Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“I thought I gained a friend. Turns out, I gained nothing.”

Taco abruptly wakes up from that terrible memory replaying in her head. She groans, as she tries to find a comfortable spot on the branch she’s sitting on, with no success. It’s cold up in the tree she’s sleeping in. If only Microphone was there to cuddle her-

No. 

This is not how she’s supposed to think about Microphone.

She does not like her that way, she insisted.

She shakes her head, making her snap her back to reality. It’s… been a month since-

Then, darkness.
Everything seemed to stop. Taco couldn’t see at all.

Taco gets startled by this. She looks around, her eyes eventually getting used to the darkness. She gets down from the tree she was in and looks over to Hotel OJ. No lights were on, which seemed weird. There was always at least one light on. Taco was relieved to have the moonlight to see at least.

That’s when Taco sees something. A black figure. She squints, trying to get a better look at it. The lack of light does not help in the slightest.

The figure turns around and Taco immediately knows she’s in deep shit.

Inside Hotel OJ:

“EVERYONE CALM DOWN!!”

OJ calls out. Everyone’s been panicking because of the sudden blackout. Most people stop and listen, but some people still continue to panic.

“Look, I know this is sudden and scary, but everything is alright! It’s just a power outage. Please stay calm. It’ll turn back on eventually.”

OJ’s words calm some, but some are still shaken up. Luckily, the people that are shaken up are being comforted by their friends or loved ones. OJ himself was comforting Paper, wrapping an arm around him in a side hug, as they snuggled together.

Then there was banging from the other side of the door.
Everyone jumps at how sudden it was. Their eyes locked on the door as the bangs become more frantic. Finally, OJ has the confidence (albeit shaking) to open the door. He slightly opens the door, and in sprints someone. They zipped past everyone and went straight upstairs. There's the sound of a door slamming, then everything goes deathly silent.

...Until someone gasps and points to the floor.

Blood. A trail of dark red streaks the floor, leading up the stairs.

Panic erupts, as people wonder who that was and why they were bleeding.

Everyone is panicking except for Microphone. She just stood there, too dazed to do anything. She saw the green and red zip past and immediately knew who it was.

Taco.

Chapter Text

Taco sprints up to and hides in the spare room, her breath shaky and ragged.
She holds the left side of her face, blood pouring out of it as she walks over to the bed in the room. She sits on the floor in front of the bed and leans on the side of it.

This is bad. She’s losing blood at alarming rates.
If this continues and she doesn’t get treated, she could be done for. Blood oozed from the jagged crack on the left side of her shell, staining her trembling fingers. She starts to feel light-headed. It stings like hell. But... she can't just give up here...

She tried to stand, but all her limbs did was shake tremendously and give in, making her fall on her face. And just like that, everything went dark for Taco.

…Microphone watched through the small crack in the door, making sure she wasn’t seen by Taco, completely mortified. Even if she’s still mad at her, knowing she was going to eventually drop her like she did to Pickle, she couldn’t help but care for her.

She quickly rushes in after Taco went unconscious. She softly and carefully picks her frail, cracked little body up princess style. The crack is huge, taking most of the left side of her shell, and the amount of blood loss is concerning.

She rushes to the group, holding Taco close, getting blood stains all over her too.
She… liked the feeling of Taco close to her. She couldn’t explain why though. She shouldn’t feel this way. Not after everything that she did. Then… why did she feel this way…?

She pushes these thoughts and weird feelings aside, getting back on track with what she should be focusing on. Helping Taco.
She rushes into the room where everyone is, and calls out, her voice laced with urgency and concern.

“SHE NEEDS HELP, URGENTLY!! DOES ANYONE HAVE A FIRST AID KIT?!”

Chapter Text

Taco groans as she wakes up.

She holds her injury as she sits up, grimacing. She feels lightheaded as she sits up, still a bit out of it. She looks around to see an white room, filled with multiple white beds and First Aid kits everywhere. No one is in this room but Taco.
When she finally snaps out of her trance, she realises that her injury that she’s holding feels… smoother than normal.

She struggles out of bed, and shakily stumbles to the nearby mirror, still feeling lightheaded. She holds onto the mirror with one hand and holds her injury with the other as she stares at herself with a mirror. No wonder. She has a bandage over her injury. Still hurts like hell, but at least it’s not bleeding all over her. She sighs as she stumbles back to her bed.

She... can’t stay here. People still hate her and would love to see her suffer.
...And yet, she’s sitting in Hotel OJ with a bandage over her injury, which means someone was kind enough to help her. She wonders why. Why would they bother? Did they pity her? Her mind drifts off hoping that it was Microphone who did, and she still cares… But she grumbles and pushes that thought away. She hates her, doesn’t she?

Part of her wonders if it was MePad who helped her, But he was still on sleep mode when she got...

Then she freezes as she realises something. MePad is still in the forest.

If that thing got their hands on MePad, they would be unstoppable. She has to go get him, or else. She doesn’t care if she’s lightheaded. She can just teleport back anyway.

She gets off her bed, almost losing her balance. This might be harder than she thought.

She regains her balance, heads to the door and slightly opens it to make sure that no one is around. Luckily, all the (hand lit) lights are off and the others seem to be asleep. Seeing how dark the corridor looks made her realise that there are actually lights in the infirmary room she woke up in. Her eyes took a while to adjust to the darkness. She made sure to not make any noise while heading downstairs, albeit stumbling every so often.
She’s still lightheaded, which doesn’t help with going down the stairs, but she manages to get down with only a few bruises, which doesn’t seem to faze her in the slightest. She finally gets to the door and heads outside.

The crisp air makes Taco shudder as she steps outside. She has a bad feeling that thing is still out there. She has to be quick. She walks back into the forest to get MePad. 

From inside the Hotel, a certain sharp tongued guy peeks through the curtains, watching Taco stumble into the forest.

Taco stumbles every so often, her head swirling as she walks further into the forest, to where she left MePad.

Chapter Text

She stops and leans on a tree to snap out of the dizzying lightheadedness she feels.
But when she takes a break, she realises that dizziness isn't stopping, in fact, it's getting worse. This makes her worry more.

This doesn't feel right. The longer she stays in the forest, the heavier the pit in her stomach grows. That thing could be anywhere...

She takes a deep breath and pushes herself to move, despite her current state. She stays stubborn, which is one of her specialties.

As she walks further and further in she gets more and more dizzy, to the point that she can't even walk straight.

Despite being quite dark, only having the moonlight as light, she sees him.


MePad.

She has never been so relieved to see the piece of technology in her life.

Until her legs give in and she falls on the floor face first. Her limbs shake as she pushes herself to at least move to MePad. She drags herself, trying to be as quiet as she can despite being in excruciating pain she feels.

She's being watched. She can feel it.
She knows that thing is still out there, just waiting for the time where she's most vulnerable and it can come and do god-knows-what to her.

As the outside darkness and the dizziness her gets to her head, Her hand eventually touches MePad and they immediately teleport out of the forest.

They teleport back to Hotel OJ, Taco flopping on the ground, completely given up with any movement.

The dizziness has stopped, but the pain already feels excruciating and moving only makes it worse. She lies there, her hand still on MePad as the pain becomes too much to bear and she inevitably passes out on the floor.


Knife comes down the 1st level, knowing Taco had come back from whatever she was doing in the forest... But he didn't expect to see her with MePad.

Did... she save MePad?

He's been missing for a while...

Knife doesn't believe what he's seeing.

No.
Taco was... bad, wasn't she?
What is this?
Why did she disappear only to come back with MePad?

Doubts and thoughts were swirling through Knife's mind as he stared at Taco's body lying on the floor, still touching MePad. She must have teleported back.

Knife sighs, as he takes Taco's little body and brings it back to the infirmary. When she wakes up, they have to talk.

Chapter Text

Knife walks up the stairs with Taco in his arms and heads to the infirmary. He opens the door to see Microphone sitting there, waiting.

"Oh, Knife! You... found her?"
She says, trying her best to not show how she was worried that Taco seemed to disappear, but failing miserably. She stands and walks up to Knife, looking at Taco. She's out like a light (ironic), her little body fitting perfectly in Knife's arms like a plushie.

Knife knew she still cared. She didn't seem angry the day she left Taco. She seemed disappointed instead. Knife could tell. He played along for now.

"..Yes. She got MePad back, somehow. I knew she stole MePad, but I never knew where she kept him."
He says, placing Taco's limp body on her bed.

Microphone knew where she kept him. In the bushes near the tree stump they would always meet at. She doesn't dare say anything to Knife though. She didn't want anyone to go out there with what seemed to happen to Taco.

"...Anyway. I'm going to put MePad somewhere safe and hidden from anyone else. You deal with Taco."
He says, as he walks out of the room.

Microphone looks at Taco's small little body lying on the bed. She must have pushed herself too much and made herself unconscious. She sighs, picking up Taco. She moves the bed sheets, places Taco softly on the bed, and tucks her in.

...That feeling from the last time she picked her up has come back. It feels... warm. She keeps a hand on Taco for longer than normal. She shouldn't feel like this. What even is this? Why?

Seeing Taco lying there, peaceful and small, She couldn't help but find it cu-

Mic hears a thud outside. She quickly moves away from Taco, in case she was found like... That. 

After one last glance at Taco, She leaves the infirmary to find Knife struggling with getting MePad up the stairs. She chuckles.

"Want help?"
She asks.

Knife grumbles, but eventually accepts her help. They get MePad up the stairs and into the storage room.

"...God. He's way too big for a device. What was Cobs thinking?"
He says, annoyed.

"When has he ever done good things?"
Microphone says, sassy.

Knife and Microphone laugh as they mock Cobs. They walk back to the infirmary.

"Alright, who's gonna talk to Taco when she wakes up?"
Knife asks.

Microphone hesitates, seeming unsure about that question. She wants to talk to Taco. She wants to make everything better. She... wants to tell her how she cares. But part of her still feels disappointed and guilty.

She... doesn't feel ready to confront her guilt.

"...Can... you talk to her, please?"
She says, looking away, with a guilty look.

Knife knew why. He knew she hadn't completely forgiven her yet.

"Sure. I'll deal with her."
He says.

Knife opens the door to the infirmary. Just as he is about to enter, Microphone asks him something.

"Hey. Just... promise to take care of her... ok? I know you won't do it for her... So promise you'll do it for me?"
Microphone says softly, worried.

Knife stops and looks at her, sceptical at first. But, he thinks it over...

"...Alright. I'll do it only for you. Not because I feel pity for that little backstabber."
He begrudgingly accepts. As much as he's a jerk, Microphone has never steered him wrong.

Microphone smiles, grateful.

"Thanks Knife. You're a great friend."
She says, seeming happier than before.

Knife huffs, keeping his tough facade up. Secretly he appreciates what Microphone said. He walks into the infirmary and closes the door, making sure no one else sees Taco in here. God knows what will happen when the others see her, as she doesn't have the greatest reputation at the hotel.

Microphone heads back to her room. It's best to get some sleep now. She looks back at the infirmary, still worried about Taco, before entering her room.

Chapter Text

As Taco wakes up back on that white bed, she can’t help but feel a sense of Déjà vu. With one exception. Knife was there.

“Dear God Knife!”
Taco jumps slightly, not expecting to see him of all people. She quickly scrambled to sit up.

“…How long were you watching me for?”
She asks suspiciously, confused as to why he was here. He has made it clear before that he doesn’t trust her at all.

“What were you doing with MePad?”
He says harshly, his words cutting like a knife (Suits him).

“I asked you a question first, hardhead. I’m not answering until you do.”
She says, more annoyed with a glare.

Knife sighs, annoyed.

“Not that long. I was talking to someone before this. Happy? Now, answer my damn question. What were you doing with MePad? I know you stole him for a reason.”
He says, becoming more pissed off by the second.

Taco scoffs.

“I simply wanted his teleportation abilities. It was proven to be useful. I went out there to get him before…”

She trails off, seeming… scared? What could’ve scared Taco? She’s not easily scared. She looks out the window next to her.

Knife raises an eyebrow.

“...What? What did you see out there?”

“...N-Nothing.”
Taco says back, trying to hide how nervous she is.

Knife can tell that Taco is obviously lying.

“Taco, for fucks sake. Could you stop lying for one second?!”
He says, raising his voice.

He then stops when he sees Taco’s facial horrified expression as she looks outside the window.

“...Tac-”

“Get me to the lobby.”
Taco cuts Knife off, seeming serious and concerned.

Knife becomes extremely confused.

“What? Why-”
Taco grabs Knife tightly and pulls his face close to hers, becoming annoyed.

“Get me to the FUCKING lobby Knife!!”
She says, pissed off.

Knife pushes Taco away, annoyed.

“Fuck dude, fine fine!”
Knife says.

He picks up Taco and brings her to the lobby, still pissed off. 

Once they get to the lobby, they spot OJ walking outside with a toolbox and a torch.

“OJ GET THE FUCK BACK IN HERE!!”
Taco suddenly screams, her voice seeming to break in fear.

OJ turns back to the hotel, looking to see who said that, confused. He becomes annoyed when he shines the light in the direction of the voice, only to find out it’s Taco. But he noticed something off. The unmistakable look of fear on her face. 

Before he could answer, he was tackled to the ground by something. He dropped the torch and it turned off, making it too dark to see what happened to him.

But then, the lobby hears… cracking glass.

Chapter Text

It was impossible to see clearly what that thing was. The only visible things are the silhouettes of OJ and that thing.

Paper looks in absolute despair, his eyes darting around, frantically looking for OJ while shaking.

No.

He can’t be gone.

He’s… the hotel manager. A friend to all. The… love of Paper’s life.

Paper starts to tear up, shaking as he watches the silhouettes on the floor for any movement.

Suddenly, a smaller figure zips past him and pushes the thing off OJ. The thing quickly scrambles to its feet. The small figure grabs something out of it, pulling out an item that looks like a gun. They cock it and shoot a beam at the thing, the bullet grazing it.  The thing retreats before it can get hit again.
The smaller figure stumbles over to the torch, grabbing it and turning it on.

It was... Taco. With the torch on, you can clearly see it was her. She slightly panting, and was holding her bandages, seeming to be in pain.

She must have pushed herself too much, because now her bandage is lightly stained with of blood on it, and it seems to be gradually growing. She puts her gun back in her shell and shines the torch light on OJ, which makes him groan and guard his eyes with his hands.

“OJ… y-you idiot, why d-did you think…-”
She stops and catches her breath for a second before continuing to talk.

“-it was a good idea to go out in pitch black to fix the lights?! There’s such thing as daylight, y’know?!”
She says, annoyed.

She holds her hand out for OJ. He hesitates, before taking it. Taco helps him up and helps him to walk back to the hotel. With the torch on, the others can see where OJ cracked. His crack goes from his bottom up to his waist and is chipped at the bottom too. Orange Juice is slowly but surely dripping from it.

Both of them stumble back to the hotel. Once they get inside, Paper and Knife immediately close the entrance door to the hotel and lock it.

Paper grabs OJ and holds him close, OJ fully leaning on Paper. Taco plonks down on the floor, groaning as she closes her eyes and holds her injury. Her head is spinning again. 

“...You ok, Taco?”
Knife says, walking up to her.

She really doesn’t want to deal with Knife now.

“I’m alright. Just… go back to bed. I’ll be fine getting up to the infirmary myself. It’ll be better anyway.”
She says, looking up at Knife, seeming to be pissed off.
Knife looks skeptical at first, but he’s given up trying to get through Taco’s thick skull, so he just says goodnight to her and goes upstairs to his room.

Chapter Text

Then... Paper walks up to Taco after putting OJ on the couch. He's... smiling at her. That surprises Taco. She's always had looks of anger and disappointment her way, with Microphone being the exception when they worked together.

"Thank you Taco. For saving him."
Paper says, smiling.

Taco doesn't believe what he's saying. He's... genuinely thanking her?! She hasn't had a "Thank you" said to her in years. It feels... nice. But she wouldn't dare say that out loud.

"...I was merely scaring the thing away."
She says, looking away as she tries to hide the fact that she's secretly happy about being thanked. What she said is half true, since she didn't just attack whatever that thing is to save OJ. She didn't want it getting to the others. To... Microphone.

Paper chuckles.
He holds his arms out to Taco like he's going to pick her up, but stops.

"...Let me put you on the couch. You need rest."
He says, inviting her.

This day just gets weirder and weirder for Taco.
This kindness... reminds Taco of Microphone. She continues to look away, battling the guilt of what happened with her again.
...How many times has she done this before? How many times does she have to go through it again? Every time she looks at OJ and Paper she feels even more guilty and jealous, for reasons she doesn't even know.

She... did need a place to rest, and did not feel good enough to go up all those stairs again. She hesitantly accepts.

Paper picks up Taco, cradling her perfectly in his arms. She's so small and light that she just fits. Paper's way of picking her up is soft and gentle, but nowhere close to the way Mic used to pick her up. She... could feel the love from it-

"No. That's just your stupid fantasy, Taco. She did NOT love you. And she never will."

She told herself, pushing her thoughts away. But the thought of Mic still lingered like a mozzie bite. 

Paper put Taco softly down on one of the single object chairs. He smiled.

"Get some rest Taco."
He says.

To Taco, it felt weird to receive love and care from others, since most of the hotel practically hates her. Although now, she didn't have much of a choice.

She's injured beyond repair. She just has to wait for the pain to get better and when she's in a good enough state to run, then she'll get out of this place. Paper put a blanket over Taco.

"Here you go. Have a nice sleep Taco."
He says, softly.

Taco doesn't feel like she deserves this.
Is this just pity because of her injury?
Is this because she did something for him so he's just doing something in return and that's it?

...She's too tired to think now. She's just going to get some rest.

"...Thank you."
She quietly mumbles, snuggling up in the blanket.

The last thing Taco remembers before succumbing to slumber was Paper's soft smile, a warmth she doesn't think she deserves.

Chapter Text

Taco wakes up… but not in the hotel. Outside again. In the same tree. She looks around, confused. Why is she here? She goes to feel the injured side of her face… to feel her shell, completely smooth. What… is this?

She gets down from the tree. The lights are off again, and the moon is out. It’s… kind of peaceful. But… why is she back here…? Was all that… That thing attacking her, waking up in the hotel infirmary, retrieving MePad and saving OJ… just a dream?

That peace gets instantly shattered when she hears something approaching her. Taco thought it was the same thing that attacked her last time, but when she quickly turned around she saw… Herself? Well… A silhouette of herself.

What… is thi-

“…Do you blame yourself?”
Her silhouette’s voice echoes, like they’re in a small room.

Taco stands there, frozen and startled. What… does it mean?

“Well it’s quite common in this situation for a patient to feel a kind of… guilt.”
The silhouette appears behind Taco, making her jump back.

She gets ready to fight, putting her hands up and standing in the correct stance… but she can’t help but tremble. She starts to feel… sick. Her hands become sweaty and she feels that ever so familiar feeling of guilt. At first she couldn’t bring herself to say anything, but she eventually managed to shakily say:

“...W-What… situation…?”

Suddenly, the thing shapes into something else.

The unmistakable silhouette of Microphone.

It slowly raises something up to Taco…
Taco eyes widen, looking at the silhouette with dread.

“The accident.”
The thing pulls out her laser gun.

No. It wasn’t her fault. It couldn’t have been. She was… just getting Mic to the end, by any means possible.

It wasn’t her fault.
The feeling in her stomach is getting worse.

It wasn’t her fault.
She feels tears forming in her eyes.

It wasn’t her fault.
She feels the guilt like she always has. She falls to her knees, staring at the floor. She swallows, forcing her sobs back down.

It   was not   her fault.
She starts to involuntary cry. She goes to wipe her tears, but it does nothing. The tears are just replaced with more, and they don't look like they're stopping.

It   was not   her fault.
She makes a fist, trying to bear these stupid feelings. She punches the ground with her left hand, her repeated punches getting stronger and stronger to the point that the floor was getting stained with blood.

It   was not her   fault.
She grits her teeth, holding the left side of her face. She feels a headache forming.
She was trying to help.
Why didn’t they see that?
Why didn’t Pickle see that?
Why didn’t Mic see that?
What do they not understand…?

It was her fault.
…Or was the one who didn’t understand…


Taco?

She jolts awake, already crying and breathing heavily. She tries to sit up, but a short sharp pain jolts through her whole left side, making her wince softly. There’s also a weird bloodstain on the left armrest that Taco swore wasn’t there before. She’s too tired to find out where it came from.

She's back. That must have been just a nightmare. 

...Again.

She lies like a toy, her limbs dangling off the couch she’s on. Any movement causes her pain. And she hates it. She hates how she has to be here. She wishes she had just fixed things with Mic, so she could leave this stupid hotel behind.

She lays awake in darkness, her eyes dead and empty as she stares into what looks like an abyss, not being able to sleep after that. Her tears stain her shell, making parts of it a bit soggy and making her injury sting when the tears touched it.

Finally…

The faintest bit of light from outside peeks through the curtain.

Chapter Text

Mic is with Soap, watching her clean her bedroom window. At first, it was just silence. But then, Soap softly says as she continues cleaning:

"Taco still cares about you, y'know."

Mic looks away, feeling too many things to explain.
"...If she did, why did she do all the things she did? If she really cared, she wouldn't have."
She says, clenching her fists as she stares at the floor.

Soap sighs, as she finishes cleaning the window.

"Sometimes... people hurt the ones they care about not because they don't love them, but because they're scared. Scared they'll mess things up. Scared that one wrong move, and everything could just fall apart. And from what I've heard, Taco hasn't had anyone before. Not like how you have me. So she doesn't know as much as we do."
She says, looking at Mic with a soft and remorseful.

Mic doesn't show what she's feeling, but on the inside, It just... hurts.

Soap pats Mic back with a soft smile.
"You'll see."
She says softly.

Soap leaves Mic's room, leaving Mic on her own with millions of thoughts.

Mic has always been able to rely on Soap....Maybe she should find out if Soap was right or not.

Chapter Text

…Taco then wakes up in someone’s arms, seeming to have drifted off to sleep after the hell that was last night, no longer in the chair. She stirs awake, with a yawn. Her left hand is bandaged up for some reason she doesn’t remember. She kind of hoped it was Mic who’s holding her right now but once she rubs her eyes… She sees Lightbulb’s wide smile. 

“Rise and shine little rolly polly! Mr sunshine has come out to greet us!!”
She says, her voice cheerful and full of energy.

Taco didn’t expect to see her of all objects. She almost jumps out of Lightbulb’s arms, seeming annoyed, which makes Lightbulb giggle. She’s still a bit lightheaded from her injury and from getting up so fast, but she’s felt worse.

Honestly, she kind of liked being hugged by someone after a while, but she wouldn’t dare admit that out loud. The sun is shining through the open window, and a nice breeze comes through every so often. Nice break from the darkness caused by that blackout. She's kinda relieved it's morning, and it seems the others are too.

“Why the- What- Lightbulb!! Why am I-”
Taco was just about to argue with Lighbulb about why she was here, until Knife puts a hand on her head and ruffles up her lettuce with a chuckle. He likes annoying Taco.

This just makes her even more annoyed.
“You guys are testing me, I swear to MePhone4-”

“You two, cut it out! We were here to ask about the thing in the forest, not to annoy her.”
Paper interrupts Knife and Lighbulb, the both of them clearly having too much fun annoying her.

“Sorry Paper… I just haven’t hugged anyone since Paintbrush left… I wonder if they’re having fun at that Spoilt Lemon concert with the others! Getting VIP tickets is the best! They’re so lucky…”
Lightbulb says cheerfully.

“Wait… They? I thought Paintbrush was a girl?”
Knife says, confused as he looked at Lightbulb.

“Girl? I thought Paintbrush was a boy??”
Paper also asks, as confused as Knife.

“No no you guys!! Paintbrush is “C”, none of the above! Remember that for them!”
Lightbulb says, determined to get everyone to know about Paintbrush’s pronouns.


“Alright enough. First of all…”

Taco calls out. She then turns to Knife and Paper.

“…How did you two not know their gender?? They’re non-binary and you better respect it.”

She points at Knife and Paper with a glare, then turns to look at them all.

“…And more importantly, what did you all really want me for? I know this isn’t just a time to hang out with “dear Taco”. Especially with Knife here.”
Taco finishes, getting more and more irritated.


Paper sighs and Knife gets more serious, clearing his throat, annoyed at Taco of all people telling him off. Why did she even care that much...?
Lightbulb just sits there, with her normal smile, listening in just in case.

“Right. Tell us what you know about that… thing in the forest. I know you know something, so spit it out.”
Knife says sharply (fits doesn’t it?), glaring down at her.

Paper chuckles nervously and holds Knife back by his shoulder. All of them know Knife and Taco could easily have a punch on right now.

“Tch, well you could ask a little nicely.”
Taco glares up at him, irritated.

Knife clenches his fists, ready to punch her shell into pieces.
“You sure as hell don’t deserve it-”

“Both of you. Stop it. We’re here for information, not for you two to have a catfight.”
Paper cuts them off, seeming to get annoyed.

Both Knife and Taco look away, the atmosphere tense. Lightbulb has started eating popcorn, as she continues to watch in suspense.

Paper calms down, clearing his throat as he looks away. Then, he looks at Taco with concern in his eyes.

"...Taco. Tell us. What is that thing outside?"

After a moment of silence…
“...The thing out there isn’t an object like us. Last time I saw it… It was glitching, and it had a screen. Like… MePhone. But it wasn’t him, that’s for sure. That’s all I got for you.”
Taco says, still looking away. She seems… slightly scared, which is rare.

Paper nods.

“It’s better than nothing. Thanks Taco.”
Paper says, letting go of Knife’s shoulder.

“Come on you two, we need to ask OJ now.”
Paper looks at Knife and Lightbulb, then leaves the room.

“...Knife.”

Knife stops and turns around with an eyebrow raised.

Chapter Text

Mic had been outside watching silently the whole time.
She realises that Paper will see her if she’s like this, so she frantically goes over to the window and looks out.

Paper notices her and walks up to her with a smile.
“Hey Mic. How are you holding up?”
He says with a sympathetic look. Everyone’s having a hard time with this black out.

Although… Mic has way bigger issues.
“...Alright. Hope you and OJ are doing good too.”
She says, with a weak smile.

“Thank you! I’m just going to check up on him now actually.”
Paper says. Lightbulb comes out with her everlasting positivity.

“Hang in there, we’re getting to the bottom of this!! Like detectives!”
She says with a smile as both Paper and Lightbulb leaves.

Mic smiles and waves them goodbye until they leave and go downstairs. Then with a sigh, she goes back to spying. She has to see if what Soap said was really true.

“...Huh??”
Knife looks… taken back?

“Are you deaf? I am asking you to protect Mic dammit.”
Taco says, annoyed, as she looks away with the faintest bit of blush on her cheeks.

There's silence… then a rough, but hearty laugh can be heard from Knife.

“Y’know, for two people who claim to hate each other, you and Mic sure spend a lot of time worrying about each other!”
Knife says as he continues to laugh.
Taco chuckles as she looks away. She doubts Mic worries about her.

“She’s gone through enough shit because of me.”
She turns away, showing that she's done with him. Her voice slightly falters. Almost... guilty like.

Knife sighs. He... didn't know she actually felt guilty.

“Fine. But only because Mic is my friend. I’m not being your damn messenger bird.”
He says as he starts to leave the room, leaving Taco alone.

Mic rushes back to her room and shuts the door. She then slumps down to the floor and hides her face in her hands as she curls up into a ball.

She does still care.

Chapter Text

Knife groans as he slumps onto the couch, where Pickle is currently gaming.

"Mic and that stubborn prick Taco are so blind... How do they not realise they still love each other... It's getting hard to watch."

He says, rubbing his temples.

Pickle chuckles and pauses his game. He puts a hand on Knife's shoulder.

"I get it. I... don't know much about Taco, and would like to keep it that way, but I know how shy and nervous Mic can get. Maybe try getting them to talk it out?"

Pickle smiles softly, his hand staying on Knife's shoulder for longer than normal.

Knife feels his cheeks becoming warm. He doesn't have time for this.

He gets up and looks away.

"...I better go help the others with asking OJ what he saw last night. Then check up on Mic..."

He says with a sigh. The bags under his eyes are getting more and more prominent as the day goes on, which worries Pickle. But he doesn't want to look clingy or anything.

"...I understand. If you need help, I'm here."

Pickle says, forcing a smile in these troubling times.

But it's not just the thing in the forest that he's worried about. No, that thing doesn't worry him nearly as much as Knife does.

But... What is he supposed to do? Pickle has never really believed in himself after Taco's betrayal, and Knife has never understood feelings nor what to do with them.

Knife goes over to Paper and Lightbulb interviewing OJ, leaving Pickle before his warm cheeks become something more annoying again. Pickle just wants to drag Knife back to him and make him sleep... on him... But he stops himself. How long does he have to wait for Knife to pay attention to him?

All he can muster is a small...

"...Good luck then."

Chapter Text

Knife finds Paper and Lightbulb with OJ, asking him questions about that thing just like they did with Taco. Paper is sitting next to OJ, rubbing his back as he seems to have a panic attack about what he saw of the thing in the forest.

It’s not… useful at all. He’s just babbling about it being red and glitchy, which annoyed Knife.
He sighed and walked over to the kitchen to get something to eat…

To find Taco standing on the counter holding a cup of tea she’s made.

Knife raises an eyebrow.

“IT’S NOT EASY BEING THIS SMALL, YOU SHUT IT.”
Taco says, her voice filled with annoyance as she sits on the bench.

This whole thing makes him crack a smile and eventually chuckle. Something he hasn’t done in a while… and isn’t achieved easily. Which makes Taco even more annoyed.

“You… climbed up there… just for some tea!?”
Knife says, while trying to calm down.

Knife and Taco’s bickering brought the attention of some people.

OJ and Paper walk in first, Paper supporting OJ as they walk. OJ groans, the crack from before still stinging.

…Something Taco knows all too well.
She wants to say something, but nothing comes out. She’s never been good with comforting others.

Knife, observant as always, notices Taco hesitating. Fed up with her, decides to ask OJ himself.

“You good OJ?”
He asks, his expression a mix of sympathy and annoyance.

OJ doesn’t notice Taco on the bench at first… But eventually…
“...I-I’m fine It just…”

OJ stares at Taco sitting on the bench. At first he’s surprised, but then his surprised expression turns into a glare.

“You! Get off my bench!! Soap just cleaned that!!”
He says, becoming more annoyed by the second.

Taco jumps off the bench clumsily, almost spilling her tea. As she feels relief that she didn’t spill her tea, someone tall bumps into her and her tea ends up being on the floor rather than in her cup. Fuck.

At first Taco panics and looks up to see who bumped into her…


and freezes once she locks eyes with Mic.

Chapter Text

Microphone can’t believe her eyes. Taco is in front of her.
Getting her tea, as she always used to do. She bets it’s either chamomile or peppermint.
It’s… cute. Microphone can’t deny that anymore. The warmth she feels on her cheeks are too hard to ignore.

Taco on the other hand feels nothing but dread that she’s here. After everything that’s happened, this is how they meet back up again? Pathetic.
She wanted to meet her properly and explain… no, to say sorry.

Taco keeps her eyes on the floor as she grabs her tea cup and quickly runs past them all, seeming to disappear up the stairs.

OJ (with help from Paper) quickly follows Taco to the bottom of the stairs, only just missing her, as he screams out about spilled tea on the carpet or some shit like that.

Microphone isn’t listening though.
She noticed the dread in Taco’s eyes.

Does… Taco not love her anymore?
Microphone thought Taco cared. That moment where she asks Knife to protect her felt… real. Like she did still care.
…Has Taco moved on like Pickle warned her?

Microphone stands there, in a trance, as everyone goes back to doing what they were doing before.
None of them went to check on Taco.

“Hey Mic! Go check on Taco, I need to clean up this mess she made.”
He says annoyed, which snapped Microphone out of her trance.

She gives Knife a worried look as he goes into the kitchen.
“...Are you sure I should be the one checking up on her…?”
She says, feeling her throat go dry.

“Well she sure as hell ain’t gonna listen to me! All she cares about is you! It’s all she worries about and it pisses me off. Go deal with her, ‘cause I’m not.”
Knife casually says, growing more annoyed as he comes out of the kitchen with a damp towel. He gets down on his hands and knees and starts to roughly clean the tea stain out of the carpet while grumbling nonsense. (Not in that way you horny fucks)

Finally, Microphone gives in to checking up on Taco herself. She plays with her hands as she slowly walks up the stairs to the first floor. She has to find the room Taco is in since there’s 15 different rooms she could’ve gone in. She decides to check the Storage room first.

She stands at the door for a good while, trying to steady her breathing. She’s… scared. What if she doesn’t care? What if that was all just a lie? What if Pickle was right, and she’s just moved on. But if she did… why would she tell Knife to protect Microphone of all people? Taco arguably needs more protection than Mic.

She shakes her head, trying to focus. Shakily, she reaches for the handle and slowly opens the door…

…And finds nothing. It’s just a regular Storage room with MePad still there.
She breathes a shaky sigh of relief as she closes the door. She’ll check the Infirmary next.

Now that she thinks about it, she should’ve checked the Infirmary first.
Once she arrives at the door, she hesitates…

Then the door is flung open by Knife and Microphone gets shoved in as the door slams behind her. She stumbles onto the floor.

“Knife! What are you doing?!”
Microphone panics as she gets up off the floor, heading straight to the door and tries to open it, with no success. The door is locked.

“Knife?! Answer me dammit!!”
Microphone says as she bangs against the door.

“…Mic?”
A broken little voice is heard from behind her.

Microphone eyes widen and she stiffens as she turns around to Taco, her eyes filled with tears as she clutches the teacup, trying her best not to burst into tears.

Chapter Text

The infirmary is empty. Quiet. Hidden. The only thing that can be heard is Taco’s silent sobs.
No one’s going to check here.
Not that Taco thinks anyone would check up on her anyway.

They say they care, but as soon as something happens that they don’t like, they turn the other way. It disgusts Taco.

…But the thought of Mic coming to check up on her starts to gnaw at her. She knows how Mic is. Caring at the right and wrong times. But she doubts she cares anymore.

Taco clutches the tea cup in her hands as she rolls up into a little ball, trying to stop her sobs, while her side is still aching after sprinting up those steps.
She really fucking hates that she’s injured right now. She can run from…

There’s footsteps outside. 
No. No no no Taco cannot be seen like this.
She refuses to fucking sulk to someone that doesn’t give a shit. She would rather be trapped in a room with Mic than talk to someone who never cared in the first place.

Then the door is forcefully swinged open and someone is pushed in as the door slams behind them.

“Knife! What are you doing?!”
It’s Mic. She panics as she struggles to open the door with no success. She bangs on the door, begging for Knife to unlock it, her breath ragged.

Huh, what luck.

Wait.
NO–
NOT LUCKY.
THIS IS TERRIBLE.

TACO IS ACTUALLY STUCK IN A ROOM WITH MIC.

…Yet… All she wants to do is be in Mic’s embrace. She at least cares, Taco thinks.
Taco has to say something.

“…Mic?”
Taco manages to squeak out after just bawling her eyes out. She surprises herself with how small she sounds.
She fights the urge to just run and collapse into Mic’s arms.