Time Flies [II AU]

Five

MePhone's gaze immediately snapped toward the noise, and it rested on two figures, one tall, one short and limbless. Wh... How are they here? Hadn't something terrible been done to them? Wasn't that why they hadn't been in the van?

"We've come to save you, sir." MePad and Toilet were standing several feet away from MePhone. They both looked a bit disoriented after teleporting, but they looked unharmed to MePhone's relief. He wondered why Test Tube's group had left the two behind. Hadn't she predicted that this would happen?

MePad hurried to stand next to him. MePhone felt as though a large weight had been lifted from him, and he stood up shakily, one hand on MePad's side. It took several moments for him to register the fact that he could move again.

Toilet stood next to him now as well, and he set his hand on the other's head gratefully, sighing. He looked up, noticing that the other four just looked surprised, and were showing no signs of moving. After a few seconds, MePad's screen shifted to where it showed a map, a red pin showing on the destination he was about to teleport them to.

"Thank you," MePhone whispered. He hadn't felt that scared in his life, and waves of relief washed over him still.

MePad gazed at him with a concerned air, his screen returning to its initial violet for a few seconds, but didn't say anything, only nodding.

"Wait!!"

MePhone looked towards his kidnappers, feeling a chill that had nothing to do with the cool dawn air. Test Tube was staring at him, the only emotion he could read in her expression being desperation. Hadn't she said something about a contract, or something? MePhone stepped defensively in front of his friends and watched all of the objects' breath billow in the air as soft, white puffs. He glanced up at the sky and realized that clouds now spanned across the whole of it, giving off a dim, gloomy light. He wished that the sunrise was still visible.

Test Tube sighed. "..It's okay. We won't hurt you."  She paused, then added, "..I won't hurt you."

"And what makes you think we'll believe you?" MePhone asked, crossing his arms and frowning. He didn't have enough energy to be angry at her.

"I know you only have my word for it, but I've changed my mind on this. This job isn't very.. reputable, to say the least." She paused for a moment before continuing, as if doing so would add weight to her words. "My colleagues have convinced me that what we're doing isn't right. So, I'd like to make it up to you someh-"

She suddenly flinched back, looking startled. MePhone looked around, alarmed, wondering what could have disconcerted the other.

It was snow. Tiny, silvery flakes drifted from the slate-gray sky, one sticking to MePhone's screen and melting immediately as it did. The gathered objects all stared at the sensation for a wondrous moment.

The placid silence was broken by Paintbrush. "We can go inside the van and talk there. Freezing to death out here won't do us any good."

MePhone stared at them in surprise, then shrugged. They were right. He couldn't stay out that long in the cold, anyways, or else he'd actually freeze to death.

Lightbulb and Paintbrush walked ahead of everyone, leading them towards the place where the van was parked. MePhone watched Paintbrush sneeze as a snowflake landed on their face, and Lightbulb giggled. He glanced at Fan and Test Tube, who were holding hands and walking together. It seemed that Test Tube's compliance had somehow completely mended the two's relationship.

MePad and Toilet trailed behind him, and he slowed slightly so he was walking in between them. He lowered his voice to where the other four couldn't hear. "Are you sure we can trust them? They might just capture us again after we go inside the van."

"I can't be certain, sir. You have spent more time with them than I have. Though I will admit, they did seem pretty genuine.." MePad seemed to think for a few moments. "From what I have gathered so far, they aren't satisfied with what Cobs has made them do. So they want to help you, yes?"

"Yeah.. Fan mentioned not wanting to work with him when I first woke up."

"I don't think there's a reason not to believe them, then. It would be hard to keep up such a lie for as long as they have," He replied simply.

MePhone nodded, then glanced at Toilet. "What do you think?"

Toilet looked surprised at being asked for his opinion. "Well, I think MePad's right. They.." He trailed off as he seemed to realize that the others were climbing into the van already, Lightbulb standing to the side and waiting. The van was white, and on its side in bolded yellow writing were the words "The Bright Lights." MePhone glanced at Lightbulb. Figures..

He was conscious of her watching him as he climbed into the van and sat on one of the bench seats. When him and his companions were seated together, Lightbulb stepped into the van and closed the door behind her. There was a light built into the ceiling, illuminating their surroundings.

She sat on the bench across from MePhone, settling to the right of  Paintbrush. They set their hand on top of hers.

They all sat in an awkward silence for several moments. As he was waiting for somebody to say something, MePhone scanned the van's interior. There were two gray bench seats, both lining the sides of the van. A tattered tawny rug lay at their feet, and a somewhat beat-up desk sat against the back of the front passenger seat. The narrow, tinted windows provided a small amount of light, but the van's ceiling light was the main source of luminescence.

His gaze drifted back to the four objects in front of him as Lightbulb spoke. "We need to stop Cobs!"

Fan nodded vigorously. "What he did to you wasn't right, uh.." He glanced at the object across from him, as if asking for a name to call him by.

"MePhone."

"What he did to you wasn't right, MePhone!" The other continued, "And what he did to us wasn't right, either." He glanced at Test Tube. She just looked up at him, her expression dark. "So.. yeah. As Test Tube was saying, we'll help you in any way we can. ..If you're up to stopping him, that is."

MePhone glanced at MePad and Toilet, who said nothing, only staring at him expectantly. Seeing as he was the one that was meant to speak, he sat up straight, gazing at the other four coolly. "We'd love to stop Cobs, but.. it's a big risk. I don't know if it's worth it."

He was surprised when MePad spoke up immediately afterwards. "..Worth it? Sir.. Of course it's worth it. Don't you remember all of the cold, empty nights, with no shelter or food? We were only lucky when we found that shed. ...If he hadn't been out to eradicate you, we could have had at least a small chance to start over and live an honest life. Instead, look at where we are now."

He stared at MePad, wide-eyed. He hadn't expected that at all. But.. He had to admit that the other was right. "Er.. Well, you heard him." He looked toward the others. "You'd better not mess this up."

(sorry for the extremely slow updates 😭 it's hard to muster up motivation for this kinda stuff)
(also TYSM for 200 views!! woo !!🥳)