

Airy smiled, tapping on the void surrounding him, testing its infinite surface for potential weaknesses.

He had some work to do.

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Awwwwwwwwwww!!!

They are soooooo cute!!!!

So yeah... I was planning on much more happening in this chapter, but I kinda liked just writing about Lantern and Airy's cute moments. Part 2 will have all the Season 1 contestants!! That's right! We are starting at the beginning!

Wow. This AU is going to be a lot longer than I originally thought... I might even have to make it into its own book! Would you guys like that, or should I keep it short? Let me know in the comments!

Also, I'm doing the thing where you guys get to vote on what I write next. Here are the options:

1.   ...Airy didn't die. Part 2 (Fluff/A little Angst)

2.   ...Liam brought Airy back. Part 2 (Lots of Angst/Torture)

3.   ...Xquality BFB/TPOT AU Part 2 (Angst/Happy Ending)

4.   ...ONE Lost Soul AU. Part 2 (Fluff/Funny moments with the Season 1 Contestants)

I will let the votes go on for one week after I publish this! At the end of one week I will start writing whichever prompt gets the most votes! Vote in the comments!

And during that week I will be writing WWC chapter 19. Go check that out if you like my edgy style and also minecraft lol!

Edgy out!