||OLD|| R E V I V A L (a Finger Paintings Sequel)

12 - Boom

Fan ran around the underground lab, grabbing the ingredients for the syrum. He needed to make more of it. "Have you slept at all?" Test Tube asked. "I have! I need to start going back upstairs to sleep though. Its taking a toll on my back." Fan muttered. Test Tube laughed to herself, "How about we pause your work. I'm sure you've done enough already, you can continue later." She said, taking the stuff from his hands and putting them down in an easily accessible area, then took his hands and headed back to her room.

"How much has changed?" She asked him. "Well.. Everyone knows about what I'm doing, the only people who know about down here though are Trophy, Knife, and Balloon." Fan said, following her back to the room. "Agh... It was for a good cause. I can't be mad at you." She smiled. Fan laughed awkwardly. They made it to the room and Test Tube closed the entrance, "We should sleep. Or.. You, should sleep. I've got a bit of thinking to do." Test Tube said. Fan sat down on the bed and held his head slightly.

"Test Tube?" Fan asked.

"Yes?" She responded.

"What would happen if you drank some of the syrum?" He asked.

She paused. "You, DRANK it?!" She yelled. Fan panicked, "Am I going to die?!" He asked, his voice cracking. "D— Nonono, its not that bad. But there are some.. Side effects. Like headaches, vomiting, dizziness, nausea, etcetera." She trailed off. Fan held his head, slowly rocking back and forth. If he had drank any more of that, its a possibility that it would make him sick, and he wouldn't be able to do anything to save anyone.

"Fan? You're going to be okay, I promise." Test Tube said, she sat down next to him and wrapped her arms around him. He was trembling. "I... If I drank any more of that.. You.. You wouldn't be here..." Fan whispered. "Yes I would. Because I know you're strong. You're stronger than anybody in this hotel. I believe in you, Fan." She smiled. Fan quietly choked back a sob and hugged her tightly. She carefully stroked his back as she shifted more onto the bed.

"You'll be okay, Fan. Sweet dreams." She whispered to him. Fan slowly drifted off to sleep, feeling happy to be embraced again.

~~~~~

Sy held a food tray carefully as they headed back to Paintbrush's room. It had been atleast around 4 hours, Paintbrush never slept for more than 5 hours. It concerned them sometimes, it never understood why Paintbrush couldn't sleep for long periods of time.

Sy approached Paintbrush's room and paused, loud giggling could be heard from the room. They tilted their head slightly and pushed into the room. Paintbrush quickly looked towards the door and smiled, "Sy!" They exclaimed, hopping up like a small child. "Good morning Paintbrush, I brought you breakfast!" Sy smiled, closing the door behind them. Paintbrush traced their scars, not moving an inch from where they were. "Are you alright?" Sy asked, placing down their bags and bringing the food to Paintbrush. "I.. Don't know.. I woke up feeling super energetic which isn't normal and I think somethings wrong with me and— and—" Paintbrush couldn't finish, their emotions got the better of them and they began to sob.

Sy panicked and put down the food, "Paintbrush its going to be okay, take some deep breaths, you're alright." Sy said, gently rubbing their back. Paintbrush's sobs died down quickly, like a small spotted rainstorm. "This is... Strange... Did they give you anything else other than the Midozolam?" Sy asked, taking the plate of food and handing it to Paintbrush. They shook their head and began to eat, their mood quickly changing from terrified and sad to happy and relieved. "Mood swings.. Must be an after effect of.. Something." Sy muttered to themself. "Sy, if they ever let me leave, where would I go? I don't think the Hotel would want me back after what I did." Paintbrush said, eating more from their plate. "I'm sure they would love to have you back, you've been getting better every single day since you stepped into this room." Sy said, sitting down next to Paintbrush. "Not everyone would love to have me back. I hurt my friends. They probably hate me by now!" Paintbrush laughed, placing a hand on their head. "Paintbrush don't think like that. Maybe... Once you're out of here, how about I take you back to them?" Sy offered. Paintbrush's eyes lit up, "You'd... You'd do that for me?!" They asked, a large smile growing on their face. "Of course, its the least I can do for you." Sy nodded. Paintbrush put down the plate and threw themself onto Sy, tightly hugging them. "Thank you thank you thank you!" Paintbrush said happily. Sy carefully wrapped their arms around Paintbrush, returning the hug. "You're welcome."

~~~~~

Fan woke up, it was still dark, but he wasn't tired. Test Tube wasn't in the bed anymore, he decided to get up and go find her, checking the first place that she would most likely be. Her lab.

Test Tube was playing with the chemicals, trying to see if she would find anything new, then she heard footsteps. "Fan? Is it already morning?" She asked, putting down her work. Fan shook his head, "Its around midnight probably. I didn't see you when I woke up so I wanted to come find you." Fan said, stretching and walking to Test Tube's side. "What are you working on?" He asked. "Just.. Testing things." She said. "Ooh.. Can I help?" He asked, a grin forming on his face. She hummed to herself, thinking, then nodded. "Of course." She smiled. He flapped his arms in triumph. "Okay, whats first?!" He asked. "Hm.. Thats a good question." she muttered. Fan grabbed two random potions, "How about.." He started. Her heart sank as he began to mix them, "WAITWAITWAIT FAN NO DONT DO THAT—"

A large explosion filled the room.

~~~~~

WORD COUNT - 1006

kaboom

hehe 🤞🤞