Teamwork is a skill we lack. (II SUPERHERO AU FIC)

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"You messed up, but this isn't your fault, Fan. N- nobody was expecting Taco to do something like that..." They spoke slowly, trying to keep their emotions in check. They had to stay strong... As hard as that was, and how much the guilt and sorrow gnawed at their brain, they had to stay strong.

"And hey-- she's... Testtube said she's... Still alive, right? As-- as long as she... just... holds on," They trailed off, the words starting to get caught in their throat as the tears threatened to fall from their eyes.

They couldn't handle staying strong anymore, their sorrow overwhelming them as they pulled Fan back into the hug, the both of them now crying... And maybe this was them being strong. Maybe this was them finally showing a vulnerability that wasn't just pure anger.

~

It was the next morning. Knife and Mic resided upstairs, trying to plan out what to do if, and when the machine where to go off, and what they were going to do to stop Cobs in that inevitability. Fan and Paintbrush had fallen asleep in the same room they sat in, the both of them having already been tired, and the sorrow that the room emitted only made sleeping the easier option anyways.

And finally, Testtube was very busy, not having slept at all, only running on her drive to get the machine done, despite it being... increasingly difficult to put back together, she kept at it... Though with every bit of progress she seemed to make, it seemed she was running into new problems. Truly, the process of creating and fixing a recovery machine was... Not easy in the slightest, and it being something she had never attempted before was not making any of it better... Along with her not having slept in two days. All of it was just a huge recipe for disaster if she were to do any little thing wrong...

But she had to keep going. She couldn't bear the possibility of losing her friend. She couldn't let everyone else down. So she kept working... At least, until an unfamiliar sound was heard from the other side of the room, her carefully looking up to see Lightbulb... sitting up? Oh shit-- She dropped her tools suddenly, and rushed over to the other side of the room to Lightbulb, putting one hand on Lightbulb's shoulder, and her other in Lightbulb's hand, trying to grasp her attention... She seemed to jump a little at the touch, but she just kept looking forward though, her visible eye no longer gray... but completely white.

"Lightbulb??? Can you hear me?" Testtube asked, not meaning to raise her voice.

"I-- Testy, wh... where are you?" Lightbulb squinted, moving her free hand to her head as she shut her eye, and winced.

"I'm-- I'm right next to you, I'm here, please try to stay awake this time,"

"I-- I can't... I can't see," Lightbulb opened her eye again, looking around frantically.

"Wh-- please, where are you-- where's... where's painty, where's paintbrush," Her voice grew panicked, and frantic as she pulled her hand away from Testtube's shoving her away without quite meaning too as she tried to move back, but with the chair having risen back up as she did, she was met with the cushion, this only panicking her more as she couldn't recognize what her back was up against.

"I-- I'll go get them, please try to stay awake, and for your own safety, do not move," Testtube said, quickly running out of the room to find them.

Paintbrush woke up with a start once again, this time being shaken awake by-- Testtube, who held a look of urgency on her face as she yelled out their name.

"Wh--huh..." Their voice was still a bit groggy.

"Come with me, now, she's asking for you--" Testtube pulled Paintbrush up, and out of their chair, not quite giving them a choice as she pulled them out into the hallway, and then the medical room, where Lightbulb sat in the chair, frightened and hugging herself tight. Paintbrush quickly pulled their arm away from Testtube's grasp as they made their way to Lightbulb.